When writing, do you typically come up with a title first or write the story and name it later on?

For me it depends on the story. My very first novel still doesn’t have a title that I’m happy with even though I wrote it years ago. Not that I’m still trying to come up with a title for it, but I did for a long time. I went through a few different working titles before settling on Dawn of Darkness, more out of a desperation to settle on something than any satisfaction with that title. However, since that novel isn’t likely to see the light of day without massive (and I mean MASSIVE) rewrites, I’m not too worried about it.

I came up with the titles for two of my other novel in the midst of writing or revising them. My latest novel, however, has worked out differently. This time I came up with the title first and it was the title that inspired the story. I knew I was going to write a music-themed mystery so I jotted down a bunch of music-related words and phrases and when I wrote down what was to become my title I was like, “THAT’S IT!!!” And the story grew from there.

So for me it changes from story to story. Sometimes the story inspires the title and sometimes the title inspires the story.

When and how do you come up with titles for your stories?

(I won’t be talking about second person in this post simply because it’s so rarely used).

I personally have no preference when it comes to reading books. As long as the story is well written, I’m fine with first person or third person. What I do have an issue with, however, is inconsistency or lack of a definite voice. For example, I’ve come across a few third person pov books which seem to be in third person limited, with the narrator’s knowlege limited to the thoughts, observations, etc of one character. However, well into the story we suddenly get thoughts from another character or two thrown in. Then the story goes back to focusing on the protagonist’s pov. When that happens, I get jolted out of the story and feel disconnected from it. I also tend to feel all “Grrr.”

I’ve also been known to get frustrated with books written in first person but featuring different characters’ povs in different chapters. Don’t get me wrong, this can be done extremely well and I’ve read great books written in this way. However, without a distinctive voice for each character, the story can get confusing. I can think of one book in particular, written by a famous author (who shall remain nameless), that confused me in this way. The character featured in a certain chapter was listed as the chapter heading and I often found myself having to flip back to figure out which character was currently telling the story. I don’t think I should have needed to do that. I would have preferred it to be obvious, because of the distinctive voices, which character’s story I was reading at any particular time.

However, those are more quality/editing issues. When everything is executed well, I don’t care whether a story is told from in first person or the third person.

As for writing…

Up until recently I had written all of my novels in third person. For some reason third person pov just felt comfortable for me. But when I started writing my most recent novel, a cozy mystery, I felt like it should be written in first person. When I started out, it felt really uncomfortable and by the end of the first chapter I was ready to start all over again, changing the story to third person. But then my main character said, “Don’t you dare! This is my story and I want it told from my pov!!!”

I figured that arguing with her would be a bad idea. Plus, I decided that it wouldn’t hurt me to try something new. I decided to give first person more of a chance and now I’m glad I did. I’m halfway through the first draft now and feeling far more comfortable with writing in first person. It’s possible that I’ll always write more in third person but I like the idea of being comfortable with writing from either point of view.

What’s your POV on POV?

#WriteClub

Write Club was created by @MeganWhitmer for those of us writers who tend to stay home and write on Friday nights rather than going out to a party or the movies or wherever. Basically, it involves 30 minute writing sprints with 10-15 minute breaks between sprints. At the end of each sprint, participants share their word count. It’s a great way to cheer each other on and keep each other motivated. Write Club runs on Friday evenings/nights in both the UK and North America. Come join in the fun if you haven’t already! (Follow @FriNightWrites and check out the #writeclub hashtag).

#TraumaFiction

Trauma Fiction was started by @EAOtto and is a great resource for medical information. If you want to know how to kill, harm, or treat your characters in a realistic way, this is something you should definitely check out. You can ask @EAOtto specific questions, suggest topics or simply follow along on the hashtag for great information. #TraumaFiction usually takes place on Tuesdays at 10 am CST but check out the hashtag each week to confirm the day/time if you want to follow along in real-time.

I hope these two hashtags will be as helpful to you as they have been to me!

The father of one of my friends is a published author. Years ago, he offered to take a look at something I’d written and offered me some feedback and encouragement. He also told me a story about his own journey to publication. When he was trying to get his first book published (military fiction, I believe), he submitted to a publishing company which seemed quite interested in his book. The publisher asked him to make major changes to the manuscript and he did. Understandably, he was really excited about the publisher’s apparent interest and hoped that he was on the way to seeing his book in print. However, after he’d made all the requested changes to the manuscript, the publisher told him that the scenario in his novel was completely unrealistic and they weren’t going to publish it.

I’m sure any writer can imagine the disappointment that followed. Someone seems really interested in your work, you do everything they ask of you, and yet it doesn’t work out. Your dream of getting published doesn’t come true.

However, that’s not the end of the story. Not even close.

A little while down the road, somebody at another publishing company read his book. An intern, I think it was. She loved his book so much that she read the whole thing over one weekend and went back to work on Monday and said “We have to publish this book!” Not only that, the scenario that the first publisher said was completely unrealistic and could never happen in real life? A few months later, it did happen in real life. And the book went on to sell over 500,000 copies around the world. Now my friend’s dad is a successful author and has had several books published over the years.

The point of the story? As he said to me, “DON’T GIVE UP!!!”

The path to publication is not only paved with plenty of rejection, but sometimes falsely raised hopes as well. A publisher or agent might express interest in your work, might work with you for a time to make revisions, but sometimes things don’t work out. Maybe the publisher doesn’t give you a book deal in the end. Maybe the agent doesn’t sign you as a client. Maybe the agent does sign you but is unable to sell your book. These things happen. Be aware of that. It’s no fun when it happens, but just because something like that does happen, it doesn’t mean that your dreams won’t come true.

When everything lines up just right, when the match between author and publisher/agent is right, things will work out. Maybe not now, maybe not when you thought, but eventually. As long as you DON’T GIVE UP.

=)

There are several elements that writers can use to create atmosphere in their stories. These are some of the ones I’ve been thinking about lately with some examples:

• Setting (a creepy, abandoned house or a windswept heath)
• Senses (a boom of thunder, the spray of salty ocean water against skin, the smell of acrid smoke)
• Weather (driving rain, a dry, hot wind or fingers of mist)
• Imagery (shifting shadows, dappled shade)
• Word choice
• Character emotions

Creating atmosphere is something I want to work on with my own stories. Lately I’ve been trying to incorporate more senses, using all five rather than relying simply on sight. (Thanks, Sarah L Blair!) I’m hoping this is something I’ll get better and better at the more I write.

What are your thoughts on creating atmosphere? What other elements do you think are important?

Norway

A couple of years ago I discovered Karin Fossum’s Inspector Sejer mysteries. I’ve only read two so far but I enjoyed them and plan to read more in the series. These crime novels are similar in style to other “Inspector” series (books and television) such as Inspector Lynley, Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, etc. I love those books/shows so it’s probably not surprising that I enjoy Karin Fossum’s books as well. I also like the fact that these books are set in Norway because I haven’t read many books set there and I enjoy reading stories that take place in different countries.

Japan

Miyuki Miyabe is my pick from Japan. She writes science fiction and historical novels in addition to mystery novels, but so far I’ve only read her mysteries. Two of them, anyway — The Devil’s Whisper and The Shadow Family. Both books really drew me in and I’m hoping I can find more of her books in translation in the future.

Australia

I have to go with two authors for my Australian pics. Melina Marchetta writes awesome YA novels. I first read one of her novels when I was a teenager and have reread that one (Looking for Alibrandi) more than once since that time. Saving Francesca is also really good and I have On the Jellicoe Road on my Kindle waiting for me to read. I’m looking forward to it!

I’m also a huge fan of C.A. Larmer, an indie author from Australia. I’ve mentioned her on my blog before because I’m crazy about her Ghostwriter Mysteries featuring Roxy Parker. I also enjoyed her book The Agatha Christie Book Club, which isn’t part of the Ghostwriter series.

So those are some authors that I like from different countries.

Who are your favourite authors from countries other than your own?

Those are three words that I’ve been repeating to myself a lot lately.  I’m a little over halfway through my current urban fantasy WIP but things aren’t moving along as quickly as I would like.  Spending too much time thinking about that fact isn’t very helpful though.  When I think things like, “This will take forever to finish” or, “Why am I writing SO FREAKIN’ SLOWLY these days?!?!?” my brain ends up like this: “AHHHHHHHH!”

Which makes writing even harder.

So instead I try not to think about those things and simply tell myself, “Just keep writing.”

Of course, even when I am actually writing I have thoughts that interfere with my progress.  Thoughts like, “That scene I just finished is soooo boring” or “I’m pretty sure that scene two chapters ago isn’t written from the right pov.”

And, again, my brain goes: “AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

And, yes, once more I have to tell myself, “Just keep writing.”

After all, telling myself that I’m slow doesn’t make me write faster.  In fact, it probably has the opposite effect.  And whatever is wrong with my manuscript can be fixed during the editing process.  That’s what editing is for, right?

I still have all of those unhelpful thoughts going through my mind but I’m hoping that I can learn to listen to them less with time.  And no matter what, I must…

KEEP.  WRITING.

Do your thoughts ever get in the way of your writing?

The first was a historical fiction novel by Michelle Moran — Madame Tussaud.  I bought this book because I’ve read and enjoyed two other novels by Moran (Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen) and also because I knew next to nothing about the French Revolution and that era in France, but wanted to learn.  (What I learned from reading this book is that I’m sure as heck glad I didn’t live in France at that time what with all the mobs and head chopping going on!)  Based on Moran’s other books, I was expecting Madame Tussaud to be good, and I wasn’t disappointed.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

The second book I read was Tight Knit by indie author Allie Brennan.  This one was a YA novel about a girl who suffers from anxiety/panic attacks and a guy with a troubled past, and how together they begin to heal each other.  That’s a very simplistic way of summarizing it, but it was a great story and it drew me in right away.  Again, I would definitely recommend this one.  It’s available in both digital and paperback formats.

The third book, which I just finished today during my lunch break, was Big Boned by Meg Cabot.  It’s the third book in the Heather Wells mystery series, which is now one of my top three favourite mystery series.  If you haven’t read any books from this series (the first one is called Size 12 Is Not Fat) they’re lots of fun so check them out!

So basically I’ve loved all three books that I’ve read so far in 2013 and would recommend all of them.  Hopefully that trend will continue with plenty more good reads to come this year!

Have you read any of these three books?  If so, what did you think?

It’s October (my favourite month) and almost Halloween (one of my favourite days) so that means it’s almost time for pumpkin carving (one of my favourite activities)!

I grew several pumpkins this year but I also ended up buying a couple since only one or two of my own grew big enough to carve.  At the moment I’m planning on carving at least three pumpkins… two from ready-made patterns and one other (to be revealed once it’s carved).  For the time being, I thought I’d share some of my jack-o’-lanterns from the last couple of years.  Either on or just before Halloween, I’ll post pictures of this year’s pumpkins.

Now, I’m not even close to being an artist, but a couple of years ago I got it into my head that I HAD TO carve Stargate pumpkins.  Since I couldn’t find any patterns on the Internet, I learned how to make my own from photographs.  They don’t always turn out perfectly, but I still have fun with them.

Colonel Sheppard (with a partial Stargate) and the Wraith Queen were my first attempts.  These were done for Halloween 2010.

Last year I did a carving of my favourite hockey player, Kevin Bieksa (kind of messy but at least my sister’s students liked it!)

Also in 2011, I did some more Stargate pumpkins.  Here are two of them… Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard.

Like I said, I’m no artist but I have a lot of fun with pumpkin carving and that’s what counts, right?

Does anyone else have a love for pumpkin carving?

I haven’t yet reached the “this book sucks” stage and am still excited about it.  I can’t wait to share it with some of my writing buddies and see what they think about it.  However, that won’t happen until I’ve done at least one more round of editing and I’m not letting myself read the manuscript again until September.  Even though I’m itching to keep working on it, I know I need to step away from it and stick it in a drawer (or just not open the file on the computer) for a while so that I can look at it with somewhat fresh eyes in September.  It’s not easy for me to do that because, like I said, I’m excited about it and want to keep working at improving it.  I am, however, keeping myself busy in the meantime with other projects.  I’m currently plotting the next book in my urban fantasy series (Bloodstone was book #1 in the series) and I’m attempting to adapt my sci-fi/crime novel, The Big Bang, into a television pilot script (which it was originally meant to be).  Although I’m super eager to start writing the second book in my urban fantasy series, I’ve learned the hard way that I need to figure out the plot before I start writing (not every detail but I definitely need an outline of some sort).  I’m hoping to start writing the novel by mid-September though and am looking forward to developing the characters further.

Anyhow, that’s just an update of what I’m up to writing-wise these days.

I hope everyone else’s writing projects are going well!