Book Trailer for Exiled: autumn's Peril

The Chronicles of Caleath Exiled: Autumn's Peril book trailer.

Museitup Publishing contract...

The Chronicles of Caleath the science fiction fantasy series featuring Exiled: Autumn's Peril, has been contracted to Museitup Publishing.

All eight books are now under contract.

They will be released in 2001 as ebooks and later as print versions.

For more information and updates check my blog at http://rosalieskinner.blogspot.com/

and the website at http://dragonmuse.webs.com

Thanks for dropping by.

Hints and Tips on How to Edit Fantasy Novels

Words To Avoid

The successful Fantasy author needs to know the words to avoid and how to find adequate replacements. Here are some hints and tips to help the writer when polishing their Fantasy novel.

Creative writers always try to avoid adverbs. Adverbs usually end in ‘ly’ and are words that add meaning to a verb.

Example:

Walk slowly. Run quickly. Speak softly. Gently touch. Shout loudly.

Comment:

There are better ways to say the same thing. Find stronger verbs to replace these.

Better:

Stroll. Sprint. Whisper. Caress. Yell.

Resist the temptation to add adverbs to dialogue tags. Beware of saying things twice.

Example:

He snarled angrily. She whispered softly. He yawned sleepily.

Comment:

Note how the adverb isn’t needed.

Snarl demonstrates anger. The adverb isn’t needed.

She whispered softly. Whispered indicates softly spoken.

He yawned sleepily. Yawned is indicative of being tired.

Other Words to Avoid

Had. That. Up. Down. Really. Almost. Just. So.

These words are used without thought, but often do little to improve a sentence. When a Fantasy author is polishing their manuscript, they should go through and remove any case where these words are unnecessary.

‘Had’ places the action in the past. ‘That’ is often unnecessary. To bring immediacy to their writing a Fantasy authors will strive to keep action and interest in the present.

Up and down are often added when not needed. Really, unless in dialogue is unnecessary. Almost, again is not acceptable unless in dialogue, since the narrator should know things. ‘Almost’ is indecisive and will frustrate the reader. He was almost as tall. He’s shorter. She could almost see… again she couldn’t see.

Just and so are just so superfluous.

Example:

The damsel had watched the villain leap up onto the horse that had been tied up to the hitching rail outside the tavern.

The damsel was really frightened, watching the fire that almost burned the tavern down. She thought it was just so lucky no one that had been in the inn was hurt.

Comment:

This is a bit obvious, but the idea is clear. Remove all the words that should be avoided. See how to improve poor writing by culling words we tend to ignore as we write.

Better:

The damsel watched the villain leap onto the horse tied to the hitching rail outside the tavern.

The damsel was frightened, watching the fire burn the tavern. She thought it was lucky no one in the inn was hurt.

Comment:

Another cull and sentence rewrite can improve this example.

Example:

The damsel watched the villain leap onto the horse tied outside the tavern.

As the tavern burned, she shook with fright. Relief washed over her when no one in the inn was hurt. Her thudding heart quieted and trembling limbs stilled.

Comment:

This example has tried to ‘show’ the reader how she felt rather than ‘tell’ them.

‘She was frightened’, is telling. ‘She thought it was lucky’, is telling.

The words to avoid that will prevent the author falling into the ‘telling’ not ‘showing’ trap are: felt, thought, saw, and was.

The Fantasy author, when writing in third limited omniscient should try to ‘see’ action and gauge emotions in characters and scenes from what their main character can see and understand. They will use gestures and mannerisms, as well as dialogue to give the reader insight.

Try this exercise yourself. Have a list of words you want to avoid and keep adding to it as you master the craft of writing. Soon they will disappear from your manuscript and your writing will become stronger, compelling and more attractive to your readers and prospective publishers.

Hints and Tips on Fantasy Writing.

Words To Avoid

The successful Fantasy author needs to know the words to avoid and how to find adequate replacements. Here are some hints and tips to help the writer when polishing their Fantasy novel.

Creative writers always try to avoid adverbs. Adverbs usually end in ‘ly’ and are words that add meaning to a verb.

Example:

Walk slowly. Run quickly. Speak softly. Gently touch. Shout loudly.

Comment:

There are better ways to say the same thing. Find stronger verbs to replace these.

Better:

Stroll. Sprint. Whisper. Caress. Yell.

Resist the temptation to add adverbs to dialogue tags. Beware of saying things twice.

Example:

He snarled angrily. She whispered softly. He yawned sleepily.

Comment:

Note how the adverb isn’t needed.

Snarl demonstrates anger. The adverb isn’t needed.

She whispered softly. Whispered indicates softly spoken.

He yawned sleepily. Yawned is indicative of being tired.

Other Words to Avoid

Had. That. Up. Down. Really. Almost. Just. So.

These words are used without thought, but often do little to improve a sentence. When a Fantasy author is polishing their manuscript, they should go through and remove any case where these words are unnecessary.

‘Had’ places the action in the past. ‘That’ is often unnecessary. To bring immediacy to their writing a Fantasy authors will strive to keep action and interest in the present.

Up and down are often added when not needed. Really, unless in dialogue is unnecessary. Almost, again is not acceptable unless in dialogue, since the narrator should know things. ‘Almost’ is indecisive and will frustrate the reader. He was almost as tall. He’s shorter. She could almost see… again she couldn’t see.

Just and so are just so superfluous.

Example:

The damsel had watched the villain leap up onto the horse that had been tied up to the hitching rail outside the tavern.

The damsel was really frightened, watching the fire that almost burned the tavern down. She thought it was just so lucky no one that had been in the inn was hurt.

Comment:

This is a bit obvious, but the idea is clear. Remove all the words that should be avoided. See how to improve poor writing by culling words we tend to ignore as we write.

Better:

The damsel watched the villain leap onto the horse tied to the hitching rail outside the tavern.

The damsel was frightened, watching the fire burn the tavern. She thought it was lucky no one in the inn was hurt.

Comment:

Another cull and sentence rewrite can improve this example.

Example:

The damsel watched the villain leap onto the horse tied outside the tavern.

As the tavern burned, she shook with fright. Relief washed over her when no one in the inn was hurt. Her thudding heart quieted and trembling limbs stilled.

Comment:

This example has tried to ‘show’ the reader how she felt rather than ‘tell’ them.

‘She was frightened’, is telling. ‘She thought it was lucky’, is telling.

The words to avoid that will prevent the author falling into the ‘telling’ not ‘showing’ trap are: felt, thought, saw, and was.

The Fantasy author, when writing in third limited omniscient should try to ‘see’ action and gauge emotions in characters and scenes from what their main character can see and understand. They will use gestures and mannerisms, as well as dialogue to give the reader insight.

Try this exercise yourself. Have a list of words you want to avoid and keep adding to it as you master the craft of writing. Soon they will disappear from your manuscript and your writing will become stronger, compelling and more attractive to a publisher.

Hints and Tips on How to Edit Fantasy Novels

When it is time to edit. Once you have penned your manuscript, leave the novel to age for a few weeks, or months. Then take the time to polish your work before pursuing publishers. This isn’t the signal to panic, but to take a deep breath and find time to spend going over your story. Even more than when you are writing, you will need a Do Not Disturb sign. (A lesson learnt from experience.) Go back over the plot. Does the novel follow the Fantasy Plot Arc? The basic Arc is when your Hero embarks on his quest, faces antagonists, develops through conflict, prevails in a climax and loose ends are tied to the satisfaction of your reader in the denouement. As you read, can you count five instances where the plot is propelled forward? If not consider omitting scenes that deviate from the plot. Grammar. While re reading, have a list of things to look for to improve your writing. For instance, you should know by now the various words to avoid. Check and correct the overuse of adverbs, adjectives, passive voice, telling not showing, clichés, repetitive words and phrases, or altered POV. Commas. Find the rules for your region. They differ from country to country and cause a great deal of confusion. Once you have the rules for your region, or the region of the publisher and readers of your target audience, apply them throughout your work. Read your work aloud. Does every sentence flow? Print out your manuscript once you feel it is polished and re read it. Everything looks different in print. Then go over it again on the computer. If possible, seek the help of other readers, writers. Have them review your work and look for plot flaws or grammatical errors.

Fantasy Writing: Creative Writing Exercise Seven

Exercise Seven. Immediacy; bringing your reader into the action. Whenever you write, your aim is to keep the reader riveted, forcing them to turn the next page. So compare these sentences.

The cavern shook. Caleath fell and was blinded by the light. The smell was so bad he felt ill. Clutching the sword, he waited till the shock passed. The cavern shook. A pulse of energy knocked Caleath to the ground. Noise, so loud his ears bled, battered his senses. Intense light seared through eyelids though he covered his face with his arm. The smell of molten gold, of death and corruption made him want to vomit. With his hands clutching the sword, he cowered until the initial shock passed. We want to show the reader what happened, give them an idea of how our hero feels. Consider how in this second example the writer has offered us more insight into the hero’s actions. We have information about what he sees, hears, tastes, smells and feels. Can you see how this involves the reader by drawing them into the scene? This has changed the Point of View from omniscient to limited character. Try writing a scene from different POV and see how an author can distance or involve their readers using this device. Remember to consider different senses as you write. Descriptions need not be as long as this example. They can be included as part of dialogue tags. (remember dialogue tags are , he said, she said.) Rather than:

“Magic caused the storm?” Caleath whispered thoughtfully. “Yeah.” He said with a frown. “You might be right.”

“Always,” Raul laughed. “Besides my young friend, you have seen the signs. You must know who our hero is. Why do you question his integrity?”

“He’s the smith?” The boy nodded and then scowled. “What signs?”

To involve the reader and add descriptions of actions and emotion, we take the point of view of the character and offer the reader samples of what ‘he’ experiences.

“Magic caused the storm?” Caleath spoke in a whisper as he eased his weight onto one elbow and accepted a bowl of stew from the youth. “Yeah.” He searched his memory analyzing the feeling the strange tempest instilled in him. “You might be right.”

“Always,” Raul laughed. “Besides my young friend, you have seen the signs. You must know who Caleath is. Why do you question his integrity?”

“He’s the smith?” The youth wiped thick gravy from the spoon and licked his finger. Caleath could feel the boy’s gaze bore through him as he chewed on a chunk of venison and forced himself to breathe. “What signs?” Try to add a little information at each opportunity, rather than paragraphs dedicated to descriptions alone, but don’t over do it. Remember to drive the plot forward. Always keep reading. Watch how people behave, speak and move. Do they have habits you can use for your characters? This will help to make your characters real and let the reader feel more a part of your writing.

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