CAN YOU USE CAMERA TECHNIQUES IN WRITING A NOVEL?

We interrupt this blog post...momentarily...for this GREAT announcement! The cover art for Dream Weaver is a semi finalist in the AuthorsdB.com cover contest! Thanks to all who voted! New info on the semi final vote will be posted here in the near future. We now return you to the previously scheduled post....

I'm not exactly sure how I found CS Lakin, but I'm glad I did. I don't subscribe to a lot of blogs, but Lakin's 'Live. Write. Thrive.' is one I love. So, I wanted to share her blog with my visitors.

Susanne, tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a novelist, a copyeditor, a writing coach, a mom, a backpacker, and a whole bunch of other things.

I teach workshops on the writing craft at writers’ conferences and retreats. If your writers’ group would like to have me teach, drop me a line. I live in California, near San Francisco, just so you know how far away I am from you and your writer friends. I also enjoy guest blogging, so contact me if you’d like me to write a post on writing, editing, or Labrador retrievers (just threw that in there; I’m not an expert but I love them). I am, however, quite the expert on pygmy goats. I ran a commercial pygmy goat farm for ten years and delivered a lot of kids! So, if you need some goat advice, I’m your gal.

A novelist, copyeditor, and writing coach? What kind of services to you provide?

I love to help writers with their novels. I specialize in thorough annotated critiques (I do about 200 partial and full manuscripts a year!), so if you have a manuscript that needs some work or you’re not sure if it does, check out my site specifically dedicated to my critique services. You’ll find a lot of informative articles on why you might need a critique and how to choose the right editor for your needs. Not many copyeditors are writers, and few know how to critique all the major elements that hold a novel together.

Wow, that sounds great! What kinds of resources can working authors expect to find on your blog?

CS and Coaltrane

Here are a couple of articles I wrote for other authors.
first page checklist for Novels
Fiction Critique Checklist
And some posts I've written as a guest blogger.
How to Tap into Your Passion Every Time You Write ~ on Write to Done
The Secret to “Show, Don’t Tell” ~ on Wordplay, K. M. Weiland’s blog
5 Key Questions to Ask as You Write Your Novel ~ on Write to Done

You have a unique technique (say that fast 3 times) that you share with authors, in which, you combine writing and film. Tell us about some of those posts.

Cinematic POV—Anything but Subjective

In last week’s post I introduced the POV shot used in movie scripts. In a screenplay, when a POV shot is specified, the writer is instructing this segment of film to be shot as if looking through the eyes of a particular character (or object, as we saw in the excerpt from The Fugitive). Sound familiar? It’s exactly what novelists do all the time. But there’s a difference.

Remember, the camera has no thoughts or feelings; it only observes and records. It’s a way of shifting what the camera is seeing, but it’s not subjective. It’s wholly objective. And this, for most novelists, is a bit foreign. For, POV and subjectivity seem to go hand in hand, right? Not in screenplays.

Using the camera shot POV is a great technique novelists can imitate. For some writers, the idea of showing a scene completely devoid of emotion, reaction, internalizing, and opining may seem counterintuitive—or downright counterproductive. Isn’t the whole point to tell a story up close and personal?

Follow Along for a Powerful Camera Shot

Depending on the point of view and style of writing, moving shots can either seem like they are occurring inside the character’s head in the way they view and interact with their world or can appear as if we are watching the character in motion. Follow simply means what it implies: the camera follows the character in action. In a novel written in omniscient POV, the camera will often “follow” the characters and action as the story is told. In a novel using first-person point of view, writers can give a sense of “following” the character by moving along with them as they go about their business.

Pan to Take It All In

This week we’re going to talk about PANs. No, not the things in your kitchen. A PAN is used by the screenwriter to tell the camera to move from one place to another. PAN stands for panoramic and implies the camera pivoting while mounted or on a tripod. A PAN operates in real time, showing how long it takes or how far a character has to move across a space, and it can show the spatial relationships that exist in the story.

PAN left, PAN right. Why? To get the reader to shift focus and draw her attention to some detail. It emphasizes the character noticing something. Or looking for something. Or following something.

 

I love this! It has given me a great perspective on my writing. I'm so glad I found you! But you're not just an editor and blogger. You're also a writer. These are just a couple of your books.

Susanne also writes Fantasy and YA Sci-Fi.

CS, thank you for visiting. I hope my visitors will find your site as helpful as I have.

AND COMING SOON FROM DREAM WEAVER NOVELS, THE TRAILER FOR DREAM WEAVER BOOK 1! AND MAYBE EVEN A NEW TITLE!

Thank you for taking the time to visit. You are so appreciated.
And as always...
Dare to Dream!
Su

#GrammoWriMo: Let’s Get Ready to Write!

GREETINGS!
As those of you who visit here often know, I recently posted a feature about a great website that's sweeping the internet called GRAMMARLY! I've used their editor and I am very impressed. It's a great resource for authors of every level.

I recently received the following letter from Nick from Grammarly. Check out what Nick had to say...
Su, hello.

I hope that all is well! Since we last spoke, my co-workers and I began planning a pretty cool writing project during the month of November that I think you'll have some interest in.

As you probably know, hundreds of thousands of writers sign up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) each year -- essentially volunteering to write one 50,000-word novel from scratch in a month’s time. That's a lot of writing for authors who may want to participate in NaNoWriMo, but are running short on free time.

In November 2013, Grammarly will throw its hat into the ring -- but with a twist. We plan to organize the largest group of authors to ever collaborate on a novel; we’re calling the project #GrammoWriMo, and we've published a blog entry here (see post below) to provide additional information on participation.

Since you are probably working on your own project for NaNoWriMo, I wanted to ask you if you have some time to help the Grammarly team spread the word about #GrammoWriMo via social media or on your blog. Let me know if I can provide you with any additional information.

Thanks, in advance,
Nick 

And I gotta love the guys name, just on principle.

#GrammoWriMo: Let’s Get Ready to Write!

by Allison VanNest • October 09, 2013

A 2002 survey confirms that 81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them — and that they should write it. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is as good a time as any to get started, and Grammarly wants to help.

We’re accepting submissions through October 25, 2013 from writers at all levels who would like to contribute to a community-written novel. Signing up with your email address will add you to the queue of authors planning to help write the novel, and Grammarly will notify you when it is your turn to contribute up to 800 words to your assigned chapter.Don’t worry — we’ll provide CliffsNotes so you will always know what is happening!

At the end of NaNoWriMo, Grammarly is aiming to publish a book that boasts the largest number of authors of any novel ever written. We want you to be one of the authors.

Sign up today.

To help us decide the plot of this epic novel, you can also complete a short survey here.

At the end of October, we’ll contact you via email to provide additional information and next steps. In the meantime, follow @GrammoWriMo on Twitter to receive updates.

Let’s get ready to write!

NO WRIMO FOR ME

Since I'm in the midst of finishing up Rock Star (Book 2 in the Dream Weaver series) and preparing it for the first round of beta readers, I will not be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. BUT, this event sounds like something I can participate in. 

How about you? Whether you're taking the WriMo challenge this year or not, you might find this challenge fun. I hope you'll consider jumping on board.

Thanks for stopping by. And as always...
Dare to Dream!
Su

MEET & GREET WITH MISS EMARI JEWEL SWEET

Introducing...

I'm kind of in between interviews and website posts, so I thought I would introduce one of my protagonists to those of you who are following along. So here goes:

Emari Jewel Sweet is a 17 year old orphan. She's lost her parents in a car crash, and to avoid being forced to return to public school by her uncle (Adrian), she has fought for and won legal emancipation from the Spokane Court system. 

Not Your Average...

Emari and her best friend, Ivy don't believe in being average and vehemently resist becoming "cookie cutter kids" and falling into status quo. The two relate best with the emo/goth kids, black eyeliner and nails, black wardrobe and skulls; but they're both total Potterheads and borderline Twi-hards. Emari often teeters on the razors edge of self-harm, tho she's only been brave enough...or pained enough...once to try anything.

On The Outside

Jane Sweet, Emari's mother, originates in Ireland and passed down her coppery locks and vivid emerald eyes to her daughter. Emari is all of 5' 2", petite build and creamy ivory skin. She doesn't care much about what she looks like, but she's always had a secret wish that her lips were a little more 'Angelina Jolie.'

It's The Inside That Counts

Before

Before the accident, Emari was a content emo chick...content to dwell in her self-imposed darkness, and spend long hours on end haunting the local grave yard. Zecharias & Jane Sweet were real estate investors, with investments that span the Eastern half of Washington state. They provided well for their daughter, an only child, so Em is never really in want of anything. She's one of those weird kids that never feels the need to distance herself from her parents, who have always been the 'cool parents.' Emari is confident and dorky...and confident in being dorky.

After

But after the accident, Emari's delicate world collapses...all around her and deep within her. She's catatonic with grief and only Ivy can reach her in her crumbling world. Despite not being in the car when it crashed and burned, Em has night terrors of the accident...over and over and over again. Her screams rip through the walls of her cottage and reverberate off the towering pines that surround it. And only the dream of a dark-eyed stranger, her 'angel', can deliver her from the nightly assault.

Thanks!

Well, there's Emari in a nut shell. So thanks for letting me introduce Emari Sweet to you. You can read more of her story in Dream Weaver and I hope to introduce 'the dark-eyed stranger' Nickolas Benedetti to you soon; as well as Ivy, Jesse, Sabre and Eddyson (he's the cutest by far!!) (You can find some of Sabre James' backstory in this blog's archives.)

And as always...

Dare to Dream!!!

Su

STORY-READING APE READS DREAM WEAVER!

THE STORY READING APE

Well, not exactly. But the Ape is featuring Dream Weaver today, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013. The link will continue to be live even after that date so you can still check it out if you're so inclined.

INDIE TRIBE

I finally did it. I actually paid for advertising on someone else's site. But Indie Tribe is pretty well known and the fee was less than $10 for the month. I figured, hey, why not? I was a bit late getting my stuff in so you have to scroll all the way to the bottom to see it.

COMING UP

On SALLIE'S BOOK REVIEWS & MORE

My friend and fellow author, Kandy Kay Scaramuzzo referred me to this site. My interview will post on November 2, 2013. 

PARANORMAL PALOOZA (link will be posted and go live Oct. 19)

Author of the very popular, Aberrant, Ruth Silver is hosting a month long paranormal showcase of paranormal books and authors. My post will go live on October 19, 2013. There's lots of spooky stuff to check out throughout the month, so you might want to check back often. AND, we've included my first ever Rafflecopter giveaway. I've offered two copies of Dream Weaver in whatever format the winner chooses.

On October 31, Dream Weaver will be featured on IMAGINEER-ING. I will update the link that goes directly to the interview when it goes live, but the above link will take you to his main site page where you can check out what he does.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

The book promo site ASKDAVID.COM was inundated with author requests for promotion of their books. So much so, that David had to close submissions and turn people away. Luckily, I got my info in to him before that happened. So now Dream Weaver is on AskDavid's list of books - an apparently coveted place to be. 

Thank you as always for stopping by.

And as always...

Dare to Dream!

Su

 *      *Not ready for Summer to leave, but Fall sure brings some pretty leaves*      *