Mystery Writing

Novel Translation

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

The translation of my novel Fracture Line into German is done.

Kanadische Rockies: Verwehte Spuren Im Schnee

has been sent to my agent, Margaret Hart, at the HSW Literary Agency.

So what’s next? My translator has started on Descent.

And what did I learn? Proofreading in German is just has hard as in English. But more importantly, a translator looks at every word and decides what it should be in another language. If you want to have a novel scrutinized, getting it translated and working daily with a translator, is a great way to do it.

She caught things like repeated words or phrases, suggested better paragraph ordering, and highlighted character traits. It made me think of writing in a whole new light.

I’m proud to say she only found one typo. I was amazed by that.

For anyone interested: Here is the English Blurb followed by the German Blurb (where my spellchecker went crazy).

IN ENGLISH:

On a cold winter morning, deep in the Purcell Mountains, Roy McCann disappears in an avalanche. Was it an accident or did something more sinister happen?

Kalin Thompson accepts a job in the interior of British Columbia, thinking she is moving from Ottawa to be near her estranged brother, Roy. She leaves the comfort of her job with the Canadian government to become the human resources manager at Stone Mountain Resort.

On her arrival, she discovers Roy is the prime suspect in a major theft. She struggles to adapt to the subculture of resort life while covertly investigating Roy’s involvement. Threats against Kalin escalate as she gets closer to the truth and she doesn’t know who to trust.  Is her faith in her brother justified?

IN GERMAN 

Stone Mountain, Britisch Kolumbien, Canada, Montag 31. Dezember, 7.29 Uhr.

An diesem kalten Wintermorgen, hoch auf den Purcell Bergen verschwindet Roy McCann in einer Lawine.

Kalin Thompson kündigt in der selben Woche ihren Job mit der Kanadischen Regierung  in Ottawa und nimmt den Job als Personalchefin im Stone Mountain Skibetrieb an. Sie will ihren entfremten Bruder Roy, wieder treffen.

Nach ihrer Ankunft entdeckt Kalin, dass Roy im Verdacht steht, einen großen Betriebsdiebstahl  durchgeführt zu haben.

Kalin muss sich in die Subkultur des Ortes einleben. und zugleich eine heimliche Untersuchung leiten, um Roys Unschuld zu beweisen.

Ihre Liebe zu Ben Timlin kompliziert ihr Leben noch weiter. Ist ihr Vertrauen gerechtfertigt?

Kalins Leben wird bedroht als ihre Forschung nach der Wahrheit Erfolge zeigt.

Kalins Dilemma: Ist ihr Glaube an die Unschuld ihres Bruders richtig, und was verursachte die Lawine, Mann oder Natur?

Scrivener and Novels

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 15 Comments

Do you use Scrivener to write? I’m looking for input.

It’s been recommend to me by several writers, so I thought I’d try it. I’ve been using it for a week. If you’ve been reading my posts you know I can’t write a novel without a spreadsheet. It’s how I keep track of details.

One of my favourite things to do with a spreadsheet is to sort the columns. I can quickly see how may times I use a POV, Location, Characters etc. In Keeping Track Of Scenes I list some of the things I put in a spreadsheet.

Do do this in Scrivener I used the outline page and added fields to the custom meta-data section. This seems to work okay.

I’m going to use Scrivener for the trial period and then decide whether to buy it.

Can you share with me your favourite Scrivener feature and how you use it?

I’m hesitant to move away from my current method, but if this is a better way then I will.

Looking for help. Thanks, 🙂

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Novel Titles – What’s in a name?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

It’s always exciting receiving feedback from my agent. This time it was about the title of my  2nd novel.

The working title for my second Kalin Thompson Mystery novel was The Final Gate. I loved it. My agent’s editor had a different view.

I thought I’d share the very politely worded comment regarding the title. Here it is . . .

It might, however, need a new title because the present one could be confused with “The Western Gate,” or the aboriginal term for the entrance to the afterlife…

I’d put a lot of thought into the title, ran it by my readers, friends and family, and still there is more to learn.  But . . . I’d rather know now that the title might be the wrong one.

Where am I going with this? You may have noticed I updated my site with a new title for The Final Gate. The new title is:

Descent

I’m excited about the new title and also excited to get feedback to make my novel better before it gets sent to a publisher.

Isn’t the saying something like, SO much to learn . . . SO little time.

Thanks to my agent, Margaret Hart, and her team for helping me through this process.

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Correct Word Choice

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

 

So I’m a woman and you’d think I’d know the difference between woman and women.

I took a month off this summer from writing. I spent the time at the cottage with family and dogs having a wonderful time. Before I left for the cottage, I’d written about 40,000 words of my fourth novel, Look the Other Way.

After my return and before getting back to writing, I decided I’d better read what I’d written.

If you haven’t taken time away from a novel you’re writing, it’s an amazing experience. I was surprised and pleased by what I’d written. Well, with most of it anyway.

This brings me back to woman/women. I know how to use this word correctly, and yet, I found 2 places where I’d used it incorrectly.

Stepping away from the novel for a while and then reading it again, made these errors jump out at me. I’d be embarrassed if I, as a woman, sent this to anyone to read, and hadn’t caught the error.

Do you have a word your hands seem to want to type the wrong way?

 

Ending a Scene

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

So here I am again, adding a new column to my spreadsheet. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can write a novel without an ever-evolving spreadsheet.

Previously, I blogged about Starting a Novel Scene and Before the Story Begins, and I don’t know why I didn’t notice at the time, but perhaps I should be checking how I end each scene.

I believe variety will help make a novel more interesting to read, so I added a new spreadsheet column called The Ending.

It contains one of four entries

  • Action
  • Dialogue
  • Thought
  • Narrative

The first draft is written without thinking about this. I want to write what comes naturally, and I want the story to flow.

But once the first draft is complete, it’s time to use various techniques to ensure the novel is as good as possible. This is when I check whether the scenes end in different ways. If all the scenes end with narrative for example, the novel might be tedious to read.  This is a less artistic part of the process, but no less important to the end product.

Anyone else have spreadsheet tips they want to share?

One Family – Two Publishing Strategies

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

The big question is: to self publish or go with a traditional publisher. #writetip #writing

My brother has just published his first novel: Maxwell Huxley’s Demon. He chose the self-publishing route. His book is available both in paperback and as an e-book.

Some say this is the easy route. After watching the amount of work Mike put into this, I don’t believe that’s true. He went through the same vigorous process of editing and proofing, of finding beta readers, of taking feedback. He found YA readers to comment before he published, making sure he had feedback from his target audience.

I decided on the traditional route and have an agent. Margaret Hart at the HSW Literary Agency is representing my work. This route involves the same amount of work my brother’s chosen route.

Mike and I are watching each other and learning from both processes. What we did learn is that we both love writing, so no matter what option you chose, if you love to write, the end result is you have created a novel. While we watch, scheme, plan and wait, hoping that Mike’s book takes off and mine gets published, we continue to write. That’s what this is all about.

To Keep Reading or Not To Keep Reading?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

Sometimes I feel bad about starting a book and then not finishing it. I don’t do this often, but here’s one reason why the book goes back on the bookshelf.

Last week, I blogged about Likeable Characters and why an unlikeable character might make me put the book aside.

Then I started reading a book, which I won’t name, and tossed it aside after three chapters. I picked it up again and examined it. The first three chapters were all telling and a bit of back story put in.

I couldn’t connect with the character. I felt no desire to find out what happened to them. It’s not that I didn’t like the character, it was the writing was too distant for my taste.

Too much telling and not enough showing puts distance between the reader and the character. Too much distances lessens the connection and give the reader on reason to keep reading. As usual, just my opinion.

What makes you put a book down?

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Writing Interrupted

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Do you take a break from writing? I don’t like to, but sometimes I have to be realistic about what’s going on in my life.

This week, I drove from Winnipeg to Kingston (2000 km)  with 3 adults, 3 kids and 3 dogs in one van.

Let me tell you, this in not an environment that is conducive to writing. I even missed posting a blog last Monday, which is a first for me.

So I tell myself, give myself a break. Let the writing be put on hold for a week and enjoy the family time.

🙂

Can you use dialogue to speed up your character?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

 

I think so. #writetip I discovered one way to do this while I was proofreading the German Version of my novel, Fracture Line.

My character enters a scene and says two short sentences. Both are five words long. The only punctuation is a period after each sentence.

The translation turned the two sentences into one connecting them with and.  It’s only one more word, but it changes the from two simple sentences to a compound sentence.

When I read the translation I realized the longer sentence was slowing my character. I wanted her to rush in and blurt out her news, not take her time to be articulate.

The German sentence sounded more eloquent, but it didn’t give the impression I wanted.

Do you have other ways to give the impression your character is in a hurry?

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Editing: Computer or Paper?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

That is the question. #writetip

If you are editing your own work, I think it depends on where you are in the writing process.

If someone else it editing your work, I think it depends on what they prefer.

If you are editing someone else’s work, I think it depends on how they like to receive feedback.

So . . .

Editing your own work:

Early in the process, I like to edit on paper. I use the blank space for story ideas, for writing whole new scenes, and for research ideas. The flow of the pen feels good in my hand.

Late in the process, I like to edit on the computer. This is when I am checking grammar, format, repeated words, etc. All things that are easier to search for and do global changes on if you are working on your computer.

Someone else editing your work:

I like to ask what my reader prefers. Some think better if they can write on paper. I’ve had readers comment on a kindle copy. Others like software. Whatever they want is fine with me. If they are willing to comment on my novel, I’m happy to get the comments in any form.

Editing someone else’s work:

I decide this based on what the author prefers. Sometimes geography dictates how.

Do you have any preference for editing?