D. Hart St. Martin

I make female heroes badass AND believable

writing

Writing Tools Part I

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DISCLAIMER: Nobody has paid me to talk about the program/app I cover in this post. I am not necessarily endorsing it; I am simply explaining why it works for me and hope that my experience may help another writer out there.

I don’t know about other writers, but I need a convenient writing platform and the appropriate tools to keep everything moving swiftly. For many, many, many years (maybe 20+) I have used Word to capture my text. And for a good deal of those years, Word was sufficient to my needs. Even when I started self-publishing, I could format a book—both print and digital—with some ease within its confines. But a little over a year ago, I discovered that my current version of Word (2016) had become cumbersome and twitchy when it came to formatting for print in particular. Then, a few weeks ago, Microsoft did an update to the app which turned things topsy-turvy, and I said, “Enough!”

I have known about Scrivener for a couple of years now. It’s a powerful program for writers of books. I tried it out a few years back but returned to Word because, well, change is hard, right? I wanted to keep doing what I was doing because it was working. If it ain’t broke… But then Word kinda broke, and I decided it was time to give Scrivener another try.

The first great thing about Scrivener is you get a 30-day trial. And it’s not just 30 days from the day you download it; it’s 30 days of use. So if you don’t open it for a day or two or a week or even a year, the remaining days are there when you do use it again. I think that’s damn straight of them. The second great thing is it’s a single purchase program. If they create a new version, you do have to pay for that, but I suppose you can always stick with what you have and not update. Updates within the version are free, however. And a plus for those purchasing it for Windows right now is they’re including the upcoming version 3 in the package.

But there’s more. Because it is specifically geared to long, broken-into-chapters-or-parts projects, you can open a “project” and put all your chapters (or whatever) in that project. They remain separate, but should you decide to print the entire project for a beta reader or to prep it for publication, all you have to do is “compile” the individual chapters in the order you’ve placed them in the “binder,” and you have a complete document.

Now, let me say one thing about this. The selling point for me came after I had compiled a beta copy of my WIP in Word, one chapter at a time, for my betas and partway through realized I had left out intervening material (I call them “interludes”). I looked at Scrivener after that and realized how much easier the process would have been from there. Purchased and done. I am now writing book projects exclusively in Scrivener.

And in case you’re thinking well, that’s nice, but what’s the learning curve. Not long, actually. It has a multitude of bells and whistles, a great many of which your particular process will never require. But what could be useful is more than likely there. I’m not going to give you the link to their site because that just feels like selling my soul. Just run a search—you’ll find it.

Next time I plan on discussing text expanders and how important they are to writers. If you’re not using a text expander (Autocorrect in Word is one example), you’re wasting a lot of time on fixing typos and typing other stuff. But that’s for my next post.

Confession

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Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Since I was in my early 30s, I’ve known I had a story to tell, a memoir to write, but I’ve avoided it because fear and self-loathing have shackled me. This story I have to tell takes place in my ninth grade year in school. I was 14 going on 15. It was the year JFK was assassinated. It was the year of the Beatles. And it was the year all my ambitions dissolved into nothing, in part because of something an old man in my church—an old man with authority—said to me. This year was the effing end of my story!

But I needed to get this story out of my gut, spew it out, so to speak. Unfortunately, the process of memoir—writing a piece at a time and figuring out when you’ve got enough pieces what the theme actually is and then organizing those pieces based on that—runs counter to my very literal, very linear personal process. I fought the fight, but I lost. And continued to work on my Lisen of Solsta series, now done.

Then, about a year-and-a-half ago, I came up with a brilliant idea. What if I placed a character based entirely on me into a setting I know well—a YA fantasy? Was it possible? Could I do it? I began building my world and my protagonist—Mari, a 15-year-old fat girl with low self-esteem and a narcissistic mother, who finds an escape into an alternate reality of sorts and gains there what she lacks on earth. Where Lisen was the me I wished I’d been in my teens, Mari is me at 15.

Mari and I became friends. We talk nearly every night. We talk about the current movement of the story and where to take it next. When I’m stuck with a plot hole I can’t seem to climb out of, I turn to her. She is, essentially, my inner child, but in separating her from me ever so slightly, I have made it possible for me to talk to that child, respect that child, encourage that child. Now this is all psychological stuff which my therapist is applauding in me, but bit by bit a story has formed. And the one thing I have demanded of the story is to give Mari the redemption, the resolution, I never got. Because I’ve promised her this, and this is a promise I don’t want to break.

It hasn’t been the easiest of journeys. I’ve had to dig deep and give Mari all my flaws. But while doing so I’ve also discovered some wonderful things about her (me), and I like her. A lot. As I approached the end of the draft where I’d be sending it out to beta readers, my anxiety disorder ticked up to a constant attack. I’m dizzy and having palpitations with a queasy stomach. Now this anxiety disorder is the direct result of a life, especially as a very young child, spent with that narcissistic mother who knew how to care for me but had no interest in my personhood and was incapable of love. (It’s all in the book, or if not there, it will eventually show up in the series.)

The book is now out to my betas. This is always a difficult time for any writer. In this case for me, however, I have eviscerated myself on the page. It’s never been this personal before. And I held back telling my betas what this book was really about. Until now.

I lost it last night. I had to make the anxiety stop so I messaged each of them and told them to stop reading. They refused and asked to know why. I told them. Or am telling them now. It’s my story, all right. Mari Spencer is me. Chloe Spencer is my mother. All that stuff she does when Mari’s at home—that all happened to me.

So there you are, my confession. I have to do this, write my story down. I had to get all that vile, ugly stuff out of me before I die. And at my age, that ain’t so far away now. Blessed be, friends. It ain’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Interview – Morgan R.R. Haze

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Teragene symbol

Morgan R.R. Haze, three siblings collaborating under a single pen name, grew up in the middle of nowhere, literally an hour away from anywhere. Lived too far out to have cable, so had an aerial antenna which got 3 channels. Needless to say they grew up learning to be creative. Their parents have always encouraged art, music, writing and crafts. All of them draw (at least a bit), have dabbled in poetry/lyrics, and have active imaginations. The seeds of their current WIP began with an idea decades ago. It finally all started meshing when they put their ideas together.

Their profiles can be found on
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
And their web site

Hart: What genre or genres do you write in? What attracted you to that genre?

Morgan R.R. Haze: Sci-fi, because it’s cool 😉 Really though, with this genre it offers endless possibilities for creating stories, characters, and worlds. We also grew up with Star Wars, Star Trek, X-men cartoons, Superman/Batman movies. They definitely influenced our enjoyment of the genre.

H: As a collaborative trio, how do you create together? Do you live close enough to meet, or must you communicate via email, text, etc.? I think this would be of particular interest to my readers.

MH: Two of us live within one hour from each other. We both live over twelve hours away from our other writing partner. So texting, email, and phone conversations are a must for us to work together. We are hoping we can get telepathy going sooner or later; of course teleportation would come in handy too. For now we use Google docs to share and leave comments.

H: What research do you find absolutely necessary to keeping your story authentic?

RR: For me it’s listening to podcasts and reading articles regarding human nature. I find it fascinating how some individuals can have a certain set of morals that they think they completely abide by, but be completely oblivious to areas in their personality, preferences, or actions which are contrary to said values.
H (not Hart): I love YouTube! I have learned so much about the brain and psychology. The Medical Futurist and Sci-Show Psych are always interesting. I also like to ask myself why, a lot. People need motives, even if they don’t know what those are.
Z: I do much of the world building. I research historical cultures, and what we know of science and astronomy to see how we can use those influences.

H: How do you see the role of women in fiction, especially science fiction, these days? And how do you promote women in your work?

MH: So many times women are portrayed as one thing (the fighter, lover, victim, etc.) It is always good to see fully rounded characters, men and women. Good character design needs to be multi-faceted.

In our story, all the characters are important. We have tried to give everyone strengths and weaknesses. Even if we don’t share it, we have back stories for everyone. We want them to have internal consistency. Basically, we treat our characters equally when it comes to creating them.

H: Do you have a current release you’d like to promote? Tell us about it. And definitely provide a link.

MH: Alpha Dawn, book one of the Teragene Chronicles is currently available on Amazon and Audible. We are currently editing (more like scouring) book two. We don’t have a set date for release, but hope to have it out late this year.

H: Well, thank you so much, Morgan R.R. Haze siblings, for your time and in particular your insights on long-distance collaboration.

Interview – Kelly Boyer Sagert

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Kelly Boyer Sagert

As Kelly Boyer Sagert puts it, “It’s hard to believe (at least for me), but true—I’ve been working as a writer, mostly full-time, for 29 years.” She lives in Lorain, Ohio about 30 miles west of Cleveland, and is married to Don Sagert with two grown sons—Ryan, aged 29, and Adam, almost 27—and I met her online too many years ago to count as a fellow member of the Women Who Write message board on AOL.

She recently published her first poetry chapbook (she says there will be more about that soon), and here is the bio she used for that: “Kelly Boyer Sagert is a freelance writer and eager reader, as well as a chocolate lover, socks avoider, cemetery wanderer, summer preferer, moonlight advocate, baseball fan and fledgling poet. She does not crochet, study calculus or yodel. She is married with two grown sons—and all three of them are pretty cool people to have alongside you on your life’s journey.”

Hart: What genre or genres do you write in? I know you write in several as well as journalism projects. Tell us a little bit about the genre that makes you the most happy when you’re working in it.

Kelly: I get my energy from working on a wide variety of writing projects. I’ve written 15 books (or maybe more) and contributed material to dozens of other ones. I write plays, with the first one, Freedom’s Light: A Stop Along the Underground Railroad, nominated for a Governor’s Award for the Arts.

Another of my plays, Emma Gatewood: Are You Out of Your Bloomin’ Mind?!?, was used as the basis for the documentary, Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story. These both told the story of Emma “Grandma” Gatewood—the first woman to solo-through-hike the Appalachian Trail, doing so at the age of 67. The documentary was shown on PBS and was nominated for an Emmy Award. We didn’t win, but I have the coolest plaque ever hanging on my wall because I have sole writing credits for the documentary.

I ghostwrite content for company blogs, which I love because I love to research and learn, and I ghostwrite memoirs for people—which I love because people are fascinating, and I appreciate the chance to help them tell their life stories. I love to write poetry, and a couple of years ago, I had a short story published in Kansas City Voices that focused on finding emerging fiction writers. I also enjoy writing for encyclopedias.

H: Do you schedule time for your writing? Or do you just grab the odd minute or hour when it makes itself available to you? I imagine with all you do you must be disciplined in order to accomplish all of it. How do you keep it going?

K: I write about 50 hours a week, on average, a bit more if I’ve got more than usual going on. Five or six days a week, I’m writing by 8:30 or 9 a.m. I typically write until late afternoon, taking breaks for lunch/errands, and then I write again in the early evenings. Although I don’t have hours that are 100% strict, I follow that schedule pretty closely each day and don’t typically take days off, at least not Monday through Saturday.

I keep track of what I need to get done each day on a spreadsheet, creating one for each month. If something is getting close to a deadline, I change the color to red. If it’s due that day, then it’s changed to bolded red.

H: What research do you find absolutely necessary to keeping your story authentic? Now that’s a question I ask fiction writers, but you concentrate on history, I believe. I’d love to hear about your methods of research and any exceptional lengths you ever had to go for a project.

K: I have a true passion for writing about history and I use a variety of sources to find information, ranging from online databases for newspapers, Questia.com (which gives me access to books, journals and more), Ancestry.com, Fold3.com, and so forth. I go to libraries to research their collections, talk to experts, and so forth.

One time, I was hired to write three encyclopedia entries about little-known historic Native American professional baseball players. When I contacted the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which normally charged about $25 for copies of the files they had on a player, they told me they had so little that we bartered. They’d send me what they had, and, when I was done, I’d sent them my info for future researchers.

Because I had some birth certificate and death certificate information for these players, I started there, seeing what else I could find about each of them in the places where they were born and where they died. I worked my way from both ends to meet in the middle.

H: How do you see the role of women in literature (fiction and nonfiction) these days? And how do you promote women in your work?

K: I write about strong women who overcome challenges to accomplish extraordinary things. One example is Grandma Gatewood, mentioned above. She had an 8th grade education, raised 11 children while in an abusive marriage, and went on to become the first woman to complete the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail hike by herself. She became the first person, man or woman, to complete this trail three times, and she also accomplished much more.

I wrote about Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an “extraordinary woman of color” in my play, Bound Together: One Great Bundle of Humanity. Born in 1825 when much of her race was enslaved, Harper was a poet and abolitionist, an essayist, public speaker, journalist, suffragist and published fiction writer. She raised money for the Underground Railroad through her writing. In my play, Harper and Hannah, a fictional white nurse with a history of her own, get snowed in—and they each discover extremely upsetting things about the other person. To paraphrase a quote by the woman who plays Harper, we believe that this play will bless you, make you think, make you laugh, make you cry—and make you realize that, at the heart of it all, we’re all more alike than different.

I’m also collaborating on a film about Victoria Woodhull, the first woman to publicly address a Congressional committee (1871) and the first to run for president of the United States (1872). In 1870, she and her sister, Tennessee, became the first female stockbrokers on Wall Street.

H: This is wonderful—all these amazing women I’m only hearing of now for the first time. Thank you. Now on to the business. Do you have a current release you’d like to promote? Tell us about it.

Speak the Name

K: I recently finished my first chapbook. Titled Speak the Name, I wrote poems and snippets of prose where I share the names of my ancestors, along with those of multiple people largely forgotten by history. My goal is to give them a voice, thereby recognizing the importance of both speaking the name and honoring the process of naming. If this sounds interesting to people, they can contact me at kbsagert@aol.com. I’m still in the process of setting up online sales, but they can purchase an autographed book through PayPal for $8 plus shipping.

H: That sounds great. Thank you, Kelly.

And you can learn more about Kelly at her website, where you will find a long list of this prolific and hard-working writer’s credits, and she’d love to have people connect with her on social media:

Facebook
Twitter 
LinkedIn 

Anxiety – A Very Personal Post

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Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

I think almost all writers and other creative types suffer from some form of insecurity about their work. But I also believe that many of us who fight the good fight to get our stuff out of our heads and into the world, whether in words or the physical arts, struggle with some degree or another of mental illness. For me, the demon is chronic anxiety. Today I shall combine the two and write about my fear to show you how anxiety affects me.

Anxiety can freeze me to the spot. Anxiety can grip me by its ruthless talons and strangle the life out of me, and all I can do is sit there, frozen in place, helpless and unable to cry out. It fucking owns me, this anxiety. It has a hold on my soul that is relentless, and I am powerless against it.

I’ve lived with anxiety all my life but didn’t know that was what was wrong with me until I was in my 50s. I had seen therapist after therapist, and they were definitely helpful but offered no diagnosis, allowing my assumption I was depressed to prevail. I’d seen a couple of psychiatrists along the way as well who’d gone along with the clinical depression diagnosis. And then I saw this one guy who, after asking several questions, told me I had chronic anxiety. I walked away from that appointment nodding my head. Finally it all made sense.

Since then, I’ve watched myself cycle back and forth between barely anxious and anxious as shit. Often my anxiety has a reason I can pinpoint—electrical problem in the house, car making a strange noise even if only once, a physical ailment refractory to treatment. For these specific sources, I seek out solutions to ease those feelings I wish I could crawl out of my skin and out of my life to escape. And once the solution is achieved, I can relax. Mostly.

But then there are the I’m-anxious-and-I-don’t-know-why moments. It just hits me like an anvil over my head and I’m there and I can’t resolve it. I can’t logic-it-out. (Well, the truth is anxiety can’t be “logicked out” regardless, but understanding the source carries with it some comfort.) It simply is. It’s like the sky is falling, and I can’t stop it. There’s no reason for me to believe the sky is falling, but trust me when I say it is.

I have learned how to box anxiety up and set it to the side. I can tell myself what’s bothering me isn’t as real or as heavy or as frightening as it seems, that it’s feelings without substance and I don’t have to give it my attention. Sometimes that works, and rather well, actually. Other times, not so much.

What I’m trying to say is anxiety is real, and it can be debilitating, destructive. It hurts and it shuts me down to the point where all I can do is sit in one spot never moving. It’s not a life I’d wish on anyone, but there it is—my life, as it is.

Interview – J. Conrad

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J. Conrad

J. Conrad, a fiction author who was born in St. Louis, and I have been following each other for years on Facebook and now Twitter. About ten years ago, when she started writing her first fantasy series, she only knew she wanted to write. After finishing a lot more books and doing a little soul searching, she realized a subconscious desire to teach lessons about human nature was what dragged her to the keyboard every day. That’s where her primary inspiration comes from, and she’s found putting it to use is the best feeling in the world.

J. and her brilliant husband currently live in Louisiana, but she dreams of moving back to Texas where they’ll live forever in a cute house amidst a field of bluebonnets.

J. loves connecting with readers and other authors. Feel free to contact her in the following ways on Facebook, Twitter, and, in particular her great website.

Hart: You write in several genres. Tell us a bit about how that works for you and what attracted you to those genres.

J.: Writing in several genres actually came about as an experiment. I consider myself a young adult fantasy author, but young adult is a much smaller market than some others, such as mystery, thriller, and romance. Thriller was the larger genre in which I could tolerate writing, so in 2017 I wrote Blood Red Winter. Interestingly, because I didn’t love it as much as fantasy, it was easier to be more objective about my own writing. My experiment was a success and that book outsold every other book combined I’ve written to date. I learned so much about writing and marketing from the experience it was worth the effort. I might even do a new thriller series, but I’ll always come back to fantasy.

H: My favorite genre (she says with a smile). Do you schedule time for your writing? Or do you just grab the odd minute or hour when it makes itself available to you?

J: For the most part I try to stick to a schedule. Currently I’m writing in the afternoon, and I have a minimum daily word count quota of two thousand words. If I stick to this routine, I can have a rough draft in about two months. This has been workable for staying productive while not getting burned out, but I’m trying to develop an even better schedule which will allow me to write in the morning as well, with a break in between. I’d love to become proficient at writing great books faster over the next couple years.

H: What research do you find absolutely necessary to keeping your story authentic?

J: It depends on the story, but with my fantasy novels I think one of the biggest points is researching the time period in which the story is set and making sure I don’t accidentally add anachronisms. Especially in the dialogue, it’s incredibly easy to do and sometimes tricky to spot, because we don’t always realize how relatively new some of the phrases we use in everyday speech are.

For example, my Cinderella retelling series, The Joining, is set in an imaginary place, but the time period roughly corresponds to what we might think of as the late 18th century—but without firearms. They don’t have guns in Edim. I have to be mindful not to use common idioms which have derived from the use of firearms (there are more than one might think!). Also, the main character has telepathic ability with animals and Fae, but the word “telepathy” didn’t come about until the late 19th century. So, I use the term “thought-speak” instead. Since Edim isn’t a real place, I have some liberty, but it wouldn’t feel the same to readers without the right language.

H: I totally get that. Things like the verb “trigger” are out in my books as well. Tell me, how do you see the role of women in fiction these days?

J: I see the role of women in fiction as one which teaches that because women are insightful and observant, they often find their own unique solutions to complex problems. Might isn’t always right, and sometimes actually giving a damn about the opposing party wins the day. Exhibiting emotional depth and looking beyond the surface manifestations of life isn’t a sign of weakness, but humanity. Women often exemplify the most human quality of being able to emphasize with others. Yes, there are differences between women and men, but different doesn’t mean better or worse. I believe our female fictional characters help to show that.

H: So true. In depicting battles and wars in my books, I’ve endeavored to give them the “feminine” edge, showing a battle, but then opening up negotiations. That sort of thing. And how do you promote women in your work?

J: With the exception of one thriller novel, all my books center around women and their relationships with one another. I think in some ways, women bond more deeply with other women than they do with men. Think of that best friend you’ve had since high school, a sister you’re close to, or a mother and daughter. Those bonds are unbreakable. Growing up, I loved reading stories such as The Mists of Avalon, a story of King Arthur but told only from the viewpoint of the women. Now in my own writing, I love to teach lessons through the interaction of female characters and the strength of their spirit.

H: Yes, The Mists of Avalon was a real eye-opener for me as well. Do you have a current release to share with us?

J: Yes, Cinders and Fae is the second book of the current series I’m working on. It’s a Cinderella retelling with fairies, shifters, witches, animals, and lots of magic. The main character Elin Kendrick is part Fae, and her prince Trystan is a wolf. Elin is telepathic, but only with animals and Fae. Trystan is a shifter who hides this fact from most humans, including his own father King Odswin. He was raised in secret by his mother, the queen of the wolves. In book 2, Elin and Trystan plan on marrying, but the Fae Queen is challenging Elin’s lineage since she’s only one-quarter Fae—she must prove herself by manifesting her inborn Fae abilities which thus far have eluded her. This is a clean fairy tale telling and not a steamy shifter book, suitable for just about anyone who likes fantasy. Cinders and Fae is currently up for preorder and will release on July 11th. Here’s the blurb:

What really happened after the ball?

My bloodline is in question, my marriage to my wolf fiancé forbidden by the Fae Queen unless I pull off near-impossible feats of magic to prove myself. Can I truly change my stepmother into a human… and turn her evil heart to good?

As time slips away toward my deadline of the spring equinox, I’m losing hope. But after the castle is attacked, I meet with Trystan secretly and make wedding plans against the queen’s orders. All I have to do is show up at the appointed time.

But I still need a way to escape my assignment, and I’m terrified what our decision means. If I marry Trystan now, I might be imprisoned—or worse. But if I play by the rules and fail the Fae queen’s test, she swears she’ll marry my fiancé to a more suitable bride—my own mother! How can I make a choice that won’t end in losing the two people I care about most?”

Thank you so much for interviewing me on your blog, Hart! I absolutely loved your  Lisen of Solsta series and I’m looking forward to reading more of your books in the future!

H: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me today. And thanks for the kind words.