Exhaustive Writing

I was told that once by my editor. Your writing can sometimes be exhausting. Ouch, right? Well, it was true. As a writer, we constantly try to find the most creative ways to say something. In many cases it works. Other times, it doesn't.

He plodded, sauntered, meandered, strolled, tip-toed, skipped, raced, cha-cha'd... You get my drift.

There are probably hundreds of ways to say "he walked" or "he moved". Sometimes readers will get lost in trying to determine what we're attempting to write in our books. I'm not saying using those words above are bad (well maybe cha-cha'd. Actually, I love that and now I'm going to trademark it for myself) but you have to find a balance between moving the story along and working in your writing style. If the word needs to be there, don't take it away, but think about the word before you include it. My sister told me she always imagines someone whistling a joyful tune while they walk whenever she sees the word stroll. Is that the image you want to create in a reader's mind. If so, awesome. If not... maybe walking isn't so bad.

On a side note... How does one meander? I'm curious. Can it help you lose weight?

Now some self-promotion..

I have 3 more "Blog Tours" coming up. 

I need some reviewers and I need some help building up to my release of my 4th and most likely final Hashbrown Winters tale. If you have a blog, or a Facebook account, or you frequent goodreads, or any thing like that, I'd appreciate a "shout out". Tell your friends. These books are inexpensive ways to make your kids laugh with good clean (semi-potty) humor and stories that teach about the value of friendship. Ah, I just got all gushy. Go to my publisher's website HERE - 

http://www.cedarfortbooks.com/blog-tour-hashbrown-winters-and-the-mashimoto-madness-book-2/

And sign up. Or just send me an e-mail or a facebook message or anything like that, to let me know you're interested. I'd be forever indebted!

How do you Spell High Ate Us?

I've been missing. Lost in a mountain of snow and no one came looking. Sad. I learned how to survive by adapting to the Yeti. Oh they're out there all right and I've been accepted into their clan. They let me return to my normal life as long as I promised to pay a tribute to them once a year. Which reminds me. Does anyone know where I can score a satchel of dung beetles and an 8-track tape of Air Supply's greatest hits? Anyone?

I'm trying to resurrect my writing/marketing career. I've been on a bit of hiatus, which can be a fun word if you break it up and happen to know anyone named Atus.

"Hi Atus! Where have you been?" ..... That's all I got.

Ah, the joy is endless.

But seriously, there are so many ways to connect with people now-a-days. E-mail, cell phone, Facebook, twitter, blogging, Pinterest (whatever that is.) I bet people who enjoy voodoo love Pinterest.
My problem is I have a short attention span and my memory is awful unless we're playing the game 7-degrees of Kevin Bacon in which I rule the world. I also worry about bothering people. I don't want to be that guy that's always saying "Hey, look at me! I did something and I want you to love me for it."However, I know of no other way to get the word out about my books.

So let's try this. First, I will offer a Writing tip. I tried this before. Long before. Failed. But I'm all about second chances. And then, if I happen to have an announcement or something along those lines, I will add it at the end. These tips will vary in length and have no logical order to how I give them. For instance, this first one is short.

A Tip for Polishing up Your Manuscript - Open a separate word document or an excel spreadsheet (might be better) and cut and paste the first and last sentences of each chapter next to the chapter heading or number.

For example:

• Chapter 1 - Boogies - 
• Opening sentence - Connor loved his nostrils. 
• Closing sentence - Which made him the last of the "picking" order.

Do this for every chapter and line them down the screen so you can see them all without too much effort.

Pretty simple right?

Now, take a look at each of your beginning and ending sentences and ask yourself a few questions. How often do you begin or end a chapter with dialogue? How often do you begin or end your chapter with a question? Do you start too many chapters off with pronouns? (i.e. Chapter 2 - He ran headfirst into a dumpster, Chapter 3 - His head was still spinning, Chapter 4 - He noticed a strange odor coming from his forehead, etc. etc.) Do you transition well to the next chapter, or does it just stop short and pick up on the next page with a different chapter heading? Do you see a pattern developing with how you end and begin chapters? Maybe you answered yes to some or all of these and you like it. Well, that's fine, but chapter transitioning is an important element of polishing your story and you should definitely develop a system for double-checking how you do it.

That's my tip and here's my announcement.

To gear up for the release of Hashbrown Winters and the Whiz-tastrophe, we’re doing a blog tour starting next week, February 4^th -17^th for the 1^st Hashbrown Winters Adventure. I need bloggers! This book came out almost 3 years ago and I’m willing to bet there are a lot of you who haven’t read it with your kids yet. So… go to my publisher’s website and sign up for a slot. HERE - http://www.cedarfortbooks.com/events/author-tours/

It’s free and it supports a good cause. Me. And people will look at your blog too. So it supports you! Also, if you're a writer (published or soon-to-be published) I'll return the favor down the road.

Then e-mail me or something to let me know. These are great reads for your kids, but if you have the ability to let yourself travel back in time to elementary school, you might find them enjoyable as well.

We’ll then do:

o   Book 2, Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness from Feb. 18^th-Mar 4^th

o   Book 3, Hashbrown Winters and the Phantom of Pordunce from Mar 5^th-Mar 17^th

o   And then finally the newest adventure, Hashbrown Winters and the Whiz-tastrophe from Mar 18^th-Apr 9^th

Hashbrown's Going Overseas!

Yep. You heard me correctly. Cedar Fort just finalized the contract with a Korean publisher who bought the rights to all 3 Hashbrown Winters Adventures! There's also the 4th Hashbrown due out in November and I believe they've either bought that one as well or will in the near future.

KOREA!!!!! What does that mean? I don't know, but I'm hoping for a vacation. Come on, you know you want to see Frankie in Korea. Think of the photo opportunities!

I'm just very excited to say I'm an International Author now.

In other news, The Guardians of Elijah's Fire is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

AMAZON - The Guardians of Elijah's Fire
BARNES & NOBLE - The Guardians of Elijah's Fire

This is the sequel to The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter in case you were wondering and it will be available in bookstores some time in June. I'll keep you posted on release parties and signings and other hoopla as we draw near.

I will also be revealing the cover art soon, so stay tuned!

So, for all you folks out there who want to start reading my books. Get crackin'! Hit your local bookstore up for a copy of one the Hashbrown Winters Adventures or The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter right now!

Don't wait until the Mayan Calendar expires!!!