Fiction Writing Tools

Editing the Narrative Arc

2012-02-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

The “Narrative Arc” is a common editor's way of saying that every story needs to have a beginning, middle, and end. In other words, you need act one, act two, and act three.

A successful Narrative Arc requires action

If there had been the necessary Narrative Arc structure, our heroine would have been tested and endured a series of adventures, figurative actions and meaningful experiences that would have left her more mature by the climactic epiphany. In a successful Narrative Arc, the hero or heroine is faced with dangerous threats, personal challenges, risky choices, major decisions, necessary feats of physical bravery, or emotionally powerful assaults from family or social pressure.

When I’m working with a writer who needs to strengthen the Narrative Arc, I go through the story scene by scene and find the gaps in the storyline, the moments in time when something needs to happen to get the central figure to the next level in the story.

I help with suggestions to insert within the story that target the character’s weakness or dramatize the symbolic threats from rivals, challenges from mentors, dangerous social stress within the political or cultural context of the situation, opportunities to succeed or fail.

A good narrative arc needs to:

start with a bang
quickly rush to a level of action
have moments of drama and suspense that keep rising in intensity
sustain a high pitch
level off by degrees
gradually come slow into an emotionally satisfying resolution and conclusion

Constructing such a Narrative Arc is not easy but it is mandatory. If you’re having a problem, I suggest first writing a rough chapter outline to chart out the rise and fall of your own arc.

How To Write A Back Blurb For Your Book

2012-01-26T09:41:00.000-08:00

You pick up a book because the cover or title looks interesting. The next thing you do is read the back blurb, or if you are online, you read the first excerpt which is usually the same thing.

At basics, the back blurb is a sales pitch. It has to be almost an exaggeration of your story that entices the reader to buy, or at least download a sample to their Kindle or iPad.

How do you write good back blurb?

This is a list of what featured most often from a number of bestselling thrillers reviewed as research from my bookshelf. The principles hold true for any genre although the details change for each.

A hint of the plot. “Secret experiment. Tiny island. Big mistake.” (Scott Sigler, Ancestor); “must fight their way past traps, labyrinths and a host of deadly enemies” (Matthew Reilly. Six Sacred Stones);

Use of words that evoke images and resonate with readers of the genre. Examples, “ancient monastery” (Raymond Khoury, The Sign), “hidden esoteric wisdom, Masonic secrets” (Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol), “the secret behind Noah’s Ark” (Boyd Morrison, The Ark), “Druidic pagan cross” (James Rollins, The Doomsday Key); “A buried Egyptian temple. A secret kept for 6000 years. A race for life worth killing for.” (Andy McDermott, The Pyramid of Doom)

Main characters are named and characterized. “TV news reporter Gracie Logan. Matt Sherwood, reformed car thief” (The Sign); “Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon: (Lost Symbol); “Trapped inside a paralyzed body, Rhyme’s brilliant mind is channeled through his partner, policewoman Amelia Sachs” (Jeffrey Deaver, The Twelfth Card); “Commander Gray Pierce and Sigma Force” (James Rollins, Doomsday Key)

Idea of setting. Washington DC, Rotunda (Dan Brown, Lost Symbol); “from the Roman Coliseum to the icy peaks of Norway, from the ruins of medieval abbeys to the lost tombs of Celtic kings” (James Rollins, Doomsday Key)

A question or a hint of mystery that draws the reader in to be solved or answered. “Is the sign real? Is God talking to us? Or is something more sinister going on…” (Raymond Khoury, The Sign)

Hyperbole. “stunning controversy that’s spinning out of control” (Raymond Khoury, The Sign); “..never before seen revelations seem to be leading him to a single impossible and inconceivable truth” (Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol); “The mission is incredible. The consequences of failure are unimaginable. The ending is unthinkable.” (Matthew Reilly. Six Sacred Stones)

Quotes about the book or previous books by the author. “Part Stephen King, part Chuck Palahniuk…a pulpy masterpiece of action, terror and suspense” (James Rollins on Scott Sigler’s Infected)

How long. Most seem to be 100-150 words long as the blurb text itself, not including about the author if included. That is also a nicely spaced blurb, not a squashed one.

About the author. This isn’t done often for the blockbuster novels, but James Rollins does it well with a rugged photo and a description that includes “An avid spelunker and certified scuba enthusiast, he can often be found underground or underwater.” Now that’s a thriller writer!

Here is my proposed blurb for ‘Pentecost’

A power kept secret for 2000 years.

A brotherhood broken by murder.

A woman who stands to lose everything.

When Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead, the apostles took stone from his tomb as a symbol of their brotherhood. At Pentecost, the fire of the Holy Spirit empowered the stones and the Apostles performed miracles in God’s name throughout the Empire. Forged in the fire and blood of the Christian martyrs, the Pentecost stones were handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret.

Until now.

The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism. Oxford University psychologist Morgan Stone is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious ARKANE, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience.

From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fire of evil.

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You can now get free chapters of Pentecost on the Facebook page by clicking here.

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What do you think? Do you have any tips for improving the ‘Pentecost’ blurb? Or any tips for writing blurb in general?

Photos done in Photofunia.com.

This is a reprint from Joanna Penn's The Creative Penn.

Crafting Romantic Suspense

2012-01-16T10:33:00.000-08:00

By Nora Roberts

Construction is one of the key words in creating romantic suspense. In a romance novel, the love story is built step by step on the emotions, needs, doubts and personalities of the protagonists. In a suspense novel, the mystery, intrigue, secret or tension is built state by state with facts, innuendo, atmosphere and action.

Romance suspense is a blending of the two. There must be a relationship -- that ongoing, developing relationship we expect between the covers of a romance novel. There must be an unknown -- a suspicion, a mystery, a danger that we expect between the covers of a suspense novel. Therefore, the outside tension is just as vital as the emotional and sexual tension and its construction must be just as meticulous.

The mystery and its ultimate conclusion must be just as visible, just as believable and just as important as the romance and its final consummation. There are not two separate stories with a common link. It is one full, complex story where separate elements merge and affect each other. Two levels where the writer is in charge of setting the balance and keeping the reader involved.

Any novel contains basic elements such as plot, character, setting, dialogue and narrative. Both mysteries and romance are build on a certain framework. Romance novels celebrate relationships. By their very nature they represent the standards and values of society. Seeking a mate, starting a family. Mysteries are our morality plays where evil is ultimately found out and punished by good.

The mixing of the two results in a variety of genres and sub genres. Romantic suspense, mysteries with a dash of romance, romance with a dash of mystery. Women in jeopardy, the hard boiled or soft boiled detective novel that flirts with a relationship, the gothic, the cozy.

Any Mary Stewart novel is an excellent example of romantic suspense at its best.

From Nine Coaches Waiting, written in the first person from the heroine's POV: "The side of the room where we had been sitting was in deep shadow, lit warmly by the now fading fire. Behind us the while shaft from the moonlit windows had slowly wheeled nearer. The bed lay now full in the sharp diagonal of light. Raoul carried the sleeping child across the room. He was just about to step into the path of light -- a step as definite as a chessman's from black to white -- when a new shadow stabbed across the carpet, cutting the light in two. Someone had come to the window and stopped dead in the path of the moon."

This involves you immediately. It makes the reader wonder who came to the window and why. What effect will they have on the protagonists? The atmosphere, in using moonlight, shadows, evokes both romance and suspense. I don't know anyone who uses atmosphere better than Ms. Stewart, and in blending romance and suspense she is unsurpassed. There is always a balance of tension in her work that is essential to a successful romantic suspense novel. The characters and their relationships are as finely developed as the twists and turns of the mystery. Invariable one element enhances and moves the other.

For mystery with a dash of romance, we can read any one of a dozen Agatha Christies or Ngaio March. These are puzzle books, deftly constructed mysteries, but often contain a hint of romance.

For romance with a hint of mystery, you can check out the back cover copy of any number of category romances. Some may fall into romantic suspense, but there are many that employ a dollop of mystery to enhance the plot and add tension to the relationship.

In the hard boiled league, try the Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett. This is first and foremost a detective novel, one of the best film noirs ever produced. But there is a whiff of romance as Sam Spade falls for the mystery woman -- a woman, who in the end he must not only give up, but turn in. One of Sam's last lines to his love -- and naturally I hear Bogart speaking to Mary Astor -- goes like this: "I'm going to send you over. The chances are you'd get off with life. That means you'll be out in 27 years. You're an angel. I'll wait for you. If they hand you, I'll always remember you." That's romance.

Another favorite of mine is Sue Grafton. Her Kinsey Milhone is a tough, sharp, savvy heroine who plays with the big boys while maintaining a touching feminine side. She's a woman, but she isn't weak or naive as so many females characters were portrayed in mysteries in the past.

On the soft boiled side, give Nancy Picard a try. For dark and delightful British mysteries with solid relationships, there's Elizabeth George.

If you want Gothics, you can't do better than going for the classics of Victoria Holt. Her Mistress of Mellyn, has unease and suspense and romance that kick off almost from page one and carry right through, brilliantly.

Construction, again. A house of cards or a complex arrangement of dominoes. Each step, each stage depends on the whole to make it stand. In romantic suspense there is an interlinking, so that when each card, each tile, each piece of the jigsaw puzzle is set into place, it changes and affects the whole. It isn't fair, to yourself or the read, to force the pieces of the puzzle together. Just as it isn't fair to shoehorn our lovers into bed. The pieces must fit, the lovers must be ready. And each new stage of the puzzle, and the relationship should affect or build on one another.

We know a love story isn't satisfying if lose ends are left dangling . . . if the hero and heroine haven't come to terms with each other and whatever was keeping them apart. All of us would be furious if we turned the last page of a mystery and were left ignorant of the villain's name. Just as annoying is to discover at the end of the book that the writer held back vital clues, both to the relationship and to the mystery. Years ago our hero spent nine and a half chapters being a total jerk, often an emotionally abusive jerk, then confessed that he'd made her life hell because he loved her. We don't want that today, just as we don't want those impossible red herrings at the end of a mystery. The murder was done by the hero's twin brother, separated at birth and raised by gypsies --- and the twin handily appears in the last two pages to confess all.

The fun of reading romantic suspense is to play along, and at the end when the solution is revealed, to be able to say -- yeah, of course, I should have guessed. And to say, when the relationship is resolved -- they belong together. I'm glad they worked it out.

You must give the reader these two levels of entertainment so they are satisfied with the romance and its outcome, satisfied with the mystery and its outcome. And there should probably be a connection between the two.

Involvement is another key work. You must involve the reader in the blend of elements. Your hope is that they will care just as much about the love story as the mystery. That means you, as the writer, must care equally. You set the stage for a romance, to draw the reader in. Moonlight, candlelight, music, a rainy afternoon. This same stage can be used to develop the suspense as well -- even if it's used to give the protagonists a moment's respite from the outside tension.

You set the scene for a murder -- a dark room, a scream, a vacant lot. How does this event affect the relationship between the protagonists? This action must send out ripples of reaction that involves the characters.

In suspense, the reader need to hear the door creak, the wind howl, footsteps echo. They should feel the danger and care if a character is in jeopardy -- as much as they care if the heroine and hero make love. How these two people become involved in a mystery must make sense. How they react to the danger has to suit their personalities. And how they react should probably have an effect on how their relationship progresses.

There's a natural connection between romance and mystery. A man and a woman fall in love -- they have to learn about each other, clues are dropped, false steps are taken. There is risk. There has to be motivation. There is usually suspicion before there is trust.

What do we use to create romance in a book. Back to atmosphere. We use lighting and shadows, sounds and scents. Emotions. Precisely the same elements we use to create suspense.

I strongly believe the build of writing is intuitive. You just know. You just feel. There's a danger always of becoming over analytical and hedging back from your instincts. If you're writing a romantic suspense, nothing will bog the creative flow more than sitting there worrying if you're put in enough of this or too much of that. I don't think we should take it to the level of measuring out the proper ingredients for a cake. It it's really right, I think you'll hear it click.

That doesn't help when an editor sends the manuscript back saying it's not romantic enough, or suspenseful enough, or that it lacks focus. Romantic suspense isn't an easy genre to get into. We can probably count on one hand the truly recognizable names in the genre.

But we have to get back to basics. If you want to write it, you have to read it. You have to understand it, enjoy and appreciate it. Ask yourself why a particular book satisfied your need on both levels. Or why it didn't. At the risk of being analytical again, follow the steps and the structure. Do they balance? Does the romance add to the suspense and vice versa?

Remember when readers settle back with this kind of novel, they are looking for a wonderful love story, a tense mystery, a heist or a chase, sexual tension and romance. They want to be moved. They want to be baffled. And they want it all to come together in the end. You have to want that, too.

When you're building your own personal house of cards with words, remember that every one counts. If it tumbles, it was misplaced. It's up to you to find the right spot for it.

__________________

This article first appeared in Northwest Houston RWA May 1995

Since she started writing stories down in notebooks 22 years ago, Nora Roberts has used discipline and talent in equal measure. Early in her career, she worked her writing in between her sons’ pre-school and nap schedules every day. When they were both in school full time, her writing schedule mirrored theirs, although she put in extra hours over the weekend. Now, after 140 books and countless bestsellers, she writes eight hours a day -- every day.

Plotting Your Fiction Novel

2012-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

by author, Stella Cameron

Visit her online HERE

Already I betray myself--again. The title Six Steps to a Perfect Plot shows I can't be trusted. There is no such animal as a perfect plot, only a plot as near to perfect as the writer can make it, and, more importantly, a plot that works.

What doesn't work in a plot is what doesn't work. If the reader stops, frowns, re-reads, and stops again--there's something very wrong. The cause of this pause may be loss of viewpoint control, chronological slips, failure to provide adequate pegs into the setting or, much more likely, an inconsistency in plot. These inconsistencies, whether they result in an uneasy sense of implausibility, or actually slap the reader between the eyes with an impossibility--these inconsistencies result from careless plotting compounded by either failure to double check each development, or some vague, but suicidal conviction that no one will notice the blunder!

My job is to help you learn how to assemble a plot, and how to bulletproof that plot.

1. Gathering. The question I often hear and always groan over is: "Where do you get your ideas." A natural question from a non-writer, I suppose, but a puzzling question from someone who is a writer. We get our ideas from a place we can't see or touch--our imaginations. What sets the fiction writer's imagination apart from other types of imagination is the way it collects and organizes. The way it gathers.

A painter may look at a tipped vase, strewn flowers, spattered water, and see--a tipped vase, strewn flowers, and spattered water. A composition of visual fact to be translated onto canvas as close to reality as possible.

A fiction writer might look at the same assembly and see, what? A tipped vase, strewn flowers, spilled water--what comes to mind for some of you?

I'll play with the image for a moment: She opened the door to find a bouquet on the step--a bouquet with a card on top, a card from? The card is signed by a man employed by the advertising firm she works for. She calls a female co-worker and excitedly tells her Mr. X has sent the flowers. Is she excited enough to be less than cautious, maybe? That's possible. Excited enough not to question someone else (we don't have to know who it is at this point) someone else arriving at that exact moment with a, "Surprise! Surprise!" approach?

Into the kitchen. Guard down. Take down the vase. Cut the stems on the flowers. Fill the vase with water. Drop in the flowers. Laugh. And die?

That's how the mind of this fiction writer works. That's where my ideas come from--in there, somewhere. And I suspect many of you would go through a similar process.

Think of yourselves as gatherers. Cultivate the shady side of your minds where impressions can grow freely, where those impressions can take root and spread into fully expanded ideas and the realized basis of plot.

This gathering is license to designate a favorite place to do absolutely nothing but think. That would qualify as a job benny, folks.

The gathering phase of plotting also expands to incorporate a host of concrete and not so concrete tools of your trade. A magazine or newspaper article presents a story. To you, this story presents an idea, a foundation for something quite different. You'll save that article. A snatch of something on the car radio starts the mill turning. You'll write that down when you can, and save it. A movie, a television show, a stage play, or musical invokes a mood. Examine that mood as soon as you can--preferably in your favorite thinking spot--make notes and save them. The title of a song or a line from the lyrics suggest a scenario. Save that. Scenes snatched through the car window--save them. Scents are evocative. Poke around in the sensations evoked by scent, write down your conclusions, and save them.

Become the owner of many file cabinets. Or many cardboard boxes. Or heaps of brown paper sacks, or whatever you can assemble to hold your "string and sealing wax and lots of fancy stuff." Gather, gather, gather.

And if you need a nice solid assurance that all this gathering of stuff isn't so much nonsense, remember your childhood. I remember mine. I was a gatherer then, and I wager you were, too. We collected things to use in various games. And we saved them in boxes and bags and drawers. And we put those treasures through their paces, talking as we played, usually in different voices for different characters. And we invented stories, and created sound effects. Often we returned to one of our wonderful invented worlds repeatedly, picking up the action as if developing a serialized piece, an endless soap opera-like drama.

Watch children now, your children or someone else's, and you'll see them repeating the process.

It works this gathering. It works for children's play and it works when adult writers take and refine the system to launch themselves into a plot.

And there will be a wonderful added benefit to validating your special gifts here. You'll finally know you don't have a PD. Personality disorder.

2. Selection: This is the simple point. When you're ready for the serious plotting process, choose the strongest idea. Or let it choose you. Sort through your mind, and the boxes, and bags, and drawers--and bam, the strongest idea will convince you you've chosen well. In fact, you'll wonder why there was ever any doubt.

This is also the time to assemble all the balls of string and sealing wax that relate to the idea you're going to run with. Notes jotted on napkins, pieces of paper torn from notebooks, entire notebooks, photographs--and maybe you need to listen again to a piece of music while recalling a scent through the car window in early fall. A map, a building plan, reference books on an industry, occupation, or location. Perhaps you need to make some charts. A family tree. A chronology chart. A floor plan for a house of your own design, or a garden layout.

Select and expand, and immerse yourself in your wonderful idea and its trappings.

This might be a good spot to noodle around with your spilled flowers again: Perhaps you find a clipping from a newspaper about a woman who faked her own disappearance. And you draw a plan of the lower floor in the house where the flowers were delivered--and the garden through which the person who brought them walked. Then there's a map of the town where the woman who got the flowers lives--and a reference book or two on the advertising business, and some details on insurance and claiming insurance with or without a body. You decide to read up on faking ID, and on the legal aspects of arrest on suspicion of murder. What you don't do at this stage is set out to become an authority on any of these subjects. You concentrate on knowing only what you must know to tell your story.

This is what can happen when a fiction writer remembers a vivid impression he or she has gathered and plays a little "what- if," then reads a selected newspaper article, and makes a connection to the impression. You can then announce with pride that you are AB. Absolutely brilliant!

3. People: I call this step "people," rather than "characters," because more, and more, I am convinced that in good, fully realized fiction, we people our storylines with real people. Too often, I find myself reading, and failing to actually see the people come alive. I've decided this happens because the writer created "characters" that were more caricatures than people. This means, too one-dimensional to be mistaken for people.

In truth, throughout every phase of the plotting process you're working with your people, your conflict, and your setting. The obvious question is: which comes first? The answer to that is: bits and pieces of all elements come at the same time, they come side by side, falling over each other, spurring each other on, adding to each other, puffing up the caricature into character, and people, and giving them bones to fight over, and a place to hold the fight.

We have to have a place to at least think of as the start, so I start thinking about gathering ideas, move to expanding ideas, then to developing the people.

The hero and heroine are, naturally, the most important members of the cast. These two have to fit the roles you've developed from taking an idea and expanding that idea. Their backgrounds, personalities, and skills must make them appropriate.

As you build these people, you constantly check and crosscheck their history, past and present, to make sure you haven't chosen poorly. It's paramount to give them the right kind of baggage to drag with them. The heroine who takes her first breath on page one of your book is an obvious 130 lb. newborn. She has a lovely, but empty face, no wrinkles in her clothes, and no wrinkles in her soul. Her heart is empty of anything but emotions she'll start learning at 25, the age you've given her. She's boring. She's already dead, so don't expect us to care about her.

Back to the story that's brewing--the flower story: Her name is Emily. She's twenty-five and ought to be pretty. She is pretty if you don't look too hard. The eyes take it. No hope in there--that beaten-down-and-don't-care-anymore hopelessness. A smart woman. Smart but trapped by old patterns, old habits. Men treat women badly. She knows this because she grew up watching it. She was never going to let it happen to her--but she did. But she broke free. At last, she broke free--or did she?

Emily is the woman who opened the door to flowers on her doorstep. We're building here.

One character doesn't make a novel. I need a hero. I need secondary characters. I need traits and agendas for those characters. I'll build them just as I built Emily.

Mike is a man who knows what he wants. He was born knowing what he wanted and he's been going after it ever since. He's also honorable, loyal and smart--and confident. Understanding women isn't something he's worked very hard at, because he never had a reason to before. He does now. There's a woman he thinks he wants, and wants very much. She works at the office and he's tried to get to know her but she doesn't cut him any slack. He doesn't like that, but he can't get her out of his head. It doesn't help that she applied for the promotion that was given to him instead. Nor is it a plus that her ex-husband is one of the firm's biggest accounts and that it's rumored the guy still thinks of his ex as his property.

I've started to make a hero. He's taking shape. Not a perfect man by any means. In fact, he's full of flaws and I'll find a whole lot more as I work with him. I think he'll do just fine. I like him already.

Major characters lead to secondary characters. Major and secondary characters lead to minor characters. The time you spend fleshing them out depends on the weight you intend to give them. That was a pun. No acronym comes to mind.

4. Wants (alias conflict): Aha, but we've already started building conflict as we built our people, haven't we? Exactly. No part of the plotting process exists on its own. When we work on characterization, we always work on conflict. Unless we're too busy with silver eyes that shine like a polished coffee urn, and arrogant, sardonic eyebrows that slash heavenward like dark thunderbolts prepared to challenge God. And unless we present these facts without using them to convey mood, setting, action, and so on. Get hung up on the lovely bodies and you'll miss the fascinating guts.

Cut to the guts and you'll reveal conflict.

Remember the golden rule of story. Only trouble is interesting. And if your story is to capture a busy reader's attention and hold it, your characters must be in trouble and get into more trouble. The root of all this trouble comes from want, that's why I called this step, "wants." Each of your people must want something they can't simply ask for, or buy. They want so badly they hurt from the wanting. The hurt can only be eased by keeping on, keeping on after what they want. They have to get what they want or they're doomed to eternal unhappiness or, almost worse, a passionless existence--or, they may even die. Too extreme? No way. The more extreme the better--as long as you keep your idea in view, your contributing factors appropriate, and your characters in character.

Remember: Trouble is story. Want causes trouble. Two characters=twice the want=twice the trouble. Your people must have the potential to stop each other from satisfying want, and the capability of healing/fulfilling want.

This theory extends to secondary characters. They want, too. Even if their primary want is to help the hero or heroine get what they want--they want, and because they do, they are in place to help complicate story.

Let's revisit our "blossoming" story: Emily wants to be free of her overbearing ex-husband (you did know Emily was the woman Mike wants, didn't you?). Emily's ex-husband was physically and mentally abusive, and continues to make threats. She is afraid of him. He's told her that if he ever sees her with another man, he'll kill her--and the man. Emily wants peace. Emily wants, for the first time in her life, to make decisions based on her own wants. Emily wants to love and be loved on her own terms, eventually. Emily does not want to be pushed, or frightened, or drawn into complicated relationships, or to look over her shoulder expecting to be shot. Emily is ambitious and wants to advance. Emily wants Mike's job and believes it should have been hers in the first place. BTW--that's "by the way" as any messier-about-with-computers knows--btw, Emily does rather want Mike, too. Emily wants a lot, and everything she wants adds conflict to her life, conflict to the story.

It's growing. I feel it. Now I'm ME. Manic Euphoric.

5. Motivate: But we've been motivating.

Of course, we have. As I've already mentioned several times; this is a CD process. It's co-dependent, one facet facilitates another, and another, and all facets facilitate the whole.

But we make mistakes--mistakes of innocent omission. Story is not life, but an author's vision of a fabrication of a selected sequence from life. In the process of plot, in the rushes of enthusiasm, the pits of despair followed by the relief of, "I've got it!" inconsistencies creep in. They happen to all of us. Those moments when, if we don't catch the problem, the reader goes back a few pages, or a few chapters, searching for what he's certain he must have missed--the part of the sequence that motivates a later action. If he doesn't discover he read a little too fast and that what he thinks isn't there is, in fact, clearly stated, the writer's in trouble.

A writer, who repeatedly tosses action into a plot, gets it on the page--and past her editor--without adequately motivating that action, is going to be SOL, simply out of luck, when that reader sees another book by the same author. The reader will buy someone else's title instead.

Motivate. You can motivate anything. I particularly enjoy playing with motivation. I have a large, loose-leafed binder with dividers in it. I mention the dividers because they happen to be there. They don't mean anything but I think they used to.

At various stages of a book, I stop and pose questions to myself. These questions get a page each. I think through the plot, consider each action I've initiated, and address the following question: Why? Often I follow with another, why? Perhaps there are a series of whys. Then, where? Then I add, how? And often, what? Frequently, in the intrigue portion of the plot, I have to use, who? I crosscheck as if I were in the cockpit of a plane and about to take off. Back and forth, back and forth.

Hearts and Flowers, cont: Mike is thirty-two years old and has never married. Why? He didn't meet anyone he wanted to marry until Emily. Why? Because his needs were met by those relationships, he did have. And he never felt an emotional connection to a woman before.

Emily is abducted and the scene left behind suggests she was attacked. She will be presumed to have been murdered. Why? Because she's convinced someone to help her scare her ex-husband into leaving her alone. How? By framing, him and getting him arrested on suspicion of abducting her. Why? Because he's a coward and won't hold up. And Emily thinks that if the truth about his behavior is in the open, he may leave her alone--actually, this is Emily's faint hope--she's desperate and grabbing for any vague chance of freedom.

This exercise goes on and on until there are no more questions. But then, it has to be exhaustive because I'm OC.

6. On Location: This is where you decide on the scenes you will use to tell you story. Oh, but we've done that--sort of--because we've asked "where?" In this case, we haven't done that at all. Until now, "where" has been a general question. Where? New York. That type of where. Or where?--at home, or where?--in a cab.

Now you choose location for impact, not just for setting. Now you start organizing a few pivotal scenes that act as anchors to the entire plot.

I don't outline a book in detail. I do make many loose outlines. Armed with my proposal, which reads like a long cover blurb, I decide how the book opens and what the first scene will be. This scene must be designed for maximum impact and is probably the most important scene in the piece. Before someone disputes this point, we don't have to argue that there are other, more pivotal scenes in any story--this is true. But if the first scene doesn't reach out and take the reader by the heart or the gut, the crisis scenes may never be read.

**I invite you to read some of my first scenes. First scenes are about heart, about mood, about pace, about making the reader want to know what happens next, and next, and next. First scenes are about making the reader care. If you can pull that off, you've succeeded with one very important part of your task.

Now you proceed, scene by scene, chapter by chapter, to build your story. You don't really build it like a brick and mortar house because although there may be wonderful eye-appeal in a brick house, there isn't the type of drama we're looking for. You build a brick house and there it stands. It's a fact. How about building your story the way you build a cathedral of playing cards? You choose the position just right and if you don't choke, you keep building to the tippy-top. Choose wrong, and the whole thing falls down.

Decide what the next scene must convey, how it will move the story forward, change the characters, and complicate the plot. Then decide what scene you will use as a platter to carry all these tasty morsels.

More Hearts and Flowers: The scene must reveal the identity of the person who delivered the flowers to Emily, the person who, supposedly, abducted her. Actually, she wasn't abducted. Emily staged the whole thing and dropped out of sight. When she called her co-worker and told her Mr. X. had sent her flowers, she was setting him up. Mr. X., who works for the same firm as Emily, has been keeping her ex-husband informed of her movements. She wants attention focused on Mr. X. because she expects him to squeal on her former husband. He will, she's sure, finger the other man to get himself off the hook.

We're in New York. This is a huge scene. We want to pull out stops, add as much drama as possible. Do we set the stage in an anonymous office, or do we have our Mr. X. confronted at the American Cafe at Rockefeller Center? Skaters on the ice. The hunted man sees the police approach, cut off from view in snatches as if they were disjointed frames in a movie. Are they coming toward him? No. He's meeting Emily's ex-husband. It's cold. His breath makes clouds in the air. The scent of charbroiled steak sickens him. There are snow flurries. He's cold. No, he's hot. The police are coming toward him. People around him are slick, wear fur, bejeweled--expensive. He's worked too damn hard for a place among them to be humiliated in front of them.

We've got it, folks. This is where our scene will unfold. This is the assembled cast, the emotion of the moment, and we know what's going to happen. At least we know the police are coming to ask him questions, probably to ask him to "assist them in their investigations." We're going to have drama.

* * *

Six steps to plotting your novel. I might have said, six possible steps to plotting your novel, or six of the steps you'll use in plotting your novel--but I didn't, and I don't. The plan isn't perfect. It isn't the only plan, but it's a very workable plan.

Let's play with it a little:

Exercise:

1. Remember your reactions to my first mention of the tipped vase and write it down.

2. Choose something from an imaginary box of gathered treasures and write that down--thinking about your reaction to the vase and flowers.

3. Reach out and grab the bones of your heroine. Grab them and slap on some meat, the important meat--the innards--and put her on the page in a paragraph.

Go for a hero, too. Thinking about the idea, you gathered the selections you made use a few quick, broad strokes and give him a paragraph.

4. Think about what these two want. What they want that will put them in conflict with themselves and with each other and with the world around them. Jot down what comes to mind.

5. Take the want you developed, devise an action taken to get the want, then motivate and qualify the action with the who, when, why, what, how sequence.

6. A scene. You need a scene to present the idea you gathered, with the help of whatever you selected from your box of treasures. To execute the scene you'll use the heroine and hero you fleshed out, and some of the want that stops them from leaping into each other's arms and living happily ever after on page one of your book.

7. Read over the six points you've written.

8. Combine them into a paragraph that captures the essence of the story.

3. Pen onto the paper, don't stop writing, and just keep writing. Think, "This is what I would tell an editor about my story," and write!

Books about Plotting:

Plot & Structure: Techniques And Exercises For Crafting A Plot That Grips Readers From Start To Finish , by James Scott Bell

The Plot Whisperer , by Martha Alderson

Blockbuster Plots, Pure & Simple , by Martha Alderson

Related Links:

How to Plot a Novel

Create a Plot Outline Easily with What If? and Why?

Plot Your Stories

Andrew Piper vs. Sheila Heti on CBC: To Plot ... Or Not.

Plot & Structure from The Writers' Workshop

The CP Tease

2011-12-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

By author, Louisa Bacio

Oh, I know what you’re thinking: What does an erotic writer mean by CP? Yes, there certainly can be many a bad word and private body part correlated with those initials. But, get your mind out of the gutter.

We’re talking Critique Partners here – CPs.

Within the writing community, often we have friends – fellow writers – who read our material. Think of them of literary guinea pigs. Sometimes, writers of the same genre flock together. I adore reading Vivi Dumas since her “Soul Cather” book (and WIP) also features New Orleans and delves into Voodoo. So not only can I add insight into her writing, but she’s a valuable resource for me.

And then there’s Denny Bryce – such a talented writer, who is not afraid to get a little bit gory and dark. Denny prides herself in featuring multicultural heroines. I’ve read a few of Denny’s short stories (here’s a link to a free read “The Garden Party”), and some excerpts of longer pieces.

Rebecca Leigh, a “sister” writer who shares the same literary agent, Saritza Hernandez, and also publishes with Ravenous Romance (among others), knows how to get down and dirty with polyamorous relationships and doesn’t shy away from switching between m/m, f/f/f and m/m/f erotic romance. (A woman after my own writing-heart).

And then there’s Brenna Aubrey, a sweet (as in the person, not the work) historical writer, who recently won the “Jane Austen Made Me Do It” contest, and her short story “The Love Letter” was published in anthology. Aubrey is a member of my local OCC/RWA chapter and in 2012 we’ll be on the board together. She also calls me on my evasive shit and can tell me when I’m jumping around too much in a story. And hopefully, I help where her writing is concerned, too. And while we’re on chapter-mates, the incredibly talented Tara Lain and Lex Valentine. I’ve learned so much Tara, and Lex recently did my latest video trailer.

Those four writers are not the only ones. There also is Lani Rhea and Trinity Blacio, and a few up-and-coming writers such as Erin Pryor (whose historical release Pillars in Time will be coming from Decadent Publishing in 2012), and even more like Joyce Ward and Tari, who I can’t wait to see in printed form.

So back to the main point of this blog – the tease! Oh, yes. Do you have any idea what it’s like to read a story chapter by chapter? Every few weeks, I get little tidbits and I want to know more! What happens to these people? Fortunately, publication does happen, but there’s always that fear. Maybe they won’t finish the story … mybe they’ll get tired of it. Maybe I’ll never know.

And don’t think that I haven’t been called a mind-tease before, either. Brenna got downright grumpy with me when my first chapter of The Vampire, The Witch & The Werewolf: Chains of Silver ends without introducing the hero. I heard about it WEEKS later (and she’s since been appeased).

And on that note, Ms. Leigh’s working on a steamy paranormal threesome that expands upon her short story “Sensual Apparitions” from the Three’s a Charm anthology. Hello? Where are the chapters? Isn’t your deadline coming up soon? I’m waiting to read …

So what’s the point? A nice writing support network that’ll have your back, and know when to do a little prodding, too! So, what do you say: Know any CP teases?

About Louisa Bacio

Louisa Bacio enjoys soaking up the sun in Southern California, and spending time with her family. Bacio’s work includes the Sex University series, with her debut novel Physical Education and the follow-up All-Girls Academy. Her story “Two’s Company” can be found in I Kissed a Girl: A Virgin Lesbian Anthology. Other short stories can be found in the Seducing the Myth anthology, and Rekindled: An Anthology of Reunited Lovers. In addition to writing and editing, Bacio teaches college courses in English, journalism, film studies and popular culture.

Find Louisa online:

http://www.louisabacio.com

http://louisabacio.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/louisabacio

http://www.twitter.com/louisabacio

Authors Inspire Authors – Be Part of a Writer’s Group

2011-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

Paranormal Romance author, Lawna Mackie

It’s amazing what a gathering of like-minded friends can do for your writing. QUINN’S CHRISTMAS WISH is my first novella in a series of novellas created by just such a group. Over a casual writing meeting, Bandit Creek Books came to fruition.

The idea of developing a series was not on the agenda. Before the end of the formal meeting, we were discussing the pros and cons of self-publishing. One of our members said “…we could decide as group to all write books together. Each of us would have control of our own books because we would be self published.” Not long after that, the wheels started turning. In a wonderful, but short period of time, we’d created the fictional town of Bandit Creek, Montana. Now we have a series of Bandit Creek Books, with over thirty participating authors.

We write about all types of romance such as paranormal (like myself), historical, young adult, and even erotica. We all come from various stages in our writing careers. There are multi-published authors and some who are still working towards publication. The synergy in the room that day is hard to explain, other than to say it was amazing. It’s what happens when you have like-minded people all together in the same room at one time.

Bandit Creek, Montana was created and in a fictional mining town which flooded in 1911. We left the doors open for everyone’s imagination to flourish. Two books come out a month and span the various romance genres from previous to 1911 right up to present day. All books take place in Bandit Creek. Everyone reaps the benefits especially the authors who have never published before. It has helped all of us experience being “published” complete with sales.

I belong to this wonderful group of authors who are very talented. Everyone pitches in, developing content for the Bandit Creek website, right down to the creation of our own Bandit Creek Newsletter.

My point is if you are an author who isn’t part of a writer’s group, search for one! You won’t be sorry. My writer’s group inspires me, encourages me when I’m feeling discouraged, and supplies me with a wealth of knowledge, when I need information. They are all my good friends and I wouldn’t be the author I am today without each of them.

I hope you’ll check out my novella in this series, QUINN’S CHRISTMAS WISH is a paranormal Christmas romance that is available in both print and eBook through Amazon.

Buy QUINN’S CHRISTMAS WISH: http://amzn.to/rw2oeh.

I have two paranormal/romantic fantasy novels coming soon.

IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD – December 19, 2011, Liquid Silver Books

www.liquidsilverbooks.com

ENCHANTMENT – January 13, 2012, Muse It Up Publishing

www.museituppublishing.com

For more information, please visit me my website:

www.lawnamackie.ca

Using Interjections in Fiction Dialogue

2011-12-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Creating realistic, natural-sounding dialogue in writing can be a difficult task for writers. Dialogue may come off as rigid and artificial. The most useful tool for creating an air of humanism in a character’s dialogue is the interjection.

An interjection is a noun (more of a sound) that stands alone in a sentence and is designed to convey the emotion of the speaker or narrator. By “stands alone,” we mean to say that an interjection is not grammatically connected to the sentence in which it is used.

Interjections are used by authors to add an element of realism to their prose, as humans often use interjections heavily within their everyday speech. Interjections are often followed by an exclamation mark, leading people to refer to them as “exclamations.”

Examples of interjections are:

“Ouch!” and “Wow!” or even “Cheers!” or "Huh?" or "Uh..."

“Wow! Your new car rocks!”

This sentence illustrates the function of an interjection. “Wow,” being the interjection, stands completely on its own, not connected to the subsequent sentence by anything other than context. As you can see, it is followed by an exclamation mark, adding excitement to the quote. You can imagine the character saying this with widened eyes and an excited tone while commenting on the massive spoon at which he is looking.

Compare this to saying, “That car rocks.”

The latter sentence is lifeless and conveys no emotion to the reader whatsoever. Interjections have the unique ability of being able to stand as sentences all on their own.

The exclamation “Whatever!” and "Shut up!"—often heard as a teenager storms out of a room—is an example of an interjection functioning as a one-word sentence.

Uh, so yeah, this section is about,um, filled pauses.

Another form of interjection that is useful for adding a humanistic element to dialogue is called the filled pause. These are used by people in, uh, well, a lot of spoken sentences. They are not necessarily “words” per se, but rather sounds that people make during pauses in speech.

The filled pause can be used to convey such character traits and emotions as nervousness, stupidity, indifference, or impatience. All an author must do is think about the sounds they themselves or others would make while in those situations. Imagine a nervous teenager asking out the prettiest girl in his high school, if you will.

“Hey, uh, Sylvia? I, um, was wondering if, uh, you would go to, like, a movie with me, or like whatever.”

Poor Patrick here has unwittingly used seven filled pauses in his attempt to ask Sylvia on a date. The filled pauses serve to efficiently convey his gut-wrenching nervousness.

Sylvia’s response? “Wow! Patrick! Of course!”

“Ha! Johnson, come over here and check out this photo!”

Using interjections and filled pauses may be effectively inserted within dialogue.

“I, uh, wouldn’t mind a job, but um, I can only work on weekends?”

Interjections are an excellent way of expressing emotion within the dialogue of your prose, but you must be careful not to overuse them. Used sparingly and appropriately, interjections can breathe a true sense of humanity into your character, giving them the sort of personality that readers can connect with on a deeper level. Take poor Patrick, for example; by the end of his painful plea, didn’t you feel at least a bit sorry for him? If you did, it’s thanks to the interjections.

(Link to SOURCE)

Short List of Interjections

Aha
Boo
Crud
Dang
Eew
Gosh
Goodness
Ha
Oh
Oops
Oh no
Ouch
Rats
Shoot
Uh-oh
Uh-huh
Ugh
Yikes
Yuck

Interview with author, Anna James

2011-12-07T12:56:00.000-08:00

Today I welcome to the blog, the talented author, Anna James. Ms. James is the author of contemporary romance novels filled with passion and drama! Thank you for taking time out of your day to share your wisdom and insight into the world of fiction writing.

I always like to start with a little background, where were you born?

I was born in Connecticut and lived there until I was nine years old. My family then moved to a suburb just outside Buffalo, NY. I lived there until I was 20 and after receiving my Associates degree in Engineering Science, I then moved back to Connecticut where I received my Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree. I continue to live in Connecticut with my husband and children.

How old were you when you realized you wanted to be a writer?

Not until I was in my early 30’s.

How long does it take you to write a book? What is the average word count?

The time it takes me to write a book varies. I have a novella, entitled A Picture Perfect Christmas, which is part of a Christmas anthology (Christmas Collectibles – Melange-books) that took me about two weeks to write. Others have taken months.

My books vary in length with the shortest novella coming in at approximately 9,000 words. The longest (to date) is 48,500 words.

Do you have a critique partner(s)? Do you ever use beta readers?

Yes – my mother in both cases. She loves reading romance novels as much as I love writing them and she has always been honest with me when it comes to my writing. If she doesn’t like it, she tells me.

Did you hire a professional freelance editor before submitting to agents or editors (or self-publishing)?

I have not hired a professional editor to date.

How long did it take you to get an agent or publisher when you were starting out?

I was rejected several times before I found a publisher for my work.

What was one of the most shocking things you learned during your experience as a struggling writer?

I was most surprised by the amount of marketing the author has to do in order to promote a book. It’s an on-going process and one that really never ends.

How long did it take after your agent pitched your novel to publishing houses to get an offer?

I do not have an agent at this time.

Were there any major revisions to your debut novel?

No. For the most part the revisions for all of my books to date have been relatively minor.

Tell us about your newest release. How was your story birthed?

My newest release is entitled Shattered Dreams – Book 2 Bradford Sisters Trilogy. It is about the middle Bradford Sister, Natalie. Here is a taste of the story to whet your appetite:

Natalie and Reed seemed so happy when they got married just a few short months ago. But an unexpected pregnancy and a subsequent miscarriage throw their marriage into turmoil.

Natalie deals with the loss by burying herself in work. Reed is supportive but doesn’t understand why she is spending so much after-hours time with her handsome, sexy boss. And what about their dream of having a family? How can that happen, when with each passing day Natalie becomes more distant?

Will Reed and Natalie find a way to work things out or will all their dreams be shattered?

This book was conceived when I decided to write a story about each of the Bradford sisters. What was your motivation for this story?

I didn’t actually decide to write a trilogy until after the first book was complete. (But before it was published.) Natalie Bradford and Reed McNamara get married at the end of the first book so I needed a plot that would create conflict between a married couple.

Your book title rocks! Who came up with it? Was it the original title or did it change along the way?

Shattered Dreams has always been the title of the book. I came up with it when I decided on the plot.

Be honest, how many drafts did you have to write for this book? Any scenes that were cut from the original that you want to share?

I started this book 4 times before I finally decided to go with the 3^rd version. I think there was part of a scene in the beginning of the 4 version that I deleted when I went back to the 3^rd version. It wasn’t anything significant it just didn’t fit in.

What's your secret to creating a realistic character?

I’m not sure I actually have a secret. I try to create heroes and heroines that are strong, independent people that are passionate about love and life.

How do you come up with your character's names?

I go on the internet and look at lists of baby names. For me it’s kind of like naming a child.

If your book were to be turned into a movie, what would your dream cast be for the top five main characters?

Natalie (Bradford) McNamara – Rachel Bilson

Reed McNamara – Chris Pine

Nicole Bradford - Rachel McAdams

Max Paradis – Greg Vaughan

Kate Bradford – Ashley Tisdale

Which is more difficult to write: dialogue or action (or a love scene)?

A love scene. Most times, I actually skip over it and come back when the rest of the story is written.

How do your family and/or friends feel about your book or writing venture in general?

They are very supportive and think it’s great.

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in any of your books?

No. I don’t believe I would.

Who is your favorite author? What really excites you about their work?

I don’t have a favorite but I do like Nora Roberts, especially her “Death” series she writes as JD Robb. I like Jayne Ann Krentz’s “Arcane” series; the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling and the “Troubleshooters” series by Suzanne Brockmann just to name a few.

I think I chose these particular authors because they write about sci-fi / paranormal, which I really like. Their characters are really well developed and the stories are exciting.

Fun Bonus Questions

What are you currently reading?

Actually, nothing. I know that sounds really bad but I have been really busy over the last few months with my day job and edits on two books. I do have a “to read” list and I am hoping to get through much of it when my husband and I go on vacation.

What’s your favorite movie or TV show?

I like The Big Bang Theory and House Hunters International

How would you describe yourself in three words?

Persistent, passionate, loyal

Laptop or desktop?

Laptop – no question!

Who is your fictional character crush? (movie, TV show, fiction)

“Roark” from JD Robb’s Death Series

If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

Premonition

Before you go, please tell us a little about your next book.

The book I am currently writing is entitled Shattered Illusions – Book 3 Bradford Sisters Trilogy. Here is a taste to wet your appetite:

Four years ago, Kate Bradford met Raffaello D’Onofrio while attending a semester abroad. Rafe ran the family vineyard in the Lazio region of Italy but the thing that attracted her to him most, besides his ruggedly handsome good looks, fathomless deep blue eyes, and well-toned body, was his love of art. It was a passion they shared.

He had been the perfect man as far as she was concerned and in a few short months, she fell deeply in love. She had thought that love was returned. Then she found Annalisa De Luca in his apartment wearing nothing but the shirt Rafe had been wearing the evening before. All her illusions were shattered. Distraught and wanting to escape the pain of Rafe’s betrayal, she returned to her home in Chicago, IL.

Now Rafe is back in her life and much to her chagrin, she is still attracted to him. How can just one look from those sexy blue eyes affect her so deeply and what is she going to do about it?

Rafe D’Onofrio has just agreed to allow the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art to display his unique art collection—a collection he has always kept private until now. This after learning the museum’s new assistant curator was none other than Kate Bradford. Once he had thought himself in love with her but after her abrupt departure from his life with no explanation, he convinced himself it was just an illusion. So why, after all this time, can the mere mention of her name still send his pulse soaring? And what is he going to do about it?

Will Rafe and Kate shatter the illusions of the past and find love again? Or are they too much to overcome?

Find out more about Anna James online:

Official Website

Friend me on Facebook

Twitter #Writetip

2011-12-06T10:41:00.000-08:00

Great Post!

Sirra: #7 Twitter Writetip: Here's the 7th collection of my writing tips from Twitter. I didn't realize how many of these I do... But in case you missed them, here they...

Why I Love Reading and Writing Science Fiction

2011-12-05T09:10:00.000-08:00

Guest Post by Author

Karen A. Wyle

I'll start with a caveat. I do not solely write science fiction.

For many otherwise fallow years, I wrote picture book manuscripts. More recently, between my current release and the sequel (still in rough draft), I wrote what I suppose is commercial fiction, that is if a contemporary novel can take place in my fanciful notion of an afterlife.

That said, I am proud to say that I write science fiction.

I don't actually remember when I first started reading science fiction, but I'd guess I was about ten or eleven. And I have been reading it ever since. The day I met my husband, twenty-five years ago, we talked for two hours about author, Robert A. Heinlein and other assorted Sci-Fi authors. And as you might already suppose, our marriage exposed me to more works in this thrilling genre.

How do I love science fiction? Let me count the ways. . . .

First off, Science fiction explores how human beings – whether acknowledged as such, or in any of innumerable disguises – react to the unexpected.

How do they – how would we – cope with the fulfillment of anything from dream to nightmare?

How will the future we anticipate surprise us?

How will we surprise ourselves when we confront it?

Science fiction's imaginative settings allow us to examine familiar themes and problems with a fresh eye. (Star Trek, despite its flaws, was often excellent at using the trappings of science fiction to explore issues like racism, war and peace, patriotism, gender identity, ambition, love versus career, et cetera.)

As I a lawyer, I'm writing a series of short stories, which will eventually include legal issues raised by certain future technologies. And I have long been fascinated by twins, hence, my first novel Twin-Bred features fraternal twins (carried by host mothers) but belong to two different species. I've had a deep interested in motherhood since becoming a mother myself, and now I can create aliens for whom parenthood is in many ways different, yet in some ways fundamentally the same.

Science Fiction paves the way for its authors, often scientists themselves, to extrapolate from current technology and knowledge, and make educated guesses about what will be invented in the future. Often their guesses are correct. It might be easier to identify the scientific advances of the last sixty years that were not predicted in science fiction, than to list those that were. By working within the constraints of scientific theory, the science fiction genre honors those who have spent their lives helping us understand our universe.

And any meta-universe which may include it.

Also, the science fiction genre gives the would-be builder of worlds a place to play. While fantasy does the same, science fiction imposes certain constraints – and as many a poet would testify, some constraints can actually spur creativity. At any rate, I find satisfaction in knowing that what I have imagined, or what another author lays before me, could possibly exist.

Science fiction authors differ from other author by how hard they strive to ensure that their "world-building" includes details on the physical features of fictional planets, aliens, and technology that fit within our current scientific theories, or at least a scientific hypotheses which is held by at least one adventurous scientist out there. Not a scientist myself, I still try fairly hard to make my worlds as believable as possible for my readers. I rely on my husband as my technical adviser, whose scientific knowledge runs broad and deep – but if I really wanted to make the sky green, or put multiple sails on an imagery sailboat, or whatever, and he is skeptical, I just keep researching until (with luck) I find a plausible reason to do so. On the other hand, unlike historical fiction writers, where the possibility of error lurks behind every detail, the amount of research needed to write Sci-Fi is not quite as intimidating.

What do you like most about science fiction?

What problems, if any, have you had while world-building in the genre?

Author Bio

Karen A. Wyle was born a Connecticut Yankee, but eventually settled in Bloomington, Indiana, home of Indiana University. She now considers herself a Hoosier. Wyle's childhood ambition was to be the youngest ever-published novelist. While writing her first novel at age 10, she was mortified to learn that some British upstart had beaten her to the goal at age 9.

Wyle is an appellate attorney, photographer, political junkie, and mother of two daughters. Her voice is the product of almost five decades of reading both literary and genre fiction. It is no doubt also influenced, although she hopes not fatally tainted, by her years of law practice. Her personal history has led her to focus on often-intertwined themes of family, communication, the impossibility of controlling events, and the persistence of unfinished business.

www.KarenAWyle.net

Indie / Self-Published authors

2011-12-02T22:31:00.000-08:00

When Rachel, a book blogger over at Parajunkee's View (someone who sincerely loves to read and help promote authors) approached me about participating in a discussion on book reviewers accepting indie authors and the stereotype, I was glad to do it.

Why? I'll give you four reasons:

I consider myself an indie author advocate.
I love helping other writers promote their work.
I wish most of them every success.
And I've discovered some amazing writing talent.

Self-publishing has become such a negative term over the last five years or so. Poorly written, published novels evoked stereotypes of amateur writers, whose novels were distributed at the cost of shoddy production value. While this is true in some cases, it is NOT true in all. Challenging the stereotype that all books published by Indie authors are crap and unprofessional, albeit the varying quality of work that is being self-published, some authors are producing high-quality stories. Posted below is our Q & A:

How does it make you feel that some book reviewers stereotype self-published authors?

Well, some Indie authors won’t like my answer; nevertheless, I think self-published authors gave themselves a bad rap.

Now please allow me to explain, obviously some, not all, didn’t have their work professionally edited, or used critique partners, or even beta readers before publishing their work. If the novel is riddled with grammar, punctuation, and structure issues, it pulls the reader out of the story and then the focus remains on those obvious errors. Hence, the bad rap.

And I get it—some writers can’t afford to hire an editor, which doesn’t mean the book doesn’t have potential. Nor do they bother to create, or hire an artist to design a professional looking book cover, or a text formatter. One of the biggest mistakes some self-publishing writers make is to take the appearance of their books for granted. Self-published authors often design the covers themselves, lacking the knowledge for creating an attractive, professional looking cover and/or interior layout that produces a high quality product for the potential reader. Market yourself like a professional!

In fact, these issues have done other self-publishing writers a disservice. They have helped perpetuate the myth that indie writing is shoddy.

Do you think the self-publishing stereotypes are founded in reality?

Yes and no. Self-published authors have long tolerated the stigma of contempt from the world of book reviewers, because of the things I mentioned above. Although this stereotype has somewhat eroded in recent years, with people starting to sit up and take notice of the superiority of work produced by many self-published authors, these preconceptions unfortunately still abound within the book blogging community.

However, there have also been some great writers discovered by book bloggers, authors that normally might have been overlooked by the public.

Before John Grisham became a famous novelist whose works have been read by millions, he struggled to get publishers interested in a book called “A Time to Kill” which he initially self-published, and the initial “Chicken Soup for the Soul” novels were self-published. Even the infamous Indie author, Amanda Hocking started out as a self-published writer. The paranormal romance author wrote 17 novels in her spare time, and began self-publishing them in April 2010. By early 2011, Ms. Hocking had sold over a million copies of nine of her books.

So, remember there “are” many well-written books to be found and cherished in the Indie publishing world, if you are willing to weed through the muck. I also feel there are many shoddy books published by the traditional publishing industry too.

If you do think there is truth behind some stereotypes, how have you tried to overcome them in your own work?

There is some basis of truth to the label. As I stated in my answer to the first question, a number of self-published authors gave reviewers the rope in which to hang themselves by not publishing a quality product.

However, as a former book reviewer, I also think some reviewers are unduly harsh even to traditionally published authors in their reviews—what some consider author bashing. I think there some amateurish book reviewers that don’t understand what an ARC is either.

Just in case you are unfamiliar with what the term ARC, it refers to an Advance Uncorrected Proof of a novel. As a marketing tool, publishers and Indie authors provide free copies of a book to reviewers. These are often referred to as an an advance reading copy, or ARC. It’s a form of the book privately released to book reviewers in a very limited distribution so that any overlooked errors, typos, redundancy, and grammar goofs can be caught and corrected “before” further publication proceeds and the manuscript is printed for mass distribution.

Well, I made the mistake of sending out my ARCs too early. (Against the advice of my edtior and publisher.) I sent out review copies prior to the book’s release date, although the novel hadn’t been thoroughly edited yet, and I received this scolding/author bashing review. (I will not make that mistake again.)

HOWEVER, I did not respond in an unprofessional manner. I still thanked the reviewer for their time. Were my feelings hurt? You betcha. But if you’re going to put yourself, “out there” than you’d better develop tough skin. Now.

I personally do not abide author bashing OR reviewer bashing.

Be professional—people!

Wait—what was the question? How did I overcome it?

By writing the best novel possible.

Do you believe the view of self-publishing has changed in the last year?

YES. But overcoming the stereotype some book reviewers still have about self-published books is one of the biggest challenges for Indie authors. Even with the success of self-published authors like Amanda Hocking and L. J. Sellers, the stereotype is tough to dispute, but...guess what, folks: That is slowly changing.

What advice can you give to other self-published authors that might also be trying to break through the stereotypical mold?

Produce quality work

Have your novel professionally edited

Read your work aloud. This means the ENTIRE novel.

Have it reviewed by unbiased readers and get a critique partner or two.

Hire a professional cover designer and have the text formatted

For someone going the self-publishing route all of these things are important when presenting your work to the public. The few writers that don’t bother or care about appearing professional hurt the chances of other Indie authors, which do care enough to produce professional, quality novels. Smart writers read books on improving the craft, take writing courses, speak to published authors, and go to conferences and talk to agents and editors, and learn how to improve as a writer. Until other self-published authors take his or her time to create a professional book that is formatted and edited well, then unfortunately the stereotype is gonna stick.

Does this mean that your work will be perfect? No. Although you’ll be a hell of a lot closer to perfection than others, thus avoiding a bad review and gaining a wider audience for your book. I had my novel edited by three different editors and it still needed some tweaks, but the finished product was in great shape. (And even that single scolding/author bashing review helped me to make some necessary changes to the storyline before final publication. So there. :-p)

My point is this, if you “do” decide to self-publish, please make sure your novel is in the best shape possible—don’t give reviewers or readers a reason to stereotype us!

How do you approach potential reviewers to consider your work?

I always check a book reviewer’s policy first, and then I send a polite, professional email request. I did have one reviewer tell me that normally they do not accept Indie authors for review, but after reading the excerpt and the synopsis, they offered to read my novel. And to my delight, the reviewer loved it!

It doesn’t bother me if a reviewer doesn’t accept indie novels for review—because they are the ones that might be missing out on reading some terrific books.

How has the self-published journey been for you? Is there anything you would do differently?

It has been a vast learning experience. Sure, I made some mistakes starting out. I learned from them and moved on. There isn’t really anything I would do differently—I knew that I needed to make sure that my book was in the best shape possible before publishing it. I sincerely didn’t want to publish something that was considered lousy and add to the stereotype that Indie authors are slapdash and not worth considering, because we’re not!

My Views on Book Reviews

Sorry, but I do tend to ramble when discussing something that I am passionate about. I always think it is best act considerate and professional at all times. And I mean this to both book reviewers and authors. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that saying, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

Everyone has a right to their opinions, and I realize that book reviewers will not relish everything they read whether a book is self-pub or traditionally published. Readers and reviewers have varied tastes and preferences. There is such a diverse array of novels being published now that readers can find a large number of books to match what they are comfortable with reading.

What I “don’t” understand is the need to ridicule the author and their work by insulting them publicly.

There seems to be such a lack of respect in the literary world, thus giving many book review sites a bad rap. The one thing that makes me cringe are the reviewers that post an honest, professionally written review on the blog or website, then turn-around and post a completely offensive and downright nasty review on other sites like goodreads.

As an indie author, I will only publish what I consider my best work possible, I don't expect everyone to read a Sherry Soule novel and love it. A book review is one person's opinion and does not represent the views of the masses.

So I suggest a solution…one way of offering to read Indie books (and avoid any possible author or reviewer bashing) is to reserve the right “not” to write a review. If the author agrees with this stipulation, then accept the book.

So, what are your views on this controversial subject?

♥ A special shout out to all the book bloggers, who work so hard and don’t receive enough credit for what they do. ♥ Thanks! ♥

Ten Rules For Writing Fiction

2011-11-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

Survey Of Established Authors' Tips For Successful Authorship

"Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray." -Inspired by Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing…

Elmore Leonard: Using adverbs is a mortal sin

1 Never open a book with weather. If it's only to create atmosphere, and not a character's reaction to the weather, you don't want to go on too long. The reader is apt to leaf ahead looking for people. There are exceptions. If you happen to be Barry Lopez, who has more ways than an Eskimo to describe ice and snow in his book Arctic Dreams, you can do all the weather reporting you want.

2 Avoid prologues: they can be annoying, especially a prologue following an introduction that comes after a foreword. But these are ordinarily found in non-fiction. A prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want. There is a prologue in John Steinbeck's Sweet Thursday, but it's OK because a character in the book makes the point of what my rules are all about. He says: "I like a lot of talk in a book and I don't like to have nobody tell me what the guy that's talking looks like. I want to figure out what he looks like from the way he talks."

3 Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "said" is far less intrusive than "grumbled", "gasped", "cautioned", "lied". I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.

4 Never use an adverb to modify the verb "said" ... he admonished gravely. To use an adverb this way (or almost any way) is a mortal sin. The writer is now exposing himself in earnest, using a word that distracts and can interrupt the rhythm of the exchange. I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances "full of rape and adverbs".

5 Keep your exclamation points under control!!! You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose. If you have the knack of playing with exclaimers the way Tom Wolfe does, you can throw them in by the handful.

6 Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose". This rule doesn't require an explanation. I have noticed that writers who use "suddenly" tend to exercise less control in the application of exclamation points.

7 Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly. Once you start spelling words in dialogue phonetically and loading the page with apostrophes, you won't be able to stop. Notice the way Annie Prolix captures the flavor of Wyoming voices in her book of short stories Close Range.

8 Avoid detailed descriptions of characters, which Steinbeck covered. In Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants", what do the "American and the girl with him" look like? "She had taken off her hat and put it on the table." That's the only reference to a physical description in the story.

9 Don't go into great detail describing places and things, unless you're Margaret Atwood and can paint scenes with language. You don't want descriptions that bring the action, the flow of the story, to a standstill.

10 Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip. Think of what you skip reading a novel: thick paragraphs of prose you can see have too many words in them.

My most important rule is one that sums up the 10:

if it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

Diana Athill

1 Read it aloud to yourself because that's the only way to be sure the rhythms of the sentences are OK (prose rhythms are too complex and subtle to be thought out – they can be got right only by ear).

2 Cut (perhaps that should be CUT): only by having no inessential words can every essential word be made to count.

3 You don't always have to go so far as to murder all your darlings – those turns of phrase or images of which you felt extra proud when they appeared on the page – but go back and look at them with a very beady eye. Almost always it turns out that they'd be better dead. (Not every little twinge of satisfaction is suspect – it's the ones which amount to a sort of smug glee you must watch out for.)

Roddy Doyle

1 Do not place a photograph of your favorite author on your desk, especially if the author is one of the famous ones who committed suicide.

2 Do be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph –

3 Until you get to Page 50. Then calm down, and start worrying about the quality. Do feel anxiety – it's the job.

4 Do give the work a name as quickly as possible. Own it, and see it. Dickens knew Bleak House was going to be called Bleak House before he started writing it. The rest must have been easy.

5 Do restrict your browsing to a few websites a day. Don't go near the online bookies – unless it's research.

6 Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort. Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, eg "horse", "ran", "said".

7 Do, occasionally, give in to temptation. Wash the kitchen floor, hang out the washing. It's research.

8 Do change your mind. Good ideas are often murdered by better ones. I was working on a novel about a band called the Partitions. Then I decided to call them the Commitments.

9 Do not search amazon.co.uk for the book you haven't written yet.

10 Do spend a few minutes a day working on the cover biog – "He divides his time between Kabul and Tierra del Fuego." But then get back to work.

Helen Dunmore

1 Finish the day's writing when you still want to continue.

2 Listen to what you have written. A dud rhythm in a passage of dialogue may show that you don't yet understand the characters well enough to write in their voices.

3 Read Keats's letters.

4 Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn't work, throw it away. It's a nice feeling, and you don't want to be cluttered with the corpses of poems and stories which have everything in them except the life they need.

5 Learn poems by heart.

6 Join professional organisations which advance the collective rights of authors.

7 A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.

8 If you fear that taking care of your children and household will damage your writing, think of JG Ballard.

9 Don't worry about posterity – as Larkin (no sentimentalist) observed "What will survive of us is love".

Geoff Dyer

1 Never worry about the commercial possibilities of a project. That stuff is for agents and editors to fret over – or not. Conversation with my American publisher. Me: "I'm writing a book so boring, of such limited commercial appeal, that if you publish it, it will probably cost you your job." Publisher: "That's exactly what makes me want to stay in my job."

2 Don't write in public places. In the early 1990s I went to live in Paris. The usual writerly reasons: back then, if you were caught writing in a pub in England, you could get your head kicked in, whereas in Paris, dans les cafés . . . Since then I've developed an aversion to writing in public. I now think it should be done only in private, like any other lavatorial activity.

3 Don't be one of those writers who sentence themselves to a lifetime of sucking up to Nabokov.

4 If you use a computer, constantly refine and expand your autocorrect settings. The only reason I stay loyal to my piece-of-shit computer is that I have invested so much ingenuity into building one of the great autocorrect files in literary history. Perfectly formed and spelt words emerge from a few brief keystrokes: "Niet" becomes "Nietzsche", "phoy" becomes "photography" and so on. Genius!

5 Keep a diary. The biggest regret of my writing life is that I have never kept a journal or a diary.

6 Have regrets. They are fuel. On the page they flare into desire.

7 Have more than one idea on the go at any one time. If it's a choice between writing a book and doing nothing I will always choose the latter. It's only if I have an idea for two books that I choose one rather than the other. I always have to feel that I'm bunking off from something.

8 Beware of clichés. Not just the clichés that Martin Amis is at war with. There are clichés of response as well as expression. There are clichés of observation and of thought – even of conception. Many novels, even quite a few adequately written ones, are clichés of form which conform to clichés of expectation.

9 Do it every day. Make a habit of putting your observations into words and gradually this will become instinct. This is the most important rule of all and, naturally, I don't follow it.

10 Never ride a bike with the brakes on. If something is proving too difficult, give up and do something else. Try to live without resort to perseverance. But writing is all about perseverance. You've got to stick at it. In my 30s I used to go to the gym even though I hated it. The purpose of going to the gym was to postpone the day when I would stop going. That's what writing is to me: a way of postponing the day when I won't do it any more, the day when I will sink into a depression so profound it will be indistinguishable from perfect bliss.

Anne Enright

1 The first 12 years are the worst.

2 The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.

3 Only bad writers think that their work is really good.

4 Description is hard. Remember that all description is an opinion about the world. Find a place to stand.

5 Write whatever way you like. Fiction is made of words on a page; reality is made of something else. It doesn't matter how "real" your story is, or how "made up": what matters is its necessity.

6 Try to be accurate about stuff.

7 Imagine that you are dying. If you had a terminal disease would you finish this book? Why not? The thing that annoys this 10-weeks-to-live self is the thing that is wrong with the book. So change it. Stop arguing with yourself. Change it. See? Easy. And no one had to die.

8 You can also do all that with whiskey.

9 Have fun.

10 Remember, if you sit at your desk for 15 or 20 years, every day, not counting weekends, it changes you. It just does. It may not improve your temper, but it fixes something else. It makes you more free.

Richard Ford

1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer's a good idea.

2 Don't have children.

3 Don't read your reviews.

4 Don't write reviews. (Your judgment's always tainted.)

5 Don't have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night.

6 Don't drink and write at the same time.

7 Don't write letters to the editor. (No one cares.)

8 Don't wish ill on your colleagues.

9 Try to think of others' good luck as encouragement to yourself.

10 Don't take any shit if you can possibly help it.

Jonathan Franzen

1 The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator.

2 Fiction that isn't an author's personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn't worth writing for anything but money.

3 Never use the word "then" as a conjunction – we have "and" for this purpose. Substituting "then" is the lazy or tone-deaf writer's non-solution to the problem of too many "ands" on the page.

4 Write in the third person unless a really distinctive first-person voice offers itself irresistibly.

5 When information becomes free and universally accessible, voluminous research for a novel is devalued along with it.

6 The most purely autobiographical fiction requires pure invention. Nobody ever wrote a more autobiographical story than "The Metamorphosis".

7 You see more sitting still than chasing after.

8 It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction.

9 Interesting verbs are seldom very interesting.

10 You have to love before you can be relentless.

Esther Freud

1 Cut out the metaphors and similes. In my first book I promised myself I wouldn't use any and I slipped up during a sunset in chapter 11. I still blush when I come across it.

2 A story needs rhythm. Read it aloud to yourself. If it doesn't spin a bit of magic, it's missing something.

3 Editing is everything. Cut until you can cut no more. What is left often springs into life.

4 Find your best time of the day for writing and write. Don't let anything else interfere. Afterwards it won't matter to you that the kitchen is a mess.

5 Don't wait for inspiration. Discipline is the key.

6 Trust your reader. Not everything needs to be explained. If you really know something, and breathe life into it, they'll know it too.

7 Never forget, even your own rules are there to be broken.

Neil Gaiman

1 Write.

2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.

3 Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.

4 Put it aside. Read it pretending you've never read it before. Show it to friends whose opinion you respect and who like the kind of thing that this is.

5 Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

6 Fix it. Remember that, sooner or later, before it ever reaches perfection, you will have to let it go and move on and start to write the next thing. Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.

7 Laugh at your own jokes.

8 The main rule of writing is that if you do it with enough assurance and confidence, you're allowed to do whatever you like. (That may be a rule for life as well as for writing. But it's definitely true for writing.) So write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

David Hare

1 Write only when you have something to say.

2 Never take advice from anyone with no investment in the outcome.

3 Style is the art of getting yourself out of the way, not putting yourself in it.

4 If nobody will put your play on, put it on yourself.

5 Jokes are like hands and feet for a painter. They may not be what you want to end up doing but you have to master them in the meanwhile.

6 Theatre primarily belongs to the young.

7 No one has ever achieved consistency as a screenwriter.

8 Never go to a TV personality festival masquerading as a literary festival.

9 Never complain of being misunderstood. You can choose to be understood, or you can choose not to.

10 The two most depressing words in the English language are "literary fiction".

PD James

1 Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more effective your writing. We who write in English are fortunate to have the richest and most versatile language in the world. Respect it.

2 Read widely and with discrimination. Bad writing is contagious.

3 Don't just plan to write – write. It is only by writing, not dreaming about it, that we develop our own style.

4 Write what you need to write, not what is currently popular or what you think will sell.

5 Open your mind to new experiences, particularly to the study of other people. Nothing that happens to a writer – however happy, however tragic – is ever wasted.

AL Kennedy

1 Have humility. Older/more experienced/more convincing writers may offer rules and varieties of advice. Consider what they say. However, don't automatically give them charge of your brain, or anything else – they might be bitter, twisted, burned-out, manipulative, or just not very like you.

2 Have more humility. Remember you don't know the limits of your own abilities. Successful or not, if you keep pushing beyond yourself, you will enrich your own life – and maybe even please a few strangers.

3 Defend others. You can, of course, steal stories and attributes from family and friends, fill in filecards after lovemaking and so forth. It might be better to celebrate those you love – and love itself – by writing in such a way that everyone keeps their privacy and dignity intact.

4 Defend your work. Organisations, institutions and individuals will often think they know best about your work – especially if they are paying you. When you genuinely believe their decisions would damage your work – walk away. Run away. The money doesn't matter that much.

5 Defend yourself. Find out what keeps you happy, motivated and creative.

6 Write. No amount of self-inflicted misery, altered states, black pullovers or being publicly obnoxious will ever add up to your being a writer. Writers write. On you go.

7 Read. As much as you can. As deeply and widely and nourishingly and irritatingly as you can. And the good things will make you remember them, so you won't need to take notes.

8 Be without fear. This is impossible, but let the small fears drive your rewriting and set aside the large ones until they behave – then use them, maybe even write them. Too much fear and all you'll get is silence.

9 Remember you love writing. It wouldn't be worth it if you didn't. If the love fades, do what you need to and get it back.

10 Remember writing doesn't love you. It doesn't care. Nevertheless, it can behave with remarkable generosity. Speak well of it, encourage others, pass it on.

Hilary Mantel

1 Are you serious about this? Then get an accountant.

2 Read Becoming a Writer, by Dorothea Brande. Then do what it says, including the tasks you think are impossible. You will particularly hate the advice to write first thing in the morning, but if you can manage it, it might well be the best thing you ever do for yourself. This book is about becoming a writer from the inside out. Many later advice manuals derive from it. You don't really need any others, though if you want to boost your confidence, "how to" books seldom do any harm. You can kick-start a whole book with some little writing exercise.

3 Write a book you'd like to read. If you wouldn't read it, why would anybody else? Don't write for a perceived audience or market. It may well have vanished by the time your book's ready.

4 If you have a good story idea, don't assume it must form a prose narrative. It may work better as a play, a screenplay or a poem. Be flexible.

5 Be aware that anything that appears before "Chapter One" may be skipped. Don't put your vital clue there.

6 First paragraphs can often be struck out. Are you performing a haka, or just shuffling your feet?

7 Concentrate your narrative energy on the point of change. This is especially important for historical fiction. When your character is new to a place, or things alter around them, that's the point to step back and fill in the details of their world. People don't notice their everyday surroundings and daily routine, so when writers describe them it can sound as if they're trying too hard to instruct the reader.

8 Description must work for its place. It can't be simply ornamental. It usually works best if it has a human element; it is more effective if it comes from an implied viewpoint, rather than from the eye of God. If description is coloured by the viewpoint of the character who is doing the noticing, it becomes, in effect, part of character definition and part of the action.

9 If you get stuck, get away from your desk. Take a walk, take a bath, go to sleep, make a pie, draw, listen to music, meditate, exercise; whatever you do, don't just stick there scowling at the problem. But don't make telephone calls or go to a party; if you do, other people's words will pour in where your lost words should be. Open a gap for them, create a space. Be patient.

10 Be ready for anything. Each new story has different demands and may throw up reasons to break these and all other rules. Except number one: you can't give your soul to literature if you're thinking about income tax.

Michael Moorcock

1 My first rule was given to me by TH White, author of The Sword in the Stone and other Arthurian fantasies and was: Read. Read everything you can lay hands on. I always advise people who want to write a fantasy or science fiction or romance to stop reading everything in those genres and start reading everything else from Bunyan to Byatt.

2 Find an author you admire (mine was Conrad) and copy their plots and characters in order to tell your own story, just as people learn to draw and paint by copying the masters.

3 Introduce your main characters and themes in the first third of your novel.

4 If you are writing a plot-driven genre novel make sure all your major themes/plot elements are introduced in the first third, which you can call the introduction.

5 Develop your themes and characters in your second third, the development.

6 Resolve your themes, mysteries and so on in the final third, the resolution.

7 For a good melodrama study the famous "Lester Dent master plot formula" which you can find online. It was written to show how to write a short story for the pulps, but can be adapted successfully for most stories of any length or genre.

8 If possible have something going on while you have your characters delivering exposition or philosophising. This helps retain dramatic tension.

9 Carrot and stick – have protagonists pursued (by an obsession or a villain) and pursuing (idea, object, person, mystery).

10 Ignore all proferred rules and create your own, suitable for what you want to say.

Michael Morpurgo

1 The prerequisite for me is to keep my well of ideas full. This means living as full and varied a life as possible, to have my antennae out all the time.

2 Ted Hughes gave me this advice and it works wonders: record moments, fleeting impressions, overheard dialogue, your own sadnesses and bewilderments and joys.

3 A notion for a story is for me a confluence of real events, historical perhaps, or from my own memory to create an exciting fusion.

4 It is the gestation time which counts.

5 Once the skeleton of the story is ready I begin talking about it, mostly to Clare, my wife, sounding her out.

6 By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to my best friend or one of my grandchildren.

7 Once a chapter is scribbled down rough – I write very small so I don't have to turn the page and face the next empty one – Clare puts it on the word processor, prints it out, sometimes with her own comments added.

8 When I'm deep inside a story, living it as I write, I honestly don't know what will happen. I try not to dictate it, not to play God.

9 Once the book is finished in its first draft, I read it out loud to myself. How it sounds is hugely important.

10 With all editing, no matter how sensitive – and I've been very lucky here – I react sulkily at first, but then I settle down and get on with it, and a year later I have my book in my hand.

Andrew Motion

1 Decide when in the day (or night) it best suits you to write, and organise your life accordingly.

2 Think with your senses as well as your brain.

3 Honour the miraculousness of the ordinary.

4 Lock different characters/elements in a room and tell them to get on.

5 Remember there is no such thing as nonsense.

6 Bear in mind Wilde's dictum that "only mediocrities develop" – and challenge it.

7 Let your work stand before deciding whether or not to serve.

8 Think big and stay particular.

9 Write for tomorrow, not for today.

10 Work hard.

Joyce Carol Oates

1 Don't try to anticipate an "ideal reader" – there may be one, but he/she is reading someone else.

2 Don't try to anticipate an "ideal reader" – except for yourself perhaps, sometime in the future.

3 Be your own editor/critic. Sympathetic but merciless!

4 Unless you are writing something very avant-garde – all gnarled, snarled and "obscure" – be alert for possibilities of paragraphing.

5 Unless you are writing something very post-modernist – self-conscious, self-reflexive and "provocative" – be alert for possibilities of using plain familiar words in place of polysyllabic "big" words.

6 Keep in mind Oscar Wilde: "A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."

7 Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.

Annie Proulx

1 Proceed slowly and take care.

2 To ensure that you proceed slowly, write by hand.

3 Write slowly and by hand only about subjects that interest you.

4 Develop craftsmanship through years of wide reading.

5 Rewrite and edit until you achieve the most felicitous phrase/sentence/paragraph/page/story/chapter.

Philip Pullman

My main rule is to say no to things like this, which tempt me away from my proper work.

Ian Rankin

1 Read lots.

2 Write lots.

3 Learn to be self-critical.

4 Learn what criticism to accept.

5 Be persistent.

6 Have a story worth telling.

7 Don't give up.

8 Know the market.

9 Get lucky.

10 Stay lucky.

Will Self

1 Don't look back until you've written an entire draft, just begin each day from the last sentence you wrote the preceeding day. This prevents those cringing feelings, and means that you have a substantial body of work before you get down to the real work which is all in . . .

2 The edit.

3 Always carry a notebook. And I mean always. The short-term memory only retains information for three minutes; unless it is committed to paper you can lose an idea for ever.

4 Stop reading fiction – it's all lies anyway, and it doesn't have anything to tell you that you don't know already (assuming, that is, you've read a great deal of fiction in the past; if you haven't you have no business whatsoever being a writer of fiction).

5 You know that sickening feeling of inadequacy and over-exposure you feel when you look upon your own empurpled prose? Relax into the awareness that this ghastly sensation will never, ever leave you, no matter how successful and publicly lauded you become. It is intrinsic to the real business of writing and should be cherished.

6 Live life and write about life. Of the making of many books there is indeed no end, but there are more than enough books about books.

7 By the same token remember how much time people spend watching TV. If you're writing a novel with a contemporary setting there need to be long passages where nothing happens save for TV watching: "Later, George watched Grand Designs while eating HobNobs. Later still he watched the shopping channel for a while . . ."

8 The writing life is essentially one of solitary confinement – if you can't deal with this you needn't apply.

9 Oh, and not forgetting the occasional beating administered by the sadistic guards of the imagination.

10 Regard yourself as a small corporation of one. Take yourself off on team-building exercises (long walks). Hold a Christmas party every year at which you stand in the corner of your writing room, shouting very loudly to yourself while drinking a bottle of white wine. Then masturbate under the desk. The following day you will feel a deep and cohering sense of embarrassment.

Helen Simpson

The nearest I have to a rule is a Post-it on the wall in front of my desk saying "Faire et se taire" (Flaubert), which I translate for myself as "Shut up and get on with it."

Zadie Smith

1 When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

2 When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.

3 Don't romanticise your "vocation". You can either write good sentences or you can't. There is no "writer's lifestyle". All that matters is what you leave on the page.

4 Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can't do aren't worth doing. Don't mask self-doubt with contempt.

5 Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.

6 Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won't make your writing any better than it is.

7 Work on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.

8 Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

9 Don't confuse honours with achievement.

10 Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never being satisfied.

Colm Tóibín

1 Finish everything you start.

2 Get on with it.

3 Stay in your mental pyjamas all day.

4 Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

5 No alcohol, sex or drugs while you are working.

6 Work in the morning, a short break for lunch, work in the afternoon and then watch the six o'clock news and then go back to work until bed-time. Before bed, listen to Schubert, preferably some songs.

7 If you have to read, to cheer yourself up read biographies of writers who went insane.

8 On Saturdays, you can watch an old Bergman film, preferably Persona or Autumn Sonata.

9 No going to London.

10 No going anywhere else either.

Rose Tremain

1 Forget the boring old dictum "write about what you know". Instead, seek out an unknown yet knowable area of experience that's going to enhance your understanding of the world and write about that.

2 Nevertheless, remember that in the particularity of your own life lies the seedcorn that will feed your imaginative work. So don't throw it all away on autobiography. (There are quite enough writers' memoirs out there already.)

3 Never be satisfied with a first draft. In fact, never be satisfied with your own stuff at all, until you're certain it's as good as your finite powers can enable it to be.

4 Listen to the criticisms and preferences of your trusted "first readers".

5 When an idea comes, spend silent time with it. Remember Keats's idea of Negative Capability and Kipling's advice to "drift, wait and obey". Along with your gathering of hard data, allow yourself also to dream your idea into being.

6 In the planning stage of a book, don't plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.

7 Respect the way characters may change once they've got 50 pages of life in them. Revisit your plan at this stage and see whether certain things have to be altered to take account of these changes.

8 If you're writing historical fiction, don't have well-known real characters as your main protagonists. This will only create biographical unease in the readers and send them back to the history books. If you must write about real people, then do something post-modern and playful with them.

9 Learn from cinema. Be economic with descriptions. Sort out the telling detail from the lifeless one. Write dialogue that people would actually speak.

10 Never begin the book when you feel you want to begin it, but hold off a while longer.

Sarah Waters

1 Read like mad. But try to do it analytically – which can be hard, because the better and more compelling a novel is, the less conscious you will be of its devices. It's worth trying to figure those devices out, however: they might come in useful in your own work. I find watching films also instructive. Nearly every modern Hollywood blockbuster is hopelessly long and baggy. Trying to visualise the much better films they would have been with a few radical cuts is a great exercise in the art of story-telling. Which leads me on to . . .

2 Cut like crazy. Less is more. I've often read manuscripts – including my own – where I've got to the beginning of, say, chapter two and have thought: "This is where the novel should actually start." A huge amount of information about character and backstory can be conveyed through small detail. The emotional attachment you feel to a scene or a chapter will fade as you move on to other stories. Be business-like about it. In fact . . .

3 Treat writing as a job. Be disciplined. Lots of writers get a bit OCD-ish about this. Graham Greene famously wrote 500 words a day. Jean Plaidy managed 5,000 before lunch, then spent the afternoon answering fan mail. My minimum is 1,000 words a day – which is sometimes easy to achieve, and is sometimes, frankly, like shitting a brick, but I will make myself stay at my desk until I've got there, because I know that by doing that I am inching the book forward. Those 1,000 words might well be rubbish – they often are. But then, it is always easier to return to rubbish words at a later date and make them better.

4 Writing fiction is not "self-expression" or "therapy". Novels are for readers, and writing them means the crafty, patient, selfless construction of effects. I think of my novels as being something like fairground rides: my job is to strap the reader into their car at the start of chapter one, then trundle and whizz them through scenes and surprises, on a carefully planned route, and at a finely engineered pace.

5 Respect your characters, even the minor ones. In art, as in life, everyone is the hero of their own particular story; it is worth thinking about what your minor characters' stories are, even though they may intersect only slightly with your protagonist's. At the same time . . .

6 Don't overcrowd the narrative. Characters should be individualised, but functional – like figures in a painting. Think of Hieronymus Bosch's Christ Mocked, in which a patiently suffering Jesus is closely surrounded by four threatening men. Each of the characters is unique, and yet each represents a type; and collectively they form a narrative that is all the more powerful for being so tightly and so economically constructed. On a similar theme . . .

7 Don't overwrite. Avoid the redundant phrases, the distracting adjectives, the unnecessary adverbs. Beginners, especially, seem to think that writing fiction needs a special kind of flowery prose, completely unlike any sort of language one might encounter in day-to-day life. This is a misapprehension about how the effects of fiction are produced, and can be dispelled by obeying Rule 1. To read some of the work of Colm Tóibín or Cormac McCarthy, for example, is to discover how a deliberately limited vocabulary can produce an astonishing emotional punch.

8 Pace is crucial. Fine writing isn't enough. Writing students can be great at producing a single page of well-crafted prose; what they sometimes lack is the ability to take the reader on a journey, with all the changes of terrain, speed and mood that a long journey involves. Again, I find that looking at films can help. Most novels will want to move close, linger, move back, move on, in pretty cinematic ways.

9 Don't panic. Midway through writing a novel, I have regularly experienced moments of bowel-curdling terror, as I contemplate the drivel on the screen before me and see beyond it, in quick succession, the derisive reviews, the friends' embarrassment, the failing career, the dwindling income, the repossessed house, the divorce . . . Working doggedly on through crises like these, however, has always got me there in the end. Leaving the desk for a while can help. Talking the problem through can help me recall what I was trying to achieve before I got stuck. Going for a long walk almost always gets me thinking about my manuscript in a slightly new way. And if all else fails, there's prayer. St Francis de Sales, the patron saint of writers, has often helped me out in a crisis. If you want to spread your net more widely, you could try appealing to Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, too.

10 Talent trumps all. If you're a really great writer, none of these rules need apply. If James Baldwin had felt the need to whip up the pace a bit, he could never have achieved the extended lyrical intensity of Giovanni's Room. Without "overwritten" prose, we would have none of the linguistic exuberance of a Dickens or an Angela Carter. If everyone was economical with their characters, there would be no Wolf Hall . . . For the rest of us, however, rules remain important. And, crucially, only by understanding what they're for and how they work can you begin to experiment with breaking them.

Jeanette Winterson

1 Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.

2 Never stop when you are stuck. You may not be able to solve the problem, but turn aside and write something else. Do not stop altogether.

3 Love what you do.

4 Be honest with yourself. If you are no good, accept it. If the work you are doing is no good, accept it.

5 Don't hold on to poor work. If it was bad when it went in the drawer it will be just as bad when it comes out.

6 Take no notice of anyone you don't respect.

7 Take no notice of anyone with a gender agenda. A lot of men still think that women lack imagination of the fiery kind.

8 Be ambitious for the work and not for the reward.

9 Trust your creativity.

10 Enjoy this work!

How To Write Horror: Writing Tips for Dark Fiction

2011-11-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

Learn Special Tricks and Techniques for Writing a Horror Novel

By Ashley Sinatra

Have you ever read a book that makes you fear your own shadow?

Have you read through words that are so intense that the hair on your back stands up?

Wouldn't you love to write a book that makes other people feel the exact same way?

Please prepare to use these writing tools by grabbing a pen and getting ready to start writing something so scary that you will even scare yourself.

To write a horror story:

1. Write about what scares you: One of the most important writing tips for a horror story is that you cannot produce a good horror book or short story if you are not willing to confront your own fears. Writing horror means you must be willing to dig deep down inside of yourself. You also have to force yourself to daydream and imagine yourself in a scary situation. If you allow yourself to be the main character, then you will make that character appear more real because you are pouring your fears, anxiety and emotions into her. Some of the best novels are real life horror stories so if you have a scary event or situation that has happened to you, then write about it.

2. Study the craft: If you have the desire and drive to write horror stories, then you should have the passion to read horror stories and watch horror movies. Do not bother trying to write a horror novel or short story if you do not like to read horror stories. Reading is the foundation of good writing. From reading other horrors and other books, you will develop yourself as a writer in substance and style. By reading other horror stories, you are not stealing their ideas. Also, if you want to read a very well written book that will help you get more acquainted with horror writing, Stephen King's On Writing it great. It is also a great idea to talk to other aspiring and experienced horror writers. You can chat and make fellow horror writer friends at sites like Horror Writers Workshop.

3. Timing and pacing: Some horror writers have been successful by creating their own timing in a horror novel, rather than following the typical rules. The typical rules for scary stories, however, are great ones to follow. A great way to start your horror novel is to jump right into suspense. Do not have the scariest scene be in the beginning; you have to build u to it. Just begin with something that will grab the reader's attention.

Take the time necessary to establish creepy moods and capture the fright of your story's surroundings and scenarios. Many writers want to rush through descriptions in the hope that fast pace is always the goal. But while fast-paced storytelling is great at times, you have to slow down to savor the horror of quieter moments as well. Without the slower parts, the quicker moments would not be so explosive.

Also, through the story, you want to tease your readers. Put in scary scenes that end up not being so scary after all. Give your readers the feeling that something scary is coming, then when they least expect it, spring on the scariest climax of the story. Before the climax, it is also a good idea to describe how scary the monster or villain.

4. Avoid horror clichés: A black cat lurking in an alleyway. A strange noise coming from the dark woods surrounding a campfire. The high school quarterback and head cheerleader smooching in a convertible when suddenly a monster rips her head off. All of these scenarios instantly conjure up memories because they are a few of the obvious horror clichés. Explore original ways to create horror in your story. Maybe your scenes will involve classic horror elements done with a unique twist, or maybe the scenarios do not resemble past horror at all.

5. Write realistically: What makes horror stories so scary is how real they seem. Even though majority of horror is fiction, it still has to seem like it could actually happen. For starter horror writers, write about your own town and life situations. Then add in a fear, such as a murderer or ghost. Starting with a real place, person, or even situation will make your horror story sound real right away.

6. Writing habits: While writing a horror story, you will lose some of your emotional momentum if you take days off in between writing. It is crucial to stay in touch with your characters and keep the intensity high by writing everyday.

You may also discover that you write horror better when you are in the middle of being afraid. Try writing in your musty basement or squeaky attic. Or write at night when all is quiet. That should heighten your horror writing.

Horror writing takes time, practice, and some imagination. Remember, the best way to know if your novel will scare your readers is if you are spooked while writing it.

Tips on Writing First Person POV

2011-11-18T18:24:00.000-08:00

Kathleen S. Allen

Greetings All!

Sherry has graciously asked me to write a guest post on writing in First Person POV for her blog. I am a YA author who writes in both third person narrative (from the omniscient point of view) and in first person point-of-view.

Most character driven stories are mainly written in first person.

First-person point of view is usually subjective: the reader ONLY learns the narrator's thoughts, feelings, and reactions to events. In first-person narration, questions about the persona are simple: the character narrating the story has a particular personality and attitude, which is plausibly expressed by the way he or she describes the events that take place within the story.

However, first person is considered a difficult formula to write, because it is easy to be caught up in the “I did this” or the “I did that” in your writing. Yet it is a more intimate style of writing, because whatever the main character perceives or thinks or feels about certain events the reader is given personal insight into the heart and mind of that character, which are expressed by the narrator's choice of words and incidents. These in turn depend on the point of view of the story.

One of the techniques I use in writing first person is to vary my sentence structure. You don’t want every sentence starting with “I.” The trick is to reduce most of those offensive sentences that begin with "I" words, which can sneak into your prose unnoticed. This can often be accomplished through some restructuring of the sentence (and has the advantage of getting rid of typically weak verbs).

Instead of: I saw her run.

TRY: She ran.

Instead of: I felt the tickle.

TRY: The feather tickled.

In first person writing, your main goal should be to try to avoid “I” whenever possible.

For example: I glanced at out the window.
Becomes: My gaze darted to the window.
BEST: The pitter-patter of rain drew my glance toward the window.

Reworded, the meaning is not lost, but that repetitive "I" is gone.

Bad example:

I got out of bed. I went to the window. I wanted to see what the weather was like today. I saw gray clouds and rain coming down. I decided to go back to bed until my mom yelled at me to get up.

Better Example after revision:

Throwing back the covers and dragging a blanket around my shoulders, I ventured over to the window. After pulling up the shades to peer outside, I sighed at the dreary scene. Gloomy clouds littered the sky. The faint pitter-patter of rain hitting the pane caused rippling films of water to roll down the glass. Lightning forked down from the heavens and winds tugged at the trees.

Stupid weather.

The shade fell back into place and I shuffled back to bed. My lips turned down into a pout, and I just hoped the rain would stop before soccer practice that afternoon.

See the difference?

In the second example, I added more description and included what the main character was feeling about the weather as the scene unfolded. The second example makes the scene more intimate for the reader too. Remember, the trick is to learn to turn the sentence about to avoid the “I.”

Instead of: I leaned down and picked up the book.
Try: The book fell to the floor with a thud, and I leaned down to pick it up.
BEST: The book fell from the shelf and landed near my feet with a thud. Leaning down, I lifted the book off the floor and brushed it off.

Instead of: I was so hot, perspiration beaded my forehead.
Try: Sweat dripped down face, because it was so dang hot.
BEST: Swiping at the beads of sweat on my forehead with my sleeve, I wished for an icy tall coke. Sure was hot today.

After drafting a story in first person, I go back and analyze each sentence to make sure it contains variety, and conveys the meaning that I needed to express. It does take a lot of revising to do it this way, but I am a “pantser.” Meaning, I write my thoughts down, then go back and revise. Sometimes, I edit as I go, but it’s more important for me to get the narrative down and then go back and revise it.

Now onto my next point, remember not to use physical descriptions of your character that only others can see. For example, if you write, “My face reddened in anger.” How does your character see their own face? Because, unless they are looking in a mirror, they can’t.

A better way to write it would be, “My cheeks burned as I confronted him.” Oh, and speaking of mirrors, please don’t have your main character look in a mirror to describe themselves to the reader. A method I use to describe my character is to have the character compare themselves to someone else in the story. (Although this gets used a lot too in first person narration.)

For example:

Jane’s hair was a deeper shade of red than mine, and I’ve been told mine was the color of the skin on oranges.

For example (excerpt from Sherry’s novel, BEAUTIFULLY BROKEN):

Ariana and I were total opposites. Not that I was shy, but I was super thin compared to her; my slight 5’6 frame made her curvy 5’2 figure seem excessive. Her delicate features, eyes as blue as the sky and a pale complexion, were in complete contrast to someone like me who was composed of differing shades of brown. With my mix of Sioux and French ancestry, I’d inherited high cheekbones, smooth olive skin, bronze eyes that dominated my face and a flood of hair the shade of midnight. Did I mention I’m jealous of Ariana’s porcelain skin and bigger boobs? Ah, well, I still love her.

Posted below is one of my favorite quotes on writing First POV by fiction writer, essayist, screenwriter, and editor, Kelly Eskridge:

“…My favorite use for first person is an unreliable narrator. If we do our jobs well, readers won’t question the narrator’s perspective, they’ll simply believe what the narrator tells them, even though sometimes he’s misinformed, lying, or crazy. For the reader, the deliciousness of this kind of story is that moment when they stumble over–sometimes alongside the narrator, sometimes despite him–a piece of information that changes the entire story. Think of that moment in The Sixth Sense when we find out that Malcolm is dead. It turns us inside out like a sock.

All these nifty tricks we can play with first person rely on maintaining a tightly focused point of view, staying in close and personal. One way to do this (there are many) is to avoid anything generic or clichéd. It’s not a gun, it’s a Glock 19. It’s not a magazine, it’s American Cheerleader. She doesn’t walk, she ambles. He’s not wearing jeans, he’s wearing Edun. Be specific, be particular. It’s astonishing how quickly that brings a character into focus….”

So, in closing, first person is fun to write, but keep these tips in mind while writing in first person. Hope they help!

Kathleen S. Allen is the author of ten novels, short stories, and poetry. She writes in different genres but YA is her favorite. Her upcoming release in April 2012 from Muse It Up Publishing is “LORE OF FEI,” a YA fantasy about faeries vs. humans.

Where you can find her online:

Kathleen on Twitter: @kathleea

Official Website

FB:Witch Hunter

Guest Blogger Downtown YA

NOMINEE: BEST PNR - WIZARD AND WITCH (2011)

2011-11-16T14:07:00.000-08:00

I am beyond excited and honored to be nominated in this category. (My hands are shaking as I type this!) I actually got tears in my eyes when I read the email. As some of you know, the past year has been incredibly hard for me both financially and personally, and I've felt like life keeps kicking me in the teeth. This made me smile for the first time in weeks. Even if I don't win, it is such a great tribute and privilege to be listed among such well-established authors.

Beautifully Broken has been nominated by TRR reviewers for Best Paranormal Romance – Wizard and Witch/Sorcery 2011 at The Romance Reviews (“TRR”). Voting officially starts today, November 16, until November 30

PLEASE vote for my book!

Please Tweet it!

Please add it to your blog!

Help me spread the word!
Please copy & paste this into Twitter:

PLEASE RT: The Romance Reviews - ★ NOMINEE: BEST PNR - WIZARD AND WITCH 2011 ★ Please Vote for Beautifully Broken: http://bit.ly/sjVdP1

NOMINEE

Beautifully Broken

by Sherry Soule

VOTE HERE

Most Popular Twitter Hashtags for Writers

2011-11-15T09:30:00.000-08:00

Twitter can be awkward when you first get started, and if you’re not yet familiar with hashtags, they are simply words or phrases used in tweets with the # symbol in front of them that you can type into the search and read tweets related to that subject, for example, I use #Spellbound when I tweet about my YA series.

Hashtags actually become links in Twitter that, when clicked, reveal a timeline of everyone whose tweets contain that hashtag. You can also click on the hashtags to the right of your Twitter page to find out what's trending and read the amusing Twitter streams. I've actually come to love Twitter and have so much fun interacting with other people. I've gotten some great writing advice, found awesome blogs to follow, discovered new authors to read, and even made some new online friends. It is by far my favorite social networking site. Below is a list of some of the most popular hashtags for writers.

#amwriting

Writing can be a solitary experience, and Twitter is a great way of connecting with other writers. By using the #amwriting hashtag (started by Johanna Harness), you can connect with other writers, agents, and editors. It even has its own website at amwriting.org. Use it to tell us what you’re working on, make new writing friends, gain support, and learn from people in the publishing business.

#BooksYouShouldRead

Use this popular hashtag to chat about your favorite book and author. Or give shout-out to other writers that you follow or follow you, and even suggest authors to follow.

#writetip

If you specifically want to share or find helpful writing tips or blog posts or articles on writing, then be sure to use this hashtag #writetip.

#followfriday or #FF

#followfriday or #FF is one of the most popular hashtags on Twitter, used on a Friday to suggest people to follow. Don't forget to tell us why we should follow that person(s) you suggested. You can do them one at a time, or include a list of people grouped together by topic or reason. #FF can help raise your profile status too, if people return the favor, or at least thank you in public. #FF has a website followfriday.com that tracks the hashtag

For example: #FF Paranormal Authors worth reading: @LynnRush @JoanneBrothwell @KinleyBaker @Angeline_Kace @MRMerrick @MichelleZink @kathleea @carisroane

For example: #FF tweeps who help writers become better writers @RochelleFrench @PixieBookDeals @AngelaAckerman @RoxanneRhoads @Kid_Lit @KeciaAdams

#fridayreads

Not sure, why Fridays are such a popular day to use hashtags on Twitter but this one gets a lot of buzz too. Use this hashtag on Friday to tell the Twitter world what you’re reading. This can be a good way to chat about the authors you admire, or even a way of promoting yourself, that is if you can persuade your followers to include you in their #fridayreads! Preferably, include the Twitter @username of the author and official hashtag, and a link to the book on Amazon.

For example: We read in solitude, but we love books as a community. What are your #fridayreads this weekend?

#bookgiveaway or #FreeBooks

Running a book giveaway on Twitter? Use #bookgiveaway or #freebooks to promote contests, book giveaways, or free online novels to your Twitter followers.

For example: @WriterSherry Vampires & Romance. Intrigue & Danger. Blood & Magic. #FreeBooks THIRSTY by author Sherry Soule http://bit.ly/tVytMH

#AskAgent or #AskAuthor

You know that you should never query an agent or editor on Twitter, right? However, you should follow them, and many are prepared to give advice, if you ask nicely. Use the #askagent hashtag to ask your probing questions, and maybe some agent will be kind enough to answer your questions. Hashtag #AskAuthor can be used to ask questions of published authors and some fiction editors.

When people tweet to say they've just bought my book or have just read it, the feeling behind that is incredible. Please follow me on Twitter and read my witty stream and get some savvy writing advice at: @WriterSherry

Other hashtags you might find useful:

#amediting
#amwriting
#askagent
#author
#authors

#askauthor
#editing
#fictionfriday
#fridayflash
#nanowrimo
#novels
#novelists
#poem
#poet
#poets
#poetry
#pubtip
#publishing
#scifi
#selfpublishing
#vss
#webfic
#weblit
#wip
#wordcount
#writegoal
#writequote
#writer
#writers
#writetip  writing advice
#writing
#writingtips  writing advice
#wrotetoday  

OTHER TAGS

#ebooks

This is an obvious #hashtag so I’ll mention it here even though it is really too general. Sometimes the good tweets about writing or publishing ebooks can become lost among all the tweets about other topics such as reading ebooks and downloading free ebooks.

If you want more targeted information try the following hashtags:

#indieauthor & #indieauthors

These two hashtags seem to be similar in terms of popularity so keep an eye on both!

#indiepublishing & #indiepub

The shorter of these two hashtags, #indiepub is considerably more popular.

#selfpub

For tweets related to self-publishing.

#epub

For tweets related to digital publishing or ebook publishing

#bookmarketing

Whether you are already finished your ebook or still working on it you need to thinking about your marketing. This is a good hashtag to find information about marketing a book or ebook.

The following two hashtags are chat hashtags. They are different to regular hashtags in that there is an assigned time when everyone comes together and tweets under that hashtag.

#epubchat

Time: Every other Friday, 3pm-5pm PST.

#kindlechat

Guest Post by author, Becca Puglisi

2011-11-11T09:36:00.000-08:00

The Power of the Past

By author & co-blogger of the Bookshelf Muse

Becca Puglisi

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how to evoke emotion in my readers. I can come up with a snappy hook and edit my first page to death to get the reader’s attention. But if they don’t care for the character, if they don’t feel what the character feels, they’re not going to finish, and what good is that? Our readers need to know our characters--the good, the bad, and the ugly. And a person’s past is maybe the most important indicator of who they are in the present, so it definitely needs some air-time. But the past is so big. When writing, how do we decide what bits and pieces to include?

1. Choose scenes that show a snapshot of the past. In The Hunger Games, Katniss used to have a supportive father, a present mother, and of course, Prim, to make the awfulness of District 12 bearable. Collins chooses scenes from Katniss’s past to show the contrast between then and now, to show how bad things have gotten. A different technique is the one used by Kathryn Stockett in The Help. Here, Skeeter’s past is essentially the same as her present, filled with insecurity, inequality, and unreasonable expectations. Stockett uses episodes from the past to show that Skeeter can no longer live in the world as it is, that things must change in order for her to move forward from awkward child to confident, capable adult.

2. Choose scenes that show how your characters became who they are. You can’t watch a person stumble along their personal journey without reaching out a hand to help them, or offering up an encouraging word. Choose scenes from your character’s past that show her becoming the person she is today, and the reader will feel more connected. A good example for this is Cynthia Voigt’s Homecoming, which just about crumbled to well-loved pieces when I grabbed it off my shelf. In it, there’s very little backstory to explain Dicey to the reader--just a paragraph here or there showing how her Momma had slowly gone crazy. This little bit is all it takes to show why Dicey, at age 13, is so practical and responsible and brave. It makes her altogether believable, and we feel her pain.

3. Choose scenes to make a point. When you have something important to say, like the theme of the story, it should stand out. Sometimes this is easier to accomplish by stating the big idea outside of the present-time story. Daughter of Smoke and Bone was one of my favorite reads this year. In one of the main character’s memories, Karou is discussing wishes and magic with her father-figure, a demon named Brimstone. In the course of this succinct, two-page flashback, the theme of the book is stated: Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic. This is a monumental statement, coming from the most important fixture in Karou’s life. To set it in present-time over coffee would have lessened the moment. By placing it in the past, Taylor set it apart and made it shine.

These are only a few things to consider when deciding which parts of your character’s past to share with the reader. What do you think? What other factors go into this decision for you?

Author Bio:

Becca Puglisi is a YA writer who lives in south Florida and, ironically, hates the weather. During hurricane season, you can find her cursing the heat, stalking Jim Cantore, and adding to her stash of emergency supplies. Becca is also an SCBWI member and co-host of The Bookshelf Muse, an on-line resource for writers. She also has a number of magazine publications under her belt and is actively seeking representation.