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    Why Your Character Needs a Secret Identity by Lynn Johnston 

        Published: June 19th, 2013  Views: 5 
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    Secret identities—they're not just for superheroes anymore.

    The secret identities we're familiar with from comic books represent extreme contrasts of personality. Wonder Woman conceals her wild Amazon powers in the buttoned-up persona of Diana Prince. Batman shrouds his vigilante anger in the glib playboy personality of Bruce Wayne. Superman hides his alien invincibility behind the role of mild-mannered, bespectacled Clark Kent.

    (Although I never quite bought that last one…a pair of heavy-framed glasses do not a clever disguise make.)


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    2. Workshops
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    A DRAMATIST’S TALE: Art is NOT Blatant by Sally J. Walker 

    by
    sallyjwalker@cox.net
        Published: June 17th, 2013

    A DRAMATIST’S TALE: Art is NOT Blatant by Sally J. Walker

    Art is defined as “the quality, production or expression, according to aesthetic
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    Savvy Authors Weekly Newsletter - June 17, 2013 

    by
    Dawn McClure
        Published: June 17th, 2013

    Congratulations to all Savvy Authors!

    This week’s first congratulation goes out to Savvy Author member Alexia Adams! She signed a two book deal with Entangled Publishing. The first book, Hacker's Guide to Love, was the story she wrote in the Savvy Authors/Entangled Smackdown event for NaNoWriMo. It will be published in early 2014. Congratulations, Alexia!

    Meg Mims, who is one-half of the D.E. Ireland team, signed a two-book deal. D.E. Ireland's WOULDN'T IT BE DEADLY, featuring Professor Henry Higgins, Eliza Doolittle, and other beloved characters from Pygmalion, one of George Bernard Shaw's most celebrated plays, to Toni Plummer at Thomas Dunne Books, in a two-book deal, by John Talbot at Talbot Fortune Agency (World English). Congratulations, Tania!

    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Industry
    3. Workshops
    4. Savvy U Courses
    5. Research
    6. Writing Life
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    Check Out Savvy's Workshop Line Up for June 17th 

        Published: June 16th, 2013  Views: 239 

    Q IS FOR QUERY, A IS FOR AAACK! with Marketing Professional Laurie Schnebly Campbell
    In this hands-on workshop (which includes full critiques for writers willing to share their work), she brings 25 years of advertising experience to the task of identifying what makes people want to buy a product -- any product -- and how to convince them YOURS is the one they want.

    Understanding Contracts with Agent Dawn Dowdle 5 SPOTS LEFT!
    You’ve been offered a publishing contract. How do you know what the clauses mean and whether it is a good contract or how to evaluate two contracts?

    Edge of your Seat: How to add Suspense to your Writing with Author F.T. Bradley.
    Do you ever wonder what makes that book such a page-turner? Wish you could keep a reader at the edge of your seat with your writing? This workshop teaches you how.
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    Plotting the Romance Series – To Theme or Not to Theme by Misty Evans 

        Published: June 16th, 2013  Views: 178 
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    Many writers never consider themes in their work. In fact, for some, theme is dirty word. It’s confusing and elusive – an intangible element in fiction derived from the characters, plot, and setting.

    But when plotting a series, theme is crucial. Deciding up front what the overall theme will be will help you plot individual stories while staying true to the series.

    What does ‘staying true to the series’ mean? From the very first book, even from the series title, you make a promise to readers about what the stories will involve: characters, genre, and in romance, the promise of a happy ending. Each book needs to keep that promise or you’ll lose your readers.

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    Write Fast, Write True by Mary O’Gara 

        Published: June 16th, 2013  Views: 83 
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    When you write about feelings, write fast. Your mind won’t be able to keep up.

    I’m in the company of poets, attending the annual conference of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. For weeks my mind has been focused on story structure, scenes, plots, all the things that go into a novel. For these three days, I’m again among gentle people who love words and know how to use them to change the world.

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    1. Craft
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    Book Covers And Blunders by Jacqueline Diamond 

        Published: June 14th, 2013  Views: 212 
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    An important piece of advice issued to anyone self-publishing a book is, “You need a professional cover.”

    True enough. But not as simple as it sounds.

    A couple of years ago, after regaining rights to about a third of my more than 90 published novels, I began updating them to issue as ebooks. Since I didn’t own the rights to the print covers, I needed new ones.


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    Crafting Effective Scenes by Winnie Griggs 

        Published: June 12th, 2013  Views: 164 
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    Let’s start by defining just what a scene is. My favorite definition is one that comes from author Holly Lisle.

    She states that A scene is the smallest bit of fiction that contains the essential elements of story.

    You see, the workhorse of a story is not words, or sentences or even paragraphs - but it is the scene. Because it is in a scene that we see the key element of any good story - namely relevant change.

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    1. Craft
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    Embracing the Poop Sandwich by Adrienne Giordano 

        Published: June 11th, 2013  Views: 185 
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    I might be a sick puppy, but I love a good round of content/developmental edits.

    That being said, I don’t know that I always loved edits. In fact, I remember (quite vividly) receiving my first revision letter. I’d just sold my book and had that initial flurry of emails with my new editor. I was filled with debut author glee. All the rejections (and there were a lot!) were behind me and I was giddy with relief. All I could think about was what my first cover would look like and how fulfilling it would be to see my name splashed across it.

    The thing I wasn’t so excited about was the revision letter I knew would be coming. My editor had already told me how much she adored the hero and I grasped that nugget while I sweated the arrival of the revision letter. Then the moment came. I took a deep breath before opening the file and then...four pages. Single spaced. Holy cow.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    The Author's 'Dreadful Disease' by Allison Knight 

        Published: June 10th, 2013  Views: 212 
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    A 'dreadful disease' that affects authors? You've never heard of it? I call it a disease and I'll tell you what it is and why.

    I'm going to call it a disease, because, for as long as I've read about or communicated with authors, it's struck every novelist I know in one way or another. Even from my discussions with non-fiction writers and journalists, I found that they too will sometimes suffer from this affection.

    So what is it and why do I call it a disease?
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    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    Savvy Authors Weekly Newsletter - June 10, 2013 

    by
    Marilyn Muniz
        Published: June 10th, 2013

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    Creativity Plus Discipline by Emma Lane 

        Published: June 9th, 2013  Views: 159 
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    My daughter could tie beautiful bows at an early age. It totally amazed me because try as I would, my attempts came out amateur and drooping. How did she learn to do that? It was a fascinating mystery to me. This little creature born to me was not a carbon copy. She possessed many talents that were completely her own. Certainly it was not a genetic gift from her mother, however, I noticed that her father has the same sort of talent. He was not into ribbons, but he could make wonderful knots with ropes. Neither are interested in writing books, and they think my type of creativity is a strange thing. I do not argue the point.

    Talents are inborn. However they can lay unexpressed without discipline to turn those strange urges into something useable, discernible. We learned our grammar rules as children in school, that is, everyone is required to learn the rules. Not everyone will grow up to write books, become authors. Without talent, knowledge is only a discipline, a mechanical display.

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    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    Check Out Savvy's Workshop Line Up for June 10th 

        Published: June 8th, 2013  Views: 376 

    Building Backstory for Your Characters & Their World with Author and Educator Beth Daniels
    Where we come from, our genetic backgrounds, our family origins, our childhood experiences, and the disasters and challenges and joys experienced along the way to adulthood are what make us the people we are today. We create backgrounds for our characters to drive their motivation - and that's what fuels a Character-driven Plot.


    Finding Words/Killing Words: Bringing Your Manuscript In At The Right Word Count with Author and Educator Beth Daniels
    You’ve done it! You’ve finished writing your manuscript at long last. But just before you move on to sending it out, you hit word count one last time. And HORRORS!!! It either says you still need a couple thousand words or you’ve gone over the publisher’s posted maximum word count by a couple thousand.

    Voice Training for Your Characters with Author, Editor and Writing Coach Kat Duncan
    Voice is one part author and many more parts character. If you're familiar with the concepts of voice and deep point of view but you want in-depth info on how each of these applies to creating unique, memorable characters, this is the advanced workshop for you.
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    The Challenge of Creating a Believable World: Part 1 by Dina von Lowenkraft 

        Published: June 8th, 2013  Views: 366 
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    Part 1: Building Your Foundation in the Physical Realm

    The purpose of world building is to create a setting for your story. It is
    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Worldbuilding
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    10 Lessons for Writing a Series by Laura Kaye 

        Published: June 7th, 2013  Views: 580 
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    It’s great to be back at Savvy Authors again, this time to celebrate the release of my tenth novel, South of Surrender. This book is the third book in my Greek-mythology-inspired Hearts of the Anemoi series—one of four series I’m currently writing.

    From writing all these simultaneous series—two paranormal and two contemporary—I’ve learned a number of lessons about how to plan a series, how to organize the writing of a series, and how to write a series, so I thought I’d share them here today. These are lessons I figured out as I’ve worked through my four series, and hopefully they’ll be useful to you, too.

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    1. Craft
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    Music Your Characters Can Dance To: Creating a Playlist by Nancy Gideon 

        Published: June 7th, 2013  Views: 278 
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    Content, content, content. Publishers and agents want to see it. Websites, blogs and social media venues demand it. Readers crave something that catches their eye, something that gives them an intimate link to the book they’re reading – your book. Everyone wants more, and they want to be dazzled by that ‘more.’ Having done the bookmarks, the trading cards, the excerpt booklets, the blogging, the book trailers, I discovered a content extra I really love, mainly because it was something I already DID! Playlists.

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    1. Craft
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    Reading For Craft 

    by
    Marcy Weydemuller
        Published: June 6th, 2013  Views: 81 

    Writing the Fiction Series: The Guide for Novels and Novellas by Karen S. Wiesner

    Not only does this book fill in a long overdue gap in
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    Writing True Emotions…Laugh, Cry And Sigh As You Write by Anne Seaton 

        Published: June 6th, 2013  Views: 506 
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    The cover quote from a well known author on my latest book said that “the love affair would make you laugh, cry and sigh.”

    One of the most challenging tasks for a writer of romance, and indeed any genre, is to engage the reader’s emotions. How do you enable the reader to immerse themselves in the lives of the characters, and to experience the full gamut of emotions that the character experiences throughout the development of the story?

    For me as a writer, one of the most satisfying comments is to hear that the reader didn’t want to finish the book and leave the characters behind. How many times have you finished a book with a warm glow in your chest, and think about the characters and their experiences for a few days after you put the book down?
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    How To Write When You Have A Life by Sarah Perry 

        Published: June 5th, 2013  Views: 252 
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    You’ve read the numerous articles that say writers write. Or that one must write everyday if they expect to succeed. That busy author’s wake up at sunrise, before the rest of their family awakens, to spend some quiet time writing.

    Whenever I saw another of those articles, my heart would sink a little. I couldn’t measure up to those standards. I am a wife, mother of two young children; I work part-time outside of the home and have a house to take care of. I am not now, nor do I ever anticipate being a morning person. So how do the rest of us get any writing done?

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    2. Writing Life
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    Seven Steps from “I Think I Want to Write a Book” to Published Author by Alison Stone 

        Published: June 5th, 2013  Views: 474 
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    In my late-twenties, I got the idea to write a novel and it wouldn’t leave me. My biggest hang up was that I was an engineer and I had no idea how to write a novel. Every bio I read online stated the author had been writing stories in notebooks since birth, or so it seemed.

    Not me. I preferred math.

    Yet, the idea took hold and wouldn’t leave. I was filled with doubts. A little voice said, “Why do you think you can write a book?” Then another voice whispered, “Why not you?”

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    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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