There are so many things that can go right and wrong when it comes to writing a novel, right?  Well, my friends at RWA just enlightened me to the something that can occur beyond your control.  A Bad review.   And it seems that one author stuck back in a way that shocked me.  

Her name is Allice Hoffman and she’s published 31 novels in more than twenty translations and more than one hundred foreign editions. Her stories have received mention as notable books of the year by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Library Journal, and People Magazine. She has also worked as a screenwriter and is the author of the original screenplay “Independence Day,” a film starring Kathleen Quinlan and Diane Wiest.  (Learn more about her at http://www.alicehoffman.com/)

Anyway it seems that a bad review from Boston Globe caused her to unleash her fury.  (See http://gawker.com/5303534/look-whos-snarking-now-novelist-uses-twitter-to-trash-critic for more details)

I guess we just need to live and let live

“The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. 

An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don't help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dreams. Those that don't increase you will eventually decrease you. 

Consider this: Never receive counsel from unproductive people. Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person. Don't follow anyone who's not going anywhere. 

With some people you spend an evening, with others you invest it. Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life. Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.

"A mirror reflects a man's face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses". The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate - for the good and the bad. Note: Be not mistaken. This is applicable to family as well as friends. Yes... do love, appreciate and be thankful for your family, for they will always be your family no matter what. Just know that they are human first and though they are family to you, they may be a friend to someone else and will fit somewhere in the criteria above.

"In Prosperity Our Friends Know Us. In Adversity We Know Our Friends."
"Never make someone a priority, when you are only an option for them." 

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude."

-- Colin Powell
an American statesman and a former four-star general in the United States Army

I just read an article on Fern Michaels and I never knew she lived in New Jersey.  It’s funny how some information gets processed and stored while other information goes into our brains and gets deleted seconds after we’re exposed to it.  Anyway, you can view the article on Romance writer, Fern Michaels at http://tinyurl.com/n3cwbl.   She gives great advice at the end of the article for aspiring writers.  She said, "First and foremost, you got to have a story to tell. Every story has already been done before, but put a twist on it, add your own unheard voice and you can make it a success.''

Please visit her website http://www.fernmichaels.com/ for more information on Mary Ruth Kuczkir and her writings.

I love the Fox show, Lie to Me.  The premise is basically this…the average person tells three lies in ten minutes of conversation.  

The series revolves around Dr. Cal Lightman, the world's leading deception expert and his team of experts called the Lightman Group.  Lightman can detect the truth by analyzing a person's face, body, voice and speech. So when someone shrugs his shoulder, rotates his hand or raises his lower lip, he instantly knows they are lying. Lightman is a gifted scientist who studies facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if you are lying but why.   (See http://www.fox.com/lietome/ for more details.)  

I enjoy this show because it reminds me the importance of characters being in constant motion.   Writers can never forget the importance of a character’s body language, mannerisms and voice inflection.  Body language is so vital in distinguishing one character from another in a novel so it’s important to remember research states that we gather information about people in three ways:
Verbal - 7% (what is said);
Vocal - 38% (how it is said); and
Non verbal - 55% (facial expression, posture, gestures).

In normal conversation, a speaker conveys facts or opinions to the listener but body language is the largest component in person to person communication.   Each gesture is like a single word, and a word may have different meanings. It is only when the word is used in a sentence with other words that its meaning is fully understood. Gestures come in sentences/clusters and may indicate the truth about a person's feelings or attitudes.

Naturally, we are generally unaware that posture, body movements and gestures can tell one story while the voice may be telling another. Suffice to say that if you work at understanding body language the better chance you have at understanding what is really being said.

So how does one transfer this information into their writing? Well by using body language indicators to ‘show’ instead of 'tell' the reader what is happening.  Make it a point to use dialogue, accompanied by some sort of physical movements in your writing. Let's face it, do you just sit or stand still when talking to someone? Do you stand closer to someone you are more comfortable with? Do you touch the arm of someone you care for just before speaking with them?

If FOX reruns any of the Lie to Me episodes this summer, please give it a try.  It will educate you on the nuisances of non-verbal character interaction.

One of my Tweople (a person I’m friends with on Twitter) passed this blog page from the Zack Company along so I thought I would share it with you guys.  It deals with Bookscan and you can read it at http://zackcompany.blogspot.com/2009/06/lie-that-is-bookscan.html.

For those of you that don’t know, BookScan provides weekly point-of-sale data for the US book industry.  It enables its subscribers to access comprehensive reports from a wide variety of perspectives.  Bookscan is a Nielsen service started in January 2001 which tallies retail sales from chains like Barnes & Noble and Borders, from Amazon.com, and from stores like Costco (but not Wal-Mart). James King, vice president for sales and service at BookScan, suggests that the database captures about 70 percent of sales for a typical hardcover book. As such, BookScan has emerged as a powerful tool for the editors and agents whose employers pay several thousand dollars a year to subscribe.

Read the blog, you’ll be quite surprised.

Good morning everyone.  It’s a rainy Monday morning here so I’m trying to get myself together for the work week.  I came across something that may interest some of you that are struggling with descriptive tags.  Descriptive dialog tags can bring your characters to life because tags manipulate the language while describing your character. Here's a great site to look at when writing dialog. (See http://www.joannawaugh.com/Craft.html) It’s a webpage maintained by romance writer Joanna Waugh.

Two quick hints about descriptive tags: Dialogue should be natural. Most people use contractions and sentence fragments when they speak. If your characters don't, they may sound stiff. And dialogue is more than spoken words. A lifted eyebrow or forced smile can convey more meaning than a spoken sentence. Non-verbal responses can add nuance or completely change the meaning of spoken words.

Please note there are two common mistakes seen with dialogue tags. The first is being afraid to use said or asked or believing that said or asked becomes repetitive. As a result, characters are constantly shouting, murmuring, whispering, commanding, stating, and mumbling. Why is this considered weak writing? If you feel the need to explain how a character says something then his or her dialogue likely isn’t strong enough. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, if your dialogue is strong enough, then your tag only repeats to the reader what you’ve just shown them.

I’m not saying there isn’t a time or place for non said or asked dialogue tags, only that excessive use is considered weak writing.  Remember the eye tends to pass over “said” or “asked”. We as writers are attuned to words. We pay attention to them. But if you’re doing you job right, the average reader is engrossed in the story and the characters. When said and asked stand out, usually it means the narrative isn’t being woven enough among the dialogue.

I hope this helps.

Q.  I need a little help, I just can’t get the dialogue right but everyone loves the premise of my novel.  What do I need to do?
A.  I’m not sure what the scope of the problem is but I suggest you stop writing and just take some time to listen to the cadence of actual conversations that are occurring around you.  People don’t converse in proper Queen’s English.  They communicate with sentence fragments, punctuated by interruptions.  They have facial expressions and different voice tones that can tell their listener just as much as words do.  Have fun and just observe for a little while and then apply that information during your re-write.

Q.  Assuming South Beach takes place in Florida, what will be the location of your third novel?
A.  I’m undecided.  It may be New Jersey or but I’m not sure.  It really depends on which sibling I decide to develop a story around once South Beach is finished.  If it’s Latrell’s story then the setting will be in Texas or Montana.  If it’s Jaiden’s story then it’ll be framed by the character of New Jersey.

Q.  What is the best advice you’ve received about starting a novel?
A.  Romance writer, Mary Balogh said it best when she wrote, “Begin (a novel) by showing rather than telling. Action is an attention-getter. Present it uncluttered by explanation that can come later. The very lack of explanation can be part of the hook because it arouses questions: Who are these people? What is going on here? What is going to happen next?”  It’s a piece of wonderful advice.

Q.  Do you like using secondary characters, and if so what is one of your rules of thumb for inclusion in your novels.
A.  I LOVE using secondary characters because no one lives in a vacuum and it would be a disservice to not include the colors and daily nuisances that other people bring to a setting.  The best friend that calls during the heroine’s workday, the brother that has an opinion on the hero’s latest conquest.    I can’t think of one of my favorite movies that didn’t include great supporting characters that I enjoyed just as much as I did the leads.  As far as rules go, I think the best advice would be something that Romance writer, Susan Wiggs said, "The function of the secondary characters is to complicate the lives of, and contrast with, the main characters."  Just keep that in mind and you’ll be on the right track.

I just discovered author Delilah Devlin interview with Mike Castellucci of KFAA-TV Dallas at the 2007 Romance Writers of America conference.  Enjoy.

Hi, everyone.  One of my new RWA colleague passed on information on Writing Prompt Generators that I thought may be useful to you.  It’s a good exercise to use when you are overcome with writer’s block.  See http://tinyurl.com/cnkjpp for more information...