cj Sez: Fall—my favorite season—when cooler, shorter days inspire
flowers and trees to outdo themselves in a kaleidoscope of color.
My photographer son took his camera gear in search of fall
color this week. The picture of aspens above is one he took in Colorado a few years ago.
He used a computer technique on the photo to create the look of watercolor art.
On the home front,
Mobile doesn’t have a lot of leaf-peeper red, orange, and gold on deciduous
trees—but I have my camellias in many colors. I especially love the fuchsia blooms
in front of the house.
What fall doesn’t
do, though, is inspire me to sit my butt in a chair behind a computer and write
when I could be outside. What’s your favorite season where you live?
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I’ve been re-reading some of my old “how-to” files and came
across this reminder as I edit my current WIP:
Writing miscues that can cause an agent to stop reading your
manuscript:
* The story’s opening paragraphs fail to establish where the
story is taking place, the time, and the setting.
* The beginning is too slow. Too many details, too much description,
too much backstory, or too many characters. The opening paragraphs lack action
or a hook to entice the readers to continue to read.
* The writer didn’t establish a clear point of view.
* Mechanical errors can earn a speedy rejection. Mechanical
errors are the typos, punctuation errors (a lot of them involving dialogue),
and unclear syntax that can destroy a good story.
What agents or publishers see in the first few paragraphs of
a manuscript is what they expect to see throughout each chapter and scene, and they
have to reason to continue to read.
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The book signing event at The Haunted Bookshop for HALLOWEEN PIECES was a good time.
Masks, social
distancing, candy, wine, and authors signing books at the entrance to The
Haunted Bookshop in downtown Mobile on ArtWalk night. What a treat it was to
interact with real people, mask-to-mask. The bookshop had a live video feed to Facebook. And surprise, surprise: It was chilly
enough to wear a coat.
The anthology is available on Amazon (free on Kindle
Unlimited), and signed copies are available from The Haunted Bookshop (see
where to order below).
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Coming soon . . .
My short story, “The
Substitute,” in Bienvenue Press’s annual charity anthology, HOMEROOM HEROES.
“The Substitute” is
about an FBI agent working undercover as a substitute adapted physical
education teacher for physically and mentally challenged students while he
investigates Federal fraud and tax evasion. He is, at the same time, making a
move on the beautiful, first-grade teacher assigned to help him with his
students. (p.s. My daughter-in-law is an
adapted PE teacher and my inspiration for the story.
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PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE
That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep
on keeping on, and I’ll try to do the same.
cj
P.S. TO ORDER my
autographed books or any book of your choice on-line from my favorite indie
bookstore, contact The Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us
The store has re-opened to limited hours, so you can stop
and shop, too.