Links of Interest

SURVEY RESULTS ON HOW MUCH AD REVENUE PIRATE AND SCAM SITES MAKE:

http://www.digitalcitizensalliance.org/cac/alliance/content.aspx?page=FollowTheProfit

CHARACTERS, ARCHETYPES VERSUS STEREOTYPES:

http://fantasy-faction.com/2014/archetypes-vs-stereotypes

THE TWELVE STEPS OF INTIMACY:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-12-steps-to-intimacy-part-1.html

AUTHOR BRANDING:

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2014/02/20/author-branding-harnessing-the-power-of-digital-age-storms/

USING LAYER EDITING TO CREATE DEPTH IN YOUR STORY:

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2014/02/key-ways-to-layer-depth-into-your-scenes.html

YOUR EBOOK FORMATTING OPTIONS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/02/understanding-your-ebook-formatting.html

TRIMMING UNNECESSARY WORDS:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/09/re-write-wednesday-golden-oldie-get.html

FORENSICS, THE TIME OF DEATH OF A CORPSE IN SNOW:

http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/21/how-would-the-time-of-death-be-determined-in-a-corpse-found-in-snow

WHEN CHARACTER FLAWS DRIVE AWAY READERS:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/when-flaws-go-too-far-avoiding-unlikeable-characters

THREE TYPES OF STORY TENSION:

http://bstaveley.wordpress.com/2014/02/18/a-lover-a-piglet-and-a-deep-hole-or-three-types-of-tension/

CARING ABOUT THE GOAL WHEN IT IS A THING:

http://daringnovelist.blogspot.com/2014/02/story-game-caring-about-macguffin.html

CREATING AND USING VIDEO TO SELL BOOKS:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/using-videos-sell-books/

SERIAL FICTION:

http://writerunboxed.com/2014/02/24/serial-fiction/

DOES YOUR CHARACTER NEED A QUIRK?

http://www.writingeekery.com/quirk/

CHARACTER ARCS:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/26/make-me-like-your-protagonist-or-ill-stop-reading

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, AN OVERVIEW:

http://kriswrites.com/2014/02/19/the-business-rusch-social-media-discoverability-part-10/

A FIVE-POINT CHECKLIST FOR WHAT TO INCLUDE IN EACH SCENE:

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/2014/02/a-quick-5-point-checklist-for-writing.html

FORESHADOWING:

http://daringnovelist.blogspot.com/2014/02/plotting-pt-6-foreshadowing.html

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.

Links of Interest

WORLDBUILDING:

http://suvudu.com/2014/02/the-hydra-files-cleve-lamison-creating-reality-for-fun-and-profit.html

CHARACTER CHANGE SHOULDN’T BE JARRING:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2014/02/reader-whiplash-developing-characters.html

WRITING FIRST PERSON SUCCESSFULLY:

http://marcykennedy.com/2014/02/5-keys-writing-successfully-first-person-point-view/

WHAT THE COPYRIGHT STATEMENT SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T LOOK LIKE IN A PUBLISHING CONTRACT:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2014/02/14/contracts-and-copyrights/

2O WRITERS SHARE WRITING TIPS:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/20-authors-share-tips-for-writing-love-scenes_b82726

TIPS FOR CREATING A CAST OF CHARACTERS:

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2014/02/17/tips-for-creating-an-ensemble-cast-of-characters/

TIME-SAVING SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/17/4-time-saving-social-media-tips

MAKING YOUR WRITING STRONGER:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/02/are-you-missing-opportunities-to-make.html

USING EMOTIONAL DISCHARGE TO POWER YOUR STORY:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/using-emotional-discharge-power-story/

HOW TO CRAFT A LOVE SCENE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/02/how-to-craft-love-scene.html

MAKING IT DESPITE FAMILY AND FRIENDS:

http://writetodone.com/leanne-final/

THE TWO GOALS OF YOUR MAIN CHARACTER:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/19/constructing-the-two-goals-for-the-protagonist-in-your-novel

The Teflon Hero

Think back to the original STAR TREK.  Captain Kirk fell in love and lost the girl to some horrific fate, and he was sad, but in the next week’s episode, he was the same Jim Kirk as he was at the beginning of the last episode.  He lost battles and friends, but the next week, he was the same Jim Kirk.  He remained the same Jim Kirk throughout the whole series.  He was a Teflon hero.  Life experience slid right off him, and he remained the same.  

But that was okay because all TV heroes were much the same back then.  Each had a Teflon coating so experience wouldn’t change him.  TV series were episodic rather  linear, and each episode was an emotional reset to the original characters.

Today, the series characters do change on TV with the more linear story-telling, but, even then, they don’t change that much.  Think of Neil Caffrey in WHITE COLLAR.  He has wobbled back and forth emotionally on whether he is a criminal or a good guy through the series, but that’s it.  Mostly, he remains the same person.

In genre fiction single titles like romance, characters do change as events affect them, and they tend to stay changed through the book.  In a series, however, the changes in the character tend to reflect the type of story being told.  

Urban fantasy usually has a main character who changes as the series progresses.  Harry Dresden and Maxine Kiss have  grown emotionally.  One series that I’ve admired for the changes in the main character is Darynda Jones’ “Grim Reaper” series.  Charley has even dealt with PTSD after she was almost tortured to death, and it took over a book for her to deal with it and come out on the other side changed.

Action/adventure of the Clive Cussler variety continues the tradition of the manly man Teflon hero.  

In your own books, you must decide if your main characters are Teflon or not.  Part of that decision is based on genre and audience expectations.  What do readers of the types of book you are writing expect?  The other part is author decision.  What kind of character do you want to write?  

But consider the problem with Teflon and the reader.  The reader is much less likely to stick around without character change and growth.  

Links of Interest

KEY ELEMENTS TO A GOOD OPENING SCENE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/02/studying-waking-up-scene-is-it-really.html

WHAT TO PUT IN THE BACK OF YOUR BOOK TO SELL THE NEXT ONE:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/02/backmatter-are-you-making-most-of-your.html

AUTHOR NEWSLETTERS:

http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2014/02/guest-post-chris-barton-on-author.html

HOW IS FIRST PERSON POINT OF VIEW DIFFERENT?

http://marcykennedy.com/2014/02/first-person-pov-different

SIX OF THE BEST BLOGS FOR SELF-PUBBED AUTHORS:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/60852-six-great-blogs-for-indie-authors.html

SEVEN BEST EBOOK BLOG TOUR SITES:

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2014/02/greg-strandberg/

CREATING YOUR SELF-EDITING LIST:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2014/02/whats-on-your-self-editing-list.html

THE INTERNAL MONOLOGUE DEBATE:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-great-internal-monologue-debate.html

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUNG ADULT AND MIDDLE GRADE:

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2014/01/question-mgya-divide.html

WORLDBUILDING, THE COST AND CONSEQUENCES OF MAGIC:

http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com/2014/02/guestpost-cost-and-consequence-in.html

SPAM PUBLICIST STRIKES AGAIN:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2014/02/magnus-publicity-name-changing.html

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF YOUR BOOK IS READY FOR PUBLICATION:

http://writerunboxed.com/2014/02/08/is-your-book-good-enough-for-publication-a-cold-blooded-assessment

CREATING CHARACTER ARCS, STRUCTURE:

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2014/02/character-arcs-1.html

DOES YOUR AUTHOR WEBSITE MEASURE UP?

http://authoru.org/how-does-your-author-or-writer-website-measure-up.html

WRITING OUT THE PREMISE OF YOUR STORY:

http://howtoplanwriteanddevelopabook.blogspot.com/2014/02/writing-premise-statement-for-your-book.html

HOW TO GIVE YOUR BOOK A GREAT CLIMAX:

http://awritersgallery.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/writing-craft-how-to-give-your-novel-a-great-climax-by-rayne-hall/

GETTING YOUR BOOK BACK FROM A PUBLISHER, REVISION CLAUSES:

http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=11804

YET MORE ON PASSIVE MARKETING:

http://kriswrites.com/2014/02/05/the-business-rusch-more-passive-marketing-discoverability-part-8/

EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MARKETING YOUR EBOOK:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/10/6-helpful-tips-for-effective-social-media-promotion-of-your-ebook/

WRITING EXTREME EMOTION WITHOUT MELODRAMA:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/writing-extreme-emotion-without-melodrama/

ISNI--AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/writing-extreme-emotion-without-melodrama/

A LONG-TIME, MAJOR AGENT LOOKS AT THE CURRENT STATE OF PUBLISHING:

http://writerunboxed.com/2014/02/05/the-new-class-system/

WHY YOU SHOULD PAY FOR AN EDITOR FOR YOUR SELF-PUBBED BOOK:

http://www.teleread.com/self-publishing/five-reasons-why-you-need-a-professional-editor-for-your-novel/

AUTHOR EARNINGS SITE TELLS YOU WHAT OTHER AUTHORS ARE MAKING:

http://authorearnings.com/

WHERE DO YOU START YOUR STORY?

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2014/02/where-do-you-start-your-story.html

WHAT KIND OF WRITER ARE YOU QUIZ ACCORDING TO WORD CHOICES:

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/08/american-writers-thesaurus-quiz/

ASK QUESTIONS BEFORE TELLING YOUR STORY:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/ask-questions-find-story/

YOUR MAIN CHARACTER MUST HAVE A GOAL:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/12/a-compelling-novel-centers-on-the-protagonists-goal/

Info Dumping is Bad for your Book's Environment

You have figured out the complex worldbuilding for your novel, and you begin to write your story.

Eagerly, you explain the details of your world and its creatures.  Ten pages in, your main characters still haven’t shown up, or they’ve not done anything to move the story along, but your world is detailed and exciting.

You show your work to your critique partner, and she promptly starts yawning.  

The problem?  Info dumping.

Most inexperienced writers dump a bunch of worldbuilding into the first few chapters, and they don't realize that they are writing it for themselves to get everything straight, not for the reader who doesn't need that much to get into the story.  Most of that worldbuilding should be deleted in the first edit.

To show you how little heavy-duty worldbuilding you need to get into a story, read the first chapter of STAR-CROSSED I’ve posted on my website. 

http://marilynnbyerly.com/lesson5example.html

I’ve put the worldbuilding in bold print. 

The short prologue of sorts sets up the hero's situation, the longer next section sets up the heroine and her world and the deep poo the hero and his best friend have fallen into as well as the heroine's goal for the novel.  

I don't go heavily into the plague and how it changed Arden until evil Cadaran explains that deep poo to Kellen a bit later, but the heavy details aren't needed until then.  Even then, I manage to set up the history in a bit of dialogue, not long narrative.

Next week, I’ll talk about those times when you absolutely, positively must do some info dumping and how to do it without boring your audience.

Links of Interest

STRONGER CHARACTER GOALS AND MOTIVATION:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/01/two-questions-to-ask-for-stronger.html

WRAPPING UP YOUR NOVEL IN THE FINAL SCENE:

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2014/01/racing-toward-finale.html

CREATING AND ADDING BACK STORY:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/suwcharmananderson/2013/02/13/piracy-saviour-of-the-book-industry/

WHAT MAKES A GOOD SCENE BREAK:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2012/02/andend-scene-when-to-add-scene-break.html

WHY SO MANY ROMANCE NOVELS FAIL:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-so-many-romance-stories-fail.html

DIFFERENT KINDS OF READING FANS/AUDIENCE AND HOW TO MARKET TO THEM: 

http://kriswrites.com/2014/01/29/the-business-rusch-marketing-and-readers-discoverability-part-who-knows/

SHOWING DIALECT IN DIALOGUE:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/showing-dialect-in-dialogue/

WHAT A ROMANCE HAS TO HAVE TO BE A ROMANCE:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/what-makes-a-romance-seven-tips/

MAKING A HARD CHARACTER MORE LIKABLE:

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/02/softening-hard-character-make-likable/

CHARACTER MOTIVATION:

http://jodyhedlund.blogspot.com/2014/02/character-motivations-key-to-gaining.html

CHARACTER TRAITS AND THE ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-part-1/

ADVANCE REVIEW COPIES AND PROMOTION:

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2014/02/05/the-value-of-arcs/

HIGH CONCEPT:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2014/02/05/kicking-high-concept-into-high-gear