Category Archives: Rory C. Keel

Thesaurus – No, it’s not a dinosaur!

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Thesaurus – No, it’s not a dinosaur! 

Although it sounds like an animal from the Jurassic age, a Thesaurus is a book that lists words in groups of synonyms and related concepts. The book we know as a Thesaurus, gets it’s name from the Greek word thēsauros, which means “storehouse, treasure.”

A Thesaurus is often one of the most undervalued books in a writer’s library of tools. To communicate with our audience of readers, we need to use any legitimate aid to help improve our literary product.

Compile related terms

Compile a list of words that relate to your subject or theme before you begin writing. This will give you a good start and help prevent writers block.

Access words that move

You can also access slang items, Colloquialisms, foreign phrases that may move your writing along.

Use appropriate words

When using a Thesaurus, Slow down. Read the entire list of words slowly and out loud, replacing them one-by-one in your sentences. By doing this, you are more likely to pick the most appropriate word for your writing.

Rory C. Keel

GREATEST STORY IDEA—LOST!

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GREATEST STORY IDEA—LOST!

It’s the middle of the night. Pitch black. The cricket’s chirping fiddle serenade has ceased and the man on the moon has shut his eyes in sleep. After what feels like the deepest sleep you have ever experienced, you sit straight up in the bed with the greatest story idea—ever. Frantically you try to remember the smallest details. Your mind races back to the beginning of the dream to piece together the plot line. Sleep fights the adrenaline as your eyes begin to close. In a haze you convince yourself that you will remember it in the morning.

As the alarm startles you awake and your eyes open and begin to focus, horror sets in because you can’t recall the greatest story idea—ever!

You didn’t write it down.

Keep a notebook or writing pad by your bedside and make notes when the thoughts happen or they will be lost forever.

Make a fortune by doing nothing!

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Make a fortune by doing nothing! 

If you’ve been around the block once, you’ve heard them, the get rich quick schemes. “Work part time for thousands of dollars a week!” “Get rich with minimal or no effort!”

Get Rich

Let’s get real. Most people run from this kind of hyped up claims—or do we?

Somehow the idea that a new writer can write a book, publish it and sit back to rake in the money without any work is alive and well today.

You may have an agent and a publishing house contract, and yes, you may have a good book, but the world doesn’t know it. You must promote it.

Promote 

By every means possible you must promote your work: word of mouth, business cards and fliers, libraries, writing conferences and book signings. Use electronic promotions such as a website or a blog. Social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and Pinterest also create large platforms for your writing.

Sell

The truth is if you are going to be successful, you not only have to write a good book, but you must work hard and sell it too.

Rory C. Keel

Never forget

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   Never forget

 The Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal, Kansas is one of the country’s largest air museums. The museum’s collection was started by the late Colonel Tom Thomas, Jr., who donated his personal collection of over 50 planes to the museum.

Walking by the timeline display demonstrating the history of flight, I realized the great advancements in aviation that have been made in the last one hundred years. It’s amazing to think that my grandparents lived through most of the changes we now take for granted when we step into an airliner to take a trip in the air.

With more than one hundred aircraft in the museum, it is easy to see the technical advancements in personal aircraft like the gliders, Cessnas and Beechcraft. Multiple hands-on exhibits help one to appreciate the science behind piloting these aerodynamic machines by actually sitting in a cockpit and maneuvering rudders, ailerons and elevators.  The experience will give this writer sufficient material to use in a flight scene.

Military planes ranging from both World Wars and the Korean war, although primitive by today’s standards, demand respect. As workhorses of the sky, they demanded both skill and stamina by the pilot to endure the punishments of these older planes.

Further into the museum tour, the Vietnam era jets brought back memories of sonic booms that I heard as a child growing up near Perrin Air Force base in north central Texas. These were my superstars. These were the toy models that hung from my ceiling by string as though they were in real dogfights. To live in a country protected by the finest, fastest and the most feared jets in the world created in me security and a sense of national pride that has lasted through the most modern fighter jets of today.

Why do we need these?

At the end of the Mid-America Air museum tour stands a small exhibit, but one you can’t miss. Featured is a section of a rusted steel I-beam from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center as a reminder.

God bless America!

Rory C. Keel

Try living with your character

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Try living with your character

When creating a character try this exercise.

As you build a character, or characters, you should be able to see them and answer questions about them. As you take action and make choices during the day, do the same with your character.

What do you eat for breakfast? Does your character eat breakfast? What foods do they like or dislike?

Do you wear a particular style of clothes? What does your character WEAR? Why do they like to wear them?

Do you go to the store? Where does your character shop and what do they buy?

What do you do for fun, sports or hobbies? What about your character?

What’s important is NOT what the character did, but what you learned about what you know about the character.

Rory C. Keel

Beginning, Middle and End – WHAT A RIDE!

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A story has a beginning, middle and an end.

Make a brief outline answering these questions to create a story skeleton to build upon.

  1. The Beginning: What event happens to person, that creates a problem or a need?
  2. The Middle: What struggle does the character face in solving the problem or the need?
  3. The End: How is this person changed and what have they learned as a result of the struggle?

This is where the story is made. Imagine the process like a roller coaster. The reader’s attention is captured by the alluring promises made by the title and then they are locked into their seat at the beginning of the ride. Tension builds as the chain’s click-clack pulls them higher into the problem, and then drops them into the middle of the story where there’s no turning back. The reader struggles back and forth, and then up and down along with the characters to solve the problem. The ride then comes to an end where there is resolution showing a change created by the struggle.

Rory C. Keel

Where to Start?

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Where to Start?

Where do I start writing? This question confounds even the best writers.

When you have trouble getting started, pick a setting. What objects do you see? Describe any characters in your vision. Include smells, colors, textures or tastes. All these will help describe what you see.

Use an organized outline or simply jot down notes to organize later.

Rory C. Keel

Consistency creates success

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Consistency creates success

At the 2012 Frontiers in Writing conference in Amarillo Texas, I had the opportunity to speak to the “First Timers” class. Several years ago this type of class proved to be very helpful in preparing me for my first writing conference. Important writing information is shared such as what to expect when attending a writers conference, appropriate attire, behavior toward guest speakers and agents, how to choose which classes to sit through, and how an individual can maximize their learning experience for a profitable return on their investment paid at registration.

During the open forum portion of the class, a student asked the question, “Does an author become successful because they write a minimum number of pages or words a day?”

The truth is, each writer is different. Some write minimum word counts; others write volumes of pages quickly or stretch those words out over hours.

When you look at successful writers the one thing that is common among them all is consistency.

Whether it’s one word or ten, slow or fast, they write every day.

Rory C. Keel

Story Starter

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Story Starter
Write a piece that takes place in a one of the following places:

A fishing pier in the Florida Keys
A Public Library
A Bus station
A Shopping Mall

Keep this in mind:
1. The piece may take place partly in one of the above places and partly in another.
2. Don’t just describe these places make something happen there.
3. Pair your piece with something unusual for the setting like characters of a book coming to life in a public Library when their book is read. This will make for an interesting story.

Rory C. Keel

Fast Track to Being a Writer

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Fast Track to Being a Writer

Does the sound of being a writer intrigue you? Have you ever expressed the desire to write, only to be told, “You can’t write.”

Perhaps deep down inside you have a gnawing interest, an unquenchable desire, but you keep telling yourself, “I could never be a writer.”

The first definition of a writer is “n. One who writes,” American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

The way to be a writer is to write. Start by writing about yourself or describe an object on your desk. What senses such as taste, touch, sight and sounds describe your perfect vacation getaway destination?

When you write, you become a writer. What are you waiting for? Grab a pen and sheet of paper or start typing on the computer keyboard. Be a WRITER!

Rory C. Keel