Character Thesaurus Entry: Visionary

Definition: having unusual foresight and ingenuity

Causes: having experienced success in the past, the mindset that each failure is but a stepping stone to future successes, growing up in an environment that fosters free thinking and problem solving, being surrounded and influenced by other big thinkers, a persistent dissatisfaction with the status quo

Characters from Literature and History: Dr. Frankenstein, Merlin, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci

Positives: Visionaries see the world through a lens of possibility. Where others see problems, they see solutions. They are confident, usually of high intelligence, and bold. Visionaries are so secure in their vision of what can be that they are not easily swayed by criticism and what others may think. They are incredible problem solvers and strong under pressure. Visionaries are responsible for much of the positive (and negative) change that happens in the world.

Negatives: Having a vision often means standing alone; this means that many visionaries live lives of isolation. The more radical their ideas, the more likely they are to be vilified rather than praised by others. While visionaries may clearly see what can be, they often lack the practical understanding of how to reach the goal. Their impracticality can frustrate those around them and undermine the visionary's ability to succeed. Due to their high intelligence, visionaries can also come across as condescending, impatient, and socially awkward. Because of their inability to accept the status quo, visionaries often find themselves opposed by powerful enemies.

Common Portrayals: scientists, inventors, magicians, geniuses, world leaders, artists

Cliches to Avoid: the egomaniacal crazy visionary bent on taking over the world; the eccentric but lovable magician or scientist; the passionate inventor who creates something that changes the world but sacrifices his family and values to do so

Twists on the traditional Visionary: 

• Visionaries usually envision something that is beneficial or helpful. But what if their goal is ambiguous--good for some, detrimental to others?
• We like to remember the "good" visionaries, but many horrible ideas and events were also birthed by those with incredible foresight and boldness. Instead of the purely evil visionary who sees nothing wrong with his pursuit, conflict your villain. Show him struggling with right and wrong just like the good guys do.
• Complicate things for your solitary visionary. Out of necessity, give him a partner.

Conflicting characteristics to make your Visionary unique or more interesting: timid, ignorant, anxious, pessimistic, selfish

Creating An Author Platform That Sticks

Two guest posters in one week? Oh heck yes!

Today we welcome S.R. Johannes, author of the YA Wilderness Thriller, Untraceable and the newly released On The Bright Side, a super fun Tween Paranormal about a girl becoming a guardian angel after she dies, only to discover her charge is her biggest ex-high school nemesis!

Shelli is also a Marketing Maven with an MBA in Marketing. She owns her own company, freelances as time allows and knows a ton about what an author needs to do in order to give their book the best chance of success. We've stolen her from her blog to pick her brain about PLATFORM, a concept important to all writers on the path to publication. :)

WHAT IS A PLATFORM?

A platform is an identity that people - potential readers, agents and publishers - recognize your name when the time comes.

In a nutshell, it is how you present yourself to the world. Kind of like an online business card. What defines you as a person, what motivates you, and how you want others to think of you.

Tips For A Stronger Platform

1) Be concise and connected. Everything you have in terms of marketing should be done in a cohesive way. So if you have a blog, web site, and twitter – they should all look alike – no matter what. Same colors, same fonts, same taglines. It should be concise and connected so people start to recognize you.

2) Get on the Web. You MUST have a web presence in this day and age. I hate to say this but if you Google someone and they are not there –in today’s world - people assume you are a nobody. If Google finds you – you are somebody. Sad but true. Believe it or not, people still ask me about this and people still don’t do it.

3) Be you. From a marketing perspective, make sure you project the right image and can be found easily online. The worst thing is creating a platform that is not in alignment with you. People will see right through it. So get to know yourself and identify what you want to project and what kind of writer you are – before you start creating a platform.

4) Do a few things well. Pick what is right for you. First of all – I don’t think everyone has to do certain things – besides having a web site. You don’t have to blog or be on twitter but you have to be somewhere. Some people are great at Wattpad, some at Pinterest, and some at Tumblr. So find something, do it well, and be sure to stand out. Whether it is style, voice, or topic driven. Think of how to be different.

5) Get followers. No matter where you are, you need to find a way to be different and attract people to coming back. Have something they care about. Make sure your blog is talking about something that audience wants to know. If you are blogging about writing – you will not touch teens and that is fine as long as you know that. Visit other blogs that are popular and see what they are doing.

6) See it as friending. Facebook got onto something when they called people “friends”. That is what social networking is about. Think of it as making friends. YOU would never walk up to someone you just met and said “hey you - buy my book”. But if you had a friend for a while, they would buy it without you asking just because it’s yours. Find blogs you like and go to them regularly. Look at it as making a friend online. Some of my closest friends I met online. You don’t just say – “hey you be my friend.” You reach out a little and see if they reach back. Comment on other blogs, especially ones that you like or new ones. People love that. It shows that you care about what they are saying.

7) Target the right audiences. Focus on a few different ones too. Don’t just focus on the publishing industry. Be sure you are touching the end user –teens if you are in YA. I see too many authors marketing their stuff to the book community and nowhere else. You need to hit all your targets differently. And know that you have more than one. Break down YA into segments so you can reach them more personally. If your book is about nature, go to where the teens are.

8) Be authentic. Do onto others what you would want them to do to you. Include them on blog rolls, help promote them, and comment consistently. Eventually they will be your blog friends. Don’t be fake about it. Bloggers know if someone is fake. Call it a cyber sense.

9) Give and take. I personally believe in giving back FIRST. I have spent 2 years giving back without asking or expecting anything in return. It was what I wanted to do for the writing community. I would never have felt comfortable reaching out to people for help when my book came out had I just took without ever giving in some way.

10) Give yourself time but start now. Building a platform takes time. It does not happen overnight. So don’t pressure yourself. Start now and it will grow over time.

S.R. Johannes is the author of Untraceable (a teen wilderness thriller) and On The Bright Side (a tween paranormal). She lives in Atlanta Georgia with her dog, British-accented husband, and the huge imaginations of their little prince and princess, which she hopes- someday- will change the world. After earning an MBA and working in corporate america, S.R. Johannes traded in her expensive suits, high heels, and corporate lingo for a family, flip-flops, and her love of writing.

You can find her blogging at Market My Words, tweeting wisdom on Twitter and getting her book on at Goodreads. Don't forget to visit her Facebook Author Page for all the latest news and upcoming books!

Want to find out more about Untraceable and On The Bright Side? You can purchase Untraceable or On The Bright Side in paperback and ebook at Amazon as well as other booksellers.

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success WINNER

Earlier this week author K.M. Weiland introduced us to the concept of Reverse Outlining, a great technique to use when you get stuck on how to bring about an event in your novel, creating a seamless timeline for your book.

Katie's book, Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success is filled with great ideas on brainstorming and outlining as well as leading writers through the process of writing a novel. Anyone who follows her blog knows the quality advice she gives, so I'm excited that S.P. Sipal of Harry Potter for Writers blog has won a copy of this book!

Thanks to everyone for entering and sharing a bit about your writing woes and the techniques you've embraced to work through them--it was great to read so many views of fellow writers. And, if you still want to get your hands on this book, simply click on the cover! Also, don't forget to make K.M.Weiland's blog a regular pit stop to visit. Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors is bursting with excellent articles and one of my favorite places to visit. :)

Happy writing!

KM Weiland on Reverse Outlining + GIVEAWAY

I am THRILLED to feature writing guru K.M. Weiland on the blog today to discuss Outlining. As a reformed panser, I have seen my writing evolve by embracing outlining techniques. And while I'm not a full outliner yet, it is a tool that helps me at certain stages during the writing process to form stronger story structure and character development.

Katie's book, Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success guides writers with a step-by-step approach to developing and writing a novel. One of the story mapping techniques is Reverse Outlining, a creative approach to help writers build a strong, cohesive timeline in their novels. Read on for an excerpt straight from the book!

Reverse Outlining

When you think of outlines, you generally think about organization, right? The whole point of outlining, versus the seat-of-the-pants method, is to give the writer a road map, a set of guidelines, a plan. An outline should be simple, streamlined, and linear. An outline should put things in order. So you’re probably going to think I’m crazy when I tell you one of the most effective ways to make certain every scene matters is to outline backwards.

During the outlining process, we have to create a plausible series of events, a chain reaction that will cause each scene to domino into the one following. But linking scenes isn’t always easy to do if you don’t know what it’s supposed to be linking to. As any mystery writer can tell you, you can’t set the clues up perfectly until you know whodunit. Often, it’s easier and more productive to start with the last scene in a series and work your way backwards.

For example, in my outline of a historical story, I knew one of my POV characters was going to be injured so badly he would be unable to communicate with another character for almost a month. However, I didn’t yet know how or why he was injured. I could work my way toward this point in a logical, linear fashion, starting at the last known scene (a dinner party), and building one scene upon another, until I reached my next known point (the injury). But because my chain of events was based on what was already behind me (the dinner party), more than what was away off in the future (the injury), my attempts to bridge the two were less than cohesive.

Had I outlined these scenes in a linear fashion, squeezing in the injury might have become a gymnastic effort instead of a natural flowing of plot. Plus, the fact that I had no idea what was supposed to happen between the dinner party and the injury meant I was likely to invent random and inconsequential events to fill the space.

My solution?

You got it: work backwards.

Starting at the end of the plot progression—the injury—I began asking questions that would help me discover the plot development immediately preceding. How was the character hurt? Where was he hurt? Why did the bad guys choose to do this to him? Why was he only injured, instead of killed? How is he going to escape?

Once I knew these things, I knew how I needed to set up the scene, and once I knew how to set up the scene, I knew what to put in the previous slot in the outline. Eventually, I was able to work myself all the way back to the dinner party. Voilà! I now had a complete sequence of events, all of which were cohesive, linear, and logical enough to make my story tight and intense.

Facing the wide unknown of a story is scary, and putting one foot in front of the other, when you’re unsure of the terrain, can be overwhelming. But when you can work your way backwards from a known point, finding your way becomes as simple as filling in the blanks. The result is a story that falls into order like a row of expertly placed dominoes.

Would you like to own your own copy of Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success? Simply leave us a comment with some contact info, and if you like, share what you struggle with when it comes to developing a story. Whatever issues are throwing up roadblocks, this book will offer you creative solutions to get your book back on track! Contest winner announced Wednesday, Feb 1st!

CONTEST NOW CLOSED

K.M. Weiland is the author of the historical western A Man Called Outlaw and the medieval epic Behold the Dawn. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, her book Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, and her instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

Character Trait Entry: Disorganized

Definition: lacking coherence or orderliness; a lack of systematic structure

Causes: Poor parental modelling or an unstructured environment growing up (clutter, lack of planning, hoarding tendencies, etc); living moment to moment without a sense of schedule; irresponsibility; being unable to prioritize; contempt for rules and structure; laziness; interests that shift with great frequency; suffering an emotional blow or loss that is difficult to overcome; mental instability

Characters in Literature & Film:  The 7 Dwarves (Snow White); Charlie (the Perks of Being a Wallflower); Clark Griswold (National Lampoon Vacation)

Positives: Disorganized characters find joy in small pleasures and simple interests. They are not as concerned with the big picture as they are with what's happening right now. They enjoy the moment, and don't take themselves or the world too seriously. The Disorganized character doesn't stress about keeping up appearances or conforming to the expectations of others. They are experts in closing out negative thoughts and distracting themselves with other things. No matter what happens, they are able to let certain negatives go and refocus on what makes them content.

Negatives:The disorganized frequently suffer the negativity, judgement and exasperation of others when they fail to meet expectations. A lack of order forces them into tight situations when forgotten deadlines, lost materials or skipped appointments carry consequences. These characters often let those around them down, and make poor leaders. They often need help to remain on task and do not inspire confidence that important details will be seen to. Inevitably, something will fall through the cracks, inspiring lectures, disappointment and disapproval.

Common Portrayals:
Writers, artists and other creative types; hoarders; the elderly; geniuses; the mentally ill; characters in slapstick comedy roles; red necks; messy teenagers

Cliches to Avoid: 
The 'mad' scientist; the eclectic wizard, the harried mother/aunt/grandmother/teacher with too many kids to keep track of; using a disorganized antagonist or gang of thugs as a plot device so the hero may easily defeat them

Twists on the Traditional Disorganized:  

• Disorganized protagonists are never portrayed at their bleakest, or they have positive traits which negate their irresponsibility, leading to an 'all is forgiven' scenario. Challenge yourself to write a character who is extremely disorganized and excels at consistently disappointing others. How will you balance such a character to still make them likable to the reader?

• This character type is used to disappointing others and then shrugging it off as, 'Sorry, but that's how I am. Forgive me?' What happens when someone they count on in turn lets them down in a huge way--an unforgivable way?
• Show us a character who views her own disorganization with contempt, and pair it with the drive to change. As initial failures mount, this will give the reader a view of ironic self-disappointment.

Weather Thesaurus Entry: Spring

WEATHER is an important element in any setting, providing sensory texture and contributing to the mood the writer wishes to create in a scene. With a deft touch, weather can enhance the character's emotional response to a specific location, it can add conflict, and it can also (lightly) foreshadow coming events.

However, caution must accompany this entry: the weather should not be used as a window into a character's soul. The weather can add invisible pressure for the character, it can layer the SCENE with symbolism, it can carefully hint at the internal landscape, but it must never OVERTLY TELL emotion. Such a heavy-handed approach results in weather cliches and melodrama (a storm raging above a bloody battle, a broken-hearted girl crying in the rain).

SENSORY DESCRIPTORS:

Sight: sun showers, longer days, trees and grasses greening up, flowers blooming, buttercups, daffodils, tulips, lilies, dormant plants pushing back up through the earth, buds and blossoms on trees, increased animal activity, baby animal sightings, effects from breezes, warm weather clothes, rivers rise and run swiftly from snowmelt, more butterflies/bees/other insects (because of increased blossoms), people working in their yards, birds flying north, nest-building, the emergence of hibernating animals, plants pushing up through snow or ice, increased pollen in the air, umbrellas and rain boots, kids playing baseball, rainbows, cherry blossoms

Smell: the clean damp smell after it rains, newly turned dirt for gardens, floral scents

Taste: rain, Easter candy

Touch: the sun's warmth on your skin, the fresh touch of the breeze as opposed to the frigid one you've felt all winter long, spongy or grainy feel of dirt in the garden, dirt clods falling on your feet as you pull weeds, the clean feel of the air on your legs and arms after so much time wearing long sleeves and pants, allergy symptoms

Sound: rushing water, rain falling, bare feet slapping the pavement, puddle-splashing, birds chirping, insects buzzing, kids-playing-outside sounds, the honk of geese as they return home, the crack of balls hitting bats

EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS:

Mood: After so many months of cold weather and brown landscapes, spring brings a renewed sense of optimism. Spirits lift, people are more friendly and kind. Spring evokes hope and renewed vigor.

Symbolism: renewal, rebirth, beginnings, second chances, cleansing

Possible Cliches: spring chickens, April showers bring May flowers, robin's egg blue

OTHER: As always, weather and seasons vary by region. Spring in Canada looks very different from spring in southern California. Temperate areas may have a very short spring, if any at all. 

Don't be afraid to use the weather to add contrast. Unusual pairings, especially when drawing attention to the Character's emotions, is a powerful trigger for tension. Consider how the bleak mood of a character is even more noticeable as morning sunlight dances across the crystals of fresh snow on the walk to work. Or how the feeling of betrayal is so much more poignant on a hot summer day. Likewise, success or joy can be hampered by a cutting wind or drizzling sleet, foreshadowing conflict to come. 

Do You Need a Social Media Intervention?

It’s drilled into us by the Publishing Powers That Be: platform, platform, platform.

Embrace Social Media. Blog. Get on twitter. Engage. Network. Connect. Start early, think ahead, get a platform in place before the deal.

And because we want to give ourselves the best chance of being noticed, we do it. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Tumblr and more. We participate in blog hops, help promo new books, run contests, join writing list-serves and organizations, post on forums, interact through writing support circles and groups. We host giveaways, we retweet, we #FF & #MM, we review books and we critique. We learn about SEO and back-linking and stress about Klout scores. We Follow. We Like. We+1. After all, this is what we were told to do, right?

For writers, putting time and energy into an online presence is the new norm. Time, hard work and luck all factor in on how successful a platform becomes. And some writers are very successful at building their platform. That's good...right? Yes, absolutely. Well, you know, except for the but.

Hold it...there's a  BUT in this scenario? Yes, and here it is:
  

Sometimes instead driving your platform, your platform drives you.

A great platform is every writer’s end game...but the cold, hard fact is that it comes at a price: TIME. It takes a lot of time to manage a successful online presence.

When it starts to chew up too much, we get hit with a fish-slap of reality: there's no time to read. The research we need to do for our WIP is always on the back burner. Our family rarely sees us without a laptop or wireless device in our hand. And, the death blow? We're spending all our time blogging and networking instead of writing.

Eventually, a writer in this situation will become fed up, especially if they aren't seeing dividends as a result of platform building (an agent's attention, the editor's interest, the deal to celebrate). They begin to resent their blogs, or twitter, or whatever else is murdering their writing time. They also may resent those who preach that writers ‘must have’ a platform. Social Media Fatigue sets in, and as the pressure to keep everything going builds, a writer flirts with the idea of just...walking...away.

Running yourself ragged is not the solution. Quitting a platform you worked so hard to build is not the solution. Change is. So if you are finding all your time is spent trying to gain online visibility instead of writing, you need a SOCIAL MEDIA INTERVENTION.

Consider this your therapy session.

Experiencing Social Media Fatigue? Look at what you’re doing for platform and what is draining your passion and time. What avenues can you cut back on? What can you do more efficiently? Here are some common TIME EATERS and POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

SYMPTOM: Blogging Burn Out

Blogging can be a big chore if you aren't into it. Do you struggle to come up with topics? Are you always writing posts? Do you like blogging but it takes up too much of your time?

CURE:

--Blog less. Cut back on your blogging schedule.
--Join forces. Bring someone else into the blog or approach others to Guest Post.
--Broaden your subject matter. Think about what you like, what you're passionate about. Incorporate this into your blog. If you're sharing something you enjoy, it doesn't feel  like work. Blogs don't have to have only one topic or focus.
--You don't have to blog. There is no Blogger Mafia. There will be no horse's head lying on your pillow. If blogging isn't your thing, put your energy into what is. :) 

SYMPTOM: Google Reader Meltdown

Do you look at your Google reader and swell up into a hive-induced balloon? Does the sheer number of blogs you feel you should visit doom you to cutting hours from your writing time? Are you afraid people will hate you if you don't stay on top of their blogs?

CURE: 

 Repeat these words: I can't visit everyone and that's okay. Give yourself permission to only visit a few posts from your reader, not all of them. If you have regulars, make it your goal to visit them once a week (or two if necessary), not every post they put up. Bloggers who are truly supportive will understand if you pop in a little less often--they are likely in the same boat. Writing needs to be your priority.

SYMPTOM: Email Freeze

Do you dread opening your email box each morning? Do you have dozens of newsletters, blog subscriptions, pings from Goodreads to join book tours and contests? Do you find yourself stopping writing to view mail as it comes in? Does that quick check turn into an hour of responding to messages?

CURE:

--If you don't read it, unsubscribe. We often subscribe to things--newsletters, alerts, blogs. If you don't have time to read it and just end up hitting delete, get rid of it.
--Put email on a time limit. Give yourself a set time for email, stick to it, then shut your mail off so you can write. If you don't get pings with each email, you won't feel tempted to click over every five minutes. Email watching is self-sabotage. Allow yourself an email break as a reward for a set amount of words written or time spent on task.

SYMPTOM: Comment Mania

Do you spend hours commenting on blogs? Or do you barely skim posts and then dash out something generic just to show that you were there? Are you spending too much time responding personally to each comment on your own blog?

CURE:

--Realize it is okay of you cut back on commenting. At some point in time, everyone will need to do this. Bloggers worry if they don't comment as much, readers won't visit their blog. The truth is, if the content is strong, readers will come. Focus your energy on content that meets your readers' needs--this is why they visit.
--Show your support of blog friends in other ways. Sharing posts by tweeting, FB, Google+ etc helps to spread awareness of their blog. Trust me, they will appreciate the shout out!
--Be respectful. If you don't have time to write a genuine comment, move on. Don't just post a 'thanks for the post' comment just for the sake of it--always mean what you say.
--Think group over individual. If responding to every one's blog comments on your post is stealing too much time, comment once on the post, addressing everyone as a group. The personal touch is nice, but only if you have time. Again, it's my experience that people are understanding that you won't always be able to respond individually all the time. 

SYMPTOM: Twitter Overload

Are you overwhelmed by the sheer amount of twitter posts flying through your stream? Do you find it hard to interact with everyone who interacts with you? Are you worried some one's feelings will be hurt of you don't #FF them? Do you obsess over followers and lists?

CURE:

--Stop worrying. Twitter is supposed to be fun and interactive. Interact as much as you like, with the people  you like. If someone @'s your name with something specific, respond (unless it's spam). Remember it's up to you how much to get involved and with whom.
--Install Tweetdeck. If you have too many people to keep track of and you don't want to cut down on your following, start making lists of the people you want to keep tabs of. Assign columns to these folks and scroll through them from time to time to see their latest tweets.
--Only #FF if you want to. It isn't a must to do all the mentions and shout outs if you don't want to. Do it once in a while, or not at all. It's up to you!
--Let your twitter following grow organically. I know there are all kinds of strategies to get a bazillion followers...but do you really NEED a bazillion followers? And if you don't have the time to interact with them or provide useful content in your tweets, do you think they'll stick around?
--For a place to start, find the #MyWANA hashtag. If you find Twitter overwhelming and don't quite know who to connect with, #MyWANA is full of great people.
--Limit Twitter. With constant links and conversations streaming in the viewer, it's easy to stay on Twitter far to long. Decide how much time to spend before clicking on your account. Stick to it.

SYMPTOM: Facebook or Google+ Addiction
Are you on FB or Google+ all the time, liking and commenting and +1 ing, or playing Scrabble and Zombie vs Plants and Castleville and Words with Friends, etc etc?

CURE: 

--Visit less often. These places can be great fun, but they are also a huge black hole to get lost in. If you need to start your day with a coffee, make this your FB & G+ time. When the coffee is gone, shut it down and get to work. Only come back on when you're done writing for the day.

SYMPTOM: The Social Networking Death Spiral

Are you currently dividing your time between all major Social Networking platforms because that's what 'everyone says' writers should do? Do you find that because you divvy up your time between a blog, twitter, FB, Google+ Tumblr and others, none of them are getting enough attention to really be useful?

CURE: 

--You are the boss. Do the Social Networking Medium(s) that appeal to you, not everyone else. To quote your mother, if your peers told you to jump off a bridge, would you do that too?
--Less is MORE. It's better to choose one medium and excel at it than try to juggle several and only do a so-so job. Again, it comes down to passion! If you enjoy something, it isn't work. Don't waste time trying to be everywhere...concentrate on the place or places you feel comfortable with and have time for.
--Drop the Hot Potato. You remember the kids' game right? Well this time, instead of trying to juggle that spud, let it go. If you are involved in a type of social networking but find it isn't really you, ditch it. Focus on creating your platform in areas that play to your strengths and interests.

Platform is a good thing, but only if you can use it. If you spend all your time building it but have no product that will benefit from it...what's the point? Always, always put your writing first. 

Those of you who know me, know I juggle a lot. I am on many SN platforms, using these to bring great writing content to the community when I find it, and to connect with the people who make this industry great--you! I have been faced with overload at different stages, and I am still doing my best to maintain a balance. I have had to do many of the things listed here and continually keep tabs on when to slow down. This blog especially takes a lot of time and energy and without Becca, I wouldn't be able to do it. But I love learning new things and sharing what I know, so I have a huge passion for The Bookshelf Muse, and this keeps me going. Find your balance and the platform will come. :)

Do you need to scale back, or have you already? What strategies worked best for you to achieve a better balance between Platform Building and Writing? 

Contest Winners!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the contest celebrating The Bookshelf Muse's fourth birthday, and for those who left such happy and encouraging comments. We love all of you, but the Random Number Generator loves some of you more, namely...

First-Page Critique Winners:
1. Kitty
2. Alyianna
3. Gayle C Krause
4. Heather Marsten

Indelibles Book Winners:

5. Renee (hrhanson) wins a copy of THE VEIL by Cory Putman Oakes
6. SStokes wins a copy of ON THE BRIGHT SIDE by S.R. Johannes
7. TomiEvans wins a copy of DESTINED by Jessie Harrell
8. Renee (rrbcpa) wins a copy of GLIMPSE by Zellie Wells (EDIT: Ack! Zellie Wells is the character in this series. The author is Stacey Wallace Benefiel)

And the Grand Prize winner, who will be named after a character in Marilee Brothers' upcoming book MIDNIGHT MOON: Grace Peterson!

Winners, we'll be contacting you shortly with the details on how prizes will be distributed. Congrats, and thanks again to everyone who entered. Here's hoping that if you didn't win today, you'll get lucky next January 17th, and the one after that, and the one after that...

Contest Closed

Thanks so much to everyone who entered our Fourth Anniversary giveaway. Winners will be announced tomorrow. Good luck! And thanks again for continuing to hang out with us at The Bookshelf Muse.

Weather Thesaurus Entry: Avalanche

WEATHER is an important element in any setting, providing sensory texture and contributing to the mood the writer wishes to create in a scene. With a deft touch, weather can enhance the character's emotional response to a specific location, it can add conflict, and it can also (lightly) foreshadow coming events.

However, caution must accompany this entry: the weather should not be used as a window into a character's soul. The weather can add invisible pressure for the character, it can layer the SCENE with symbolism, it can carefully hint at the internal landscape, but it must never OVERTLY TELL emotion. Such a heavy-handed approach results in weather cliches and melodrama (a storm raging above a bloody battle, a broken-hearted girl crying in the rain).

SENSORY DESCRIPTORS:

Sight: 

Avalanches occur in mountainous terrain where a natural pockets of snowpack build up, made from either fresh snow or layers of older, compacted snow.  Often a shift in temperature (thaw), rainfall or windstorm can trigger an avalanche. If too much snow accumulates too quickly, or rain compacts fresh snow creating an unstable heavy slab, an avalanche is an event waiting to happen. Wind is a dangerous factor, as it erodes snow from the upwind side and deposits it on the downwind, creating an uneven build up. When a sluff (loose snow) or a slab (compacted snow) fractures, nothing can stand in its way. Traveling at 60-80 miles per hour, a dry avalanche takes down anything in its path. Trees are uprooted and splintered, rock, ice, man-made structures and debris is swept up and carried away. A wet avalanche is slower, traveling at only twenty miles per hour.

A person caught in the avalanche is carried with it, tumbling without control like a giant ball of snow down a hill. Most often they are pulled under by heavy gear (skis, ski boots, etc) and they must 'swim' furiously against the pull. This happens quickly and trying to retain any sort of control against such a force is almost impossible. From a distance, clouds of snow billow and form at the site of the avalanche. If you are writing an avalanche scene and need to see a first person account of a skier caught in an avalanche, buried alive and then rescued, here's a video. It's not for the faint of heart however, so watch at your own risk.

Smell: 

The tang of ozone would be the most noticeable, along with pine or spruce needles, cedar wood (if trees are uprooted/splintered)

Taste:

Cold, metallic snow, ice crystals, one's own sour breath from fear

Touch: 


Chunks of snow pummeling the body, branches whipping against the face, clawing for handholds, the drag of snow pulling you under, arms and fist slamming into the snow in an attempt to stay at the surface, the squeeze of snow debris against the body and chest as it sets into place in the aftermath, unbearable cold and tingling against exposed skin, snow clogging mouth and nose or pressing against the face

Sound: 

The precursor sound to an avalanche is a whomp noise.  This is the sound of instability in the ice pack and if close enough a person would hear the crack as a layer of snowpack breaks. If an avalanche is in motion, trees crack and snap on the way down, there is a hiss as fresh slow slips and tumbles, and from afar it is a slow rumble that builds. It can almost sound like thunder during a summer storm. In the aftermath, the area seems almost unnaturally quiet. Want to hear one for yourself? Follow this link!

EMOTIONAL TRIGGERS:

Mood: Avalanches can infuse a sense of terror into a scene. Wild, uncontrolled and deadly, those who witness one, live through one or by chance alone, narrowly miss being caught in one are brought face to face with their own mortality. A somberness follows in its wake as horror sets in: being caught in such a force would most likely be the end. A brush with such an event may cause people to rethink their paths and bring about the need to be with people they care about. Avalanches can make good foreshadowing tools of a similar, life-altering event about to occur in a POV character's personal life that make them feel a loss of control and leave a hard, emotional impact.

Symbolism: A lack of control, volatility, an unstable lifestyle, the fury of Mother Nature, an impossible foe, risk

Possible Cliches: Outpacing an avalanche in an action scene

OTHER: Most avalanches are triggered by people placing their weight on unstable surfaces (skiers, snowboarders, hikers & snowmobiles). It is a myth that noise can trigger avalanches--the sound would have to be intensely loud (such as explosions going off nearby). Outrunning an avalanche is nearly impossible without a vehicle that can travel at high speeds and has strong maneuverability. Stats show that 93% of avalanche victims survive if dug out within the first fifteen minutes. Odds drop to 30% or lower after forty five minutes and after two hours, there are no survivors. The cause of death in most cases is carbon monoxide poisoning.

Don't be afraid to use the weather to add contrast. Unusual pairings, especially when drawing attention to the Character's emotions, is a powerful trigger for tension. Consider how the bleak mood of a character is even more noticeable as morning sunlight dances across the crystals of fresh snow on the walk to work. Or how the feeling of betrayal is so much more poignant on a hot summer day. Likewise, success or joy can be hampered by a cutting wind or drizzling sleet, foreshadowing conflict to come.