A Memorable Opportunity to Support a Good Cause

Laura Breck

A group of authors from the Midwest Fiction Writers’ fundraising anthology, Love in the Land of Lakes, will be signing books and chatting with whomever stops by Thursday evening, May 23.

We’ll be appearing at SubText Bookstore, 165 Western Avenue North, Saint Paul, MN 55102 at 7 PM. I’ll be there with a big stack of the anthology paperbacks, and I’d love to meet readers and writers and talk about how the anthology was created.

All profits from the anthology go toward providing learning opportunities for writers in every stage of their career.

 

Hope to see you there!
Laura
~Smart Women ~Sexy Men ~Seductive Romance
LauraBreck.com
~Dancing in a Hurricane is available in digital formats at Amazon, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble and in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Createspace
~Love in the Land of Lakes is available in digital format at Smashwords, All Romance Ebooks, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon, and in paperback at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Createspace

Motivation - The M in GMC by Jannine Gallant

There's a lot of talk about GMC - Goals, Motivation & Conflict - in writing circles. Editors tell us we can't have a story without it. Authors agonize over it, using the following formula: Your POV character wants (goal), because (motivation), but (conflict) keeps him/her from attaining that goal. I'll admit, about the third or fourth time I saw this posted, I wrote it on the inside cover of my catch-all notebook, feeling more than a little nervous for having ignored GMC up to that point. Now, even though it's there, staring me in the face, I still tend to ignore it when jumping on a new project. Occasionally, when I'm in the mood to torture myself, I'll contemplate one of my completed novels and try to fill in those blanks. Sometimes it works. Other times, not so much.

Does this mean my books are weak? Probably not, since I'm not overly filled with self-doubt. I think it means I fill in the blanks on a sub-conscious level as I write. Goal is never an issue for me. My books tend to have lots of action with a plot that moves right along. A common goal in all romance novels is to find love, but most of my characters also have the goal of survival. I write suspense, so there's usually a bad guy hindering their chances of making it to the end with their skin intact. So, there you have it, my surface level conflict - outwit the villain. The internal conflict generally goes along with the finding love goal. What makes our characters tick that keeps them from skipping merrily down a smooth path toward happiness? That's where the M comes in.

Motivation. I rarely think about this. Which is why I was plenty shocked yesterday to find myself worrying about the motivation of my heroine in my current WIP. Grace was the sister of my heroine in my very first published book, Victim Of Desire. I gave no thought to a sequel when I wrote it way back when. And now I'm stuck with the traits and history I gave Grace. She's single, beautiful, sarcastic, motivated to succeed, and not afraid of much of anything. I can work with all that. BUT, she had the reputation for going through men faster than takeout pizza. Yikes, not the best quality in a heroine. So, for the first time ever, I started thinking about why she would act this way. What was her motivation for her love 'em then run for cover attitude? My CP suggested an early marriage that ended in tragedy, so she's afraid to love again. Good, but no go. She'd never been married in the first book, so I can't toss in a husband now. So after a couple of unsuccessful ideas, I finally came up with one I liked. My CP likes it, too! Now I have my motivation for Grace's behavior - but you'll all have to read the book to find out what it is. LOL

So, is it easier to sit down and plot out your GMC right from the beginning? Or are you like me, letting it develop as you delve deeper into the story and learn more and more about your characters? Motivation often comes from something that happened in our pasts, but we have to slip it into our writing gradually, keeping a bit of mystery surrounding it. No info dumps! But that's a post for another day...

Find blurbs and links for all my books on my website.

Memory, Memorial, Miracle by Jena Galifany

May is a month of many happenings in my family. There are several birthdays: both of my sisters, one niece, a great-nephew, and my late Puppy Dog.

May is also a month of tragedy. Both grandfathers passed away in May, before I was two years old. I don't remember either of them. I experienced my first panic attack in May twenty years ago and continue to deal with them.

Worst of all, my oldest daughter was made a widow at the age of twenty-one seven years ago. TJ was taken from her in a car accident. He was a passenger. His seat belt failed to keep him from hitting his forehead on the dash. He lingered for two days before Amanda had to make the decision to let him go. There was no brain activity for two days before she had to make that horrible decision.

I'd like to share a few memories of my son-in-law, if I may.

TJ was a character. He was Phillipino/Chinese and had some odd ideas about how the world should work. For example: he thought it was alright to "taste-test" fruit in the grocery store. We used to laugh about him selecting an apple in Albertson's while Amanda and I were shopping with him for the first time. He polished it on his shirt and chomped into it. Amanda starred at him in disbelief, not sure what to say.

"TJ," I said, "you can't do that."

"Why not?" was his reply. "I have to make sure they're good."

That brought him a roll of the eyes from his wife and myself. I chose another apple and put it in the shopping cart so I could pay for it at checkout. I had some trouble explaining to the checker that I only wanted to pay for it, but not take it with me. He couldn't understand that I was paying for the one my new son-in-law had eaten.

~~~~~~~~~~~

TJ had never had a birthday party. An only child, he was raised by his father. His mother lived in a different state. Neither had given him a birthday party. I was privileged to provide him with one on his twentieth. It was small, only family and a couple of his friends. But he was thrilled.

~~~~~~~~~~~

TJ was Phillipino, as I mentioned before. Their culture has a lot of fish in their diet. Amanda is half-Italian, from her father. Amanda does not like fish. Shortly after their wedding, they went to her father-in-law's home for dinner. Lying on newspapers on the dining-room table was a large fish, approximately two feet long, head still intact. Amanda smirked. The conversation when something like this:

Amanda: "What is that?" (Horrified look.)

TJ: "That's dinner." (Wide grin.)

Amanda: "EEWWW!" (Wrinkled nose.)

TJ: (Brows drawn down.) "In my family, that is a blessing."

Amanda: (Brows raised.) "In my family, that means someone is gonna DIE!" (Think Luca Bratsi in "The Godfather".)

~~~~~~~~~~~

TJ's second Christmas and Halle's first.

TJ had never celebrated Christmas. His family just didn't celebrate holidays. I had the privilege of giving him his first Christmas. Amanda was pregnant with Halle. I had the joy of making it a Christmas none of us would forget.

For once, I had the money to do it right. Everyone got everything on their Wish List. We had breakfast together, all the kids in their pajamas. We opened gifts and enjoyed being together. Beside fulfilling their wish lists, I got each of them (my son, both daughters and TJ) a bucket of Legos, a Barrel of Monkeys, Video Games, candy and fruit (a family tradition). We even had the train around the Christmas Tree. That evening, we partook of a prime rib dinner together. The whole day was perfect.


~~~~~~~~~

TJ was a gamer, a snow-boarder, and an all around good guy. He left us too soon but he left a blessing in the form of Halle. She is now nine years old. She doesn't remember her father but she knows who he was by pictures and stories she's been told about him. He was a great guy and we all miss him.

May always begins on a bad note with the memory of his loss. We are happy that he was saved and baptized. Amanda finds comfort knowing TJ is in heaven waiting for her. They faced some challenges in their young marriage, but I feel they had a love that will last forever.


~~~~~~~~~~~~
The memories of TJ are sweet. The memorial: I visit his grave occasionally and I always take him an apple. The miracle is that, even though she didn't know him, Halle is just like him in so many ways. She is truly her father's daughter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for letting me share.
Cheers!
Jena'
http://jenagalifany.bravehost.com

Eight Marvelous Self-Editing Tips by Alison Henderson

I know it's "M" month, but I'm deep in revisions right now and have editing on the brain, so I thought I'd share my top eight tips. (This is actually a list of my personal writing bugaboos, but you may be able to relate.)

We all know publishers have limited resources to devote to editing these days.  Many editors are overburdened and underappreciated.  They lack the time to spend with individual authors tightening scenes and strengthening story arcs.  And copy editing is becoming a lost art.  I don’t believe I’ve read a book by a top author in the past year that didn’t contain at least three glaring copy edit errors.  Now, more than ever, writers are responsible for the product that ultimately reaches the reader.

I had a wonderful experience with my first book, Harvest of Dreams.  My editor was gentle and patient, guiding me through three rounds of edits until we had a satisfying final version.  I soon realized an objective editor is worth her weight in gold.  I thought I knew how to write, but during the editing process she taught me to recognize and remove redundancies, energize passive writing, and beat down my proclivity to stuff sentences with adverbs. She did such a good job that my third book, The Treasure of Como Bluff, needed only a few minor tweaks.

Unfortunately, we can’t always rely on someone else to point out the flaws in our work and suggest corrections.  If we want to get published and stay published, we have to nourish our inner self-editor.

I’m not talking about the little voice of self-doubt that criticizes every word choice and threatens to strangle your muse during the first or second draft.  I’m talking about a critic who can review the almost-final product and see mistakes with detached clarity. 

Every writer should develop a self-editing checklist based on his or her weaknesses.  The process requires self-knowledge, but isn’t that one of the ultimate goals and rewards of writing?

Here’s a short version of mine.  Perhaps some of these will strike a chord with you, too.

1.     Watch those #%$&* adverbs!

2.     Remove unnecessary “that”s.

3.     Watch for word echoes (words repeated too close together).

4.     Keep verbs active (within reason).  I once had to give up on a mystery after three chapters because the author had amped up every single verb.  The result was unnatural and exhausting.

5.     Show, don’t tell.

6.     Balance dialogue tags and beats.  Too few and the reader won’t know who’s talking.  Too many and you interrupt the flow.

7.     Use repetitive words or elements with caution.

8.     Maintain consistent point of view.  This is partly a matter of style, but I prefer deep third person POV and try to catch myself if I start drifting father away.

There are many more pitfalls in writing, so find your own, and happy editing!

Alison

www.alisonhenderson.com

http://alisonhenderson.blogspot.com 

Magnificent and Magical

Things I think are Magnificent and Magical, in no particular order:

• sunrises and sunsets
• dragonflies and fireflies
• anything star-shaped
• full moons
• warm beach sand
• snow falling down in the glow of a streetlight
• black cats
• vampires and werewolves
• dragons
• deja vu
• rock music
• 3D television (even if I look like a dork in the 3D glasses over my regular glasses)
• purple nail polish
• lavender
• the Pythagorean Theorem (my fave!)
• the fact that a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn't a square
• drummers
• writing
• romantic comedies
• soulmates
• ESP
• crows/ravens
• pyramids
• Edgar Allen Poe
• beards
• walking
• sweatpants on a cold, rainy day
• firepits
• snakes
• sangria
• pure Vermont maple syrup
• peanut butter
• snuggling with pets
• the power of positive thinking
• doggie kisses
• kitty purrs
• the voice of Sam Elliot
• movies with hand-to-hand combat
• the smell of sawdust
• dark chocolate
• ancient astronaut theorists
• aliens
• fifth graders
• time travel

Okay, so this list is infinite. What do you think is magnificent and magical? Are any of my items also on your list?

Like magic? Try Abra Cadaver where magic is used to cheat death...but there are consequences. Available in ebook from Amazon.

Toodles,
Chris
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

Motivation: it's all about the energy

I went to the RT conference last week. I got a "day pass" because I stayed with my sister on the outskirts of KC, so I drove in and out of the conference. I went Wednesday-Friday, and by Wednesday night, I was so ready to give up publishing.

Not because of anything in particular, but it just felt like the same-old, same-old. I was hearing the same thing, over and over, about promoting: social media is it, make sure to make time for it, get your name out there, write the best book... And I noticed that no one seemed to be taking promo items (not just mine, but others as well). It had a whole different vibe to it.

I attended one self-promo session that was mind-boggling to me. An author has 3 Facebook identities, and she manages each with different people in different places, and she uses Twitter and handles giveaways, and has spent $$$ on this. Of course, she doesn't work full-time like I do, but it was still daunting.

On Thursday I went to some workshops, and sometime in the middle of one afternoon workshop, something clicked. The panelists (Catherine Bybee, Caridad Pineiro, and one other [H.P. Mallory?] I think). Anyway, they were saying sort of the same thing I heard elsewhere, but somehow, it sounded different. I filed away the thoughts in my brain, and sometime on Thursday night, something clicked. I woke up on Friday all energized and ready to write and promote and kick my career back into high gear.

Where did that come from? I'm not sure, but I think it was the way the info was presented. That talk seemed to make it seem much easier, much more doable, than the other talks.


I honestly have no idea why, but for some reason it resonated with me. Now I need to build on that momentum and move forward (and keep writing). It's just so odd how one little thing can have a big impact (the pebble in the pond effect, I guess).

J L 

Mothers, Marathons and Miracles

My daughter-in-law comes from a large family. She's very close to her cousins, two especially--Erika and Nicole. The day of the Boston Marathon, Nicole and her husband and Erika stood near the finish line waiting for their mother. Carole was running in the marathon to celebrate turning fifty. Her daughters and son-in-law flew from North Carolina and Maryland to cheer her on. They were full of all the possibilities of life, yelling and cheering for every person who finished the grueling race. Nicole's husband stepped about twenty feet away to snap pictures of Carole as she approached.

Then the first explosion hit.

Michael, a personal trainer, was temporarily blinded, suffered hearing damage and many shrapnel wounds. Nicole, a physical therapist, suffered severe shrapnel wounds, both legs had compound fractures and one Achilles tendon was severed. Her hair was blown off the back of her head. Erika, a pre-school teacher, lost all her hair and part of her leg. The bones in her other leg were splintered, sticking out from the skin, and her remaining ankle shattered. Her personal identification and cell phone were lost in the bombing. Erika was taken to a hospital as a Jane Doe. Nicole and Michael were transported to another hospital. In the ensuing pandemonium, Carole could not find Erika. Hours passed. She was calling every hospital, describing Erika as having long blonde hair, ignorant of the fact her daughter no longer had hair.

Michael's vision returned. Some of his hearing has also, but not all. He was released from the hospital forty-eight hours later and moved into Nicole's hospital room to help care for her. She's had five surgeries and was moved from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility yesterday. The family is elated with her progress. Erika hopes to be released from the hospital in June and will require a long time in rehabilitation. She's had nine surgeries. She talks to her students now via Skype and enjoys all their handmade get-well cards.

Mother-to-mother, my heart has long gone out to Carole and all the "what-if's" she's dealt with. Many days her daughters were operated on at the same time in two different hospitals across the city. Driving on unfamiliar highways from one to the other only added to her physical and emotional exhaustion. Yet Mothers do "whatever" for their children. We push ourselves to help and show love. Carole's sisters flew to Boston to help lessen her burden.

Everyone in the family appreciates the miracle of life. The miracles of healing and love. The miracle of prayers and the strenth of emotional support.

My son, Mike, is on the right, wearing a green shirt. His hand is on my grandson's shoulder. To the left of Ryan is Erika in pink. Nicole is to the left of her, wearing a Ravens jersey. My daughter-in-law is next to her.

MOTHERS TRULY ARE FABULOUS!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!