Tag: novels
Character Attributes [fill in the blank]
[found on fictionfactor.com; by Tina Morgan]
“A common trick employed by newer writers is to have a character stare into a mirror, so the reader can ‘see’ what the character is seeing. This approach often feels contrived and does not help the reader to ‘see’ your character at all.
You’ve made up your mind that the male lead of your story is average height, has brown eyes and caramel colored skin. He’s getting older, has thinning hair and a tiny bit of fat sticking out beyond his belt. He has wide shoulders and narrow hips. He’s a bit bowlegged like he’s been riding too many horses even though he’s never set foot outside the city limits. Now, how do you describe him in your story?
Bob was rapidly approaching middle age. His brown eyes didn’t focus as well as they used to and he was wearing reading glasses as he scanned the paper. His wide shoulders jutted beyond what was considered the proper amount of “personal” space at the diner counter. His closely cropped brown hair was thinning a bit on the top.
No.
Age
Eye color
Frame
Hair color and type
Descriptions that read like grocery lists are boring. And what if your story is in first person? How would you start then?
My name is Bob, I’m a 49 year old accountant with thinning hair and reading glasses. I weigh 195 which is a bit much for my 5’8″ frame. Not that I’m fat mind you, just a little out of shape.
Again we have a list.
Age
Hair type
Glasses
Weight
Body condition.
So when does your character introduce him/herself? Do they walk into the bathroom and start listing their features in the mirror? This is a commonly overused ploy. (the same goes for still water in lakes, ponds and puddles. Also reflections in the bottom of cooking utensils.)
Working the description slowly into the story doesn’t disrupt the flow as much as the grocery list approach does. It allows for the reader to learn about your character as they go. The trick is to keep the reader interested in your characters and how they cope with the stories conflict. The reader doesn’t really need an in-depth description to get a feel for your character. They don’t need to know every wrinkle on the character’s face. It’s more fun to read about the wrinkles in their personality.”
For more excellent tips on writing from FictionFactor, click here.
[found on http://www.fictionfactor.com/articles/physicalcharactertraits.html]
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Lean Writing Is Strength
[found on entrepreneur.com; by Susan Gunelius]
“As Mark Twain famously wrote, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” His point? Strong writing is lean writing.
When you want to make your writing more powerful, cut out words you don’t need–such as the 10 included in this post:
1. Just: The word “just” is a filler word that weakens your writing. Removing it rarely affects meaning, but rather, the deletion tightens a sentence.
2. Really: Using the word “really” is an example of writing the way you talk. It’s a verbal emphasis that doesn’t translate perfectly into text. In conversation, people use the word frequently, but in written content it’s unnecessary. Think about the difference between saying a rock is “hard” and “really hard,” for example. What does the word add? Better to cut it out to make your message stronger.
3. Very: Everything that applies to “really” applies to “very.” It’s a weak word. Cut it.
4. Perhaps/maybe: Do you want your audience to think you’re uncertain about what you’re saying? When you use words like “maybe” and “perhaps,” uncertainty is exactly what you’re communicating.
5. Quite: When someone uses “quite,” he or she either means “a bit” or “completely” or “almost.” Sometimes the word adds meaning; sometimes it’s fluff. Learn to tell the difference–but, when in doubt, cut it out.
6. Amazing: The meaning of “amazing” is causing great wonder or surprise–but some writers use the word so often that the meaning gets lost. How can something be amazing if everything is? Ditch this diluted word.
7. Literally: When something is true in a literal sense, you don’t have to add the word “literally.” The only reason it makes sense to use the word is when it clarifies meaning (i.e., to explain you aren’t joking when it seems you are).
8. Stuff: Unless you are aiming at informality, don’t use the word “stuff.” It’s casual, it’s generic, and it usually stands in for something better.
9. Things: Writers use the word “things” to avoid using a clearer, more specific word that would communicate more meaning. Be specific. Don’t tell us about the “10 things,” tell us about the “10 books” or “10 strategies.” Specificity makes for better writing.
10. Got: Think of all the ways we use the vague word “got” in conversation: “I’ve got to go,” “I got a ball,” or “I got up this morning.” Though it’s fine for conversation, in writing, “got” misses valuable opportunities. Rather than writing a lazy word, look for clearer, more descriptive language: “I promised I’d leave by 9,” “I picked up a ball,” or “I woke up today,” for example.
Whether you’ve been writing for a few days or for many years, you’ll benefit from evaluating the words you use. Cut the filler to make your writing stronger.”
[found on http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229369]
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Want Your eBook to Sell? Read On.
[found on inboundpro.net; by hector cuevas]
“14 Invaluable Tips For Writing Ebooks That Sell
1. Lisa from Niche Website Success says:
“Take the time to survey your core audience to ensure your book meets their needs. We often assume we know what people want, but you never really know unless you ask.
Prior to writing my eBook, I used my email list to survey my subscribers. The feedback was invaluable and inspired much of the content in the book. Not to mention, it’s a great way to win over your readers. They ask. You deliver.”
2. Steve from Steve Aitchison says:
“Ask your audience what type of ebook they would like before writing one word of your ebook. I have made the mistake of writing an ebook, thinking, this is a great idea my readers will love this, only to find that they didn’t love it. The ONLY way to find out what type of ebook your readers will like is to ask them. You can do this in a blog post, an email to your subscribers, or use social media better yet ask them using all three.
Another thing is, make your ebook look fantastic. Presentation is everything and you want to give a professional looking ebook with a great cover. A lot of ebook creators write their book in a word document and turn it into a pdf without much thought for presentation. In this day and age of information overload, you need a great cover to catch the readers eye, a great title to capture their imagination, and a great presentation on the inside. It’s well worth spending a few hundred dollars to get a professional to design your ebook once you’ve written it.
One last thing, get someone to proof read your ebook. Again, I’ve made this mistake of not getting an ebook proof read only to find I get lots of emails pointing out errors in my book. If you don’t get it proof read it shows you’re not willing to invest that little extra to make it look and read great, and this will come across to the reader.””
To see more excellent advice from InBoundPro.net, click HERE.
[found on http://www.inboundpro.net/how-to-write-ebooks-that-sell]
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Finish Your Book…Already
[found on josephfinder.com; by Joseph Finder]
“1. Just write it. Fix it later. That means: don’t worry about word choice or grammar. Don’t worry about getting your facts right.
2. You do have time — if you really want to do it. You have a full-time job? A family? Carve out an hour or two early in the morning before the rest of the house gets up, or before you go to work. Or at night, if you’re not too wiped out to write. Try to make this a regular time slot — do it at the same time each day, for the same amount of time. Make it a habit. I know a number of writers who finally started making enough money from their writing to be able to quit their day jobs, only to discover that, as soon as they started writing full time, they suddenly became far less efficient. All that time stretching before them in the day — the two hours of writing per day they used to squeeze in here and there now took them eight hours. There’s something to be said for not having a lot of free time to write. It tends to make you more efficient.
3. Writing is a job. Treat it like one. I don’t work at home; I have an office, and I go there to write. If you don’t have an office, you should set aside a place that is just for you and your writing – the attic, the basement, a corner of the laundry room with a screen around it. If you treat your writing like work, your family and friends should do the same, and be more respectful of that writing time. No one thinks twice about interrupting a hobby, so make it clear that it’s not a hobby; it’s work. It’s your time.
4. Be ruthless in managing your time. This is the biggest problem most writers have. I have a big old hourglass on my desk for use on those days when I’m tempted to check my Facebook page. I upend it and don’t let myself get up until the sands of time have run out.
5. No e-mail! E-mail is truly our modern curse. It interrupts our attention span, fragments our concentration. Sign off. Do not let yourself check your e-mail or go online. Use an hourglass or a kitchen timer (if the ticking doesn’t drive you crazy) for 30 minutes or an hour, during which you may not do anything but write. In order to write you really need to get into the zone, and to get into the zone you need to be distraction-free. I love e-mail — but it’s the enemy!
6. Set interim goals. A full-length novel can be anywhere from 75,000 to 150,000 words, or even longer. If you think about having to write 75,000 words – 200 pages – you’ll freak yourself out. But if you write 1,000 words a day, you can finish the first draft of a novel in less than three months, even if you take some weekend days off.
7. Work toward a deadline. Everyone needs deadlines. Parkinson’s Law says that work expands to fill the time allotted; among my author friends, I know only one who regularly turns in manuscripts before they’re due (she was probably like that in school, too). The rest of us need deadlines. My publisher sets mine, but even before you’re published, you will find that your own life gives you natural deadlines: finish that draft before you leave for your next vacation, before you turn 40, before your next high school reunion.
8. Reward yourself. In The Fine Art of Feedback, I write about the challenges of getting and processing feedback – but while you’re writing, it’s not unusual for your brain to second-guess everything you’re doing. Override this by promising yourself rewards for getting work done. “When I hit 5,000 words, I’m going to the movies,” or even, “When I finish this paragraph, I can have another cup of coffee.” It worked in kindergarten and it works for me now.
Go to it, and good luck. Next time someone hears you’re writing a novel and tells you that they have a great idea for one, you can just smile and nod and think to yourself, Yeah, but I’m actually writing one . . .”
For more excellent information on writing from Joseph Finder, click HERE.
[found on http://www.josephfinder.com/writers/tips/just-write-the-damned-book-already]
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Romance in the Air?
[found on pbs.org; by Sanderson]
“Roger Sanderson, who you may know as the Mills & Boon author Gill Sanderson, offers aspiring writers simple guidelines for finishing the first romance novel of many.
So you want to write a romance? You can feel it inside you but 50,000-120,000 words is a lot of words. Writing them needs a lot of time, a lot of heart-ache. All over America there are drawers crammed with manuscripts — just started, halfway through, nearly done. All collecting dust.
I should know, I had a drawer full myself. But now I’m working on manuscript number 49 and I’ll finish it.
After the excitement of writing the first few thousand words, you slow down, the end is so far away. You give up.
So try writing your romance this way:
- Write a hundred-word outline of your story. You can think about it for a week, but writing it will only take an afternoon. Establish hero and heroine, names (important!), jobs, characters. Set the time and place. Are you going to write sweet, passionate, mysterious, religious, supernatural? Decide. Last and most important, what is the problem that is keeping your hero and heroine apart?
- Recognize what you’ve written. It’s a blurb, the pitch on the back of a book that makes readers want to read it. Or you to write it.
- Start with notes if you like, but write it out as properly connected prose. This is the acorn that’s going to grow into a tree.
- Next step, expand your blurb into an outline of your story, about 1,000 words long. Cover things like the first meeting, the first problem that develops into bigger problems, then the big climactic scene, and the happy ending. Don’t get carried away! Be concise. Your tree is still only a small shoot.
- You should now know how long your story is to be. Do a third expansion — aim at a minimum of about a tenth of the ultimate length. 5,000 word for a 50,000 word book. Or you might prefer to try to write a fifth, 10,000 words for a 50,000 word book. Your choice.
- This is where the real — and most enjoyable — work begins. Divide your story into chapters. And this time you can write in notes. There’s a great temptation to get carried away, to write at full length because ideas are coming so fast. Don’t. Finish the plan. You’re halfway there!
- Now you can start the writing proper and with the detailed notes you have, you’ll find it will roll. No fear of writer’s block. You know where you are going. On a really good day you’ll manage 5,000 words or more. Before you know it, you will have written your first romance.”
[found on http://www.pbs.org/pov/guiltypleasures/how-to-write-a-romance-novel-gill-sanderson.php]
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You Need An Editor
If you are a writer of any type…
You need an editor.
Write novels? Write blogs? Write devotionals?
You need an editor.
Write joke books? Write How To manuals?
You need an editor.
If you write…
You need an editor.
**
It’s time.
Get a quote for your project.
Move forward.
Click HERE to get started.
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Jot It, Don’t Thought It
“The more you write, the more ideas you are going to generate. It’s inescapable; as your brain gets used to being creative, you’re going to create, and probably many more ideas than you need. And at some point later, you’ll be able to use those ideas. But only if you catch them. It is essential to get your ideas recorded permanently as soon as possible after you think of them. The longer you wait, the more the idea will fade, and the less will remain when you finally are ready to take it down. This means you have to be able to take your ideas down wherever you are….
However you decide to capture your ideas, you must do so as soon as possible. Immediately, if you can. This applies even at night–perhaps even more so at night. At no time is an idea likely to be more vivid than at night, and at no time is it likely to fade faster. If you wake up in the middle of the night to a great idea, you really need to write it down. Get yourself a drink of water, jot the thing down as completely as you can, and go back to sleep. In the morning you will be in a much better position to judge whether the idea holds any real promise. This is much better than waking up certain that you had the inspiration for the next Great American Novel last night–and now you can’t remember what it was!”
-found on http://www.pgtc.com/~slmiller/writing-tips-ideas.htm
IDEAS FOR JOTTING YOUR THOUGHTS…while you still have them:
- Use the technology you have been blessed with today!
- SmartPhones / iPods / Tablets / Laptops / Desktops…
- Type Note Apps
- Hand Writing Apps
- Voice Recorder Apps
- Tape Recorder / Micro Recorder
- Voice Mail
- Call and leave yourself (or a friend) a message
- Email / Text / IM / Social Media / Blog
- Send yourself a quick text
- Send yourself a quick email
- Post an idea
- Any other idea you can think of to use (safely)
- SmartPhones / iPods / Tablets / Laptops / Desktops…
- Use the old-school tools you have….we all know you still have them:
- Pen / paper
- Keep in the car with you
- Keep in your purse / wallet
- Keep by your bed
- Keep in the bathroom (use responsibly!)
- Keep by the TV
- Take with you on walks
- Typewriter (not all have this one, some will need to look it up, it’s in the dictionary)
- Any other idea you can think of to use (safely)
- Pen / paper
Editing Addict, LLC 