Sunday 27 October 2013

Welcome Virginnia De Parte

Picture:FreeDigitalPhotos.net

IF YOU CAN’T GET PUBLISHED PERHAPS YOU NEED A CRITIQUE PARTNER (OR TWO)  by Virginnia De Parte

I would never have become a published author if it weren’t for the suggestions and corrections of my critique partners.

Several years ago I decided to follow a lifelong urge – and write. I took a couple of summer classes and dragged out a ten-year-old novel and began to rewrite it.

Writing contemporary novels can be very daunting because of the advances in electronics.  All sorts of appliances are overtaken by new gadgets and by the time you finish rewriting, several years later, the world has moved on even further.  (I now write futuristic novels instead.  This way science and technology can catch up to me, instead of my trying to keep up with them.)

A year later I submitted my rewritten novel with its contemporary setting, and waited. After a request for the whole Ms, I waited once more. I received an email that, while praising the plot, pointed out there was too much telling, not enough showing and advising me to get several critique partners.

I ‘got the pip’. I sulked for six months before I realised that the publishers could have simply said ‘no thank you’ and not bothered to give me any advice at all.

Eating humble pie I set out to find critique partners and brushed up on my ‘showing not telling’ techniques. I joined New Zealand Romance Writers because they have a critique list amalgamated with the Australian Romance Writers, and they also produce a very instructive monthly newsletter.

I joined the Romance Writer’s Community on line, and enrolled in their critique list. I approached several people on both lists through the moderator, and began my career as a critique partner.  I call it a career because I have learned so much, and have progressed as a writer by critiquing other people’s work. It is also a job.  I must set aside time to do this for others if I want them to invest their spare hours in reading my prose. It aids my career as a writer and I take my role as a critique partner very seriously.

I find my own errors now jump out at me, providing I leave them alone for a week or more, and they become a ‘fresh read’. I’ve learned about point of view and how one small word will switch a reader from one person’s head to another. I’ve made friends with people I’ve never met, but I know their skills and weaknesses.

We are writers.  We know how to express our thoughts.  To critique someone else’s work you must always consider their feelings, the effort it has taken to produce their work and how the piece you are critiquing is like a child to them.  Accordingly you must apply tact and offer suggestions – not tell them that their ‘child’ is untidy and bad mannered, but suggest that a little discipline and a good scrub could improve the image of their manuscript and make it more appealing to a publisher. I sometimes volunteer to critique someone’s work, as a one-off effort, because I learn so much by having to concentrate on the content and not skim read for pleasure.

Critique partners come and go. Not for any reason of personal affront or dislike but because their life intervenes.  You may be able to produce chapter after chapter, but they may have written one novel, and once you have critiqued all of it, they may have nothing else to send you.  This is when you offer your thanks and best wishes, and search for another partner.  My ideal number of critique partners, to read a novel, is three. Sometimes I am down to two. At one stage when I started I had five!   Each critique partner will have different skills and will zoom in on different aspects of your writing. I struggle with grammar. I have a partner who is a whizz.  It took several years to find her and I cherish her comments. Another is great on point of view, and showing versus telling. I am proud that her red comments in my chapters are becoming fewer as time goes by.  I accept that I’ll always have some red marks to check because as authors we become ‘word blind’ when reading our own work.
                                                     
I once read a self published novel with a great plot, but I’m sure it hadn’t been critiqued.  It may have been proof-read for grammar and typos, but the head-hopping in it drove me crazy and I never finished reading it.  In one scene there were five people, and the author hopped from head to head with everyone’s thoughts and feelings, page after page. He did this in most chapters to a lesser degree until it destroyed the enjoyment of the plot. Had he used critique partners, one of them would have picked this up and he would have been able to correct this fault and concentrate on the various scenes from a single point of view, making it an easy and exciting read instead of creating a form of mental indigestion.

There is no harm in having different points of view within a chapter, as long as the move to another point of view is clearly defined. The maximum number suggested is three different points of views per chapter, if you are writing in the third person. (He/she thought….). This can vary from publisher to publisher, and the genre in which you are writing. 

When writing entirely in the first person (“I thought…..), an author wouldn’t have this problem.  However, there appears to be little enthusiasm among publishers for books written in the first person, despite the popularity of one book, (Fifty Shades…) originally self published before being taken up by a publisher.  I submitted a 15,000  word story to a publisher and had it returned with a request for me to rewrite it in the third person, past.  I duly did this during one wet cold winter and it was published.  However, I still consider it read much better in the first person. My critique partners had to reread it again in the third person and yes, I missed changing the tense in a lot of places.

My best piece of advice to any author, hoping to dive into the publishing world, is to be brave.  You have to be brave to put your ‘child’ out there for the world to read.  You have to be brave to send it, piece by piece, to another person, hoping against hope for their praise, while being prepared to see lots of red comments on its return. 

I didn’t know Track Changes existed in my Word programme (Ctrl+Shift+E). What a great tool.  I use it all the time, as do my critique partners.  You can add your comments, change the wording, delete words or sentences, and the original document remains with the changes in red (or any other colour you choose to use). I would suggest you take a page of prose, find Track Changes on your computer, and have a play.  I don’t use the ‘balloon’ option, but some of my critique partners do. It’s a matter of personal choice how you place your comments in a document, but your comments are essential feedback to your partner.

If you’re serious about becoming a published writer I recommend that you get serious about finding critique partners. Without them I would still be hopeful and unpublished.
****

Virginnia De Parte's Latest Release

                      
Stella Corban’s choice is hard - fall in love and endanger her genetically altered family, or lose the one man who makes her heart joyful. For three generations they have avoided the notice of the Department of Defence and its compulsory conscription, but Matt’s acquaintance with the Minister of Defence frightens Stella into avoiding any further contact with him.

Matt Saunders is not a man to be thwarted. He knows Stella is the woman he wants, and he pursues her from the outback to the city and beyond.

The battle between protecting her family and attaining her heart’s desire turns Stella’s world upside down. Would discovering her talents shatter Matt’s passion? Can he be relied on to keep a secret? Can she risk her safety and the whole family’s security by falling in love, or will a life-threatening event remove any choice she had?
Purchase here:

Connect with Virginnia: 


Wednesday 23 October 2013

Peaches




“You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches.” ~ Dita Von Teese.

This quote can be helpful when dealing with criticism of one’s writing.  No matter how polished or professional your work is, a reader may take exception to your style, subject matter or presentation.  Not everyone will like what you’ve written or how you’ve written your story.

The best piece of advice for a writer is to firstly write for oneself.  That way, the writing will come from the heart.  Of course, many changes will be made from the first draft to publication but the story will remain true.  Never allow the possibility of criticism stifle your artistic nature.  There will be those who like peaches.

Picture:FreeDigitalPhotos.net



Tuesday 8 October 2013

Welcome Author Tara Ford



Tara Ford lives in Hampshire, UK with her husband, children and a naughty husky called Meika. In between writing she enjoys taking care of her numerous Koi fish but occasionally she also has to live with a frustrated heron that frequents the garden fence and peers longingly into the well protected pond.

Tara’s writing career began at the tender age of 15 when she wrote a beautiful love story as part of her English literature homework...
Her writing career came to an abrupt end at the tender age of 15 when the teacher tore up her story, exclaiming that the content of the essay was highly unsuitable material for school. Although it had not been in the realms of 50 Shades of Grey, Tara’s first attempt at a short story had been shunned.

Over 3 decades of child-rearing, fish-fostering and dog walking later, Tara has realised her dream of writing. Her first book, Calling All Services, a women's fiction/humour story, was released in July 2013. She has always wanted to write in this genre but until a couple of years ago, she could never quite think of a good storyline. Then a sudden and frightening illness and some time spent in hospital gave her the beginnings of a novel which would eventually turn out to be the first book of four in the Calling All... series.

Tara has completed the second book in the series, Calling All Dentists, which she hopes to publish, early 2014. Her third novel, Calling All Customers is currently an early stage, work in progress and her plans are to release this in 2015. Tara has ideas for a further series, again in the women’s fiction/humour genre, to be written in the future. Her ultimate dream would be to write a new book each and every year.

Tara’s debut novel, Calling All Services is a peep into the lives of one family, over the course of one unusually, eventful week. A rollercoaster of emotions will have you laughing, crying and cringing as the week unfolds to reveal one disaster after another. Will the members of the Frey family ever be the same again?




Blurb 

Alex Frey, successful businesswoman, wife and mother to a busy and demanding family, doesn’t find it easy to take a break. So when she’s hospitalised with a mysterious illness, paralysed and afraid of what the future might bring, frustration meets fear and she can’t wait to escape the hospital, get back in control of things and return her family to the normality of salmon paste sandwiches.
At home, her husband Grant is determined to manage the kids, Alex’s parents, his sister and anything else life can throw at him while his wife is away recuperating. But what else can possibly go wrong while Alex is in hospital? The Frey family is about to find out. . .


Purchase Here:
 Amazon UK  
15 – 5* Reviews

Connect with Tara


Leave a comment and be in the draw to win an Heart of the Ocean Pendant.




Jeanette's 4-stars-plus book montage

An Offer He Can't Refuse
Emily's Affair
Taste
Rough Harbor
The Chosen One
Runaway Heart
Bared to You
Melodies of the Heart
Fifty Shades Freed
Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades of Grey
Anon
Somewhere in Time
House Guest
A Cop, His Wife and Her Best Friend
Hero Of Her Heart
All In Time
Asking for Andre
Almost a Bride
The Fence My Father Built


Jeanette Hornby's favorite books »

Jeanette's bookshelf: diversity

In Love With Death
3 of 5 stars true
I liked the authors take on the Angel of Death and enjoyed learning about the individual characters. The story was interesting and I liked the way the author simplified the subject matter. With a little more editing and polishing, this ...
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now and diversity
An Offer He Can't Refuse
4 of 5 stars true
A thoroughly enjoyable tale. I liked the characters and the situation they were in. A good read for romance lovers.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, diversity, and favourites
All In Time
4 of 5 stars true
An interesting and enjoyable story. I would have liked the unique events to unravel slower and continue longer, but overall, the tale was quite engrossing. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity
Bloodtrail
4 of 5 stars true
An intricately woven vampire tale that keeps you wanting more. The historical and scientific content was unique and engrossing. I particularly liked the way the author separated each character's story in the beginning and then tied the...
tagged: diversity, 4-stars, and from-dec-2011-to-now
House Guest
4 of 5 stars true
A short, creepy and enthralling story. The development of the main character and situation was strangely enjoyable. A good read.
tagged: from-dec-2011-to-now, 4-stars, and diversity

goodreads.com