A few days ago I upgraded to WordPress 2.1 and it promptly “broke” the blog theme that I had spent countless hours modifying from a beautiful design created by Patricia Mueller.  Thus this new, simpler look which I uploaded today. Perhaps it’s all for the better because now I can stop obsessing about my blog theme and get back to working out the theme for my novel.

Actually I tend to write with an eye toward an underlying theme of redemption. I don’t deliberately set out to do that; it just seems to develop that way when I begin creating my characters. Somehow each character’s “wound” requires some form of redemption.  Heaven help me not to analyze it! Any time I start analyzing what I’m writing or why I’m writing it…well, let’s just say that the work is soon abandoned. I never hear “why are you doing that?” as anything other than a demand for explanation and justification. LOL

For a helpful article on theme and premise, check out Vicki Hinze’s writers’ library. That woman is amazing!

For all of you who want to see your name in print, here’s your chance.

Readers Station is having a “Name Our Anthology” contest and the winner will have his/her name mentioned in the dedication of the anthology.  The anthology has a travel theme and will contain fiction and nonfiction works by the Readers Station tour guides. The winner will receive a copy of the e-book edition of the anthology, which will be released in the Spring. The winner will also get a a free promotional page on the Readers Station website for one month.

Find all the details in the Readers Station newsletter. 

I’m busting out at the seams here with such pride for my baby brother’s musical success. Never you mind the competitors on USA Network’s “Nashville Star.”  Take a listen to my personal choice to be the 2007 Nashville Star:

W. Alan “Bill” Vincent

My kid brother has an awesome voice and is a talented songwriter.  That’s not just a proud sister’s opinion, either. Noosiree.  Bill performs regularly at Lyrix, a music bar and cafe in Nashville. If you’re near Englewood, TN, he’ll be appearing at the American Legion Post on Feb. 7 and Feb. 28. 

And that’s not all the good news. Nashville Independent Music has accepted Bill as an artist.  NIM is an invitation-only website dedicated to independent artists and songwriters.  You can pick up a few of Bill’s songs for the pittance of $.99 each.

I can’t believe how much time I’ve spent writing backstory, all the while thinking I was writing my novel.  Ya’ll know what backstory is: all those fascinating details about what happened to your characters before the story starts, how they got to be who they are and where they are at the time of the story’s opening.  Yes, yes, that is all very important information that you, the writer, needs to know. 

However, the reader doesn’t give a hunting dog’s left rear paw about it. The reader wants the story to start in the here and now.  Don’t tell me about the Hero’s tragic childhood, moans Reader, show me the kind of trouble he’s in right now.  Don’t bore the reader with details of the long train ride to Where It Happens; set her down right smack in the middle of T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  As you flesh out the story, subtly add information that will help the reader understand the character’s fears and motivations. 

Don’t stop writing backstory for your characters. The writer needs to know far more about the characters than the reader does. Just be aware that backstory is not story. Story is what is happening to the characters in the here and now of your novel.

Making characters distinctly different from each other is not always easy, especially when you are writing from the POV of several characters. I just finished a novel by one of my favorite authors and throughout the entire book I was very conscious of how each character “sounded” in my head.  Each character seemed to have the same type of smart-alecky, sarcastic self-talk, and also used the same swear words. Perhaps it was just me - I love smart-mouthed characters like Bruce Willis in the “Die Hard” movies.  Or maybe after writing a number of books with the same characters, the author herself can no longer “hear” distinct voices.

In any case, it was a reminder for me to pay attention to not only dialogue, but to my characters’ internal attitudes, their self-talk, when I’m writing from deep POV.  I think we tend to think of the spoken word when we write character dialogue, but I’m learning dialogue is much richer than that. Adding action tags, rather than “he said”, paints a more dramatic picture and conveys more about the character. The writer can show nervousness, for instance, by having a character twist a strand of their hair or drum their fingers on a table. (Yes, cliches, but they work!). The dialogue itself might appear mundane, but the actions belie the words.

Congratulations to my friend Nikki Leigh on the e-book release this week of another novel. Nikki is fascinated by lighthouses, and Lady Lightkeeper is the second book in her series set in mythical Misty Cove, Massachusetts.

Kudos also go to Nikki for winning a 2007 Ariana Award, which recognizes excellence in book covers. The cover of Widow’s Walk won “Best in Category” and is now in competition for the QUASAR award.  Both awards are sponsored by EPIC, a professional organization for e-book authors.

A great way to start off my New Year: a reprint of one of my articles has been picked up by Absolute Write. I’ve been a subscriber to their free newsletter for eons, but it never dawned on me to submit an article. Well. . .I’m blonde, you know. LOL

A few months ago I bought Jenna Glatzer’s book Make a REAL LIVING as a Freelance Writer, and was inspired to rekindle my freelancing efforts. Jenna was the moving force behind Absolute Write for several years and has a pretty decent freelance writing career herself. Certainly someone to model.  AW boasts an online circulation of more than 78,000 subscribers. I hadn’t thought about it until now, but I probably should update my blog and website a lot more often as part of my new marketing plan.

You might be wondering what freelance writing has to do with how to write a novel. For one thing, being published in any venue is not only a kick for my writer’s ego, it’s also a publishing credit that bespeaks a serious attitude about my career. Nonfiction keeps me writing when I’m feeling stuck with my novel. My background is in nonfiction and it’s more of a comfort zone for me than fiction, so I tend to go there when I’m frustrated or insecure about my fiction writing.

The trick is to keep writing no matter the doubts and fears. If you’re bogged down in one type of writing, try something else. It’s the discipline of writing regularly – some vehemently insist it be daily — that will eventually get you where you want to go.  So just keep writing, no matter what!

Writing and publishing romantic erotica is the…uh…“hot” topic tomorrow night at InspiredAuthor.com’s weekly free chat.   The word is out that the discussion will center around Phaze, the erotic romance imprint of Mundania Press, LLC.  It’s likely that Phaze authors will be sharing their experiences. And wouldn’t it be exciting if a Phaze editor or two made an appearance.  This is a unique opportunity for writers to learn about writing and publishing in this specialized genre.  

If writing women’s erotica is not your thing, there are still benefits from attending the chat. There’s the opportunity to network with writers who work in various genres. There’s a opportunity to learn about the publishing industry from the inside and how to market yourself.  Writing can be a lonely occupation, so treat yourself to a night of fun and comradery with other writers.  The free chat starts at 7:00 pm eastern time on Friday. 

Veterans’ Day is a special day we in the United States set aside to honor the men and women of our military forces who serve our country. - past, present and future.  With our nation currently at war, I think it is important to take the time to say a sincere “thank you” to all our military forces, at home and abroad. You can learn about the history of Veterans Day and this weekend’s activities at the Veterans Affairs official website.

I come from a long line of military veterans.  Way back in my lineage, an uncle fought in the Civil War. My grandfather served in World War I and World War II.  My father served in World War II and during the Korean Conflict. My mother was a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) in WWII.  My uncle Paul (Mother’s younger brother) died in the skies over the English Channel during WWII.  Two sisters were in the military - one in the Army and one in the Air Force.  And each of those girls married military men. I was the rogue, doing my service in the Navy Reserve.

There’s likely to be a showing of the movie “To Hell and Back” this weekend. The movie stars real-life World War II hero Audie Murphy. I’ve seen it numerous times and Murphy’s bravery still awes me. He was also a talented songwriter and his music was recorded by a number of well known artists, including Gordon Lightfoot and Bonnie Guitar.

Another moving tribute to our veterans comes from Canadian musician Terry Kelly, whose song “A Pittance in Time” is well worth a listen.

I’ve been trying to fit my characters into an already-written outline for a novel I started a few years ago. It hasn’t been working. I’ve been extremely frustrated and discouraged because of it. I’ve been doing this daily writing thing, but it has felt like slogging through mud. I almost gave up yesterday when it got to be 10 p.m. and I hadn’t written a single word.  One more time I had to force myself to sit down at the computer and write. It was more about knowing that if I slack off for even one day during November, it will be that much easier to slack off for two days..or three days..And ya’ll know where that leads.  I wound up journaling - which counts as writing, and which is something that a lot of writers have used successfully. Julie Cameron’s insistence upon morning pages comes to mind.

Slogging or not, I’m pleased with myself today. I have now written something for five days - in a row!!  And it’s beginning to pay off. I woke up this morning with a new focus for my WIP.  I have a new idea for the title and some new paths for my three main characters. Somewhere along the line, I must have unconsciously given myself permission to let go of the old and invite in the new.  I’m five days into the 21 days needed to build a new habit, and I’m excited about the new direction my WIP is taking.