"Too much of anything ain't good for you."

The Eight Sentences:

When I hear the term, “infodump,” the first name that comes to mind is that of the late author, Tom Clancy. Others who fit into that category include James Michener and Michael Crichton. No doubt readers can rattle off the names of other authors whom some feel provide “more information than I want to know.”

On the other end of the technology spectrum for a writer, simply saying, “The woman shot her gun,” is not sufficient to stand alone. Readers deserve more.

How much more?

It depends.

Just a ounce of details can produce a ton of credibility.

The Set  Up:

An excerpt from my third novel, a work in progress titled, A Year Without Killing, appeared in this BLOG and introduced a technical topic. It was unnecessary to go into great detail, just give the reader the basics so they would understand that my main character applied a learned skill out of habit.
I was inspired by a comment to write a blog about "infodump."

These eight sentences come from that blog.

The title is a quote from my late father, my most frequent source of inspiration.

Dad and me.

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 Sunday Snippett group.

Snippet Sunday - March 24

Like it or not, we're all in sales.

The Set Up:      

       Retail sales has paid the bills for me for almost forty years. During the mid-eighties, I got out of pharmacy and got into REAL sales. In fact, it was straight commission sales. 

       Ask those who know, and you'll find out that a job in straight commission sales can be the highest paid job available. It's also one of the highest turnover positions because it's practitioners cannot cut the mustard. 

       If people are writing books full time, well, they're in sales. Unless they can get into a situation where they get advances on their work, they're definitely in straight commission sales. 

       My snippet this week comes from a blog I wrote that appeared on my publisher's site, HERE. Maybe the excerpt below will inspire you to read the entire article.

This week's snippet:

Over the years I’ve heard many euphemisms for people in sales: account rep, consultant, advisor, broker, agent, customer service rep, and one of my favorites, vice president.

I’ve crossed trails with many people who haven’t done as well as they would like to have had in their chosen field, simply because they couldn’t sell themselves or their products: accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, ministers, photographers, artists, painters, editors, doctors, lawyers, chiropractors, pharmacists, teachers, nurses, coaches, retail store managers, and the list is endless.

In fact, everyone is in sales -- especially authors.

Everyone is selling something and it’s usually themselves or their skills or services.

Sometimes, we blame our low self-esteem on others: the used car salesman in a plaid sports coat, the door to door brush salesman in a polyester suit, the cosmetics sales lady in an old car.

Baloney.

Name a profession that hasn’t had it’s share of unprofessional perpetrators of perpetual sleaze.

Want to change the perception?  

Start with the person you see in the mirror.

What next?

        Sample the work of dozens of other great writers representing a cross section of genres HERE.  

        If you're an author languishing in anonymity, remember the old adages, "There's safety in numbers," and "Sales is a numbers game."

Get busy growing your network of contacts, both in real life and online. (How many connections do you have on FaceBook & Twitter?)

Weekend Writing Warriors - March 3, 2013

News

        The Presidents Club will be presented twice a week starting this week. Wednesday, March 6 is the big day (Chapter Ten). From now on, readers will get one chapter on Sunday and an additional one on Wednesdays.  My weekly blog article on the same site will move to Fridays. Happy reading!

The Set Up

        The old men in the Louisville Tavern had sent their youngest member out into the dark to investigate the explosion that had left the bar in darkness. As we join the scene, Franklin York has just returned to the bar.

The Eight Sentences

            

York was rattled.

He had difficulty finding a bar stool.

The flashlight in his hands betrayed his claim, “I’m alright.” 

The beam was a desperate searchlight seeking a target in vain.

The men in the bar were rattled by York’s behavior.

They were all anxious to hear what York had to report about the explosion but didn’t press him.

The silence was unbearable and seconds seemed like hours.

York spoke to Louie in the dark, “Gimme a shot of Jack Daniels -- and another beer.”

And now...

        For samples of over five dozen other great writers, visit the web page for Weekend Writing Warriors.

Februrary 24 - Weekend Writing Warriors

News:

        My first novel, The Tourist Killer won an award for "Best Cover Design-Suspense Novel" at Venture Galleries. 

            Kudos to: Claudia Barry for her water color painting

                          David Ammons for his original art work

                          Jeff Bennington for his cover design.

The Set Up

        My contribution for this week comes from Chapter Eight of The Presidents Club, my serial novel on VentureGalleries.com.

        This scene includes a reference to a significant event from my first novel, The Tourist Killer.

        We join a discussion between billionaire-activist Julian Thibaut and his chief of security, Gerald Pointe.

        Thibaut is speaking...

The Six Sentences

        "Jane has done an excellent job of keeping the attempt on my life out of the news. Just a few people at the meeting knew about it. They were focused on Farrell’s heart attack. He got all the attention.”

Pointe commented, “He was dead when he hit the floor. The media said it was a heart attack, but rumors persist that he was shot.”

Thibaut stood and with no emotion, commented, “I wouldn’t know anything about that. Let’s get the calendar set and coordinate the schedules.”

What now?

         Are you a writer/author?

         Want more exposure for your work?

          Interested in checking out samples of over five dozen other great writers?

Then just click HERE and visit the home site of Weekend Writing Warriors.

10-14 Six Sentence Sunday

The Setup:

                In this scene from The Tourist Killer, a visiting Yank has a private meeting with his boss's personal assistant at his apartment in London. 

I call it a "Prelude to a Kiss."

She put her drink on the table between them with a slow deliberate motion, all the while maintaining eye contact. The steel blue eyes from the afternoon’s meeting somehow seemed a bit softer now. Griffin Challenger was about to experience a secret that every other member of the management team had previously enjoyed. A dangerous secret that they all knew could end their careers, and possibly their lives as well — if they broke silence. With a simultaneous motion, she slipped off her heels and with both hands reached up behind her head to undo the bun. Her hair fell well past her shoulders with a shake of her head.

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