Writers in the Storm

by Jenny Hansen

As a software trainer, I come in contact with a wide variety of people and use a broad range of software applications. It's what I do. I think software is fun.

This techie zeal of mine makes some of my writing pals want to shoot me at times but it ends up helping all of you get posts about programs you might not have had time to explore yet.

In response to my title question of whether ANY writer can rock LinkedIn, the answer is: "You betcha!"

Getting started on LinkedIn

1. Go to http://www.linkedin.com/
2. Choose your LinkedIn account type

Note: Anyone can sign up for a free Basic LinkedIn account. Free accounts allow you to invite available connections, manage your own profile, join Groups and sign up for LinkedIn events. Free accounts do not allow you to send InMails (which let you send mail to anyone whether you are connected or not), see all LinkedIn contacts or organize your contacts beyond a basic name listing.

3. Add connections

You can allow LinkedIn to check your existing address books for your current email addresses or enter your contacts manually. It is easiest to allow LinkedIn to comb through your current address books for your various email applications. You will get a list of the people you know who are already using LinkedIn and can invite them to connect with you.

Note: If you don’t want to do this when you begin, you can return here later. This is the Import Contacts option that is located inside the People You May Know in the upper right corner of your LinkedIn home page.

What do you do once you’re connected?

• Listen
  
  Listening in LinkedIn means watching the Status Updates that show on your home page each day and commenting on them. Particularly if you are in the market for an editor, agent, or new job, these updates are a treasure trove of conversation openers.
• Read
  
  In LinkedIn, there is an application to discuss and recommend what you are reading. When you use this application, it will update your home page. People will comment, and you can do the same on the books they recommend. Books are easy to bond over, as evidenced by Fae Rowen's post last week.
• Browse
  
  Be sure to look around in LinkedIn. You’ll come across the greatest stuff just poking around. Explore the LinkedIn toolbar at the top of the page to see your Connections, Update your profile, or look for Jobs. Incidentally, all the recruiters I know say they find the best talent through LinkedIn. This is where I found my current job too.
• Find Groups that have other people with the same interests as you.
  
  Some people take an opposite track and join Groups with members that have knowledge they WANT. On the right hand side of the LinkedIn toolbar, there is a search that defaults to “People.” Hit the drop-down and choose Groups. Type in your interest, whether it is writing, parenting or gardening. Trust me, you will find cool groups.

Other helpful tips:

• All the usual rules of social media apply – excessive marketing, stalking and lying are not appropriate. (Yes, I know it’s your resume – you STILL have to be honest.)
• You do not have to be introduced to anyone you are in a Group with.
  
  That means that you can request connection with anyone in any group you belong to. Groups offer the perfect chance to go where your target audience is and rub elbows with them. I’ve met amazing people this way.
• Browse the People You May Know section on the right side of your screen every few weeks. New people show up in there based on things like who has joined LinkedIn or which searches you’ve run. I nearly always find someone I’d been wishing to have as a connection.

Although I've done posts on LinkedIn, I didn't really get the insider track on what was on the minds of many writers until I did a LinkedIn for Writers webinar. These writers had a TON of questions I might not hear from someone in the traditional job market - here's the four that really stood out to me:

1. I’m not in the professional world right now because I took time off to pursue writing. How can I have a good LinkedIn profile if I’m not working?
2. How do I add writing to my profile? It’s not my day job, it’s more like my secret life.
3. I’ve been a stay-at-home parent for the last (fill in the blank) years. What do I put on my bio if I’m not in the workforce?
4. I’m not published. How do you make a writer career profile if you’re not published?

On a training level, these questions made me happy because there are really wonderful answers to each one. On a writing level, these questions made me a little bit sad because the one word they have in common is “not.”

Not working, not my day job, not in the workforce, not published…

Ladies and gentleman, let me offer my humble opinion here. [TANGENT ALERT]

Not in the workforce? Are you kidding me?? Pursuing a career in writing is a HELL of a lot of work.

And don’t even get me started on the amount of daily energy required to stay home with your kids. I can’t decide whether to build a shrine to those of you who do it every day or call you all lunatics.

As a part-time stay-at-home parent, I’ve become convinced that I’d rather strap myself to a hill of fire ants than do it full time. The amount of work, patience and mental fortitude required is mind-boggling.

It takes some special mojo to do the stay-at-home thing with grace and good humor. As much as I love my daughter, it is EASIER (for me) to go work at a day job 2-3 days a week than to have responsibility 24 hours a day for helping her grow from a baby into a full-fledged little person.

OK, the rant is over. *Deep breath* Back to the fantastic questions.

1. How can I have a good LinkedIn profile if I’m not working?

• The simple answer is – you are working. You’re just not taking credit for it or, potentially, receiving a paycheck for it.
• I can guarantee that everyone reads this post does something that's either (a) related to writing or (b) something they could be paid for in a perfect world or a better economy.
• I’m not telling you to lie but if you are the go-to person at your church for resume writing, you are running a volunteer resume-writing business. Your skills are there and they should be reported on your LinkedIn profile. Those 100 people at church wouldn’t have been coming to you if you sucked at it.
• Plus, everyone who’s looking for a job knows that job-hunting is a full-time process in itself. Change your profile experience to “HR Professional” or “Writing Professional” (like everyone else looking for a job) and list the things you are doing in the meantime.

2. How do I add writing to my profile if I work a different day job?

• Join writing groups on LinkedIn that appeal to you and participate in them.
• Start a blog and list your blog in your professional experience. If nothing else, this will build traffic to your blog from the people you know who want to see what their business associate is up to. I warn you, it hits most people's fear buttons to mix their "day job" life with their writing life. Kristen Lamb’s take on this made me stop and think.

Note: If you want to, you can create a separate LinkedIn identity – I’ve been wrestling with this for a long time myself because my professional experience on LinkedIn is under my married name and has been years in the making.

It is a personal choice how you do this, but don’t HIDE your writing. Celebrate it. Since I started mentioning my writing, it has been amazing to me how much I get called on to do it at work. (Hint: this means I now get PAID to write…just sayin’.)

3. What do I put on my bio if I’m not in the traditional workforce (i.e. staying home w/kids)?

• If you are a stay-at-home parent, I know you are volunteering somewhere. Usually, this isn’t even because you asked to. Many (misguided) people assume you have TONS of time on your hands because you *finger quotes* don’t work. They try to talk you into doing things for them. D.A. Watt did a great blog on this a while back. List your volunteer experience proudly on your LinkedIn profile.
• As with the example I mentioned above about the church resume-writer, you are fantastic at something (like writing!) and you need to spend some paid time doing that thing. Trust me, even if you are typing college papers or editing business brochures, you will take yourself more seriously if you charge for it. Others will too.

4. How do you make a writer career profile if you’re not published?

• As I said above, list your blog.
• List any contests you’ve won in your Honors and Awards
• List any writing chapters you belong to.
• Put Freelance Writer on your experience profile and list your freelance credits.
• Volunteer somewhere related to writing (with a cool title, of course) and list that too. Yes, you’re using them for the cool title, but the organization is getting work out of you while you fill that hole in your resume.

All of you who are striving toward a goal, remember the journey deserves to be commemorated too. To paraphrase another post by Kristen Lamb:

During the long trip across the desert, you don’t need to look further ahead than the next landmark. Then the next, then the next. Eventually, you will be on the other side of that desert.

Must-read Mash-up of LinkedIn Tips:

• Use LinkedIn Effectively by social media guru Chris Brogan
• Write Your LinkedIn Profile For Your Future– also by Chris Brogan (pay particular attention to his “next steps” at the end)
• Back To Work Tips for Stay At Home Moms– I agree with all of this!
• A LinkedIn Success Story about Getting Back Into The Workforce
• LinkedIn Directory of Writers by State (yep, you heard me!). This is a great place to go look for samples of other writers’ profiles.
• The Freelance Writer’s Guide to LinkedIn– the Urban Muse
• 10 Ways Writers Can Use LinkedIn To Find Freelance Gigs

Does this give you any new ideas about how to use LinkedIn? For those of you pursuing this crazy writing dream, what are your biggest fears? Did anything we discussed here help alleviate those fears?

Note: For more on "fear," click here to go to our "Fear Series."

Thanks for stopping by...Happy Monday!
Jenny

By Sharla Rae

Have you ever people-watched and tried to guess by facial expressions and body movements what people are feeling or thinking?

This non-verbal communication of emotion, state of mind or state of physical well-being is known as body language.

Body Language is one of the most artistic and useful tools in the writing craft.

The art:

Writers paint word visuals of a character’s movements in the reader’s mind and this art  is crucial in making our characters look and act like real people rather than stick characters moving around on the page.

The tools:

I demonstrated how to use body language as a tool to eliminate clunky saidisms in my blog, “Dialogue Tags: How To Kill Some Of The Little Buggers,– showing who’s speaking rather than telling.

Body language may also be used to set the tone or atmosphere in a scene. Example: A character tips his hat low, ducks his chin into his coat collar and cowers in the shadows. His body language suggests a tone/atmosphere of mystery.

Body language includes facial expressions. There are approximately 90 muscles in the face used to show emotion. The tilt of the head, eye contact or lack of it, the set of eyebrows, forehead lines and lips all tell a tale.

One of my fav TV series is Lie To Me. It’s a detective show based on the science of facial expression. It uses Paul Ekman’s research on micro-expressions and it’s fascinating. I’m told the series has been canceled but you can view episodes on Hulu.com/

The key to great body language is simple. Choose the “right” descriptive or action verbs. 

Joe walked/ran across the street. Shows a stick character moving from point A to point B

OR:  Joe’s eyes darted, paused then shifted again before he scurried across the street.

Scared spitless, she dropped her keys and tried several times before she finally unlocked the door. TELLING!

OR:  The keys jangled and she dropped them twice, before jiggling the right one into the lock.  SHOWS the woman's anxiety

The same verb may show two entirely different emotions depending on the context of the scene.

Example: The teacher hoverednearby . . .  Was the teacher hovering because she thought a student might cheat? Or was she perhaps worried the class bully would try to harm another child?

Example:  . . . snapped a sharp salute. This could mean the exact opposite of what it appears on the surface.  Does it mean respect or is it a sarcastic nonverbal comeback? Either meaning works depending on the content.

Example:  . . . crossed his arms over his chest . . . This could mean waiting impatiently, anger held at bay, putting up a personal barrier or the person is content and relaxed. Again it would depend on the context.

A word of caution: Too much body language is as bad, if not worse than none at all. If arms, legs and heads are moving all over the place, it’s distracting and just plain silly.

Below, is a list of body language phrases.

I’ve included a very comprehensive list, organized by the type of body movement, hand and arm movements, facial expressions etc. In some cases, a phrase fits more than one heading, so it may appear twice. Possible emotions are given after each BL phrase unless the emotion is indicated within the phrase. (They are underlined for emphasis, not due to a hyperlink.)

Note: I’ve included a few body postures and body conditions as they are non-verbal testimony to the character’s physical condition.

Have fun and generate your own ideas. :-)

Eyes, Brows and Forehead 

arched a sly brow:  sly, haughty
blinked owlishly:  just waking, focusing, needs glasses
brows bumped together in a scowl:  worried, disapproving, irritated
brows knitted in a frown: worried, disapproval, thoughtful
bug-eyed:  surprised, fear, horror
cocky wink and confident smile:  over confidence, arrogant, good humor, sexy humor
eyes burned with hatred: besides hatred this might suggest maniacal feelings
eyes flashed: fury, defiance, lust, promise, seduction
eyes rolled skyward: disbelief, distrust, humor
forehead puckered:  thoughtful, worried, irritation
frustration crinkled her eyes
gaze dipped to her décolletage: sexual interest, attraction, lust
gimlet-eyed/narrowed eyes: irritation, thoughtful, mean, angry
gleam of deviltry:  humor, conniving, cunning
kept eye contact but her gaze became glazed: pretending interest where there is none/bordom
narrowed to crinkled slits:  angry, distrust
nystagmic eyes missed nothing (constantly shifting eyes):  Shifty
pupils dilated:  interested, attraction to opposite sex, fear
raked her with freezing contempt
slammed his eyes shut:  stunned, furious, pain
squinted in a furtive manner:  fearful, sneaky
stared with cow eyes:  surprised, disbelief, hopeful, lovestruck
subtle wink:  sexy, humor/sharing a joke, sarcasm
unrelenting stare: distrust, demanding, high interest, unyielding

Place To Place, Stationary Or Posture

ambled away:  relaxed, lazy
barged ahead:  rude, hurried
battled his way through the melee:  desperate, anger, alarm
cruised into the diner:  easy-going, feeling dapper, confident
dawdled alongside the road:  lazy, deliberate delay for motives, unhurried, relaxed
dragged his blanket in the dirt:   sadness/depressed, weary
edged closer to him:  sneaky, seeking comfort, seeking protection, seeking an audience
he stood straighter and straightened his tie:  sudden interest, sexual attraction
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig: demonstrates physical condition - he has to pee
hips rolled and undulated:  sexy walk, exaggerating for sex appeal
hovered over them with malice/like a threatening storm: here it’s malice, but one may hover for many reasons.
hunched over to look shorter:  appear inconspicuous, ashamed of actions, ashamed of height
leaped into action feet hammering the marbled floor:  eager, fear, joyous
long-legged strides:  hurried, impatient
lumbered across:  heavy steps of a big man in a hurry
minced her way up to him: timid, sneaky, insecure, dainty or pretense at dainty
paced/prowled the halls:  worried, worried impatience, impatient, diligently seeking pivoted on his heel and took off:  mistaken and changes direction, following orders, hurried, abrupt change of mind, angry retreat
plodded down the road:  unhurried, burdened, reluctant
practiced sensual stroll:  sexy, showing off
rammed her bare foot into her jeans: angry, rushed
rocked back and forth on his heels: thoughtful, impatiently waiting
sagged against the wall:  exhausted, disappointment
sallied forth:  confident, determined
sashayed her cute little fanny:  confident, determined, angered and determined
shrank into the angry crowd:  fear, insecure, seeking to elude
sketched a brief bow and assumed a regal pose: confident, mocking, snooty, arrogant skidded to an abrupt halt: change of heart, fear, surprise, shock
skulked on the edges of the crowd: sneaky, ashamed, timid
slithered through the door:  sneaky, evil, bad intentions
stormed toward her, pulling up short when: anger with a sudden surprise
swaggered into the class room:  over confident, proud, arrogant, conceited
tall erect posture:  confidence, military bearing
toe tapped a staccato rhythm:  impatience, irritation
tottered/staggered unsteadily then keeled over:  drunk, drugged, aged, ill
waltzed across the floor:  happy, blissful, exuberant, conceited, arrogant

Head Movement

cocked his head:  curiosity, smart-alecky, wondering, thoughtful
cocked his head left and rolled his eyes to right corner of the ceiling:  introspection
droop of his head: depressed, downcast, hiding true feelings
nodded vigorously: eager
tilted her head to one side while listening:  extreme interest, possibly sexual interest

Mouth And Jaw

a lackluster smile:  feigning cheerfulness
cigarette hung immobile in mouth: shock, lazy, uncaring, relaxed casualness
clinched his jaw at the sight:  angered, worried, surprised
curled her lips with icy contempt
expelled her breath in a whose:  relief, disappointment
gagged at the smell: disgust, distaste
gapped mouth stare:  surprised, shock, disbelief
gritted his teeth:  anger, irritation, holding back opinion
inhaled a sharp breath:  surprise, shock, fear, horror
licked her lips:  nervous, sexual attraction
lips primed: affronted, upset, insulted
lips pursed for a juicy kiss
lips pursed like she’d been chewing a lemon rind: dislike, angry, irritated, sarcasm
lips screwed into: irritation, anger, grimace, scorn
lips set in a grim line: sorrow, worried, fear of the worst
pursed her lips:  perturbed, waiting for a kiss
scarfed down the last biscuit:  physical hunger, greed
slack-mouthed:  total shock, disbelief
slow and sexy smile:  attraction, seductive, coy
smacked his lips: anticipation
smile congealed then melted into horror
smile dangled on the corner of his lips: cocky, sexy
smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder:  conceit, sarcasm, over confident
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: sarcasm, conceit
spewed water and spit: shock
stuck out her tongue: humor, sarcasm, teasing, childish
toothy smile:  eagerness, hopeful
wary smile surfaced on her lips

Nose

nose wrinkled in distaste/at the aroma
nostrils flared:  anger, sexual attraction
nose in the air:  snooty, haughty

Face in General

crimson with fury
handed it over shame-faced
jutted his chin: confident, anger, forceful
managed a deadpan expression:  expressionless
muscles in her face tightened:  unsmiling, concealing emotions, anger, worried
rested his chin in his palm and looked thoughtful
rubbed a hand over his dark stubble:  thoughtful, ashamed of his appearance
screwed up her face:  anger, smiling, ready to cry, could almost be any emotion
sneered and flicked lint off his suit: conceit, derision, scorn

Arm and Hand

a vicious yank
arm curled around her waist, tugging her next to him:  possessive, pride, protective
bit her lip and glanced away:  shy, ashamed, insecure
brandished his fist:  anger, threatening, ready to fight, confident, show of pride
clamped his fingers into tender flesh:  anger, protective, wants to inflict pain
clenched his dirty little fists: stubborn, angry
clapped her hands on her hips, arms crooked like sugar bowel handles:  anger, demanding, disbelief
constantly twirled her hair and tucked it behind her ear:  attracted to the opposite sex, shy crossed his arms over his chest: waiting, impatient, putting a barrier
crushed the paper in his fist:  anger, surrender, discard
dived into the food: hunger, eager, greedy
doffed his hat:  polite gesture, mocking, teasing
doodled on the phone pad and tapped the air with her foot:  bored, inattention, introspection
drummed her fingers on the desk:  impatient, frustrated, bored
fanned her heated face with her hands: physically hot, embarrassed, indicating attraction
fiddled with his keys: nervous, bored
firm, palm to palm hand shake:  confident, honest
flipped him the bird: sarcastic discard
forked his fingers through his hair for the third time:  disquiet/consternation, worry, thoughtful
handed it over shame-faced:  guilt, shame
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig:  physical need to relieve himself
limp hand shake:  lack of confidence, lack of enthusiasm
propped his elbow on his knee: relaxed, thoughtful
punched her pillow:  restless, can’t sleep, angry
rested his chin in his palm:  thoughful, worried
scratched his hairy belly and yawned:  indolent, bored, lazy, relaxed, just waking
shoulders lifted in a shrug:  doubtful, careless discard
slapped his face in front of God and country:  enraged, affronted/insulted
snapped a sharp salute:  respect, sarcastic gesture meaning the opposite of respect
snapped his fingers, expecting service:  arrogant, lack of respect, self-centered
sneered and flicked lint off his suit
spread her arms wide: welcoming,  joy, love
stabbed at the food: anger, hunger, determined
stood straighter and smoothed his tie:  sudden interest, possible sexual interest
stuffed his hands in his pockets: self-conscious, throwing up a barrier
sweaty handshake:  nervous, fearful
touched his arm several times while explaining:  sign of attraction, flattery, possessive
wide sweep of his arms:  welcoming, all inclusive gesture, horror

Sitting or Rising

collapsed in a stupor:  exhausted, drunk, drugged, disbelief
enthroned himself at the desk:  conceit, pronouncing or taking ownership
exploded out of the chair:  shock, eager, anger, supreme joy
roosted on the porch rail like a cock on a hen house roof:  claiming ownership, conceit, content
sat, squaring an ankle over one knee:  relaxed and open
slouched/wilted in a chair and paid languid attention to:  drowsy, lazy, depressed, disinterest, sad, totally relaxed, disrespectful
squirmed in his chair: ill at ease, nervous, needs the bathroom

Recline

flung himself into the bed: sad, depressed, exhausted, happy
prostrated himself: surrender, desperate, miserable, powerless, obsequious, fawning, flattering
punched her pillow:  can’t sleep, anger, frustrated
threw himself on the floor kicking and screaming: tantrum

Entire body and General

body stiffened at the remark:  offended, anger, alerted
body swayed to music:  dreamy, fond memories, enjoys the music
bounced in the car seat, pointing:  excitement, fear, eager
cowered behind his brother:  fear, shyness, coward, desperate
curled into a ball:  sorrow, fear, sleepy, defensive
heart galloping:  anxiety, joy, eager
held his crotch and danced a frantic jig
humped over his cane, each step shaking and careful: pain, aged
inhaled a deep breath and blew out slowly: buying time to find words/thoughtful, reconciled
quick and jerky like rusty cogs on a wheel:  unsure of actions, self-conscious, tense, edgy
rocked back and forth on his heels:  impatient, cocky, gleeful
manhandled the woman into a corner:  bully, anger
slumped shoulders: defeat, depressed, sad, surrender
stiff-backed:  priggish, haughty, affronted
stood straighter and straightened his tie:  sexual interest, wants to make an impression
stooped and bent: aged, arthritic, in pain
stretched extravagantly and yawned:  tired, bored, unconcerned
sweating uncontrollably: nervous, fear, guilt
tall erect posture:  confidence, military bearing
was panting now at:  afraid, exhausted, out of breath, sexual excitement

Helpful web links and books:

I didn’t have much luck with web sites on Body Language as most dwelled on the body language between men & women instead of the  entire spectrum of emotions. The books are more detailed and interesting.

• Data Face: wonderful and very interesting site that explains facial expressions and how to read them.
• Reading Facial Expressions: This site is mostly about the science and psychology of reading faces.
• List of facial Expressions: Shows the facial expression and explains them
• How to Read A Person Like A Book: This is a great book that explains body language better than most of the web sites I found.
• The Naked Face: by Sydney Sheldon: Again this book is better than anything I found on the Internet.
• Paul Ekman’s books (mentioned above) look extremely interesting. Check out his website and his books listed below.

What The Face Reveals
Emotions Revealed, Second Edition
Unmasking The Face: A Guide To Recognizing Emotions From Facial Expressions

If you know of a great web site on body language, please share! What body language gives you the most trouble in your writing?

by Fae Rowen

Long, long ago Laura Drake wrote about the ten (or so) books she would want for "entertainment purposes" on a deserted island. You can read it here. I loved the idea of trying to narrow my selection to only ten books, but it's taken me this long to make the final cuts, since I'm not going with Laura's "anything by" an author spot on the list.  Come on now, that adds lots of books in there, even though I have some favorite authors and every book they write is a keeper.

I'm not a re-reader of my favorite books, although in the last few years I have revisited some of the favored books of my youth.  They are still favorite books, however they were much different than I remembered them.  Since the books hadn't changed--well, maybe a bit of dust (I'm not Suzy Homemaker)--I must have changed.

Anyway, here are the books in my steamer trunk that would keep me entertained and thinking if I were marooned alone and had free time to enjoy a good read:

• Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon  (This is the only book Laura and I would both want.)
• Chapterhouse Dune, by Frank Herbert ( A stunning capstone for the Dune series)
• Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein (The first science fiction book I ever read.)
• Digital Fortress, by Dan Brown (Computers, mathematics, treachery--need I say more?)
• Mistress, by Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz) (Actually, this would be my "anything she writes" author. This book was my introduction to regency romance.)
• Warrior's Woman, by Johanna Lindsey (This is the book that got me to transition from sci fi to romance.)
• Dorsai!, by Gordon Dickson (If I were allowed a second "anything written by" author, it would be Gordon Dickson.  His books really helped me deal with the- shall we be kind and say 'troublesome'-people in my life.)
• Foundation, by Isaac Asimov (One of the few books I've read more than twice)
• Downbelow Station, by C.J. Cherryh (The most-often-read book on my shelves)
• River God, by Wilbur Smith (You-are-there action and a slice of history of Ancient Egypt)

I'm really sorry that my Templar books didn't make the cut, but if I'm lucky enough to be on the island with Laura and she'll let me borrow Outlander, then I would bring Make the Most of Your Time on Earth, A Rough Guide to the World with 1000 Ultimate Travel Experiences so I could plan my next trip!

My list includes a little past and present--and a lot of future,  like my life and my writing.  I just had an interesting thought--What if I used my time to re-read my favorite craft books and wrote? Oh, I already gave you that list a few months back. I guess I need a larger trunk!

Are any of my books on your list?  What would entertain you and fire your imagination as you wait for that rescue helicopter--or luxury cruise ship?