R.S.Sharkey

Well… kinda. I don’t know if anyone else out there has done this before, but the bloopers I’m talking about are ones I’ve actually written myself. But, they’re not “writer bloopers” like snort-up-milk-typos or fell-out-of-my-chair-slip-ups. The bloopers I wrote were actually me imagining with what kinds of things might happen with actors if my book ever got made into a film. Hehe, yeah, I know I’m a bit strange, but so many people say that these days I’m pretty sure we’re just the new normal.

Looking back at these few, short paragraphs I wrote, I can see how taking a break and having random fun with your characters can be quite entertaining. Letting them act “out of character” or even act like someone totally different can seem so funny (especially if the villain is “played” by a guy who loves to laugh!). A friend I showed this to commented how “…the characters aren’t really real. They’re just actors. They have ordinary happy lives that we have no control over, and just play the part in the books like they’re supposed to.” Which is quite an interesting way to view your characters, even just to look at them from a different perspective.

I think I may be rambling now. I’ll post my Fake Bloopers Reel in just a moment, but I’d like to mention, if you happen to have done this before, please: Let me know! Hehe, it’d be great to hear I’m not the only one (not to mention I’m sure whatever you’ve got will be pretty funny).

Continue reading ‘Bloopers Reel!’

Posted in Fun, Writing in General
Tags: challenge, character development, excerpts, perspective, systems, writing

Two articles today. The first one offers some helpful tips for BETA readers while the second discusses the difficulties of killing off a hero your audience loves too much.

BETA Reading Tutorial

Some good tips for BETA readers on how to make good notes and what to leave out of their notes. Also some tips for authors on how to work with BETA readers.

Apart from being a writer’s best friend, beta readers provide a cross between edits and a critique. A beta reader does not edit a manuscript, but will note the errors for the author to fix. Advice and critiques are other services a beta may perform.

Lessons from Sherlock Holmes: How do you kill a hero?

The expectations of readers versus what the author has in mind for their story.

When you highlight your genre ahead of time—however you’ve chosen to do so—you have to remain faithful to the parameters you set—or risk the wrath and black armbands of your loyal fan base. When you betray the expectations of the genre, it’s like pulling the rug out from your audience. It’s a far worse crime than if you’d not set any expectations to begin with.

Posted in Articles
Tags: articles, Beta Reading, character, expectations, Monday, readers, story development, tips, writing

A fun little edit to the short Friday post I did last week. Instead of 7th page, 7th line, 7 lines, I decided to have a bit of fun and try 7th line, 7th word, 7 words:

Daddy is so upset. He’s always been…

An interesting capture of Anika’s dad, can’t say that it’s really all that true, but her story isn’t over yet. Sorry this is a super short post… I suppose I can make it longer by challenging you to go and look for 7 words 7 lines in and 7 words over (which doesn’t really make is longer, heh). But, if you do decide to look it up, post it here and see if it happens to be anything interesting.

Next week’s Wednesday post: Bloopers Reel!

Posted in Fun, Writing in General
Tags: excerpts, writing

Surprise!

I had to do a bit of post shuffling so Radialloy’s review is here today!

Radialloy, book one in the Firmament series by J. Grace Pennington, is an introduction. A thrilling introduction!

The year is 2320. Andi Lloyd is content with her life as the assistant to her adoptive father, a starship doctor, but her secure world turns upside down when she begins uncovering secrets from her past. When her father mysteriously starts losing his mind, she finds that she can no longer count on him to guide or help her. With mutiny breaking out on the ship, and two factions desperate for a valuable secret she holds, she must race to help her father and herself before time runs out.

Continue reading ‘Review – Firmament: Radialloy’

Posted in Books, Review
Tags: book, Firmament, J. Grace Pennington, Radialloy, review

This Monday, I’ve once again got two articles. The first is yet again related to writing and I know of many people who would really love to read it. The second is more directed to those who’ve already been published or who plan on interviewing someone who’s been published. Without further ago:

Are Your Male Characters Masculine?

Not just for writing male characters, this article also has tips on writing female characters as well!

When a female writer’s male characters think, act, and talk in a feminine way, her audience will get annoyed – even if they don’t understand why. The same is true if a male writer’s female characters don’t think or act or talk like real women.

How to Impress the People You Interview (and Be Professional)

Never been interviewed? New author? Perhaps you’re interviewing a new author… or an experianced author. This article can offer some tips on how to make sure you both get the most out of the interview:

We are living in the age of lazy journalism, where experts receive a steady barrage of requests, and are bound to become weary from time request overload.

Posted in Articles
Tags: character, character development, interview, Monday, story development, styles, tips, writing

So, a couple weeks ago I saw something floating around on Facebook… Anyone from Facebook can attest to the myriad of status tagging games (my own name for them, not sure if they have an official name). A recent one I saw was directed at writers!

Directions: go to page 7 or 77 in your latest novel work. Go to the 7th line, and then post the next 7 lines online. Then you tag 7 more writers.

I decided it would be fun to do with one of my books and so selected one I figured had enough pages in one document. Those of you who know of Anika Dalmore, this is from the first draft of her story (which currently has no name):

So soft I can barely hear it, Daddy whispers to me, “Be brave, never forget, and wait for me.”

He says something else, but I can’t hear him. Then he holds up the stone cup to me and I take it. His hands encircle mine and we both raise the cup to my lips. I can smell the liquid, but there’s something else there, something more than the wine. The cup tips back and I swallow down the drink until the cup is empty.

Once finished, we drop the cup and Daddy holds me. He’s still whispering, softer than I can hear. Then I feel the world grow cold. It starts with my fingers and toes and then creeps up my arms and legs. Daddy closes his eyes and kisses me again. The world grows dark and the last thing I feel is Daddy’s arms hugging me close.

Next week’s Wednesday post: Review – Firmament: Radialloy

Posted in Fun, Writing in General
Tags: excerpts, writing

Father’s day. I don’t know what you did, but my family and I went on an amazing walk down Seven Bridges Road. We were at the first bridge for the majority of picture taking adventure which began with me trusting a little overgrown pathway down the steep side of a hill/cliff that ended at a short rocky waterfall. My determination to get down (and get down safely) was realized with success and allowed me a nice vantage point of the falls. A short while later, I returned to the road.

Continue reading ‘On the First Bridge We Crossed…’

Posted in Art, Happenings
Tags: art, photos, rivers, seven bridges

Browsing around, I’ve come across far too many awesome/interesting articles. Thus, I’ve decided to make Mondays into link sharing days! Every Monday I’m going to share one or two interesting articles/links/sources I’ve found in my blog browsing. To start things off, I’ve got two articles from DeviantArt to share with you:

The NonVerbal Thesaurus

A great list of ways you can add body language to your characters!

Dialogue is VISUAL – Not just a bunch of words. 
Watch the average conversation between two people. 90% of that conversation isn’t in what’s Spoken, it’s in what they are DOING while they are speaking. It’s in their Body Language. Body-language cues in your story alert the reader by SHOWING them what is going on in a character’s head without Telling them, and without resorting to using the most often repeated word in fiction: said.

Research is your Best Friend

Some advice/tips on doing research for your stories!

I detail everything. Seriously. I believe in a Total Immersion style of writing. In other words, I want to know the world so well, I can simply step into the mind and skin of my main character and LIVE the story.

Both of today’s articles were written by OokamiKasumi on DA. She’s got some other good articles I’ll be sharing in the future, FYI!

PS. If anyone has suggestions on what I can title these posts, let me know! Comment…

Posted in Articles
Tags: character development, Monday, story development, styles, systems, writing

I used to be the perfect little girl; always listened, never talked, loved Mommy and Daddy with everything I had. But then, Mommy was taken and Daddy turned away. I was left alone and afraid and that’s when darkness won me over. Daddy will love me again, or else.

Here’s another -50 words introduction to an MC. This story’s been giving me it’s own issues. The main one being; what am I actually going to do with it?! I’ve never felt more lost, but still guided, in my writing. I know what’s supposed to happen and most of what happens in between, and yet I’m going nowhere. Last time I looked the MC was taking a joyride! Perhaps with this story, what I really need is a short-term focus. The MC needs to start listening to the plot and I need to finish figuring out the details of the plot.

Next week’s Wednesday post: On the First Bridge We Crossed…

Posted in Writing in General
Tags: 50 words, character, character development, stories, story development, writing

Alright, first book review, here we go!

Finding the Core of Your Story, to borrow the Smashwords short summery, is about how every storyteller should be able to say in one sentence what his story is about. This book will help you learn to do just that with a writing tool called a logline. These handy single-sentence descriptions of stories originated in Hollywood, but filmmaker Jordan Smith will show you how to write one for any story. 

And he does just that. Jordan has written an easy-to-read, easy-to-follow book that outlines what a good logline is and how to write one for yourself. Examples are plentiful and you are given a wide variety of loglines to learn from. Never again should you have to fear the dreaded question “What’s your story about?” Because with help from Jordan Smith’s book, you’ll have a ready reply in the form of a logline
Continue reading ‘Review – Finding the Core of Your Story’

Posted in Books, Review, Story Development, Writing in General
Tags: book, Jordan Smith, logline, review, Sarah Abner, story development