Silence your inner editor

By Cindy on August 30, 2013

Welcome to Friday on the GWN blog! We’re international! Today we have German author Annemarie Nikolaus talking about that pesky inner editor.

Here’s Annemarie!

Years ago, my first try with NaNoWriMo was an enlightenment: to get those 50,000 words done (what I did) I had to stop massaging each sentence, till I believed it to be “right”. Just write, write, write – no matter what and no matter how. As they say: “You can always revise later, but you can’t revise an empty page.”

Okay, this we all know. But there is more to it. And it’s even more important: write “no matter what” turned out to be fun and adventurous. It let me discover connections between the characters and some twists I’d never thought of, because I did not know they existed.

Since then, I trust my characters to know what they are doing … Uhm … I try to trust them. There is one little green monster in my head who speaks up from time to time to tell me I don’t know what I’m doing.

Hell … But he is right.

What now?

Many writers at that point stop and begin to look how to fix things, maybe returning to plotting or even revising the whole thing. Me too. I sometimes still struggle not to begin brooding. Especially, when I have “too much time” – no deadline in sight.

But what else can you do, as you can’t deny it?

Instead of agonizing over the book, you might try another answer to your inner editor: Tell him you don’t need to know, because you have stuff at hand which will guide you through the novel. Your characters.

You don’t believe me? Then I have a story for you to illustrate.

During another NaNoWriMo I decided to write a historical, taking place in Naples during the revolt of 1647. At the beginning I had nothing more than my heroine, her brother and half a page about what might be the main conflict. I began to write, the story unfolded and the characters showed up. Everything was fine. But the most stunning thing happened after finishing the first draft: I discovered that the hero was one of the oldest noble families of France. And thus he had brought his own story with himself, based on the fact that in 1642 a Duke de Montmorency failed in a revolt against the French king and was executed. – The people in our stories know a lot more of themselves than we do.

In this case, being a historian, I obviously had found the name somewhere in my sub consciousness. All brooding and plotting would not have brought me there.

We can apply to our writing something psychoanalysis teaches: not to fight resistance, but to go along with it. When the inner editor shows up, let him growl, write on and have fun making stuff up.

With great success some friends have tested this same method to overcome writer’s block. Writer’s block means you dare not write, because nothing seems to be right or good enough. Now the trick is try to write as badly as you can. So you can happily tell your inner editor that you do it on purpose and he has to shut up.

By the way, you will be astonished how difficult it actually is to write really “bad”. I learned it working as a freelance journalist: Anything that I shipped was better than nothing. Whatever I sent, I had at least the chance to get paid. So I often began to write “last minute” without a clear idea in mind. Very rarely I had to revise.

Every writer is different, but maybe you are curious now: If you feel uncomfortable trying it with a “serious” project: November is not far away. You could free your calendar and subscribe to the next NaNoWriMo. You’ll have a lot of fun and perhaps kill that nasty inner editor forever.

Annemarie Nikolaus is a German author and journalist. She writes in German. After twenty years in Italy she now lives in the heart of France.

So far, one of her short story collections has been published in English: ”Magical Stories”. She plans to publish the above mentioned Neapolitan historical in English, too.

Homepage www.annemarie-nikolaus.de

Cindy here again!

Great post, Annemarie! I give myself permission to write crap the first time and go back and fix it later.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Getting Dorothy in the house

By Cindy on August 28, 2013

Welcome to the GWN blog! Today we have Jim Cort talking about getting your characters to do what you want them to do.

Here’s Jim!

How can you get your characters to do what you want them to do? How can we get Dorothy in the farmhouse all alone, ready for the Cyclone Limited to whisk her away to Munchkin land?

This is an important question for any writer of fiction, and not always an easy one to answer. A common problem in novice’s stories is that characters behave in response to the needs of the story, instead of their own needs. This rings false. It hurts the story. The characters seem less three-dimensional, and less deserving of our sympathy.

In the best fiction, motivation arises organically from the desires of the characters and the situations they find themselves in. Character and plot unite seamlessly, and it never occurs to the reader to question why so-and-so did such-and-such.

How do you achieve this?

One way is to view your plot as a series of problems and solutions that form a chain of events. Each of the characters has an overriding problem to solve or goal to accomplish, and the working out of these problems forms the structure of the story. There are certain key scenes or events that figure prominently in this structure. But there are also countless smaller events that lead up to and away from these key scenes. As in real life, working out the big problems is a succession of smaller steps: small problems and small solutions.

But here’s the trick: In fiction (and in real life, too) the solutions are not perfect. Inside each of the solutions lurks another problem that needs solving. Your characters are propelled through the plot by this rhythm of problem/solution/problem/solution. Their actions grow from their responses to the constant stream of problems. Their motivations spring naturally from these cascading events in the story.

This idea is similar to the concept in law called the chain of causation. Simply put, it says, “Event C would not have happened if Event B had not happened, and Event B would not have happened unless it was caused by Event A”. It’s a clever method lawyers have devised to sue people for things they didn’t do. This chaining of cause and effect can provide a sturdy and dynamic framework for your story or novel.

The best way to explore this technique is to apply it to a book you’ve already read or a movie you’ve already seen. Let’s get back to The Wizard of Oz. We’ll use the movie instead of the book because it’s more widely known.

Let’s consider the first key event in the story: Dorothy’s house gets picked up by the cyclone with her inside, and dropped in the land of Oz on top of the Witch of the East. But the story doesn’t start there. We first find out who Dorothy is, and where she lives, and what her situation is at home. Ultimately, however, we have to get Dorothy in the house by herself so the cyclone can carry her off. Here are the first few minutes of the movie, laid out in problem/solution format:

Problem: Toto bites Miss Gulch

Solution: Miss Gulch takes Toto away

Problem: Toto escapes from Miss Gulch

Solution: Dorothy runs away with Toto; meets Professor Marvel

Problem: Professor Marvel tells Dorothy that Auntie Em is sick

Solution: Dorothy heads back home

Problem: There’s a cyclone

Solution: Dorothy’s family goes in the storm cellar

Problem: Dorothy arrives home; can’t find her family; can’t get in the storm cellar

Solution: Dorothy seeks shelter in the house

Problem: House flies away with Dorothy in it

Solution: House lands in Oz on the witch

Granted, we can detect the heavy hand of coincidence in that cyclone that pops up just when it’s needed, but coincidence has its place, and a cyclone in Kansas is not all that unheard-of. With that exception, the problem/solution structure works quite well. Five links in the chain, and Dorothy is back in the house where we want her. We’re ready to set the stage for her main underlying motivation: her need to get home again. The characters react to the things and events around them, and not to the off-screen commands of some author-puppeteer.

It’s helpful to examine these events backwards, to better see the chain of causation:

7. Dorothy gets herself in a load of trouble by squishing the witch with her house, but she wouldn’t have been in the house when it flew away if she hadn’t sought shelter there.

6. She wouldn’t have gone in the house if she could have gotten into the storm cellar with the rest of her family, but she didn’t get back in time.

5. Dorothy was coming back because Professor Marvel told her Auntie Em was sick.

4. She would never have met Professor Marvel at all if she hadn’t run away.

3. Dorothy ran away to save Toto from Miss Gulch.

2. Toto needed saving because he had escaped from Miss Gulch.

1. Miss Gulch wouldn’t have taken Toto into custody if Toto hadn’t bit her.

And that’s where we came in.

Try this with a book or movie you know. Try it with a story of your own. Why does Blanche go back to the apartment, even though she knows Artie might be there? Why does Inspector Wainscoting ignore the obvious clue of the opera glasses in the punchbowl? Why would Marvin leave behind the golf clubs, but not the cribbage board? Let your characters find their own reasons for behaving as they do in what goes on around them. Place them in a situation that will cause them to do what you want them to do. All it takes is a few problems and solutions.

And maybe a cyclone once in a while.

Jim Cort has been writing since God wore short pants. His novel The Lonely Impulse is available from Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/337106

Cindy here again!

Thanks for a great post, Jim. I’m going to try this with my current WIP.

Happy writing.

Cindy

Unleashing Your Muse (Free-Writing Act II- Part 1)

By Cindy on August 26, 2013

Welcome back to the GWN blog! We have Cyndi Faria back to talk about free-writing.

Here’s Cyndi!

Today, I’m talking about Unleashing Your Muse; Free-Writing Act II, Part 1. If you missed Unleashing Your Muse; Free-Writing Act I, you can read that Here. Like Act I, Act II, Part 1 makes up approximately 25% of the story. The object of free writing is to tease your muse into infusing each Act of the story with certain elements.

So let’s jump right back in where we left off:

Recall that Act I ended with the main character (MC) making a decision to leave the old world and enter into a new world. For this post, I’m going to use the romantic comedy 50 First Dates as an example. Our MC, Playboy Henry Roth, played by Adam Sandler, meets amnesiac Lucy Whitmore, played by Drew Barrymore. (Additional structure and theme blogs using this movie see www.cyndifaria.com Here and Here.):

From my last post, after reviewing Act I, go back to your free write and make sure to include elements that are character and story specific. As an example, below I’ve used 50 First Dates:

Character Arc (Enneagram Here): Shown in Act I: Henry is a playboy/biologist who’s sworn off committed relationships. By the end of Act II Part 1: Henry sees how his flaw is holding him back from obtaining his external goal. Act II, Part 2: Henry must let go of the belief that his value is dependent of the positive regard of others to discover his true identity and his own heart’s desire. Act III: Henry proves change in self during climax and becomes self-accepting, genuine, and benevolent.
The Thematic Statement (TS): In Act I and around the 5% mark, the reader must understand the story’s theme. In 50 First Dates, Henry believes: Commitment kills adventure, which kills happiness. Because of the MC’s backstory, the TS is the lie he’s told himself and uses to gauge his actions. It’s up to the author to either prove the TS true or false by the end of Act III. Since this specific story is a romance instead of a tragedy, the TS is proved False.
The Story Question (SQ): At the end of Act I, around 25% of the story, readers should be able to understand the story direction in the form of a question. In 50 First Dates—Will a playboy embrace commitment and find adventure and love?

Free-Write: What goes into Act II, Part 1?

(Note: If you can’t wrap your mind around this information now, that’s okay. Just commit the bulleted items to memory and unleash your muse.)

Meet New Players, Allies. Some Old Allies Remain: In 50 First Dates, we meet Lucy’s father and brother. Lucy’s father is the voice of reality and Lucy’s backstory narrator, while Lucy’s brother pretends to be what he is not—this is Henry’s mirror image (only a little goofier). Seeing the ridiculousness of pretending what Lucy’s brother is not, Henry slowly lets go of the playboy charade and learns to embrace who he is, what he wants, and his true feelings to get the girl and his external goal by the end of Act III. Henry’s old world friend adds humor and is the voice of truth and theme.
Both the hero and heroine share their external goals. Henry wants to study walruses in Alaska (adventure). Lucy wants to teach art.
Set up 3 attempts to reach the external goal, but have the MC fail due to their character flaw and sparse villain interaction (Because of Henry’s backstory—getting his heart broken in college—he’s sworn off committed relationships, even committing to repairing his yacht so he can go to Alaska. When he finds himself falling for Lucy—who cannot commit for longer than a single day—he uses his strength/flaw (sense of humor) to keep their relationship light and fun, an adventure, while keeping his distance—still not fully committing. Yet Henry’s humor in Lucy’s complicated world is exactly what she finds attractive and loveable. So she’s falling for him and he’s pushing back while unconsciously falling for her.
As we near the midpoint of the story, the villains—Lucy’s amnesia and women tourists—challenge Henry. In order to keep the girl he’s fallen in love with, he forgoes adventure with the other women and considers a life of quasi-happiness with Lucy.
Sexual/emotional connection to love interest, but can’t get together because of differences, or if they do get together more problems arise. In 50 First Dates, Henry begins each day by getting Lucy to fall in love with him all over again. At first, this is a fun adventure for Henry and a distraction to the harsh reality of sharing a life with her and her disability. However, he starts to see that, in a way, commitment can be adventurous and even fun. Henry decides that exchanging his carefree-playboy lifestyle for a committed and loving relationship with Lucy is worth giving up his dream of studying walruses in Alaska.
Midpoint ends in a Win or a Loss for the MC and is opposite of the all is lost moment near the end of Act II, Part II (Future post September 9, 2013). This is the POINT OF NO RETURN for the MC. Using 50 First Dates and ending in a win, Henry chooses to leave his flaw (fear of commitment) behind, asks Lucy to marry him, and is rewarded with sex.

###

I hope you’ll use these bullet point items to unleash your muse on Act II, Part 1. This can be a combination of sentences, thoughts, dialogue, or whatever pops into your mind. There are no rules.

I usually write 3-5 pages, single-spaced. Sometimes information that belongs in Act I or other acts creeps in. That’s okay—just paste the information where it belongs or start a new section titled Other Acts.

Next Unleashing Your Muse post, I’ll list what belongs in Act II, Part 2. See you here September 9, 2013.

Happy Writing, Cyndi Faria

Visit Cyndi’s Website: http://www.cyndifaria.com

Visit Cyndi on Amazon: Cyndi’s Amazon Author Page

About the Author:

“Cyndi Faria writes with passion and her stories touch the heart.”

—Virna DePaul, Bestselling Author

Author Photo B-W

Cyndi Faria is an engineer turned romance writer whose craving for structure is satisfied by plotting emotional and cozy paranormal romance stories about Native American folklore, cursed spirits, lost souls, harbingers, and even a haunted coastal town. If you love a tale with courageous heroes and heroines, where their unconditional love for each other gives them strength to defeat their inner demons, Cyndi Faria invites you to enter the pages of her stories.

Cindy here again!

Thanks for being here, Cyndi. Great information as always!

IN THE (SUBJUNCTIVE) MOOD

By Cindy on August 19, 2013

Welcome to the start of another week at the GWN blog! Today we have Jim Cort talking about the subjunctive mood.

Here’s Jim!

Verbs, in addition to number and tense, also have mood. Mood is the trickiest aspect of verbs. The mood our verbs are in nearly all the time is the indicative mood. They indicate; they make a statement; they tell the truth about something.

But it’s also possible to say something that is not true. We can wish that things were other than they are. We can suggest that things be changed. We can hope they would be. This is the business of the subjunctive mood.

The subjunctive is kind of a stealth construction. Most of the time it looks like the indicative. The present form is the same as the regular unadorned form of the verb. This means you’ll notice it only in the third person singular (he, she, it), which has no final –s. You’ll also see it in the verb be, which has the form be instead of am, is, and are. The past subjunctive is the same as the past tense except once again for be, which uses were for all persons.

So, how does this work? Here are some examples: If I were ten years younger… We propose the mayor remain in office. It’s essential that the Army do its part. If this boulder weren’t here, we could pass by.

All of these sentences express thoughts contrary to reality. They are wishes; they are proposals; they are conditions or possibilities. The use of the subjunctive “defuses” the statements. They are not as definite as indicative statements.

You’ll find the subjunctive used after verbs like:

to advise
to ask
to command
to demand
to desire
to insist
to propose
to recommend
to request
to suggest
to urge

or after phrases like:

It is best (that)
It is crucial (that)
It is desirable (that)
It is essential (that)
It is imperative (that)
It is important (that)
It is recommended (that)
It is urgent (that)
It is vital (that)
It is a good idea (that)
It is a bad idea (that)

Having said all this, there’s one more thing I need to say. Just about nobody uses the subjunctive in English any more. Most grammar experts agree that it’s little used and hardly missed. H. W. Fowler, the Great Guru of Grammar, called it “moribund” in 1926, and it hasn’t gotten any livelier since.

Most English speakers aren’t even aware there is such a thing as the subjunctive until they study languages like German or French or Spanish, where it plays a more active role. Interestingly enough, expressions in the subjunctive are commonly used today:

Be that as it may
God bless you
Long live the king
So be it
If it please the court…

Most people think of these expressions as old fashioned, not subjunctive. And so, of course, they are.

What does all of this mean to you? Nowadays, subjunctive constructions have largely been replaced with “should” or “would” constructions: Instead of We propose the mayor remain in office,the trend is We propose the mayor should remain in office. Sometimes no helping verb is used. If you write If I was ten years younger…, the Grammar Police won’t come knocking on your door. Chances are no one will notice at all

Of course there are still grammar sourpusses who insist on If I were… These folks are in the minority. The language belongs to the people, and the people have decided that subjunctive is no longer useful. Don’t be thrown if you see it someplace, but don’t be bullied into using it yourself if you don’t want to.

The moral of the story is: if you use the subjunctive according to the guidelines here, you won’t be wrong. And if you choose not to use the subjunctive, you won’t be wrong.

It’s a win-win situation. How often do you find one of those?

Cindy here again!

Thanks for being here, Jim. Thanks for the great information!

Happy writing!

Cindy

But Mr. IRS-Man, I’m not American… or How to Get an ITIN

By Cindy on August 14, 2013

Welcome to the GWN blog! Today we have author Joan Leacott talking about something important to non U.S. authors. The ITIN.

Here’s Joan!

What is an ITIN or TIN?

An International Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN or TIN) is an identification number used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of the US tax laws.

Why Should You Get an ITIN?

To avoid a 30% withholding tax on book sales made on through an American publisher (e.g. HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster) or distributor (e.g. Amazon, Smashwords). You will also need an ITIN to complete any W-8 BEN forms which may come your way.

When Should You Get an ITIN?

Preferably before you have any book sales. Then you won’t have to complete an American tax return, with accompanying ITIN application, to get a refund of the withheld amount. Life is so much simpler when the papers are in order.

Before We Begin, a Caveat

I am not a lawyer or an Acceptance Agent. These instructions are based on my personal experience and the procedures as I knew them in January 2013. Your experience may differ. Anything I say here is superseded by the information on the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Taxpayer-Identification-Numbers-(TIN).

How Do You Get an ITIN?

The IRS revamped their process in January 2013. Three forms must be completed and sent to the IRS offices currently located in Texas.

A completed W-7 Application Form accompanied by
Documentation proving your identity, and
A signed letter from the withholding agent (e.g. publisher or distributor), on official letterhead, showing that an ITIN is required to pay you.

You can use an Acceptance Agent, a person who’s had IRS training at a cost of $250 or so, but it’s not a requirement. If you follow instructions carefully, you shouldn’t need to.

1) Form W-7: Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number

You can get a pdf version of the form at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw7.pdf and complete instructions at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/iw7.pdf.

It’s fairly straightforward if you follow the instructions, except for one detail, the Tax Treaty number. The spot where you type this is tucked away under item H in the Reason you are submitting for W-7 section. Here’s a snippet of my W-7 form showing the Tax Treaty number for Canada highlighted in yellow.

If you’re reading this article from a country other than Canada, you can find your Tax Treaty number in Table 3, starting on the second last page, here: http://www.irs.gov/publications/p901/ar02.html#en_US_2013_publink1000219601.

If you’d rather read a printed booklet, there’s a pdf available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1915.pdf.

Don’t forget to date and sign the W-7 after you’ve printed it.

2) Proving Your Identity

A list of acceptable forms of identification is provided in the instructions linked above. The easiest one to use is a valid passport, which is what I did. If you don’t have a passport, the instructions state which other documents, used in combination, are acceptable.

You can submit your actual passport (not the best idea), have your passport certified at a US Consulate or Embassy (if you don’t mind standing in line), or submit a certified copy of your passport.

A certified copy is NOT the same as a notarized copy. Notarized copies are no longer accepted by the IRS.

To get a certified copy of a Canadian passport, you need to two forms:

a) A letter requesting a certified copy of your passport

b) A completed PPTC 516 Request for Certified True Copy of Canadian Travel Document

Both are available here: http://www.mnptax.ca/media/documents/pdfs/Questionnaires/ITIN/Passport_Canada_Certified_Copy_Request.pdf

Take, or mail, both forms to your nearest Passport Canada Office. You can either pick up the copy and the original or have both mailed back to you. You will have to leave your passport with them, but you’ll get a receipt for it.

For the Passport Canada Office nearest you, go to http://www.ppt.gc.ca/service/index.aspx?lang=eng.

If you’re reading this article from another country, please refer to your passport office procedures to get a certified copy. The Passport Canada staff will also let you know when the copy will be ready for pickup or delivery.

3) A signed letter from the withholding agent

The withholding agent is the publisher (Penguin, Harlequin) or distributor (Amazon) of your book.

If you’re working through a publisher, get the letter from them.

If you’re working through Amazon, go to https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/opt/general/test/AmazonDigitalServices_ITIN_Letter. You can get it with only a partially completed author account. Fill out the form with the current date and the name exactly as completed on the W-7 form, print it, and you’re ready to go.

Sending Your Completed Forms to the IRS

You should now have your three pieces of paper ready to go.

1) A completed and signed W-7 form with the correct Tax Treaty number,

2) A certified copy of your passport, and

3) A dated letter addressed to you from your publisher or Amazon Digital Services.

Only US embassies in Beijing, Frankfurt, London, and Paris can process a W-7 on site. So fold the three papers into an envelope, affix sufficient postage (two regular stamps in Canada) and send it to:

Internal Revenue Service

ITIN Operation

Mail Stop 6090-AUSC

3651 S. Interregional, Hwy 35

Austin, TX 78741-0000

USA

The IRS will return the certified copy of your passport under separate cover from the ITIN certificate.

It took three months almost to the day to get my ITIN certificate in the mail. It’s expected to take less time out of tax season (January 15 through April 30).

Using your ITIN

Once you get your ITIN certificate, you can record the information at your various author accounts.

The number has the format 123-45-6789. Some websites want the hyphens, others don’t. If you fail with one format, just try the other.

The Legal Entity Name is the full name as shown on the ITIN certificate.

One last warning. You will be expected to report earnings and pay income taxes in Canada, or wherever else you live. Honesty is always the best policy.

Author Bio: Joan Leacott writes authentic multi-generational stories of people living and loving in today’s world. She is currently working on the second book of the Clarence Bay Chronicles set in a small town on the eastern shores of Georgian Bay, Canada. Read more about Joan and her books at http://joanleacott/ca.

Cindy here again!

Thanks so much for being here, Joan! I need to go through this process right now so this is perfect timing.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Unleashing Your Muse (Free-Writing Act 1)

By Cindy on August 12, 2013

Welcome back to the GWN blog! Today we have our monthly columnist Cyndi Faria talking about unleashing your muse. Cyndi will be a regular guest on the blog and will be appearing monthly on the first Monday of the month. We’ve got her twice this month though so don’t forget to come back August 26 when she’ll be posting part two of unleashing your muse.

Here’s Cyndi!

In my opinion, free-writing is the act of unleashing your muse after a short talking to. Sure, you might think, isn’t that plotting? Well, it’s kind of a cross between pantsing (writing-by-the-seat-of-your-pants) and plotting.

Today, I want to show you how to successfully use free-writing to craft Act 1 of a romance novel (Act II and III will follow in future posts).

Let’s begin by looking at what goes into Act 1:

Note: If you can’t wrap your mind around this information now, that’s okay. Just commit the bulleted items to memory and unleash your muse.

Opening Image: This image will be the opposite of the final image in the story. Example: If in the beginning the hero is a playboy, at the end he’s shown in a committed relationship—maybe proposing or even married.
Meet the hero(H)/heroine (h).
- -> What does your H/h fear, as a result of backstory (show don’t tell)? Think: Indiana Jones and snakes.
- -> If you are familiar with the Enneagram (if not, visit my website here.), list the H/h’s personality type’s strength and weaknesses, fear and desire, and what they must learn about themselves by the end of Act II in order to defeat the villain (Character Arc).
External Goal: What does H/h want in life? Must be able to take a picture of external goal?
Internal Goal: What do they really want? Example: To be loved, needed, etc.
What is happening to your H/h right before something serious triggers a primal response that entices/forces them to leave their ordinary world? (See my blog post: Tipping Point) (Example: Die Hard—A policeman must save his wife who’s been taken hostage by terrorists.)
Cute Meet: How does the H/h meet and what is it about that person or situation that links the H/h together in a permanent-for-now way? (Example: How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days—Advertising executives for competing agencies come together on a bet, he to get her to fall in love with him in 10 days and she to lose him in 10 days.)
What special skill or tool does the H/h possess? This will be important during the climax of the story when H/h uses his/her special skill to defeat the antagonist. (This Means War: The heroine played by Reese Witherspoon combines her knowledge as a Product Tester with hero Chris Pine’s weaponry skills to defeat the bad guy.)
Antagonist: May meet the antagonist and/or his associates at this time.
Secondary Characters: Introduce secondary characters that can rally during the climax and help the H/h defeat the antagonist’s associates.
Lastly, right before the H/h enters Act II—or accepts the challenge—there will be a debate section where he/she takes pause to consider the ramifications of leaving behind the old world. Firmly, he decides to step into Act II. In Blake Snyder’s book Save the Cat, he discusses the debate in depth saying, “…it’s important to remember that the debate section must ask a question of some kind.” In the case of Die Hard: Will the hero save his wife?

Once you know the answers to these questions, you’re ready to unleash your muse and free-write Act 1.

This can be a combination of sentences, thoughts, dialogue, or whatever pops into your mind. There are no rules.

I usually write 3-5 pages, single-spaced. Sometimes information that belongs in other acts creeps in. That’s okay—just start a new section titled Other Acts.

Next Unleashing Your Muse post, I’ll list what belongs in Act II and Act III.

Happy Writing, Cyndi Faria

Visit Cyndi’s Website: www.CyndiFaria.com

Visit Cyndi’s Amazon page: Amazon Author Page

About the Author:
“Cyndi Faria writes with passion and her stories touch the heart.”

—Virna DePaul, Bestselling Author

Author Photo B-W Cyndi Faria is an engineer turned romance writer whose craving for structure is satisfied by plotting emotional and cozy paranormal romance stories about Native American folklore, cursed spirits, lost souls, harbingers, and even a haunted coastal town. If you love a tale with courageous heroes and heroines, where their unconditional love for each other gives them strength to defeat their inner demons, Cyndi Faria invites you to enter the pages of her stories.

On and off her sexy romance pages, this California country girl isn’t afraid to dirty her hands fighting for the underdog and caretaking rescued pets. Find her helping fellow writers and leading readers to happily-ever-after at www.cyndifaria.com

Cindy here again!

Thanks for being here, Cyndi! Great post. I loved This Means War! I knew her work as a product tester would come into play at some point. 🙂

Cindy

How to do a Goodreads giveaway

By Cindy on August 7, 2013

Welcome to the GWN blog! Today I have Shelley Munro talking about doing a Goodreads giveaway.

Here’s Shelley!

A Goodreads giveaway is an excellent and cost-effective way of promoting a new print release. They’re simple and quick to set in motion and best of all, doing a giveaway is free—apart from the postage and cost of the book.

According to Goodreads stats the average giveaway attracts 825 entries and over 40,000 readers enter for the chance of winning a giveaway every day. Many of the entrants add your book to their to-read shelf, which means your cover will be seen by other readers who look at their Goodreads stream.

So how do you start a giveaway?

1. Your book must be set up on Goodreads in order to do a giveaway, so this is your first step. Make sure all the details are loaded plus the cover. You definitely want readers to see your cover.

2. Click to Goodreads’ giveaway page http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/new

3. First, decide on the dates of the giveaway. There is a lag time while the Goodreads people check your giveaway details, especially if you complete the form over a weekend or public holiday. Bear this in mind when you decide on a start date. e.g. if you want to start your giveaway on the 10^th of the month then give a start date a couple of days earlier i.e. 8^th.

4. Closing date – the length of your giveaway can be as long or short as you wish. I generally do my giveaways for around a month while other authors do week or day giveaways with equal success. I suggest you play around a little with the length of your giveaways and work out the premium length for your books. I like to start each giveaway in the middle or toward the end of the month, because I’ve found that many authors do giveaways for a calendar month. You don’t want your giveaway lost amongst all the others. It’s worth while checking to see how many other giveaways are on the same day as the one you’ve chosen.

5. The book release date and ISBN are self-explanatory.

6. The description for the giveaway is where you can use your writer talent. You can mention top reviews, contest wins for your book and of course, the blurb. Different writers have different approaches. Having said this, I tend to just go with the blurb and mention if the book is in a series. In this section you can tell readers that your book will be an autographed copy. I send my books directly from The Book Depository because this works out cheaper than postage for me, therefore my prizes are not signed copies.

7. Number of copies to give away. I’ve found that the number of entries doesn’t increase with the number of copies I give away, which is why I stick with one copy. However, most winners leave a review for the book they win. If you give away multiple copies you will likely receive more reviews.

8. Countries for giveaway. A lot of authors restrict their giveaways to the US and Canada. I live in New Zealand and do a worldwide giveaway, and I think the number of my entries is higher as a result. I do regular giveaways and have only had two non-US winners so far.

9. Comment section – I say I am the author of the book.

10. Once the giveaway ends, Goodreads will email you your winner’s details. It’s your responsibility to ship your book to your winner in a timely fashion. Don’t forget to hit the button on the right-hand side of your giveaway page to let Goodreads know you’ve sent your book to your winner.

11. I also send a quick message of congratulations to my winner, send them a friend request, and let them know their book is in the mail.

Conclusion: I’ve found Goodreads giveaways a good method of promoting both new and upcoming print releases. It’s also possible to promote older print titles too, so what are you waiting for?

TheBottomLine200x300 And if you’re interested – here is the link to my current giveaway for The Bottom Line

http://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/59849-the-bottom-line

Shelley Munro is tall and curvaceous with blue eyes and a smile that turns masculine heads everywhere she goes. She’s a university tutor and an explorer/treasure hunter during her vacations. Skilled with weapons and combat, she is currently in talks with a producer about a television series based on her world adventures.

Shelley is also a writer blessed with a VERY vivid imagination and lives with her own hero in New Zealand. She writes mainly erotic romance in the contemporary, paranormal and historical genres for publishers Carina Press, Ellora’s Cave and Samhain Publishing. You can learn more about Shelley and her books at the following links.

WEBSITE: http://www.shelleymunro.com

BLOG: http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: http://www.amazon.com/Shelley-Munro/e/B001JOWGNK

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/ShelleyMunroAuthor

GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/ShelleyMunro

PINTEREST: http://www.pinterest.com/ShelleyMunro

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/ShelleyMunro

Cindy here again!

Thanks for being here, Shelley. Great information about doing a giveaway. I will have to keep the points in mind for when I’m ready to do one.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Is it Writer’s Block or just plain ol’ Procrastination?

By Cindy on August 5, 2013

Monday’s a great time to talk about procrastination! Today we have Catherine Chant talking about tips to help us write even if we tend to procrastinate.

Here’s Catherine!

Chalkboard drawing - Today or Tomorrow When faced with something difficult, it seems the natural reaction is to avoid it. To procrastinate. To do anything but the difficult task until you can’t avoid it any longer.

Let’s face it, writing is difficult. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Writing is work. Sometimes it’s fun but other times it’s a challenge, one writers don’t always face enthusiastically.

So, are you really “blocked” or are you just avoiding a difficult task? If you suspect the latter, come clean. Honesty is the best policy and all that.

Admit to yourself that you are a procrastinator and accept there’s nothing wrong with this per se. It’s a natural reaction to hard work. It doesn’t mean you are lazy (unless you do nothing to change it, of course).

Once you accept that procrastination is going to happen, you can form a plan to work around it and still accomplish your goals. Here are few things to try to help re-motivate yourself to get back to writing.

Do something mindless like laundry where the only thought you have is whites or colors. This leaves your mind free to wander and if you subtly nudge it in the direction of your work-in-progress, you may be surprised to find some ideas sneaking up from your subconscious as you fold those towels.

Keep a notebook handy for when those moments of subconscious inspiration hit. You may not be able to get to the computer fast enough before the thought fades, so tiny notebooks can be very handy.

Have a goal and write it down. Then tape it somewhere you can see it every time you are at your computer. Give yourself a deadline for this goal as well. Deadlines create a pressure to succeed that often motivates us more than simple wishing to get something done.

Partner up with another writer to hold each other accountable for reaching these deadlines. When you feel the need to “hand in something” like the old days of homework to avoid letting your partner down, it can help keep you motivated to succeed.

Set reasonable goals. If the goals you list are monumental and unrealistic, you’re only setting yourself up to fail. Instead, set yourself up for success with smaller goals. Then if you exceed those goals by your deadlines, you’ll feel you’ve accomplished so much more.

Write on a regular schedule. The more you make it a habit, the more it trains your brain to realize when it’s time to work and when it’s time to play.

Turn off email. I know it’s hard, but the Internet is one of the worst distraction and procrastination tools out there. Unplug that cable or turn off that wireless and get offline. Try limiting your online usage to specific times of the day, or even use it as a reward for meeting your writing goal for that day.

Speaking of which…

Reward yourself. Find something you really love and dangle it as a carrot until you meet your goal.

And last of all…

Celebrate your successes. At the end of the week, look back and tally up the goals you met and revel in your accomplishments.

Brief blurb for the book:

cchant-WYWH-200x300 Travel back in time to 1957 for a little drama, a few life or death moments, and a lot of rock ‘n’ roll romance in WISHING YOU WERE HERE by Catherine Chant. This young adult time travel romance is available now at Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Wishing-Were-Here-Mates-ebook/dp/B00AG15MJC/

BIO:

Catherine Chant is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) and a Golden Heart® finalist. Before becoming a full-time writer, Catherine worked as a computing & communication consultant at Boston College. In 2006, she put that tech knowledge to good use and began teaching online workshops for her fellow writers. She currently offers four classes through various RWA chapters and writing organizations. You can learn more about Catherine and her workshops at her website http://www.CatherineChant.com or visit her on Facebook http://www.Facebook.com/CatherineChantNovels and Twitter http://www.Twitter.com/Catherine_Chant

Cindy here again!

Thanks so much for being here, Catherine. I tend to procrastinate so this is a great post for me.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Just One More Time

By Cindy on July 30, 2013

We’ve got an important post here on the GWN blog. Author Terry Shames talks about a great way to edit your novels.

Here’s Terry!

The last time I went through my most recent manuscript, I reported to my editor that I had found 25 last, tiny errors. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then, “You mean before you sent it to the copyeditor?” No, after.

“But…” He wanted to know how the copyeditor had missed 25 errors that included missing quotation marks, misspellings, missing words and one quotation mark at the end of a sentence that wasn’t a quote. I hadn’t meant to get the copyeditor in trouble. What I meant was to tell him about a technique I discovered for ferreting out those last, pesky errors.

An experienced writer with many novels under his belt once told me that when my first novel came out, I’d open it and the first page I looked at would contain an error. I couldn’t argue with him because too often these days within a few pages of beginning a novel I run across errors, usually small ones; but sometimes glaring, impossibly bumbling errors that make me want to have a stern talk with whomever was given the task of ridding the manuscript of those glitches.

That’s the problem, though. Even the biggest publishers, and the most meticulous small ones have systematically ditched their editing staffs out of economic necessity. Content editors barely have time to help an author shape the manuscript, and it’s up to a harried copy editor and/ or proofreader to file off the rough edges and make the final product look professional.

Pulling hair out

That’s why an author is well advised to turn in the most pristine copy she can manage. Easier said than done. By the time you’ve read your 300-page manuscript what seems like 100 times for action or dialogue that doesn’t make sense, timeline errors, name switches; and then gone through it to correct what seems like endless typos, dropped or added punctuation, to have one more go at that paragraph that has never rung true, one more attempt to tweak that imperfect description, you’re sick to death of it. You’ve even read it aloud, and hated the sound of your voice by the time you reach the last chapter.

The mere thought of having to read through it one more time makes you have fantasies of calling the whole publication thing off and running off to join the circus. At that point you are ready to clean out your bank account to pay any amount of money for a professional to hunt down those last errors rather than having to do it yourself.

EV005170

That’s when you need to read it backwards. Yep. Backwards. I thought I had heard of every trick and then somewhere (I wish I knew where, so I could thank this unsung hero), I read that reading the manuscript backward is like a miracle. You read the last page, and then the page before that, etc., through the whole shebang. Oh, yeah, and you do it out loud.

The first time I did it, I felt like an idiot. I was sure I had caught Every Single Error the last time I went through the manuscript. There couldn’t be anymore. But the article about reading backwards said that I’d be surprised how many errors I caught. So I decided I had nothing to lose. At least I wouldn’t have to read it forwards again. And who knew? I might even catch a couple of things. 100 errors later I was a convert. Not only did I catch a lot of errors, but I caught a couple of places where I used a word too many times in one paragraph, and could take care of that before the public had to see it, too!

Happy editing, everyone!

Book Description:

Killing at Cotton Hill-3 In A KILLING AT COTTON HILL the chief of police of Jarrett Creek, Texas, doubles as the town drunk. So when Dora Lee Parjeter is murdered, her old friend and former police chief Samuel Craddock steps in to investigate. He discovers that a lot of people may have wanted Dora Lee dead—the conniving rascals on a neighboring farm, her estranged daughter and her surly live-in grandson. And then there’s the stranger Dora Lee claimed was spying on her. During the course of the investigation the human foibles of the small-town residents—their pettiness and generosity, their secret vices and true virtues—are revealed.

Bio:

Terry Shames grew up in Texas. She has abiding affection for the small town where here grandparents lived, the model for the fictional town of Jarrett Creek. A resident of Berkeley, California, Terry lives with her husband, two rowdy terriers and a semi-tolerant cat. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Her second Samuel Craddock novel, THE LAST DEATH OF JACK HARBIN will be out in January 2014. Find out more about Terry and her books at www.Terryshames.com.

Cindy here again!

Great post, Terry! It’s a great idea to read it backwards! I’ll try that next time I’m revising my story.

Happy writing!

Cindy

Let’s talk about sex

By Cindy on July 24, 2013

Welcome to Wednesday on the GWN blog! We have a scintillating topic today. Mimi DiFrancesca talking about writing sex scenes.

Here’s Mimi!

Let’s talk about sex, baby… You’re writing a story and you know that your characters will eventually be getting physical together. Out of nowhere that makes any sense, you’ve begun feeling nervous about how to write this scene. It feels like the same kind of nervous you felt the first time you…ya know. (Insert covered mouth giggle here).

The weird part about anxiety over writing a sex scene is that we dive right in with enthusiasm when we kill off a character in a bloody and fantastically violent way. Chatting with another writer recently about what our search histories on our computers look like, we wondered if the NSA really is monitoring us, just what the heck they think we are actually up to. Maybe there should be a cyber-tag we can use identifying us as writers and not lunatics. I’ve researched some very weird things for my dark urban fiction novel. I can now hold a plausible debate over who would win a battle between a samurai or a ninja. It’s a ninja, by the way. I have also researched some extra steamy things for an erotica book and the research trail on my laptop even makes me blush, occasionally.

When we write about sex, we may fall into a few categories. We may choose to distance ourselves from the action by making it too technical and reducing a beautiful and sensual experience down to what reads like a medical report on a standard root canal. We may tell the truth and (maybe) expose some of our own personal preferences in the privacy of our bedrooms. Or we may embody our characters more completely as we write and allow some amalgam of the technical aspect and use of a poetic hand while fashioning the language of description.

Sex is a tactile experience like food preparation and consumption. We see it, we smell it, we hear it, we taste it and we touch it. Lips can touch in a kiss but who wouldn’t want a lover to desperately hunger for a taste of us? The scent of someone attractive to you registers even before your conscious mind has done all the calculating of their qualities. A cologne can override a logic switch and we forgive the one we haven’t spoken to all day because they smell…delicious. We hear sex words that drop like safety deposit keys into our ears and unlock a yes that we’ve been holding down inside of us like a protected heirloom. The silky texture of skin under our fingers makes us want keep touching until we have explored every curve, every surface and angle and every hidden cave of wonder. Our smooth instep as it grazes the hair of his calf when we run our bare foot up his leg can ignite a fire in us that can only be doused one way. Reading about sex should be a multisensory experience, with your character adding that elusive 6^th sense of knowing what comes next and showing it to us through their actions.

The words we use to describe body parts can be a stumbling point for some writers. Unless all your characters are Victorian era virgins, you are going to want to write a character one day that sounds more like the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and less like Jane Austen. And I’d venture a guess that in the throes of hot, steamy passion, even Jane probably let a few colorful words fly in her starched linen world.

Ironically, I am restraining myself in the use of “colorful” language as I write this blog post as I’m not sure what the reader’s reception is here for back room banter. In my own life, I could probably make a pirate blush and I do not refrain from using any word that my character might use just so I don’t shock readers. Those who know my work have come to expect the unexpected.

I’ll offer an exercise for any writer who is having a challenge at letting their keyboard create other words for penis, vagina, breast or any other body part; what can be done with them or to them. Get out a piece of paper and write down every single word that would have gotten you thrown out of school as a kid, grounded by your parents or had your mouth washed out with soap by your severely proper, Aunt Marge. (I write from experience. Newsflash: Gold Dial Soap is not a food option) Go for it. Think of subway walls and highway overpasses. Quote from rap music and movies that you had to turn off when your kids entered the room. I’m talking Saturday night and three tequila bottles later at the Jersey Shore set. Write them all down and then read them out loud, preferably to a few people like girlfriends who you shared that tequila with. Ask them to add to your list.

We’re trying to make all these descriptive words, dirty words, profanities and blue language a part of the costume and character of the people in your stories. The only way you can allow your characters to be real and three dimensional is by giving them permission to be themselves. After you’ve written them all down, read them out loud and have a really good laugh. Then, you need to get over it. They are just words and they are not “your” words. They are your characters words.

Herein lies the heart of writing a sex scene; it is not you having sex, it is your character. You, in this instance, are the accidental voyeur who is documenting the moment like an anthropologist/poet finding surprise and sensual wonder in the fierce beauty of sexual encounter. You will stand there in awe and tell us what you saw. And if you still shy away from using graphic language, there is poetry to be written in the thrusting gasps of lovers who take each other over the edge so many times that there is nothing left unknown between them.

By now, you have probably read some sex scenes in books that were gratuitous, silly and physically impossible or written like a marginally functional teenager’s MTV fantasy. You may also have read scenes that left you flushed and dreaming of deserted islands and all the time in the world. I hope that when you come to the moment when the clothing comes off and your characters get down to doing what brought seven billion people on to the planet in the first place, that you will take the writing on as a sacred challenge.

Someone out there in Reader World has never had it as good as your characters are giving it to each other. Someone out there is stopping their life for five minutes and living vicariously through your pages.

You have a choice to either button them up to their chins and or you can let him weigh her breast with his hand while the cool breeze from the open window sends a wash of goose bumps over their naked skin. Every time you write a sex scene, it’s the first time for those characters. Make it memorable even if your own first time was more like a Saturday Night Live skit, write the first time you wish you’d had.

Sex is real and honest in its urgency. Be exactly that through your pen or keyboard and you’re reader will be right there with you needing a cold shower or a hot encounter when they finish your story. Now get out there and write some smut. Make me proud.

About Mimi: Writer, Former Columnist, Poet, Blogger, Artist, Jewelry Designer, Event Planner, Ridiculously Good Cook, Animal lover, Traveler, Photographer, Metaphysics Guide and Connoisseur of Hilarity and a Certified Hypnotherapist. She is a published author, lives in Mid Michigan with her Great Dane and family and is currently working on a fantasy romance, an urban fiction novel, a sci-fi romance and erotica, under a pseudonym. Member of the RWA, MMRWA and CCWA.

Visit Mimi’s website: http://www.WordNinjaGirl.com

Cindy here again!

Great, informative post, Mimi. I don’t write many sex scenes but I will have to keep these tips in mind for when I do.

Happy writing!

Cindy

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