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5  Common  Mistakes  New  Writers  Make

2/24/2015

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As a freelance editor, I get to see a lot of different manuscripts in many different genres. Through my editing, I’ve noticed a few mistakes that new writers (and some old) often make. Some of them, a simple copy-edit can take care of. Others, a much deeper developmental edit is needed, which many authors refuse to undertake. If you want readers to take your writing serious, you'll need to avoid these common writing mistakes.

Although there are other common errors in writing, these are the five I see the most. 

1)Quotation Usage

One of the most common errors I see comes with the usage of quotation marks and end punctuation. I get a lot of this:

“Hello”, she said.
“What’s up”? he asked.
“Hey”! Brandon yelled.

Quotation marks should come after the punctuation. The above phrases should look like this.

“Hello,” she said.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Hey!” Brandon yelled.

2)Switching Between Character Perspectives Mid-Scene

 Switching between two character perspectives (or seeing in the mind of two characters—God’s point of view) is both distracting and confusing. This is especially true if the entire book is from one character’s perspective, but shifts out of nowhere to the feelings/desires of a random character. If you do want to move between perspectives of characters, start a new scene with each shift. Your readers will thank you for it.

3)Dialogue that is Too Simple or Too Complex

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen a main character try to ride his way through a book by answering questions with some one-word answer. “Great.”    “Right.”      “Okay.” In the end, this character lacks development and sounds like he has nothing intelligent to say. I’ve seen characters with so much depth, oozing emotion and a deep outlook on life, only to follow up with a “Gotcha” when told that the world is about to be destroyed by a bomb and only he/she can stop it.

This can also go the other way with too much dialogue. We don’t want to read two pages of the main character talking about how he/she is going to disarm the bomb either.

4)Telling, Not Showing

Okay, so you’re setting up a scene and you want to describe every little detail of what is occurring or where the character is at, or you want to describe the very miniscule steps of opening a door or putting on clothes. Don’t. Show character action that is brief and to the point. Better yet, just say…”so and so opened the door.”

This is also true of dialogue. You don’t have to say, “Don’t do it,” John said excitedly, raising his voice. Instead, show us. “Don’t do it!” John yelled. Even excluding the end description and leaving it at the exclamation point shows the rise in John’s voice. Always try to show. Don’t tell. I personally make this mistake in my own writing, and have been reminded of it by Beta readers.

5)Lack of Character Development

This one is easy to do. You take your main character and you do a good job of showing us what he/she is doing. But, we never get to see what is going on inside. What emotions does this character have? What is he thinking when he just shot that criminal? What memories haunt him? If the reader doesn’t connect emotionally to the main character, you’ve lost all hope of making the reader sympathize with that character.

Hopefully, these little tips will be helpful in your writing.

~Brody

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Book  Releases,  Bestsellers  &  Breaking  into  the Business  with  Author  Rachael  Stapleton

2/6/2015

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It's with a profound pleasure that I get to interview author Rachael Stapleton, one of the first authors to reach out to me as I released my first book in January. Rachael is currently on her blog tour promoting her new book, and luckily for us, has graced us with her presence on this cold Friday. So let's talk book releases, bestsellers, and breaking into the business!


Tell us about your book, Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire. This is the second book of a series. What is the series about?

Correct. Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire is book two of the TEMPLE OF INDRA SERIES which centers around Sophia Marcil, a young librarian who inherits a sapphire from her Great Grandmother and is bestowed with the gift of time travel only to discover it’s a curse and she is now the object of a madman’s obsession.

In the second book, she’s returned from the harrowing yet wondrous journey into her past life—that of Princess Sapphira of Monaco with the regret that she was unable to protect her past self. She’s keeping a low profile, living in a cottage outside of Dublin, but she knows the man obsessed with her cursed gem is also out there somewhere. And really it’s only a matter of time before she realizes just how close—when Cullen proposes with the very sapphire that’s cursed her. As soon as it touches her skin, she feels herself being wrenched back in time.

That sounds intriguing. Oh and Congratulations on making the Amazon Bestsellers List.

Thank you! Yes. I was pretty excited. It hit around #38 on Tuesday when it released and then flew to #8 yesterday on the Kindle list. I was on two different lists in the Time travel Romance category. Last time I checked it had dropped to #62 but that’s the nature of the beast. I’m just happy to have been in the top 100 at all.
www.amazon.ca/gp/bestsellers/digital-text/5792818011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_kinc_1_4_last

 
What is some advice you would give new authors trying to break into the publishing world?

 Well the first thing I’d suggest is that your heart be one-hundred percent invested. If nothing else makes you happier than honing that perfect sentence or creating that imaginary world then you’re on the right track. Writing is an investment. Just like no one becomes an athlete overnight, no one becomes a bestselling author overnight. It takes practice and determination. I’m not rolling in cash YET but I see everything I’m doing as an investment in a long term career. The same way a doctor goes to school and does rotations for most of his young life, I write for peanuts because it’s improving my skill level, it’s flexing my brain muscle and I’m growing a fan base. Everyone wants an agent and wants to be mainstream but the odds of getting there right off the bat are fluky at best. Rejection is inevitably a large part of the process, so you have to be doing it for you, not for “them.” I personally don’t see the value in banging my head against a wall solely querying agents. Don’t get me wrong, I want to be mainstream and I did query agents but I also queried small presses and entered pitch contests which is how I got published. Eventually I WILL be a household name but life is a journey and this is just part of it. Enjoy the ride! And finally, if you can, join a writer’s group or organization. It can be a lonely climb at times, and creating a community can make all the difference when drowning in rejection letters! It’s also nice to have people to pop champagne with when the good news rolls in. I’m part of the B7 writers group as well as the WCDR and I wouldn't be here without them.

 
Well, now that all of the heavy questions are out of the way, let’s lighten things up. Of all of the Gilligan's Island characters, who are you most like and tell us why:

 
Funny you should ask that because I just took a Facebook quiz. (What else would I do when I’m trying to avoid writing content for my book marketing tour. :o LOL!) It turns out I’m Ginger, the movie star! Truthfully I’m probably equal parts Mary-Ann but Ginger was my fave. Who doesn’t love a good seductress?

 
Can you fake any accents?

G'day, mate. What do you say we get together later and throw a few shrimp on the barbie. (Channeling Dumb & Dumber) Not bad huh? Okay no. That would be a no.  I have researched many other languages though for my series. Cullen and his family are Irish and Monaco Palace from the first book was a bit of a melting pot. I love accents especially brogue but I only write them.

What else have you written?

Of course there is the first book in the series THE TEMPLE OF INDRA’S JEWEL which is available on Amazon. Aside from that, I have a short story—a prequel to how Sophia and Cullen really met—DINNER IN THE DARK being published in a Solstice Publishing Valentine’s Day Anthology. It comes out next week! There’s even a recipe for Dill Pickle soup in it. Yum!

What’s up next for you?

I’m taking the weekend off to sip hot chocolate and play in the snow with my kids. I’ll be back at it bright and early Monday morning—answering all of your questions on Penny’s Tales. www.pennyestelle.blogspot.ca. There will also be a review of my book Paranormal Romance and Authors That Rock www.pratr.wordpress.com. The tour will run until the 23rd. All stops are listed and linked on the media page of my website www.rachaelstapleton.com  The rafflecopter contest begins Monday on the Paranormal Blog. Hit the tour stops along the way to win 1 of 10 prizes.

Can we get a little teaser from the book?

Sure. I’ll give you something that I haven’t shared before—a scene from chapter seventeen involving Sophia and her best-friend Leslie. This was one of my editor’s favourites because she loves the duo’s dynamics.

Lightning lit the sky, revealing the outline of tree limbs through the kitchen window. It was followed so closely by a crack of thunder, which shook the house, that I thought the storm must be directly overhead. Leslie cleaned off her plate and placed it in the dishwasher. “Wow, it’s getting bad out there.”


My stomach tightened. Another thunderclap rattled the house as if on cue and I shivered. “Was it supposed to rain?”

Leslie smiled. “This is Dublin—it always rains, although when I lived here there wasn’t a lot of thunder. Let’s go watch the movie. I’ll protect you.”

“Yeah, you’d put the fear of God into a burglar.” I laughed, draining my wineglass for emphasis while staring at her petite five-foot frame.

“Hey! I’m tough! Although I do plan to be pretty inebriated tonight, so scratch that. You’re on your own, sister.”

I rolled my eyes and grinned. “Why did I let you talk me into a supernatural thriller?”

“It’s not that scary. I promise.”

“Yeah, well, now with the storm, it will be.”

“It’s just a little rain.”

“I know—I’m just jumpy ’cause of the Betty thing.”

Leslie’s eyes were shining. “You mean the fact that the poor woman was killed by your ex who is now stalking you?”

“Honestly, Leslie, you’re not helping.”

“What? I’m just trying to make you laugh. Where’s your sense of humor tonight?”

“It’s gone…much like Betty.”

“There you go,” she said, laughing.

I grabbed the bottle off the counter and double-checked the bolt on the door as I followed her into Cullen’s living room. A huge fireplace took up most of one wall. Cullen’s house was small but cozy. Once upon a time, it had been his family’s cottage. Most of the properties the O’Kelley family owned had been passed down through the generations.

My eyes focused on Leslie as she sat on the couch and pulled a book from her purse.

“If you don’t want to watch the movie, we could always use this?” She held it in front of her with both hands.

“Oh, you brought the book, that’s right. I need to put it in some sort of safe.”

“Why don’t you try using it—using the magic?”

“No way.”

“Come on, Sophia, it’s not like you to pass on a challenge. Throw yourself into it. Read through it at least, and see if there’s anything that can help you.”

“Last time I looked in it, I wound up with killer nightmares and I mean that quite literally. I dreamt about the crimes that my uncle Velte committed and, unfortunately, at times from his sick and twisted perspective. And I do not ever want to go back inside that pycho’s head.”

“That sucks. But what if there was a different spell that could help.” She gave me a look that oozed guilt. “Don’t be mad, but I had a look through it on my way here, and there’s a way to contact Rochus.”

“Leslie, what were you thinking?” I snapped, grabbing it out of her arms and setting it down.

Her face was guarded and careful. “What? Nothing happened.”

“Lucky for you. Who knows what happens when that book is opened? You could have wound up cursed like me.”

“Why do you see this as a curse, Sophia?” she asked softly.

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t you?”

“No. You’re living every librarian’s dream. Experiencing the past when the rest of us can only read about it.”

“Yes, but as you so lovingly reminded me, Nick is trying to kill me.”

 

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Curse of the Purple Delhi Sapphire
Temple of Indra Series
Book Two
Rachael Stapleton

Genre: Mystery, Adventure, Romance
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Date of Publication: February 3rd, 2015
ASIN: B00SNAF018
Print Length: 215 pages
Word Count: 66, 400
Cover Artist: Rebecca Boyd

 
Book Description:


As a librarian, Sophia Marcil loved reading, especially books about ancient curses and reincarnation, but she never imagined the legend of the Purple Delhi Sapphire was true until she inherited it and was transported back to a past life where she was murdered. Now she knows that not only is reincarnation real, but so is the devil’s magic locked inside the precious gem. Just as she’s about to tell her boyfriend Cullen about it, he proposes with an engagement ring made from a piece of the very sapphire that’s cursed her. Reeling from the shock and surrounded by his family, she allows him to place it on her ring finger. As soon as it touches her skin, she feels herself being wrenched back in time.

 Before she knows it, she’s wandering the hallway of an old Victorian house in the body of her great aunt. Unfortunately, her nemesis has also reincarnated in 1920—as one of her family members. Sophia struggles to locate the Purple Delhi Sapphire in time to prevent the deaths of those she loves, but she fails and returns to her present-day life, to the precise moment she left, with a deep understanding that her killer’s soul is also tied to the sapphire and every life she has, he is resurrected as someone close to her.

 Her stalker ex-boyfriend Nick seems like a prime candidate this time but she’s convinced she’s a step ahead of him, thanks to a tip from a medium, she knows that if she uses the magic of the stone correctly she can trap Nick’s soul in the sapphire and save herself. But when Nick is murdered, she finds evidence that has her questioning everything she thought she knew.

Is Cullen husband material or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Book Trailer: http://youtu.be/VCeG9eA09Fg


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                                    About the Author:


 

Rachel Stapleton spent her youth cultivating a vivid imagination inside the book lined walls of an old Victorian library where she consumed everything from mystery to biography, creating magical worlds, hidden elevators, and secret spiral staircases. At sixteen, she penned a column for the local newspaper and in 2006, wrote her first book featuring an adventurous librarian. 

 She lives in a Second Empire Victorian with her husband and two children in Ontario and enjoys writing in the comforts of aged wood and arched dormers. She is the author of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel and is currently working on a third book in the Temple of Indra series. 

 Visit her website and follow her on social media. Sign up to receive email updates:

www.rachaelstapleton.com 

http://rachaelstapleton.blogspot.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Rachael-Stapleton/137831156290570

https://twitter.com/RaquelleJaxson

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7271862.Rachael_Stapleton

http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Stapleton/e/B00IE9W804

https://plus.google.com/u/0/102115033706076327791/posts 

 

Tour giveaway 
10 E-Copies of The Temple of Indra’s Jewel. (The first book in the series.) 

 

Buy Links:

U.S.

Kindle (Publisher Website)
http://solsticepublishing.com/curse-of-the-purple-delhi-s…/…


Paperback 
http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Purple-Sapphire-…/…/ref=asap_bc…



Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/Curse-Purple-Delhi-Sapp…/…/ref=sr_1_1…


Canada:
Paperback 
http://www.amazon.ca/Curse-Purple-Sapphire-Ra…/…/ref=sr_1_1…



Kindle 
http://www.amazon.ca/Curse-Purple-Delhi-Sapph…/…/ref=sr_1_1…


 

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    Beyond  the  Skyline
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