#writingtips – Page 48 – Jean's Writing

Have you questioned their desire?

Published on October 7, 2016October 6, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell

A few days ago I talked about finding a misbelief for my protagonist, well seems that’s only part of the picture.

Guess I need to dig deeper.

dynamite-animal-1298947_640 — Image Source

Okay, now that I’ve figured out her misbelief, what other questions do I need to ask?

What is her deepest desire?
We’ve all heard to ask what does the protagonist want but take it a step further.
What does her misbelief have to do with her deepest desire?
Is my protagonist loveable?
Can the reader relate to her misbelief and her desire?

And before I can go any further, do I know how this story ends?

Will her desires be fulfilled or will she fail and plummet into despair?

Now that I’ve answered these questions, I’m ready to write to the middle.

I’m learning so much from Steven James in Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules, which won a won a Storytelling World Award. Unlike some bloggers who write “how to” books, Mr. James is an award-winning novelist of suspense including two Christy Awards for best suspense, The Suspense Zone’s Reviewers Choice award, Suspense Magazine‘s Book of the Year award. Mr. James also crosses genres, which gives me hope.

Hope you don’t get tired of me sharing on my blog as I learn. But I love, love this book!

What questions do you ask your protagonist?

Anything special that breathes life into your characters?

I’d love to hear from you! Click the “write me” tab or contact me on Twitter @jeancogdell,Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! The lights are on, and I’m waiting.

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Want to read a little bit of Story Trumps Structure? Then click on the link for a sample.

Story Trumps Structure: How to Write Unforgettable Fiction by Breaking the Rules by [James, Steven] — Image Souce

PS:

On a personal note, I’m getting closer to finishing my next children’s book. Just received six more images from illustrator. Fingers crossed!

jean_king-and-cape300 — A Reluctant Prince

Do writers need to worry about passwords?

Published on October 5, 2016September 29, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

If you use the internet the answer is yes.

Why?

Because there are idiots trolling for information, useless or not. Nothing seems private anymore. While on holiday I had the joy of having a hacker hit my Citicard hit.

I recently pulled my head out of my book for a few minutes to catch up on the outside world and read something about “passphrase.”

Now don’t go rolling your eyes at me, I know passphrase isn’t new. Not to most people but I’m usually too busy keeping up with my imaginary characters to keep up with much else. Sigh.

Apparently, passwords have become way too easy for hackers to well, access our world. I don’t know about you, but I do everything on my computer! I certainly don’t want uninvited weirdos sulking about inside my mind (computer) and messing with my stuff. Credit cards or manuscripts! One thing I’ve learned is that we should not make light of online security. No this is serious shit.

Some may argue that a passphrase is only marginally more secure than a password, however, others argue that it is considerably more secure. Argh! Experts argue just to confuse me. But I think a phrase makes more sense than trying to come up with a different word containing a capital letter and an odd character or two thrown in for good measure, that needs to be changed every ninety days or so.

Plus a passphrase can be fun. Take this one for instance.

Like cats? Try: Mykitty8kibble

Even if a hacker figures out you have cats, the combination that your kitty ate kibble will take a while.

Have a phobia? Try: Clownsscareme2death

Need motivating? Try: finishYRdamnbook

Or: my5thFuckingbook

Or: Nowwritingmy5thbook

I’m sure you can come up with a few fun facts about yourself. LOL

So what do you think?

Which do you use – Password or Passphrase?

Have you changed your security lately?

In wake of the latest hackers hitting Target and various banks you might want to update your computer protection.

I’ve added lots of articles for you to read and decide for yourself which you think makes more sense, passphrase or password. Click and read! And then protect!!

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New ‘rules’ make passwords easy to remember and more secure By Kim Komando

How To Create A Strong Password You’ll Never Forget by Axel Schmidt

Forget about passwords: You need a passphrase!

Password Dragon

Choosing Good Passwords Or Passphrases And Keeping Them Secure

Why Multi-word Phrases Make for More Secure Passwords Than Incomprehensible Gibberish Adam Dachis

How to understand the secrets that bend a life

Published on October 3, 2016June 5, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell16 Comments

Ding, Ding, Ding!

That was a bell going off in my head after I read a recent post on Writers Helping Writers.

I’ve read many books and blogs on writing. Lots of them talk about understanding what makes the protagonist tick. What secret from their past bent their life?

After all, we are all a product of our environment. Right? Well, our characters are just like us. They too are bent by their childhood, relationships and traumas. But how do you show that? By figuring out what made them the way they are.

I know it sounds about as easy as becoming a rocket scientist. But stay with me.

This post below gave me insight into how to uncover secrets about my protagonist but, most important how to use them to tell her story.

Lisa Cron gives 3 simple steps to help us break down our main character’s beliefs. So I took those steps and this is what I did. Be sure and click on the link below, read Ms. Cron’s article for

So after following her steps I had a breakthrough with my WIP. Here is a brief glimpse of how I used her 3 step method.

#1: I sat down and thought about something she believed that could be wrong. When did this belief start? What happened to make her believe this way? How has this belief led to problems? Have her beliefs proved false?
#2: Jotted down times when her beliefs led her astray. When they tangled up her life and how I could incorporate these events into the story.
#3: Then I wrote a short scene that started her on her road to believing and behaving the way she does. (Now I doubt I will use this scene in its entirety but bits and pieces may show up in other scenes. What it did do was help me flesh out my protagonist.)

Be sure and click on the link at the bottom of this post and read Ms. Cron’s article for the entire picture. You’ll be glad you did.

So tell, what did you think about beliefs and misbeliefs?

Does your protagonist have secrets you need to uncover?

In the post Become a Story Genius: How Your Character’s Misbelief Drives The Plot by ANGELA ACKERMAN welcomed story coach Lisa Cron to talk about new book, Story Genius and how defining the why behind this struggle is the key to unlocking a powerful story.

Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere) by [Cron, Lisa] — **Click Image for Sample Read**

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What would happen to your story in a fire?

Published on September 30, 2016September 26, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell36 Comments

Or a flood, or should someone steal your computer?

I don’t know about you but, I’d have a freaking heart attack! laptop-fire

We’ve all know to back up our work. I do this religiously to an external hard drive. A hard drive that is in my closet, that would burn up with my laptop and house in a fire.

Geesh! Give me a minute while I bang my head on table.

September 15, 2016, the Associated Press reported about a fire. Nothing unusual about fires, they happen every day. Unless you are the victim. As was the case for Gideon Hodge a novelist that realized his only copies were on a laptop inside.

Mr. Hodge rushed past firefighters into the blazing inferno to save his computer.

superman-meme

Man dashes into house to save laptop, 2 completed novels from fire in New Orleans’ Broadmoor neighborhood BY MATT SLEDGE

So all of this got me to thinking. I better find a better way to back up my work. I have a lot of finished and unfinished stories on my computer.

But which is the best storage service to use?

I’ve used Google Drive for docs and pics I wanted to share but not for storage. I may give this another look as it is super easy to use. Google Drive is encrypted using SSL, the same security protocol used on Gmail and other Google services. 15 GB of storage won’t last forever but I can buy more as needed.

I’ve also used Dropbox in the past. It too is very easy to use and crosses many platforms. Dropping between my MS laptop to my Ipad with no trouble at all. The free version is only 2GBs but here again, I can buy more if I need it. Dropbox also allows you to encrypt each file for security.

I’ve tried Evernote for small things. I don’t know how it would work for larger items such as a manuscript.

For now, I’m leaning toward Google Drive.

But there are a lot more out there, including tips for Mac users. Check out this post: