How To Write Fiction Archives - Page 11 of 16 - Trisha Sugarek, Author, Playwright & Poet

Book Review ~~ The Daydream Cabin

4 out of 5 quills Book Review

Light, funny with a twisty, ‘feel good’ ending. Piney Wood Academy sounds like a well-heeled, private school for boys or girls whose parents can afford it. Wrong. It is a well-heeled, private boot camp for juvenile delinquents whose parents can afford it. And it’s a last stop before serving serious time in ‘juvie’. The girls who are sent there are incorrigible and are not going to go quietly.

The Daydream Cabin teaches the readers what boot camp is really like. This reviewer enjoyed learning something new. The writing is good, as we have come to expect from author, Carolyn Brown. The characters are well drawn and empathetic. I recommend this book to my readers.

Did you miss my Interview with Carolyn Brown?

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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! November: Ella Quinn, December: Lauren Willig, January: Madeline Hunter, February: Mike Lupica
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Interview with award winning Author, Lauren Willig

TS. Lauren Willig is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty works of historical fiction, including Band of Sisters, The Summer Country, The English Wife. An alumna of Yale University, she has a graduate degree in history from Harvard and a JD from Harvard Law School. She lives in New York City with her husband, two young children, and vast quantities of coffee.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (your shed, room, closet, barn, houseboat….) Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

LW. I’m a lifelong New Yorker, so the idea of having a special space to write in is like science fiction to me—something fantastical one reads about in books.
For the duration with the pandemic this is the very messy desk I work at now that I’m at home —it’s an ancient roll top I’ve had since grad school and will probably collapse on me once of these days. Or I’ll collapse on it. You never know. Before quarantine, I was that person in Starbucks glaring fiercely at anyone else trying to lay claim to my favorite table and tip-tapping away as a nurse one caramel macchiato for three hours straight. I love working at Starbucks. Not only do they provide you with caffeine, but Starbucks baristas are the nicest people on earth. I am so grateful to my local crew for always asking about the book and never laughing when I manage to coat myself in coffee because I’m thinking of something else and don’t realize the cup is turned the wrong way. It was an utter wrench when the pandemic shut down New York in mid-March and I had to retreat to my own desk and a hastily purchased Nespresso machine. But I’ll be back, Starbucks! I swear!

This is me and my favorite pink topsiders and my favorite table in my favorite Starbucks. ——>

Q. Do you have any special rituals or quirks when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

LW. After I turn widdershins four times around the table, reciting ancient runes and performing Ye Olde Dance of the Chykkene…. No, not really. There must be caffeine, but that’s about it. Did I mention the caffeine?

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

LW. People always seem fascinated by the fact that I don’t know how to drive. I’ve been the proud possessor of multiple expired learners’ permits over the years, but I never actually seem to get past the paper test to the bit where you sit behind a wheel and actually, you know, make the car go. Which, since I have no sense of direction and tend to be easily distracted, may actually be better for everyone.

Q. What tools do you begin with? Legal pad, spiral notebook, pencils, fountain pen, or do you go right to your keyboard?

LW. Every book starts with the research immersion phase, where I read, read, and read some more. No note-taking, just reading and absorbing. After a few months of immersing myself in the historical background, I get out the loose leaf paper and my ancient Scottish National Portrait Gallery clipboard and scrawl notes to myself: character notes, rough stabs at outlining the first few chapters, scraps of dialogue. And then I pack up my trusty little laptop, haul myself off to Starbucks, swig my caramel macchiato, and totally ignore everything I wrote on those pieces of paper as the characters take over.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

LW. My most productive writing hours have always been between roughly ten and three. For the past few years, my writing time has been largely bounded by my first my daughter’s and now my son’s preschool schedules. The preschool is a three hour a day program, so I drop off the child in question, sprint the five blocks to the nearest Starbucks, park myself at the first available table, and write like crazy before realizing it’s five minutes to pick-up, packing up, and sprinting off to be the last mom on the pick-up line. Again.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

Join us for Part 2 of this funny and insightful interview.

Coming soon: My review of Band of Sisters, a far reaching saga of a band of Smith College women who volunteer behind ‘the front lines’ during WWI.
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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! October: George Scott, November: Ella Quinn, December: Lauren Willig, January: Madeline Hunter, February: Mike Lupica
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Interview with author, Ella Quinn (part 2)

TS. Expat and author now living in Germany, Ella Quinn is one of my favorite authors. Good solid stories, with plenty of story plot twists, and wonderful protagonists. I love escaping with a Quinn historic (Regency) romance. After reading (in our interview) she cruised the Caribbean and North America, she then completed a transatlantic crossing from St. Martin to Southern Europe (Lagos, Portugal) aboard her beloved, Silver Penny (Yikes!)..well…my admiration knows no bounds. I’m an old ex-sailor and the thought of crossing the Atlantic in a sailboat terrifies the hair right off my head! Taking a knockdown, while under spinnaker was enough terror to last me forever.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

The cockpit of Ella’s catamaran, the Silver Penny (where she writes)

EQ. My characters discover me! It started with my first book. I’ve followed my characters ever since. They literally come up and introduce themselves to me.

Q. What first inspired you to write?

EQ. I should say that I never in my life expected to write fiction. But I was 58, tired of practicing law, and looking for something else to do. Suddenly, I had a video playing in my head about an angry Regency lady, and I had to write it down. One month later I had a finished book, The Seduction of Lady Phoebe, and had to figure out what to do with it.

Q. What comes first to you? The Characters or the Situation?

EQ. Definitely the characters.

Q. Do you ‘get lost’ in your writing?

EQ. I do. There are times that I can write for hours and never get up.

Q. Are you working on something now? If so tell us about it.

EQ. I’m starting a new Trevor novella for a multi-author box-set that will release next summer. My Trevor series is about a horrible old duke who wants to control the lives of his children. This mainly consists of arranging matches that are good for the dukedom, but not for them. So, all the books are about his kids finding their love and their own spouses with help from friends and other family members.

Q. When did you begin to write seriously?

EQ. When I first started to write. I’m very goal oriented. When I finished my first book, I knew I wanted to be traditionally published. I was very fortunate. Eight months after I started writing I had an excellent agent, and eight months after that I got my first contract. A friend who had been in publishing for years told me it would take 5 years to get published. I decided I didn’t have that amount of time. Fortunately, the month before my 60th birthday my first book released.

Q. Do you think we will see, in our lifetime, the total demise of paper books?

EQ. I don’t think so. Young people like paper books. If nothing else does, that will save the industry. On the other hand, most of my readers read in paper. It sometimes depends on the genre.

Q. What makes a writer great?

EQ. The ability to tell a compelling story that readers love.

Q. and the all-important: What does the process of going from “no book” to “finished book” look like for you?

Ella and hubby at TransAtlantic Yachting awards

EQ. It depends on the book. I’ve had books that I can write straight through from beginning to end, and books that I’ve skipped around writing scenes. For me it depends on how cooperative my characters are being. Twice I’ve had books where I’ve had to write the end before my heroine would tell me her story. She had to know she’d get a happy ending.

Q. How has your life experiences influenced your writing?

EQ. I’ve done a lot of things in my life. Most of which dealt with people. Men read my books because they say I nail male POV (point of view). That’s probably because I was the first woman assigned to an Army Special Forces battalion, and I’ve been around Alpha males all my adult life. My husband is retired SF. I practiced family law for 20 years. That gave me a lot of insight into the problems people have. I’m a mom. I don’t think anything more needs to be said about that. I’ve traveled most of my life so I easily understand different cultures, which is what the Regency is. And I’m a researcher.

Q. What’s your down time look like?

EQ. I read a lot, but I’m not a restful person. I bike and walk. I like to travel and see new things or visit places I love. During the winter I spend about 4 weeks skiing. In summer I’m on the boat when I can be. I also paddleboard.

Q. Have you or do you want to write in another genre`?

EQ. No. I’m happy writing Regencies. Although, at some point, I’ll have to write early Victorian.

Q. Note to Self: (a life lesson you’ve learned.)

EQ. Don’t take yourself too seriously. It’s important to be able to take risks.

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Interview with author, Ella Quinn

TS. Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Political science professor and lawyer. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a Great Dane named Lilibet, and a cat named Winnie. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true lived on sailboat for three years. After cruising the Caribbean and North America, she completed a transatlantic crossing from St. Martin to Southern Europe. (Yikes!) She’s currently living in Germany, happily writing while her husband is back at work, recovering from retirement. She expects to be back on the boat in 2022.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? (please provide a photo of you at work in your shed, room, closet, barn, houseboat….Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

EQ. I have two places, one on my boat, Silver Penny. That’s my favorite place. The other is a room in our apartment that I’ve turned into an office. It’s also where the animals usually hang out during the day.

Q. Do you have any special rituals or quirks when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

EQ. My work space is pretty messy. Before I write, I have to either take a bike ride or a walk, clean up, eat breakfast, read the news, and take care of any emails that came in overnight.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

EQ. I think my life has been an open book. You might not know that I’m a political nerd. I have an undergrad and masters in politics. I’ve also worked on political campaigns. So every two years around election day, I have sleepless nights watching voting results.

Q. What tools do you begin with? Legal pad, spiral notebook, pencils, fountain pen, or do you go right to your keyboard?

EQ. I go right to my keyboard. My handwriting is so bad these days that even I have trouble reading it.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

EQ. I’m generally a daytime writer, unless I’m on deadline. Then I’ll be up until midnight and start early the next morning again. There are times when I like to write in the afternoons. But since coronavirus started, and my husband is home more, I’m trying to have more of a schedule. That means writing in the morning, adding about 45 minutes of exercise around 1pm, writing until around 4pm, then studying German for an hour. The election threw it off, but I’m starting the schedule again this week.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

EQ. Treat writing like a job. If you want to be successful, you have to do that. There’s just no other way.

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

Join us next week for part 2
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Book Review ~~ Wild Horses on the Salt

2 out of 5 quills ~~ Book Review

This is a good story set in the gorgeous, stark landscape of the central Arizona desert. Unfortunately it has some formatting issues that were a huge distraction for this reviewer. Every two and a half pages the author started a new chapter. The chapter placement interfered with the story flow. By the time I finished the book I had counted 111 chapters within 323 pages. There didn’t seem to be any explanation for this, certainly not the two usual reasons for a new chapter; that is, the location of the story changed or the POV (point of view) had changed. Sagas that are well over 500 pages will only have 30-40 chapters.

When Becca the heroine runs from her abusive husband out into the desert; the story is abruptly interrupted by a history lesson of the wild horse. Instead of focusing on Becca’s feelings of being hunted by her abusive husband, trapped with nowhere to go, the diversion to the history of wild horses diluted, if not destroyed, the tension of her fleeing.

Early in the story a driver, unfamiliar with the roads and driving too fast, collides with a wild horse horse crossing the highway. He loses control of his car and goes into a ditch. He hits a Saguaro cactus which falls on the car trapping the driver. The reader is never told what happens to the man and if and when he was ever rescued. The author continues the story thread of the wounded stallion but leaves the driver in his car with no resolution. It is very important that the writer pulls every thread and finishes any subplots.

Another thread that was neglected was when the abusive husband suddenly turns up at the inn where Becca is hiding. How did he find her? Did he know she was there or was it an unbelievable coincidence? It’s never explained.

New chapters are usually begun when the pov (point of view), changes or the location in the story changes. A new chapter beginning every 2 and a 1/2 pages (as was the case with this book) was distracting and not supportive of the story flow. For example: Chapters 65-69 should have been one chapter. Chapter 53-55 should have been one chapter. Chapters 90-95, again, should have been one chapter. The location nor the POV had changed and one chapter ended in the middle of a conversation. These are just a few examples of this misguided chapter placement.

As I said, this was a good story concept but the frequent, (oh so frequent) chapter change badly interrupted the flow. And I am still left wondering why the choice was made for two and a half page chapters?

How To Format a Novel
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A Literary Commentary and a Book Review

Historical romances are fun reading and in the good ones, the reader learns a little history along the way. Second only to ‘sci-fi’, this genre is the most popular with the reading public. It is part of the ‘bodice ripper’ tradition that sex scenes range from vague titillation to down-right pornographic in their descriptions. In the well written ones, it’s a fine line between eroticism and blatant porn. Sometimes the most provocative is what is not said by the writer. As in the case of my two favorite authors in this genre, Grace Burrowes (early books) and Annie Grace, who are masters at this. They suggest, they titillate, they let you use your imagination. It is so much more satisfying than crude, blatant sex described in lurid detail which is porn written on paper and not to my taste. In the case of sex scenes, less is more.

5 out of 5 quills ~~ Book Review

Madeline Hunter deftly walks this line successfully in her earlier books. She seems to know when to stop and let her readers participate with their imagination. Lady of Sin was such a great story with many layers. Lady M. was a strong, independent woman. Nathaniel, our sexy hero was strong, confrontational and opinionated, but was a softie in love with Lady Charlotte. The plot had lots of twists and turns and led our reader around by the nose until the very last page.

The main thread of the plot is about divorce. Women of that era (1800’s), were lobbying for ‘divorce’ laws more favorable to and including women who were victims of domestic abuse. They were not allowed a position in the House of Lords or House of Commons (our Congress) so they had to petition through the influence of their fathers, husbands, or brothers.
Then add in a wonderful sub-plot about a ‘lost boy’ of aristocratic birth, if it can be proven. No spoiler alerts here. All I am saying is the plot is sophisticated and rich in layers. Excellent writing that never needs the crutch of flagrant sex scenes to prop it up.
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How To Format a Novel

The readability of a book depends entirely on how your manuscript is formatted. Something with poor readability probably won’t sell. So if you want to go toe-to-toe with traditionally published titles, your product needs to look its best, inside and out. While cover design is critical for the reader’s first impression, interior design can’t be overlooked.

Here are 12 tips on how your self-published novel should appear. I have recently come across a few new authors who have published new fiction and their book ended up looking very amateurish and hard to read.

Tip #1. Beginning Pages. The important pages such as title page, dedication, and tags extracted from reviews of the book, should be assigned an ‘odd‘ numbered page. The less important content, such as Copyright Notice, a list of the author’s other books and Acknowledgements should appear on’ even‘ numbered pages. Not to worry if you have a ‘blank’ page on the left (even numbered) opposite the title page, for example. Once your book is built, it will look normal.

Sample. Title Page: (text centered and nicely spaced on page).

Angel of Murder (minimum of 20 pt. font)

(4-5 spaces between)

by (10 pt. font)

Trisha Sugarek (12 pt. font)

Book #4 in the World of Murder series (12 pt. font)

Tip #2. Many new authors (as I spoke of above) have neglected to have a ‘Copyright Notice’ page. This is what it looks like. It is very important as it puts all plagiarists on notice that this content is owned by you, the author. Note: If you quote anyone in your book you should give them a line of credit.
Sample: (Text should be centered on the page).

Notice (double space)
Copyright (c) 2020 Trisha Sugarek. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Author. Printed in the United States of America. For information contact author at www.writeratplay.com. The Library of Congress has catalogued the soft cover edition of this book as follows: Sugarek, Trisha, The Writer’s Journal/Trisha Sugarek – This is a journal/handbook. The suggestions and tips are solely the opinion of the author. The quotes were taken from various publications and the author takes no responsibility for the accuracy.

Made in the USA ISBN-13: 9798669379384

Poetry and ink drawings by Trisha Sugarek

Cover and Layout Design by David White

To view all of the author’s fiction and play scripts go to:
www.writeratplay.com

Tip #3. Layout of first few pages: A quick way to see what I am describing is to pick up any novel by a known, published author and see the layout of the first few pages. For the most part Publishers use the same order and layout. ‘Acknowledgements’ (odd numbered page) can be placed in the front pages or at the end, in the back. This is a list of people or organizations that have assisted you.

Sample: (centered text)

Acknowledgments

My friend and beta reader, Doug Johnson, whose insights, feedback and encouragement made this a better story.
My wonderful narrator/producer, Daniel Dorse, who helps me take these stories to Audio Books.
The Chatham County Coroner’s office.
And the many police and crime scene experts who share their time and knowledge so generously with me while writing this series.

Tip #4. Each chapter should be on an odd numbered page. The word ‘Chapter‘ can be used, however I’ve noticed that more and more authors are just using the number of the chapter or spelling out the number (One, Two, Three, etc). Placement is arbitrary; I like to space down 5-7 spaces. I use a 16-18 size font, and it should be centered. I often times use a different font style for chapter headings. Text should follow after a double space, when beginning new paragraphs. Paragraphs shouldn’t be too long. 8,10, maximum of 12 lines is when you should begin a new paragraph. I’ve seen authors go up to as many as 22. Of course, content and a natural break also dictates a new paragraph.

Tip #5: Your contact information should never appear on the interior except if you are submitting it to a agent, publisher, etc. (That’s a whole different subject; submitting your ms.) You can list your website address and/or your email address.

Tip #6: Pages should be numbered and numbering should begin with the first chapter page. Pages preceding this should not be numbered. Page numbers can be created automatically by using your header or footer feature. Your name, as author, should be on each even numbered page and the title of the book should be on odd numbered pages, in the header.

Tip #7: Separation between sentences: Single space. For submission, read their guidelines; they require 1.5 to double spaced (for easier reading) but never single spaced.

Tip #8: Indentation of paragraphs: You can set this up using: Home, the ‘Paragraph’ tab; the arrow to the right: will open the menu. Alignment: Justified. Do not choose ‘left’ or ‘right’ but rather, Choose ‘Special’. Set it at ‘First line‘ 0.3 or 0.5. Click on ‘Set As Default’ and then ‘This Document only?’ Yes.

Tip #9: When to Start a New Chapter: Simply put a new chapter is usually begun when the physical location has changed or when the POV (point of view) has changed. Almost never start a new chapter between sentences between the same characters. It breaks the flow of the story and interrupts the reader’s concentration. I recently read a new author’s self published book that 323 pages and 111 chapters. ONE HUNDRED-ELEVEN chapters!

Tip #10: Word count: A full length novel is 80,000 words and up. A novella or cozy is approximately 37 to 40,000. A short story is about 5,000-10,000 words.

Tip #11: If your page arrangement causes you to have a blank odd numbered page that seems awkward: Put another title page on it. I just finished reading a Robert B. Parker mystery where they use 3 title pages before I got to the first chapter. So as you can see, there is no hard and fast rule.

Tip #12: Use 12 point, New Times Roman as the font. Single space the entire chapter. There are no double spacing between paragraphs.-

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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! October: George Scott, December: Lauren Willig, February: Mike Lupica
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Pay It Forward ~~ A Review

5 out of 5 quills A Book Review

The book is better than the movie….as it should be. I watched the movie (an iconic film) years (decades?) ago and took the lesson in the story very much to heart. I have tried to pay it forward when and where I can. Time pasted and then I discovered the book’s author, Catherine Ryan Hyde, when I read her book, Have You Seen Luis Velez? Only then did I learn that she was also the author of Pay It Forward. Full circle. I love when that happens. Not long ago I had the pleasure and honor of Interviewing Ms. Hyde.

A synopsis (which is not my style of reviewing) is unnecessary as everyone knows the premise of the story. Even fifteen years ago, Hyde was a brilliant writer. But, now reading her more current offerings I can say she improves like a fine wine. Which is all any writer wants for themselves; that they grow and improve.

If you haven’t read the book, you must! If you won’t read the book, you must watch this wonderful movie. We all need lifting up during this terrible time in our country. The movie or the book will lift you up.

I am slowing reading through the entire collection of work by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Have You Seen Luis Velez? still remains my favorite to date. And that’s saying something!!
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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! June: Mike Maden writing for TOM CLANCY. July: Guest Blogger Desiree Villena, August: Carolyn Brown
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How To Format a Novel

My helping you with formatting a novel is long over due…. It was a light bulb moment recently when I was reading a nice little story, self published (poorly) by its author, with hardly any formatting. The story wasn’t much to write home about (too predictable with poorly drawn characters.) but the lack of formatting only made it worse and an amateur effort at best. So here are some tips about formatting your novel, before you even begin to write the story.

Blank Templates: Most self publishing platforms have FREE blank templates for you to begin writing on. You just pick the desired ‘size’ of your book and you can download the template to your document writing site in your computer. Most of us use Microsoft Word for all our writings. Here is an example of how I start with a blank template. (Why is this important? Believe me when I say at the end it will make your life so much simpler when you begin to ‘build’ your book.)

To begin: I use Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ ) Don’t be put off by the word ‘kindle’ in the name. I build and publish all of my paperbacks here. If you don’t have an account, sign up for a FREE one. Then click on ‘HELP’. In the search bar, I enter ‘paperback templates’. Choose #1 ‘Paperback Manuscript Templates. Follow the directions on this page. After picking the size of your book and downloading it, your Word program should open with the blank template staring back at you. Write a few lines (the template message will disappear) and save it as your new novel. If you are using a different manuscript platform, I feel pretty confident that they also offer blank templates to get you started. Now you’re ready to write your story.

Formatting: It goes without saying you want a professional looking book. Readers unconsciously expect a certain look/layout. Bad or nonexistent formatting can detract from the reader’s enjoyment of your book.

But, you ask…‘I’ve already written five chapters of my novel on 8.5 x 11 paper. Can I move it?’ Easy, peasy. Use your copy and paste option (I recommend saving your original copy of the manuscript). Copy the five chapters, go over to your template and ‘paste’ the chapters in. This will mess up the formatting because your original manuscript is probably written on a larger sized paper than what your blank template is for your book. But it only takes a little time to re-format what you’ve already written. Trying to get the formatting perfect can be a form of procrastination if you’re not careful. Don’t get off into the weeds. Be certain that you are writing your story every day. Now that your novel is placed on your template, you can continue writing from where you left off.

First Page: When you open your cover, the first page (odd numbered page) can have excerpts of reviews that you have received. Just a sentence or two, not the whole review. If you don’t have any then the first page should be the title and author name.

Second page: (Even numbered page) This is your copyright page, entitled ‘Notice’. It can also include your ISBN number, your logo, and credits for the artwork. (See sample; All centered and a smaller font; a 9 or 10.)

Notice

Copyright (c) 2016 Trisha Sugarek. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Author. Printed in the United States of America. For information contact author at www.writeratplay.com. The Library of Congress has cataloged the soft cover edition of this book as follows: Sugarek, Trisha, Song of the Yukon, Trisha Sugarek – This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales in entirely coincidental.

ISBN 978-1489558206

Cover Design by David White, clenbuterol on reddit Illustrator

Song, ‘Swiftly I Go’ by Gary Swindell, Composer
Additional lyrics and poetry by Trisha Sugarek

To view all of the author’s play scripts and fiction go to: www.writeratplay.com

Quotes: The Best of Robert Service, Copyright 1940 by Robert Service. Publishers: Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc.
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Third page: (Odd numbered) A dedication or a list of the other books you have written. (See samples) It doesn’t matter which goes first but it should be on an odd numbered page.

Also by Trisha Sugarek

Fiction

Women Outside the Walls
Wild Violets

The World of Murder
Art of Murder
Dance of Murder
Act of Murder
Angel of Murder
Taste of Murder
Beneath the Bridge of Murder
Video of Murder
Shadow of Murder

Poetry
Butterflies and Bullets
The World of Haiku with Sumi-E Artwork
Haiku Journal — a companion book
Moths and Machetes

Available at all fine book stores.

Dedication

To a hundred years of Guyer girls….
still going strong.

***********************************************************************

Headers: Should begin after these pages of notices, titles, credits, etc. On the first page of Chapter One. More later about headers.

Each chapter: Should always begin on an odd numbered page. Note: It’s perfectly acceptable for the even numbered page, opposite these odd numbered pages (that always appear on the right side) to be blank. Most common and expected font is: 12 point Times New Roman. Spacing of lines should be 1.0 to 1.25. Indent all paragraphs by .5 inches. There are no spaces between paragraphs which should be indented 3″ to 5″ inches.

Left margin versus Justified margin: On the home page of Word I am certain you are familiar with the ‘alignment’ options; left, center, right, and justified. Control (key) and the letter ‘A’ will highlight your entire manuscript. Now go to the justified button and click it. As you continue to write, your manuscript is set to ‘justified’, now. This will space your words, across the page, so there are (for the most part) no awkward blank spaces because a word doesn’t fit. Trust me, you will want to use the justified alignment and not the ‘left’ alignment. When there is the occasional blank space, go back and hyphenate the long word to fill these spaces. Now, you not only have a nice clean margin on the left of your page but also on the right side of your page. (See sample. Note: I have drawn a line where there should be a word.) Look at the sample below under “Headers”. See the crisp margin on the right. This is the result of using the ‘justified’ option.

Proof Your manuscript. Then proof it again. Don’t leave anything to chance. The following sample is just plain sloppy proofing. The circled text should have started on the next (odd No.) page. This called for a page break.

Hard Page Breaks: On your Word Home page find “Layout”. Click. Directly below Layout is the word: Breaks. Click for the drop down menu and chose the first choice: Page. This sets the end of the page you’re on and designates a ‘page break’, beginning of a new page. This would have solved the above problem. Note: Be certain your cursor is at the end of the text where you desire a new page to begin.

Headers: Put your cursor at the top of the page of your first chapter. Double click. The page number will automatically appear. Place your cursor to the right of the page number and ‘space’ over to where you want to type. The odd page should have the title of the book. You only have to type it in once; it will appear on all odd numbered pages going forward. Now, put your cursor anywhere on the (grayed out) text of the page and click twice. Your header for odd numbered pages has been created. Now repeat the same steps for the even numbered pages: Double click at the top of an even no. page, place your cursor to the right of the page no. Space over and type in your name as the author. Wait! Before you leave this, be certain that you are not linking to the previous header. And leave the box unchecked for ‘Different First Page”. Click the boxes for “Different Odd and Even Pages” and “Show document text”.
What you want to achieve is no header on pages before the first page of the first chapter. If you find you have headers go back and make certain the “Link to Previous” is not used. You may have to delete all headers and begin again, before you finally get it right. (See sample.)

Submitting your manuscript to an Agent/Publisher: Find out what the agent or publisher recommends. Some might require double spacing, for example. They publish their specs and formatting requirements right on their websites. Checking out the specs should be your first step. Adapt your manuscript for each agent or publisher (most will be remarkably similar).

Dialogue: Is treated as a new paragraph, indented 3-5 spaces, even if only one line of dialogue. (Example to follow):

“It always ends up the same in the end; they fight every night and finally he smacks her around and she kicks ‘im to the curb. I am never gonna’ have a boy friend like that! I’ve got big plans, believe you me!”
Charlie stopped in the road and Alma walked a few steps before she realized he wasn’t beside her anymore. She stopped and looked around.
“What?” she asked.
“He’s not botherin’ you is he? Not touchin’ ya?” Charlie asked.
“Ha! That’ll be the day! Just let ‘im try somethin’ like that! I’ll kill him’!”
“You sure?” Charlie insisted.
“Whad’da you care?” she asked.
Charlie scowled at her. “I thought we were friends, Alma. Friends look out for friends.”
“Well, thanks, but you don’t need to worry. He wouldn’t dare try anything. Besides, he’s not my type.” She scoffed.
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I’ve tried to think of everything you might need to format your manuscript properly. It might seem a little daunting….but it’s not…once you begin these steps it will go fast and be relatively simple. But if you get stuck, email me at trishsugar@aol.com and I’ll be happy to help.
(More) on How to Format a Novel when Self-Publishing.
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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS!
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Interview with Author, Carolyn Brown

Carolyn and her husband live in the small town of Davis, Oklahoma, where everyone knows everyone else, as well as what they’re doing and when—and they read the local newspaper on Wednesday to see who got caught. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. When she’s not writing, Carolyn likes to plot new stories in her backyard with her tom cat, Boots Randolph Terminator Outlaw, who protects the yard from all kinds of wicked varmints like crickets, locusts, and spiders. Carolyn Brown is the author of more than 100 novels. She’s a recipient of the Bookseller’s Best Award, and the prestigious Montlake Diamond Award, and also a three-time recipient of the National Reader’s Choice Award. Brown has been published for more than 20 years, and her books have been translated into 19 foreign languages. Many are available in audio format.

Q. Where do you write? Do you have a special room, shed, barn, special space for your writing? Or tell us about your ‘dream’ work space.

CB. I have my own little office in my house. I only have to walk across the hallway from my bedroom to go to work each morning. My husband, Mr. B, built a wall hung desk for me to clutter up with notebooks, calendars, etc. I try to clean it off each time I finish a book. Note that I said, “I try”…most of the time I end one book, and the very next morning I open up a file for the next one.

Q. Do you have any special rituals or quirks when you sit down to write? (a neat work space, sharpened #2 pencils, legal pad, cup of tea, glass of brandy, favorite pajamas, etc.)

CB. I do like my pajama pants, but I don’t have a favorite pair. Nothing special, really…just that I get something down on paper (computer) each day.

Q. Could you tell us something about yourself that we might not already know?

CB. I didn’t get a toe in the door of a publishing company until I was forty nine years old. I’d been trying to get someone to look at my work for twenty five years before I finally got a break. Someone asked me about that time what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I simply asked them, “Do I have to decide today?” The next week I got the call from an editor who said she wanted to buy both the books I had sent to her.

Q. What tools do you begin with? Legal pad, spiral notebook, pencils, fountain pen, or do you go right to your keyboard?

CB. I use the computer to write. My thought process goes from brain to fingertips, but I use a notebook, spiral or composition either one, to make notes. I use one of those little inexpensive recipe boxes when I’m writing series. Each character, included dogs, horses and donkeys get their own index card, so I can keep up with age, eye color, height and all the information about that character for later books in the series.

Q. Do you have a set time each day (or night) to write?

CB. I usually write from eight to fourteen hours a day, beginning in the morning and keeping at it until I finish my daily word count.

Q. What’s your best advice to other writers for overcoming procrastination?

CB. Write! Don’t Whine! Whining about my muse has left me, I have a block and I can’t write today so I’m going shopping or I’m going to lay out on the beach won’t work. If you want to be a writer, you have to be disciplined. Write something every day even if it’s crap. As Nora Roberts says, “You can fix crap. You can’t fix nothing.”

Q. Where/when do you first discover your characters?

CB. Any and everywhere. Mr. B and I were in a little café having a burger when we were on a research trip. A lady came in with a bunch of kids. They were all from a group home for foster kids, and one little guy sat over by himself and didn’t talk with the others. That little fellow became an autistic child in one of my next books.

Q. What first inspired you to write?

Tune in next Friday for the conclusion to this charming interview.
You can visit Carolyn at www.carolynbrownbooks.com.
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My weekly BLOG features INTERVIEWS with best-selling AUTHORS! May: Joram Piatigorsky, June: Mike Maden writing for TOM CLANCY. July: Guest Blogger Desiree Villena, August: Carolyn Brown
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