Telling Secrets

     Writing is like telling secrets, in a very slow, sort of manipulative way. As writers we should treat our readers like friends we wish to gossip with. We know something, details, a juicy spill we let our friends know in spicy chunks. At work the other night, and usually I'm not the type to gossip (I swear!), a coworker of mine had a story to tell me. Every time she began to talk we would get interrupted. I'd return to her and before she could get knee deep, another interruption! But, I kept returning because her tale had sparked my interest. The more she tried to tell me her story, the more it made me think about writing.

     As her audience I kept coming back, even though job duties kept calling. I knew she had something good to tell. As writers we want our readers to feel this way. We want them to keep coming back to our pages, edgy for our secrets. If we spill everything right up front, our readers might get full on our words and no longer be hungry for more. We have to play hard to get, remain mysterious, and tell our secrets like teasing kisses.

     Author, Christopher Reardon, talks about point of view! He shares some interesting thoughts on first and third person.

Point of View in Writing and Reading

First Person (i.e., I, me, we, and us) Third Person (i.e., he, she, it, they)

    I personally like writing first person A LOT more than third. My debut novel, Obstacles, is completely in first person. I knew I wanted it this way from the start. I really believe a story is more engaging when you believe you are part of it yourself. Getting to say ‘I’ and ‘me’ when I’m writing really helps me get into a character’s mind. I truly thought about how I personally would react to the situation, and that made it a lot easier to write for my main character, Alcott. He became much more real and relatable then just talking about reactions from far off.

     Third person makes me feel like I’m stalking the characters and talking about them. When I read, too, I’ve learned I like first person MUCH better. I actually feel like the main character is speaking to me personally. There’s more of a connection, and I care more about how the person/situation turns out. When the author just talks about what’s going on from a far off, omniscient view, I just don’t care as much. I don’t like the narrator being ‘all knowing.” I want a narrator with flaws!!

     Also, I think first person is the BIG ADVANTAGE BOOKS HAVE OVER MOVIES. Despite how well a movie is filmed, I don’t think it can possibly connect a person to a story like being told about each and every thing specifically. That’s why books are so powerful. Language has the major power of perspective and the ability to connect. I personally don’t think movies can give that as much.

    However, third person can definitely have its advantages. When writing first person, you’re kind of stuck with one character’s perspective. There’s no free roaming to whatever situation you want to talk about. You are restricted to what that character thinks and feels. I don’t like that very much. There can be so much more to a story than just what one character feels. That’s why third person is awesome. When you write, you can speak about many different characters and tons of different situations. You certainly aren’t as trapped. So, you can personally choose whatever you want. I don’t think you should stick to just one writing style, because both points of view have big advantages.

Christopher Reardon
http://reardonchris34.weebly.com/
Here's the link to Obstacles, my Amazon page, and my contact information.
Obstacles :http://www.amzn.com/B00EVVIOSE
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18743462-obstacles?from_search=true
Twitter : https:/www.twitter.com/reardonchris34
Facebook : https:/www.facebook.com/chrisreardon34

Email: chrisreardon34@gmail.com

Somewhere to Write

     When and where do you do your best writing? Some writers need complete silence. Others like music in the background, a little blues, jazz, or classical. Some might need the white noise of a fan, or the background drum of conversation at the coffee house.

     Stephen King writes behind a closed door, where no one can intrude on him. Anne Rice has found inspiration writing on a quiet beach in Florida. Jodi Picoult writes in her attic. Hemingway wrote in the morning (like several writers). Nora Roberts writes in her office, located on the top floor of her house. I inspire to write in solitude, with quiet that allows my creativity to run rampant without interference. Of course, and I think most writers can agree, optimal writing environments aren't always available. We can't always lock the door behind us and revel in our work.

      E.B. White said, "A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper." I like this quote because it validates my moments of sporadic creativity, and since my writing environment isn't always ideal I have to compromise.

     I'm working on the sequel to my debut novel, Beyond Gavia. The rewrites are pretty deep. I am cutting out several parts of telling and adding deep point view to bring the reader into the moment. Focus is needed! But my two and a half year old doesn't care about rewrites.

     "Mommy, I want sit on your lap." She stares up at me with big blue eyes. "Put computer down."

     Dang, I think. I am really into the part. Creative fuel is abundant. If I put my computer down inspiration may flounder and slip away, never to return again. I must write.

      "Mommy, I want you hold me."

     I sigh and I sit my work to the side and pull my little Lily into my arms where we cuddle and watch Caillou. Writing will have to wait.

     This happens all the time. Writing is a large part of my life, but my little girl is bigger. I am sure thousands of writers experience such moments. When Nora Roberts began writing, she wrote around her sons nap schedules. I do this when I can. I also write at work during down times. I write while doing laundry. I write after work when everyone is asleep and I write with my morning coffee. Morning is my favorite time to write, before stress can enter my brain. But since I don't always get to write during the best moments I have to write when I can. The optimal writing environment isn't always there.

     I'm curious to how other writers find their optimal writing environments and how they compromise when they can't.




    

In the Spotlight

     When you walk into a room you might think people are looking at you, sizing you up, watching you walk, and some people might be, but not everyone. As humans we often overestimate how much others are paying attention to us. In social psychology this phenomenon is deemed the Spotlight Effect. It is fascinating how much the spotlight effect can influence a person emotionally, mentally, and socially. As a writer I think it's interesting to think about this while writing.

     As a writer you dive into your characters minds. You write from their perspectives, and that includes writing how your characters are affected by their interpretation of how other's see them, even when others aren't paying attention. For the most part your characters are people (unless you are writing science fiction or fantasy) and people tend to be egocentric, biased without always realizing it, and tend to think others think like they do. People use their own experiences to gauge how others may think and feel.
   
     If you have a character who is insecure about her weight, chances are she believes everyone at work is noticing how her belly rolls out over her jeans. Of course the spotlight effect doesn't have to always correlate with insecurities, but also with confidence and/or grandiosity. A character who spends hours doing her hair may think all the other women at the store are admiring her lovely locks. Or a character who thinks he is every woman's fantasy might believe all the ladies in the club are watching him stride to the bar for a drink.

     Here's an example on how to employ the spotlight effect in writing. It's something that should be used sparingly (a reader might get bored of reading how a characters worries that everyone is always judging her), but it can an interesting way to show character and point of view.

     Eyes were dissecting me. They stared at the mess of frizz on my head, the jagged black liner above my eyes, and winkles crimping my silk shirt. I smoothed back some of the loose curls that had fallen from my hairclip. My gaze met with a woman standing a few feet away. Did she see the circles beneath my eyes? Could she tell I only slept two hours last night, that I screamed at my husband until four am? She smiled, then looked away. Heat rose in my cheeks. I followed her stare up. The bright orange hand disappeared, replaced by the white walking man. I stepped forward with the crowd, hoping my heel didn't get caught in the cracks.

    Thank you for visiting my blog. I love comments and feedback!
    

 

Audience: How to Get to Know Yours

     Your book will not appeal to everyone. There will be readers who will search for your kind of novel while browsing the shelves at the book store or searching through the thousands of ebooks online. These people are your audience and they are vital to selling your work.

     In my first year of college I had to take a basic English course. The instructor taught the class how to write college level papers. She was an enthusiastic teacher, kind of bubbly, yet serious about what she taught. She made learning how to write papers feel like a drama course. One element she always focused on was audience.

      I will admit, at first I didn't get it. My thoughts were, 'Wouldn't anyone who read my paper be it's audience?' Which in a way is true, from my perspective, but so was the idea that why should I make my bed when it's going to get messed up again later? But it's nice to have a made bed, and it's also nice to have an audience for your work. As time went on I began to understand the importance of audience.

     Every creative work has a target audience. As a writer you want to write books that will appeal to the readers you are targeting. You want to know your audience, understand them as best you can. If you write young adult fiction you want to know what kind of young people will enjoy your novels. Same goes with romance. There are several degrees of romance. Some are warm and cozy, while others burn to the touch. My novel Beyond Gavia is a science fiction with a sub genre of romance. I've had readers love the way I built my character's romance. Then I had a reader who'd felt my sex scenes weren't explicit enough.

      Successful writers usually have a firm grip on what their readers expect of them. This is more difficult for writers who are just beginning. You know you want people to read your book, but you also have to somehow fulfill their wishes as readers. Here are a few tips for getting to know your target audience.

          1. Read the kind of books you want to write. Reading your selected genre can help you get an understanding what readers of that particular genre enjoy. Yet don't forget to maintain your own style and voice as you gather inspiration from reading other authors.

          2. Read reviews on books in your genre. You can get a good handle on reader expectations for their favorite stories through reading what they have to say about them. You can do this on Amazon and Goodreads, but be careful. There are those out there that many call 'trolls" because they troll through and leave bad reviews for the sake of leaving bad reviews. It's like a hobby for them. Anne Rice was just talking about this a few weeks ago online.

         3. If you are already a published writer learn from your own reviews, even the ones that make you want to throw your computer out the window.

        4. You can also learn more about potential readers by engaging in online forums for writers and readers. The internet supports hundreds of writing groups and communities. Ask other writer's their opinions on audience.

         5. Know the age you are targeting. Make sure your material is age appropriate for your audience.

     I'm sure there are several other ways to get to know your audience, but here are a few that have helped me out. I'd love to hear back from other's on audience. Thanks for visiting!



    

The Existence of Evil and its Contribution to Character Development in Fiction

     I was talking with a friend of mine. He's an interesting character. He's in his mid 60s, set in his ways, and his views on life are always good for an interesting conversation. He's scientific in thought, kind of straight laced, usually level headed, but pretty passionate about what he believes in and what he doesn't. He doesn't believe in the existence of evil.

     "The idea of good and evil is a religious based idea", he told me.

     I nodded, somewhat agreeing. I grew up in a loosely religious based home. I grew up believing there was good and bad in the world, a distinct line separating the two.

     The conversation rose from the topic of the television show Boardwalk Empire. We are both fans of the show and I asked him what he thought about Nucky Thompson. In case you don't watch Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Thompson is the protagonist, a politician/gangster in Atlantic City during the height of prohibition and the corruption that rode along with it. In season three Nucky becomes a little more crooked, violent, and a little less likable. I was in season three. My friend was still watching two.

     My friend leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together, his expression squinting with thought. I knew I was in for more than a shallow opinion of character.

     "The interesting thing about Nucky Thompson is that he is neither good nor evil," he said to me.

     I explained to him about Nucky in season three without too many spoilers. I did agree with his character analysis of Nucky to an extent. As humans we all struggle with being good and bad.

      My friend went on to explain that people are neither good nor evil, we are what we are by nature. Everything we do is an extension of something that has happened before. We behave by how the neurons fire in our brains, which is manipulated by both genetics and things experienced. I understood this. My degree is in psychology, but his explanation still didn't tell me why he didn't believe in evil.

     I asked him, "What about sociopaths, serial killers?"

     He simply stated, "They just aren't wired right in the brain."

     My friend's ideas of evil interests me in character development. As writers we often use evil to challenge to our protagonists. It's not always evil, but it is a key theme in fiction, good vs evil. I've used it as a writer. Once while I was researching clichés in fiction I came upon a site that said "the evil antagonist has become cliché." Often writers make a character evil just to be evil without reason.

     The more I thought about Nucky Thompson the more I agreed with my friend. A character who's evil just by nature doesn't seem exactly credible. What makes the character evil? Something must have led up to the character's evil ways. A writer may not always want to dive deep into the characters background, but subtle hints could be good. I am sure many writer's do this, but as a writer myself I continue to try and make sense of the distinct line between good and evil I used to believe in. The lines are usually very blurred. I think the blurred lines make for a more interesting villain. He's oh so bad...but.....

     The more I thought about the existence of evil, or whether or not it doesn't exist the more I became interested in it. Writing is my passion, but so is the study of human behavior.

     I did a little research, asking Google, does evil exist? I found a great article by Ron Rosenbaum, titled The End of Evil? Neuroscientists suggests there is no such thing. Are they Right? Some of the ideas Ron gives in his article heavily correlated with my friend's explanation. As I read the article I wondered if my friend had read it too.

     In the article Ron talks about how neuroscientists have ruled out the concept of evil as we know it. People do bad things, but their actions are not conscious decisions. They are caused by a glitch in the brain, and instead of labeling such glitches evil, scientists have retitled evil as "lack of empathy." The article details much more and is an interesting read. I'll provide a link to it at the end of the post.

      In fiction we think of villains as evil beings. Just watch any old Disney movie. I grew up loving Disney films (I still do!). But as I think about evil now in terms of creating a villainous character I feel like evil is just a flimsy label. Much more goes into to being bad than just being evil. As a writer I want to display this in my villains. I will continue to contemplate evil and its contribution to the development of my characters.

     I'd love to hear from other writer's and how they implement the idea of evil in their stories and how they use it to shape their characters. Comments are welcomed!

Article by: Ron Rosenbaum

  http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_spectator/2011/09/does_evil_exist_neuroscientists_say_no_.html

    

   


    

    

Playing Ghost: My Erratic Experience as a Ghostwriter

    

     A friend of mine came to me with an idea. He wanted me to write a book with him, or more so for him. His idea was enthusiastic, brilliant, and emotionally explicit. He had an attachment to it for personal reasons. I won’t go into detail out of respect for his privacy. I agreed, sharing his excitement for the story. The task came with an array of experiences: some were great, some were good, and some were absolutely terrible. Before I go into my experience playing ghost, let me explain what ghostwriting is.

     When you ghostwrite for someone you are hired to write for them, but you are not the author. The person who has hired you is the author while you remain invisible (for the most part). There are some ghostwriters who take some writing credit, such as a story told by so and so, written by you. Ghostwriting can be any kind of writing. Some writers are hired to write blogs for others, letters, emails, memoirs, non-fiction, speeches, and fiction. They write, but take none of the credit for the words written. It may seem strange, but writers do it all the time.

    Ghost writing can be a good thing, a decent way to make extra income. There's several people out there who want to write a book or a blog, but may not have the time or talent so they hire a writer. Celebrities, doctors, politicians, and even other writers often do this.
    
      My ghostwriting experience could have been good, but it ended in disarray, and the loss of a friendship. I wanted to share my experience because it has been so significant to me both personally and professionally. I may come off sounding a bit biased. Sorry about that (kind of).

     I pretty much took a year off my own writing. When he came to me with his idea I was deep into the sequel of Beyond Gavia. I thought, I can write both. It was unrealistic, so I shelved my book to focus on his. Even though I was the ghostwriter I often felt the lines were blurred on this project. A ghostwriter is supposed to take someone else's ideas and words and put them on paper. I assume most ghostwriters get a synopsis or an outline. I never got any of these. We did juggle ideas, sent several emails, but there was nothing concrete to walk on, just a wobbly bridge where I had to lay the ideas down to step upon. The premise was his. The antagonist was his (whom even though was the villain, he wanted to be the star of the book). The rest was pretty much mine. Some of the setting came from him. But I took the bare bones he gave me and covered them with muscle, blood and flesh. In definition I wasn't a ghostwriter, I was a co writer yet I had to maintain a shadow of him.
    
     He didn't want me to tell anyone I was writing his book. I was supposed to sign a confidentiality agreement, but I never did. Several aspects of the project we agreed upon never came to light. During the project we'd talked about me taking a bigger role since I'd been not just the writer but part creator. I was supposed to sign a contract, but I never did. The reasons for this is because I didn't agree with some of the elements within the contract. He was supposed to make changes, but never did. I did tell people I was ghostwriting. They saw me doing it. My family knew, as well as a few co workers. Some people couldn't understand the concept of ghostwriting. They thought it was silly when I could be writing for myself, but I believed in the project.

     The great of the project came with collaborating with a friend who possessed great creative talent. We were amazing together in that aspect. We played off each other and created amazing content and characters. I loved that part. It was a high. But the high didn't last long and often came crashing to the ground.

     The good was the writing. I love to write. I loved the story and characters we'd created. I'd said previously I was never given an outline to write from. I was told to let the ideas flow and that my creative output was trusted. This sometimes worked, but there was several instances I had to make rewrites because he was 'feeling' what I wrote. This became extremely frustrating because if I'd had an outline the need for such rewrites may have never existed. It was time wasted on my part and unfair to me as his writer.

     The terrible often overshadowed the good and great. I was hired to write a book, but while doing so my friend often disappeared for days and weeks. I'd be writing and suddenly I wouldn't hear from him or couldn't reach him. He worked in the entertainment industry and lived a hectic and busy lifestyle, yet instead of communicating with me he'd jump ship, only to climb back on weeks later begging for me to finish the project.  The book meant a great deal to him and he'd made connections in the literary world. The book had publishing potential. I wanted to be a part of that. He was a bridge I didn't want to burn. But his in and out behavior occurred all the time. It was unprofessional, unfair, and overly frustrating. I kept allowing him to treat me and the project in such a way, so the negative impact the project had on me became just as much my fault as his.

     I finished the first draft. It was an amazing accomplishment. I learned mountains about myself while writing the book. I learned I can write and finish a book without shelving it. I have written three books, but I have several half written, stored in computer files, begging for my attention. I think as writers we often begin our stories and abandon them, succumbing to writer's block or other life stressors. Later we come back to them when inspiration strikes. This can become a vicious cycle where plots and characters are left hanging by us. I couldn't do that ghostwriting. I had to plow through. I had to keep writing. Ghostwriting taught me discipline. It was a great lesson.

     The terrible extended at the loss of a friendship. We'd been friends on and off for over ten years, randomly dropping in and out of each other's lives. We always connected on a creative level, and that was where our friendship thrived. But we clashed when it came to business. After I finished the first draft I was suppose to run the first full edit, but I didn't. I pulled out of the project and handed over the first draft in a complete document. I couldn't work with him anymore. It was heartbreaking. I'd spent a year of my life creating something I had to let go of. I mourned it. I'll never do it again.

     I wanted to share my experience. It's personal and I will admit not the most conventional ghostwriting story. I felt the definite need to share it with other writers who may benefit from it. I'd also like to share a list of things to consider before taking on a ghostwriting position.

          1. Make sure you have a clear cut agreement with whomever is hired you. There should be a sound contract that includes confidentiality, what is expected of you as a writer, what is expected of the author, and any financial agreements made.

          2. Make sure you know exactly what the person are writing for wants before you go wasting your time, such as obtaining a complete outline and synopsis.

          3. Make sure you are comfortable with writing and letting someone else take the credit for it.

         4. If you are writing for a friend, tread carefully. Business and friendship may not mix as well as you hope.

         5. Don't be taken advantage of.

         6. Make sure you and who hires you are clear on a deadline.

         7. If you are serious about writing for yourself, be careful about abandoning your own projects for someone else's.

     I'd love to hear stories from other writer's who have ghostwritten before, as well as others who are considering it.