Author Sharon Ervin on the Technique of Using Lurches

Author Sharon Ervin is our guest blogger today. She offers a piece on “lurches” and how writers should use them in their work.

LURCHES

       “What is an emergency?” Katy asked. Her friend Beth nodded solemnly. Both of their four-year-old faces were smeared with sweat and concern.

       “An emergency is something that usually happens suddenly and needs quick action or snap decisions.” I thought that was a good response, coming on the fly like it did.

       They frowned, linked arms and left muttering. A while later, they were back, still puzzled.

       “If there was a rhinoceros in the kitchen,” Beth asked, “would that be an emergency?”

       “Yes,” I said, my sincerity matching theirs, “a rhinoceros in the kitchen definitely would be an emergency.”

       “I thought so.”

       At a writers’ workshop once, the leader asked if we sometimes get “in the zone,” and write merrily along, producing humdrum prose. “What you need to do from time to time,” she said, “is lurch. Surprise your readers. Surprise yourself. Lurch.”

       I wrote the word in block letters on a card and placed it above my computer as a reminder to: “LURCH!”

       Katy and Beth had demonstrated what a lurch contributes to humdrum. Lurches come in many forms. They don’t have to be a dead body dropping from the sky to land at your feet, although that would be a good one, it can be anything out of the ordinary, unexpected, joyous or awful, simply unexpected or outrageous, like a rhino in the kitchen.

       Individual writers need lurches. They can be unforeseen, as in a car accident, an airplane crash, a bullseye bird dropping, a stumble, a kid panicking in a swimming pool, a fellow diner choking on his steak. There are all kinds of lurches, all of which catch the reader––sometimes even the writer––by surprise. A lurch is good for keeping us alert and awake.

       All of us––both readers and writers––enjoy the occasional wake-up call. As writers, we need to not disappoint.

       

Sharon Ervin 

Author of MEMORY, her twelfth published                        

romantic suspense, and JACK SPRAT COULD, 

coming in August, both from The                                              Wild Rose Press and both generously                                      seasoned with lurches.

Comments for Sharon welcome here!

Accidental Surprises

Have you ever been surprised when you went back and read something you wrote and realized there was a deeper meaning than you realized?

Such a happen circumstance is truly a gift.

An author buddy of mine recently received a couple of reviews that talked about the deeper meanings in her story. The character doesn't just solve a murder she learns more about her self, other people and society as a whole.

She admits to not deliberately trying to delve deeper into the character's psyche, but it was a natural result of the protagonists journey in the story.

When we force a deeper meaning on our readers it often comes off forced, preachy and false to the story. When it organically occurs everyone is happily surprised.

If we truly understand our character and allow their true "feelings, heart, gut and spirit" to appear on the page then magical things happen. We have to let go and let the character do their work. Be the scribe. Be the empath. Be the tool for the story to flow through.

Sounds esoteric doesn't it?

Creating a world of characters and making them come to life is magic. It comes from deep within the creative heart and mind. Much of what we channel is on a subconscious level and a wonderful surprise when it works on the page.

Have you ever experienced these surprises? 

Have your readers commented on them in their reviews? 

Let us know - it will inspire us knowing the magic still happens, we just have to be open to the possibilities and that them flow through us.

Enjoy the journey, my writing friends. It can be amazing.
Don't forget to keep good notes.


http://bdtharp.com
Amazon Author Page

Interview with Brenda Hill by Jacqueline Seewald

Today I am interviewing another Five Star/Cengage author.

Multi-published Brenda Hill studied writing at several national institutions including Gotham Writers Workshop NY, and the University of Iowa. Certified in Written English, she served as acquiring editor for an indie press and leads a critique group in SoCal. In addition to her novels, she wrote short stories for a national women’s magazine and a literary anthology,

The Talking Stick. She offers tips on writing and editing on her website: www.BrendaHill.com. Brenda is sharing details of

her new venture with us.

Q: Brenda, you’re primarily a writer with several published novels. Why did you decide to venture into something so drastically different as publishing an e-magazine?

A. I sometimes wonder myself, Jacqueline, but by nature, I’ve always loved to try something new. I’ve lived in several states, and even in writing, I’ve explored different avenues. While primarily a novelist, I’ve been CEO of L. Cooper Press, a service for writers. We do websites, 3-Chapter Analysis, 1^st Chapter Editing, and we assist writers who wish to self-publish but do not care to do everything themselves. I also wrote short stories for a national woman’s magazine and restaurant reviews for my SoCal newspaper. When I thought of a magazine for writers and readers, it seemed natural to go for it.  

Q. How did you get the idea?

A. I lead a critique group at a restaurant in Redlands, CA, and several of us arrive early, to have a bite to eat and to socialize. One evening several weeks ago, we celebrated a member’s newly-published fantasy novel.

One member, an older gentleman, examined the book. He congratulated the author. “Seems like everyone has something published except me,” he said, passing the book to the next member. “Makes me feel like a third wheel on a couples date.” He smiled, but I could hear the longing in his voice. I thought of my early days of writing when I desperately wanted to say I was an author.

One member suggested he try short stories, but that presented a problem: where to send his submission.

An anthology? Good idea. Some writers associations publish a yearly anthology, but they only accept submissions from their members. 

Magazines used to be great avenues for writers, but today, with only a few accepting fiction, the opportunity is greatly reduced. Many writers clubs across the county have their own emagazines, but again, they accept submissions only from their members. And they’re funded by dues.

That’s when I wondered if I could establish an avenue where writers could submit their stories and articles. An e-magazine open to anyone across the country would be a perfect solution. And I would offer it as a free download to anyone with access to the website.

Q. I believe our readers would be interested in how you handled the financing.

A. I decided against a business loan or funding by a large corporation. That could mean delays in opening, and both could ask for submission approval based on age-old publishing standards. Instead, I wanted the freedom to accept stories I, and the other editors, felt readers would enjoy.

So I wondered how I could fund my great new idea without constrictions. While I was considering the possibilities, another member mentioned the contest he’d recently entered, and excused the high submission fee as a possibility for his fiction to be read. A submission fee! Of course! I could use my own funds to begin the process, and ask for a low submission fee from the writers for operational costs. Then perhaps later, the magazine could accept ads.

Q. What terms are you offering writers whose stories you accept?

A. In our contract, we stipulate we have all rights for six months after publication. After that time, the author may publish the story on his/her website or even submit to another publication, but we retain the right to keep the story in that issue, which would be archived and available to anyone as a free download.

Q. Do you have a website yet?

A. Absolutely. Interested writers can read our guidelines, and if they have any questions, they can contact me from the site:

http://www.theknightwritersmagazine.com

Brenda Hill

*Questions and/or comments for Brenda are welcome here!

What's in a cover? by Susan Oleksiw

One of the thrills of being a published writer is opening up a box of books and seeing your name on the cover. There’s no better feeling. (Well, perhaps signing a contract.) When I opened the box of free copies for the mass market paperback by Worldwide Mystery for the third Anita Ray novel, For the Love of Parvati, I was both thrilled and intrigued. This is the third edition of this book in the series, and the only thing the covers have in common is the color green.

I look to a cover to tell me what the book is about—violent, romantic, humorous, part of a series, frivolous, historical. If the cover doesn’t match the content, I’m disappointed and may never read anything by that author again. I put a lot of faith in the cover as well as the first few pages. I worry about the covers of my books, especially the Anita Ray series.

Not everyone wants to visit the sometimes chaotic world of India, so I want the covers to draw in the reader, to show the beauty of the landscape and the culture. The three covers for For the Love of Parvati have succeeded in conveying some of the qualities I want readers to get while reading.

The design on the jacket for the hardcover was done by Deirdre Wait, for Five Star. I got to see it before final approval, and I loved the cover. Every detail related to something in the story, but nothing could be considered a spoiler for the reader. The images captured the atmosphere of this part of South India during the monsoon, as well as the isolation of an old estate in the hills.

The cover for the trade paperback used a format that a designer worked out for me. She found a frame, in this case a marble inlay window, in which I could place an appropriate photo I’d taken in India. I gave her a few images and asked her to pick the one she thought would work best within the archway. Once again, the designer chose an old mansion outside a city, though you can’t really tell that from the cover. (For those who have looked closely and might be wondering, the building is now part of a school, which explains the blue sign on an upper balcony.)

The third cover, for the mass market paperback from Worldwide Mystery surprised me. It was different from the first two, but fit the story perfectly. The cover shows an old wooden bridge crossing a wide, rocky river in the hills. The remote mountain location, the wild water below the bridge, and the gray monsoon sky promise the story within.

Covers go through lots of permutations before a designer is fully satisfied. I was fortunate to have a chance to review a sample cover for the first Anita Ray book in the series, Under the Eye of Kali. I made a few suggestions, which the designer agreed with, and I was fully satisfied with the results.

I’ve had successful covers for the Anita Ray books, perhaps because the setting of South India inspires artists and designers, and there are now thousands of images available for use. The photos chosen for my books have always been spot on. But the designers have stayed close to the story line, and that means the covers are true to the story inside.

You can find my Anita Ray series here:

https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Oleksiw/e/B001JS3P7C

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/SusanOleksiw

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/susan+oleksiw?_requestid=1017995