Friday Funday Part Two

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! It's time for the weekend, and I couldn't be happier. Today, I'm giving you some more great games you can play that'll help your wit and grammar skills while spending time with the family or friends. Unlike last week, these are games you can go to the store and buy. So grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

First up, we have Scattergories!

This game is a fun way to see how many words you know that begin with the same letter. You see, you have a die with 26 sides (one letter on each side) and ten categories. You roll the die, start the timer, and everyone tries to fill in the blanks with a word starting with your chosen letter in each category. Bonus points are given if you can come up with descriptive words that also begin with the letter rolled. For example: Food (letter C)-Crusty Cheddar Cheese or Curdled Colby Cheese. Each of those answers are worth three points. It's a seriously fun game that will have you giggling at some of the words people try to pass off. But if you have the exact same answer as someone else, you have to cross it out (no points are given to either of you). So, you have to be creative and think outside the box for this game. 2+ players.

Second, one of my all time favorites, Balderdash.

The actual definition of Balderdash is: Senseless talk or writing; nonsense. I freaking love this game because I'm a total word-nerd. Here's how it works: You draw a card with a word and definition on it (only the drawer gets to see the real definition) then read the word out loud to everyone else. They write down the word and have to come up with a definition that'll trick everyone else into believing it's the right one. Whoever drew the card writes down the real definition and collects all the papers. That person then reads the definitions out loud and people get to choose which they think is the right one. This game is a hoot when the reader can't stop laughing long enough to read the definitions, or you have someone in the circle who comes up with clever alternatives. Bonus points for every time you choose the right one out of the submitted ones, OR if folks choose your definition as the right one when it's not. Bigger bonus points if you write the correct definition on your piece of paper. Warning! There are some really obscure words in there! *grin* 3+ players

Third, and one you may not think of as a word game, Pictionary!

I think this is a super game for writers. You have to take a word and make people guess what it is by bringing them a visual. What better way to flex your descriptive muscles than having to draw something on paper? Besides, you may get an obscure word you've never heard and have to look it up. Great for vocabulary expansion! You get two teams of at least two people each. A card is drawn and you have to get your teammate to guess the word on the card by drawing pictures on a whiteboard. You can do as many of these as time (one minute) allows. Super fun for a weekend with the family or a party game. 4+ players

For my final suggestion, I give you Taboo.

This game will make your brain become a walking Thesaurus. You get two teams of at least two people each. One person tries to get their teammate to guess as many words as they can from the ones on the cards. But there's a catch! You can't use any of the words listed under the main word to get them to say the highlighted one. It becomes difficult to think up alternative ways to communicate your thoughts to your partner. Think: $100,000 Pyramid without the ability to use any word you want because you have a restriction list. One thing you'll love to hate about this game is the buzzer. Someone from the other team stands behind you and makes sure you don't use any of the words on the card. If you do, buzz! and you have to throw that one out. 4+ players


I do hope, if you've never tried any of these, you'll give them a shot. If you don't really want to put out the cash for a pre-boxed game, I have some great, free games on my last Friday Funday post you may want to check out.

What do you think? What's your favorite word/writer game?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Eva Pohler's 2000 Likes Extravaganza

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I'm bringing you all an awesome Facebook milestone for the fabulous Eva Pohler! She has a lot of really great prizes to give away so get on over to Facebook and join in the fun!

It's that time again! Time to celebrate another Facebook milestone: 2000 likes at Eva Pohler's Book Page. To help with the celebration, twenty-five authors and fifteen bloggers have joined together to offer readers an ebook extravaganza! Enter the rafflecopter below to win, and stop by the Facebook Event for additional Flash Swag Giveaways (t-shirts, buttons, pens, and other fun swag) going on from March 20th to March 24th. Winners will be announced on Tuesday, March 25th!

And don't forget that release day for The Gatekeeper's Secret: Gatekeeper's Saga, Book Five is April 1st! We will be celebrating that day, too, with my April Fool's Isn't Just for Fools Party with the Olympians! Details to come.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It starts today, so get on over there and check it out!

Enter the Rafflecopter and have some fun.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Mystic Re-releases

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! I know I missed my post yesterday but I had good reason. I've been working on getting the new covers for the Mystic series ready for re-release and doing a lot of back editing. So far, I have a new interior and cover for Bronya and a new cover for Lily. These newest versions will be the ones I take with me to UtopYA Con in June of this year.

Are you all anxious to see them? Well, you've seen the standalone covers for these, so I won't bore you with those. What I'm gonna show you today is the newest interior formatting and the full wrap covers.

Ready?

First up, I give you book one:

As of now, you can get the newest print version of Bronya for $8.99 on Createspace here.
But, you can pick up the digital version FREE on Smashwords here.

Oh, you wanted to see the new interior, huh? Well, here you go:

Pretty, huh?

I guess it's time to show you the new cover for book two!

So, you can probably imagine what the others will look like.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this little look into the new Mystic world. Each of these books are getting an overhaul in the editing department, too. So you have a lot to look forward to!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Luck o' the Release Indie-rific Giveaway

Happy St. Paddy's Day, good people of the blogosphere! Today, I'm sharing with you all a little bit of fun happening over on Facebook. There are a ton of great books and prizes to win so hop on over and check it out here:

Luck o' the Release Day Extravaganza!

Casey L. Bond and Cassy Roop will be partying it up until 11pm. It's happening right now, so get your booties on the move!

These two new releases by Cassy and Casey will be up for grabs along with the donated books from the many authors:

Reap by Casey L. Bond ($0.99 for a limited time on Amazon)

Synopsis:
The remnants of the United States of America have been divided. From five enormous, technologically-advanced cities, the Greaters rule over the Lessers.

In the Lesser village of Orchard, things are not as perfect as Abby Kelley thinks they are. When the apple harvest draws near and the Greater’s engineered fruits become too much for one village to handle alone, reinforcements from neighboring villages are called upon.

Having to choose between her best friend, whom she has no romantic feelings for, and mysterious newcomer Crew, Abby finds herself in the middle of a harvest that she had no intention of becoming a part of. She becomes involved in a situation that threatens the strict rule of the Greaters, and just might give the Lessers hope for a better tomorrow. But, can she help the Lessers without losing Crew? And if she chooses Crew, will she lose her best friend? 

The Price of Love by Cassy Roop ($2.99 on Amazon)

Synopsis:
Two short months before graduating high school, Kendall Jones’ world is ripped apart at the seams. A stranger rescues her from a near brutal attack, but is unable to save her parents from death. Eight years later, Kendall moves to New York, hoping to put her past behind her, and once again finds herself in need of rescue.

Tristan Price saves the life of a young woman, who then haunts his dreams for eight long years. When she literally falls at his feet, Tristan decides that he will protect her, no matter what the cost. When her past comes back to threaten her, his plan to keep her close could cost his heart.

Can Tristan save Kendall a second time, and at what cost? Can the price of love overshadow the darkness of her past?

Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a Standalone and has a HEA.

I mentioned there are many Indie authors participating. Here's the most recent list:

And, in case you want to enter the fabulous Rafflecopter giveaway, here's the link to the form:

Enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Good luck and have a lot of fun, guys!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Friday Funday

Happy Friday, everyone! The weekend is almost upon us and I figured I'd give you a few things to do in your downtime that will help your writing skills. Just a little weekend fun to keep your writerly brain engaged and on target for the workweek ahead. I know you don't really want to think about Monday, but it behooves us all to be prepared. I'll begin by giving you the name of the exercise, and then move on to how you can accomplish it (and maybe have some fun, too). Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going.

Exercise #1: Dialogue Dissection
Grab a friend or family member and chat with them. Be sure you have a recorder of some kind running (voice notes on an iPhone work great for this). Give yourself ten to fifteen minutes then shut the recording device off. End the conversation and move to a room where you can be alone. Play back the recording and recall what each of you were doing as you spoke. Mentally add commas and periods where you think they belong. Listen to it again. Pay attention to the words used, pronunciation, and inflection. Think about how you might write the conversation out. If you feel so inclined, you may do so; but, this is more of an exercise to get your brain thinking about dialogue in general.

Exercise #2: Title Trivia
Sit down with a friend or family member and grab a couple of sheets of paper or 3.5"x5" index cards. Cut them into pieces and have everyone write one word on each piece. Fold them up and throw them into a bowl. Take turns picking out two pieces and sticking them together. Pretend it's the title of a book and come up with a synopsis to support it. This is all verbal, so no need to write anything down (unless you hit upon the next great novel idea!).

Exercise #3: What's That Word?
This, again, is a two or more person game. Grab a sheet of paper and write down a sentence with at least ten words in it. Exchange with others. Now, try and come up with as many words as possible in place of the ones written. Whoever has the most variations (accurate ones) wins! Don't cheat and use a thesaurus! I find chocolate is a great motivator as a prize for this game.

Exercise #4: Acting Gone Awry
Take a character from one of your favorite novels and pretend to be them for the day. Respond to other people the way you think the character would, do things you think they would do, and really try to walk in their shoes. Take little notes as you go if you want. At the end of the day, reflect on your actions and try to flesh out the character in your head. Were there circumstances that made you wonder about the character's personality or how they would react or did it all flow very naturally? What part of the book let you know that? Use this knowledge the next time you're building your own characters (or when writing scenes of discovery).

Exercise #5: Cover Collection Craziness
Go online and take a look at other books in your genre. Save images of the covers. Print out a quick copy on regular paper or pull them up in a photo editing program. Make notes about what you like and don't like about each one. If you wanna get crazy, cut them up and glue together a whole new cover with some of the elements. Kids love this one.

These are just a few games you can play with your friends or family members to help you become a better writer. An added bonus is: You get to spend time with your loved ones while sharpening your skills!

Which one of these sounds the most fun to you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

New Release - Evermore by Amy Miles

Happy Thursday! I bet you're all looking forward to tomorrow, huh? I know I am. I need a weekend to recharge my batteries. I've been busier than a one-armed paper-hanger this week. Bronya (book 1 of the Mystic series) is getting a major overhaul in both the editing and cover department. I'd like to take the newest versions of the series with me to UtopYA Con in June so I'm busting it out. Busy, busy! I'm planning to do a raffle for a couple of special things at the con, so be sure and visit my table in Area 51. I'll be sharing space with the ever awesome Tia Silverthorne Bach and we'll have some IBGW goodies to give you all, too!

But, today, I'd like to tell you all about a new release by Ms. Amy Miles titled Evermore. It's the fourth book in her Arotas series. Without further ado, I give you the info!

Title: Evermore (book 4 of the Arotas series)
Author: Amy Miles
Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Coming of Age
Length (print): ~91 pages
Buy Links: Amazon Kindle $0.99  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Barns & Noble $0.99  ~  iBooks $0.99

Synopsis: I pledge my heart, my life, my soul to you on this day and all the days to come. My life, bonded to yours, if you will have me. ~ Gabriel, Redemption

With a single vow and a swift blow, everything Roseline Enescue held dear is stripped away. The battle is over, but the victory is far from sweet. Laying Gabriel to rest in the Enescue family mausoleum beside her beloved friend and former lover, Fane is the hardest thing she has ever had to do. With an eternity of loneliness stretching out before her, Roseline withdraws into herself, shutting everyone out. Even Elias, Gabriel's guardian angel leaves her to mourn by herself, but his sudden return brings about a series of thrilling and terrifying events, the likes of which will forever change the course of her life.

Follow Roseline and Gabriel as they are reunited after death, enjoy Sadie and Nicolae’s fiery romance, experience William's growing feelings of uselessness and discover what happens when there is no one left to control the forces of darkness.

With a single vow everything changed. A prophecy yet to be fulfilled. A new legacy to last the ages.

EVERMORE, an Arotas novella. The final installment.

Sounds like a pretty awesome book, eh?

What do you think? Will you check it out?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Writing Your Ending First

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today we're gonna talk about an interesting way to write a novel that goes out with a bang. All you pantsers out there are probably gonna love this. Those of you who work with a strict outline will most likely cheer. I'll admit to using this trick only once; but, I loved the results so much, I figured I'd share what I did and how I did it. Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Imagine this:
You have your story idea in your head. All the research has been done and you may or may not have an outline ready and waiting. Cracking your knuckles, you sit at your computer and start banging out your first chapter. Then another flows out. Then another. You take the rest of the day off because writing those nine thousand words really took it out of you.
Day two rolls around and you grab your coffee, determined to crack out as many words as you did on day one. This day you get two chapters written before you push away from your desk, exhausted, but loving the story on the pages.
By day three, you're back to rolling out words like a Lorem Ipsum generator (but yours makes sense, of course).

Fast forward a couple of months.

You stare at the screen. Your energy is drained because you've given your everything to writing this novel you're sure has the stuff of awesomeness. And now it's time to write the ending. Your creative juices are drained and you can't figure out how in the hell you're gonna go out with a bang. *head to desk*
Words begin to meander out of your fingers and you end up with a lackluster finale you know your readers are gonna lift an eyebrow at. But you're so tired of looking at/working on this novel, you don't have it in you to re-write it.

In edits, you may revise that ending. But it'll never have the level of awesome the first eighty or so pages of the novel. Why? Because you were exhausted.

Now, step back in time to day one. You knew exactly where the story was going back then and had a vivid idea about where your characters would end up, right?

Why not write the end and the beginning on that first day?

I heard that gasp.

Let me try and put it another way. If you have a clear path to your character's finale, using your awesome creativity to craft it when you're fresh out of the gate will leave you with something rich and satisfying.

Write the end, then step back and start at the beginning. You'll find you rush less, take the time to choose just the right words, and it may even help give your novel clearer direction.

Try it once. If it doesn't work out for you, I won't take it personally. But this is a cool way to be sure your ending is everything the beginning is.

I used this technique in only one book: I, Zombie. I knew what I wanted to happen by the end and I wrote it, then the beginning. It was one of the most surreal writing experiences of my life. Endings will now always be written first when I start a novel.

Have you ever used this technique? Think you'll try it now?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo