How I Write– Favourite Scenes

This week, because of Nationals and the fact that Kimberly and Kristen are gone off to have fun without all us (sniffle), I thought we could go easy this week for How I Write and post our favourite scene so far in a current WIP. This small snippet of the scene I’m going to post is from Not Quite Dead and it’s where we meet Trip for the first time.

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Shoving her fists into her pockets, she limped her way through the thick foliage. Over the years, as nature took back the city, marshland had become commonplace. They were everywhere now, feeding off the flooded sewer and subway systems. What had taken centuries to build had taken a few months to be destroyed. Heavy rains overloaded the pump, spilling the water into the streets and houses. Buildings corroded. Rioters broke into stores and empty houses.

A sign, half covered in rust and weeds stuck out on a diagonal. Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will face the Eaters.

Or at least, that was what she thought it said. It was horribly written on old, reused street sign, some letters drawn backwards or missing altogether.

Despite the sign and willing to take her chances, Sera kept on the small animal- or zombie-worn trail. She hadn’t gone far when she heard the snap of branches.

“The sign says keep out. What? Don’t you have eyes or are you just mad?” he snapped. “Well? Speak up now. I’m not a mind reader. There’s no need to be rude when spoken to…unless an Eater has bitten your tongue off that is.”

Sera heard a click and felt the press of something against her head. She swung around to face the voice and jolted back so suddenly that her leg gave out from under her when she came inches from a man hanging upside down in the trees. His face was so close to hers she could feel his breath against her cheek.

“Well hiya, Sweets. All in one piece, I see.” The man known as Trip shot her a toothy grin.

Reaching up, he got a grip on the tree limb and twisted his body so that he could drop back down to the ground. His hat had fallen from his very blue head of hair. He snatched it up off the ground and rolled it off his wrist, flicking it up onto his head. With a quick adjustment, he tipped it forward, spearing blue hair up against the rim.

“Now, I know you’re not deliberately trying to be obtuse. I find you. Not the other way around. That was the arrangement. You don’t do what you’re told very well.”

“And blue isn’t your color,” she spat back at him. He’d dyed his hair since the last time she’d seen him.

“I thought it was time for a change. Change is good. It adds character.” He spun around in a shuffling dance, hands out to the side. Instead of the shirt and vest he usually wore, he had on a leather jacket, worn at the elbows, over a pair of faded jeans. “You like?”

“I think you should be focused on something other than your looks.” She massaged her calf, checking quickly to make sure she hadn’t torn the wound open. She understood the ironic statement the moment it came out, but she needed to look differently in order to survive.

Not like a ridiculous peacock among the partridges.

“Eh.” He rolled his shoulders. “Look, darling, I know you may not get the concept of trying to do something ‘normal’ but here’s the dealio, you really should at least try to blend in. You’re not doing yourself any favors by walking around looking as though you’ve jumped off a petri dish.” A dark brow, pierced with a metal bar, lifted. His mismatched green and brown eyes sparkled with amusement, or perhaps she just imagined they did because of the charcoal liner.

“I don’t need fashion tips from you.” She shoved up off the ground, dusting the dirt from her legs.

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Don’t forget to check out my accountability partners in crime: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster

How I Write–My Favourite Resource/Research Sites

For those new to coming to my site, every week, my accountability group poses a question to each other about writing. This week, we’re shouting out to those who have great resource/research sites.

I chose this topic because there are tons of great sites out there for authors and aside from the usual craft kind, there are some that I keep on my iGoogle homepage.

Writing craft wise, there’s one I constantly visit because of the depth of her articles. This would be Roni Loren. I especially like her friday round up of what’s been going on around the internet. This is a must visit for me every friday.

I’m sure everyone knows the Bookshelf Muse but if you don’t, they feature an emotion or event or whatever and offer a variety of descriptive words you can use instead. They’re similar to the Flip Dictionary, but a bit more specific.

Jody Hedlund’s blog is another awesome resource for authors. I find something to relate with most if not all of her posts. They are insightful for aspiring writers and pubbed authors.

Now, research wise, I found these sites by accident but I must say that I love them. For instance, if you’re looking for medical research, Jordyn Redwood has a great site. She offers great posts to help fiction writers write plausible medical scenarios. If you write forensics, then you should check out the Writer’s Forensic Blog where they answer questions and discuss certain topics like “How Could My Time-traveling Physician Save the Life of My 15th Century Heroine With a Blood Transfusion?”. The last one is Arma Virumque Cano, a blog I was turned on to by a post based on this question, “What kind of handgun would you use to slay a dragon?“.

Don’t forget to check out my accountability partners in crime: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster

How I Write– Are You Locked in a Comfort Zone?

For those new to coming to my site, every week, my accountability group poses a question to each other about writing. This week, the topic was about comfort zones and whether we’ve stepped out of our zones or are stuck there? And if we’re stuck, how do we plan to get out of it?

I think comfort zones are easy to fall into. They are those areas that you know you do well in. It may be writing your characters a certain way (i.e. mine: alphas) or sticking to certain themes. The thing about comfort zones is that once you’re in it, it can be hard to get out of. Trying something new and unusual can seem difficult and even turn a perfectly good idea into a brain block.

I’ve been facing this with my new wip, Not Quite Dead. In this manuscript, I’m not only dealing with having to do a whole new world (post apocalyptic), but I also am writing ordinary heroes and heroines. I’ve written characters with abilities all my life. So writing one who isn’t enhanced is interesting because there are circumstances they have to hide or can’t fight back because they are outnumbered and don’t have abilities to draw upon. Also, in this wip, there are no modern conveniences. No phones. No computers or internet. No electricity. Nothing. The world is extinct and the humans who’ve survived have to go on with life with what they have. They have to go back to a life that includes farming for their own food and doing everything themselves.

But it’s not just the plot that I’m pushing with this story. It’s the characters. Instead of dark heroes, my hero in this book, Jason, is very light and chatty. The heroine, is antisocial. I also have a character, Trip, who is just a little bit crazy. He does things…says things that sometimes, I don’t know how to write. I wish I knew. lol. It’d be easier to make him into someone I’m comfortable writing, but I’m not.

The thing with comfort zones is that your writing will never grow if you don’t step out of that circle you’ve drawn around what you know. Not only that, but if your writing is always the same, readers will get bored.

What I’ve learned is that when you step out of that perfectly warm, comfortable zone, doubts are in full force. I faced the last few weeks. Why? It’s something new. What if I’m not doing it right? What if I’m not writing it the way it should? Or the biggest: What if it’s boring?

I was so blocked I asked someone to read what I had. I was at the point where it was either going to be drop the story altogether or push through. It can be a bit trying when you’re writing something new. At times, the writing just doesn’t come. It’s slow and it takes a lot to drag the words out. Other times, it speeds along. It’s a roller coaster that can quickly get out of control. However, all that negative stuff aside, I think it’ll be worth it when I finally write THE END.

What about you? Do you have a comfort zone? Are you stuck there? If you haven’t stepped out, why haven’t you?

Take a chance!

Don’t forget to check out my accountability partners in crime: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster

How I Write– Reader Pet Peeves

Book pet peeves…everyone has them. Whether you’re reading a book or it’s happening in your own manuscript, they’re there. They’re those little nails that scratch on the blackboard of your brain. Little things that just make you roll your eyes even as you keep reading. Or, maybe it’s enough for you to call it quits and put that book back on the shelf.

It’s always difficult, especially from a writer’s point of view, to know what may turn off a reader. Every reader out there has a different opinion about something. But I know for myself, there are some thing I pick up on in my own writing. Things that when writing I may not notice but in editing, jumps out in huge glaring letters.

1. Wandering body parts- I don’t know why, but this can be a big one for me. The eyes of the heroine did not collide with the hero’s. Her GAZE did. Would be painful if it was her eyes. Things like this can drive me batty. I know my critique partners probably think I’m a bit crazy on this one. Sometimes, wandering body parts aren’t quite so noticeable, but other times, yeah…it just makes me smack my forehead.

2. I don’t think I do this a lot…but cutesy phrasing. Nothing makes me roll my eyes at writing quite like this. It just bugs me. I’ve written a few things in the past, however, that is so cutesy that I want to erase. There’s a part in Hunting the Shadows that every time I see it, I narrow my eyes and grit my teeth.

3. Inaccuracies. Ok this, I’m walking the edge on. I make up science all the time in my books, so I’m SURE there are readers out there who are screaming at me that it isn’t how it works. However, what gets me is bad archaeology/anthropology. In the past, I’ve stopped reading books from an author who did this. Of course I was in highschool when I read the book (I don’t remember what the issue was) but still, I don’t read books by said author.

4. Jarring. Sentences. That. Pull. Me. Out. I’ve done this a time or two. It may not even be as dramatic of my example, but sometimes, when sentences are split in some way to add emphasis, it makes it harder for me to get back into the writing. Once or twice or so in a book isn’t bad. It’s when it’s on every page that I want to curl up and hide under my King Tut comforter.

These are some of the technical peeves. I would also probably list love at first sight and the big miscommunication problem also, but these are lesser peeves because it all depends on the author. Some can pull this off. Others can’t. It all depends on the writing style.

What are your reader pet peeves?

Don’t forget to check out my accountability partners in crime: Danie Ford, Emma G. Delaney, Kimberly Farris, Kristen Koster