Category Archives: Cait Collins

View Point

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Outtakes 163

View Point

By Cait Collins

 

It is possible to write two novels about the same incident, but from two different points of view. Bothe stories are valid. The hero in the first book is the villain in the second, and the villain becomes the hero. The disadvantages each man perceives regarding his plight are unknown to the other. It makes for interesting reading.

Here’s an assignment. The hero and the heroine have a lover’s quarrel. Write the scene from the heroine’s view point. What started the argument? Who became defensive first? Who initiated the fight? Pay particular attention to her hurts and disappointments. What is she not saying?

Now write the same scene from the hero’s point of view. What is different? What is similar? What is he hiding? Who stands between them? Is he defensive or placating? Can they resolve the issues?

Read both stories aloud. Are the results thought provoking enough for you take the scenes and develop a short story or novel?

Balance

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Outtakes 162

Balance

By Cait Collins

 

Have you ever played Jenga? Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks. The removed blocks are placed on top of the structure making a taller but less stable tower. The person who topples the tower loses. It’s really tricky and lots of fun. But there is a point. Keeping the tower upright is a matter of balance.

A writer’s life definitely needs balance. We build a tower one brick at a time and often do not realize how unstable the structure really is. We pile jobs on top of family obligations, add social commitments, kid’s activities, friends, writing assignments, social media, deadlines, editing, new creative, submissions, marketing, and pretty soon the house of cards is endanger of collapse. Every layer is necessary, but how do we manage to maintain balance and sanity?

I say we take a page from traditional housewives’ books. My mother managed get a husband and six kids out of bed each morning, fix breakfast, find lost socks, book bags, and homework, get Dad off to work and kids to school before having a cup of coffee. She made lunch, cleaned house, washed and ironed clothes, fixed dinner, cleaned the kitchen, helped with homework. She was the first one up in the morning and the last to go to bed at night. Everything worked. Her trick — planning and time management.

Writers need a plan. A good calendar is a must for keeping track of obligations and deadlines. I prefer a Daytimer, but some of my friends are more comfortable with an electronic organizer. Be sure to note all commitments, and never promise to do something before consulting your “secretary”.

Learn to say no. We get ourselves in trouble when we overbook or take on a project that does not help our work or capture our interest. We regret saying yes, but felt guilty saying no. If no is too difficult, try declining for now and ask for a rain check.

Honor deadlines and promises. Even when it’s difficult to get the job done, failure to keep commitments makes the writer appear unreliable.

Make time for you. A few minutes each day dedicated to yourself clears the head and allows you to be more focused and productive.

Prioritize. If you can put it off until tomorrow, do it. Take care of today, today.

Work hard, but balance work with play. Family and friends miss you when you over do it.

Know when to stop. Creative efforts are not well served when you are exhausted.

Balancing work with everyday life makes a writer more creative and a better all round person. It allows him to focus on the job without sacrificing life.

A Couple of Things

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Outtakes 161

 

A Couple of Things

By Cait Collins

 

As I have mentioned often, I am a dinosaur when it comes to computers. When I find a system I like and works well for me, I keep it. Last week when my favorite laptop developed a problem, I panicked. Fearing the worst, I took my system to the computer store I use for a diagnosis of the problem. The tech gave me the good news first. My computer booted up properly, but the screen did not come on. He plugged in an external monitor and he could see the log on screen. So the screen was dead. The bad news, it was fixable but it would cost about $325.00.

I had a choice; I could repair my system or buy a new unit. A new unit meant Windows 8 or an Apple system. An Apple computer maybe, but I refuse to buy another computer with Windows 8. I bought a new Netbook with Windows 8 and I hate it. The tiles are a waste of my time and the computer’s memory. I find it difficult to navigate, and it continually rejects my passwords.

“Fix it,” I stated.

He reminded me I could buy a new system for a little more than the cost of the repairs.

“I do not want 8.”

He smiled and told me he had systems with Windows 7. I looked at one of his systems and was impressed, but to get what I wanted would cost about 3times the cost of a new computer screen. I love my computer. So I chose to get a new screen.

The point is I can still buy the operating system I like. I may have to look for it, but it’s out there. And your favorite computer tech just might be a good place to start.

As much as I dislike my new Netbook, I must make friends with it. Imagine my surprise when I learned our local community college was offering four, four hour sessions introducing new owners to Windows 8. For $25.00 someone will walk me through the maze of Windows 8. I’m signing up.

Community colleges are an excellent place to pick up new skills or fulfill a business educational need. Our college offers classes for the general public as well as special programs for children and seniors. The costs are reasonable and continuing education credits are available for many courses. I have taken a number of classes to up-grade my computer skills; work with published authors, or to just learn something different. I check out their course schedule before each fall and spring session. I recommend your community college for continuing education offerings.

Dear Diary

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Outtakes 160

Dear Diary

By Cait Collins

Like most young ladies of my generation, I kept a diary. I’m sure the things I wrote were important. But what is important to a child of 12 or 13 may have little significance when the girl is 25, or 40 or 60. I’ve made every effort to go through all of my journals and destroy the writings I would not want others to see. After all, the purpose of a diary is to have a repository for the deepest secrets of the heart.

But what if I were to overlook the book with my most intimate thoughts? What if an enemy or the one I love most were to find those writings? What if the words were posted on Facebook?

This is your writing assignment. “I would just die if anyone ever saw this diary entry.” The entry may be an embarrassing moment or the darkest day in your life. And if you’ve never kept a journal, make something up. After all, we’re writers.

Great Reads Part 2

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Outtakes 159

 

Great Reads Part 2

By Cait Collins

 

I promised to continue my thoughts on some of my favorite authors. This week my focus is on Carla Neggers, Julie Garwood, and Nora Roberts. These three ladies have a couple of things in common … great characters and fabulous locations.

Carla Neggers writes romantic suspense with a twist. The guy and gal might be attracted, but it’s not I love you in 24 hours. She allows the reader to wonder about the couples’ final commitment. I find this uncertainty appealing. I can’t remember the title of the first book I read by this author, but I remember it was set in Vermont. She has a way with bringing New England to life. I can visualize the pubs, the historic buildings, and everyone-knows-everyone by play in the small towns. Yet she’s equally at home on the Irish coast. I feel as if I’m walking the sheep paths, reading the skies from atop an eroded cliff. I get a wonderful sense of the locals, and want to lean against the bar and drink a pint while swapping stories with the townsfolk.

Her characters are searchers. Men and women who work to discover the evil doers, but more importantly, they are trying to find themselves. I recommend the Sharpe & Donovan series Saint’s Gate, Heron’s Cove, and Declan’s Cross.

The Doubleday Bargain Book Club introduced me to Julie Garwood in 1999. I purchased Ransom from the book club and I have been a fan ever sense. The story is set during the age of Richard the Lionhearted and Prince John. There is no Robin Hood, but there are some intense Scotsmen who know how to defend their ladies. The stark differences in the manors of medieval England and the Highlands is magnificent

Once you get your fill of hunky Highlanders and gorgeous English noblemen, dive into her Bishop’s Cove bachelors. Enjoy Ransom, Sweet Talk, The Ideal Man, Sizzle, and Hot Shot.

Nora Roberts needs no introduction. I first met this prolific author through her Harlequin Romances. There was nothing easy about her characters or ordinary in her settings. Later, I began reading the Chesapeake Bay novels. I was drawn to each of the men who changed their lives to raise their adopted father’s grandson.

As much as I enjoy her contemporary romantic suspense, I love her paranormal novels. The Three Sisters Island series won my heart. When I want witches, both male and female, I reread Dance Upon The Air, Heaven and Earth, and Face the Fire.

The same holds for the Donovan Legacy. Imagine a family of withes descended from triplet witch mothers married to triplet witch fathers. What about the two mortal men and one non-magical woman who fall in love with the magically blessed cousins? Talk about working out your differences! The series concludes when a young woman invades the mountain home of a witch prince. How does he tell her she, too, has magic? I recommend Captivated, Entranced, Charmed, and Enchanted. Just remember not to call a male witch a warlock. A male witch is still a witch.

Nora Robert’s current series, The Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy, is a spellbinder. Please forgive the pun. Cousin witches join forces with non-magical friends and the descendant of pure evil to destroy the darkness. They meet with their powerful ancestors to battle the monster. I couldn’t put down Dark Witch and Shadow Spell. I can’t wait for the last installment.

The six authors, Robin Carr, Sharon Sala, Jodi Thomas, Carla Neggers, Julie Garwood, and Nora Roberts are among my favorite authors. But there are so many more that write wonderful page-turners. The trick is to try new authors. If you see a title or cover that intrigues you, buy it. That book may be an introduction to a new entry in your reading circle.

One Last Read

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Outtakes 158

 

One Last Read

By Cait Collins

 

My memoir, First Love; Forever Love is almost ready to go to my beta readers. While my critique group has read every chapter, the beta readers will read the entire work. These three ladies are as important as the critique group. And for that reason, I choose them carefully. They must be objective. I can’t afford readers who pat me on the head and tell me how wonderful I am. I need someone who will be honest and respectful in their reviews. Telling me where I’ve made mistakes is vital to presenting a finished product to agents and editors.

A final reader can more easily catch errors in the continuity. The hero may have brown eyes in chapter one, and blue eyes in chapter five. These inconsistencies are not as noticeable when critiquing individual chapters. However, when read as a complete work, they prompt a red flag.

When the work is read cover to cover, the reader can better judge the flow of the story. They can pick up on the pacing. Is chapter two slower and heavier than the other chapters? Are there too many short, choppy sentences, or are prepositional phrases over used?

Finally, does the story progress to a logical conclusion? Are scenes contrived to create the intended climax and end? Does author intervention skew the story line and ending?

A good beta reader may not fully understand why a scene doesn’t work; she just knows it is not right. By honestly conveying her unease, the author has a chance to take an objective look at the scene, and rework the chapter. With the beta readers’ final critique, the writer makes a last rewrite prior to writing the synopsis and the query letter.

The author’s final read is his assessment of his writing and the quality of the project. His reading must be just as objective as the critique group and beta readers’ perspectives. He must decide if the story is as good as he can make it. He must resist the temptation to over-write and as a result damage the project. Like a parent, the writer must now give wings to his creation. He must submit the work and move on to the next project.

Good Reads

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Outtakes 157

Release 7-9-2014

 

Good Reads

By Cait Collins

 

Some authors have a unique ability to create a series of books based on a core group of characters in magical locations. The characters are something very special. They are people who have made their mistakes, dealt with the fallout, and moved on with renewed strength and purpose. In some instances, they are the people who have been given a bad hand and turned the nightmares into good productive lives. The skilled hand of the writer keeps these people from becoming cardboard characters.

Robyn Carr, Sharon Sala, Jodi Thomas, Carla Neggers, Julie Garwood, and Nora Roberts are among my favorite series creators. These women write women’s fiction or romance, but the style and genre are different.

For example, Robyn Carr writes contemporary stores set in small towns. Her Virgin River series is comprised of 18 novels set in Virgin River in the mountains of northern California. The people are what my grandmother would have called the salt-of-the-earth. Even the poorest lend a hand in times of crisis. Everyone pulls together. The stories move seamlessly from beginning to end. Her newer series set in Thunder Point on the Oregon coast, begins with a visitor to Virgin River who travels to Thunder Point to check up on an old friend. Again there is an easy flow from one setting to the next. I recommend both series.

Sharon Sala’s work takes a darker turn into the romantic suspense side. While there is a love story, the romance never overshadows the search for the criminal element terrorizing the town. Her stories are set in the mountains of Tennessee and Kentucky. After reading the first novel in Rebel Ridge series, the Searchers and Storm Front, I anticipated the release of the next book. Her novels are great reads.

Jodi Thomas is not only a favorite author; she is a teacher and a mentor. She’s been a friend to many writers in the Texas Panhandle. Jodi writes both historical and contemporary novels. Her historical works are based on the settling of Texas. The Whispering Mountain series was my introduction to her writing. Then she released her first mainstream novel THE WIDOWS OF WICHITA COUNTY. The story of a group of women whose husbands were killed in an oil field accident was so well researched and told. Jodi keeps a tight hold on the identity of the lone survivor of the accident. This is one novel I would love to see on the big screen.

In future Outtakes we will explore Carla Neggers, Julie Garwood, and Nora Roberts. But if you are looking for good summer reads, may I recommend Robyn Carr’s Thunder Point Series, Sharon Sala’s The Searchers Series, and the Whispering Mountain Series by Jodi Thomas.

One Word

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Outtakes 156

One Word
By Cait Collins

Have you ever considered how many different sentences you can write around one word? For some unknown reason, I got to thinking about maple syrup and I started considering possibilities..

Maple syrup is derived from sap tapped from sugar maples.

Sap is the life blood of the tree. Like human blood, sap carries nutrients throughout the         plant.

A young tree not over four inches in diameter at chest height is a sapling.

Kids are sometimes referred to as saplings.

Amber is not a stone; it’s tree sap or fossil resin. At times, the sap would encase an insect, trapping it forever in the hardened resin.

Pitch is often a medicinal resin (sap) obtained from various conifers.

Heat saps my strength.

My computer battery life is sapped by prolonged usage.

That poor sap never stood a chance against a woman’s wiles.

What a sap!

The neighborhood kids’ antics are sapping my creative juices.

One base word is a noun and a verb depending on the way it is used in the sentence. There are many words in our language with multiple meanings. Taking the time to explore words not only increases a writer’s vocabulary, it provides opportunities to be more creative in your writing. Words are a game. Enjoy.

 

Who Am I?

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Outtakes 155

 

Who Am I?

By Cait Collins

 

How well do you know your characters? Are they living, breathing people or a piece of cardboard? Do they dare to argue with you? Do you converse with them? If not, why not? Some of my best scenes were the result of a frank conversation with the protagonist.

Some of the best advice I’ve received regarding character development came from Pulitzer Prize winning author, Michael Cunningham. He assigned our creative writing seminar group to make a list of 20 physical characteristics of our protagonist. The basics were easy: tall, brown hair, blue eyes, medium build. But that’s not enough. Your list must be more descriptive. How tall; six foot or six foot four? His hair is what shade of brown? Are the eyes Paul Newman blue?

Use your senses in creating the list. “The scent of apple wood tobacco clings to his tweed jacket” creates a more vivid image than “he smokes a pipe.” She spoke with a faint Irish brogue not only describes the speaking voice, it also tells her birth origin. He had piano player’s hands indicates long, slender, manicured fingers.

When your list is complete, write the opening paragraph of your story using a minimum of six of the physical characteristics. Read the paragraph aloud. What do you know about the hero that you didn’t know before you made the list?

This suggestion is my addition to Michael’s list. Once the physical is established and we can visualize the character, let’s add his emotional attributes. Make a list of ten emotional attributes. Remember heroes are flawed human beings Do not try to make him perfect. He will not thank you. Now rewrite the paragraph using three of the emotional characteristics. Read the paragraph aloud. Is the character balanced? .How does he deal with his flaws. Are the two of you in communication with one another? If not, rewrite the paragraph.

Taking the time to define your characters before beginning the work creates a better relationship between the characters and the writer. It allows you to anticipate his reactions to situations and better craft the scenes. The more you know about each main actor in the story, the more believable the work.

New Programs, New Possibilities

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Outtakes 154

 

New Programs, New Possibilities

By Cait Collins

 

I still admit to being a dinosaur when it comes to accepting new tech toys and programs. Some of them just don’t appear to fit in my neat legal pad mind. I’m trying to convince myself to keep an open mind concerning some updates that are about to appear on my computer at work. As we are testing the new programs, I will try to figure out ways to use the technology on my writer’s laptop. In some instances, the programs are currently installed on my systems. Right now, I’m experimenting with Microsoft OneNote.

I like the idea of having a notebook for each project. One notebook could be titled Outtakes. I could move all my archived blogs to the book with tabs for each blog. The tabs would be labeled with the Outtakes number and title. Not only would this arrangement be an excellent filing system, it would also act as a subject reminder to prevent repeating topics.

Notebooks bearing the title of my current works would keep the individual chapters better organized. Deleted scenes could be filed under a tab for easy recovery. Notes, ideas, and photographs regarding the work have an accessible place.

My ideas sound good, but will they work? That’s a question that can’t be answered at this point. However, rejecting the possibilities without even testing them is short sighted. Any program that saves time and keeps me organized is worth the learning curve. I wonder if using OneNote will allow me to get rid of at least half of my manuscript storage boxes?