Happy Easter

I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and family and friends to share it with.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

Merry Christmas

You tell me what new author you discovered in 2010. I am finishing reading "Return the Heart" by TK Richardson.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

A quick note about writing goals: Did you set goals last year and if so how did you do? Mine was simple, finish the first draft of my second book in The Darkside of the Medallion trilogy. Sad to say I am at the fifty percent of my goal. I was at seventy-five percent but removed almost 100 pages because I did not like the voice. I took notes and resumed writing. Good luck to all aspiring writers in the New Year.

How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack book is out!

Move over zombies and adolescent vampires.

There’s a new threat in town—and it’s only twelve inches tall. How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack is the only comprehensive survival guide that will help you prevent, prepare for, and ward off an imminent home invasion by the common garden gnome. Once thought of as harmless yard decorations, evidence is mounting that these smiling lawn statues are poised and ready to wreck havoc. The danger is real. And it’s here.
Class 1 gnome-slayer and gnome defense expert Chuck Sambuchino has developed a proven system—Assess, Protect, Defend, Apply—for safeguarding property, possessions, and loved ones. Strategies include step-by-step instructions for gnome-proofing the average dwelling, recognizing and interpreting the signs of a gathering hoard, and—in the event that a secured perimeter is breached—confronting and combating the attackers at close range.
About the Author

Chuck Sambuchino is a produced playwright, and a magazine writer, freelance editor, husband, dog owner, and cover band guitarist. He is the author of Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, 3rd Edition, and editor of Guide to Literary Agents and the Screenwriter’s & Playwright’s Market. Sambuchino lives in a heavily fortified residence in a secret Midwest location.

Get your query letter critiqued and watch the video.

Ms. Marla Miller is offering to comment on your query letter free (what’s not to like about free). She works for the Writer Magazine and has several query critiques online. I watched the video (link below) and was impressed. Sooo I polished up my query letter and submitted it. She responded within the hour and said mine would be number two. Below is the blurb from the Writer Magazine eZine.

Speaking of learning opportunities: The first post in our new monthly video column "Critique My Query" is up on our website. Writer and marketing guru Marla Miller breaks down a query letter for a novel called Amy's Own. You can submit your own query letter to Marla by following the instructions after the article.

Check out the relater five-part query links at the bottom of the page. If you ever wanted feedback on your query letter this is an excellent time because Ms. Miller is actively seeking queries to meet her goal of two videos a week review.

You tell me what your favorite writing quote is.

 Looking toward the entrance of the Cave of the Sybil, Cumae Italy

Mine is:

“If I had known how difficult it was to edit my book, I would have done that first—then written it.”
Edwin D Ferretti III/2008

TK Richardson's blog party is in full swing

I want to remind all readers that TK Richardson’s book—Return the Heart—will be out in the stores in June of this year. To celebrate this awesome event, TK is hosting a blog-party at her site, this Friday. In her own words (see how clever I was to save typing many words):

That's right! It's almost time for the release of my novel RETURN THE HEART! And in anticipation of that I will be hosting an awesome blog party along with some great giveaways.

Invite your friends and spread the news 'cause this will be fun!

Starting on Friday May 28, I will be giving away a goodie filled prize pack - all you have to do is show up here leave a comment and your name will be in the drawing to receive the prize.

But that's not all.

It starts all over again on Monday. And on Wednesday and again on Friday. Yes, that's right - 4 awesome prize packs to give away. WOOT!

Want to know what they are?!?! Well come back on Friday, bring a friend and you'll see!

I am there…Oh darn, I popped my balloon. See you there.

How do you edit your manuscript?

I want to ask you—How Do You Edit Your Manuscript. Do you rely on peer group critiques; you word processor’s spell and grammar style checker, beta readers or editing books? Do you use sophisticated editing software or rely on your own re-reads of your manuscript?

Here are a few tips I learned editing my own manuscript.

• Self-reading will build your confidence in your script and help you focus on improving it.
• Peer critiques help you focus on your weak points of your novel.
• Reading aloud will help you find missing words, poor sentences and repetitious words within the same paragraph. It will also let you hear the pace of your written words.
• Reading it in a book format will widen your eyes allowing you to see the smallest grammar and writing mistakes.

Self-reading: Face it, you can only read and re-read your ms so many times before you become immune to discovering more mistakes. Sometime you must take several weeks off before attempting another re-read.

Peer critiques: I value peer critiques because they give you several other sets of eyes looking over your writing and it gives you an idea if someone wants to read your entire book. It can also tell if you can hook a reader into wanting to read further. In order for this to work, you must be open, honest and receptive of other criticisms. I use each critique (no matter if it is negative or positive) as a constructive step toward improving my writing.

Reading aloud: I blogged about a free reader program called Natural Reader. After installing the software, I opened my first chapter, selected all and clicked on the Natural Reader. With my laptop on my lap, I shut my eyes and listened. Several times, I heard words that did not sound right and checked in the document, making changes as the program was paused. This helped me also find sentences that needed to be re-written.

Reading in eBook format: This is proving the best editing tool that I have found so far (I also blogged about this in my last post). After printing out my manuscript, I opened the Kindle for PC program and began reading the entire book. Style and grammar mistakes stuck out like a sore thumb. Using a red pen, I made remarks on my printed out pages. I am about one third through this editing phase and expect to finish by Tuesday. I will then review all of the red edit marks and make changes in my master file. I have to say it is almost like reading (and analyzing) someone else’s work.

Keep your pen sharp.

YESTERDAYS YA READS TODAYS YA

Today’s post is short but exciting. Actually, I knew this information for many years because I am a YA of yesterday that reads certain YA of today novels. However, it is always nice to see in print a confirmation. I grew up reading all of the Wizard of OZ books. Later I read The Hardy Boys mystery series and Nancy Drew, Tom Corbett Space Cadet, Rick Brant adventure series and Tom Swift Jr. The list goes on and on. The article by the Los Angeles Times made me happy because in my heart I wrote my novel, Mysterious Gift, as a crossover between the YA of yesterday and the YA of today. You can read the full article here.

Speaking of young adult books, yesterday's Automat link to an LAT (Los Angeles Times) piece on the rising popularity of YA novels among adult readers was so heavily re-tweeted that it's worth a separate link. "Authors may gear their novels toward the junior and senior high crowd, but adults are snapping up the books, often about misfit teens or fantasy worlds.... Attracted by well-written, fast-paced and engaging stories that span the gamut of genres and subjects, such readers have mainstreamed a niche long derided as just for kids. http://www.latimes.com/search/dispatcher.front?Query=ya+books&target=article&sortby=display_time+descending Scroll down to Young Adult Lit comes of age and click it. How does your YA novel stack up...will an adult be interested in reading it?

What category does your book fall into?

Most of you know that my first novel is finished and I am in the throes of seeking an agent. In the past three months, I have sent out nine query letters. Five agents sent me a nice letter saying we would not be a good fit. Three agents remained silent and one agent, (who according to his blog/website, always replies to query letters), has not answered. I used the five agents who responded as positive information. The more I thought about it the more I convinced myself that I was not querying the correct genre.

I reviewed the five agent sites and discovered that I misunderstood the genre they were really looking for. Most of them said they were looking for science fiction or fantasy, not science fiction/ fantasy. I am writing sifi/f and asked myself; self, is there a difference between sifi/f and science fiction and fantasy. The answer was yes, there is a difference. The answer was also on each agent’s information page. The “and” word means they represent either science fiction or fantasy, not the two combined. The terms commercial fiction, literary fiction and mainstream fiction were also on their info page. This is what they were looking for. I was confused. The only answer was to research each term. This is what I found.

• Commercial fiction (CF): Commercial fiction is not a genre; it is a canopy covering many subgenres, like mystery, romance, legal thriller, western, science fiction, fantasy and so on. This type of novel is plot driven, attracting a broad audience and tells the reader that they can expect hooks, action, kick ass protagonists and fast moving plot. These novels are not strong in prose and character buildup. The reader also knows that all conflicts will be resolved prior to the end. Bestselling authors would be John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Janet Evanovich and Danielle Steel.

• Literary fiction (LF) is character driven and appeals to a smaller, more scholarly audience. A work of literary fiction may fall into any of the genres. However, what makes it different are such things as excellent writing and originality of thought and style that raise it above ordinary writing. LF also contains multi-layered themes, long descriptive narration and bigger than life characters (the author takes his time and many pages developing his characters, propelling them into three-dimensional people. The author of this type of writing often breaks traditional writing rules offering the reader a strong narrative voice, multi-POVs and eloquent story lines. Examples of literary fiction are Cold Mountain, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Grapes of Wrath. Popular authors of literary fiction would be John LeCarre, Barbara Kingsolver, and Toni Morrison.

What happens if your writing crosses both the Commercial and Literary fiction lines; sits on the fence and attracts a larger audience? Is there such a beast and if so what is it called? The answer is yes, there are many books that cross both CF and LF. The answer is below.

• Mainstream fiction is a term publishers and booksellers use to describe both commercial and literary works containing a universal theme that attracts a broad audience. Usually set in the 20th or present-day 21st century, these books deal with family issues, coming of age initiations, courtroom dramas, physical and mental disabilities, social pressures, political intrigue, etc. Regardless of genre or category, most of the novels on the bestseller list, are mostly mainstream, including authors such as Sue Grafton, Michael Crichton, or David Guterson.

Do you know what fiction your novel is?

EBook sales do not influence your hardcover book sales.

Penguin USA says eBook sales rose by more than 300 percent, and as projected; they had 10,000 titles available electronically by the end of the year. Rather than cannibalizing hardcover sales, Penguin's current inference is that low-priced eBooks are most attractive to readers who previously were primarily paperback buyers. "If we're right about that," Penguin CEO, Makinson said, then "the author is really not disadvantaged by the transition" from print to digital. What do you think of this statement? Are authors who have a hardcover book for sale losing money because of the low eBook prices? To read the full article, go to http://www.publishersmarketplace.com and sign up for the free newsletter. Publisher’s lunch brings you the latest in publishing news. This is where many top agents get their current information.

As I see it (News from Nebraska and other wonderful places).

Today’s post covers several topics of interest for the writer community. Have you ever wondered what genres agents want now; and their ranking on bookseller’s shelves? Can you use a spreadsheet database filled with book sales and agent information going back to 2004? If the answer to either / both questions is yes, then read further.

The Knight Agency recently wrote an article titled What’s Hot and What’s Not. Follow the link to sign up for their newsletter and then you can read the full article. Hint Science Fiction/Speculative Fiction and Futuristic Romance ranked number five. Five, you cry in dismay. I agree that is a low number, or is it?

The following link will lead you to a spreadsheet filled with information such as book title, genre, author, agent, editor, publishing house and agent’s literary agency. If you click on some of the input boxes, example, literary agency, you will be directed to that site. If the link does not work, copy and paste it into your browser. Here is a wealth of information especially the 2009 and 2010 pages.

The last good news I found is to tell you that Kristin Nelson, from the Nelson Literary Agency, has put out the call for submissions. The information, with links to the Nelson Literary Agency, is here. This site belongs to Molli Nickell, who is a former publisher. In her own words:

Hello everybody,

I'm a "former" publisher. After 11 years in the biz I decided to leave on my own instead of waiting to check out in a box or a straight jacket. Now I'm a publishing consultant, helping writers of all genre take the next step and get themselves published. My web site helps writers create the marketing docs they need in order to get published. These include the query and cover letters, synopsis, first pages etc. For a limited time, I'm offering FREE evaluation of query letters. I am looking forward to meeting some of you.
Molli Nickell www.getpublishednow.biz .

If you are not following her free blog, why not. She offers a free ebook on writing query letters.

That is the news as I see it from cold, snow covered west Nebraska.

Marketing: A Killer First Chapter

Today I am ‘stealing a newsletter post’ (the author told me I could) and making it available for my readers. I will also link to the original post and you can sign up for Randy' eZine.

Some of my author friends loathe and despise the word "marketing." It's common for them to say, "The best marketing is good writing."

I agree with them, sort of. I'm not certain that good writing is the VERY BEST marketing a writer can do, but I'm confident that good writing is PRETTY GOOD marketing.

In the weird world of marketing, "pretty good" can be good enough, because nobody knows what the heck they're doing in marketing anyway. Many of the "great"
marketers seem to be people who were successful once on one project for reasons they don't understand, and keep doing that ever after on other projects.

This month I'd like to talk about one aspect of good writing that certainly is good marketing -- writing a killer first chapter.

Some readers will reject a book by its cover, and there's not a thing you can do about that. The cover is your publisher's job. If they create a bad cover, you're at a major disadvantage.

But not all readers are like that. If they like the title, or if they hear good things about your book, many readers will ignore even a dreadful cover and take a look at the first chapter.

That's YOUR responsibility. You can blame the publisher for the cover, but it's lame to blame them for your first chapter.

A good first chapter does four things well:

* It makes a contract with the reader
* It sets a hook in the first sentence
* It sets a second hook near the end of the first page
* It sets a third hook at the end of the chapterLet's talk about each of those in turn, because they're all critical.

First of all, what's a "contract with the reader?"

That's simple. Your book is going to have a certain tone, pacing, style, and genre. Your first chapter should make clear to your reader what that tone, pacing, style, and genre is going to be. Your first chapter is a promise: The rest of the book will be like this one.

Imagine you read the first chapter of a book that has one long, adrenaline-laced car chase that ends with the bad guys driving off a cliff, falling 300 feet, and exploding in flames while the good guy drives off in his Maserati with his arm around a beautiful woman.

If you buy the book hoping for more fast cars and faster women, wouldn't you be outraged to find that the rest of the book is a slow small-town romance set in Milford?

Yes, you would, because Milford and Maseratis don't mix.

Your first chapter is a contract with your reader that says, "If you like this chapter, you'll like the rest of the book, because it's going to be similar."

Once you write the contract and your reader signs it, don't violate it.

Of course your first chapter should NOT telegraph the rest of the story. Your reader doesn't want you to give away the ending in chapter one. Your reader wants a promise of a certain tone, pacing, style, and genre.
Period.

On to the next thing. What's a hook, and why do you need three of them?A hook is something that makes your reader say, "What's going on? What happens next? I've got to read a bit more." That's all a hook has to do.

The reason you need hooks is because your reader always has the option to close the book RIGHT NOW. Early in your book, your reader hasn't yet committed to your story. Early in your book, you need to make the reader commit -- at least to read a bit more.

The reason you need three hooks is because readers have three increasing levels of commitment:

* If your reader likes the first sentence, she'll commit to reading the first page.

* If your reader likes the first page, she'll commit to reading the first chapter.

* If your reader likes the first chapter, she'll commit to the rest of the book. If she's in a bookstore, that's the point at which she buys the book. If she's in the library, it's the point where she puts the book on her checkout list. If she's at a friend's house, it's the point where she asks to borrow the book (or steals it if the friend turns uncooperative).

A hook is generally a sentence or two that DEMANDS the next level of commitment.

Now let's look at two examples of books with strong first chapters and see how well they spell out the contract with the reader and set those three hooks.
Note that hooks are tactical, while the contract with the reader is strategic, so I'll discuss the hooks first and then the contract.


Example: THE HUNGER GAMES, by Suzanne Collins.

THE HUNGER GAMES is a young-adult futuristic adventure novel with overtones of romance told in first-person point of view by a teen female protagonist. It's one of the best books I've read in a very long time and I'll definitely read it again.


Hook #1: The first sentence reads like this:
"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold."

Analysis: That's a good, solid hook. Obviously, our protagonist is sharing her bed with someone. But who?
And why?

The answers come fairly quickly on the first page. Our heroine shares a bed with her little sister Primrose, a fresh-faced innocent kid whom everybody loves. Prim owns the world's ugliest cat, Buttercup, which our heroine once tried to drown.


Hook #2: At the end of the last paragraph on the first page, we find these two sentences:
"Sometimes when I clean a kill, I feed Buttercup the entrails. He has stopped hissing at me."

Analysis: Yikes, our heroine cleans kills? Why? It sounds like our protagonist is not nearly as sweet and lovable as Prim, but she definitely sounds interesting.
What is she killing?

Again, some answers come quickly as the chapter progresses. Our heroine lives in a poor coal-mining town in a poor district of what used to be the USA. Her father is dead, but he left her a bow and she's quite a skilled hunter. It's illegal to hunt outside the town, but she does anyway in order to feed her family. One of her few friends is a boy named Gale whom she often hunts with, splitting the proceeds.

We eventually learn that our heroine has a name, Katniss Everdeen. We learn that Kat isn't romantically interested in Gale, but it's not hard to guess that this might change. Kat is 16 and Gale is 18 and they're friends.

As the chapter progresses, Kat and Gale fish and hunt, then return home for the main event of the day -- the Reaping. One boy and one girl are to be drawn at random from the inhabitants of District 12 to play in the Hunger Games -- a battle to the death between 12 boys and 12 girls from across the nation. The Hunger Games end when only one survivor remains.

Participation in the Reaping is mandatory. Kat shows up, along with Gale and all the other teens in their town. There's a ceremony before the drawing. Speeches.
Stupid talk about "honor." Then the drawing . . .


Hook #3: The final sentence of the chapter tells the name of the girl drawn to represent District 12 in the Hunger Games:
"It's Primrose Everdeen."

Analysis: We're prepared for Kat to be chosen. We even expect it. But she isn't. Her innocent, defenseless, weak little sister is chosen instead.

That's the end of the chapter. That's a brilliant hook.
If you've read that far and you can close the book, then you have no soul. It's that simple. You HAVE to read on to find out what happens next, even though you know from reading the back cover copy that Kat is somehow going to take her sister's place in a brutal set of modern gladiatorial games that will be televised to the nation.

Contract with the reader: The first chapter is written in first person from the point of view of a fairly cynical but hopeful young woman who is clearly a fighter. Katniss is trapped in a bleak, unfair, dangerous world, but she'll do everything she possibly can to survive and to make sure her family survives.
The pacing is quick and every sentence is well-crafted.
The genre is clearly young-adult adventure.

If you are the sort of person who wants either a very slow pace or an adrenaline rocket, then this book isn't for you. If you want all romance and no violence, then skip this book. If you want all fluff and no grit, then you'll be disappointed. The first chapter sets the stage for what's to follow, and if you like the first chapter, you'll love the book.

All of which reminds me that I really want to read this book again.


Example: THE KITE RUNNER, by Khaled Hosseini.

THE KITE RUNNER is a literary novel set in the years between 1975 and the present, told in first-person by a young man who was born in Afghanistan and later came to the US.


Hook #1: The first sentence reads like this, in a chapter datelined December 2001:
"I became what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975."

Analysis: This is clearly going to be a retrospective novel, working through some coming-of-age issues. The immediate questions any reader would ask are these:
What are you today? What happened in 1975? Why don't you sound happy about it?

It's a good solid hook. As the page progresses, we quickly learn that the answers aren't going to come quickly. There's a mystery to be unraveled here. But we also learn that the protagonist is going to face his past, because it's coming back at him now, 26 years later.

In the final paragraph of the first page, the protagonist gets a phone call from Rahim Khan, an old friend in Pakistan, asking him to come visit. Our hero doesn't say yes and he doesn't say no. He goes for a walk in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. There he sees some kites, and that reminds him of an old, jagged
memory:


Hook #2: The paragraph ends with the rather cryptic
sentences:
"And suddenly Hassan's voice whispered in my head: For you, a thousand times over. Hassan the harelipped kite runner."

Analysis: This raises a LOT of questions. Who's Hassan?
What would he do a thousand times over? What's a kite runner? And what's this got to do with 1975?

The rest of the chapter is just one more paragraph. We get another snippet of the phone conversation earlier, Rahim Khan's final comment before he hung up: There is a way to be good again.

That's intriguing. The chapter is short and it ends with the final hook:


Hook #3: The chapter ends with two sentences that set the stage for the rest of the book:
"I thought of the life I had lived until the winter of
1975 came along and changed everything. And made me what I am today."

Analysis: This raises again the questions that were first raised in the first hook. What is our hero today?
What changed in 1975? Why isn't he happy? Will he find a way to be good again?

Contract with the reader: The first chapter is extremely short, just three long paragraphs told in narrative summary. Clearly this is a literary novel about redemption (or lack of it). The pace is going to be measured, the language will be thought-provoking, and the style elegant.

You learn several things in the first chapter: If your idea of a good book is measured in body count, decibels, or steamy scenes, then the first chapter tells you to look elsewhere, because this is not the droid you're looking for. If you insist on getting a happy ending, you know in advance that none is guaranteed here, although one is possible. If you want authentic Afghanistan, then you can tell right away that you'll get it here.

Now what about the first chapter of your novel? What's the hook in the first sentence? What's the hook at the bottom of the first page? What's the hook at the end of the first chapter? What contract do you offer to your reader?

Can you improve your hooks? Can you clarify your contract?

Don't get hung up on perfection here. The question is whether you can improve what you've got right now. If you can, then do so.

If you can't, set these questions aside for another day. You'll be a better writer next month and next year. Like Scarlett O'Hara, you can think about it later.

Credits for the author: I have learned many valuable tips on writing from this site. Check out his other article titled: Creating---The Path of Least Resistance. It is about his theory that every good model of fiction writing has to pass the "Star Wars test.

Award-winning novelist Randy Ingermanson, "the Snowflake Guy," publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine, with more than 19,000 readers, every month. If you want to learn the craft and marketing of fiction, AND make your writing more valuable to editors, AND have FUN doing it, visit http://www.AdvancedFictionWriting.com.

Download your free Special Report on Tiger Marketing and get a free 5-Day Course in How To Publish a Novel.

I am now going to check out the hooks, in my first chapter, and see where I placed them. How are the ‘three hooks of your first chapter?

Trim your query down to 250 words

First, I want to apologize to my readers for my lack of blogging. Living on a farm has its drawbacks and one of them is the continual upkeep of the outbuildings, such as my barn. What began as a simple repair to an outer wall has turned into a complete rebuild. The more wood I tore off the more dry rot appeared. I jacked up the sloping roof and removed the entire 50-foot outer wall including the upright supports. The wall's framework is now up and waiting for tongue in grove (T&G) barn wood. Lucky for me I have a farmer friend who has an old outbuilding that he wants taken down. I have spent the last two weeks helping him tear down the building. My reward is a large pile of T&G wood that I will use to finish the wall. A red coat of paint and it will look good as new. Gosh, I wonder if my horses will thank me.

BREAKING NEWS: TK Richardson's young adult book titled RETURN THE HEART, will be out this spring. This is great news and I congratulate TK for her hard work and wish her the best publishing success. Follow her blog here; once on her wonderful blog you can follow the link to her Web page.





I came across an article in my Feed Blitz news update service that I subscribe to, titled, How to Trim Your Query to 250 Words (or fewer): Advice from Agent Janet Reid of FinePrint Literary Management, aka the Query Shark. She gave this information at a query workshop for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. I have decided to take her advice, take some time off, and rewrite my own query letter. You have probably read many articles like this, however, I believe this new explanation is easier to comprehend and follow than other articles on this topic.

"Your ability to write a query that does your novel justice can make or break your chances of landing an agent. Reid recommends spending two months perfecting this 250-word marvel.

Your query encompasses three sections:
1. 100 words answering the question ?What is the book about??
2. A brief summary of your writing credits, if you have them.
3. Miscellaneous information on how you found the agent or why you chose him/her.

THINGS TO CUT FROM EACH SECTION

Section One:
1. Back story.
2. World building.
3. Character roll call.
4. Telling.
5. A synopsis.

Section Two:
1. Academia ? classes, teachers, degrees, dissertations.
2. Conferences you?ve attended.
3. Self-published novels, or traditionally published novels with poor sales.
4. Personal information.

Section Three:
1. Begging, flattery.
2. Arrogance or self-deprecation.
3. Offer of an exclusive.
4. Your marketing plan.
5. Quotes from rejection letters, paid editors, critique groups, your mom.

TWO THINGS TO KEEP

Section One:
1. Title, genre, word count.
2. The essentials of your novel. (Every time you think you know, ask yourself ?So what? And then?? until you?re left with your main character, conflict, and consequences.)

Section Two:
1. Published short stories or novels.
2. Published magazine or newspaper articles.

Section Three:
1. Why you chose this agent.
2. A connection you have from a conference/workshop.

Start from the bare bones and build from there. Infuse each section with your book?s personality. Consider every word. Don?t forget your contact information. And close with ?Thank you for your time and consideration.? Now get trimming!"

If you meet people without humor, they are dead.

 People are social by nature. They have fears, concerns, experience happiness (smiling) and failure (frowning). It takes 22 muscles to smile and 32 muscles to frown so why not let your reader smile as they read your manuscript.

        Humor wears many hats and can effectively enhance your writing. The idea is not to let your reader think your protagonist is a clown but to add a real true-life characteristic to their personality.

        I said that humor has many hats. By this, I mean the different types of humor available to writers. There is the laugh aloud humor, the kind you hear at a party or read in a joke magazine. There is purposeful humor. Humor created by the actions of your protagonist, like playing a joke on their best friend. How about creating a scene between two of your characters whose dialogue creates a humorous scene. I call this indirect humor. A third party such as your reader can only observe this type of humor. Indirect humor is my favorite because it draws in your reader and makes them smile or laugh.

        I will give an example of indirect humor from my second book titled QUEST (sequel to MYSTERIOUS GIFT). First, I must set up the scene for you. Jen and Cheryl are in modern day Greece looking for the Muse of History. The hotel they are staying in is magical. Built by the ancient Greek gods it has many features not found in normal hotels. For one, normal people cannot see it. They see only an empty lot. The rooms Jen and Cheryl are staying in look small from the outside, however inside it expands to hundreds of square feet. The bathroom contains a brook for bathing and healing and has a trail leading to a large field covered in flowers and cold mountains in the background. This area is The Valley of Dreams; you can act out your deepest fantasies. If your fantasy is to have an affair with a Greek god or hero, it can happen here. Want to be the hero of a war or listen to Plato as he recites his teachings; it is all possible here. Time stands still while you are inside this valley. Jen explores this area; becomes disillusioned, and returns to her room. She vows to warn Cheryl of the Valley of Dreams.

Excerpt: Jen was just about to check her own clothing for the night's activities when she heard knocking on the door leading to Cheryl's room. Cheryl came in dressed in her bathrobe. Her arms and legs showed several dark, reddish bruises. A red welt crossed her left cheek.


  "Cheryl, what happened to you?"


  "I spent time in the Valley of Dreams."


  "Oh Cheryl, I was going to warn you about that. It is false; no real happiness can come of it."


  Cheryl's eyes took on a dreamy look.


  "It was wonderful, and I would do it again. You should have seen them: tall, muscular, bearded, and brave."


  Jen's mouth dropped opened as she stepped backwards and looked again at Cheryl.


  "They all wanted to do my bidding, no questions asked. I was surrounded by men, all eager to please me."


  "Cheryl,how many men where there?"


  "Three hundred, strong, brave, and willing men, all at my beckoning."


  Jen tripped backwards, landing on her bed.


  "Three hundred," she gasped.


  "I changed history and won the Battle of Thermopylae."


        A pillow lifted and flew from Jen's bed hitting Cheryl across her face. Jen looked up as the door closed--only Cheryl's laughter echoed in her mind.

        If you were Jen or Cheryl neither of you would appreciate the humor in the dialogue. Your reader sits on the outside and discovers the humor. They might even smile or laugh. With the popular movie THE 300, still fresh in the minds of moviegoers, it was a natural choice for Cheryl to dream of winning that impossible battle. This theme (Cheryl winning the battle of Thermopylae), is mentioned several more times, much to Jen's annoyance.

        The question is, do you employ humor in your novel, and if not, why? Examples are welcome.

Create your own book trailer

Today’s blog is actually about another blog that I follow titled My Writing Masquerade, penned by T.K. Richardson, a talented writer and member of Agent Query Connect.

Her prose is infectious and in her own words:

These short stories are snapshots of life. It has been said a picture is worth a thousand words, but I say a thousand words can create a picture so vivid, layers so complex, that it can be remembered long after the image has faded. As a writer, a storyteller, an addict of words, these stories-- all captured with the lens of my imagination-- will hopefully resonate with you, the reader. I hope you enjoy them.

Both her blog and web site represent excellent examples of pre-marketing her newest complete YA novel, RETURN THE HEART. I enjoin all of you to check out her latest blog post, Make your own book trailer. Ms Richardson explains how easy it is to use Microsoft’s free Movie Maker program to market your own book. Last night I followed her advice, visited the internet and gathered a few free pictures. Later I used the program and made a simple slide show with written comments. I was impressed with the results. Now I can create a book trailer for my own SiFi/Fantasy MYSTERIOUS GIFT.

Agent Query Connect / Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and YA ResourceNetworking

Since this blog site is focused on Science Fiction and Fantasy writing I want to introduce you to a writer's site that I am a member of and interact with. Agent Query Connect. The writers group I belong to is called Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and YA Resource Networking. Click on groups and work your way down to the Fantasy, Science-Fiction, and YA Resource Networking group. You must request permission to join this group (hint, press the request button). If your writing interests are the same as the group you will not be denied entry. The founder and energy behind this phenomenal group is Clippership.

When I first heard her name I imagined an old salty sailor, with a pipe in her mouth and her hair blowing in the wind. Since joining I have found her to be a true friend and an accomplished writer. Her comments about my first attempt at writing a SiFi/Fantasy novel, pointed out my weaknesses and at the same time she gave me a pat on the back.

The other great benefit to joining this site is the members. I am amazed at their energy and writing skills. All levels of writers are represented and their comments are priceless. We do have our fun and contests and the comment section is filled with wisdom and mirth. I can truly say this site helped me to finish and edit my first novel, MYSTERIOUS GIFT.

Agent Query Connect has many other groups and assets for the writer no matter what your genre is. There is a group for critiquing query letters and another one titled First Page Critiques. The feature I enjoy using is the quick agent search. I can enter a genre, click the button and within seconds I am looking at a list of current agents.

If you write Science Fiction/Fantasy novels then I recommend that you check out this group.