Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A Cook

Would You Push The Red Button?

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by Kimberly A. Cook           (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

Seems I am one of the three people on the planet who did not see this YouTube video last year. A co-worker at the day job sent it to me and I love it. Besides all the craziness, what really struck me is this is exactly what it’s like inside my brain!

I see my book scenes as movies. This is what is going on while I am trying to work at the day job, talk to family, clean up hairballs and chat with friends. All these MOVIES are going on in my head. It gets really iffy when different books/movies are all up in my mind at the same time.

http://youtu.be/316AzLYfAzw

Case in point. Sunday I was writing my fiction book and I was deep inside a cave in Afghanistan trying not to be caught by the bad guys. Somebody knocked on my window. I jumped a mile. Besides having a trained startle response from my military and newspaper reporter days, my home office is on the second floor.

Turns out it was Spec Ops Cat scratching an itch while lying on the windowsill in the sun, but I didn’t know that when I was in the cave in Afghanistan. Nice to know the old ticker still works and I can get the fiction scared right out of me. Took me awhile to get back to the cave. Pretty sure Spec Ops Cat did it on purpose.

All types of creatives have big red buttons in our brains and whether we are writing, cooking, building dog houses or making music, inspiration can hit at the oddest times. Many of our red buttons are even self starters and we don’t even need to push them.

Have you ever been startled and scared yourself? If you saw this box in the square, would you push the red button?

Show Me The Writing!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                   (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

A primary rule for all writers is to show, not tell. This is harder than it sounds. We can’t tell readers about a scene, as storytellers we have to figure out how to show them what we mean. An amazing example of showing without telling is the last scene in the current movie, The Descendants.

Finally saw it last weekend. Great film. Bring tissues! Besides the humor and tears, I felt the last scene is masterful in the art of showing, not telling. Have to buy it on DVD so I can watch it over and over to see what other “shows” I might have missed. Layering characters, plots and turning points is an art form in writing and screenwriting.  It’s so nice to find films and books which do it well.

http://youtu.be/CWHNXJ1K4yA

One author suggested taking screenwriting classes to learn how to punch up fiction dialogue. My screenwriting classes gave me a bonus when the three act structure provided me with the perfect way to plot fiction books.  Overlaying the screenwriting teachings from Syd Field’s The Screenwriter’s Workbook (page 47) with the Hero’s Journey work from Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, third edition (page 8), I was set. We know when a tool clicks for us. 

Trial and error is how we improve our craft and grow as writers. Writing is the other way. We have to actually do it. Amazing how some of us still try to avoid that part at times, myself included. But then we happen to see a movie or read a book which impacts us with excellent craft. The work gives us fuel for the fire in our muse to get our stories right, to touch reader’s hearts.

What book or movie has influenced you?

Off To A Clean Start!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                      (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

The first Quirky Friday of 2012. When we begin a new year, we want to make sure we are clean and ready to hop into the future. That is exactly the topic of this video. I had no idea all the amazing things rabbits were doing on YouTube, but this smart bunny seems to have staff. Reminds me of getting scrubbed down in a public bath house in Istanbul, but this little guy is getting the tender treatment instead. Have a very Happy Quirky Friday!