tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.comments2023-06-10T08:37:15.879-06:00Obsidian Bookshelf blogValhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comBlogger350125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-1388140104981390012014-11-30T22:05:31.809-07:002014-11-30T22:05:31.809-07:00You're very welcome, Kate, and thank you very ...You're very welcome, Kate, and thank you very much for the comment! I'm so pleased that these articles have been helpful to you. Very best of luck with your writing. :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10175001333653409734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-43908309204767809302014-11-30T21:41:12.936-07:002014-11-30T21:41:12.936-07:00I went (and still going through) some stressful ti...I went (and still going through) some stressful times. I used to write all sorts of things I have several story outlines that I've never quite finished because of personal issues. But I've finally (I hope!) gotten back to writing and I'm feeling pretty confident about my current novel. :) These topics have helped me out a lot. Especially the descriptive articles. Thank you so much for these. Katenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-36047697381272166902014-07-05T14:14:47.134-06:002014-07-05T14:14:47.134-06:00If you'd like to attach your photo to an email...If you'd like to attach your photo to an email, you're welcome to do so. My email address is listed in the sidebar.Average Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955137026396047753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-45807401225904634292014-07-04T23:57:08.359-06:002014-07-04T23:57:08.359-06:00Hey Val! This is very strange, but I have a pair o...Hey Val! This is very strange, but I have a pair of eyes I cannot seem to describe with detail. Is there some way to send a photo of them to you to look at? I know I must sound crazy, but they're the eyes I imagine one of my characters to have and I can't seem to describe them concisely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-71346595656734536392014-05-21T17:58:58.058-06:002014-05-21T17:58:58.058-06:00Thank you, Kassa and Anne! I'm really looking ...Thank you, Kassa and Anne! I'm really looking forward to it. :DAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10175001333653409734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-37192454139889291732014-05-21T12:47:21.695-06:002014-05-21T12:47:21.695-06:00Well done, you! Great to have you back! :)Well done, you! Great to have you back! :)Anne Brookehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03982495677389302410noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-49784497337119842762014-05-21T12:36:04.552-06:002014-05-21T12:36:04.552-06:00Awesome news! Good luck!Awesome news! Good luck!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-43912032610906659432014-05-03T00:07:44.322-06:002014-05-03T00:07:44.322-06:00Angelia! How cool to hear from you again! Thank yo...Angelia! How cool to hear from you again! Thank you for your comment. These are good points about people in the surrounding areas having a different viewpoint. <br /><br />And I still remember a comment a few years back that you made about enjoying specific locations in fiction, especially if they match up to places you've driven through and are very familiar with. Me, too. In fiction, movies, or tv shows. I think specific locations add so much.Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-30266521681181148732014-05-02T22:30:35.916-06:002014-05-02T22:30:35.916-06:00Totally with you on a lot of that. Give your chara...Totally with you on a lot of that. Give your characters a sense of place.<br /><br />One thing:<br />While residents of the city or the town might not think of it in those terms, folks from the suburbs or the nearby countryside will.<br /><br />Back in Peculiar, it was always "I have to go into the City for [shopping, dr appointment, see the inlaws]." and the City was always Kansas City, which started about Grandview and ran north to about Kearny.<br /><br />Now that I live in a bedroom community, it's "I have to go into town for [work, meeting, shopping.]" Town is Memphis, anywhere from the River (the Mississippi River) out to the far eastern suburbs, because I live on the west side.Angelia Sparrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13195112449945205248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-82675704700287832582014-03-07T10:32:51.993-07:002014-03-07T10:32:51.993-07:00You're very welcome, and thank you for your co...You're very welcome, and thank you for your comment. :) It can be difficult to base fictional characters on real-life people. I know I've never found it easy to do. Very best of luck on your fiction project.!Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-26108159595299728832014-03-06T13:48:05.321-07:002014-03-06T13:48:05.321-07:00Thank you for addressing this!! I have always want...Thank you for addressing this!! I have always wanted to write a book, novel, something, not so much to be published, but just for myself. I enjoy writing but always bore myself 7-10 pages in and give up. I'm actually motivated this time, but since I am not experienced at all (besides creative writing classes and TOO MANY term papers in high school), I really appreciate all of the articles I'm finding that help inexperienced writers like myself. I am basing my leading male character on my husband, but was falling very short when it came to describing him using language that seemed to do him justice =)<br /><br />Thanks again for sharing some knowledge you have acquired through experience and research to give us suggestions!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-39824846301781466012013-10-29T17:06:06.225-06:002013-10-29T17:06:06.225-06:00Jennifer, I like it! It is true that it is an elab...Jennifer, I like it! It is true that it is an elaborate description but that's okay because it is in the viewpoint of a boy who is hopelessly intoxicated with her, and it's realistic that he would take a long look at her and see all these things about her eyes.<br /><br />I don't think the description is clichéd. If you wanted to improve it, you would only have to trim out some of the non-essential words and tighten the whole thing and make it really succinct like poetry.<br /><br />For example, you could delete the sentence, "Not a hard, cold crystal though," because the glow of mischief you mention in the next sentence softens her appearance and takes away any perceived hardness as it is. The sentence <i>Shards of silver slashed through the blue like glass</i> is beautiful.<br /><br />I would suggest changing "They were almost transparent" to "Her eyes were almost transparent" because with this sentence following the shards-of-silver sentence, the pronoun "they" seems to stand for the shards rather than the eyes. This fix is just to clarify. <br /><br />I am definitely getting an impression of your character as a thinker with your allusions to gears of the brain and window to the mind. You have a fine instinct for similes and connotations. The main connotations I am getting about the female character is that she is good-looking and seems cold and reserved at first, and even intimidating (because of all the hard-edged imagery involving ice, shards, silver, slashed, glass), but the glow of mischief shows her true nature. Perhaps her depression is giving her a cold veneer, but the narrator can restore her to her true self through the power of love. :) I think my favorite part is <i>dark eyeliner and mascara</i> ... <i>like soot around a gemstone.</i><br />Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-86318549302116898412013-10-28T19:39:18.098-06:002013-10-28T19:39:18.098-06:00My main character is a depressed teenage girl with...My main character is a depressed teenage girl without hope. She is described by the other main lead, a boy hopelessly intoxicated with her. I wanted to portray her as a thinker. I deep minded soul with questions and doubts. I want her to be seen as intelligent from the beginning, and have that foreshadow into her actions later on in the story. I described it like this- "<br />Her eyes were like ice. Not a hard, cold crystal though. It made her look elegant, with a glow of mischief that made you feel like you wanted to break all the rules. Shards of silver slashed through the blue like glass. <br /><br />They we almost transparent. As if I could see through her eyes and see the gears of her brain turning. Like a window into her mind.<br />Layers of dark eyeliner and mascara the defined the color even further, like soot around a gemstone."<br /><br />I'd love some feedback. I'm worried about being too cliche, but I want the description to be very descriptive. Thank you so much! Loved the article- very helpful.<br />Jennifer Corbetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16163461492837263001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-20453543086560233612013-08-29T11:10:04.834-06:002013-08-29T11:10:04.834-06:00Thank you! I'm glad I could help. :)Thank you! I'm glad I could help. :)Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-6861933798929893332013-08-28T14:23:26.671-06:002013-08-28T14:23:26.671-06:00Awesome advice! I'll definitely use these tips...Awesome advice! I'll definitely use these tips next time I'm stuck on my WIP.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-82010688298407565462013-08-22T10:43:45.689-06:002013-08-22T10:43:45.689-06:00Hello, and thank you for asking! I'm writing i...Hello, and thank you for asking! I'm writing it now, hoping to finish by end of year. Not sure right yet who might end up publishing it, but I'm hoping to have it published sometime next year. Thanks again!Valhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16732605505724248028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-73391826627501226522013-08-22T09:25:48.429-06:002013-08-22T09:25:48.429-06:00Any news on when your new book "After the Fal...Any news on when your new book "After the Fall" will be published and by whom? Thanks!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-91255571612078021672013-06-10T10:22:00.994-06:002013-06-10T10:22:00.994-06:00Thank you, Chris! :)Thank you, Chris! :)Average Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955137026396047753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-18990908071433333912013-06-10T06:40:00.518-06:002013-06-10T06:40:00.518-06:00Happy release day!! :)Happy release day!! :)Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959009113795804133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-16148797799970314392013-06-06T14:18:27.561-06:002013-06-06T14:18:27.561-06:00Anissia, you're very welcome! I'm so glad ...Anissia, you're very welcome! I'm so glad I could help. :)Average Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955137026396047753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-13753245895430424182013-06-06T10:36:23.781-06:002013-06-06T10:36:23.781-06:00THANK YOU SO MUCH,Val! Youve been a big help!! Ill...THANK YOU SO MUCH,Val! Youve been a big help!! Ill start right away! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16208718598600367915noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-11205492645467528992013-06-05T21:20:14.942-06:002013-06-05T21:20:14.942-06:00Anonymous, you have my sympathy. I have been there...Anonymous, you have my sympathy. I have been there. :) Sometimes it helps to take a break from your writing if you are at the point of utter frustration. You may be surprised how good your rough draft looks when you read it again after taking a break of a few days or a week.<br /><br />The other thing that helps is to think about the novel and figure out which part of it is the most interesting to you. It could be the overall conflict. It could be one certain character. It could be the chance to write about a group of characters who are very different from yourself. Or maybe it could be a certain scene of reunion or revenge or first meetings or something else that you have been looking forward to writing. Or it could be a whole stretch of dialog between two characters.<br /><br />Whatever your favorite thing about the novel is, go to that part and write it (no matter where it falls in your plot). Then see if you can build backward or forward from that point and fill in the rest of the novel. Often the experience of writing something really fun for you will bring the whole thing to life. Very best of luck to you!Average Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955137026396047753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-62506554591651365612013-06-05T06:55:16.147-06:002013-06-05T06:55:16.147-06:00Thank you for making this article (along with the ...Thank you for making this article (along with the others). Ive been writing since the 6th grade, they were mostly children books and short stories but now Ive decided to take up the challenge of writing my first novel. Its been a pain since i constantly get writer's block or just get bored of it. Now i realized that I made so many mistakes that i actually thinking about rewriting the entire story, but i actually like the plot and my characters. Its very frustrating. Please help me. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-70240449452740042052013-05-13T15:58:10.915-06:002013-05-13T15:58:10.915-06:00Turtles are just up from hibernation and doing fin...Turtles are just up from hibernation and doing fine. :)Average Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03955137026396047753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6937658685163119346.post-8037547822397487622013-05-12T21:45:30.494-06:002013-05-12T21:45:30.494-06:00P.S. How's the turtle doing?P.S. How's the turtle doing?K. Z. Snowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01373906799954038740noreply@blogger.com