[authorme] PUBLISHING NEW WRITERS - JUNE, 2005
- From: "Bruce Cook, AuthorMe.com" <cookcomm@xxxxxxx>
- To: authorme@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 29 May 2005 18:24:01 -0700 (PDT)
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In this issue...
5 YEARS WRITING "SLEEPING DRAGONS,", BY LESLIE J.
WEDDELL
WRITERS BEWARE!!! WHICH PUBLISHER DO I CHOOSE?, BY
WINONA RASHEED
THE BASICS: DIALOGUE, BY SANDY TRITT
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============================================================
5 YEARS WRITING "SLEEPING DRAGONS,", BY LESLIE J.
WEDDELL
'Sleeping With Dragons' is my first proper book. I've
written a few manuscripts over the years, mainly for
the amusement of my children, now all grown up. But I
enjoyed writing so much that I began an idea for a
Novel five years ago, after watching so many rubbish
films that were supposed to be 'great'! All seemed to
contain the 'F' word.
I firmly believe there are millions of decent folks
out there in this big World who enjoy films and books,
without profanity included, to make a good storyline.
I thought I could do as good, if not better. Searching
all the websites about writing filmscripts, it soon
became clear to me that if I wanted _expression of
freedom I would have to start from scratch and write
my own book.
Not knowing how to do this, I decided the best way was
to read. And read. And read. All the books that I
could, until I found the kind of story I really liked,
and then think about it some more. I decided Thriller
action books did it for me.
Ian Fleming (All the Bond Books he created) Ken
Follett, Dick Francis, etc. all egged me on when I had
finished reading their books, and eventually I sat
down over a few months and thought about my long life
on this Earth, and where I had been. My experiences,
the bad times, and the good times. The little things
that meant so much at a certain age, and marriage and
children. Where was I going? What was my direction in
life?
The list was a revelation. I did not know how much I
had actually achieved in my 66 years (when I began
thinking about this novel) until I had written it all
down on paper over several months.
Then I knew what I had to do. I drew up (yet another)
sheet of ideas. Worked on it on a daily basis, never
crossing anything out. I eventually bought a digital
recorder to help me remember important points, and the
Novel started to take on form. I drew up a plan for my
book. I was not going to rush it. Plot. Plot. 'Plod'.
Gradually I got rid of the 'plod' and started building
the plot. Making it up as I went along. That's why it
took me five years!
Now I know that this is not the best way to go! But
back then, I knew no difference. Anyway, after a
couple of years of continually erasing stuff I had
written, I eventually was approaching the end of the
book. (Now I don't throw ANYTHING! My advice is, SAVE
it on a floppy disk. No matter how crazy the idea may
be, you might want to come back and build on that idea
later!)
Anyway, what you read in the printed book version of
'Sleeping With Dragons' is what you get. I have since
discovered 12 mistakes, only little ones, mind you,
but they are there. The reader will probably not spot
them, but I can, as the Author. Some my own, due to
inexperience as a self publisher, some by the
production team who did not notice them.
Very annoying.
My advice is to new writers is to check your
manuscript many, many, many times. Leave it for a few
weeks, read it over again. Take a marker pen and
highlight those 'typos' as you read. Don't leave it to
'Oh, I'll sort that later.' It never happens because
you forget.
There are hundreds of pages in your book, and you
cannot possibly remember the exact page and line were
the mistake is, later.
You can find my book at the following address;
www.authorhouse.com or www.authorthouse.co.uk When you
get there, just click on 'bookstore'.
Type in 'Sleeping With Dragons' and all the details of
the book will come up in front of you.
I have tried very hard not to use profanity in my
book- for a I detest it. The Master writers of the
last 200 hundred years did not use profanity, so I see
no reason why I should. The skill and talent of the
author should be able to hold the reader on the edge
of his/her seat with the book without swearing. That's
my opinion, mind you.
If any readers want to contact me, please do so via
Bruce. He has my go ahead to give my email address to
you.
============================================================
WRITERS BEWARE!!!
WHICH PUBLISHER DO I CHOOSE?
by Winona Rasheed
Managing Editor
Author-me.com
Now that you have finished adding the final touches to
your manuscript and it is in tip top shape; ready to
meet that publisher?s eye, you may be overwhelmed to
see the listings of publishers that you, the writer
will have to sort through.
After spending weeks, months, or perhaps even years on
your manuscript, fine tuning it to create a well
written, finished product; you now have to make the
big decision of where to send it. As writers, we also
have to pay close attention and do the research in
finding a publisher for our work.
There are many publishers out there, especially on the
web, which are seeking manuscripts from new writers.
There are Publishers which will tell you that they can
and will publish your work, but for a small fee,
guaranteeing that you will become a ?published
author.? As a writer myself, I can truly say that it
sounds good, after all, that?s our goal, to become
published, turning our manuscripts into books that
sell.
But, WRITERS BEWARE, because you don?t have to pay a
publisher upfront to publish your work. They pay
you!!!
My personal experience had led me to a publisher that
was interested in my work, only to find out that in
order for me to have my work published I would have to
pay a third-party. The third-party consisted of an
editor and an illustrator that I had to pay for;
immediately, a red flag popped up, warning me.
WRITERS BEWARE, because the publishers that you are
looking for do not charge for these services. It?s
part of the package deal when you receive your
acceptance letter. Publishers have their own in-house
editors and illustrators. If you present to them a
well polished manuscript that they are interested in,
they will pay you to publish it, taking your work
through the entire publishing process without charging
you a fee.
Do your research when you are looking for a publisher,
read their editorial guidelines.
A very good reference book that every writer should
have on their shelf, especially if they are trying to
publish their work, is the ?Writer?s Market,? a
detailed catalog listings of book and magazine editors
who ?buy what you write.?
Yes, getting your story published is a long, hard road
to travel, but if you are patient and steadfast you
will succeed. Just beware of those publishers who tell
you, ?We can publish your story for a small fee.
============================================================
THE BASICS: DIALOGUE, BY SANDY TRITT
by Sandy Tritt
http://tritt.wirefire.com
Have you ever read a court transcript? It accurately
gives a word-by-word report of exactly what is said.
But it is interesting?
Uh-uh. If we wrote verbatim the way we talk, our
readers would execute us at dawn (or maybe earlier).
So what do we do to create ?natural? dialogue?
First, we must listen to the way people talk ?both the
choice of words and the rhythm of those words. People
rarely speak in long sentences or without pausing
(except for my mother), so we must write dialogue in
fragmented sentences and in short bursts. Second, we
must decide which of these spoken words are worthy of
writing. For example, in real life, when we greet
someone, we generally say, ?hello,? then ask how he
is, maybe how his family is, and so forth. But this is
boring stuff to a reader, who is smart enough to
realize small talk occurs and impatient enough to want
to get immediately to the meat of the conversation.
Therefore, we need to eliminate the ?niceties? and get
on to what the reader wants to read.
And third, we need to add body language and action to
dialogue to convey its true meaning. For example, a
character says, ?You jerk.? Without body language, we
don?t know what the emotional value of this statement
is. Consider the following statements:
? ?You jerk,? he said, his eyebrow cocked just enough
so I?d know he was challenging me, that he was
checking to see if I would back down or not.
? ?You jerk,? he said, and the twinkle in his eye told
me that I?d finally earned his respect.
? ?You jerk!? Carl slapped his knee and laughed from
his belly until I feared he?d fall down.
As you can see, it is the action and body language
that allows us to interpret the meaning of the words.
Since the reader cannot see the character talking, it
is our job to describe all the information the reader
needs.
Adding action and body language to our prose also
accomplishes another task: it slows the pacing. Now,
there are times when rapid-fire dialogue is necessary,
such as at high drama points when things are moving
quickly, or after a long descriptive section to pick
up the pace. Monologues usually do NOT need
interrupted by tags or action, as the story being told
is the story holding (we hope!) the reader?s attention
and to suspend it would be distracting.
There are no precise rules for writing dialogue that I
am aware of, but an ear for it is developed by reading
aloud. Do you start drifting? You need action. Do you
forget who?s talking? You need a tag. Is the
conversation moving too quickly? You need a break
?narrative or action ?to even out the pacing.
Here are some quick tips for writing dialogue:
? Don?t sound out sound effects (this is called
?onomatopoeia?). This is annoying. Simply state, ?The
gun shot echoed through the chapel,? instead of ?Bang!
Bang! Bang!?
? Take it easy on dialect. Sounding out words becomes
distracting and time-consuming, and most readers tire
of it quickly. Instead, use the grammar and rhythm of
the character to insinuate the dialect or tag it with
an explanation. Examples: Instead of writing: ?I vill
dough zit meself,? write: ?I will do it myself,? she
said, her Polish accent thick, the way it was when she
was tired or sick. Likewise, instead of writing, ?It
doune make no differen? ta me, I?m goin? eenyway,?
write: ?It don?t make no difference to me, I?m going
anyway.?
? Don?t include ?well,? ?uh,? and other such nonsense
unless it serves a very good purpose. (Such as a
character whose only word is ?uh,? or a character
whose main distinction is prefacing every statement
with ?well.?)
? Keep your tags invisible (more on this below).
? Keep your tags either interspersed with action and
description or at the end of the quote. A tag at the
beginning (although occasionally okay) tends to make
the writing more passive. Consider which of the
following carries the most power:
He said, ?Help me. I need help.?
?Help me. I need help,? he said.
?Help me,? he said. ?I need help.?
While we are talking about dialogue, we should also
discuss how to tag it. A dialogue tag identifies who
the speaker is and, sometimes, the manner in which he
has spoken.
?Just be like that,? she pouted.
?Oh, come on,? he groaned. ?Not this again.?
?You don?t love me,? she replied.
?Right,? he snarled. ?That?s why I bought you an eight
hundred dollar diamond.?
?Here,? she sobbed. ?Just take it back. Take it.?
Okay, what?s wrong with our sample above (other than
being melodramatic)? It?s an ailment I like to call
?Creative Dialogue Tag Syndrome? ?the writer relies on
creative tags (pouted, groaned, replied, snarled,
sobbed) so the reader will know how to interpret the
dialogue. What?s wrong with this? Let me count the
things:
? The reader must interpret the tag and evaluate if
the dialogue agrees with the tag. At best, it disrupts
the flow. At worst, the reader decides the two are
contradictory and the writer loses credibility.
? It is telling the reader how the words are said
instead of showing.
? If the dialogue is well written and the accompanying
action is well chosen, it is redundant.
? It is annoying.
Consider, instead:
Shelly?s lower lip quivered. ?Just be like that.?
Mike rolled his eyes. ?Oh, come on,? he said. ?Not
this again.?
?You don?t love me.?
?Right,? he said. ?That?s why I bought you an eight
hundred dollar diamond.?
?Here.? She pulled off the ring and shoved it under
his nose. ?Just take it back,? she said, her voice
breaking. ?Take it.?
Okay, so nothing?s going to help our melodrama too
much, but let?s still examine the techniques used. We
scrapped every creative dialogue tag. Every one. We
replaced each with one of four techniques:
? No tag at all. This allows the power of the words to
stand alone. As long as we know who?s speaking, no law
says we must use a tag.
? Action. ?Shelly?s lower lip quivered? replaces ?she
pouted.? It?s more specific, it allows us to visualize
Shelly, and it?s showing, not telling.
? The prosaic ?said.? Yes, ?said? is boring. It?s
overused. In fact, it is so boring and overused that
it?s invisible. Just like ?the? and ?a? and ?his? and
other parts of speech that are used several times on
each page, ?said? slides right past the reader and
allows him to concentrate on what?s important: the
action and the dialogue.
? A combination of ?said? and action. This is
particularly effective when interrupting dialogue, as
in the last sentence of the ?after? example above.
While we are on the topic of dialogue tags, let?s also
talk about correct punctuation. If a tag is used
(preferably ?said,? but an occasional ?asked? or
?repeated? is permitted), a comma separates the
dialogue from the tag (see examples in sentences 2 and
4 above). If action only (no tag at all, as in the
first sentence in the example) is used, it is
considered a separate and complete sentence and should
be punctuated as such. If it is necessary to interrupt
a dialogue sentence, as in the last sentence in the
above example, use the tag and action, thus allowing a
comma instead of a period.
Note: ?I love you,? she smiled, is never correct.
?Smiled? cannot be a tag; it is an action. Therefore,
it can be written in one of two ways: ?I love you,?
she said and smiled. - or - ?I love you.? She smiled.
If your dialogue contains a question, such as: ?Who
are you?? he asked, it is not necessary to punctuate
with a question mark and use ?asked? as a tag. This is
personal choice and personally, I usually use the tag.
Dialogue is one of the most important tools a writer
has to convey character and to build plot. Using it
effectively means tagging it effectively. Read the
before and after examples given here aloud. Hear the
difference. Hear the redundancy. Hear the invisibility
of the hardworking ?said.?
It will be the best friend you ever had.
EXERCISES-Dialogue
(See Section 6 for possible solutions)
1. Cut the extraneous dialogue:
?Hi,? Jan said.
?Hi,? Amber answered. ?How have you been??
?Just fine. How?s your Mom??
?Good. Have you seen Justin Powers lately??
Jan?s heart beat faster. ?Why??
?Just wondered. Uh, I?m thinking about asking him to
the dance.?
?He?s already got a date,? Jan said, trying to keep
the venom out of her voice.
?Oh??
?Yeah. You?re looking at her.?
Amber took a step back. ?Well, what do you know.?
Jan looked at her watch. ?My mom is waiting for me.?
?Okay, I?ll see you later.?
?Bye.? She turned and walked away.
2. Give life to the following dialogue:
?Sit down here, honey, and let Mommy see,? Jane cooed.
She patted the kitchen chair.
Mikey whined, ?It hurts.?
?I know,? Jane comforted. ?Let me see it,? she
soothed.
Mikey removed his hand from his skinned knee. ?Ow!? he
howled. Then he saw the blood and screamed, ?Ouch!? He
cried, ?Waaahhhh.?
Jane calmed, ?There, there. Mwoi!? She threw a kiss at
his knee.
?WAAAHHHHHHH!!? Mikey sobbed.
Jane went to the freezer and took out a Popsicle. She
handed it to Mikey, saying, ?Here you go.?
Mikey wiped his eyes. ?Orange?? he whimpered, taking
the treat.
Jane smiled, ?Of course.?
?Mmphf,? he mumbled, shoving it into his mouth.
Jane grabbed the first aid kit and went to work.
(c) copyright 2002 by Sandy Tritt. All rights
reserved, except for those listed here. October be
reproduced for educational purposes (such as for
writer's workshops), as long as this copyright notice
and the url: http://tritt.wirefire.com are distributed
with the pages. For use in conferences or other uses
not mentioned here, please contact Sandy Tritt at
tritt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for permission and additional
resources at no or limited charge.
Keep writing!
Sandy Tritt
Inspiration for Writers tritt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
============================================================
West Virgina Writers Conference. Selected by The
Writer Magazine as a "best Conference for the money."
We're going to have literary agent Jeff Herman there,
who will be willing to meet one-on-one with people who
submit a synopsis in advance, children's writer Marc
Harshman, poet and Pudding House publisher Jennifer
Bosveld, Antioch Writer's Workshop co-director Ed
Davis and many more nationally-known presenters. Rates
are only $90 for three days (which can be reduced by
early registration or by being a member of WVW),
lodging starts at $12 a bed, and meals are $5, $6, and
$7. For details, you can download a copy of the
brochure at
http://tritt.wirefire.com/wvw-2005-brochure.doc
(from Sandy Tritt)
============================================================
Keep writing!
Sandy Tritt
tritt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sandy's website:
http://tritt.wirefire.com
============================================================
Publishing New Writers, June, 2005 (No. 606)
Publisher: Bruce L. Cook, P.O. Box 451, Dundee, IL
60118 USA.
Submissions and comments to cookcomm@xxxxxxxx Links
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