#AtoZChallenge

Victory Dance

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 14 Comments

Day 22 :  #AtoZChallenge

I realize we have four more posts before this #AtoZchallenge is complete but I am claiming victory, today. All remaining posts for this challenge are written and ready for their debut on the designated day. Hooray! I did it!

I’ve met a number of wonderful bloggers along the way, found great new sites loaded with valuable information, and made new friends. I wish I’d had time to visit every blogger who participated. Over the next few weeks I plan to visit as many as I can on the list.

Today, is my victory dance, tomorrow maybe yours, or perhaps the very last day of the challenge. Whichever day you claim – dance and be proud of yourself. We have written every day for 26 days!

Congratulations to everyone who participated and many thanks to Arlee Byrd for creating this challenge and to his team for being our cheerleaders.

Five Things I’ve learned from this challege:

  1. Great minds think a like – when bloggers choose the same topic, I learned something new from each one.
  2. Planning is the key – life has a way of interrupting when we least expect it but a good plan can save the day.
  3. Accomplishments come with the right mindset and attitude.
  4. I can write every day. It doesn’t have to be a blog post, but I can write. I’ve done it for 26 days.
  5. Creative ideas and stories are all around us; sometimes they come from the simplist things. All we have to do is pay attention.

“A great accomplishment shouldn’t be the end of the road, just the starting point for the next leap forward.” Harvey Mackay. Tweet This

Here’s to our next leap forward! What about your experince with this challenge? Share them with us.

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.

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Unusual Character Traits

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 25 Comments

Day 21:  #AtoZChallenge

The characters in our stories and novels are often very complex. We spend a lot of time getting to know them, asking questions, describing them and giving them a personality.

We want our readers to visualize our characters and recognize them every time they speak. But, what can we do, besides names, ages, or gender to make our characters memorable?

Give them unusual character traits or as John Yeoman from the Village Academy calls it, a signature. We all have our idiosyncrasies, so give your characters  a few; make them mimic real people. To get you started, here are a few suggestions.

30  Unusual character traits worth considering:

  1. Meaningful repetitions – for instance in my novel, one of the characters uses the term, “Dear” when speaking to others.
  2. Twirls hair when preoccupied or worried.
  3. Bites nails when nervious.
  4. Taps fingernails or pencils against a hard surface when nervous.
  5. Chain smokes.
  6. Always carries water, tea, or other beverage with them.
  7. A hugger or touchy-feely person or the reverse – can’t stand to be touched.
  8. Always chews gum – but only one flavor.
  9. Has a movie quote for every situation.
  10. A speech impediment – stutter, or lisp.
  11. A distinctive accent.
  12. Clumsy – in movements or socially.
  13. Intolerant and impatient.
  14. A peculiar dresser – loud colors or mismatched clothing.
  15. A jokester.
  16. Refuses to use slang – always correcting others.
  17. Superstitious – carries a rabbit’s foot or another talisman for luck.
  18. Whistles non-stop.
  19. Compulsively washes hands or straightens items on his desk.
  20. Colorblind.
  21. Carries a cigar and chews on it but never lights it.
  22. Draws squiggles in the border of every piece of paper or notepad in front of them.
  23. Photographic memory.
  24.  A facial tic.
  25. A crooked smile.
  26. Eyes that are a different color.
  27. Meticulous or expensive dresser.
  28. Calls every younger man “son.”
  29. Hates dirt.
  30. Only eats the “green” jelly beans or M & M’s.

Those listed above are a few among many unusual traits. People are a bit weir, sometimes. It’s our backgrounds, genetics, and life experiences that make us different. It’s also what gives us our uniqueness.Wheather your characters are lovable or detestable, make them real, unique and memorable.

Want to know More? Check out these recources:

Writers Helping Writers – Home to the The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression. 

What about your characters? Are they memorable? Do they have an unususal trait?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.

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Tweet this

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 28 Comments

tweetthisDay 20: #AtoZChallenge

I’m sure you’re familiar with the, “Tweet This,”embedded quotes used on other blog sites. It’s a great way to get readers engaged in the content of your blog and to share it with others.

If you self host, you can use the Tweet This plugin, but these plugins only apply to self-hosted blogs and web sites that use the WordPress.org software.

For those of us on WordPress.com, there is a way around the plugins.

You can use HTML if you’re comfortable dealing with code (more about that here). Or, you could simply go to the website Click to Tweet.

Enter the quote you want shared into the box, click on “generate new link,” and the URL used for the anchor link to your quote will appear.

We’re heading into the last few posts for the #AtoZChallenge. It’s been an exciting and challenging month (no pun intended). When I signed up to do this challenge, I wasn’t certain I could post every day, but I’m a pretty determined woman. So for those of you who who been on this journey with me and see the light at the end of the tunnel, here’s a quote to keep your feet to the fire.

“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” -Tommy Lasorda. Via @sheilamgood. Tweet This

What do you think? Like the idea of Click to Tweet?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.

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My Top 15 Research Resources for Writers

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 24 Comments

Day 18:  #AtoZchallenge

Researching a novel doesn’t have to be difficult but it is necessary. Research can be as easy as typing a question in Goggle for information, looking through old photos, sitting down with an expert, or actually visiting a facility or locale.

If you’re writing about a time other than the present, the research can be more difficult. In my current work in progress, I originally set the time frame in the mid 1980’s and quickly discovered the need to do more indepth research. For example, cell phones weren’t available until the late 80’s. Different airlines operated than the ones flying today and only a handful made flights to the area of the country in which my novel was situated.

My research took me inside the airline industry, including the lay out of the inside of a plane, the cell phone industry, and to historical registries. Other works have led me to reserach arson and forensics.

So, to make research easier for you, I’ve compiled a list of my 15 favorite research resources.

  1. Infoplease – covers anything from current events to historical timelines.
  2. The Library of Congress – the world’s largest library with millions of items in it’s collection.
  3. Refdesk – referred to as the “Fact checker for the Internet” this online reference site provides links to headlines news, current events, and any imaginable question you might like to pose.
  4. Google Scholar – a specialized search engine providing information on academic research.
  5. Encylcopedia.com – offers 100 trusted sources.
  6. GoPubMd – your source for all sceince and medical research.
  7. Godchecker – your God and Goddess resource.
  8. Writing World – for a primer of historical research.
  9. Find articles – offering more than 500 print periodicals covering present to 1998.
  10. Kiosko.net – a daily press directory with access to the world’s largest news sites and displays a readable image from today’s frontpage cover of each newspaper.
  11. InterFireonline – the complete resource for fire services, fire insurers, law enforcement and others whose duties involve arson investigation, fire investigation safety and fire scene training.
  12. The Writer’s Forensic Blog – forensic information for writers from D.P. Lyle, MD.
  13. Mystery File – the crime Fiction research journal.
  14. MooseRoots – research tool covering census records, imigration, military, death, marriage & birth records.
  15. Writers Helping Writers – all about characters including the character profile questionnaire and the emotional thesauraus.

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So tell me, how do you start your research? Do you have a favorite site? I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilamgood, and Contently.