Satire is all that makes sense

Satire is the writer's response to something so outrageous that there is nothing else to say. That's how I perceive the Zombie craze. Why can't dead folks have the common courtesy to stay dead? We have enough traffic jams without zombies wandering in the streets. Then I found Scott Kenemore, an author who motives me to love zombie satire.

Scott's Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead kicked off the zombie satire sub-genre that has become like a vocational exploration for the unemployed undead with too much time on their hands. My favorite is the Code of the Zombie Pirate book. And then I found this video; yoga for zombies.

So zombie freaks, enjoy. Then put away those stupid costumes, wipe the fake blood off your face and get back to serious writing on Monday when NANOWRIMO begins.

Diagnosing Literary Characters

With my psychotherapy training, I am constantly diagnosing characters in novels. Face it, aberrant behavior is the core of thrillers, mysteries and other fictional genres. Was Darth Vader crazy or crazy like a fox? What about gentle Bartleby the Scrivener? Dave Gibson's article in Mother Jones' gives his take and more.

My key characters in Taylor Kendall: Evil Inc represent several diagnosis categories: Antisocial Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Dependent Personality Disorder and just plain EVIL (not an official DSM code, but no mystery even to the layperson).

Power of 3 for your writing

As a huge fan of Psychotactics, Sean's clear explanation of using "3" as the ideal illustrative number for writers is worth reading. After all, how many is too many when listing attributes of a character or location? Three balances well and seems to work with the human brain's processing potential. Two looks whimpy. Five, seven or nine is overkill.

Psychotactics writer, Sean, offers three reasons why three works:

1. Focus quickly
2. Solid substance
3. Curse of knowledge

My favorite is "curse of knowledge" and I see this in student papers and works of novice writers. Editing and restraint seem to be missing from their dictionaries. Yes, you can know too much. In fact, the more expertise you have about a topic, the greater the danger. Before unloading a written tsunami on unsuspecting readers, consider Sean's advice: "three things restricts your amazing power to write endlessly". To that I would add: and bore intensely or overwhelm without mercy. Less is more. . .be concise then be done.

Get ready for NANOWRIMO

November is known for more than turkeys and parades. To writers this is NANOWRIMO or National Novel Writing Month. Sound complicated? Errol tells the whole story in this 3 minute summary . If that doesn't inspire you, nothing will. So start your outline, research and plot notes. You are 30 days away from turning your ideas into a 50,000 word book. Remember to give your idea the "write twist" to stand out from the pack and possibly be the prizer winner!

Trifecta for Writers this weekend

Three blockbuster events happen on Saturday, October 23. If only the Sci-Fi writers could explain how to beam around to all; the Florida Writers Conference, Time Festival of Reading and Necronomicon 2010.

Florida Writers Association Conference offers top flight speakers, seminars and networking Friday and Saturday in Lady Mary, outside Orlando. Royal Palms Literary Awards are announced at the Saturday banquet. I am a finalist in the Thriller category for my book, Taylor Kendall: Evil Inc.

The Times Festival of Reading in downtown St Petersburg is a joyous celebration of writers, readers and all things to do with books. The festival is located at Bayboro Harbor, 140 7th Avenue South, 10am-4pm with free admission.

And then there is Necronomicon 2010 also in downtown St Petersburg. This one baffles me.  For those who enjoy the company of zombies, vampires and other horrible creatures (disguised as writers), grab your chains and follow the blood trail to Bayfront Hilton, October 22-24.

How are regional personalities developed?

Do you take for granted certain regional personalities or do you want to know the backstory? Here's the research to explain City Mouse/Country Mouse and what made them similar yet different? Dr Peter Renfrow thinks there are three options to explain how people in a certain area of the country acquired distinctive characteristics associated with where they live.

1. Selective migration patterns - People move where they are comfortable, satisfied and find others like themselves. That's how my Italian grandparents came from northern Italy to Memphis, Tennessee. Seems like an odd place for them to settle. They came because there was a community of friends from the old country who said that they could like Southern people in America which is different than how they felt about Southern Italians ( another regional personality issue). In the same way, farm kids with big dreams move to urban areas and musicians flock to Nashville.

2. Social influences from people around them - Unless you choose to be isolated, you are influenced by the customs, traditions and behaviors of people around you. Social learning occurs when you are immersed in a place for continual time period. That bored farm kid can easily become hypervigilant, stressed and exhausted like other people around him in the fast-paced city.

3. Ecological influences - The geography and topography definitely impacts the population. Living in a rural area means thoughtful planning for shopping trips unlike a suburban area where driving to the mall happens on a whim.  Conversely people without cars in urban areas are more mobile due to available mass transit unlike those in smaller cities without mass transit who become mobility limited and have fewer job choices.

Think about how these factors influence your characters. Which characters move to dramatically different social environments? Is this key to the plot development? Do characters change behavior due to the move, then encounter internal or external conflicts because of that change? Consider how these three issues of regional personalities can be used to spice up your storyline.

Rentfrow,P. (Sept 2010). Statewide difference in personality:towards a psychological geography of the United States. American Psychologist, 65,6,548-558

Regional Personalities

Amid the psycho-babble of my professional journals, I found a fascinating article that can be useful to writers seeking to infuse regional personalities into their stories. Rentfrow's (2010) study of psychological geography found that Florida is filled with agreeable, conscientious neurotics. As a Floridian, I'll give him two out of three.

Writing in American Psychologist (Sept.2010), Dr Peter Rentfrow analyzes five personality domains

1.  extraversion
2. agreeableness
3. conscientiousness
4. neuroticism
5. openness

What does this information do for you as a writer? It's a credible study that can add to your knowledge or assumptions about the overall behavior of people within a given region of the U.S.  For example, Rentfrow mentions the assumptions that "New Yorkers are outspoken,neurotic and always in a hurry", "Californians are laid-back, superficially charming" and "Texans are slow talking, friendly and proud members of NRA" (p 548) Do you agree? Is that how you have portrayed characters in your writing?

This journal has several articles that writers might find worthwhile. If you can't read this online, add it to your research list for the next visit to a university library.

Rentfrow,P. (Sept 2010). Statewide difference in personality:towards a psychological geography of the United States. American Psychologist, 65,6,548-558

Teacher's Write!

FACCS Educator's Conference is a favorite for me in fall conference season. My encouragement to teachers came in form of presentation; "Turn Your Teaching Experiences in a Book." Their seasoned ideas and creative teaching methods need to be shared with other educators. I want to continue sparking their interest with an upcoming "Teachers Write" free webinar. If you are anyone you know is a teacher who is thinking about writing, email me and I'll include you when the next Teachers Write webinar date is announced.

I am known as the "duck whisperer" since fowl of all types flock (no pun intended) to me. Naturally I had to do a photo with the oversized Aflac Duck.

Make your book a STAR - Part 4

How do you know what you know? Without research, you have opinions not facts. R is for Research and it's a writer's BFF. Whether fiction or non-fiction, a writer needs a context in which to craft ideas. Traditional publishers demand that you research comparable works as part of your proposal and that's a wise idea no matter how or where you publish.

I admit it; I am a research junkie. Online research is a blessing for easy access. I also delight in spending a Saturday at a graduate library with real paper journals and shelves of books. There's no end to what can be discovered that adds richness to your work.

Don't use fiction writing as an excuse for pushing aside research. You can incorporate actual locations, local myths, historical background for the timeline of your work and other details that take your work to a higher level. See you in the library!!

STAR System

S = Start with your best idea

T = Tailor it with an outline

A = Accentuate the highlights

R = Research, Research, Research

Make your book a STAR - Part 3

At the risk of sounding like Sesame Street, today we will begin with the letter "A" for Accentuate the Highlights of your subject. Whether establishing the characters in fiction or defining the background in       non-fiction, avoid getting so mired in the background that the reader begins to yawn. Readers want a sparkle-fix that they get from reveling in the highlights of your ideas.

Totally new, never before written topics are rare. What makes your work different from the others are the highlights that you bring to the subject or story. Think about what you have to say that makes listeners look alert or turn toward you to hear more. Those are highlights. When the idea or dialogue drives you to distraction and demands to be written? Those are highlights.  Your unique sense of humor, irony or curiosity are also highlights in the way you present a story.

To borrow the line from Miss Congeniality  . . . "Be the highlights. YOU are the highlights" in your work.

STAR System 

S = Start with your best idea

T = Tailor it with an outline

A = Accentuate the highlights

R = Research, Research, Research

Make your book a STAR - Part 2

How well do you travel in an unfamiliar city without a map or GPS? Not so well. As my graduate students can attest, when I write "wandering" on papers, the grade drops. Readers are equally intolerant of wandering words that confuse more than contribute to the story. Face it, your middle school English teacher was right: you need to outline before writing.  That's the "T" in my STAR system.

S = Start with your best idea

T = Tailor it with an outline

A = Accentuate the highlights

R = Research, Research, Research

Write or speak aloud the short version of your story from beginning to end. Make it like an abstract; 100-150 words. From that point, begin an outline. Microsoft Word and other formats have outline page template or you can type as you go ( my preference).

Remember if you have a section with only one subsection, either expand this to additional subsections or join the larger category.  Simply stated, if you have an "A" under a category, you also need at "B". Keep the outline balanced and your story will not have those odd drop-off points.

Stop whining about using an outline! Every nonfiction book starts that way - - - you see it as chapters and subchapters. Fiction books also need basic outline to keep the essence of the story on track. You have more flexibility in fiction, but that does not mean random.

If you need to brush up on outlines, go to Purdue University's Writing Lab.

More to come on the "A"

Make your book a STAR

At this week's FACCS K-12 educator's conference, I am presenting "Turn your teaching experiences into a book". Here's one idea from this presentation that applies to all authors, the STAR approach.

S = Start with your best idea

T = Tailor it with an outline

A = Accentuate the highlights

R = Research, Research, Research

The best place to begin is "start with your best idea". Writers are notorious for juggling more ideas than time. I  admit that it only takes a phrase, a casual comment overheard or an odd billboard to set my mind crafting a story or how-to piece. The crisis for creative writers is not what to when but when to focus on one concept and complete that work.

This reminds me of a old Lovin' Spoonful song about making choices; "Say yes to one and leave the others behind; its not always easy, its not always kind, but I guess you have to make up your mind."
If you sort all the options, then you can choose and start with the best idea. Keep the others for future books.

Think of it like baby names, so many wonderful options but eventually the parents have to put a name on the birth certificate. You are not abandoning those other amazing ideas, merely asking them to wait their turn.

Come back for second part - - - the "T"

Experience Tips # 8-10

Authors take heed, here are more Experience Tips from discussions at SIBA Conference. Writing is not merely a literary pursuit, it's a business. As with any product, the old sales adage applies: "nothing happens until somebody sells something".

Experience Tip # 8: Identify your book buying audience by demographics. Create a profile of your prime book buyer then look for groups or organizations where that buyer is represented. If your prime book buyer is 25-40 year old female, then don't waste time speaking to an aging, predominately male civic club.

Experience Tip # 9: Use Social Media Marketing to the fullest extent of your knowledge. Keep in mind, it's not totally free. What you spend is your time, so target your efforts rather than scatter.

Experience Tip # 10: When preparing for book signings, send press releases and announcements to your regular networks. Unless you have worked with a book store before and know their marketing style, never assume that they will do all the marketing for you. Better for the local newspaper to receive two press releases rather than none.