More Doodles

Quite a few people either posted comments or emailed about their doodling in response to my post on doodling.

Laura is the graphic designer who did the logo for Cactus Rain Publishing. Check out the kind of doodling she does. http://www.lauraruggeri.com/calligrams.html

Some of these look like book cover art -- don't you think?

I forgot to say, there was no compensation for this post.

Ya gotta love this...

I have to say that I am much more likely to gently, lovingly run my fingertips over the edges of a book like this more than I would feel the love for an ebook in my hand. That's just me, I'm a tactile person.




Where I found this link: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/11/the-opposite-of-an-ebook.html

I forgot to say, there was no compensation for this post.

eBooks

It is no secret that I'm not all that into eBooks. For one thing, it took me years to learn to read and I took lots of mean spirited teasing in the process.

I want a book, a real one. I like the feel of a book in my fingers, or resting against my chest as I curl up with it -- lost in the writer's world between the pages. I like the smell of the crisp yellowed pages of the 100+ year old books I own. I like the wonder when I open the proof copy of one of my books.

eBooks don't do anything for me. I can't hand write notes in the margin and draw a line to the print that spawned the idea. My laptop doesn't fit in my purse. I won't spend the money for an eReader (though they all look really cool). The readers don't have a universal file type - remember BETA vs VHS, and now Blu-ray? That pirating thing really hacks me off - bet they cheated in school too. Okay, the pirating thing is my biggest issue.

And don't give me that GREEN business. I've been recycling for years. Our recycling bin is always twice as full as our trash bin - try that with a family of five.

The ebook might be digital, but it took energy to produce it on a computer, most servers are on regular energy (iPower hosts on green servers), and don't think the satellites were launched into orbit without using just a bit (okay a whole lot) of energy -- including the lights on inside the sat companies where all those smart people work. Even reading on a phone or PDA isn't all that green, if not on satellites, they are sending the signal from towers that were smelt in factories...blah, blah, blah.

But mostly, I set out to publish a book, not a digital file...and I am so not with the times on this at all.

I've said this green stuff before and I only dare do it again while Carolyn Howard-Johnson isn't looking. But here is an expert: http://www.ringgold.com/UKSG/si_pd.cfm?Pid=10&Articleid=5018&XSection=Business&issueno=208

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6925926.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/20/filesharing-crackdown

and a great overview of eBook readers -- really cool: http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/16/engadgets-holiday-gift-guide-e-book-readers/?icid=mainhtmlws-main-ndl1link3http%3A%2F%2Fwww.engadget.com%2F2009%2F11%2F16%2Fengadgets-holiday-gift-guide-e-book-readers%2F

I forgot to say, there was no compensation for this post.

A Rose by any other name...

Besides the bit about some new ideas on how literary agencies do things, there are things going on with big publishers - the New York Suits, as I call them.

Surely by now anyone who follows the trade news has heard about Harlequin Horizons. Right? Harlequin is a major romance publisher in the US. They have decided to offer a self-publishing option to their slush pile writers. They have partnered with Author Solutions (the group that is made up of iUniverse, Author House, and several other self-publishers).

A couple of writers' organizations have pitched a fit about it and want [demand] Harlequin change the name of this new venture. They don't want the name "Harlequin" used in the name of the new company. It seems they don't like it because it is self-publishing that they don't want the name of a "real" publisher attached to the process.

I hate to spoil the fun, but self-publishing with these Author Solution (and other) companies has been around for ages, they sprung up like crazy after POD technology was invented. Not to mention Nelson Publisher did the same thing a few weeks back and there was hardly a word raised in complaint by anyone.

Several writers' groups have pitched a fit about the name more than the concept that seems to me akin to the diva bullies on the playground when we were little kids in grammar school. Seems these writers' groups are now banning Harlequin from their 'best friends' list.

The first one I heard who pitched a fit was RWA (Romance Writers of America). Seems for years Harlequin was invited (pockets lighter of tons of donations) to the RWA (et al) conferences. (I wasn't there, I'm going by what I read in every respectable trade news outlet.)

What gets me is that who do they (the writers' groups) think they are to tell any other business how to run their business? If I was a member of one of these groups, I'd be totally embarrassed by what the leadership has done -- make them all look like silly spoiled children. And gosh, every time I think about joining a writing group - hefty memberships included -- they pull some bone-head stunt that totally turns me off.

I can't believe that Harlequin is letting these groups push them around and are changing the name of their new venture because someone outside their organization is pouting. I thought the whole thing was inventive and forward looking by Harlequin execs. Too bad they don't believe in their brilliant ideas enough to tell the writers' groups to mind their own business.

See the link below for one take on the matter. http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/2009/11/23/HarlequinsSelfPublishingVentureIsItTheFutureOfPublishing.aspx
Look in the November posts for the new name of Harlequin Horizons and more info on the Nelson company mentioned in the other link. http://www.ereads.com/index.html

I had some links to articles about the RWA, MWA, and SFWA organizations said/did regarding Harlequin Horizons, but realized they are subscription only, so just google and you'll find stuff out there, elsewhere.

Oops! I forgot to say, no compensation was made for this post.

Literary Agents

I thought the post on the link at the bottom of this page was interesting. Good lit agents work with a writer if the ms is promising, but a bit rough around the edges. It takes a lot of time to review and make suggestions, and even more time if the writer is a stubborn goat. (No offense to goats intended.)

It's maddening to spend the time and tell a writer exactly what they need to fix to make their ms competitive, at least as competitive as possible, only to have them argue the point and not budge.

It is time lost that could be spent with an equally good product and a much more willing writer.

So the question has been raised, in the link below, should lit agents charge for this service; for content editing? They charge for messenger service and such, but not ever for reading. I don't think they should charge for reading, that is part of their job. However, it takes hours and hours to work with someone to flesh out a ms, usually belonging to a debut writer. Content editing is a different process than reading to offer a contract, or not.

I am still thinking this one over, but I'm leaning toward the idea of charging a fee for content editing. These people do know the industry and what is being bought at the moment, as well as the particular interests of specific acquisition editors at various publishing houses.

The reason I'm leaning in favor of the lit agents charging for this particular services is that they could be, as I said, working with an ms that needs less work. If they could know that the time spent fleshing out promising mss was not lost, then we might see a lower rejection rate. They might accept more mss, if they knew it wouldn't be a total loss to take a chance.

Isn't that what every writer wants -- someone to take a chance on them and their ms? Who knows, some of the passed up mss might be exactly what the acquisition editors want or more importantly, what readers would like (given the opportunity) to read - if lit agents could afford to invest the time in them.

Decide for yourself. Here's the link: http://www.idealog.com/blog/literary-agents-and-the-changing-world-of-trade-publishing

Procrastination

There are a million and one ways to not write.

One way is to buy writing software or go to a name generator online and play for hours deciding on a name, plot, or some other writing related detail. You can get great ideas from these.

Another thing some fiction writers do is outline the entire story, write extensive bios on the principle characters, research, research, and research some more.

Besides all the legitimate reasons that get in the way of writing, especially for moms/mums, I doodle.

When the writer's mind is gone for the day, yet I want to feel a pen in my hand (I write on the computer), I doodle with pen and ink. I don't use anything fancy, just a regular gel pen and printer paper and lots of circles and short lines. A different view of this doodle was in my December 2008 newsletter http://nadinelamanbooks.com/pdf/brag12-08.pdf

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm taking the rest of the week off!

Retro look

Several years ago, I read an ms for Nidhi Dhawan. Nidhi is an ENT surgeon in India. Recently Nidhi and I were talking (email) about her book and I ended up designing a cover for her.

First of all, so much for my memory, I knew there was a tree in the book that figured prominently throughout the lives of two little boys, one Hindu and the other Muslim. While I was waiting for Nidhi to tell me the type of tree it was, I took a quick look in her ms for a clue.

I mocked up a cover using a tree I had drawn some time ago - see tomorrow's post. As it turned out, I had the wrong tree in mind. Then I set out to draw a Banyan tree and redo the cover since she had liked the general idea of the cover. Nevertheless, it turned out to be a good thing I got confused about the trees, as Nidhi liked the use of the Banyan tree over the Neem tree.

Take a look at the picture of these book covers in the link below. Then look at the one I designed above. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/nov/17/penguin-designs

Some things never go out of style such as simple straight forward cover art ...me thinks. Sometimes a book will tell you what it wants. Perhaps on another day I will post the transitions of this cover.

Special thanks to Lecter Johnson for permission to use his font, xxii arabian onenightstand, in the cover art for Nidhi's book.

FREE Blog Party 09 Book

With Thanksgiving Day (in the USA) coming next week, I thought I'd offer a copy of the Blog Party 09 Book FREE as a 'thank you' for all the years of good times in this industry. The blog party was the perfect example of what I often refer to as the writers' community.

There are times this industry is difficult and times of serendipity. We share these times with each other. Take a moment and scroll through any page on the Blog Party (click the party icon on the sidebar) and see what I'm talking about.

So here's the deal. Anyone, absolutely any one is eligible to get the FREE Blog Party 09 book. This can be your first visit to my blog or we can know each other. All you have to do is send me an email, before the end of November, telling me why you want a copy of the book. FREE is free, including free shipping - world wide.

All you have to do is send me an email saying why you want the book. Easy-peasy. Put in the subject line something like, free blog party book.

Always, always, I autograph books I send.

Email address: NadineLaman [at] aol.com

Ready, set, GO!

Supporting Characters

Everyone knows that in a novel there is at least a main character (MC) and their antagonist - the person who makes the MC's struggle real - and secondary characters, their friends or sidekicks.

One set of characters some novice writers forget to add judiciously are the background characters - the extras in a movie. These are the people on the street, in the restaurants, or neighbors. These people help flesh out the MC.

Since I can use my books without anyone's permission, I'll use them for examples. In Kathryn's Beach there is a convent. The most prominent nuns are Sister Elizabeth and her sidekick Sister Theresa. However, other nuns walk in and out of scenes, perhaps say a line or two, and leave. It wouldn't be very believable that Saint Mark's was a real convent with only two nuns. To tell the truth, I had to keep a list to remember which nun was the school principal. They weren't that important to me or to the story to remember their names. But they played an important role in making the convent and the two main nuns seem more real.

The same goes for the mention of the traffic on the freeways in Los Angeles. I don't make a big deal of it, but it would be lacking to not mention the traffic problem that caused the detour Kathryn and Sister Theresa took that lead to Sister Theresa's big question to Kathryn in High Tide. Wouldn't it seem odd to drive all over LA and never mention traffic?

Also at the airport in High Tide, even though Kathryn couldn't go to the gate now like she did, she could when the ms was written (pre-September 11, 2001). It makes sense for the traveler to bump Kathryn with their carry-on bag and the people she encounters on the escalator. LAX is a very busy airport. There had to be people in it for anyone to believe Kathryn was at LAX. Whereas, Kansas City International (KCI) closes down early and no one is around when you get off the plane - very spooky!

Storm Surge switches settings requiring a whole new group of background characters had to be cast, like the gardner. Some of them had been introduced in High Tide, so the trilogy carried over from one book to the next. Otherwise it would be like Kathryn had been plucked out of the two previous books and plunked down into a different story all together.

Keep in mind camera angles and you won't forget the background characters. There is always a wide angle or pan to show the other people in the location, then it narrows onto the principle characters per that scene. Pay attention to that when you watch TV and translate it to your writing - don't forget to cast a few extras in your novel.

Location, location, location...

Nope! I'm not looking to buy or sell property. However, location plays a major role in the setting for mss. (Actually, it applies to more than novel writing, any form of fiction needs a setting or set for scripts.)

Even though location plays a backstage role in most novels, it can have a huge impact on the believable factor for the reader. You can take the average main character (MC) and move them from one location to another unrelated location, and their behavior will adapt - or should.

While the characters, particularly the MC and the antagonist, play the largest role in getting the reader to dispense with reality and buy into your story's reality, a well done setting can help the process along.

I'm visiting in Pine, AZ, in the Tonto National Forest. This isn't the typical mountain living, like in Flagstaff or one of the Colorado mountain cities. This is where cabins are sparely placed in the forest. Many of the roads are dirt and rugged.

One thing I've learned in the short while I've been here is to scan the horizon for smoke every time I go outside. Forest fires are frequent in the Arizona forests (and in Southern California).

As we were driving up the 500 feet elevation from the town where shopping is done here, we noticed a yellow-brown haze hovering over the next ridge ahead of us. It was the kind of thing found over many US major cities, but we both scanned for the source of the smoke. Once we found the chimney of smoke was narrow and from the east of where we were headed, we resumed our conversation and proceeded up the mountain.

The point is, there are behaviors that locals do particular to their environment. Don't go overboard, but if you can add something to convince the reader who has lived in a similar location that this is true, you are one step closer to moving them to dispense with disbelief.

The converse is true. Hubby's great aunt remarked once how a fairly famous writer had the moon rise over the Mid-western plains at 2:00 AM. She threw the book in the fireplace. The moon does not rise that late in the central plains states. Actually, it should be beginning its descent by then.

While I don't want novice writers to sweat blood over every detail, do pay attention to particulars that the locals would know are pure fiction, if you're asking them to move into the world you've created in your novel and believe it is real.

On the other hand, in SciFi or fantasy, it is sometimes useful to take a known item from our world, like the moon rising, and have it behave differently. That gives the novel an other world quality. So, maybe you want the moon to rise at noon. Then you can have the characters react to that, such as saying it will be clear for the battle or the journey at hand. I think it is handy to take an element from the setting that is familiar and guide the reader to translate that item into the unreal world.

Make sure what you add to your story is there for a reason, not just filling space. Write well, enjoy the process, and take your readers with you.

TIP: Get travel videos from the library and watch the locals in the background of the host.

PITCH: I rarely pitch, but Kathryn's Beach is an excellent example of setting contributing to the character of the MC. The link to purchase is in the left sidebar of this blog.