Kindle? What on earth is Kindle?

Kindle is Amazon.com's new ebook reader, and not just any ebooks - they have turned your favorite hard cover and paper cover books into ebooks. Like Patricia Cornwell? Read it on the go. Prefer non fiction? Read Rescuing Sprite: A dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish by Mark Levin.

Want to read the paper? Well Kindle supplies that as well. Newspapers, blogs, everything, online and ready to go.

But you don't want to pay online fees. No problem! That's included in the price of your Kindle it appears. There are no online fees. No monthly charges of any kind. You pay only for your Kindle, then your individual books, newspapers, blogs etc.

No WiFi near you? No problem. Kindle works without it.

It all sounds too good to be true! Yet Amazon is already sold out, and they are taking "advanced orders" for their next delivery.

And how much are these books? Most are 9.99. Some are less. Interesting. One of the books listed, is Christine Feehan's Dark Possession, currently available in hardback, for $24.99. Yet you can get it on Kindle for 9.99.

So I have a few questions, and if you have more questions, or even a few answers, feel free to post!

1. How much of this money goes to the author?
2. Has anyone actually PURCHASED Kindle and can share if it works as advertised? I'm one who believes things can be too good to be true - and Kindle LOOKS like one of those. Other than the money to the author bit, I can't think of a single downside to Kindle. What's WRONG with it??? Come on people, there has to be something!
3. What does this do to the epublishing world? Will they move up in the world? Or be dropped into the world of nothingness?

Has Amazon.com finally come up with the perfect ebook reader?

Character--do you have one?

Here we are in middle of the hectic last days of the year. The demands of the holidays clustered between October and January play havoc with our schedules.

But hectic or not, we still need a character to build a story around. There are fiction stories where the plot dominates the character. But, the more usual story is built around the needs of a defined protagonist.

And how does one build a credible character? You have to get into their head. Once you come to a full understanding of a character's strenghts and weaknesses their reactions to the situations that arise in the plot will be true and consistant.

Think about a favorite book or movie character and deconstruct them. Take a favorite book or watch a movie and note every place a character speaks or acts or thinks. With a book you can use a color marker. With a movie you have to take notes. And then study the arc.

And then you have to decide what about your protagonist will have to change to acheive a satisfactory end to the story.

Assign a one-word dominent theme to your character. What would people say if asked to describe your character in one-word? She is funny or angry or sad or greedy or hard-headed--and what lies beneath this dominent trait? When you know this, you will be in their head.

For instance, real people hide anger beneath depression. They may hide sadness with the use of a mood altering substnace. Funny can get someone the attention they didn't get as a child.

Figure these things out and you got character.

Happy Holidays.

You know you're a pantster if-

You find yourself literally cutting and pasting your wip together. Yep, that was me last Sunday afternoon, sitting in the middle of my office, scissors and tape in hand, surrounded by printed pages.

I’m happy with the first 30 pages. After that is a bit of a jumbled mess. Some of the scenes are complete and in order. Some are broken up by bits and pieces, thoughts I just had to write down wherever I happened to be in the manuscript.

Part of me desperately wishes I could be more organized and write an actual outline. But, the bigger part of me says that whether you do the majority of your plotting and planning beforehand or in the middle or wherever, even if it looks like a tornado hit your office, just do what works for you. For me it’s too much fun to just write and see where the characters and story takes me.

I only wish I would have had my husband take a picture of me that day. It would have at least been good for a laugh or two.

Gleanings from A Critique Session

Our last encounter was not a disappointment. Things sparked. Thoughts became aroused. Fingers tingled with a desire to caress the smooth keys that act as a catalyst.

As a lover works toward fulfulling the promise made at the beginning of an encounter--hmm, never mind--as a writer writes toward fulfilling the promise made at the beginning of a story, smaller goals (challenges) arise that must be met before the main goal can be acheived.

An ah ha moment. I shall sally forth keeping this in mind, what is the protaginists short term goal here?

Make even the mundane interesting by upping the tension in some manner.

Another ah ha moment. I vow never to forget to ask, what is the conflict here and how does it manifest?

I lift my cup and offer a toast. With an open mind and a burning desire, battles lead to victory.