Tag: writers

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Dangerous Women Blog Contest!

Dangerous ReadersThanks to those of you who have signed up for the Dangerous Women group, my new venture with a number of my writing buddies!

For those of you entering the Saturday contest, just post your answer on this blog to the following question:

What are the names of the hero and heroine in HONOR CALLS, my February e-novella Nocturne Bite?

I’ll pick a winner from all the comments entered by midnight EST on Saturday, April 4.

Here’s an extra goodie for you! If you place the banner above on your site and link it to the Dangerous Women group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dangerouswomen/join

just let me know and you’ll be eligible to also win a T-shirt for my upcoming release, SINS OF THE FLESH.

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The Dreaded Info Dump

dumpI was rewriting a chapter yesterday and when I read it to my critique group, I didn’t need them to tell me what I was doing wrong.

I knew I was doing the Dreaded Info Dump.

What’s that? you might ask.

Well, if you’re a reader it’s something you hopefully will not see in a book. It goes something like this:

Mary realized that it was Dr. Smith. He had treated her for bunions three years ago. Then again two years later for a heel spur. Now she was there to see him for an ingrown nail, but suspected it was much more than that. For two weeks her toe had been hurting. It had first been a slightly pink color. Then a few days later a little brighter red. Then after a week it had started getting really nasty. Finally a day ago she realized it was time to go see her favorite foot doctor.

Yes, I know we wouldn’t be interested in a story about her feet, but imagine that the story was a romantic suspense and all that information was about what had happened to the heroine in the last three months – an info dump.

Much like the person in the photo I posted, info dumps inundate a reader with too much info at one shot and in general, are boring. It’s like reading an encyclopedia entry for your hero or heroine.

If you need to provide the reader some backstory, it should be layered throughout the chapter and provide subtle hints and information about what’s put the protagonists in their current situation. In fact, the less you say and make the reader intuit, the more they will be drawn into the story you are writing because the reader is participating in the story.

Of course, don’t make it so confusing or obtuse that the reader will say, “I just don’t get it,” and disengage from the story.

The hints should be clear and lead the reader toward an understanding of what’s happening. They should be like the breadcrumbs that Hansel and Gretel leave behind, enough so they can be followed to a particular point where you, the writer, are leading them.

How do you know you are doing the dreaded info dump as a writer? Look for long paragraphs filled with too much information. Dense paragraphs like that are a clear sign that something is up that you should revisit.

I hope you found this Tuesday Tip helpful.

Also, don’t forget this week’s b’day bash. Just visit any of the blogs listed below this week and leave a comment and you’ll be eligible to win a prize from me! At Barbara Vey’s blog, there are tons of other prizes as well!

I’ll be visiting all of these blogs and if you’ve left a comment at any of them, you’ll also be eligible to win a $25 Godiva gift card! The more times I see your name at the different blogs, the more your chances improve to win the gift card. So take a moment and stop by one or all to improve your chances of winning a prize.

The contest ends on Friday, March 13th at midnight EST, so be sure to get your comments in there on time!

Barbara Vey’s Beyond Her Book Blog for lots of fun and giveaways!
http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/880000288/post/1240041524.html

Fresh Fiction: http://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=1602

Harlequin Paranormal Romance blog: http://paranormalromanceblog.wordpress.com/

Liberty States Fiction Writers (leave a comment on any of the blog posts): http://www.libertystatesfictionwriters.com/blog-read-around-the-world/

Long and Short Reviews: http://longandshortarchives.blogspot.com/search/label/Caridad%20Pineiro

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Characters are Plot

writingheartAt the February meeting of the Liberty States Fiction Writers we were very lucky to have my friend and fellow author, Anna DeStefano, do a wonderful workshop on revisions. During the course of the workshop, Anna mentioned something which I truly believe – Characters are plot.

Why do I believe that? You may read a book that has a good plot – pacing works, premise is interesting. But if the characters leave you flat, you will forget that book almost as quickly as you read it.

Writing emotionally developed and interesting characters is, IMHO, key to creating a memorable book and plot. Why plot? you ask. Because it is the development of the characters and how they resolve their internal conflicts that creates the story arc of your plot. It is your job as a writer to craft scenes in which the characters are challenged to deal with their conflicts and advance until at the end of the novel, the characters have resolved those internal conflicts (or maybe just one of them if you are creating a series with the same characters).

For this reason, I totally believe that characters are plot. When you define your characters and how they need to grow, you can then build a story around that. When you do, you will have a book where your readers are always on the edge of their seats wondering whether or not the character will rise up to the occasion or fail. Readers will cheer for them and their hearts will break when the characters encounter problems.

When your readers finish your book, not only will you have given them a story that engaged them, but you will have touched them and created characters they will remember long after the books are sitting on a shelf.

Characters are plot. Remember that before you get started and your story will almost write itself.

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Building An Effective Web Presence Part 3

pc.jpgBuilding an Effective Web Presence – Part 3: Types of sites and how to get them up and running

There are a number of different types of websites and ways to get them running. How you decide to go will impact on the costs of not only building the site, but maintaining it. The options range from free – but involving a lot of your time – to having someone totally build and maintain the site for you. Of course, there is the in-between option as well – someone else builds and you maintain.

The first thing to decide on is the platform or in non-geek speak – what the basic foundation of the site will be.

One thing to keep in mind – regardless of the platform the coding for the site will generally be in HTML which is the most common language used on the web.

Traditional website: Usually coded using HTML, but may also have underlying coding in ASP or SQL (other languages). Websites of this nature generally require more advanced technical knowledge not only due to the coding, but also because such coding is usually done at a local computer and then uploaded to a web-based server using an FTP program (File transfer Protocol). In general, sites like these are created by programmers and also maintained by programmers unless you are well-versed in HTML and FTP.

One thing to consider with a site like this is to have it programmed by someone who has a writing community, such as Writerspace, Romance Designs or Noveltalk. These communities will not only build and host your site, but include you in their community listings, etc. giving you immediate exposure to your core audience – other writers and readers.

WordPress/Drupal: These are two of the hottest platforms out there. Both platforms are freeware (always nice). That means that you pay nothing for using the software that is the basis for the website, but you will notice that the WordPress/Drupal name will appear on every site using this technology. Sites based on these platforms are generally easier to maintain, especially WordPress. They are menu-driven and allow users to create and edit new pages via the internet, eliminating the need for the FTP procedure. WordPress also allows you to work with a WYSIWIG (What You See Is What You Get) editor which eliminates a great deal of the need for HTML coding (although those you know some basic HTML may find it more reliable to use the coding).

Drupal is a little more complex in terms of coding, but is quickly becoming popular, especially with programmers since they believe it provides more flexibility than WordPress.

I must confess to loving WordPress. Both of my sites are written using this platform. For more information on WordPress, you can visit www.wordpress.org. WordPress is also blogging software and so you can have your website and blog all with the same look and feel at one place.

If you chose this route, you will likely need a programmer to install the WordPress/Drupal software at the company which will host your site. Once that’s done, however, you should be able to apply one of their free themes to your site and begin coding it. Another option is to have the programmer design a custom theme and then you start coding and/or maintaining the site. Or, last but not least, you let the designer code and maintain the site.

FYI – WordPress also has a free site (www.wordpress.com – not .org) where you can create your website, pick a theme and be up and running with very little effort. The downside to the free service is that there is little you can do to change the theme, etc. without paying extra.

Finally, one of the other ways that you can have a web presence is by going with a blog only one of the free blogging services – Eblogger, WordPress or LiveJournal are some of the more popular services. You can customize the looks of the sites on these services and there are generally no (or few) charges associated with having your site at these locations. If you decide to move to a different web presence, I believe all of these sites have a way of letting you move your content to a new site or you could just choose to link from your new site to these services for the blog aspect.

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