Musings of Two Creative Minds

This week I got 8 people lined up as "Beta-Readers" for my second novel "THE SHIP". For those not familiar with beta-readers, they are basically test readers for you book.  They will read the story and give you feedback on what they thought of it.  But what kind of feedback am I talking about? Well this may vary from writer to writer.  For me I'm looking for the following feedback: 1-Did they like the story? (this is a given, I have to know whether or not the story is even working for my readers in the first place) 2-How was the pacing?  Did the story drag a lot, or was it too-fast paced and hard to keep up with? 3-Were the characters likable and did you come to care about them?  Did they intrigue you?  Did you want to see more of them in the future?  (I'm working on an ongoing series where I will rotate some of the cast from time to time) 4-Spelling errors?  (I've done my best but some things will still slip past me so a few more sets

"Welcome to Pointer, West Virginia" For those who have never heard of this place, do not fret. It doesn't exist.  I made it up to be the setting for "The Vampyre Blogs".  A good setting is extremely important to any story.  Your story's setting can shape your character's personality depending on how long they've lived there.  For instance, if they've been there a short time there's the getting to know the place and the people.  Certain action sequences may take place in particular areas.  The town's history may come into play.  If they've lived there all their lives, they should know a lot of people, have a reputation (are they considered cool, friendly, or weird by the other people?  Etc., etc...)  Already you can see the importance of your setting and you should know the place at least in your own mind, so you can convey it to the readers.  I don't care if it's a real place here on Earth or another world.  You need

As most of you know by now, I've started work on my third novel.  What makes this book different though is the fact that I'm writing in the first person instead of the third person.  In the third person one tends to do a lot of "he said," "She smiled", etc.  Whereas the first person is a bit more personal in my opinion.   Just about all writers like to let the audience inside their characters heads.  Some will do it in the "omniscient" style, where they let  reader see inside every characters head in the same scene all at once.  We're allowed to know what they're thinking, even if they don't share their thoughts with the other characters.  Or  the author will let you inside one character's head at a time.  This is called 'limited perspective' which is what I use a lot, where I only let you inside one character's mind at a time, even within the same scene.  But I'll indicate the 'change' of who's head

Over on "The Vampyre Blogs--Private Edition" young Marisa is back with a new entry.  Today she's talking about her Dad.  A simple everyday guy who is not a fireman, not a policeman, or an EMT.  He's just an ordinary fellow who manages to save a life.  Come on over and find out how he did it by clicking on the link below.  You'll be glad you did. http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/2014/03/marisas-musings-my-dad-hero-october.html