Month: November 2017

5 Tips for the Pantser in You

Hello, my name is Shirley, and I’m a Pantser. Did you ever feel like you needed a group session because everyone you know is an outliner and you aren’t? If so, welcome to my world.

Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

I’m a Pantser, and I’m proud of it. Some of us are just not cut out to be outliners. I know, I know, conventional wisdom will tell you this is wrong. But really, is it? One of the most highly recommended books for people learning to write is Stephen King’s “On Writing.” He’s a pantser! So, yes. It’s OK. Give yourself a break, pat yourself on the back. Take a deep breath. Stand up and proclaim to the world: I’m a Pantser and proud of it.

Just because we’re pansters doesn’t mean we have no idea what we’re doing. Here are five tips to help the Pantser in you create a fabulous story.

  1. Understand story structure inside and out. Someone like Stephen King can skip outlining, because he’s studied what a good story is made of and written so many novels that it is inherent in him. He does it automatically. You need to have the basics of story structure ingrained, so that, when you sit down and your story flows, it takes a form your readers can follow and enjoy. For more on story structure, see my next post.
  2. Know your characters and make them come alive. Readers want to relate to your characters. They want to feel their emotions, agonize over their quandaries and feel the excitement of the ride as they over come the obstacles you put in their paths. Make your characters real by giving them a full range of flaws along with their loveable quirks. If you’ve given yourself time to get to know them, it’ll show. There are worksheets galore to help flesh out your characters, or you can simply have a make-believe interview. If you run low on ideas, browse through the list of character traits at the website at ideonomy. Traits are categorized by positive and negative for your convenience.
  3. Ask yourself, “What if…” Something like: What if this wonderful three-dimensional character I’ve created fell into a manhole and found themselves in an underground steampunk world? That should get your juices flowing. Write about what comes to mind until you slow down. Then ask again: What if she met the man of her dreams in this steampunk world but had to get back to the surface because her best friend is in trouble and needs her. Keep asking what if until you’ve got a whole story.
  4. Write now. Edit later. You’ve admitted it. You’ve said it out loud. Now let go and follow your muse where it leads you. Don’t strive for perfection, just get the story out of your head and into the world. Follow your characters’ hearts. Describe their world. Give them obstacles and watch as they work themselves around, under and over them. Discovering is one of the best things about being a pantser. You get to be the reader and the writer. Let the story take you over. Doing this will keep it fresh and fun – something I find indispensable to my pantser mind.
  5. Be prepared to self-edit and re-write. Go into it with the knowledge that you will have to spend time at the end to polish your jewel. This may not be your favorite part, but never leave it out. You’ll have saved time at the beginning by plunging right into the grit of your story. But it’s like the old saying about paying now or paying later. Pantsers pay later. And that’s OK. Just don’t expect your first draft to be a finished masterpiece, and you won’t disappoint yourself. You understand story structure. Your characters are fully fleshed out. You’ve put them into amazing circumstances and they’ve come out just the way you hoped they would in. Now it’s time to take a close look and fine tune your timing.  Make sure the story fits into a proper structure. If you did your homework up front and studied story structure, you’ll find each story fitting in with less and less effort.

Now, repeat after me: “I’m a Pantser and I’m proud of it!”

Comments? Contact me.

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Being an indie author doesn’t mean you’re alone.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and I have much to be thankful for. My debut novel, “Moon Songs” is now for sale on Amazon. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to finally have a book published. It’s a life-long dream come true. I’ve learned so much in the months since I retired from corporate America. Deciding to be an independent “indie” author was my first step. I thought that would be so much easier than trying to find a traditional publisher. Well my friend, I’m here to tell you – there is no easy way.

Here are a few things I learned about writing and publishing a novel:

1. Being indie doesn’t mean you go it alone. There are lots of people involved if you do it the right way.

2. You need an editor. I found mine by serendipity. She’s a friend of a friend. Isn’t that the best way? She taught me more about story structure in a few hours than I’d managed to absorb through a lifetime of reading.

3. You need a good cover. Luckily, I have a sister who’s an artist. She graciously painted and donated the artwork for the cover.

4. There’s a proven method for writing a novel. I needed to learn the ins and outs of writing a novel, and for that I have Joanna Penn’s course, “How to write a Novel” to thank. Don’t you just love a name that tells you exactly what you’re going to get?

5. There are the amazing people out there who so graciously offer free advice to new writers. People like K. M. Weiland whose Helping Writers Become Authors was and continues to be invaluable. And Mark Dawson with his podcasts and Self Publishing Formula. If you’re aspiring to write and self-publish, I highly recommend that you check these people out. Click on the links above and you’ll be taken to their websites.

6. You can’t just write and publish a book. You have to promote it.

7. The best way to let people know you’ve published a new book is through a targeted email list.  That’s why I’ve started a list and have a goal of adding 100 people by the end of this winter. If you’d like to subscribe, click here. I’ll only email information about new books I publish. I promise I won’t send a million messages, and I will never share my list with anyone.

I’ll never sit down to read a novel again without being aware of all the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into the book.

Help me get to my goal of 100 subscribers by the end of this winter! Click here to join my email list.

Happy Reading, Writing, and Thanksgiving!

Shirley

13 Dates by Matt Dunn – a laugh out loud read.

When you read a lot of romance, especially if you’re like me and will buy the ninety-nine cent specials online, you get a mixed bag. Some writers make you cry with their honest portrayal of agonizingly sad situations we humans get ourselves into. Others keep you on the edge of your seat, sitting up all night turning page after page, dying to know what happens next. And then there are those rare and wonderful books that make you laugh out loud. I’m talking hold your belly, snort through your nose, laughing. Those are my favorites.

So imagine how happy I was when I found a new author (to me) who is capable of making me spit milk through my nose. That’s right, folks. I’m talking hilarious. The author is Matt Dunn, and the book is entitled “13 Dates.” Seriously folks, you’ve got to read this story of a lovable, but bumbling guy named Noah. He falls hopelessly in love while standing in line at a Starbucks. When he tells his co-worker that he’s in love, he’s told that love at first sight doesn’t exist. That you can’t know if your love is real until you’ve had 13 dates. It’s a fact garnered from a teen magazine, so it must be true. Right?

The book is about Noah’s pursuit of his dream girl, Angel. She believes in living life to the fullest, every day. Every. Day. No compromising. So, Noah has to come up with more and more elaborate dates to keep her around. He’s convinced that she’ll be in love with him by the 13th date.

I haven’t laughed so much while reading a book since the first time I read a Janet Evanovich’s “One for the Money,” with the adorable Stephanie Plum character. By the way, that’s a series you should not miss.

But back to Noah. The book is narrated by Noah, whose internal ramblings can be as funny to read as his experiences getting ready for and going on dates. He’s got a lovable landlord, runs an art gallery that ends up selling…No, I don’t want to spoil it for you. Get the book. You’ll be so glad you did.

I’ll be reading everything I can find that Matt Dunn’s written. He’s that good. And I don’t know how it took me so long to find him, because he’s got quite a lot of material out there.

Here’s Matt Dunn’s author page. Let me know if you like the book as much as I did!

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Contact me!

Happy Reading,

SHP

 

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

So You Want to Start a Blog?

If you’re like me – starting out in the writing world/deciding you’ll self-publish and thinking you need to have a blog – you’ve watched podcasts, YouTube videos, read books, and articles until your head is about to explode. You’ve probably realized that writing is only one of the many skills you’ll need. The advice I’ve found says you need an author webpage; a blog; an email list and a way to increase it; an editor; a cover that’s professional and will catch reader’s attention in a few seconds; a way to format and upload your book…

That’s a lot! Today, I’ll share a few things I learned when starting this blog. Maybe they’ll help you bypass a few of the roadblocks I’ve hit.

  1. If they say it’s easy – DON’T BELIEVE THEM. Have you heard the old axiom, “If it were easy, everybody would be doing it?” There’s a reason it’s an axiom. Note: This point does not apply if you are under the age of 12. For everyone else, trust me, you’re going to have to apply yourself to get this done.
  2. If they say you can do it in 30 minutes, give yourself 3 days max. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
  3. It’s worth it. Persevere. If nothing else, you’ll learn a little about patience. And if you are worried about your brain in old age, the learning will stretch you and keep your brain flexible and strong.
  4. It can be done. If I can do it, anyone can.

Now, for some practical advice:

  • Find a guru. I followed Scott Chow’s guide and it was awesome. Here’s his “How To Start A Blog Today” site: https://www.theblogstarter.com
  • Read it all through first. Then start and not a minute sooner.
  • If you use BlueHost and WordPress – don’t be afraid of PlugIns. They are your friends, and a lot of them are free.
  • When you think you’ve got it all sorted out and have published your pages/post(s) – test it again on a different device.
  • This is a big one folks: Only share your link after you’re sure the URL gets you where you want to go. I shared mine too soon and the cache system on my friends’ and relatives’ devices kept sending them to the unfinished site. Spare yourself this agony. If I’m too late, check out this site on clearing caches: https://kb.iu.edu/d/ahic.

Hope this helps. If you have a comment,  contact me.

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Thanks and happy blogging!

ShirleyP

Hello to all hopeless romantics.

My first post! Thanks for coming along for the ride.

Romance can be a lot of things. Here are some things I find romantic:

  • A dramatic table setting with candles, lace, fine china and crystal,
  • A picnic blanket by the river with paper plates and plastic cups,
  • A husband who gets up to check on the crying baby in the middle of the night, even though it’s not his “turn,” because he knows you’re dead tired.,
  • A woman who washes and waxes her husband’s truck when he’s on the night shift,
  • Standing in the driveway, holding hands with the one you love, watching the moon rise,
  • Seeing rays of the sun wash through winter’s barren trees,
  • Kissing your grandchild for the first time,
  • Adopting a stray kitten.

Tell me your idea of what romance is by contacting me.

If you have a favorite romance novel, send me the name of the book and the author.

As for me, I’ve written two novels and am in the middle of the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. As soon as December rolls around, I hope to start editing the story. When all three books are ready, I will publish on Amazon. If you’d like to get a notification when the books are out, let me know. Contact me!

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Happy Reading and Writing!

Shirley