Tag Archive for: Writing tips

Do You Have What It Takes to be a Cheese Whiz? Archaic Words

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By Kathleen Kaska 
When I worked at Cave Art Press, a small publishing company in Anacortes, one of my tasks was to write the weekly blog posts. It had to address writing styles, grammar and punctuation rules, and the down and dirty of publishing and marketing—and it had to be funny. These blog posts eventually became a tongue-in-cheek book entitled, “Do You Have a Catharsis Handy? Five Minute-Writer Tips.” Here’s one about archaic words and my own take on them.

Thanks to Google, I stumble upon many of my Writing
Tips topics by accident. Here are some archaic (did they
ever really exist?) but entertaining words and phrases
that I discovered while I was researching other topics,
along with some neologisms of my own:

With Squirrel: If you were a woman who lived in the
Ozarks many moons ago and you found yourself “with
squirrel,” then you were expecting a child. (Vance
Randolph’s Down in the Holler: A Gallery of Ozark Folk
Speech, 1953). I would call such a woman Squirrely.

Lunting: I suspect that Sherlock Holmes was into
lunting—i.e., walking while smoking a pipe. (John
Mactaggart’s Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopedia, 1824). I would call people who do this lunters.

The following are from The Word Museum: The Most
Remarkable English Words Ever Forgotten, by Jeffrey
Kacirk:

Spermologer: It doesn’t mean what you think. A
spermologer is a columnist! Three of my favorites are
Father Ron Rolheiser; Austin native, John Kelso; and
funny-lady, Lisa Scottoline. In my world I’d refer to them as wittyosophers.

Queerplungers: An English term for a scam in which an
individual jumped into water, was “rescued” by
accomplices, and was subsequently taken in by rehab
houses that cared for people who tried to commit suicide.
In the benevolent society of the time, the rescuers were
rewarded with a guinea each, while the person who
“attempted suicide” was sent away with a monetary
donation to make his life less depressing. Maybe a better word for these folks would be Scam Dunkers. 

Finally, my favorite:

Tyromancy: If you can’t find a crystal ball, use cheese!
One of my Cave Art Press colleagues thought tyromancy
sounds like “a Jurassic love story.” In fact, it is the act of
predicting birth, love, and death by reading the
appearance of a piece of cheese. It is also the act of using
cheese to answer questions: the most obvious answers to
a question are written on pieces of cheese (one answer
per piece). The pieces of cheese are fed to a rat.
Whichever piece is eaten first is the answer to the
question.

I suspect a person who engaged in this method of
prediction and became notable would have been called a
tyromaniac. I would call him a cheez-whiz. 

This is my last post as a member of the Stiletto Gang, but I will stay in touch and follow you wonderfully, creative authors. 

Best always,

Kathleen









Kathleen is a Texas gal. Except for an eighteen-month hiatus
living in New York City after college, she continuously lived in the Lone Star
State for fifty years. Since then, Texas has been hit and miss—a little hit,
but a hell of a lot of miss. There was a time when she thought she would
happily die in Austin, Texas. But circumstances
and weather—especially weather—changed that. Now she spends most of the year on
Fidalgo Island in Washington State with a view of the bay and the mountains.
When she gets homesick, she and her husband plug in the iPhone to Willie—as in
Nelson. Soon they are dancing the two-step, imagining they are at our favorite
honky-tonk in Tokio, Texas, where the mayor is believed to be a dog. Who
wouldn’t miss that?

Kathleen writes mysteries. She blogs about writing,
publishing, marketing, animal rights, birding, and quirky things that come to
mind. Go to her website: Kathleen Kaska and check out her latest blog series, “Growing Up Catholic in a Small Texas Town.”

You Lie Down with Dogs, You Wake Up in Hot Water: Metaphors Aren’t Antisocial—But They Don’t Always Mix Well

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I
love metaphors. When I come across a great one while reading, I write it down
as a reminder to spend time crafting them. Here are some musings on metaphors.
Mixing metaphors—combining two unrelated idioms—is considered a grammatical faux pas. But in the right
circumstances, mixing metaphors fosters a more creative comparison, makes your
readers think, and may even produce chuckles.

·      Don’t
eat with your mouth open for business.  

·      I’ll
ride shotgun in the backseat.

·      Earl
tucked tail and left in a cloud of smoke.

·      When
life hands you a lemon, make an ice cream sundae.

·      Shape
up or sink like a stone.

·      Don’t
count your chickens before you put their eggs in your basket.

·      Beating
around the bush may get you in deep water.

·      Cross
that bridge after you’ve burned it.

·      The
quiet before the storm preceded a blast from the past.

·      Wake
up and smell the writing on the wall.

·     
If you lie down with dogs, you’ll wake up
in hot water.

Finally,
what would a tip on mixing metaphors be without mentioning the master
metaphor-mixer, Yogi Berra? Here are a few of my favorite Yogisms:

·      “Pair
up in threes.”

·      “Why
buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”

·      “The
future ain’t what it used to be.”

·      “No
one goes there [restaurant] anymore; it’s too crowded.”

·      “Baseball
is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical.”

·      “When
you come to a fork in the road, take it!”

 

I’m
a Texas gal. Except for an eighteen-month hiatus living in New York City after
college, I lived in the Lone Star State continuously for fifty years. Since
then, Texas has been hit and miss—a little hit, but a heck of a lot of miss.
There was a time when I thought I would happily die in Austin, Texas. But circumstances
and weather—especially weather—changed that. Now I spend most of the year on
Fidalgo Island in Washington State with a view of the bay and the mountains.
When I get homesick, my husband and I listen to Willie Nelson. Soon we are
dancing the two-step, imagining we are at our favorite honky-tonk in Tokyo,
Texas, where the mayor is believed to be a dog. Who wouldn’t miss that?

 

I
write the awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series
set in the 1950s and the Classic Triviography Mystery Series, which
includes The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book, updated and released
by Lyons Press on November 1, 2020. My Kate Caraway animal-rights
mystery series includes Run Dog Run and A Two Horse Town.
Eagle Crossing is scheduled for release in 2022.

 

Look
for Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street,
an anthology by notable authors and Sherlockians. I’m honored to have a Holmes
short story included.

 

        On my website, you can also find my Five-Minute Writing Tips and blog posts about publishing,                 marketing, birding, and quirky things that come to mind. Kathleen Kaska

 

Just released in May—Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street. I was honored to be asked to contribute a Holmes short story or essay for this anthology. I’d always wanted to try my hand at writing a Holmes pastiche. Finally, this was the nudge I need. My story is “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke.” Also included is my recipe for scones since the theme of the anthology is baking. 

 

 


Untitled Post

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Police
Blotter Fodder: “To Save Herself, She Bit the Cop on the Leg”

Where
to Go for Ideas When You Are Stuck

by Kathleen Kaska

Need an idea for a short story, blog post,
or a novel? Check out the newspapers. I don’t necessarily mean the front page.
In our town, the most entertaining reading comes from police blotters. The
reports are a wellspring of ideas for writers. Some are written
tongue-in-cheek, and I can imagine the fun police officers must have in
crafting them. 

Recently, the police in a nearby city
uncovered a murder-for-hire plot by an inmate in the county jail who was
enlisting the help of a fellow inmate to murder the man responsible for the first
guy’s incarceration. These were the instructions he gave to the would-be
killer: “Wet him with gasoline; dry him with a match.” That’s a pretty good
line; right out of a Mickey Spillane novel. If this guy ever went straight, he
might make it as a pulp fiction writer.

Or how about this one? A few weeks ago, the
police in my quiet, little town were called to a motel where a woman insisted
they arrest her. She was hiding out from her ex-husband and current boyfriend
who, according to the woman, were plotting to kill her. The cops explained they
could not fulfill her wish because she hadn’t committed a crime. With a
that’s-what-you-think attitude, she began pounding on the windshield of the
squad car. When one of the officers tried to restrain her, she bit him on the
leg. At least for the next few days, the woman had the protection she’d
requested.

And another: A guy was shoplifting at
Safeway. When the cops arrived to question him, he made his getaway on a
motorized shopping cart, which he drove down the middle of Commercial Avenue.
The shoplifter received applause from the bystanders who cheered him on as if
he were the Grand Marshall of a parade.

And one more: Several people complained
about a homeless man who was causing a ruckus in a downtown square. The police
arrived and realized the man was arguing and shouting profanities at someone
only he could see. The cops told him to apologize to his imaginary friend. He
did.

End of story.

This is an excerpt from my book, Does Anyone Have a Catharsis Handy? Five-Minute
Writing Tips.

Kathleen Kaska is the author of The
Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book (Rowman & Littlefield Publishing
Group). She is the founder of The Dogs in the Nighttime: Holmes Society of
Anacortes, Washington, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars. Kathleen writes
the awarding-winning Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series and the Kate Caraway
Mystery Series. Her passion for birds led to the publication The
Man Who Saved the Whooping Crane: The Robert Porter Allen Story. Kathleen’s
collection of blog posts, Do You Have a Catharsis Handy?
Five-Minute Writing Tips won the Chanticleer International
Book Award in the non-fiction Instruction and Insights category.

Go to her website and sign up for her newsletter. Look for
her bi-monthly blog: “Growing Up Catholic in a Small Texas Town” because
sometimes you just have to laugh.

http://www.kathleenkaska.com

http://www.blackopalbooks.com

https://twitter.com/KKaskaAuthor

http://www.facebook.com/kathleenkaska

 

Top Ten Writing Tips

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I can’t believe it’s already the middle of July! This year seems never ending–and conversely to be evaporating in an endless blur.


Remember an eternity ago (ie pre-pandemic) when you made New Year’s Resolutions? How are you coming with yours? 


One of my resolutions (the only one I actually remember and am still attempting) was to transfer the organization I always implemented in my day job to my writing life. Since my writing space and habits were a bit (cough, a lot) disorganized, I got together with some author friends. What quickly evolved was a set of writing tips. Many of these I’ve done without conscious thought. I’m attempting to be more mindful, however, and plan to use this structure as additional motivation to, as one friend puts it, finish the damn book.


Yes, as the launch activity for Calling for the Money wraps up (see below) I’m back at work on another story.


So, without further fanfare – the writing tips:


Ten – Make lists. Every day I make a list of the things I want to accomplish that day. (I’m not sure what it says about me that I love drawing a line through an item when it’s done.) The first line (every day but Sunday) is always, Write. Long-term-goals are listed on my white board: things I want to be sure I don’t forget, but I don’t have to do today.


Nine – Sprint.  A group of us grabs our first, or next, cup of coffee and checks in, then we all ignore each other, turn off the internet and the phone, and work steadily for an hour. It’s a writing club, a mutual support group, and a fabulous technique for working without interruption. I write until I meet my word count goal for the day. (Thank Steven King for this one.)


Eight – Work on one series at a time. I try my best to immerse myself in one setting, one set of characters, one story, whether I’m working on a first draft or revising a draft. Avoiding the “new shiny” keeps me focused.


Seven – Finish what’s due first. Except #8 blows up sometimes. I’ll be in first draft mode on Pony Ring and edits will come in from Beaver Pond. Then there was all the activity around the launch of Calling for the Money. Whew! I operate on the First Due principle. I knock out the edits, because they’re due in a week or two, then get back to the longer work. The problem with doing that, of course, is getting back up to speed with the work-in-process, so I can re-immerse myself in that world.


Six – Take time away from the desk. By the end of a writing session, my creative brain is mush. I usually go for what I call my plotting walk, especially if I’m writing a first draft. There’s something about the rhythm of walking that brings the next scene or a plot problem into focus. It makes the dogs happy to get out of the house, too.


Five – Separate creative time from admin time. I’m most creative in the early morning, so I do my writing then. A corollary is, Keep creative time sacred. I don’t schedule anything else for mornings. I try to keep writing blog posts, scheduling author events, record-keeping, and all the other business stuff for the evenings.


Four – Work ahead. Know what you want to accomplish. I’ve written my goals for the year and set up a time table to implement them. That means I work now on upcoming items instead of waiting and scrambling at the last minute.


Three – Outsource what I can’t do. While I tinker with art and photo-editing, I know my limits with graphic design. I hire a wonderful cover artist. I like formatting my books, but it’s something I can do in the evening while my husband watches TV. The key point is identifying what I’m good at and enjoy, versus what I can outsource. Why waste time on things it would take me forever to do and rob me of the hours I need to do what I’m good at – writing stories?


Two – Stay healthy. I always have a full flask of water on my desk. Fluids in, fluids out. It makes me get up and move around every hour or so. And if I forget, my Fitbit buzzes at me with a reminder. I try to eat lean fresh foods, and I get regular exercise even if it isn’t always a sweaty gym workout. And the exercise doubles as creative time – see #6!


One – Butt in the chair, fingers on the keyboard. This is really the most important one. If I get distracted, schedule other things, or simply don’t do the writing, then…I’m not doing the writing. And that’s my job. Of all the varied jobs I’ve held, I’m lucky and blessed to have this one I love.


What tips can you add?



The launch tour for Calling for the Money is wrapping up, but there are still several ongoing giveaway signups. The entire tour is listed on my website (https://cperkinswrites.com) with assorted post, giveaways, reviews, and interviews.


Here are the remaining tour stops:





July 16 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
July 17 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
July 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT  
July 19 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW  

Stop by, and leave a comment!
You can download your own copy here (all vendors):

https://books2read.com/CallingForTheMoney

Enjoy! 

An award-winning author of financial mysteries, Cathy Perkins writes twisting dark suspense and light amateur sleuth stories.  When not writing, she battles with the beavers over the pond height or heads out on another travel adventure. She lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.  Visit her at http://cperkinswrites.com or on Facebook 

Sign up for her new release announcement newsletter in either place.

She’s hard at work on sequel to The Body in the Beaver Pond, which was recently presented with the Claymore Award.

So You Want to Write a Book . . . 6 Things I’ve Learned!

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By Kay Kendall

By now I’ve written fiction long enough to trust my own habits. Once, when I was a real newbie, I believed I must do just as the experts advise. But now I know on some points the experts differ.

1.   If your process works for you, trust it. For example, while most experts advise to rip through your first draft quickly, without editing as you go, I just can’t. I used to feel guilty—since I was doing things WRONG. Finally, lo and behold, I learned about other authors, bestselling authors, who also begin their writing days by editing what they wrote the day before. Whew. What a relief.
Here are some other habits I’ve also learned to trust:
2.     2. Keep reading. If you’re writing your own book, don’t stop reading other ones. I’ve read more, not less, since I began to write fiction. I submerged myself in the mystery/suspense genre for almost two years before I started Desolation Row—An Austin Starr Mystery. Picking up the tricks of the trade by osmosis works better for me than gulping ten dry how-to tomes. 
3.     Keep a notebook beside your bed. “Brilliant” thoughts are fleeting. Pin them down before they get away. I learned the hard way that wonderful ideas at 3:00 a.m. disappear by the time I awake in the morning. 
4.     Keep exercising. Health gurus are adamant that sitting all day is a terrible habit that can lead to early death and/or dementia. Besides, when I’m on my exercise bike, I zone out and then ideas for my writing zone in. The mind-body connection is worth protecting with sufficient exercise. However, it’s time for a true confession. I have trouble with this one, especially when I’m on deadline. 
5.     Keep up with your pals. Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and trying to get published these days is a killer. I needed all the support I could get, and my friends stepped up and stayed there right beside me on my journey. They kept me going through the darkest days and have been my staunchest supporters and shared my joy upon publication. I’ve also made new friends as I’ve joined writers’ critique groups and associations. I’m a staunch believer in the truth of what Barbra Streisand sang back in the sixties. “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”
6.     Keep the faith. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” When I saw that on a coffee mug for sale 15 years ago, I was too scared to pick it up. How dare I think I could write a novel? But I forced myself to buy that mug, and after using it for two years and writing my first manuscript, I began timidly to call myself a writer. Hold fast to your dream. Keep it alive by doing it.
I have faith I will complete new books because three of my mysteries are published and the fourth is in progress. I’ve pushed through the dark times, “getting by with a little help from my friends.” (Footnote to the Beatles) Moreover, if I’ve done this, then you can too. As we used to say back in the day, just keep on truckin’. And find what works best for you. Your mileage may differ from mine, but just do it.

NOTE: This post originally appeared one year ago to great acclaim from other authors. I am recycling it so others can read this who may have missed it last year.

==============
Meet the author

 Author Kay Kendall is passionate about historical mysteries. 

Her second book Rainy Day Women won the Silver Falchion for best mystery at Killer Nashville. Her newest is After You’ve Gone.

Visit Kay at her website http://www.austinstarr.com/  or on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/KayKendallAuthor








What I’ve Learned So Far

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By Kay Kendall

Are you writing
a book…or contemplating doing it? If so, here are things I’ve learned since
finishing my debut novel. Maybe these tips will help you, or at least you’ll
find them interesting.

1. Keep reading.
Just because you’re writing your own book, that doesn’t mean you can stop
reading other ones. In fact, I’ve read more, not less, since I began to write
fiction. I submerged myself in the mystery/suspense genre for almost two years
before I started Desolation Row—An Austin
Starr Mystery. Picking up the tricks of the trade by osmosis suits me
better than gulping a dozen dry how-to tomes. Of course, I read those too!

2. Keep a writer’s
notebook. Brilliant thoughts are fleeting. You need to pin them down before
they get away. Because I write about the sixties, I often find character traits
and plot points when reading obituaries in the New York Times, for example, and if I don’t capture those flashes
of insight, they will leave me. I annotate my clippings and put them in my
bulging notebook. Some ideas are for the second book I’m writing now, while
others will fit in the third or fourth of my Austin Starr series. I’ll be
delighted to find the clippings a few years from now when I start writing the
relevant stories. My mind is like my bulging notebook, and sometimes things
fall out because of crowding. It’s far easier to keep the physical clippings
together. Or online digitally.

3. Keep note-taking
material beside your bed. Lesson learned the hard way. Early in my
transition to becoming an author, I’d be on a hot streak writing a first draft,
go to bed, wake up at two in the morning, have a fantastic revelation about
plot, turn over and go to sleep, confident I’d recall everything in the
morning. Wrong! Scintillating night thoughts went poof in the light of day. Twice was enough to teach me to keep
paper and pencil on the night stand. Whatever the technology you choose, be
sure to keep it handy. A tiny voice recorder works too, or making notes on your
cell phone or tablet.

4. Keep up with your
pals. Writing can be a lonely pursuit, and trying to get published these
days is a killer. I needed all the support I could get, and my friends stepped up
and stayed there right beside me on my journey. They kept me going through the
darkest days and have been my staunchest supporters and shared my joy upon
publication. I’ve also made new friends as I’ve joined writers’ critique groups
and associations. Many writers are said to be introverts, but I’m not. Two new
pals who write mysteries are extreme introverts, and I keep in close touch with
them and actively encourage them to mingle with other writers. I’m a staunch
believer in the truth of what Barbra Streisand sang back in the sixties.
Remember this? “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.”

5. Keep walking
the dog. Or running, spinning, or dancing.
Whatever exercise you used to do before you became an avid or full-time writer,
don’t stop. Health gurus are adamant that sitting all day is a terrible habit
that can lead to early death and/or dementia. Besides, when I’m on my exercise
bike, I zone out and then, given enough time, ideas for my writing zone in. The
mind-body connection is worth protecting with sufficient exercise. Even when
I’m on a deadline, I try to stick to this rule. However, it’s time for a true
confession. I have trouble with this one, actually walking the talk.


6. Keep the faith.  Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Go confidently in the
direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” When I first saw
that quote on a coffee mug for sale at Whole Foods a decade ago, I was too
scared to pick it up. How dare I think I could write a novel? But I forced
myself to buy that mug, and after using it for two years and writing my first
manuscript, I began timidly to call myself a writer. I began to have faith
that I would finish a book and eventually get it published. When the first one
didn’t sell, I wrote the second. My friends (see #4 above) helped keep me
going. I persevered until the second manuscript sold and became Desolation Row. Now my work in progress
is Rainy Day Women, and I’m outlining
the third, Tangled Up in Blue.  I
have faith I will complete those because I’ve pushed through the dark times,
“getting by with a little help from my friends.” Footnote to the Beatles for
that one, plus maybe you can tell by my book titles that my amateur sleuth
Austin Starr is a huge fan of Bob Dylan.

7. Keep on keeping on. Once I found what works to make my writing life roll along
as smoothly as possible, I’ve kept on doing it. Sometimes I find guidelines in
how-to articles suggesting that my
way is not the right way. The best writing coaches add the caveat, though, that
there is no perfect method of writing a novel.
I’ve
now been at this venture long enough that I’ve come across some authors who do
have habits similar to mine. While most experts advise that a first draft
should be done as rapidly as possible, without editing as you go. I find I
cannot do that. Just can’t. Feeling a little guilty, I wrote my way through Desolation Row, editing obsessively,
until one day—lo and behold—I found an interview in which the bestselling
author explained that he always began his writing day by editing what he’d
written the day before. Well, what a relief! I was okay. Now I count this as a
lesson learned. As we used to say back in the day, just keep on truckin’. 

~~~~~~~
Kay Kendall is an international award-winning public relations executive who lives in Texas with her husband, five house rabbits, and spaniel Wills. A fan of historical mysteries, she wants to do for the 1960s what novelist Alan Furst does for Europe in the 1930s during Hitler’s rise to power–write atmospheric mysteries that capture the spirit of the age.

Discover more about Kay’s debut book, DESOLATION ROW, here at
http://www.KayKendallAuthor.com