Tone of Voice

Your tone of voice can convey so much; for instance a soft voice can show sweetness or even timidity, a strong confident voice can show strength, a loud voice may show anger and a deep voice can sound gruff.

Author's need to use all kinds of voices for their characters, or they'll sound alike.  We have to differentiate our characters from one another and this requires giving each one of them personality traits.  Their tone of voice is just one portion of developing our character, but a very important part. 

Many of us know or have met someone with a deep voice who sounds gruff.  They can be abrupt to the point of rudeness, but the ones I've known have had hearts of gold.  You probably know people who talk so softly you have to ask them to repeat (sometimes people talk fast, and you have to ask them to repeat) themselves.  I have them in my family, and one of them thinks you should listen so you can hear her.  lol

People who have a strong even tone are confident; they enunciate clearly and no one has a problem hearing and understanding them.  There are people who speak loud, and it can be because they are angry, but it can be they are hard of hearing, or just their natural tone of voice. 

All of these things are great to use for your characters and should be worked into their personalities when you develop their profiles. 

Thank you for reading.  Have a great week, and I'll see you next Sunday. 

Sandra K. Marshall, Author @

Eirelander Publishing
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com
http://www.skaymarshall.com

Give Your Characters Emotions

Many of you may not know it, but I received my second round of edits on the 11th of February.  I had to mull the information over for a few days because they were the same as the first round edits, need more emotion, but with more details of what my editor wanted. 

Because of the problem I'm having with this story, I decided to re-read the comments my mentor made on previous works I had written.  Yikes!  I have had this trouble since the beginning of my writing career, so why is emotion so hard to write. 

The only thing I can think of is that we're taught at an early age to (try) control our emotions.  I remember being told for most of my life of being a toddler throwing a temper tantrum on the floor and having a glass of water thrown in my face.  My mom said it shocked me and stopped my tantrum. 

Okay, a story is easy to tell, but it's not always simple to show, or get deep into the character's thoughts.  I'm going to give you a couple of samples, and you tell me which one is the best. 

Sample 1:  The curly headed blonde two-year-old kicked her heels on the kitchen floor, screaming at the top of her lungs.  "No! No!" Tears streamed from her blue eyes down her round pink cheeks.

Sample 2:  The curly headed blonde toddler kicked her heels on the floor, her eyes and face scrunched in anger screaming.  "Stop this nonsense, Sandra," her mother said. She watched for a few seconds.  What can I do? She couldn't bear to spank her, or hurt this small being, but she needs discipline. She grabbed a glass and stuck it under the faucet filling it full. "I'm warning you young lady. This is your last chance." Without hesitation, she threw the water in her daughter's face.  Quiet!

These examples aren't perfect, but which one do you think works best?  In the first one, you see the child's anger, and in the second one you still see the child's anger, but you also feel the mother's frustration and desire not to hit her toddler.  Both show emotions, but one has more details and lets you know the child isn't alone. 

Thank you for reading.  Now, I must get back to my edits and do a lot more revising.  I'm so fortunate to have a great editor because when this story is ready to be published it will be super good. 

I forgot to tell you the title has changed from Hitting Bottom to All Bets Are Off, and really the new title is a better fit for the story. 

Have a great week, and I'll be back next Sunday.

Sandra K. Marshall, author @
Eirelander Publishing
http://www.eirelanderpublishing.com
http://www.skaymarshall.com
https://www.facebook.com/sandra.marshall.98

Do Authors Write from Experience?

Good Afternoon,

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone is enjoying their day even though it’s cloudy and gray in my part of the world. Relax, I’m not complaining as I’m happy to be alive. Smile.

Today, I’m going to give you a smidgen of a look at how an author writes their story. I was at a retiree luncheon for TWA employees last week, and one of the guys I worked with had read my very first book, The Catalyst. This book isn’t in print now, but I hope it will be again some day. Sorry for my digression. Lol Those who know me well know I do that a lot.

This mechanic told me he enjoyed my story, and he liked the progression of showing the emotion of the rape victims and how I advanced to the sex scene. Thanks, Ralph B., you put me on cloud nine that day.

I have had people ask me if I write from my experiences. All authors use some small measure of their experience, but usually not exclusively. In The Catalyst, the only thing I had knowledge of had to do with the youngest daughter in the story but even that was not the same situation. What I used for her was a combination of traits from several people in my life.

For writing the emotion of rape victims, I asked questions of a friend of mine, Cheryl, a retired Kansas City Police Department detective. Her answers really surprised me. One thing I learned from her is how even prostitutes have a hard time getting over becoming a victim of rape. Also, she told me that many homosexuals are raped and are afraid to come forward because there is not much sympathy for them.

So many rapes go unreported no matter the gender, and it’s sad that they feel nobody will help them. Victims feel tainted and will remain afraid if they don’t seek help. Most police departments will recommend counseling and even give you a name of a doctor to make an appointment with. No one can get past a heinous crime by themselves. One of the things recommended for a victim is to take defensive courses so they feel in control . Once again, I have digressed but this is an important message.

To get back to the question of do authors write from experience, the answer is yes and no. lol My very first book was about me, my mom and her friend in Hong Kong. That book didn't sell. A few years ago, I threw that manuscript away. To write about my life would bore everyone to death as I spend most of my day at the computer writing, promoting my books or checking email

As an author it’s my job to learn how my characters will react in real life situations. I hope I have done that in all of my books.

Thank you for your time.

Sandy AKA Sandra K. Marshall
http://www.skaymarshall.com
http://www.eirelander-publishing.com/addiction.htm