Five Diseases All Writers Should Be Aware Of

Writing is generally considered a low risk profession. But there are several serious--and even terminal--diseases to be on the lookout for. Here are a few that affect me.

1. Obsessive Compulsive Editing Disorder (OCED). I edit everything from the back of cereal boxes to notes from my kids to whatever novel I'm reading. I wish I could turn it off, but there doesn't seem to be a switch. It's almost impossible for me to read a book without a pencil in hand to add a comma here or delete a word there. I hate it. I just want to enjoy the story.

2. Unintentional Analytical Plot Predicting Syndrome. (Also known as Beat Beating.)  I can't watch a movie or TV show without analyzing the plot and trying to predict the ending. My husband asks me why I even bother watching any more because I always know what's going to happen.

3. Author Attention Distraction Disorder (AADD, also frequently referred to as "crazy"). I'm constantly distracted. Not by shiny toys and squirrels, but by everything inside my head. "Mom, this is really important. I have to have one hundred..." One hundred. Yes! That's it! What if my main character lives a hundred miles away? That would put enough strain on the relationship to make the scene work better and lead right into the climax. But then the villain... "Mom? Did you hear me?" "What? Is someone talking to me?"

4. Blood Shot Twitchy Eye Syndrome. Some call it insomnia, when you wake up in the middle of the night because you just had this great idea and you can't go back to sleep because scenes and dialogue keep playing out over and over in your mind. Please just make it stop!

5. Acute Hyper-Friendlessness Complex (AKA: Loner's Disease). I've always been an introvert, but since I started writing, it's blossomed into an epidemic. A single person epidemic. How can I have time for friends when I have scenes to write, edits to make, and research to do. I've already got hoards of voices in my mind, why do I need more? Come on people! What's more important here? Real life or the fictional world I've created in my head?

What diseases do you suffer for the sake of your art?

Your Personality Revealed through Twitter

 I just read an article about some research they've been doing on social networks--specifically Twitter.

Researchers have developed special software that does personality-profiling and then categorizes the user into one of five "dimensions of personality" as recognized by modern psychology.

Those categories are: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Research has already proven that extroverts prefer Coca-Cola over Pepsi, and Agreeable people prefer Pepsi.

By analyzing specific words in our Tweets, they can determine our personality type. This profiling software can draw a reasonably accurate personality profile from just 50 tweets, and very accurate from 200.

What is all this personality information good for? Advertising of course.

Advertisers currently try to understand their customers through basic demographics and existing buying habits. But with this new software, the researchers believe, they would have a better approach to advertising by discovering our deep psychological profiles.

Hmmm. Interesting. 

How do you feel about this? 

[Information from The Economist, May 25-31st 2013; "No Hiding Place"]

[graphic from google images]

The Trouble with Juliet

I love Shakespeare. Anyone who knows me knows that.

I'm sorry to say, Romeo and Juliet is one of my least favorites. Partly because it's been done so many times, but mostly because Romeo and Juliet always seem a little insane. Maybe that's Shakespeare's point: Combine teenage mentality and true love and well, it's not going to run smooth.

Which is why I find this so hilarious.



What are your thoughts on Romeo and Juliet?
Which Shakespeare is you favorite?

Why Do We Read?

I recently read a book that asks the question Why do we read?

The author--through the voice of one of the characters--suggests that in literature, everything has a meaning. But it is the experiences in our own lives that shape what the meaning is and how it affects us.

Reading causes us to ask deep questions. Like what is the meaning of my life? Why am I where I am in life? Where will this path lead me? What is good and what is evil? What is love? What is my role in my life's story?

He suggests that as we read, we relate to the characters in such a way that we find the part of our lives or personality that parallels them, and we become them.

He says, "If we take these stories too literally, if we expect our personal lives to always end with a handsome prince, most of us will close our books with shattered dreams. Yet, on the other hand...if we don't take the meaning of those stories literally, if we treat these tales as simply entertainment, we miss the deepest, most life-shanging aspects of the stories. We miss the entire reason they exist." (The Rent Collector by Camron Wright)

I've always believed that reading is more than just entertainment. That by picking up a good book, I'm learning something about life, and more importantly, learning something about myself.

So that's the question. Why do we read?

Hiatus: AKA Vacation in Paradise

I'm on vacation this week in Hawaii. It's my first time here--and we stay till the end of the week. We've rented a beach house in Laie. 

I'm open for suggestions on the things we should do, places we have to see, or restaurants we can't miss. 

Here are a few pics of our first two days:

My hubby and kids at the birthing stones of the kings. 

The view from our beach house!

BEST BURGERS AND SHRIMP PLATES EVER!

Pineapple. 

Sunset from our deck. 

A Change of Plans

Congratulations to my friend and fellow author Donna K. Weaver! Her new novel, A Change of Plans, is all shiny and new and out now.

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old, Colorado high school teacher wants to do is forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. Lyn plans a vacation diversion; fate provides Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world and temporary friendships, her emotions come alive.

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he's navigating, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn is on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs from Braedon and what he has to offer.

Their confusing relationship is bad enough, but when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling excursions in American Samoa things get worse. Paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped and Lyn's fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

 AMAZON | GOODREADS

And here's the cool book trailer:

Author Bio:

I'm a Navy brat who joined the Army and has lived in Asia and Europe. Because I sailed the Pacific three times as a child, I love cruising and wish I could accrue enough vacation time to do more of it with my husband. We have six children. Our eight grandchildren live all over the world. At fifty, I decided to study karate and earned my black belt in Shorei Kempo.

After doing city council minutes for twenty years, I decided to write something a little longer and with a lot more emotion--and kissing.

Read more from Donna at Weaving a Tale or Two. 

Book Series or Stand-Alone?

I feel like books series are reaching epidemic proportions. It's hard to find a book that's NOT part of a series.

From a marketing standpoint, I can clearly see the advantages. Hook the reader and sell three books instead of one. More book sales equals more money. The author creates a name and a brand for themselves, and everyone's happy.

Or are they?

From a reader's standpoint, I'm not sure I'm sold on the series approach. Don't get me wrong, some series are amazing.

But in writing a series there are some inherent problems, and unless the writer is unusually skilled, these problems can lead to very disappointing books.

Here are the two issues that concern me the most:

Problem 1- Once the first book is complete, if the author has done their job well, so is the character arc. The character arc is one of the main story elements that keeps a reader hooked and reading to the end. Consequently, the next few books in the series often fall flat. How many times have you LOVED the first book in a series and the rest were only okay?

Problem 2- The first book leaves you hanging because the character arc is incomplete and the conclusion unsatisfying. This is a very popular writing trick to get readers to buy the next book. But whenever I read a story like this, I have to ask myself if the author considers me a reader or a number. Are they writing to perfect the craft or to make a sale.

This is where the tricky part comes in, because perfecting the craft and selling books are both important. It's a fine and difficult line to walk. As an author, I can relate. We all want to write the best story we can, but unless that story sells, we're just people sitting in our sweatpants at a computer all day.

Do authors who write series sell more books? It's very possible that they do.

Do authors who write stand-alone books win more awards? It seems to me they do--although I haven't done official research.

What are your thoughts? Do you prefer a series or stand-alone?