Big news for book clubs!

"Powerful, moving and emotional ... a great read for book clubs." 

-Bookfinds

Would you liked to be thanked in the Acknowledgments section of my next book?

I'm thrilled that so many readers are choosing THE OTHER LIFE for their book clubs. And what better way to thank people than to, well, thank them.

So I will publicly thank book club readers by name in the acknowledgments section of my next published book! All you have to do is click here and fill out the guestbook form. That's it!

Thanks! Happy reading ...

To learn more about THE OTHER LIFE, click here • To hear me answer questions about it on NPR, click here for the podcast.

Writing Tip of the Day: Keep Your Reader Engaged

A few suggestions on how to hold your reader's attention ....

• As Alfred Hitchcock said, shoot for suspense, not surprise.

• Remember that there should be at least some amount of tension on every page. If your character is drinking coffee and navel gazing, your reader may be tempted to turn on the TV.

• Don't follow your character's every waking moment. Allow lapses in time. (Don't over-think this. The simplest way to show time passing is usually best. The next day ... Later that afternoon ...  On Friday ... etc.)

• Use active verbs. "The protesters stormed the capital" is far stronger than "The protesters were storming the capital." Death to gerunds!

• Avoid too much info dump/backstory all at once  ...especially in the opening.

• Have your character behave badly/do the wrong thing.

• Consider condensing the time period of your story. Stories that take place over a few days/weeks/months tend to be more suspenseful than those that span years. (Nothing wrong with sagas, but it's easier to build tension if there's a ticking clock.)

•Your main character should have an inner journey as well as an outer one.

Hope you're enjoying these tips! To learn more about me or my books, visit my website, ellenmeister.com. 

Writing Tip of the Day: Dashes

We all love using dashes in our prose, so here are tips on using the right kind.

To begin, here are the three types of dashes:

The hyphen: -

The en-dash: –

The em-dash: —

The hyphen is used to connect words.  Ex: mother-in-law.

The en-dash is used to indicate a range of numbers.
Ex: My finished manuscript will be 75,000 – 80,000 words.

The em-dash, according to Strunk and White, is used to "set off an abrupt break or interruption and to announce a long appositive or summary." It is "stronger than a comma, less formal than a colon, and more relaxed than a parentheses."
Ex: My Sunday writing class—taught by a copywriter-turned-novelist—is full of useful info.

How to type dashes

En-dashes and em-dashes are both typed by using two hyphens. However, your PC will automatically turn your hyphens into an en-dash when you leave a space before and after.
When you type: My finished manuscript will be 75,000 -- 80,000 words.

Your computer changes it to: My finished manuscript will be 75,000 – 80,00 words.

When indicating an em-dash, leave no space before and after the double-hyphen.
When you type : My Sunday writing class--taught by a copywriter-turned-novelist--is full of useful info.

Your computer changes it to: My Sunday writing class—taught by a copywriter-turned-novelist—is full of useful info.

Note that you can also insert an em-dash by holding your alt key and pressing 0151 on your numeric keypad.

For an en-dash, hold alt and press 0150. 

Hope you're enjoying these tips!


(With apologies to Mac users, I have to idea how any of this works for you. Sorry! I'm a PC gal.)

Writing Tip of the Day: Character Names

A quick Do and Don't for fiction writers ...

Don't
Give your characters similar names, as this can confuse the reader. In fact, try to avoid using the same first initial for any characters within the same gender.

Also avoid default names. If your story has a little boy, don't call him Timmy, Tommy, Billy, Bobby or Jimmy. This kind of obvious choice takes the reader out of story because it feels so written.

Do
Use various sources for names ... your Facebook friends list, the phone book, obituaries—anything is fair game.

A lot of writers refer to baby name websites for ideas. My personal favorite is this one, which lets you see the 100 most popular boy and girl names for any particular year, from the 1880s through the present. It's a great resource for historically accurate inspiration.

News: THE OTHER LIFE in paperback!

I'm thrilled to announce that on December 6, THE OTHER LIFE comes out in trade paperback with a whole new look! I'm excited, because the new cover and lower price will draw a fresh set of readers ... including book clubs.

I'm also thrilled that it will be in stores in time for the holidays!

I want to send you a free bookmark!*
To celebrate the new release, I'm sending free signed bookmarks to the first 100 people who pre-order the paperback and forward the e-receipt to me at this email address. (Don't worry--your credit card number doesn't show on the receipt.)

Whether you're buying THE OTHER LIFE for yourself or someone else, you'll have both the book and the bookmark well before the holidays.

You can pre-order right now from any online bookseller, including:

Amazon • Barnes & Noble  

Books-A-Million • IndieBound  

Powells  •  Target  •  Walmart  

Watch the video
THE OTHER LIFE is about a woman who has the ability to slip between her life as a wife and mother, and the life she would have lived if she had made other choices. To learn more, you can listen to the NPR interview, visit my website  ... or watch the book trailer.


THE OTHER LIFE by Ellen Meister from Ellen Meister on Vimeo.

My darling son made that video for me and I hope it convinced you to buy the book. It was a labor of love for both of us! Thanks so much ... and I look forward to sending you a bookmark!

*U.S. residents only

Writing Tip of the Day: Beware of Infodump

Make sure you don't bog down your first chapter with backstory. Engage the reader with your character first, and work in the backstory in later. Just be sure you don't dump all the info at once. Find relevant places to insert it so that the reader barely notices.

Have a good writing day!

Writing Tip of the Day: Kind to be Cruel

If you want to be kind to your book, you have to be cruel to your characters. By that I mean don't over-protect your creations, no matter how much you love them. Do let bad things happen to them; your characters need to make mistakes, behave badly and get in trouble.

Your poor characters will suffer, and perhaps your readers will, too ... but they'll turn the page. And what's more important than that?

Writing Tip of the Day: Defining the Goal

What does your main character want?

If you can answer this question, you've got the central issue that will drive the narrative arc of your story. Now throw obstacles in his or her way, and voila--instant novel!

Okay, that may be a little facile, but you get the point. Figuring out what your protagonist wants draws the reader in and steers the plot.

Happy writing ...

Writing Tip of the Day: Show and Tell

"Show don't tell" is probably the most common writing advice people get, but it's often misunderstood. It does not mean "avoid exposition at all cost." Storytelling requires a certain amount of exposition. So relax on that front. And whatever you do, don't cram your exposition into the dialogue.

"Show don't tell" simply means that you need to let the reader experience what the character is going through. So instead of writing, "Craig was angry at Mabel," show us his anger through dialogue or action. Make him roll his eyes at her, or respond sarcastically when she asks if he picked up his jacket from the cleaners, or storm out the door because she didn't put enough ice in his drink. Your writing will be more vivid and effective.

If you're a Project Runway fan ...

This is the blog you should be reading.

And the winner of the Ann Curry's Loss is Your Gain giveaway is ...

Huge thanks to all who participated in my Ann Curry's Loss is Your Gain giveaway. I loved reading each of the entries and appreciate the kind thoughts and good wishes. You were all so generous.

Alas, I can only choose one winner, and I did so using a random number generator. The prize of Ann Curry's signed copy of THE OTHER LIFE goes to ...

Rae Rae!

Congrats, hon! Send me your mailing address and I'll get the book right out to you. Hope you like it!

And Ann Curry? Your loss, baby ...

Want to win a Dorothy Parker t-shirt?

To celebrate my 10,000th follower on the Dorothy Parker Facebook page I'm giving away this great t-shirt:

Click here for details. (If you haven't yet "liked" the page, you'll have to do that before you enter.)

Tomorrow I'll announce the winner of THE OTHER LIFE with Ann Curry 's signature.

Good luck!

Ann Curry's Loss is Your Gain!

A few months ago I tried sending Ann Curry a signed copy of THE OTHER LIFE, because I thought she'd enjoy it. Alas, it never got to her as the NBC mailroom returned the package unopened. I tried again, but those heartless gatekeepers still refused delivery.

So now, after spending the money on postage twice, I'm left with a $25 hardcover book inscribed to Ann Curry.

I won't try again, so if Ann Curry wants a copy of THE OTHER LIFE she's just going to have to buy one.* Meanwhile, her loss is your gain, as I'm giving this one away in a random drawing to someone who responds in the comments section below with an answer to the following question:

Why should Ann Curry read THE OTHER LIFE?

 Every response counts as an entry and multiple responses are welcome. Offer ends midnight October 10. U.S. residents only. Good luck!

*Who am I kidding? If Ann Curry wants a copy of the book, all she has to do is contact my publicist, who would be thrilled to book me on The Today Show. 

THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED. THANKS TO ALL WHO ENTERED!
CLICK HERE TO SEE RESULTS.

What would YOU do if you ruled the world?

My blog post is up over at the Girlfriends Book Club blog. It's called IF I RULED THE WORLD. Check it out.

ME AND BASEBALL A very short play

ME: It's not that I don't want the Yankees to win. It's just that I'd like the Red Sox to win, too.

MIKE:

ME: I have a lot of friends who are Red Sox fans.

MIKE:

ME: It means so much to them, you see.

MIKE:

ME: I guess I'm not what you'd call a true fan.

MIKE: Honey, you're the opposite of a fan.

Also at my t-shirt store ...

An original poem! (Well, using Dorothy Parker's "Resume" as a template. Consider it an homage.)

Click here to order. You can customize it for any style or color.

Why you don't have to worry about someone stealing your work

One of the most common questions I get from aspiring authors pertains to protecting their work from plagiarism. I can't speak for screenwriting, but in the publishing world it's a misplaced worry.

As a writer, you simply have to take a leap of faith that no one wants to steal your work. It just doesn't happen. Agents and editors are not sitting at their desks, rubbing their hands together as they await their next victim. Nor are other writers trolling the Internet looking for ideas to steal. I mean sure, you can probably find a few examples to prove me wrong. But you can also find examples of people choking to death on water. The point is that the odds are so astronomically low that they don't merit concern.

The sad truth behind this is that it is so difficult to make any money from writing that there's no incentive for theft. We all believe in our work, and cling to the hope that we have the next million dollar idea. But realistically, why would someone risk plagiarizing, only to have to spend a year researching and queryng agents, rewriting the letter again and again as it gets rejected? And that's not even considering how many months of rewrites will follow before there's even a slim chance at publication and an even slimmer chance of making any real money at it.

And one final point. As the author, you automatically own the copyright to your work and have legal protection. So try to relax and not let these fears get in your way.

Instead, worry about the real things ...  Are you creating believable characters your readers will care about? Are your storylines fresh and exciting?  Are your sentences exquisite and evocative? Is there enough coffee, vodka, or red wine in the house to get you through the week? (Water, as you know, can kill you.)

Now get back to work ...

Fresh Hell!

The news today is that I have created a store for wearable Dorothy Parker quotes! Note that each is customizable, so you can choose whatever quote you like and put it on a shirt of any style or color. Click here to check out all the products.

Hope you like these! I had a lot of fun with it.

make custom gifts at Zazzle

Big App Show!

As promised (threatened?) I'm still on hiatus from posting Friday updates, but I did want to share this with you. A few months ago I was interviewed via Skype by Adam Curry (yes, that Adam Curry) about THE OTHER LIFE. The interview is now available for viewing on your smartphone. If you have an iPhone, iPad or Droid, simply go to the app store and download The Big App Show, which is free. Pretty easy to find my interview from there.

It's a cool app in any case, as it lets you preview other apps before buying them.

Meanwhile, the interview is also posted online. So if you want to watch it on your computer, click here.

I hope you'll want to check it out, because Adam is a stellar interviewer. He's smart, earnest, down-to-earth and asks great questions. Also, he really likes my book!

Have a great weekend ...

According to Dorothy Parker ...

"Brevity is the soul of lingerie."

This Shakespeare-inspired quote is from a photo caption Dorothy Parker wrote when she was working at Vogue in 1915.

For daily quotes from Dorothy Parker, follow her on Facebook.