First Draft: Then What?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

#writetip Do you get to relax and celebrate when you finish a manuscript and are getting ready to send it to your agent or publisher? You probably deserve it, but if you’re anything like me, it’s time to get to the next activity.

Yesterday, I finished updating my 3rd novel, Burnt, based on comments from Garry Ryan. I’ve sent it off to be proofread, and now, I’m not going to look at it for a couple of weeks.

What am I going to do with my time?  Well . . .

  • Write a blurb
  • Write a synopsis
  • Figure out if Burnt is the best title for the novel
  • Update my website
  • Update the CWC website
  • Update my agent’s website (Margaret Hart at HSW Literary Agency)

And on and on it goes . . .

There is so much more to writing a novel than actually writing the novel.

THANK YOU GARRY RYAN

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#writetip As a member of the Crime Writers of Canada, I am entitled to participate in the mentorship program.  Garry Ryan, president of the Crime Writers of Canada and Author of the Detective Lane Mysteries, was my mentor.

Garry is the Winner of a 2007 LAMBDA Award and the Calgary Freedom of Expression Award 2009.

So how lucky was I feeling, when the CWC notified me that Garry would be working with me on my manuscript. Garry provided me with broad scoped and detailed feedback. He told me where I was doing things well and where I needed to work on things. He called it tweaking. I’ve saved all of his comments and will use them on future manuscripts.

If you write crime stories and are trying to get published, the CWC offers a way to get your manuscript ready.

Check out Garry’s website. He has a page that lists where you can buy his novels.

Thank you , Garry!

Beach Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing Our dogs love the beach. While we’re windsurfing, kiting, kayaking or swimming, the dogs are able to entertain themselves. Farley and Cali have become BFFs. They watch with concern while the gang gets geared up for another windsurfing/kiting session.

There are many uninhabited islands in the Bahamas and this means the dogs spend hour after hour off leash. There’s nowhere for them to disappear to. There’s nothing that can hurt them – well, that’s not quite true.

The sting rays can be a problem for dogs. If your dog is prone to chase them, they are likely to get stung. Not a fun experience.

The dogs keep fit digging, running, swimming and chasing crabs.

Opening Scenes: Action or Summary?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#writetip How do you start your novel? Are you a believer in action or summary? Me, I like to start with action, whether I’m reading or writing a novel.

In my humble opinion, the opening scene is where you get to “show” your stuff. An opening scene filled with action gives a writer the opportunity to show who their main character or villain is, what he/she is made of and how he/she behaves.

I find if I read a summary of a character in the first scene, I don’t tend to be that interested in the character or believe what the writer has to say about the character.

However, if the character is thrown into a situation, I get to learn through seeing and make my own decisions on what they are made of and then the writer has me, and I’m happy to go along for the ride.

Sea Turtles

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

#sailing Part of the fun of cruising for the winter is the wildlife. This sea turtle swam right past our catamaran.

The dog barks frantically, telling something is amiss. I guess he’s not sure what’s in the water and so close to our boat.

A Story Worthy Problem

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

#writetip How do you know if you have a story worthy problem and why do you want one?

I guess it depends on whether you are writing short stories or novels. I write novels, but love to read short stories. Let’s say a novel is somewhere between 70,000 and 100,000 words. Some can be more and some less.

For a reader to want to spend their time reading 70,000 words, there has to be a problem they are interested in and it has to be big enough to write that many words about.

Your main character needs to strive for something of they are just sitting around being boring. They need to come up against obstacles.

My idea is that you know you have a story worthy problem if you find yourself at 70,000 words (ish) and are still writing about it. If you run out of things to say, it might not be the story worthy.

Mystery Novel: Order of Clues

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

#writetip Are you writing a mystery novel and unsure of where to place your clues? Are you including red herrings in your novel? Me too.

One thing I learned working in the human resources field is that people tend to remember the last message you give them. So when I was giving feedback, I tried to end the meeting with a positive message, something the person could take away and be proud of.

I thought this could translate into writing a mystery novel. I give a “real” clue and follow it with a “false” clue. My hope is the reader will remember the second clue, forget the first clue but still have it in their mind, and not guess too early who the villain is.

What do you do?

Cruising Dogs Need to Swim

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

#sailing How may people does it take to get a dog on a boat? Apparently four.

Two to swim with the dog, one to lift the dog onto the boat and one to clap encouragement.

I say this in fun, but there are many situations where your dog has to swim.

Here we couldn’t get the boat closer to the beach, so the only way for us to get on board was to swim.

Before you take your dog cruising, make sure it can swim.

Farley doesn’t love it, but he can do it.

Descriptions That Engage The Reader

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 1 Comment

#writetip When you create the world your novel exists in, there are an infinite number of “things” you can describe. A daunting task! How do you choose what to write about and what to leave out?

One technique is to describe what the character cares about. Chances are if the character is interested in the “thing” being described then the reader will be to.

The character might be interested in something if it is relevant to their goal, if it is a danger to them, or if it shows something about their personality.

To show the reader your character cares about this “thing” you can have the character give their opinion in either speech or thought. You can have the character go to extreme to save this “thing.”

If their house was burning down, what would they save? Maybe that’s the “thing” you should be describing.

For everything you describe, ask yourself how what it means to your character. That should get you on way to deciding what in your new world to write about.

As usual, this is what works for me. If you have other methods, I love to hear about them.

Goats and WI-FI?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

#sailing

Getting wi-fi while cruising the Bahamas can be challenging, but it can also be funny.

For the first time in my life I’ve been to a store where I can buy wi-fi and a goat at the same place. How is a woman supposed to make that decision?

A goat on the boat. Hmm? That might be difficult to explain to my husband. I mean there are shopping impulses, but this could be seen as a little extreme.

In then end, I gave up the idea of having a goat and bought the wi-fi card. I just couldn’t figure out where the goat would sleep.