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@wlkoenig
Adios Denizen!
Well, Denizen is done and is on its way to the publisher. Hope she likes it. I do. My beta readers did. I had a small celebration meal of bbq chops, sauteed mushrooms with onions, salad, mashed potatoes. Now back to Sylvia! You won’t believe what she’s up to this time!
On Denizen
You know you’re done when you can’t think of anything else to fix. I’m just going to let this little story settle for a couple days and see if something comes to mind. Then I’ll kick it out to my beloved beta readers. It’s on the way. Just hang on a little bit longer.
Do you Remember?
Years ago, there was a commercial about how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. Remember it? So now the question is, how many full rewrites does it take to finish a novel? Answer: As many as it takes. Still working on Denizen, folks. Sorry. Be patient. I think this rewrite is good. Then just a fine edit. Hopefully.
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It's a Wrap
Just as the beginning starts where things change, the ending should end where things return to normal, or near enough. In stand-alone novels, all loose strings are tied in a nice bow. The ending reminds us of what happened at the beginning. Things that were important there need to be important at the end too. Unresolved endings are usually for series, wherein the main plot appears to be mostly…
Middle Mayhem
Most novice writers give up when they get to the middle. They just don’t know what to do. It bores them with all the tedium of the journey. Nothing much happens. Maybe. Or maybe not. Like in the beginning, each chapter, each page, each paragraph has to lead the reader to the next. Unlike the beginning, the middle isn’t in a straight path at all. It meanders and wanders into unpredicted places.…
Beginning with the Beginning
It sounds funny to say this, but the beginning needs to be in the beginning. By that, I mean the story starts either when things deviate from the normal, or just before. Personally, I like to find the deviation moment and take two steps back from that. This puts the deviation moment roughly right at the end of my first chapter. A good hook. An encouragement to keep reading. Some writers will…
What's an Act?
We’re talking writing here, but the terminology is based on movies. An act is actually what’s written between the beats. A group of scenes that make up the story. Like beats, the number of acts is pretty much determined by genre. Romance, for example, has a basic 3 acts: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl. Simple. Mysteries have between five and nine acts. Fantasy and drama have a…
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On Beats
Back in the day, there was no such thing as ‘Beats’. This is a name that has come to us from the script writing industry. They come with all kinds of names that change according to who you’re reading. Nothing wrong with it, but it’s a bit confusing until you realize what they are: plot twists. No more than that. Acts are also from the script writing industry, but are the meat between beats.…
What's after that?
In my last post, I talked about the next steps after finishing a rough draft. In this post, I’m discussing the steps following that. Once I get done making an outline of what I’ve already written, I start making changes based on my notes. I call it red-lettering because I use red in my outline for anything I need to work on. Red-Lettering usually doesn’t take long. It’s just basic additions of…
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What's next?
I get asked all the time, “I wrote a book. What do I do next?” The very first thing I ask is, “Is the story finished? Have you written The End yet? Or are you still writing?” I usually get the answer that they’re still writing. So my first bit of ‘What’s next’ advice is to finish the book. If it’s a done book, then I ask if it’s all in the order they want. If they’re happy with it. And to…
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Recharging
For a few weeks now, I’ve been stalled at the same place in my writing. I’m only 4 or 5 scenes away from being finished with the rough draft. I know what’s next. I know what I want to write. I even know how I’m going to write it. I just can’t seem to pull the trigger on it though. So yesterday, I ran away. Threw myself into nature and sightseeing. Blew the cobwebs out of my brain. Yes, the…
Review
Sly as a Fox by Wendy L. Koenig is the second novel in the Sylvia Wilson Mystery series. The first novel, On the Sly, was reviewed about a year ago by another person who write for the blog, Curt Remarks, and he provided Ms. Koenig with great praise. I did not get to that book, but I just got my hands on Sly as a Fox and I didn’t put it down until it was finished. As a mystery/thriller, this…
Review
Author Wendy Koenig has done it again with this next mystery book in the Sylvia Wilson series. I was fortunate to have read the first book, On the Sly, which was an entertaining read as is this one. The journey continues for Sylvia and her family as a new mystery takes her and her brother on a dangerous mission to bring down bank robbers and find the mole. Its crazy to see how much trouble…
Review
If there’s one thing that Sylvia Wilson can count on, it’s that when her police officer brother makes a promise, he never breaks it.That’s why when he fails to check in after several days, his bartender sister starts investigating, even if it puts her at odds with the FBI.Author Wendy Koenig serves up the second installment of the Sylvia Wilson mystery series with Sly as a Fox. Sylvia starts…
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Review
In this next instalment, we find Sylvia procrastinating over the remodel of her bar, Smugglers, which was completely trashed during the events of book one.Still coming to terms with what happened in September – denial, much? – Sylvia has been suffering nightmares but refuses to get counselling, when her brother’s FBI handler, Duante Dawes, informs her that, while he was working deep undercover,…
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Review
“SLY AS A FOX (The Sylvia Wilson Mysteries Book #2) by Wendy Koenig is a fast-paced, action-adventure mystery/thriller with a wise beyond her years, Krav Maga fighting, female protagonist who is a bartender/bar owner. While this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, but to get more character background and action try out the first book, On the Sly, which I also…
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Character Inspiration
Discovering new characters begins with many different sources. On a recent trip to Finland to visit a friend, we had occassion to eat at a high end restaurant. Okay, so we MADE lots of occasions to do that. Anyway, our sommelier was charming, obviously smart, and a bit shy. He also was very well educated. He spoke with his hands and rounded his words. My friend and I were rapt watching him…
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