At Your Service!

For some time now, I’ve offered creative services to writers. Some of the services I offer are for beta reading, critiquing, eBook formatting, and book trailer creation. The reason I offer these services is that writers in general have a difficult time finding beta readers and critique partners.

Now I’ve been lucky to find a great critique partner, and I’m always looking for more eyes. But sometimes looking for that swap just doesn’t work out, so you hire someone who is there for you. Someone who can provide an unbiased service, because not everyone is a good fit for your book. Sometimes the other reviewer might not appreciate your suggestions, and therefore, they don’t live up to their end of the bargain.

If you search for the definition of beta reader, critiquer, and editor, you’ll find that so many people have their own definition of what each one does. It can be frustrating when you are trying to look for a specific person to help you with your manuscript. For me, beta readers, critiquers, and editors each serve a specific purpose.

A beta reader is someone who reads your manuscript right before you plan on publishing. They read it and let you know what worked and didn’t work for them. If there were any holes in the story, and how they felt overall about the story and characters.

A critiquer is someone who reads your manuscript during the draft stage. They look for inconsistencies in the story, provide suggestions regarding character and plot, and point out grammatical issues, such as tenses. This person is critical because they are there to assist in finding flaws, and patting you on the back when something is working. They help mold your book, which is why it’s important to find someone willing to commit to your success.

An editor is someone who reads your manuscript in the last draft stages. They concentrate on grammar, such as punctuation, word usage, spelling, sentence structure, and tenses. It’s very important to have someone else, if not more than one, read through your works. We all have a tendency to fill in the blanks without actually filling them in, and overlooking word usage.

I don’t offer editing services because I’m not proficient in the The Chicago Style Manual. But if you want to know all the inconsistencies, flaws, and successes of your book, I’m at your service for beta and critiquing, amongst other services.

I’m currently working with a client regarding eBook formatting, and I have to say that it’s a delight. She asks for my opinion, which is refreshing, and I’m finding that I’m doing much more than just formatting her book. I’m working to make her book look as professional and wonderful as possible. In doing so, I’m getting to know her and building a friendship.

This is what I hope to achieve. Not only to provide creative services to other writers, but to build a friendship that will last a lifetime.

Services and Friendship,

Bea

What Drives You?

Some writers have a way of creating luscious characters that remain with the reader long after ‘The End,’ while other writers have the skill to twist and turn the plot to keep the pages turning. I think it’s a difficult task to create both the emotional connection of the characters, making them multidimensional, and the drama filled action of the plot. This is not to say that all stories have one or the other. It means that many authors and genres have a particular focus.

I have published a dark, psychological suspense novel, Net Switch, and I’m currently working on a women’s fiction/chick lit novel, Fogged Up Fairy Tale. These books are different genres, so I read and researched what drives these genres—character, plot, or a mixture of both.

A suspense needs to have just that, suspense. It’s important to focus on the plot to give the reader an action packed dramatic experience. As I began writing Net Switch, I wrote the twists and turns, the second-guessing that remain until the last sentence. After all, it is a suspense so I achieved the continuous suspense build-up, yet I realized that in my novel I needed to also focus on the main character. For the book to succeed, the reader needed to feel and cheer for the main character while the tension built throughout the story.

I can personally say that it was a difficult task to focus on character and plot. What helped me with character development was creating the book in journal form. It is written as a journal—the main character’s—so she pours out her emotions. This way, the reader can get into her head, experience her emotional turmoil as the drama of the plot keeps picking up speed.

In my opinion, a women’s fiction/chick lit needs to have more of a focus on character. Of course the plot needs to continuously move forward, but the importance is the characters. The reader’s experience is about finding a like or dislike for the characters. What brings them from A to B is important to the story, but how they get from A to B is what makes this genre exciting. A woman’s troubles—what got her there and how is she going to get out of it. But the reader must be able to relate to the character to take the journey.

As I revise Fogged Up Fairy Tale, I have to keep in mind that the main character needs to be relevant. She needs to have a past, present, and a fogged up future. It’s my job to get her to the end with the reader at her side, hoping for the best outcome.

Reading is my main way of learning the craft of writing. I’m currently reading, Just One Day by Gayle Forman, and Three Little Words by Jessica Thompson. I decided to read these books because I believe they are character driven. The links will bring you to Amazon where you can read the reviews.

I started out reading Three Little Words. I’m on page 314, and wondering when this is going to end. It’s been weeks since I’ve picked up the book. The chapters are about different people and scenarios. I’m sure by the end, all these different people are somehow connected, but I’m to the point that I don’t care anymore. The one thing I can say is Jessica Thompson does a good job with character development. I feel for them. This book did help me understand the emotional drive of the characters.

Unfortunately for me, I’m not with the majority when it comes to Just One Day being a great book. I’m on page 102, and I’ve been yawning about the story and the characters since page 4. For me, the main character isn’t likable because there’s no character development. It’s a lot of talking and not enough showing. The main character, Allyson Healey, complains about everything and has no depth. When a character just complains about this or that from the beginning, it’s kind of hard for the reader to really like them. Okay, it’s kind of hard for me to really like them—apparently everyone else liked the characters. Anyways, this book isn’t a good example for me to follow.

As you can see, writers have their own way of writing, and readers have their own likes and dislikes about books.

As a writer, are you a strong writer when it comes to character driven stories or plot driven?

As a reader, do you look at genre and expect certain things from that genre?

Driven and Writing,

Bea

Incredible aloud and extremely revised!

It wasn’t until the fourth revision of Net Switch when I started to read the book aloud, and it made all the difference in the world. For those writers who haven’t read your written words aloud, I suggest you start. As we read, our minds can already put in words that might be missing without us even catching it. It isn’t until you read aloud that you realize something doesn’t work.

With my newest manuscript, I have found so much in revisions when I read it aloud. I am able to catch missing words, notice where it stops flowing, awkward dialogue, and believe it or not, wrong word usage. The one thing I didn’t expect to happen in reading aloud was it bringing out more personality in my characters. When I’m reading it aloud, I change my voice a bit to reflect the characters’ personality. This helps me stay focused on my characters’ personalities. It’s a great way to enhance character development.

As writers, we take bits and pieces of our life and incorporate it into our novels. I believe this is what makes our characters and stories come alive. Don’t get me wrong, a serial killer in a novel doesn’t mean the author is a serial killer, but there are parts of the author’s personality that brings the character to life. Maybe the author has a temper or knows how to keep secrets. Whatever it is, our characters grow because we have lived. Reading aloud is another dimension to giving our characters life. I can hear my characters in my head, so when I read aloud, their attitude and personality comes out. I can tweak and show off my characters more through description or dialogue.

I’m not losing my mind when I say I can hear my characters’ voices in my head. We all do it at one time or another. I’ve heard many of people say, “I can now hear my mother, telling me to…” It’s part of life, just like it is part of creating authentic characters; flawed characters struggling from self or another kind of infliction.

Like anything else in life, practice is important. Practicing the art of writing and realizing your mistakes are key in becoming a good, if not great writer. I suggest you add reading your manuscript aloud during revisions. You’ll learn so much more about your writing, your characters, and the story.

Do you read your works aloud? Do you have another revisions tip?

Reading aloud and Characters,

Bea

P.S. The picture is of a fellow author, June Kramin.

Power of Words

Words have so much power, not because of the words themselves but because we give them power. They are a mode for emotion. Our emotions are extracted and placed into words to give them the love, punch or anger we want to convey., so it’s important for authors to choose the right words and link them together to evoke some type of emotion from the reader. Sometimes an entire book can leave us feeling angry, unsatisfied, happy or sad. It’s a huge achievement for a writer to make a long-lasting impression.

Since words have strength, there are some words we like and dislike more than others (aside from insults and curse words). Here are a few of mine:

Make me squirm: excretion, goiter, and scurvy.

Beautiful: soliloquy, ivory, and ellipsis.

Sad: pallid and ashen.

It’s also important to make sure punctuation, along with the words, add to the emotion. Sometimes we put in short sentences for emphasis, and sometimes we let a sentence flow to describe a moment.

Below are a few extracts from my current manuscript and working title, The Day I Found Me.

Opening Paragraph

“They all sat around, eyes on me, watching for signs of ... what? I felt like a substance in a petri dish. I had to keep looking down into my lap to avoid their stares. I opened my hand, my eyes tracing the lines, a large M in the middle of my palm, lines trailing to my wrist. Did the M stand for marriage? I couldn’t remember ... along with many other things. I bit my lower lip, scrunched my eyebrows, and looked up to find that nothing had changed. No one shifted or lost focus ... from me. I sighed looking at each strained face as if they were constipated. A puff of air escaped with a tiny laugh.”

Page 11 – Halfway down

“She left the room but I remained where I was, thinking about my circumstances. Punch drunk indeed. My liver might not appreciate the term, but my mind enjoyed the ride. I didn’t have to think of the horrible things going on in my life. But there wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to act as acid burn to smolder the heartbreaking memories. In a short period of time, I lost my mother to the hunger of cancer, my home to an unemployment sabbatical, and my boyfriend to a tall, skinny blond with long legs. Well, the latter was a blessing. I should have known something was up when he claimed ‘whiskey dick’ every time I made a sexual move. Someone forgot to send me the memo that he lost interest months ago.”

Page 11 - Bottom

“I walked into the washroom, turned on the faucet and threw cold water on my face. The cold made me flinch, but I appreciated the wakeup slap. It took my mind off PIB and my elbow. I placed my hands under the water, added soap, and rubbed them together while staring at the soap bugger on the dispenser. That’s how I felt ... like a soap bugger ... leftover and hanging.”

What do you think? What words do you like or dislike? Would you like to share a paragraph from your current works?

Words and Emotion,

Bea