Our Favorite Writers' Lens Articles of 2012!

Our Favorite Writers’ Lens Articles of 2012!

By Brad R. Cook

2012 was an amazing year here at The Writers Lens, you’ve already seen the most viewed articles, and the biggest story we ran, but I wanted to bring you one more – our favorite articles from last year.

T.W. Fendley, David Lucas, and I have written a variety of great stories and I went to both of them and asked for their favorite articles from the last year. Here are the three we chose.

 

Spec Fiction and the Accidental Horror Writer

By T.W. Fendley

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

http://www.thewriterslens.com/2012/08/spec-fiction-accidental-horror-writer.html

 

 

The Murderer’s Ladder

By David Lucas

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

http://www.thewriterslens.com/2012/01/murderers-ladder.html

 

 

The Mechanics of the Perfect Pitch

By Brad R. Cook

Friday, March 2, 2012

http://www.thewriterslens.com/2012/03/mechanics-of-perfect-pitch.html

 

The links may no longer be valid in my article, for information on the 2013 Missouri Writers Guild Conference visit http://mwgconference.blogspot.com/ or http://www.missouriwritersguild.org/Conference2013v6/index.htm

Also, St. Louis Writers Guild’s March Workshop for Writers “Sit Down and Pitch” will discuss how to pitch to an agent or publisher, and will feature practice pitch sessions too! It will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2013. Details will be posted on www.stlwritersguild.net in the coming weeks.

Thank you for making The Writers’ Lens a true success, but we’re not slowing down. We’ll still be focusing our lens on great articles about writing, the publishing industry, great books and authors, more from 6 North Café, wonderful giveaways, and a few marquee articles just to blow your mind.

May 2013 inspire you to write something amazing!

 

Brad R. Cook is a historical fantasy author and President of St. Louis Writers Guild. Please visit www.bradrcook.com or follow me on Twitter @bradrcook

St. Louis Reflections http://www.stlbooks.com/B009271-1211-51/Review.aspx

Meet Claire Applewhite at 6 North

Meet Claire Applewhite from 10 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Jan. 12, at:

6 North Café 14438 Clayton Road Ballwin, MO 63011

  (directions)

Claire is the author of The Wrong Side of Memphis, Moonlight Becomes You So (2009), Crazy For You (2010), St. Louis Hustle, Candy Cadillac (2011) and fourth in the series, Tennessee Plates. She is a novelist, columnist, speaker and instructor at local universities. 

A graduate of St. Louis University and a participant in the Writers’ Institute at Washington University, she is a member of the St. Louis Writers’ Guild, the Missouri Writer’s Guild, the St. Louis Metropolitan Press Club, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime and the Ozark Writers’ Guild. For more information about Claire, visit her website: claireapplewhite.com.
 
TENNESSEE PLATES: In ’68, the hot smoke and cold eyes of ‘Nam stalked Elvin Suggs. Now, it’s a blonde in a red dress and a silver Caddy—and, he doesn’t want to run.

Autographed books will be available for sale on Jan. 12.

Writing Hitchcockian--Creating Character Sympathy

Good Evening. Welcome back to the darkest corner of the Writers’ Lens as we continue the discussion on looking at Alfred Hitchcock’s techniques and how we can employ them to our writing. Have you heard a woman say they went to a movie, a play, or read a book and had a good cry? You never hear someone say they had a bad cry. They wanted a good cry. Have you ever noticed that when people go to horror or suspense movies, plays, or read a book that there will be points where they will jump out of their seats, maybe scream, and then . . .soon it is followed by a laugh? The importance of these reactions is on the quality of the cry, the scream, the surprise and the laugh. It a good reaction comes from hard writing and good manipulation of the audience by the writer, director, and actors. So how do we get there?

Hitchcock hated working with method actors. They always questioned the directions that Hitchcock was giving saying that “I don’t think my character would do that.”

Hitchcock would reply, maybe not so politely, “Do what I tell you.”

The reason was not so much as Hitchcock wanted to be bossy (ok, yes he wanted to be bossy), but rather Hitchcock was manipulating character sympathy in the viewer. Character sympathy is the third emotional state of writing. (See Writing Hitchcockian—the Three Emotional States of Writing posted October 17, 2012) This is done in every good book you read, play you see, or movie you view. Often the author of the work had his or her own “method actor” to deal with as they wrote—some character which didn’t want to express what needed to be expressed. I think, but cannot prove, that this is why so many times we run across the writers telling us how the character feels.

The telling can be as simple as: Jane was mad as she stormed out of the room. Or it could be done in dialog:    “I’m so mad I could just spit,” Jane said.

Would either of those scenarios really elicit your sympathy for the character’s emotional state? It wouldn’t mine. Where is the body language that implies how mad they are?

A better question: Isn’t there someway to show how mad the character is instead of just telling the audience? The answer is yes.

There are a lot of books written on body language and how to use it to read what a person is feeling or thinking. There are books on the subject aimed at the acting world to help actors improve their craft. There is also, now at least, a great resource for doing this for writers that I recommend. You can find this electronically. It is The Emotion Thesaurus: a Writer’s Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. This book came from posts on their blog The Bookshelf Muse (http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/) which has many great entries exploring emotions, settings, physical attributes, character traits and more.

Using the tool above, let’s relook at our mad character.

Without dialog:

Jane, turned on her heals, hiding her eyes that were moist from unreleased tears. Her face was flush as her fists called, digging her lacquered nails into the soft flesh of her palms. She walked toward the door, her back rigid, her chin high and her arms sweeping back and forth as if making her walk a military march.

With dialog:

“I could just spit,” Jane said. Her legs were planted to the ground, as she flexed her fingers and turned her flinty gaze at the door.

These are simple examples, but at no point do I say that she is angry. But, you can see it. The description should show the reader the level of emotion as well as the emotion and tell something about the character. We know she is not confrontational—or the situation will not let her be. We know in the first example that she refuses to let anyone see that she is on the verge of tears. We also can picture something about her hands, which tells the reader more about her.

In the dialog example we can see her emotion from her eyes and that she is flexing her fingers. We can also see that her anger is making her defiant because she is standing planted to the ground.

By using emotional description rather than just giving the emotion, the author can give the audience more depth to the character and create character sympathy for the character—even if that character is the antagonist.

 Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com andwww.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.

Social Media versus Marketing

On November 5, 2012, I wrote a post on Marketing Your Writing. Let me, for a moment, explore social media and networking. You can go to any writers conference or workshop and you are bound to hear that you must be on Social Media. While those who seem to chant this fact like a Medieval Benedictine Monk singing Gregorian Chant are right, they often give the false impression that by being on Social Media you are marketing. It is easy to see where the confusion is. You are marketing yourself as a writer and you are maintaining contact with those readers who have sought you out. But you are not marketing yourself to new customers.

How many times have you joined a group on some social media network and see the same announcements from people you never heard of proclaiming that their work is a must read? Admit it, how many times have you done that yourself?  I am not just talking about posting an announcement, but actually reading an advertisement.  This is an often seen mistake some authors make thinking that they must advertise on social media.  Social media is a reader retention platform not an advertisement platform, per se. I’m not saying you might not sell some books via an announcement through social media, the question is: how many of those sales are being produced by new readers?

The pros and cons of using social media:

1.  You are able to reach out directly to any of your established readers who happen to be listening to you.

2. Social Media allows you to quickly show your leadership in some part of the industry—if you are doing it right.

3. It’s free or low cost.

4. There are privacy issues and copyright issues galore. You have to be careful with your privacy settings—check them often, for they can and will change.

5. It is a time suck.

6. Very few new readers will seek you out on social media.

7.  It’s usually easy to get started on a social media platform.

8. Pay-to-promote—many of the social media platforms, such as the largest—Facebook—has decided to significantly reduce the visibility of posts in their member’s newsfeeds in favor of posts that have been
“promoted” for a fee.  It is becoming more difficult to have a page presence if you don’t pay to promote.

9. It is easy to publish information on social media.

10. It is easy for your message to get lost in the social media information deluge.

11. Social media platforms have a constant learning curve to learn their platform.

12. Each social media platform has a specific audience. For example, Linkedin is designed for business.

13. Ads. While your reader is looking at your post about some great thing you have published, they are also reading ads from other services and other writers—some being more heavily promoted by a publisher than yours are.

14. Some social media formats are designed for more visual arts than others. You could be on the wrong platform for what you want.

15. Judging if you are getting the most out of what you are doing on the social media platform.

16. The social media platforms that are popular today may not be tomorrow.

In an article posted on Pursuit Magazine, a Private Investigator e-zine, on social media, here is some of the most important and very basic things to do with your social media platform:

“1. Fill out your personal network profile completely

“2.The same applies to your specific business profile page.

“3. Include a call to action! What do you want the person reading your post or watching your video to do? You have to tell them:

“Like this picture if…”

“Share this video with…”

“What do you think? Write to me in the comments below…”

“For more information, visit…”

“If you have a question, call me at…”

“The trick is not to come across as spammy or overwhelming. Undoubtedly, you’ve come across this problem many times in your travails in social media.” --Conflict of Interest: Marketing vs. Social Media, by L. Scott Harrell , published on Pursuit Magazine http://pursuitmag.com/social-media-marketing-pros-cons/

We would love to hear from our readers as to what your experiences (good, bad, ugly ,and down right comical) have been with your social media pages and what your success has been with marketing.

1. What successes and failures are you having?

2. Do you have any tricks that help you get the best return on the time and money you’ve invested in social media?

3. What platforms have worked the best for you and which ones haven’t worked out like you thought? Why?

Leave your answers in the comments below, or visit my website, where you can find links to all of my social profiles. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com andwww.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.

From a Crime Writer’s Library—The Forensic Examiner

Not long ago, a fictional television show shook up the writing of crime and mystery. This show was CSI. With the success of CSI, Mystery, Crime and even other genre writers who have a crime related event in their story suddenly needed to be better educated in the forensic sciences. These sciences are constantly exploding with advancements to the point of where a writer can feel like he or she is trying to run on a giant beach ball in the middle of a raging river.

While normally this section of the Writers’ Lens tends to be focused on books, I want to introduce you to a magazine: The Forensic Examiner. This magazine, is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Forensic Examiners International. It contains real cases written by real examiners—and while filled with fantastic information, I also find it good fodder for story ideas.

This magazine can be obtained a few ways. I know you can subscribe to it electronically via Barnes and Noble Nook (I did look at Amazon.com for Kindle and I didn’t see it). You can also subscribe to it directly.

For more information about this great resource, please visit www.theforensicexaminer.com

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com and www.thewriterslens.com. You can also follow me on twitter @Owlkenpowriter and the Writer’s Lens @TheWritersLens. Fiction is the world where the philosopher is the most free in our society to explore the human condition as he chooses.

2013 & the magic of writing

By T.W. Fendley

Perhaps, like me, from time to time you hit the doldrums. As you look forward to 2013, you may wonder if writing makes any difference in the great scheme of things.

I believe there are no coincidences, so one reason why I read Erin Morgenstern's THE NIGHT CIRCUS must have been to hear what was on page 381. A character named Widget, a magician in the circus, says his job is to tell stories, adding "It's not that important..."

"It is important," the man in the grey suit interrupts. "Someone needs to tell those tales...There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. 

You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that." He takes another sip of his wine. "There are many kinds of magic, after all."

Happy New Year, Storytellers!

from Brad R. Cook, David Alan Lucas & T.W. Fendley

Lynn Obermoeller: Journaling & Letter Writing Go Hand in Hand

				If you're considering journaling as a New Year's Resolution, Lynn Obermoeller shares some insights here in our last post of 2012. And for those not quite ready to let go of the holiday season, check out Lynn's story,  Mistletoe, one of 12 nice (not naughty) tales in Fifty Shades of Santa. Lynn is a member of St. Louis Writers Guild and Saturday Writers. She also belongs to a critique group, WWWPs (Wild Women Wielding Pens) and talks weekly with another writer friend. You can visit her at her blog, Present Letters (http://www.lynnobermoeller.blogspot.com), on Facebook, or Twitter @Obermoeller. And if you want to communicate with her the old fashioned way, she’d love to write you a letter – send her your address at oberwriter(at)gmail(dot)com What is journaling and how did you get started?:  For me, it’s just the act of uncensored writing – whatever you want to write. To me, journaling is like keeping a diary or like writing a letter. I don’t believe there is a right or a wrong way to journal or to write letters. I’ve always written letters from the time I could write. I got into journaling about 20 years ago when a group of friends and I met monthly to write. We decided to use Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. Top priority for Cameron is “morning pages” where you write three pages (preferably in the morning) of whatever comes to mind—no editing, no interference from the inner critic. It can be pure babble (just like my letters). It’s kind of like a warm-up to better writing. Like stretching before you exercise. I want to say I got started journaling long before that, I just didn’t know it at the time. I was a sophomore in high school and flunking English. The next quarter we were assigned to journal – you could write anything you want, any length, just write something every day. I decided I could handle that. And I fell in love with it. I wrote and wrote. I wrote more than the smartest girl in the class—and that was saying something. It was calming and made me feel whole. Something I desperately needed then. I ended up with a B in English and the teacher wrote in my notebook to consider journalism as a career. I blew him off. I wasn’t a writer. That stuff was just babble. So, when my friends and I began The Artist’s Way, I loved morning pages, just like I loved writing letters. My censor is turned off when I journal or write letters. I think that’s an advantage, as I know friends who edit as they write. There are a lot of people who edit as they write, and that’s not a bad thing—it’s just not the way I journal. It explains why I was able to handle NaNoWriMo – there’s no editing involved when you’re trying to get 50,000 words written in 30 days.  Has technology changed the process?  Not for me. I know people who journal by using a keyboard, but for me it is not the same. I find the act of physically writing to be therapeutic, and I feel a deeper inner connection while writing by hand. Most folks groan at the idea, but I love it. I always have my equipment with me wherever I go. I tell my friends that if it weren’t for journaling, I’d be locked away. It allows me to get all the junk out. Sometimes answers to questions come through when I journal. I also write down my dreams, and that too, can be very enlightening. I heard Stephen King has gotten a lot of his story ideas from his dreams. I’m not sure if that’s a fact, but I can imagine some of my own dreams and can see how that could happen.  What else would you like to add about journaling? Like letter writing, journaling can also be a way of recording history, the every day happenings of a person. I came across some letters from my mother-in-law that were from her father. There’s nothing written that’s earth shattering, but it was interesting to know what folks did back then; their way of life, how they felt. When my husband moved into our current home, he found letters from the 1800s in an old suitcase in the attic. That was the only way people communicated long distance back then. One particular letter said something like, I’ll see you in Missouri in about six months. Times have changed and even more so in the past ten years, but the written word will always be a treasure, so long as we treat it that way.  Any advice you’d like to give? Journaling may seem like a waste of time—why not get to the good stuff? But I think Cameron was on to something. The Artist’s Way is still relevant today to writers/artists as it was when it first came out in 1992.  Sometimes when I don’t feel like writing much in my journal, I’ll write a letter to someone instead. For me it’s a similar process, only I can keep in touch with someone at the same time… in a different kind of way… a way that’s becoming a lost art. And who knows what kind of mark it will leave on history!  _____________________  This is T.W. Fendley. Thanks for reading and commenting on The Writers' Lens.You can find out more about me at www.twfendley.com.