Ink in the Book

I'm celebrating spring. It's warm. It's pretty. I smell flowers!! I see green grass. I feel the warm sunshine. I hear birds singing. I taste tangy rubard. Yes. I'm celebrating spring!

I'm a girl. I like girl things. I like girl Books. I like girl clothing. I like girl toys. I do girl things. I am a girl . I'm proud of it. I'm happy about it. Stop making a big deal about it. Be yourself , but stop trying to change me . Girls and boys are different. And that's okay. Why is there such a huge deal about "Books for Girls" and "Books for Boys?" ????? There can and Should be " books for girls " and " books for boys ." Why can't girls just read the " books for boys " and boys read " books for girls ?" End of rant.

Hello all you beautiful guys and dolls! Today is the day! It's the final day of the workshop here on my blog. The good news is Jessica Schmeidler a.k.a. The Write Shadow and host of #JustPitchIt pitch party, will be finishing the workshop over on her AMAZING blog! Trust me guys, she offers great feedback and you'll be so happy to have her input and advice. She's the bomb with this! After much discussion with Jessica S, she decided it would be better for her if the workshop was moved over to her blog. It's been difficult for her to visit my blog. Her schedule is out the roof crazy, in a good way, and she feels it would be easier for her if the pitches were on her blog with easier access for her. It's been fun this week, hasn't it? I've enjoyed having yo all on my blog and I hope the tips I offered this week helped you hone your ideas and tighten your ideas for what to include in a Twitter pitch. Stories are always three dimensional and it's really ha...

Hey everyone! So, today's the last day of instruction, and I'll post an example from my own writing to show you how I put it all together to make a Twitter pitch on tomorrow.  And give you an opportunity to post your pitch and get feedback. Also, on Friday, I'll be giving away a free bookmark graphic for all participates. After your feedback tomorrow, I'll invite Jessica from The Write Shadow here on Friday to give you a last chance feedback opportunity on your polished pitches. Thank you ALL for participating! Now, the last questions to answer! We're talking about stakes today. I want you to think about stakes, both good and bad. First, what happens if your MC fails? If she doesn't achieve her goal, what consequences befall her? Second, what happens if she DOES succeed? Will she have to sacrifice something in order to win? What does winning cost her?

I'm so sorry to make this announcement. I truly feel terrible about signing up for the month long challenge and not being able to participate and visit as much as I normally do. I had some unexpected health issues and both my parents have become sick and in need of care. I thought I could carry on and continue as always, but it's been more difficult than I thought it would be. So, with a heavy heart and broken spirit, I am asking to be taking of the list for the A to Z Challenge. I hope to join again next year and enjoy the entire experience. Thank you so much, beautiful guys and dolls, for you support and prayers and for visiting my blog. I hope to be back to regular scheduling very, very soon. Talynn

Ok beautiful guys and dolls! Today, I want you to tell me 4 things. 1. Tell me about the setting in your book.     Be specific and creative. Be unique:) For instance, don't just say, the park, the school, the nursing home. What kind of park? Don't just say the house next door, Tell me the abandoned house, or the nasty neighbor house. 2. Who is the enemy of your MC? 3. What is the inciting incident? What propels your MC to start his/her journey? If you can throw in an adjective, that's even better. Example: Tragic car crash, Scary lunchroom incidnet... 4. What does your MC need to do in order to succeed? Start a petition? Run for help? Control his powers? Go into hiding? For today, just answer these questions, just like yesterday. Please know I am here and will answer any questions and offer feedback by tomorrow. I've been sick and have had doctors appointments that were complete unexpected. After today, I should be free to interact much more. Thanks, guys!

Composing a one sentence logline for a manuscript is hard. It really is! But as difficult as it is, it's a very important step in pitching your novel. You need to be able to express your entire story within one sentence. We're going to break down your pitch into tiny chunks. Hopefully, you'll have a polished, wow-inducing pitch by the end of the week! As for queries, I'm open to crits as well. If you happen to snag an agent or editor with your logline, you'll need a query. This topic was covered last week The Write Shadow's workshop . I HIGHLY recommend you stop by her blog and go through her shop before submitting, especially if its your first query. Then post it below, and we'll look it over:) So, today, let's talk about your MC. Beyond his/her name, I want to know two or three adjectives that describe him. A performing mime? Budding ballet dancer? Clown in classroom? BE SPECIFIC. Think beyond pretty, smart or funny. What makes your MC unique? ...

E motion can be and should be expressed as an ever changing element in your plot. How? Can I do something completely off the wall to demonstrate how easy it is?? Emotion like this in scene one.  Scene two changed like this.  Scene 3 looks like this.  Change happens to the emotions again in scene 4 Yes. It just changed again.  And c han ge here too.  Emotions should rise and fall and change and bend and curve and mold to your characters.  Without emotional change, your character will end up looking like a cardboard cutout, which is boring and dull.  How's the emotional level of your MC, beautiful guys and dolls?

When I signed up for the A to Z Challenge, I couldn't wait for the letter D to get here. I had such an exciting blog post planned. D is for Dancing with your plot... For a Panster, plotting is harder than for a natural borne plottter. Well, for me it is. I always get a cramped feeling when I sit down and plot straight out. I honestly can NOT think of the path I want my characters to take. My creativity always happens as I'm writing. Maybe my MC does something out of the ordinary that will spark an idea. Or sometimes, as I'm working on descriptions of the setting, an idea will come from no where. As I write, the inspiration happens. So my problem with plotting is NO INSPIRATION. Until.... One day, I was chatting with @plotwhisperer and she said something I'll never forget. Martha Alderson ‏ @ plotwhisperer Mar 19 Can always do both at the same time, @ TalynnL . Write until you don't know where yo...

Update: My father is home from the hospital and doing much better. He did have a mini stroke, and should recover fully with no long term problems. He will need at-home care and therapy, but that won't be a problem because he has lots of children and grandchildren who have stepped in an offered care. We will all be fine:) Thank you so much for your thoughts and well wishes, and for all the prayers. I will be back to my A to Z scheduled posts tomorrow. Take care, beautiful guys and dolls!

I'm so sorry guys! I've been at the hospital all day yesterday and thru the night with my daddy. We thought he'd had a heart attack, but now they think it was a stroke. My father in law is also up here recovering from open heart surgery. While in the ER, my sister was admitted for high blood pressure. So, I'll be delayed posting my challenges until Monday. Sorry, and have a good weekend, you beautiful guys and dolls. Excuse any typos induced from my iPhone:)

Hey beautiful guys and dolls! What's on the menu for day three?? The letter C! C is for Checklist . Every plot needs one. A checklist will keep your plot moving in the right direction and ensure you stay on the right page. How? A checklist will guide you, leading you into all the correct components your manuscript needs to keep the page turning and the reader interested in our story. What should you add to your Checklist? 1. Foreshadowing what is to come 2. Conflict and contrast of what the previous scene/chapter described 3. Characters who move the story forward with their actions and reactions 4. Setting that evolves as the story moves forward. If your setting takes place in the same spot during  the entire story, make sure to entwine different details about the setting with each plot element. Use all the senses to bring the reader into the place: vision, hearing, feeling, scents, and taste. 5. If your story has a theme, don't forget to include it. Use thi...

Hey all! How's it going this month? Insecure -  not confident or assured; uncertain and anxious Synonyms of insecure: unconfident, uncertain, unsure, doubtful, hesitant, self-conscious, unassertive, diffident, unforthcoming, shy, timid, retiring, timorous, inhibited, introverted; anxious, fearful, worried. All these emotions! You have nay of them? All of them? Only a few? Meh. I try not to think about it. I don't like being insecure. I'd rather be confident and secure. Most days, I do. But some days, those insecurities creep up and I fail miserably. Will I EVER get published? Will anyone EVER like my writing? My books? Will I ever????? Meh. If not, will my life be over? Have I failed in life? Will my friends abandon me? NO!!! So why fret? Why worry? Ok. I won't! Happy Wednesday, beautiful guys and dolls!!!

Hey beautiful guys and dolls! Thanks for coming by again today. Today's letter is B. B is for BUILD . One thing I've learned learned about Plotting Your Novel, it takes a lot of BUILDING . Before, when I "pantsied" my way through my writing, I simply sat down and wrote. I let the characters and the action dictate how my story went. I'd be writing and all of a sudden a character would say something, or do something completely unexpected and a new idea leaped onto the page. I loved it when that happened! And that happens still. But when I plot out the major points, I've already BUILT the basic ideas. I have a directed place to move my character to. I still let the unexpected happen, but it's easier when I know where my MC is already headed. SO what if a new path opens up while I"m in the creative writing mode? What do you BUILD while plotting? Tension. Conflict. Emotion. Suspense. Even if you are not writing a novel filled with myster...

I'm so excited for today to finally get here! The A to Z challenge and Nano both start TODAY! I'm participating in both, so this month will be busy! My theme for the challenge is Plotting a Novel!! A is for ACTION When you first begin plotting your novel, the first thing you may think of might be your characters. But since today is A day, I'll begin with action . You see, well developed characters are ALWAYS effected by the events that take place in the story. And it's these events, the ACTION , that changes the characters. Without the character ARC of the story, there will be no meaning, no transformation, for your characters. So, as you plot your novel, remember, in order to keep your story exciting and interesting, make sure the ACTION revolves around the character and the changes he or she goes through because of the ACTIONS. Never plot action just for the sake of action . In other words, if you think a car chase sounds exciting and you plot one in ...