Writers And Readers Websites Wednesday - a Book Trailer that's Not

Book trailers are fun and I watch a number of them.

This site though is a just for fun book trailer - that isn't really a trailer - wouldn't you want to read The Seven Year Bitch after seeing this?

Go ahead, Reader, Writer, check it out and tell me what you think.

Write With Intensity

There’s a lot of psychology and emotion that goes into great writing.

Emotion is something we all deal with every day and not all of our emotions are easy to deal with. There are all sorts of ways people use to deal with emotions, to cope with the fall-out and generally claw their way through no matter what.

What’s that got to do with writing? Really, you need to ask?

Lots. The way your characters deal with the emotions resulting from the tasks, tragedies and motives they’re given maximizes the vital conflict and resulting tension in your novel.

Think about everyday life. It’s not very often simple or direct. One friend takes out his or her anger on another not associated with the source of that anger. Some hapless soul becomes the target of that anger, someone who’s a convenient or easier target than the one who caused it. Complicated, huh? And just think it applies to pretty much all emotions. Think of guilt, love, fear, doubt and the whole host of other emotions that we try to tame every day.

The transference of these intense emotions can be at the root of your character. Once you’ve established how that character manages emotions you have free rein. You can use that tension, those reactions to reveal internal beliefs and the character’s view of the world in general. You can create drama. You can let your reader in on the interior reasons for that character’s determination to transfer those emotions to another (while the other characters in the story haven’t a clue), like blowing up at one person when angry with another or with life in general. That can throw open the door to irony, even humor when handled right. And you have the golden opportunity for escalating tension, one anger feeding another, as your story moves forward.

How about love? What if a character gives love, misplaced, is rejected and goes on a killing spree? I think we’ve all seen similar plots. What if a husband, after losing his job, comes home to find his wife embracing his best friend? Though it’s innocent enough it triggers a frustrated homicidal rage and the husband begins to plot a murder that will include his best friend and his wife.

If you, as the writer, keep your characters hopping, give one no time to recover from some traumatic event, it’s easy to see how without time to recover his balance a character might take out whatever keyed-up emotion inside on the next friend or family member who makes the smallest miss-step.

In real life emotions aren’t neatly contained, but spill over into every area of life. You can use that in story creation. If you know your characters well you’ll see the opportunities at every turn.

Writers and Readers Websites Wednesday - Free Books!

Looking for a source for some free Ebooks for your Kindle? You might want to check out MemoWare.  They'e offering free Ebooks in Literature (lots of subcategories) and Reference (also lots of categories). There are some old 'classics' such as Darwin's Origin of Species, but lots of newer stuff as well. 

Worth exploring! A way to add more reading material to that which you already purchase.

Spread your limbs!

What Makes Reading Sexy?

NYC Book Club Goes Topless 'To Make Reading Sexy,' Succeeds

May 5, 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/topless-book-club-new-york-photos-nsfw_n_5267320.html  

(yes there are photos at the article site so be aware)

sponsored by the New York City Bookclub: The Outdoor Co-ed Topless Pulp Fiction Appreciation Society

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What?  Oh, come on, really?  I find this concept a bit strange. I don’t care if women go topless or nude for that matter – and do it while they’re reading – but seriously, does this really make reading sexy? 

Come on readers – tell the truth, does this concept/idea/implementation make reading seem more sexy to you?  Or is it just a distraction? Nudity doesn’t offend me nor does it titillate me (unless it’s with the right person in the right place), but putting it in this context is just a strange idea. Who comes up with these ideas and comes up with these connections?

Instead of getting all exited over bare breasts take a moment to think about this whole idea. Is this supposed to attract more people to reading? Really? So you’re telling me if a young boy sees a good-looking young woman reading topless he’s going to think, “gee! I have to read that book!”? You think so, huh?

According to the headline it ‘succeeds’. How? Why? In what way? Is it getting people to read? Is it giving them a good chuckle? If I’m totally missing something here maybe you all need to comment and set me straight.

I’m a writer and I enjoy talking about writing and reading and their association but I have to admit this one throws me off, confusion-wise.   

They’re reading, great! 

Reading by anyone any time for any reason is great!

They’re topless; really, why is that a big deal?

I have to wonder if the whole point isn’t the opposite of what it’s purported to be. Could it be perhaps that folks who enjoy going topless and doing it in public like to use the guise of reading to give their public nudity a greater ‘air of respectability’ (not that one is needed)? Are they insecure?  Is reading simply being used? Or do they sincerely believe they're promoting reading? I don’t know. I couldn’t begin to tell you.

Perhaps I should leave it to you, my readers, to figure this one out and give some feedback. Forget all the ‘moral arguments’ regarding nudity whether you’re ‘for’ or ‘against’. Plainly it’s legal in NYC. As to the moral, ah, whatever your personal feelings are. That isn’t the issue here.

But, does someone seeing someone else reading a book topless make reading sexy? (And I want to note here that the law in NYC allows for men and women to go topless - so the 'sexy' thing applies to either one though the pics only show women). And, by extension, make that person want to read himself? Does seeing someone read topless make someone else want to do the same? And by the way exactly what does 'reading being sexy' mean? What do you think?

And I have to ask the question, why does reading need to be sexy? What’s the matter with fun, engrossing, delightful, relaxing, sweep you away to another world, entertaining, educational….well all that and more? Does everything in life now have to have a ‘sexy’ edge? I'm not saying that's bad or good, just the question - does it?

I’m a writer. I love reading ~ and writing. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe this should be stopped or repressed in any way. I’m just confused at the connection. 

It's all in good fun and as I say, reading is great - any time, any where, any how. 

Dying to hear all opinions.

Writers Creating Frustration

What the heck do your character want and why should/shouldn’t they get it?

That’s the question.

If your characters want or need something and there’s something ‘out there’ that stops them from getting it, that leads to frustration and frustration leads to better stories.

Think I’m wrong? 

Think about this. Jack and Jill meet in high school, decide to go to the same college, later get married, have a couple of kids, get great jobs and carry on…

Interesting?  NO!

So you’re gonna have to work with it. What might characters want that they can’t get? Maybe one wants to uncover a murderer, another wants to save the planet, or at least his neighborhood, another wants money, lots of money, yet another is desperate to save a dying loved one who needs a transplant and can’t get one. Whatever it is it needs to be something the character wants/needs very VERY badly.

So what might stop the character from getting what he wants?

Could be another character. The other character has different goals, ones that conflict. Could simply be differing goals (like in the movie UP; big corporations want to build on land where ‘hero’s small house stands – he intends to stay and his frustration ultimately causes havoc) or other character could have evil motivation. Could be both are evil. Maybe neither. Characters regularly come into conflict when both feel they are ‘right’ and their goal ‘noble’ but those goals are opposites or simply methods of getting there are at odds. And of course it doesn’t have to stop with just two characters, there can be many viewpoints and influences.  

There are also external events for characters to contend with, things that happen out of their control and can be very frustration. Weather happens. Tornados, hurricanes, storms, floods, blizzards, earthquakes (if that last can be called weather). Terrible snows can cause avalanches, floods can float houses away and take out bridges, earthquakes, well, earthquakes…!

Also on the ‘external’ list are things like a cell phone that won’t get service, a car that breaks down (could do it of its own accord or perhaps someone sabotaged it). A plane has minor problems delaying its departure from the gate, changing everything and frustrating protagonist. If it’s historical a horse could come up lame, a buckboard could lose a wheel, a train could be derailed, the telegraph down, the ship sinking. 

Well, you get the idea. There are many frustrations your characters can enjoy. But one word of advice. If you supply something along these lines you need to hint of it before. For example, if there’s a hurricane coming and you intend a bridge to be taken out, it could simply give way before the powerful force of pounding water – but what if a contractor is responsible for shoddy construction? Then perhaps it’s necessary to give an idea of what shape the bridge is in before the hurricane. But do it subtly so the reader gets a hint, but doesn’t have it thrown in his or her face. The ideal is to catch your readers by surprise…but not too much surprise. By that I mean the event may be surprising, but when the reader digests it all, he thinks, “Oh, yes, I suspected there’d be a problem because_______.”

Tease your readers, keep your characters in character and let them fight for what they want.

Writers and REaders Websites Wednesday - Thrillers!

Love to Read Thrillers?  Love to Write them?  Either way, go check out the Official Website of the International Thriller Writers - definitely worth your time for a look around.  Want to join? You can - membership fees vary. 

A Writer's Don't - Mirror Gazing

How many of you writers are guilty of having one of your characters describe him or herself by looking in the mirror?

How many of you readers have been massively annoyed by that little trick?

Yep, today we’re talking about a major no-no in writing. It could work with a screen script – at least the guy could look at himself in a mirror though he wouldn’t be reeling off self-description – but it sure won’t work where written in a book. Really. Just don’t.

Why? Do I really have to tell you? Ask the above-mentioned readers, but well, sigh, okay, here goes

It’s boring. Really, really boring. (again, ask above-mentioned readers).  Readers today aren’t so concerned with the character’s appearance as they are with the character’s character, the character’s personality and maybe a bit of what created that personality. Of course you want to throw in a few details, then let the reader fill in the blanks. The reader really doesn’t want to read pages of, “he stared at himself in the mirror, tracing the deeply etched worry lines that furrowed between his brows and carved the deep crags in his richly tanned face…..” and on and on. Get over it. Don’t do it. Boring.

Oh, and by the way, don’t think your readers don’t realize this is nothing more than a writer’s information dump and either start reading faster, to skim past it all, or just give up and put the book, YOUR book, down and walk away – probably never to return. If the writing isn’t advancing the plot or giving us some real insights into character then dump it. And may I add ‘mirror-gazing’ never does that.

And if that’s not enough the act of ‘mirror-gazing’ and then relating all one sees within the silvery depths combine to make that character you’re trying so hard to create with some interest and depth basically self-absorbed not to mention possibly obsessed with his/her own appearance. Do YOU stand in front of the mirror, ever, and replay in your head your dazzling eye color, the lovely fall of your red hair, the arch of your eyebrows, the cleft of your chin, the depth of your tan and your general handsomeness? Not to mention every little detail like the twinkle in your eye, the loss of an eyelash and the quirk of your lips when you smile? Ummm, I hope not.

It’s contrived (don’t you hate that word when an editor throws it at you?) and one way to avoid hearing that word is to avoid doing things like using this kind of trick to get the info out there. There are many more creative ways. Plus some of the description information you think is so vital may not be needed at all. Writing is constantly changing. Read; think about what you’ve written. Then think about great books you’ve read. Have you seen such a technique used in the writing of them?  I doubt it.

Be creative. Be original. That’s what writing a great story is all about. And let’s just skip the look in the mirror technique.