Friday, December 21, 2007

Review of Deathly Hallows

I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows during my Fall Into Reading excursion, and I'll offer my review, for what it's worth. Yes, I know I'm way behind. Deathly Hallows came out in July. But I checked it out from my local library, and had to wait this long for my turn.

It was worth the wait! It took me two days to read all 26,000 pages, or however many there were, and I loved it. Deathly Hallows nicely wrapped up all the hanging plot points. The protagonist prevailed. The antagonist was brought down spectacularly. We even had a glimpse of the future. And I couldn't quit turning pages: conflict and tension galore! Every time I thought it couldn't possibly get worse, it did.

*Spoiler alert * (skip to the next paragraph if you haven't read the book yet). This book truly tugs at your emotions. My heart sank when Harry was captured and taken to the Malfoy's. I cried when Hermione was tortured. I cheered when Dobby freed them. Then I cried again when Dobby died. Moody's death, his eye mounted on that office door, all those deaths at the end, Tonk's and Lupine's orphaned newborn, Harry's spirit of sacrifice, Neville Longbottom's bravery, the truth about Snape, Harry's marriage and children, even the names he gave his little bairns... Wow! The entire book was a roller coaster of emotions.

I also learned more about the craft of writing by analyzing Rawling's techniques. Despite the fact that she writes for a younger audience, and my audience is adult, I learn some fantastic plotting skills. Rawlings knows how to tell a story! She creates sympathetic characters, places them in a truly unforgettable setting, and then offers extraordinary conflicts to overcome.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the Harry Potter books, and this last one was just as spectacular as all the others. I recommend highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys a good story.

-Sonja

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Without A Doubt, Read Colleen Coble

Back in September, I posted a list of books I wanted to read for the Fall Into Reading program described by Katrina at Calapidder Days. I'm an avid reader. I had twelve books on my Fall Into Reading book list, but I've read closer to thirty books since the beginning of September. I thought I'd post some book reviews in the coming days.

The book I want to discuss today wasn't even on my Fall Into Reading list, but it should have been: "Without A Trace" by Colleen Coble. I attended one of her lectures at a writing conference in late September, and her teaching style and content drove me to read one of her books.

"Trace" is a mystery/suspense/romance. I can't really pin it down. The protagonist faced two mysteries: searching for lost people and trying to identify a murderer. And all the while, she's inadvertently falling in love. (I don't want to give anything away, so forgive me for being nebulous.) The book sucked me in - I stayed up way past my bedtime because I couldn't put it down. I'll admit, I figured out the first mystery long before Ms. Coble brought it to light. But she had so much suspense, so much intrigue, I had to keep turning pages. And when the murderer's identity finally came to light, it surprised me. I'd guessed wrong on the second mystery. The book had a satisfying ending and a tear-jerking reunion, and if I say any more, I'll ruin the journey for you.

Bottom line: I recommend this book, for what it's worth.

-Sonja

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Biggest Weakness

Randy Ingermanson, in his blog post at Advanced Fiction Writing, said something profound yet beautifully simple: "The life of a novelist is about continuous improvement. You will NEVER arrive. You will never be perfect. The trick is to identify your biggest weakness and work on it until it's no longer your biggest weakness."

Wow. That's heavy. In the last month or so, I've been working on my dialogue tags, trying to remove unnecessary ones. I think I've about mastered that. So now, I ask myself, what's my new biggest weakness?

That's a no-brainer, since I've struggled with this for years: imagery.  

One of my writing friends, Melody, has the spirit of a poet. Her fantasy fiction sparkles with beautiful imagery. Her word choices are exquisite. Her scenery jumps off the page, making me feel like I'm there. And I've noticed, in speaking with her, that it all just flows naturally that way from her brain. She's lyrical. Imaginative. Poetic.

I've not been blessed with that type of gift. I'm a Vulcan. I see things in logical progression, with proper motivations, plot lines and subplot lines weaving in and out of each other. Scenery and imagery is incidental, especially in my first draft. Once I've got all the action, suspense, and character development thoroughly laid out, then I have to go back and add in the scenery, the sensations, the metaphors and similes that make the story hop off the page. I easily identify the patterns, mirrors, and moods I need to establish; then I struggle to add the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. 

I'm pleased that I can identify my greatest weakness. Now I'll follow Randy's advice and work on it until something else takes the title "biggest weakness."

-Sonja

Friday, November 16, 2007

"Holy dialogue tags, Batman!" Robin exclaimed

For the past two weeks, I've been struggling with dialogue tags. Silly me, I thought I'd mastered them... then a friend pointed out how many unnecessary tags I managed to work into my text. So, I went on a learning binge, and am now ready to impart the vast amount of knowledge I've collected. Which isn't a ton, but it's definitely improved my dialogue.

Lesson #1: The modifier "said" is invisible. Use it, because readers completely overlook it. 

"Take this," Matthias said. 

I've identified the speaker with that little invisible word. Other words, like exclaimed, postulated, articulated, and shouted, are not invisible. They stand out in the sentence, calling attention to themselves and away from the actual dialogue. And I don't want that. So I use "said" whenever I need to identify the speaker.

William Noble, in his book "Shut up!" He Explained: A Writer's Guide to the Uses and Misuses of Dialogue, says that the modifier "said" should be used at least three-quarters of the time any modifier is used, and a page of dialogue should not go by without a couple of "saids" appearing in the text. 

Lesson learned: when I want to identify the speaker, use the word "said."

Lesson #2:  When possible, avoid dialogue tags altogether.

"Take this," Matthias said.
"What is it?" I peered inside.
"Gold, mostly."

The reader knows Matthias said that last line because it was his turn to speak. (Of course, if there were three people in the conversation, then the speaker of line 3 becomes foggy. But when there's only two, this works well.) When possible, leave out the tag. It makes for a quicker read, and it's definitely invisible. But I need to be careful, because if it isn't clear who is speaking, then leaving the tag off can add to the confusion and annoyance factor.

Lesson #3: Use beats instead of a modifier. Beats are the little bits of action interspersed through a scene, such as someone walking to the window or rubbing their eyes. They can take the place of the word "said," like this: 

"Take this." Matthias handed me a bulging leather bag.

Instead of saying said, or gushed, or ordered, I substitute the dialogue tag with this big of action. Doing this adds a pause in the speech, eliminates the need for tag, and identifies the speaker all at once. A brilliant little tool, which I employ often. There are two important rules to remember when working with tags: don't interrupt the dialogue with too many beats (the poor reader will get dizzy, trying to follow all the action and conversation) and don't use cliched tags (puffing on a cigarette, drinking coffee, scratching, etc.). Otherwise, they work nicely in place of tags.

Lesson #4: Use a variety of these methods. Too many of any one technique stands out. Not using "said" enough, using no dialogue tags at all, or using only beats all lead to confusion for the reader. That Biblical truth is universal: moderation is the key.

For what it's worth!

-Sonja



Thursday, November 1, 2007

Happily Ever After

I read an interesting blog posting by Rebecca Luella Miller today. She was talking about how Christian fiction is "growing up" and is no longer the "poor quality" stuff that used to come out. What caught my attention was this line:  "Some Christians are troubled by writing that includes immoral behavior, while others are disturbed by stories that have happy endings."

I'll admit, I laughed when I read that line. Obviously, the title "Christian reader" can't be limited by boundaries. Not all Christian readers appreciate romances.  Not all Christian readers buy speculative fiction. Some of use won't touch a story about the end times, while others thrive on end time thrillers. Obviously, diversity is alive and well among Christian readers.  As it should be!

I write fantasy. Bad things happen to my protagonist. He's tempted by those things that tempt all men: lust, greed, anger. Yet I've heard some well-meaning Christians say they don't want to read books that have the protagonist doing something evil. They don't want to see bad things happen. They don't want to read about giving in to temptation. They want a happy ending, where the hero and heroine get married and live happily ever after raising seven kids, three dogs, a cat, a rat, and a hamster. And I'm happy there are books out there to fit the bill. Personally, I'd rather stick my finger down my throat. Conflict gets my blood racing, and there's nothing I love more than a story full of tension and fantastic elements and the unknown. I don't mind a love story subplot or a sad ending, as long as it was a fantastic ride and the ending tied up all the loose ends. I know I'm a minority in the world of Christian fiction readers, but it pleases me immensely that I can find books I like in amongst the romances, thrillers, and cozy mysteries.

God has created a fantastic world, and none of us created beings are completely alike. And THAT'S where the conflict comes from. It's a blessing to know good writers fulfill all those literary desires, and that the Christian fiction industry is, indeed, growing up, publishing a wide variety of genres by authors who've perfected their word-smithing skills.

-Sonja

Monday, October 22, 2007

Keeping Track of Story Details

Randy Ingermanson's blog contained a list of questions he's going to tackle over the next week/month/year, how ever long it takes him to get through them. He asked for a vote: which question to conquer first? The list of questions inspired me to write a blog entry of my own, answering one of them: how do you keep track of story details?

I keep track of story details in an elaborate three-ring binder, divided into four sections: a character table, a map section, a calendar of events, and character profiles.

The character table is separated into columns, each containing a different set of information: character names, occupations, place of residence, special skills, family members, description, and special notes. It's handy to sort the table in different ways within my word processor, but I usually keep it alphabetically by character name. I find myself forgetting a minor character's description or spouse name (I have a massive cast for my book series), so it's nice to have all that at my fingertips without having to sift through my text.

My map section is relative small. I've got a hand-drawn map of the region my story takes place, and hand-drawn map of the wilderness setting where most of my story takes place. I've also got a small-scale city drawing so I can remember the basic layout: river, docks, shipping district, housing, downtown, residential areas, and outlying farming community.

The most valuable section is my calendar. Each page covers one month; I simply write in the highlights of each day on the proper date. I not only keep track of plot points, I also track my protagonist's birthday, the equinox and solstices, pregnancy due dates, foreign events -- basically anything that can be attached to a date and has significance within my story.

The fourth section contains my character profiles, usually one sheet per character, and an odds-and-ends section where I keep track of things like foreign words I've used in the story, city populations, the meanings of names, etc. 

That's how I do it, for what it's worth.

-Sonja

Friday, October 12, 2007

Books Worth Buying: A Question for Readers

Rebecca Miller posted a quote in her blog from an anonymous reader, who happened to be a clerk in a Christian bookstore. The woman stated that, if we wanted sci-fi and fantasy on the bookshelves, we and our friends need to buy that sort of book. Once sales go up, the stores will stock those books. Rebecca re-emphasized the main point: fantasy book sales mean more shelf space dedicated to fantasy books.

It makes sense. However, I can't afford to buy every new title that comes out. I usually check them out from my local library, and if I really love the book, I'll save my coins and purchase the work. The most frustrating thing, for me, is that many of the CBA titles I'd like to read aren't carried by my local library.

And I'm not just frugal, I'm downright cheap. There's nothing I hate more than shelling out cash for a book that doesn't beg to be read over and over again. Based on reader reviews, I've recently checked out thirteen titles from my local library, but in the final analysis, the books didn't grip me enough to purchase them for my library. In the past two months, I've only purchased two books from the CBA: Donita K. Paul's DragonFire, and John Olson's Adrenaline.

So, that brings me to my question: What books are worth buying? What books have you, readers, purchased that gripped you and kept your attention, even after you finished the book? What CBA sci-fi/fantasy books belong on my bookshelves? I value your input, as does my pocketbook!

-Sonja

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

I Stand Corrected

A while ago, I posted some amazing advice I learned from Colleen Coble, in the class she taught at the ACFW Conference: she told us to outline our books from the POV of the antagonist. I found this exciting and new and extremely helpful for finding my antagonist's motivations. Then Colleen wrote to me with this data nugget: the information originated with Donald Maass! I guess she said that during class, but I was so excited about the concept that I missed the origins. Thank you, Colleen, for clearing that up. I own the book you quoted from, so I should probably read it again.

-Sonja

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

To the pointy-eared among us

The ultimate highlight of the ACFW conference, in my opinion, was the two-parter Science Fiction and Fantasy course taught by John B. Olson. I can't give away all his secrets; we were sworn to secrecy. However, we didn't perform any ritual handshakes involving spit, so I think I can share the highlights without offending John. I found him extremely personable, humorous, and genuinely interested in all his students. When John spoke, I felt empowered to continue writing in my genre, as opposed to flushing it and migrating over to prairie romances. (Note: there's nothing WRONG with prairie romances, but I'm not the right gal to pen them.)

But enough of the ooey-gooeys. John gave us MEAT to chew on:


The world needs sci-fi and fantasy (SFF). Like no other genre, SFF fulfills the need to search for transcendence, to find something new, to escape the real world, to find all our wishes fulfilled. If we, as writers, keep these things in mind, we can write the stories that help fulfill these needs in our readers. Especially as Christians, we can help our readers find meaning in the universe. Life is not random. We are significant. We have hope.


In order to fulfill these needs within our reader, we must write BIG stories. Unfortunately, John didn't mean 150,000 word epics. Which is unfortunate for me, because my first drafts always come out around 155,000 words or so, and then I've got to cut 25,000 - 30,0000 just to catch the eye of an agent or editor! What John meant by BIG was HIGH CONCEPT. The basic hook of the story must be meaningful, unique, and bigger-than-life: too exciting to walk away from. And within SFF, this high concept will involve fantastic elements: engaging characters, world-shaking (or universe-shaking) goals, immense opposition, and exotic setting. Without the "fantastic," the story isn't SFF.


I probably shouldn't say any more than that. If you need to know it all, attend the next conference and sit under the teachings of Master Olson. But I want to sum up the most important thing I took away from the course: What makes my protagonist SO SPECIAL that it's his story and not someone else's? What makes him unique, fantastic? Why is he the "chosen"? What's the "hook" of my story, the basic concept that, when I say it aloud, every head in the vicinity whips around and asks me to say more? Once I can answer these questions, I'm ready to write.


-Sonja


(posted with permission from Master Olson)

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Vital Information

As promised in the last post, I'd like to impart some of the wisdom I soaked up at the Writers' Conference in Dallas. I'll probably take
several posts, and then just barely brush the surface.

Keynote speaker James Scott Bell shared this nugget: "Say something passionately with excellent craft skills." It pretty much sums up what I've heard from so many others, but it still rings true. A great story that's written poorly won't sell. Fabulous prose wrapped around a ho-hum plot won't sell. Mr. Bell also instructed us to produce words every day, to make a daily writing quota and stick to it. Again, I've heard this before, but it bears repeating. I find myself going weeks on end without producing a single word. I've spent my time reading other writers, or researching, or jotting down character sketches... I feel so busy, but in the end, I don't have any written words to show for my time. Excellent advice.


Colleen Coble taught a series on Mystery and Suspense. She suggested writers outline their entire book from the POV of the antagonist. This will give us a much better understand of the villain's motivations and highlight any major motivation problems that ordinarily we wouldn't see. I found this approach ingenious, and amended her idea to include ALL major characters. I found more than one weak motivation after completing the exercise.


That's it for today. Next time, I'll discuss the highlight of the conference (for me): John Olson's Sci-fi/Fantasy Course.


-Sonja

Saturday, September 29, 2007

The Best Convention Ever

I've been home a week, now, after attending the ACFW Conference in Dallas, TX. What an experience! I'm still recovering from the overload of information, the wisdom I absorbed, and the fascination of meeting "giants" in the industry. Let me drop some names: 

I met and spent time with John Olson, author of Oxygen and Adrenaline. He impressed me with his friendly manner and openness. He loved meeting us wanna-be writers and helping us hone our craft.  He spent personal time with my friend and I, giving us suggestions and pathways that we hadn't thought of to perfect our stories. And he signed my book! I'm officially a "pointy-eared member of the S crew," much to my delight and amazement. The "S" crew is the "Sci-fi crew" and I'm proud to wear the title.  Out of 480+ people, only 17 or so were Sci-fi/Fantasy, and we stuck together in a tight little knot, with John as our Captain. 

I found Randy Ingermanson to be a humble, yet hysterical, guy who just happens to write excellent fiction and loves meeting with like-minded authors. He, also, spent time dispensing wisdom to those of us willing to suck it all in.  He found himself the butt of all the jokes during the main gatherings, and he loved every moment of it. (Keynote speaker James Scott Bell called the ACFW "The FHWRI = Four Hundred Women and Randy Ingermanson.") To my delight, I discovered that Randy lives within driving distance of my home, so I hope he'll take me up on a lunch invitation or two. He seemed interested when I suggested it at the conference...

Susan May Warren has a fantastic sense of humor and a great marketing scheme for her newest book, Taming Rafe. ("Rafe" looked un-tamable, in the advertising poster, and when I asked if he rode away into the sunset on his own, still untamed, she said, "Read the book!"). She gave me a sticker with a picture of "Rafe" (actor name unknown) and I had some explaining to do when I got home, wearing the ruggedly handsome Rafe's mug on my official conference name tag.

As always, Chip MacGregor, the most beloved and sarcastic of all agents, gave us all more than one laugh when he served on the Agent Panel Discussion. And when he showed up for the formal banquet in his kilt, my national pride swelled to overflowing: Proud to be Scottish! 

I met with agent Steve Laube, who's personable and witty - and asked for my full manuscript (yeah!). Editor Andy Meisenheimer, of Zondervan, aspires to be a true sci-fi geek, like me. Colleen Coble taught an amazing class about building suspense, and showed a true mentor mentality throughout the entire conference. She also introduced us to an interesting book called The Baby Name Survey Book to help us choose proper names for our characters. It doesn't offer the meaning of the name, but rather what most people think when they hear the name. And finally, James Scott Bell, the keynote speaker, offered the sound advice of developing a writing quota every day and reading books outside our genre with a studious eye for details. He quoted from the movie City Slickers: "You're thinking about quitting. Don't let it happen again," and encouraged us to stick with our writing, no matter what. Very inspirational. 

That's enough for now. Next time I post, I'll dispense some of the wisdom I brought home, for what it's worth.

-Sonja

Monday, September 24, 2007

Fall into Reading

Katrina over at Calapidder Days is hosting a fall event called Fall into Reading. We're supposed to post the books we hope to read this fall.  Here are mine, for what it's worth:

1. Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead
2. DragonFire by Donita Paul
3. Restorer by Sharon Hinck
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by JK Rowling
5. Oxygen by John Olson and Randy Ingermanson
6. The Fifth Man by John Olson and Randy Ingermanson
7. Reader and Raelynx by Sharon Shinn
8. General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn
9. Terminal Logic by Jefferson Scott
10. Fearless by Robin Parrish
11. O is for Outlaw by Sue Grafton (and several others that follow)
12. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

That ought to keep me busy for at least a couple of weeks!

-Sonja

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Is There Anything Exciting in Dallas?

I'll answer that with a definite "Yes" - the American Christian Fiction Writer's Annual Conference is coming up this weekend. And I've got my plane ticket in hand.

Those of you in-the-know understand why I'm excited about this four-day event. For those who haven't the foggiest, I'm prepared to sing praises now. The top attractions, for me, are all the experts within the field who are ready to share their expertise via workshops, panel discussions, and personalized interviews. Published authors, agents, publicists, and novice writers, like me, will mingle and network our fannies off while we soak up as much atmosphere as humanly possible. 

I've signed up for my fifteen minutes of fame: two people I've been anxious to meet have graciously agreed to conduct "interviews" - that is, make appointments with authors like me who wouldn't normally have a chance to pitch our projects, in person, to the proper bigwigs.  With twenty-seven bigwigs to choose from, I found it hard to choose the top two, but I managed. They probably won't be as enthusiastic about meeting ME, but we'll see.

The keynote speaker is James Scott Bell, who writers thriller fiction. I'm looking forward to his address.

If you're interested in seeing what workshops are offered, who the 27 bigwigs are, or what the continuing education sessions look like, check out the website at www.acfw.com/conference.  And if you can make it, maybe I'll see you there.

Oh, the conference isn't the only exciting thing in Dallas. My former pastor lives there. I haven't seen him in nearly 15 years, and I'm looking forward to re-connecting with him again. For what it's worth.

-Sonja


Saturday, September 15, 2007

Are Christian Bookstores Necessary?

Rebecca LuElla Miller wrote an interesting blog yesterday. She said she went to her local Christian bookstore to purchase the latest Donita K. Paul book, DragonFire. Rebecca wrote that the bookstore did not carry this particular book, although they did carry the first three books of the dragon series. She commented on the small number of fantasy books she DID find on the bookshelves, but she found it odd to not find Paul's latest book. Rebecca concluded that, if fantasy readers want to find fantasy books stocked on the bookshelves, we'd have to verbalize our desires to the store managers. Only then would they begin stocking more fantasy titles.

I can't argue with Rebecca's thoughts. All bookstores, including the Christian ones, are out to make a profit, so they're unlikely to carry books that MIGHT NOT sell well. I hate to face the fact that fantasy does not sell as well as prairie romances or end-times thrillers. And I'm grateful that managers are willing to order a book, just for me, if I can't find it on the shelf.

But I've got say that all the Christian fantasy books I'm interested in reading are available for purchase on-line. I've even seen them in ABA bookstores. The last time I ventured into a Christian bookstore, I found myself surrounded by figurines, greeting cards, wall art, music, toys, and clothing. The management had dedicated less than half the store to books, and most of those were non-fiction and Bibles. And I did not find the title I wanted. I stopped at Borders on my way home and found my book in the Christian section.

I don't often find myself needing a Christian neck tie or a Veggie Tales stuffed toy. I don't feel more sanctified wearing "John 3:16" socks. I find "Christianized" candy bars - with verses inside the wrappers - downright annoying (as if I can't read my Bible without the accompanying chocolate). And I abhor the idea of spending twice as much money on an item from the Christian bookstore just to show my financial support to business owners who happen to be Christians. I enjoy supporting businesses ran by others of like faith, but not when they jack up the profit margin to take advantage of their "Christianity." 

Maybe they're not all like that. Maybe it's the un-churched area I live in. Maybe it's just my twisted view and I've got it all wrong. The bottom line, though, is that in today's retail world, the titles I want are available in convenient places, so I don't find myself visiting the local Christian Bookstore anymore. On the other hand, I'd love to see fantasy become as profitable as prairie romances. If the bookstores would stock fantasy titles, maybe more people would pick up a copy and find themselves hooked. Once sales pick up, fantasy would become a regular item on the bookshelves.

It's a conundrum. It's more convenient for me to order on-line and have a book delivered to my doorstep. But if I want to introduce a larger population of Christian readers to fantasy, maybe I should get myself down to my local bookstore and beg them to take a chance on something that might not move off the shelf. I'll just keep my mouth shut about changing the name of the store to "Christian Gift Shop."

-Sonja

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Dynamic Characters by Nancy Kress

I'm reading a book by Nancy Kress entitled Dynamic Characters: How to Create Personalities that Keep Readers Captivated. Here's the plug: it's a book worth purchasing. I've got it checked out from the library, but I'll be heading to the book store to make it my own.

When I first started the introduction, I had a hard time getting into the book. Maybe because I sat in a gymnasium full of kids and parents, with my six-year-old yelling, "Look at me, Mommy!" every sixteen seconds. Or maybe I needed to jump right into the good stuff.  Whatever the reason, I ditched the intro and went straight to chapter one. What I like most about the book is the vast amount of examples listed: she quotes from hundreds of books to successfully illustrating her points. It's fun to see bits of my favorite books embedded in the narrative.

In chapter 15, Kress includes a checklist (what she calls "the intelligence dossier") that helps you understand your characters more fully. I've always backed away from these types of checklists because they left me feeling like I've created something cardboard--and in
the end wasted a bunch of my time because I really didn't know my character any better after I filled out the form. But Kress's checklist differs because it's so HUGE and covers areas I'd never
thought of (what's the make, model, and year of my protagonist's vehicle, and where does he park it?). After filling out the checklist for one of my favorite characters, I realized how much I still needed to learn (read "make up") about my protagonist. I found it a useful tool, but it's so exhaustive, I couldn't use it for every character in my novels without a huge investment of my time and energies. I think I'd rather be writing.

The only real problem I have is that the chapter about naming characters is too short. It's an area that I spend a lot of time on when I first begin writing a novel. Choosing great names is
important, and I think 4.5 pages didn't cover the subject thoroughly. However, those 4.5 pages included excellent material--I just could have used more.

Kress's writing style is readable and entertaining, and I found myself taking lots of notes for future reference. I highly recommend this book.

-Sonja

Saturday, September 1, 2007

Dialects

I've read that writers, especially beginners, should never use
dialects in their writing. And I wholeheartedly agree. Dialects slow
the reader down, trying to figure out what's being said. The minute
the reader slows down, you run the risk of losing their interest.
They'll stuff in a bookmark and reach for the tv remote. Unless it's
done correctly!

Marc McCutcheon, in his book Building Believable Characters, offers
two ways to intimate dialect without actually putting it into the text:

1. Announce that the speaker has a foreign accent, and leave it to
the readers' imagination to fill in the rest.

2. Drop in a foreign word every now and then (German "nein" or
Italian "passaporto") and the reader will get it. Use simple words
that most people will know and understand, and avoid constructing
entire sentences or phrases in foreign languages, especially if you
aren't familiar with the language. After all, you wouldn't want ot
make a grammatical error.

Interestingly, Mr. McCutcheon believes that dialect can be a "superb"
way of characterizing a speaker's dialogue, but that most
inexperienced writers overdo it way too often. He believes that "less
is more" and advises that authors only use it occasionally to remind
the reader that the speaker has an accent.

As a reader, I hate coming across huge portions of dialect. As a
writer, they're hard to pen. I tend to avoid them entirely.

-Sonja

Friday, August 31, 2007

Two Great Blogs to Check Out

Billions of blogs litter the interweb, and I just don't have time to read them all. But agent Chip MacGregor's blog keeps me laughing AND I learn something important or interesting or inspirational.  Check out Chip at chipmacgregor.com and see for yourself what all the hype's about.

Another blog I can't live without is Jeff Gerke's Where The Map Ends, at wherethemapends.com. Jeff used to be an acquisitions editor at a Christian publisher, and now freelances. He's a published author, and he knows absolutely EVERYONE in the speculative fiction circles.  He's got interviews, an idea generator, fabulous inspirational artwork, and my favorite, the Tools for Writers: Tip of the Week. Please check him out.

-Sonja

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The Inevitable "First Post"

I'm Sonja Hutchinson, a writer of Christian fiction. Fantasy, to be
specific. Or "Speculative Fiction," if you want to get technical. In
this blog, I intend to write about the things that impact writers:
generating ideas, writing tips, the tools of the trade, agents and
publishers, links to other excellent blogs, reviews of fictional
works, upcoming workshops and conferences, etc. Basically, if a
subject impacts the sphere of fictional writing, I'll be tempted to
talk about it here. I reserve the right to change my mind at any
time--a perk of being female--and go off on tangents. I'll always try
to bring it back around to the realm of writing, though. I hope you
enjoy the posts and find something useful in them.

- Sonja