Category Archives: Writing

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Food, Reading, Writing

Food in Fiction – Part 4 – Guest Post…

4 Comments

Christine Campbell brings us Part 4 of Food in Fiction as a guest on The Story Reading Ape. Christine’s novels tend to feature food. Yet even if our novels don’t, she suggests at least deciding what and where our characters like to eat, in order to enhance their reader appeal. Good advice! Hop over to Chris’ blog for the full story …

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

unnamed-3

In this, the fourth and last article on the topic of Food in Fiction, I thought I’d let you into a badly kept secret.

Having been married since forever and having brought up a family of five, I can cook – but I wouldn’t say I was good at it. Perhaps that’s why none of the main characters in my novels have been great cooks. I’ve had my share of disasters too, though not ever on the scale of Hugh’s in my WIP, For What it’s Worth.

By the time she turned into the communal stair of the flats, Sandra had built up a fair head of steam in her boiler, fuelled by the indignity she suffered at work set against the memory of Hugh lying warm and sleepy in their bed when she left him this morning and sitting with his feet on the coffee table all day…

View original post 895 more words

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Fantasy, Reading, Writing

Writing on the Edge – A World of Dark Fantasy – Guest Post…

4 Comments

As a guest on The Story Reading Ape, Jaq D Hawkins discusses the inherent challenges of writing dark fantasy. The characters don’t normally eat, drink, dress, or toilet like normal folk; so fleshing out a story demands considerable imagination . . .

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Untitled

I never set out to write Dark Fantasy. As a lifelong Fantasy genre reader, all I had in mind when I started my goblin series was to create my own Fantasy world. The darker aspects came of their own accord.

This is what happens when a writer gets fully in tune with their muse. Stories go in unexpected directions and worlds form, the details working themselves out as the plot moves along. The experience of creating a world is very similar to that of reading about one, yet that little bit more exciting because the writer has godlike power to form it in whatever direction flows naturally from their own subconscious.

Horror writers and Dark Fantasy writers share some common ground. Both delve into the deeper motivations of human or non-human characters. Both explore the darker aspects of the subconscious and the fears that lurk in its deeper realms.

Untitled

One…

View original post 598 more words

Author Resources, Editing, Indie Publishing, Reading, Writing

EDITING 101: 14 – Self-Editing Part 2…

2 Comments

In Part 14 of her Editing 101 series on The Story Reading Ape, Susan Uttendorfsky brings us Part 2 of Self-Editing. She discusses proper and improper usage of semi-colons and commas. Consider these examples: Woman without her man is nothing; Woman, without her man, is nothing; Woman, without her, man is nothing. Hop over to Chris’ blog and enjoy the fascination of punctuation 🙂

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy of Adirondack Editing

Self-Editing Part 2

Last week in Self-Editing Part 1 we talked about some specific tasks that can be done while self-editing.

Today we’re going to talk about tasks involving grammar.

Grammar was developed to make writing understandable since you’re not there to correct any misunderstandings.

Your writing needs to stand on its own two feet!

  1. Using commas properly. The first use of the comma is to replace the word “and.”

  • I went to the store and bought apples and pears and bread and milk.

  • I went to the store, buying apples, pears, bread, and milk.

The first example is not wrong, but the excessive use of the word “and” makes it hard to read. A comma is generally not used…

View original post 513 more words

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Reading, Writing

Learning as You Write – Guest Post…

4 Comments

Mary Clark is a guest on The Story Reading Ape, discussing Learning as You Write: “it’s okay to write what you don’t know, as long as you make every effort to come to know it.” When I began writing my latest novel, I thought no research would be involved. Was I taken by surprise? You bet. And I thoroughly researched everything for the sake of authenticity. Hop over to Chris’ blog to read about Mary’s personal experience . . .

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Untitled

Writers are advised by editors, agents, academic and self-appointed experts to write about what they know. Some people have pointed out that would be boring. As writers we live in a world of imagination. Some tend to exaggerate, or have a quirky point of view, but many of us simply wonder what’s beyond the known world. We daydream, pay close attention to and analyze our sensory experience, and experiment with ideas. In other words, we go beyond the bounds of ordinary existence. In a way our characters are avatars for ourselves as we explore a made-up world, one created from what we know and what we are curious to know.

When I wrote Miami Morning, I broke the rule on writing what you know. Instead, I was fascinated by what I could learn about topics that were new to me. As I wrote, for instance, I was challenged, just…

View original post 238 more words

Authors, Writing

5 Basic Tips on Staying Focused When Writing a Book – Guest Post…

2 Comments

The Story Reading Ape features guest Audrey Throne discussing ways authors can remain focused while writing. And much to my disappointment, her list doesn’t include eating chocolate 🙂 Hop over to Chris’ blog for these common-sense tips . . .

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

hhe11o

To be able to work with sheer dedication, a writer needs the ability to fully concentrate and stay focused at all times. Maintaining your focus for sustained periods can be a difficult task to do. Psychologists suggest a powerful form of concentration for writers called ‘flow’. This refers to an individual fully engaging in the task they are doing. For a writer, ‘flowing’ concentration is essential to write pieces with utmost fluency.

Inability to concentrate can be fruitless, especially for a writer. In order to make each day productive, writers must employ these 5 basic tips to stay focused on work and exercise their minds for better concentration:

Stick to the Schedule

The type of schedule you keep doesn’t matter as long as it caters to your needs and helps dedicate time to your book on a regular basis. If you’re not experienced in writing projects, avoid scheduling as you…

View original post 806 more words

Author Promotion, Books, Short Stories

Guest author Sally Cronin, Christmas story special, blogging and promotions, D.G. Kaye

15 Comments

Author Sally Cronin is a guest today on author D.G. Kaye‘s blog, sharing her beautiful Christmas story as well as a delectable but rather dubious cake recipe that’s sure to put a sparkle in one’s holiday spirits. Both Sally and Debby are prodigious supporters of other authors and regularly host them on their blogs. Hop over to Debby’s blog to read Sally’s delightful story and learn more about her . . .

Source: Guest author Sally Cronin, Christmas story special, blogging and promotions, D.G. Kaye

Today’s guest post is a little different from my usual Friday Authors with a new book post. In light of the Christmas season, I’ve invited my dear friend, author/blogger, and huge promoter of the works of other artists, Sally Cronin, whose blog is The Smorgasbord Invitation , to come over and share one of her famous short stories for the season. I was thrilled that she had written a new and special story just for me and my blog. Sally has been writing a story series called ‘What’s in a Name’, using alphabetical order to choose a name for the story. In this story, Sally invited me to choose a name to base her story on. I gave her the name ‘Sanja’, my best friend for over 35 years.

sally-new

For those of you who don’t already know Sally, her blog is an eclectic mix of her fabulous stories, as well as a ‘Smorgasbord’ of posts from everything to her educating series on health, her ‘laughter is the best medicine’ series, her series on musical legends, which she hosts with William Price King, as well as her numerous promotions she runs, inviting writers to submit their new books, promotions on their books, short story features, and much more.

I’d also like to mention here that Sally has been running quite a few promotions for the past month, inviting writers to submit their Christmas stories to be featured on her blog, and she’s been running a series of books featured from her Virtual Book Cafe, where she archives books from the many authors who’ve appeared on her blog.

Since it’s now early December, you can still check with Sally to see if there are any slots still available for you and your stories to be featured, but in case she’s already full, you will still want to visit her blog to read some of the wonderful stories and learn about new books and authors and read some wonderful contributions by other authors for seasonal reads. And stay tuned for Sally’s new promotions for the new year.

Here is the link to what Sally is offering for promotions for Christmas.

Visit Sally’s – Bloggers Around the Christmas Tree post and learn what types of goodies she has planned to share for the season on her blog.

Also, check out Sally’s Free Blog and Book Promotions because there are numerous promotions she offers to be featured on her blog year round.

Now, grab yourselves a coffee (or a glass of wine) and let’s read Sally’s Christmas tale.

Sanja – A Princess in Despair – A Christmas Fairy Tale.

View original post

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Reading, Writing

Meet Guest Author Jeremy Breitenbach…

12 Comments

Author Jeremy Breitenbach is a guest on The Story Reading Ape today. Jeremy is legally blind with cerebral palsy and uses Braille. He is also the author of 6 books, loves watching TV and movies as well as playing video games, and wishes to donate a portion of the sale of his books to charity. The next time I think something is just too hard or beyond my capabilities, I’ll remember Jeremy. He is an inspiration and a bright light in the world …

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

jeremy-breitenbach-02My name is Jeremy Breitenbach.  I am legally blind with cerebral palsy and use Braille. 

The cerebral palsy limits me to the use of one hand, my left.  I have limited vision in my left eye and none in my right, but I can watch TV, watch movies, and play video games if I sit close to the TV screen. 

Some of my favorite TV shows are: the Dragon Ball franchise (which is comprised of: Dragon Ball, the Dragon Ball movies, Dragon Ball Z, the 15 DBZ movies and 2 specials, Dragon Ball Z Kai (the revised Dragon Ball Z), Dragon Ball GT, and the Dragon Ball GT special), Ghost Adventures, Ghost Adventures: Aftershocks, The Middle, The Simpsons, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, the entire Star Trek franchise, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (the one from 1983), Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, The Legend of Zelda (1989…

View original post 2,606 more words

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Fantasy, Reading, Writing

Call to arms.

6 Comments

Congratulations to Adele Marie Park on the cover release of her first book, WISP! It’s always exciting to publish a book, but the release of one’s first book holds a special place in the heart. Hop over to Adele’s blog to learn more about the magic and secrets soon to be revealed …

Adele Marie's avatarAdeleMariePark Author

Well, not exactly but I’m extremely pleased and excited to announce that WISP, my first book to be published is nearly at the release stage. The edits have been done and done. The front cover is ready and beautiful it is. So, without further ado, I present the cover release of WISP.

The Blurb

Edra, a world where magic keeps dark secrets. Secrets which can get you killed.

The body of an elf is discovered in a treacherous area of the city. Wisp, a young Law Enforcer is assigned the case. It will turn out to be a case that changes his life forever.

Wisp tugs loose a thread in a tapestry woven from lies, secrets, corruption, and evil. His world as he knew it begins to change and when friendship turns to love: he has more to lose.

What started out as a murder case ends up becoming something which…

View original post 89 more words

Author Promotion, Authors, Books, Reading, Writing

A Crow Who Became a Fictional Character – Guest Post…

2 Comments

A lovely guest post on The Story Reading Ape by Olga Kuno telling us about Cyriusha the crow ~ a bird with a broken wing rescued and cared for by her family ~ who becomes a substantial character in one of her novels . . .

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

bird-silhouette-png-silhouette-of-robin-png-pigeon-silhouette-png-crow-a4rhb9-clipartImage Curtesy of Clipart Kid

As a writer, I have often been asked whether my characters are inspired by real-life people. My answer is generally negative. Of course, I use my world knowledge and personal experience when I write a book, and this includes observations of other people’s behaviors, reactions and opinions. I may even literally quote some non-standard phrases that people around me (particularly my husband) love to use. But I have never tried to describe a real, familiar, individual in a novel. With one exception.

This exception is not a human being, however. It is a bird. Specifically, a crow.

One of my first fantasy novels is about a woman who has a special talent of speaking to animals. Not speaking in the most literal sense of the word; rather, she understands them, takes care of them, teaches them – and they love her and cooperate with her…

View original post 671 more words

Author Resources, Editing, Indie Publishing, Reading, Writing

EDITING 101: 13 – Self-Editing Part 1…

7 Comments

In Part 13 of her Editing 101 series on The Story Reading Ape, Susan Uttendorfsky presents Part 1 of self-editing. She discusses searching for weak verbs and overused words, and how to vary sentence constructions. As I’m finalizing my manuscript and preparing to publish my next novel, this series has been extremely helpful. I’m sure you’ll find it helpful as well …

Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatarChris The Story Reading Ape's Blog

Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy of Adirondack Editing

Self Editing Part 1

Some of the things we’ve discussed previously are good to be on the watch for and remove, but there are other, specific tasks that can be done when a manuscript’s completed to help polish it. Since there are many of these odd jobs, this specific post will continue over time.

Editing your own work involves hard labor. Other authors have mentioned they make as many as ten to fifteen passes in editing, revising, and reworking, focusing on one or two aspects of self-editing each time. Those authors are to be commended, since writing a book is only one third of the work. Editing is the second third, and publishing and marketing take up the final third. You’re…

View original post 529 more words