Voice Winners!

Thank you all for participating in the blog hop and submitting your spiffiest words! This was, by far, one of the best contests I’ve run, not by the number of participants, but by the talent represented. I read so many great openings with strong voice! I, and my secret celebrity judge, had a heck of a time choosing the winners. As a matter of fact, because choosing was SO DANG HARD, I threw in an extra prize. From the winner’s circle…

FIRST PLACE chooses from the pool of prizes first

SECOND PLACE chooses second

THIRD PLACE chooses next

RUNNERS UP choose last

PRIZES

FREE critique of your opening 15 pages (a $50 value) from editor extraordinaire (moi)

FREE critique of your opening 8 pages from editor extraordinaire (moi)

FREE marketing consultation with best-selling self-pubbed author Leia Shaw

FREE book including these craft books:

OR this HOT novel releasing July 16th:

So without further ado, the winners!

RUNNERS UP

ALSO THE NIGHT by JoAnne Potter

DEAR KATHERINE by Patricia Moussatche

PIGMENTS by Chris Todd Miller

THIRD PLACE

THE GOLDEN WILLOW by Jennifer Lyn King

SECOND PLACE

LUMEN by D.D. Falvo

FIRST PLACE

MAGIC AND MIGHT by Cristin Bruggeman

All winners, please email me at HeatherWebb(dot)writes(at)gmail(dot)com with your choice of prize!

It’s All in the Voice CONTEST

We’ve learned about the differences between author voice (HERE) and then character voice (HERE), now it’s time to check yours out! Have you been rejected by agents or editors, or even been told by your crit partners that your novel’s voice isn’t up to snuff? Now’s your chance to get loads of FREE feedback on your pages!

WHAT:  A blog hop for feedback on your opening 250 words, and then a contest! Post your opening 250 words to your blogs, hop around and give feedback to others, spiff your words up and submit them for a chance to win!

WHEN: Blog hop is May 16th-17th. Submit final revisions by midnight May 18th for a chance to win! To submit: email your final version to HeatherWebb(dot)writes(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject heading VOICE CONTEST.

WHERE: Post on your individual blogs, but also link here! Sign up in the comments with your name and blog link.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: 1.) No, your manuscript doesn’t have to be finished. 2.)You can post up to two samples from different novels on your blog. 3.) No, you don’t have to do the blog hop–if you’d prefer to just submit your final 250 for your chance at the prizes, that’s fine, too!

SHARE: Please help tweet and share the contest on Facebook so we can have as many people as possible to give you feedback on your pages. The more the better!

PRIZES: Winners choose from the pot of prizes. First place chooses first, followed by second, and then third.

FREE critique of your opening 15 pages (a $50 value) from editor extraordinaire (moi)

FREE marketing consultation with best-selling self-pubbed author Leia Shaw

FREE book  including these craft books:

OR, this AMAZING novel releasing in July from St.Martin’s Press–CLAWS OF THE CAT by Susan Spann:

PARTICIPANTS: 

1. MB Mulhall                                                                              11. Jennifer Lyn King

2. Alec Breton                                                                             12. Chris Todd Miller

3. D.D. Falvo                                                                               13. Teralyn Pilgrim

4. Patricia Moussatche sample 1 & sample 2                                 14. Cristin Bruggeman

5. Rebeca Schiller                                                                        15. JoAnne Potter

6.  Donna Barker sample 1 & sample 2                                        16. (sign up in comments)

7. Marie Meyer

8. TC Booth

9. Janel Gradowski

10. Kris Mehigan sample 1 & sample 2

It’s All in the Voice (Part 2 of 2) + A Contest!

In Part 1, we talked about author voice and how to peel away layers of our identity to get to the juicy stuff–the unique voice in all of us. Today we’ll tackle character voice.

So how do we make our protagonist’s voice grab our readers by the throat? 

We mold and shape their voice through their…

Words

What your characters say, the expressions they use, differentiates them from others. JUST LIKE IN REAL LIFE. I’m a thirty-something, middle class woman. How I speak is vastly different from a poor, male teenager from the Bronx. Your characters should not sound like you, they should sound like themselves.

Thoughts

What does your protagonist think about? I think about my kids and spending quality time with my husband. I worry about juggling family life and work. I yearn for success in my career, for spiritual fulfillment in whatever form that takes. Our boy from the Bronx thinks about school, the hot girl with pink sneakers in biology, or basketball practice. He worries about dodging the bullies on the corner and having enough money for lunch. He yearns for graduation, for basketball to somehow carry him far away from his run-down home, and to have all the things he doesn’t have. Again, different worlds=radically different thoughts. Tailor your protagonist’s inner voice to their situation.

Actions

How does your protagonist react in certain situations or settings, or to others?  Consider their history. If Jane survived abuse and is an adult woman trying to find herself, she may be skittish around men. Or maybe Jane’s angry as hell and burns things and has loads of piercings. The cool thing is, you get to decide how your character reacts, but it’s important to keep those reactions consistent and true to the personality you’ve contrived for them. In either case, your protagonist’s actions and reactions are a strong component of their voice.

Word View

How does your protagonist view the world? They may have come from a crappy, hard-knock background, but maybe they’re a warrior, a survivor. They see life’s letdowns as a challenge—something to conquer. Life is a game of chess and they’re going to play and win. Or maybe they’re the victim of their own destiny. They complain and whine and want everyone to feel sorry for them, to lavish them with attention. Life is out to get them. The way a character sees the world around them, how they understand (or don’t) the people around them, AND how they deal with it feeds into their voice.

Now that we’ve talked about author voice and character voice, I’d love to see yours at work!!

It’s All in the Voice Contest

Post the first 250 words of your novel to your blog, hop around and give feedback to others May 16t and 17th, and submit your final version by midnight, May 18th. Winners of the most grabby voice will WIN PRIZES!!! Prizes include: an author marketing phone consultation with bestselling, self-published author Leia Shaw, FREE editing of your first 15 pages from moi (a $50 value), free books, and more! Sign-ups go live MONDAY, MAY 13th. Stay tuned!

It’s All in the Voice (Part 1 of 2) + A Contest

Ever heard an agent or editor say the voice in your novel didn’t grab them? What does that mean, and more importantly, how do you fix it? Pinpointing what makes a novel’s voice alluring can be a difficult aspect to nail down. Many novice writers have trouble understanding the separation of the character’s voice from their own. What is the difference? We’ll dissect both elements in a two part series. So let’s begin with you, the writer.

AUTHOR’S VOICE is the style that distinguishes one writer from the next. Sandra Brown’s voice is quite different from Sherry Thomas’s, is widely different from C.W. Gortner’s. As readers, we identify with certain authors because of those differences, hence the reason publishing is so subjective. What are these elements?

WHAT MAKES YOUR VOICE UNIQUE

Does the author write rapid fire one-liners that make readers laugh? Are their novels tightly plotted with sharp detailing, or lyrical and flowing with flowery descriptions? These are part of voice. To break it down simply, the elements that make our novels stand out from each other are:

• the tone a writer uses
• types of phrasing
• the way the author evokes emotion from their readers
• how they emphasize plot points
• the types of characters they develop
• how they portray their view of the world through the actions of their characters

Another skill associated with author voice is…

MAKING THE ORDINARY SPARKLE

Authors with well-developed voices have a way of making the most trite object or situation appear fascinating and even twinkly. It’s not just a glass sitting on a table with condensation. It’s the boundary line between an arguing couple, sweating from the heat of their ire. It’s the pizzazz, the je ne sais quoi propelled by inner spirit and emotion that turns the mundane into something worth reading about.

Finally, let’s look at…

FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE

An author’s voice evolves over time as they become more in touch with their inner emotions, as they take in new experiences with a writer’s lens, and also as they learn…

Confidence: Many new writers make the mistake of mimicking an author’s voice they admire. While this may be helpful in the early phases of learning—to hone crafting skills—it can also be detrimental. It’s a delicate dance. Your voice can disappear inside someone else’s. What is needed above all is self-confidence.

It’s important to say these words aloud to someone: I am a writer. The more often you say it, the more the reality of that statement sinks into your brain. Eventually, you don’t feel like a phony anymore. You feel like a bonafide writer, a real artist with your own story to tell. Sure you like those other styles, but you have your OWN. Embrace it.

Read Mindfully: Reading and writing are closely linked. This is something every experienced author will tell you. Read loads of books, both in your genre and outside of it to widen your lens. Analyze the differences in author voice. What sort of techniques do they use that you like? Don’t like? Don’t put reading on the backburner while you’re writing. We never stop learning, and to grow as an author, reading is a must.

Let it Flow:  Try free writing—about anything. Transition to free writing with your story in mind. Peel away years of defenses, of being the appropriate and professional at school, work, or online–this person, after all, is not the TRUE YOU.

What are your fears? Your biggest hurts? Your fantasies? These are the experiences that shape our emotional selves. And ultimately, your history shapes your voice. Sound scary? It is a bit, which is why many writers compare sharing their books to being naked in public. We funnel our inner desires, our demons into words, that everyone on the planet can read, applaud, or tear apart. It can be daunting, but unless the writer lets it all hang out, the voice is flat. It evaporates from the page.

Know your Audience: Who will GET your story? Who will sympathize with your protagonist? Your audience doesn’t need to define your voice, but it should certainly have a hand in shaping how you unveil your story elements.

Express Yourself: Madonna said it best. Don’t go for second best, baby. Put yourself to the test. How is your own life story unique? Despite the fact that every plotline has been told a hundred times, each one has a fresh viewpoint, a different set of circumstances. Emphasize these differences—this is where your voice will emerge.

Don’t Over-think it: Don’t try to sound like you, just relax and be natural. Think about one of the first academic papers you ever wrote. You wanted to appear smart so you dumped a bunch of fifty-cent words in the text. But it came off stiff, unnatural and at times probably didn’t even make sense. Don’t force your voice. It will rise to the surface if you listen to your heart.

Stay tuned for Part Two–honing your characters’ voices!

It’s All in the Voice Contest

Post the first 250 words of your novel to your blog, hop around and give feedback to others May 16t and 17th, and submit your final version by midnight, May 18th. Prizes include: an author marketing phone consultation with bestselling, self-published author Leia Shaw,  FREE editing of your first 15 pages from moi (a $50 value), free books, and more! (Subscribe so you won’t miss any important posts!) The BIG contest post with all of the info goes up the week of May 6th. Stay tuned!

Pitch Madness & Voice Contest!

Brenda Drake is running another contest that you won’t want to miss– PITCH MADNESS! Create your best pitch for a chance to receive requests from agents. There’s only a one day submission window, so get your pitches together in a hurry and submit THIS FRIDAY!

DEETS

DATE

March 15 from 6AM EST to 12PM EST. (All submissions sent before or after the window time slot will be deleted.) There will be no cut off number. Everyone who submits during the window will make it into the contest. You will receive a receipt, if you don’t, check with me here on the blog or on Twitter (@brendadrake). ****Only completed manuscripts may be pitched.

CATEGORIES

Adult, New Adult, Young Adult, and Middle Grade. Any genres. The winners will not be notified before the agent round. Research the agent list below to ensure they represent your genre!

SUBMISSION 

The email for submissions is brendadrakecontests@gmail.com – do not send before the submission window. NO ATTACHMENTS – All pitches must be embedded in the email.

I was alerted about a site that will send scheduled emails if you can’t send during the submission windows. Check it out here: http://www.lettermelater.com/, and make sure to do a test run should you decide to use this method.

PITCH FORMAT

Email subject line: Pitch Madness: TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT

Name: Your name
Title: TITLE OF MANUSCRIPT
Genre: Genre/category of your manuscript (ie. YA Fantasy)
Word Count: Word count (round to the nearest 1000th)

Pitch: 35word (max) logline. Do not go over even one word over.

Excerpt: The first 250 words of your manuscript. If the 250th word falls in the middle of a sentence, go to the end of that sentence. Your pitch should be Times New Roman 12pt, single spaced, one space between paragraphs, no paragraph indentions. Make sure the formatting is done correctly.

ONCE YOU HAVE PITCHED

slush readers pick through the pitches and pick the top 60 pitches. We try to get a good mix of various genres, but the writing comes first. Basically, if the submissions aren’t ready, it’s a pass.

Wait. There’s more! This time around, agents won’t only be competing for requests, but for gift cards, too! We figured that it’s a lot of work playing a game, so we decided to reward the winners as an extra incentive and bragging rights. The winning agent, grand dart master, ruler of the slush pile will receive a $50 gift card from either Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winners choice) with two runners-up receiving $25 gift cards.

AGENT REQUESTS BEGIN…

March 26 through March 28.

And now for the teams of…

SLUSH ZOMBIES: (I am one!)

1. Dream Team!

Host blog/Team Leader: Brenda Drake
Team Leader: Erica Chapman
Dahlia Adler
Heather Webb
Sarah Blair

2. Host blog/Team Leader: Shelley Watters
Team Leader: Marieke Nijkamp
KT Hanna
Kat Ellis
Stephanie Diaz

3. Host blog/Team Leader: Summer Heacock
Team Leader: Dee Romito
Kimberly Chase
Rebecca Weston
Sarah Henning

4. Host blog/Team Leader: Sharon Johnston
Team Leader: Fiona McLaren
Brianna Shrum
Catherine Scully
Mina Vaughn

REQUESTING AGENTS

Jessica Sinsheimer

Nicole Resciniti

Jodell Sadler

Terrie Wolf

Jordy Albert

Louise Fury

Andrea Somberg

Melissa Jeglinski

Sarah LaPolla

Peter Knapp

Carlie Webber

Marisa Cleveland

Margaret Bail

Erin Harris

For more information about each agent and what they represent, do your RESEARCH! Also, check the  blurbs and Twitter handles of each on Brenda’s blog HERE.

VOICE WORKSHOP & CONTEST COMING SOON 

Check back here at Between the Sheets for a workshop coming soon. Prizes will include FREE editing of your pages from moi, an author marketing phone consultation with bestselling self-published author Leia Shaw, and more! The contest will run the first week of May. (Subscribe so you won’t miss any important posts!)

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Winners!

Thank you to the Where’s the Love blog hop participants! I had a great time reading all of your tension-filled and lovey dovey scenes.

The winner of the chocolate prizes are:

Donna Barker

Vaughn Roycroft

Janet Oakley

Send me a private message with your addresses and something delicious will appear in your mailboxes!

Next Week:

We’ll talk BAD BLOG BEHAVIOR and indulge in a chocolate-dipped FRENCHIE FRIDAY.

Where’s the Love? Blog Hop

February is the month of love. Dig up your favorite amorous scene from your novel or short story, (let’s keep it R rated or less. No X rated scenes, please), post 250 words to your blog and hop around to others.

Receive and give craft and plot feedback, or just SHARE THE LOVE!

 WHEN

• The hop goes live February 14th & 15th

 WHAT YOU GET OUT OF IT

• Free feedback on your scene from readers, plus the fun of being enraptured by all of those love-ly scenes. Meeting writer friends is a bonus!

• There will also be a random drawing for a chocolatey and delicious prize.

READ & COMMENT, BUT DON’T POST

For those who are hopping, but not posting, every time you leave a comment, your name still goes into the CHOCOLATE PRIZE DRAWING!

SIGN UP

In the comments, leave your name and blog address and I’ll add you to the list below.

1. Janet B. Taylor

2. Candie Campbell

3. Kris Waldherr

4. Tonia Marie Harris

5. Janet Oakley

6. Donna Barker

7. Julianne Douglas

8. Laura Kenyon

9. Jess Shira

10. Arabella Stokes

11. Megan Hennessey

12. Barb Taub

13. Rae Ellen Lee

14. Veronica Bartles

15. (sign up in comments)

Versatile Blogger & Where’s the Love Blog Hop

I’ve been selected by the lovely Jackie Buxton for the Versatile Blogger Award. Thank you, Jackie! But this fine award reminded me that my blogging schedule needed revamping. This is what I came up with:

• Twice per month, author interiviews.
• Twice per month, editor/writerly advice.
• The odd contest or blog hop

And the new category that I’m very excited to share will be:

• Frenchie Fridays, consisting of cultural tidbits about my favorite French topics or recettes delicieuses (delicious recipes). I’m SO excited to share these!

As for random blog hops, I’d say it’s time for another! So without further ado…

WHERE’S THE LOVE?  BLOG HOP

February is the month of love. So unearth your favorite amorous scene from your novel or short story, (let’s keep it R rated or less. No XXX please), post 250 words to your blog and hop around to others. Receive and give craft and plot feedback, or just enjoy the love!  The hop goes live February 14th & 15th. Sign-ups begin tomorrow.

Pitch Madness–Tweet Your Pitch to Agents But Hurry!

Hey, writerly folks! Tomorrow (January 25th) on Twitter, there will be a partaaay of pitches happening on the #Pitmad hashtag. Agents will be swinging by to make requests! If you’d like to participate, here are the ground rules:

• Your pitch must be no longer than 140 characters, minus the #PitMad hashtag.

• Do not pitch agents directly unless they specifically ask you to do so! If you don’t follow this rule, they may be VERY turned off to you in the future.

That’s it!

If you’d like some help on your pitch, post yours in my comment section today and tomorrow and I’ll comb it and preen it and make it beautiful with you!

Pitch Wars Mentee Ready to Wage War

Tomorrow is the BIG day for #PitchWars, a huge contest hosted by Brenda Drake. 30 mentors worked for six weeks with a selected mentee to polish their pitches and manuscripts. Now, 17 agents will have the opportunity to make requests based on the first 250 words and pitch. In addition, mentor/mentee teams compete for the highest number of requests for prizes.

My fantabulous mentee, Janet Taylor, has worked her tail off to whip her manuscript into shape. Now we’re ready to wrangle!  *cracks knuckles* GAME ON!!!!!

Here’s a sneak peak of Janet’s INCREDIBLE book.

NAME: Janet B Taylor
MENTOR: Heather Webb
TITLE: THROUGH THE DIM
GENRE: YA/Fantasy-Time Travel

PITCH: When Hope discovers her mother isn’t dead, but marooned in the twelfth century by a vindictive time traveler, the teen joins a team of time-jumping Indiana Joneses to stage a rescue. But Hope isn’t prepared for the brutal medieval world, or the handsome traitor whose betrayal could leave her trapped in the past forever.

FIRST 250:

Everyone in town knew the coffin was empty.

I think that was what drew the crowd, the pure curiosity of the thing. In beauty shops and diners, people would brag how they’d been there, at Sarah Walton’s memorial service. Oh, it was big news. An empty casket. The poor husband who waited months before finally accepting his odd, foreign wife was gone. A woman who didn’t even have the decency to show up for her own funeral. And then there was that strange daughter.

As for the strange daughter, all she—I–wanted was to have it done. The service, the unendurable visits from ‘well-wishers’. The burial.

The wooden pew dug into the underside of my thighs. I heard the whispering, but didn’t turn. And I didn’t look once at that polished, detestable box.

The first mourners had shown up only hours after we got the call. In far-off India, a city had collapsed. After that, the news came in dribbles of pain. A catastrophic earthquake. American and British volunteers crushed under concrete and smoking rubble. Recovery of their bodies unlikely, then impossible.

As my dad and I sat white and stunned at the kitchen table, we heard the first, timid knock on our back door. I didn’t so much as blink. I knew if I did, my skin—like a shattered windshield held in place by the seal around it—would collapse into a million pieces, and the pain roaring inside would rupture and devour me.