by Lynne | Aug 26, 2013 | Uncategorized
Technology Isolates Us
This weekend, my husband and I were relaxing on our deck overlooking a lovely canyon with our two sweet Labs. Both of us were thinking (maybe our Labs were too!) about how we missed going to bookstores. Not only to 
buy books but to enjoy a mocha, socialize, chat, meet friends, listen to an author.
Sure, there are a few independent bookstores still around, many of them specifically for used books. And I love the indie stores, after all, I’m an indie author. But, honestly, I miss Borders. Barnes and Noble stores are okay, but somehow, they don’t have the atmosphere or congeniality that Borders had. Am I crazy? Don’t answer that.
What makes this really ludicrous is I badmouthed Borders when they put the little indie bookshops out of business. Now the giant is gone and I’m complaining.
So, how do I find new books? Sometimes at a great little shop, Warwick’s, in La Jolla. Sometimes at Barnes and Noble. But very often on Amazon. Which brings me to the topic of this blog. Isolation. I spend a great deal of time on the computer. Writing, blogging, and communicating through social media. When I do, I’m alone, isolated. How can social media be social in the true, maybe old-fashioned, sense of the word?
There’s something missing when your friends are texting you, rather than meeting you or at least calling you. You’re still by yourself. You can’t see their expression, body language, their frowns, their smiles, feel their touch. Okay, you can Skype. Not the same. Always a lag time so you look like a character in the Blair Witch Project.
Think about all the technology you use today, iPhones, iPods, iPads, Droids, Macs , PCs, GPS, cameras, videocams, new-car tech systems. All the Apps that go with them. Sheesh . And all the terminology – uh, I won’t go there.
And, when you’re learning and using this technology you’re by yourself for the most part. You’re isolated for hours upon hours every day, especially if you’re a writer. Anybody out there agree?
Waaah. I’m lonely.
by Lynne | Aug 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
Does POV Really Matter?
Did you ever find yourself reading a book, a good book, but find that something is bothering you about it? You can’t quite put your finger on it, so you sigh, throw it down for a while then pick it up later. The story is compelling, the descriptions atmospheric, the characters well-drawn. So what’s the problem?
This has happened to me a number of times and I finally decided it was time to solve the mystery. Ha! After all, as a writer, I could be doing exactly the same “wrong” thing. My readers could be throwing down my book . . . and not picking it up again.
So I decided to become a detective, a writing sleuth. My plan: the next time I came across this dilemma, I would stop and carefully dissect the pages and analyze the situation. Well, as it turns out, this happened on my very next book. I started reading a British WhoDunnit, one with good reviews, which means it’s good, right? Since I paid $12.99 for the e-version, I knew it was not a self-published book. Ahh, a real book. It must be good.
I will not name the book, because I don’t think that’s fair to the writer. In fact, it is pretty good so far. (I’m only a quarter of the way through at this writing.) The book is dark, historic, lots of murders, a country manor, an inspector with baggage. Hmm. Could be any book. But seriously, it’s nicely written and I keep turning the page.
Enter the problem. Point of View. I am in the head of the inspector as he visits one of the key characters, an attractive woman, in the story. I see the room through his eyes, hear the world with his ears, and think his thoughts about the situation as he speaks to her.
Suddenly, I am looking at the inspector through the woman’s eyes. No space break, no page break, just boom. In one sentence he notices her good looks, etc. etc. In the next, she is unnerved by the dark look on his face. She is thinking about what he’s like, etc. etc. Then back to the inspector.
Aha. Caught you! Because this writer is skillful, it wasn’t easy to discern exactly what the problem was. But these subtle POV shifts are disconcerting and give the book an uncomfortable edge. Frankly, they just annoy me, now that I recognize them for what they are.
I have no doubt that many authors are guilty of this POV faux pas. And some may be able to get away with it. I say may because I doubt it. Some of the more acclaimed literary authors like Pat Conroy, whose southern saga, South of Broad, I just finished, or Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, would never shift POVs in this choppy manner. I haven’t read Stephen King or John Grisham in a while, but I’m betting they don’t shift this way either. It’s actually amateurish and indicative of inexperienced writers.
Why do authors do it? It’s tempting to try to get a lot of information to the readers quickly and to establish who your characters are early. If you go back and forth between characters and get inside each one’s head, the reader will learn a lot right away. The problem is the reader may very well quit reading because they’re confused and never learn anything more. You’re also doing an injustice to your characters by giving them only a few lines of introspection or a brief emotional outburst, rather than a whole scene to themselves. Think about your characters. What’s the best way to get to know them? Flip-flopping inner thoughts with another character? Or devoting a whole scene, even a short one, to them? Tight, snappy dialogue can also give truer insight into a character than myriad POV shifts.
I’m tuned in to these pesky POV shifts now, so I spot them easily. When you start reading your next book, keep this concept in the back of your mind. If something is bugging you and you can’t figure out what on earth it is, see if POV shifts aren’t the reason.
And, more important, keep it in mind when you start writing your next book.
by Lynne | Aug 12, 2013 | Uncategorized
Nah, I’ll Stick to Writing
I was sitting in my car the other day, waiting for the light to change, and I noticed a sign twirler on the corner. He was a young man, wild and frizzy yellow hair, who probably loved sun and surfing when he wasn’t twirling. He tossed the sign five feet in the air, spun it, flipped it and caught it before I could even see what the sign said. Not much good for advertising, since the sign twirler was that good.
The light changed and as I drove off I wondered how I would do as a sign twirler. Not good, my husband said. Not because I was too old, not that agile or deft at spinning. No, not good because I wouldn’t do well looking like a fool. That made me think of other jobs for which I would not be suited. Here are a few. Think about how you would do:
1. Hot Dog Vendor. I used to love getting a hot dog on the streets of NYC and don’t they always look delicious on Law & Order? (They actually are!) Still, could I sell them? The cooking part, no problem. The social chit chat, no problem. Until a disgruntled customer came along. Then I’d probably tell him or her where to go. Hmm, maybe I would be okay . . . in NYC. Fuhgeddaboutit.
2. Mad Bull Ride Operator. We just came back from a Street Fair where there was a, yes, Urban Cowboy-like Mad Bull Ride. As I watched, about ten people rode. All ten fell off in less than ten seconds. A good way to get your frustrations out, however, for the operator. Particularly if the rider gave you the stink eye. Grab that joystick. Left-right, pitch, yaw, down ya go. Eeeha!
3. Phone Psychic. Now this is a distinct possibility. I have few psychic, or is that psycho, abilities, but if you’re on the phone, who would know? I could write a script, ready-made for the caller. Let’s see, young woman looking to find rich husband. Older woman looking to find rich husband. Obviously rich husbands are in short supply. Business exec trying to get ahead. I could do this psychic thing. Biggest problem — I’d be bored silly waiting for the phone to ring.
4. Live Mannequin or Human Statue. You know these amazing people who can hold a pose for minutes at a time, without blinking or sneezing. Like the one I’m standing near in Avignon, France. This, I can say, with all honesty, I could not . . . nay, could never do. I can’t stay still for 30 seconds, let alone minutes. Eeeek.
5. Snake Milker. This job caught my eye when I looked up unusual jobs. No wonder. Now, I’m an animal lover. I even love snakes. But I draw the line here. Eeegads. What more can I say?
6. Central Park Gondolier. When I was in Venice last year, I watched from the many bridges the gondoliers rowing by with their tourists. Looks like a fun and easy occupation, right? Until you remember they must clean the gondolas top to bottom and the bottom is underwater. I have a thing about going underwater. Especially dirty water. Maybe the water is cleaner in Central Park than Venice, but I think I’ll pass.
So, in the end, I’ve made my decision. I’ll stick to writing.
by Lynne | Aug 5, 2013 | Uncategorized
The Importance of Book Titles
In 2000, Literary Agent, Noah Lukeman wrote “The First Five Pages.” In this thin little gem on writing, he said that if the first five pages didn’t hold the reader, it was bye bye book.
Before you get to the first five pages, however, you must be grabbed by the title. When I browse a bookstore (what?) or surf online for a new book, the title is what captures my attention. (The book cover design is also important, but I’ll leave that for another blog.)
Let’s peruse the market to see what I mean. Some book titles say it loud and clear and leave you with no doubt what the book is about. David McCullough is a good one for non-fiction: “1776,” “John Adams,” “The Johnstown Flood.” No question about what the subject of each book is. Even novels can be pretty straight forward – the title hints at the story, although often more subtly. “Interview With a Vampire” is just that. “The Affair,” “Hostage,” even “The Patriot” gives you a hint about the novel’s plot.
Some books on writing use clever titles to attract you, but you still know what kind of advice they’re going to offer. “Eats, Shoots & Leaves” by Lynne Truss and “i never metaphor i didn’t like” by Dr. Mardy Grothe both use humor and a play on words to get their subjects across.
Humorous titles are a great gimmick to attract people to your book, but only if the book lives up to the humor. For those Catholic readers, this may resonate: “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” by John Powers. I’m not even going to touch that one. How about this: “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong,” by James Loewen. Lies about anything always pique the imagination.
Here are a few titles that caught my attention while I was researching my books. “The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell: Sex in the Civil War” by Thomas P. Lowry, M.D. Another universal topic of fascination – sex.
When I was researching my book on the Salem witch trials, I ran across this one and laughed out loud. “Puritans at Play: Leisure and Recreation in Colonial New England” by Bruce Daniels. Kind of an oxymoron. Still, I bought it and the book was incredibly interesting and helpful. Had the title been just the second part without “Puritans at Play,” I’m not sure I would have noticed it.
There are the titles that use seductive words like “code,” “enigma,” “paradigm,” “dilemma” to proclaim a mystery or a conspiracy is hiding between the jacket covers. Think “The DaVinci Code” by Dan Brown.
Other techniques. Robert Bloch’s :”Psycho” hits you in the face with images of a mad man or woman, while Baldacci’s “Absolute Power” makes you think – who has the power, why, how, what does he do with it? As you read, the title becomes clearer and clearer until, whack, it too, hits you in the face.
Erik Larson’s “Devil in the White City” is a beautiful play on words. Black against white, good against evil. In Laura Hillenbrand’s “Unbroken, “she captures the spirit of one man, a World War II hero, in one powerful word.
My first book, “The Triangle Murders” began its life as “Tenement.” When my critique group suggested I come up with something a little more mystery-genre rather than literary since the story is about murder, arson, and foul play. So, I went with a simple “murders” using the name of the factory that formed the backdrop, The Triangle.
When I worked on my Civil War mystery, myriad plot elements fought for the title: different time periods, history, forensics, photography- both civil war and digital, massive conspiracies, and so on. It took a while, but “Time Exposure” was the result.
My recently published book, “Deadly Provenance,” was originally titled “Provenance” and posed a challenge. It’s about the Nazi confiscation of art and a missing Van Gogh painting (in actuality still missing.) I thought “Provenance” was perfect, until it dawned on me that not everyone would be familiar with the word. They might think it was a city in Rhode Island or the end of Cape Cod. Good grief. Plus the word might conjure up “art” but not necessarily mystery or murder. So I changed the title. Does it work?
You tell me.
buy books but to enjoy a mocha, socialize, chat, meet friends, listen to an author.