Twenty-Five Pieces of Advice from Famous Writers That Are Actually Useful! by Marie Lavender
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Good Luck With That — Nicholas C. Rossis
I remember having a dialogue with a writer friend a few years ago. She was chastising me for stressing the importance of luck in publishing. Her argument was that, if you work hard enough, you’re bound to succeed. At the time, I was wondering if she was right and hard work was all it took. […]
12 easy tips for editing your book
Hi there, after months of editing and updating here are some tried and tested tips for how to edit your draft book. I found this needed multiple passes, constructive feedback and dispassionate discipline. I also needed to re-learn key parts of grammar to understand what ‘good’ looks like.
1. Get the structure right first with feedback from others, check for consistency.
By this I mean – the plot, characterisation, events, scenes, order of events, plausibility of events, story arc for each character, etc.
Consistency of proper nouns, places, character names, etc. is also a key check. Word spellchecker can assist by highlighting those variants which are yet to be accepted into your dictionary. A Find and Replace can bring things back under control.
2. Screen your own writing for overuse of words and phrases.
I recommend running Wordcounter and the Hemmingway app on chapters of your work and noting the…
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6 Tips for Adding Life to Your Locations — Nicholas C. Rossis
One of my favorite writing resources, Mythic Scribes, recently shared some great tips on using your locations to bring your story to life. Here is my summary. As always, you are encouraged to check out the original post for more. The whole point they are making is that by giving your readers a chance to […]
via 6 Tips for Adding Life to Your Locations — Nicholas C. Rossis
How to deal with your editor’s notes – by Silvia Crompton — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog
on We Are White Fox: Ah, the sweet relief of writing the final sentence of your book! All the late nights, the reams of research and the meticulous plotting are over – finished at last. But then, like a dark cloud on the horizon, an editor appears, red pen in hand (or MacBook under arm), […]
via How to deal with your editor’s notes – by Silvia Crompton — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog
The Final Proof Read – Guest Post by Jaq D Hawkins… — anita dawes and jaye marie
Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog: I’ve recently been uploading a new book to KDP after going over each chapter many times and making sure I got all the formatting right. This was a paperback, so I used their previewer to check through the pages. First impression: Yay! All looks good!…
via The Final Proof Read – Guest Post by Jaq D Hawkins… — anita dawes and jaye marie
Beverley Bateman
Please welcome Beverley Bateman to my blog. Good morning Beverley. Shall we sit down for a chat?
Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.
Thank you, Mary for having me as your guest. I’m a Canadian author and live in Medicine Hat with my family and Shiba Inu dog. I write, read, bike, do some volunteering, do glass fusion and winter in the south.
Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?
Yes, writing has always been part of my life. It started in childhood when I told stories, in school I wrote locked room mysteries and I’ve forever been writing short scenes and stuffing them in folders. I kept talking about writing that first book and when I was diagnosed with breast cancer it was my big wake-up “know” moment.
How difficult was it writing your first book?
It was a challenge. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write and someone mentioned romance. So I started a romance, but I’d be writing mystery scenarios so I kept throwing in deaths and attempted murders and it turned out to be a romantic suspense. It’s still hiding under the bed.
Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?
Yes. I write and think it’s horrible and I shouldn’t be writing. But I’ve always written, even just for myself. It’s like eating and breathing. I don’t think I can ever stop.
Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?
My daughter, she actually found the first writing conference I attended, before I knew anything about RWA and writing groups. And my husband tries to be supportive. He’s very patient when I’m writing.
Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Not really, I try to write the best story I can and I hope they enjoy it and it takes them out of their daily life for a short period and maybe learn a little something from the themes.
What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?
There have been many who gave great advice. Once I found the writing group of authors I found them to be the most generous and helpful group to other writers.
The best advice is one everyone hears; write every day, you can edit whatever you write. You can’t edit a blank page. I think it originally came from Nora Roberts.
What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?
My target audience is women, probably twenty-five and up. My characters are successful women, strong women but with flaws or emotional issues and how they grow and overcome them. I hope that women who read me might find ways they can grow and change should they want or need.
Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?
I have a cover designer and we work well together. I tell her my thoughts, what I’m sort of thinking and she works on it and sends me sketches. We go back and forth until it works for me.
What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?
I’m working on Book Two in The Foundation Series, Liability Wife.
Here’s a draft excerpt.
“Lydia hesitated at the door of her Florida home. It had been almost five months since she’d been back. She’d had the locks changed so her wonderful, cheating husband couldn’t get in. Still…
She knew he’d hired a hit man but she hoped she had slipped back into town unnoticed and if she was quick, she could get in, do a quick check and remove some of her stuff before her husband or the hit man knew she was back in town. She had a flight back to New York tonight.
Her first stop had been to her lawyers to sign the changes to her will.
Now she glanced over her shoulder. The street looked empty. She turned the key and the locked clicked. Lydia slipped quickly inside and locked the door. The place had the musty scent of being closed up for a few months. No one, including Paul, had been back inside. He was staying at the Men’s club. She’d checked out his location and itinerary before she’d come back to Florida.
The house gave off unwelcoming, almost threatening vibes. She felt a little vulnerable without her team. A smile touched her lips briefly. She’d never expected to become a special operative with a strong supportive team rescuing women in life threatening situations. If they were here they’d have her back but they were back in New York. They would always be there for her if Paul continued to try and have her killed.
She hurried to her office, opened a couple of drawers, and grabbed a diary and some computer disks. Lydia dropped them into the backpack she’d brought with her and hastened up the stairs to her bedroom. In the closet she removed a few favorite outfits. At the back of the closet she opened the secret compartment where she kept her good jewelry, dumped everything into the backpack, shivered, and ran down the stairs. Something felt off.
She wanted out of the house. She darted down the hall to the back door. A click from the front door caught her attention. Lydia’s stomach clenched. Someone knew she was here. They were trying to break into the house.
Lydia paused one second and focused her mind on the front door. She could see the lock. Using her power of telekinesis she visualized the pick being pushed into the lock, slid it out of the lock and dropped it in the plant beside the door.
She heard someone swear.
Running quickly to the front door she let herself out, locking the door behind her and raced down the steps to her car.
Seconds later the rental car was doing a Daytona down the road. Lydia checked in her rear view mirror. She couldn’t see anyone following her.
She’d sell the house. She couldn’t go back. Paul hiring someone to kill her had been a possibility. It hadn’t really hit her until today. It was hard to believe he hated her that much, or maybe just wanted her money. He’d be shocked when he found out she’d made sure he didn’t get a penny.”
Any last words before we wrap things up?
Thank you for having me. I hope people enjoy my books and I hope everyone has a wonderful summer and reads lots of books.
BIO
Murder, mystery and romance fills award-winning, Canadian author, Beverley Bateman’s life. She loves to plot, kill and hopefully baffle the reader. Her nursing and public health nursing background helps with some details and administering a community care facility program had her investigating and directing investigations into irregularities and sometimes a death. She even has court experience.
She began writing in her preteens and loved to write locked room mysteries. Reading Nancy Drew helped her figure out plots. Facing breast cancer, she decided she needed to do what she’d always wanted and began to write. She completed her first romantic suspense novel and hasn’t stopped writing since. She recently moved and now lives among ranches and wheat fields in southern Alberta, with her husband and Shiba Inu dog.
Social Links
BLOG – http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/
Facebook -https://www.facebook.com/beverley.bateman.18
Website https://www.beverleybateman.com
Twitter @kelownawriter http://twitter/kelownawriter
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7052567.Beverley_Bateman
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Beverley-Bateman/e/B008M01F5E
Tumblr – darkwriter.tumblr.com
Instagram Beverley.Bateman
Pinterest http://pinterest.com/okwriter
LinkedIn – babateman@shaw.ca https://www.linkedin.com/in/beverleybateman/
BUY LINKS
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JQ97L8M?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-fourth-victim-9
Itunes https://geo.itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-fourth-victim/id1440048796?ls=1&mt=11
Google Play https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Beverley_Bateman_The_Fourth_Victim?id=_Od3DwAAQBAJ
Ocean Adventure
Join Shadow and Friends on a wonderful snorkeling, submarine, and pirate adventure just off the coast of Florida, visiting two Florida Keys in the Atlantic Ocean. Pilot Squirrel flies them all to Miami aboard the Rodent Road Adventures Jet, then they take a taxi, driven by a Florida coastal squirrel named Two Cut, to the Florida Keys. The squirrels and both dogs learn how to snorkel and about lots of sea life including sea creatures such as sea turtles, angelfish, parrot-fish, barracuda, and rays! The starfish, beautiful coral, sea grasses, shells and palm trees are amazing. Uncle Stubby takes a small submarine to find treasure at an old shipwreck site. They dress up in pirate clothing and play as if they were pirates, near a play shipwreck, and discover a treasure chest of walnuts and dog treats! Add in a sandcastle, mermaids, palm trees, and a lighthouse and a true…
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The Two Basic Rules of Editing (and the Rookie Mistake) – by Jane Friedman… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog
Today’s guest post is excerpted from How to Work With a Writer by editor Allegra Huston __________ Many people who find themselves in an editorial role make the same mistake. They think they’re supposed to fix the book. They’ve identified the problems and they expend a lot of mental energy on coming up with solutions. The classic […]
How to Create a Table of Contents to Sell Your Nonfiction Book – by Laura Cross… — Chris The Story Reading Ape’s Blog
on Rebel Seed Studio: The Table of Contents (TOC) is the backbone and sales element of your nonfiction book. It is a powerful organizing and marketing tool. Many readers base their purchase decision on a book’s cover and the Table of Contents. They want to know exactly what to expect: what will they learn, how […]
