#Tagged

I was tagged by the wonderful Erin Kenobi of The Upstairs Archives!

The Authorly Bucket List Tag - list 3-7 things you are not good at, and 3-7 things you'd like to try.

Things I'm Not Very Good At
1. Guy characters who are manly. For some reason I want to make all my guy characters adorable, sensitive, cuddly, and sweet-tempered. Oh, and did I mention my guy characters are also terribly romantic? Definitely the flowers-and-homemade-cards-and-handwritten-love-letters type.

2. Culture. I take a lot of inspiration from the 1800's and medieval times for my writings, but I want to be able to create entire cultures, societies, and worlds with my words. I want my readers to feel like they are in an entirely different place that only hints of what they know... not a cardboard copy of, for example, medieval England with a magician and a couple dragons thrown in.

3. Fighting/battle scenes. I take a lot of what I know from movies, but I think I could improve. Maybe I could actually... research. DUNDUNDUN...

Things I Want To Try
1. Steampunk. I kind of adore this genre; it's my latest obsession. I'd love to write in this genre - my only fear is that its elements are too technical for me. I mean, I'd have to describe (and invent) mechanical contraptions!

2. Fanfiction. I love reading fanfic, and I feel that there is just not enough decent fanfic out there! My favorite fandoms is Once Upon A Time. I have written a fluff fanfic for Rumbelle, but I'd like to write a deeper one!

3. I'm genuinely stumped right now. Um... how about another children's book. I have quite a few ideas, but I haven't touched them in years.

I'm feeling the minimalism tonight, so I'm going to stop at 6. :)

I tag my fellow author (and fellow Kara)... at Saved By Grace and anyone else who feels inclined to "tag" along! ;)

-- Klara S.

Top 2 Worst Clichés

[source]

Ok, so I know it's pretty much impossible to be entirely original. After all, the wisest man who ever lived (besides Jesus) said, "...there is no new thing under the sun." (Ecc 1:9) But please, I beg of you, my fellow writers... avoid the cliches of writing. Avoid the easy descriptions and the already-written plot twists and storylines. Be yourself. Write something new.

And in conjunction with this plea, I will now share with you my rant... The top 2 worst clichés (in my humble and probably unwanted opinion :D). (Btw, a cliché is "a phrase or opinion [or in this case a storyline / idea] that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought". Source)

Cliché #1 - Main Character has a happy, normal life. Then he/she discovers he or she is adopted. His or her entire world is turned upside-down, and he or she goes on a search to find his or her "real" parents.
*facepalm* So, there is a time and place for this cliché, but whenever I see it used, it always hits rather close to home. I'm adopted, and I believe that my adoptive parents, who have raised me for nearly all of my life, ARE my "real" parents. My biological parents, though I do not know them, are and always will be very special to me, and I love them. But simply because my adoptive mom didn't give birth to me does not make my mom not "real". If you decide to use the Adoption Cliché, I would request that you please be very careful about how you use the word "real".

Cliché #2 - MC (in this example, a girl, cuz I'm getting tired of saying he or she) meets a cute guy. Then a pretty girl runs up and hugs or kisses the cute guy, and the MC becomes sad and dejected. When she finally confronts the cute guy, he reveals that the beautiful girl is his sister.
I don't really have anything personal against this cliché, only that it's a cliché - maybe it's just my choice of books, but the last two books I read BOTH had this cliché. Basically I'm suspicious now whenever a pretty girl comes along. I'm like, "She's his sister, right?"

Anyway, there's my mini-rant. :) What are your least-favorite clichés?

-- Klara S.

Feeling a Wee Bit Accomplished

Each tab represents an accomplishment.

Not a huge accomplishment. 

Just a little one. 

Let me explain. 

Today I was visiting some of my old book friends and felt the urge to type up some handwritten story scenes. (Yes, I do handwrite a fair portion of my stories, depending on the book.) My story excerpts share the same notebook as my personal journal, book ideas, and miscellaneous notes, so it can be quite a chore to find the scenes when it's actually time to type them up. After a few years of battling this conundrum, I decided to place a colorful sticky tabs on each page that needed to be typed up (and, of course, remove the tab once the said scene is typed up). The system works fairly well, so today I was able to type up several scenes... and that is why each tab on the computer screen represents a tiny accomplishment. Each tab means one more scene has been typed up and is ready to be added to the official manuscript when convenient. 

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because I am lame and don't have much to say.

Sincerely,

Klara C. 

You Know You're An Author When... & A Writing Exercise

You *finally* make yourself a signature... but you have so much fun making the signature that you want to make signatures for all your characters, too!

Mine:

Theirs... (instead of "His" and "Hers" it's "Mine" and "Theirs"...)

Terence's...

Jay's...

H's...

A Writing Exercise

Study the three signatures above and attempt to describe (or guess) a character's personality from studying his signature. You could take a moment to form your ideas in your mind, before writing them out on paper (or even better, write them out in a blog comment! *hint-hint*). 

All righty, have you finished your descriptions? My answers are below. Highlight the following three paragraphs with your mouse to see the answers. 

To me, the top signature (not mine), "Terence C.", makes me think of someone who is somewhat orderly and rule-oriented, although he can be playful at time, judging by the "star" at the end of his initial. 

Jaydrian does not seem to place much labor upon making his signature perfect, which might indicate that penmanship, and perhaps the arts, are not important to him. On the other hand, it could also imply that he writes so much that he doesn't have time to worry about the neatness of his handwriting. ;)

Haydrian has been raised and educated well. He has learned penmanship, probably from a young age, and has perfected his craft. His signature is fancy and carefully written, but probably more out of habit than out of genuine desire. 

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the three signatures. Since the guys are my characters I admit I have a bit of an advantage. :p But feel free to do this writing exercise on your blog, with your own characters, too! :) Please comment and let me know so I can come visit and make guesses about your characters. ;) 

As an FYI, the signature maker I used was MyLiveSignature.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts!

Hold My Hand & We're Halfway There

Okay, actually... I'm more than "halfway there". But I just wanted an excuse to randomly quote West Side Story. Moving on...

(photo editing with help of Picmonkey)

146/150! I'm not sure what that fraction reduces down to, but for me, it means: almost done! "Almost done with what?" you ask. Well, in my last post I mentioned writing again after a somewhat length break. I technically wasn't writing so much as I was editing. You've probably guessed by now that I'm editing the 100+ pg. novel snowed - I mean showed - in the photo above. If so, you guessed correctly.

This is my second or third time through, but since I first began editing the story (the day after I finished it, actually), I like to believe (or at least hope) that my writing and editing skills have improved. ;) I'm constantly making more changes to the manuscript. I know that I am no where near being finished, but I was inspired to work on it recently because I asked a friend's advice on the first few chapters, and I figured I should look over the book again before sending it out. Also, I hope to self-publish this book in a couple years, so I need to start working on it once more!

Anyway, enough rambling. I just wanted to share my delight with you all... :p

Now, tell me: how is YOUR writing / editing life faring? Have you written anything new lately? Do tell!

hello writing

It's been a while since I've visited.

{source}

The school year was wonderful but insanely busy, and summer has been going by almost as fast. Yet over the past few days, I've been able to visit an old friend. It's been a while since we've had time to settle in for a nice chat and a cup of tea, yet we can pick up as if we've never been parted. I've poured many ours of my life into this friend, and it feels like home to return to our old conversations and visit our old haunts.

"It's about time you came back," he says, with something of a smirk on his face.

"I would've come back sooner if you hadn't given me the 'silent treatment'," I say with a good-natured laugh.

"Perhaps wouldn't have given you the 'silent treatment' if you had given me the attention I deserved," he says. The light in his eyes gives away the fact that he is only joking. We both know that he is terrible at lying, and that we both know each other so well there is no way we would ever be able to deceive the other. "I'm glad you're back," he adds.

"Me too," I agree.

I will never agree that this, um, *interesting* person is only a Word document on my computer. This person - this book - is not a figment of imagination... he has been (and will probably continue to be) my main writing project for the past few years, and I believe he is real in his own way...

Hello, summer. Hello, novels! Hello, writing!

{source}

Happy writing!

Klara S. 

Before I Get My Hands On It...

10 Quick Grammar Tips:) 

If you are going to submit anything to be edited by me, or anyone else, or simply wish to improve your writing, here are a few tips for you!!!  (Note: if you apply these quick grammar tips to your story before sending your book in to an editor, you will save the editor much time, which is especially important, if they charge by the hour! Plus, you will receive your book faster, and the editing will be done more quickly!)

1. There are 3 main ways to write dialogue, tagged with the phrase, "so-and-so said", "so-and-so yelled", etc.

"I can't believe that just happened!" Claire exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Jenny demanded.

"I don't know," Claire admitted.

There's the exclamation mark, the question mark, and then...a comma? Yes, that's right, a comma. How often, in published books, do you see this?

"I don't know." Claire said. 

That's because if you're going to tag the quoted phrase with a "so-and-so said", then you don't need to put a period at the end of your quote. Instead, put a comma... "I don't know," Claire said.

2. It's hard to remember the difference between "its" and "it's". :) But try and remind yourself of the reason that "it's" is a contraction. It's because "it's" is two words. "It is". So if you can't figure out what to use, just try out "it is" in your sentence. For example, "It's alive!" or "Its alive?" Is it also grammatically correct to say, "It is alive"? If so, you should use "it's" (a contraction). Use "its" when using a more possessive form, such as, "The dog bit its tail." The tail belongs to the dog. You wouldn't say, "The dog bit it is tail." 

3. You can use the same methods with "Who's" and "Whose". Just try saying the sentence using "Who is", and see if it fits. If not, use "Whose". If so, use "Who's".

4. You use an "apostrophe, s" if something belongs to someone. 

Example: Rachel's guitar

However you would not say, "Rachel's two guitar's", because you're not talking about anything that belongs to the guitars. You would simply say, "Rachel's two guitars". (And for the record, you would also not say "guitar's", you would say "guitar's"...)

5. Don't forget to make and indent your paragraphs!

6. To capitalize or not to capitalize...
If the word (example: "sonny") can be replaced with a proper name (example: "John"), then capitalize the word ("sonny").

"What are you doing there, sonny?"
Try it!

"What are you doing there, John?" works, so capitalize "sonny".

"Look at my dad!"
Try it!

"Look at my John!"
That does NOT work. In that case, then, do not capitalize "dad".

7. This something I learned recently... don't change tenses in the middle of a sentence!

8. Something ELSE I just learned... Comma and, a semicolon, and two complete sentences can all serve the same purpose. Sound confusing? Here's a handy example.

I don't like ice cream; I don't like cookies.
I don't like ice cream, and I don't like cookies.
I don't like ice cream. I don't like cookies.

All of the above should be correct. "I don't like ice cream" and "I don't like cookies" are complete sentences, so they can be separated by a semicolon, a comma and, or, they can be made into two sentences. However, you CANNOT have ONLY an "and". You must have a "comma/and"!

9. "There's" means "there is". "Is" can only refer to one object. "There's Tony!"
"There's potatoes" is not correct. One should say, "There are potatoes" because potatoes are plural. I don't actually see this mistake in books very often, but it's very common in every day speech! I'm trying to use correct grammar when I talk, but I still make many mistakes!

10. Okay, I need to think of another one...
If you change the subject or the person talking , you need to make a new paragraph. Example...

     "Where are we?" I wondered.
     "I don't know," Anna replied.

or

     I don't like potatoes, whether they be mashed, boiled, fried, or turned into French fries. My friends think I'm insane, but I enjoy my potato-free life.
     I also do not like calculators...

There you go - ten handy grammar tips! :) If you have any questions, please ask!
(By the way, I love French fries and potatoes. I also am very thankful for my calculator). 

-- Klara C.