The words are not the most important thing you should be hearing.

Good evening!

Back in the 80's, the band "Survivor" came out with a song entitled, "It's the singer, not the song." That song basically detailed how it didn't matter what the lyrics were, it was the passion of the singer, the emotion in the singer's voice that meant everything.  I typically disagreed because in the 80's I was young and stupid.

Over the years I've listened to a lot of things.  I've listened to more than my fair share of music, TV, radio, movies.  I've listened to children.  I've listened to coworkers, bosses, my husband.  And, the older I get, the more I realize the Survivor might just have been right.  It might be the emotion, not the words, that we all should be hearing.

Recently I got to listen to singer Miley Cyrus' latest little tune. Now, I've often thought that the fallen Disney Princess is the product of questionable parenting.  (When TV Dad is smarter than Real Dad, and TV Dad and Real Dad are the same guy, just with different writers, the world is a very confusing place.)  Her most recent antics would make us think that's she's a young woman who has everything and is way out of control.

A quick look at the refrain of her song "We Can't Stop" does little to undermine that assumption.

It’s our party we can do what we want
It’s our party we can say what we want
It’s our party we can love who we want
We can kiss who we want
We can see who we want

So la da di da di, we like to party
Dancing with Miley
Doing whatever we want
This is our house
This is our rules
And we can’t stop
And we won’t stop
Can’t you see it’s we who own the night
Can’t you see it we who bout’ that life
And we can’t stop
And we won’t stop
We run things, Things don’t run we
We don't take nothing from nobody

Oh yeah, she's a party girl and good luck trying to put her in her place.  The thing is, reading the words and hearing the words are two different experiences and after hearing the song a couple times, I'm starting to wonder if this song is less about a shout of independence and more a cry for help.  She sounds less like a defiant party girl and more like a lost child begging for someone, anyone, to help her reign things in before something really awful happens because she simply cannot stop her self destructive ways.

There's so much more to communication than mere words.  There's tone of voice, there's body language, there's facial expression.  None of which is readily available to those of us who write words on paper...or computer screen.

As writers we have to be very aware that it's not just WHAT our characters say.  Dialogue is a very good...and easy...method of characters revealing and exchanging plot points.  But dialogue alone does NOT give the reader the full experience, the full escape.

I'll take a quick example from my book, "Lies in Chance." First, here's a line of dialogue from Bryan (the romantic hero), as he's sitting next to Shara (the heroine):

"Your hands are cold."

You don't get much there, right?

Now, here's how this goes in the actual book:

She covered his hand with her own fingers, and the chill of her skin startled him.  "Your hands are cold."  His voice was husky, straining to hold back words he suddenly ached to say.  Instead, he took both her hands in his and warmed them.

Now, suddenly, you get a better image of what's going on between these two people.  Now you can sense that there's clearly something going on, that he's feeling an attraction of some kind for her.  It's not what he's saying to her.  She knows her hands are cold.  But he's telling her that he's aware she's got some sort of discomfort and, while he's not ready to tell her anything else (he's not ready to admit any of this to himself at this point in the book) he has a tremendous need to take care of her, even in this small way.  It's a quiet moment, but it's big in the story because by taking her hands in his, Bryan has crossed another in a series of thresholds he needs to cross to realize his love for Shara.

Telling stories is an art, just any other creative job.  Telling a story in front of an audience is easy compared to putting it down on paper.  Writing a story for others to read requires a sharp focus on the other senses.  We need to paint a picture, we need to turn on the volume so that our readers aren't just reading words, they are hearing and seeing what's going on with our characters.

Our readers don't want to just read the words.  And we, as writers, need to make sure we're hearing more than just what our characters are saying.  We need to hear how they are saying it.

Lemonheads are everywhere! Here's a hug! Now ignore them!

Good morning!

Several years ago I sold Partylite candles and gifts.  It was a direct sales job I ran parties in people's homes.  I was actually pretty good at it.  My unit leader, a woman who was full on into selling Partylite full time, often said, "Don't let the lemonheads get in your way."

What she meant was that any time you undertake a new endeavor, there are going to be people out there who want to discourage you.  Maybe they mean well, like they don't want you to get hurt.  Maybe they have no confidence in you and think you'll make a fool of yourself.  Maybe they just don't believe in what you're doing.

It was true when I sold candles to middle class wives and it's true now with writing:  Lemonheads are everywhere.  When you tell someone you are a writer, the reaction goes one of a couple ways:

1)  They try to look impressed and ask what you've had published.  This will then lead to you trying to explain how you haven't had anything published YET or that you have, and it's digital only, OR that you've e-published and they can only get the book online. 

2)  They stare at you, unable to formulate a response and wind up coming out with something like:  Wow, that's interesting.  And do you make money doing that?

3)  They look at you and say, "Really?  You?  You're writing something and you expect us to read it?"

It's that third thing I want to really address right now because the first two are just products of well meaning people not understanding the process.  They mean us no harm.  That third one, however, can...and often does...come from the most unexpected, cruelest sources.

Friends, relatives, fellow writers.  You know, the people you'd THINK would support you.

It's happened to me, and it is shattering.  Your core is broken, and you question your ability to do pretty much everything. 

When I was work shopping my second novel, "Lies in Chance"  my writers group was very patient.  We affectionately called it "The Stupid Novel"  and most of the comments were very constructive and made the book what it is today.  (While there aren't a lot of reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, they are very positive.)  One person, however, someone I thought would be most supportive, spent quite a lot of time telling me how this book was never going to be publishable.

Perhaps that person was right, since I did publish it on my own.  However, this is the same person who became loudly critical of my work the minute I sold my first book, Dream in Color, to Wild Rose Press.  (Again, not a lot of reviews, but they are all very positive. You should really read my stuff!) 

Ultimately, the relationship ended, and the parting volley from this person destroyed my confidence in myself on all levels.

Some years later, it still hurts.  But it's something I have to work through because I do have two novels I'm marketing out there, and I am working on another novel and a three book humor series.  I also hold a full time job, have two demanding teens at home, and a house and husband.  So the reality is I either let this one lemonhead take over my brain and end the thing I love doing the most, or I battle through it, put down my own insecurities, and move forward.

We writers, all of us, we understand that this isn't an easy life.  And while it would be nice if the difficulties came from people other than those closest to us, that's now how life works always.

So let me encourage you, my writer friends...ignore the lemonheads!  Listen to those you truly trust:  Your writers group, your critique partners, your beta reader.  You are going to chose your own path when it comes to publishing.  We live in a wide open world now and publishing is both the most difficult it's ever been,. and the easiest for us unknowns.  Don't let someone who is on a different path break you down because of what you chose to do with your writing career.

And if you ever need a virtual hug or pat on the back.... you know where to find me!

Now go forth, buy my books, and WRITE!

Guest post from Melanie Slaugh: Let your characters speak!

Good morning!

Friends, I'd like you to help me welcome a new contributor to the blog:  Author Melanie Slaugh.  Melanie contacted me recently with a list of great blog ideas, and I'm very pleased to share her first one with you.

Methinks, she hears her characters arguing with her in her head just like most of us do!  Enjoy!

3 Reasons to Let your Characters Write the Story

When I first started writing stories, I thought it was all about the plot. I wrote elaborate stories that had many, many twists and turns… and ended up being about thirty pages long. Talk about frustration! But when your characters are nothing more than faceless pawns, how can you write a long story? That’s only one of the reasons that characters are so important. Here are three reasons to let your characters write the story.

1.      Flow –If you are so focused on the plot, you lose track of who your characters are and what they are doing. However, when you know your characters inside and out, the story just flows. What do I mean? Well, the characters write the story. Instead of sticking them in situations where you have to fight to get them to react the way you need them too or explain why they do or say what they do, you simply let them be themselves. Just like people in real life, characters can be odd, strange, and often do things that are inexplicable. When you are comfortable with the characters, you no longer feel the need to explain. It will eventually be revealed just by who they are.

2.      Dialogue –This is something I know a lot of writers have trouble with. How do you write dialogue that doesn’t sound forced or trite? Know your characters and let them speak. They will astound you with their communication skills. And remember that not all dialogue is words. The pauses, the gaps, the unfinished sentences, they all add up to real life sounding dialogue.

3.      Complexity –Last but not least, your stories will gain new complexity. Not just plot, though that will come up, but depth of characters, of feeling and emotion. The important things that make a book readable and memorable. When the characters drive the story, they will interact and connect in ways far more complex and real then you could have ever plotted before you started. Go with the flow and let the plot resolve itself. It will.

There are many reasons to let your characters do the writing; these are only three of them. I have found that I love my stories far more when I love my characters. They may be bad guys, good girls, or chaotic freaks, but when you know them, really know them, and let them loose, you come up with a story you could have never imagined.

Author Bio

Melanie Slaugh is enthusiastic about the growing prospects and opportunities of various industries and writing articles on various consumer goods and services as a freelance writer. She writes extensively for internet service providers and also topics related to internet service providers in my area for presenting the consumers, the information they need to choose the right Internet package for them. She can be reached at slaugh.slaugh907 @ gmail.com.

Once an e-pub always and e-pub?

Hello all!

I'm currently in the midst of working on two big writing projects.  The first is a currently untitled humor book about my life with the female nit wit at my office.  (You can vote for a title here.)  The other is a straight up romance about a former figure skater and a former NHL star.  (It's  first for me, I actually set out to write a romance, and by gum, I'm doing it!) 

Elsewhere, as you may know, I have two books out in various forms.  The first is Dream in Color, which you can get in print or e-book form  (and yes, Nook users, you can get it at Barnes and Noble.)  and then Lies in Chance which is in e-book form only.  (And both these books could use your help!  AHEM!) 

I like the idea of being an e-pubbed writer.  While the guarantees aren't there...yes, I've sold about 11 copies of Lies in Chance, but I just know that any day now people are going to go crazy for this book...I at least have the book out there for people to read.  For a new author, one without the support of Oprah, (who would LOVE my books if she read them, of this I am certain) just having titles out there is key.  I love having control over my cover, my editorial content, the name under which a book is published.

Marketing...however...and distribution...well, that's not as much fun.

So now I've got these two writing projects going, and I'm really confident that one or the other or both are going to blockbuster big.  If I e-pub myself, I can get them out for sale quickly.  If I go through a publisher, I once again step on the treadmill of submit and reject.  Then, if I'm lucky, an editor will buy my book, and then I lose a lot of control over the book.  ("Lies in Chance" is ALL MINE.)

So, even though I've only got two titles out there and I'm not making $300 a day (I'm a disciple of J A Konrath that way) my writing career is my own.  It's exhausting, but the covers I pick are mine.  The titles I pick  (as lame as they can be sometimes) are mine.   How much I sell the books for are mine.

On the flip side, the two books I'm working on have a ton of potential.  Like a moderate advance check sort of potential. 

So, am I a fool to consider going back to traditional publishing, in the interest of furthering my career as an author?  Now that I've chosen the path of e-publication, is that the way I must always go?

Charting where and how our writing careers go is a very inexact science.  What works for someone may not work for someone else. As a follower of J A Konrath I believe in the power of the e-book.  I believe that publishing is heading in that direction and that while print books will never go away, a day will come when more people get their books on a reading device than from a book store.   (And yes, I can hear my author friends running and shrieking.  Hey, I never thought music stores and video stores would die...but when I can buy one song for a buck, or stream unlimited movies for a minimal fee, then why should I get in my car and drive anywhere?  E-books are here to stay.

On the flip side of the coin...the perception is still that someone who is e-published can't get published anyplace else.  That is a perception that is changing more slowly than the reality.  Successful e-pub authors edit just as much as those who are writing under contract.  Maybe the slick polish isn't there, maybe the story is a bit more raw.   But aren't we told from early on that the world is looking for our singular voice?  Still, the perception persists that e-pubs just aren't as good as "real" books.

So if I've got a slam bang story that I know is going to fit perfectly with a giant publisher, am I an idiot for even considering NOT submitting to the publisher, who could give me big distribution and make me a more recognized name?  Or am I shackling myself and giving up my lifeblood to enrich someone else?


I don't have the answer for these questions.  I don't think anyone does.  I think we creative types very much just want to share our vision and our stories with others.  All I want is to have someone other than my best friends and my mom enjoy my books.  (Well, that and I'd like to quit my day job and just write.)

Now, you don't need to answer the question for yourself.  You just need to go forth and WRITE!

Even a potentially bad movie can hold a compelling story at its heart.

Good morning!

So the saga of my thumbs has reached a hilarious peek.  I'm chronicling that over at my humor blog,  It can only happen to Sarah!

But since I was really laid up last night after my cortisone shot, I had the time to watch a made for TV disaster pic called, "Impact." 

I know...not normally what I go for.  But David James Elliott was the star and he's one of those guys I'll pretty much watch in anything.  (By the way...DJE fans?  the picture at the top of this blog...I'm obsessed because this is so a picture of Quinn from my new book.  What movie/TV show is this from?  A FREE COPY OF DREAM IN COLOR to the first person who can tell me, and hook me up with a copy of said TV show/movie.)


Okay, now that my shameless begging it out of the way, let's move on.

There are a lot of movies out there, and I've watched many of them.  There are great movies that were meant to be great.  There are great movies that weren't expected to be great, but wound up being awesome.  ("The Princess Bride" fits into this category.)  There are movies that were supposed to be great, but fell short, and everyone knows it, even if they won't admit to it.  (Lost in Translation comes to mind.)

Of course, there are also movies that are pretty bad, and were sort of meant to be bad, and yet, I love them, but not for obvious reasons.

One of my favorite movies is "Heaven's Burning" a goofy, violent, buddy picture starring Russell Crowe.  I admit it, I watched it at first because of Russell Crowe.  It's early in his career, and filmed in Australia by Australian film makers.  The plot is as convoluted as it is simple.  I'm not going to give you all the details, just go rent it.  It's one of those of inadvertently hilarious movies.  But, and here's my point...at the end, you'll be cheering for the main characters and you'll weep at the very end.  Rent it, I promise you won't regret it.

I'm being serious.

Even bad movies can have a good story.  Take the movie I watched last night.  "IMPACT." It had all the elements of being a potentially bad flick. 

Made for TV? Check. 

Overly dramatic, yet completely unclear title?  Check.

Disaster film?  Check.

Improbable science and/or technology?  Check

Continuity issues?  In spades.  (The whole world is shut down, but a guy can get from Germany to Washington DC in the span of  one scene?  Right.)

However, I sat through all three hours...you read that right...all three hours of the movie.  Not because I love David James Elliott.  That was the reason I rented the movie in the first place, but not the reason I watched it.  I watched it to the very end because, when you stripped away all the explosions, all the military and scientific jargon, all the made up jargon, what you had, at the heart of it all, was a story about a man trying to make life safe for his kids. And when you put DJE with kids...you have magic.   (It didn't hurt that the young boy who played his son...an actor by the name of Owens Best, was completely disarming and wonderful.)

So for me, it was well worth the three house I sat in bed watching this movie.  I found myself drawn in, in spite of the highly unlikely plot.  (Which wound up being a tiny bit of a rip off of the movie "Armageddon.") And yes, I teared up at the very end.

It's the same with books we read, isn't it?  Maybe you don't like a certain genre of book, but you pick one up and you get sucked in because when you peal back all the bits you don't care for, at the heart, there's a compelling story.  As writers, reading books that aren't necessarily in our genre is a good idea.  You can pick up inspiration everywhere, and reading is so vital to writing.

If you lived in a world where everything was exactly the one way you liked things, that would be boring.  You have friends who are different from you, right?  Step outside of your circle of what you love and take a look at something you think is going to stink. 

At the heart of it, you might find something very worthwhile.  And that, my friends, will help you grow as a writer.