Links of Interest

AVOIDING TWITTER PROFILE ERRORS:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/5-twitter-profile-mistakes-writers-should-avoid_b32527

AVOIDING VIEWPOINT ERRORS:

http://www.sfnovelists.com/2011/06/21/the-skill-list-project-avoiding-viewpoint-mistakes/

FIVE OPENINGS TO AVOID:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/06/five-openings-to-avoid.html

TRUSTING THE READER TO GET IT:

http://www.alanrinzler.com/blog/2011/06/23/ask-the-editor-trusting-the-reader/

WRITING A SERIES:

http://www.genreality.net/evolution-of-an-ongoing-series-part-2-lessons-learned

THINGS NOT TO PUT IN QUERY LETTERS:

http://behlerblog.com/2011/06/27/other-things-you-can-safely-leave-out-of-your-query/

SHORT STORY MARKETS:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/06/sub-ops-ten.html

SUBPLOTS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/04/oh-what-tangled-web-we-weave.html

MAKING THE READER CARE ABOUT A MINOR CHARACTER:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/06/poor-little-thing-making-readers-care.html

NARRATIVE FOCUS:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/06/keeping-our-writing-focused.html

REACHING OUT TO BOOK CLUBS:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/06/27/reaching-out-to-bookclubs/

CREATING A NON-STANDARD HERO (WORKING AGAINST THE CLICHES):

http://disquietingvisions.com/2011/06/27/heroes/

PROMOTION:  AN INTERESTING VIEW ON ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SELF-PUBBED AUTHORS.

http://www.idealog.com/blog/would-million-ebook-selling-author-john-locke-be-better-off-with-a-publisher-i-think-he-very-well-migh

HISTORICAL RESOURCE:  The American Civil War from the viewpoint of people who lived in the North during that period.  

http://peoplescontest.psu.edu/

OPTIMIZING YOUR BLOG FOR SEARCH ENGINES:

http://goinswriter.com/seo-basics

WORLDBUILDING A DYSTOPIAN SETTING:

http://thebookshelfmuse.blogspot.com/2011/06/elana-johnson-creating-dystopian.html

MAKING YOUR WORLD DIFFERENT:

http://msforster.blogspot.com/2011/06/worldbuilding-part-5-pigs-in-space.html

CREATING A GREAT CHARACTER:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2011/06/makings-of-character.html

AN AGENT/WRITER TALKS ABOUT HOW TO MAKE YOUR STORY STAND OUT:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/06/guest-author-lucienne-diver-no-woman-is.html

SHOULD AGENTS BECOME PUBLISHERS AS WELL?  A CAUTIONARY WARNING:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/06/agencies-becoming-publishers-trend-and.html

GOOGLE TOOLS+ WHICH CAN BE USEFUL FOR WRITERS ONLINE:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/what-publishers-authors-need-to-know-about-google_b33317

EXCELLENT ARTICLE BY A LAWYER/WRITER ON CREATING A LITERARY ESTATE, I couldn’t find Part 1.

http://www.blackgate.com/2011/06/28/estate-your-business-part-ii-a-writers-guide-to-organizing-a-literary-estate/

DESCRIBING SETTING:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/01/re-write-wednesday-and-coming-up-on.html

Making Info Tidbits Palatable to the Reader

No matter what kind of novel you write, you’ll face the problem of how to share bits of information with your reader.

These bits are minor plot or character clues that the main character and the reader need to know to go forward to a logical conclusion.

Often, these small clues come from different sources, but writing a scene for each bit of information often slows the pace to a crawl.  What to do?

One method is delegation.  Have your character delegate the task of finding out this information to a secondary character who will do it off page.  The secondary character will report back and in one scene present all the necessary information.  This method is often used in mysteries, but it can be just as effective in any genre novel.

The second method is finding a gossip, expert, or reporter who already knows the information.  To make this scene work,  make that gossip or expert a bit larger than life, funny, or someone who knows embarrassing things about the main character so the scene is interesting.  

The most important thing to remember when doing this is to make it integral to the novel and to make it a logical choice for the main character to make.

Links of Interest

CREATING A GREAT BAD GUY:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/06/first-class-bad-guy-how-x-men-can-help.html

CHARACTER TRUST ISSUES:

http://charactertherapist.blogspot.com/2011/06/character-quiz-does-your-character-have.html

HEAD HOPPING:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/06/16/head-hopping

INTO, IN TO, ONTO, ON TO?  A good primer or reminder of the differences.

http://www.grammardivas.com/into-in-to-onto-on-to/

THE NEWER WRITER SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON CRAFT:

http://www.sfwa.org/2011/06/message-to-new-writers-its-okay-to-focus-on-your-craft/

THE ONE LINE BOOK DESCRIPTOR:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/10/pickup-lines.html

HIDING TRACK CHANGES IN THE NEW VERSION OF WORD:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/06/word-2010-track-changes-and-privacy.html

CAN TOO MUCH DNA EVIDENCE BE A BAD THING?

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/q-and-a-could-the-sensitivity-of-modern-dna-testing-prove-confusing-in-a-contaminated-crime-scene/

TWITTER HASHTAG HOW TO:

http://janetboyer.typepad.com/blog/2011/06/did-you-know-twitter-hashtags.html

TIPS FOR CRITIQUING:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/10-tips-for-critiquing-other-people’s-writing/

17 TIPS FOR A GREAT WRITING BLOG:

http://annerallen.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-blog-seventeen-tips-from.html

REWRITING A DULL SENTENCE:

http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/2011/06/question-from-comments.html

BUILDING A BETTER BLOG:

http://www.harrisonbradlow.com/2/post/2011/06/9-ways-to-build-a-better-blog-increase-your-traffic-in-the-process.html

PLOTTING THE MYSTERY:

https://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/plotting-the-mystery/

QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING SELF-EDITING:

http://childrenspublishing.blogspot.com/2011/06/forty-questions-for-stronger-manuscript.html

FOCUS YOUR WORLDBUILDING:

http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/2011/06/ttyu-retro-focus-your-worldbuilding.html

WORKING ON THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/06/guest-author-elizabeth-s-craig-middle.html

NAMING SECONDARY CHARACTERS:

http://www.genreality.net/supporting-characters-names-descriptions

Authors and Health Insurance

Yet another author is in the news with a major health emergency, and friends are busy raising funds to defray expenses.

As sad as this is, it also makes me frustrated that this very successful midlist author who could afford health insurance didn’t have any.

If you don’t have health insurance, buy it, my friends, so you won’t leave your family in a similar mess.

Remember that if you list yourself as a self-employed author on your US tax return, the cost of the insurance can be deducted as a business expense.

For specific details, go here:  http://www.irs.gov/publications/p535/ch06.html

Some author organizations offer health insurance plans so check to see if yours does.

Don’t wait until a medical disaster destroys your life and your family’s future.

Links of Interest

USING A CHARACTER AS A SCAPEGOAT TO ADVANCE THE PLOT:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/06/red-herrings-scapegoating-characters-by.html

MARKET NEWS: What childrens’ publishers are looking for.

http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2011/06/new-buzz-word-speculative.html

EMAIL ETIQUETTE:

http://bookendslitagency.blogspot.com/2011/06/email-etiquette.html

PUTTING THINGS IN CONTEXT:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2009/07/in-proper-context.html

CREATING A MYSTERY IN THE EARLY STAGES:

http://www.genreality.net/guest-blogger-gemma-halliday

WRITING SEQUELS:

http://waterytart23.blogspot.com/2011/06/elizabeth-s-craig-on-sequels.html

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS/MISTAKES OF THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/06/14/the-pubbed-writers-7-deadly-sins-tktktk/

WARNING ABOUT PAID PROMOTION: 

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/06/book-marketing-methods-that-dont-work.html

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF STORY:  

http://elflands2ndcousin.com/2011/06/14/some-assembly-required-building-pacing-and-emotional-flow-with-legos/

SF AND FANTASY GENRE RESOURCES:

http://www.lawrenceperson.com/?p=5111

25 THINGS  YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PLOT: Warning, vulgar language within.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/06/14/25-things-you-should-know-about-plot/

PROMOTING YOUR KINDLE EDITION:

http://www.ninc.com/blog/index.php/archives/kindles-before-you-go

THE BEST WORKSHOPS TO ATTEND AT RWA NATIONAL:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2011/06/scotts-picks-for-rwa-nationals.html

CREATING SUSPENSE:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2011/06/scotts-picks-for-rwa-nationals.html

How Do I Create Suspense?

The simplest answer to this question is that a suspense scene involves danger to the main characters. That's a "will the hero survive?" physical danger. Or "Will the main character escape emotional turmoil and unhappiness?" emotional danger.

A successful suspense scene must also draw the reader in by using the senses. The words must be vivid, the reader should experience what the character is experiencing, and we must be in the head of the character who has the most to lose in the scene. 

Suspense is more complex than that, though, in novel-length.

First the writer must keep offering questions to the reader who keeps reading to find out the answers, and as the reader finds the answers, the author offers more questions to keep the reader reading.

A question can be a simple "what happens next?" or "why is this character doing this?" All the questions and their answers are the clues that the reader gets to understand the novel and the characters.

Think of these questions and answers as bread crumbs leading the reader bird through each scene and through the novel. Part of the suspense in each scene comes in finding out the answer to some of the questions the author poses.

Suspense won't work if the reader doesn't care about the person in danger so part of creating suspense is making the reader care about that character. In my romantic suspense, GUARDIAN ANGEL, if my hero had been a jerk instead of a charming, decent man, most readers wouldn't care if he survived to the end of the novel, and they certainly wouldn't think him worthy of Desta, the brave and kind heroine.

The character must also have a worthwhile goal so that the reader wants the character to succeed.

If the main character wants to find the treasure so he can live a lavish lifestyle, the reader may root for him if the search for the treasure is interesting enough, but if he wants the treasure to ransom his beloved wife and children before they face torture and death, the reader will be as anxious as the character is that he succeed. Each suspenseful scene will be a hurdle or threat to his reaching his final goal, and failure is unthinkable.

Links of Interest

CONTRACT RED FLAG: Net profit royalty clauses.

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/05/contract-red-flag-net-profit-royalties.html

BACKSTORY:

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/whats-story-on-backstory.html

THE BUSINESS RUSCH: Surviving in the new world of publishing, Part  3.  Why many agents are no longer authors’ advocates and what to do about it.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/06/01/the-business-rusch-agents-surviving-the-transition-part-3/

LIST OF LINKS:  An appalling amount of links, and that’s a good thing.

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/06/twitterific.html

STUPID PLOTTING:

http://www.genreality.net/warning-signs-of-an-idiot-plot

WRITING A NOVEL THAT BREAKS YOU INTO THE BUSINESS:

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/write-break-in-novel.html

THE SERIES OUTLINE/BIBLE:  It’s good to have even if you don’t have a new editor:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/06/novel-series-outlining.html

THE DANGER OF COINCIDENCE AS A PLOT ENABLER:

http://writerunboxed.com/2011/06/07/what-a-coincidence/

CRAFTING THE MYSTERY WITHIN ANY TYPE OF NOVEL:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/06/how-to-craft-mystery-in-novel.html

CREATING CONFLICT:

http://www.genreality.net/conflict-lock-the-fuel-of-a-story

CHOICE VERSUS ACTIONS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/06/actions-vs-choices-crafting-better.html

Unlikable Characters

Several authors have blogged recently on creating a character who is unlikable but who grows on the reader as the story goes along.  

A character like this is certainly interesting, think of Snape in the Harry Potter novels or House in the TV series of the same name, but that character must be surrounded by other characters the reader can connect with immediately.  

Would most readers have liked the HP series if it had been from Snape’s viewpoint?  HOUSE certainly is bleeding viewers because House himself is totally out of control with the focus shifted away from the likable characters like Wilson and House’s staff.

A better example is CRIMINAL MINDS and its spinoff CRIMINAL MINDS: SUSPECT BEHAVIOR.  Both series have identical formats with different characters, but it’s how the characters have been presented that has made the original a success, and the spinoff a one-season cancelled failure.  

I normally avoid serial killer programs and books, but the characters in CM got me interested enough that I kept watching because the likable characters made the grimness and brutality manageable, but with CM: SB that's not the case.  

For the most part, the characters are grim, prickly, and emotionally and physically unattractive so I didn't make it through two programs before I stopped watching.

You have to have both types of characters so that character who grows on you isn't the only character the reader can root for.

Links of Interest

USING GOOGLE STREET VIEW TO CREATE SETTINGS:

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2011/05/googling-street-view.html

THE MORAL DILEMMA AS A CHARACTER TOOL:

http://www.thecompulsivereader.com/2011/05/guest-blog-from-janice-hardy.html

SURVIVING IN THE NEW WORLD OF PUBLISHING, PART TWO:  Yet more from Kristine Rusch on how to survive the increasingly predatory world of traditional publishing.  Another must read for all writers.

http://kriswrites.com/2011/05/25/the-business-rusch-publishers-surviving-the-transition-part-2/

WHEN YOUR CHARACTER CHANGES FOR THE BETTER: The before and after scenes.

http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/2011/05/has-your-protagonist-changed-his-ways.html

YET EVEN MORE LINKS:  Elizabeth Craig’s incredible weekly listing of writing posts.

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2011/05/twitterific_29.html

ENGLISH USAGE:  This site is for serious questions about etymology, etc., and not about standard grammar, but it would be a valuable resource for historical writers who need to date a word usage that isn’t clarified in the OED.

http://meta.english.stackexchange.com/questions

AMERICAN MEDICAL LIBRARY ONLINE: Contains books from 1610 to 1920.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/americas/index.html

PARANORMAL BLOG:  Authors of paranormal and fantasy fiction as well as experts on the paranormal blog here.

http://disquietingvisions.com/

THE NONFICTION BOOK PROPOSAL:

http://behlerblog.com/2011/05/30/book-proposals-for-nonfiction/

USING SETTING TO “UPMARKET” YOUR BOOK:

http://pimpmynovel.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-post-making-commercial-novel-more.html

ON THE PRICING OF EBOOKS:

http://www.genreality.net/the-pricing-of-ebooks-and-perceived-value

STORY VERSUS CRAFT:

http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/06/story-vs-craft.html