A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

The Fish Boil “Show don’t tell” is a principle of good composition. Of course a good book has descriptive narrative in it as well. The trick is to find balance. But it is easier said than done. I tend to have specific scenes in mind where I want to "show" what is happening and write narrative to connect one scene to another. Telling Here is an example of “telling.” You will remember it from an earlier entry. The restaurant was a little less than a mile away so they walked down Main Street acting like tourists, stopping to take in the colorful displays of local vendors. The two arrived at Grady’s log building about a half hour early. Patrons of the restaurant were invited out to the backyard of the structure where they stood around with their drinks in hand to witness the boiling of the fish. As two men piled wood on the fire, the host told his guests what they could expect. Sonja and Damon watched with fascination as the water in the cast iron kettle...

I have been calling my book Shirley’s Cuppa Joe, named after the coffee shop. My main character is Sonja. Shirley also has a story to tell. My critique group informed me I should never have my main characters names begin with the same letter. So do I change Shirley’s name or Sonja’s name? What's in a Name? If I change Shirley’s name, it changes the name of the character, coffee shop, and book. That’s not a problem. And although Shirley has had her name longer than Sonja, I am still not bound to it. ?? Cuppa Joe Changing Sonja’s name isn’t problematic for me either. She had a few different names in the drafting stages of my story line. I chose her name though because of its Scandinavian and Eastern European flavor. Wisconsin boasts a large number of Scandinavian and Eastern European citizens. Particularly Polish. (Hey I did my research!) So I think I may change Shirley’s name. I looked up the era in which she would have been born and scanned the most pop...

If you read last week’s post, you will remember that +Cindy Huff, my guest blogger, stated that beneficial to attending a conference are the connections you make with editors, agents, and fellow writers.  I attended two days of the Write-to-Publish Writers Conference in Wheaton, Illinois last week and do I have a story for you... In my latest novel, I wanted Sonja to invite some authors to her coffee shop. The idea was simple. Sonja could have a local author or an author who had written about Door County visit the shop and have a book signing. I first thought I might make up authors and books to highlight. Then I had the notion of researching to see if I could find a real author to include. One of the first books that came up in my search was A Door County Christmas.   It is a collection of four Christian romance novellas all set in Door County.  Hmmm… Sounds interesting so far. My husband, filled with kringle and pastries made in the name of resea...

Last year I was privileged to attend the Write-to-Publish Conference in Wheaton, IL. While there, I met a kindred spirit in Cindy Huff. Cindy is the President of the Aurora Illinois Chapter of Word Weavers . I have asked Cindy to contribute her insights on the value of attending a writer’s conference. So as you read this, I am once again attending the Write-to-Publish conference. I hope you are having as great a day as I am! Meet Cindy Huff Cindy Huff has been writing since she was a teenager. She has been published in a variety of publications such as Standard, Bread for Children, and Today’s Christian, Children’s Bible Hour, Splickety Magazine, and Christian Communicator and is a columnist for the Aurora Beacon News . Cindy has completed her first novel and continues to add to her short story collection. She is a regular contributor to Examiner.com Cindy is a Bible teacher at Hope Fellowship Church of Aurora, Illinois. Her teaching and drama gifts extend to wome...