A to Z Challenge: A is for Anger...AND...a Cover Reveal for Searching for Moore

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
First and foremost, a BIG thank you to A to Z founder, Arlee Bird.
Without you, none of this would be possible!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s an emotion day!

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A is for anger:  a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, hostility, or belligerence, typically aroused by a wrong.

There are many degrees of anger, and so, many ways in which to show it.  First you must figure out exactly how angry the character is.  And don’t overdo it.  Don’t use clichés such as “raging like a bull” or “angry as a wasp”.  And whatever you do, do not rely on exclamation points to get your emotion across!!!

First, try to use the character’s voice via dialogue, and I don’t mean screaming, but rather by the way he or she speaks, showing the movement from whatever emotion came prior then displaying the change, the difference in phrasing and tone in which they speak and the very words they use to do it.  This disparity will exemplify his turn in mood, as will adding certain traits we all exhibit when angered.

The obvious ones are a red face or gathering and lowering of the brow, a turned down mouth or stomping of the feet, or even a simple tensing of the body.  Using one of these with the proper words and tone is more than enough to display anger.  You can also describe a change in the eyes, how they tensed, glared, or seemed to turn hard.

Whatever physical traits and action the character models to show anger, it’s more effective to contrast it with whatever mood came before it.  And, as we all have typical ways in which we exhibit anger, be sure to be consistent with each character.

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But wait!  There's more!  Searching for Moore, actually.  Today is the big cover reveal for my friend and fellow author, Julie A. Richman's new novel, Searching for Moore!

Title: Searching for Moore

By: Julie A. Richman

Series: Needing Moore Series #1

Genre: Adult Romance, Chick Lit

Length: 318 Pages

Here's the lowdown: 

Attended by reality TV star wannabes and Southern California social climbers, Schooner Moore knows the party his wife is throwing for his forty-third birthday has little to do with him and everything to do with her social standing in Orange County. The evening turns out to hold more surprises than just his wife's Botoxed friends groping at his privates, when a conversation with his old college roommate, Beau, reveals the biggest surprise of the night.

Beau has had contact on Facebook with Mia Silver. Just hearing her name sends Schooner into a tailspin, as he is now just a Friend Request away from the one who got away when she disappeared without a goodbye, leaving him wondering why she left.

A serial failure at romance, Manhattan boutique ad agency owner, Mia, gets a blindside of her own when a Facebook Friend Request from first love, Schooner, appears in her email. Going with her gut reaction, Mia hits accept, propelling her past to catch up with her in a New York minute, as a forceful Schooner is determined to understand what tore them apart and to explore the possibility of a second chance at love.

From a 1980's Southern California college campus and a devastating first love to present day New York City, Searching for Moore explores how technology has eradicated the divide between our past and our present, and asks whether you would give up everything to reconnect with The One in a single keystroke?

Click here to add Searching for Moore on Goodreads

Click here to attend the Facebook Release Party

Click here to “Like” Julie’s author page

And click here to check out her website 

So...are YOU doing the A to Z?  Interested in a little Moore?

A to Z Challenge: A is for Antagonist

Welcome to Day 1 of the A to Z Challenge

Many bloggers have chosen a theme for the A to Z.  My pledge since becoming a blogger is to post about writing, so for this event, I will being posting about what I've learned about writing a novel.

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A is for antagonists:  a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or compete with another; an opponent, the adversary to the hero or protagonist:  (Dictionary.com)

The trick to creating a “good” antagonist is to NOT make him pure evil.  He should be believable and able to rationalize his actions.  Just like the protagonist, he should experience obstacles, setbacks, and doubts.  He should never have infinite resources, nor be easily deterred.  And he should have traits that contradict his actions.  Even better, the antagonist should be sympathetic in some relatable way. 

In my own novel, the antagonists, two Russian Mafia crime lords, hover mostly in the background.  They only come into the light a few times, but when they do, they are menacing and frightening simply because you don’t know entirely what they are capable of.  In the end, you find out they suffered the exact same loss as their nemesis, the protagonist, and that is what sets them on their course.  They may be bad guys, but they loved and lost, too.

So, what is your antagonist like?