In writing your screenplay or novel or play, you must have a star. This is the person who fascinates you enough to write all those countless words.  When we have a tightly written manuscript, it means we have become fascinated with a certain person in such a way that we actually live through that character.

What do we mean by “live?”

To live in a fictitious or real word our daily bread is “conflict” or in the writing jargon, what we call plot. This simply means that two people are at odds over a certain situation. It can be little or big—but a battle is there nonetheless. The two people can argue over which movie to go see or which restaurant to visit or maybe your landlord wants his rent and you don’t have the money to pay him.

You can climb higher on the conflict ladder and that’s where two people are in a life and death struggle or clash. You certainly don’t want to go to see a film or read a book where everyone is in complete harmony and peace with one another. How boring that would be.  Even Walt Disney films have tons of conflict in them. The wolf versus the three little pigs, for example. He wants to eat them and to do that he has to blow their houses down.

Conflict, as I have mentioned, is just another name for plot. Thus in a sense, we could go further by saying that the word plot is called “entertainment.” It is why we spend our money. We love nothing more than dissention. The higher the dissention, the more interested we become.  We have names for each of the two opposing people involved: Protagonist or our hero, who generally represents the one of the two we’re rooting for; Antagonist who is the rival or the one we call the villain or heavy.

The battle these two wage against one another is based on a series of choices. In dealing with the bad guy, the good guy has to always come up with a series of choices: diplomacy, logic or as a last resort war  The bad guy also has a choice of dealing with the good guy: shooting him, throwing him off a cliff, tying him up. Choices on both sides and carrying them out make up your storyline. The more difficult the choices, the more you get involved in the story. You proceed like this for most of your tale until you tease us by making it look like the bad guy is about to win. Then all of a sudden due to some ingenious choice, the good guy wins and vanquishes the bad guy. The end.

So, there you have the writing profession in a nutshell.  This brings us to the specific category known as a “good writer.” This is a person who can hold you on the edge of your seat via interesting choices. You can’t put the book down or you are completely enthralled by the film. This means you’ve done your job well. Your characters have had to deal with a ton of conflict in their personal lives and have had to make many interesting choices for good or bad.

Writers who have lived lives full of choices are able to pass those moments along to us in a realistic way. In other words, they have the “life experience” to pass them along in a meaningful way. These are writers who are thought of as gifted. More than likely though, life has been a big hors d’oeuvre tray to them.  They have actually tasted life. Bad writers dream of life and philosophize about it. Boring. They are trying to impress you by using big, rarely-used words and long, complicated sentences. They are snobs and intellectuals who are peddling more sizzle than steak.  These people hang out more in writer’s workshops than in life’s alleyways. Conflict to them is something to avoid at all cost.  Unfortunately tons of them are out there clogging the works for real writers.

Most good writers don’t have “writer’s block.”  They realize that if their project becomes sluggish , they should just add some more conflict. Agatha Christie said that in her writing if things slowed down, she always introduced another murder.

Bad writers in the first place are not friends with conflict and, therefore, always seem to be experiencing writer’s block. Now, you see why. They haven’t had enough conflict in their lives to be able realistically to relate it to others.

I heartedly recommend you “live” a lot if you intend to write. It will not only fill up your years with fun but could even fill up your pocketbook. Cheers!

When it comes to promoting your book, you have to spend money to make money.

How many of you have been told that?

The first time I heard it, my heart filled with desolation. I live in the real world where disposable income is as rare as the unicorn–in other words, it doesn’t exist. What chance do I have of being successful with my marketing endeavours without the coin to back it?

The answer is: I don’t know. My book is relatively new (just over a month old at the time of my writing this) and it’s really too soon to tell. Nevertheless, I thought I’d share some of the places I’ve found online that allow me to advertise my book for free. Here are the 5 sites that top my list so far.

Indies Unlimited

The vetting process on this site is incredibly helpful. I submitted my novel for their free promotion. About 6 weeks later, the site contacted me with an excellent critique of my book description as well as suggestions on how to improve it. I made the corrections and received a second critique and even more suggestions–all for free! As far as I’m concerned, this site is indie author gold, for that reason alone.

Online PR News

This site provides a free place to post and distribute a press release. You have to write the press release yourself, but this is an excellent opportunity to reach people to which you might not otherwise have access.

New Book Journal

Free author announcements for anything author related. Announce your book release or a book signing…the possibilities are endless.

Adventures in Sci Fi Publishing

This website posts a list of new Sci Fi releases each week. I sent an email to the site administrator asking if my book could be included in the next list and he was happy to oblige. This taught me never to be afraid to send a query to anything online I’d like to be a part of. The worst that could happen is my request will either be ignored or rejected. To my surprise, that rarely happens.

My Book Addiction’s zOctober Event

I read about zOctober on a news feed site I frequent and sent an email and was accepted right away. I am posting a “Mad Lib” style puzzle and a short story on My Book Addiction’s site in October. Great publicity for my book and my brand, all of it absolutely free!

That’s my list so far, opaline pearls in a sea of seemingly barren oysters.  Do you have any other hidden gems you are willing to share? Post them here and I’ll feature them on my next post with a link to your online pages–another great, free place to publicize!

This post was recently published on our website: ianmooremorrans.com

    At left  you'll see a photo of "editor me" at my desk on one of the last days before retirement (in 2004) as Editor of Esprit magazine and Program Director for Evangelical Lutheran Women at our office on the second floor of Portage Place in Winnipeg. In addition I've included a photo of the gift I received at my retirement party in July 2004. As Ian and I were preparing to take off  for a retirement adventure driving down to Mexico in our newly acquired 35-foot motorhome, my boss chose to wrap an assortment of "helps" for that trip inside or underneath a large box decorated to look like our motorhome - complete with photos of Ian as driver and me as passenger.

After several years in Mexico, with trips up to Manitoba to maintain our Canadian residency, we returned to Canada for good. I hope to start blogging about our Mexico sojourn in the near future. Time will tell if I ever get to it. While there in Mexico I began editing Ian's writings and am continuing that in our present home in British Columbia, as well as now contributing to his writings. Here my desk is in our little den and I look out the window at the low mountains surrounding our part of the Okanagan Valley. The desk is different from the one at ELW, but just as messy. That's the way I work. I do not like a messy final product, however, and decided that it was time for me to have an editor's rant about what I am seeing on some web blogs and in many comments that come into our site.

I don't think I'm unique in claiming frustration when reading some comments on web blogs or even some particular web blogs which are so full of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation or just plain English that I feel compelled to edit them as I'm reading. Sometimes even understanding them is impossible, so I quit reading and trash the comment or close the web blog.

As I routinely check out other web blogs, I am more-often-than-not impressed by so many varied topics and excellent writing, but am also occasionally appalled by the lack of English writing skills by some bloggers. In those cases, I cross those web blogs off the list of ones I want to follow, no matter how interesting the topic might be. I find it painful to read something when I feel a need to correct practically every sentence. (As an aside: I lived in Germany for 18 years and ended up speaking passable German but would never in my life think of hosting a blog in German! I wouldn't feel confident enough to do a decent job of it. My late husband who worked in a profession there, could easily have hosted a blog in German. Obviously his language skills were much superior to mine.)

My motto is: "check, double-check and recheck anything you post", for it is easy to miss a word here or there if one doesn't do so. I always try to self-edit any of my blogs and usually have Ian read through them before posting. That isn't to say that I might not post a small grammatical or spelling error from time to time. It happens to the best of us. Almost inevitably after checking and re-checking the magazine I edited and having our executive director and a professional copy editor go over everything before publishing, I would find some little thing wrong when reading the issue after publication.

In the past I've found myself editing a lot of comments that come in on this web blog so that they can be understood. I conclude that quite a few of those who comment on posts do not have English as their first language and are obviously using an English-to-another-language dictionary when they make their comments. Perhaps they are taking an ESL course and have been given an assignment to comment on specific web posts. (Comments often come from the same site with different email addresses.) If that is the case, how I wish the instructor would at least give them some help in making the comments understandable. It is nice to get compliments or constructive criticism, but not if the comment cannot be readily understood and if the blogger receiving the comment has to edit it extensively in order to print it. WordPress usually identifies these type of comments as "spam"; in the past I've looked at every comment and sometimes chose to "un-spam"a few because I'd like to honour the intent. I have edited them for comprehension, though. I'm wondering if other bloggers have chosen to do this or if these type of comments simply get trashed. Here's an example of one comment we recently received, showing the places where I have cut out more than half of the words and added clarifying words in order to get what I think the commenter intended.

"Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your [web blog.] augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast."

Another recent commenter asserted that, though our blog's content was good, many of the posts were "rife with spelling issues." Well, that got my dander up! I did, however, calm down and try to address what I thought might be the problem. Here's my answer:

"We’re surprised to hear that you find several of our posts 'rife with spelling issues'. We are wondering if you might be pointing out our use of the British way of spelling English words, as opposed to the American way. (An example would be the use of “ou” in place of “o” as in “neighbour.” We are Canadians and so use the British way of spelling. I (Gayle) am the blogger and, though American-born, changed my way of spelling sometime after I emigrated to Canada and became editor of a Canadian magazine. I’ve kept up that way of spelling in retirement and, as Ian is British-born and I edit his writing, that method has worked out well for us. Then, too, Ian speaks Scottish-English so when he writes about Scotland in either his novels or memoirs, he uses what I call “Scottishisms.” Some of those words are only found in Scottish-English or may mean something entirely different in Scotland than they do in other countries where English is spoken. We’ve pointed that out in some of our posts about his memoir, “From Poverty to Poverty: A Scotsman Encounters Canada.” I had quite an education in “Scottishisms” when editing that book! In addition, I had to turn off the spell-check as my word-processing program gave up on providing corrections! Of course, even editors sometimes need to be edited; however, I try to double-check whatever I post. We’d be interested in hearing from you further so that you could point out some examples of those spelling issues. Looking forward to hearing from you." To date, we have received no further communication on this subject.

That brings up the challenge when commenting on web posts of exactly what to say. Sure it is nice to have affirmation that someone "enjoyed" a post or found it "awesome" or "educational" or "informative." But does that really help the blogger to know how they are connecting with the reader? In haste I, too, sometimes choose to just give kudos by checking the "like" button on a post; but if I take the time and REALLY like or dislike something I try to comment on it. How did I feel when I read the post? Intrigued? Scared? Amused? Why and how? Perhaps the blogger was promoting a book, a picture, a poem or a piece of music that he/she had written, drawn, photographed or performed. Did the blog catch your interest so that you plan to order the book or picture, quote the poem or obtain the recording? Did the post remind you of a happening in your own life or a person you met or an emotion you felt? Then describe that connection. You might wish to reblog the post, giving credit to the writer and quote your reaction to it on your own blog or on Facebook, Twitter or the like.

Conversely, if a post draws a negative response from me and I think it can be constructive, I'd like to think that I would be willing to document why I had that response. Although I didn't post the following comment on a novel writer's blog but instead posted it on Amazon after reading the novel, here is an example of how I could make both a positive and, I hope, constructive negative response to the novel on a writer's blog:

"You have written a well-rounded story about a group of characters, each flawed in a unique way, all seeking redemption. Your background in counseling is evident throughout; perhaps that is what makes your story so believable. Your prose is clear, yet poetic. Your descriptions of both characters and scene are captivating. I would have given this book five stars had it not been for the unnecessary profanity which I felt cheapened the narrative, especially those instances when the name of Jesus was invoked through cursing."

I send a challenge to bloggers and commenters alike: If you can't edit your own postings, please, please find someone who can do the edit for you.

Please and thanks in a spirit of kindness and mutual understanding. Keep the relevant and understandable comments coming!

Gayle Moore-Morrans
P.S. In the meantime we have recently received a comment (perhaps sent in error?) which went on for several hundred words.  The comments were obviously a multiple choice list of helps for would-be commenters who needed guidance on how to word comments they wanted to make on various posts. In the past the comments we received from that particular commenter had included, solely or partly, promotions for his web blog that included little or nothing about the post he was supposedly commenting on. Many of the multiple-choice comments he included sounded similar to many of the comments we have received from a number of people over time. Thus, in the future I intend to honour Word Press' use of Akismet to check incoming comments and rate them as "spam", then delete the spam comments without reading them. Most of us writers and editors who blog find it difficult to have enough time to do our writing or editing what with all the other duties and distractions of life. We don't need 276 comments in our "Spam Comments" section. That is the number I encountered last week after not checking the comments for about a week's time. For the first time, I chose to permanently delete all those spam comments without even looking at them.  I truly appreciate the efforts a number of commenters make in sending in compliments or kudos on our posts, or even criticisms when they are constructive. However, I'm trying to promote our books or share views on writing, photographing, reminiscing or life in general and am hoping to glean relevant information from other bloggers instead of spending valuable time reading, rewriting, replying to or trashing umpteen comments a day. I am sharing these words in hopes that others will understand my frustrations and those of other bloggers who are surely having similar problems with unwarranted comments. Perhaps some of them will attempt to correct their comments or have them edited by someone else or those who just want to advertise their own blogs will cease and desist. At least I won't have to relate to them if I trust Akismet's weeding out those comments.

After losing her job at the local newspaper, Rayanne Bradley finally had the time to reach for one of her dreams—writing a book. What should have been an easy task end’s up getting off to a slow start, until the day her muse shows up. Now, whenever the masculine scent of musk mysteriously fills the air, her thoughts flow freely as she types them into what will become her book. As the manuscript unfolds, the mystery deepens and becomes entangled with coincidences. Could this be real? Had she met the long haired, sexy, man of her dreams? Could she believe and trust the words of an angel?

Excerpt:

“Rayanne, I really want to thank you for this evening. I haven’t had such a wonderful night since I moved here,” he said after the waitress left their table.

“I have to agree with you, I’ve really enjoyed myself tonight.” She took another sip from her glass, then placed it back on the table. She was totally surprised when Caliban reached for her hand once it was free from holding the steam-ware. Shivers shot through her as she felt the warmth of his fingers on top of hers, his thumb lightly caressing the crease of her palm.

“There’s just one more thing I want to do before we call it a night,” he said with his deep, masculine voice.

Rayanne tilted her head to the side and looked at him quizzically. “And what would that be, Mr. Tempest?” She watched as he rose from his seat and stood at the side of the table, never letting go of her hand.

“I want to dance with you. Please, would you do me the honor?”

Rayanne couldn’t help but softly chuckle. “Are you serious? Here…now?” She’d never seen anyone ever get up and dance in the restaurant any of the times she’d been there. It just wasn’t that kind of place.

“I’m very serious,” he replied as he lifted her hand, gently tugging, persuading her to her feet. Still holding on to her hand, not giving her a chance to say no, he guided her a few feet away from their table where there was a small clearing. He turned and winked at her, pulling her closer into his embrace so they could dance.

Rayanne didn’t protest. She looked around and saw that the restaurant was practically empty, but saw that the few remaining customers and staff were all now watching them. She could only assume that they had to be thinking they were crazy. She looked up at her partner feeling slightly embarrassed, but the uneasy feeling was quickly replaced as her attention was drawn to the wonderful feeling of Caliban’s warm hand on her lower back as he moved her to the music’s beat.

“I think we’re being watched,” he chuckled, trying to get her to relax when he felt the tension in her body.

“Ya think?”

“Just pretend no one else is in the room except for you and me,” he spoke softly. He let go of her right hand and smoothly wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her just a little closer. He could feel the tension ease from her body as she relaxed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked down at her then murmured, “Trust me.”

Rayanne looked up into his dark eyes.  She did trust him that much was certain. With his arms wrapped around her she felt safe; that he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt her. Without saying a word she inched closer, until their bodies were completely touching as they swayed to the melody. Her left cheek rested on his shoulder, his long dark hair mixing with her own. She closed her eyes and breathed in his sensual, manly scent as the fingers of her right hand involuntarily began to rub his neck at the hair line. The corners of her mouth lifted when she heard the faintest gasp emanate from him. Then she felt his fingers move in a gentle, circular motion on her lower back, rousing an aching need at the very core of her womanhood, a feeling she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“See, now this isn’t so bad, is it?” Caliban asked.

“Mmmm, no it isn’t,” Rayanne sighed. She was lost in the moment and no longer cared what anyone thought of them. The wonderful feelings at that instant far outweighed any criticism from on looking strangers. She turned her head, nuzzling her forehead into his neck. She felt his hold on her tighten slightly, as he brought his cheek down to touch hers. A gesture so normal, yet felt as if she was experiencing the intimacy of dancing for the very first time. She could feel his warm breath brush against her face each time he exhaled, stirring the need—and want, to experience more of his touch.

Available at...

Amazon.com

Oh.  Hi.  My name is Robin Bull and I am socially awkward.  I promise I do get more interesting the longer you know me (or the more vodka I drink...that vodka - it's one chatty girl).

Vital Stats 

• I am really tiny.  My grandmother used to call me bird bones.  I am only about 5'4 and my weight fluctuates between 110 and 125.
• I chose to be a red head.  It's kind of an external and silent warning to the public.  
• My eyes change colors depending on my mood.
• I am a college instructor.
• I am a really tiny woman married to a large (muscle), protective man.  He was a professional fighter.
• I am a mother to sons.
• I am a survivor of domestic violence in a prior marriage.

Writing Stats

• I chose to self publish to retain control over my artistry.  
• I write and publish a magazine.
• I have one self published novel.
• I am working on two poetry books.
• I am working on a book for paralegals.
• I am ghost writing an autobiography for a retired federal agent.

Random Facts

• I write for me and me alone.  If you like it, great.  If you don't...it doesn't bother me.
• I teach paralegal studies and criminal justice.
• I was and am a victim of stalking and harassment.
• I love Constitutional law.
• We don't have cable because I get upset when I watch the media twist stories and falsify facts.
• My husband is my knight in shining armor.
• I'm Wiccan.  If you can't handle that, don't talk to me.  I won't shove my beliefs down your throat and I expect the same respect.  Oh, and I don't worship the devil.  I don't believe in the devil.
• I have Systemic Lupus.  
• I have three life mottos.

Umm...so yeah.  That's pretty much me in a nut shell.  I love to talk so feel free to add me or message me.

Hello, my name is David and I'm an author. If that sounds like the introduction of someone attending a meeting of the AA then that's how being an author feels sometimes. An addiction that you feel warrants a confession.

I have written and self published Four books to date.

My Barsetshire Diary  

The Queen's Envoy 

More Barsetshire Diary 

                                             The first three books are concerned with the life of a member of the gentry in the small village he's chosen to live in. The cat rules his life while his wife and daughter rule his wallet.

In the second book we visit him at his job accepted along with the title he inherited, that of Envoy to HM Government but instantly deniable. Since our hero is at a loss where women are concerned we see how he copes when faced with saving the Government some embarrassment but females are desperate to show their thanks. Is a stiff upper lip enough to save him? 

The first and third books take place after he's retired from active service but is put to work by the promises made on his behalf by his wife. See how he copes with judging the jam making competition when someone is determined to win at any price.

The fourth book is called Memoirs of a Superior and was dictated by Oscar the cat, or Superior as they like to be called. He wanted to share his personal adventures but also pass his wisdom on to kittens about how to control us Longlegs so that we serve the Superiors properly. I suggest any Longlegs buying this keep it out of sight. If your Superior reads it I won't be responsible for the consequences.

Hi,

Found a link and here I am. I still can't believe someone did not ask me for money yet!

I have been infected with the MustWrite Virus and so I write novels, children's stories, and have 'advanced' into graphic art for my books. Found out that I have a talent since childhood that lay dormant until recently.

I write because I feel connected to the world when I do so, in an ethereal sort of way. I write about characters I might have wished to be at some point, or characters I would love to meet, or something from deep inside that creates my characters and my stories around them.

In the 'real world' I find people simply don't appreciate me, or act like it. I soon find that if I tell them I have written a book, or am an author, some (quite a few) seem to find something 'wrong' with me. Well, there probably is something wrong with me, but I like me the way I am. I remember one person in a church group saying, "Why can't she be like the rest of us?" Whatever that meant. No, he had not published a book, migrated from 12,000 away, alone, had no opportunities as a child to excel in art or writing, except to be secretary to some rich MP. (I was that girl)

My life is rich with experiences and I have had loads of happiness and a truck load of nasties. Still, I remain positive and carry on as if I have a mission, a destiny to fulfill. 

I love being an author, writer, or any version of this profession. I have met bullies, mad-men, avoided death a number of times (including murder), been lonely, been victimized, been totally loved!!

I feel passionate about integrity, abused people, tragedies (Oklahoma - where the wind comes sweeping down the plains). My heart breaks just watching the news. My soul prays often for many different people, events, news items, family, friends (spend a lot of time after hours on that project).

That's all about me for now.

1944 was a fraught year in Australia. Thousands of people mourned their menfolk in the army, navy and airforce, many of whom did not make it home. In Europe and the South Pacific - Asia and the islands as well as Australia, troops from Australia, New Zealand and America fought for our future. It was a sad time to be born, but my mother - a single parent and an outcast at the time - managed to keep me for two years before I was stolen - as were so many children in Australia at that time- by the government. 

I was very fortunate to be adopted shortly afterwards and have a first class education, which eventually enabled me to write novels! My English teacher, a stern Scotswoman called Miss Young (Youngy) is the one person I would thank for giving me the tools to do this.

Currently, my husband Andrew and I live in southeast Queensland with our nine pet rats - yes, pet rats! We lost our 20yo cat, Fuss three weeks ago and are still in mourning.

Our three children are middle-aged now (OMG) and we have three grandchildren who are 17, 8 and 6. We would love to see more of them, but as the 17 yo is working and the little ones are at school in a city nearby, this is not as often as we would like. We do enjoy having them come out to our country town and stay for the weekend.

We do quite a bit of volunteering in our community and love to travel! Last year we spent a fair bit of the kids inheritance and spent 2 months in the USA, where we had a wonderful time. The people we met were lovely and friendly. My fellow authors whom I met online before we went were just wonderful and made us so very welcome.

Andrew originally came from the UK and we have had two trips back there. Just loved it!

My current crime novels are: THE NAKED ROOM and THE CELIBATE MOUSE - two standalone works featuring DSS Susan Prescott. I also have three short stories up on Amazon as well. My next book, AFTER ARIEL is to be published in November this year.