Importance of adding Dialogue to your story-self help writing

Narrative prose is one speaker telling a story. It is a format of storytelling,  

Dialogue is conversation between two or more, or it can be your inner conversation

 At the seminar I attended a few weeks ago, the speaker talked about narrative as a way of creating balance in your story. Narrative observes, not comments. I have talked in previous posts about the difference between showing and telling a story. I will add that even if you are writing self-help, interjecting dialogue can personalize the goal of the book.

Dialogue humanizes your characters, and it humanizes your inner conversations. You can set up your character's personality, or you can bring out a point through dialogue.  

Within a work of narrative prose, an author often includes dialogue, exact words spoken directly by the characters, rather than a paraphrased version given by a narrator, I often talk about showing verses telling, and a good way to create the "showing" of your story is through dialogue. You can set up your character through dialogue.

Example: Mary is a manipulative personality, and her dialogue supports this without saying it, or calling attention to it. The reader will pick it up.

Ex:  John and Mary, married 15 years with 2 children, have been attending a marriage counselor for the past 3 months.

"Hurry up honey, Let's go, John said, our appointment is in 30 minutes, and it takes 20 minutes to get to Dr. Joyce's office."

"John, I really don't feel well, I think we should cancel our appointment"

But, Mary, the sessions have helped us and our family so much. I really want to continue."

"I do too, but I promised Kelly that I'd take her shopping."

 "Why did you promise Kelly something when you knew it was our session time? Besides, I thought you wanted to cancel because you didn't feel well."

 

"I don’t feel well, but you know how Kelly gets when I promise her something and don't follow through," Mary answered, thinking about those red shoes she wanted to buy."

Character's behavior must be motivated by psychological disposition. Even though I told you Mary is manipulative, through this brief conversation, you are forming your own personal opinion of Mary.

Nearly every genre of writing is capable of using dialogue to create the most interesting, personal and compelling story. Your readers want to identify with one of your characters. Even if the character is you, they want to get in there with you and feel and understand what you are going through.

EXERCISE:

Take a page of your writing and add dialogue to it and share it with us.

Use of Cliches

Last week I attended a workshop hosted by Greater Los Angeles Writers Society, one of the premier writers organizations in Los Angeles. The title was Top Ten Errors Writers Make. Let me first say, and this is real important that if you are writing anything that you want published, you must invest in a proofreader, or copyediting.
Spell Check does not always work with proofreading, spelling and g...rammar. The facilitator, Editor, Helga Schier talked about agents and editors are particularly sensitive to the writing and will make a determination on whether they can help you solely based on the simple fact of using correct grammar, or misspelled words, such as dye instead of die. Do not rely on spellcheck.

One of the things that was interesting to me, is the use of clichés, which can be important markers for character development. I never thought about it like that, but clichés can personalize your characters.
Who do you see when you hear these clichés?
"Play your cards right"
"Dog tired"
"Grass is always greener"
"Bored to death"
"This is the first day of the rest of your life"

Think about it, clichés can also DEFINE a personality or relationship. When I read "Dog tired", I think of a hard working man, who is working two jobs because his wife is sick. Or a single mother, working 12 hour shifts to make sure her children have all their needs met. It speaks about the integrity of the person, it defines what they will do for the good of their family.

If you are writing non-fiction clichés can add depth to your writing, "This to shall pass" or " " A closed mouth is never fed"
Sometimes a clichés can lighten up serious writing. As a writing exercise, pick a cliché and add it to your writing and see how it feels. Does it change the purpose of the writing? Does it compliment it? Does it cause your reader to reflect, or think?

Share with us what you discover.

QUOTE

If anybody asks me what I have accomplished.

I will say, all I have accomplished is that I

have written a few good sentences.

Eric Hoffer

I AM A WRITER AFFIRMATIONS

To a large extent happiness and success is determined by the thoughts that are stored in our minds. Affirmations are positive and powerful statements that build encouraging internal dialogue to replace any self-defeating and negative thoughts that have prevailed in the past.

  By consistently and continuously repeating positive affirmations you create positive conscious and sub-conscious truths about yourself. These new and powerful thoughts begin to play automatically, reinforcing the new belief that you are creating in your life.

  As you begin to use positive affirmations, let yourself really feel them, fully experience each one, and enjoy them as they begin to nurture you. Assume each affirmation is absolutely true. Feel the positive energy that is necessary to create the corresponding thought as you start incorporating your new truths into your life.

I AM A WRITER

• My destiny is in my brilliance
• I am inspired within my heart and spirit
• I always have time to write
• I am always writing and listening to my inner voice
• Someone wants to read what I write
• My ideas are fabulous!
• I am a person of my word
• I am the author of my destiny
• I always meet my deadlines
• I am always creating

Creative Writers Workshop

Leave your Memories Behind!!! Write it the Write Way!!! Make it Happen!!!

 

Reflections Publishing House, is a small press publishing company with a writer’s component, founded in 2005. We’ve discovered a critical need for writers to attend a workshop to learn the fundamentals of the writing and self-publishing processes, and are in dire need of giving your writing the raise it deserves.

Do you have a story to tell or have an idea for a book but after writing a few pages you stopped? Do you have notebooks full of writing but no clear sense of how to turn it into a manuscript? Or you have a manuscript that you’ve been working on for years but just can’t seem to complete it? Reflections Creative Writing Workshop is the answer for all your needs.

Reflections Publishing House

The Place Where Writers Go to Grow

Creative Writers Workshop

Six Personalized Writing Sessions

· Nurture your love of writing, and storytelling

· Learn the dynamics of the creative writing process

· Discover the purpose of your writing

· Write Story/Poem for Class Anthology and learn Self-Publishing Basics

· Receive a One on One Coaching Session

· Receive professional critique on your work

Beginning
Saturday, June 22, 2013 - 3:00 PM to 5 PM

 Yvonne Burk Community Center

4750 W. 62^nd Street

Los Angeles, CA 90045

 To Register

310/695-9800

dabellis@reflectionspublishings.net

meltaylor@reflectionspublishings.net

www.reflectionspublishings.net

 $75 includes

6 workshops; course materials and private coaching session

FREE

 Introductory Session June 22, 2013

INTERESTING FACTS OF THE BOOK   INDUSTRY

PART TWO

There are about 1.5 million books in print at any one time in the United States.

Bookstore sales by month would surprise the average consumer. You probably think December is the high month. Yet the big bounce is in January and again in August and September when university sales are made. The lowest month is April with only $0.987 billion in sales.

Some 300 to 400 mid-sized publishers exist. 78 percent of titles brought out come from a small press or self-publisher. California is the stronghold of small presses with approximately six times the number located elsewhere. Colorado and Minnesota also have large independent and self-publishing communities.

On the average a bookstore browser will spend eight seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds scanning the back cover.

The size of the small press movement is estimated to be $13 billion to $17 billion a year, as opposed to traditional publishers who are responsible for bringing in $26 billion.

Nonfiction typically outsells fiction by two to one. However, at least 20 percent more fiction is being published these days via the Internet and (POD) Print on Demand.

Interest in poetry and drama has grown by more than 33 percent since 1992.

The average number of copies purchased by the author from one of the POD Company is 75 books.

One book per year is produced in America for every 2,336 people— in contrast to one for every 545 individuals in the U.K. Other countries ahead of the U.S. on a per capita basis are Canada (577), New Zealand (779), and Australia (2,041). A poll of 2,700 U.S. Internet users, representing about 100 million U.S. Internet users, indicates that about 8 million unpublished novels and 17 million unpublished how-to books have been written by that Internet-using population alone. Women buy 68 percent of all books sold. Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.

52 percent of all books are not sold in bookstores! They are merchandised via mail order, online, in discount or warehouse stores, through book clubs, in nontraditional retail outlets, etc. 64 percent of book buyers say a book’s being on a bestseller list is not important.

The #1 nonfiction bestseller for 2001 was the Prayer of Jabez, exceeding 8 million copies. Self-Matters were #1 on the 2002 list with mere 1,350,000 copies sold. John Grisham’s The Summons topped the fiction list with 2,625,000 copies. The best-selling trade paperback during 2002 was, of all things, a cookbook: Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook, and how to. How-to, memoirs, and religion were also strong sellers.

Parables, short tales of fiction that teach a life lesson, have many avid fans that drive them onto bestseller lists. One of the most recent is Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson, MD. Dr. Johnson began his career as a self-published author

Bookstores are famous for returning books to publishers. The industry return rate is typically 36 percent for hardcovers and 25 percent for softcovers.

It takes an average of 475 hours to write a novel. Fiction is considered successful if it sells 5,000 copies. Writing a nonfiction book requires about 725 hours. A nonfiction book is deemed successful when it reaches 7,500 copies sold.

The largest advance ever paid for a self-published book is a whopping $4.125 million. Simon & Schuster paid that for Richard Paul Evans’s The Christmas Box.

We have researched a multitude of sites and publications to pull these facts together for you. They include the ISBN agency, R.R. Bowker; Harris Interactive poll; Book Industry Study Group; Bookwire.com; Seybold Conference; IBPA;The American Association of Publishers; Authors Guild; Lulu.com; Jupiter Media Matrix; parapublishing.com; Foreword Magazine; Department of Commerce; Publishers Weekly, various news releases; Books in Print;, Forrester Research; Morris Rosenthal; Romance Writers of America; Shelf Awareness; U.S. News & World Report; Poets and Writers; M. J. Rose; Borders; and SIMBA Information.

All information in this post was taken from Self-Publishing Resources by Marilyn and Tom Ross

Are You a Storyteller or a Writer?

 So now I'm on the vibe of understanding and applying the storytelling techniques to my writing. In one of my creative writers workshops, we talked about the difference betweeen showing and telling a story, and this applies to all genres of writing. But let's talk first about stiorytelling, and how it dresses up your words, how it uses everyday language to SHOW... the reader the story, example: "I looked out the window and saw that it was raining." that's telling something, it's a fact, it's raining. Now let's take the same words and show them. "The icy rain was pounding on the window so hard it startled me." That felt different, I could see the rain on the window. I actually felt the cold icy drops on my skin...burr.
Bring your words to life with active language, we talk a lot about active and passive language in our workshops, watch using the words be, will, these are passive works, enter into the conversation in present tense, example Passive - I will write today. Active - I am writing today.
Just a few tips on writing the write way.
Back by popular demand is Reflections Creative Writers Workshop beginning Satuday, June 22nd in Los Angeles. More information forthcoming!

Debbie Bellis, Publisher/Writers Coach

Interesting Facts about The Self and Traditional Publishing Industry

Part One

Previously, writers had fewer options to get their manuscripts into print. Mostly their choices were either traditional publishing or self-publishing. Self-publishing was considered by some to be "not real publishing," and could be the kiss of death for an author wishing to be taken seriously. Some traditional publishers were reluctant to accept their work, some literary agents wouldn't represent them, and some sales outlets wouldn't stock their books. Some called it "Vanity Publishing" to marginalize their work. Writers were left with few options, and had to do their own promotion and marketing. Some simply sold their books out of the trunk of their car, or to anyone who expressed an interest.

Authors submitted a manuscript directly to traditional publishers, hoping to find one who had an interest, and was willing to invest in publishing it. As those publishers became more risk adverse and less willing to accept unsolicited manuscripts, writers were forced to search for agents to represent their work. As agents became flooded with manuscripts, they also became more selective, accepting fewer manuscripts. Writers were now left with even fewer options. The process then became more difficult, as writers had to find an agent, and the agent now had to find a publisher.

The landscape has certainly changed over the last few years. Regardless of what you're told, the days of back room deals in smoke filled rooms with an agent using their influence and insider contacts to get a book published, are long gone. Professional relationships are still extremely important, and good agents may have more access because of their reputation for handing quality, but the days of wheeling and dealing with graft and corruption are gone.

Authors today have several options to get their work into print and be successful. What's happening in the book publishing industry today is comparable to what happened to the music industry a few years ago. The music industry was similar to the book publishing industry today. An artist could have the greatest song in the world, but if they couldn't find an agent who could sign them with a record label, they virtually had no chance of it ever being heard. The option was to produce their own record and try to sell it themselves. This was rarely successful.

As technology changed to digital, it became a viable option for artists to establish their own record labels. Service companies came into existence providing everything the artist needed to make their work available to the public. Some major record labels and agents ignored the new options and fought to brand self-recorded artists as "not real recording artists" with non-viable records. Eventually they lost the battle. In the recording industry today, artists no longer have to rely on major record labels to get their music to the public. The term “self-recorded” is no longer used nor has any meaning.

When self-publishing was in its infancy, the quality of the books were generally not on par with commercially published books. Many books were obviously self-published. With cheap construction, inferior typesetting, poor interior design and amateur covers, the books looked “home grown.” With today's technology, self-published books can be identical in quality and design to books produced by the largest firms. There are numerous examples of successful self-published authors who strongly advocate this method of publishing.

The greatest validation that subsidy publishing offers is the fact that some of the largest publishing houses have established subsidy imprints, providing writers with additional options. The houses of Thomas Nelson, Harlequin, Lifeway, Hay House, and Random now own all or portions of subsidy imprints. Some traditional publishers and agents still condemn subsidy and self- published authors for a variety of reasons. A subsidy or self- published author doesn't need an agent, thus cutting them and their profits out of the loop. They also no longer need the traditional publisher, cutting them and their profits out of the loop. In self-publishing, authors can reap most of the profits from sales while retaining full control of their work. In subsidy publishing the author maintains more rights and has more control than in a traditional format, but fewer rights than in self-publishing. Subsidy publishing is not necessarily the right option for everyone. It generally requires more author participation in addition to an author investment of funds. It's a partnership, which each partner investing in the potential success of the book.

Stay tuned for Part 2

THE PAPERBACK BOOK LIVES!

One of the key components being a successful writer is being in the community of writers and readers so last week I attended the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and what a grand event it was, thousands of people, music, food and literary workshops made up the landscape on the campus grounds of USC.

I attended the workshop “Non-Fiction, Sounds and Visions” and I am so happy I went, there was a publisher from Brooklyn, and he gave me so much hope. There was much conversation about how the Internet has changed the entire publishing industry. There is good, or great news for self-publishing authors.

The old boy network is gone, and a lot of New York traditional publishing houses are suffering. Well known best-selling authors are now self-publishing because they want to maintain total control over their projects, and keep ALL the profits from the book.

It was music to my ears, in the world of traditional publishing, armed with many rejection letters the author was made to feel like a second class citizen in the publishing industry. It’s hard to get a literary agent, and the chances that you can get your book in the chain book stores are slim to none. After all the big publishing houses have to have the edge, right?  Wrong, NOT ANYMORE!!  Yeah, we have power! The field is wide open and all it takes is good solid writing, and a business plan better known as a book synopsis.

In the world of e-books, I concede that they have sold gazillions on the Internet, I’ve even bought a few, but nothing, can take the place of the paperback book. You know the kind, you hold in your hands, and turn the corner of the page down, the kind that you highlight and mark in, the books in your bookshelves or your nightstand, that product is not going anywhere. 

So my fellow Writers, keep writing and use as many avenues as you can to get the written word out, such as blogs, and there are tons of websites, online magazines and newsletters that are always looking for content.  Find the ones that fit your genre because this is a great way to build a presence on the Internet.  Besides, somebody needs to read your words and it’s not helping anyone as long as it’s in the notebook or your computer. 

For those of you in the Los Angeles area, we are starting another creative writing workshop in June, and the goal of the workshop is to produce an anthology of the work that is created in the workshop, thus you become a published author!! More info will follow and I invite you to follow me on www.reflectionsph.blogspot.com

 Debbie Bellis, Publisher/Writers Coach

NEW TRENDS IN SELF PUBLISHING

I recently attended a workshop with the Independent Writers of Southern California and the topic was Current Trends in Self Publishing. It was quite interesting. There is great news, this is the best time for authors, because self publishing is starting to stand out like mainstream publishing.

Authors are putting out quality material that is packaged much as the same as traditional publishing. As a matter of fact, some of the surviving traditional publishers now have self publishing companies. Traditional publisher Random House is the parent company of Author House, and now Penguin Books is merging with Random House and the list goes on, and in case you didn't know, Createspace is the publishing company owned by amazon.com.

There is a new kid in town, the old boy network is fading fast, Authors are become business savvy, more creative, and knowledgeable about the many options that are available, that's the key, in order to move your work, you must become a salesperson of your own product.

Writers are creative, we don't want to think about selling, we want to romance our work, writing the story as it unfolds and dream about it becoming the next million dollar best seller. How do you do that? According to the information in the workshop, it's all about social media, build a buzz and a platform. This is the most cost effective way to build interests in your book which equates to book sales.

How do you do it you may ask, here is one answer:
Find one segment or chapter of your book and hone in on it. Find something that is related to something that is going on right now in the world. Create a character or a question, then answer it. Example:
One of my authors wrote a children's book on safety, it was geared to the age group of 3-7. All about safety tips inside the home and in the community. She illustrated items under the kitchen sink, cleansers, disinfectants, etc, and she showed how these things are off limits to the child. She created herself as a character named "Safety Mom" she called the local library, fire department and parks, and asked to bring in a presentation for young children on safety tips. She made an apron, and glued a lot of items that are off limits for children, and began to teach the children what not to touch in the home. She sold a lot of books, and spoke at many of her communities events.

As a author or writer, even if you haven't finished your writing, you must begin to build a platform. who is going to read your work? What questions does the book answer? Readers want a character or subject that they can relate to. Your readers invest with their time and money in a character, your character or subject can be a series. Once you build a buzz about the material, readers want more, thus developing a following.

Your platform must match your book, the stand alone subject is dead, you must find something to hone in on and work. Know your audience, and being part of the literary community is key.

Community book stores will survive, they all have co signment agreements for self published authors, and will take a few copies of your book and for a large percentage of the sale display your book in their bookstore.

Last but not least, social media is key, create a blog, and try to update often(something I am to busy to do) but I'm committed to making small entries, just to stay current. Create a fan page on facebook. Our fan page is Reflections Publishing House and you will find a literary community of online writers and highlights of what we are doing. The key is to communicate with the readers, offer tips for writers, and share the journey. You must have your work in as many venues as possible. www.selfgrowth.com is a great site to build a free website, and write articles which will give you a presence on the web, a must as you create the business side of your writing project.

Work the blog community, become friends with well known bloggers and have links to other blogs on your blog. It's the creative vs business hats that you must wear, even while you are still writing. YouTube is a sure way to get out in front of the public.

Let's start a dialogue, post your questions and comments and become part of the literary community.