Blog is moving

After several years on blogspot - admittedly, not very actively - I have decided to move my blogs to my new website. The new strategy allows me to keep my blogs integrated with the rest of my online content.

Check it out on http://www.garycorbinwriting.com... and please, subscribe!

Going out on a limb

And now for something completely off-topic...

My picks for the 2010-2011 Bowl Games:

BOWL Teams My Pick

NEW MEXICO BOWL Brigham Young vs. UTEP* -- BYU

HUMANITARIAN BOWL Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State* -- Fresno State

NEW ORLEANS BOWL Ohio vs. Troy* -- Ohio

BEEF 'O' BRADY'S BOWL Southern Miss vs. Louisville* -- Southern Miss

MAACO BOWL LAS VEGAS No. 19 Utah vs. No. 10 Boise State* -- Boise State

SDCCU POINSETTIA BOWL Navy at San Diego State -- SD State

HAWAII BOWL No. 24 Hawaii vs. Tulsa* -- Hawaii

LITTLE CAESARS BOWL Florida International vs. Toledo* -- Toledo

INDEPENDENCE BOWL Air Force vs. Georgia Tech* -- Air Force

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL No. 22 West Virginia vs. North Carolina State* -- West Virginia

INSIGHT BOWL No. 12 Missouri vs. Iowa* -- Missouri

MILITARY BOWL East Carolina vs. Maryland* -- Maryland

TEXAS BOWL Illinois vs. Baylor* -- Illinois

ALAMO BOWL No. 14 Oklahoma State vs. Arizona* -- OK State

ARMED FORCES BOWL Army at Southern Methodist -- So Meth

PINSTRIPE BOWL Kansas State vs. Syracuse* -- KS State

MUSIC CITY BOWL North Carolina vs. Tennessee* -- Tennessee

HOLIDAY BOWL No. 18 Nebraska vs. Washington* -- Nebraska

MEINEKE CAR CARE BOWL South Florida vs. Clemson* -- Clemson

SUN BOWL Notre Dame vs. Miami (FL)* -- Miami

LIBERTY BOWL Georgia vs. No. 25 UCF* -- UCF

Chick-fil-A BOWL No. 20 South Carolina vs. No. 23 Florida State* -- South Carolina

TICKETCITY BOWL Northwestern vs. Texas Tech* -- Texas Tech

CAPITAL ONE BOWL No. 16 Alabama vs. No. 9 Michigan State* -- Alabama

OUTBACK BOWL Florida vs. Penn State* -- Florida

GATOR BOWL No. 21 Mississippi State vs. Michigan* -- Miss St

ROSE BOWL No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 TCU* -- TCU

FIESTA BOWL Connecticut vs. No. 7 Oklahoma* -- Oklahoma

ORANGE BOWL No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech* -- Stanford

SUGAR BOWL No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 8 Arkansas* -- Arkansas

GODADDY.com BOWL Middle Tennessee vs. Miami (OH)* -- Miami OH

COTTON BOWL No. 11 LSU vs. No. 17 Texas A&M* -- LSU

COMPASS BOWL Pittsburgh vs. Kentucky* -- Kentucky

FIGHT HUNGER BOWL No. 15 Nevada vs. Boston College* -- Nevada

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 1 Auburn* -- Oregon

Editing Tips for Self-publishers #13: Avoid Rhetorical Questions

Sometimes writers want their reader to know that their point of view character is unsure or undecided about something. In an attempt to avoid simply TELLING that to the reader, they try to SHOW it by stating the question directly to the reader—in effect, asking the reader a rhetorical question. Such as:

Example 13.a

“What did you have for dinner?” Ellen asked.

Sweat crawled down the back of John’s neck. Did she suspect him? Could she smell the liquor on his breath over his breath mints?

Unfortunately, this strategy solves the initial problem by creating a different one. The reader’s natural reaction when confronted with a question is to answer it. That takes the reader out of the story and gives the reader something else to think about. A strong enough question could even distract the reader to the point of not reading, at least for a while—something no writer wants. A weak question, by contrast, is simply that—weak. That’s even worse.

A better strategy is to SHOW the reader the character’s ambivalence using declarative statements that reveal the character’s attitude—fear, indecision, confusion, etc. For example:

Example 13.b

“What did you have for dinner?” Ellen asked.

Sweat crawled down the back of John’s neck. Damn, she must suspect something. He turned away and cupped his hand over his mouth, forcing a cough. Sweet minty aromas invaded his nose. He couldn’t smell alcohol, but one can never detect one’s own.

Download all 13 tips here!