Tag: Guest Authors

Being A Biographer

alexbinkley42

By Stephen Nelson

Biography is a genre perhaps some authors wouldn’t think about writing. A biography can be of someone who is or was famous, infamous or unknown to readers until they read about them. Not many people can identify the author(s) of biographies unless the readers follow the genre.

I’ve decided to try writing a biography for genealogical purposes. This project has made me think of many factors before even starting to write a biography.

Some factors for consideration are:

1. Be comfortable doing research, notetaking, doing interviews, being organized and  possibly travelling to places significant to the subject’s life. 

2. What is the subject’s appeal and if readers would be interested in them?

3. Have any biographies been written before on the person?

4. Too many published biographies can diminish interest in the biography you considering to write. On the other hand, if there hasn’t been a biography written about someone, is there enough interest in the person to warrant one being written?

There should be a reason about the subject to keep you interested in writing the biography. 

5. Know your target audience. An adult wouldn’t be as interested in a teenage singer and a young adult would not be as interested in an historical figure. Write the biography to the educational level of the target audience.

6. The information sources used in the biography being written should be compiled in a bibliography. Fans of the subject, biography genre readers and fact checkers will want to know where the facts and details are obtained.

7.  Keep a copyright authorization folder or file and backup to protect you as an author against any legal action. Written permission from the living subject or their estate and any source is required to use their photographs or documentation. Documentation requesting permission to use something in the biography and the authorization correspondence should be retained.

It’s better to be prepared before starting to write.

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Watch That Moon

alexbinkley42

Bob is a local author and publisher at Loose Cannon Press. Here are some suggestions on writing from him.

By Bob Barclay

I would like to encourage my fellow writers to pay attention to the moon. It is one of our most powerful natural symbols, and we all use it to set our scenes. But, like everything else in the natural world, the moon obeys the immutable laws of the universe, so we should treat its appearance with respect.

Even well-known professional authors forget that plausibility does not cease at the edge of the atmosphere. For example, and internationally acclaimed author and winner of prestigious awards writes that “a crescent moon was rising in the west.” Impossible: as the Earth rotates, all celestial objects, including the moon, rise in the east and set in the west. The crescent moon rises in the east before dawn.

Another award-winning author describes her protagonist walking out to the ice rink late at night, lit only by the thinnest crescent moon. Again, not possible: the new moon is a dusk phenomenon, and it would have long since set; the scene could only be illuminated by a waxing moon, half or greater.

“The full moon, amid a field of a million stars, lit the scene as bright as day,” writes a well-known Canadian author. However, when the moon is full and high its glare washes out the stars. Only the brightest of stars can be discerned at the full moon.

One can have a million stars, or one can have a brilliant full moon, but not both. I have read of a full moon floating high in the sky at sunset, when orbits dictate that as the sun sets in the west, so the moon rises in the east.

One must also be careful to address the passing of time. In one classic novel, a raft passing down a river is lit by a full moon, while the very next day the moon has become a crescent. Such inattention to detail causes the reader to question the plausibility of the entire world the author has created, so let’s try to avoid opening fissures in our narrative by ignoring the operation of the orbs.

NaNoWriMo Tips

alexbinkley42

by Stephen Nelson

When it comes to NaNoWriMo, writing a word count of 50,000 words or more in November is the goal.

Some hints or tips to increase your word count are simple. Revising the rough draft after November will decrease the word count, but at least the concept and idea of what you want to write is a bare bones skeleton.

Ideas to increase the word count are:

  • Identify each Chapter by Chapter followed by its number as Chapter 1, Chapter 2 etc. you can delete the word Chapter when revising if you want. Some writers have a title for each Chapter.
  • If you write addresses with numbers or phone numbers, spell out the numbers. The number 365 counts as one word, but three, six, five counts as three words.
  • I find that conversation or dialogue between characters is an easy way to add word count.
  • Describe a location, house, or room in great detail. Some authors dislike description because they want the reader to use their imagination. For NaNoWriMo, it’s a way to freewheel your writing. Sometimes more detail will give the writer inspiration for additional scenes.
  • Write scenes or chapter using the different senses.
  • Don’t forget to incorporate the weather conditions and time of day into a scene when it is appropriate.
  • Give characters a first name, a middle name and a surname. Identify the characters by their three names each time you write their name. You can call them by their first name or first name and surname in the final edit.
  • Adding a salutation to the character’s name will identify their profession, rank in society, gender and marital status. Doctor, Professor, Sir, His Royal Prince, Miss, Ms., Mrs. and Mister are examples to consider.
  • Do not use contractions. The key is to have more words in the November written novel or short story. You can always make contractions in December or later.