Betty's Tips 3/13

Hello again, dear readers,

Goodness gracious! My Muse is as dormant as my garden these days. Thank goodness I found 5 Ways to Generate Story Ideas to help me get started on a new short story. It wasn't long before I came up with the idea of having the characters of my novel, Dreams of the Salad Bar, go to a historical costume ball. But I needed ideas of how they should dress.

So where to turn? Why the internet, of course! After all, I want to be able to describe them all perfectly so my readers will feel like they're really there!

My muse tells me that the tomato wants to go as a Victorian lady. I found some great examples of Victorian garb atVictorian Choice and at Originals by Kay. When I tried to come up with gentlemen's clothing for the rhubarb, though, I thought I would try to go with a Wild West theme. For that I went to Historical Emporium that also gave me other mid-19th century ideas, including Steampunk. That got me going, and I found more Steampunk options at Steampunk Threads. But what if my radishes want to go a little further back in time? I found some medieval options for them at Armstreet. They have everything from armor to clothing for a true Renaissance man! Such lovely details in dress--I'll have lots of fun putting them into words.

Now that I have the costumes, how will I make my characters as realistic as their clothing? Fortunately, Writers Digest helps us with How to Write a Character from Start to Finish. Even in short form, our characters need to grow--much like my vegetables.

Before I get too carried away, though, I have to make sure I'm not guilty of Writing Mistakes You're Probably Making. Ooops. Looks like maybe I am. So I was happy to review the advice to writers from F. Scott Fitzgeraldand Ernest Hemingway.

No matter how good my Muse, I still need to keep the reader engaged, so I paid particular attention to the 4 Ways to Make Your Writing Pop. That, along with Raising the Stakes in the First 50 Pages will really help with that task. With the advice on the Fiction Writing Structure Chart, my inspiration can certainly become a story.

Then with a Short Course in Line Editing and pointers from Scott's Written Words, I should have something ready to submit by the time spring rolls around.

Oooh! I can't wait for spring!

Until then, happy writing, everyone!

Betty Wryte-Goode

Betty Wryte-Goode is a writer, mother, and wife who lives in the Lehigh Valley of eastern Pennsylvania. Her passions include writing, reading, shopping, gardening, and exploring the internet. Betty is always looking for writing tips, so if you have any you would like to share, please send them to her through our Submissions/Contacts page.