Contraction Subtractions

Ahhh, the final stretch is upon me and I have the darn book nearly complete.  When I say complete, I really mean complete this time.  Unfortunately, there is but one endless finding that plagues me.  I keep running across contractions and apparently they are my bane.  I'm using them constantly throughout the bloody thing.   Not to worry though I believe I've caught most of them and took the document to a heightened state of professionalism.  It's simply amazing how much of a difference it makes in the work.  So much so I would like to challenge all of you to take a step back and look hard and long at your work in progress.  Does it make use of contractions like I'm, can't, he'll, etc.  Pull them out and read again.  See what I mean.  :P

So now you're saying, well it's dialogue so it's okay.  Here's where you and I would tend to disagree if this is your standing.  Sure I'll concede that there are times where a well placed "don't" is appropriate, but certainly not throughout the entire manuscript.  People are reading these books quickly and expecting high quality. Their minds will naturally contract the words for them if needed.  So keep from letting your book look like an elementary school kid wrote it and fix them.  It's tedium sure, but this is no time for laziness... It's the final stretch and you can do it.  lol  Have a good day...
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Below just for fun is my version of the above post written without the contractions...  Which one looks better, did you feel the voice of the two posts differed much?
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Ahhh, the final stretch is upon me and I have the darn book nearly complete.  When I say complete, I really mean complete this time.  Unfortunately, there is but one endless finding that plagues me.  I keep running across contractions and apparently they are my bane.  I am using them constantly throughout the bloody thing.  Not to worry though I believe I have caught most of them and took the document to a heightened state of professionalism.  It is simply amazing how much of a difference it makes in the work.  So much so I would like to challenge all of you to take a step back and look hard and long at your work in progress.  Does it make use of contractions like I'm, can't, he'll, etc.  Pull them out and read again.  See what I mean.  :P

So now you are saying, well it is dialogue so it is okay.  Here is where you and I would tend to disagree if this is your standing.  Sure I will concede that there are times where a well placed "don't" is appropriate, but certainly not throughout the entire manuscript.  People are reading these books quickly and expecting high quality.  Their minds will naturally contract the words for them if needed.  So keep from letting your book look like an elementary school kid wrote it and fix them.  It is tedium sure, but this is no time for laziness... It is the final stretch and you can do it.  lol  Have a good day... 

First Paragraph Writing Contest

Another writing contest, this time over at Nathan Bransford's Blog.  I would encourage any and all to take a look at his site.  He is a very consistant and fun to read blogger, with plenty of inside scoops into the litery world.

The contest is quite simple, just cut and paste your first paragraph from the manuscript you have in progress.  A winner is selected from the scads that enter and a prize is then awarded, along with all the accolades of winning said contest.  The reward is non other than a partial manuscript read from his agent.  So basically it will help the winner get past the query step, sorta.  :P  At any rate, it looked fun, so off to submit.   

Below is the entry I made:

Sam Hauser staggered over to the water container, filled the rusty ladle and took a swig.  The prisoners were allowed three rest periods throughout the course of the day.  This was his morning break and he already looked forward to the lunch break still several hours away.  Maybe it was the unusual amount of dust that wisped about his face that tired him.  He took another drink and moved over to the bench that ran alongside the water cooler.  His arms were aching pretty badly and he kept his head lowered to try and shield his eyes from the intense sun that swept across the site.  It was going to be a hard day.

Titles

So what author's blog site would be complete without referencing chapter titles? Sitting down to create a novel from nothing and have it mean something is truly an art form. Any Joe Blow off the street can put pen to paper and write a bunch of words telling a story, but the true test is giving that story meaning; a purpose beyond the literal. I therefore try to put forth some effort when selecting what my titles will be, so I am not mixed up with good ole Joe.

So without further ado, here are the proposed titles for the first book. Enjoy for now and at a later time I would love to go into what each chapter title means if it isn't blatantly obvious.

Protect the Risen Series

Book – 1 (Chances Are)

1. Horrors of the Quarry
   
2. Dreams and Prophesies
   
3. Desert Travelers   
   
4. Settlements and Graveyards
   
5. Pawn or King
   
6. Noose Ends
   
7. Politic King
   
8. Shadows and Light
   
9. Discovery
   
10. Last Wishes
    
11. Combustion
    
12. Memorial
    
13. For Keep Sakes
    
14. Resonation of a Coronation
    
15. Feast Full of Plans
    
16. Castle of Might
    
17. Clashing Arms
    
18. Cures and Curses
    
19. Jeweling Sacrifices
    
20. Into the Breach
    
21. Deadly Heights
    
22. Veil Before Dawn
    

Update

Quick update on the state of things.  Book one is complete, Whoo Hoo!  I hit the print button and I'll be doing some editing on a first ever hard copy of it.  What a milestone this is, but I can't sit on my laurels just yet; there is still so much to be done.  The polishing process will take up most of January I suspect.

Also during this time, I've been doing the framework for book two "Of Diar Age." I want to make sure it aligns nicely with all the foreshadowing I've done with the first book.  As I've previously stated in another blog I've even begun writing the first chapter.  We are talking still very very rough draft. lol

Lastly, I've been finalizing the query letter I'll be sending off to literary agents I'm interested in.  Let me just say this is a very tricky part of the process.  For those of you not familiar with a query letter I guess I should elaborate a bit.  When you write a book, you then have to get it published right?  Well between you and the publisher is a person who will basically represent you and help you sell the manuscript to the publishing firms.  They make sure your rights and royalties are in order and a bunch of other legal stuff.  However the tricky part is that there are so many would-be writers out there that the literary agents get swamped with inquiries.  The result is that the agents have to be very picky with who they take on as a client.  So even though they are representing you, the writer still has to "win" the agent over.  It would be like trying to convince the car salesman to sell you a car and not the next guy.

So to win the agent over a writer has to create a query letter, and a damn good one.  The query basically informs the agent that the writer has completed a manuscript and then describes various elements of the novel. You basically have one page to summarize your entire manuscript and basically "sell" or "hook" this very well informed member of the literary world.  It is as complex and important as a persons resume.  So I've been tweaking my query (can I say that in public) trying my best to give this book a shot at a successful start.

Coffee

 
I'm not sure what it means but this time last year I was strictly a black coffee guy and now I'm dabbling in all flavors imaginable.  Am I spending too much time in the coffee shops?  Quite possibly but never the less I'm addicted to the wonderful new flavors out there.  As of this posting I'm working my way through a French vanilla kick. 


 
Like I said, this all snuck up on me and I will probably have to end up blaming it on my little girl, Brook.  She was curious about the whole coffee thing but knew that the bitter black drink was not for her.  Then we were handed a cup of French vanilla cappuccino at a local store while shopping for Christmas and let us just say she was quite partial to its sweet taste.  No longer did coffee hold the negative stigma she had held to it for all her life. I won't say she is hooked for life, but at least a barrier was lifted for her that day to try new drinks.


 
Now for me after that day, I have tried dark chocolate, French vanilla, hazelnut, caramel, and of course regular creamer. The dark chocolate was actually nice but needed to be a little bit lighter and it favored the hot chocolate taste rather than the coffee. The hazelnut and caramel are definitely not for me, my wife Kim likes them quite a bit, but I just can't get into them no matter what amount I use.  


 
Foo Foo drinks are what my wife and I call these types of coffees. We say it affectionately of our coffee concoctions that help us bring in the day. Do any of you have particular odd flavors you've tried with success?

Cake

We celebrated my wife's birthday last week and I thought i would share this pic of her cake. 

Oooey Goooey Cream Cheese Icing, Buttermilk Glazed, Carrot Cake

My wife Kim really enjoys this cake recipe, so for her birthday I whipped it up for her. Originally I think she had planned on sharing her birthday cake with her friends, but that never came to be. Her and our daughter Brook nibbled on this thing for the whole week and afterwards we went ahead and made a second one. I can't wait for the reciprocation to occur with my birthday, chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

New Years Eve

Not sure you all know what a Krystal's is, but that is exactly where I was this past New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight.  Okay, first off Krystal's is like a southern version of White Castle it just has different condiments on the burger.  I hope that helps the southern-deprived readers out there.

That's right I rung in the new year with the lady in the drive through asking me if I wanted my combo number 2 in the large size.  Which I of course didn't because like all of us, I'm watching my weight after such a terrific holiday vacation.  So anyways, you are still scratching your head wondering why I chose to spend New Year's Eve at the burger join.  Well short answer is I didn't 'want to.'

Let us back track a bit so that I can catch you up to speed with what happened.  Every weekend of New Years I spend at a horse show.  It is like that for Thanksgiving too, so don't ask.  I'm not sure why the horse folk pick busy weekends to do their shows.

One thing is for sure, this tight knit community of horse racing friends and families are with out a doubt the nicest and most caring folks I've ever come to know.  My daughter and wife ride/compete in the shows and we are talking about a sport where the winners and losers are seconds from each other.  It is a very competitive event that takes a great deal of coordination, skill, and luck.

Unfortunately for my daughter luck was not with her.  She had a slight mishap that flung her off the saddle.  Falling to her side, several yards away, with quite a profound thud she quickly complained of back and hand pain.  I have never run so quickly in all my life.  I scaled that six foot metal fence like it was no bigger than a city curb rushing to her side.  I wife too was there and so were many of our friends.  Like I said, the horse community came together to assist us like we were family.  Some retrieved the horse from running away, some called and directed the ambulance, others stayed with us helping her through the trauma and others drove our horses back to our house.

I said luck wasn't with her, but truthfully I guess it was.  We went with her to the hospital that late New Year's Eve and spent the evening going through all the scans and x-rays.  She didn't have the slightest break anywhere thankfully.  They let us out at a quarter till midnight and literally all the three of us could think about was food.  As you can imagine the choices are quite limited that time of night and especially on a holiday like that.  So Krystal's hamburgers sounded great to us.

We spent the ride home traveling down empty streets; scarfing down the bite sized vittles and watching the explosions of nearby fireworks.  They say whatever you are doing at midnight on new years eve is what you'll be doing through out the year to come.  I guess that is why so many people are partying, or shaking fists full of dollar bills.  For me, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing than spending time with my wife and daughter.  I hope a full year of that is in store for me.  Of course, I also hope it does not mean I am doomed to eating crappy hamburgers the rest of the year.