Welcome to Jane Lewis! Things get a little bit Wylder!!!

Jane Lewis adds a little something more to the fictional town of Wylder with a second story that doesn't dissapoint. 

Blurb:

Rose O'Brien is a stage actress masquerading as a Saloon Singer in Wylder, Wyoming. With an abusive lover hot on her tail and a handsome Scotsman proposing marriage, Rose decides to flee to California before her secret can break Callum's heart—and hers. 

Callum MacPhilip has loved the Irish lass since he saw her enter a carriage on a street corner in Cheyenne. When a snowstorm and a turn of fate brings them together, Callum vows to protect her—and convince her to take a chance on love.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1509241272/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1682255735&sr=8-1

That Writing Notebook you are Keeping!

So do you folks remember when I said to begin keeping your writing notebook for this current story. It was a place you could put together your ideas and notes about your story. I encouraged you to keep up with chapters or scene to remember key points in each. It's good to add one or two sentences about what each chapter holds. This book could also remind you of hair and eye color and names of those mentioned in your story for easy reference for starters.

I have used my notebook for all my stories in one way or another but it's also what I like to refer to as my writer's bible...it holds all the truths about my stories. Even if I mapped one of my stories on my story board it later ends up in my notebook. 

But over time I added things about writing and cowboys and horses to my book. It makes it fun. You can add writer's quotes and all kinds of things. It might even be a bit of a journal for you. 

A few years back both my girls wanted a WRECK THIS JOURNAL...in case you have never seen those it tells you what to write about or do on each page and encourages it to be messy. So mine might be a true messy journal but I love it. So here are more ideas and I encourage you to make your book planner fun!!

My husband and girls don't understand me and notebooks and papers. I am funny about my notebooks and if I make a purchase I get aggravated if the sales clerk scans it roughly and bends the pages. I have refused to buy it when they do that. And I never buy spiral bound notebooks if I can help it. They get beent and the pages do not turn well. And Eventually I want a new one. I hate the frayed pages when they are torn out. 

So I am spoiled to the soft cover Moleskin brand notebooks. They come in various sizes. My writers Bible is in one of these and it's lasted. They lay flat when you write. The pages are nice. There are plenty of pages and they just hold up well to being carried all over. Worth the price in my opinion. So find the kind of notebook you csn use for more than this story. Especially if you will have more than one book in the series. I Kepp adding each new book idea to mine snd so my book Bible has grown little by little over time. 

Add a list of your favorite books
Keep a to be read lost
Write quotes
Add stickers if you love that sort of thing
Keep a travel list 
Add restaurants you love
Add your goals for 2, 5, 20 years...
Add thoughts each day
Keep up with your book ideas and plans
Add some of the research you have done
Add all kinds of lists
Use crayons color pencils highlighters
Add recipes
Add ribbons
Draw your hand somewhere inside it
List your pets
Add favorite TV shows or Movies
Make a page your bucket list

THIS LIST COULD GO ON AND ONE BUT MAKE IT FUN!
But don't let it distract you from the story!!

Time to Write Week 16

 

Oh boy. We made another week. Another 7 days of an hour a day. Did you do it? If not start asking all the why's.

Writing a book is hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. That's what a friend once reminded me of and she isn't an author but an avid reader. She gets it. 

So are you taking care of you? That's half the battle. If you aren't your best then your writing won't be its best. 
Sleeping enough? Hydrating enough? Exercising?

All these things matter. And it's hard to fit it all in if you are like me with a full time stressful day job. There are days I get home praying I csn quickly get through chores and dinner and all it takes to raise a family...wanting Jammie coffee and bed. (Yes I drink coffee ever morning and evening. Caffeine immune I think) but it's my comfort drink. It's my drug. No need for alcohol or other means of self gratification. 

But take a look at your week and how you did on writing snd taking care of you. Up the tension there just like you do for time to Write. 

So chapter 16 this week. I hope your planning time last week has helped you push this story forward. Work hard on pulling things thst should happen together. And go on to chapter 17 and 18...let's crank out some book this week. 

If you are getting neat the end of your story....sort of chapter 20...can you get more writing time in? Can you grab a full weekend or weekend day to let you mind stay in that story for a longer period of time? Negotiate for that. Can you gain a sneak away weekend with a writer friend? I always get a lot done then. 

Then finalize ch. 16 and move on to 17 and 18 if you can. Focus on all three details needed to end the story coming up soon. I will keep saying chapter 20 but you might only need 19 and some of you will need 24. So get to it. 

Tell us how it is going for you? Any pointers you can share?

And catch us all on FB.

Mapping Story

I am probably not the best at teaching you how to map out your novel. While I do keep an outline of the story idea, a lot of things change for me or a lot of fluff happens to my stories because I really am a terrible panster. 

Someone said I am a Plotster....I plot and then panster my way through it. Mayne?

But I see my hero and heroine in my head and I know their stories and I know they will have a happily ever after but I don't always know how they are gonna get there. 

I also write scenes that I know will happen and I do not write them in order. 

So my delimma has been a pile of scenes but now it's time to add them to the manuscript where needed. My pile of paper printed scenes stays in a pile until I pull out the one that needs to go next in my story. I then find it in my saved files and copy and paste it in. At that time I do edit through it in case some part of the scene doesn't work with the current story before it. Or I make notes on my outline to change something. 

I am not sure how I started writing like that and sometimes it is a pain to get things in order but when the characters play in my head I start writing. Or I play with thise ideas and if good write that scene to hold for later. 

Sure there are scenes I have redo or toss. Depending on the story some scene don't fit once I am rolling through putting the story together. 

But again I am likely not the best to teach about story beats and how and when certain things should happen. 

Honestly I have never followed a plan or outline on how to plot out a novel. I have a story in my head and I write and put it all together. I fluff scene to bring them into the story. I write scenes to connect scene to fit later on as I am working through the novel. 

So I did a search on various ideas of how to story. There are grafts and charts and things to guide you all over the internet. 

Some people write by beats. 

Some write by acts. Here is an example below. I do not own this and I do not know who wrote it but it's one example of what is out there if you need a guide. 

How to ACT;

• Act 1 (the first 25%): Introduction of the character and situation.

• The Inciting Incident/Catalyst (in the opening pages): Something that introduces a problem or goal for the main character.

• Plot Point One/Act 1 Break (about 25% of the way in): The point of no return, when the character embarks on the journey (physical, mental, or emotional).

• Act 2 (the middle, from the 25% point to the 75% mark): The character tries to solve the problem but faces escalating obstacles and rising stakes.

• Midpoint (in the middle of Act 2, at about the 50% mark): A moment of seeming success, but it may twist the story in a new direction or raise the stakes.

• Plot Point Two/Act 2 Break (at the 75% mark): The moment when failure seems inevitable.

• Act 3 (the final 25%): Wrapping up the story. Things may continue going downhill, and/or the hero(es) may develop a new plan, leading to the ...

• Climax/Resolution: The big final scene where the character ultimately succeeds or fails.

I took these all from sights online, but there are many various ways to to this. I cannot take credit for the ones here but I urge you to look further online to review several to see what fits you and what might work for your story. 

Time to Write Week 15

 

So chapter fifteen is up! I hope you are making progress. Of you are falling behind check a couple of things. Are you still negotiating and managing to get that hour A day for 500 words or more? 

It might be time to tell the family again this hour a day is yours. Plan the hour for all week and stick to it. If you miss an hour then do all you can to make it up. This is the time for your writing. 

Treat it like a job or another task that you must complete daily. 

Check too that it isn't your story that you are avoiding. If you have hit the saggy Middle then read up on that and see if you csn up the antenna on the story. If you are boring of your story then so will readers. 

Look, you said you wanted to write. And you are following this blog to let it help keep you on track. Are YOU giving your writing time? 

So this week focus is on chapter 15. Ya know if you are working on a 20 chapter novel you need to plan out what's coming next in the upcoming scenes that will head you toward what will happen in the Climax and ending of your story. This is a good area to begin upping the stakes and increasing the tension while pulling the story's ending together. 

So plan in your notebook what needs to happen by the end of this story. Jot down all you can think of...all that stuff thst lingers in your brain about what will happen. Maybe use bullet points or boxes so as you incorporate happenings you can check them off. You may want to map what scenes will happen in the next few chapters. 

Not head on put of chapter 15 into 16 and maybe 17. Keep the pace to get the most words for that hour you get a day. Make it count!!!

If you are already toward the ending that is great. We are guessing at a 30 chapter novel for most. Those of you who know your story will be longer can go ahead and plan for those chapters. If you stick with the path of this blog...then I plan to have it take you through another 20 chapters...though your might or might not be that long. So plan accordingly. 

This blog is to help you complete a rough draft in the timing set. But we will all be at different paces of completing out stories. I am a total panster...but even those of us who do not plot heavily have to have an idea of where we are going. So work on that. 

If you happen to be done...KUDOS! Now start editing one chapter at a time. On week 21 I will have editing helps on each of the posts!! Dp stay tuned. 

Hey and no going back to fix things right now. None. At
All. If you are keeping up don't stop progress by dwelling in previous chapters. IT IS SO MUCH EASIER TO EDIT AND PLAY WITH A COMPLETED DRAFT THAN TO WRITE. 

ONWARD....

See ya on Authorkimturner Facebook for more hints.

Sneak attacks of Writing

 

Each year I welcome football season. Mostly because I am a die-hard Alabama Football fan and secondly because I watch the games with my husband....and I bring my laptop. I call this a sneak attack on working Writing and for me mostly editing into the day.

My husband has racing season tickets in the town next to ours. This begins in March and ends in November which means a lot of Friday and Saturday nights he is not home. And my girls already know if Dad is at the races then mom isn't cooking unless it's a quick frozen pizza or something similar. If he is at the races then I get Writing time. Fair enough. 

Waiting to pick up my girls. I have learned over the years to grab a bit of writing time in the car on my phone (Galaxy Note 20) while I wait for them. One now drives and the other isn't far behind so that time may be slowly dwindling. But it opens up a new door of me not being the errand runner and more time to Write at home. 

Doctors office. And how long did you wait at your last MD visit? Too Long but again I work a scene on my phone or edit through one I already have written there. 

Grocery lines. This one can be a bit more difficult. Some lines are long but I can start jotting down ideas for a scene that I need to write. I also have a bit of social anxiety. I don't want to smile or say hello so I get busy on my phone. 

I hear so many writers say they write on long trip in the car. No. Can. Do. I am easily motion sick on anything that moves. I kid you not. I can get sick on a float in a pool...so when the chiropractor placed me on the watered that massages I had to call for help and crawl off the thing and lay in the floor until nausea passed. So I cannot write in the car but I do listen to books. 

Honda dealership. Just got a new car I named Jolene and I get so many free oil changes and tire rotations. So I plan the first early Saturday Appointment and they have coffee. And I sip and write. Another sneak attack of time. 

Lunch break. I can write a rough whole scene at lunch if I sit in a quiet corner or at my desk alone. Just let the words glow that I can edit later. 

While watching TV. I cannot just sit and watch TV very well. I always feel like I shloud be doing something. So it is rare I do not have my laptop or planning items in my lap while I profess to watch a movie alone or with the family. Some writers tell me they can't do this but I have this innate ability to tune out almost anything when my head is in a story. Total quiet is hard for me but we are all different. 

Other ideas....Dragon. A friend gave me a Dragon Program where you can speak and it types. I tried this for a while but it doesn't work for my brain. So this might be an option for some. 

I have sat at writing events and conferences and while listening to a speaker did a bit of writing or editing on my phone. I just try not to be obvious or rude about it. 

I have written when we camped in our camper. Now we camp rustic so I have to charge my laptop in the car or with out generator. And to mention we had little access to internet up in the mountains of North Georgia. So no distractions. My husband and the girls fished for trout and I cooked and kept the fire going and edited through an entire 100K word novel. 

I do confess if you see me on my phone at church I am taking notes...not being an author. Just to clear up that idea. 

Beach? Yes I write there a lot at least before the sun kicks in and I have to hunt more shade or jump in. Funny people never understand me writing there. They see it as work I suppose but I love enough it's a joy on vacation. 

Kids want an activity...make it one where you can write. 
A park if perfect! Did a lot of that in the past. 

So take a look at places in your life where you can gain sneak attacks on writing.

Time to Write Week 14

 Ch. 14......15,16

How does it feel to be this far along in your story? Even if you have not been able to keep up, any progress is good. So pat yourself on the back. This week focus on chapter 14 fully. Think about your story arc and how are your characters growing. It's OK to keep doing 1 chapter at a time but if the words are flowing go on to ch. 15 and 16. Whatever works for you. Think about your dialogue as you write what the characters are saying. Speak it out loud. Does it sound like what you think your character would say? Think about culture, time period and era...my cowboys need to speak 1800 cowboy. Not like modern cowboys. I am working on my story of Leaning Bear...in the story Paint the Sky. I am having to do my research on how a Cheyenne would speak to people of the day. He has had a hard life and speaking freely to a white woman...well let's just say it's fun writing this one. So do your homework ahead of time to make sure. Dialogue should come easy and sound natural. But her3 are some hints. Don't use dialogue as an info dump. Mayne back story Here and there or a little but don't overdo it. Keep conversations moving between the characters. Too much can be as dangerous as too little. Let the speech carry the character's tone. If not then characters do not become distinct to the reader. Watch out for characters sounding similar due to your own voice. Avoid small talk. Every piece of dialogue should be important to the story and up the tension. Make all dialogue count! Another big one is not to let the characters tell the story in dialogue. Show vs. Tell....you show it. It's also unusual for characters to say the other's name each time in general conversation. And a word on writing tags. Action tags are best. He said. She said. Boring. I didn't realize the impact of this until I began listening to books on Audible. And every time the narrator kept saying he said, he said, he said. I was like....NO MORE! Action tags allow your character to move and do something as they are conversing. Doing this can be done well enough to add more to the story. I am not a fan of those passages where the dialogue goes back and forth for several lines with no tags. I always end up going back to read again to understand who said it. So I rarely use those. But some houses like that and ask for me. Use at your own discretion but don't confuse your reader. I suppose I just prefer more descriptive writing. Be careful of too much dialogue and or too little. Cut filler. Make sure as I mentioned every word of dialogue is in the story for a reason. It needs to help the story move forward. Hint at the past and head to the future of what the reader can expect. Again take the time to read your dialogue out loud. Or like me click on your narrator feature in word and let it read a passage to you. I always catch a lot of things I change or fix because I listened and read out loud. So go forward and WRITE! SEE YA ON THE BLOG AND FACEBOOK.