Author: Jean M. Cogdell

Author of three children’s books encouraging kids to always reach for the stars. Now available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. Additional flash fiction, short stories, and essays are featured in various publications.

Who knew there were so many ways to describe eyebrows?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Writers, that’s who.Bitmoji LOLIn case you missed the post about 700 eyebrows…

700+ Ways to Describe Eyebrows: A Word List for Writers  

Get any tips for describing this?

pierced eyebrow

What did you come up with?

How would you describe this guy’s eyes?

Here is my try…

His overgrown eyebrows diminished his dark eyes. He would’ve benefited more from a bit of tweezing than the silver piercing lodged amid his bushy brow.

Now your turn. Leave your description in the comments section. Have fun.

To check out Kathy Steinemann’s Writer’s Lexicon, on her author page at Amazon.com 

 

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Do you want to write dialog like a pro?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell1 Comment

Of course, we all do.

Quote on editing by Don Roff

I’ve been a big fan of and save many of her articles. Here is one of my favorites.

Perspective: Self-Editing Your Dialogue and Characters BY 

She explains how to avoid stilted dialog and shows us how to add dimension to enable the reader to relate to your characters.

Do you need to tweak character dialog?

If so, read Kristen tips to make your character come alive.

Read her article, then go back and read some of your WIP.

Do you see any stilted conversations? 

Do you have a tip for adding life to characters?

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Do you read the fine print in a contract?

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell5 Comments

Publishing contracts are like all contracts in one specific way. A publishing contract also has fine print. And what is not in the contract can be as important as what is.

For instance, did you know…

Unless stated otherwise, a contract can stay in force for 70 years after your death?

Make sure you understand what you are signing. Pull out those reading glasses and read each, and every, line. And don’t be shy about asking questions. Information is empowering. So garner all the info you can before signing on the dotted line.

Signature on contract

Fingers crossed that one day I’ll have this problem. Ha Ha.

Anyhow, back to the subject at hand.

I’ve stumbled across a very informative article and wanted to share. So head over to Read Between the Lines by  in Blogs.

Remember…

Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory.

Did you know about the 70-year thing?

Have you signed a publishing contract yet? What was your experience? 

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How to avoid turning off your readers

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell7 Comments

Okay, confession time. I haven’t been writing for the past few weeks. Nothing but cold, wet weather and to top this misery up pops Daylight Savings Time. Yuck. Green sickly emoticon

But, today is sunny so, I’m back at my desk attempting to make some forward progress on my blog in addition to the 2 WIP sitting here.

You may ask what I’ve done all my time…

Ahem, Jean Cogdell BitmojiReading, reading and reading. Devouring books of all types. The good, great, bad and ugly. Some I’ve not been able to finish. Life is too short to spend hours reading junk. So, I may toss a couple of duds in search of a really good read. Found a few.

All this reading got me to thinking. Why do I reject a book after just a couple of chapters? Or even a few pages? And most of all, what can I do to avoid readers rejecting my stories? No writer wants them to run screaming from our books. Not unless we scare the pants off of them. LOL Nils Holgersson statute

Look what I found…

TOP 8 PROBLEMS THAT TURN READERS OFF BY CARLY HAYWARD

Ms. Hayward gave me a lot suggestions. Some I related to and some I need to chew on but all I want to avoid in my writing. Whether you write, children’s books, novels, flash or short stories these tips will help you tighten up your writing.

My takeaway…

  1. Head Hopping
    • While this may not bother some readers, it drives me nuts. I already striver to avoid this one.
  2. Missing Main Character
    • This happens when a writer fails to introduce the MC within the first few pages.
  3. Too Much Backstory
    • Okay, here is another of my reading pet peeves. Try not to put the reader to sleep with history.
  4. Floating Head Dialog
    • Ground the reader before throwing them in the middle of a conversation. If you must start in the middle of a conversation, make sure the reader understands who is talking.
  5. Action without Grounding.
    • We’ve all heard, start with action. But you still need to ground the reader or they won’t care what’s happening.
  6. The Recap
    • Easy going over past events. Instead of a character going over what led them to a place, show the reader what happened to avoid boring the reader.
  7. Distant Beginnings
    • In an effort to convey a sense of mystery a writer may leave too many details vague. Don’t. You need to let the reader connect to the character.
  8. Overdone Beginnings
    • Don’t start with a cliché. There are no new beginnings, but add something to yours and make it special. Hook the reader with something unique.

Be sure and click on Ms. Hayward’s article (here) and read everything she has to say about engaging your reader.

Which one of these 8 puts you off a book?

Do you have any suggestions to add to Ms. Hayward’s list?

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