Jean's Writing

Do you focus on the eyes to see the character?

Published on April 17, 2018April 27, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell13 Comments

Do you believe the eyes are windows to the soul?

Whether you believe this cliché or not, eyes are important. How you describe the eyes of a character can reveal a lot to the reader.

“Eyes that sparkled like sapphires glanced my way.”

This sentence tells us only that the person is blue-eyed.

BUT…

“Cold, blue eyes locked with mine. A chill rippled down my spine.”

Tells us the character has blue eyes and may be dangerous.

“Her blue gaze froze me in place.”

Lets us know the character is a woman and she ain’t happy.

“Lines crinkled at the corners of her sapphire eyes as they danced with mischief.”

This last one, again indicates the character is a woman and she may be laughing at or with another character.

If a body part is as important as William Shakespeare contended, we need to make certain our readers see into the heart of our characters. Through their eyes.

Thanks to Chris, my favorite Ape for directing me to a great blog post with terrific examples on how to bring a character to life through their eyes.

65 Ways to Describe Sight and Eyes in Your Writing by JACQUI MURRAY

What do you think?
Do you like the list of eye descriptions?
How would you write a sentence to show a character’s personality or attitude?

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How to select the picture you want for your post

Published on April 12, 2018April 11, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell19 Comments

Are you frustrated with Facebook?

Irritated every time you click the share button and Facebook chooses the wrong picture to post?

Me too!

What’s this all about? Apparently, from what I’ve been able to find out, Facebook controls this in an effort to stop people from changing legit articles by adding fake pictures.

Huh?

I don’t know about you but I’m tired of the same picture posting every time I click share. So, I’ve discovered a workaround. Well, works most of the time.

Instead of clicking on the share button, try this.

First copy your post address. ( https:// )
Open your Facebook page.
Paste the post address in Facebook.

The link should show default picture with arrows so you can select a different image.

If this doesn’t work, you may need to SCRAPE/DEBUG your Facebook.

Click on this link – FACEBOOK DEBUG

After you click the Debug Button go a little lower and SCRAPE your website.

Click the SCRAPE AGAIN button and this clears the default image from your Facebook.

Let me know if this has helped. Even if you don’t post a lot on Facebook you still may want to Debug/Scrape your website. Just another part of website housecleaning.

Did this change anything?

Have you ever used the Debug on Facebook?

Did I confuse you more? I hope not.

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What you need to know about writing a children’s book?

Published on April 10, 2018April 10, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell19 Comments

Wow! Two years have passed.

Yes, it was two years ago this April, I finished the final touches on my first pre-school picture book.

Writing and publishing a picture book was a big learning curve.

Took me a year to finish this tiny 32-page book. Whew!

Maybe you have an idea for a children’s book, but like so many, you’ve put off starting because a picture book is a bit different from writing an adult story.

Let me speed you along toward your goal.

I’ve put together a list of 8 things I learned the hard way about writing a picture book.

Buy a good PDF program. Yes, some people use MS Word but, trust me, it’s not worth the headaches. I finally settled on Nitro Pro 10 Page Plus. It’s cheaper than Adobe and easy to use.
Writers write and editors edit. Use an editor that understands children’s books. Yes, even small 32-page picture books need an editor. I found a great one by just asking around. LinkedIn and Facebook Groups are great resources. I found a wonderful editor, Margaret Welwood.
Unless you can really draw, I can’t, find a good illustrator. Ask around. See #2.
Decide on the size of your book. Go to the bookstore and library, look at other books for similar to your book. Me, I went with 8.5 x 8.5. Not too big or not too small for little hands.
Download a photo editing program, I used Paint.NET, to help size the illustrations. Adobe will work too.
Purchase an ISBN. That will help your books get into libraries.Who doesn’t want that, right? You can use the same number for IngramSpark and Amazon publishing.
Use the cover templates provided by IngramSpark and Amazon or whichever publisher you decide. Each template is different.
Order proof copies before you finalize and publish. Hard lesson.

My tips don’t apply to an ebook. No, this post is about producing a print picture book.

Do you want to write a picture book?

Have you written one already? Do share your tips.

Did I answer some of your questions?

Want more? Click and read…

A Story Board

Free Picture Book Thumbnail Templates for Writers and Illustrators

Picture Book Dummy, Picture Book Construction: Know Your Layout

Picture book layout templates

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How to make a character more real to a reader

Published on April 5, 2018April 10, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

Now that you’ve decided on a terrific name for your characters, what next?

Real or imagined. Memoir or fiction. Doesn’t matter. Same rules apply.

Turn flat into fabulous!

The characters must come alive in a manuscript and jump from the page into a reader’s heart. If not, they stop reading.

So how do we go about breathing life into these flawed creatures?

Each character must have a defining description. Something unique to them.
Make comparisons and/or contrasts with another character. Plain Jane is best friends with Fanny Fashionista.
Give them something to collect, obsess over, or talent.
Everyone has a pet peeve, even a small one. Don’t leave it out of the story.
What’s in her purse, pocket, car, closet? What will she not leave home without?
Don’t forget her diary, journal or the divorce decree. Search out and include legal and private documents.
How does your character talk? Texas twang, Southern drawl, up North clip, curse, spray, slur, or tick put it in the story.
Look at pictures and fill in the blanks. Memoir pictures help us a lot but so do artwork for fiction. Think about it.
Rich, poor, political, religious, serious, hateful, jealous, and what else influenced them.
And don’t forget those life-changing events. Marriage, birth, death, divorce, job new/lost, love, heartbreak, sickness, etc.

My list is just a taste of a great article written by Shuly X. Cawood on Brevity.

Make Your Memoir’s “Characters”—Yes, Those Real Ones—More Real to the Reader By Shuly X. Cawood

Click and read her post to get much more details on giving life to your characters, real or imagined.

Did these tips help you?