Coming into Focus by Dianna Sinovic
January 30, 2021 by Dianna Sinovic in category Quill and Moss by Dianna Sinovic tagged as description, descriptive writing, details, scenes, writingFrom our archives:
The devil is in the details—not only when moving forward with any plan—or with life, but also when working to make a novel, short story, or even narrative nonfiction come to life for the reader.
In the following examples—selected randomly from my bookshelves—the specificity of the details pulls you right into each scene.
The slick black road became narrower, windier, became the single-lane track I remembered from my childhood, became packed earth and knobbly, bone-like flints.— from The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
His eyes had the bluish gray color of a razor blade, the same polished shine, and as he peered up at me I felt a strange sharpness, almost painful, a cutting sensation, as if his gaze were somehow slicing me open. — from The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
Her clothes can stay behind—her humble pale-print dresses, her floppy hat. The last library book can remain on the table under the sagebrush picture. It can remain there, accumulating fines. — from “The Jack Randa Hotel” in Open Secrets by Alice Munro
With just a few precise details, the authors do more than describe; they weave their tale. The road in Gaiman’s story speaks of the character’s childhood, perhaps a rough one, based on the bumpy flints. The razor-like stare of the man in O’Brien’s scene lets us know the main character has met someone from whom it may not be easy to disengage. And while we know that Munro’s character visits the library, the urgency of her departure makes an overdue book seem trivial.
So, details, yes, but only the right ones. That’s something I struggle with in my writing. As a former journalist, I was taught to focus on the who-what-when-how, so I’m prone to put in too much information.
Earlier this summer I was fortunate to hear Colum McCann speak at the Rutgers Writers Conference in New Jersey. I loved his Let the Great World Spin, and I wasn’t disappointed by what he had to say. In his keynote, he told us of his travels across America when he first arrived in the U.S. from Ireland. All interesting, entertaining stuff, especially when told in his lilting accent, but what really resonated with me was what he called “the beauty of the extreme detail.”
It’s finding the one bit of description to insert in the scene that makes your reader believe that what you’ve described is true. How do you find that one perfect bit? Through your research, of course, whether the research of human experience, through interviews, or by Internet searches.
McCann offered for his example his research into the world of ballet while working on Dancer. After spending hours of time hanging out with a ballet de corps, learning the terminology, the joys and frustrations, the daily life of a dancer, he took his young daughter to see their production of The Nutcracker. He later shared with the dancers his daughter’s hands-down favorite scene: the Waltz of the Snowflakes, with the snow drifting down. It was, the daughter said, magical.
Instead of agreeing with him, the dancers groaned: That scene was their least favorite. The “snow” that fell was swept up after every performance and set aside to let loose at the next one, without filtering out any of the dirt and debris that might have been on the stage. The dancers told McCann that the only thing they could think of when the “snow” began falling was that they would need to wash their hair.
He said that nugget of detail gave him more cred among dancers who read his book than if he had used other, more mundane descriptions of the corps.
I can’t say that I no longer struggle with the details in my WIPs, but they don’t devil me quite as much.
How do you decide which details to include in your writing?
The Atlantis Codes
January 29, 2021 by marianne h donley in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Rabt Book Tours tagged as #LarryHamilton, #RABTBookTours, #TheAtlantisCodes, The Atlantis Codes
Book 1 of The Atlantis Legacy Series
Teens, Young Adult, and all mature readers
Date Published: November 19, 2020
Publisher: Mindstir Media
About the Book
Trouble is coming…coming by land…coming by sea. Coming for you…and coming for me.
What would you do if you had just prepared a perfect margarita and turned to leave your kitchen only to find a menacing assassin blocking the doorway and his stated intent was to kill you right now?
This is the situation Matt Flannery is confronted with on an otherwise typical Saturday afternoon at his bungalow on Anna Maria Island, Florida.
Who is this mountain of a man? Why is he here? What does he want? And…why me?
This day and this incident begin an unexpected, epic journey for Matt that will not only change his life, but the lives of his friends, family, and possibly…all that live on Planet Earth.
This journey of discovery will take Matt to many destinations in search of answers to his questions. Questions raised many years earlier by his explorer grandfather, James “Irish” Flannery, who Matt idolized. Sailing aboard his beloved charter fishing vessel, the Nice Catch, Matt sets out with his girlfriend Kelli, fellow seeker Lucien, and close friend Jake in search of solutions to the perplexing problems and fresh dangers that continually present themselves. The action moves in a frantic and tightening spiral that always threatens to be the undoing of our intrepid crew.
Come meet the ever-evolving cast of characters who play a part in this thrilling story and discover, along with Matt, what the real story behind the story is.
Are you ready to board the Nice Catch and take part in this stirring saga? Just keep telling yourself that “it is only a story…isn’t it?”
“Larry Hamilton keeps the intensity dialed up in critical mass, the second book of his Atlantis Legacy Series. With all the elements every good thriller needs like secrets to unravel, double-crosses, murky government types, and plenty of fireworks, he leaves you very few spots to catch your breath. Courage and loyalty face-off against greed and power reaching a climax that will leave you on your own search for the next installment.”
J.J. Hebert
#1 Amazon Bestselling Author
About the Author
I’m insane! Just kidding again. Forgive me…
I have been a voracious reader since my earliest childhood. Words and books became a window to the wider world for me as I grew up in poverty in the hills of Appalachia in Eastern Kentucky. So I traveled the world in the county library which was free and held unlimited mystery and exotic locations for me to sample. I used to climb the nearby hills and look to the other side in the hopes of seeing a harbor or great city. As a result, I have always loved words. Unlike video, books were interactive and required me to create the pictures the writer was trying to paint. So, I became accustomed to doing so. As I grew into adulthood, I felt the itch to try to create something meaningful with words. But, I had no formal training or encouragement to do so and I also had jobs, businesses, and families to take care of. So writing stayed on the backburner. But as I reached my 50’s, the urge to write began to resurface and I had more time and means to do so. That is why I began writing. So why write these books about these subjects?
I have always had a strong interest in the things we don’t fully understand or know as human beings…yet. Every time our scientists make a great physics discovery for example, it seems to bring into question everything they thought they knew. And they start over in their quest for true understanding. I actually love it when that happens. The mysterious unknown feeds our sense of wonder and gives us more windmills to tilt at. Humans love it. It’s what drives us and fuels us. The urge to know and see what is over that next hill. The Atlantis Legacy Series incorporates all of this. Ancient histories of this planet that are still slowly coming to light. The question of Who are We? and Why are we Here? are fundamental to everyone. New things are being unearthed, so to speak, every day. Both on the planet and off the planet. By Book 3 of this series, we will be examining all of these great unknowns and what mankind would do if our origin and place in the universe is not exactly what we have been told it is. Ultimately, I want to take the reader on this search for discovery in a fun, adventurous way but also address these great mysteries that are becoming more apparent with each new discovery. I guess I wrote these books for myself and trust they find like-minded readers who will share this thrilling ride with me. It is my life’s dream.
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Janet Elizabeth Lynn and Will Zeilinger Featured Authors
January 28, 2021 by A Slice of Orange in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month, Partners in Crime by Janet Elizabeth Lynn & Will Zeilinger tagged as 1950s Crime novels, Author Interviews, Chatting with Authors, Janet Elizabeth Lynn, The Skylar Drake Murder Mystery Series, Will Zeilinger
January Featured Authors
Janet Elizabeth Lynn was born in Queens and raised in Long Island, New York. She is the author of murder mysteries, cozy mysteries and with her husband Will Zeilinger, 1950s hard-boiled detective mysteries.
Will Zeilinger has lived and traveled the world and has been writing for over ten years. His novels range from mystery to romantic comedy and those 1950s hard-boiled detective mysteries with his wife Janet.
Partners in Crime
Together Janet and Will write the Skylar Drake Mystery Series. These hard-boiled tales are based in old Hollywood of 1955. They have a free E-book How it Began: The Skylar Drake Mysteries available from Smashwords.
Their world travels have sparked several ideas for murder and crime stories. In 2021, they will team up will a penname E.J. Williams for a new mystery series. The first novel in the International Crime Files, Stone Pub will be published in May.
Chatting With Authors
In addition to writing novels, Janet and Will have a YouTube Channel, Chatting with Authors featuring informal Zoom interviews with authors of various genres. Below is a sample of one of their chats, but we encourage readers to check out all their videos.
This creative couple lives in Southern California . . . and yes, they are still married, and they even blog together at The Married Authors.
Janet and Will’s Interview with Author Marianne H. Donley
Interview with author, Marianne H. Donley, who writes fiction from short stories to comedy, to romances, and quirky murder mysteries. She makes her home in Tennessee with her husband and son.
Disabled Author Still Finding Himself by Justin Murphy
January 27, 2021 by A Slice of Orange in category Guest Posts tagged as biographies, Guest posts, Justin Murphy, Non-fiction
I have a mild case of Cerebral Palsy, and I help care for an Autistic brother. Yet, I have spent years concealing my disability for fear it might hamper my writing career. I’ve written and self-published many works, including articles and columns for content sites. My best-known release, so far, is Gene L. Coon: The Unsung Hero of Star Trek.
My work spans quite a few genres: Southern Crime Fiction, Non-Fiction Entertainment, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, and Autism related fiction. The former two are the ones I’ve had the most success with. Alongside the Coon title, I penned the book Jack Kirby: The Unsung Hero of Marvel and a couple books about serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo.
My attempts at Sci-Fi/Fantasy have not been as successful, so I built on my achievements by writing more Non-Fiction Entertainment books about sci-fi creators. I have inked one on Steven Spielberg, culled from earlier articles I wrote about him. I, also, wrote books on such figures as Alfred Hitchcock, Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling, and filmmaker Stanley Kubrick. In addition, I did a couple short books on the Star Wars saga. With Disney and Marvel’s success at the box office, the Jack Kirby book might be the farthest I go in that genre for now.
Over the last decade, I was told to write more about my struggles with Cerebral Palsy and my brother’s Autism. Yet there’s a Catch 22, as with any endeavor. Despite improving my craft through writing from life experiences, this is also a business designed to make money. I also have heard: Well, this doesn’t sell, or You need to write something more marketable.
For a time, I got flack for writing serial killer stories and Autistic characters placed in science fiction or crime tales, instead of drawing from something more authentic.
Though still writing stories on the above figures, I wrote a manuscript based on an event that happened to me when I was ten years old, due to Cerebral Palsy. Another about our ordeals with my brother’s Autism, anger with discovery and acceptance of what went on, and how we learned to love him.
But my writing still didn’t feel complete, so I wrote a supernatural horror story about an Autistic child and her family being stalked. Despite many autobiographies and memoirs being successful, these more authentic stories of mine used fictional names, and either combined or deleted certain incidents that didn’t fit the main narrative. Plus, many authors have written from their life and had a great deal of success placing them in fictional contexts.
Remembering my small success with Southern Crime Fiction, I’ve spent this year (2020) weaving these Cerebral Palsy and Autism elements into a few detective stories, based on a short story I wrote and submitted for a Boucheron Crime Writers contest with Florida as a setting. Also, I worked on a couple disability themed heist caper tales set in the 1940s and 1950s.
None of these more recent stories, pertaining to Cerebral Palsy, Autism, or disability, have been published, yet. I am still deciding on when and how to release them, along with other ideas I still want to pursue.
Recently, I heard a quote from another writer who said, “Write from your life, not about your life.” More and more, I’m wondering if that’s at least partially true.
About Justin Murphy
Born November 26, 1985 in Dothan, Alabama.
Whether it be Fiction or Non-Fiction, Justin Murphy has always tried to explore many themes in his work. One is probing into the darkness of pure evil with The Original Night Stalker: Portrait of A Killer, a fictional story based on a real-life murderer Joseph James DeAngelo. He also enjoys exploring obscure figures often forgotten in entertainment. Such as with his most recent success, Gene L. Coon: The Unsung Hero of Star Trek. It profiles the ex-Marine, pharmacist, and journalist who did the actual heavy lifting on The Original Series.
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Spotlight on GENE L. COON: The Unsung Hero of Star Trek
GENE L. COON
The Unsung Hero of Star Trek
Wendell Eugene: A Night to Remember by Neetu
January 26, 2021 by Neetu Malik in category Poet's Day by Neetu Malik tagged as jazz, music, Neetu, New Orleans, poetry, trombone, Wendell Eugene
Wendell Eugene: A Night to Remember
Rain drops drizzled
from the night sky,
café lights twinkled
in dream-lit New Orleans
you strode gracefully–
ninety and one years of life
trailing grandly behind
your trombone
dazzling on the stage,
you raised a toast to
the joy of living
among fans and friends
I watched you tune
your gleaming instrument,
lifting it to your lips
with the ease
of one who knows
an old Fidus Achates–
as one who has carried
ecstasy and heartache
through time’s mist
and glory
my eyes
transfixed upon
shimmering brass
as you played
wondrously
you turned to the applause,
our eyes met, you smiled
awed by your presence,
charmed by the smile
of a music man
who brought jazz to life
every night
for me, it was a first time,
and perhaps the last
at that fine restaurant.
©Neetu Malik
In honor and memory of Wendell Eugene (1923-2017), the longest-performing jazz musician/trombonist of New Orleans.
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