Monthly Archives: February 2011

Helpful sites, Queries, Writing skills and techniques

Helpful Writing Sites & Blog Posts February 2011 Edition

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Before I do this month’s roundup of helpful writing sites and blog posts, I just want to send out my thoughts and prayers to those in New Zealand affected by the earthquake. If you wish to donate to the New Zealand Red Cross to help out those affected, here is a link: New Zealand Red Cross

Onto the most helpful sites and posts I’ve come across this month:

Writing

Punctuation Made Easy

This is by far the best site on punctuation I’ve found. It covers colons, semicolons, commas, dashes and apostrophes. It is very straightforward and clear and makes understanding how to use punctuation very easy. I always thought I was good at punctuation, but reading so many complicated posts on punctuation on the internet has often left me confused on whether I’m doing it right. This site is now my go to site when I need clarity.

The Very Basics: Ten Things All Writers Need To Do

Ten things writers should do if they want a shot at getting published.

Opening No Nos

Killzone author James Scott Bell outlines opening chapter no nos based on statements by literary agents.

Five Tips for Your First Five Pages

From things you shouldn’t do in your opening to things you should do.

Back to Basics – Dialog

This post explains the difference between a conversation and dialogue.

8 Ways to Pile on the Fear in Your Horror Fiction

Great post for horror writers looking for ways to amp up the fear factor in their writing.

The Power of Touch

A look at the way J.K. Rowling uses touch in the Harry Potter series as a way of showing emotion, rather than telling.

Creating a Magic System

A great post for fantasy writers on creating a magic system that fits best with the world in your novel.

Lovable and Admirable Characters

We all want to create characters our readers will want to read more about. Author Denise Jaden shares some advice she received about qualities your main character should have to ensure he/she is engaging and lovable.

How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Plot Point

This post outlines where your main plot points occur in your manuscript and what you should be doing at these points to create a deeper connection with your reader.

Tightening Your (Manuscript’s) Belt

A checklist for eliminating unnecessary prose.

7 Ways Glee Can Improve Your Fiction Writing

Joanna Penn uses the popular TV show ‘Glee’ as a metaphor for ways to improve your writing.

Queries

How to Write a Bio for Your Query

Dot point list of what to include and also includes an example of what to do if you have no writing credentials.

What Your Query Says About Your Book

Your query letter is your first impression of your manuscript. This post tells you how much an agent can tell about your manuscript just by reading your query letter.

Query Me Crazy

Corinne Jackson shares an original query letter she wrote that kept getting rejected, tips she received from a literary agent to improve the query and a revised query she wrote using the tips from the agent that resulted in requests for  partials and fulls.

Just for Fun

The 46 Stages of Twitter

For anyone on Twitter, you’ll be able to relate to these ‘stages’.

Biography

AusLit Australian Literature Anthology

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February 2011 has so far been a very good month to me. Earlier in the month I received news I had made the final list for the 100 Stories for Queensland anthology, an anthology to raise money for those affected by the terrible floods at the beginning of the year. Today I have some more exciting news to share. My short story ‘Angel Blood’ is to be included in the AusLit Australian Literature anthology due to be released in April. The anthology features ten stories by a range of commercially published and emerging Australian authors.

A little about the authors involved:

Kerry Brown

Kerry Brown is a children’s book author with two currently published picture books Poppy Wash and Can I Cuddle the Moon.

JJ Cooper

JJ Cooper is the author of two action thrillers, The Interrogator and Deadly Trust.

Rebecca James

Rebecca James is the author of pschological thriller Beautiful Malice.

Fleur McDonald

Fleur McDonald’s novels Blue Skies and Red Dust feature strong female protagonists living on the land.

Michael Pryor

YA fantasy author Michael Pryor is the author of several series and stand alone novels, including ‘The Laws of Magic’ series and the ‘Doorways’ trilogy.

Sam Stephens

Sam Stephens is an aspiring novelist. His award winning short stories Daddy and The Surgeon can both be found on The Australian Literature Review website.

Michael White

Michael White is author of Equinox, The Medici Secret and The Borgia Ring. He also writes the ‘E-Force’ series under the pseudonym Sam Fisher.

Belinda Dorio and Sonali Rajanayagam complete the author list for the anthology.

Guest Post, Writing skills and techniques

When to Murder or Marry Your Darlings – Guest Post

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Today I’d like to welcome freelance writer and blogger Maria Rainier to my blog.

When to Murder or Marry Your Darlings

You’ll find no relationship advice here. You might, however, find hope.

Most writers are not only familiar with William Faulkner’s blood-curdling wisdom, “Kill your darlings,” they’re haunted by it to the point that they take a carving knife to their laptops in the editing stages of a manuscript.  Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch beat Faulkner to the punch, however, and is the lesser-known genetic father of the original quote:

“Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it—whole-heartedly—and delete it before sending your manuscripts to the press.  Murder your darlings.”

When Your Darlings are Dull

So, that lyrical paragraph that flows like winter-fresh water down spring-green hills, admittedly ad nauseum?  Cut it.  The sentence that, while choppy, is so delightfully tongue-in-cheek you could choke?  Give it up.  And that character who’s so saccharine and giggly that you feel really bad about sending her to the chopping block?  Well, that’s not exactly what Quiller-Couch or Faulkner meant, but go ahead and bring the axe down on that one, too.  Less is more, after all.

That’s the theory, anyway.

When Your Darlings are Darling

We can’t all of us be Charles Dickenses or Tolkiens and write entire pages of descriptions without anything happening and without losing readers.  Had Quiller-Couch met with either of these beloved authors, those bits would probably have been cut.  Can you imagine, though, a 500-page Lord of the Rings novel?

Sometimes, your darlings are there because you love them for reasons no one else will and you’re blinded by your own affection to know better.  Other times, you love your darlings because they’re delicious.  Murdering them would be a disservice to your audience.  By the time you’re done carving up your edited manuscript, it looks like Mr. Skellington who’s probably still hanging around in your old high school biology classroom.

If you can’t tell already, I love words.  Asking me to murder my darlings is like telling me to shave my head.  Sometimes, it’s refreshing and I can hide away the loose tendrils in a folder somewhere in My Documents.  Other times, I notice that after my darlings are gone the manuscript seems to make less sense.  It looks barren and cold, and whatever words I add in to patch up the disjointed parts comes in unevenly and looks, well, fuzzy.

Whenever this seems to be the case, do what everyone else has told you to do: sleep on it.  Wake up, shower, take the dog to the dog park, and then return to your laptop with a cup of tea and examine the massacre.  Feel free to make the mistake of asking your significant other what he or she thinks.  (“Yeah, that looks fine.  Was there anything else you wanted, honey?”)

Other times, however, you can tell Quiller-Couch and Faulkner to mind their own business.

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, where she’s been performing a bit of research into the gender wage gap problem. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Uncategorized

100 Stories for Queensland

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It feels as though Mother Nature really has it in for Australia this summer. Currently, bushfires are raging in Perth. Only days ago, category 5 cyclone Yasi hit Northern Queensland. In December 2010 and January 2011 major floods affected seventy-five per cent of the state of Queensland, including Brisbane (its capital city) causing major damage and loss of life. My brother lives in Queensland and thankfully lives in an area not affected by either the floods or the cyclone, but many other people have been affected.

Watching the devastation unfold on television and reading the heart-wrenching stories around the web left me in shock. But, as with the devastating bushfires two years ago, it has been uplifting seeing not only Australians, but those around the world reaching out to help those affected.

The writing community has pulled together in several ways to help raise funds. In January several writers organised a charity auction. Writers from around the country donated books and offers to critique manuscripts to raise money for the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal. Then, following in the tradition of 100 stories for Haiti and 50 stories for Pakistan, a call was put out for short stories to be included in an anthology to be titled 100 stories for Queensland. I knew without a doubt I wanted to submit –  to be a part of something that could help raise much needed funds for flood-affected Queensland.

The submission guidelines called for uplifting stories, and my first thought was to submit a comedic rhyming story I wrote last year and had been sitting idly in a folder on my computer. I soon found out, however, that the anthology wasn’t accepting rhyming stories, so it was back to the drawing board. As the days drew closer to the closing date, I started to panic I wouldn’t find inspiration for a story to submit. Finally, an idea developed. A story about a simple wish – about hope.

I wrote and rewrote and edited and proof-read. I passed it on to beta readers, including my friend Rachel who happens to be a history buff and was able to set me straight on a few points I’d overlooked. I submitted right on the deadline.

Last week, I found out my story had made the long list. Today, I found out it made the final list and will be included in the anthology.

My story is called ‘A Penny for a Wish’, but my simple wish is this: When the anthology is released on the 8th of March, please think about purchasing a copy as 100% of the sales profits will be going towards flood relief in Queensland. Two years ago in the Victorian bushfires, one of my best friends lost everything – her house, her property and all of her possessions. I’ve seen first hand how much these funds can help towards rebuilding someone’s life when they’ve lost everything. And even if you don’t want to read some fantastic stories by some amazing authors, consider donating in some other way.

P.S. I just found out about another great writer initiative raising money for flood relief. Writers on Rafts involves a multitude of fantastic Australian authors offering a multitude of prizes. All money raised goes towards the Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal and you can enter as many times as you like. Winners are drawn Friday 25th February 2011. (I believe the competition is open to Australian residents only on this one.)

Queries

Why You Should Double-Check Submission Guidelines

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Only a couple of months ago I compiled a list of publishers to query. I made up a spreadsheet with details such as contact details, whether they accept e-mail or postal submissions and a link to their submission guidelines pages.

Today as I was polishing up a query letter to send out to one of the publishers I thought I should double-check their submission guidelines. I’m so glad I did, because some of their guidelines had changed drastically since my last visit. Their biggest change: previously they only accepted postal submissions, now they only accept e-mail submissions (postal submissions are now ignored). Imagine if I had simply gone by the details I had saved only few months ago – I would have been prepared to send my submission by post.

On double-checking another publisher’s guidelines I noted they are no longer accepting unsolicited submissions. If I hadn’t checked, I would have sent my submission and it would have been a waste.

The lesson here is to ALWAYS double-check the submission guidelines before you send, even if you think you know them already. Guidelines change, submissions close or open and editors/agents may leave. Yesterday the guidelines may have said to post your letter with your first three chapters to Paul Newton, but today the guidelines may say to e-mail your letter with a synopsis to Lisa Simpson or submissions are now closed until June.

And if you’re the kind of person to keep a spreadsheet or Word document with publisher details, make sure you update it regularly (and still double-check the publisher/agent’s website before you send).