After Christmas

Christmas is over. Time to relax, but innstead of relaxing, I spent the last two days looking for a lost receipt. I didn’t find it, but I did some much needed organizing in my office. It is amazing how much printed material I had stacked up, even in this day of ‘going paperless’. I threw away and shredded pages and pages of old files and needless stuff. Suddenly, I have so much room in my filing cabinet and things will be easier to find. In fact, one of my New Year’s resolutions will be not to print out everything under the sun and just create organized files in my computer. With 2 TB of memory on my hard drive there certainly is enough room.

Why do I print out so much? The thing is I still like to look at printed pages and it is easier to have information handy, especially when I’m writing. For every story I have to create characters, make outlines and have back stories for the main characters, which means I have to be able to look through the material as I’m writing the story. When I print out the information, all I need to do is flip through the pages. That is more difficult if I have to look it up on a file in my computer.

I’m slowly getting over my cold. It helps to stay home for a few days and to drink a lot of water, which means many trips to the bathroom during the day. We are not getting caught up in the Boxing day/week madness. No sense to buy something just because it is on sale, especially if you don’t really need it.

There isn’t much on TV right now, mostly reruns, so we’ve been watching some movies. I downloaded for free (OMG I committed a serious crime!) the movie ‘The Interview’, just to see what all the fuss is about. I think North Korea should be much more concerned with the quality of the movie instead of getting upset about the content. We only watched about ten minutes of it and then we stopped it. We could not take any more of it. There is no danger many people will see this movie. It is supposed to be a comedy. Sorry, that type of comedy escapes me. The movie is stupid, the acting poor, and I feel sorry for the people who paid to see it.

Instead of #‘The Interview’ we watched #‘Edge of Tomorrow’, a Science Fiction film with #Tom Cruise. It was another ‘invasion of the Earth’ movie, but actually quite good. A few days ago we watched #‘Gone Girl’ with #Ben Affleck. It started a bit slow but then it picked up and it was another movie we enjoyed.

My wife is a fan of #Arnold Schwarzenegger. One of his latest movies #‘Sabotage’ was okay. He plays a DEA agent and the movie ended with a bit of a twist. Not one of his best but still enjoyable, if you like Arnold.

A couple of weeks ago we started watching #‘Extant’. Also Science Fiction. It is about #Androids and alien invaders. What a great series. We were watching 3 episodes an evening sometimes. It ended with episode 13 and now we are hooked. Hopefully, it comes back next year.

Right now I’m looking for something to watch tonight. I have #‘Pacific Rim’, another invasion movie, on my computer. If I can persuade my wife we may watch it tonight. I’m a sucker for Science Fiction and easy to please. My wife is more selective. She’s not crazy about monsters, zombies, and huge mechanical robots. I’m afraid there are some on Pacific Rim. We’ll see.

A wonderful review of #Daughter of the Dark

It's been awhile since I posted on this blog. I'm concentrating more on my personal blog 

http://www.hergros.blogspot.com/ . To keep this blog going I need to talk about my books, new published ones, especially. I don't have anything new coming out right now. I'm at 75,000 words with the book I'm currently writing and much more to go before it is finished. These days, I'm not writing as feverishly as I did years ago, mainly because I want to do other stuff. My dream of becoming a successful writer, by that I mean someone who sells millions of books, hasn't realized, and somehow I've lost the drive to spend all of my free time writing. There are many reasons why my books don't sell, but I think the main reason is marketing. There is a ton of competition out there, thousands of book published every day. How can my books be noticed among all of those books? And I can't see myself spending thousands of dollars on advertising.

I still enjoy writing, it's in my blood, but I write other stuff now besides stories, and I'm enjoying that also.

 People who read my books, tell me they enjoy the stories and say I'm a good writer with a fertile imagination.Maybe I write the wrong stuff. I'm not into romance stories. When I write I want to enjoy it. I love Science Fiction and that's what I mostly write. I even spiced it up with plenty of Erotica and the books sold. Then people told me they would enjoy the Science Fiction stories but not the Erotica. Now I don't write Erotica anymore. My latest books have little or no Erotica in them. Do they sell any better? Hardly.

I got a big boost a few days ago when I went to the Goodreads site and read a review about the very first book I published. It is Book One of my The Xandra series, which has grown into eight books by now. The Book is 'Daughter of the Dark'. Here is the review:

Rate this book

1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

Daughter of the Dark (Xandra Book, #1)
by Herbert Grosshans (Goodreads Author)

Elly Helcl's review

Sep 23, 13

5 of 5 stars

bookshelves: erotica, must-have-awesome-18-and-over, part-of-an-awesome-series, wow-just-wow

Read from September 22 to 23, 2013

Wow. Just wow. Where do I even begin?

Before I began reading this book, I expected it to be a fantasy novel of some sort. I did NOT expect it to be an erotica (not that I am complaining).

First, it was refreshing to read an erotica, written from a man's point of view, by a man. So many men try to write an erotica from a woman's point of view...and it just turns out awkward. Kudos to this author for avoiding that slippery slope.

This book was just so unexpected. From being an erotica, to being a fantasy/sci-fi novel...just all of it. But I am surprised in a good way.

So, what is this book about? Well, other than sex.

This book is literally all about a new planet that can sustain human life called, Nu Eden. On this little planet, unbeknownst to the humans, is a goddess who rules this planet. She gives everything on the planet life..so to speak.

What makes this book so interesting is the meld of sexual fantasy into something straight out of a cross between Star Trek and Pandorum.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy erotica. To be honest, you don't even have to enjoy the sci-fi or the fantasy world to enjoy this book. Heck, I really don't read sci-fi and I five starred the book!

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follow reviews

 OMG!!! This is quite possibly one of the best erotica books I have ever read! It is a full length story (I don't know if there is a number two or not), it is full of steamy fun, and it has a very interesting story line! Sigh...WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO LATE?!?! I want to keep reading! And here I was worried by this authors lack of reviews...pfft! It's only because he hasn't been found.

Needless to say, I am wildly pleased with this review and quite excited, and my head is a little bigger today. I only wish, everyone who reads the book, or any book of mine, would write a review. It would help me tremendously. 

 I sent the reviewer a thank you note in an email, but she hasn't replied. She may have her reasons for not doing so and I respect that. I just want to say here, "Thank you, Elly. I'm glad you enjoyed the book."

Is it Poetry?

I wrote about this stuff last year on my blog just before Christmas. So writing about it again means it is important to me. I’m not against new things; sometimes a change is good, but there are certain things that should not be changed. One of those things is poetry. I’ve read some crazy stuff, mumbo jumbo to me. I think if somebody wants to experiment with new styles and new ideas, they should give it a new name. So these are my thoughts on #‘Poetry’. Actually, I wrote a poem about it. Here it is:

The other day I read a poem

And it left me puzzled and perplexed

Where the heck is all this goin’?

And I worry what comes next

It didn’t make no sense to me

Just a jumble of crazy words

No rhyme or reason that I could see

Even when I read it backwards

I always thought the words should rhyme

That’s how it used to be

To write a real poem takes effort and time

Until it becomes a thing of beauty

They call it modernist whatever that means

It still sounds like nonsense to my ear

Just because a sentence has its own line

Don’t make it a poem I fear

I’ve never been a fan of modern art

Picasso has always left me cold

His poems may have been written from the heart

And his pictures for millions they sold

I don’t mean it is crap he wrote

It just isn’t my cup of tea

It is important here to note

He was a genius and will always be

Some people may say I’m a stubborn old mule

Perhaps afraid to embrace this new way

But I don’t think that I’m such a fool

To believe real art to its true form will stay

Herbert Grosshans ©2014

I met my publisher

We had four visitors to our house today. Nancy Schumacher and her husband Steve and Tom with his wife Linda dropped in for a little chat. Nancy is the publisher of Melange Books LLe (my publisher) and Tom is one of the editors.

Although I knew Nancy through emails and as my publisher, I've never met her in person. So I was a little nervous about meeting her, her husband, and Tom and Linda. When you meet with strangers for the first time you never know if you click. What will we talk about? Will I make a good impression? I needn't worry. We had a great time. They are such fun people, so pleasant and down to Earth. The evening went by much too quickly and I was sorry to see them leave.

Here is a picture with me, Nancy, and Tom:

 

Thanks for stopping by, Nancy. It was a pleasure to meet you. Have a good trip and a great vacation with your husband and your friends Tom and Linda.

I'm a guest blogger

I’m a guest today at Barbara Bradley’s blog. If you are interested, please, go and visit her blog and read about it

http://barbaradonlonbradley.blogspot.ca/2014/05/meet-my-next-guest-herbert-grosshans.html

#A Matter of Integrity, a new price

After reading that the price of $1.99 for an ebook is not a desirable price, I’ve decided to sell my latest crime novel ‘A Matter of Integrity’ for a short time for $0.99 at Smashwords (and other retailers). For some unexplained reason books priced at $1.99 don’t sell. Go figure. Well, here goes. I’m practically giving away my book, but that’s okay. As long as I get readers and they enjoy reading it I’m happy. I don't write for the money. I write because that is my passion and I enjoy it. So why don't I give the book away for free? I found that anything people get for free is not really appreciated, but 99 cents for a book is not asking too much, but it weeds out the people who just download anything because it's free, but they will never read it. That is the sad truth. I put too much of myself into this book (or any other book I write) to let it sit unread in somebody's computer. I want people to read it and spend a few pleasurable hours that I am giving them.

Here is the link:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/432389

#Dark World and #A Matter of Integrity - new prices on Smashwords

I just lowered the price of my books on #Smashwords. Dark World and A Matter of Integrity are available now for a limited time at the price of $1.99. Alien World is still free.

Here are the links:

#Dark World:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/370920

#A Matter of Integrity:

at Smashwords:   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/432389

It is also available from the Apple iBookstore:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-matter-of-integrity/id869721766?mt=11

My interview

I just published an interview with Smashwords. It can be viewed here: https://www.smashwords.com/interview/herbertg

Check it out and share it with your friends. I would appreciate that. Leave a comment.

#Special Offer. Get a book for Free.

To celebrate the release of my new novel 'A Matter of Integrity', I have decided to make my Science Fiction novel #'Alien World' available for free to anyone who wants it. Just go to Smashwords and download it in various formats. 
Special Offer: Alien World Free from Smashwords   https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/345117

 It is also available for free from the Apple iBookstore.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/alien-world/id686796490?mt=11

My new Crime novel: A Matter of Integrity

#A Matter of Integrity has been released. I published it with Smashwords.
Here is the blurb:

‘A Matter of Integrity’ is a crime novel featuring PI Lews Canon. He is not your average hard-eyed PI. He doesn’t wear sunglasses or a hat, instead he wears a baseball cap; he doesn’t smoke or cuss, and he doesn’t carry a gun. His office is in a run-down building with no Air Conditioning and his twenty-year old car is ready to quit any day. He has an alcohol problem he doesn’t want to admit and he has the ability to get himself into trouble more often than not. The funds are low and he needs a case desperately to pay the bills. His sidekick isn’t some sexy beautiful woman, either. In Canon’s own words, “She’s built like a fridge and scares even me sometimes.” However, she is loyal to him and keeps him in line. There is much friendly bantering going on between Canon and Nelda throughout the novel. Even though the novel is written a bit tongue-and-cheek and with some humor, there is plenty of serious stuff happening. When Canon finally gets a case, he’s beginning to wonder if it was such a smart idea to take on his new client. The case gets more and more complicated and involves several of his other clients. It becomes quite personal, and Canon has to commit a violent act to save himself and the woman he loves.

Available from Smashwords:  

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/432389

Also available from Apple iBookstore:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/a-matter-of-integrity/id869721766?mt=11

A Matter of Integrity

I was going to publish my new crime novel ‘A Matter of Integrity’ today. Yesterday I converted it to the eBook format and loaded it onto my Sony Reader. As I began reading it I discovered 3 errors in the first few pages. Nothing huge but irritating. One major blunder was using the same sentence (or nearly the same sentence) twice on the same page. So now I’ve decided to read the novel again with a critical eye. This proves again how important it is to put some time distance between you and your new creation.

Now it depends how fast I am with reading the book until I can publish. I want to make sure it is error-free. Everything else is done. When I wrote the novel I followed Mark Coker’s (Smashwords) tips on formatting since I’m planning to publish with Smashwords again.

I also uploaded the book onto my wife’s Reader. She will read it with a watchful eye. If she finds any errors she will make a note and tell me. She is a critical reader. I have to compete with Ludlum, Nora Roberts, George R. R. Martin, Ken Follett, Clive Cussler, Steve Berry, and other famous writers. Not an easy task, but I’m up for it ☺.

I am happy to announce that I have designed the cover. After many different designs I came up with this one:

If you haven’t guessed it yet, yes, that’s me holding a gun. It’s just a toy gun but who will know? I found similar pictures on the internet, but they have to be purchased. So I figured I can produce one myself. For the design of the cover I used the PAINT program on my computer. It’s not that difficult. Okay, I don’t have a half naked woman on the cover, but this is not that kind of a novel. No nudity or sex in this one, just a few murders and other fun stuff. ☻.

‘A Matter of Integrity’ will be available soon from Smashwords and other outlets. (I just had to get that in here). Come back and find out when.

#Editing...when is it done?

On one of the forums I visit they talked about editing and people wondered if you can over-edit. I guess you can, but there comes a point when you have to say that you need to move on.

Right now I’m busy with editing my latest novel ‘A Matter of Integrity’. Since I’ll be publishing it myself I am the editor. I want to make certain all the errors have been fixed. I’ve read the story now five times. The first time I looked for inconsistencies and other errors. I fixed those. I also fixed obvious mistakes, like spelling errors and using the wrong words. The second time I looked for more mistakes. I also ran it through the Spelling and Grammar program of my Word processor. I don’t rely on that one too much, because it is itself riddled with errors. It will suggest using ‘I’ instead of ‘me’ for instance, and there are other suggestions that are simply wrong. I only use it as a tool to help me find obvious errors.

I am always amazed that I can still find blunders in my manuscript after reading it several times. The fourth time I read it, I did quite a bit of rewriting, like awkward sentences and bad dialog. I added and changed dialog. After I was nearly done with the story I changed the name of one of the characters. I used Spell check to change the name throughout the whole manuscript. Now when I read it for the fifth time, I actually found on two occasions where the original name of that character popped up. I never noticed that in the first four readings. Our minds are wonderful but also deceptive. They will automatically insert words that aren’t there, just like a computer program. However, this time I didn’t find many errors

It is important to read a manuscript without too many interruptions. The ideal way is to read it in one session without too many breaks. The only problem with that is that our minds and our eyes get tired. We will overlook even glaring errors. Another problem I found this time, I read a sentence and I think: Didn’t I use this same sentence somewhere else in the novel? So I went back and searched for it, only to discover that I remember reading this sentence from a previous reading.

It would be nice to have someone else read the manuscript, someone who may also be a writer, but not all of us have that luxury to have someone who is actually interested. Most writers are busy with their own works. They have no time to read and correct somebody else’s book. Unless they do it for a living. But I don’t want to spend the money to hire somebody like that. I guess if one uses a publisher, then that service is free, but it still doesn’t guarantee a book free of errors. Even professional editors are human and prone to overlook the same things I do. And they don’t want to rewrite another writer’s novels. I’ve been reading my older published books and I was in a way alarmed when I found so many errors. I wish I could edit all of my books and republish them, but I’m not really interested in that. I’ve spent enough time with those stories when I wrote and edited them.  Now I want to write new things, experience new adventures through my characters.

 So when is the editing done? That is up to the individual writer, but eventually one has to make a decision and say: “I’m done.”

I believe I’m almost done. Perhaps one more reading, but it will for sure be the last one, because on this fifth reading I found few errors, just minor stuff, and I know I’m close. Then comes the formatting, the blurbs, and the personal stuff at the end of the book. After that comes the hard job of finding an attractive and fitting cover picture.

#Outpost Salamander

Usually, I don't have the title when I start a new novel. However, the next novel I'll be working on has already a title: Outpost Salamander. The story takes place in the universe I created in the trilogy 'Lizard World' (Epsilon, Epsilon City, and Raptor's Tooth), of which 'Outpost Epsilon' is the forerunner. Actually, I started writing this one as 'Outpost something' and I wrote 1,700 words. That's when the title came to me. I also have already some kind of outline, which is quite early into the story. That doesn't always happen, either.

I've always been fascinated with stories of lonely outposts on an alien planet. I haven't read many by other writers (that was the time when I used to read most of the time), so I created my own with 'Outpost Epsilon'. Anything can happen on an outpost. Actually, I have a short story from my earlier writings  that also plays out on an outpost. The story is called 'Luugus'. It was one of the stories in my anthology 'Tapestry of Dreams', published by Melange Books.

Terrex Stonewall, who was the main character in Outpost Epsilon and in the Lizard World trilogy appears again in Outpost Salamander. However, he is now 58 years old. The main character in Outpost Salamander is Bret Grayson, who is Terrex Stonewall's nephew.

The book will stand completely on its own, but reference will be made to Epsilon, the planet populated by dinosaurs. The complete series is under the umbrella 'The Spider Wars', and I'm hoping to write more books after this one.

In a way, writing a story where the background has already been created, is easy and yet difficult. I have to make sure I get all my facts straights. I'm talking about people and places I've created in previous stories. This means I have to go back to notes I made when I wrote those stories and it also means reading  some of the stories again, if only just partially. It's like doing research, only it is researching my own creations.

I took a holiday for a couple of weeks to get away for a while from the cold winter and the snow, but it didn't mean I took a holiday from writing. I had planned to read some books, but my mind was filled with ideas for a new novel, so I began writing it and just kept on writing every moment I had. Lying on a lounge by the beach is fine, but doing nothing but just staring at the water or into the sky only puts me to sleep. So I kept busy with my writing. The surroundings were relaxing and inspiring. A good thing my wife likes to read.

I didn't have my laptop along, so wrote the old-fashioned way like I used to do: into a scribbler with a pen. I filled one scribbler and part of another one. Now I have to transfer everything onto my computer. That's when the first editing begins.

I found it more difficult to write this way, because as the story progressed, new ideas popped up and I needed to change some earlier paragraphs, add some new ones, and do some rewriting. It is so much easier when writing on a computer. I have so much respect for the writers of years gone by who never had computers, only typewriters. How they managed to write so many books, some of them wrote a hundred books in their lifetime, it is difficult to believe. They didn't have word-spell, automatic corrections, and all the other perks we have now. The only way they could make multiple copies was with carbon paper. And they couldn't  afford to make typing errors. They were difficult to correct. I remember writing my stories like that. It was frustrating. I still have my old typewriter...on a shelf in the basement.

I will have to take a break again from writing Outpost Salamander, because I still have to do more editing on my novel 'A Matter of Integrity'. It is finished but needs more polishing;  and then comes the formatting. I still don't have a cover picture. That is the most difficult part, but it will happen.
The writing is the fun, the getting the story ready for publishing is the work, but it needs to be done if I want to share my story with others.

#A Matter of Integrity

I finally decided on the title of my ‘Lews Canon’ novel. It came to me when I woke up at night and couldn’t fall asleep again. Finding a title is, for me, the most difficult part of writing a novel. You can’t just pick out anything because it sounds cool. The title needs to reflect something from the novel. The title I came up with ‘A Matter of Integrity’ does exactly that. I did have to do a little bit of rewriting some dialog to make the title fit, but it worked out.

I read the whole novel once again, discovering quite a few inconsistencies and errors, which have been fixed. I had to add new paragraphs but also had to take out some. There were many awkward sentences which needed to be rewritten. Done all that. When I started with the novel I had no idea where it would lead me, but it developed nicely, new ideas came to me while I was writing and in the end with a bit of tweaking it all came together. I’m happy with the novel; actually, quite happy.

A Matter of Integrity is 76,000 words long. I think it is just the perfect length for an electronic book. I’m still not sure who I will publish with, either Amazon or Smashwords, but I will publish it myself. I have more control over the content, and I don't have to wait a year for it to be published.

This novel, like ‘Bullet of Revenge’, doesn’t have any Erotica in it. There is a bit of romance and interaction between men and women, but only bantering and hints. After all, that’s what happens in life. We can’t ignore that and pretend sex doesn’t exist. It is part of life and part of happiness between couples. Romance without sex would be quite boring. But there are no explicit scenes in this novel.

Now I’m taking a bit of a breather from this novel, just to distance myself a little. Perhaps for a couple of weeks or so. Then I’ll read it again for another edit, looking for misspelled word and other mistakes that still lurk inside the novel. I also have to design the cover. That is also a bit daunting. It takes a lot of time to browse through images that fit the novel.

In the meantime I’ve already started a new novel. I’m at 1,700 words right now. It is a Science Fiction novel and takes place in the universe I created in my 4 book series ‘The Spider Wars’. The first book was ‘Outpost Epsilon’ and the other 3 books were subtitled ‘Lizard World’. Book one: Epsilon. Book two: Epsilon City. Book three: Raptor’s Tooth.

But this story happens about 20 years after the events in ‘Lizard World’.

I liked that universe and the alien races inhabiting it, and I liked the main character Terrex Stonewall. He is also in this story, but only as secondary character, and twenty years older. The main character is his nephew Bret Grayson. I don’t know yet how this story will develop, but as I write things happen and the story and the characters will take shape and become more real in my mind. We’ll see where it leads and ends. That’s the excitement of writing a story. I never know what danger awaits the characters as they experience the life I’m creating for them.

I have no title yet. Right now I’m writing it as ‘Outpost Something’.

#One step closer to the Finish

Today I wrote the last sentence in my novel 'Lews Canon'. It is not the final title. Now begins the job of editing and finding a fitting title.

The novel turned out to be 74,800 words long. I usually write longer novels, but I didn't want this one to be too long. Apparently, readers don't want long novels. So this amount of words seems just right.

I'm happy with how it turned out. When I start a new novel, I never know where it will lead me. It was the same with this one. But once I was about two-thirds into the story suddenly a foreseeable ending appeared and I knew where I was headed and I had a pretty good idea how it would end. Even though, while writing, new ideas popped into my head and they helped to round it out and to make it as it stands now.

I'm not going to rush with the editing. I'll take my time. Now I have to read it first to find inconsistencies and stuff like that. After that comes the search for spelling errors, awkward sentences, making sure all the names are spelled correctly every time they are mentioned.

Once I have a title comes the fun of finding and designing a nice cover.

I'm not sure yet if I will publish with Amazon or Smashwords. Neither of them have done much for me in the selling department of my last books. I'll have to look into how I will market the novel, also. I have a few ideas, but I don't want to spend much money. Money I may never recover.

#Writing a novel, part 9

 A sample of the history of a character

This is the history and character sheet for Lews Canon. He is the main character in the book I’m currently writing.

Lews Bullseye Canon, P.I.  (Sometimes he uses an alias: Mark Conelli).

41 years old in 2013. (Born in 1972).

Ex-Cop. (from 1994 to 2006). Then worked as an investigator for another agency (Delta Investigations) (from 2006 until 2008. Then he opened up his own agency). Canon Detective Agency. No job too big or too small. Call....

5ft 11 inches tall.

One blue eye and one brown eye. (Courtesy of his grandfather).

            Father: Bigg Canon. 71 (1942). 5feet 3 inches tall, in elevator shoes, is as skinny as a third world refugee and has a head as bald and big as a cannon ball.

            Mother: Mathilda Canon (ne: Turner). (1944 – 2009. Age: 65)

            Grandfather: Bullseye Canon. (1918 - 1993 at age of 75.

            Grandmother: Mary Canon (ne: Petrowich) (1923 – 1995 at age of 72)

            Brother: Bigg Colt Canon. 1967 – 1992 at age of 25) Car accident.

1988: Lews makes his driver’s license at age 16

1989: Lews buys his firs car: a 1983 VW.

1990: Lews joins the Military

1991: Lews is deployed in Kuwait 

1993: Lews leaves the Military

1993: Lews goes to the Police Academy

1994: Lews becomes a cop

1995: Lews marries Mary-Ann Kilbride (She’s 20 years old)

1997: He traded in his VW and bought a 1994 Toyota Camry.

2006: Lews quits the police force and gets a job with Delta Investigations Inc.

2007: Mary-Ann divorces Lews. She blames his drinking. She marries her attorney.

2008: Lews starts his own detective agency

2010: His Camry is stolen (16 years old).

2011: Nelda starts to work for Lews

            Lews meets Sonya McKinnon, a divorced woman.

2012: Lews makes Nelda his partner

Now he drives a 1993 Cadillac. Got as payment for a job in 2010

He lives in an apartment.

Character traits:

Athletic. Friendly. Good sense of humor. Honest. Committed to his job. A little too good-hearted sometimes. Loves women but can’t commit himself. Doesn’t like guns. Never carries one. Has a bit of a drinking problem.

Note: This history developed as I wrote the story. In the beginning I had nothing but his name, and I changed that later. Right now I’m about half-way into the story. A few things will be added and possibly even changed. This list is just a guideline and not written in stone.

Here is a link to how author Kay Kenyon handles a Character Sketch.

http://www.kaykenyon.com/2014/01/26/tori-harding-a-victorian-heroine/?goback=.gde_2025159_member_5833305446009556995#!

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 8

 Using a character sheet

What is a character sheet and what does it look like? Well, a character sheet is a list of the characters appearing in a story. It contains the names and other information of all or a few of the players. When I start with a new story, I may not have a character sheet, but once I have my protagonist and I begin to know him/her a little bit better, I will start my sheet.

I’ll write down the name, his/her appearance, and any information I think is important to know. I may even write a bit of a background. The list may contain names of family members, relatives, and friends. In the beginning the list may be short, but as I get to know the person behind the name, the list becomes longer and longer.

How long a list is, depends on the importance of the character. A minor player may only have a name and a brief description of his/her appearance. Possibly a short history; and that isn’t even for certain.

Here is a list of things a character sheet may contain:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Title: Economic status (rich/poor):

Location:

Birthplace (Date of birth):

Occupation:

Name of company if self-employed:

Name of employer (company):

Former job:  

Color of Skin:

Nationality:

Height:

Weight:

Eye color:

Hair color:

Length and style of hair:

Bald:

Glasses/contact lenses:

Beard or moustache:

Scars:

Tattoos:

Other outstanding features:

Languages spoken:

Education:

Sexual orientation:

Marital Status:

Name, age, occupation of husband/wife (if dead how and when?)

Names and age of children: (alive and/or dead):

Name of father (alive or dead?):

Name of mother (alive or dead?):

Maiden name of mother:

Grandparents from father’s side: (alive or dead?):

Grandparents from mother’s side: (alive or dead?)

Special people in his/her life:

Zodiac sign:

Religion:

Hobbies:

Manner of dress: (e.g. hat, coat, shoes/boots, jeans)

Manner of speaking and acting:

Special abilities and skills:

Problems: (e.g. alcohol, drugs, smoking, sexual):

Special memories:

This list is not written in stone. You can add anything else that may seem important. Or you can leave things out if they are not needed.

Next time: What a brief history of a character may look like.

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 7

How to find names for characters

How important are names? I’m talking about the names of characters, especially the main character.

For the main character you want a name that awakens feelings of trust and empathy in the reader. You want the reader to identify with the main character. A man needs a strong name and a woman a soft name. A name should also be easy to read and easy to remember. Don’t use a name like Fernando Esperanto Garlokkini Tweedlewood as you main character; not even as any character, unless you write a comedy.

You probably snickered when you read that name. Believe me, I’ve seen similar names, especially in SciFi or Fantasy novels. Some of them were impossible to read, never mind trying to remember them. I’ve seen names with numbers and letters, names with barely a consonant in them, names as long as a whole sentence. I’m sure the writer did not even bother sounding them out. First of all there is no way even the writer can spell a name like that the same throughout the novel. I know I can’t.

So avoid long names, cute names, and names that sound too foreign. Readers don’t want to stumble over them every time they come up. Also, do sound them out. In one my short stories I was looking for the name of a star system. I made one up Arsol. It looked cool, but needles to say after sounding it out I did not use it.

For my trilogy ‘Web of conspiracy’ I named the main character Jeff Chartrand. The name is short, strong, easy to spell and easy to remember. For the secondary characters I used names like Spencer, Stoneman, Sheppard etc. Chartrand partner’s name, a woman, is called Maxine Montana. He calls her ‘Max’. There is a reason for that.

Even in my Science Fiction novels, where I can be liberal with the names, I try to keep them simple. I can’t name aliens with Earth names, but I don’t make them difficult to spell or read. I used names like Sheera, Norgana, and Spreeh. Easy to write and read.

How do I come up with names like that? I use different methods. I may take a regular name like Sheena and change one letter: Sheera. Morgan become Norgana. Harry may end up as Serrie. Or I may drop the h from Sherry and make ie out of the y at the end. Two different approaches. The main idea is to keep it simple. Don’t make Sherry into S5harriiiy2 just because it looks exotic and alien. You’ll forget how you spelled it the third time you’ll write it and I’ll challenge you to pronounce it.

Even with regular names it may become confusing. I keep a printed sheet with the names and background of all my characters beside me when I write. I update the sheet as I add new names and new details about the characters.

Of course, like with anything in life, there are exceptions to the rule. In the book I’m currently writing, I’m using cute names deliberately. That’s because the book is written in a somewhat humorous tone. The main Character, a detective, is called Lews Bullseye Canon. His partner, a woman, is Tusnelda. (I apologize to any woman by the name Tusnelda). I knew a girl once in my childhood by that name, but the character in my book isn’t modeled after her. Anyway, Tusnelda doesn’t like her name and she calls herself ‘Nelda’. I have names like Brandon Brandon in there and Frederick Titman. I would never use names like that in my regular novels.

Conclusion: If you write in English, stick with English sounding names. Refrain from using too many foreign names. In fact the other day I checked for Chinese names and I discovered that Peter, Harry, John, and other English names are quite popular in China.

Many times I use a telephone book to find names for my characters.

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 6

How to start a novel

The many different methods to start a short story or a long novel may be:

*The title

*The name of a character

*The name of a location

*A word

*A short sentence

*An idea

*An action

#How to find a title

Some writers will have a title before the story is even written. I’ve never written anything where I knew the title beforehand. For me to find the right title is one of the more difficult parts about writing any story. I usually wait until I’m finished with the story. Once I begin the editing I will look for clues in the story that might suggest a fitting title. Sure, when the title is found one might say, “That was easy,” but it hardly is for me.

I mentioned one of my novels: Seeds of Chaos. That is the title of the complete novel. The story is about a man who travels to different planets and he impregnates the women he encounters (it is erotic Science Fiction!). By the way, that is not the only thing in the book. There is plenty of action in the story. Since the novel ended up as two volumes because of its length, I had to find two titles. That was the difficult part. When I read it again, the title suddenly appeared in my mind. One of the planets where a lot happened was called ‘Eden’s Gate’, and that became the title of the first volume. The second important planet was ‘Hell’s Gate’, so that became the title for the second book.  It seemed simple enough and logical, but it wasn’t so until I decided on the titles.

In my series ‘Lizard World’ I wrote ‘Outpost Epsilon’ first. The title was chosen because the story is about an outpost on an alien planet. For the trilogy that followed later, I needed actually four titles: One for the series and three for the books.

The series title ‘Lizard World’ was easy enough. The story takes place on a planet populated by giant lizards. The title of the first volume is ‘Epsilon’, because the planet is called ‘Epsilon’. The action in book two happens in the main city on the planet: Epsilon City. So book two received the title ‘Epsilon City’. And the story ends in Raptor’s Tooth, a small settlement in the jungle, and that’s how I came up with the title for the third book: Raptor’s Tooth.

Easy? Not really. It only seems that way.

I don’t always use places for the titles.  In my book ‘Bullet of Revenge’ the title came to me as I read the last chapter.

As you see, the title can be many things. It can be

*a place,

*the name of the main character,

*an action,

*a phrase one of the characters utters somewhere in the story

*an idea

*a thing

*it can be one word or a whole sentence

The title of a story is an important part of the whole. If possible, if should be connected to the story and not something that sounds nice, but has nothing to do with the story. Don’t use a title like ‘The Invasion of the Black Turtles’ when there is no mention of black turtles anywhere and if there is no invasion taking place. Use common sense. Don’t try to mislead the reader.

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 5

Writing just for our own enjoyment is different from writing for the enjoyment of others. Suddenly, we find we will have to follow some rules.

I wrote and published a short booklet ‘The Published Writer’, a practical guide to electronic publishing. Obviously, that wasn’t a fantasy novel. I had to take a different approach. First I wrote a bunch of articles. Once they were written I organized them into a particular order. Before I could publish the booklet on Amazon, I had to download their rules. Not on how to write the book, but how to get it into the right format so their program would accept it. When you work with other people you will have to follow some rules.

There are some publishing companies, if you want to publish with them they will dictate what you can write and how they want the story structured. You have to follow their formula. Some writers may not mind that; I do. Perhaps, if you strictly write for money, you will have no choice. I write for my own enjoyment, I write for the love of writing, and I want to entertain my readers. I want them to experience the world I create when they read the story, the way I enjoy writing it. That is only possible if I can put my heart into the story and if I can write it the way I feel it needs to be written. Not by formula but by intuition.

That is one of the reasons so many writers these days go the way of self-publishing their books. There is one drawback to self-publishing. If a writer doesn’t have a good command of the English language, (or the language of their country), the quality of the work may be lacking. As long as a writer writes for his/her own pleasure it doesn’t matter if words are misspelled, sentences structured wrongly, inconsistencies in the story, etc., but the moment a book is published for the world to see, then it is a must to publish only polished material. Then it is most important to follow at least the basic rules of writing. Most people, that includes readers, are somewhat rigid in their ways. They want to see order and established procedures. Anything else and they may not finish reading the novel.

You don’t need to edit your novel when you write for yourself. Once you’re done, you can move on to the next project. Not so if you want to have your creation published. When the story is finished the real work begins. Unless you are nearly perfect in the command of your language, you need to have someone else edit it. No matter how often you read your manuscript, mistakes will still be overlooked. Of course, that also happens if you have your story edited by a professional. Editors are humans, too. They make mistakes like everyone else, but it is always a good idea to have another mind look at what you created. Sometimes we don’t see certain things, not just spelling mistakes. Inconsistencies can pop up easily. There are many ways mistakes can creep in; even it is just the misspelling of the main character’s name. It happened to me. It happens to everyone. I will write more on that in a later article.

More next time

#Writing a novel, part 4

When I wrote there are no set rules on how to write a story it might have caused some misunderstanding. What I meant there are no rules on how to write, especially when one writes just for entertainment, but there are certainly rules how to use the medium of writing, namely the spelling of words, the structuring of a sentence, and the correct words for what you want to say. You can’t make up your own words. Well, I guess that’s not quite true, either. When you write SciFi/Fantasy you can actually create new words for your story, but you still have to explain what they mean. Those words will, as a rule, never make it into the dictionary.

There are exceptions. In 1961 the famous Science Fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein created the word ‘Grok’ for his novel ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’. It is a Martian word that could not be identified in Earthling terms. If you want to learn more about the word ‘Grok’ do a search for Robert A. Heinlein. It will come up. The word ‘Grok’ is one of the words that made it into the dictionary.

So it is possible to create a new word the world may adopt, but it doesn’t happen often.

What I really wanted to say about the ‘no rules’ is the way you write your story. You can start at the beginning, then write the ending, and then fill in the middle. You can write the last scene first and then write the story. Or you can just start at the beginning and keep on writing until the end.

You can create all your characters first, write about their life or you start with one character and build from there. If you have all your characters already in place, you can draw from their life experiences as you write the story. The story can already be written as an outline, and you just flesh it in.

For me, that doesn’t work. My characters develop as the story moves on. I create the characters as they are needed. My characters come alive when my protagonist meets them. That’s when they are born. Once they exist, then I flesh them out with background and so on. But, like I said, no rules. That’s just the way I do it...most of the time. Sometimes I may change the way I write my story. It all depends what I’m writing.

I’ve noticed a lot of TV shows and movies start with an action scene. Some of those scenes don’t even have anything to do with the actual story. They are just there to introduce the main character and to get the viewer hooked. Some books may start out the same way. It seems something so many writers have adopted. That’s one of the so-called rules I meant that you don’t need to follow. Just because everyone does it, doesn’t mean you have to.

I think it is pretty sad if you have to get the interest of viewers or readers with some wild car chase, a murder, or some rescue scene. I don’t need that when I read a book. Sometimes it is nice to have the characters introduced by telling us who they are, or have a description of the strange and exotic world we’ll be visiting for a few hours.

Even the ending doesn’t have to be some earthshaking revelation. I have to admit, I am fond of those, but that’s just my own little fetish. My two-volume novel ‘Seeds of Chaos’ ends with a, I hope, revelation that was not expected. It was meant to leave the reader with something to ponder.

However, like I said, those endings are not required. As long as it is explained who committed the murder that is already okay. Of course, the ending shouldn’t be lame, either. The reader should not leave the story feeling let-down. People like happy endings, but not every story needs to end with the happy couple riding into the sunset.

More next time

#Writing a Novel, part 3

 The book I’m currently writing is a contemporary novel, a detective story, featuring a PI by the name of Lews Canon. It is a not-so-serious story, written in a light-hearted style. Sure, there will be some action, some violence, after all it is a detective story, but mostly it will be filled with humorous dialogue.

I wrote the first few pages quite some time ago, but it never went anywhere. In fact, the main character was Mark Canon, not Lews Canon. I changed the name later on, because it made more sense having him named Lews. It fit much more to the theme and style.

Sound it out and you may get an idea of what I’m talking about.

After reading those first pages, I thought they may make a good story, but what would I write? So I actually made a character sheet of all the characters I mentioned in those few pages. I even developed backgrounds for them. Then I wrote some more, then I made an outline of a story. Of course, as I’m writing, the outline changes, the story may take a different road, but at least I do have some sort of guide.

This one is written in the first person. Lews Canon is telling his story. As a writer I have to become Lews Canon. I have to experience in my mind what he experiences. I know what he thinks, but I don’t know what the other characters think. I will never know, unless Lews Canon is a mind reader. Since this isn’t SF, he isn’t. He’s just a normal man with normal abilities.

Should I, for some reason, decide to write a chapter featuring one of the other characters, I could also write that in the first person, but then I wouldn’t know what Lews Canon is thinking.

So, as you can see, there are certain rules when writing a story.

Third-person limited omniscient

When writing in the third person, the same rules apply. When we follow the main character, we have to write from his/her perspective. We also know what (s)he thinks but not what the others think. It is called POV (Point of View). Many writers don’t seem to understand this principle. They will jump from one character’s thoughts to another, sometimes in the same paragraph. It is also known as ‘Head-hopping’. It is not a good way to write, because it can become confusing to the reader. It is not difficult to write with only one POV, even though some writers think it is. It takes a bit of discipline but can be achieved.

Omniscient Mode

There is another style where the narrator of the story knows the thoughts of every character, like a god, who knows everything. It is called the ‘omniscient mode’. Some writers write in that style. I don’t really care for that way of writing. It is head-hopping at best and can become quite confusing. One never knows who is featured. The story becomes impersonal and as readers we can’t identify with any of the characters.

More next time