In life, as well as the writing/publishing industry, there’s one rule that must be remembered to succeed. 

There’s no such word as friend. 

Memorize it, write in on your wall, tattoo it on your arm.

The dictionary definitions of suspense include:

uncertainty: the state or condition of being unsure or in doubt about something

enjoyable tension: a feeling of tense excitement about how something such as a mystery novel or movie will end

anxiety: a state of anxiety or intense worry about something

Let’s examine ways that a writer can evoke these feeling to her audience.
Here are some ways to create suspense:

• You need a good plot.  Take the time to map out exactly what you have in your head.  I find that an outline is extremely helpful.

• Set the scene and mood to draw the reader into the story.  This might take a lot of description.

• Use believable characters.  If your reader can relate to your character, especially the main character, s/he will be more likely to feel a connection with the story.  This connection will pull them into the scene and allow them to feel the tension that you will later create. 

• Don’t give your reader all the information at once.  Slowly feed them the story.  Give them a chance to look forward to what will happen next. 

• Show what your characters are doing.  My rule is to describe the scene and setting but show the characters movements and emotions. 

• Use suspenseful words and phrases as you build to the climax.

Creating a suspenseful story is the trait of a skilled writer. It takes lots of practice.  It took me a while to figure out the points listed above.  I’m still practicing so give it time. 

If you try to copy text directly from MS Word into the WordPress editor you will find that your article will be distorted; For example the spacing will be wrong. This is because MS Word has formatting that the WordPress editor can’t handle. 

There is a simple solution to this problem.  First copy the text from MS Word and then paste it into a text editor like Notepad.  If you’re not sure how to find Notepad on Windows, press the Windows key and the R key at the same time.  Then enter Notepad into the text field and press enter.  Notepad will pop up.

Notepad will automatically delete all the extra formatting.   Now copy the text from Notepad and paste it directly into the WordPress editor.  The formatting of your article should have copied over correctly.  Now all you have to do is save and publish your masterpiece. 

Before I begin I want to take some time to wish you all a Happy New Year!

My first post of 2008 will be about the incubation period.  This is the time it takes to allow an idea to grow and develop.  This works really well when you need to solve a problem in your writing: too long, too short, not enough excitement or suspense, etc. 

Incubation is not a new idea.  If you are unfamiliar with the term it is probably due to our fast paced way of living.  Time is the key element for incubating ideas successfully.  For this reason it will never become a buzz word. 

Put your writing problems in the back of your mind and do something completely different for at least one day.  When you return to your writing, relax and guide your mind back to the problem.  Don’t worry if you don’t find a solution right away.  Open your mind to random thoughts not dwelling on any one thought for too long.  By using this technique you might see a solution that never occurred to you.  

I have solved most of my writing problems by incubating ideas.  Sometimes the human mind just needs a little time to analyze a problem before it can solve it.  If one day of incubation is not enough then take two or three.  Remember, time is the key element.  

Click on my name to hear the pronunciation.

If you are unable to hear it, the pronunciation key would look something like 
this:  Jen-you

While it’s clear how the attached conversations are useful I find it hindering that there isn’t a way to detach them. 

Here’s my example:  I recently answered an email that I later wanted to mark as spam. When I did so the whole conversation was marked as spam including my own email.  I had to unmark it because I didn’t want the system to think of my own address as spam. 

I also think that things get messy and confusing when the conversations are forwarded to a third party. 

Another thing that I find really irritating about Googlemail is that it automatically adds contacts to your address book without your approval.  Lets say that I had a stalker and emailed that person back , just once, politely asking to be left alone.  The stalker’s address is now in my address book.  That’s a quirky example but you get the idea.   Is there a way to turn the automatic addition of contacts off?   I’m tired of cleaning up my address book. 

If anyone has any useful tips on how to solve these problems please leave a comment. 

I’m not a poet but sometimes I like to practice writing poetry.  I used to think that poetry was useless to me because I write fiction.  Why would I want my story to rhyme?  As I gained more experience with writing and read the works of other writers I began to see that really good writing has a natural rhythm even if it’s not poetry. 

I know that all poetry doesn’t have to rhyme but if you read it aloud or slowly in your head, you can still hear a rhythm.  Getting this natural rhythm or flow in your writing is very difficult to achieve.  It takes practice, practice, and more practice.

Poetry is not only for cool cats that hang out in cafés drinking coffee.  Poets understand rhythm and flow.  They know how to make their words dance.  Writers of fiction and non-fiction also need to recognize how to make their words flow naturally.   So take a few minutes to read some poetry and if you’re really brave try to write your own poem.  It will improve the quality of your writing. 

For all you talented poets out there be careful of poetry.com, it’s a really big scam.  Howard Ely is the supposed editor. Don’t send them any money!  Once you’ve submitted your poem they will email you saying that you have won this Editor’s Choice Award and that you need to pay them for membership and plaque.  They will also tell you that your poem has moved on to the next level of judging for the $10,000 award.  This Google Search will show you the many angry people that were duped by this despicable way of thievery. 

A clever investigator submitted a ridiculous poem called Pie is so Good to poetry.com just to see what would happen.   The result of his investigation is hilarious.  You have to read this…

So I’ve finally finished a major scene in my story.  What a great feeling that is.  I’ve been dancing around this scene for weeks and was actually starting to think that it was never going to get done. I told myself that I would buy myself something pretty when this moment arrived but as luck would have it at this moment I am broke.  Even if I wasn’t broke, I still wouldn’t be able to afford that $600 bracelet that I’ve for some reason bookmarked anyway. 

I’m not sad at all.  The joy of finishing a difficult scene in a story is reward enough.  If you’re a writer you know what I mean.  Even so, having a little reward for a job well done is nice and a good motivator.  Make sure it’s something healthy and somewhat special.  I would stay away from food motivators for obvious reasons.  Also, please don’t buy yourself anything that you can’t afford. 

I’m going to reward myself by lighting a few scented candles, listening to pleasant music, and just enjoy the quiet and peace.  You may have other ways of rewarding yourself.   For Example, maybe buy a new game for your x-box, squeeze in more time with your children and yes . . .   A little Bow Chicka Wa Wa is always a good reward. 

A writer has to be very strong willed.  There are many factors that can break a writer’s spirit especially during the novice years.  Rejection letters are usually the main culprit.  I have received my share of rejection and I know that it’s hard on the soul.  Imagine someone calling your child ugly directly to your face.  That’s what it feels like if you haven’t already experienced it.  Writing is a personal being; it’s a part of you.  Because of this, it’s hard not to take the common rejection letter personally. 

You have to believe in yourself and stand behind your own work.  It’s going to be hard but try not to take rejection letters so personally.  Remember that rejection doesn’t necessarily mean that your story was bad.  It might not have met the editor’s concept.  Perhaps the market is low for the kind of genre that you choose the write.  The publisher’s main goal will be to make money.  If they don’t think that your story will interest a lot of people they will reject it even if it’s good. 

Here’s a list of famous authors and the number of times that they were rejected.  This list will definitely give you the courage to pick yourself up, dust off your pen and keep writing. 

7,000   William Saroyan
140   Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
38   Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
30   Carrie by Stephen King
26   Watership Down by Richard Adams
22   Dubliners by James Joyce
20   The Kon Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl
16   The Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter
15   The Enormous Room by EE Cummings
       (Cummings self-published this, his first work, now rated a masterpiece, dedicating it to the 15 publishers who had rejected it.)
12   Harry Potter by JK Rowling
      (Rowling is vague on the number of rejections she got, saying, “I’m not sure if it was a dozen, but it was plenty…”)
7   The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
(Potter finally published it herself.)

* This list was found on lulu.com

I’ve coined the term writer’s blockout to explain the phenomena that I’ve been experiencing.  Writer’s blockout is the state that a writer is in when s/he is having a surge of inspiration.  In this state you’re barely aware of your surroundings.  Your ears are tuned out, your eyes are fixed on your notebook, and your pen moves your hand and not vise versa.  You have blocked out almost everything in your enviroment. 

I re-read a story that I wrote a year ago and it was strangely unfamiliar to me.  It is really quite odd because I know that I wrote it.  The story is well written and I remember physically writing it.  I even remember when I wrote it but I don’t remember the words.  The wording, sentence structure and style don’t match the way I write.  Could it be that a year ago I had a different writing style than I do now?  The other possibility is that I wrote this story during a writer’s blockout and was somehow inspired to write in a different way. 

This phenomena is such a strange feeling.  As you’re reading your own work you think “wow, this is really good”.  Then your eyes come across a few sentences that in your mind you don’t remember writing.  Not only don’t you remember writing it but it doesn’t seem to fit your writing style.  Then you continue reading and are amazed at the quality of the written document.  It’s your work but somehow strangely unfamiliar. 

I’ve tried explaining this to a friend and she looked at me like I was crazy.  I’m curious, do other writers experience this writer’s blockout?