Was That With An "S" or Not?

Werkin' the Words...

So I'm chugging away on the second book in my trilogy and I'm finding all these little things I SHOULD know off the top of my head...but don't.

Place names, most of which are original, sometimes get spelled differently. Placement of rooms or battle grounds. Does mech-hand have a hyphen or not?

What about dirigible...zeppelin...blimp...Aero Squad? Was there a space in between there?

So I started to really rely on my style sheet. Especially the one I made for The Tremblers (1st book in the series). Sooo glad I did this. If you'd like to look into using one, I suggest a great post by The Editor's Blog called Style Sheets, The Set Up and Benefits.

I'm also finding that its a challenge to weed through scenes that I absolutely LOVE just because they were fun to write or they read especially well. I'm entranced with my own lyricism...whatever. The problem is sometimes the scene is genuinely cool, but serves no actual purpose in your story.

For this I've been using the Scene-by-Scene Outlining Template. This beauty came to my attention via Twitter.  C. S. Lakin over @LiveWriteThrive is a handy blog for authors. I encourage you to take a gander.

I'm not sure what other helps are out there, but if you have any favorites please let me know. I'ts always nice to add another tool to my arsenal. I may add your suggestions to my upcoming post in the "Writing Helps" series.

Until next time...Go Write!

+Raquel Byrnes 

Heinous, But Worth It

In writing, there is no 'TRY' as the great Master Yoda is so fond of saying. You either 'DO' or 'DO NOT' write a book. Simple and true.

I have gone to many a conference and met people who where 'thinking' of writing a book. They chatted with me happily over lunch and even went on to 'pitch meetings' with agents and editors. Some of their ideas were downright awesome and yet a small percentage of those stories ever get written.

That is why although NaNoWriMo is going to produce some heinously cobbled together, practically stream-of-consciousness, monstrosities...it is totally worth it to participate.

Let me be clear. Getting something down on paper, however disastrous, is ALWAYS going to be better than never writing at all.

I once received some great advice from a writing mentor. He said that the first draft is supposed to be crappy. Its supposed to have flaws and plot holes and repeated words. Why? Because it is a 1st Draft. Just get the story out.

Embellish the setting later. Nit-pic the dialogue after. Weave in some more mystery or romance or zombies...whatever. But write the dang thing first. Finish.

There will be 2nd and 3rd drafts. Polished manuscripts you send out to Beta readers and to contest and agents.

The hardest thing to do is to put your behind in the chair every night and type until you hit your goal. And you have to have a writing goal for each day. Be it word count, page count, or chapters, you don't get up until you reach your goal. Period.

Author Yoda

Anyhoo...I hope you consider participating in NaNo. Its amazingly helpful as a motivation tool. You can join local chapters, plot your progress on their site. Heck, they even sell t-shirts for that solidarity feeling.

But if you are serious about becoming a published author there is only one way to do that. Write.

I hope to see you on the NaNo site! My handle is Rbyrnz. And may the words be with you. 

On The Couch - Why Character Therapy Works

For those of you who are not familiar with Character Therapist, Jeannie Campbell's work, she is an amazing asset for authors. I've written in to her website with questions that I have for three of my novels and I couldn't be happier with what she's done to help me layer and deepen my characters.

In one instance, I was writing a character that had been in foster care as a teen. I wanted to know how she might react if a love interest from those tumultuous years suddenly returned. Jeannie’s insight into teen relationships and how tragic situations can fuel our behavior really helped me to flesh out the couple’s past and present relationship.

Another book had me stuck when I had to figure out how far a childhood friend would go to pull someone back into their life. Jeannie not only explained the dynamics, she had some great ideas to up the drama in my story.

I am happy to say that the Jeannie has helped me on my path to publication. I have been blessed with a three-book deal that includes the novels I submitted to Character Therapy.  I’m working on another series right now and can’t wait to get my dark hero on her couch.

From motivation to reactions based on real insight into human behavior and relationships, Jeannie is amazing and pinpointing what you need to heighten drama and avoid clichés.

She is launching a new website and its something you should take a look at if you have the chance. So hop on over to Character Therapist.com and take a peek.