And the Winners are....

 

And the winners are:

Alison - The Karma Club by Jessica Brody

Danah - The $10 Amazon Gift card

Congrats to the winners! Alison has already been notified. Danah, I tried to email you with the address you left in the comments, but it returned undeliverable. Please email me within three days or I will have to choose another winner.

This was my very first giveaway and it was a huge success. Thanks to everyone for participating.

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!!!

The winners were chosen using Random.org

Useful info, anyone

Welcome SheWriter's from the Blogger Ball. To get back to the Ball Click here.

I thought I'd share cool links to some awesome writing sites. And give a tip on the art of suspending your readers belief.

Awesome Links for writers:

Daily Writing Tips    

Storyfix Article

Muse It Up Conference/Info

Writing Tip:

How to suspend your reader’s belief

I write paranormal, science fiction, and, fantasy stories and my job is to make my readers believe what I write. No matter how far-fetched it may seem. How do I do this? I place my readers in a believable world initially, and have my protagonist react to that world in a realistic manner. Once my MC has credibility with the readers and has reacted normally, as my readers would to changes in their world, then I can add elements of fantasy, science fiction, etc. to the plot that the MC must overcome. But add those elements slowly. Don’t dump your MC into everything all at once and expect them to sink or swim…it’ll be too much. And your readers won’t believe it. I’m sure you’ve thought it, ‘Nobody could endure that,’ or ‘they’d go crazy or that just doesn’t seem believable.’ So sure go ahead and torture your MC, but do it a little at a time to make it more believable.

Do you have any writing tips? Come on and share it with everyone.

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!!!!

Blog Hop and Randomness

Hello, fellow She Writers!!! Glad you could stop by:

I thought I'd list some random things about my family and myself and offer a writing tip.

1. I have a teenage daughter. She recently came to us (the hubby and I) and wanted permission to date. So, you can imagine what my life is like right now!!!
2. My youngest daughter (8) is a total diva. She often looks at me crazy when I suggest clothes or hairstyles that she doesn't like. Seriously, I can't understand whose child she actually is. She's been picking out her own clothes since she was 2.
3. My husband is a hoot. He keeps me laughing and that's probably the biggest reason I keep him around. Oh, and the help with the kids is invaluable.
4. My family and I love playing card games, especially Phase 10.
5. My oldest daughter (15) is in love with Casey Abrams from American Idol. Seriously. She loves music and singing and she says he is the best "artist" on the show. Ever.
6. My favorite TV show of all time is "Lost." Of all times, no others even come close.
7. I think I have a super power. Seriously. I do. It hasn't fully materialized, but its there, lying dormant until the moment that I need it the most.

Okay, now for my tip.

Pacing is very important in your novel. If done right it can transform your work. I know that many people aren't fans of Stephanie Meyers, Twilight, but I am. For the simplest reason of all - the pacing was great. She didn't give everything away in chapter 2. No, she made you wait and languish over what would happen. Will they end up together or not? Another great YA novel that has awesome pacing is The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins (my favorite YA book- right now). Study both books and you can learn a lot about pacing. Even if your not a fan of either - you can read to learn.


The thing about pacing is it keeps your reader engaged. If you give everything away in the first chapter, what are they to keep reading for? Give them hints of what's to come (foreshadowing) but don't give away the big moment. And don't just give us one big moment. Give us a couple. Each time make the stakes even bigger and make us bite our nails with anticipation over how the MC is going to solve/get out of this one.

 Pacing people...it’s the star of the show.
 

Have a great day. Read a book and laugh!!!