Labotomy of a Writer

For this round of Fantastic Friday Writers, we're talking about query letters. It was my original intention to share my recent query letter, but since I did that for the A to Z challenge in April, I'll just talk about how to write one.

Now, I'm no expert at this by any means. I'll be honest and say I totally suck at it. But, I do know how it's SUPPOSED to go.

Query letters give the agent/publisher/editor a look at your book in a very short amount of time. It needs to draw them in and make them interested enough to read your whole book. Obviously right?

Well just how do you do that? You just wrote a 75,000 word story (or more!) and now you have to talk about all the wonderful things in just a few paragraphs!?

Where to start? Well what I do is write the synopsis first. After all the synopsis is longer than a query but shorter than your novel. But, how to write a synopsis is for another post. Also, I write the synopsis and query soon after I'm done with 'final' edits. Why? Because the story is still fresh in my head.

Some say that you should describe your story in only three paragraphs, others say five is okay. The one thing all my research agrees on is the entire query letter shouldn't be longer than one page - including your signature at the bottom.

To get your huge novel down to three to five paragraphs, start with writing down the major plot poitns in your story. The MAJOR ones mind you. This is the hard part for me. Figureing out the plot points that are the most important. Also, during the preplanning phase here, list a few side plot points or character plot points (used to fill in the gaps).

Also, try to stick to mentioning only one or two characters, three at the most. (Three would cover the hero, heroine/sidekick and the villian.)

So here is what the process looked like when I wrote the query letter for Cleanse Fire

Major Plot Points:

1. The teams Commander tried to kill them
2. The team discovers the Commander is only the beginning.
3. The wizard is trying to kill them all for revenge.

Character Plot Points:

1. Dearc's wife died in a terrible fire and it haunts him
2. The wizard's wife was murdered in front of him
3. Derac is falling in love with Kie.

Character's to Mention

1. Derac
2. Kie
3. The wizard
4. The commander (possible)

So you have your three or four major plot points, two or three character plot points, and two or three characters. Now comes the time to write the information out in complete sentences. You can read my finished query letter here if you like.

Of course, after you write it, I highly recommend getting someone else to read it over for you. It is a good idea to have suggestions come back from both people who have and haven't read the full story yet as they both will have vaulable insite for you.

There are many other things to think about when writing a query letter, like word usage and such, but I think I'll save that for another post on another day! I hope this post at least helps you get started and headed in the right direction!

Hop to the other members of Fantastic Friday Writers and see what they say about Query Letters!

I have made numerous posts about my crit partners, but today I think I'll talk about my husband.

I'm very lucky to have a man that supports my writing. He gives me plenty of time to write by letting me stay up late (and then sleeping in) while he cares for our son. He'll even take the little man out of the house for a few hours on his days off so I can work in peace.

I know many people whose spouses don't support their writing at all and it makes me realize just how lucky I really am. Sure, my husband does get a little jealous sometimes as I do get caught up in my work and forget to spend time with him. But he never tells me I can't do it or that I need to stop doing it or that I shouldn't do it. He just reminds me (and sometimes begs in his own way) for me to spend some time with him.

It's great to have that kind of support. Sure, he doesn't crit my work or help me with plot issues really, but it's nice to know he supports my dream in his own way. Like I said, he doesn't crit my stories or anything like that, but he does give the time and space to write the stories in the first place.

And after all, isn't that what every writer needs? Time and space to write?

Do you have any support like this from your spouse or friends or family? For those that don't, how do you keep writing and following the journey?

Hop over to the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers to see what they say about today's topic.

1. 
   
   A setting in which the primary world does not exist. (ex. The Wheel of Time)


2. 
   
   The secondary world is entered through a portal from the primary world. (ex. Alice in Wonderland)


3. 
   
   A distinct world-within-a-world as part of the primary world. (ex. Harry Potter)

Another edition of Fantastic Friday Writers. Today we are talking about languages. As a writer, you have many option on how to convey languages in your story. You can simply tell the reader the characters are speaking a different language, use a few sparing words throughout the dialogue, or create a brand new language entirely.

I'm going to talk about an important part dealing with the last two options. Any time you create a new word, phrase, or entire language, one thing you must consider is how you want your language to sound. Soft and smooth, or more rough and harsh?

Soft sounds include letters like d, s, l, m, b, while harsh sounds include k, t, g, p. So, when creating your new words or language, you can clue in on certain letters to make your language sound the way you want.

For example, when cretaing new words for the faerys in Burden of Prophecy I wanted their language to be very soft sounding. So I tried to avoid using k or t in the words, or if I did, I used them very sparingly. So, I came up with words like verlina (a flower that has addictive properties but most often used for healing purposes) and faena (woman).

So what about your characters in their own worlds? What languages do they speak and how do they sound?

Now, for a bit of fun, I like to doodle on paper to see what my new language would look like in text. For a soft sounding language, like the faery's in Burden of Prophecy, I decided to go with something with lots of curves, loops, and long tails to add to the softness and elegance I wanted to show for the language. I never actually made an official text of my faery's language or I'd show you a picture. However, it is still fun to figure things like that out, even just for a feel of how your characters would write a letter or a note.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers to see what they say about languages! Our group has more than doubled since the last post, so please make sure to stop and welcome our newest members! They are all great fantasy and sci-fi writers, and you can learn more about them here.

Hello everyone. Here is another installment of Fantastic Friday Writers. We are talking about magic this week.

How do you define magic in fantasy writing? Spells, powers, things that cannot be explained. All of the above?

The elves in my book Cleanse Fire having keen eye sight, hearing, and can heal rather quickly. While that is beyond normal abilities for humans it is the norm in my elves' world - so that's not magic. But the faery's in Burden of Prophecy are born with powers and they attend school to learn and master them. While it is the norm for them in their world, it's magic. I would say magic to me is something beyond normal human capabitilities, but that would include more than I wanted.

Now, when you have magic in your stories one must consider the rules. Rules?! I know, I hate rules too, but in order to make your magic seem realistic it must have some sort of restrictions. Ask yourself the following questions: 1) If my character uses their magic what happens to them? Do they get tired, weak? If they go too far can they die? 2) Where does their magic come from? Inside the character? From nature? Some other force? 3) What culture aspects come into play with my character magic? Meaning are there laws against using it? Perhaps religious consequences/rewards? 4) Who has magic and why? Only the first born? Only women or only men?

Once you have those questions figured out then y ou can begin to shape the magic in your world into something tangible. Then you can determine at what age does their magic show up and how do they learn to master it. Do their powers show at birth or closer to puberty? Do they attend school or do their parents simply teach them control of their powers? If you have spells in your story rather than powers, the same questions apply. At what age do they begin learning the spells and who teaches them?

Since magic is a huge part of writing fantasy and even sci-fi sometimes, you have to consider all the rules, restrictions, and other considerations of your characters magic. If a character can use their magic willy-nilly with no consequences and has the ability to do anything, it takes all of the suspense out of the story. After all, an all powerful character can fix and get out of anything right?

Don't forget to check with the rest of the Fantastic Friday writer team at their blogs and see what they say about magic.

JDBrown ~~~~ Elizabeth Mueller ~~~~ Deirdra Eden-Coppel ~~~~ Alex J. Cavanaugh

I know I’ve been absent as of late and I apologize! I announced a while back that I was going to enter the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award so the editing has taken up all of my time outside of family and school.

BUT, I’m here now and that’s what counts right? This week, for Fantastic Friday writers, we are talking about how we find the time to write especially since many of us have jobs, kids, and school. Heck, some have a combination of all three!

I’ve talked about my crazy schedule on this blog before, but for the new readers, I’ll give a brief recap.

• I’m a stay at home mom – just me and the little man most of the day while hubby is at work.
• I am going to school to earn my bachelors degree in business.
• I have created two online businesses, one of which is open! (Check it out! Anastasia Creatives). The other is nearly there and will be open in by the end of February.
• I moderate writing workshops on Savvy Authors.
• I participate in 3 different blogs, including my own. (Okay, mine falls behind a bit a lot of the times but with everything else can you blame me!?)
• I belong to a solid critique group that I talk to every single day. (Okay, they’re my best friends, but seriously, they rock.)
• AND I write and edit and create cover art and build book trailers and make websites for my friends.

I’ve had many people ask me how in the world I find the time to do all these things and the answer is quite simple.

I JUST DO IT.

I don’t have a set schedule, (like I could follow one anyway), I don’t have a nanny or a babysitter, or a maid and my son isn’t old enough to be in school yet. I just do it. Because I love to do it, because I have to do it, because I want to do it.

Sure, I do go a few nights without sleep but I’m willing to sacrifice a little sleep to follow my dreams.

So, if I was to give any advice to my fellow writers out there, here is a bit of wisdom I learned from AA of all places.

If you want it badly enough then you’ll make it happen. (In AA we add, “Remember the lengths you would go to get a drink and apply that same energy to something positive.)

And one last note - Don’t make excuses! JUST DO IT!

It's almost a new year, can you believe it? I feel like 2010 just flew by! I dug around my old blog posts and found a list of my 2010 goals/resolutions. Let's see how much I accomplished shall we?

1. Quit Smoking
--I didn't even attempt this.

2. Gain a substantial income from writing.
--Tried it and failed. The money just wasn't enough to make the research and time worth it.

3. Let my husband live
--Yes, he is still alive.

4. Get my teeth fixed
--Didn't get this one either. But hubby assures me it'll be this year. We'll see.

5. Learn to write legibly with my left hand. (I'm ambidextrous but if writing with my left hand, it looks like a 5 year old)
--I totally forgot this goal was on the list, so I didn't make this one either.

6. Finish my 3 part novel series "The Faery's Tale"
--Well, this morphed into a 4 part novel series and I did get book 1 and half of book 2 done - so to speak.

7. Learn to wake up before my son does. (This means waking up at like 6 or 7 in the morning by the way.)
--HAHAH! You guys didn't really think I could do this one could you? Come on.

8. Start my own business. (Doubt it'll really be this year, but I put it here to make myself get the ball rolling at least.)
--I did get the ball rolling and started a second business too!

9. Find some really cool layouts for this blog!
--I totally got this one!

10. Write an Epic Poem. (For those that don't now, epic poems are ones like Beowulf - a huge epic thing that tells a story. Always wanted to write one of those.)
--Well, I didn't get this one really either - partially, my NaNo poem rocked and did tell a story, but since it was themed after another poem, I don't really count it.

So that leaves what? NOTHING accomplished!? Well, I did let hubby live and I did try to write freelance for money. Just didn't work out on that one. And there are a few that I sort of accomplished if I bend the rules a little.

I still feel like I accomplished a lot this year though! I blogged pretty regularly - at least more than I thought. Started TWO businesses, made some new friends, started school, joined the National Guard (but obviously that didn't pan out...)

So, now on to the real point of this post for Fantastic Friday Writers - our resolutions or goals for 2011. I'm going to make mine more realistic this year for sure! At least, I hope so.

1. Submit "Burden of Prophecy: The Faery's Tale Saga". (More than once!)

2. Get "Cleanse Fire: The Kinir Elite Chronicles" ready for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Deadline: Feb. 6.

3. If "Cleanse Fire" doesn't win the contest, submit it!

4. Finish writing "Tutelage of Mortality: The Faery's Tale Saga".

5. Start writing "Death Air: The Kinir Elite Chronicles".

6. Finish setting up my business - Inwell University Writing Workshop.

7. Join my buddy Shawn in writing a novella anthology. (aka Write, Edit, and Submit my half of the collection - 1 Novella)

8. Learn to write with my left hand. (We'll give this one a go again, because I bet it'll be fun.)

9. Get my teeth fixed. (Hubby assures me this year is the year....)

10. Write an Epic Poem. (Still really want to give this a go!)

So there it is! I'll repost this list this time next year to see how much I accomplished! I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Day and I send many blessings your way for 2011.

Make sure you check out the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers to see what they are doing for 2011.

This week for Fantastic Friday Writers, we are talking about what things we put into our character bibles. Now a character bible is basically everything you write down or collect about your characters.

My character bibles are HUGE. As I said in last weeks post, I start off with a small interview of the character to get the basics. I type this up, print it, and put it in the notebook. (All my novels are in a 3-ring binder (for series) or a noteb0ok (standal ones) with dividers for "Characters", "Setting", "Extra Notes", and "Plot")

Then I fill out the character sketches. This takes some time as I am constantly updating it. I fill it out initially and print it. Then if some new information presents it self, I hand write it onto the page. When the page is finally cluttered with hand written notes, I'll type up a fresh copy and replace the old one. The character sketch contains things like physical description, to twitches and mannerisms, to what their favorite food is. Every detail I would ever need to know about them (and more) goes into this sheet.

Recently, I have begun to create timelines using excel. These are really interesting as they list by date (or even time) important events in my characters life - even things that happened before the novel started. I go all the way back to when they were born! (Which for elves and faeries that live a few thousand years, that's A LONG time.)

I also make timelines of the plot with each major character side by side on the same sheet. This one I actually add to the "Plot" section in my notebook, but it could be in my character bible too.

At some point, I begin creating avatars. None of my characters really like this process much, as it does make them look rather cartoonish, but I still have lots of fun with it. I print out the avatars and make notes about their style of dress in major scenes in the story. For example, I would make a note of every day attire, then notes about what they would wear to the wedding or funeral or whatever event that takes place in the story. If time permits, I might make extra avatars with the different style of clothing, making small notations of where this outfit shows up in the book. Mostly, it's not the characters' looks perse but the clothing style that I use the avatars for.

Like I said in my last post, I'll let my characters have fun outside of my head by chatting with other characters or authors. I don't print these out as they get rather long (and I use up a lot of ink with the avatars anway...) but I do have them in the folder on my computer where the actual MS is kept. (Basically, the folder on my computer is a duplicate of what is in my 3-ring binder.)

What about you? What goes into your character bible? Check out what the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers put into theirs!

Happy Friday everyone! It is time for another Fantastic Friday Writers post! This one is one of my favorite things to talk about, as many of my older followers would know.

How do I connect with my main characters on a personal level?

Most all of my stories are very character driven. My characters come to me and say "Hey, I have a story I want to tell you." Then I just write it down as they tell me. I do think of plots and play the "What if" game, but usually those ideas continue to sit in the idea notebook. It seems I can't write any story until I have the characters talking to me about it first.

In order to get to know my characters after they initially introduce themselves, I do a short interview to get the basics. You can see an example of one here that I did for a blogfest about a character that showed up unexpectantly in one of my stories.

Then I sit down and write a very detailed character sketch. I did a few posts a while back about the character worsheet I write up and you can find the first one here. The character sketch also includes an avatar that I make for a general visual of what the character looks like. Sometimes I might also search for images for the character - either a protrait or just a symbol that represents them. I cut them out and glue them into the margins of the character sketch sheet.

Recently, I have also done timelines for the characters. The timeline (done with an excel sheet) covers every moment of their life from when they were born. Now, I don't get crazy detailed with this, but it does help to keep track of important things like graduations, weddings, or even a time when they broke their arm. You can read more details of the timeline setup I use here.

After the 'paperwork' is out of the way, I just sit down and talk to my character. I'm usually writing the story at this point. I always learn new things about my characters as time goes along. I take notes of anything new I learn that might be important or if it spurs an idea for a scene. Then I add in the scene or idea as I'm finishing the first draft or I wait until I'm editing.

I think the most fun I have with getting to know my characters is simply talking to them. My best friend Jen and I also have 'character parties' where she brings her characters and I bring mine and we watch the fun unfold as they interact with each other. It's great fun and I've learned a great deal about my characters this way - since it's all on the fly and in a situation that mostly likely won't happen in my actual book. (Esp considering my characters are faeries and her are vampires.)

But it is still information I can use. It helps me really get to the bottom of who and what their motivations are. Jen and I have way too much fun with this actually, and we even created a blog where our characters can let it all out. It originally was called Life and Times of Imaginary People on wordpress. But we have since moved it to blogger and changed the name to "The Character Cafe"

My characters are very real to me and they all have become some of my very best friends. I'm a firm believer that if you don't love your characters, than neither will your readers. And what better way to fall in love with them, then to talk to them and REALLY get to know them?

Now, I do conduct a little bit of research into some of my characters. I do this in order to try and break the "norm". Like my faeries for example don't help things grow or change the seasons and they are nothing like Tinker Bell or the ones in Fern Gully. I did this on purpose.

How do you connect personally with your MCs?

Don't forget to hop over to the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers!

Welcome to the second post for the Fantastic Friday Writers group. This week we are talking about what inspires our fantasy/sci-fi minds to write. For my take on this topic, I'll be talking about why I decided to write fantasy specifically.

I began writing as soon as I could hold a pencil. I wrote those little stories about the apple tree on the school grounds or about how awesome my parents were. As an older child and a teen, I got deep into poetry. It helped to ease the angst of those troublesome years.

It wasn't until I was an adult that I really got into novel writing. I had always wanted to write stories and full length novels, but I never really applied myself to it.

The first novel I ever wrote was a mystery/romance. It is salvagable but at the moment, horribly written. I don't think at the age of 16 I was ready or knowledgable enough to write a romance, much less a mystery. So, it's collecting dust at the moment and I might return to it someday.

Writing fantasy, just sort of happened for me. I didn't really make a concious decision about it. I just started writing and tada - fantasy novel. And it just stuck with me. I love building new worlds and cultures and races. I think it appeals to the side of me that never really grew up. The side that still believes in faeries and dragons and elves and all those sorts of things.

So, I guess what inspires me to write fantasy is my inner child. The part that still believes in real magic (not the stuff magicians do on stage, but REAL magic). I just love it! Crafting brand new worlds and all the things that go into just makes me happy.

Writing fantasy is also an escape for me in a way. I can leave behind the stress of my life and enter into a whole other world. While I do want to write other genres like mystery or urban fantasy, I think right now my true calling is High Fantasy. *shrug* It just appeals to me in all ways and I think I'm pretty good at it. It fits, plain and simple.

Sorry this isn't more indepth or with a shocking revelation about why I write fantasy. I just do. It's me. *shrug*

I think every writer should go with what 'fits' for THEM, not what the industry is demanding at the time. While I can understand the want to follow the trends and write for them because of the drive to be published, I think you're work will reflect that it's not really what you enjoy doing. I love writing High Fantasy and I think that shows in my work. And the readers will see it too. For me, enjoying - and I mean really enjoying - what I write is more important than anything else. Because let's face it, if you aren't enjoying what you're writing, then why are you doing it in the first place?

Don't forget to hop around to the other members of the Fantastic Friday Writers to read why they write fantasy and/or sci-fi!



Tune in on Dec. 3rd when the Fantastic Friday Writers talk about how we connect with our characters on a personal level!

I am so excited about this new blog venture! Fantastic Friday Writers is a group of five writers in the fantasy and/or sci-fi genres. Every other Friday we will be posting blogs about the same topic. This is sort of like a group blog - a group blog has multiple writers posting about a weekly topic on the same blog. This group has multiple writers posting about a weekly topic on different blogs.

The linky widget below will allow you to 'hop' to the other blogs to read their posts! This is sure to be fun! Our first posts are merely introducing ourselves and this new project. As we are in different time zones, some posts might be up later than others on Friday morning. Regardless, you will still get five different view points on the same topic.

Now, myself, I write High Fantasy but I have a few ideas in the future for Sci-Fi and Urban Fantasy. My followers know that I am highly character driven in my stories and I post often about this topic. World building is a key component to writing Fantasy and Sci-fi stories, so I also blog about this a great deal.

This new group will blog about world building, character development - gearing all posts to fantasy/sci-fi genres. We will also discuss other aspects of writing such as critiquing, query letters, etc. This is sure to be fun for everyone and I hope you guys enjoy hopping around to the different bloggers in the group.

SO - without further ado, use the Mr. Linky below to meet the rest of the Fantastic Friday Writers!



Next week we'll be discussing what inspires our fantasy/sci-fi minds to write what we do! That is sure to be some great posts - see you then!