Writing Tips

Writing While Traveling

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

Can you write while being a passenger in a car?

For me the answer is sometimes.  While driving along the north shore of Lake Superior, the scenery is spectacular and just a little distracting. The road twists and turns, and i lean from side to side as my husband smoothly takes the curves. I thought I’d get a lot of writing done when it wasn’t my turn to drive, but no so.

Then I thought, when we arrive and stay in a quiet bed and breakfast, I can write there. Ha Ha. Northern Ontario has too many places to explore. We arrived at each spot, got settled and headed out the door. Again, no writing for me.

But there was time to take a goofy selfie . . .  Lake Superior is in the background.

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Maybe  when we hit the prairies. Straight roads, endless wheat fields, blue skies. What could be better for getting some writing done?

A girl can dream, can’t she?

Thanks for reading . . .

15 Tips For A Successful Author Reading

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

Writing means learning, and learning all the time, for the rest of your life.

In the modern world of publishing, whether you choose the traditional route or self publishing, much is expected from an author. Writing a great novel is only the beginning of the journey if you want your work to have a public audience.

Last week, I experienced some intense learning about reading aloud. And by this I mean what it takes to read your novel or short story in front of an audience. If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I won the Audrey Jessup award for short story crime writing from the Capital Crime Writers. Part of being nominated meant reading aloud before the winner announcement was made.

The reading was on June 11th. During the week before the event, I attended the Bloody Words conference in Toronto. A bit of luck, as it turned out, because I heard seven authors read. Then on Monday June 9th in Ottawa, I attended a reading by three Scandinavian authors. That’s 10 readings I could learn from.

Here’s my advice about delivering a great reading:

The advice is slit into  4 sections.

Practice before the event:

  • Don’t leave practicing to the last-minute. Practice every day even for short periods of time. If you can, read to an audience.
  • Practice pausing for commas, periods, paragraph breaks, and starting new scenes.
  • Practice until you can take your eyes away from the words and make eye contact with the audience. This will engage them in your reading. Reading to a mirror will allow you to see if you’re looking up.

Technical preparation:

  • Don’t staple the pages. Stapled pages are noisy when turned and are awkward to hold in place.
  • Number your free pages in case you drop them.
  • Ask how many minutes you have to read. Then prepare for a few minutes less, the exact amount of time and a few minutes more. If other readers don’t show up, you  might be given more time. If the proceedings are running long, you might be given less time, Be ready so you can end with a cliff hanger or a dramatic spot that will leave people wanting more.
  • If you’re reading from printed pages, print in font large enough to read. Remember the lighting could be dark or there could be glare from other lights. If the font in your printed books is small, you can always print the pages you want to read and place your book in front of you while you’re reading.
  • Ask what the setup will be. Is there a podium where you can set your pages? Will you be holding a mic? Will you be standing or sitting?

At the event, before you read:

  • If you’re not first, watch the other readers for what works and doesn’t work. Standing with the mic too close to the sound system can cause feedback, having the mic too far or too close to you mic can make understanding your words difficult.
  • Have your material ready. Don’t start looking for the section you want to read after you’re at the podium. This distracts the audience.

During your reading:

  • Once you are on stage, thank the hosts of the event. This will make your look professional and give you time to let your voice and your nerves settle before you start reading your story.
  • Breathe. This sounds obvious, but breathing will make your speech clear. During the reading, I was so nervous at first, I couldn’t bring air into my lungs. At the end of the first page, when I had to flip to the next page, I moved the mic away from my mouth and took a deep breath. This helped me calm down.
  • Don’t explain your work in the middle of reading. Let your words speak for themselves.
  • Only brief the audience about the story if you’re not starting at the beginning.
  • Speak slowly.

Remember: the audience came to hear you and they want you to succeed, so smile and have fun.

If you have any tips on reading aloud, please share 🙂 I’m always looking for ways to improve.

Thanks for reading . . .

Nicknames for Characters

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

It is okay to refer to a character using more than one name?

In life, we’re often referred to by a nick name, a family name or a full name depending on who is talking to us.

I call my niece, MoMo. She calls me TiTi. She’s the only person who does that.

At work or formal situations, I go by Kristina.

My family and close friends call me Tina.

But no one calls me Kris. It’s not a short form of my name I like. If a person uses it, my brain doesn’t even register I’m being addressed.

But in a novel, is all this fair game?

I think it depends on the writing.

In the last case, a character could refer to another by a name they don’t like. This would tell you something about the character. Maybe he is socially inept. Maybe he is trying to be irritating.

Short forms make characters close to each other. There is an intimating between them that wouldn’t be there without the endearing name.

A character insisting that others use her full name could be giving a message. Maybe she doesn’t like the person she’s talking to so insists that person be formal and kept at a distance. Or maybe she is  trying to appear professional.

My only caution is the nickname must be clear. The reader needs to know who is speaking or being spoken too. If too many forms are used too often, the reader may become confused or annoyed and stop reading.

And none of us want that.

Do you have any tips on using more than one name for a character and is it worth the risk?

Thanks for reading . . .

Starting A Novel Scene

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 9 Comments

This week I’ve been thinking about starting points. On Monday, I blogged about when to begin your novel. But what about a scene?

Once you’ve decided when to start your scene, as in before the action, in the middle of the action, or after then action, what about how to start your scene?

There are different ways to do this. These include with:

  • Action
  • Dialogue
  • Thought
  • Narrative

To choose which one, I think about what I want to accomplish with the scene, what happened in the previous scene, and what’s going to happen in the next scene.

For example, if the previous scene was high on action, I might want to start the current scene with narrative, perhaps describing where the POV character is. This slows the story and gives the reader a break.

When a first draft is complete, the next step is to check whether the scenes begin in different ways. If all the scenes start with dialogue, the novel might be tedious to read.

As usual, I keep track of scene starts with a column in a spreadsheet. This allows me to quickly glance and check that I haven’t been monotonous.

What’s your method for deciding how to start a scene?

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