Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Let's Have A Blog Party!

As I sat through a publicity and marketing presentation last week, I searched frantically for something different to help me do a better job with exposing my mew novel, Burning Bridger, to my friends and fans. The presenter showed me a lot of good things.
-You must have a plan which includes where your money is being spent and where you're getting returns.
-You must know and understand who your target reader is and where to find them.
-You must know what is working for you and what isn't and then use your successful resources.
-You must do something different if you want different results.
The last one got my attention. What did I do last time that I don't want to repeat...?
The truth is, I did a little of everything I could come up with. When I told the presenter I wanted to do something different with this book launch, she asked if I'd ever had a blog party?
I'd never even heard of a blog party, but it sounded like fun.
So, to make this long story shorter...Next week on Writing Blind we're having a blog party.
You'll see the cover for Burning Bridger, The trailer, blurbs from the book and you can win the chance to leave a comment during the party and win a free copy.
Come hang out for the day, or just for a while and we'll have lots of fun!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

The warrior's Arc

In a story with a warrior character, whether male or female, certain rules need to be followed in order for the character's plot and character arc to leave the reader fulfilled. In a traditional arc, our warrior fights through trials, failures, challenges and emotional setbacks until he/she overcomes in a final give it all battle.  Our warrior then, either becomes a higher ranking, so to say, warrior or royalty; the next step in the arc.
In a series this must be carefully done to move the character to a more complete and developed individual. If the warrior becomes the prince, then the prince must become the king and the king the wise man. The same is true for a female character. warrior becomes princess becomes queen becomes High Priestess.
While planning and plotting your series make sure your story line leads to this arc among your protagonists. It is not necessary for the warrior to literally become prince or king but their role in the story must represent those emotional as well as plot changes toward a better, higher, more developed character.
One of the best examples of this arc being done incorrectly is in the Thor movies.
In the first movie, Thor's character is demoted to earthly warrior before he can be elevated to king. This allows the character to learn, fight, sacrifice and become the future king for the second movie. Here is where the problem occurs.
Thor must go from being 'the future king' to accepting the role of 'king'. He does not.
Instead, he reverts back to his original role as a human warrior with 'king' powers, but his character doesn't evolve or allow him to become a higher being. The reader, or viewer, feels cheated and disappointed to find their warrior is still just that...a warrior. He's already overcome the obstacles that lift him into his new role, but he does not become.
As your characters develop through the story, they must become,  or the journey and the story seem futile and a waste of your readers time.
Examine the arc of your warrior, character and plot and see if your headed toward royalty.
In the meantime keep writing!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Paper Gems with Marsha Casper Cook

As authors, we often get the chance to sample the writing of other writers through our vast network of contacts. Some of these we meet through conferences, classes or festivals where we read one another's work. Marsha Casper Cook is an author, screen writer, producer and blogtalk radio host as well as the co-founder of The World of Ink Network. It has been my privilege to work with, get advice from and become friends with Marsha through our work together on blogtalk radio.  Marsha writes in more than one genre and has a multitude of books to her name. I had the opportunity to listen to a few of her children's books on audible.com,  a company contracted with amazon to turn books into audio soundtracks.
Cook's children's books were quite a treat for me. Her characters are so distinctly original that their stories come alive through the dialog and conversations in the book. Each individual character in the different stories I listened to had a particular way of expressing themselves, making them separate and individual. The voices were entertaining, silly, and specific to the stories from the detective in "No clues No Shoes" all the way to the Jr. witches in "The Magical Leaping Lizard Potion". Along with her wonderful characters, Cook manages to teach small lessons about eating healthy, watching out for your friends, encouraging one another and overcoming your fears. The stories are unique and entertaining while being fun and exciting for kids.
You can find Marsha Casper Cook at: Marsha's Website  - Children's books   
                       
www.marshacaspercook.com

Facebook page       www.facebook.com/marshacaspercook

Radio Personality   
www.worldofinknetwork.com

For any authors who have books available on amazon kindle, the site you can use to make your books into audio is acx.com An extension of amazon, the author can choose from a number of actors and voice personalities for their narrator. The cost can vary but is generally affordable, sometimes just a 50/50 split with the narrator. Go check out the audio site and Marsha Casper Cook to see all of her work.