tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post3467057266360170927..comments2023-11-18T03:15:19.102-06:00Comments on Straight From Hel: Getting Out of Your Comfort ZoneHelen Gingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-44493617910249953952010-03-26T21:35:37.314-05:002010-03-26T21:35:37.314-05:00Great tips :)Great tips :)Jenn McKayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08096584277185808602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-61747903587493417662010-03-26T16:27:14.666-05:002010-03-26T16:27:14.666-05:00Thank YOU Helen for the opportunity!Thank YOU Helen for the opportunity!L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-7201934451578841262010-03-26T08:41:36.924-05:002010-03-26T08:41:36.924-05:00Sometimes what you want is the "feel" of...Sometimes what you want is the "feel" of the region, not an exact duplication. If you put in too much dialect or idioms, you can lose the reader.<br /><br />Thank you so much, Diane. What a great post and discussion!Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-12224063895775330222010-03-26T05:53:30.992-05:002010-03-26T05:53:30.992-05:00Enid, getting the feel of an area's dialect re...Enid, getting the feel of an area's dialect requires some work - visiting the location, listening to or watching news broadcasts from that area, watching movies based out of that area.<br />My series takes place in the South, which is where I live, so I know how they talk. However, my characters are all educated, which negates some of the Southern slur, so I chose not to put very much in my books. Don't think I even used one 'ya'll!'L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-28666059604211388442010-03-26T03:01:12.423-05:002010-03-26T03:01:12.423-05:00Thanks for answering my question, ladies. It is go...Thanks for answering my question, ladies. It is good to see I am not alone Helen. LOLGlynis Peters https://www.blogger.com/profile/01175378917872403609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-15566716832943555322010-03-25T22:38:11.699-05:002010-03-25T22:38:11.699-05:00I find it most difficult to write dialogues with d...I find it most difficult to write dialogues with different tone and feel. Diane, do you have any suggestion on this?<br /><br /><a href="http://steamydarcy.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow"> Really Angelic</a>Enid Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12248877161249788607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-72277150592197683892010-03-25T22:36:24.162-05:002010-03-25T22:36:24.162-05:00Good suggestions. Stepping outside of our comfort...Good suggestions. Stepping outside of our comfort zone is where growth occurs, but it also requires lots of more background work to sound convincing.Slamdunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13087161268629251860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-72844476849715827112010-03-25T20:10:51.168-05:002010-03-25T20:10:51.168-05:00Great advice as always, Diane!
Stepping outside ...Great advice as always, Diane! <br /><br />Stepping outside the comfort zone is the best way to grow and to learn. You can't move forward without taking a risk!Jemi Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02214408467456320167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-1726737746257599662010-03-25T18:36:44.258-05:002010-03-25T18:36:44.258-05:00Diane, thanks for the wonderful information you sh...Diane, thanks for the wonderful information you shared today. <br /><br />And, you're right. There's horror in New Orleans. And maybe Houston. And Wetumpka, Alabama, and, okay, Nice, Florida, and... hmmm, I forgot Charleston....and ...Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-10668056107579274452010-03-25T18:24:39.116-05:002010-03-25T18:24:39.116-05:00Helen, there is horror in New Orleans...
Cold as ...Helen, there is horror in New Orleans...<br /><br />Cold as Heaven - I have no idea either!L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-26335520014232540932010-03-25T17:11:56.297-05:002010-03-25T17:11:56.297-05:00Very good advice. I can remember being told to sti...Very good advice. I can remember being told to stick to one genre and perfect the craft there, but I didn't think one would perfect craft by reading and writing only in one genre. So I read and write in a number of different ones, and find that they are all satisfying.<br />Thanks for the wonderful post.Maryannwriteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09479027709233807149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-52030435623039362872010-03-25T17:09:02.394-05:002010-03-25T17:09:02.394-05:00Good and interesting post. Moving out of the comfo...Good and interesting post. Moving out of the comfort zone is important to sustain development, for writers, scientists, dentists and ... bishops. I have done it a couple of times, and thought a little bit about it. When you move into something different, I think it's important to have some basic skills to keep you floating in the beginning. For an author, that's proably things like being a good story-teller. For a scientist, it's mathematical skills. For a bishop ... I have no idea >:)CA Heavenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07558100567878233142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-44562505728492967642010-03-25T16:47:15.623-05:002010-03-25T16:47:15.623-05:00Southern Horror?! This is the South, there is no h...Southern Horror?! This is the South, there is no horror. We're genteel and sweet and talk with a slow drawl. Horror? Okay, there might be some, but it'd be done with sweetness. "You said what about my fruit salad? Well, bless your heart, I'm gonna rip your tongue out with a melon baller."Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-11553072463991051442010-03-25T15:31:35.469-05:002010-03-25T15:31:35.469-05:00Great post, thanks for this, Hel and Diane!
Since...Great post, thanks for this, Hel and Diane!<br /><br />Since I'm working on my first novel, I don't feel too bad about writing within my comfort zone - Southern Horror, after all, is my bread and butter. I'm having a blast with it. But I have been pushing my boundaries and forcing myself to go farther and faster than I ever have before.B. Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10112783922833164491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-49512938145360865482010-03-25T14:22:20.940-05:002010-03-25T14:22:20.940-05:00If it wasn't out of your comfort zone, Kathy, ...If it wasn't out of your comfort zone, Kathy, it's completion probably wouldn't bring you near as much joy as it will because it's such a challenge.Helenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03171630819400384478noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-62583126024063139532010-03-25T12:48:03.728-05:002010-03-25T12:48:03.728-05:00I'm working on my first mystery about someone ...I'm working on my first mystery about someone very like myself, set in a place very like the one I grew up in, populated by characters very like people I knew. And the whole process is miles out of my comfort zone. Sigh. But onward and upward.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-55161097509630787072010-03-25T12:36:29.432-05:002010-03-25T12:36:29.432-05:00Thank you, everyone!
I've written both fictio...Thank you, everyone!<br /><br />I've written both fiction and non-fiction and will continue to stretch on both sides.<br /><br />Glynis, I never have a problem making it long enough! I had to do some slashing to bring several of my fiction books down to reasonable. The last few have clocked in at just the right length though.L. Diane Wolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06425864276166334896noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-24615834630770366672010-03-25T10:56:13.367-05:002010-03-25T10:56:13.367-05:00Glynis, sometimes I struggle and sometimes the wor...Glynis, sometimes I struggle and sometimes the words flow. Right now, I'm tearing apart a manuscript and cutting a lot of fat. Then, I'll have to go back and put in more meat to give it some muscle. (Perhaps I'd better go eat some breakfast.)<br /><br />Non-writers tend to say, oh, you write fiction; it must be fun to make up stuff. (Oh, if only they knew the research that goes into fiction and even when you make up things, it has to be close enough to reality that readers believe it's real.)Helen Gingerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09794759602654727110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-16006656677960222262010-03-25T10:54:36.841-05:002010-03-25T10:54:36.841-05:00Great interview and wonderful reminders of how we ...Great interview and wonderful reminders of how we can improve. Thanks, Helen, for posting!Talli Rolandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04780882465745107715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-83549214877231949022010-03-25T10:37:16.389-05:002010-03-25T10:37:16.389-05:00Thanks Helen for sharing Diane with us. It was a v...Thanks Helen for sharing Diane with us. It was a very interesting post. I am stretching myself by writing a novel. I have moved away from short, one page stories and poetry.<br /><br />I envy authors who state they have written thousands of words too many. I struggle to expand my ms.<br /><br />Diane and Helen, do have that problem? Or do you write so many it becomes another book?Glynis Peters https://www.blogger.com/profile/01175378917872403609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-65591086568812275872010-03-25T09:41:20.633-05:002010-03-25T09:41:20.633-05:00Great advice. I particularly like it broken down ...Great advice. I particularly like it broken down so I am THINKING about it... I am currently genre jumping and loving it (it is freeing, and I had never considered this angle as to why). I think maybe character is the next big stretchy piece I need to conquer... My MCs aren't like me physically, but thus far, they've processed somewhat like I do... I think I want to write a nut.Hart Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17599570189253229318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-41883295606380342952010-03-25T09:37:57.140-05:002010-03-25T09:37:57.140-05:00I'll probably move out of my comfort zone with...I'll probably move out of my comfort zone with my next book!Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-16279214587970376372010-03-25T09:20:47.326-05:002010-03-25T09:20:47.326-05:00Good writing is good growing...Good writing is good growing...Lizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16170701034715108039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-17509673132257962482010-03-25T09:19:14.943-05:002010-03-25T09:19:14.943-05:00Nicely put Diane! I've found so much of this t...Nicely put Diane! I've found so much of this to be so in my own writing. Like you said, we tend to start *safe*, or at least I did, with things/places you know.<br /><br />I've moved into something I love to read, paranormals. OMG, the research involved to get the facts straight. I moved the locale to a place I know well but haven't lived, so maps, and such are in my folders. I know animals well, habits and settings, but in this it's amazing how many times I have to double check facts--both medically and biology. <br /><br />It's stretching me as a writer, but you know what? depite the work involved in creating a fictional world that fits within the real world, it's exciting and fun. :-)~Sia McKye~https://www.blogger.com/profile/08470562659597351033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32918125.post-6973070905256517872010-03-25T08:56:35.444-05:002010-03-25T08:56:35.444-05:00Thanks Diane and Helen. Stepping outside the comfo...Thanks Diane and Helen. Stepping outside the comfort zone may be scary, but it is also exhilarating.Lauritahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03688820247531607677noreply@blogger.com