The problem of creating suspense in first person is a difficult task indeed. So hard in fact, I have sworn off writing first person pov to create suspense. Huckleberry Finn was written in the Single POV, but it was not written in a first person approach that keeps us continually reminded that the "I" character is any different from being told a story in third person. This is the secret, I feel to truly good first person narratives in general, and that is we are made to care about the main character...and we are never bored at listening to his voice. Voice is the secret to successful fiction and is the main ingredient no matter the point of view. While I prefer multiple pov's to a single pov, most PI novels are written in the single pov, and I suspect most are first person, whereas many other categories of the suspense novel are mutliple viewpoint utilziing many voices, including that of the killer or villian.
What pitfalls there are in writing in first person exists in third as well, and the major pitfall is slipping into using pronouns ad nauseum until we forget who the character(s) name(s) is/are. In first person it is I, me, my , myself, mine...and more I's all over the map, often three and four in a single sentence. In thrid it can be he or she all over the place. A reliance too heavily on pronouns can kill the quality of the voice. This is a numbe one sin in using first person in most bad writing in my opinion.
At any rate, whatever you choose to use....look into Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern for the finest discussion on how many varied pov's we can choose from and a terrifict discussion on such issues as first vs. third pov and voice. Best honest talk and most succinct covering the entire range of choices we have as authors is in this little book--my Bible.
Robert W. Walker
Friday, July 6, 2007
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Happy Birthday America!
As we rally around the barbeque pits and picnic tables during this holiday week, I hope you enjoy your time with family and friends. More importantly I hope you relish in your freedom. (sorry for the pun)
Last night my family and I went to the fireworks in a neighboring town. We found a wedge of grass and spread our blankets down, and then promptly sent my daughter for lemon shake-ups. Lemon shake-ups make everything better. They are the festival drink of the midwest, water, sugar and you guessed it - fresh lemons with plenty of crushed ice. A culinary delight on a hot night.
The sky finally darkened enough for the fireworks to begin and as we sat there oohing at the sparkling display in the black sky, sipping on our lemon shake-ups, my heart caught for a moment. I glanced at the thousand or so people and wondered if anyone else was thinking what I was thinking. Fireworks are a replica of combat explosion. The bombardment of sound represents the cannon fire used to push back tyranny. Everyone watching the fireworks display was in fact witnessing a battle already won. And -- and caught in the tangle of oppression we are still battling against.
There are so many countries envious of our easy way of life, or our cavalier attitude toward freedom. They say we take such liberties for granted. But I believe differently. I believe the folks of this country are eager to stand up for freedom. I haven't met a person yet who isn't proud of our soldiers for protecting our nation and striving to bring peace and dignity back to those who need it.
We live in a country where we can agree to disagree! This country is riddled with problems, yes, but as Americans, these problems give us the opportunity to stand up and say what is wrong. We can join together to tackle a problem, we have that liberty. We the people have that right! We the people have set many wrongs right in the last two hundred plus years. I have the utmost confidence that we will continue to do so for the generations to come.
Happy Birthday America!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Last night my family and I went to the fireworks in a neighboring town. We found a wedge of grass and spread our blankets down, and then promptly sent my daughter for lemon shake-ups. Lemon shake-ups make everything better. They are the festival drink of the midwest, water, sugar and you guessed it - fresh lemons with plenty of crushed ice. A culinary delight on a hot night.
The sky finally darkened enough for the fireworks to begin and as we sat there oohing at the sparkling display in the black sky, sipping on our lemon shake-ups, my heart caught for a moment. I glanced at the thousand or so people and wondered if anyone else was thinking what I was thinking. Fireworks are a replica of combat explosion. The bombardment of sound represents the cannon fire used to push back tyranny. Everyone watching the fireworks display was in fact witnessing a battle already won. And -- and caught in the tangle of oppression we are still battling against.
There are so many countries envious of our easy way of life, or our cavalier attitude toward freedom. They say we take such liberties for granted. But I believe differently. I believe the folks of this country are eager to stand up for freedom. I haven't met a person yet who isn't proud of our soldiers for protecting our nation and striving to bring peace and dignity back to those who need it.
We live in a country where we can agree to disagree! This country is riddled with problems, yes, but as Americans, these problems give us the opportunity to stand up and say what is wrong. We can join together to tackle a problem, we have that liberty. We the people have that right! We the people have set many wrongs right in the last two hundred plus years. I have the utmost confidence that we will continue to do so for the generations to come.
Happy Birthday America!
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Today I Rode In A Parade
I had a fun time today riding in the Arlington Heights Frontier Days Festival Parade, whose theme this year was Read A Good Book Lately
Kathy Kiebala of Exotic Car Shares.Com provided the too-die-for Alfa Romeo in which I waved my hand and also my book, Two Wrongs, to the many, many throngs of people lining the parade route.
To do it up right, I gave two of my brothers and one nephew tons of bookmarks and business cards to pass out, about four hundred at least. They went like a flash. I could have brought twice as many, but then I'd be short for my upcoming library appearance in a few weeks. My husband was busy elsewhere being a parade marshall keeping children out of the path of cars, a job I usually share, but this year was different since I was actually in the parade.
At least now must of the folks in town who didn't know about my book before now do. This is the kind of exposure money can't buy and I'm grateful to Carmella Lowth from the Frontier Days Committee for making this possible.
I believe all of those people in Arlington Heights who became famous for putting their blankets out early this week to save their spots were not disappointed in the 98 units that came their way and not a drop of rain to go with them!
I'll be busy working for the Festival Committee the rest of the week in various capacities. The Frontier Days Festival in Arlington Heights is always a glorious time and I love every minute of it!
I've got some photos up about the parade at http://www.morganmandel.com/ for those who'd like to check them out.
Happy 4th and 5th and the rest of the week!
Morgan Mandel
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Novelist's Boot Camp Does Dallas
Got your attention! No we're not getting into pornography but Todd and I are on our way next week to the national conference for the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Todd will be presenting a workshop called Unstick Yourself: A Dozen Dynamite Drills from Novelist's Boot Camp.
This will be our first time to this particular conference but we're looking forward to it because it is mostly aspiring authors (including me) with a strong cadre of published authors in attendance to include Todd. Since Todd's book, Novelist's Boot Camp is geared towards the audience of writers who are struggling to finsh their first book and those who need to generate book ideas in short order once they've been contracted, this promises to be a very successful conference for us.
Now back to my first thought. The two best selling romance genres are erotica and Christian/Inspirational Romance. Now that's social commentary if there ever was any!
Have a Happy 4th, stay safe and for all you aspiring authors out there have a productive writing week.
This will be our first time to this particular conference but we're looking forward to it because it is mostly aspiring authors (including me) with a strong cadre of published authors in attendance to include Todd. Since Todd's book, Novelist's Boot Camp is geared towards the audience of writers who are struggling to finsh their first book and those who need to generate book ideas in short order once they've been contracted, this promises to be a very successful conference for us.
Now back to my first thought. The two best selling romance genres are erotica and Christian/Inspirational Romance. Now that's social commentary if there ever was any!
Have a Happy 4th, stay safe and for all you aspiring authors out there have a productive writing week.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Air
Pssst!
Wanna buy some air?
“Air?!” you say? “Why would I want to buy air?! Air is one of the most common substances on Earth. Heck, air is what makes Earth livable in the first place. We all use it, even animals and George Bush. It’s continually renewed by plants and available every time you inhale. Why should I have to pay any money for it?”
Well, you already do.
In fact, you buy air all the time.
I thought about this the other day when I was buying bubblewrap to protect some stuff that I was going to ship. Being a guy, the first thing I did with the bubblewrap was to pop a bunch of the little bubbles. Wheee! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Uh-hem, sorry.
Anyway, then it occurred to me. I had just purchased air.
Think about it. Bubblewrap is basically just two ingredients: air and plastic. If not for the air, the little sheet of plastic would be worthless, since it wouldn’t protect anything. So basically, the air is more important than the plastic.
Not so for potato chips. How many times have you bought a big, fat bag of chips, ripped it open, had a bunch of air whoosh past your face, and found yourself with a bag of crumbs?
Still, though, there are times when you buy the air, because you need air. Like you know it’s time to buy new tennis balls when they go flat. And when your tires are low, you’ll plug fifty cents into an air compressor with a faulty gauge and a leak in the hose, and the air hisses out everywhere but into your tire, while you mutter and cuss.
Or maybe if you’re planning a space or underwater trip. In fact, it’s a little known fact that NASA has been exploring the possibility of bringing bags of potato chips on future missions to furnish the astronauts with their air and food needs.
But it’s not just air, either. You also buy water, … and dirt … and poop!
Poop, you say?
Yeah, poop. Can you say ‘fertilizer’?
The most common substances on Earth. We buy them.
Not only that, but we’re willing to spend extra money to get them from other places. We’ll think nothing of spending two bucks for some Artesian water from France or the Fiji Islands. Heck, most people don’t even know that ‘artesian’ simply means well water from water drained from higher ground. So we’re spending extra money on well water?!
Sheesh.
Everybody knows that the best water comes from drinking fountains in high schools. Not the porcelain ones. The metal ones. The best water in the world, if you don’t mind the slight Juicy Fruit flavor from a piece of gum some freshman wedged into the spout.
Anyway, I want in on this scam. I want to sell something that’s a common source. Something renewable and everyday. Something you wouldn’t normally think of buying. In fact, something I find every morning, in my drain.
Pssst!
Wanna buy some hair?
Normwww.normcowie.com
The Adventures of Guy ... written by a guy (probably)
The Next Adventures of Guy ... more wackiness
Sunday, July 1, 2007
A day in the life...by Margot Justes
It is Sunday and I am doing my Saturday blog...Not my fault, really it’s not. We are trying to join the 21st Century, but alas that is not to be done…easily that is.
Our e-mail access has been through a dial up process, and that was fine in the past, not too many e-mails, easily enough done. Don’t laugh, we have no cable, no Comcast, nothing, just a plain old fashioned antenna that allows us access to the basic channels. We like it like that.
But with the advent of A Hotel in Paris being published, things have changed drastically and rapidly. I have too many e-mails, too many things that need to be done via e-mail to waste my time, since I no longer have too much of that precious commodity at my disposal. So, we are trying to join the masses and go with DSL.
I bet you thought it was going to be simple, just listen to AT&T, wait for the box to arrive, plug it in, run the program and you should be good to go. Wrong. Wrong. And wrong.
We spent time on the phone with our new vendor, we have been told, it is your machine, not our problem, nothing is wrong with our system. So we lugged our computer next door plugged it into their Comcast machination, and lo and behold, it worked.
Now back to the proverbial drawing board, back to the AT&T tech support, trying to figure out what is going on. We do not yet have an answer, what I do have is a temporary fix, lines running across the floor in my office, a wonderful new toy for the cat, no access to my new e-mail but a lifeline to my old one, assuming I can handle all the meowing, since kitty now is locked out so the lines won’t get chewed up. And so it goes…
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris
Echelon Press, June 2008
www.mjustes.com
Our e-mail access has been through a dial up process, and that was fine in the past, not too many e-mails, easily enough done. Don’t laugh, we have no cable, no Comcast, nothing, just a plain old fashioned antenna that allows us access to the basic channels. We like it like that.
But with the advent of A Hotel in Paris being published, things have changed drastically and rapidly. I have too many e-mails, too many things that need to be done via e-mail to waste my time, since I no longer have too much of that precious commodity at my disposal. So, we are trying to join the masses and go with DSL.
I bet you thought it was going to be simple, just listen to AT&T, wait for the box to arrive, plug it in, run the program and you should be good to go. Wrong. Wrong. And wrong.
We spent time on the phone with our new vendor, we have been told, it is your machine, not our problem, nothing is wrong with our system. So we lugged our computer next door plugged it into their Comcast machination, and lo and behold, it worked.
Now back to the proverbial drawing board, back to the AT&T tech support, trying to figure out what is going on. We do not yet have an answer, what I do have is a temporary fix, lines running across the floor in my office, a wonderful new toy for the cat, no access to my new e-mail but a lifeline to my old one, assuming I can handle all the meowing, since kitty now is locked out so the lines won’t get chewed up. And so it goes…
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris
Echelon Press, June 2008
www.mjustes.com
Enjoying My Ten Minutes -- by Larry D. Sweazy
I heard a story recently that I’d share here. It seems a very famous Buddhist monk was going to visit New York City for the first time. His guide was very excited, and drew up and intensive itinerary that included all of the famous landmarks. When the monk arrived, he followed the guide quietly taking in the sights. Running a little behind, the guide told the monk, “I think if we take the subway we can save ten minutes, and see more.” The monk nodded and followed along. Later that day, The monk and the guide were crossing through one of the city’s many parks and the monk sat down on the bench. The guide was perplexed, and asked the monk, “What are you doing?” The monk replied, “Enjoying my ten minutes.”
Writers talk about managing time a lot. How busy we are. How difficult it is to find writing time. Which is fine as long as we’re not whining about it. But how often do we talk about the value of resting, of taking a minute to breathe the air, listen to the robins sing the last chorus of the evening, stare out the window and daydream? As writers we create a story moment by moment, so isn’t it vital we live that way too?
It’s probably obvious to you by now that I am in a rest mode. No, that doesn’t mean I have forsaken my writing schedule or that I am on vacation. I just got back from vacation. I am still putting in my hours of work. But this story reminded me that we all bounce from one thing to the next, our eyes focused on the “next thing” while our feet are still in the present. And I wondered, if we live that way, do we write that way too? Do I write that way?
My answer. No. I don’t write that way—at least I don’t think I do—I don’t want to—I hope I don’t write that way.
When I’m writing the world around me melts away. I don’t have “summit fever”, a term mountain climbers use to describe the most dangerous time in the climb, when all a climber can think about is reaching the top of the mountain, attaining their goal.
I never write to finish fast. I write until the story is complete and is ready to send out. I write moment by moment—but trust me, that has not always been the case. In the past, I have sent stories out before they were ready to go. I learned, hopefully, I matured with a greater sense of duty to my work. I have learned to let my writing sit and cool after it is finished.
But things change when I step outside away from my desk. I get swept up in the demands of everyday life. I am not a monk—I rarely know when it is time sit on the park bench and enjoy the ten minutes that I have saved doing something else.
My goal for the summer is do just that. Stop. Listen. Breathe. Even if it is just for ten minutes before I move on to the next thing. I figure if I can let my work rest, then I should allow my body and mind rest, too.
Consider doing nothing for ten minutes as a writing exercise—it may turn out to be the best part of the story.
Writers talk about managing time a lot. How busy we are. How difficult it is to find writing time. Which is fine as long as we’re not whining about it. But how often do we talk about the value of resting, of taking a minute to breathe the air, listen to the robins sing the last chorus of the evening, stare out the window and daydream? As writers we create a story moment by moment, so isn’t it vital we live that way too?
It’s probably obvious to you by now that I am in a rest mode. No, that doesn’t mean I have forsaken my writing schedule or that I am on vacation. I just got back from vacation. I am still putting in my hours of work. But this story reminded me that we all bounce from one thing to the next, our eyes focused on the “next thing” while our feet are still in the present. And I wondered, if we live that way, do we write that way too? Do I write that way?
My answer. No. I don’t write that way—at least I don’t think I do—I don’t want to—I hope I don’t write that way.
When I’m writing the world around me melts away. I don’t have “summit fever”, a term mountain climbers use to describe the most dangerous time in the climb, when all a climber can think about is reaching the top of the mountain, attaining their goal.
I never write to finish fast. I write until the story is complete and is ready to send out. I write moment by moment—but trust me, that has not always been the case. In the past, I have sent stories out before they were ready to go. I learned, hopefully, I matured with a greater sense of duty to my work. I have learned to let my writing sit and cool after it is finished.
But things change when I step outside away from my desk. I get swept up in the demands of everyday life. I am not a monk—I rarely know when it is time sit on the park bench and enjoy the ten minutes that I have saved doing something else.
My goal for the summer is do just that. Stop. Listen. Breathe. Even if it is just for ten minutes before I move on to the next thing. I figure if I can let my work rest, then I should allow my body and mind rest, too.
Consider doing nothing for ten minutes as a writing exercise—it may turn out to be the best part of the story.
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