Boy did it snow!

Usually down here on Delmarva snow is soft, light, and disappears quickly -- especially if it comes from the west. We get our big snows from the south, and usually at the END of February, don't ya know?

But this one blew across from West Virginia and dumped 9 inches on us, and with temps in the teens it will be with us awhile. That's the second major winter storm this year, something of a shock to the systems of those of us who live below the Mason-Dixon line.

We're all safe, though Dave and Shelley sure had an "interesting" day yesterday -- as in the ancient Chinese curse, "May you live in Interesting Times." What a way to celebrate Shelley's birthday!

HUH???? - Writing Tip

Someone e-mailed this week to ask, "When do I describe the character? And how much do I TELL about them?"

It's always a good idea to use a full name on first reference (unless it's a minor unnamed character like "the waiter"), and to get the physical description in when the reader first meets the character. It can seem a small thing, but if your reader envisions a blond on first reference, only to learn that the character is a 0ne-eyed, dark-haired, pirate a few pages later. It can be really confusing. It wakes them from what John Gardiner, who wrote one of the best books on writing of all time, calls "the dream" of the story.

Believe me, I've seen some real "wake up calls" even in commercially published material. Once I was reading a historical romance set in Elizabethan England. Obviously the author had written it first as a modern story then, when historicals got hot, set it back in time.

There was a wonderful wedding scene. It had whole roasted pigs, jongleurs (what the hell is a jongleur, anyway?), lute players and troubadours singing bawdy songs of wedding night mistakes. Then a minor character praised the cheese served on the wedding "buffet," saying to the bride's father, "Where did you get this wonderful cheese?"

To which the bride's father replied, "Oh, I'm glad you like it, okay? We had it flown in special."

Ouch!

"Buffet" and "okay" would have been bad enough, as in Elizabethan times "buffet" was a cupboard but not YET a spread of food, and "okay" didn't come into use until about 200 years later. But "FLOWN IN?"

How?

A Rose by any Other Name - Writing Tip

I feel that character names should reflect character in some way and I believe readers feel this subconsciously, as well.

Let's make up a character. Call her Christina. An old-fashioned name, or an ethnic name. If she's Christina Lawrence, her folks are old-fashioned (unless this is a period piece). If she's Christina DiNapoli, she's a far different person from Christina Lawrence. Okay, so far? So what do we do with Christina, whatever her last name is? Let's make her a high school student in New Jersey. Do her friends call her Chris? If so, she's probably something of a tomboy, may be interested in athletics or even cars. Whatever she does, she'll be competent and efficient. Chrissy, however is only interested in clothes and boys, though she's pretty naive about both. Christy may write poetry, or perhaps work on the school newspaper. Tina, well Tina likes to have a good time.

It's true. We tend to adapt names to the people we know and the names and nicknames we choose can tell us a lot about people and characters. In our society today we do this all the time. I shuddered when an old high school friend, Marge Percy, named her firstborn son "Percy." Now this being that bastion of Elizabethan English tradition called the Delmarva Peninsula, women often give their oldest sons their maiden names as first names and Marge's family had both old blood and old money, so it was expected of her. Nevertheless, "Percy" signifies "wimp" to many people today. But when he was learning to talk the kid couldn't say Percy. He said, "Berky" and that got construed to Bucky and later Buck. Buck graduated at the top of his class, went to the Naval Academy and flies jets for a living. I wonder what Percy would have done.

Free Author's Web Page at Amazon.com

Thanks to author Terry L. White for taking time from her sideline, doll making, to send the link where authors can build their own free pages at amazon.com. There they can list all their books, update cover art, etc.

That link is:

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books

I'm working on Terry's 4th Chesapeake series book, CHESAPEAKE VISIONS, and will be sending her e-galley later today.

Thanks to the multi-talented Terry, too, for sending along her latest doll photo. Elvlis fans approve.

Commas are Important -- Writing Tip

Here's my best very basic advice about commas. Put them where you'd pause for breath or effect. There's a world of difference between:
"Shoot John!" and
"Shoot, John!
In one sentence John gets shot, in the other he is instructed to shoot. That can make a big difference to your reader, as well as to John.

If you are unsure about your commas, try making a PDF copy and running it through Adobe Acrobat in "read aloud" format. (Acrobat 7 and above will read it aloud to you.) Then you can hear the places where commas come in. Pick up on unnecessary pauses caused by too many.

Punctuating Dialogue - Writing Tip

Now punctuating dialogue is a bit tricky. First of all, you never let two characters talk in the same paragraph. Commas and other punctuation go inside the quotes. And you must paragraph each time a new person speaks.

Finally, Everything a person says at one time (even if they change the subject) goes in the same paragraph. This is pretty simplified, and quotation marks in the US are " at the beginning and end of what is said, but in the UK it's single ' -- so if you're submitting to a UK publisher, US authors remember to change your punctuation preferences.

Final print galleys are out to Elena Bowman for TIME-RIFT.

And ebook galleys are out to Terry Piper for OZARK WOMAN.

And to Kat Brooks, for A KISS OF NIGHT.

Work Progresses

Am working on getting corrections in so final galleys can be sent to authors. That's always time-consuming, but a rewarding process nonetheless.