Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Wrap Up


Welcome to another edition of Voices of Fiction.

Over the last few weeks, the authors have shared their ways of getting the reader involved in the story. As you’ve seen from the variety of answers, we writers are all different and yet very much the same.

The techniques of grabbing the reader’s attention has ranged from character to conflict, from plot to pace, and even some world building technique. The one thing in common with all the answers is the story has to be interesting no matter which component(s) the author concentrates on the most.

How do you get your readers involved in the story?

I begin my stories with an idea germ, move to an interesting plot line, and then cast unique characters to live within the pages. The work doesn’t stop there. Well written words also help pull the reader into the imaginative world.

Producing emotions for the readers is a sure way to pull your reader in. You know you have a work of art in your hands when you find yourself laughing and crying as you read.

Writers who give intriguing settings really grab my attention. I love being swept away to places I’ve never been, whether it’s a new state or country or just the inside of a business or diner. It’s one thing to feel as if you walk beside the character, it’s another to see, smell, taste, and feel their surroundings. 

V.C. Andrews’ writings remain one of my favorites in this aspect. I’ve traveled many places thanks to her story creations.

Amanda Stevens swept me away with her settings of South Carolina.

Dean Koontz takes the reader in through his characters, pacing, and amazing plots.

Stephen King brings us characters we will never forget. He also grabs us by the fear bone, dragging us under and making us love it.

There are many wonderful writers out there, and each day many more pop up into the world of writing. Some rely very heavily on one aspect, while others weave together a combination of traits, all producing text for our enjoyment, but also text for learning.

The one advice most writers will give a new writer is to read A LOT. The reason for this is that every single book produced holds a lesson within its cover - anywhere from what to do, what not to do, and techniques for building upon your skills.

So, if you want to be a writer, I pass this along in great hopes that you are listening. Read in and out of your desired genre, and then reread studying the writer’s techniques. You will find some writers better in different areas. Learn from their talents and from their mistakes and then put it all into play within your own writings. And, remember, you never quit improving. Keep writing, reading, and learning. Good luck to all writers, experienced and aspiring.

Thank you all for joining us as we explored ‘how to get readers involved in the story.’ Next week, we'll begin exploring another topic on "Voices of Fiction." Feel free to join in.

Readers send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com, Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.


Friday, February 22, 2013

The Passage Way - Five Sentence Fiction


I recently discovered Lillie McFerrin's blog and her five sentence fiction prompts. Eager to give it a go, I finally managed to find a few spare minutes to put something together. Take a moment to stop by her blog, where there are links to many participants creating their own five sentence fiction.

This week's prompt: Abandoned (which is accompanied by a photo)


The Passage Way 

Strong and sturdy metal with floors of wood, erected long ago, supplied passage for many creatures. The river roared and raged, more than once rising above its capacity, taking lives and stealing dreams. Memories, snagged and torn, remain tied to the structure in eternal pain. Crumbled and lonely, the only visits are from the wind and rain scouring away at its very being. The passage way waits for final destruction, a departing of its soul.

Have you tried other prompts? Do you find prompts to be good creative exercises? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Part Six

Welcome to Voices of Fiction.

We continue with our discussion of how to get the reader involved in the story.

Please welcome our guests.


Born in France, award-winning author Vijaya Schartz never conformed to anything and could never refuse a challenge. She likes action and exotic settings, in life and on the page. She traveled the world and writes with the same ease about the future and the far away past. Her novels collected many five star reviews and literary awards. - Website, Amazon, Barnes/Noble


Cindy Cromer's first published novel earned her the title of award winning author. Desperate Measures, won the highly competitive mystery/suspense/thriller category in The Smart Writ Book Awards and was named a winner in The Authors Show contest, 50 Great Writers You Should Be Reading. Website, Books/Books, Vero Beach Book Center

Nicole Zoltack loves to write whatever strikes her fancy. When she’s not writing about knights, talking unicorns, or zombies, she loves to spend time with her wonderful family. She enjoys riding horses (pretending they’re unicorns, of course!) and going to the PA Renaissance Faire, dressed in garb. Blog, Website, Amazon

 
Welcome Authors! It's wonderful to have you back.

This week's question: How do you get your readers involved in the story?

Vijaya Schartz: First, it has to be a really good story. I’m a plotter now, and I like to foreshadow and set up my stories for the reader. Getting the readers involved is also part of a set of writing skills all good writers value. I use many sensory details and visual setting to place the reader at the scene. I work hard on dialogue. I also dig deep into my character’s point of view, so the reader can identify with him/her. Even with my villains. I’m somewhat famous for developing my villains.

Cindy Cromer: By creating characters with secrets and hidden past which are revealed gradually throughout the plot. Also, I love to write interviews with the characters I created and bring them to life.

Nicole Zotack: By asking their opinions for story ideas. 

Thank you all for joining us today.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and photos submitted by authors.)

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Part Five

Welcome to Voices of Fiction.

We continue with our discussion of how to get the reader involved in the story.

Please welcome our guests.



Joylene Butler is the author of Dead Witness and Broken But Not Dead. - Website, Blog





Joy Brooks is a Southern lady in love with the mystery and adventure associated with medieval warriors and royalty. She fills her spare time with reading, writing, cross-stitching, and playing with her seven cats. She enjoys the quiet life in a quaint, historic Georgia town. - Website, Blog



Dr Bob Rich has retired 3 times so far, has 4 to go. Two ongoing ones are writer and editor. He is also a professional grandfather, with hundreds of grandkids. Read the evidence. Bob doesn't believe in genres. All writing is about the human condition, even if those humans happen to have 3 arms and 3 legs, and green skin (the heroes of Liberator, the lead story of Bizarre Bipeds, the latest of his 14 published books. Website, Link, Link


Bobbi Carducci’s book, Storee Wryter Gets a Dog, earned a GOLD Mom’s Choice Award for excellence and was named A Best Dog Book for Young Readers by Cesar Milan, The Dog Whisperer. She is an award winning short story writer, columnist and professional book reviewer. Bobbi will be the luncheon keynote speaker at the 26th Annual Pennwriters Conference in May 2013. - Blog, Website, Website


Welcome Authors! It's wonderful to have you back.

This week's question: How do you get your readers involved in the story?

Joylene Butler: By engaging their imagination and feeding on their emotions. I write novels about characters that I find relatable, yet fascinating. They're characters that have hounded me until I sat down to write their stories. I seldom forget who I'm writing for, for that reason. The hope is that if I write about larger than life heroes who are appealing and captivating, my readers will fall in love with them, and will read on to find out how everything comes together in the end. So far it seems to be working. Knock on wood.

Joy Brooks: I hope my readers get intrigued with my characters from the beginning and want to continue reading to find out what happens to them. I write stories I would want to read. Fascination with the characters is what keeps me reading. I think it's important to keep the book flowing with action. Never let it get dull.

Bob Rich: By BEING the character whose point of view you are using. This way, the person in the story is alive, real and vivid. The reader can move into the world of the character, the world you have created. Now all you need is tension. This is when the character is desperate to have something (staying alive, attracting the attention of that gorgeous person, keeping the job, getting out of the job, whatever), but there are apparently insurmountable obstacles in the way: the gunman's finger is tightening on the trigger, the gorgeous person is the boss's partner of 10 years, the firm has just been declared insolvent, four colleagues have been diagnosed with cancer and so you've been told you need to work an extra day a week... See what you've done with your question? Now I have the urge to write four new stories!

Bobbi Carducci: By creating characters they relate to and putting them in situations that resonate with real life. Honest emotion that comes alive on the page is the key to good writing. The emotion can be joy, terror, grief, boredom, desire, whatever; it doesn’t matter as long the reader feels it.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and photos submitted by authors.)

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day


Valentine's Day, celebrated on February 14, is a day for expressing love through gifts and affections. We gather with our loved ones, exchange little gifts, and acknowledge the love we feel. But what is it really about?

With many holidays, the celebrated day began as one thing and evolved into something different. Valentine's Day comes on the feast day of two different Christian martyrs named Valentine. But our customs for this day has nothing to do with their lives. It seems to reach back to an ancient Roman festival called Lupericalia. Celebrated on the 15th, the festival honored Juno, the Roman goddess of women and marriage, and Pan, the god of nature.

Valentine's Day carries a variety of traditions throughout the world.

In United States and Canada, we celebrate through gifts: candy, cards, flowers, parties, etc.

In Sicily, some young women wake before sunrise and stand by a window, waiting for a man to pass by. It is believed he will become her husband within the year.

Some believe that birds choose their mates on February 14th.

As we celebrate already established relationships, most customs find this day to be a celebration of new love, a special day to choose a mate.

Quite a few used random methods of choosing that one person to share love and life with. To write boyfriends' names upon a piece of paper, wrap it in clay, and drop it into water was one method. The true valentine's name would float to the top first. Pinning bay leaves to a pillow to bring about a dream of the girl's future husband is another.

I hope you enjoyed these few tidbits of the Valentine's Day holiday.

In celebration of the holiday, I'd like to take a look at a few 'fictional' couples.
  • Ghost - Sam and Molly hang onto love even through death.
  • Titanic - Jack and Rose overcome social boundaries with their love.
  • The Notebook - Noah and Allie have a love stretched over time and separation.
  • Dirty Dancing - Johnny and Baby learn to step outside of the square through their love.
  • Ghost Whisperer - Melinda and Jim take unconditional love to a new level.
  • Sex and the City - Carrie and Mr. Big prove some love can survive hardships and differences.
  • Friends - Ross and Rachel show how friendship is such an important part of a relationship.
Which 'fictional' couple is your favorite? Vote below for your favorite in my list. Feel free to add your own favorite 'fictional' couple within the comments.



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Voices of Fiction - Getting Readers Involved - Part Four


Welcome to Voices of Fiction.

We continue with our discussion of how to get the reader involved in the story.

Please welcome our guests.


Karenna Colcroft is the alter ego of a shy, sedate wife and mother. She has been writing since age five, and dove into erotic romance in 2006. Her first book was published in 2009, and since then she has had over thirty stories published. She lives in the northeastern US with her two children and her real-life romance hero husband. - Website, Facebook, Twitter


Carole Ann Moleti is a nurse-midwife in New York City, thus explaining her fascination with paranormal and urban fantasy. Her newest fiction is featured in Beltane: Ten Tales of Magic. Excerpts of Carole's memoir, Someday I'm Going to Write a Book: Diary of an Urban Missionary has been published most recently in the new, irreverent Not Your Mother's Book Series. - Website, Blog, Twitter


Pembroke Sinclair has had several short stories, novellas, novels, and nonfiction published in various places. She writes an eclectic mix of fantasy, science fiction, horror, some romance, and previously Westerns. - Blog, eTreasures, Amazon


Ellen Spain is a retired Federal Investigator, now turned author, editor, and educator. She is active with EPIC, PennWriters, RWA, SCBWI, and the Pittsburgh East Writers. - Website


 
Welcome Authors! It's wonderful to have you back.

This week's question: How do you get your readers involved in the story?

Karenna Colcroft: I try to make my characters engaging and real, as if you could walk down the street in their hometown and actually meet them. I also try to have plots or subplots in addition to "two (or more) people meet and fall in love."

Carole Ann Moleti: I think the best way to get a reader involved is to build a world that mystifies and enthralls them and populate it with interesting characters. I like to make the stakes high, but the predicaments believable; the situations poignant but laced with humor.
 
Pembroke Sinclair: I try to create characters that are life-like so the reader can relate to them. Even though my characters might be in surreal situations (battling zombies or on distant planets), I try to make their actions and reactions as realistic as possible.

Ellen Spain: Many of my stories are character driven. They eat, live, think, talk, and act to move the plot. They appear in the story with realistic problems and life situations, things the readers can relate to in their own lives. I create beautiful settings from real places like Bar Harbor, Nova Scotia, Southern California that the reader can easily be viewed in a quick Internet search. In the "Secrets in the Fog" series, set over a ten year period, Morgan Walker, Peter Dugua, and Danny Fennchar visit spectacular places. Readers can relate to vacation-type settings, while enjoying a good mystery. I maintain a travel photo album on my web site at EllenSpain.com to increase the readers' interest and involvement in the stories.

Thank you all for joining us today.

Readers feel free to ask questions concerning this topic in the comments. Also feel free to send questions to chergreen@chergreen.com Subject: Voices of Fiction Question, and have them answered by the participating authors in later editions.

There’s also room for more authors to participate. Drop me an email, Subject: Voices of Fiction.

(Disclaimer - Bios and photos submitted by authors.)
 
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