Destination Imagination

By Suzanne Y. Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Ever have one of those days when your characters run out of breath and fall flat on the page no matter long you keep at it? When my fingers sludge instead of dance on the keyboard, and my rear is shape-shifting to the desk chair, it is time to go on a road trip. Destination? Imagination.

Art Imitates Life – so LIVE!  It is the best way to breathe life into your writing. Do something creative besides writing. Find a creative project at home or try one from the list below. Include family members who might feel second fiddle to your characters!

        

  Try these and use your senses as guide: Sights, smells, sounds, textures, tastes.

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      Museum

Soak in any collection. People watch. Are kids curious, bored, dragged behind Mom? Is anyone sketching? Are they good? Observe paintings from a distance and close up. The woman’s hat with a ribbon? It’s a smudge of color with a curling swipe of black. Simple, isn’t it? Stop at a craft store on the way home for inexpensive supplies—and try it. How does it feel to put a paintbrush to canvas? Frustrating? Exhilarating? Do the paints smell funny? Pretend to be Monet—or one of your characters. How would each react?

·      

      Hotel Lobby

Take a seat in a fine hotel lobby. Note details in elegant carpets, gorgeous flower arrangements, uniforms of desk clerks. If they serve tea, go for it. Select the best dressed guest and imagine you or your character has an appointment, or is swept off your feet. What happens next?

·      

     Historical Site

Where I live in New England, you can climb aboard a whaling ship at Mystic Seaport, listen to sea chanteys and pull on ropes pretending to be a sailor. The blacksmith’s ring on the anvil and mob caps of Sturbridge Village churn up historical adventures. Warm your fingers to wood fires and smell the goose stew cooking at Plimouth Plantation, or card wool in Old Wethersfield. Your hands feel soft from the lanolin in the wool.

·       

      City Park or Hiking Trail

A walk and fresh air is all you need. Listen to leaves rustle. Look for insects lugging a load. What creature might be living in that hollow tree? What if it needs a friend? What if it wants to go to outer space?

·       

      Airport                              

Even without a passport in hand, a Departure Board at an international airport is a great Destination Imagination. Rome? Tokyo? Toledo, Ohio? Who is going where? Business travelers with a purpose? What’s in the briefcase? Make it up. Any tearful good-byes? Joyful hellos? A family in matching T-shirts? Make up their emotional reasons. Imagine taking your characters on a trip. Where and why? Anyone afraid to fly?

·       

      Memory Lane

If you are housebound or seriously time-crunched, close your eyes and take yourself there.

What places take your imagination to greater heights? Let us know!

What readers want from authors

As readers move from traditional hardbound books to digital books for the various e-readers available now and in the future, one thing hasn’t changed over the years, the reader’s expectations. They expect a level of quality when they spend their money to purchase a hard copy, or time downloading a digital book.

What readers expect:

• Readability
• Believability
• Characters they can empathize with
• Believable Dialogue
• Descriptive
• Good editing
• Deep POV
• Tight writing
• Consistency
• Good word choice
• Proper use of nouns, verbs, and adjectives
• Proper grammar
• Proper punctuation
• Proper spelling
• Words that don’t send the reader to the dictionary
• A book that doesn’t bore the reader

This is only a short list, but you get the idea. Readers are author’s best friend or their worst enemy, the author makes the difference by the words in their story, how well the edited the manuscript is, and the author proofreads it before it reaches the reader.

Some may think this is a lot to ask, but consider the fact, the author’s reputation is on the line with every piece of writing they prepare for consumption by readers. This could be a blog about the book, a viral book tour, an author’s web site, a press release about their book or any piece of copy.

Authors need to take readers seriously. Word of mouth advertising is still the best form of advertising. How will the reader talk about your books, authors? Will they give it thumbs up or thumbs down because there are errors? It’s your choice authors.

Robert Medak

Freelance Writer, Blogger, Editor, Reviewer

http://twitter.com/RJ_Medak

http://www.authorsden.com/robertmedak

What I've learned from television

by Vivian Zabel

     I watch many police, detective, and crime shows on television, often hoping to learn something I can use in my writing. Of course much of what I learn is what not to use, but all is part of learning.

     From CIS (all versions), NCIS, Law and Order, The Mentalist, Castle, and other various show, I've learned that most law enforcement people and criminologists are manipulative, lying, promiscuous, immoral, corrupt, and over-all dysfunctional. I wonder how any crimes can be solved when the people supposedly solving the crimes use their time to commit their own crimes or to try unwind their own twisted lives.

     Ahh, you ask for examples. In at least three shows (CSI Miami, NCIS, and NCIS LA), the protagonists take the law into their own hands and murder some bad guys, in other countries of course. They might have some twinges of trouble as results, but nothing drastic happens to them because of their actions.

     I'll admit NCIS is one of my favorite shows, but really. In real life, Tony would be up on charges of harassment and dismissed faster than I could spell harassment. He has become a caricature rather than a crime fighter. Enough is enough and really too much. If I had a protagonist in one of my novels like Tony, I would definitely not sell any copies. I'm a fan of Jethro Gibbs, usually, but, much as I would understand a character wanting to kill the murderer of my family, the writers really must be careful not to write when under the influence of whatever.

     From CSI Miami, I've learned to use appropriate body actions. People do not normally look off somewhere else when talking to a person, as the main character does on this show. As a result, I try to make the actions of my characters believable and appropriate.

     On all these shows, characters must play musical beds, apparently. What such behavior has to do with solving crimes, I have no idea. In this world of dissolving marriages, split families, people having trouble bonding with others, why do we need to see the lack of personal control extolled constantly on television? I could see an occasional incidence popping up, especially on the part of antagonists or red-herring characters, but according to television, all the protagonists, the heroes, are flawed to such a great extent that I don't know how they find the time or energy to do their jobs.

     No, characters shouldn't be "perfect," because no one is perfect, but few successful, productive people are so imperfect, so flawed, so unappetizing. Therefore, I've learned from television shows to work extra hard to make my characters believable.

     The same idea applies to plots: Plots should be believable enough that a reader can suspend belief enough to accept them. Television plots often are so unbelievable that anyone of a sound mind can't stretch his imagination that far.

      Yes, I have learned much from TV shows. Mainly I've learned what to avoid, but I still enjoy, for the most part, the shows and do pick up some helpful ideas.

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