Category Archives: Words: Serious Play

Where wordsmiths connect.

#5 Writing tip: Writing is not a solitary sport

Posted on by
Reply
Writers at Virginia Piper Writing House

Actual writers look like this. Kris Tualla, Tisha Pelletier and Laurie Fagen at the Virginia G. Piper Writer’s House at Arizona State University. ©2010 ANVidean

Picture a writer.

Do you imagine a frazzle-haired, pajama-clad recluse sitting at odd hours and brooding over a computer screen, fiendishly snacking or imbibing caffeine? Perhaps she paces the floor, or maybe bangs her forehead on the desk, until inspiration hits. She might spend long hours taking guidance from characters who “tell her what to write.” She may even pour through defunct manuals explaining all the nitpicky grammatical rules no one pays attention to any more in this day of abbreviating and texting?

Yeah, that’s how the movies depict us. But, in real life, writing isn’t effective in solitary. Great writers get out and explore life, listen to conversations, try out experiences, and share their craft.

Sure we sit in the quiet when we’re actually putting words together, but most of the writing takes place mentally and experientially before we sit down at our computer or notebook. At least it should.

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing fiction, nonfiction, or business memos…input from external sources encouraging emotional phrasing and storytelling gets your words read. Here are some ideas:

• Sit in a coffee shop to listen to conversations and watch mannerisms.

• Try doing something new, perhaps even something your book character or employees do, and note your emotional and mental reactions to include in your writing.

• Join a writing association. It can help you, even if you’re not writing books.

• Meet with a critique partner or group.

• Form your own writing group like my Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) tribe.

What do you do to garner input and experiences for your writing?

#4 Writing Tip: Captivate with Storytelling Content

Posted on by
Reply

Can you tell where I conducted this signing for my first, published fictional story? First one to comment below, gets a $10 gift card from this hot spot.

How can you truly captivate the readers of your blog, presentation, or book? With so many rampant messages vying for everyone’s attention at every turn, you need proven techniques to blast your message through—like storytelling.

One of the best ways involves content rife with storytelling. Content must tell something interesting, real and relatable. Even in business, stories serve to attach a customer to you emotionally. Simply, they hit home.

As a novelist, and avid movie fan, I adore stories. They’ve been a part of my life since I was a small child, starting when my Mom read the magical book The Secret Garden and chilling North To Freedom to my brothers and me. I became a constant reader in high school, especially of historical romances like Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, and…well…anything written by Jane Austin. As I grew older and started appreciating movies with amazing special effects like Star Wars, sci-fi and fantasy became my favorite genre(s). Those continue as my favorites today. Yes, I am a total LOTR and Harry Potter fan girl, and I stand proud.

I self-published my first novel in 2011 and, although it wasn’t written to fit my favorite genre, Rhythms & Muse culminated a life dream for me—along with its soundtrack of five original songs I wrote and performed. Today, I am full-force into writing a young-adult fantasy adventure: the Delfaerune Rhapsody trilogy. This focus on stories and writing led me to my current career in which I help authors and visionary entrepreneurs share their messages through relatable stories, available technology, and creative word of mouth marketing.

So, see what I did there? You’ll note my own tale included the six basic elements in a story:

  1. Introduction: “As a novelist…adore stories.”
  2. Initiating incident: “They’ve been a part…to my brothers and me.”
  3. Rising action: “I became an avid reader…and proud of it.”
  4. Climax: “I self-published…wrote and performed.”
  5. Falling action: “Today, I am…trilogy.”
  6. Dénouement/Conclusion: This focus…and word of mouth.

I bet you found that:

  • You connected more to the story section of this blog entry than the instruction part.
  • You formed mental pictures, which captured your imagination and helped you relate to me.
  • You got the sense that I really enjoy what I do and might actually be pretty good at it. (Well, I’ve been doing it long enough, I’d better be.)

That’s what you want your content to do. Engage!

So, what other ideas can you share about making content captivating? What techniques to you use?

P.S. If you want training to help create your stories, consider contacting my friend and associate Andrea Beaulieu, who specializes in performance coaching with a big emphasis on storytelling.

#3 Writing tip: Develop your book or content idea

Posted on by
Reply

Before you can write anything—a book, a Web page, an article, a post—you must create a concept to intrigue readers, emotionally grips them, and keep them reading. “The idea” serves as the foundation for your content.

Suffering from a lack of inspiration or imagination? Here are my tips for getting started:

Picture your audience

    • Treat this as THE starting point, always. Don’t start to write anything without knowing the exact reader you want to reach with your message/story. Picture one person in your mind: their look, their economic level, their interests, their need (as addressed in your writing). You may even want to give them a family, a background and a pet. The better you know this reader, the better your writing will flow.

    Brainstorm

    • Begin by jotting ideas by yourself, create an outline, use stream-of-consciousness writing until “the idea” hits you.
    • Ask a friend to join you in bouncing ideas around. This happens nicely over a cup of tea.
    • Seek advice from a professional to help you with a strategy session. Although, my Videan Unlimited Marketing Strategy Session descriptions are geared to marketing rather than just writing, looking through them might help you see how strategy help can move you toward an idea.

Participate in blogs/listservs 

You don’t have to come up with the idea yourself, you know. We build networks for a reason. Use them! A couple of my favorite places to find writing inspiration and ask questions of other authors include:

Other ways to inspire ideas

  • Listen to music.
  • Look at artwork or photographs.
  • Take a walk or do something away from “idea generating” for a while.
  • Read others’ writing.

Tell us your favorite ways to generate ideas.

What’s your faerie name?

Posted on by
6
Yeah, this happened within a few months of posting the blog entry below. Thank you, Joanne. @2013 ANVidean

Yeah, this happened within a few months of posting the blog entry below. Thank you, Joanne!  ©2013 ANVidean

The certificate says:

“It has been proclaimed by the fairy power vested in Twig the Fairy
by the state of discombobulation and fitting out, that your official fairy name
is hereby declared
Rula Ghillie Gardenia Mossyroot.”

………………………………………

Today, I was thinking about character naming. Honestly, I’m not that good at names. So, in dealing with this challenge of mine, I discovered a fascinating and fun site. It’s a name-generating Web page substituting your name for a fairy’s.

Here’s mine … “Gossamer Moonglow. She is a messenger of the moon goddess. She lives in spiderwebbed wonderlands and insect grottoes. She is only seen in the light of a full moon. She wears dresses made of cobwebs and gossamer and has bright blue butterfly wings.”

Ah-h-h, I like that.

Most people envision fairies like this: tiny, cute and winged. [As expertly illustrated by Mark Pate. (www.markpate.com)]

That name did serve as a source of inspiration, but doesn’t necessarily fit the mood for my books. You see, the fae in my Delfaerune Rhapsody young-adult-fiction, trilogy in-progress do not fit the mold of your typical fairy. Mine, in the Celtic fae tradition, look more like elves: they grow extremely tall; embrace glamour (magic), not wings, to fly; and,  therefore, require unusual names.

So, in the first book of my series, “The Song of the Ocarina,” I’ve given my Dark Fae monikers which emulate bad-boy rockers like Mikk, Axyl and Janys. My Noble Fae have natural names like Fern, Glenn and Whillo. Key characters also use Maori surnames, as my setting is Queenstown, New Zealand.

I’m looking for more inspiration. So, might you visit the fairy name site and come back here to share your name and description? Pretty please?

Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Ten Years and Brahms inspire novel-in-progress

Posted on by
2

Music and word lovers, join me in the journey where music enhances fiction! If you have a favorite artist/song and would like to see it potentially worked into my novel-in-progress, comment here with the artist name, song title and a bit about its style/genre/lyrics.

I’m mentioning inspiring artist’s songs in The Song of the Ocarina. It’s one of the elements readers liked most about my first novel Rhythms & Muse. (“Look Inside”–even just its first and second pages–on Amazon and you’ll see how songs play into and enhance the plot.)

Allow me to share a few songs mentioned in Ocarina, the first book in my Delfaerune Rhapsody young-adult series. (It’s a trilogy about 7′-tall, wingless, Celtic Fae saving the world in New Zealand.)

• Linkin Park’s “Papercut” relates to a moment when Lark, the heroine, feels a loss of identity.

• Lark, also the faerie realm’s musical prodigy, plays Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” on the piano in her bedroom after returning to the faerie realm from the human world.

• When Noel, the hero, sides with his estranged Dark Fae family, Breaking Benjamin’s “Crawl” will inspire the mood.

• Uncle D’s “True Kiwi Way”is a little New Zealand ditty mentioned when Lark meets her kiwi “familiar.”

• Lark’s Noble Fae sister sings 10 Years’s “Through The Iris”  with her Dark Fae boyfriend.

• Brahms’s “Lullaby” is the first song Lark plays on the ancient magical zither when she holds it again for the first time in three years.

Call for delicious vegetarian dishes for young-adult fiction book

Posted on by
3
Community garden

A community garden in Highlands Ranch, CO. In its beautiful surroundings with the Rocky Mountains in the distance, I could see this garden tended by faeries. ©2012 ANVidean

In a banquet scene in The Song of The Ocarina (first book of my Delfaerune Rhapsody series),  I want to describe a number of succulently mouthwatering vegetarian dishes.

But, being of Armenian heritage where meat is a serious staple, I am at a loss. Can you share a vegetarian recipe worthy of a serving to the political leaders of Delfaerune (my realm of both Noble and Dark Fae)? Suggest a luscious dish that would fit into this paragraph:

“The chefs honored her homecoming by outdoing themselves in the kitchen. First, the servers delivered a leafy salad bursting with a variety of bright, colorful, tasty garden vegetables mixed with the chef’s especially creamy, tangy Ceasar. How wonderful to experience fresh-from-the-garden vegetables again. Their flavors exploded across her taste buds. Second, arrived the main entrée: a perfectly presented stuffed winter squash nestled in its own shell within a field of bright arugula and dressed with a cheesy asagio Alfredo sauce. Artfully placed golden squash blossoms piped with pesto hummus topped the dish. The orangey, coconutty ambrosia delivered third … well, talk about food for the gods. Pure heaven melting in her mouth.”

In your comment, please make sure to provide:

  • Full recipe
  • Description or even a few adjectives about the recipe, describing why it will work in this scene
  • Your name, or how you’d like to be identified in the blog or book
  • Your geographic location

(Just so you know, I may use your contact info provided via the comment to communicate with you about the book, but will not publicize it, or use it for any other reason.)

– Ann

Write on!
Ann Narcisian Videan
Write • Edit • Self-publish • Word-of-mouth

#2 Writing Tip: Use your book cover as a profile picture

Posted on by
Reply

Rhythms & Muse’s back cover. You want to click on it so you can read it, don’t you? I’ll let you watch my Facebook page at Ann Narcisian Videan for the front cover to appear in a few days, or check it out at http://www.tinyurl.com/ANVamazon.

Change your profile picture to your book cover.

Twice a month I meet with a group of established Phoenix, AZ-area writers in my Alliance of Literary Writers, Authors and Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) “tribe.” We share writing tips, ideas and resources, which I pass along to you.

The authors attending our May 22, 2012, gathering came up with a number of great ideas, which I will parse out in the near future, but Eduardo Cervino shared a real winner, an easy way to gain a bit more visibility.

He suggested authors change their profile photo to their book cover every once in a while on their social media sites. You know when you see the same image over and over, you tend to ignore it? A change in scenery can pique interest and entice your friends and followers to actually click on your little image to see it in better detail, especially a book cover.

Just make sure you offer valuable information next to the photo, such as a photo description in Facebook which includes your Web site address.

Thank you, Ed! I’m going to do this whenever I’m running a special promotion or on the  verge of a big book event.

Do you have a savvy writing tip to share for authors or freelancers? Please post a comment. (And, don’t forget to ALWAYS write!)

Share your best writing tip and get featured: ALWAYS

Posted on by
1
• Need contacts to help your writing?  • Want advice about your writing business?  • Like to hang with other cool writers?
If so, my tribe – the Alliance for Literary Writers, Authors & Yabbering Scribes (ALWAYS) – is the place for you. We’re an informal group of established writers looking for camaraderie, ideas, enlightenment and connection with writers, especially in the Phoenix metro area, to talk about our craft and businesses.
Any established writer can connect with us online through our ALWAYS Facebook page, get listed in our directory of writers on our ALWAYS LinkedIn page, or you can meet with us in person at a lunch meeting.
……………………………………………

ALWAYS gathering
May 8, 2012

Topic:
Share your best writing tip and be featured in my Words•Music•Village blog

Expect an informal, let’s-help-one-another lunch gathering. Come ask questions, gain resources and meet other freelance writers. We’ll share our own best writing tips and hear what works for others. I’ll gather the tips and write up each one,  along with background on you and your writing, as an entry in my new series of writing-tip blogs.

Also, if you have something noncommercial you’d like to showcase — a tool, a resource, a tip — please contact me and I’ll slot you in for 15 minutes of our undivided attention at the meeting.

Next gathering:
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
(Freelancers typically meet for lunch on the second Tuesday, and authors on the fourth Tuesday of each month.)

Where:
T.C. Eggington’s
1660 S. Alma School Rd., #129
Mesa, AZ 85210
(Just one block south of I-60 on the west side of Alma School Road, toward the south end of the strip mall)
480.345.9288

Cost:
A writing tip, and your own lunch.

RSVP:
PLEASE show the consideration of reserving your spot at the table by:
• RSVPing through the “Attending” link on our Facebook Event page
• Emailing Ann Videan with “ALWAYS May 8” in the Subject line

If you’ve RSVP’d and run into a conflict later, please let me know before the event so I can make the necessary adjustments for the group. Cheers!
…………………………………………………………….

We’d love to have any experienced writer join us at our next meeting … anyone who spends a significant part of his/her week writing, and wants to rub elbows with other writers.

Please do add a your best writing tip in the comments below, but I will feature only those who attend the meeting in my blog. I’m encouraging face time here, wordsmiths!

Meet authors to talk books and writing

Posted on by
Reply

I’m one of 20 authors featured at this event and can’t wait to talk about books and writing with you!

Join me for the 2nd Annual Arizona Dreamin’ readers conference Fri. and Sat., June 1-2, 2012, in Chandler, Ariz. This  glorified “Girl’s Night Out” allows you to rub elbows with authors – including me – who write fiction in diverse genres, which involve a thread of romance.

For just $35, expect to:

• Meet 20 authors of various genres of romance. Choose 6 you find the most interesting for “Book Clubs” (10 readers with one author in 30-minute sessions to ask questions and talk about their books).

• Enjoy a free Hospitality Suite with snacks and beverages.

• Meet Jimmy Thomas, international book-cover model, and have your photo taken for a charitable donation.

• Munch out with an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner.

• Provide input for the “Man of Our Dreams” cover model competition during dinner.

• Win huge raffle baskets.

• Take home a FREE goody bag!

• Meet with two publishers to see if there is a book in you.

• Visit our event bookstore with discounted pricing.

Venue:
Windmill Inns & Suites
3535 W. Chandler Boulevard
Chandler, AZ 85226

Learn more.

Storytellers AZ writer’s tips: Photos for blog posts

Posted on by
1

Looking for easy places to grab great photos/images for blogs and other writing? Check out these cool portal ideas from Storytellers AZ writers at the April 12, 2012, meeting.

StorytellersAZ.4-12-12

Storytellers AZ writers – like Brian LaPan, Tyler Hurst, Sarah Marques and Matt Fox – meet the second and fourth Wednesday each month, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Gangplank in Chandler, AZ.

• Freedigitalphotos.net, where you can find varying levels of royalty-free photos

• Compfight.com, for a free WordPress plug-in

• Flickr.com’s Creative Commons, offering a vast array of amateur and professional photographer’s images

• iStockphoto, professional images available for a nominal fee

Can you suggest another portal for photos and images which might help other writers or creatives?

Check out our StorytellersAZ iTunes podcast for more hands-on ideas from our writers.