Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein

 

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Regular readers of this blog will be aware that I am currently in the process of writing my first novel. I wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month) and I have been rewriting and revising since. Having, in my career, grown used to a very academic style of writing I was aware that I needed to develop a different style for fiction. I therefore decided to read some books on writing and the book I am reviewing was one of three recommended to me.

 

In Solutions for Writers Sol Stein has given us a book which should be read by aspiring writers and writers alike.  Each short chapter is packed full of advice and tips which should help anyone revolutionise their writing. Throughout its pages I could see ways in which I could develop my writing style and make my novel a much more enjoybale experience for the reader. He uses examples of ways in which writers make mistakes and then provides examples of how these could be improved. He does this in an interesting way which meant I wanted to keep reading. This in itself is a testimony to his skill as a writer. I felt that I could tap into this skill and move from being a writer to a good writer. It has given me the feeling and the confidence that I can write books which people will want to buy and read.

 

This is not a book which I will read once and forget. It will be at my side as I rewrite and edit my novel. It will be highlighted and used again and again as I rewrite and edit my novel. It will become a treasured possesion.

 

Now if you will excuse me I have a novel to write and I need to hone my craft. Move over Agatha Christie, Wendy H. Jones is on her way.



 

Chick Lit at its Best



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Those of you who know me or read my blog regularly will realise that I am a fairly eclectic reader but that my tastes veer towards Murder Mystery and thrillers. However I have just finished reading this book and was so impressed I had to share.

This book draws you in a and pulls you along for the ride right from the first page. It arrived yesterday morning from Amazon and I finished it last night having spent all day reading it. I truly could not put it down. It is the story of Gina after her husband Rex goes missing. It is also the story of all the other people who support Gina and who are  affected by Rex's disappearance. Polly Williams is a gifted writer and has got characterisation spot on. I could picture every character quite clearly and loved them all. I can't say too much about the story without giving away the plot but suffice to say there are several plot twists which are excellent and which keep you wanting to read. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who likes a good  chick lit book and wants to be highly entertained.

I think however this book is so much more than mere chick lit. It really shows you how the characters think and feel and how they act the way they do. You malso get to see the character of Rex from several of the others characters points of view. So although  this book is easily read it is also  very complex with a lot of hidden undetaones.

Who knows what I will be reviewing next week. Tune in to find out. All of life is an adventure

Are We Influential?

Return on Influence by Mark W. Schaefer

 

 

 

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Humans are essentially social beings and have probably been so since the days cavemen gathered round the campfire. Throughout history people have developed ways of networking and sharing information. The advent of technical equipment such as the telephone and the telegram took this further, and we are now living in a digital age where information can spread quickly and widely. When we use Social Networking sites we are sharing information not only about ourselves but also about our interests and the products we sell or like.

 

This means that our influence stretches much further and wider then the days when we gathered round the tea trolley or watercooler. The words we write can have an influence far greater than we can ever imagine. Companies are paying attention to what we are saying about them and their products. Conversely we are learning so much more about products and what our friends or others think of them.

 

I am an author, in effect a businesswoman, so I am extremely interested in networking and my reach and influence within this world. This book has made me think about this much more carefully about what I am doing in the digital world and my potential influence within this world.

 

Social Influence sites such as Klout provide a mechanism for measuring this influence, and the book outlines how this might happen. Schaefer uses Case Studies to good effect to demonstrate how this might happen. There are contributions from key influencers in Social Media talking about how they developed thier influence.

 

Anyone who wants to generate influence in their chosen field and use it to good effect to drive marketing strategies should read this book. It is excellent, well written and will help you develop the ways in which you may influence those around you. It is honest in its approach and looks at sites such as Klout from all angles. It does not shy away from topics such as how these sites can be manipulated, but gives a very convincing argument for why we should be using them.

 

I myself am a Klout user and I thought my Klout score of 58 was OK. I was astonished to find that with this type of score I am considered quite highly influential.

 

Whether we love or hate social media I think we ignore it at our peril. There are some very large players taking note out there and I as an author need to be aware of this.

 

As we are talking about social networking it would seem appropriate to provide my links on these sites

 

Twitter  https://twitter.com/WendyHJones

 

Google+ https://plus.google.com/#117983228392904140480/posts

 

Linkedin http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=56381937&trk=hb_tab_pro_top

 

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/wjones64/

 

Feel free to connect with me in any of these ways. It would be great to share views and expertise

 

I was given a free copy of this book as a gift from the Author and was not expected to provide any review in return for this. The review is fair and objective and one which I felt I had to write given my enjoyment of the book.

 

 



The Tao of Twitter by Mark W. Schaefer



 

 

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Now I know these reviews are coming thick and fast at the moment but this book has had such an influence on the way I use twitter that I had to review it in the hope that it would also help others.

 

This is essentially a book about how to use twitter to develop your business but I have been reading it with my authors hat on. Obviously being an author is a business and I have had a great time exploring the ideas presented in the book.

 

The book takes you through all the steps of using twitter and for those who already use twitter there are advanced user sections, so something for everyone in here. The text uses case studies very effectively. Each case study is followed by a list of lessons which can be gleaned from the case study. I found this approach really helpful as the real life stories brought it to life and demonstrated how effectively twitter could be used.

 

 

The book covers ever aspect of twitter and includes chapters such as

• making targeted connections
• providing meaningful content
• Offering Authentic helpfulness
• Lists
• Secrets of influence on twitter

 

amongst many others. It also includes a number of other sites which can be used to support your use of twitter. I have explored most of these and found them really helpful but a couple might take a bit of getting used to.

 

I am now following Mark on twitter (his twitter name is @markwschaefer) and his tweets are excellent and a real demonstration of his use of twitter. He also interacts with those who tweet about him which shows the use of twitter in action. Today one of his tweets linked to the following article

 

Global Experts Predict Social Media marketing Trends for 2013 which I have included as it is both interesting and useful. It is well worth following him on Twitter.

 

I have read many books about Twitter but this is far and away the best one. I would advise anyone who is serious about developing their online presence to buy this and use it immediately. You certainly wont regret it. It will be the best money you have ever spent.

 

 



 

 

Fragile World by Lucy Mills



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Today I find myself in the unusual position of reviewing a book of poetry. Now those of you who know me and/or read my blogs will know that I am not a poetry type of girl. I'm more your murder mystery, blood and guts type of girl. So this will demonstrate to you the quality of this work that I felt I had to review it.

It is a short booklet, only 29 pages long, but I can assure you every word on these pages packs a punch emotionally. Some of the poems I enjoyed but others really spoke to me and several times I found myself challenged. One in particular "I have done nothing wrong" really spoke to me and challenged me about the way I live my life. I also liked "Childish Things" which remeinded me of being a child again and seeing the wonder in everyday things.

These poems are well thought out and most times are full of raw emotion. They speak to the heart, mind and spirit and obvioulsy come from a place deep inside the author.

This book can be read and enjoyed in one sitting. However, they can also be read and reread to refresh you spiritually and to challenge you in new and different ways

The proceeds for this book originally went to help projects in Darfur. Now the proceeds will help to fund a new Anthology of poems called beautiful. I would highly recommend you read this book.

Close to The Bone (Stuart MacBride)

 

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It's Christmas eve and here I am writing a book review. Why I hear you saying? Get a life Wendy. Well this book is so good I had to tell you all about it. 

 

If you like Police Procedurals/Murder Mysterires which do not pull any punches then this is the book for you. Now for those of you who have not come across any of Stuart MacBrides's books previously my advice to you is remedy that immediately.

 

This series stars DI Logan McRae of the Aberdeen Police as well as a wide cast of equally lovable characters. I have to say that even some of the bad guys are lovable and that is hard to pull off in a series where the body count is higher than the GDP of a small country.

 

In this book Logan McRae is called to the scene of a murder where somone has been necklaced. This involves putting a tyre around his neck and arms, filling the tyre with petrol, setting it alight and waiting for the victom to die - slowly. A horrible way to go. To add to his troubles someone is leaving bundles of chicken bones, tied up neatly with ribbon, on Logans doorstep. There are also several more bodies littering both Aberdeen and the investigation making it difficult for Logan to know whaich way to turn.

 

This is not a book for the faint hearted as it is extremely graphic in places and has a lot of swearing. This adds to rather than detracts from the plot and I didn't find it offputting, but just be aware that this is indicitive of Stuart MacBrides novels.

 

The storyline pulls you along at a rattling pace with enough twists and turns to make you dizzy but it is all pulled very neatly together at the end making you wonder why you didn't know all along.

 

The characters are brilliantly scripted and in most cases eccentric. Logan McRae is so well written you can almost see him walking through your front door. The prize for the best drawn character has to go to that of DI Steel, Logans Boss. She is the PC Brigades worst nightmare and she uses Logan as though he were her personal skivvy. She is brilliant and has me laughing in every book.

 

This book can be read as a stand alone but to get the full flavour of the characterisation it is better to read them in sequence. I cannot recommend this book and all of Stuart MacBrides other books highly enough. He is a truly gifted writer.

 

I was fortunate to get an advance copy of this book as it is not released until the 17th january 2013. I have, however, given it a fair an unbiased review. Keep your Christmas money or Amazon Vouchers for this book. You will not regret it.

 

 

 

A Writers Life

I know it's been a few weeks since I last updated my blog but there's a very good reason so please forgive me. If you read my last blog you'll realise I've been writing my first novel most of which was written during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writers Month). So I am sure you'll appreciate that it's been a busy month with much of my time taken up writing. Yet what a great month it's been. I am pleased to report I met my Nano target of 50,000 words with some to spare and I should complete the first draft of my novel this week. Then the next stage of editing begins.

I can now tell you a bit more about my novel. It is a murder mystery set in Dundee, Scotland my home town. The working title is Murder in Time but if I'm honest this could change. The main character is Detective Inspector Shona McLean of the Tayside Police who heads up a team of disparate detectives in the CID. There are enough bodies for the most hardened of Murder Mystery fans and yet it is a book which could be read by anyone. The idea is this will be the first in a series of several books. Ideas for the next books are already swirling around in my head adding to the excitemet in this writers life.

I started by saying I am new to writing novels so being a voracious reader myself I have been reading some books to help me develop my craft. One excellent book is How Not to Write a Novel: 200 Mistakes to Avoid at all Costs if you Ever Want to Get Published.

This book is really about how to write a novel but takes a novel appraoch (excuse the pun). It points out pitfalls that novice novelists make and then demonstrate them by writing passages from a book. It was laugh out loud funny at times and I could see things I was doing although not to the extent of their parodies. I have to say that this approach worked for me as it was easy to see immediately what doesn't work. Each chapter covers a different mistake and then demonstrates it in a number of ways. These are the types of mistakes that have publishers throwing your novel in the nearest dustbin rather than straight to the printing press so better to avoid them in the first place. I appreciate this type of book may not be to everyones taste but for those who are able to have a little gentle fun being poked a them this is definitely a winner. To all you aspiring writers out there get this book you wont regret it.

Have I enjoyed writing so far. Theanswer to this is a catagorical yes. I love it. The characters daily become more real and they are taking on lives and characterisitcs of their own. Just when I think I know everything about them something pops up tha takes me by surprise. I certainly can't control them. It's been a whirlwind month full of highs and lows but I wouldn't swap it for the world. It certainly is a writers life.