Monthly Archives: October 2018

Today’s Writing Tip

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Using speech to text features can be a great boom to some storytellers or bloggers, especially if you can say it far faster than you can type it. However, be aware that proofreading the result is essential. If you don’t, you may find various unsavory mistakes, such as heroine reduced to heroin as well as various other nasties due to the profusion of homonyms in the English language.

This, of course, requires that you be familiar with them yourself so you recognize when the wrong one is used. One of the most popular ones I’ve seen misused, even from experienced writers, is shutter (noun, outdoor window protection devices) instead of shudder (verb, to quake or quiver).

Meet #RRBC Spotlight Author Marcha Fox!

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Here’s the next stop on my blog tour! Many thanks to Beem Weeks for hosting! If you’re familiar with Thyron, you can find out a little in this post about how he sprouted and became part of my novels.

Beem Weeks's avatarThe Indie Spot!

Meet Thyron, a Flora Peda Telepathis

 

 Creating engaging characters is not only important to a story’s success, but fun and challenging. Sometimes it takes deliberate thought and hard work to figure out everything about him or her: hair and eye color, quirks, talents, weaknesses, favorite comfort food. However, knowing your characters intimately brings them to life, at which point they help write the story. I love it when that happens!

Thyron, a flora peda telepathis (telepathic walking plant) who appears throughout the Star Trails Tetralogy, was different. I didn’t have to go through a long, drawn-out, creative process to bring him to life. Rather, it was more like Pallas Athene, who burst forth from her father, Zeus’s, head as an adult (clothed in battle armor, no less–no wonder he had a headache).

In other words, Thyron showed up fully developed. Getting to know him was more a matter of…

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Today’s Writing Tip

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Spellcheckers are great, but have several limitations. In most cases, if what it encounters is a real word, but in the wrong context, it won’t pick it up. For example, it’s a common typo to write “then” instead of “than” or “you” instead of “your” (one of my personal favorites). Since both are legitimate words, they’ll be missed.

If you know what your most common typos are, search on those words and make sure they’re used correctly. If you do this each day as you finish writing, you won’t be overwhelmed.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Sometimes the hardest part of writing a novel or story is getting it started. If you feel stuck, work on developing your characters individually. This not only can get your creative juices flowing, but inspire new ideas of how they fit into the story and contribute to the plot.

Every story should start with a premise, which can usually be stated as a “What if?” statement. How that is developed will be further explored in a basic outline, which can lead to a chapter outline.

This is not a necessity. All authors develop their own style, not only of how they put words on the page, but how their story gets written. Some maybe start at chapter one, page one, while others may write the epilogue first, or jump all around as their muse dictates.

Don’t force yourself into a modus operandi that doesn’t feel comfortable. Trying them all when you first start out, however, will help you find what fits your style. Once that is identified, you’ll discover your own ways of overcoming writer’s block.

RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB’S “SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour: SPOTLIGHT” Author, Marcha Fox

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Here’s a link to today’s stop on my blog tour. Many thanks to Carol Marrs Phipps for hosting! Check out my hints for author newsletters.

Source: RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB’S “SPOTLIGHT” Author Blog Tour: SPOTLIGHT” Author, Marcha Fox

Today’s Writing Tip

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Giving your hero or heroine a fatal flaw is not always easy. However, it makes the person more human, easier to  relate to, and should, of course, contribute to the plot. Everyone makes mistakes, and your characters should, too.

This fatal flaw does not have to be some horribly immoral propensity toward evil. In fact, it probably shouldn’t be, unless you’re writing a horror story. Rather, it should be something that gets him or her into trouble. It will typically be taking some trait, even one that’s usually a virtue, to an extreme. Like being too honest. Or too organized. Or too outspoken. Phobias work well, too: Afraid of snakes. Afraid of commitment. Afraid of heights.

If you need more examples, take a look at some of your favorite characters from other stories, TV shows (especially sit-coms), or movies.  If you know anything about the character traits for the various astrological signs, there are clues there as well. For example, Virgo tends to be a neat-freak, Scorpio can be obsessive, Capricorn can be too ambitious, and Aries can be too aggressive, to name a few.

Such characteristics add depth, credibility, and interest which all contribute to making the people who populate your stories unforgettable.

Meet Marcha Fox, Author of The Terra Debacle: Prisoners at Area 51

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Many thanks to my friend and fellow author, Stephen Geez, for this guest post!

Stephen Geez's avatarStephen Geez Blog

What’s Your Learning Style?

Blog post by Marcha Fox

As I recall, there are three basic learning styles: Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. I’m somewhere between visual and kinesthetic, so I’m delighted with modern media’s emphasis on graphics. Not being an auditory learner was a major disadvantage when I was a kid. Being ADHD made it worse, plus I had a last name that began with “U”, so was typically seated in the back of the room. Looking back, it’s no surprise I got mediocre grades because, more often than not, what the teacher said did go in one ear and out the other. The one and only time I got sent to the principal’s office was when my 4th grade teacher got mad at me for doodling during one of her lectures. Good ol’ Miss DePalma. Think of her as a young version of Sophia Petrillo on “The Golden Girls.”…

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#RRBC Spotlight Author, @startrailsiv

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Many thanks to my fellow RRBC member, Marlena Smith for this guest post!

Mar's avatarSouthern Creative Soul

Hello, bloggers!

I am pleased to welcome this month’s RRBC SPOTLIGHT AUTHOR, Marcha Fox! Please help me support her during her exciting blog tour, as well as the entire month of October! (Visit the RRBC website for details!)

Fun with Words

If you’ve ever watched the popular TV show, “The Big Bang Theory”, you have probably seen one of Sheldon and Amy’s episodes of “Fun with Flags.” Well, here’s an author’s variation on that I’ll call “Fun with Words.”

I do have an ulterior motive, however. An expansive vocabulary opens up a world unseen; one that’s inaccessible without the words to express it. I’m one of those crazy people who will occasionally read the dictionary. I swear I’m not making this up. Besides, if I look up a word, I always read several other definitions while I’m in there. My dictionary is within arm’s reach whenever I’m on the…

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Today’s Writing Tip

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A large percentage of people own a pet. Including one in your story will not only make it seem more real, but can be a great marketing tool. What dog or cat lover isn’t drawn to a story that includes their favorite animal? Just make sure the critter has a personality and a name so it’s more than just a prop.

Anyone who has had a pet will tell you they have a personality. I even have had a fish that had one. How could I tell? Because it’s behavior was unique. I actually had a cichlid who definitely displayed unusual actions and amazing intelligence! I swear, I’m not making this up. Seriously. I have witnesses.

For those of you unfamiliar with this tropical fish breed, they tend to be quite aggressive and have a distinctive school pecking order. The poor guy or gal at the bottom of the chain is often harassed by the others, sometimes to the point of death. Thus was the case for one of mine, as evidenced by his chewed up tail and other wounds. To help him out, I put an excluder in the tank, which is used when the have babies or you introduce a new one.

This little guy gradually got well and one day I noticed he was no longer in the excluder; he’d learned how to get out. But that’s only part of it. He’d jump out, swim around the tank doing the fishy equivalent of “Betcha can’t catch me!” to his hostile tank mates, who would then chase him. But much to their surprise, this fish, whom I named Homer, would swim back to his excluder and jump inside, then peer out at the others in triumph, no doubt chanting “neener-neerner-neerer!”

I don’t know how I’ll ever fit a Homer equivalent into one of my stories, but you never know. Just make sure if you do include a pet that it has a name and fits into the story in some way, even if it’s only a sounding board for your protagonist.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Keep a character list that includes each person’s description, habits, motivation, and any other details that bring him or her to life. Refer to it as needed for consistency as well as new ideas for involvement in the story.

Especially when you’re starting a new story with characters who are just coming to life, it’s handy to have a reminder what you’ve done with them so far. Every characters should have a distinctive role in the story. If they’re redundant, then you don’t need him or her. Developing them can have other benefits as well, such as introducing new plot twists, or in the case of mysteries, red herrings.

Sometimes my favorite character in a story, either my own or someone else’s, isn’t the protagonist, but one of their supporting characters. Set yours up so they’d qualify for a virtual Academy Award for their performance in your novel.