Breaking Up Patterns

Posted by Jonene Ficklin


You never know what you’re going to get on Halloween. Well, yes, you’ll probably get trick-or-treaters, but there’s always one in the bunch that you remember.

This year it was an adorable four year old dressed as Woody from Toy Story. His two older sisters nudged him forward. Then he lifted the brim of his hat and said, “Merry Christmas.”

I held it in, but his sisters erupted in peals of laughter, and of course, taught him the traditional blurting of : “Trick-or-Treat.” I think we were his first house, or at least the first one where he spoke.

It's two hours later and I can’t stop laughing. Why? Because it’s different. He’s refreshing.

And keeping it different is what makes writing fresh. A wise instructor told us to look over our writing and watch for patterns, whether in repeated words (we all have our pariahs), beginnings of sentences, beats in phrases, sentence size and structure, etc. Break them up.

So I’ve got a pattern problem tonight. I keep passing by the lovely bowl of Halloween chocolate in my front room. I might just need to break things up and eat one. Or two. It’s not a pattern until you eat three, right?

Submission or Bust

posted by Rebecca J. Carlson

I want to be blissfully drafting my next book.

Instead, I am meticulously checking the punctuation on every line of dialog in my previous book.

(sound of forehead striking keyboard repeatedly)

hyg trf tgfg trf vh iol

P.S. GREAT pass-along story, Leisha! I loved that opening. Fabulous job everyone. Thanks for the laughs. I needed them.

Pass-along Story

By Leisha Maw

Today I thought it would be fun to do a pass-along story. You know the kind where each person writes one paragraph and passes it along to the next adventurer to add a bit. In the spirit of Halloween, here it goes. (Just remember, we’re a family friendly site. *Wink*)

Rachel dug through her bag. “Wooden spike, Zombie-be-gone spray, garlic lipstick, Mummy-off, cell phone, fluffy slippers, and sweet pea hand sanitizer.” She zipped the pouch shut and grabbed her keys. “Mom, I’m ready for my date.”

Okay, your turn. Let's see where this story goes.

Wanted: Heroes

The cabin girl and I had a little chat the other day. She'd been reading a book, but decided to stop in the middle and not finish.

As a writer, I can't think of a worse insult.

"So what was the problem? Why did you stop?" I asked.

"The main character did something stupid. He gave in to his," she rolled her eyes, "tragic flaw."

"Maybe later in the story he'll get a chance to redeem himself," I said.

"But mom, he's already totally lost my respect. I can't look up to him anymore because he gave in!"

"People in real life give in all the time," I said. I think I'd done it myself a few times already that day.

"But this isn't real life, it's a story. When I read a story I want characters that I can look up to, that are better than people in real life. Sure people give in, but I don't want a story about that. I read for characters that give me a good example to follow."

That made me think back to when I was my daughter's age, searching through the school library for a female protagonist I could look up to, emulate, become. I never found her. At the time, I decided it would be up to me to write her.

I'd forgotten.

My daughter continued, "I don't think characters have to be perfect. They should have weaknesses. And minor characters can give in and betray you, but I don't want the story to be about them. The main character can even have given in to their weakness in the past, but I want a story about not giving in anymore. I want a character that makes the right choice, no matter what."

She went on to say that when she's in pain or facing a hard choice, she often remembers her heroes from books and finds strength in their examples. As a writer, I can't think of a higher honor.


Do young people need story heroes to look up to? What kind of heroes are you giving them?

Hi, I'm a Cave-Dwelling Writer

Ahoy mateys!

Ever git that creepin' feelin' that ye can't speak as well as ye write?

I do. All the time.

I can write a beautiful scene. I can write natural dialogue. I can write believable characters.

But when it comes to talking to others in real life, I feel the odd fish out. It's not so surprising. I'm around 4 kids all day long--but for when they are at school (and it's then that I write). A few hours at church, but even at that, I'm with kids, too!!



How is it like for you?

Free ebooks - Are they on to something?

By Kevin

Before I write my post, let me introduce myself!

My name is Kevin Smith. And I'm a writer. I know, sounds somewhat like the introduction to a WA meeting. (writer's anonymous?) This is my first post in the Cove. But worry not, there will be many more! Yay! (I hope I hear the sounds of celebrating... either that or indigestion.)

I'm currently working on a mid-grade sci-fi novel. And... it's almost done! micro-edits! Of course I did just have another idea to add in. Hmm... may take more than a micro-edit...

Ahem. ebooks. Free.

My phone is a Droid X. I love it. It has games, an 8 megapixel camera, 720p HD video recording, and apps. Apps and apps! And one of the best apps? Kindle!

Now I know some of you are thinking to yourself "ugh, give me a nice paper book any day!" I would have agreed but... I can read anywhere, anytime. And do I need to remember to bring my book to do so? Or lug around a large hardback book? (I love hardbacks. However, they tend to be a bit on the large side.) No...

I just need to have my phone with me! I carry my phone everywhere. I'm one of those people who twitch violently when I can't answer my phone to see who it is. I know, kinda silly. Growing up it was like this: The phone rings. All children in the house rush to be the one to answer it, tripping over each other and otherwise causing bruises and beatings. I know there are other homes where all the children stare at each other. "You get it." "No, you, I did last time!"

I twitch then too.

So amazon offers some free books. Many of them are classics, which is fabulous. I now have Frankenstein on my phone! But others are books that are, for whatever reason, discounted to free. Some of them even have 4 1/2 stars! I've come across a few that are the first book in a series. So I do what every free-loving person would do.

I download them all.

I still have a bunch to reach, but have, so far, read approximately 3 of them. And I'm finding myself looking up the rest of the series in the hope that they are free. However, sadly, they are not. But after having read a good first book, how can I not read the rest?

I think more authors should consider this type of advertisement. It is another way to get their series into the hands of those that might otherwise not read it.

Of course, I only see this from my point of view.

What think ye?

Kevin
Follow me on Twitter! @kevinmichsmith

*Cough* I Lost My Voice

By Rebecca Carlson

A few days ago I came storming out of the cove and flopped myself down on the couch next to my husband. "This paragraph is TERRIBLE!" I said. "Help me figure out what to do with this terrible paragraph."

We picked up our pace and came into the valley just as the sun reached the top of the sky. A black wall of smoke rose from the grasslands, maybe only a mile northeast of the settlement. At the base of the smoke a red streak of flame crawled through the grass. People both on horseback and on foot had spread out along the fire line. It didn’t look like they were fighting the fire, only keeping an eye on it.

"It's a news report. A list of details," my husband said.

"You're right!" I jumped up. Any random objective observer could have said that. It didn't sound like someone who actually cared about what was going on. The point-of-view character isn't a news reporter covering someone else's problems. He's involved! He's invested! He's just come over the mountain and seen that there's a brush fire near his home!

But he's a shy and quiet sort of person. I have to coax him out. "Come on, Nathan, buddy, talk to me. How do you feel about this? What do you think?" I murmured as I went back to my computer.

We picked up our pace and came into the valley just as the sun reached the top of the sky. I relaxed a little when I saw that the black wall of smoke rising from the grasslands wasn’t too close to the settlement. People both on horseback and on foot had spread out along the fire line, shadows in front of the heat shimmer where the red flames crawled through the grass. I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t fighting the fire. It looked like they were only keeping an eye on it.



Yeah, that's a little better. What do you think?