"A Diary in the Age of Water" Gets Literary Titan Award

Nina Munteanu’s cli-fi eco-novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was awarded a Silver Literary Titan Award for a book that:

“expertly delivers complex characters, intricate worlds, and thought provoking themes. The ease with which the story is told is a reflection of the author’s talent in exercising fluent, powerful, and appropriate language.”–Literary Titan

“A Diary in the Age of Water” received a 4-star review by Literary Titan:

While bringing attention to the current politicization of climate change, the story maintains important underlying themes like family, love, forgiveness, and the complexity of the human soul. The author has gone to great lengths to show that there are different layers to each character, none fully evil nor fully good. A Diary in the Age of Water is an exceptional and thought-provoking dystopian fiction.
—LITERARY TITAN (4-star)

The Novelist: He said, She said, Using Dialogue

One of the most important devices to spice up narrative and increase pace is the use of dialogue. There’s a reason for this: we read dialogue more quickly; it’s written in more fluid, conversational English; it tends to create more white space on a page with less dense text, more pleasing to the reader’s eye. Dialogue is action. It gets readers involved.

Good dialogue neither exactly mimics actual speech (e.g., it’s not usually mundane, repetitive or broken with words like “uh”) nor on the other extreme does it proselytize or educate the reader through long discourse (unless the character is that kind of person). Good dialogue in a story should be somewhere in the middle.

While it should read as fluid conversation, dialogue remains a device to propel the plot or enlighten us to the character of the speaker). No conversation follows a perfect linear progression. People interrupt one another, talk over one another, often don’t answer questions posed to them or avoid them by not answering them directly. These can all be used by the writer to establish character, tension, and relationship.

Below, I provide a few tips when using dialogue in your story.

• Show, don’t tell: a common error of beginning writers is to use dialogue to explain something that both participants should already know but the reader doesn’t. It is both awkward and unrealistic and immediately exposes you as a novice. For instance, avoid the use of “As you know…” It’s better to keep the reader in the dark for a while than to use dialogue to explain something. Which brings us to the next point.
• Have your characters talk to each other, not to the reader: for instance, “Hello, John, you loser drunk and wayward son of the most feared gangster in town!” could be improved to, “You stink like a distillery, John! Wait ‘til papa’s thugs find you!”
• Avoid adverbs: e.g., he said dramatically, she said pleadingly; instead look for better ways to express the way they said it with actual dialogue. That’s not to say you can’t use adverbs (I believe J.K. Rowling is notorious for this), just use them sparingly and judiciously.
• Avoid tag lines that repeat what the dialogue already tells the reader: e.g., “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Do you have a dog?” she asked.
• He said, she said: reduce tag lines where possible and keep them simple by using “said”; another sign of a novice is the overuse of words other than said (e.g., snarled, hissed, purred, etc.). While these can add spice, keep them for special places as they are noticed by the reader and will distract otherwise.
• Pay consistent attention to a character’s “voice”: each character has a way of speaking that identifies them as a certain type of person. This can be used to identify class, education, culture, ethnicity, proclivities, etc. For instance one character might use Oxford English and another might swear every third word.
• Use speech signatures: pick out particular word phrases for characters that can be their own and can be identified with them. If they have additional metaphoric meaning to the story, even better. For instance, I know a person who always adds “Don’t you think?” to almost everything they say. This says something about how that person… well, thinks… I knew another person who always added “Do you see?” at the end of their phrase. Again rather revealing.
• Intersperse dialogue with good descriptive narrative: don’t forget to keep the reader plugged into the setting. Many beginning writers forget to “ground” the reader with sufficient cues as to where the characters are and what they’re doing while they are having this great conversation. This phenomenon is so common, it even has a name. It’s called “talking heads.”
• Contradict dialogue with narrative: when dialogue contradicts body language or other narrative cues about the speaker, this adds an element of compelling tension and heightens reader excitement while telling them something important. Here are a few examples:
  
  “How’d it go?”
  “Great,” he lied.
  
  “I feel so much better now,” she said, jaw clenched.
  “It’s okay; I believe you.” His heart slammed.
  
  Well, you get the picture, anyway. Hope this helps. Keep writing!

This article is an excerpt from The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now! (Starfire World Syndicate) 2009. It is also part of a workshop series I give throughout North America and Europe called The Writer's Toolkit. "The Writer's Toolkit" will be available for purchase in summer of 2010. 

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.

The Novelist: Common Pitfalls of the Beginning Writer—Part 2: Language

Are you just starting to write? Or better yet, nervously thinking of sending your cherished tome out? You may wish to do one more round of edits and apply these five things that I guarantee will improve your story:

The Novelist: Common Pitfalls of the Beginning Writer—Part 1 (Characters)

Have you ever wondered how an editor decides not to read your cherished tome past the second paragraph of the first page and has pegged you as a beginning writer? This used to really bug me… Well, as a published author and occasional mentor, I do from time to time read manuscripts (please don’t send me any unsolicited ones! This isn’t an invite). Well, I now recognize what these editors do. Most beginning writers commonly do some things that unfortunately identify him/her as a novice; these can work against you when a busy editor (who wants nothing better than an excuse to stop reading) reads your precious work.

So, I’d like to share what I’ve learned over the years (some of the very same comments that have been made of my work, I am sharing back with you).

The Novelist: Finding Your Muse

O Muses, O high genius, aid me now!
O memory that engraved the things I saw,
Here shall your worth be manifest to all!—Dante Alighieri, Canto II of the Inferno

As a published author of novels and short stories I often get asked how and where I draw my inspiration from. How do I find my muse? And how do I keep it? (i.e.,, how do I defeat “writer’s block”?).

The Voice Behind Darwin's Paradox

For those of you who haven't already visited the Darwin's Paradox site, competently run by the indomitable Karen Mason, and where you can read or listen to the first six or so chapters of my book, click on this link for a taste (...not to worry; I'm not subjecting you to my cranky alien's voice). This podcast of Chapter One is professionally done by Heather Dugan, an accomplished voice-over artist (more on Heather below). I think you'll really enjoy it. Let me know what you think.

When Karen Mason persuaded me to let her create and run the Darwin's Paradox website showcasing my book, I had no idea how much talent she would bring into this project. Besides being a shaman of incredible power, she runs Starfire World Syndicate and is herself an accomplished writer, private pilot, and cryptologist. We had discussed doing a promotional podcast of the book over some virtual drinks and ** presto! ** Heather Dugan appeared! More of that persuasive shamanism, if you ask me... If you want to know why I was so overwhelmed, listen (and watch) the video, of Heather reading Chapter Two of Darwin’s Paradox, here. Heather is magic to your ears. Lyrical, sensitive and genuine, her fluid and clear narrative flows like a bracing mountain brook. Evoking emotions and touching your heart. I am proud and honored that she has joined the Darwin team.

Heather Dugan is a voice-over artist and on-camera talent (see her website: http://heatherdugan.com/). Born in Ann Arbor MI, Heather resided in beautiful Ohio, state of rivers and streams, most her life. She received a BA in Communications from Indiana University, Bloomington. After making a splashy entrance in the media field as Miss Columbus (“Sshhh,” says Heather. Sorry! I just had to!), Heather went into radio sales where she was discovered as a talent in “voicing”, which jumpstarted her varied career that included community theatre, radio/TV commercials, industrial films, narrations, phone network commercials, and talk show co-hosting. She has done voicing for Nationwide, The Columbus Dispatch, Bank One, Verizon, Honda of America, Cintas, Lazarus, The Truberry Group, among many other prestigious clients.

Heather is also an accomplished writer, photographer and musician (keyboardist). She wrote and co-wrote several documentaries, plays and musical compositions. You can see her photography on her travel blog, “Footsteps”. Her first poem, written when she was seven years old, was framed by her mother and sits on her desk. Heather is herself a devoted mother of three children. An avowed passionate traveler, Heather loves the outdoors and adventure. She keeps fit by running in races, kayaking, biking, swimming and weight-lifting. Heather currently lives in Lewis Center, Ohio, with her three children and chocolate lab.

Thanks so much, Heather. Your dedication, professionalism & excellent work ethic, and remarkable voice are truly appreciated.

Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of novels, short stories and essays. She coaches writers and teaches writing at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. For more about Nina’s coaching & workshops visit www.ninamunteanu.me. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for more about her writing.

The Novelist: Why Write a Synopsis?

This post is the first of a series on writing the novel. I'll be drawing from my experiences and providing advice on a range of topics that might interest you.

When I was just beginning as a writer, the publisher guideline request “submit a synopsis and sample chapters” struck fear into my heart. There was something terrifyingly daunting about writing and sending a succinct compelling summary of my novel packaged in just a few pages. As author Katherine Eliska Kimbriel said, “The instinctive response [of the author] is to clap on a helmet and start digging a trench.” I had a right to be terrified. In some ways the synopsis is the hardest thing for a novelist to write. Yet it is the first thing most publishers and agents want (and have time) to see of your cherished project (aside from those sample chapters, of course—more on that later).

Darwin's Paradox available for pre-order at Amazon

The cover of my new book, "Darwin's Paradox" is out and it's BEAUTIFUL! Don't you agree? A large part of the story takes place within the self-contained megalopolis, Icaria (formerly Toronto), where people live contentedly inside and connect via underground trains and giant malls (sound familiar?) Note that most of the buildings are in a state of ruin, overrun with vegetation; only some of the larger buildings remain in good shape. They are Icaria, thrusting up through the decrepit chaos of the past like a rising phoenix that soars into a blushing sky. The cover art was done by the accomplished Croatian illustrator, Tomislav Tikulin (www.tomtikulin-art.com/), whose art work I find transporting, evokative, eerie and thoughtful. I am honored that "Darwin's Paradox" is graced with his vision.

"Darwin's Paradox" is now available for pre-order at Amazon.ca or Amazon.com.

Book jacket blurbs

Answers.com says this about a blurb:

blurb (blûrb) n.
A brief publicity notice, as on a book jacket.
[Coined by Gelett Burgess (1866–1951), American humorist.]

Aurora award-winning author, editor and educator, Robert Runte--in a comment to my previous post (April 12, 2007) in which he trashed the description of my book, brought up a good question about book jackets. What's appropriate? How much detail is too much? How much is too little? And does it depend on the genre? I've seen some very long and involved blurbs in some fantasy covers (i.e., Marjorie B. Kellogg's Dragon Quartet; Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart just to name a few). Then there's SF, with usually a shorter blurb accompanied by reviews and short bio (e.g., Stanislaw Lem's Solaris, so many others). Although I agree with Runte, I had to research this further (remember, I'm a scientist). So I asked one of my primary resources at hand: my son. He replied that when he browsed a bookstore, after letting the cover and title (if not author) draw his attention, he immediately went to the back jacket; he preferred a fairly short to-the-point description that gave the gist (and genre) of the book (enough to intrigue him) but not so much that it made him yawn (oh, dear), and he liked seeing comments by reviewers (preferably short). I then pursued my secondary source: Google. I found a delightfully blunt though insightful discussion by Lynne W. Scanlon, "The Publishing Contrarian" (here's the URL: www.thepublishingcontrarian.com/2006/11/10...). In her opinion, jackets totally sink or sell a book. If the book jacket failed to ignite the interest of the bookstore browser, they wouldn't bother to take that critical next step of peeking at the first paragraph of the first chapter before tossing the book back on the shelf. Her point: the story can't sell itself. While she may be mostly right (I like to think that word-of-mouth sells a story very well, book jacket and cover aside), certainly where a potential reader is first encountering a book and/or writer, that first impression is critical. My own preference is to see something genuine about the story and tone of the book and not be led astray (something that has certainly occured...another reason for Runte's 'less is more'). So, what do you, the reader, like to see in a book jacket description? What grabs you? What stinks?

The paradox of Darwin's Paradox

"Darwin's Paradox" is my next SF book due out this November by Canadian publisher, Dragon Moon Press. Being a bit of a categorist (I'm a scientist, remember), I originally tried to describe it as a techno-eco-thriller. My son just about vomited when I told him. "That'll just kill it!" he moaned. I guess he's right. By the time you get to the word thriller you've yawned already at least once...not much of a thrill. This speaks to my earlier remark about how we've become category-mad, disdain it, and yet wholeheartedly prescribe to it. So what IS it, you may very well ask? Is it a thriller? Or an ecological tome? Or a techno-whatever? Or just science fiction (which, in the final analysis, is hard to define of itself). Good question. Maybe YOU can help me define it. Here goes:

A devastating disease. A world on the brink of violent change. And one woman who can save it—or destroy it all.

A decade has passed since Julie Crane was accused of murder and causing the worst plague faced by mankind, Darwin’s Disease. When she’s captured by a ruthless Machiavelian visionary with designs for her—and her young daughter—Julie must rely on some unlikely helpers to escape and battle the sinister force intent on recasting humanity. She must race against the menace of those who fear and want to destroy her for what she is and those who wish to experiment on her and her daughter. Ultimately, Julie must face the shattering truth from which she has run for so long. She must confront the will of the ambitious virus lurking inside her to fulfill her final destiny as Darwin’s Paradox, the key to the evolution of an entire civilization.

A novel about a woman’s fierce love and her courageous journey toward forgiveness, trust, and letting go to the tide of her heart.

Okay, so is it an eco-romance-thriller SF with fantasy...Oh, there I go again...