IWSG and guest June Holder: Writing at a Different Angle

click on image to join other IWSG writers!

IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

November 2 question - November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

Thank you, co-hosts, Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton!

Once upon a time, I did participate in NaNoWriMo. I dreaded the competition because, as an artist, I've never appreciated putting a deadline on creativity. You're either feeling inspired or not! Needless to say, I was able to write that entire novel in a single week at 10k words a day.

It was so fun! I'd spent the week with Karen Hoover at her timeshare condo, doing nothing but writing and forcing ourselves to eat once in a while. Haha!

Today, I have a special guest writer. She doesn't write fiction, but something else entirely extraordinary--welcome, June Holder!

 When Elizabeth asked me to share some thoughts on writing for executives, I immediately thought of the story below, which I posted on LinkedIn a while back. Elizabeth was curious to know more about the “how,” specific to the writing component.

When writing for fictional characters, you fully create them and there are no boundaries. When writing for real people, there’s an inherent responsibility to both the person and the audience. I spend some time getting to know the person, listening to recordings of their previous speaking engagements if they are available, tuning into their pacing, phrases and expressions they embrace. I learn as much as I can about who they are, what they are passionate about, what they represent for the audience. My goal is not to recreate them. My goal is to offer them a way to bring their authentic and beautiful true self into words that will help them share their thoughts and ideas with others. As I write, I try to envision them speaking the remarks so I can stay tuned into their energy. While I’m weaving in the key messages that form the structure of their remarks, I’m building in places for them to connect with their audience, always aware that each person listening should feel a connection with the speaker that is personal and, ideally, profound. My writing often feels symphonic, as I build a bassline of foundational ideas and add intrigue, emotion and movement. 

I find it critical to spend some time researching the topic to gain a reasonable level of understanding of what the speaker will be discussing. That means I am on a constant learning curve, always expanding my perspective and gathering insights from some of the most lovely and brilliant people. 

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to write speeches for the leaders of a Fortune 50 company?

Behind the scenes there’s a highly coordinated effort involving not just the speaker and his/her staff, but also the event organizers and the people who will support production and promotions before, during and after the event.

There’s also plenty of research taking place to assess the event, the audience, the topic and the moment in time. 

All of those connections and conversations are developed into a “roadmap” that contains the remarks that will be delivered and an event brief that provides the speaker with the details needed.

For me, the most exciting part is when the words I’ve provided become a runway… when the speaker fully steps into that timeless space with the audience where you can feel the room lifting and the resonant energy brings everyone together as one.

Once you’ve felt that you understand the incredible power of having someone breathe life into your words.

June Holder is an accomplished communications leader and trusted advisor to senior executives on corporate and personal brand positioning and messaging. Her passion for puzzle solving has taken her on a journey spanning external, employee, executive and sustainability communications, public relations, brand, co-branding and rebranding strategies, program management and as managing editor of websites and newsletters.

IWSG: My Thoughts on Characters

click on image to join other IWSG writers!

IWSG: a place where writers and friends share woes or hugs.

Welcome to mine!

Thanks for co-hosting the October 5 posting, Tonja Drecker, Victoria Marie Lees, Mary Aalgaard, and Sandra Cox!


The question of the month is - What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

Hansuen_Fabregas@Pixabay

I understand that the question is about genre but I'll fly with the word "character": I like a strong female lead with real weaknesses that she overcomes to become a better, stronger person. She isn't afraid to love...if she is afraid to love, she learns to let go and realizes that it takes the right person to heal her heart. Now that is strength.

N'reena is such a character. She's independent, brave, inquisitive, and inventive. Daemos is her love interest. He's unlike anything she's ever seen--he manages to escape the Nursery where all sorts of horrible experiments happen. She's not the kind of person who will destroy something because it's different, but she will protect it and keep it alive at the cost of her own.

Book Announcements:

Awaken: A Love story was crowned earlier this week. It's like spotting a falling star--quick!--before it goes away! A crowned book over at KindleVella means that it has been "thumbs-up" and "favorited", which increases reader visibility.

Here is the snapshot I captured so I have proof of its existence:

I'm thinking that, if you're a regular ole person like me, spotting the crown isn't a common occurrence. I was lucky to see it because it was gone when I refreshed the page! Amazon Kindle Vella is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure!

Something about Vella, if you're interested, is that you write the story and upload it--one episode at a time. Each episode is anywhere from 500 words to 6,000 words, and you are only allowed to have 5,000 free words floating around on the internet whether it's for marketing or at a place like Wattpad.

I'm planning on touching a genre that I'd never dreamed I'd write about. Ever. It's a horror romance, inspired by Stephen King's Room 1408: An author decides to stay the night at a haunted hotel for inspiration when he runs into a woman who's also just as daring. Together, they fight off the evil spirits who were murdered in life by a serial killer who hasn't been caught. The author strikes a bargain to be set free if he brings the killer to them--but he must be found first, but will the ghosts honor his request?

darksouls1@pixabay

With too many completed books and with so little time to get to them all while I'm balancing life with current projects, I need some help to get my sitting books out there. So, I've also decided to find a literary agent--after 10 years! This is a scary exciting adventure. Wish me luck!

What projects do you have going? How do you balance multiple projects with life? Do you have an agent? What do you think of horror romance?

Leod Fitz: One Writer's Journey

Please put your hands together for awesome author Leod Fitz--he's one of the coolest writers I know. Meeting him in person from our IWSG In-Person Writing Group is a wonderful experience.

Leod, take it away!

I’ve been a writer pretty much my whole life.  I actually remember the very first time that it occurred to me to write a story.  Technically speaking, it was a fanfic; it was a story I wrote about my favorite He-Man character.  The story, in its entirety, was about a paragraph long, and it was missing little things, like character development, plot, themes, motifs… pretty much everything that one tries to fit into a story.

But it was my introduction to writing, and as awful as it was, that was all that I needed to become a full on addict.

I love writing.  I adore the process of building a world, constructing a story, designing characters and watching them grow and change.  Unfortunately, my journey as a writer was somewhat hindered by the fact that I had absolutely no idea what I needed to do to learn how to become a good writer.  Looking back, I suspect that all I had to do was spend a bit of time in the library looking for ‘books on writing,’ but I’m embarrassed to say that, at the time, that didn’t even occur to me.

Book Spotlight: Druid's Moon by Deniz Bevan

Congratulations, Deniz Bevan, on your new release! It's super exciting to see my anthology buddy releasing a new book.


Welcome Druid's Moon, Paranormal Romance.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:

Lyne Vanlith, an archaeologist who seeks a logical explanation to any mystery, discovers an ancient Druidic curse on her first dig. When the signs foretold by the curse descend on her, Lyne can’t find a reasonable interpretation.

And that’s even before a Beast rescues her from a monstrous sea-creature. She drops a grateful kiss on the snout of the Beast, who transforms into a man, Frederick Cunnick, Baron of Lansladron. Lyne is meant to be Beauty to his Beast—and break the curse forever.

Now both spellkeeper and monster are targeting Lyne. She must take up her legendary role, to defeat the curse and save Frederick—and herself. Instead of logic, for the first time, Lyne must trust her heart.



Oh, this book sounds like a romantic adventure indeed!




Now available at:

Apple - https://tinyurl.com/234dztfb

Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/df5wfhh9

B&N - https://tinyurl.com/wp2pztdb

Kobo - https://tinyurl.com/xzudk5wj

Author Interview: Welcome author Frank Riganelli

I'm excited to have Frank Riganelli who shares his experience as a writer! His experiences along with his compassion for first time authors moves him! Let's see how he does it...

Welcome, Frank! Tell us about yourself and your book.

 

Well, I've enjoyed the telling of a good story for as long as I can remember. That led me to write five novels and my latest book that helps people write their own. I've had the good fortune to be able to travel, and have lived in six countries - from North America, to Europe, and to the far East. That doesn't include home, which is Canada, where I live now on Vancouver Island. I have one son, and my hobbies are writing and tutoring English when I'm not at my full-time job.

 

My latest book is about helping first-time authors write their own novel, and, as you might guess, it's titled HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL : For First-Time Authors. I feel like all the novels I've written are in this one book, in a way, because it looks at what's involved and what the writer goes through in writing their tale. But as for my last full-length novel, it's a cross-genre thriller. An epic, I'm happy to say. I love epics stories. I managed to combine two stories in it; one about a girl struggling through a difficult personal time, and a second about the timeless question, 'Why are we here?' Epic Sci-Fi is my favourite genre. I picked up an appreciation for sciency things having studied engineering. I'm not exaggerating when I say it took a lot of reflection to be able to mesh the two into one coherent whole. And that was before I even wrote the first word. I was able to shape the story to be able to use the book cover's tagline, 'The world's final chance', and I don't think I'm giving anything away if you see the cover, when I say that it all comes down to the main character of one of the stories; a girl going through a struggle in her life – how she's led to face it - and how that will literally save the world, in a grand-design-by-powers-that-are-beyond-us, kind of way.