New releases coming soon

by Vivian Zabel

    Coming from 4RV Publishing in March are Pony Strings & Critter Things, Life on Hold, and Wolf, which have covers already prepared, plus First Flag of New Hampshire, Rhino Crashes & Critter Classes,  Porcupine's Seeds, and Boo's Bad Day  -- covers coming soon.

     Pony Strings & Critter Things is the third book in the critter series by Rena Jones. The first two in the series were illustrated by Nikki (Shoemaker) Boetger, while this book is illustrated by Ginger Nielson. Answers for the names of another 21 critter groups are found within its pages.

     Life on Hold by Beverly Stowe McClure (cover art by Aidana WillowRaven) is a young adult novel about the confusion in the mind an heart of a young sixteen-year-old. Myra Gibson's life is a lie. For sixteen years her parents have kept their secret, but the adoption paper she discovers while cleaning the summerhouse tells the truth.

     Wolf  by Harry (Brian) Porter, a young adult book, is illustrated by Theresa Stites.  Living the good life in their cabin close to the forest, Warren and Emma are disturbed to find their livestock disappearing in the night. Tracks in the snow lead them to believe their chickens may have fallen victim to a marauding wolf, and Warren sets out to track down the uninvited predator. What he discovers, as the snow begins to fall and he draws ever closer to his prey, will surprise and delight the reader as the truth about the wolf in the night reveals itself, changing Warren’s life forever.

     Rhino Crashes & Critter Classes is the fourth in the critter series by Rena Jones, and the second one illustrated by Ginger Nielson.  

     First Flag of New Hampshire  by Stephanie Burkhart and illustrated with black and white images by Ginger Nielson is the first in a trilogy of young adult books about New England. 

     Porcupine's Seeds is the first picture book by Viji Chary through 4RV Publishing and the second to be illustrated by Bridget McKenna. Porcupine begins to believe he will never be able to grown flowers.

     Boo's Bad Day, picture book written by Penny Ehrenkranz and illustrated by Theresa Stites, follows one day in a small kitten's life.

    Please check the 4RV Bookstore for the final releases of each.

4RV Publishing

Make a protagonist live

by Vivian Zabel  

         Every plot needs a protagonist, a hero or heroine, maybe one of each. How do we make them real, not caricatures?

          All stories and novels, even many poems, have a hero or heroine. More and more heroines fill the bookshelves, too. What characteristics do we want in our protagonist? For what do we search when we read, use when we write? Let’s examine creating a hero (I’ll just use the term hero for the rest of the editorial, but everything applies to a heroine, too).

         A hero needs to be believable.

         "Okay, fine," someone says. "How does a writer make a hero believable?"

         One way is to pay attention to the small stuff, the details. That doesn’t mean as writers we have to include everything possible in the story or novel, but we should have the hero so developed, in our minds, that he or she lives.

          Natashya Wilson, www.aresix.blogspot.com, as well as numerous composition books and my notes from writing classes, workshops, and clinics include the following information when examining the components of a hero:

1. The hero should be appealing and should inspire.

         Reading about him/her should give readers a feelings that they, the readers, too can achieve their goals. The hero should help readers to find courage and the will to continue. Any hero needs to be strong and intelligent, as well as be human with flaws that readers can understand, but with the ability needed to succeed.

         No matter what, the reader must be able to relate to the hero on some level.

2. The writer needs to develop the hero completely.

         I noted earlier that the heroes should be developed in our minds until they are real. We should have a background, childhood, friends, family, home, and likes and dislikes all in our mental files. We need to note his motivations, phobias, the people he respects. Not all the information will go into our stories or novels, but the details are there, making our hero real. If we made our heroes live for us, they are more likely to live for readers.

3. Every hero needs a special skill or quality.

         We should ask ourselves what gives him an advantage over the bad guy or guys, and why he doesn’t give up? Then we use those answers to enhance our hero.

4. The characters around the hero need to be interesting and fully developed, too.

         Those around our hero should be worthy of him. The love interest and the villains should have depth, be realistic and believable. The hero should have a reason to love the other person; the heroine should be in love with someone worth loving. The villain should test the merit of the hero.

5. The plot should grab the reader’s attention and challenge the hero.

         Readers have to care what happens and want to continue reading.

6. Make sure the hero has an emotional stake in the outcome.

         Another way to help the reader care is to create an emotional stake for the hero. He shouldn’t want to “win” just because it’s his job or is the “right” thing to do.

7. Add a touch of romance.

         A bit of romance enlivens the plot and makes the hero more human. The romance should not be the main focus or just thrown it, but it should be a natural part of the story.

         Many of today's stories and novels throw in romance and/or sex scenes without ryhyme or reason (used a cliché, I know). Anything inserted in a story, including romance, needs to add to the plot, move the story on, and/or enhance our interest in the hero or another character.

8. Write for your audience.

         Who do you want to read and enjoy the story or novel? The plot and characters should appeal to those people.

9. Make dialogue believable.

          Nothing ruins a hero, or a story, for a reader faster than stilted or contrived dialogue. Practice what you write. Speak it aloud. Try it out. Is there unnecessary profanity? Do characters “talk” so that readers understand as well as other characters? Listen to people talk, and then clarify for readers.

          The tips above will help make our protagonists live in our writings.

4RV Publishing  
4RV Bookstore   Remodeling complete and sale is still in effect.

Promotion: Carla's Cloud Catastrophe review

posted by Vivian Zabel 


     The following was posted in The Midwest Book Review for January, in The Picture Book Shelf section.

Carla's Cloud Catastrophe
Beth Bence Reinke, author
Ginger Nielson, illustrator
4 RV Publishing
P.O. Box 6482, Edmond, OK 73083
9780982834602, $13.99 http://4rvpublishingllc.com
"Carla's Cloud Catastrophe" is a tall tale about a birthday-party-crashing cloud catastrophe that challenges Carla (whose birthday party it is) to come up with an extreme solution to save the day (and her birthday party! The whimsical colored illustrations show puffs and piles of excess clouds everywhere except up in the sky where they belong. Kids age 4-8 will enjoy the ridiculousness of the cloud catastrophe and get caught up in the need for a quick solution to save the birthday cake (and party). "Carla's Cloud Catastrophe" has lots of lovely descriptive prose as well as animated, dreamy illustrations, making it fun and memorable to kids everywhere.


     Carla's Cloud Catastrophe is found in the 4RV Publishing Bookstore and is on sale.
           

4 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Critique Group by Katie Hines

Some writers will say they don't use a critique group; others wouldn't consider their manuscript polished without the input from one. There are both online critique groups and face-to-face groups. Whether you use a critique group or not is up to you, but there are ways to get the most out of your critique group.

First, a critique group should be comprised of fellow writers who share common goals, and it works best if they're writing in the same genre. For example, if you write children's picture books, and another person writes memoirs, it fits best if you join a group that writes picture books and let the other find a memoir group. Look at it this way: if you have a forest green couch, and your partner buys a bright orange floral couch, there won't be a good fit in the living room!

Second, a critique group should be comprised of a small group of people, usually no more than five or six, who are committed to each other and helping each other polish their manuscript. Most online groups work that one writer submits a piece to the rest of the group and expects a critique back by the end of the week. Face-to-face groups can work the same way as well, with the piece to be critiqued sent via email a week prior to the next group meeting. Obviously, in either of these situations, it wouldn't work well to have more than five or six people because of the long time between critiques.

Third, when you join a critique group, you have the right to expect honesty in the critique from your fellow group members. Honesty, however, does not equal brutality. Just as there is always writing in the submission that needs addressing, there are good points in that person's writing as well. The good critiquer will point out not only errors, but also the places where the writer did a great job. Brutal honesty has no place in a critique, as it can damage and discourage fellow writers.

Fourth, as a group grows and changes together, relationships develop between the writers, and these relationships can foster a sense of comradeship and security. I have been in groups where the writers have bared their souls to each other in their writing, and did so knowing they wouldn't be slammed. The development of these relationships can extend beyond the critique group, and are an important part of networking with others.

Critique groups can help polish a manuscript and further the career of any writer, often times resulting in relationships that will carry through the rest of the writers lives. Whether or not you join such a group is your decision, but membership in a good critique can be a writer's best friend.

Self Editing Tip - Understanding "Beats"

The Fresh Beat Band



By: Stephanie Burkhart
It's been said writing for publication can be defined as "10% writing and 90% editing." Writing is easy, but self-editing is a challenge all by itself. Today, I thought I'd talk about "beats," what they are and when to use them effectively as you go back through editing your story.

A beat is that tidbit of action laced through a scene. Beats are usually used with dialogue. Examples of Beats: heads nodding, worrying or nipping at the lower lip, gazing out the window and fisting the hands. Those are examples of external beats. A short interior monologue would be an example of an internal beat. Using a beat allows for a couple of things:

#1 varies the pace of the dialogue
#2 ties the dialogue to the setting and characters
#3 allows for small bits of imagery - keep in mind: Use only small bits. Too much description can be condescending to the reader.
#4 beats anchor your story to reality

How many beats do you need? That depends on the ebb and flow your dialogue. If you're writing a high tension scene it's best to use a minimum amount of beats. If you're in a less tense scene, you might want more beats.
Remember: use "fresh" beats. No two people walk across a room the same way. People watch. You get some good ideas from that. Pay attention to beats that you read. You can learn a lot from reading.

I've also noticed that when writing a young children's story, that you still have to mind your "beats." You don't need a "he said," "she replied" after every bit of dialogue. (As I've seen in some stories) I've noticed my 5 year old's rhythm is thrown off if he has to read a lot of "he said," "she replied."

Reference: Self-Editing for Fiction Writer by Renni Brown and Dave King, Harper Resource, 2nd Edition, 2004, 279 pages.

How to Improve Mysteries

by Vivian Zabel  

          I take and read several writing magazines: The Writer, WRITERS' Journal, and Writer's Digest. All of them give me ideas and advice that helps me be a better writer. As I read some of the current issues, I realized that some of the articles included suggestions that definitely apply to writing mysteries, thrillers, crime, and/or suspense novels and/or stories.

          In my reading, and from my experiences over the years, I found some writing tips that definitely apply to writing mysteries and sub-genres.

          Some of the suggestions apply to any writing; some perhaps more to the mystery genres. However, all are usable to us. At the end of this article, I'll give the sources for the information I'm using, besides my own expertise. I highly recommend that everyone read all the articles.

          Create believable and distinctive characters. Have you ever read more than one book where at least one character could be dropped into more than one story, even if the names aren't the same, and no one could notice? I mean other than in a series or a sequel that contains the same characters.

          Ways to make characters believable and distinctive are several, but a few include 1) to have characters not be predictable, 2) to make them three-dimensional rather than stereotypical or all good or all bad, 3) to "show" their personalities and characters rather than "tell" the reader what kind of person they are. An antagonist shouldn't be a "flat" all bad, evil person. A protagonist shouldn't be all good without any faults or short comings.

          Include the four elements. Every well-written novel or story needs to have 1) a strong hook at the beginning to grab the readers attention and keep it.

          2) Conflict is necessary to have a plot, a story. Of course without conflict, we would have only a narrative, and we wouldn't have anything to interest a reader.

          Conflict leads to a 3) struggle, according to Diane E. Robertson, both internal and external. The ups and downs of the struggle make the plot move forward to the 4) resolution, the end of the story. Authors need to be sure that that end is not a false finish. The end must make sense and satisfy the reader. A surprise ending should still be credible.

          Make sure the plot is plausible to the reader. Often, coincidences are thrown in to surprise a reader, but if credibility is stretched too far, the reader won't accept it. Hallie Ephron states, "... never, ever, ever make a coincident integral to the solution."

          Don't conceal clues from the reader. The reader should know all the clues as soon as the mystery solver or detective does.

         I gave a few of the many tips found in three articles and a bit of my own knowledge mixed in.

***
Sources, besides the information I've accumulated over the years:

The Writer, Hallie Ephron,October 2008 page 26-29; Paola Carso, December 2008 page 28-29.
WRITERS' Journal, Diane E. Robertson, January/February 2009 page 46-47.


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On a Whimsical Wednesday, Enjoy Being Surrounded by Nature

 Just because we didn't "black-out" our site today doesn't mean we like bad new laws. Check out End Piracy, Not Liberty - Google   to learn more about what SOPA and PIPA could do to sites like the 4RV Newsletter.


"On a Whimsical Wednesday Enjoy Being Surrounded by Nature" by Joan Y. Edwards

Sometimes you need a little connection with nature to get your sails going and the ideas flowing. I want to share with you things I've witnessed with nature that were truly amazing.

In the 1990's when my daughter, Lorrie and I were at the Grand Canyon, it started lightning and thundering in the distance.  It was a beautiful light show with flashes of lightning and thunder sounding deep like the bass drums in a symphony. I wanted to get it on tape, so Lorrie used the camcorder and I used the still camera, and we took pictures. The next day a park ranger told us that lightning strikes about 300 people every year. Lorrie and I looked at each other and said, "Now he tells us." We were lucky we were safe.

When I went to visit the Grand Canyon about ten years later with my husband, Carl, we saw a coyote. He had traffic stopped and people were taking pictures. I love coyotes. I didn't get to take a picture on the way in. I said, "Wow! I hope that coyote is still there when we leave. Sure enough that coyote was still there. After I took a picture of him, he walked away in the trees nearby. I think the coyote knew that I wanted a picture of him. How cool of him to wait for me!

One December day in 2007, a lady named Pat came to help me take care of my Mother. She looked out the kitchen window and said, "Do you always have deer in your backyard?"

I said with wide eyes, "No. I've never seen deer in our backyard."

She said, "There are nine of them out there now."

By the time I got my camera they had all gone out of view. I said, "Oh man. Deer, please come back. I want to take your picture." At a count of twenty in my mind, low and behold all nine of the deer leaped back into my vision so I could take a picture. There were six does and three fawns. Then they pranced out of my view across our neighbor's lawn. I never saw them in our backyard again.

Look all around you, nature awaits you. Capture its moments in your mind, or on film and use it to create interesting highlights for your books. Draw a sketch of what happened. Describe it so that others can share in your joy and excitement. Describe it so well that others can see a picture in their minds.

On a Whimsical Wednesday or any other day of the week, I encourage you to take at least 15 minutes to notice nature that surrounds you either at home, at work, or in your vacation spot. Enjoy being in tune with nature.

Good luck with your writing. Please leave a comment and share a nature encounter of yours.

May your writing bring you much joy, health, and wealth.
Joan Y. Edwards