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A Novel: From English to German

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

The German translation of my novel Fracture Line  has arrived, and it feels like Christmas. It’s exciting to read my novel in another language, but now the hard part begins.

Working with a translator is an interesting process. We plan to spend the week discussing the nuances of each sentence and whether the voice sounds like my writing.

Dialogue is an area that we need to be careful with. I may want the character to sound sad, but in the translation they come off as angry.

And then there is proofreading. I thought proofreading in English was hard. Ha! The joke is on me.

I have a good relationship with my translator and know enough German to read, but I wonder how an author knows their novel has been translated in the manner they intended to write it if they don’t know the language. I guess it’s just one more mystery in the publishing industry.

Dogs Underway

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

#dogs #sailing

Does your dog have a favourite place to sit when you’re sailing?

Farley likes to sit on our trampoline if and only if:

– we are on a beam reach

– the seas are calm

– the engines are off

– the sails are up.

If all of these criteria are not met, he’ll hide down below or in the cockpit. If the seas are rough, he has a spot in the cockpit where he can brace himself on all four sides. If it’s rough enough for us (the humans) to be tethered to the boat, then Farley wears a tether too. He has his own harness, tether and life jacket.

Breaking The Rules

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

#writetip

As an author starting out, there is a ton of advice to consider. I’ve been reading blogs with different opinions on this one. Some say follow all the rules. Some say follow none of the rules – it’s your art, your creative process.

Here are my thoughts on “Do you have to follow the rules?”

Some of the rules (advice) include:

  • Don’t change point of view mid scene
  • Don’t open a scene with a character waking up
  • Eliminate/minimize adjectives
  • Don’t use names that are hard to pronounce
  • Etc.

My advice: learn the rules, use the rules, become an expert at the rules, and then break them to your heart’s content.

Being a master at something is tremendously satisfying and, I think, worth the effort.

National Family Island Regatta

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#sailing

An amazing time to be in the Bahamas is for the National Family Island Regatta. The regatta is held in April every year.

George Town celebrates on land. The racers get wild on the water. Cruiser take their dinghies out  and watch the action. Some lucky cruisers get to join in and get on one of the boats.

Positive and Negative Feedback on Your Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

#writetip

How do you know if your reader is any good?

Does your reader only give you negative feedback? That might be okay, but it won’t tell you what you’re good at.

Does your reader only give you positive feedback? That might feel great, but it’s not going to help you improve your writing.

To me the best reader gives me both positive and negative feedback. The positive keeps me motivated and tells me what I can relax about. The negative tells me what I need to work on.

What type of feedback do you like to receive and how does it help you?

Sailing With Your Dog

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

#sailing

If you bring your dog sailing with you in the Bahamas, I hope you don’t mind sand and salt water on your boat.

Farley plays in the waves off Stocking Island beach in the Bahamas. He loves it, but I always keep an eye our for sharks or sting rays. I don’t want Farley to meet up with either of them.

We discovered the hard way that if a dog is stung by a sting ray, the only treatment is to wash the wound with very hot water, as hot as the dog can stand it, and that should take the pain away. Farley hasn’t had this misadventure yet, but our friends’ springer spaniel has been stung twice.

Step Away From Your Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 7 Comments

#writetip

How many times have you heard or read that when you finish your first draft, and I mean a serious draft, that you should put your novel in a drawer for a couple of weeks?

I never understood this until recently. I had three readers commenting on my updated version of The Final Gate.  While they were commenting, I decided to start work on my fourth novel, and leave The Final Gate alone.

Now that I am reviewing their comments and doing the final proofread, I finally get the importance of the advice.

I can see things I hadn’t seen before. Maybe it’s a passage of text that is too earnest, or maybe it’s narrative describing something I’ve already described. Without taking a break, I couldn’t see these things.

Even thought it’s hard to leave something alone that you are passionate about, I am now a believer in “Step Away From Your Novel.”

West Indian Whistling Duck

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

While we were out kayaking we spotted this pair of West Indian Whistling Ducks. The ducks are nocturnal and secretive, so felt lucky to see them

I had my dog, a wheaten terrier, in the kayak. The ducks didn’t seem bothered by him. They waddled around, curious of us, but not frightened.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but cruising on our lagoon 380 sure gives us ample opportunity to see wildlife in their natural setting. One more glorious day in the Bahamas.

 

In case you’re wondering, the ducks actually whistle.

Dialogue Tags

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

#writetip

Who is talking? Do you always need a tag? Advice from how-to-write books say it should be clear from the dialogue, who is speaking. For the longest time, I interpreted this to mean that the character should have some unique way of speaking.

I don’t like to read dialogue where I get distracted with unique speech patterns, so I don’t like to write that way.

I finally understood what the advice means. The context and what the character has to say should give the reader enough information to know who is talking. If it doesn’t then a tag is needed.

If you need a tag, you could try using character movements or thoughts instead of a tag.

So back to my original thought. I now get the advice. So here’s an example.

A brother and sister are talking.

“What?” – can’t tell who’s speaking. Consider a dialogue tag or other method of indicating who is speaking.

“Mom loved you more because you’re a girl. She liked to dress you up and do your hair. I had nothing but scrapes and bruises to offer.”  – easy to tell the brother is speaking, so no dialogue tag needed.

Dingy Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

#dogs

Does your dog like to travel in fast moving boats? Ours does.

Farley, the wheaten terrier, likes to lean over the side. Jasper, the springer spaniel, likes to be up front. They always choose the same place and I have no idea why.

Walking the dog while living on a sailboat means getting in the dingy. When the weather is rough or it’s raining, it might not be too fun. Most of the time it’s great. Training your dog its on the boat makes life easier, but they still like the ride to shore.

Bahamas welcomes pets and the process for clearing in is easy. It’s just too much fun having a dog here.