What you know and how to write it in an article . . .

Article writing 101 . . . actually, it's more like pre-101, however, it's been tremendous fun sharing a number of the writing lessons I've learned. Good writing is important for everyone -- a point I'm constantly making to my kids. Whatever the career, whatever the emphasis, everyone needs to know how to communicate, and communicating through written word is crucial. Apparently, EZine magazine thinks it's important, too, because they've accepted several of my articles regarding writing.

They sent this link: ezinearticles for my Clear and Concise Writing.

For those of you who don't think you could write an article, consider all the things that you know how to do -- there will be a lot! If you can break it down into steps, then you can become an article writer.

It's hot here on the porch -- matter of fact there is no sitting on the porch until we pull out of the 100s, 17 days so far this summer. Upswing is that it's even too hot for the mosquitoes.

Until next time
~Sandra

Friends . . .

Many of you are working fast and furious for the upcoming RWA convention -- to all of you, I say 'Hats off and may this be a wonderfully successful conference.'

To my lovely critique partner, L.A. Mitchell, who is up for her second Golden Heart, may this year be truly golden and you walk away with the trophy (and more importantly, a publishing contract).

To critique partners Sherry A. Davis, (RWA National PRO Liaison and author of romantic comedy), Here Comes The Bribe, and Mary Karlik, fantasy and YA writer, may the publishing doors swing wide open for you at this conference.

Fellow critique partner, Delores, and I will be sitting this one out. However, we'd better get phone calls when all the good news starts pouring in.

Several months ago, Mary K.'s lovely daughter, Kate, married. Per typical Mary fashion she'd hired the photographer to snap pics of all the wedding antics. Here below are my lovely 'Flip-Flop' sisters, i.e. my critique partners.

It was loads of fun and some truly warm moments for old, er, mature friends to share. For those of us who write, critique partners become our sanity. With all those voices bouncing around inside our heads, it's mandatory to have voices on the outside -- voices of reason and understanding -- who keep we writers grounded.



If you're writing and you haven't found your inner circle for critiquing, I strongly urge you to seek out those who want to spend their days with fanny firmly planted to the writing chair. No one else truly understands this madness called writing.

Cheers for conference good news, and critique partners.

Potato peeling tip

4th of July is on it's way, and as my family loves a great potato salad this video was just the ticket.

Here's to being an expert at potato salad:

More Books Sold

The first half of this year has zoomed by. I can barely remember taking a deep breath from New Year's until now.

Partial because of the amount of work I'm doing outside the home, and partly because of the 'life' stuff that seems to show up on a day-to-day basis.

The writing schedule doesn't hold up as well as I'd like and following up on my previously released book seems too distant to comptemplate.

That said . . .

It was a lovely surprise to get my numbers in from The Wild Rose Press, my publisher, and see that my book, Harm's Way, is still selling. Both digital and hard copies are being purchased.

From a promotional aspect, I learned that my website is not garnering the attention that I wanted because then those hard copy sales would have come through my site, and I'd been able to autograph the copies -- always a neat thing.

All that said, it means that my book blurb and the reviews for Harm's Way are doing their jobs -- sell more copies.

So here's a cyber toast to residual sales.

And a kick in my own pants to get the next one finished.

Happy weekend to you all, and drop by my porch anytime.
~Sandra

Phones in Churches . . .

Several of you have probably seen this one, but it sums up the attitude I love about being a-born-and-bred Texan, so I hope you enjoy the read.

A man in Topeka, Kansas decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco and started working east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes. He spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall and was intrigued with a sign, which read "Calls: $10,000 a minute."

Seeking out the pastor he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that this golden phone was, in fact, a direct line to Heaven and if he paid the price he could talk directly to GOD.




The man thanked the pastor and went on his way. As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver, Oklahoma City, and around the United States, he found more phones, with the same sign, and the same answer from each pastor.

Finally, he arrived in Texas, upon entering a church in Fort Worth, and, behold – he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read "Calls: 35 cents." Fascinated, he asked to talk to the pastor. "Reverend," he said, "I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven and that I could talk to GOD, but in other churches the cost was $10,000 a minute. Your sign reads only 35 cents a call. Why?"

I love this part.............................


The pastor, smiling benignly, replied, "Son, you're in Texas now...You're in God's Country. It's a local call."



American by Birth - A Texan by the Grace of God.

Characterization . . . should be this real!

As writers, all our characters should be this alive:

She's addicting, isn't she?

We watched this video over and over in my office. Whether the viewers had kids or not, found her annoying or adorable, or even liked chatter or not; everyone was mesmerized.

When characters hit the page, writers often flatten them out -- cardboard imitations.

Watch the video again. Note each movement. Notice how she attempts to engage those around her. Take in the reaction of her father, and the voice in the background that I assume is mom.

This little girl's chatter should be burned into your mind. This is true 3-D, and as authors, each writer has the job of bring characters to life. Great published authors employ this level of development in each book. It's what keeps readers continually coming back for more.

Watch again. What mannerisms can you draw from her behavior? Her father's?

Ever been to the mall? For more than shopping? Take a seat in the food court and observe human behavior. See if you can determine who is happy, sad, angry, rushed? How did you know? What were the clues? Facial expressions? Dragging their child through the mall at break-neck speed? Set of the shoulders, mouth, jawline? Listen for voice inflections? Pick a group of teenagers, then an older married couple, or a young couple with little ones in tow. What is differences in conversation? Voice inflection? Happiness level?

These are all attributes that writers can bring to the table when serving up the perfect character.

Don't short-change the reader's hunger for meaty characters.

Remember the chatter and let your characters come to 3-D life.

Thanks for dropping by my back porch.
Until then.
~Sandra

Upcoming Speaking Engagement

Saturday, June 20th at 10:30am, I'll be speaking at the June meeting for NTRWA (North Texas Romance Writers Association). The meeting is held at the La Hacinda in Grapevine.

This is blurb I sent for the newsletter:

I will discuss how and where to expend promotional money and effort. In addition, I will explore advertising areas from branding to blogging; from websites to words (keywords for web advertising, that is); from signings to speaking engagements and how to make the moments away from the writing add up to the most successful promotion possible.

Several months ago I discovered in talking to new members of this group that the whole concept of promotion seemed overwhelming. The wheres and whys of how to advertise 'oneself' seemed daunting. To that end, I spoke with a few on NTRWA's executive board and suggested this topic for a seminar. (I kinda thought they'd ask some of our multi-published and brilliant authors to speak on this topic). Oops, I was wrong. The powers that be asked me. I'm not multi-published unless one considers the articles I've published, and brilliant is beyond me on the best of my days, however, I do believe this is a worthy conversation for all writers so I've decided to offer my tree of knowledge, such as it is.

Luckily for me, my husband has researched loads of promotional information; I do know some additional brilliant people who are willing to share their learned expertise; and I've managed a few different endeavors for promotion. All together, I'm excited about the knowledge I've gained and the opportunity to share.

One of my critique partners has agreed to digital record the event, so hopefully I'll find a way to upload and share a few spurts of it here.

On a side note . . . who's found a way to get rid of pesky gnats? I've tried the vinegar water solution and even added a bit of dish washing soap to capture them, but the experience only met with limited success. Someone out there knows the gnat cure.
Do share!

Drop by my porch again soon. The oldest kid is moved home (back from college again) and I have great pics and funny stories to share.

Until next time
~Sandra

Cliches

As writers we're cautioned again and again to avoid cliches in our work. Something close to the kiss of death, the publishing community warns. So, I try to ignore those tasty little tidbits, and come up with my own more creative twists when a catchy phrase is needed.

However . . .

In a recent Reader's Digest issue the subject of TIME was raised, and a number of cliches were listed. My critique partner, LA Mitchell, writes fascinating stories about bending of time, slipping through time . . . well, you get the jest. So, I studied the cliches closer, thinking to send them to LA and allow her convoluted mind to ponder them. What would she do with them? Turn the trite diatribes into dialogue? Universal themes?

Then it hit me . . .

Each of these nuggets described a personality trait. As a student of human behavior (something every writer should ascribe to), I wondered how effective a cliche could be in filling out the character sketch.

For each cliche, I could name at least one person I know, say fairly well, who could tattoo these words on their foreheads as a life's motto. Don't worry. Names have been eliminated to protect, well, me, from retaliation.

Better late than never. This one definitely struck close to home for anyone who knows my family. Certain members believe, nay, cherish the opportunity to make the mantra of 'better late than never' into gospel. These are the individuals who have never been punctual, indeed, can arrive thirty minutes to an hour late and still consider themselves on time.

Sound familiar?

Now, step beyond the personal and take it to a character level. Would this particular flaw round out a formally flat or static character? Or could this trait be reminiscent for the hero or heroine? One that he/she dealt with their entire life and made certain to emulate the complete opposite behavior? Could this be a source of fun in a romantic comedy between the hero and heroine?

Is it possible to take this cliche and tweak it and actually use it as a theme? Are some things worth waiting for? Even the things that show up late? Really late? Perhaps almost beyond patience?

History repeats itself. This cliche is all to often a hard and cold fact. Ever met someone who's married more than once? More than twice? More than three times? Talk to them about their exs. Chances are there will be startling similarities. What about the person who constantly changes jobs? Always on the move, seeking greener pastures? Again, personality traits are clear with this type of behavior and this cliche.

Considering that the human body regenerates itself with new cells every seven years, perhaps it's inevitable that we can't remember all our mistakes and kill the 'bad-choice' repetition. Or perhaps, life really is a circle and we end up where we began. Whatever the fault in the gene pool, this is a wonderful opportunity for writers to exploit, and yes, that's the correct verb, in order to humanize their characters. Writers are required, should be by a univeral writing law, to use every tool at their disposal, which includes observing and then committing to page the faults and follies of the human race.

How about these cliches?
Consider these:
Let bygones be bygones
Time and tide wait for no man (or woman)
To every thing there is a season

Each cliche is more than a song verse. Even more than just a simple cliche.

By studying underlying meanings of these phrases and applying to human tendencies, characters can be enriched. Depth is what makes each of us fascinating. The same is true -- more than true -- it's mandatory for characters. Without layers, backstories, idiosyncrasies, flaws, blemishes, and assets characters are, look-out here's the 'B' word -- BORING!

More than any cliche has ever been the kiss of death, a boring character will execute a good story -- perhaps even a great story.

Could you use one of these cliches to broaden the horizons for a character? Used another familiar cliche?

Share.

Do stop by the porch anytime. I'll be here, swinging on the porch swing and studying a cliche or two.

Until then
~Sandra

Sniffing our way to good writing . . .

A few days ago, hubby dear and I were strolling the dog when the scent of potent Tar, from a nearby road project, filled the air. Tar -- is not a good smell to me; it's normally one that makes me want to hold my nose. Okay, if it's strong enough, I will hold my nose. Stinky Tar became our conversation focal point. We walk a long way, all right? My hubby shared that he loved that smell, quite a shock to me for in the 20+ years we've been enjoying wedded bliss, I was none the wiser that Tar could make him yearn.

When hubby was a youngster, dear old dad worked in the oil field as a drilling superintendent. Dad was out at the platform for long hours, but occasionally, my hubby in kid-form went along. My father-in-law was a big man, with the most enormous hands -- real workman's hands -- I'd ever seen. He was strong, and in-charge, and more than likely larger-than-life to my hubby. These were precious times, stolen away from the demands of a busy job and my hubby remembers the smell of Tar, of strong oil, which is apparently the same scent, quite fondly. In fact he loves the smell of Tar.

Here's the connection to writing:
It's not the scent of Tar or not Tar that's the question. It's the motivation behind the Tar which makes the scent important to writing, to any potential story.

A quick trip down research lane, and I discovered that our noses are capable of sniffing between 4,000 and 10,000 odor molecules. The younger the nose the more molecules it can sniff. In addition, all Olfactory Receptor Neurons are contained inside the nasal cavity, measuring an area no larger than that of a postage stamp. Pretty compact for all those different scents. Even more interesting, is that each ORN (Olfactory Receptor Neuron) works like a lock and key. Each of the millions of receptors can latch onto only a specific odor molecule. When you smell spaghetti sauce, you don't think it's scrambled eggs, or corn beef on rye because those ORN's have latched onto the specific odor molecules which tell the brain that it's spaghetti for dinner. With this explanation, it certainly enlightens as to why the sense of smell is so pure, and can be used to help deepen any writing.

So how does this help?

Sniff chlorine! Most of us immediately think -- pool. That could be a great smell for the character if summers and swimming were major family activities. However, it could be equally black if the character worked as a lifeguard until a kid in the pool drown on his/her watch. Now, that would be a smell to turn a character's world upside down in an instant.


How about asphalt? To me, it's memories of long, hot, fun-filled summer days at a major theme park. Great childhood memories. HOWEVER, consider the same theme park, but now what if the character remembers it as the last scent before overheating from a secret teenage pregnancy and passing out in front of the church youth group?


What about popcorn? A friend recently shared that she'll sit through any movie for the joy of theatre popcorn. And apparently, it's the smell she can't live without. How could a food be used to deepen writing? Folks who work in donut shops, cookie factories, even chocolate stores will attest that the smell quickly becomes something to tolerate, and not the great scent of the masses. By giving a character an abhorrence of anything sweet, backstory can be revealed. If the character worked in a chocolate factory to put a younger sibling through school while giving up that opportunity for themselves, and then the sibling throws away the education -- the smell of chocolate could well make the character sick.

Smelling is about more than mere sniffing.

Before any character loves the smell of gardenias, consider why this particular fragrance could deepen intimacy between the characters; how this one smell could turn or alter the plot; or this one scent could be used to reveal emotional character backstory.

For something contained in an area no larger than a postage stamp, the right smell can deliver great emotional punch to a manuscript.

Any smells that get your nose sniffing?

Feel free to share. And make sure to drop by my porch anytime.
~Sandra

Oxymorons

"We are a people who spend money we don't have on things we don't want to impress people we don't like."

Okay, that is a seriously great line . . . especially with the ring of truism in it.

I'd like to take credit, goodness knows, I like good writing; however, this piece of wisdom belongs to the man who wrote Why is God laughing?. Sorry, folks didn't catch his name in his interview on Good Morning, America. The gentleman who did remind me quite a bit of Mahatma Gandhi, sans the big nose, spoke eloquently about the oxymorons in our lives.

My husband, smart guy that he is, related another just a few days after I'd been turned on to this thought. While walking our dog -- sometimes it's more the dog walks us than we walk the dog -- but they were getting along down the bike trail when my hubby dearest noted a guy out tilling his garden for spring planting. The oxymoron was the hacking and coughing up one lung this old boy was doing while puffing away on a ciggy for the other lung. Even more of an oxymoron is that this guy will be planting a garden, fruits and veggies one must assume -- as in the healthy stuff -- yet he's poluting his lungs at a rate far faster than the fruits and veggies can save. Yep, Gardener Man was definitely an oxymoron.

Okay, don't get on the collective soap boxes and lecture me about smoking and the rights of smokers everywhere. I'm a reformed smoker so I get to point and laugh. However, the point is the oxymoron.

But there's more . . .

What about the folks who crave children, and then leave them to be raised by daycare and nannies? Okay, I get that sometimes both parents have to work to make all the ends meet and right now the ends might not be meeting at all. But if honesty won out, many folks could live in a smaller house, drive less expensive cars, take less grand vacations and make the budget balance on one salary.

Watch that soap box . . . I'm simply pointing out the oxymoron. If raising kids was the the most important thing, why would it be left to strangers?

That same tangent could certainly be pushed to the educational system. How can we, collectively, claim that education is the most important thing when we, collectively, don't lobby -- forget lobbying, how about storming the capitol -- and demand that teachers' salaries match the job we lay on them? Our oxymoron, collectively, is that we'll pay exorbitant prices to go watch athletes run around a field, high-powered cars drive in circles, etc. Point should be made.

So perhaps Oxymorons are a way of life.

What are some you've noticed?

Drop by the porch again
~Until later,
Sandra