Jean's Writing

How to instantly improve your story

Published on May 1, 2017May 3, 2018 by Jean M. Cogdell22 Comments

By putting a little zing in your writing with power words.

Super Heroes - Jean's Writing

Now I don’t mean to burst your bubble, but I’m not promising to instantly make you a NY Times bestseller. No, that’s gonna take a whole lot more information than I possess. However, should I ever be so fortunate as to ascend to such lofty heights, I’ll be in a better position to share the climb.

But back to improving. That’s where I’m at now. Tweaking and changing and learning how to better grab my readers. To that end, I’ve found a couple of terrific posts.

Use Power Words to Spice Up Every Page of Your Book or Website by Judy Cullins

317 Power Words That’ll Instantly Make You a Better Writer by Jon Morrow

In these articles, they write about using powerful, thought-provoking words that will not only grab but also hold the attention of a reader. Both Ms. Cullins and Mr. Morrow also provide an extensive list of “power words” that help us get started.

Words Have Power - Jean's Writing — **Use the right one!**

What did I glean from their posts?

Words have power but use the right ones.
Smart speakers, as well as writers, sprinkle power words without drawing attention to them.
Power words invoke emotion.
A story will be bland and dull without a few power words.
Not all power words are the same. Some invoke passion, others greed, fear, joy, or create comfort and curiosity.

Here is today’s challenge.

Check one of your favorite books, are power words used in the first paragraph?

Look at your current WIP, do you have power words to grab a reader?

Will adding a power word or two make the paragraph better?

What do you think?

Talk to me – I love reading your comments.

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Please stop by and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

Images courtesy of Pixabay

Do we need to write a consequence for every action?

Published on April 28, 2017April 27, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell15 Comments

A reaction for every action? Large or small?

The short answer is yes. I think so.

Once I grasp this concept, things began going a little smoother. Now in each scene, I stop and ask what will the characters consequence be for each action.

Even the smallest of decisions can move a story forward. For instance, stopping to buy a coffee can result in meeting the right or wrong person. Turning left instead of right can result in an accident or a chance meeting.

See. Each decision your character makes must have a consequence sooner or later to drive the story to the end.

It’s simple cause and effect.

My current work in progress I’m using action-reaction to move each scene forward. Even the most mundane of things.

Such as…

action: she pulled her sweater tighter
reaction: draws unwanted attention
action: he seeks her out
reaction: love or hate, life or death?

This could go further and carry on in another chapter. And with a little luck, things will fall into place like a row of dominos.

Look at a scene in your WIP. Is there any action that could use a reaction? Even if it is ordinary, mundane and everyday stuff it might be what you need to fill in the gaps.

Read these great articles on consequences for our characters.

Consequences of Your Character’s Actions

Writing an Action Outline

Tell me what you think.

Do you believe there must be a reaction to every action?

Can you see this helping propel a story forward?

Got any tips how you weave action and reaction into your story?

Talk to me – I love reading your comments.

Please stop by and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

Is laughter really the best medicine?

Published on April 26, 2017April 26, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell20 Comments

If laughter is good for the soul maybe it’s good for the blahs.

And just maybe fun is just what a writer needs.

Has your muse has gone into hiding with a case of Spring fever? Then a good dose of fun might draw her back into the game.

We’ve all used prompts to write quick flash fiction, short stories or articles as a break from the arduous task of writing a novel. Right? So how about just for fun!

I recently found a generator and produces the goofiest prompts.

Below are three samples I generated. Click on the link and see what outrageous ideas you can come up with at Writers First Line Generator.

The day my mother was kidnapped, we all got religion.
The day the parrot bit my Dad, we buried the vicar.
It was a grey morning in September when the house fell down.

I chose the first one to play with, hope it makes you smile.

The day my mother was kidnapped, we all got religion.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes. Not sure who “they” are or what a foxhole is, but I’m sure the saying has something to do with praying. And there sure was a lot praying going on the day mama was kidnapped.

Aunt Bertha walked the floor hollering for the Holy Spirit to smite the devil that took Mama from her babies. Mind you I’m fourteen and Randy just turned sixteen. There are no babies left in our house. But that didn’t stop Aunt Bertha. No, she grabbed Daddy, who hadn’t seen the inside of a church since his wedding day, fell to her knees and went to praying so loud Mama’s commemorative state plates rattled against the wall. Sheriff Taggart had a real hard time writing in his little notepad what with all the caterwauling going on.

Randy and me hid up in my room because, truth-be-told, we were glad to see the last of Mama’s sharp tongue the day she rode off with Reverend Malcolm. Yeah, everyone found religion that day, especially Mama.

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Okay, did you try it?

Please share yours in the comment section or leave a link! I’d love to read it.

Do you think laughter can lure your muse out of hiding?

Talk to me – I love reading your comments.

Please stop by and say “hey!” I’ll leave a light on.

Images courtesy of Pixabay.

How to move from real life to make believe

Published on April 24, 2017April 21, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell27 Comments

I haven’t written on my WIP in two weeks and barely managed to keep my blog going.

So, if I’ve been too slow to respond, I apologize.

Here at Jean’s Writing, I rarely write about my personal life. This is a place to share about my writing experience. To write what I’m learning as I struggle with stories, books, and articles. I like to keep the real world and my make-believe world separate. Let’s face it, make-believe is so much more fun.

However, too often the reality of life raises an ugly head and we must deal. What happens then? What happens when we realize there are more important things in life than characters in a story? Like real life, real people with real life and death problems.

Today I’m going to step out of my comfort zone and write about something very real and personal.

My 9-year-old grandson, Dylan.

Excuse me 9 and 3/4. Dylan would be offended if I forgot the 3/4 of which he is so proud.

Two weeks ago my grandson was hit by a car.

He’s recovering nicely now. We were very fortunate. Nothing broken, lots of scrapes and bruises, and a severe concussion. Considering the shattered windshield of the car, his mangled bike and broken helmet he was one lucky little boy.

Dylan landed on the road with his helmet in three pieces. Emergency personnel and doctors repeated over and over, that broken helmet saved his life.

One doctor quite shaken, held up the pieces, and said, “this would’ve been his head. Good thing you wore your helmet.”

Dylan still very confused and in a lot of pain, wiped tears from his eyes and said, “I always wear my helmet, you have to.”

You see, it’s a rule in our family. Everyone wears a helmet, grandparents, parents, and kids alike. If you want to ride a bike, you wear a helmet or else you walk. And we didn’t wait until they were riding two-wheelers. No, it started when they were on tiny-trikes.

I shared what happened with several of my friends and I received some of the oddest comments. “My kids/grandkids refuse to wear helmets.” “They don’t like helmets.” “They think helmets aren’t cool.” Those excuses are just that, excuses.

We were so lucky that in our family a helmet is more important that shoes. I’ve watched our kids ride in flip-flops, but they didn’t forget a helmet.

Be prepared. Accidents happen when you least expect.

An inexpensive helmet can save a child/adult from permanent brain damage or death.

A child that weighs 80 pounds has little chance against a car that weighs over 3,000 pounds. Was the driver distracted? Probably. Was he driving too fast for the small residential street? Possibly. My daughter hasn’t been ready to read the police report. All we know for sure is that Dylan was hit from behind. He didn’t see the car.

Something made of foam and plastic saved my grandson!

Now it’s time for me to get back to my make-believe world. To bring back my muse and my characters. But I must be honest. I’m finding it hard to get back in the writing groove.

This past year has been a bit of a roller coaster ride ending with a big jolt that has left me shaken. But now that my heart has slid from my throat back to its correct place in my body how do I return to writing about things of less importance?