Search & Replace or Search & Reproach?

I've been rewriting my first novel this past month. When I say rewriting I don't mean a little tweak here and there, I mean cutting out entire scenes, killing off some characters and resuscitating others.

Anyway, when I got to the end I realized I had to change my hero's name. Well, I must be honest, it wasn't me being clever, it was Julie Cohen nudging me to consider my mistake. So there I was on page 1 of my manuscript summoning the Search & Replace window to change the name. However, I've suffered many disasters in the past with the S&R -forgetting to activate the Whole Word and Match Case options may prove catastrophic- and my hand began to tremble as the cursor hovered over Replace All so I decided to go for the safe alternative, i.e. replace them one by one.

If you're not careful, changing Mac to Tom indiscriminately might make your characters eat tomaroni, hold a tomhine gun or put on a tom for the rain. On the other hand, changing Tom for Mac might make them eat macatoes, stroke a maccat or leave it till macorrow.

In fact I mentioned my fear of Search & Replace on twitter and I got several examples of Word disasters:

Miranda Dickinson, author of Fairytale of New York changed Eric for Zac and ended up in Amzaca.

Word can change your story of its own accord too. The autocorrect option may drive your story in a completely new direction:

Susanna Kearsley author of Mariana found her Sir Geoffrey de Mornay of Crofton Hall turned into Sir Ego de Moron of Crouton Hall, her swordfights turned into swordfish and the approaching hoofbeats into approaching houseboats. It certainly gave the plot an extraordinary turn.

Julie Cohen author of Getting Away With It on the other hand nearly had her hero Angus re-baptised as Anus which would probably have sent her book to the erotica section in bookshops.

So, as much as I love Word, I know it can betray you when you're not looking and nothing must prevent us from reading through our work once we've finished it. A single click could make so much damage to a manuscript.

Have you had any Word disasters?

Words that mark the difference

At a young age, we strive to fit in with everyone else. Trying to be normal is the common aim at school and any difference with the rest will probably trigger a complex, so we hide it to blend in with the masses.

However, as we grow older, we strive for the opposite. We seek the unique quality that will distinguish us from the rest. We no longer want to be lost in the crowds but rise above them. Both in our professional lives and our personal lives. We want to be remembered and I think this is driving force for many writers.

I've read many books and blog posts worth remembering. Each with a different idea or phrase that made them memorable. So even if those writers haven't been published or been recognized for their uniqueness, they will be remembered by those who read their work and maybe their words will make a difference to their readers at the time or in the future. Their efforts will have an impact.

When I was 12, my Spanish teacher said I wrote beautifully. I believed her at the time and her words had more influence on me than she could have expected. I felt I was good with words and it gave me the confidence to use them and try to improve the way I used them. I often wonder if she really meant it, but even if she didn't, they gave me something to exploit and pursue.  

Words said by the right person at the right time can change your life for the best. So we should always take great care over our words. We never know the influence they may have on our readers or listeners. They may mark the difference.

Feliz New Year

Feliz Año Nuevo, or Happy New Year for non Spanish speakers.

Many of you are sliding back into your routines, but the Christmas holidays haven't finished yet in Spain. We are now awaiting the arrival of the Three Wise Men on the 5th of January. Traditionally, children wouldn't get any presents on Christmas Eve in Spain, they'd get them on the 6th of January, brought by the 3 Kings on their camels. Many families are still faithful to this tradition, but Father Christmas has begun to creep into some houses here and sometimes shares the workload with the Kings.

In any case, this means that we are celebrating, eating and drinking during two weeks. By the end of it, many of us are pretty glad it's over. I think I need another holiday to get over the festivities. However, I do enjoy Christmas and part of me is sad when it ends so I'll try to make the most of this week before we're back into our daily routines. And most importantly, I'll build up on the calories before I say goodbye to them.

I hope this year is full of writerly and personal success for all of us and I hope we can share and celebrate them together.

Reading in your genre

I write contemporary romantic fiction and I love reading it. When the book is excellent, it's quite depressing, but when it's not so excellent, it will boost my self-confidence.

I like thrillers and mysteries too, but I find it helps to read in the same genre as I'm writing to get in the mood. I noticed that my sentences became blunter and shorter when I was reading thrillers so my pace speeded up when the scene didn't require it.

I know lots of experienced writers prefer to read in another genre to avoid being influenced by what they're reading. They're naturally worried that the contents might implant surreptitiously in their mind and they'll accidentally pour it out on their manuscript. This worries me of course, but I think this could happen with any genre you read or even watch. An idea, character or scene might sneak in from a murder mystery too and transform somehow into a love scene in your work in progress.

Maybe I'm relying too much on my memory, and I think I will remember what I've read. But I can't imagine not reading in the genre I love and I've got so much to learn from the people that master this genre, I feel it will only help me improve. However, I will go to extremes if I think something might have any similarities with what I've read and sometimes there is not really any resemblance at all, only something that triggered a memory of that book, even something meaningless, like the colour of a wall.

What do you read when you're writing?

Switch from real life to fiction

I enjoyed the privilege of listening to Julie Cohen at the enlightening Cornerstones' course I was in September. As she taught us countless writing essentials, the recurring motto was "Fiction is Better than Life".

This is the plain truth. As a writer you shape fiction into your dreams. You mould the hero to your tastes, portray unimaginable (or imaginable) landscapes to your needs and you think up the most awkward and unexpected events possible (or impossible).

One of the best things about fiction is that, if things don't work, you simply rewind and change them until they do. If you don't like a character you just get rid of them and make them suffer until you feel satisfied (that sounded quite psychotic, but remember this is fiction). 

In my case, as a romantic writer, men are romantic and actually do romantic things that make your insides go up and down like a yo-yo. They don't give you vacuum cleaners for birthday presents or make you walk home under the rain on your own because they're taking the car for a wash, or prefer to spend your anniversary evening killing zombies on the PlayStation. No, my fictional characters will walk through the desert for the heroine or face a blizzard to get to her.

So yes, Fiction is Much Much Better than Live and I am so happy I have the honour to read and write it. It is my exhaust valve. 

What is so good about your fiction?

The Hating Game, brilliant debut novel by Talli Roland

 

Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/hNBkJk

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/hX2ieD

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

Coming soon in paperback.  Keep up with the latest at www.talliroland.com.

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?


I've had the honour to read this prior to its release and it made me smile from the first page to the last. It was witty, original and full of excitement. It's one of those books that makes you feel happy even after you've finished it.

I want to know everything about Copyright, what about you?

I have read many blogs and sites on Copyright and I must say I've found mixed information on this topic. Some say you should always copyright your work, others say it's not necessary, that the moment you write something it is yours. I'll always remember reading an agent's blog (Jane Judd) where she joked about our work probably not being that good to steal anyway, and even if she was joking, she is most likely right. However, as a writer, this issue affects me and I want to know I'm covered in the face of any events. I want to have all the details confirmed and the facts verified by a reliable source, that is why I'm going to keep a close eye on Jane Smith's blog who has declared an official Copyright day over at her place: http://howpublishingreallyworks.com/

I encourage you to visit it if you have as many doubts on copyright as I do.