Getting Inside My Character's Head

In writing fiction for children, getting inside the head of my characters is one of the most important things I can do.

I am definitely a character writer over the plot-driven writer. Don't get me wrong, plot is very important. But to me if my characters are real, solid, and living through me, the plot will come naturally through those characters just because of the type of characters they are.

I write children's books, so I have to immerse myself into the child character just as the child character has to be immersed in me. To do this, I have to remember what it was like to think, act, and talk like a child. Then, go beyond the thinking until I can feel it, taste it, see it, and be in the moment again before I can express it.

The way my child-self  thinks is a lot more fun than the way my adult-self thinks. My child-self says things with a lot more pizzazz. It's also important that I express those feelings or situations that I want to convey in the story in my own words. This is what livens up the prose and makes it stand out and become memorable for the reader.

 Here are some examples of emotions I've used in my own stories:

Excited:  "I had a bunch of jumping, swirling bugs in my stomach that couldn't wait to get out."

Feeling content: "I felt all warm and fluffy, like cake."

Sad: "My heart fell sideways and stayed laying down."

The way a child views a situation is also different from the way an adult would view it.

Here are some examples I've used also:

"I know grandma can fly. She has those flabby, flapping arms that are her after-dark wings."

"The ferns tickled the smaller flowers, making them wiggle and giggle."

"The wind was yelling and being just plain mean."

A writing exercise I like to do to get into my child mode of thinking is to look at things, people, situations and emotions, then write down all the different ways to express it with originality. Then try to express it simpler and with more innocence, just as a child would. The longer I think about it and the more I write down, the better the expressions become. The more childlike I become.

So when my friends call me immature (which they all do, believe me), I take it as a good thing, a compliment, and an affirmation that I can do my job as a writer of children stories.

Character Building

One of the first things I do when creating characters is to give them names, (once I know what they are; a nine year old princess, a dragon, etc) then an image of them starts to form gradually in my mind. After the image of  each character forms, their personalities start to come alive. Once their personalities become clear, their adventures are ready to be written.

This is my process. The whole process takes months and as new details come to me, I jot them down on paper. Each character has their own section in my character log book.

When I feel that the characters are whole and real, I start imagining what their adventures will be. I start to make a mini movie in my head as I visualize the 'where and what' of the plotting. The plotting is still work, but plotting seems to come so natural once the characters are fully formed.

When you're writing children stories, you don't have a lot of space to 'tell' about the character's descriptions, nor do you want to. So a lot of the characteristics will come out as other characters meet them or through what that character is doing and saying.

The really cool thing about getting your characters to be real and whole (even if a lot of that information isn't told to the reader), is that it does come out in the story. It comes out in the "Show Don't Tell" that all writers have heard a thousand times. I think it becomes a sub-conscious process to the writer because the writer knows those characters just as much as knowing a long-time friend. And if your characters are real to you, the writer, it is amazing how the illustrator will have the same vision as you had for those characters.

When book one, Sir Princess Petra, was in the illustration stage, I nervously waited and wondered what the artist's vision of the main character, Petra Longstride, would be. I worried for all the characters. After all, I felt my reputation and all my hard work as the writer was at stake.

The thing about the whole creative process is this: if you, the writers, have made believable and whole characters, the illustrator gets it just as easily as if you had sent her photograghs.

When I received the illustrations for book one, they were perfect. All the characters were exactly as I had envisioned them. I had learned about this process in writing school, but until I had been through this process, I wasn't sure that it actually worked. It does work. And when it did work, I knew I had done my job as the writer to create fully rounded, believable characters.

 This is exactly what Petra Longstride looked like to me, in my imagination, before the illustrations had even begun. The illustrator of the book is, Samantha Kickingbird and she was assigned by the publisher to my book.
                               


                                                                   

To take your characters seriously is one of the best things you can do for your writing.

copyright, Diane Mae Robinson, 2012

More on characters in the post "Where Do Characters Come From" here: http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2012/07/04/where-do-characters-come-from/.

National Nurture Your Soul Week.

Well, not really. I just made that up. But it's a really good idea.















As we rush around our busy lives; kids, husbands, jobs, yard work, and a whole other big list, we often put our inner music on the back burner.

I know this was very true for myself for many years.

In my younger married days, and when my daughter was young, it just seemed like there was no time for writing. I didn't start college until I was 35 years old.  I didn't graduate all of my writing courses until I was 41 years old. This was all done by correspondence courses, as I always had a full time job.

At age 41, I started to write seriously for publication, research the markets, send query letters, send manuscripts when requested by a publisher, and wait . . . . . . (don't hold your breath while waiting for an answer). So, I wrote many children's stories during this time, but there was always one story that was near and dear to my heart, Sir Princess Petra. This is my first published book, and it took 9 years and 27 rejections before a publisher accepted it. I'm glad I didn't hold my breath. (Book 2 in this series will be released in early 2013).

I also didn't know I was an artist until I tried it at age 39. I love art. I now teach art. Any sometimes, I even sell a painting.

Okay, I'm not saying I'm old. I'm just saying I'm a late bloomer.

That inner music was always inside of me, I just had to wait until the time was right to find out what it was playing.  So, no matter what your age is, it's important to find and follow your own inner music.

To be able to write well, we have to nurture our own souls. I have a list of things that work for me and I do at least one of these things every day: daydreaming in the forest; laughing with a good friend; listening to classical music and painting a picture; playing with my dogs and horses; gardening; meditating; or one of my favorites, making really creative mud pies which should technically sell for $2.59 each, but don't.

Whatever it is that releases your soul from everyday chaos, find the time to listen to your inner music, and in turn zone in to your creative source.

Me, creating book 3.

Public Speaking Events, Ahhhh!

Recently, I told my marketing manager: "If you would have told me a year ago that I would be doing school presentations, library visits, book signings, and live radio interviews, I would have told you that you were crazy."

You see, I am not one of those naturally calm public speakers that engages an audience. In fact, I have more of a tendency to run away from being the center of attention in a crowd.

My fear of public speaking goes back to my childhood. I was an extremely shy child and mostly only spoke to my parents, sister, and grandparents.

My first day of grade one: my mom, my grandma, and my teacher all trying to pry me off the classroom doorknob. I was winning for quite awhile, but eventually, they did get me off the doorknob and sitting in a classroom desk. The whole class was laughing. I was not laughing. I vowed to never speak again, well until supper, anyway.

 I don't know why I was so terrified of being in front of a crowd, or even around a crowd, but I was. I was the kid in the school play that was frozen, mouth agape, eyes bulging. You know, you've all seen that kid and probably wondered, what the heck is wrong with that kid? Sheer terror, I tell you.

What was going to happen if I said the wrong lines or did the wrong actions? Was I going to be sucked into some kind of dumb-kid vortex where all the unable-to-speak, frozen kids from the earth were kept?  Then hoping my parents could rescue me from this dumb-kid vortex, and assuming they wanted to rescue me, how long would I be in this frozen-kid vortex?

 And another question I had: why are all those other kids able to say their line, dance, do what they were asked to in front of a crowd and not seem scared? The answer--they were not real kids, they were robots! I was sure of it.

Some of these robots were my friends. But my good friends were really non-robots acting as robots for the benefit of parents and teachers.

Ahha! Soon, the answer came to me. I had an acting problem, not really a fear-of-crowds problem at all. Intent on fixing my fear-of-crowds problem I focused on my acting lessons.

My main and only acting pal was my younger sister. I would make up the situations and plot the adventures. She really would go along with all my senerios as long as she could wear her cowboy suit. This didn't quite fit into my princess/prince stories (which all the plots were), but with a little imagination on my part, she was a fine prince. She listened to me.

Same plot, different day: I was a princess in distress, she was my hero prince about to rescue me.

One day, I took the plotting too far (or so my mother said). My sister was to jump from the edge of the roof and spring on top of the imaginary, nasty villian that was trying to kidnapp me. She played her part perfectly, her flight from the roof was spectacular--all except for the part about breaking her arm.

According to our parents, my acting lessons were over. Indefinitely.


Well, to me, indefinitely meant moving my plays deeper into the forest, where we had more privacy. I thank my sister for all the years of helping me with my acting lessons, that in turn have helped me to become a better plotter, a better writer.


As an adult, I have found a  few things that help me prepare before a public speaking event:  a 10 minute session of  deep breathing before I have to engage a crowd, and visualization meditation such as Kundalini the morning of the event. If these things fail, a big yell outside the building you are about to enter does wonders too, although this does make you look unstable and ridiculous. Use this last technique with caution.


In the last several months since my first book's released, I have participated in several public events. A couple of crowds were nearing 100 people. They always clap and some buy my book. Whether they are clapping because they liked the presentation or they are giving encouragement to the stunned, horrified looking adult on the stage, I don't know.


 But book signings, presentations, school and library visits, will all become a big part of an author's promotion of their book. It's something an author must do.


The good news is, it does seem to get easier each time I do an event. Maybe it is something, like all things new, we learn with time.

My first author event was a book signing in Maui, Dec. 4, 2011,
at Maui Grown Coffee House. This is me with the owner, Jeff.

The Princess Stories

I recently had a photo shoot for my upcoming and improved website for my books. The photographer is Kim at KAS Images, and she did an amazing job. I'm so impressed to have such a talented photographer in my small home-town of St. Paul, Alberta.

All the photos were taken at my acreage. The photo above is in the horse field. The chaos just out of the photo are two dogs and three snoopy horses. Of course, when we tried to get a horse in the picture, he would just nonchalantly walk off.

This photo is on a path from the house leading to the horse field.

The whole point of the fantasy photo shoot is to create an image for the new website. And to create a branding statement about me, the author and fantasy writer.

I write fantasy-adventure-princess-dragon-faerie stories for children. My first book, Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, was released in January, 2012. Book two in this series will be released in late 2012 or early 2013. I am currently writing book three.

My belief is, that as a fantasy writer, I have to somehow immerse myself in that world to be able to write well.

I don't usually walk around in a princess dress or believe I am a princess (well, maybe sometimes), but I do try to get into the frame of mind of what it would have been like to live in those days. Some research is involved, of course. And keeping a record book of words that portray that period is also important.

Most of my inspiration comes from the forest that surrounds my place. I believe in the magic of the forest. Since I was a child I've envisioned the adventures of princesses, dragon, gnomes and faeries in one forest or another; their adventures, just beyond my site.

When I'm seeking a new character for a story, I gaze into the forest or go for a stroll through the woods. This never ceases to amaze me. When I  immerse myself into the magic of what could be, fantasy characters of all natures seem to come out to greet me. I call this process; the character auditions. (Read the blog below for more on character auditions).

Of course, my husband thinks I'm somewhat delusional, but he's not a writer. And non-writers don't understand what a writer has to wrap their head around to write the story.

So, if being delusional is what it takes, I'm all in. I must conquer the quest of bringing my characters and stories to life. And hopefully, and if I've done my job right, enhance the reader's experience while they are in that world.

Award Winning Author,
Diane Mae Robinson

Don't die with your music inside you. Listen to your intuitive inner voice and find what passion stirs your inner soul.  Dr. Wayne Dyer

Now Accepting Character Applications For Book 3

NEWS FLASH


Diane Mae Robinson, author of Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures, book one, is now accepting applications for a character role in book 3.

Book two is being published now and all character roles are taken.

The applicant for the character in book three must be, well . . . a character. One who is willing to appear in a children's chapter book along with many other zany characters. THIS IS NOT AN APPLICATION FOR REAL, LIVE  PEOPLE (but real, live people can leave comments).




JOB DESCRIPTION

1. You must be willing to live in the land of The Boogie Goobies, which is quite a nice land for a story character to live in.
2. Must be witty and fun to work with.
3. Must not have previously been involved in any lawsuits with a writer or film director.
4. Neat appearance not necessary.
5. Must get along relatively well with the other characters: Sir Princess Petra Longstride, Snarls, Prince Nastybun, and Duce Crablips, to name a few.
6. Must, absolutely, positively, listen to the writer.
7. Pay is very minimal, but snacks are included.
8. You may or may not appear in book 4.

                         This is the end of the application form

To those of you that are new to my blog site, welcome. To those of you that actually read my blogs, thank you. You are reading a blog written by a person who lives in a forest and talks to fairies, gnomes, the occasional troll (though I'd rather not), and one unruly dragon and one strong-headed princess.

I am currently writing book 3 in The Pen Pieyu Adventures.

But, seriously, if you'd like to know more about "Where Do My Characters Come From", read my guest post on my friend Sue's blog site Kid Lit Reviews http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2012/07/04/where-do-characters-come-from/

Diane Mae Robinson, Award Winning Author.

                                               

Another Book Award

Purple Dragonfly Book Award

Congratulations Diane!

Ms. Robinson took second place for chapter books in The 2012 Purple Dragon Book Awards. Kid Lit Reviews. http://kid-lit-reviews.com/2012/06/16/now-this-is-a-big-deal/

The Purple Dragonfly Book Awards recognizes and honors 
accomplished authors in the field of children's literature. Being
honored with a Purple Dragonfly Award will confer credibility upon
the winners, as well as provide extra positive publicity to further their success. http://www.PurpleDragonflyBookAwards.com

When I came home from the Lieutenant Governor Awards on 

June 14, 2012, still wearing my medal and a permanent smile pasted

on my face, I received an email that my book won another award. 

How much excitement can a girl have in one day?

The news was incredibly exciting and made me cry once again. I've

put in many years of hard work to get book one accepted by a publisher;

9 years and 27 rejections to be exact.

The point is, if a writer doesn't have the guts to succeed, they 

probably won't.

The publishing industry is not for the faint of heart. It does take guts, and 

several pounds of stubborn, but mostly, it take a ton of belief in yourself

as a writer.

http://www.dianemaerobinson.tateauthor.com

Join the Kid Lit blog hop Dec. 5 -26, 2012: http://kid-lit-reviews.com/kid-lit-blog-hop-6/

Book Review: Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes
Author: Shannon Dittemore, 2012
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, Inc
ISBN# 978-1-4016-8635-2
Paperback Edition

Back cover: Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found only tragedy instead. She's come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and guilt . . . and an incredible, numbing cold she can't
seem to shake.

Jake's the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadow nearby, hiding in plain site. Two angels stand guard, unsure what's going to happen. And beauty brighter than either Brielle or Jake has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all humans choices begin.

A realm that only angels and demons--and Brielle--can perceive.

I liked this book because it is intriguing, original, bold and suspenseful. The characters are fully rounded and believable with a well-driven plot line. It is an amazingly fresh story about angels and demons and their battles in this world and beyond. It is also a story about human tragedy and triumph.

The author has created a story that is truly "out-of-the-box",  and for that, I say Kudos!

Angel Eyes is an emotional journey and a must read in Y.A. fiction.

For more information, please visit:
www.shannondittemore.com

Link to the Litfuse blog tour
:http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13501700/angele


Celebrate the release of Angel Eyes with Shannon by entering her Nook Color Giveaway and RSVPing for her Author Chat Party on FB 6/26! Click for details. http://litfusegroup.com/blogtours/13501700/angeleyes

Review by Diane Mae Robinson,
Award Winning Author

Diane Mae Robinson Recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award

Diane Mae Robinson is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award

 Literary Arts

Artists get "catalytic" boost on the road to success

Edmonton - June 14, 2012. Eight Alberta artists received the 2012 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award in a ceremony hosted by His Honour Col. (Ret'd) The Honourable Donald S. Ethell and Her Honour Linda Ethell.

"These artists represent the best of a community that challenges, enlightens

and entertains us," said Lieutenant Governor Ethell. "Creativity of this magnitude

is infectious."

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Awards is among

Canada's most generous art awards program. Each recipient receives a

medal and $10,000.

Susan Green, Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards, 

says, "Ten thousand dollars to an emerging artist is a catalyst for great things."

"We've seen careers blossom in previous recipients and we know today's

award will strengthen these artists and Alberta's performing, literary and

visual arts culture in the process.                                  

          2012 Alberta Emerging Artists

Kyle Armstong - Filmmaker

Naomi Brand - Contemporary Dancer and Choreographer

Mitch Holtby - Emcee, Producer, Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist

Kristopher Karklin - Photographer/Sculptor

Chris Millar - Painter/Sculptor

Emma Parkinson - Mezzo-Soprano

Diane Mae Robinson - Children's Author

Eric Rose - Theater Director

Diane with Lieutenant Governor, His Honourable Donald S. Ethell

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Foundation has established a program of awards for emerging artists to support and encourage promising artists, early in their careers, while also serving to raise the profile of the arts in Alberta.

The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Awards are awarded every second year, beginning in 2008. Each Award consists of $10,000 and a medal. Up to ten prizes may be awarded in each awards cycle. Award recipients are selected by an application and adjudication process. Emerging Alberta Artists who meet the eligibility criteria may make application for the Award.

Appraisals are required from two established artists who are in a position to provide the Foundation with a candid assessment of the Applicant’s current accomplishments and potential to develop.

The Awards will be presented by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta at an event held at Government House in Edmonton.

http://www.artsawards.ca/EmergingArtists/

This was the most amazing day of my writing career! The prestige and recognition of receiving this award is beyond description. I am honored and

humbled.

As most of you know, my first book took 9 years to find a publisher. During that time I can't say that I was never discouraged, but I can say that I always believed in myself and my writing ability.

The path to becoming a published author is not an easy venture, but it is an adventure. I wouldn't change any of those baby steps it took for me to get there because now I totally understand what all the hard work and years add up to for me.

Thank you to everyone who supports me in my writing endeavors and to those who have encouraged me along the way.

Thank you to the two professionals that had to submit an appraisal of my work for this award; Amy Malo and Gisela Felsberg. You both must have said something amazing!

The four northern Alberta Emerging Artists; Kristopher Karlkin, Photographer/Sculptor; Kyle Armstrong, Filmaker; Mitch Holtby, Producer,Composer, Multi-Intrumentalist; Diane Mae Robinson, Children 's Book Author.

A big thank you; Donna Cardinal, Susan Green, Lee Elliott and all the board members of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards

 A

Book Review - The Mystery of Nida Valley

The Mystery of Nida Valley                            
Book 2, Captured
eBook edition
E.J. Ouston
Morris Publishing Australia, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9872444-4-4


Meg is a 15 year old girl that lives in this world, but has a special fondness for another world, Nida Valley.
Through the use of their special travel watches, Meg, her family, and friends can travel to this other, wonderful world.

Different magical traits run throughout Meg's family and friends. These powers begin to be discovered around the age Meg is now. On Meg's 15h birthday, she received a special pen handed down to her by her grandmother. Through the use of this special pen, which acts as a wand, Meg starts discovering her magic abilities to be; mind reading and spell casting.

In Nida Valley, Meg belongs to The Guardians of the Valley family, who are the keepers of the prehistoric animals and also the guardians against their extinction. And after learning more and perfecting her magic, Meg is next in line to be the leader of The Guardians.

Meg has already travelled back in time to bring back the herbs to heal, Willie, the last existing wombat. She hopes to travel back in time again and bring back some more wombats to live in the valley.

The adventure and mystery begins when the megafauna Pteros go missing. They could not have escaped from their protective cages or have gotten past the force field of the valley by themselves. They suspect Grundymere, who leads an army with an alternative motive towards the valley and the animals.

But there are other suspects, too. Miss Cashmere, the housekeeper; Alvin, the zoo assistant; even Meg's friend, Jack. They all act suspicious and any one of them could be helping Grundymere.

The adventure and mystery intensify with threats on Meg's life, kidnapping, escapes, more kidnapping, spying, shape shifting and magic spells.

I like this book because it is a page-turning adventure/mystery that just doesn't slow down. The author has created a prehistoric world with animals such as; meiolania oweni, diprotodon, ichthyosaur, and  muttaburrasauras. Then there are travel portals, stun guns, and lots of magic.

The teenage heroine and her teenage friends are portrayed perfectly through their mannerism and language.
All the other character are well defined, also.

The author has created an intriguing and exciting story.

 I was sent on an adventure that I truly felt a part of. And that, in a nut shell, is the essence of good writing.

Please visit the author's website:
http://themysteryofnidavalley.com 

Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

Book Review of: Night Buddies and the Pineapple Cheesecake Scare

Author: Sands Hetherington                                
Illustrator: Jessica Love
Publisher: Dune Buggy Press, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-9847417-1-7
Paperback

     The story starts out with a nine year old boy named John Degraffenreidt meeting a comical red crocodile named Crosley. Crosley appears in John's room at bedtime and convinces John to join the Night Buddies Program and help solve the mystery of all of the missing pineapples cheesecakes from the factory across town.

     Crosley has a "I-ain't-here" gadget that enables them to become invisible so they can sneak out of John's house.

     John and Crosley get on the subway and ride the Night Folks Limited to the factory where they meet the giant manager, Big Foot Mae. Big Foot Mae can't figure out where all the pineapple cheesecakes are
disappearing to, and hires the duo to solve the mystery.

     There are dangers involved, but the Night Buddies are up for it. And with all of Crosley's special gadgets, it's bound to make for an interesting and zany adventure, especially when the Night Buddies pursue
The Iguana Gang, the suspected cheesecake thieves.

     I liked this book because it is imaginative, fun, has zany characters, and it made me laugh, a lot. John and Crosley work well together to solve the mystery of the missing pineapple cheesecakes. Both John and Crosley are very funny and come up with the best "one-liners".

      I fell in love with Crosley's character and found him to be a charmingly funny and  loveable crocodile. He is mesmerized by cheesecakes and drools, forgetting what he is there for. He definitely needed John to help him with this mission and keep his crocodile head on straight.

     Big Foot Mae and the Iguana Gang are also fun characters. The Iguana Gang is hilarious in the way they talk and react to situations.

     The book also includes a Night Buddies Uncommon Word dictionary, which kids will get a kick out of:
Jeek! Yigg! Yerk Yerk! and more.

     The black and white illustrations by Jessica Love are wonderful and capture the essence of the story.

     Children will love this book and get many laughs out of all the comical situations.

     Excelsior, Mr Hetherington! (Totally super in Night Buddies language)

For more on Sands Hetherington and the Night Buddies series, please visit:
www.nightbuddiesadventures.com


   

Book Review--The Faeries of Birchover Wood

The Faeries of Birchover Wood

The Bad

Book 1

Ian S. Rutter, 2012

Kindle Edition

Excerpt:  Back in the days when the King of England fought along side such great beasts to defeat the Bad, a magical pact was formed so that if at any time the Bad was to find a way to escape from the tree, then the spirits of the myths, legends and folklore would come back and fight side by side to protect the innocent. It was their duty. Their solemn vow. It was now that time to fulfill that promise.

The Bad has been imprisoned for a thousand years, by magic, into the trunk of a tree. But the magic is failing. People have forgotten about faeries, dragons, oakmen and goblins. Thus, the magic weakens.

Soloman, an eight year old boy and the main character, moves with his parents to Birchover Village. In the forest behind their new house, all the magical creatures dwell, including the Bad. The Bad is very near to breaking the magic that binds him to the tree. Soloman and his parents, along with the faeries and other mythical creatures of the forest, have to stop the Bad before it destroys the world.

This is an incredible fantasy/adventure story. I was swept up early into the adventure by the strong plot line and the strong characters.

With faerie characters such as; Elder Perennial Swallowtail, Zeal White Oak and Balamore Skullcap; an oakman named, Autumn Brown Leaf, the story captures the reader into a wonderful mythical adventure.

This is a fantasy/adventure story that has everything a great fantasy/adventure story should have. The author has created a magnificent world of faeries, dragons, oakmaen, goblins, ghouls and brownies that live along side humans that all share in the adventure.

The writing is creative, entertaining, and descriptive.

I also like the fact that the author has taken the time to incorporate the importance of the forests in the world--realistically and magically.

If you have never believed that magical creatures live in the forest, you will now.

May the magic never end.

Random Acts of Kindness

My friend, Sue, at www.kid-lit-reviews.com gave me a RAOK Shout last week. I would like to return the RAOK back to her. 

Many months ago, while I was searching for people to do reviews on book one of Sir Princess Petra, I came across Sue at Kid Lit Reviews.  First of all, I'd like it to be known that getting reviewers to do a review is not such an easy task. Many emails are sent out, and only a handful reply and agree to do the review. Sue was one of those reviewers.

Sue is a fair and honest reviewer that speaks her mind. That is exactly what a writer wants from the reviewer. Getting reviews on my book was somewhat of a scary venture, but I believed I had done the best I could do in writing the book, and hopefully the reviewer would see that also. Sue gave me a 5 star review, Whew! 

For more of my reviews, go to:http://www.dianemaerobinson.tateauthor.com

But that is not why we became very good friends. Through the months, we started e-mailing back and forth, talking books, publishing and getting to know each other through each others goofy sense of humor. Sue is also working on her own book.

Now, we are setting up a blog site together called Two Girl Lit (more on this when we're up and running).  Well, Sue is setting it up because I am nearly a computer idiot. I say nearly because several months ago I was a complete computer idiot. Sue has helped me through all kinds of  computer stuff; setting up a blog site, posting pictures, terminology. The list goes on.

Thank you, Sue, for all that you've done for me! You are a great mentor to me. And I'm so glad we are friends.

This is the post Sue had on her blog last week.

The other person who has been instrumental in this blog was once a writer needing a review.  She had a middle grade book about a girl wanting a non-traditional career and parents who were against the whole idea.  The girl kept pressing until she was given a shot at, what the parents believed, she would not succeed.  She did.  That girl was Princess Petra who is now known by the moniker Sir Princess Petra, Royal Knight.

The author of that interestingly funny book somehow became a friend–a good friend.  She not only encourages me, as she does with nearly every post (which means when she has not grabbed pencil and pad and locked the door behind her for more writing time.)  I get emails practically every day asking about my own writing and badgering me to write that book “NOW!“  I will.

Her Sir Princess Petra was a hit and now a series.  The book has garnered an award, which I would love to tell you the name of, but I have no idea yet.  Publishers want it hush-hush for now.  It might have to do with the second book of the Pen Pieyu Series which is close to launch day.

  Thank you Diane Mae Robinson, for driving me . . . nuts.  Without all of your encouragement I would not be outlining a book–my book.  I may need some of Erik’s help, too. He is on his second book, but you are now on your third.  The two of  you are hard to keep up with.

 Sir Princess Petra, Book one

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Join the Kid Lit blog hop Dec. 5 - 26, 2012: http://kid-lit-reviews.com/kid-lit-blog-hop-6/

Versatile Blogger Award

It is so great to receive a blogging award, especially since just a few months ago, I didn't even know what a blog was.

I have received The Versatile Blogger Award 

As the recipient of this award, there are a few things required of me.

1. I  must thank the giver of the award, as that is only polite.

    

                THANK YOU TO J.D. BURDETTE. SHE IS A VERY NICE PERSON WITH A WONDERFUL BLOG SITE OF HER OWN AT: http://www.blogger.com/profile/05714741283747316207 AND A GREAT HISTORICAL WEB PAGE AT: http://jgburdette.wordpress.com/

2.  NOMINATE 15 BLOG SITES I FEEL ARE WORTHY:


     1. http://www.kid-lit-reviews.com - Sue Morris is an honest and excellent reviewer of children's
         books, and a prolific writer.

     2. http://www.alicerat.blogspot.ca- This is a fun person with a cool book and blog.

      3. http://www.iansrutter.co.uk/blog/ - Ian has a great blog about e-publishing and has published
        his own e-book.

      4. http://author-carole-mckee.blogspot.ca - A very passionate writer.

     5. http://bittleberry.blogspot.ca - Cheryl has created a very cool book herself, and she did a
         endorsement of my  first book, Sir Princess Petra.
     6. http://www.childrensbooks.about.com - An amazing and informative site.

     7. http://www.malvernchildrens.blogspot.ca - A blog created for the users of Malvern Public
        Library.

     8. http://www.bestfantasybooks.com - This blog is all about fantasy books--I love it.

     9. http://fantasyhotlist.blogspot.ca - A hot list of fantasy books.

    10. http://www.cathyscott.blogspot.ca  - Cathy is a true crime writer.

    11. http://www.childrensbooksandreviews.com - A blog devoted to helping adults find great
          children's books.

    12. http://www.cybils.com/ - A blog for the Cybils Award in Children and Y.A. books.

    13. http://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.ca/ - Reviews fantasy and sci-fi in Children and Y.A.books.

    14.http://bookaunt.blogspot.ca/ - This lady is intent on getting good books out to children. Kudos.

    15.http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/01/13/fantastic-fiction-for-kids-fantasy-fiction-with-animals/
         As the name describes. Great site.

3. Tell seven things about myself:


     1. I am a total bookworm, and seldom watch television.

     2. I am a chocolate maniac. Don't make me fight you for that chocolate bar! I have a sword!

     3. I am an avid environmentalist and recycle everything that can be recycled.

    4.  I love animals and cry too much when I read sad animal scenes.

    5.  I've been to Central America five times on dental missions to do free dentistry on the peasant        
         campesinos.

    6.  My friends think I hallucinate and should be locked up for a spell, but really, it's just my vivid
          imagination-- honest! (But, I still don't understand why they don't see all the magical creatures
          in their forests).

    7.  I totally admire all creative people--Thank you, creative people, for creating and making this
         world a better place.
     

Book Signing and Launch

Yesterday, I had a book signing/book launch party at Audrey's Book Store in Edmonton. I sincerely thank the manager, Sharon, for giving me this event, and all of the staff for being the really nice people that they are. You guys were GREAT!

The event was a great success. Many people, many laughs, and a jolly good time all around.

My mom, at left. Friends, Margaret and Sylvia at right. Of course, that's me holding up the book,

My friend, Barry, trying to be a dragon.

                    My sister with the sword. Behave, Cindi!

Barry, with my husband (right), being a very, very good dragon.

You see, as a newly published writer, it is not easy to get these types of events at a big book store. My marketing manager works very hard to get my name out there. Thank you, Jim.

My marketing manager explains to me, that at a book signing, the average sale are between 5-8 books. These are the stats. But the events are not about sales, they are about connections and spreading the word about your book.

At this event, I sold 11 books, and Audrey's Book Store agreed to stock my book after the event and kept 10 more books. If sales go well, they will keep my book in stock. This is a very major success. As a newly published writer, it is very hard to get big book stores to stock your book. You just have to look around the store to see that they stock mostly known writers and new releases of known writers, and maybe some books that have caught their eye along the way.

My sister was very busy handing out push cards to all the people in the store. My husband was trying to be a nice dragon, as per my instructions--no growling, and my mom laughed a lot and just wanted to play her harmonica. There was only a couple of strange instances when my sister got a little wild with the sword and had to be tamed.

Thank you very, very much, to my family and friends that came, laughed, and helped me out with this special day. You guys are awesome!

And thank you to those who bought the book!

I gave my mom a "Free Day" for coming along. Anything she wanted was free, all day, I was buying. She was very excited  and loved her "Free Day". This included food, coffee, wine, whatever she wanted. She even found a special present for herself, and it was free. Now Mom is going to tell all her senior friends about her "Free Day" . . .I think I started something.

Princess Stories

When I was a little girl, I was convinced that I was a princess. I was, of course, a good princess who loved animals and trees and flowers. Not the mean and nasty kind.

Every since I learned to read, princess books were always at the top of my list. I think I had frequent flyer miles at the small town library where we lived.

After the librarian exhausted all of her efforts to find me more and more princess books, I resorted to other short stories for children that had faeries, elves, gnomes and dragons.

Reading princess books had become my passion at an early age. I could be drawn into this other world that felt so real and magical. I knew I would always be a reader of princess stories, maybe even a writer of a princess book. And my princess stories could have elves, faeries, and gnomes in them.

By the age of eight, my good imagination was already in high gear, writing scripts for my play-acting scenes. I made up the best scenes, or so I thought at the time. I was always a good and noble princess in some kind of strange and horrible situation that I needed to be rescued from. After I was rescued, I always rescued the distraught animals, or elves or whoever else was having a bad trouble.

I only have one younger sister and no brothers. So my sister, being the good sport that she was, was always eager to be my rescuer/prince charming. I did not like the fact that she would only wear her cowboy outfit, with guns in her holster (how barbaric), but nonetheless, she made a good prince and always went along with my ideas (which, of course, is very important when you're the writer of the princess story scenes).

My play-acting, princess dress was a hand-me-down from a older cousin; a simple, white dress with a little crinoline underneath, but to me that dress was the most precious thing I owned, I wore that dress for years. I even tried wearing it to school, no luck, caught by mom, go change.

I wore that dress the day I decided to have a Princess Mud Pie Sale. I spent the day making mud pies and decorating them with rocks, flowers, twigs and the odd dead bee. I set up my booth, with the help of my mom, and anxiously awaited customers.

A few elderly ladies stopped by to pinch my cheeks and marvel at my creativeness, but alas, no sales.

The day was drawing to an end, and I was really hungry, when my dad pulled up in our station wagon. He thought I had a wonderful idea and bought the whole lot of Princess Mud Pies.

Thanks, Dad, for that day, I will never forget it. I know you've already read my real Princess Book from Heaven.

And thanks to my sister, Cindi, for co-operating in all of my Princess Stories.

For the real Princess Story, click on the book on the sidebar, Sir Princess Petra - The Pen Pieyu Adventures or visit: http://www.dianemaerobinson.tateauthor.com

Book Trailer

The elusive right brain session

For me, a right brain session is cructial to my being able to write.

First of all, I am not one of those writers that can just sit down everyday and write something intelligent.
Seriously, I don't know how people do that.

I have to get into my right brain, my creative brain. And some days, this is very hard work.

I work full time at a hectic dental office. I do a bazillion things in one day, but for most of my day, I'm doing bookkeeping, payroll, or some sort of paperwork. This is left brain.

So, for me to switch over, it takes some careful thought.

First, I have to pre-plan a writing day. I have some Fridays off, so I think about it all week. FRIDAY IS WRITING DAY, FRIDAY IS WRITING DAY.

When I get this suggestion in my head. I am subconsciously planning to be in right brain first thing Friday morning, hit the keyboard and write something amazing with absolutely no effort.

Yah, right!

Although planting the suggestion in my head early in the week does help me keep a schedule, I'm pretty sure I don't wake up with my right brain in full force.

First of all, I need at least 5 cups of coffee to be able to hit the letters on the keyboard to type in English. Then I need to put the phone on silence and shut out the outside world. This means my husband cannot bother me as my DO NOT DISTURB sign is up.

The second thing I do is either listen to music that inspires me, do some artwork, or meditate. These are all right brain activities.

Once my right brain is on, the creative process of story telling is amazing. Characters and ideas flow. I write. I do not worry about proper sentence structure or grammar. I use the creative right brain to sail the writing process through all sorts of adventures.

When I am in right brain, I write for 9 hours straight,not thinking about time or obligations. And then, the process winds down, and I wonder why I am so hungry.

I try to get into my right brain sessions for about 3 - 4 weekends straight. I continue from where I left off, not worrying about the previous writing, unless I can't remember something that I wrote. After 30 - 40 hours of creative writing, that is usually enough time to have a rough story hammered out.

Once the rough story is written, then the editing part is next. I hate the editing part. But now I can use my highly developed left brain (which most of us have already) to form proper sentences and check puncuation, grammar, etc.

My editing goes on for months. Several hours every weekend if possible.Never in one sitting. Stepping away from my project helps me to edit with a new set of eyes the next time.

This is how I deal with the elusive right brain. I also rarely watch television, preferring to read or paint a picture, or ride my horse, or play with my dogs. I believe television saps our right brain creative thinking. It's been several years since I cut down on television and I really think doing something else more creative helps in the long run.

LONG LIVE THE RIGHT BRAINERS OF THE WORLD!

Plotting

A quick review and something to think about as you are forming your own story.

CHARACTER plus meaningful, directed action toward a previously planned and desired end--that is the meaning and purpose of plotting.

If you take a character from one situation where he is content and place him in another situation where he is not, problems are bound to be generated. Immediately there is a state of unrest, conflict, or adventure--especially if the character decides to improve his lot, attain a goal, or be assertive in some way.

The odds should be against the hero, the hero should struggle (physically or mentally) to attain the goal, and finally achieve the goal in some original manner.

                                                          12 Point Plot Structure

1.  Who is the main character?

2.  Who or what is the antagonist? (There can be more than one antagonist and those antagonists can be a person,bad weather, or a situation the main character just can't get out of, etc.)

3. Who are the other people in the story? Do you have a good reason to have them there?

4. What does the main character want? It should be vital.

5. How important is what he/she wants? It should be very,very,very important.

6. How does the antagonist prevent or foil the main character from achieving his/her goal? This will be your conflict.

7. What does the main character do about the obstacle? They must win through their own power, not luck or coincidence. The main character doing something about the obstacle starts the action.

8. What are the results of his/her action? Here complication should set in.

9. What do these complications lead to? Hopefully, something interesting.

10. What is the climax? Where the intensity and interest in the story reach a high pitch. The main character must decide what to do because of the kind of person he/she is.

11. Does the main character accomplish his/her purpose? This is the story outcome.

12.What is the theme? What basic truth has been illustrated through your main character?

Once you have plotting down pat. The next step should be editing. I know, we all hate editing.

But from my experience, editing a story at least 10 times (and over several months--not in one sitting) will make for a much tighter story.

The more words you can cut from the original story, the more concise your wording will be.

One of the most valuable things I learned through my years with The Institute of Children's Literature and journalism school was: Don't fall in love with your words. We all have a tendency to babble, so learn not to babble. Cut your words and make your story read smooth.

SO, PLOT AND EDIT AWAY.

Book Trailer and Radio Interview

Book Trailer of Sir Princess Petra
To be aired on 20 stations starting in April, 2012
and to reach 10,000 viewers



My live radio interview on April 2, 12 at Blog Talk Radio http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fstoriesfromunknownauthors%2F2012%2F04%2F02%2Finterview-for-sir-princess-petra-by-diane-robinson%2Fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx"