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Other Cool Blogs: Writer Unboxed Feb 1, 2017

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A common recommendation to writers is to read outside their genre. Why? Exposure to other techniques which can enhance writing. Last year I shared a Horror blog revealing the secrets of monsters which easily has application in any genre forms with antagonists like Urban Fantasy or Thriller.

Writer Unboxed guest columnist Donald Maass (of the Donald Maass Literary Agency) wrote how to add A Touch of Romance to any genre. This is not a how-to write romance, but how to add a breath of love to a science-fiction or mystery. Whether the love is unrequited or triangle, young or old, new or mature, main character or secondary, romantic relationships add a level of realism to a story. Writers can exploit the emotional tool to raise the stakes or reduce the tension.

The list of question are perfect. Here are a few:

“Who in your story is single? Who wants love? Who can begin to love that character?”

See the whole list here: http://writerunboxed.com/2017/02/01/a-touch-of-romance/#more-46578. Remember to read the comments – Vaughn Roycroft is especially illuminating.

WRITING EXERCISE: From your stable of characters (either your present work-in-progress or previous flashes and shorts), pick a character not in a relationship and not looking for one. Create a flash where s/he has an encounter where a romance could develop if they choose to pursue the matter. Keep the original genre’s feel unless it is romance then change it up to strongly be one of the story’s subgenres. The point of the exercise is adding a touch of romance to a non-romance.

If you normally write romance, add a touch of horror to your romance instead. For a character who has the world on a string, create a flash with an encounter which adds a bit of scare.

Writing Exercise: Review of Book Reviews

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Review of my book reviews.

I average over 100 book read a year for the last few years, since I made a requirement to do a book review every time I read a book I’ve actually been able to keep track through my Goodreads count. I passed the magic 100 books in November 2017, which is when I am writing this post in preparation for tax season during my NaNoWritMo craziness.

I’m going to be way less than previous years (182 in 2015 and 128 in 2016). Each year I get a little less because I (1) don’t count books I edit and (2) don’t count books I slush read. As my editing and slush reading increases, the pleasure reading decreases.

With the magic 100 book level, I thought I would see if I raved or depraved too much. As an editor and author myself, I sometimes feel like I need to take it easy on other writers at which point I pull myself up by the shorts and remind me I am writing the book reviews to become a better editor and writer. If I don’t be honest about what I read, I can’t learn from it.

The review levels between Goodreads and Amazon allow me to give higher marks on Amazon reviews.

one star Goodreads “I did not like” / Amazon “I hate”
two star Goodreads “It was ok” / Amazon “I did not like”
three star Goodreads “I liked” / Amazon “It’s okay”
four star Goodreads “I really liked”/Amazon “I liked”
Five star Goodreads “It was amazing”/Amazon “I loved”

If you notice, a four on Amazon is equal to a three on Goodreads. So if someone gets a four star on Goodreads, I usually give them a five on Amazon because of the difference in the grading scale. This helps soothe my writer’s heart, supporting friends and co-workers. The write-up portion of the review is cut and pasted between the two review sites, therefore same review shows up on both, just star level are different. Oh, and Goodreads allows spoilers to be hid but Amazon does not – I sometimes need to work around that.

The Goodread scale for me is as follows:

One Star – Total fail, should not exist. Hated it, usually unable to finish. (One or more of these reasons.)
Two Star – Serious structural problems to the story. A “trunk” story where the author is learning how to write, but should have never been published in its present form. Did not like book. Able to finish reading the book, but frequently thought about quitting.

(Stars One and Two often inspire Editing Rants and Writing Exercises.)

Three Star – Readable. Some flaws. Bland. Nothing stands out. Liked book.
Four Star – Good book. Solid. Really liked it.
Five Star – Loved story – which I have discovered means incredible worldbuilding is involved.

(Stars Four and Five often end up in Author Spotlights and Book Review posts the following year.)

How did my 2017 reading split up?

Five Star – 11
Four Star – 42
Three Star – 28
Two Star – 12
One Star – 7

The disbursement may seem top-heavy, but remember many of these books are edited by publishing companies and many self-published people use editors as well which will reduce the pure clunkers. People want to publish books to make money, therefore most books overall will be better than mediocre.

I think the split between stars is a good disbursement. I’m not afraid to call a spade a spade.

WRITING EXERCISE: Go to your recently finished reading pile and pull out three books. Write a review for each of them figuring out what you liked about them and what you didn’t and post them to an appropriate review site. Of the three books, which book stood out the most and for what particular reason. What book received the lowest score and why? Looking at your present work-in-progress, can you apply any of the lessons you learned from these review-critiques to your own story?

***

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (published by Tor) – 5 Stars – Why I loved it the most: Worldbuilding. New thing learned: working with a multiple person POV allows unlikable as well as likable main characters, adding interest to the story.

Mind of My Mind by Octavia E. Butler (published by Open Road Media Sci-Fi & Fantasy) – 4 Stars – Nothing stood out.

Villains Rule by M.K. Gibson (published by Amber Cove Publishing) – 2 Stars – This humorous satire is exactly what I expect from humorous satire. Unfortunately going for the easy joke can be very misogynistic (The Pop Culture Detective Agency covers this well in “The Adorkable Misogyny of the Big Bang Theory”.) New thing learned: This story is very Meta about breaking down the Fantasy tropes and helped me be aware of a few.

Taking the thing I learned: I write likable characters. Maybe I should try for some unlikable ones. All three of these books have at least one of the point of view characters be a unrepentant villain. Something to think about.

If you would like to see all my book reviews on Goodreads, you can follow the book review links above and follow me there.

Flash: The Antichrist’s Big Sister Blog – Part 3

Erin Penn

Hey all. I’m back.

Sorry to take so long – the final year of high school has been a whirlwind.

First, I would like to thank the message board for all your suggestions about how to function in my unique family situation. Everything from stocking up on marshmallows for the Apocalypse to what to expect when my brother comes into his powers was awesome.

I especially want to thank all the support I got about confronting my father, the judge and even step-dad.  The non-stop “You Go Girl” was, for lack of a better adjective, awesome. I am flattered that several people used my example to throw off some of the really bad situations they were in. I didn’t set out to become an inspiration. And truth is, having read the circumstances some of you gals, and guys, were in, my complaining about my situation is like the meme of the first world problems crying woman going “I tried to spread cold butter on my toast … and the toast ripped”. All I can say is my telling Satan I will cut off his balls makes you stand up to evil where you live, then more power to you. You gals, and guys, rock – and good luck.

Second, $exy$hi#. No, you can’t have the two phone numbers I got. But I showed Troy your comments about what you want to do with the guys, demons, whatever. (I think I will go with whatever from now on – everyone down with that?)  He recommended two other whatevers that step-dad did not introduce me to. I have set up a temporary email address which I am going to post in the “contact me” area. Shoot me an email with your contact information, I will forward the information to them while also providing you their information at the same time. Then I am going to delete the temp e-box and get out of the picture. And, no, $exy$sh#, I do NOT want to know what happens. Reading about your plans was bad enough, informative, but harsh. I is only eighteen. You are a sick, sick girl and I think you are going to have lots of fun.

Anyhow, business out of the way.

Troy.

I know, new name. Yes, not his real name.  Really not suppose to share his real name, he is one of step-dad’s minions. No relation to the happy, bouncing yellow minions from Despicable Me, except their boss knows everyone’s names, fart guns are acceptable forms of entertainment, parties every weekend and lots of gluttony involving ice cream, … and well, I guess whatevers are very close to the minions in Despicable Me.

Anyhow, Troy. (sigh)

He has been hanging around the house … a lot.

He was not one of the entertainers step-dad offered up on my birthday as a gift. Troy is much too busy actually doing work for the horned one. Himself is not one to deprive himself of good help – actually bad help – someone really, really good at bad things.

I haven’t been home as much. Which is good, because I am not doing too well standing up to Troy’s flirting. Cripes, the man can handkiss. It feels really weird the first time, but the whatevers don’t change manners fast. Or maybe they do. They are good at blending.

But they know a good thing when they find it. Hold a woman’s hand, slowly lift to your lips keeping eye contact the whole way, lightly – oh so lightly – brush your lips against the knuckles, wait for her to breathe again, never losing eye contact, wait a second so she is not sure you are finished, then either kiss the fingers again, rotate the hand to kiss her palm, or lower the hand before releasing. Never release the hand before lowering and, never, ever break eye contact. Vary so she never knows what to expect so she keeps eye contact trying to see the intent in your eyes. Troy’s eyes are green, with a rim of gold right before the pupil. The right iris darkens to a deeper green towards the edge than the left one. His pupils always expand, covering the gold when he makes a decision to kiss my palm. His lips feel like a brush of roses on my hands.

Is it hot in here? It’s hot in here.

Anyhow, working lots of hours. A good thing. Been at the Scottish Hamburger joint doing my final sentence in the fast food industry. Hopefully next year I will be a college intern. More on that later. Mom says the chances of my beginning major, English Literature, being my final major is like nil. She says to get as many of the liberal arts requirements out of the way until I find what I really want to do.

Personally I think me being a reporter would be awesome.  Step-dad is torn. Again, that whole seeking the truth thing. On the other hand, reporting will make me an observer. Which sets me up for the not getting in the way of the end of the world. I will just write as the world burns. I mean, like any reporter, I hope my words will change the world. But I got enough of a cynic in me to realize the chances of that are slim to none.

Except you gals and guys have already shown me my words can change things. Maybe need to rethink the pessimism, and also whether being a reporter will let me do my job as the Antichrist’s Big Sister.

Mom doesn’t think I’ll be happy. Being a reporter. She is all big on happiness since marrying the horned guy.

Again, respect my mom’s choices. My step-dad is light-years better than my bio dad. The horned guy makes her happy. Heck, we are even expecting AC (antichrist) number two shortly. Sometime in December.

Go figure.

My bet for delivery date – when does winter start? Any takers?

Oh, oh. I got into a college. I think I told you that, right?

Got the letter right after my birthday, so maybe not. Out of state. Best media and news reporting college in five states, plus. Far from my bio dad, plus. Bigger bill for him to pay since I don’t get in-state grants, extra plus. (Yes, I have verified he has sent in the first semester’s payment and it has cleared the bank.) Far away from the bad influences of step-dad and his minions, plus. Far away from mom and Billy, neg – big neg.

Far away from Troy. I don’t know.

We talked all night last night on the porch about my move, my job, his job, my future. But not our future. He even gave me glimpses of his past as I fell asleep on his shoulder. I don’t think he realized I was still awake … he just kept talking. Comparing the starry night sky to things he had seen.

I don’t know what to do about Troy. Long distance relationships aren’t good. Relationships with whatevers aren’t good. Look, don’t want advice on this one, not yet. Still need to think things through. Life is going to change.

Off to pack. Only a month until the off-to-college roadtrip. AC’s Big Sister signing off.

(words 1,207 – first published 4/9/2013; republished new blog format 1/21/2018)

 

Geeking Science: Inspiration

Erin Penn

Image courtesy of Nasa: Jeanette Epps

The most valuable commodity in the world is human intellect. We can’t dig it up, refine it, and put it on the market in a quick just-in-time product stream. Intellect, in all its forms, requires discovery, shaping, honing, and continued usage. Whether a person excels in spacial, verbal, social, political, mathematical, educational, technological, or musical aspects of understanding the world, each individual must be given a safe, welcoming environment to sharpen the intellect to its fullest. Doing otherwise is burning scare resources and delaying advancement.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) has been throwing away millions of IQ points a year with their neglect, nay, their criminal abuse of women, especially women of color. In a field where “nerdy geeks” rule, women have been kicked out of the treehouse. Half of humanity actively discouraged from participation, and people wonder why we don’t have flying cars and we aren’t living on Mars?

July 2017 released study created from interviewing 474 astronomers and planetary scientist revealed Doctorate level women scared to attend conferences or participate in field research. Let me repeat that – women our society has trained to be the best, invested over 20 years of education, because of PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE cannot attend intellectual exchanges or go to isolated locations with their co-workers because they fear for their physical and mental health. Really, WTF? (See “Women of Color Face a Staggering Amount of Harassment in Astronomy“)

Last year #MeToo had a month of buzz on Facebook and social media as woman after woman spoke about her personal experiences. I include some of my experiences along that line in “Blog: Made Me Look“. Shortly after the month of #MeToo, the celebrity circle suffered a “witch hunt” (as some called it) of improper sexual behavior accusations. Most women I know just blinked and muttered “about time.” The long-standing joke of “sleeping on the casting bed” had its covers pulled back.

Sexual harassment costs society brains, women who choose not to go into fields where only men live. Women cautiously refusing life in the military, avoiding writing because of backlash, staying home from conferences instead of sharing papers.

Maybe a part of your brain is whispering “good”, maybe another part of you has cancer which a woman who could have discovered a life-saving cure in your lifetime never entered the field after threats were made in her pre-med classes. 

Yes, someone is likely to figure it out. After all, science is just a study of the world and discovering how it works. Eventually a solution can be found. Depending on how many people are looking, “eventually” can be minutes or decades away. 

Pushing half the people out of the STEM treehouse is beyond stupid. 

A quick perspective of how making the scientific community hostile to women and people of color affect research: ORCID – A non-profit research organization with 1 million registered scientists is 33% women. The number of women in the organization would need to MORE THAN DOUBLE to achieve parity of gender.**

You can’t get those numbers overnight.

Not even in astronomy.

So how do we help those that can’t help themselves? Provide inspiration.

People emulate what they see in fiction. Having Uhura on the Enterprise bridge inspired hundreds, thousands of people – women and people of color.

Writers can provide a face for people to see in fields they never thought to try. Make people question how the world should work. Point them in a direction.

WRITING EXERCISE:  Write a STEM flash with a woman of color as a positive protagonist. Be sure she has the strongest agency in the story and not a front for a different member of the cast.

READING EXERCISE: Find a biography or autobiography of a woman or person of color who had been in space and read it.

Wikipedia has the following astronaut lists

Women: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_astronauts (include US, Soviet, Chinese, Korea, Italy, India, and more)

African-American: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African-American_astronauts

Asian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_astronauts

Hispanics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hispanic_astronauts

And you can go here to find the Arab, Jewish, and Muslim lists as well as by country splits: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_astronauts

***

** Statistics calculation – 33 doubled is 66. Divide 66 by 100+33 (66/133) and you only got 49%. 

Author Spotlight: Nora Roberts

Erin Penn

Amazon Cover

Nora Roberts shook my world when I first read her. This happy Harlequin/Solitude style writer helped define Paranormal Romance – a genre which one can arguably say birthed Urban Fantasy. HER romances had witches and psychic powers, sharing shelf space with the typical millionaire romances.

Her books took up a shelf by the time I went off to college. I’ve since gone more into Urban Fantasy, as that genre has grown, and she has concentrated on her bread-and-butter market of traditional romance.

But every now-and-again, she brushes off her magic and reminds people that romance happens in all circumstances. If you haven’t looked her up in a while, you might want to read her Apocalypse series starting with Year One: Chronicles of The One.