Hurricane Faye

Hi all,

Well, it is hurricane season again. Of course it has been here for the last six weeks but this is the first threat we have had this year in Florida. Faye is coming but we have no clue as to when and where it will hit. I looks, right now at least, that southern Florida will be the worst hit but once it goes into the gulf it is anyones guess. Over the years since I moved to sunny Florida, I have seen hurricanes come and go, some doing lots of damage and other hardly any.

Several years ago they predicted Charlie would hit Tampa head-on. At the last minute it turned east, much further south than was anticipated and Charlotte and Orange counties were hit the worst. Well, I am waiting for the 11 a. m. update. Let's see how close they come this time.

Following Guidelines Again

Why do authors think they can do anything they want and their book will be automatically accepted. My publisher's site clearly states that we do not accept queries on fiction submissions. Why do people still insist on sending a synopsis and three chapters when the guidelines say to send the whole manuscript and and even tells you how to format it.

This I think is my greatest pet peave about submissions. People just don't follow directions. Please if you are an author, read each publishers guidelines and give them exactly what they ask for in the format they ask for.

My Writer's Tips

Here are some writer's tips that I submitted and that were published

Learn a New Word Each Day

To increase your vocabulary and make yourself a better writer, learn a new word every day. Purchase a word-a-day calendar. Log onto Merriam-Webster Online (http://m-w.com) or Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.com) each morning or subscribe to Wordsmith.com (http://wordsmith.org/awad/sub.html). They will e-mail you a new word each day. Read the word and the meaning a couple of times until you become familiar with it. You will be surprised how many of these previously unknown words come to mind while you are writing. Another bonus - all three have free word games to play, another way to learn new words.

Create Consistent Characters

When writing a complex story with lots of characters, I make a database in Access to help maintain the consistency of my characters and their traits. This can also be done as a spreadsheet in Excel or with a simple table inserted into your favorite word processing program.

I label the columns: First Name, Last Name, Height/Weight, Hair/Eye Color, Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. These don't have to be specific. You may want to put "tall and well built" for a character in the Height/Weight category instead of being exact. Use traits that may set them apart from other people in the story, i.e., skilled with a knife, uses fire magic, is a shape changer, romantic nature, schizophrenic killer, or even coward.

I also do this for places. In my case it's important because I'm writing a fantasy and building my own world. Consistency demands that we know which country has the castle with the marble floors showing that country's history or what room in the castle holds the tapestry depicting all the major characters signing a peace treaty.

Include anything that you write concerning a particular character or place that makes them unique. This will help keep your story consistent.

Story-boarding for Writers

Do you have trouble writing an outline? We all know that every story needs a main conflict and a resolution and then more conflicts and resolutions. Take some index cards and start writing, one thought on each card.

The Princess gets kidnapped.

Someone must rescue her.

Who will rescue her? You don't know yet?
Okay, go to another conflict.

The person who will eventually rescue her leaves the castle and is beset by a robber in the forest.

The same person gets caught in a storm and gets lost.

Oh. You figured out that the good prince rescues the princess.
Write that down.

And on and on as thoughts come to you. It doesn't matter if they are conflicts or resolutions. Just write them down, one on each card.

Lay the cards out on a table and start putting them in the order you think they will go.

Now you have a partial outline for your story. The cards are your property, and you can change the order or even the ideas as you want and need.

Happy writing. Let's start that outline.