THE THINGS YOU CAN LEARN FROM TELEVISION

What I Learned About Writing From Watching Supernatural

I've been a pretty good dialogue writer for a while, but I've been weaker on description. Not static description, like for a room, but descriptions of character body language and all the non-verbals that go into good dialogue and character interaction.

It's curious that I haven't been good at it. In my day job, I'm a life and business coach. Watching body language is part of my training, but I finally figured out why that didn't translate to good writing. When I'm coaching, I'm using more of my intuition. I'm not stopping to break down body language with an eye toward describing it in my writing.

Which is when I discovered Supernatural. If you've never watched it, you can probably guess the idea from the title. A couple of young guys ride around the country, dealing with supernatural menace. The early seasons follow a "monster of the week" format, while later seasons get more into long story arcs.

Yes, it's genre fiction. But it's genre fiction with some actors who know how to use their body and faces to communicate a lot of sub-text.

Check out this gif. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m87igg54Uu1qjxl1no4_r1_250.gif

Heck, you don't even need to know what's going on. You could make up an entire story, just from that short clip. From the turn, to the facial expression to the hand motion. Lots there to work with.

Or this scene. Three actors doing a lot with their facial expressions (and one of my favorite scenes in the show).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub94sbKxjPw

What made me sit up and take notice was realizing I could watch scenes and dissect them. That's why I like all the animated .gifs I can find on Tumblr. Sometimes not having dialogue helps. I can watch facial expressions and hand movements and decide how I'd describe them. I've learned things about eye contact that completely altered a scene. I knew a character was nervous, and in the original draft, I talked about how she was nervous. In the rewrite, I showed it by describing how she avoided eye contact and casual touching. When she finally met another character's eyes, you knew it meant something.

I do all my writing on my iPad, and I've actually downloaded some Supernatural clips from YouTube. When I get stuck on writing a scene, I load one of the clips and watch the actors do their job. Which inspires me to do mine even better.

What do you use for descriptive inspiration?

Thank you Juli and we can't wait to see you at the confernece; Check out her website here: http://1to1discovery.com/books/

FUN! FUN! FUN!

Why should you be looking forward to the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conference on September 13^th?  In a word, FUN.

We literary types have the head for this kind of stuff.  I mean, where else can you get together for a weekend with a bunch of like-minded people and talk about horror? Suspense? Murder methods and body disposal? If that gets your imagination revved, you will be right at home here.

And we know that we writer types can talk endlessly about things like social networking, marketing and publicity, and what to expect from those people from another planet: publishers and editors.

But this conference, should we actually get there, will have a deeply personal meaning for my husband and me. My husband is author Robert E. Bailey, who started the Art Hardin mystery series in 1998 and whose books have received a Josiah Bancroft award, and been finalists for the Shamus and the Great Lakes Book Award. Ever since we started dating ten years ago, we’ve always wanted to go to a writer’s conference together. We tried to find time and money to get to the Florida First Coast writer’s conference, where it all started for Bob back in 1998, but for a few years it never worked out, and then the Florida First Coast abruptly folded. Too many writer’s conferences have bitten the dust. Bob is full of wonderful memories of FFC, and that’s why it’s always good to see a new conference make its debut.

But then something worse happened, right in the middle of Bob’s fourth book. Brain cancer. It showed up in the speech and language area of Bob’s brain, making him aphasic and making completion of this last book extremely difficult. But he got it done. In March of this year he reached the words, “The End,” and submitted the book to his agent. His agent requested that a chapter be added, and Bob started to work on that. It was right about then that we planned several appearances and signings for the summer, including the CCC conference, and spent a wonderful evening anticipating the fun we were going to have.

Bet you can guess what happened next. Brain cancer came back, and it is inoperable this time. In the course of two weeks, Bob went from reading, writing, walking, and driving, to someone suffering from both three new brain tumors and gout at the same time, who couldn’t even turn himself over in bed. By all the published information about brain tumors I could find, I estimate that we were about three weeks from losing him.

Dr. Khan, our wonderful neuro oncologist at VCU Massey Cancer Center, came to the rescue with a change of chemotherapy, and so far Bob has gotten quite a lot of function back. He’ll never drive again, but he can walk, talk, and complete many basic tasks he could not perform two weeks ago. The human brain is an amazing thing. The sad thing is that Bob’s tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, is rare compared to breast and prostate cancer, and research for this does not get a lot of funding. There are only two chemotherapies that are really proven to work, Temodar and Avastin. When the tumor comes back after those, your number’s up. But Bob is determined to be there to meet all of you on September 13^th.

Please come, and stop by to say hi. We’ll be REALLY glad to see you!

MIRROR MIRROR...WHO'S THE NEXT TO DIE?

This entry comes from one of the featured authors at this year's conference, Cher'ley Grogg and when you are finished reading, make sure to leave a comment, I am sure she will answer you back.

 

A novel set in the present day Chicago and Chicago in the year 1923. A serial killer is on the lose now and the case is eerily similar to a cold case from 1923.

 

Prologue

 

     The nose that pressed against the glass at O'Hare International belonged to an normal looking man who kept his eyes glued to the plane as it landed smoothly and taxied up to the terminal.

       He looked like any professional commuting from city to city, nothing remarkable stood out.  Nothing remarkable, except for his intense stare, the way he lowered his chin, and the pucker of his mouth as he pressed his upper lip over his lower lip. He did this when he was concentrating hard, like some people stick their tongue out the side of their mouth when performing a difficult task. His lip action forced the flesh of his lower lip between his teeth. He ignored the pain as he bit the inside of his lip and his concentration remained unbroken as his clenched fist caused his fingernails to dig into his soft, smooth palms.

  His heart quickened as he waited for Maria Gonzales to file out with the other
passengers. They looked like cattle going to slaughter. He could be watching for any of
them. She deserved the title of Miss New Mexico, and she deserved more. He'd give he

more. If she would accept it, he'd give her more.

 

Make sure you hop over to her website to see more, http://cherley.webs.com/guestbook.htm

Meet the volunteers

Today we want to introduce you to the group of ladies that are helping us put on the C3 Conference.

These ladies jumped; well maybe jumped isn't the right word but they walked; very slowly, towards being volunteers to help put this confernce together.

With all of their knowledge and expertise, they have brought great ideas to the meetings and have also taken on responsiblities that most people would have run away from.

Deliah Lawrence is not only an author but she is our Master Scheduler and Author Liason. She will work with the authors and the on-site book store to make sure that the titles that the attending authors want to sign will be there when they arrive. She is also working on putting together the schedule of sessions/panels that the authors will sit on. This is a huge undertaking and we want to salute her for taking on this huge role.

Cynthia Lauth is our registration coordianator. She tirelessly works the registration part of our website. She contacts the authors when they have forgotten to make their meal choice or have forgotten to press the submit button to enter their choice of payment.

Juli Monroe is our Intrigue Pub twitter guru. She is on Twitter everyday putting the word out and making sure that @IntriguePub is being seen by the people that need information about our conference.

Ann Arbaugh is our volunteer coordinator. She will be working with our volunteers and recruiting volunteers. She will be one of the people you will see running around during the conference making sure that our guests are being taken care of properly.

We have all gotten so excited about this conference that we meet regularly to talk about the new things that are happening or that we want to happen.

This group of dedicated workers will be there to meet and greet you on Friday and they will be easy to spot. They will all have one their C3 shirts.

See you in September!

Meet and Greet

Today we would like to introduce you to one of the authors that will attend the conference this year.

She signed up recently and we decided to put her on the spot and have a short meet and greet with her.

Her name is D.A. Spruzen and we would like to tell you a little about her.

Hello everyone, my name is Dorothy Spruzen Hassan, but my pen name (maiden name) is D. A. Spruzen.

I am President of the Northern Virginia Writers Club and delight in communing with my fellow writers. I attend writing conferences and workshops whenever my schedule allows, and am looking forward to the C3 Conference where I will meet writers closer to home than is the norm. There is always something to learn, always that golden nugget of information ready to drop into my lap if I remember to stop and listen.

I’m a writer of fiction and poetry and have lived in Northern Virginia since 1971, except for a two-year hiatus in the Middle East. I grew up near London, U.K., earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, and teach writing for Fairfax County Schools Adult and Community Education program and the McLean Community Center.  I also run private critique workshops in my home.

In another life I was Manager of Publications for a defense contractor. My undergraduate degree was in dance education and I served on the faculty of a London Theater school before coming to the U.S.A. My short stories and poems have appeared in many publications, and I am seeking representation for my novel The Blitz Business, set in WWII England.  The first two novels in my Flower Ladies Trilogy, Not One of Us and Lily Takes the Field, are available on Kindle and in other e-book formats, as well in paperback.  My first poetry chapbook, Long in the Tooth, will be published by Finishing Line Press in June 2013.

My husband and I live in McLean, Virginia with a Jack Russell terrier who doesn’t know he’s old and doesn’t know he’s small. If you want to look me up, all you have to do is click on one of the links below.

I hope to see you in Septemeber!

www.daspruzen.com

Not One of Us

http://tinyurl.com/93c3p5s    

Lily Takes the Field

http://tinyurl.com/8dskcv5    

Crossroads

http://tinyurl.com/9jvowq8    

Long in the Tooth

www.Finishinglinepress.com

Posted by: Author D.A. Spruzen

Sit down...Let's have a chat

Oh hello, how are you, I wasn't expecting you for another few minutes, but please come in and sit down, let's have a chat. So you wanted to ask me a few questions about the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity conference.

What's your first question?

How did I find out about the C3 Conference? I am a member of Sister's In Crime and as I was perusing their list of conferences, I came across the listing for the C3 conference and when I continued reading the description, it sounded like a perfect opportunity for me to meet other authors, as well as readers. Oh and let's not forget that the price fit right into my budget.

What appealed to me about the conference is the unique angle of bringing authors together with their fans, along with getting the opportunity to pitch my story to an agent. I love the list of guest speakers that are attendidng because it will allow me to rub elbows with a few bestselling authors, which is never a bad thing, right?

Another great aspect of the conferences is the opportunity I had to contribute to their C3 anthology. I got the chance to write a short story of about 7,500 words and Acorn Book Services is going to add it, and other author's stories, to create an e-book. When the conference is over, they will release it to Amazon and my promotional information will be included. What a great way to get my name out ot the masses.

Was I aware of the discussion panels? Oh yes, this is another great opportunity to be a part of a group of authors to share ideas, experiences and learning curves. I don't doubt I will learn something from the other writers. We all have something to share.

Sure, I'd love to tell you about the stories I've written. I have two published in my paranormal mystery series. The first is Sullivan's Secret, and the second is Secret of the Big Easy. I like to tell people that my stores are a Psychic Detectives meets Ghost Hunter's mystery. My third book in the series, Federal City's Secret is due for release this summer.

Yes, I have an author platform and you can find me at www.robinmurphyauthor.com and I'd love for you to follow me on my social media sites on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/robin-Murphy/161123980616276 and on Twitter: @murfett and LinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/pub/robin-murphy/38/213/338

Now tell me, after hearing all of the great information about the Creatures, Crimes and Creativity conference, will I see you there? Great, I'm glad to hear it and who knows, maybe you'll become one of my new fans.

Thank you, I enjoyed meeting you as well.  See you in September.

Post Written by: Author Robin Murphy

Early to rise!

The sun is shining a little longer each evening.

She isn't a morning person, that could not be mistaken, ever! But on this day, the sun awakened her with it's bright ray and she stretched, yawned and padded to the bathroom. She climbed into the steamy shower, letting the day begin as she formed the thoughts of what would be her adventures. She toweled off, brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Ready to meet the world head on.

She decended the stairs into her open kitchen and wondered what to have for breakfast. She then decided to get the paper but it wasn't there. Those darn newspaper thieves! No problem...she started to scramble an egg, got her coffee and turned on the morning news. Imagine that...no news..hmm, she switched channels and again no news...What is this...a slow day or maybe it was later than she thought.

She turned her head as her cat wandered in and gave her a look. "Don't give me that look missy. I already have your food out." she said as she focused her eyes on the microwave.

She jumped up and went closer. It couldn't be.

"Good Lord! It's only 6:16 in the morning!"

Yes. It was early...and she is not a morning person..she actually shouted that to no one but the cat.

To early to be up on a Saturday but what was she to do? Well, she decided the only thing possible. She pulled out her laptop and checked out the Creatures,Crimes and Creativity Blog and so here she sits...reading and wondering...how many more days until the conference?

If you want to know how many days there are left for the best conference in Maryland this year...check out http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com and the countdown clock will tell you.

Posted by B.Swangin Webster