October 28, 2013 · 7:12 pm

We Leave Tomorrow!

caudron_dualAll systems are go for our big trip to Toronto!

We haven’t been back since moving away over a year ago, so it will be fantastic to see as many of our old friends as possible. But also, of course, I’ll be busy with Eldritch Manor -related events:

Wed, Oct 30 – visiting Runnymede Jr & Sr Public School

Fri, Nov 1 – visiting Warren Park Junior Public School

Sat, Nov 2 – Book Signing at Chapters Runnymede – 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

Mon, Nov 4 (morning) – visiting Allenby Junior Public School

Mon, Nov 4 (afternoon) – reading for school group at Bloor/Gladstone Public Library

With all of that, plus Hallowe’en fun, we’ll be pretty busy! Keep checking in for updates and photos of events.

Writing Club friends: I will do my best to put up a prompt or two to keep you going while I’m away!

HAPPY HALLOWE’EN!

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October 26, 2013 · 5:37 am

Writing Club: Killer Openings Part 2

In my last Writing Club post I wrote about two kinds of opening sentences, 1. Description, and 2. Action. Let’s continue …

3. INTRODUCE THE MAIN CHARACTER

This is an extremely popular and effective way to open a book. It can be in first person-

Call me Ishmael. (Moby Dick, Herman Melville)

Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. (The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan)

Continue reading →

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October 24, 2013 · 7:47 pm

Weekly Eldritch: Conqueror Worm

Prepare for your weekly creeply: a little Edgar Allan Poe for the Hallowe’en season…

Ivor Abrahams, The Conqueror Worm. Print on paper from the E.A. Poe series, 1976.

Ivor Abrahams, The Conqueror Worm. Print on paper from the E.A. Poe series, 1976.

The Conqueror Worm

By Edgar Allan Poe

Lo! ’t is a gala night
   Within the lonesome latter years!
An angel throng, bewinged, bedight
   In veils, and drowned in tears,
Sit in a theatre, to see
   A play of hopes and fears,
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
   The music of the spheres.

Mimes, in the form of God on high,
   Mutter and mumble low,
And hither and thither fly—
   Mere puppets they, who come and go
At bidding of vast formless things
   That shift the scenery to and fro,
Flapping from out their Condor wings
   Invisible Wo!

That motley drama—oh, be sure
   It shall not be forgot!
With its Phantom chased for evermore
   By a crowd that seize it not,
Through a circle that ever returneth in
   To the self-same spot,
And much of Madness, and more of Sin,
   And Horror the soul of the plot.

But see, amid the mimic rout,
   A crawling shape intrude!
A blood-red thing that writhes from out
   The scenic solitude!
It writhes!—it writhes!—with mortal pangs
  The mimes become its food,
And seraphs sob at vermin fangs
   In human gore imbued.

Out—out are the lights—out all!
   And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
   Comes down with the rush of a storm,
While the angels, all pallid and wan,
   Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy, “Man,”
   And its hero, the Conqueror Worm.

 

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October 23, 2013 · 8:53 pm

Sometimes all you need is a plan.

On-WritingI’ve been having trouble getting going on a book… getting stuck – procrastinating – doing other things – napping – getting stuck again… you get the picture. So today I revisited notes I took while reading Stephen King’s great book On Writing.

He says that the first draft of a book should take no more than three months. He aims for ten pages a day, or 2,000 words. Some days he’s done by 11:30 am, other days it can take him until 1:30. And all he needs is a “serene atmosphere”.

So my atmosphere here is pretty serene, ridiculously serene even. I should have no excuses!

I don’t get to write every day – I’ve got a lot of projects on the go right now – but by keeping my goals humble (1,000 words per working day, 3 or 4 days a week) I hope to have the first draft of a sequel to Eldritch Manor done by the end of January. Of course I also have going for me the fact that a YA novel is way shorter than one of King’s books!

I also have as a secret weapon an Outline, one I’ve been pondering and building on for a year or more. That’s enough time to percolate… now I’m going to get to work!

After the first draft is done, he recommends setting it aside for six weeks and not looking at it or talking about it. Once you’re thinking of new projects and immersed in other things, then it’s time to pull it out, get reacquainted, and get back to work on it.*

I love having a plan! (Today’s 1,000 words – check!)

* Stephen King, On Writing (New York: Scribner, 2000), pp. 154, 211-212.

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October 22, 2013 · 7:27 pm

Writing Club: Killer Openings Part 1

Photo 2013-10-07 4 45 46 PM

5-minute Prompt: GRANDMOTHER

(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)

For this one you can write about your own grandmother(s) or grandmothers from movies or books. What do you think of when you think “grandmother”? Continue reading →

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October 21, 2013 · 7:28 pm

Book Signing at Chapters Runnymede – Nov. 2

190411411_8be2c2959aDuring my upcoming trip to Toronto I’m doing a book signing at the magnificent Chapters store in the neighbourhood we used to live in, Bloor West Village. Come one come all! Looking forward to hanging out in the old ‘hood and seeing lots of friends!

Book Signing

Runnymede Chapters store

2225 Bloor St. W, Toronto

Saturday, Nov. 2 – 11:00 am to 1:00 pm

(here’s the facebook event link)

 

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· 7:07 pm

Some Advice Regarding Villains

I just read a good article about creating effective villains here – “5 Characteristics of an Epic Villain” by Antonio del Drago, who is right on the money when he says Darth Vader is a fantastic example of an Epic Villain.

His advice and 5 characteristics are good, but it really depends on the style of your piece how powerful and brilliant you want to make your villain. There is a whole continuum available here, from the flawed/foolish/not-so-bright/extremely human baddie to the all-powerful/crazily dangerous/nearly-unbeatable villain. Which fits the best in your world?

A real gem to keep in mind is this, from the comments: Remember that the villain is the hero of his own story.

Though the author says you shouldn’t create dumb villains who make foolish mistakes, don’t forget that if you’re writing comedy, or for very young children, this is actually the perfect villain to have. You don’t want to scare wee ones right out of their socks, and allowing them to feel a little superior to the bad guy will help them to enjoy the story. (Remember King John in the old Disney cartoon version of Robin Hood, who cried for ‘mama’ and sucked his thumb? For preschoolers that is comedy gold!) The bottom line: know your world/genre, and know your audience!

robin-hood-3

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October 17, 2013 · 8:11 pm

Weekly Eldritch: Cave Creatures

salamanderagogo

texas blind salamander

This is my weekly offering of something eldritch, or creepy… Recently we watched an old episode of Planet Earth about caves, and I spent the entire time cringing. Naturally the massive pile of bat guano swarming with cockroaches was a highlight, but all of the inhabitants of caves are a little on the creepy side. Above is the texas blind salamander, click here to see the video clip on the BBC site.

cave4

glow worms trapping their prey with strands of spit

blind-cave-fish-600-326-32

sightless cave fish

And of course we can’t forget…

gollum

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October 15, 2013 · 6:21 pm

OLA Silver Birch nomination for Eldritch!

1226_silverbirch_logo_new1Very excited to get the news that Eldritch Manor has been nominated for a Silver Birch Award in the Ontario Library Association’s Forest of Reading program!

Ten books are nominated for the Silver Birch Fiction award, which is aimed at readers aged 8 to 12 (grades 3-6).  Readers from all across the country are encouraged to read at least 5 of the 10 books and vote on which should win.

I will post more news on the OLA Forest of Reading events as they come up, but for the moment, I’m just totally chuffed!

Will you read the 10 nominees? See the list here.

forest+logo+framed

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October 10, 2013 · 7:20 pm

Weekly Eldritch: Trees with Eyes

Was on a hike last week in the lovely, serene woods when I spotted this:

IMG_2776 - Version 2

Eyes watching me! Suspicious character. At least he wasn’t throwing apples. Continue reading →

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