Last week, I finished going over the first set of proofs for my upcoming mystery The Opposite of Dark, due for release in March 2011. My job was to look at the copy editor’s suggested changes and make any last minute changes myself. This step in the production process is a culmination of input from myself, the publisher, and two editors. The copy editor made some great suggestions and I added a couple of small ones. But what struck me was that I still found three typos in the manuscript that none of us had noticed.
After thirty years of writing, proofreading is clearly a skill I still need to work on. It’s tremendously important and, based on the number of errors I’ve read in published novels this year, terribly overlooked by nearly every writer. I’ve noticed a few errors in traditionally published books from small and large houses, but the vast majority of them are coming from independently published books, which is a shame. I’ve read a lot of self-published stories these past couple of years with excellent premises and great characters, but the number of typos and missing words is distracting. Really, we all have to do better. People are paying for our books, and they deserve the best we’ve got to give.
On another note, I, Robin Spano, and Elizabeth Elwood will be at Black Bond Books in Ladner this Saturday, November 6th from 1 to 3 p.m. to discuss mysteries and mystery writing. So, please come join us for some fun at Black Bond Books, 5251 Ladner Trunk Road, Delta, BC.
My Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Guest author Maria Zannini discusses cover art
Today's special guest is Maria Zannini, author of True Believers, a science fiction romance. Maria, thank you so much for visiting and sharing your book cover experiences.
Cover Art Confidential
If you want to stab an art director through the heart, take away her privilege of calling the shots. I was an artist and art director for more than thirty years. It's hard to let go and allow someone else to design your work.
If you've never had a cover designed for you before, let me put your mind at rest. They'll pretty much ignore your ideas. It's not personal—just business.
Let's take True Believers for example.
• I asked for a warm color palette for the cover. They went with fire engine hot.
• I asked for an elaborate font. Since the main character, Rachel is an archeologist, I thought something like carved stone would work well. After a little negotiating (read: begging) I got the font "Traditional Arabic". It was definitely better than the first choice.
• I asked for the heroine to be young with exotic Middle Eastern features. After all, her father is none other than Gilgamesh, formerly of Sumer.
…well, she's dark-haired anyway. :grin:
After the kerfuffle Bloomsbury caused using a white model for LIAR, a novel that demanded a young black woman, I think publishers are becoming more mindful about casting a little closer to the true race of a character.
But in this business, it's all a matter of degrees. Go too far in the wrong direction and you can create an incident of viral proportions.
After the incident with Bloomsbury ended up with egg on its face. Yet all the publicity was a boon to the author by virtue of grassroots movement. So even bad covers can work in your favor if you've got an angle.
I can't complain. Carina did all right by True Believers. It's not the cover I would have designed, but judging by the response, it's a cover that drives attention. And in the publishing business that's all that matters.
Authors: Have you liked all your covers? Are there any you would have designed differently?
Readers: Do you expect a cover to tell you what's inside or are you content simply with the tone the art represents?
***
Maria Zannini's latest release is a science fiction romance called TRUE BELIEVERS.
Mix one cynical immortal and one true believer and throw them into the biggest alien-hunt the world has never known. Rachel Cruz is a Nephilim masquerading as an archeologist and she's stuck with an alien who believes she can lead him to his ancestral gods. Black Ops wants to find these gods too. They want them dead.
Follow Maria here:
Contest time! Every time you leave a comment, tweet or mention "Maria Zannini" anywhere with a link to my blog, your name goes in the hat for a chance to win a Texas sized prize. Go here for more information.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thoughts on the Surrey International Writers' Conference
This weekend, I attended the 18th annual Surrey International Writers’ Conference. This conference for writers has been gaining a lot of attention as one of the friendliest, most informative, and fun conferences in North America, and it is. I mean, where else would you see well known crime writer Anne Perry mingling with attendees. She even sat in on a workshop offered by agent Ken Sherman that I attended, and later thanked me for helping out at the volunteer desk during agent/editor appointments. And I saw this friendliness everywhere. With about eighty enthusiastic volunteers, it’s no wonder things ran pretty smoothly.
For those of you who’ve never heard of SIWC, this is a three-day event (four for those taking masters classes) that offers oodles of workshops and panel discussions on nearly every topic imaginable. While the most of the workshops focus on some aspect of fiction, there are workshops for poets, nonfiction writers, and film script writers. Three, ninety-minute workshops happen simultaneously in nine different meeting rooms, so picking and choosing a workshop of choice can be a tough decision. But you’re free to come and go discreetly, and many attendees have to because their agent/editor appointments are also scheduled throughout the day.
One of the beauties of this conference is the opportunity for authors to have short, one-on-one sessions with editors and agents to pitch their work. There is also a blue pencil café, where you can have a few pages of your work evaluated. Pitch practice sessions are also offered to go over your approach before you do the real thing.
This was my sixth conference over a thirteen year period. Three years ago, I had the good fortune to win an honourable mention in the short fiction category and receive an award from Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon. This time, I made the shortlist, but alas, no prize. Still, it was worth it to write short stories again, and actually finish a piece.
For the first time, I attended a masters class, and this one was conducted by thriller writer James Scott Bell, who provided a really informative look at taking fiction to the next level. Even though I already knew many of the writing tips given in workshops, there were still a handful of intriguing ideas that have made me rethink how I approach things like setting and story structure. For anyone who’d like more information about next year’s conference here’s the link to give you more information: www.siwc.ca Enjoy!
My Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n
For those of you who’ve never heard of SIWC, this is a three-day event (four for those taking masters classes) that offers oodles of workshops and panel discussions on nearly every topic imaginable. While the most of the workshops focus on some aspect of fiction, there are workshops for poets, nonfiction writers, and film script writers. Three, ninety-minute workshops happen simultaneously in nine different meeting rooms, so picking and choosing a workshop of choice can be a tough decision. But you’re free to come and go discreetly, and many attendees have to because their agent/editor appointments are also scheduled throughout the day.
One of the beauties of this conference is the opportunity for authors to have short, one-on-one sessions with editors and agents to pitch their work. There is also a blue pencil café, where you can have a few pages of your work evaluated. Pitch practice sessions are also offered to go over your approach before you do the real thing.
This was my sixth conference over a thirteen year period. Three years ago, I had the good fortune to win an honourable mention in the short fiction category and receive an award from Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon. This time, I made the shortlist, but alas, no prize. Still, it was worth it to write short stories again, and actually finish a piece.
For the first time, I attended a masters class, and this one was conducted by thriller writer James Scott Bell, who provided a really informative look at taking fiction to the next level. Even though I already knew many of the writing tips given in workshops, there were still a handful of intriguing ideas that have made me rethink how I approach things like setting and story structure. For anyone who’d like more information about next year’s conference here’s the link to give you more information: www.siwc.ca Enjoy!
My Vancouver-based, Alex Bellamy mysteries can be purchased at
FATAL ENCRYPTION, http://tinyurl.com/ddzsxl
TAXED TO DEATH, http://tinyurl.com/czsy5n
Friday, October 22, 2010
Rubicon Ranch is Days Away!! Read It As We Write It.
After months in preparation, Rubicon Ranch, a collaborative novel that will be written online by authors of Second Wind Publishing, is just days away!
Recently widowed writer/photographer Melanie Gray finds the body of an eight-year-old child in the desert. Was it an accident? Or . . . murder! But who would want to kill Riley Peterson? It could be anyone in this upscale housing development. Everyone is hiding something. Everyone has an agenda.
The girl’s parents, Jeff and Kourtney Peterson have an eight-year-old secret they will do anything to defend, perhaps even going so far as to kill their own child. If she is their own child.
Honor student Dylan McKenzie has a secret life that gives him a feeling of empowerment. Does he find murder even more empowering?
Psychologist Mary “Moody” Sinclair, has already killed one child. Is she adding to her resume?
Sleepwalker Cooper Dahlsing is afraid he might have killed the girl. But is she his first victim? Or his second?
The motto of private investigators Mark and JamieWestbrook is: “Make a quick buck, and don’t get caught.” Could murder their way of making a quick buck, or perhaps their way of not getting caught?
Self-appointed neighborhood guard, eighty-two year old Eloy Franklin keeps watch for anyone who dares to endanger his Rubicon Ranch. Was Riley a danger?
Sheriff Seth Bryan, a recent transplant, is overqualified for his job. Still, he finds compensations, his most recent being the mysterious Melanie Gray. Does she have something to hide? Or is she only protecting herself . . . from him?
So who dunnit? We don’t know and won’t know until the end. With so many great authors involved, anything can happen! To make the unveiling of the killer even more interesting, after all the evidence has been presented, you can tell us who you want the killer to be.
We will post one chapter every Monday, beginning October 25, 2010, at: Rubicon Ranch. We hope you’ll enjoy reading the novel while we are writing it. To make sure you don’t miss a single chapter, you can subscribe by email at the Rubicon Ranch site: http://rubiconranch.wordpress.com/
Please join us on our adventure -- it will be fun for all of us.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I.
Recently widowed writer/photographer Melanie Gray finds the body of an eight-year-old child in the desert. Was it an accident? Or . . . murder! But who would want to kill Riley Peterson? It could be anyone in this upscale housing development. Everyone is hiding something. Everyone has an agenda.
The girl’s parents, Jeff and Kourtney Peterson have an eight-year-old secret they will do anything to defend, perhaps even going so far as to kill their own child. If she is their own child.
Honor student Dylan McKenzie has a secret life that gives him a feeling of empowerment. Does he find murder even more empowering?
Psychologist Mary “Moody” Sinclair, has already killed one child. Is she adding to her resume?
Sleepwalker Cooper Dahlsing is afraid he might have killed the girl. But is she his first victim? Or his second?
The motto of private investigators Mark and JamieWestbrook is: “Make a quick buck, and don’t get caught.” Could murder their way of making a quick buck, or perhaps their way of not getting caught?
Self-appointed neighborhood guard, eighty-two year old Eloy Franklin keeps watch for anyone who dares to endanger his Rubicon Ranch. Was Riley a danger?
Sheriff Seth Bryan, a recent transplant, is overqualified for his job. Still, he finds compensations, his most recent being the mysterious Melanie Gray. Does she have something to hide? Or is she only protecting herself . . . from him?
So who dunnit? We don’t know and won’t know until the end. With so many great authors involved, anything can happen! To make the unveiling of the killer even more interesting, after all the evidence has been presented, you can tell us who you want the killer to be.
We will post one chapter every Monday, beginning October 25, 2010, at: Rubicon Ranch. We hope you’ll enjoy reading the novel while we are writing it. To make sure you don’t miss a single chapter, you can subscribe by email at the Rubicon Ranch site: http://rubiconranch.wordpress.com/
Please join us on our adventure -- it will be fun for all of us.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Importance of Being Important
In The Art of Creative Writing, Lagos Egri states:
Whatever a character does, it is for one basic purpose -- to strengthen his position in life and his security; all the chameleon-like changes for one reason only -- to remain alive, to be secure (overcome insecurities), to be happy, and most of all, to be important.
Never overlook the importance of being important.
Man has nothing more precious to defend than his self-declared importance, and he will defend it with his last breath.
This sounds like a good start to developing a character, or at least a character’s inner conflicts. In fact, this is one of the themes of the grieving woman book I want to write. With her husband gone, so is her sense of self, along with her sense of importance. She might not have been important in the world’s eyes, but she was important in her own eyes because she was important to him. She tries to find importance through other people, but in the end realizes she has to find it in herself.
So, in the book you are now reading (or writing) what makes the character feel important? What does the character do to defend his or her sense of being important? How does the character strengthen his or her position in life? How does s/he struggle to remain secure? What insecurities does s/he have to overcome? Is the character happy? What does s/he do to remain alive, both physically and mentally? Does s/he find happiness? Does s/he find importance?
Let's talk.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I.
Whatever a character does, it is for one basic purpose -- to strengthen his position in life and his security; all the chameleon-like changes for one reason only -- to remain alive, to be secure (overcome insecurities), to be happy, and most of all, to be important.
Never overlook the importance of being important.
Man has nothing more precious to defend than his self-declared importance, and he will defend it with his last breath.
This sounds like a good start to developing a character, or at least a character’s inner conflicts. In fact, this is one of the themes of the grieving woman book I want to write. With her husband gone, so is her sense of self, along with her sense of importance. She might not have been important in the world’s eyes, but she was important in her own eyes because she was important to him. She tries to find importance through other people, but in the end realizes she has to find it in herself.
So, in the book you are now reading (or writing) what makes the character feel important? What does the character do to defend his or her sense of being important? How does the character strengthen his or her position in life? How does s/he struggle to remain secure? What insecurities does s/he have to overcome? Is the character happy? What does s/he do to remain alive, both physically and mentally? Does s/he find happiness? Does s/he find importance?
Let's talk.
***
Pat Bertram is the author of More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I.
Story v Novel In A Flash
What's The Difference?
Novel = Break open the moment.
Story = Collapse the moment.
And there you have it: a book on fiction writing in a nutshell.
"Breaking open the moment" is a phrase I picked up from the Green River Writers, and it means dispersing what's happening from a simple statement into an experience.
In any piece of fiction, there is a pivotal moment: an important thing happens, an important discovery is made, an important epiphany is experienced. That moment might be the climax of the action (the Ring of Power is destroyed) or it might be the result of the action (Boo Radley returns our friendship).
Novels take that moment and expand it with explorations of setting, multiple characters and characterization, emotions, senses, details, internal dialog, background, relevant subplots and dialog.
Short stories have all these things, but collapse them, trimming subplots and multiple characters down or out, suggesting rather than exploring. The pivotal moment is front and center, and the diffusion of that moment is minimal.
Flash fiction has been defined as from 300-1000 words, but I've seen "flash" as short as six words (Hemingway's "For sale. Baby shoes. Never used.") up to 2000. As you can see from the Hemingway example, flash fiction can be so collapsed that even the pivotal moment is only implied.
So there you have it. Love to write novels and want to write a short story? Get an idea for your novel's pivotal moment and collapse the surrounding elements. Distill them to their essences. Love to write short stories and want to write a novel? Write a short story and then break open the pivotal moment. Sound easy? No? Maybe or maybe not, but I assure you it's doable.
Go forth, ye writers! Go forth and have fun with it!
Marian Allen is the author of EEL'S REVERENCE, a fantasy
Novel = Break open the moment.
Story = Collapse the moment.
And there you have it: a book on fiction writing in a nutshell.
"Breaking open the moment" is a phrase I picked up from the Green River Writers, and it means dispersing what's happening from a simple statement into an experience.
In any piece of fiction, there is a pivotal moment: an important thing happens, an important discovery is made, an important epiphany is experienced. That moment might be the climax of the action (the Ring of Power is destroyed) or it might be the result of the action (Boo Radley returns our friendship).
Novels take that moment and expand it with explorations of setting, multiple characters and characterization, emotions, senses, details, internal dialog, background, relevant subplots and dialog.
Short stories have all these things, but collapse them, trimming subplots and multiple characters down or out, suggesting rather than exploring. The pivotal moment is front and center, and the diffusion of that moment is minimal.
Flash fiction has been defined as from 300-1000 words, but I've seen "flash" as short as six words (Hemingway's "For sale. Baby shoes. Never used.") up to 2000. As you can see from the Hemingway example, flash fiction can be so collapsed that even the pivotal moment is only implied.
So there you have it. Love to write novels and want to write a short story? Get an idea for your novel's pivotal moment and collapse the surrounding elements. Distill them to their essences. Love to write short stories and want to write a novel? Write a short story and then break open the pivotal moment. Sound easy? No? Maybe or maybe not, but I assure you it's doable.
Go forth, ye writers! Go forth and have fun with it!
Marian Allen is the author of EEL'S REVERENCE, a fantasy
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