Category Archives: Writing

A Few Words on Adverbs

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This week I wanted to submit a throwback to one of my first blogs!

 

A Few Words on Adverbs

Adam Huddleston

 

It has been said that the road to, well, let’s just say a rather “toasty” destination, is paved with adverbs. While I don’t harbor a fierce hatred for those “-ly” words, I do see a glimmer of truth in the proverb.

One of the basic precepts of writing is to keep it short and sweet.  Why use three weak words when one strong one will do?

For example: The man talked quickly.  How about: The man babbled.

Or: The deer swiftly ran.  Instead: The deer galloped.

Eliminating needless words will make your work cleaner and your chosen words stand out.  That being said, you don’t have to be an “adverb Nazi”!  There are many lonely adverbs out there looking for a loving home and many verbs which cannot be changed so easily.

My advice; read through your writing a few times and see if it sounds too wordy or cluttered.  If it does, start chunking those adverbs and see how “quickly” your work improves!

Happy writing!

 

A Good Read

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Outtakes 348

A Good Read

By Cait Collins

 

I have a list of favorite authors and look forward to the announcements of new releases.  Nora Roberts is on that list.  Her most recent release, Shelter in Place, is a great read. We hear about mass shootings almost daily.  Too often, the focus seems to be on the shooter and less on the victims and survivors.

In her new book, Ms. Roberts focuses on the lives of the victims and survivors. While the mastermind of the shooting lives and tries to pick off her select set of survivors, the main characters are those who lived and found a purpose for their lives and peace for the loss of those they loved.  The Mastermind contributes to the novel without becoming the prime character. Her presence in the story is to elicit responses from the other characters and contribute to their decisions and to their fears.  It is the strength, vulnerability, and the determination of the living that move the plot.

Roberts’ dialogue is, as always, spot on, allowing the characters to express their doubts and dreams.  The inner thought reveals so much about CiCi, Simone, and Reed.  It moves each person toward climatic revelations.  I learned about them as they discovered themselves. I could not put the book down.

Settings are another selling point of her work.  She picks interesting places: Ireland, the horse racing and breeding farms of Kentucky, the haunted regions of Louisiana, Chesapeake Bay, and the rocky coastline of Maine.  The reader can picture himself or herself in the locations.  And if it’s a new place to the reader, they create a desire to experience first-hand, the settings.

Does this mean I have enjoyed every Nora Roberts novel that I’ve read?  The answer is a simple no.  While there are titles I have not enjoyed as much as others, I’ve always found good, even brilliant, passages or characters, and I’ve always found new approaches for difficult situations.  She has taught me much about the craft of writing.  I always look forward to her releases because I know they will be good reads.

OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66 – ON SALE NOW!

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OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66

ON SALE NOW!

In Ebook and Print

Order from your favorite bookstore and Carpe Diem Publishers

 

Five authors tell five different stories, through five different time periods, and all crossing the same place—the Tower Station and U-drop Inn.

 

Five unique short stories and novellas set on historic Route 66 in Texas available now!

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Five unique short stories and novellas set on historic Route 66 in Texas available now!

  • A gripping story of family betrayal, deep despair, and a young girl’s courageous triumph. MAGGIE’S BETRAYAL by Natalie Bright
  • A young soldier leaves his new bride for war sharing their life through letters in this heartfelt story. WAITING by Rory C. Keel
  • A down-on-his luck cowboy sees opportunity in a young widow’s neglected ranch in 1944 Texas. SUDDEN TURNS by Joe Nichols
  • A Cherokee Chief predicts Mora O’Hara’s future as she travels The Mother Road seeking closure after a career related tragedy. SHOWDOWN AT U-DROP INN by Cait Collins
  • Raylen Dickey learns the difference between her friends, lovers, and enemies. FEAR OF HEIGHTS by Nandy Ekle

It’s Here!

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

It’s Here!

By Nandy Ekle

 

It started as a dirt path connecting neighbors, communities, states and a nation.

Route 66 was an overland route traveled by pioneers, migrant farmers and anyone going west looking for the American dream. From wagon ruts to an asphalt paved highway, it has connected generations of people.

OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66 is an anthology full of stories that tell of good times and bad, Love and heartache, from the past to beyond tomorrow, and all of them connected by one stop, the Tower Station and U-Drop Inn.

Five unique short stories and novellas set on historic Route 66 in Texas:

A gripping story of family betrayal, deep despair, and a young girl’s courageous triumph. MAGGIE’S BETRAYAL by Natalie Bright

A young soldier leaves his new bride for war sharing their life through letters in this heartfelt story. WAITING by Rory C. Keel

A down-on-his luck cowboy sees opportunity in a young widow’s neglected ranch in 1944 Texas. SUDDEN TURNS by Joe Nichols

A Cherokee Chief predicts Mora O’Hara’s future as she travels The Mother Road seeking closure after a career related tragedy. SHOWDOWN AT U-DROP INN by Cait Collins

Raylene Dickey learns the difference between her friends, lovers, and enemies. FEAR OF HEIGHTS by Nandy Ekle

The Anti-Hero

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The Anti-Hero

by Adam Huddleston

 

The anti-hero is a literary device where the protagonist does not possess conventional hero characteristics.  For example, most heroes are seen as brave, strong, ethical, and intelligent.  The anti-hero, while still playing against the antagonist, may display features opposite to these.

Nobody is perfect.  Having a protagonist with internal and/or external flaws makes them more relatable to the reader.  Part of enjoying a story is putting yourself in the hero’s shoes.

Famous anti-heroes include: James Bond (border-line alcoholic and womanizer), Jay Gatsby (over-extravagant and obsessive), and Severus Snape (dark and malicious).  I highly recommend utilizing this literary device in your writing.  It definitely adds more depth to your craft.

OUR TIME ON Route 66 – WAITING

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OUR TIME ON ROUTE 66

WAITING

Rory C. Keel

 

Five authors tell five different stories, through five different time periods, and all crossing the same place—the Tower Station and U-drop Inn.

Ebook on sale now!

Writing Life Struggles

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Writing Life Struggles

Natalie Bright

 

Is there any other profession that you can think of in which, once you’ve achieved the knowledge of actually doing that work, the entire universe conspires to prevent you from doing the work? I might be whining, but good grief. A new week is upon us and I did not write one word on the current WIP in the previous week. It’s very frustrating.

I’m reading an excellent self-help right now, OVERWHELMED WRITER RESCUE by Colleen Story (review forthcoming). As a writer, I think most of us struggle to fit writing in between life, because life can’t be shoved out of the way. Our writing is the thing that becomes flexible. Our obsession becomes the thing we can’t achieve.

At the beginning of this week, I’m at the cross roads again between family and my writing. Do I adjust my scheduled air flights to leave a writers conference early to attend another function? That’s two days spent at a five day conference, and two days spent in an airport instead to attend one event. The writing conference is very important to me because of the knowledge gained and the connections I might make. I’ve had this on my calendar since last year. The other event is a last minute invite, has nothing to do with my writing, but is important to someone else that I be there. The people in my life are important too, but I can’t be in two places at once. Why should we have to choose?

That is how my writing journey has been; guilt wins out over the characters in my head every time. The struggle is real. But this time I’m choosing me. I’m acknowledging the deep, very selfish desire to become a more successful author. I choose words and story and hanging out with people who understand the struggle. Have I chosen well? I’ll let you know in a few weeks.

Building an Anthology

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Building an Anthology

By Nandy Ekle

 

This is how you build an anthology. 

                      EDITING  

Coming in June!

 

Favorite Lines from Films and Television

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Favorite Lines from Films and Television

by Adam Huddleston

 

This week I wanted to share just a small sample of my favorite lines from films and television.  In no particular order:

“Remember, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” – Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption

“I wish there was a way to know that you’re in “The Good Old days” before you’ve actually left them.” – Andy Bernard in The Office

“A dream is an answer to a question we haven’t learned how to ask.” – Fox Mulder in The X-Files

“You clearly don’t know who you’re talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that of me? No! I am the one who knocks!” – Walter White in Breaking Bad

Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.

Rumack: I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.  – Airplane