Please give a warm welcome to author, Dannika Dark, who is joining us on tour for her book, Impulse!
Using the right words & phrases
While some authors write poetry, others write
realism. How do you know when the word you’ve written is the right one?
“You have a nice ass,” might be edited by a
proofreader or beta to: “You have a nice butt.”
If my character is hardcore… scratch that.
Characters don’t have to be hardcore to use the word ass. That’s how men speak.
(Not to stereotype all men as there are always the exceptions). I don’t usually
put a filter on my mouth unless I’m in the workplace, church, or with my
family. And even then, it depends on which side of the family.
So you stare at your blinking cursor, wondering
if you should change ass to butt. Why is it so easy to write 130,000
words, and yet here you are, dwelling on one word that describes your fanny?
Scratch fanny, because in some countries, that
means something totally different.
The bottom line (no pun intended) is that you
should be true to your characters, and your narrative voice. If you censor
yourself where it doesn’t need to be censored, readers will notice. I tend to
notice as a reader when an author is not comfortable with using nipples or
breasts, and instead describes them as… puppies. Although, that’s a great way
to insert humor in an otherwise steamy scene. If it was intended.
Phrases can be difficult, because we’re talking
about slang. If it’s not common, readers will say, “I don’t buy it. Nobody I
know talks like that.”
My mother is 65 years old, and now and again,
says things that make me spit out my soda. “Feel me?” and “True that?” This is
the same woman who would bake me cookies when I came home from school. Maybe
it’s a phase, but sometimes slang is regional, sometimes it’s more specific to
that person. As long as it’s true to that character, that’s all that matters.
Try not to worry about whether Eloise in Minnesota has ever used the term,
“zactly.” Just be consistent in the story, and try not to overuse. It’s also
worth noting you should err on the side of caution when using modern popular
slang that will date your story.
Groovy.
Almost one year ago, a Mage attacked Silver and changed the course of her destiny. Immortals exist, and now she is one of them.
Within the dark and supernatural city of Cognito, Silver is living under the watchful eye of her Ghuardian and dating her mortal enemy. Neither man can protect her from a dark secret, one buried within the content of a box. As rival factions struggle to gain control, she finds herself in the middle of a centuries –old feud that threatens to drive a wedge between her and Logan Cross, the man who intends to seduce her.
In an explosive turn of events, one life is saved and another is forever altered. Can Silver trust those around her, or are they hiding a dark secret of their own?
Amazon - Barnes & Noble
Author’s Bio:
Author’s Bio:
Down in Texas, there's a woman who drinks copious amounts of vitamin water placed precariously close to her laptop. Yeah, I know. I've got a drinking problem. Hi, I'm Danni.
When I'm not writing (which is all the time), I'm listening to obscure music, watching movies, reading, discovering new ways to humiliate myself bowling, and burning up my laptop battery on the internet. I live with a cat who thinks she is a dog, or a goat (she eats plastic, so I'm not sure which).
Some people count sheep when they have insomnia. Since I was little, I used to make up stories in my head in a futile attempt to bore myself to sleep. The problem was, I'd get so wrapped up in my "head stories" that I would continue them through the following nights, changing it up each time to make it more exciting. Eventually, I started writing my ideas down more and more, creating short stories which evolved into poetry.
Lots and lots of poetry. It's almost embarrassing that I have an entire box loaded with spiral notebooks filled with furious, heartfelt, and blushing words. Apparently, I had a lot to say.
Another one of my hobbies is digital art. I designed all my book covers.
I am finally doing what I have always wanted to: giving my characters a pulse through publishing. I write adult urban fantasy romance, but I don't like labels. I let the story tell itself, and color outside the lines. I am not a YA author, but I think it’s pretty great that there are so many books available to teens in Urban Fantasy and Paranormal. These are the future readers!
The work that goes behind self publishing is hard work, I won't lie. On top of my regular day job: I write, edit, format, create cover art, and market.
But it's what I love to do, and someday, I'm going to be doing this full time.
Author Links: Website/Blog - Twitter - FB Author Page - Goodreads
~*TOUR-WIDE GIVING AWAY*~
• 1 Box Set of The Mageri Series (Sterling, Twist, & Impulse)
• Book Cover Cards (4x6) (Sterling & Twist)
• 1 Set of Key chains
• 1 Car Charm
• 1 Surprise Gift from Justus himself.
Follow the tour for more chances to win!
Monday, November 12, 2012 - Blog Launch:
Monday, November 12, 2012 - Blog Launch:
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TBD
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TBD
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TBD
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012 - Blog
Tour Closing -
I can imagine that for an author can be difficult to know which are the right words/phrases to use and being (not) comfortable using words like ass, nipples, breasts,...to be honest as a reader I prefer to read these kind of words than for example puppies. It's not real (and like you said that's how men speak).
ReplyDeleteI guess being a writer can be very difficult...
Anyway great post and thank you for hosting!! :D
Love this, =)
ReplyDeleteI find myself clueless sometimes, being from Sweden and not having the same day to day experience as everyone else. Some expressions just don´t mean anything to me. And my own ones doesn´t make sense to you, either, i bet LOL Like "get stuck with the beard in the mailbox" ? =D
best wishes, Linda xo
would love to win & read! PICK ME!!
ReplyDeleteFirst it's an awesome giveaway and thank you for the chance to win! Second, the premise is intriguing. It got me worried though that the main protagonsit might be TSTL,... what with her dating the enemy...
ReplyDeletesounds awesome! i didn't realize there was a series!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Fun post and can't wait to read this series-the excerpt sounds great :-)
ReplyDelete