Month: February 2015

My Editing Compulsion

Author Brenda PerlinGuest Post
by Brenda Perlin

There was a time when I read for the pleasure of it. Back when I couldn’t wait to sneak away to the coolest coffee house in the city where I could find a comfy couch to relax with a fresh cup of sizzling hot coffee. I read for hours at a time. Excited about escaping into someone else’s life and visiting an unfamiliar city. Those days are long gone. I am still passionate about books and get goose bumps over beautiful writing but I can’t enjoy them the way I used to because I am too busy looking for typos and repetitive words. It’s almost become an obsessive compulsive disorder. Seriously. Continue reading “My Editing Compulsion”

Google Plus February Fest

google winterfestLots is going on with Google+ right now. So how about we take this opportunity to make some new friends on Google Plus?

This is how it works: If you are an author, publisher, publicist, literary agent, book reviewer, librarian (or especially a book-lover), etc., in the comments below, paste in the link for your Google Plus profile. Make sure you show some love to the links in the comments above yours (by adding them to your circles), and check back throughout the day to catch up.

If you’re not sure what link to post, just find your profile, then copy and paste the URL. It should look something like this: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115965541971717273872 

This should be fun and should generate a lot of exposure for everyone who plays. Let’s get things moving!

PLEASE be sure to reciprocate by following those who follow you. This is give and take. If everyone plays by the golden rule, we all benefit.

Writing for Timing and Emphasis

stopwatch Image from clipartpanda.com free imagesI’ve talked here about pacing before, but that was about the pace of the story arc over the entire book. Today I’d like to get a little more specific about writing for pace in a particular sequence of events in a story, and also about emphasis.

Timing

Writing is nothing more than stringing together a bunch of words: verbs, nouns, pronouns, conjunctions. But when we are writing, our task is more than simply providing information to our readers. In fiction, especially, it’s all about recording and eliciting emotion. Giving our readers a sense of the timing of the action is a great way to support that emotion.

Let’s say my character, Hector Human, is running from an unknown pursuant down a dark street. The chaser is dangerous, deadly even — a predator. Hector is running for his life, even though he doesn’t understand why. He only understands the danger. How might we convey that? Continue reading “Writing for Timing and Emphasis”

Book Brief: Paladin’s Odyssey

Paladins Odyssey by Bruce FottlerPaladin’s Odyssey
by Bruce Fottler
Genres: Science fiction/post-apocalyptic thriller
Word Count: 78,000

Joseph Paladin is a national hero everyone thought they knew – a former major in the United States Army, retired colonel in the Maine Republic Militia, and considered one of the key founders of the New American Confederation. His legendary odyssey to reunify a fractured nation in the aftermath of the great flu pandemic is a household story. In his long awaited memoir, Paladin shares untold stories of his past, including a shocking secret that he’s harbored for decades. Is he really someone who should be held in such high esteem?

Paladin’s Odyssey is available on Amazon.com and Amazon UK.. Continue reading “Book Brief: Paladin’s Odyssey”