Here is a link to a very good website where you can find common mistakes and confusing words in English. Are you finding it harder than diamond jawbreakers to tell the difference between its, it's, who's, whose, accept, except, effect and affect?
http://www.learnenglish.de/mistakes/CommonMistakes.htm
If you are trying to build a platform, or you just want to be published more, the Doutrope website is a must have for your search. You can sign up for a weekly newsletter, complete with a list of every magazine taking submissions. Whenever I need to find a home for one of my new babies, I look here.
http://www.duotrope.com/
Let me warn you, I have not used Query Tracker yet, as I have not sent out my novel, but I have heard only good things about their services. When I do send out my manuscript, this will be the website that will make it all possible. Many different agents are listed on this website, by genre and everything else. I find it very useful in my research.
http://querytracker.net/
If you haven't seen it, Amie Kaufman also has a very good blog. If you are looking for advice for query letters, she had a excellent blog link for advice. Her blog is very well put together.
http://amiekaufman.com/
Halloween poem for the kids.
Hide under bushes and beds, or the table. Scare all your children and wives, or the neighbors. Hide under sinks or behind closet doors. Pretend to be dead, and scare them much more.
But whatever you do, don't forget you must treat.
Because tricking is just half of good Halloweens.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Writing Fight Scenes
Someone asked me to write about fight scenes. For me, a brawl is intense and fast. It rushes you through, rather than lulls you in. These are some of the things that I've picked up.
1) Don't overdo the dialog. Most fights have a few words, but it can slow down the pace. A fight is fast; you have to make your punches punch. So it might be acceptable to say "When bright sunshine bashed across his vision, he cursed."
Some fight scenes need dialog. That's up to you and the characters. But don't let them get out of hand.
If a guy you're fighting stops, right after hitting you on the nose, and rambles on about how you played tonsil-hockey with his sister, are you going to stand and wait to retort? Really? You are a writer.
Hit that sucker in the mouth! You might not get another shot. And remember, he just punched you before claiming he had a right to do so.
2) Use your environment. If Debbie Tweaks-a-lot pushes you outside of Seven Eleven, did you land in all those empty beer boxes? There's a distinct smell of ammonia in the air, did someone... Ohhhh, gross - it's wet.
3) Remember, fights are short and fast. Use smaller words when you can, keeping descriptions simple. Try picturing yourself explaining the scene to a kid. Would he understand?
4) Remember your genre. If you are writing MG books, don't throw buckets of guts around. You can still be real, just don't gush blood all over the octagon.
5) Use the senses. If your character tastes dirt, make us taste it. Did someone punch him so hard that puked? Give us a whiff. Pain and action aren't the only things. But again, mind your audience.
Consider it all like cooking. Pepper the steak, but don't cake it.
6) My fight scenes are short. It’s important to be realistic in a book. A guy might be shot in a movie, only to be walking fine the next day. In your writing, you want readers to believe your story could happen. Even if you write about smurfs, they will be holding mirrors and wearing clothes--being smurfin' human. So most of my characters are not MMA fighters; many get knocked down, though some might get lucky and connect first.
One thing I've noticed? Fights don't last very long in real life. Usually Tommy "Talks-Too-Much" is on the ground within seconds. In the suburb cities, people don't want to go to jail. Once someone falls and stops moving, the fight's over.
Some fights can be long and drawn out. I prefer short fights, where the plot is the suspense.
7) Pay attention to possibilities. If the character is on his knees, you can't have him doing a roundhouse kick on the poor bad guys… unless you're writing a book for Chuck Norris, I guess; that guy can do anything.
8) Keep the POV true in the fight. If you're doing 1st person POV, the book can't suddenly change to omni third. You have to show emotions and feelings--you want us to care. When Jimmy "Loser-Doing-Good" is lying on the ground, pain tearing at his abdomen like a broken rib, you want us on the ground with him. To do that, you have to keep POV.
9) Be creative. If I'm on my back and Bubba Tiny is rushing me, I'm looking for the nearest thing I can find. Something I can throw, bash, swing or otherwise use to my advantage has to be nearby.
10) Let people die or get seriously wounded. Real life happens. Let it happen. Some of the best books, stories, movies or games had a character die or get badly injured. It happens in fights. Don't tell me you've never read The Outsiders.
11) Read your fight a few times. If it feels like a list of hits and kicks, you need to try again.
12) Read your favorite author's fights. Pay attention. Books are homework for you.
13) Switch up your sentence structures. Don't be too monotonous on anything in fight scenes, or anywhere climatic.
Those are the tips I have.
Now, I'll ask my son.
Q: What makes your favorite fight scenes?
A: How fast it goes. It goes super fast.
Q: What will make you read a fight scene?
A: They explain it all? It's easy to follow.
Q: If you could write a fight scene, who would you fight? Who would win? And describe it to me in 5 sentences:
A: I would fight Pain (From Naruto). I would maybe, might win--I dunno.
When I was walking in the forest I saw someone in an Ninja suit, suddenly trying to attack me. When he uppercut me, I almost blocked it. Then, as I flew through the air from the uppercut, he used a power called "All-Mighty-Push." Invisible force pushed me so hard, I went through a tree. I tried to do a fireball move, but it bounced right back at me. I ran as fast as I could, and I've never seen him since.
Q: Do you like doing this?
A: Sometimes. This is pretty fun. They are awkward questions.
Q: Want to play Guitar Hero?
A: Do I?!?
With that, I am done for the day. I hope some of this is helpful. You have to find what works for you, but this is what works for me.
If you have comments or suggestions for this site, please let me know. Please link your blog too.
Twisted Dreams,
Draven Ames
1) Don't overdo the dialog. Most fights have a few words, but it can slow down the pace. A fight is fast; you have to make your punches punch. So it might be acceptable to say "When bright sunshine bashed across his vision, he cursed."
Some fight scenes need dialog. That's up to you and the characters. But don't let them get out of hand.
If a guy you're fighting stops, right after hitting you on the nose, and rambles on about how you played tonsil-hockey with his sister, are you going to stand and wait to retort? Really? You are a writer.
Hit that sucker in the mouth! You might not get another shot. And remember, he just punched you before claiming he had a right to do so.
2) Use your environment. If Debbie Tweaks-a-lot pushes you outside of Seven Eleven, did you land in all those empty beer boxes? There's a distinct smell of ammonia in the air, did someone... Ohhhh, gross - it's wet.
3) Remember, fights are short and fast. Use smaller words when you can, keeping descriptions simple. Try picturing yourself explaining the scene to a kid. Would he understand?
4) Remember your genre. If you are writing MG books, don't throw buckets of guts around. You can still be real, just don't gush blood all over the octagon.
5) Use the senses. If your character tastes dirt, make us taste it. Did someone punch him so hard that puked? Give us a whiff. Pain and action aren't the only things. But again, mind your audience.
Consider it all like cooking. Pepper the steak, but don't cake it.
6) My fight scenes are short. It’s important to be realistic in a book. A guy might be shot in a movie, only to be walking fine the next day. In your writing, you want readers to believe your story could happen. Even if you write about smurfs, they will be holding mirrors and wearing clothes--being smurfin' human. So most of my characters are not MMA fighters; many get knocked down, though some might get lucky and connect first.
One thing I've noticed? Fights don't last very long in real life. Usually Tommy "Talks-Too-Much" is on the ground within seconds. In the suburb cities, people don't want to go to jail. Once someone falls and stops moving, the fight's over.
Some fights can be long and drawn out. I prefer short fights, where the plot is the suspense.
7) Pay attention to possibilities. If the character is on his knees, you can't have him doing a roundhouse kick on the poor bad guys… unless you're writing a book for Chuck Norris, I guess; that guy can do anything.
8) Keep the POV true in the fight. If you're doing 1st person POV, the book can't suddenly change to omni third. You have to show emotions and feelings--you want us to care. When Jimmy "Loser-Doing-Good" is lying on the ground, pain tearing at his abdomen like a broken rib, you want us on the ground with him. To do that, you have to keep POV.
9) Be creative. If I'm on my back and Bubba Tiny is rushing me, I'm looking for the nearest thing I can find. Something I can throw, bash, swing or otherwise use to my advantage has to be nearby.
10) Let people die or get seriously wounded. Real life happens. Let it happen. Some of the best books, stories, movies or games had a character die or get badly injured. It happens in fights. Don't tell me you've never read The Outsiders.
11) Read your fight a few times. If it feels like a list of hits and kicks, you need to try again.
12) Read your favorite author's fights. Pay attention. Books are homework for you.
13) Switch up your sentence structures. Don't be too monotonous on anything in fight scenes, or anywhere climatic.
Those are the tips I have.
Now, I'll ask my son.
Q: What makes your favorite fight scenes?
A: How fast it goes. It goes super fast.
Q: What will make you read a fight scene?
A: They explain it all? It's easy to follow.
Q: If you could write a fight scene, who would you fight? Who would win? And describe it to me in 5 sentences:
A: I would fight Pain (From Naruto). I would maybe, might win--I dunno.
When I was walking in the forest I saw someone in an Ninja suit, suddenly trying to attack me. When he uppercut me, I almost blocked it. Then, as I flew through the air from the uppercut, he used a power called "All-Mighty-Push." Invisible force pushed me so hard, I went through a tree. I tried to do a fireball move, but it bounced right back at me. I ran as fast as I could, and I've never seen him since.
Q: Do you like doing this?
A: Sometimes. This is pretty fun. They are awkward questions.
Q: Want to play Guitar Hero?
A: Do I?!?
With that, I am done for the day. I hope some of this is helpful. You have to find what works for you, but this is what works for me.
If you have comments or suggestions for this site, please let me know. Please link your blog too.
Twisted Dreams,
Draven Ames
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Questions for a Nine Year Old
Authors all around the world fight writer's block, not knowing what to do. We can string metaphors all day, but most of them are old and worn. There are a lot of ways to clear your mind when trying to beat the block, so feel free to share yours. This isn't the only way I do it, but here is one method that helps me...
I ask my nine year old.
"But you write horror stories, Draven."
True, but I'm not asking my son about the gore or reading him a passage. Instead, I explain a situation and ask him what he would do. The answers aren't always something I add, but they always get me thinking about motivations. To show an example, I'm going ask my son some questions.
Q) Hey Little Man; if you were being chased down an empty alley by a really scary bad-guy, and Mommy and Daddy weren't around, what would you do? Be creative if you want to. You are in a story, so it is yours to write.
A) I'd go to a hiding spot and wait. When I saw him again, I'd kick him right in the face. Then I'd run as fast as i can.
Q) What if he saw you?
A) I'd be startled, but I'd try to punch his nose. I'd use an uppercut or a rock or something.
Q) How would you distract him from the rock? Let's say he found you hiding in a dumpster. He can't see your weapon, or you're done for. How would you keep him busy?
A)I'd ask questions, like "What do you want from me" and "Why are you chasing me?" to keep him busy while I hid the rock. And it is a bit weird, you know--the whole chasing thing. Maybe he isn't bad and he thought I looked lost. Maybe he wanted to help. But I wouldn't trust him.
Q) Why?
A) Stranger danger, Dad. (Shakes his head with a look that says what-does-he-think-I'm-stupid)
Q) What do you think he wants?
A) Maybe money. Maybe He could have saw a dollar pop out of my pocket when I was running and wanted more money.
Q) Why didn't you scream?
A) I want to be brave. Or else people will call me "wimp."
Those are a few we just did.
Lucky for me, my youngest son is off from school. He did great on his grades, so he's playing some games with me today. Being such a great sport, he let me interview him.
After all those questions, what did I get from this? Well, my character is probably being chased for greed. First thought, hide and survive. Second thought, escape at any opportune time. Third thought, disable the opponent's sight and run. Fourth thought, keep him busy and find a weapon. Fifth thought, don't trust him for any reason. Sixth thought, asking for help equals weak. On and on.
Of course, this also opens up dialog I get to have with my boy that I may never have thought of. Doing this gives us a chance to talk about thinking on feet during horrible situations we would have, otherwise, never thought of. For example, I'm concerned that he wouldn't ask for help when cornered, so we are discussing that.
Children have wonderful imaginations. Talking with them can help us see the core motivation for our characters in most scenes.
Also, both of my kids have recently started writing their own stories. A love of reading is something we can foster in our children. We don't have to force anything on them, just show our love for it and share it with them. Parenthood is very similar to writing: Show, don't tell.
Thank you for reading. Here are some useful blogs I found today.
Janet Reid has contests up from time to time, like now. She is an agent with a lot of good tips for writers.
http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/
Sammy Bina is a new one to me. She's on the Let the Words Flow blog, where upcoming authors from fictionpress come together. A very good post about thesaurus words and why not to overuse them.
http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/
Twisted dreams,
Draven Ames
I ask my nine year old.
"But you write horror stories, Draven."
True, but I'm not asking my son about the gore or reading him a passage. Instead, I explain a situation and ask him what he would do. The answers aren't always something I add, but they always get me thinking about motivations. To show an example, I'm going ask my son some questions.
Q) Hey Little Man; if you were being chased down an empty alley by a really scary bad-guy, and Mommy and Daddy weren't around, what would you do? Be creative if you want to. You are in a story, so it is yours to write.
A) I'd go to a hiding spot and wait. When I saw him again, I'd kick him right in the face. Then I'd run as fast as i can.
Q) What if he saw you?
A) I'd be startled, but I'd try to punch his nose. I'd use an uppercut or a rock or something.
Q) How would you distract him from the rock? Let's say he found you hiding in a dumpster. He can't see your weapon, or you're done for. How would you keep him busy?
A)I'd ask questions, like "What do you want from me" and "Why are you chasing me?" to keep him busy while I hid the rock. And it is a bit weird, you know--the whole chasing thing. Maybe he isn't bad and he thought I looked lost. Maybe he wanted to help. But I wouldn't trust him.
Q) Why?
A) Stranger danger, Dad. (Shakes his head with a look that says what-does-he-think-I'm-stupid)
Q) What do you think he wants?
A) Maybe money. Maybe He could have saw a dollar pop out of my pocket when I was running and wanted more money.
Q) Why didn't you scream?
A) I want to be brave. Or else people will call me "wimp."
Those are a few we just did.
Lucky for me, my youngest son is off from school. He did great on his grades, so he's playing some games with me today. Being such a great sport, he let me interview him.
After all those questions, what did I get from this? Well, my character is probably being chased for greed. First thought, hide and survive. Second thought, escape at any opportune time. Third thought, disable the opponent's sight and run. Fourth thought, keep him busy and find a weapon. Fifth thought, don't trust him for any reason. Sixth thought, asking for help equals weak. On and on.
Of course, this also opens up dialog I get to have with my boy that I may never have thought of. Doing this gives us a chance to talk about thinking on feet during horrible situations we would have, otherwise, never thought of. For example, I'm concerned that he wouldn't ask for help when cornered, so we are discussing that.
Children have wonderful imaginations. Talking with them can help us see the core motivation for our characters in most scenes.
Also, both of my kids have recently started writing their own stories. A love of reading is something we can foster in our children. We don't have to force anything on them, just show our love for it and share it with them. Parenthood is very similar to writing: Show, don't tell.
Thank you for reading. Here are some useful blogs I found today.
Janet Reid has contests up from time to time, like now. She is an agent with a lot of good tips for writers.
http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/
Sammy Bina is a new one to me. She's on the Let the Words Flow blog, where upcoming authors from fictionpress come together. A very good post about thesaurus words and why not to overuse them.
http://letthewordsflow.wordpress.com/
Twisted dreams,
Draven Ames
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