Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Links of Interest

Much of the blogosphere seems to be on vacation this week so the list is quite short.

Marilynn

AN EXCELLENT INSIDER LOOK AT WHY BORDERS FAILED:
CAN YOUR CHARACTER CHANGE?
WHY GOOGLE+ ISN’T SUCH A GOOD IDEA FOR MANY WRITERS:
AGENT SCAM: Authors receiving bogus acceptance letters from an agent they haven’t queried.
NEW AND SOME OLD GENRE DESCRIPTIONS:  
 THE NEW AUTHOR PLATFORM:
THE AGENT AS PUBLISHER CONTROVERSY, A GOOD OVERVIEW FROM A WRITER’S VIEWPOINT:
MAKING YOUR WORDS STRONGER:
WEBSITE TOOL: WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOUR WEBSITE LOOKS LIKE ON VARIOUS DEVICES?  TRY THIS.

Monday, July 25, 2011

What Genre Is It?

If a novel is cross-genre, one of the genres must be the strongest and its genre tropes and plot must move the novel forward throughout.   This driving plot is the plot the main character follows to achieve his/her goal.
A werewolf novel that is driven forward by the worldbuilding and various werewolf political/pack struggles is urban fantasy or horror.  A werewolf novel where boy wolf meets girl vampire, and they fall in love during various werewolf and vampire struggles is a paranormal romance.

You must understand what the central genre of your novel is so your novel doesn't fail by genre standards, and you will know where to market it.
You also have to understand and have read both genres you mix.  Cross-genre is not only supposed to mix the two genre, they are supposed to mix the two audiences. Insult half that audience by not knowing your stuff, and there goes sales.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Links of Interest

WHITE COLLAR CRIME:
MAKING A SCENE MORE POWERFUL BY SETTING IT UP EARLIER:
CREATING YOUR OWN FORENSICS NETWORK OF EXPERTS:
DIALOG TAGS TO AVOID:
PITCHING YOUR STORY: BUT WHAT IS IS ABOUT?
STORY ENDINGS:
FORENSICS: A GUN IN A DEAD MAN’S HAND?
MAKING IT BELIEVABLE:
HISTORICAL RESEARCH LINKS:
AVOIDING THE JESSICA FLETCHER SYNDROME: (Always finding murder victims in small town)
WORLDBUILDING: What the URL says.
RESOURCE SITE FOR THOSE WHO SELF-PUBLISH:
EIGHT STEPS TO GREATER CHARACTERS:

Monday, July 18, 2011

Writing about Faraway Places

QUESTION: I want to set my novel in India, but I've never been there. My main character comes into India from America. Can I pull this off?
I'm a born and bred Southern, and I can almost always tell when a non-Southerner is writing about the South. Words and expressions are used wrong, facts are wrong, the texture of the landscape and weather is wrong, etc., etc. That's one reason I rarely stray from the South as a location for my books since I'm probably as culturally clueless about other parts of the US as these people are about the South.
You will have the advantage, though, of having a stranger come into India so mistakes made in her viewpoint will be hers, not yours, in the reader's eyes.
The culture and landscape will be so vastly different that anyone from outside would be overwhelmed by its alien quality and miss much of the nuances. Essentially, that means that she will view India as an impressionistic painting, not as a photographic image, so that certain things will connect with her senses and others will be missed.
My major suggestions are to read recent travelogues about that area as well as watch TV show travelogues. Memoirs from Americans or Europeans living in India should also prove to be a valuable resource about the clash of cultures.
The Internet is a wondrous resource, and it's very easy to connect with people from all over the world. When you have your work in a readable form, try to find people who know that area to read those parts of the books. That should help, too.
HAVE A WRITING QUESTION?: Feel free to ask me via this blog or by email. My address is marilynn byerly @ aol. com (Remove the spaces)


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Links of Interest

WHAT’S YOUR STRENGTH AS A WRITER AND HOW DO YOU USE IT?
WORD COUNT:  HOW MUCH FOR WHAT KIND OF BOOK, ETC.
SHOWING AN IMPORTANT CHARACTER TRAIT WITHOUT BEING BORING:
KILLING WITH THE VULCAN NECK PINCH:
SIX THINGS NEEDED FOR A HEALTHY PLOT:
SEVEN REASONS NOT TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MARKETING:
GENERATING BUZZ ON FACEBOOK:
IMPROVING FAN ENGAGEMENT OF FACEBOOK:
WHAT TO PRICE YOUR EBOOK:

SCENE AND CHAPTER ENDINGS:
THE MUSHY MIDDLE:
HOW TO PUNCTUATE INTRODUCTORY PHRASES:
CREATING YOUR HERO OR VILLAIN’S LAIR:
SHOWING BACKSTORY:
LYING TO THE READER IN YOUR FIRST SENTENCES:
PLOT PROBLEMS USING “THE GREEN LANTERN” MOVIE AS THE EXAMPLE:
HOW TO ORGANIZE A BLOG TOUR:
CREATING A SENSE OF PLACE:
GETTING FEEDBACK THAT WILL HELP:
SEARCHING FOR REPUTABLE PUBLISHERS:
GETTING STARTED WITH GOOGLE+:
THE FIVE STAGES OF REWRITES:
INTRODUCING MAJOR CHARACTERS:
BOOSTING BLOG TRAFFIC:
ANCIENT MAGIC:
BRING SCENES TO LIFE:
BOOK PROMOTION TIPS:
HIERARCHY OF A CHARACTER’S NEEDS:
TEN THINGS TO REVITALIZE YOUR BLOG:
RHYTHM AND DIALOGUE:  
HOW MUCH DESCRIPTION DO YOU NEED?
EXCELLENT FORENSIC SITE:  
LINKS TO INTERESTING STORIES OR BLOGS ABOUT THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY:
CREATING A GREAT BOOK SIGNING:
PACING PROBLEMS:

Monday, July 11, 2011

How Not to Make a Novel Longer

Many of us in our writing careers have had a novel that simply wasn’t long enough.  Sometimes, it is poor planning on our part when we misjudge exactly how much word length each element of the plot entails.
Other times, it is due to a market shift-- a publisher who wants one length either closes down that line or rejects your book so you have a book with no home to go to.  
This problem has been solved to a certain extent with the advent of ebook publishers, but, if you only want to sell to one of the major publishers, you must either rewrite to fit the available markets or shelf the book.  
I recently read a Regency historical which was obviously written for the defunct short Regency market then had around 20,000 words added to make it fit the historical market, and it’s a classic example of how not to lengthen a book.  
Novels have a certain rhythm to them, and like with a song, most of us sense when the end is coming.  Plot ends are being tied up, the bad guy has been thwarted, and the emotional problems, particularly between the hero and heroine, are being settled.  
When I felt the novel coming to a close with many pages yet to go, I realized what this author had done.  Instead of adding another subplot to make the novel longer, this author had chosen to leave the short Regency basically untouched except for a few extra sex scenes and to continue on with the story.
This choice meant that the novel came to a complete stop because all the plot points had been answered, and the hero and heroine had come to a certain emotional closure so they were worthy of their happily-ever-after.
The author then lured the reader forward with standard honeymoon events and sex for several chapters then family matters and villains who had appeared to be handled reappeared and trashed their relationship once again so it was back to square one for them.  
This was not only annoying, but it also gave a lie to the possibility that these people would ever have a happily-ever-after if they couldn’t get past their emotional issues.  
Even if they seem to solve them this second time, it’s more likely that these problems will reappear again.  Like a bad monster movie where the monster may rise again, the final page seemed to say “The End?”
When that short novel needs to be longer, resist the urge to leave the main body of the book alone, and, instead, work in subplots to make it one whole book.  It will make a better book and won’t annoy your reader.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Links of Interest

BLOG TOUR ADVICE:
FORENSICS:  HANDWRITING ANALYSIS:
YET ANOTHER SOBERING ARTICLE ABOUT BIG PUBLISHING AND THE AUTHORS WHO ARE BEING SCREWED:
WORLDBUILDING NO NOS:
CHARACTER GOALS:
THE WEATHER AS OBSTACLE OR OPPONENT:
LINKS TO WRITING WORKSHEETS OF ALL KINDS:
MORE ON WHO OWNS THE FILES YOU UPLOAD TO CLOUD STORAGE SITES LIKE DROPBOX:
TYPES OF MAGIC:  
ENHANCING DESCRIPTIONS:
WRITING THE AUTHOR BIO:
A LIST OF SCENE TRANSITIONS METHODS:
ACQUISITION MEETINGS:
FANTASY SUBGENRES DEFINED:
SHOW VERSUS TELL:  WHEN TO USE EACH.
THE DREADED MISPLACED MODIFIER: 
THE DREADED FLYING BODY PARTS ERROR:
25 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DIALOGUE:  (Warning: vulgar language used.)
CHARACTER TEMPLATES LINKS:
STORY ARCS:

Monday, July 4, 2011

"They" Say Our Books are Garbage

There have been a number of controversies on the Internet lately about why some kinds of books aren’t included in the “best of” or some other list where a group doesn’t include books by women or popular genre novels.  
Sure, this isn’t fair, but it’s a sad fact of life that popular fiction and women writers never seem to get the respect they deserve.
My question about these controversies is why should we give a rat's ass what they think?
"They" are like the father who will never give his approval because he doesn't have it in him to give it.  "They" have their own agendas.  "They" need someone to look down on, and women writers and popular genres are easy targets.  We also make such a lovely squawk when "they" bully us, and they love that.  
"They" also will not ever read or buy our books so why are we wasting our time seeking their approval?
I can more than take care of myself when someone I meet denigrates popular genre.  I will raise my eyebrow in my best Spock impression and proceed to pound them into dust with my academic credentials and my extensive knowledge of genre theory.  I will bore them into submission by giving in detail how my science fiction romance STAR-CROSSED gives more than a nod to ROMEO AND JULIET.  I will wow them with my enthusiasm for the genres I love.
But I don't usually bother when "they" start spouting their usual nonsense because it isn't worth the trouble.