Skill or Spill

Do you write with skill or with crayons from once upon a time?

I'm sorry that I've been away for a bit, and that even now I'm late with my blog. Life has a tendency to distract us from our regularly schedule programs. Please don't think I'm out of commission. I'm simply a bit late this week, but eager to move forward with my thoughts.

Does Sex Sell?

Have you noticed how often sex is used to sell a product? Consider the sexy book covers. Comic books are riddled with huge muscular men and fall to your knees sexy females. What about movies and TV shows? Some people consider it sexist, but it's not just females anymore. Now they use male as well as females sex symbols. Gyms are capitalizing from the new idealism. Everyone is now lifting weights, dieting, and joining all types of aerobics classes.

Writing comedy…

Friends used to be one of America's most favorite TV shows. Many people believed it was the funniest show on television. For us guys my first question is simple. Who is the hottest looking girl on the show? I think Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow is the best looking of the three. Monica Geller (Courteney Cox) has a very sexy face, but she's entirely too thin for me. Although many considered Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) to be the hottie of the show, I only liked her hair.

Dancing around your writing…

Those of you who know me know that I love dancing Salsa. I don't know what you dance when you go to the club, but this is what we do. Salsa takes technique in your feet, your hands, and your hips. The dance moves are intoxicating and addictive. The more you learn the more you want to dance.

To remove or not to remove...

In writing less is more. Therefore, take out what you don't need. Let's talk unnecessary phrases or clauses. Many people get very confused with this type of sentence. They're unsure if a comma should be use or not. The question is what the comma will do to the sentence. I don't know if you're aware of this or not but the comma will change the meaning entirely. That will take your readers down the wrong path.

O about that… dream, or fantasy…

What is your fantasy, your dream? What make you smile from ear to ear every time you see? Is it that new car? You know that dream car you've been fantasizing about. The one that makes you smile every time you see one drive. When something goes wrong you pull up that picture you have of it to calm yourself down. You can just smell that new car smell in it. The sleek design, the seats, dash, even the steering wheel looks good on it.

Grilling a novel...

I have several friends who consider themselves grill masters. I use specific spices when I grill, and of course, that changes depending on the type of meat I will be grilling. For this example, I will be using chicken as my meat of choice since it is very popular for grilling. First I season the meat with Adobo all purpose seasoning. I use this condiment on almost everything I grill or cook. It is very versatile. Next I sprinkle Black Pepper on the chicken breast or wings. Third I like to use Garlic. Usually I prefer the Garlic spice without salt, but if you have garlic salt that's fine too.

Avoid writers block...

A love you never thought of...  

I have talked about music being a great source of inspiration. I have also pointed out how different scenery can influence your desire to write. If you were to couple these two it would enhance the vision of your character and the story line even greater. I would go as far as to suggest taking pictures of your vacation, or any other time you visited a beautiful place, and create your own video. You can also place the pictures on your wall to look at while the music plays.

A picture says a thousand words…

Are you trying to write something in the same room you've been writing in for many years? It's no wonder sometimes we get writers block. It's our mind's way of saying, get me out of here.

What moves me to write

Writing is all about mood. If you are not in the mood to write chances are your characters will take a wrong turn. They might rebel against you, or do something rash. Now you may have a different way of getting in the mood. For instance, one of the things that get me in the mood to write is a good rain mixed in with a little lightening. Rain always makes me feel melancholy, which brings back old memories flooding my mind with day dreams of I should have, and could have's which I use in my writing. Another thing which moves me to write is sitting under a shady tree on a breezy day listening to nature while I eat a sandwich and drink wine.

You ever feel stuck?

Frustration begins to take over when you're starting out. Or if you've been working hard at putting together a platform to let everyone know about your writing, but it doesn't seem to be enough. I can't tell you how many times I've wished someone would have just told me how I needed to do things. Instead I had to endure the trial and error method. I don't know about you, but I hate doing things that way.

The Mystic Comma

Oh my God is that comma ever going to end? Entire books have been written on the comma alone. The comma has that many uses and is misused even more. If you're asking yourself, do I really need to know this, the answer is no. You don't need to publish a book either. You don't need to sell more than five eBooks because someone gave it a dreadful review for its bad grammar. If you want to continue being a mediocre writer with little to no recognition for your work go right ahead. For those of you who want people to enjoy reading your novel you need to write correctly.

Don't fear the comma:

I know that the comma can be a cause of great fear for many. If you don't understand it and use it incorrectly it will bring death and destruction on your writing. However, once you have the necessary knowledge it can no longer terrorize your manuscript or render it unreadable. Therefore, do not be afraid to attack it with fierce intellect after learning its proper usage.

Three steps to working with a comma

Don't let the comma kill your writing.

I consider the comma one of the most important punctuation marks in grammar, and the most misunderstood. Many think they know how to use it, but they really don't. Some writers don't use it enough others toss them around like glitter on a child's poster board painting. Although it can be confusing, I will try to break it down for you starting with the simple sentences.

6 steps to develop the right

1. Must be likable:

The protagonist is the most important figure in your writing. Therefore, if you put forward a protagonist that is not likable, you have just made your story unlikable. And I don't mean we like him a little. We have to find him/her so interesting we want to continue reading more about him/her.

Who categorizes your book and how?

Phoenix Sullivan is a great writer and has reflected it in a tale which brings together beauty and horror. The book speaks of the horror of war in all its gory details and the beauty that can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places. However, Amazon has not looked at it this way.They have labeled this way. They categorized it as erotica limiting her ability to reach potential readers.

Boy, did you write the wrong thing.

You ran you're spell checker for misspelled words and now you think your ready, but is that correct?

Are you there yet? Because they're watching you with their critiquing eyes, and will judge you accordingly.

Funding your self published book

I had to share this with you friends. It's a blog from Nathan Bransford on Kickstarters to fund your self published work. I have never heard of this until today, but it sounded too interesting not to share with the rest of you. I know for some of you this is just what you need to help

O' about editing

I have heard stories of people who send their writing to an editor and then refuse to make the changes they advised. To me, this makes no sense. To rewrite, edit, change, and cut much of your novel will help you become a better writer. Completing these requests, by their agents or publishing house, has helped many become published.

Is self publishing the way to go?

Self publishing is the big question lately. Many authors are debating whether self publishing is the way to go. Traditional publishing houses still look down on SP and agents will not accept it in the bio of your query letter. Still SP is here and taking momentum. The success stories of such authors like Amanda Hocking, who