La, la, la....whoa!!

Avoiding Plotholes: Inconsistencies, Character Behavior, and Story Structure

I just finished reading a rather steamy fantasy romance over the weekend. The writing was pretty good, the characters interesting, the storyline unique. However, I hit a huge plot hole that I don't know how the author or an editor missed (not to mention some pretty bad typos too, but I won't go into that). In this story, the main female character discovers toward the end of the book that whatever she writes will come true, as she happens to be a sorceress and didn't know it. Anywho, the villain is after her and her fantasy macho lover who's from another world. The villain wants to get to this world to rule it, etc, etc. She is desperate to get down to the tournament arena where her lover is fighting the bad guy, but the police have put the woman under guard in her hotel room....she gets the idea to write down "The police will pay no attention to me when I leave the room." So, off she goes past the police officer guarding her, down to where the fight is taking place so she can help her lover.

Anyone see the plot hole here? Why didn't she just type, "The bad guy has a massive heart attack and dies. The End." ?? This particular issue wasn't addressed, to my disappointment. If he had perhaps been so powerful that she could not change anything that HE did by writing it, then that should have came up (perhaps I missed it, but I ain't goin back).

This article from Women on Writing addresses plot hole issues, which I will be paying closer attention to as I write my tales.

Today's Winner is...

Becky Jarvis, who gets a signed (by me) copy of Hearts of Tomorrow. Happy reading!

Emotional Scenes

There are times, like today, when I write a scene that literally makes me tear up and almost cry. Even when I know what the outcome will be. I hope that's a good sign, that my readers will feel the same emotion when they read, and that they won't put the story down before then. That's my goal, anyway.

To be able to write so that my readers see, feel, and relate to the story and not the words--that is what I am aiming for. Any writer can throw nice big words around, but putting them down in such a manner that it brings the reader in to the scene instead of having them stumble over it, is challenging.

But I figure if I'm crying as I write something, that the scene is probably good as is...I guess we'll see :)

Don't forget to comment on the previous post for your chance to win a signed copy of "Hearts of Tomorrow"! I'll draw a name tomorrow or Friday....

Happy 200th visitor

In celebration of the two-hundredth visitor to Unwritten, I'm holding another raffle to win a signed (by me) copy of Hearts of Tomorrow, the anthology which includes my novelette Let There Be Love.

Just leave a comment here on this post and I'll draw a name Thursday or Friday depending on the responses I get.

Adults 18 and over only please--happy reading!

Set the Night to Music

I love to listen to music when I'm writing. Specifically music that seems to match the theme of my story. Sometimes, I get ideas from the songs, or they just keep me in touch with the tone I'm going for. Do any of you writers use music as a writing stimulus? Do you pick "theme songs" for your stories? Tell me about em here...

If You've Read "Let There Be Love"...

Care to write a review? You can do this in a couple of ways. Either by commenting on here, or go to the link where you buy, click on Lulu, and leave a review on Lulu's site. If you've only read LTBL, mention that, but if you've also read the other author's stories, mention them specifically.

Good or bad, I want to hear from you!

I need Facebook Friends!

Hey, peeps and future fans (a girl can dream, can't she?), I've got a Mysti Parker page over on Facebook. If you haven't already, click on my Facebook badge in the right column here on the blog, and friend me. You'll get updates on new stories, giveaways, random thoughts (you're dying to know what's in my head, I can tell), and whatever else I might dream up.