Hi, everyone!
Just to let you know that my novels are available from the 3rd to the 9th of March on Smashwords! To check them out, just click here!
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Tag Archives: Novels
Novels Worth Reading
As a novel writer, I’m first and foremost a reader; I love to read, I love to buy books, smell them, feel them, upload them… any form is fine by me. I want the books I read to be witty, intelligent, and well developed in terms of plots, characters and environments.
Kitchen Sink Realism
Everyone has different tastes – that’s why there are so many different genres; but for me personally, there’s also a list of things I don’t want in a novel: I don’t want to be confronted with messy lives dealing with self-inflicted problem after problem; I don’t want tragic or sad or bitter endings; I don’t want to be confronted with the grit, grime, blood and gore of dysfunctional lives that end up learning nothing, making no character arcs, and end up in the mud by the end of the tale. This genre description actually has a name: Kitchen Sink Realism. It was a cultural movement in Britain back in the ‘50s and ‘60s that was portrayed in films, books, plays, and art – the grit, grime, anger, disillusionment and harsh realities of realistic social scenarios. It’s what might also be referred to as postmodernism. My personal response to this kind of novel is, “If I wanted that kind of realistic tension, I could just go hang out at the nearest bar.”
A Tough Nut
I once had an English student, and our focus was medical English in preparation for their upcoming medical exams (two nurses came together for semi-private tutoring). As part of the lesson we needed to work on basic conversational skills and sentence structures, and I find that the best way to bring in a wide variety of scenarios is usually to do a type of role play – nothing embarrassing, but each person is given a character to put themselves into a situation that they might not normally deal with: They may be a chef, or a secretary, or a customer in a hardware store. This particular student, when asked what kinds of books she read, said, “history and autobiographies or biographies”. When asked what novels she read, she said she found such things ridiculous and a complete waste of time (this was back before I became an author!); she categorically refused to even try to put herself into someone else’s shoes for the scenarios. My impression of her as a person was that she was narrow-minded, knew it, and was proud of that fact. She was a hard character, and all the time I knew her or met her afterwards, I never saw a soft side emerge, either toward herself or toward others; I often found myself wondering why she’d gotten into the nursing profession in the first place – as a patient, I wouldn’t necessarily want her working on my ward… A line from the novel I’m currently writing (Asunder, the third book in the Northing Trilogy) would have fit her life too: “he has never had the propensity for engendering compassion; I pray he never needs it, as he never gives it.” An epic love story might do her a world of good.
What’s Worth Reading
What I want when I read a book is to be transported into another life, whether that’s in the past, present or future, on this earth, or on another planet, or in another dimension; I want to be entertained, made thoughtful, learn something about the world around me, and learn something about myself. Ideally, I will come away from the experience having been changed, in even a small way. I want to feel connected; somewhere out there is a person I can relate to – whether it be the author, or the character, or other readers that appreciate the same books.
Aside from places and times that are genre-specific, such as science fiction and alien planets in the future, or London in the 18th century, all of the elements of what I like in novels are universal. Humans the world over, in every century, want to feel connected; to feel that they can relate to something someone else is going through; even to have parts of their own life’s experiences explained through someone else’s perspectives in similar circumstances. Above all else, at the heart of every good novel – regardless of the genre – is a story of love; that is the ultimate connection between characters. It may be a child finding the love of a family after being shoved through the knocks of life too much for their age; it may be the hero or heroine finding love; it may be a widow or widower finding love again, or reuniting with true loves; it may be someone coming to the point in their life that they accept and love themselves just the way they are.
On to You!
When you read novels, what is it you’re looking for? I would love to hear about it – please comment below, even if it’s just a few key words!
Filed under Articles, Musings, Nuts & Bolts, Plot Thots & Profiles, Quotes, Writing Exercise
Musings A to Z Challenge: W
Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.
Wiring
Mark Twain once said, “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” Life is usually smoother than its fictional counterpart; true stories made into film, such as It Could Happen to You (Nicholas Cage, 1994) would be “too boring” if they only told the truth. But wires need to be crossed… relationships gone stale must be electrocuted back to life, communication hampered by misunderstandings, and obstacles placed in the path of the hero/heroine to make it more interesting. Crossed wires are the bedrock of most tales, no matter the genre.
Musings A to Z Challenge: N
Challenge: Write a short paragraph (100 words or less) daily on a topic beginning with the sequential letter of the alphabet.
Novel
Don Quixote, first published in 1605, is widely considered the first novel; but the novel as a genre seems to have risen to popular culture in the 18th century. Since then, millions of novels have been written because, through the perspectives, lives and times of characters, readers can escape their own realities for a short time, can learn something about themselves, and can perhaps even learn how to deal with their own challenges or difficulties in new ways. We love to identify with stories, root for good to triumph over evil, and see the hero or heroine fall in love.
Filed under A-Z Writing Challenges, Images, Quotes, Writing Exercise
Writing Tips: Dialogue
Dialogue is (to point out the obvious) vital to a novel; it displays the voices of your characters and helps the reader get to know and care about the characters, understand their motives, their interrelationships, and distinguish each character’s point of view. If you don’t get the dialogue right, you rip the reader out of the story, or worse – make them put down your novel and add your name to “never again” lists! So, here are a few pointers and tips to keep in mind as you develop your characters and put words into their mouths:
1) Develop your characters well enough to make their voice distinct; do they have catch-phrases, or local dialects that influence their vocabulary? Do they tend toward long or short sentences, or are they from a past time and place that had a different way of speaking? Educate yourself if necessary in various modes of speech .
2) Dialogue is an illusion of conversation; but it’s also about what is not said. Non-verbal actions reveal:
a) How a character says something
b) What a character chooses not to say, but inadvertantly reveals through actions.
c) Why the character says what they do.
Do they have particular actions when they are upset or aggitated that communicate their moods to the reader? Do they bounce their knees when excited? Does their body language confirm or contradict their verbal message?
3) Fictional dialogue needs to cut to the chase; if there’s no point to the text (revealing motivation, character or plot point), then chop it!
4) Avoid the trap of using dialogue as exposition (the proverbial villain’s monologue as he prepares to destroy the hero), but rather reveal essential information through action, or narration.
Explore your characters and develop their voices, and above all – keep writing!
7 Steps to a Powerful Opening
A powerful opener…
Anyone who writes novels worth reading can tell you that, as with any relationship, the first impression you make is the most important. You know that you need to get your character from A to Z through the story, but how you introduce A is more important than B through Z – in other words, if you lose your reader’s interest from the get-go, they might not stick around long enough to find out where you want to lead them. Here are 7 steps to remember that will lead you to that great first impression:
- Dive in! Hit the ground running! Begin your story in the middle of an action scene, or in the middle of a conversation. Let your reader feel like they’re eavesdropping on a decisive moment in your character’s life. Make them wonder, make them ask questions they want answers to! Who’s speaking? What’s the context? Why is there X problem / challenge / discussion?
- Make your character human: Give them sympathetic traits, a relatable nature, and attitudes that readers can identify with. Do this through dialogue and actions, or by internalization (getting inside the character’s head, an “inner dialogue”). It will help you to prepare your main characters by writing out a biography for them. Give them memorable names (not complicated ones, or names that are difficult to work out how to pronounce). The main character must be somewhat larger than life (more interesting than the average person in some way); do this through giving them idiosyncrasies, habits, a quirky sense of humour, etc.
- Romance: If your character is real, there will be romance – some kind of heart-to-heart relationship that touches that key human emotion. I’m not talking about slutty romance novels; I’m talking about real human connection and rich emotional landscapes, whether it’s a small-town story, a science fiction planet, or a war zone.
- Supporting character: This might be a sidekick, a friend, partner, companion, or even an object or pet. It is someone or something for the main character to share their experiences with. The supporting character should contrast your main character – perhaps someone who asks the reader’s questions, or wants explanation of terms or concepts the reader might not be familiar with, without becoming “teach-y”. They might be the voice of reason to an impulsive main character, or the voice of adventure to a staid hero/heroine.
- Antagonist: This opponent is an obstruction to the main character’s goals. They create problems, sometimes danger. They may be human, or non-human (e.g. man vs. nature), or may be an internal struggle of the main character (haunted by their past, or an addiction, a weakness such as impatience, etc.).
- Emotion: Build an emotional landscape (this links closely with # 3). Show the main character as life-like, and develop relationships, or show struggles the character has with particular issues that give them depth and breadth.
- Style: Bring it all together in a style unique to your character’s voice and biography. Show their feelings, conflicts, adding complications and subplots to take it deeper. In your first chapter the goal of your character should come out – what their desires are, their determination, problems to solve, etc. – without making the arrival at that goal all too obvious!
Filed under Lists, Plot Thots & Profiles, Writing Exercise
New Book Release: Redemption, the Northing Trilogy, Book 2
Announcing the release of my second book, Redemption! At the moment both books are available on Kindle, and coming soon in paperback. If you enjoy 18th century fiction a la Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer, I think you’ll love these two books! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed writing them; before writing the third book in this series, however, I’ll be finishing two other manuscripts, in vastly different genres. So keep your eye out for more news!
The reason for the brief interlude between the releases of The Price of Freedom and Redemption is that the second was nearly complete when I released the first one; POF had been done for a few months by the time I actually had time to sit down and go through the publication process for the first time properly; don’t think either book was rushed, as I’m meticulous with the nuts and bolts, and I would like to think quality, though that is up to the reader to assess, not me!
To read a snippet of the book and find out more, please check out my “Publications” page, and let me know what you think – I’d love to hear from you!
Filed under Publications, Research
