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Guest Post…MANfiction Dialogue

Is that so, Mister Chumley Warner?

Is that so, Mister Chumley Warner?

At the heart of any good novel is dialogue. Depending on the type of novel you are writing, and the type of reader you want to connect with, this will lead to how much dialogue you place in your novel, and where you place it. For the MANfiction author, you want authentic, masculine dialogue. You don’t need a lot of similes and metaphors. You need a few one-liners, and plenty of zingers, that hit with the force of a Mack truck slamming into a brick wall. Even if you have a neutral name, there should be no question in the reader’s mind that your character is all male.

 Extended scenes of dialogue are okay, as long as they serve a higher purpose, and move the story along. And don’t forget to tell your reader where the characters are, unless you have the character talking to himself, which creates a whole other set of issues. You don’t want to skip on the details of the other character in the scene, even when that character is female.

 Placing your main character in precarious situations and being forced to talk his way out of them is okay. But it needs to be believable. Just as too many scenes with your main character punching his way out, despite the level of his adversary, might seem a bit far-fetched. In MANfiction, your character needs to bleed, even if it’s only temporary. It brings out the human aspect that much more.

 Little idiosyncrasies in speech patterns go a long way to distinguishing your main character from every other in fiction. So don’t overdo it. Spend some time listening to men talk and interact. In the end, you’ll be glad you did, and your story will improve because of it.

Robert Downs is the author of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator. A sample chapter of his MANfiction mystery debut, as well as other interesting information about the author, or his main character, can be located at his website http://RobertDowns.net
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Falling Immortality

Falling Immortality

 

Falling Immortality

Casey Holden, former cop, current PI in Virginia Beach, VA, screens his clients the way he screens his women, based on whichever drop-dead gorgeous woman happens to waltz through his door first and manages to hold his attention. So when Felicity Farren, widow-at-large, struts into his office asking him to solve the two-year-old murder of her husband Artis, she intrigues him. When Casey starts digging, he learns the murder isn’t what it seems to be and he doesn’t have a big enough shovel to unearth the truth. And to top it all off, his former rival at the police department, Greg Gilman, is determined to disrupt his investigation. Casey’s challenge is to learn what really happened to Artis, and why Gilman can’t seem to remove his head from his butt. And he’ll need all of his wits to complete the task.

 

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Guest Post…The MANfiction Bromance

Friends or Bromance?

Friends or Bromance?

MANfiction is all about guys, so the main character will most likely be male. And when you have one, more than likely another one will be waiting in the wings, or will be central to the story, or your main character. In that case, you may have what is called a bromance. Is that such a bad thing?

In pursuit of a good story, I would argue that it’s not. Good stories can have two men working together, arguing together, and getting out of trouble together. In the end, it makes for a more realistic story. Take brothers. I fought with mine constantly, but in the end, I was a better person for being forced to fight my way out of trouble with my fists. And your main character will be as well.

So what do you need for the perfect bromance? You need the perfect complement to your main character. If your main character tends to take a step backward, you need a person that jumps in with both feet. If your main character has a mouth the size of Arkansas, you need a person that has lips sealed tighter than a man in the middle of Antarctica.

What does the bromance do? It gives your story heart, and it adds another dimension between all of the fight scenes. And your reader will certainly thank you.

Robert Downs is the author of Falling Immortality: Casey Holden, Private Investigator. A sample chapter of his MANfiction mystery debut, as well as other interesting information about the author, or his main character, can be located at his website http://RobertDowns.net
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Falling Immortality

Falling Immortality

 

Falling Immortality

Casey Holden, former cop, current PI in Virginia Beach, VA, screens his clients the way he screens his women, based on whichever drop-dead gorgeous woman happens to waltz through his door first and manages to hold his attention. So when Felicity Farren, widow-at-large, struts into his office asking him to solve the two-year-old murder of her husband Artis, she intrigues him. When Casey starts digging, he learns the murder isn’t what it seems to be and he doesn’t have a big enough shovel to unearth the truth. And to top it all off, his former rival at the police department, Greg Gilman, is determined to disrupt his investigation. Casey’s challenge is to learn what really happened to Artis, and why Gilman can’t seem to remove his head from his butt. And he’ll need all of his wits to complete the task.

 

 

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Author Spotlight…Robert Downs

  Let’s meet this week’s spotlighted author Robert Downs…This is the first of a weekend of features we’re running with Robert – come back tomorrow and Monday to learn more about MANfiction in his guest posts! 

Robert aspired to be a writer before he realized how difficult the writing process was. Fortunately, he’d already fallen in love with the craft, otherwise Casey might never have seen print. Originally from West Virginia, he has lived in Virginia, Massachusetts, and now resides in New Mexico.

Despite his literary side, numbers are very much a part of his world, to the point that he has a business administration degree from West Virginia University as well as an MBA from Columbia College.

Falling Immortality is his first novel.

Falling Immortality

Falling Immortality

 

Falling Immortality

Casey Holden, former cop, current PI in Virginia Beach, VA, screens his clients the way he screens his women, based on whichever drop-dead gorgeous woman happens to waltz through his door first and manages to hold his attention. So when Felicity Farren, widow-at-large, struts into his office asking him to solve the two-year-old murder of her husband Artis, she intrigues him. When Casey starts digging, he learns the murder isn’t what it seems to be and he doesn’t have a big enough shovel to unearth the truth. And to top it all off, his former rival at the police department, Greg Gilman, is determined to disrupt his investigation. Casey’s challenge is to learn what really happened to Artis, and why Gilman can’t seem to remove his head from his butt. And he’ll need all of his wits to complete the task.

 

 

 

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Want to know more? Check out the links!

Website: http://RobertDowns.net

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Writing 101…The End of the World

Lots of people believe the world is going to end, and lots of that can be blamed on good fiction. A good story can instill fear in an entire population. Once upon a time, back when the TV didn’t exist, a nationwide panic was created over a radio program. The public literally believed that Earth had been invaded by an alien population. That is good writing. The end of the world can make for a great topic — just ask the Mayans. We’re still talking about them 2,000 years later. A good story is pretty powerful stuff.

The End of the World as They Know It

 
Writing about a catastrophic, world-ending event can be a heady experience. You can make it thrilling, you can make it sad, you can make it frightening and horrifying. That’s the power of the pen: you can do anything you want. But some writers take even that a little too far. Because you can’t just end a world out of nowhere. You’ve got to lead up to it, a little.
Before you can end your fictional world with some sort of catastrophic event, you have to make me care. You can’t just end an entire world without making it an emotional experience. Should I be glad this world is ending? Maybe it’s a horrible place filled with villains. Should I be sad? Was there a hero or heroine I just can’t help but love, someone who must now die along with all the rest? Should I be frightened and horrified? Maybe your world ends in a way that could make my world end, and maybe that scares me. Let me get to know the world before it ends, and meet some of the people who live on it. Otherwise, I’m going to be yawning over your descriptive passages and rolling my eyes as lifeless body after lifeless body is consumed by lava (or whatever).
To make the end of the world matter, you’ve got to add the human connection. And put some structures or natural wonders on the world while you’re at it. I’m going to feel the loss of a beautiful world more keenly than an ugly one.
And when you finally end the world, or write about your catastrophic event, do itspectacularly. Describe the screams, the smells, the pure horror of the event. After all, the end of the world isn’t something that happens every day.

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This post originally featured on Jade Varden’s author blog in 2012.

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Author Jade Varden is a regular guest contributor on Aside From Writing. The Writing 101 features originate from her own blog  at http://jadevarden.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of her thoughts on writing, as well as her own books. Her debut novel Justice and sequel The Tower are available now! Read our review of Justice here.

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Just Finished…The Moon Dwellers, David Estes (Spoilers)

3/5

At some point in the future, humanity is wiped out from the surface of the globe and forced underground. Society splits into three factions, the elite Sun realm, the working drones of the Moon Dwellers and the underclass of the Star realm.

Adele Rose is in prison for no reason other than her parents were branded as ‘traitors to society’. Her family torn away from her, she waits to rot in prison. Tristan Nailin, son of the Sun Realm president, is a prisoner too…a prisoner of his fathers empire and expectations.

When he drives by the prison where Adele is a ‘guest’, they find themselves powerfully physically and psychically affected by their encounter, even though they don’t meet.

That night, both Adele and Tristan break out of their lives and go on the run. Adele to find her sister and parents, and Tristan to find what spell Adele has cast over him.

David Estes has written a technically flawless book. The characters are all fleshed out, the dialogue sharp and witty, the chapters all end on cliffhangers that keep you glued to the page. The plot bounces along and doesn’t lag. The world he creates is consistent and logical. I did spot a few errors with a few things…being electrocuted on barbed wire fence would make you clutch it tighter, not throw you off, and would humanity a thousand years underground know what cardboard was? But those are minor points.

So why don’t I want to give it five stars?

For me, the characters didn’t gel. I never connected with them in any meaningful way until close to the end. I had a feeling that I’d seen them all before a dozen times: Feisty yet vulnerable female heroine. Handsome yet insecure male hero. Minor characters for some comic relief and tension, one of who dies.

When Cole is killed near the end of the story, I should have been moved. I should have felt chills when soldiers footsteps echo from the next stone corridor. I think what was missing for me was atmosphere. I should have smelt the damp air of the caves and the chill breeze as it moved around me. I didn’t get a feeling past a physical description of how different the sun realm was from the moon dwellers, for instance. It took me twenty or thirty percent of the book to realise the light was lower in the moon caves.

I also felt that towards the middle of the book, Estes suddenly realises he has a sequel in mind. Thus, characters suddenly start talking about ‘The Secret’, and there is no explanation for Adele and Tristan’s odd psychic bond.

Adele’s father talks only in elliptical sentences for the few pages he’s in the book, then is quickly pushed out again, taking Adele’s sister with him. Two plot points tied up in one swoop. The same with the super killer Rivet, who is quickly dispatched…so much for being a super killer.

Ultimately though, despite the excellent writing, pacing and characters, everything about the book felt like I had seen it before, and towards the end it started to feel like a setup for the sequel.

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Author Spotlight…Double Trouble!

 

 This week we have a twist on our author spotlight feature – as we have two authors with us! Christy Hall and Amanda Gerry wrote Phoenix Angel together…Let’s find out if two heads are better than one 😉 

Christy Hall has been addicted to the many realms of fantasy and science fiction all her life. She joined her first peer writers’ group in the sixth grade, joyfully sharing world building at a young age. A graduate of Southern Utah University, she now teaches at a local charter school. When she isn’t busy designing activities for her Mythology class or going on field trips with the Star Wars Club, she is spending time with her sister, A Gerry. C. Hall’s favorite authors include J.R.R Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and Tracy Hickman.

Amanda Gerry developed an interest in fantasy at a young age. In middle school, she fell in love with writing short stories and was thrilled when her sister proposed creating a series of novels together. Her fondness of writing comes from many sources, but the most prominent is her avid devotion to video games.  Some of her favorites include Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls series, and anything that lets her shoot zombies. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Southern Utah University and teaches at a local charter school.

Christy’s Interview

You have won one million dollars what is the first thing that you would buy? If I won one million dollars the first thing I would buy would be a Bumblebee Camaro that really transformed. Then when I parked it at Wal-Mart, I would have it turn in to a giant robot while I went to buy laundry detergent.

If you could jump in to a book, and live in that world, which would it be? If I could jump into any fictional world, I would definitely want to be an elf in Middle Earth. What’s not to love about living forever, wearing pretty dresses, and frolicking around Mirkwood with Legolas?

Any other books in the works? Goals for future projects? Right now we are working on the Shardwell magic series, book four. When complete it will be six novels. Book 2, Guardian of Time, is scheduled to be released in August of this year. After that, my sister and I have this amazing idea for a new series with dragons and prophecy.

If you could have any superpower what would you choose? Teleportation. Hands down. I hate driving!

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Never give up. There is a story inside you that you want to share. No matter how hard it gets, perseverance is the way to succeed as a writer.

Amanda’s Interview

What is one book everyone should read? Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card.

What inspired you to want to become a writer? I have always loved books and creative writing. But most of all, I wanted to work on a set of books that I would want to read.  Our books contain all the elements of both story and characters that intrigue us.

Who are your favorite authors of all time? Jane Austen, R. A. Salvatore, Tracy Hickman, and Margaret Weis

What’s one piece of advice you would give aspiring authors? Be patient and stick to what you believe. Remember that you are writing the book. Don’t change anything unless it makes sense for your characters.

How do you react to a bad review?  Not everyone likes the same type of book.  I think about what the bad review has to say but I don’t let it affect me or my writing.

What do you do in your free time? Play video games.

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Phoenix Angel

Phoenix Angel

 

What is happening to us?  I’ve asked this question a thousand times, but there is no answer.

I was a normal teenager, trudging my way through senior year with my best friend. Then a boy named Kyle Spencer came to Idaho Falls, and since then everything has fallen apart. Something mysterious has passed among the three of us. We’ve developed terrifying abilities—strange powers that separate us from normal people.

Even worse, someone—or something—has taken a deadly interest in us. We never know when they are going to strike, or how to protect ourselves. We don’t even know who they are.

All we know is that they want one of us alive, and we don’t know who. The others they want dead. Which will I be?

Want to know more? Check out their website!

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Writing 101…Stepping Outside Your Genre

Self-published authors have to work hard to build up a fan base and to establish themselves as “real” authors in the eyes of their readers. That’s why stepping outside your genre and writing something completely different can be pretty tricky and scary business. What if you go out on a limb…and lose all of your fans? 

Outside the Box

After putting all that time and effort into building up a fan base, stepping outside that comfort zone with a totally different book is a brave thing to do (some might say foolish). While some of your fans may stay true, others may be turned off because they aren’t fans of that particular genre. That means you’ve got to start all over again, and start targeting fans in your new genre to find the readers that will be interested in this new book of yours.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s not all that different from all the marketing you’ve already done. You should re-focus your efforts with every new book you release, whether it’s in the same genre as your others or an altogether different one. Stepping outside your genre actually gives you a unique opportunity to gain an even bigger fan following, and reach out to readers you mightn’t find otherwise.
Don’t ever be afraid to make a change. One of the joys of self-publishing is that you get to do whatever you want, write whatever interests you, and let your own skills as an author develop and grow in any way you like. You don’t have to answer to anyone, uphold contracts or write sequels you aren’t really feeling. If you have to do some extra marketing to get more readers, that’s just something that comes with the job.

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This post originally featured on Jade Varden’s author blog in 2012.

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Author Jade Varden is a regular guest contributor on Aside From Writing. The Writing 101 features originate from her own blog  at http://jadevarden.blogspot.co.uk where you can see more of her thoughts on writing, as well as her own books. Her debut novel Justice and sequel The Tower are available now! Read our review of Justice here.

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Tony’s Thinking…Might as well face it, you’re addicted to writing

Today I was waiting for a very slow (It was still going 8 hours after I started it…) progress bar to finish. I’m used to this; working in computers is often a slow and patient business, and luckily I’m a slow and patient guy, or I wouldn’t be in the job I’m in.

Anyway, while I waited, I thought I’d write something off the top of my head, just to pass the time. Came out with a pretty good 1100 word story which I might publish somewhere.

The subject of the story is a bored housewife who takes up writing to pass the time, and on a whim sends her novel away to an agent. I won’t tell you the ending, but it got me thinking:

Is writing addictive? Is there a compulsion to write? I was twiddling my thumbs, and the first thing I thought of was: I’ll write something.

I’d just finished a seven month project to write a 35k novel (Update: That turned into Eight Mile Island), and here I was again: writing.

Here am I writing about writing, for heavens sake.

At least if I’m addicted – or obsessed – it’s quite a benign addiction; can’t see myself knocking over a fast food restaurant so I can find the money for more pens, for instance. But I would like to have some sort of life apart from hitting keys all day!

It’s fun ‘teaching’ it to people, and seeing their work and sharing it, but isn’t that just feeding my addiction?

I know I should be out there doing other things. I think there’s something called…ummm…’Fresh Air’, is it? I’d like to try that one day, just to see what it’s like. I think it comes with a side dish of ‘Exercise’, which sounds awfully strenous.

There are benefits to this addiction as well, I know. There aren’t many addictions where you earn money rather than spend it, and the more time you spend on your addiction, the more it earns you.

I’d love to earn enough to pay my mortgage, even if that wasn’t enough to take up writing full time (At the minute, I’m working on buying a new fridge!), but I can’t really imagine myself writing full time…what would that be like? How strict would you have to be with yourself to think of what you do as ‘your job: writer’, and not goof around on the internet all day. (Speaking of which, how are my sales doing on Amazon…).

So, in conclusion: Am I addicted to writing? Is there a cure? Would I want to take it if there was?

Now I have another story idea…an injection that stops creativity…

See what I mean?

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Mel’s Thinking…Christmas Tidings and Busy Times

Noel

Hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday period with friends, family, books… All that time off from work, but it still seems busy!

I have to apologise for the haphazard postings in the last few weeks – I’ve been attempting to finalise my second book and unfortunately putting together blog posts and pulling together the interviews etc. is quite time consuming and so I’ve not been able to do both. Having taken a little break from posting those – they will be back up in the new year when I get some time back again.

2012 has been an interesting and busy year – we’re approaching the first birthday of the blog (January) – and it’s surprising how much has happened when you look back over the twelve months.

The Indie Author Event in May was great, and will perhaps feature again in 2013 with some little changes. My favourite features are the guest posts – when authors and readers talk to us about something a little different, perhaps more openly than a straight interview allows. I’ve also really enjoyed meeting the other bloggers who contribute to Aside From Writing, which has changed from the ‘real world’ friends that started the blog in January (and disappeared quite quickly after a couple of months) to the ‘book world’ friends that I’ve met in the last twelve months through Goodreads: Emily, Tony, Stephanie and Jade.

So…what now for 2012? I’m going to have to think about that…but I am looking forward to getting some new features up and running, and posting a little more regularly! 🙂 See you in 2013 – Mel x

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Aside from Writing’s Year in Numbers

10,300 Hits, 215 Posts, 259 Comments

1 Blogger surviving the whole first year

3 Bloggers evapourating (metaphorically, not literally)

3 New Bloggers appearing

98 Facebook Friends

907 Tweets, 153 Followers

0 People on Pinterest (I just can’t figure it out!)

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Emily Read…Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

 Emily is our Goodreads pal and all-round lovely lady! 🙂 And, as you’ll know from our side-bar, her blog Confessions of a Bookaholic is one of our favourites. Now and again we feature her book reviews on Aside from Writing so you can get to know her too… ‘now’ is one of those days! 🙂 

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Series: Unraveling #1
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery
Release Date: April 24th 2012
Source: Bought
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars
Cover Rating: 3/5 Stars


Synopsis: Leaving the beach, seventeen-year-old Janelle Tenner is hit head on by a pickup truck. And killed. Then Ben Michaels, resident stoner, is leaning over her. And even though it isn’t possible, she knows Ben somehow brought her back to life…
Meanwhile, Janelle’s father, a special agent for the FBI, starts working on a case that seems strangely connected to Ben. Digging in his files, Janelle finds a mysterious device – one that seems to be counting down to something that will happen in 23 days and 10 hours time. That something? It might just be the end of the world. And if Janelle wants to stop it, she’s going to need to uncover Ben’s secrets – and keep from falling in love with him in the process…

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I lent Unravelling to a friend before I read it, she loved it and then insisted that I read it. So I did. It wasn’t what I expected at all though I haven’t decided whether that’s a good thing or not yet. The whole concept of a countdown till the end of the world seemed a bit cliché but this was actually very interesting. The story centers around Janelle who is hit by a car and killed. But then she’s alive again with a guy leaning over her. She is positive that he brought her back to life, no one believes her of course. When Janelle sees one of her FBI agent dad’s files she finds out about a countdown that can’t be deactivated. She has less than 24 hours to stop it and she’s sure the boy who brought her back to life has something to do with it.

I actually really liked most of the characters in this book. Janelle was an awesome heroine! There were points where she got on my nerves but overall she was a strong, independent character. I love how even when she’s falling in love with someone she doesn’t let it interfere with stopping the countdown. Ben, the main love interest, was quite sweet and nice but his personality didn’t go further than that. But what he lacked in personality he made up for in his romantic behavior. I really did like him but I liked his best friend more. Elijah was very entertaining and the misunderstood vibe worked for him which is a rare occurrence. My absolute favorite character was Alex. He was Janelle’s best friend and a very good one at that. He was always there for her and risked everything to help her, he even took care of her little brother. At first I was rooting for them to get together but as the book goes on you see it’s purely friendship.

The book started off pretty slow but after a while the pace quickened. Usually I am very good at predicting what is going to happen in books but in this one I just couldn’t, the twists and turns are completely unpredictable. Even though it went very quick I enjoyed the romance and the authors world building was almost flawless. One thing I wasn’t keen on was the swearing. I’m used to it in adult books but this was way more than most adult books I’ve read plus it was supposed to be YA. This book is advertised as 24 meets the X-Files, neither of which I’ve watched but after this I may check it out. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy sci-fi or a good mystery.

My Favorite Quote:
“I mean, contrary to popular belief, I’m actually not harboring a secret desire to grow up and become a bioterrorist.”

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Want to know more? Check out the links!

Read Emily’s interview with us here!

Goodread Group: Books, Blogs, Authors and More

 http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/62777.Books_Blogs_Authors_and_More

My blog: http://emily-confessionsofabookaholic.blogspot.com/