Keep adjectives and adverbs (‘ly’ words) to a minimum, and don’t modify ‘said’ with adverbs.
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From the Editors
Expeditious Writing Tips :-)
Show, don’t tell your story. Don’t tell us the victim was stabbed, bring him/her on stage and let him/her scream as the knife slips between his/her ribs.
New Release!!!
This is the book you have been waiting for! Murder and a famous cemetery, the perfect combination for Halloween!
Stories To Die For
The amazing storytellers of Malice in Memphis specialize in taking historical locations and fictionally embellishing them with new characters, mysteries, and murder. They have now taken on Memphis’ finest and oldest active burial ground, the famous Elmwood Cemetery.
Founded in 1852, it is the final resting place of over 75,000 residents. From the common to the infamous, from the powerful to the famous, they are all here. The tapestry of life and death in the Mid-South is laid out in a beautiful garden cemetery with sweeping vistas, massive ancient trees, and spectacular monuments from the Victorian age to modern sculptures.
Malice in Memphis is now adding their special touch to the myriad of stories drifting among the mausoleums.
http://www.darkoakpress.com/elmwood.html
The Tales:
A Love Story by Mary Balsamo
An Elmwood Misadventure by Juanita D. Houston
A Part to Die For by Richard Powell
Bloodline, by Angelyn Sherrod
Date Night by Larry Hoy
Forget Me Nots by Elaine Meece
From Hair to Eternity by Phyllis Appleby
Grave Robbers by Kristi Bradley
Graveyard Grace by Barbara Christopher
Headshrinker by Susan Wooten
Hold Please by Lynn Maples
One Dare Too Many by Annette Miller
Public Death Private Murder by Carolyn McSparren
The 21st Battalion Will March at Dawn by Dutch Warren
The Furnace Room by James C. Paavola
The Yellow Fever Revenge by Jackie Ross Flaum
Unsolved Forever by Thomas Kienzle
A Very Worthy Human Being by Richard Powell
Returning to Russwood Park by Barbara Christopher
One Big Foot in the Grave by Phyllis Appleby
Rainbow Lake by Kristi Bradley
Fort Pillow Escape by Juanita D. Houston
Holding On To You by Angelyn Sherrod
Expeditious Writing Tips :-)
Create your characters with care, know and understand them. Give them depth by instilling strengths and weaknesses.
Expeditious Writing Tips :-)
Try to hook your reader with the first and last line of every chapter.
A day in the life.
This week has been a wonderful example of the oddity of the writer’s life. Let’s start with all your mundane responsibilities: job, significant other, pets, kids, school, weather, movies, social media, show binges, just to name few things. For me, for the next weeks there are also a few appearances, radio shows, podcasts, and training for a pirate show on the 23rd. It is just amazing the amount of stuff we can get ourselves into. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but, it kept the writer swimming in ideas.
Full moon – go howl, celestial events – go look, just plain weird thing to go do – go do it. It all feeds your psyche. It keeps you moving and grooving. Sadly, these days it is so easy to forget the rule of ROI. What is a ROI you ask. Simply put, it is your return on investment. Certainly, I am not suggesting you live life like is a ledger sheet. However, I most certainly am. Next time you lose yourself and spend a couple of hours surfing your social media you need to ask yourself “Was that worth it?” “Did it advance my goals?”
When your life is already over booked and you are not just tired, but you are dancing up to the the edge of exhaustion, you need to be greedy of the minutes available. Fifteen minutes of moonlight may be far more valuable than fifteen minutes of discovering your “dear” friend is a political retard on social media. Go read a new book. Play in the moonlight. Write that story. Avoid the pointless time sucking beasts. You might even get in a little extra sleep.
Upcoming Appearances:
September 10th Renee Live Show – Podcast
Show starts 8 pm Central – 10 pm
Featuring: Allan Gilbreath
http://www.diversitybroadcastingnetwork.com/
September 23rd at Two Rivers Bookstore (Memphis, TN)
From 4 pm to 6 pm
Featuring: Robert Krog, Wes Yahola, and Kristi Bradley
September 23rd Pirates Raid at the Benjamin Hooks Main Library
From 11 am – 2 pm
Featuring: Allan Gilbreath
September 30th at Germantown Public Library (Germantown, TN)
From 2 pm to 4 pm
Featuring: Numerous writers at event
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
Discover Something New:
When Dragons Sleep
Steven Glen Baird
Dragons Reign Supreme
Mankind had no place in a world where dragons reign supreme. In fact, they were considered little more than a distraction for the young or bored, insignificant insects to be manipulated for entertainment or destroyed as pests. All that changed when Thytira, one of the greatest mages of dragonkind, discovered that the magic of man may have merit after all. After living among humanity for centuries to learn their lore and increase his own power, he emerged as the most powerful dragon of his generation. But all knowledge has a price, and years spent among mankind cursed Thytira with the greatest liability a dragon can have: a conscience.
Now as war drums sound and a new, terrifying threat arises from humanity, Thytira alone stands between the wrath of dragonkind and the total destruction of humanity. However, the fate of men and dragon alike may ultimately depend upon the decisions of a young woman who long ago denied the birthright of her race. But that is only if Thytira can find her …
Just Keep Typing
Over and over again, at conventions, at workshops, at schools, at any gathering involving the topic of writing, I get asked the most basic of questions:
How do you overcome <insert obstacle of the day> and get writing done?
Notice, I don’t really care what your issue is because, honestly, it doesn’t matter. Yes, go get your pitchforks and torches. I say once again that it really doesn’t matter what you think or say because at the end of the day the absolutely only thing that matters is did words issue forth and are they trapped on or in a recoverable format. Thinking does not count. research does not count, the follicle count on a bigfoot just doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is progress.
I know that sounded harsh, but let us look at it this way. You are stranded with nothing to drink, after a little while, nothing in your life is going to matter more than getting something to drink. The hows and whys and techniques fade away to the simple need to drink or die. This is the secret to productivity. It really doesn’t matter what you have to do to write, just write. I refer to it as Ant Mentality. Now matter how many trips it takes, the ant does it. Nothing else matters, just the single minded pursuit of the goal.
Be seated, dig in, and write. Write like you have two weeks to live and three weeks worth of story to tell. I know writing is not the most glamorous of pursuits. To be honest, it like slowing and painfully buying lottery tickets. However, you can’t win if you don’t play.
Upcoming Appearances:
Sept 23rd at Two Rivers Bookstore (Memphis, TN)
From 4 pm to 6 pm
Featuring: Robert Krog, Wes Yahola, and Kristi Bradley
September 30th at Germantown Public Library (Germantown, TN)
From 2 pm to 4 pm
Featuring: Numerous writers at event
http://www.darkoakpress.com
http://www.geektankradio.com
http://www.cafepress.com/gtrmerchandise
