FRIDAY STIR FRY - Jack Of All Trades

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For the next meeting of one of my writer groups, they asked that we all bring a short presentation on something about writing or marketing that we are an expert about. In other words, our vice president couldn't get a speaker.

I don't consider myself an expert at anything. I know a little about a few things. Like my father-n-law used to say: "I know just enough to be dangerous."

I don't have an English degree. Heck, I didn't even attend college. So, I don't know all the grammar rules. I get lost when people talk about adverbs, prepositions, and dangling modifiers. My eyes actually glaze over. I know just enough to muddle through with the help of a dictionary and spell/grammar check. And thank goodness for editors.

I'm a pantser, so I don't do outlines. I know a little about story structure and arc but, not all the specifics. I mostly feel my way through a story. It's needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.

I know a little about marketing - how to use Twitter, Facebook and blog interviews. But, certainly not enough to teach any of it.

I wrote a good book, found a publisher, lost that publisher, and self published. But, there's nothing I can teach about any of that. A good number of members have written and published a lot more than me.

I would just skip this meeting, but writer meetings are kind of the only social contact I get on the weekends. And since I'm chairman of a committee, I need to give a report.

Maybe, I'll just ignore the request. Sorry, I forgot. That's something I'm pretty good at, especially as I grow older.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - People Are Weird

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With all the dysfunctional people in the news this week, from Jared Fogle to Josh Duggar, to Bill Cosby, I got to thinking about the way people behave and how you just never know.

Although as far as Duggar goes, who didn't see somebody weird coming out of that dysfunctional group? Having all those kids in this day and age, just isn't right. Consider for a moment, those kids are probably going to birth a bunch of brats. I don't do math, but the number probably could be in the several hundreds. With human population threatening to destroy the planet and the resources needed to sustain that large of a family, their behavior is not only crazy, but irresponsible.

As far as the other two go, I can only come to the conclusion that having money doesn't give you morals. In fact, sometimes it seems to remove any sense of decency you do have.

On a final note - all this sure makes my writer brain tingle with possibilities. Thanks weirdos!

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Plans and Such

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I'm starting to plan for my retirement from the work place I like to call Hell. I won't be able to draw benefits for a couple more years, but you can never plan too early, right. Plus it's the carrot dangling off the end of the stick to keep this old mule kicking.

One of those plans kinda came out of nowhere. I have done some Beta reading for a few writer friends, with suggestions on improvements. One of them told me I'm really good at it and should start doing it professionally.

I must admit, I like the editing process. Most authors hate it. I, on the other hand, find coming up with the story and first draft hard. Fixing stuff is more fun. I'd really never thought of doing it for money. Hmmm, could I? Should I?

If I could get an editing business going, it would help out when I retire since Social Security isn't all that secure. I'm doing some research now and coming up with ideas for a business name. The first one I thought of is a take off this blog - An Editor Called Wanda.  Some others - Need Edits? - Novel Edits -  An Editor And A Novel  -  Red Pencil, Will Edit.

What do you think about these or do you have any suggestions?

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Big Weekend



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So, it's officially the first weekend of summer, or as my ex used to call it, amateur weekend. The time when people who don't normally go to the lake or drive a boat or golf, are out there in mass. The season doesn't really get here for a few more weeks - Summer Solstice has the longest daylight of the year and is the official change from spring to summer. But who cares? School is out in most places and we have a three day weekend. It's time to party!

I did a survey last week asking what is your most favorite summertime activity. The answer was a tie between traveling to new places and inviting people over for a cookout. I would have to chose traveling. Some of my fondest memories are of going to Yellowstone, New York City, Hawaii and Disney World. All very different locals but all hold a unique place in my heart. Plus, as a writer it is important to get out and about, see new places and observe different people. It gets the creative juices flowing.

As we enjoy this long Memorial Day weekend, let us not forget the real reason for this first summer holiday. The brave men and women who served and sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy. Bless them all. Go put a flag on a soldier's grave. It will make you feel wonderful and it will be appreciated.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Authors You Might Want To Check Out

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Today I'm featuring more of my talented writer friends. If you missed the first batch, check the archives November 29, 2014.

I feel lucky to know and be associated with these people. Please check out their sites and their books.

First up is Shirley McCann. She is a talented mystery writer with several books available and also her short mystery stories have been published in Woman's World Magazine. Here is her blog link    http://shirleymccann.blogspot.com/
And here is her Amazon Author page   http://amzn.to/18XhPZM

Next up is Cara Bristol. This lady has many books published and specializes in erotica.
Here is her web page link
http://carabristol.com/
And her Amazon author page   http://amzn.to/17Y7USG

And last but not least is Vera Jane Schultz. A talented writer she has something for everyone from mystery to humor to romance.
 Here is the link to her website  http://verasversion.blogspot.com/
Here is her Amazon author page     http://amzn.to/1ETOP0I

I hope you take the time to visit them and perhaps support them with a purchase.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Author Spotlight

I'm pleased to highlight my good writer friend Lisa Medley. Her new offering, Haunt My Heart is now available.  Don't you just love the cover! This is on my 'to be read list' and I can't wait. I love a good ghost story and Lisa is a very talented author.  Enjoy this excerpt and be sure and visit her links.

eISBN-13:  978-0-9908856-0-3

Kindle: http://amzn.to/1Bx3fzQ

Print: http://amzn.to/1Bwuriotion

Blurb:

A Civil War soldier dies to save his men. Can he find true love to live again?

Sarah Knight has a job she’s good at, a quirky BFF, and a boyfriend who’s bad for her. When Sarah unearths a Civil War artifact on a ghost hunt at Chatham Manor, she brings home more than a souvenir

Lieutenant James “Tanner” Dawson fought for the Union, working as a supernatural liaison for his Major General in a secret Masonic offset called the Brothers of Peril. When he’s hexed by a witch, he learns the only way to save his men is to die himself. But death is not the end. Awakening 150 years later, he knows if he wants to be corporeal again, he has to find true love to break the hex—a task no easier in 21st century than it was in the 19th.

Excerpt from Chapter One:

 “Hurry up, Sarah. We’re going to miss the ghost!”

Sarah Knight rolled her eyes in the cold December darkness, but trotted after Ellie’s bouncing flashlight beam. Sarah’s heels crunched through the frozen topsoil as she crossed the lawn, and she worried about the damage being done to her only pair of sensible work shoes. Ellie had failed to mention this would be on an outdoor excursion.

Ellie had been dragging her out on girls’ nights against her better judgment since they graduated from college. Last month, they’d gone to a mixed martial arts fight, complete with blood, screaming and more than one missing tooth. And that had been the spectators.

Ellie had a strange idea of fun. It was only in the car on the way over that Sarah had learned tonight’s adventure would be a ghost hunt.

Sarah and Ellie caught up to the tour group as the leader, a tall dark-haired man in his mid-forties, wrapped up his ghost-hunting protocol explanation. She’d missed the rules. Ellie wouldn’t care about missing that part. She hated following the rules, but Sarah was a little miffed. If she was going ghost hunting, she wanted to know exactly what the boundaries were.

“Great,” Sarah whispered. “We missed the rules.”

“At least we didn’t miss the ghost,” Ellie pointed out. “And they haven’t doled out the equipment yet.” Ellie’s mouth split into a mischievous smile, and she angled up closer to the group leader.

“Again, my name is Allen if you have any questions during the tour. Since we have such a large group tonight, we’ll split into two teams. Carla will take this half.” Allen sliced an imaginary line through the group of twenty or so ghost-hunters. “And the rest of you will go with me.”

Relieved she and Ellie were on the same side of the line, Sarah snuggled up closer to her friend and surveyed the rest of their team. A middle-aged couple, a grandmotherly woman, and a group of ten sorority girls—exactly the type of girls she’d avoided in college—made up Team Allen. The girls sported matching Greek-lettered sweatshirts, scarves and mittens and tittered incessantly. Sarah was fairly sure their chance of seeing a ghost with this group was nil. Fine with her. Ellie was the one who went for the paranormal stuff.

“We’ll walk the path where the Lady in White has typically been spotted. Carla’s team will cover the grounds around the house,” Allen said. He nodded to Carla, and she gave him a little salute, then led her team around to the side of the building. Allen’s group stayed put in the doorway.

“First, I’ll need a couple of volunteers,” Allen announced.

Ellie’s hand shot up before Sarah could register what was happening. “We’ll do it.”

Classic Ellie, leaping before she looked. She didn’t even know what she was volunteering for. It could be anything. If Allen wanted virgins to sacrifice, however, he was out of luck.

Allen pulled two little handheld meter devices out of his messenger bag. His brows lowered a bit as he studied Ellie, cast his eyes around the group, then settled back to her. Ellie’s enthusiasm won out and Allen handed one device to her and the other to Sarah.

“This is the Anomaly Detector,” Allen said with all the reverence of presenting the sword Excalibur. “It measures EMP and temperature. If these lights change, it’s your job to let us know. I’ll be taking photos and interacting with the ghost, trying to draw her out. I can’t keep my eyes on all of the devices at once. Can you manage this?”

“Absolutely,” Ellie squealed.

Sarah resisted rolling her eyes again. She accepted the detector and did her best to reduce her scowl.

“It’s okay to be skeptical,” Allen said. “It makes it all the more exciting when we convert you to a believer.” His smile warmed and Sarah realized he was actually handsome. Old, but handsome. What an otherwise normal and attractive man—who was way old enough to know better—was doing leading a bunch of ghost hunters, she had no idea. People were strange. She supposed she’d have to include herself in that judgment, considering she now held a ghost detector.

 Lisa Medley writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance about monsters in love, because monsters need love too. Look for Reap& Repent (Bk 1) and Reap & Redeem (Bk 2) of The Reaping Series, available now. A lover of beasties of all sorts, she has a farm full of them in her SW MO home including:  one child, one husband, two dogs, two cats, a dozen hens, thousands of Italian bees and a guinea pig. Not so in love with the guinea pig. She can do ten pushups IN A ROW and may or may not have a complete zombie apocalypse bug-out bag in her trunk at all times. Just. In. Case.

Website | Facebook  | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Google+ | Amazon Author Page 

Friday Stir Fry - Re-writes

If somebody tries to tell you writing is easy, slap them in the mouth and walk away. They obviously don't know what they are talking about.

I'm currently trying to add 20,000 words to Beyond The Horizon, my book that I thought was finished. I've found out that at 56,000 words it is way too short for a single title contemporary romance.

There are so many writing rules to follow. Not only do I have to follow the rules of grammar, stay in one point of view and limit the use of 'ly' words, I have to follow some industry standard concerning the length of my work. But, if I ever hope to see this book of mine published I have to do this.  I must do this.
"But, how do I go about this monumental task?" you ask.

I am a pantser not a planner, so I'm kinda floundering. I started by adding a couple of scenes but,  in order for them to fit, I had to change a few things. Well, obviously that wasn't going to work. I could just see the lack of continuity baring it's ugly fangs. So now, I'm going through it word by word, page by page. Adding a word of description here and there; which isn't adding up to much. At this rate, I may have 76,000 words by the end of 2014.

If anybody has any words of wisdom or tricks of the trade, feel free to share them in the comment section. You'll be helping this writer in distress and possibly some one else.

FRIDAY STIR FRY

I hate drama. Not the kind you see on TV or on the big screen, but the kind people create in their lives. I'm sure you all know a Drama Queen or King. They don't seem to be happy unless they are in the middle of some sort of confrontation, whether it's real or imagined. And they want to involve everybody in their little stage play.

I often scream in my head - GET OVER YOURSELF!!!

Because that's really what it's about. They want attention. They can't stand the thought of not being the center of every one's universe. I really think they get some sort of high from it like any compulsive behavior provides. Instead of shopping, gambling, drinking or drugs, they are hooked on fake drama.

Of course drama is a good thing to explore as a writer. Without some sort of drama in our writing, readers won't hang around for long. But, it needs to feel real. It has to have some sort of consequence attached to it. Will the hero defeat the bad guy and get the girl? Will truth and justice triumph in the end? Will the world recover from the zombie apocalypse? Give your reader something to care about and they will come back for more.

Friday Stir Fry

 So a writer friend of mine received a contract offer from Harlequin a few days ago. Am I happy for her? Of course I am. She is a great story teller and as I've told her in critique group, she has a great voice. Am I jealous? We are told not to be jealous of other writer's success but to be honest, yea, just a little. Why? Because she has the drive and the passion to follow her dream. I on the other hand, am mired in self pity. I'm too old. I'm not good enough. It's too late for me. I don't have any new ideas. I could go on and on. But what's the point? I have a lot of demons. She writes about demons and reapers and all sorts of weird people. I can kind of relate.

But, perhaps a little jealousy is a good thing. It can motivate. It can spur you on to become better at what you do. I can't change the past, my present is pretty much unchangeable. Can this little bit of jealousy help me change my future?

On the positive side, I did start writing again. I wrote a 1500 word scene to add to my book. And I have a lot of scenes to add. So I'll keep plugging away. Who knows????? Maybe she will be just a little jealous of me one day!