All Hallows Read

Over at The Kill Zone, author Clare Langley-Hawthorne wrote about giving away scary books for Halloween. Read the post for details, if you're interested. What caught my attention were the questions she posted at the end. She asked, "Which book was the scariest you ever read?" and "Has there ever been a book so terrifying that you couldn't even finish it?"

I'm a wimp when it comes to scary books. I don't read too many. But when I was a teenager, I couldn't get enough of Stephen King. His books answer both those questions for me. The scariest book I ever read was Pet Sematary. Interestingly, Stephen King says writing that book scared him so much, he had trouble finishing it. I don't doubt that. It was the intensity, the unexpected twists, that made the book such a terrifying read. 

The second scariest book I ever read was It by Stephen King. I had nightmares for decades after that one, but it was the movie version that haunted me more than the book. I didn't actually watch the movie. My husband did. I just happened to be wandering by the living room on the way to the kitchen when I inadvertently saw the shower scene. You know it--where the clown comes up through the shower drain to do whatever he needed to do. For years, I couldn't take a shower without watching the drain intently. Do you know how hard it is to rinse shampoo out of your hair when you can't close your eyes?

There are a lot of books I never finished, but mostly that was due to bad writing, uninteresting plot, or unlikable characters. But one scary book stands out in my mind because I picked up, then put it down, too scared to continue. Then I'd pick it up at a later date, only to put it down again, pick it up, put it down (you get the picture). I finally finished it, and wished I hadn't. That was Stephen King's Misery. It was the hopelessness of the protagonist's situation that got me, and even thinking about that plot line sends shivers down my back.

Those are my answers to Clare's questions. What about you, loyal followers? Which book was the scariest you ever read? Has there ever been a book so terrifying that you couldn't finish it?

-Sonja 

The NaNo Challenge (aka No More Whining)

I've been lazy. Or bored. Or terrified. No, lazy is the word needed here. In September, Andy Meisenheimer at The Editorial Department critiqued my latest novel, CASSANDRA'S CURSE. He didn't tear it apart. He packed fifty pounds of C4 into chapter 3 and stepped back. Granted, the story really needed an explosion of that magnitude to get it moving in the right direction, but I'll admit the damage put me into a state of shock. 

I emerged ready to do what needed to be done, only to fall into a pit of depression. I'd had enough. It's too hard. The process is too long. Whine, whine, whine. (You've all probably heard this before.) Thankfully, I have a friend who kicked my behind out of that pit by saying she wouldn't let me quit. She's that powerful.

So I re-structured the novel via a new outline. I integrated a list of new scenes that need to be added. I identified the weak scenes that need to be deleted or seriously revised.

Now it's time to do the work. And since November is coming, all I see in the blogosphere are NaNoWriMo posts and hints for making November a successful writing month. I'm taking advantage of this euphoria/frenzy. I'm setting a goal: finish the edits on CASSANDRA'S CURSE by November 30 so I can send the revised manuscript to the literary agent who wants to see it. 

With my goal published here, you, my four loyal readers, are in the enviable position of keeping me accountable. I'll share my progress at the end of November. If I succeed, gift cards are welcome. Failure is not an option. 

I'll keep you posted.

-Sonja

Got Prompts?

James Scott Bell shared a site at his Kill Zone Authors blog that needs to be shared. He saw this site as providing insight into backstory for developing characters. I see it as a great way to get NaNoWriMo started. Check it out.  Click here, add your six words, and watch the magic happen.  

-Sonja

How to Fix a Haunted House

November's issue of Popular Mechanics had this tantalizing line right on the cover: HOW TO FIX A HAUNTED HOUSE. No matter what genre you read or write, that line grabs your attention like a frisky pit bull. I figured there had to be something in there to wake a writer's imagination.

Let me quote the beginning of the article. "Every house has secrets. Doors open or shut themselves. Lights flicker randomly. A toilet flushes on its own. And there's that deathly odor. You've been catching whiffs of it for years now, but you still can't seem to locate the source. Sorry, but your house is creepy."

The article then pinpoints areas of your creepy house that could be causing these problems.
* A ghastly stink from the sink could be the olfactory trace of something horrible that happened there. Or maybe it's the result of a dry sink trap.
* Lights that shut themselves on and off could be a carpet-covered monster chewing on the wiring in your electrical panel. Or maybe it's just loose/frayed wiring.

* Doors that slam shut on their own could be the ghost of Aunt Mary letting you know she still needs to wear a sweater around your drafty old house. Or maybe the doors are hung poorly and sway to every little puff of wind.

As a writer, this article is a gold mine. Who doesn't love a good scare now and then? But in my books, I don't want to rely on the supernatural to spook my protagonist. Knowing a physical fault in the house can cause a freak-out on a dark night is much better than relying on the aliens, ghosts, or evil spirits making mischief. Check out the article and find new ways of adding a little suspense to your scenes, courtesy of an old house.

-Sonja

Say That Again, Please

All of us do it. All of us have them. A favorite word or a pet phrase that gets repeated in our manuscript a little too often, and we're not even aware of it. I'm not talking about 'and' or 'the' or 'it.' Usually it's a descriptive word, one with several meanings, that show up over and over again.

I'm talking about actions as beats: characters who shrug, shaking heads, grinning lips, rolling eyes (which is really gross, if you stop and think about it.) Or repeated adjectives: dark eyes, dark thoughts, dark shadows, dark desires. Strong verbs we can't help but overuse: stalked, pounded, raced, shattered.

Some words or phrases that tend to appear too often in my own works are agape, shuddered, and instinctive. I've got one character who clenches his jaw too often, and another who cringes at every surprise. The Most Often Used award goes to "a chill raced down her spine."

It's extremely hard to find these babies, too, because they're lodged in our brains and disappear when we proof-read. That's where an excellent beta-reader comes in. If you don't have one, you need one. I found my two best at a writer's conference and an on-line forum for writers. The key is to not chose a friend or a relative for your beta reader, because they love you and don't want to hurt your feelings. My beta readers started out as strangers, but now we're close friends. They're still honest with me, so I see no need to replace them, and that's how it should be.

For what it's worth,
-Sonja

Less is More

There's no need to point it out to me, I've faltered on my weekly blog postings. You'll hear no excuses from me. I just didn't do them. But I'm here now, ready to get back on schedule. Randy Ingermanson sent out his monthly writing e-zine today, and the first article is on organization. I'm an extremely organized person (let's give my husband a minute to quit laughing... breathe, David, breathe...), so I usually skim this part of the article and head to the meat about writing. But today, I stopped to take a look at the organization section.

Randy said, "less is more." He admitted it's not original to him, nor is it difficult to grasp. If you have ten project you're working on, and you cut five of them, you've doubled the amount of time you can spend on the five you kept.

What's more, if you cut the interruptions (don't look at the email program, don't answer the phone, don't respond when the kids yell the cat is on fire...) your mind has fewer things to think about and it's easier to concentrate on the task at hand.

What about the five you cut? Does that mean they'll never get done? Nope. Set them aside for later. Finish the first five, then move on to the next five. (Note: I think "five" is an arbitrary number. Fill in whatever works for you.)
Less (as in "fewer projects") means more time to focus, to pay attention to details, to get it right. Less also means less distractions, less frustration, less stress.
My project list is unique. It's a whole lot of home school and house maintenance stuff, and squeeze in fun "me" time when I can. It's especially hard this week when the kids and I are all sick. None of these projects can be set aside for "later" (who wants me to wait three weeks to do a load of laundry or cook dinner?), so I'm left with the "fun" stuff in life: church choir, fellowship with friends, conquering the world (playing Civilization, a highly addictive computer game), and writing.
This week, I'm giving up Civilization to work on my novel. It's going to be tough, but I'm certain the end product will be satisfying.
-Sonja