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How to Make Your Characters Memorable
7 hours ago
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Visualization and Actualization
Taking a breather from my current wip, I went hunting up some old files on my 'puter for another project and came across some ancient covers I had done as a part of the visualization/actualization exercises I had done early on in my writing life. Basically, you're supposed to imagine your goals and dreams will come true and visualize a symbol of how that would look. So, I created these book covers and kept them handy when I worked on the manuscripts. Though y'all would get a kick out of seeing them :)
New Years Dieting
I have this "recipe journal" that I use quite often as I'm the one that does the cooking. It's also a fun way to try out new things and remember what was on the menu for various celebratory feasts. Going over the entry for "Christmas 2005" I realized why Dieting is such a hit with the New Year's Resolution folks! ;) Here's a listing of what we Polski's in the North Woods eat, items with an *asterik are brand new recipes this year:
Christmas Eve:
Duck L'Orange w/*wild rice stuffing (#1)
Clam Bites
*Homemade Coleslaw
*Raspberry Pears w/cool whip
Glazed Carrots
Baked Sweet Potatos
Romaine Salad
Whole Cranberries
Wheat Dinner Rolls
*Orange/Lemon Ring with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bananna Bread
Christmas Day:
Ham w/*Pineapple Clove Glaze
*Goose w/*wild rice stuffing (#2)
Greenbean Casserole
Sweet Potato w/Marshmallow bake
Mashed Potatos and Gravy
*Cran-orange salad
Fruit salad
(Romaine Salad, Coleslaw and Wheat rolls from above)
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
*Pumpkin-Eggnog cheescake
Bourbon Pecan Pie (made by my lovely hubby!!)
So yeah, I think Weight Watchers is gonna be my first stop of the New Year!! ;) If you're interested in any of the recipes--feel free to contact me!
Christmas Eve:
Duck L'Orange w/*wild rice stuffing (#1)
Clam Bites
*Homemade Coleslaw
*Raspberry Pears w/cool whip
Glazed Carrots
Baked Sweet Potatos
Romaine Salad
Whole Cranberries
Wheat Dinner Rolls
*Orange/Lemon Ring with Cream Cheese Frosting
Bananna Bread
Christmas Day:
Ham w/*Pineapple Clove Glaze
*Goose w/*wild rice stuffing (#2)
Greenbean Casserole
Sweet Potato w/Marshmallow bake
Mashed Potatos and Gravy
*Cran-orange salad
Fruit salad
(Romaine Salad, Coleslaw and Wheat rolls from above)
Apple pie
Pumpkin pie
*Pumpkin-Eggnog cheescake
Bourbon Pecan Pie (made by my lovely hubby!!)
So yeah, I think Weight Watchers is gonna be my first stop of the New Year!! ;) If you're interested in any of the recipes--feel free to contact me!
Monday, December 26, 2005
What Genre?
Okay, I've been thinking about science fiction and all it's lovely forms.
We have the obvious: outerspace. Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlefield Earth, etc.
And the other obvious: Alien invasions: War of the Worlds, Signs, and--well Battlefield Earth :)
But what about all those great(?) movies of the 50s and 60s? The Fly, The Man with Two Brains, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, etc. (okay, I wasn't born yet then so I can't recall many.)
So my question now is, in todays literary world, would books like Jurrasic Park, Timeline, Prey (can ya tell I'm a Crichton fan? *G*) be considered science fiction--with perhaps an added clarifyer--like 'action' or 'adventure'?
How would you describe the non-outerspace, non-alien type of sci-fi? Would you call it sci-fi at all?
We have the obvious: outerspace. Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlefield Earth, etc.
And the other obvious: Alien invasions: War of the Worlds, Signs, and--well Battlefield Earth :)
But what about all those great(?) movies of the 50s and 60s? The Fly, The Man with Two Brains, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, etc. (okay, I wasn't born yet then so I can't recall many.)
So my question now is, in todays literary world, would books like Jurrasic Park, Timeline, Prey (can ya tell I'm a Crichton fan? *G*) be considered science fiction--with perhaps an added clarifyer--like 'action' or 'adventure'?
How would you describe the non-outerspace, non-alien type of sci-fi? Would you call it sci-fi at all?
Saturday, December 24, 2005
PC Holidays and Writing
Well here we are, it's Christmas Eve in my house ;) I've heard about the "War On Christmas"--though not seen anything remotely like that in person. I even tested it all over town while I was out shopping. I said, "Merry Christmas" to many, many folks: the nice boy who helped me put my groceries in my car so he could take the cart back into the store, a lovely girl at the checkout, the Salvation Army bell ringer, the greeter at Walmart, the lady beyind the counter at the post office, the young girl in the Mountain Mudd shack who knows what I love in my coffee--and just in general, anyone I might have had cause to interact with even minimally. In return, I got smiles and a "Merry Christmas to you too."
If there's a war on, it ain't hit my neck of the North Woods yet ;)
But it got me thinking, about writing, about how it's so very, very important to know what makes a character believe what they believe. I've known authors who have a very hard time understanding "the villain is the hero (or heroine) of their own story." In this way, I think authors have a very unique perspective on the "PC" world. We really need to be able to comprehend (even if we could never embrace) the beliefs, ideals, and personalities that are utterly opposite of ourselves.
It reminds me of that old wise wisdom about "knowing your enemy as you know yourself" (and if you know who or where that's from, let me know! :) ) and even if the 'opposite' character isn't *our* enemy per se, it's much the same.
I believe that those aspiring authors who balk at knowing their opposites so intimately will find their works lack the strength and believability needed for a compelling read, and hence make finding a home for their work all the more difficult. Imagine: a Christian author afraid to make an atheist heroic, a Wiccan author afraid to make an ultra-conservative heroic, a Liberal author afraid to make a Republican heroic. Or if not heroic for each of the above, at least sympathetic.
I believe this is where the 'cardboard' character arrives to dampen what otherwise might be a stellar work. So, no matter what might be "PC" to you, as authors, we all really need to shake up our comfort zones and explore, intelligentally and with an open mind, those areas of life that we would never have considered had we not picked up the pen and chosen the vocation of authorship.
Thoughts? Comments? What do YOU believe?
Merry Hakwanmas!! *GRIN*
If there's a war on, it ain't hit my neck of the North Woods yet ;)
But it got me thinking, about writing, about how it's so very, very important to know what makes a character believe what they believe. I've known authors who have a very hard time understanding "the villain is the hero (or heroine) of their own story." In this way, I think authors have a very unique perspective on the "PC" world. We really need to be able to comprehend (even if we could never embrace) the beliefs, ideals, and personalities that are utterly opposite of ourselves.
It reminds me of that old wise wisdom about "knowing your enemy as you know yourself" (and if you know who or where that's from, let me know! :) ) and even if the 'opposite' character isn't *our* enemy per se, it's much the same.
I believe that those aspiring authors who balk at knowing their opposites so intimately will find their works lack the strength and believability needed for a compelling read, and hence make finding a home for their work all the more difficult. Imagine: a Christian author afraid to make an atheist heroic, a Wiccan author afraid to make an ultra-conservative heroic, a Liberal author afraid to make a Republican heroic. Or if not heroic for each of the above, at least sympathetic.
I believe this is where the 'cardboard' character arrives to dampen what otherwise might be a stellar work. So, no matter what might be "PC" to you, as authors, we all really need to shake up our comfort zones and explore, intelligentally and with an open mind, those areas of life that we would never have considered had we not picked up the pen and chosen the vocation of authorship.
Thoughts? Comments? What do YOU believe?
Merry Hakwanmas!! *GRIN*
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Come Chat With Me Tonight!
Didn't they do an AWESOME write up for me?? ;)
THE WRITERS CHATROOM
http://www.writerschatroom.com
CHAT WITH JENNY TURNER
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
PASSWORD: starkknight
The Writers Chatroom is pleased to welcome back this Wednesday night's chat guest, author Jenny Turner. http://www.jennifer-turner.com Chat moderator Glenn Walker will be interviewing Jenny and also taking questions from the room. To find out more about our guest, see her bio below.
Please feel free to pass this announcement on to anyone or any groups that you think may be interested. Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS WEEK’S DOORPRIZE GIVEAWAY
The doorprize for this week's chat is very generous. Our guest has donated an autographed copy of her new book STARK KNIGHT, and one free download of "The Knight Before," its short story prequel. These will be awarded to two lucky, random chatters halfway through the night's event.
And in the tradition of Chats Past, don't forget to bring chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. :-) †
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHERE?
The Writers Chatroom is located at: http://www.jennifer-turner.com
Click on "Enter Chatroom," log-in with your name and Wednesday night's case-sensitive password will be:
starkknight
If you are new to the Chatroom or having trouble logging in, please go to: http://writerschatroom.com/chatroom_help.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHEN?
Wednesday evening, December 21, 2005
Pacific Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7:00 PM
Mountain Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8:00 PM
Central Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9:00 PM
Eastern Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10:00 PM
Atlantic Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11:00 PM
London Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3:00 AM Thursday
Sydney Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12:00 Noon Thursday
Not sure what time that is for you?† http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our chat guest Wednesday evening is award-winning author and friend Jennifer Turner. http://www.jennifer-turner.com
Born blonde and Polish, Jennifer Turner writes action adventure thrillers and romances. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband Eddie, a red-headed Texan, and her three children, Dustin, Molly and Matthew. Raised by an eclectic assortment of artists and musicians, her upbringing helped shape and hone her imagination and dedication to the romantic arts. Between her commitments to family and writing, she actively pursues three things-white chocolate, dark chocolate, and more chocolate.
For more about STARK KNIGHT and Jenny's other books: http://www.jennifer-turner.com/books/index.html In February, her how-to book: EXTREME WRITING: CRAFTING THE ACTION SCENE will be made available to the public for free.
Jenny is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Writer's Village University. She is also the owner of the excellent Roto-Writer Critique Service. http://jturner.00books.com/index.html She has run workshops at WVU and at Fear of Writing http://www.fearofwriting.com where she was moderator when this Chatroom resided there.
Please come out for what promises to be an informative and entertaining evening and chat with award-winning author Jenny Turner! http://www.jennifer-turner.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please check the Chatroom Schedule at: http://writerschatroom.com/schedule.htm for information on upcoming guests and topics. Guest chats are every Wednesday evening and chats on the business of writing every Sunday evening.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
No Chat Tonight - Happy Holidays!
Monday, December 26, 2005
FFW Chat with Hope Clark
http://www.fundsforwriters.com Password: fundsforwriters
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 ~ 10:00 PM EST
Chat with Earl Emerson
http://www.earlemerson.com
Password: smoke
Sunday, January 1, 2006
No Chat Tonight - Happy New Year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We look forward to chatting with you!
Audrey Shaffer - Chatroom Moderator and Guest Scheduler
http://audreyshaffer.blogspot.com
Linda Hutchinson - Moderator, Researcher and Bio Writer
http://www.lindajhutchinson.com/
Renee Barnes - Moderator, and Transcript Editor
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRAILER_PARK_GAZETTE/
Ronii Grace - Moderator, and Support
http://www.gracelegacies.com/
Glenn Walker - Chatroom Manager, Moderator and Guest Scheduler
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writercircle/
THE WRITERS CHATROOM
http://www.writerschatroom.com
CHAT WITH JENNY TURNER
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
PASSWORD: starkknight
The Writers Chatroom is pleased to welcome back this Wednesday night's chat guest, author Jenny Turner. http://www.jennifer-turner.com Chat moderator Glenn Walker will be interviewing Jenny and also taking questions from the room. To find out more about our guest, see her bio below.
Please feel free to pass this announcement on to anyone or any groups that you think may be interested. Thank you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THIS WEEK’S DOORPRIZE GIVEAWAY
The doorprize for this week's chat is very generous. Our guest has donated an autographed copy of her new book STARK KNIGHT, and one free download of "The Knight Before," its short story prequel. These will be awarded to two lucky, random chatters halfway through the night's event.
And in the tradition of Chats Past, don't forget to bring chocolate. Mmm… chocolate. :-) †
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHERE?
The Writers Chatroom is located at: http://www.jennifer-turner.com
Click on "Enter Chatroom," log-in with your name and Wednesday night's case-sensitive password will be:
starkknight
If you are new to the Chatroom or having trouble logging in, please go to: http://writerschatroom.com/chatroom_help.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHEN?
Wednesday evening, December 21, 2005
Pacific Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7:00 PM
Mountain Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8:00 PM
Central Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9:00 PM
Eastern Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 10:00 PM
Atlantic Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -11:00 PM
London Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3:00 AM Thursday
Sydney Time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12:00 Noon Thursday
Not sure what time that is for you?† http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our chat guest Wednesday evening is award-winning author and friend Jennifer Turner. http://www.jennifer-turner.com
Born blonde and Polish, Jennifer Turner writes action adventure thrillers and romances. She resides in Wisconsin with her husband Eddie, a red-headed Texan, and her three children, Dustin, Molly and Matthew. Raised by an eclectic assortment of artists and musicians, her upbringing helped shape and hone her imagination and dedication to the romantic arts. Between her commitments to family and writing, she actively pursues three things-white chocolate, dark chocolate, and more chocolate.
For more about STARK KNIGHT and Jenny's other books: http://www.jennifer-turner.com/books/index.html In February, her how-to book: EXTREME WRITING: CRAFTING THE ACTION SCENE will be made available to the public for free.
Jenny is a member of the Romance Writers of America and Writer's Village University. She is also the owner of the excellent Roto-Writer Critique Service. http://jturner.00books.com/index.html She has run workshops at WVU and at Fear of Writing http://www.fearofwriting.com where she was moderator when this Chatroom resided there.
Please come out for what promises to be an informative and entertaining evening and chat with award-winning author Jenny Turner! http://www.jennifer-turner.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please check the Chatroom Schedule at: http://writerschatroom.com/schedule.htm for information on upcoming guests and topics. Guest chats are every Wednesday evening and chats on the business of writing every Sunday evening.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
No Chat Tonight - Happy Holidays!
Monday, December 26, 2005
FFW Chat with Hope Clark
http://www.fundsforwriters.com Password: fundsforwriters
Wednesday, December 28, 2005 ~ 10:00 PM EST
Chat with Earl Emerson
http://www.earlemerson.com
Password: smoke
Sunday, January 1, 2006
No Chat Tonight - Happy New Year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We look forward to chatting with you!
Audrey Shaffer - Chatroom Moderator and Guest Scheduler
http://audreyshaffer.blogspot.com
Linda Hutchinson - Moderator, Researcher and Bio Writer
http://www.lindajhutchinson.com/
Renee Barnes - Moderator, and Transcript Editor
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TRAILER_PARK_GAZETTE/
Ronii Grace - Moderator, and Support
http://www.gracelegacies.com/
Glenn Walker - Chatroom Manager, Moderator and Guest Scheduler
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writercircle/
Friday, December 09, 2005
Get Your Sneak Peek Here! ;)
Okay, It's official, my goofy artwork is loved well enough by the adorable Millikins and will now become the cover of my upcoming free ebook. (Watch for more details on that coming soon!)
So, get your chocolate chuckles on and take a peek :)
Hey! I said it was goofy ;) I hope you get as much a "kick" out of it as I do :)
So, get your chocolate chuckles on and take a peek :)
Hey! I said it was goofy ;) I hope you get as much a "kick" out of it as I do :)
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Chocolate, Humor, Chocolate, Prizes, did I mention Chocolate?
Ready for some FUN???
It's getting close to my launch date so hurry up and sign up for my newsletter ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jrturner/) if you haven't already. First issue will have three chances to win some cool prizes and will be coming to an inbox near you very shortly! Lets have a blast together :) Best viewed with dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or any chocolate of your choosing.
Here are the terms and conditions:
A sense of humor fee has been included in the cost of each free membership. Offer available for established and new members only. Subject to availability and valid contact information. You will not be awarded a prize if you offer to help me increase the size or performance of any part of my anatomy. Offer not valid in any state, providence, contry or universe that does not sell or provide its citizenry with chocolate.
It's getting close to my launch date so hurry up and sign up for my newsletter ( http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jrturner/) if you haven't already. First issue will have three chances to win some cool prizes and will be coming to an inbox near you very shortly! Lets have a blast together :) Best viewed with dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or any chocolate of your choosing.
Here are the terms and conditions:
A sense of humor fee has been included in the cost of each free membership. Offer available for established and new members only. Subject to availability and valid contact information. You will not be awarded a prize if you offer to help me increase the size or performance of any part of my anatomy. Offer not valid in any state, providence, contry or universe that does not sell or provide its citizenry with chocolate.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Busy, Busy, Bustin' the Groove :)
Woo Hoo! Back on track and Rockin' the Keyboard!!
For all you out there that haven't signed up for my newsletter, go ahead and get in on the game now ;) I'm putting together two great contests for my debut edition and getting ready to release a free ebook that will be avialable around the middle of January. Newsletter subscriber's will get a sneak preview before it arrives!
In the mean time, I'll be back here updating and letting everyone know what's happening on the publishing front fairly regularly. Oh! And look for some announcements coming soon about online chats, cuz ya know I'd love to hang out with you on the 'net! *GRIN*
Here's the latest greatest news!!
For all you out there that haven't signed up for my newsletter, go ahead and get in on the game now ;) I'm putting together two great contests for my debut edition and getting ready to release a free ebook that will be avialable around the middle of January. Newsletter subscriber's will get a sneak preview before it arrives!
In the mean time, I'll be back here updating and letting everyone know what's happening on the publishing front fairly regularly. Oh! And look for some announcements coming soon about online chats, cuz ya know I'd love to hang out with you on the 'net! *GRIN*
Here's the latest greatest news!!
AVAILABLE NOW!
As a Stark Knight Download From Echelon Press
This night should be special…for family, but instead, Sara Stark is surrounded by danger at every turn. With Tropical Storm Allison bearing down on her home, Sara must face a blonde, blue-eyed snake worming her way into the Knight family. With Drake about to leave for London, she has only one shot at unmasking the deceiver, only one tube of Icy Hot, and only one chance to save him–the night before.
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