Everyone Wants to be an Author

Hi, all my friends and followers. How is your writing coming? Have you decided on a title yet? I know, titles are not my thing either. "Bridgetown High" was a lucky decision. If you have a title, or at least a working title, please send it in the "Comments" below. I think others here may like seeing what you are working on.


When I say, "working title," it doesn't have to be what you'll eventually end up calling your novel. I think I must have used several working titles...


Mark and Genie
Sweet Revenge
The Bridge Beckons
Vengeance or Vindication
Bridge to Destiny
Retribution or Vindication

... and maybe a couple others I can't recall right off.

The point is, you don't need to decide on a title right now, and there's a strong possibility that if you go with a traditional publisher, your publisher will change it anyway. I guess I was fortunate. My publisher "Limitless Publishing" didn't change my title.

Hey, I got another great review. What do you think?

Review for Bridge Town High by Paul W. West

Well-drawn characters and exciting. I enjoyed getting to know the characters in this book. We meet seventeen year old Mark Wilkerson attending the funeral of his parents and little sister and learn they were killed in a car accident  on Christmas eve that he and his other younger sister survived. The story follows him as he deals with this immense tragedy by trying to find out exactly what happened and who was responsible. There is a message about forgiveness and healing in this book.

This is a good novel in the young adult genre and the author has a great understanding of the teenage years with all their complicated emotions involving friendships, love interests, and learning where one belongs in the swirling sea of on again-off again romances. I found the minute details of who was going to the Junior Prom with whom somewhat tiring, but I understand the method behind the madness

I liked the emphasis on forgiveness from a Christian standpoint. I enjoyed the parental wisdom of Mark’s grandmother, who courageously takes over the care of Mark and his sister while dealing with the death of her son, daughter-in-law, and grandchild. She often quotes her mother and one of the best is “’what we see today as a tragedy, we may look back at tomorrow as a blessing’”. Of course Mark balks at this advice, but the reader hopes he will one day accept what has happened and begin to enjoy life again. He does, and the reader gets to go along for the ride.

The book is enjoyable and exciting. This book is worth the read and stays true to the genre with no profanity or sexual content, though some of the characters use alcohol and drugs. There is some violence, but no more than is seen in any television program. I highly recommend it for adults and young people alike.

So, how does that sound? I hope that will help sell a few hundred copies, maybe a thousand or more (just kidding)

So, until next time, please "Share" and "Like" this blog post on Facebook , and "Retweet" it on Twitter, then PLEASE, write a review and post it on all the sites where you can find my book. Also have you signed up for my email letters on my Blog Site? I would love to see you there and have you introduce yourself and give comments to my posts. And also keep in mind "Bridgetown High" is still available on Amazon, Goodreads and Barnes&Noble and a few other places I can't remember. You can read some GREAT reviews of Bridgetown High on all of these sites if you need more info about Bridgetown High. In fact I just got another great review from a follower that should be posted in the next few days.

Some people believe using profanity in their writing makes their prose sound more realistic. They claim it's necessary for shock value. While that may be, I don't believe it's "necessary" in order to create a sense of realism, which is all fiction is anyway.

In my novel "Sweet Revenge," I have some pretty tough characters, but I don't have any of them using profanity, even when they are being beat up by a group of thugs, or by the thugs themselves, for that matter. The antagonists (thugs) swear, but I never use the actual swear words. I just say, "So and so swore," or something like that, which allows the reader to imagine the epithet.

I don't think it's necessary to show a person swearing in order to show his emotional state. That can be shown by what he's seeing, hearing, saying, but mostly feeling in his heart.

I was part of a critique group once that was supposed to be strictly for writers of young adult literature. A young boy (around 16 or 17) joined the group and proceeded to put the infamous "F"-word in every other paragraph. When I told him publishers of YA material probably would not accept that kind of language, he became even more profane. I complained to the moderator, but she refused to do anything about it, so I quit rather than read any more of his filth.

I know I don't like to read those kinds of words when I’m enjoying a novel, and I think a lot of readers would prefer not to be subjected to them either, if the truth were known.

I for one, do not believe using profanity in ANY book is necessary, adult or young adult. I've seen many books depicting bad characters who use profanity, but the author chooses not to use the actual words. I think it's sufficient to indicate that a character swears, or swore, without using those profane words.

As an example. I read "The Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. I recommend reading this series and other "best-selling" books by Mr. Stewart as great examples of what I'm talking about. Mr. Stewart has some pretty awful characters depicted in his books, characters who swear and use profanity, but he does not use the actual profane words, choosing rather to indicate that a character swore, and leave the bad word up to the imagination of the reader. It works. I don't think anyone reading his books will think they are fake or phony. They're quite realistic.

Another example is Dean Hughes' books. He writes about WWII and other difficult subjects where profanity should be expected. But I can't recall a single profane word and his books are totally believable.

Certainly, it takes a bit more creativity on our part, but isn't that what we writers pride ourselves as being -- creative?

I think we can avoid using profane words and still be realistic. It just takes a slight bit more effort. In my mind, using the actual words in our writing cheapens our work and is the lazy way out, and what example are we showing our youth?

Read More »

This subject has a pet peeve of mine for a long time. The subject recently came up in the Utah Children's Writer's message board, and there are a lot of people who say profanity is needed to make a scene believable or credible.

I for one, do not believe using profanity in ANY book is necessary, adult or young adult. I've seen many books depicting bad characters who use profanity, but the author chooses not to use the actual words. I think it's sufficient to indicate that a character swears, or swore, without using those profane words.

As an example. I'm currently reading "The Great and Terrible" series by Chris Stewart. I recommend reading this series and other "best-selling" books by Mr. Stewart as great examples of what I'm talking about. Mr. Stewart has some pretty awful characters depicted in his books, yes, characters who swear and use profanity, but he does not use the actual profane words, choosing rather to indicate that a character swore, and leave the bad word up to the imagination of the reader. It does work. I don't think anyone reading his books will think they are fake or phony. They're quite realistic.

Another example is Dean Hughes' books. He writes about WWII and other difficult subjects where profanity should be expected. But I can't recall a single profane word and his books are totally believable.

Certainly, it takes a bit more creativity on our part, but isn't that what we writers pride ourselves as being -- creative?

I think we can avoid using profane words and still be realistic. It just takes a slight bit more effort. In my mind, using the actual words in our writing cheapens our work and is the lazy way out, and what example are we showing our youth?

Read More »