“Write what you know” means “write the truth”

cj Sez:  Writers are always looking for the magic formulas and rules to make their writing struggles easier. Eight rules on this, ten tips on that, three on the other. There are two rules that top them all:

 My take is, the more I familiarize myself with the different philosophies and “rules” of the various writing worlds (journalism, creative, non-fiction, et al.), the better I am able to write the truth about my characters, their personalities, and their worlds to make them authentic.
 
   In a way, I am world-building for my novel.
 
   Granted it's easier to write “what you know”—i.e. the truth—when we write about the people and places we know best. In my Death on the Yampa novel, the setting is Dinosaur National Monument and the Yampa River that runs through it. And yes, I once did a five-day white-water rafting trip there. Even with that familiarity, I had to do more research to make sure I had the dialogue and sites correct. (Memories are notoriously faulty.)

   The following excerpt is from regional writer Judy Alter who specializes in her familiarity with Texas.

. . . “setting a book in a particular region (doesn’t) make a writer regional. It’s essential that the author absorb the setting so that rather than obviously telling, such things as geography, culture, food, and manners flow naturally. Otherwise, the background looks like those fake sets in so many grade B westerns.” 
 
   I’ll take Judy Alter’s advice one step further: Regions are made up of cities and people, and to write the truth about a city and its characters means the writer also needs to absorb the city setting and its language. That’s why Elmore Leonard’s books are so Detroit-authentic.

   I could never consider myself a regional writer, though not by choice, but by happenstance. Born in Texas and raised in Michigan, I currently live on Alabama’s Gulf Coast. (I guess I could do a decent job of characterizations and syntax of Detroiters.) As a native Texan, I do populate almost every story with a character from Texas, and now that I live in Mobile, Alabama, I people-watch intently. I want my new characters to have some authentic Southern attributes.

   I know a slew of excellent authentic South-regional writers; I also know I’ll never be that good. Writing things Southern is its own genre. There’s a humor and a dialogue cadence that are peculiar (and I mean that in the nicest way) to the South.
 
   Whatever the genre (mystery, suspense, romance) or theme (cats, dogs, yoga, ecology) of the novel, the details of setting are an all-important facet of grabbing and holding a reader’s attention. How do you incorporate your setting and what you know into what you write?

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  Did you ever watch a movie or read a novel with so many visuals or words tumbling out at a rapid-fire pace that they left you breathless?
 
  If you’re an author who is self-publishing or a small publishing company, author, speaker, and former teacher Ellen Buikema has some advice on how “to keep sensory overload at bay.”
 
  Read more at https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/03/white-space-in-writing/
 

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  By the by, as the masthead of Lyrical Pens says, if you have a book you want to promote, old or new, let me know. We can arrange a blog date for your book tour. The only caveat is that this site is PG 13.

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  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you and yours.

cj
  

  Now some words from my sponsors:
 
  Beach? Mountains? StayCay? It’s time to plan for those holiday and summer vacation downtime moments when you can lose yourself in a book. THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore.

Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.
  Nota bene: Angela Trigg, the RITA Award-winning author and owner of The Haunted Book Shop has a few signed copies of my paperback books in stock. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us 

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How whitespace affects reading

cj Sez: Since Halloween is only a couple of days away, here’s your next book to read:

  Perfect for the upcoming holiday: HALLOWEEN PIECES . . . An anthology of 18 pieces of work by 17 authors

A short paranormal story I’m kind of proud of, “Once in a Blue Moon,” is included in this fourth installment of the Mobile Writers Guild anthology PIECES series. Paperback and ebook available. Kindle is $1.99.

 

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  Searching my archives for blog ideas, I came across this 2020 post by Ellen Buikema on the Writers in the Storm blog. I am a big fan/follower of the concept for all of my writing and believe it’s worthy of sharing. Granted my excerpt from her post is directed more to formatters and self-publishers, but the entire post speaks to presentations, too, whether as an author at a conference or in the business world conference rooms.

  Since creating presentations for senior management was part of my career in the automotive industry, I would add that for visual presentations don’t use small, thin, script fonts (need 20 point or greater) and don’t use pastel colors for text or graphs. They’re almost invisible to anyone beyond the first row of your audience. 

  Read the full post by clicking on the link for Ellen’s post below.

Ellen Buikema wrote:

Like a pause in a song, white space can help create drama, emotion, a bit of quiet before a storm of words.

White space is the canvas where we paint our words.

Writers can affect readers with the use of white space in several ways.

1. White space draws the reader’s attention to the words on the page, makes the print easier to read, and improves comprehension.

2. Space on the page makes finding where the reader left off reading quick and easy.

3. Kerning, the space between letters, can change the look of the print and add meaning. Just as using all capitals can be interpreted as yelling, extra space between letters may emphasize speaking words slowly. “You need to s  l  o  w  down.”  (cj Sez…Personally, I’d use this only in advertising and poetry.)

4. The use of white space at the beginning and ending of chapters gives the reader a visual break. Some writers and formatters choose to begin a new chapter halfway down the page. Others like to start all chapters on the right-hand side of the book for physical copies. A new chapter beginning on the same page as the previous chapter looks like a formatting error.

5. Line spacing may be adjusted to fit next to or around a photo or illustration, or from left to right margin across the page. Avoiding a line with the final word of a sentence dangling all by its lonesome self on the following page is a good thing and can be done using line spacing as well as kerning.

6. Blank pages are helpful in the case of an anthology of short stories, particularly if the spacing and word count send the ending of one story onto the right-hand page. A blank side gives the reader emotional space to regroup for the next tale.

Ways to create white space:

1. The use of images surrounded by a margin of space: illustrations, icons, graphs, photos, all give the reader a brief rest and let the mind focus on something different.

2. Bullet points and numbered lists make reading quicker, scan-able.

3. Variable sentence lengths make for more pleasurable reading. Too many long sentences in a row create blocky text. If you pause and go back to a big block of text. it is really difficult to find one’s place.

4. Use shorter paragraphs. 

( Source: https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/03/white-space-in-writing/ )

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  Okay, that’s it for today. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same. Raising prayers for a happy and safe you.

cj

Now a note from my sponsors:

  My novels THE DAWGSTAR and DEATH ON THE YAMPA are fast-paced, thriller/suspense stories with sassy banter and a smidgen of romance. (Perfect diversions for a quick weekend getaway.)

  The books are available on Amazon or through your favorite eTailer and bookstore. Got a library card? You can read the ebooks free from Hoopla.

  Little note: When you shop The Haunted Book Shop, I can drop in and sign copies of my books for you. TO ORDER, contact: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us  Angela Trigg, the awesome owner and a RITA Award-winning author in her own right (writing as Angela Quarles) will be happy to ship you any book(s) by any author of your choice.

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"White space is the canvas where we draw our words."

cj Sez: The title to this blog is a quote from an article by author, speaker, and former teacher Ellen Buikema. Did you ever watch a movie or read a novel with so many visuals or words tumbling out at a rapid-fire pace that they left you feeling breathless?

   If you’re an author who is self-publishing or a small publishing company, Buikema has some advice on how “to keep sensory overload at bay.” Her post for the Writers in the Storm blog offers up some great suggestions on the use of “white space” and the reasons the tips work both in the text and on the cover.

   Buikema says: “Like a pause in a song, white space can help create drama, emotion, a bit of quiet before a storm of words.”

Read more at https://writersinthestormblog.com/2020/03/white-space-in-writing/

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Public Service Announcements: 

 In case you missed it, the popular international writers’ conference Killer Nashville has been cancelled for 2020. 

   Founder Clay Stafford regretfully announced the cancellation, and couched the cancellation this way: “We’re going to postpone Killer Nashville 2020 and roll everyone’s registrations forward to KN 2021 (August 19-22, 2021).”  The three 2020 guests of honor—New York Times best-selling author Lisa Black, New York Times and USAToday best-selling author J. T. Ellison, and Walter Mosley, a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America—will be returning for the 2021 conference.

   Killer Nashville's preferred method of contact is by e-mail. Reach them at: contact@KillerNashville.com

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   The coronavirus pandemic hit close to home this week, and the daughter and granddaughter of a dear writer friend were hospitalized, one already in the throes of pneumonia. Please gather your prayer warriors and raise petitions for all who are suffering from this deadly virus.

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   That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same, (Sending up prayers for your health and safety.) 

cj

TO ORDER my autographed books or any book of your choice on-line from my favorite indie bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: The Haunted Bookshop 

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