Tag Archive for: writing tips

Karina Teaches Worldbuilding – Final Lesson

Over this year, Karina is going to share some of her writing seminars on the blog, with the lessons and references for further study. We’ll be posting these once a month. There’s no assigned homework, but if you have questions, please ask them in the comments. Her first workshop is worldbuilding. This is Lesson 7. Here are the links to Lesson 1, Lesson 2Lesson 3, Lesson 4, Lesson 5, and Lesson 6.

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.   –Anton Chekhov

Now you’re well on your way to building your world! You’ve got–or have plans to get–all this great history, know everything about the orbital mechanics of your solar system, even know why your Grimphani part their hair on the left. Now, it’s time to tell your readers, right?

NO!

Don’t tell us about your world! Show us!

Everything we’ve done so far is background. Some of it may never come up. (Remember what I said in a previous lesson about the writer who has written an encyclopedia or game manual rather than a story?) Now you can use those elements, but don’t tell us about them!

So how do you avoid that?

Keep in mind point of view–even if you are using an omniscient narrative (i.e., the reader sees more than the character), do your best to describe things as they impact or are applied to the character or characters. For example, say I wanted to write a scene in The Miscria III: Hero Psychic, where there is a wild rainstorm that Tasmae (who controls the weather) has decided to allow to happen. I could just say it:

Joshua and Sachiko came in soaked from the storm. When Joshua saw Deryl, he asked, “What’s with the rain? Can’t Tasmae control the weather?”

 Deryl shrugged, though it was obvious he found Joshua’s soaked status funny. “The land is parched. Tasmae decided to let the storm come.”

 “She couldn’t have given us a warning?”

Or, I can show it:

 Joshua and Sachiko entered the city at a run, and the doors closed at their heels, shutting off the howling of the winds. As they stood there, shaking their heads and wringing out their clothes, Deryl strode toward them. “And where have you been?”

 Joshua gaped then pointed at the door. “Has your wife looked out the window lately?”

 Deryl shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips. “Tasmae said we need the rain.”

Of course, showing is sometimes easier said than done, so here are some tips:

  • See it through your character’s senses and experiences. Will your character know that the general is wearing the traditional (but itchy) dress of the Galvatin Space Fleet, with the braiding denoting his bravery in the Karu Nebula Encounter and the still-brass buttons that have been part of the uniform since 345 GT? Or will he just note that it’s impressive and traditional–but kind of gaudy?
  •  Use the detail that matters. If your hero is dodging a swinging blade, that may not be the time to note that it’s the Sword of Barnana, with rosewood hilt bearing the tiger-eye stones once stolen from the Kitcherie temple and which bears the curse that its wielder must kill a werewolf every full moon and how it has been highly polished yet has nicks. He may notice the crazed, possessed eyes of its bearer and how he pants, “Must killmustkillmustkill.” Once your hero defeats the swordsman, he may note some of these details–or he may be running like fun away from the scene. You decide how important the sword is at that point.
  •  The more it matters to the plot, the more detail you need. If you don’t intend to run across the Sword of Barnana again in the story, it may be enough to note that it’s a possessed sword. If it comes back later, you might want to note the odd tiger-eye jewels. If it becomes the focus of the quest (and hence the story), more background is needed.
  •  If you need to explain, let characters do it–but avoid lectures or extended Q&A.

Here’s Vern explaining his scratch marks on the local buildings to a member of the Los Lagos Beautification Committee. It’s a central point to the entire story, which is less than a thousand words.

“I understand you’ve… scratched some of the buildings in the area.”

“Yesssss….?”

“Well, you’re defacing the exterior!”

“Yesssss…..?”

“It simply won’t do!”

“Anybody complaining?”

“The Committee–”

“Anybody around here complaining?”

“No.”

“Those ‘scratches’ mark the area as under my protection. My Territory.”

“I realize it might be an instinct thing–”

I threw back my head and snorted. She jumped but didn’t back away. Score one for guts. “Do you know the crime rate around Territory?”

“Unacceptably high. That’s why the Los Lagos Beautification Committee wants to foster a more pleasant environment–”

“–Do you know the crime rate within Territory?”

“I don’t–”

“People don’t mess with places I’ve marked. They’ve got a stronger motivation than beauty. Me.”

For More Reading:

http://www.tarakharper.com/k_show.htm Great examples.

http://www.sfwriter.com/ow04.htm

Karina Teaches Worldbuilding – Lesson 6

Over this year, Karina is going to share some of her writing seminars on the blog, with the lessons and references for further study. We’ll be posting these once a month. There’s no assigned homework, but if you have questions, please ask them in the comments. Her first workshop is worldbuilding. This is Lesson 6. Here are the links to Lesson 1, Lesson 2Lesson 3, Lesson 4, and Lesson 5.

Culture is roughly anything we do and the monkeys don’t.  –Lord Raglan

Probably even more important to your story than the history, military, or economic and political structure, is the culture. This adds spice to your story and defines your character. What do your characters do when they enter that universal pub that so many fantasy worlds have, or have to work with a new alien? Here you can find fertile ground for jokes, insults, conflict and even philosophical discussion.

Value System:

  • What are the values society treasures most? Leadership? Compliance? Ingenuity?
  • What are their attitudes toward children? The elderly? Lesser life forms (pets, wild animals, etc.)? The environment?
  • What’s considered success? Beauty? Intelligence?
  • What are good manners?

Education:

  • How much education do children get? Where do they receive it? How?
  • What topics are required? What are encouraged?
  • Do adults continue their education? Must they? Is education tied into promotions, or are native intelligence and natural skill more important?

Religion:

  • God: There’s no religion without a Higher Power (or powers, as the case may be.) Who or what are they outside of your people’s beliefs? (For convenience, I’ll refer to God as “He.” Of course, your world may consider God a she, it or something beyond gender.)
  • Believers: Religion must have followers. Who are they? What makes some of them more faithful than others? How do they experience their faith? Is your religion reserved for a certain section of the population? Is there a hierarchy of believers?
  • Relationship with God: What kind of God do these people believe in? How do they imagine Him, speak with Him, and believe He thinks about them (Loving? Wrathful? Jealous?) What does He want from them? Is He personal, like in the Christian religion, or some kind of encompassing force, like in the Jedi religion?
  • Method of communicating with God: Can they talk to God? Do they pray? Does He answer? If so, how? Does God grant graces or have special sacraments?
  • Method of worship: Is there organized group worship? If so, what are the rituals and requirements? Is it necessary?
  • Rules of living: What does God require of these people? What sacrifices does He ask? What rules of interacting with other sentients (or non-sentients) has He laid down? What commandments, laws, exhortations are there? What happens to those who do not live up to standards (heaven, hell, purgatory, mortal reward or punishment, etc.)? How does their religion deal with enemies—or aliens?
  • Spreading faith: Do they evangelize? Is faith instinctive or do they learn it? How do they grow spiritually? Are there rituals for spiritual growth?
  • Philosophy: How does their religion answer “Why?” Why is the sky blue? Why can I think and feel? Why do good or bad things happen? Why are we the way we are?
  • Record: How are the tenets of religion passed down? Is there a written (or equivalent) Word of God? Is it literal, allegorical, historical? What are the stories of their faith?
  • Roles: Are there prophets? Priests? Teachers? Saints? Angels? Demons?
  • Spirituality: How is it experienced? Expressed?
  • Symbology: What symbols does your religion have and what do they mean? A real-world example: if a red candle is lit in the sacristy (by the altar) of a Catholic church, it means Christ is physically present via the Consecrated Host. Symbols can be drawings or objects, gestures or words, clothing or constructs—but they all have (or had) meaning.

 Nit noids:

  • How are things named? Why?
  • What do people do for fun?
  • What are the bathrooms like?
  • How is their language structured? In my Dragon Eye, PI universe, the elves have a complex syntax and form of conversation: to say “Excuse me” is a ritual that involves recognizing the other person’s station in life compared to your own, the severity of the offence and several other factors.
  • What makes them laugh? Cry?

For More Reading:

A good way to come up with an alien culture is to read about new cultures and adapt it to your world. Read up on a place or religion you’re not familiar with.

Karina Teaches Worldbuilding – Lesson 5

Over this year, Karina is going to share some of her writing seminars on the blog, with the lessons and references for further study. We’ll be posting these once a month. There’s no assigned homework, but if you have questions, please ask them in the comments. Her first workshop is worldbuilding. This is Lesson 5. Here are the links to Lesson 1, Lesson 2Lesson 3, and Lesson 4.

To seek out new life and new civilizations…  –Star Trek

Worlds are more than physics, and stories are more than settings. The most interesting thing about a world and the usual spot for conflict lies in the society that inhabits the world. Whether you have an intergalactic civilization with a history longer than the entire existence of the Earth or a small exploration group on an uncharted asteroid, you need to know how that society runs.

How much do you need to know? It depends on your story, your universe, and your own plans. David Weber has a complex and detailed universe for his Honor Herrington novels, and it shows. A short story, however, may only need a couple of important facts; the rest is immaterial. I once chatted with an author whose novel was unmanageably long because he was including every detail, right down to the history and construction of the blades used in a swordfight. One chatter suggested he was writing the world’s encyclopedia or an online game manual rather than a story.

Dream up as much of the background as you can and wish to, but don’t let it interfere with the story. Here are some things to consider:

 History:

  •   How did your country/world/empire come to be?
  •   Who were the major historic figures? (soldiers, statesmen, explorers, workers for peace, famous criminals, scientists, religious leaders, people not in power who do major things)
  •   What inventions changed their world?

Always start with those that affect your character, story and setting. For example, in the United States, every child grows up learning about George Washington, the Revolutionary War, and Pearl Harbor. In Colorado, however, kids will be more familiar with the explorer Zebulon Pike, while in Fredericksburg, VA, students learn about the apothecary and General Hugh Mercer.

 Military:

  • Are there a lot of wars on your world? Over what?
  • How does your society feel about war and the military? How does your character feel?
  • Does your character belong to a conquering “nation” or a conquered one? Or does his nation avoid battle, preferring negotiation or neutrality?

If needed, you can map out some of the major battles. Think not only about the ones that forged the civilization(s) you’re writing about, but also the area. In a real-world example, Fredericksburg, VA (where we used to live) was the site of several important battles in the American Civil War. Thus, you can’t walk for a block downtown without seeing something from that era – whether a statue of General Lee, a historical marker, a souvenir shop, or a Confederate Flag proudly displayed next to the Stars and Stripes. My husband has a Civil War sword that his neighbors dug out of their back yard.

 Economic:

  • How do people acquire things? Not all societies have a cash or barter system. In my world of Kanaan, people work for the joy of creating or performing a service and freely give away their wares. Lesser enjoyed duties (laundry, dishes, trash) are shared.
  • What are trade relations between systems, countries, etc. like?
  • How many resources does the average person have at their beck and call? Can they afford to throw food away? Broken or no longer wanted objects? How important is recycling?
  • What are the major industries, crops, etc? How do they affect the society and policies of your world?
  • Do you have big businesses or small conglomerates? How are they run? For example, in Rob’s and my Rescue Sisters novel, Discovery, we have a major space conglomerate, ColeCorp, which has its fingers in everything from universities to spaceship construction. It runs like a standard American business for the most part, but in the asteroid belt, it has a cooperative relationship with the small, independent mining companies.

 Political:

  • What kind of government does your world have? What are the variations? For example, you may have a monarchy, but instead of the crown passing to the firstborn son, it goes to whichever child demonstrates the strongest arcane ability at 16. Each child’s score is recorded, and when the monarch dies, the crown is passed to the most skilled.
  • Politics is more than governmental, however. How are decisions for groups made? How does this reflect society’s values?

 Inventions:

  • What inventions have transformed society? Think more than just commercially. Take the washing machine, for example. On the surface, it makes it easier to clean clothes, but look deeper, and you see it has changed our standards of clean, the amount and type of clothing the average person owns, and sparked the need for a whole slew of new industries, from detergent manufacturing to diaper services.

For More Reading:

Where do you come up with ideas for these things? Read about Earth! Read a history, political system or economics. Then ask yourself how you can adapt elements of this to your world.

Karina Teaches – Lesson 4

Over this year, Karina is going to share some of her writing seminars on the blog, with the lessons and references for further study. We’ll be posting these once a month. There’s no assigned homework, but if you have questions, please ask them in the comments. Her first workshop is worldbuilding. This is Lesson 4. Here are the links to Lesson 1, Lesson 2, and Lesson 3.

Worldbuilding 101, Lesson 4: Your People

On the last day, God created Man (male and female), but we’re going to do it on Lesson 4.

For some of you, this won’t be too hard–you’ll have basic humanoids with some special quirk that makes them unique.

As you’ve already heard me say–and everybody join in this time–you need to think about the impact of the differences you make on the rest of your world. For example, for my novel Discovery, my husband Rob and I have postulated a race of creatures that are more patterned after starfish–radial symmetry rather than the vertical symmetry of humans. This introduced a whole slew of interesting questions:

–Do they have a sense of right/left/forward/back?

–Are certain digits devoted to walking and some to handling tools? Or are they ambidextrous?

–Where are their eyes? How do they see?

–How do they eat, sleep, procreate?

–What would their homes, vehicles, and equipment look like?

Fortunately for Rob and me, we will be dealing with humans exploring a long-dead spaceship, possibly abandoned, so we have some wiggle room for unanswered questions. We could concentrate just on the things that directly apply to the space ship, its design and especially its life craft. If we take our humans to this planet in another book, we’ll need more answers!

Even if you’re doing fantasy and are going to use some of the time-honored “aliens” like vampires, werewolves, etc., you still need to decide their biology, needs and how they are different. Is vampirism a disease, a genetic defect or a choice? Why can’t they come out into the sun? How does it really affect them–sunburn, allergic reaction or the good ol’ burst into flames? Do werewolves have to change in a full moon, or can they only change in the full moon? What happens to their clothes?

I’ve had a lot of fun playing with the usual clichés of fairy creatures in my Dragon Eye, PI universe. (www.dragoneyepi.net). For example, my elves are very long-lived. Well, when you live to be 500-600, your biology should slow down a bit, and so does your sense of time. Thus, while elves are able to interact with humans, they are also infuriatingly slow. Their language, for example, is full of prerequisites–to apologize for bumping into someone requires you recognize their social status and that of their family and tribe as compared to yours, the nature of the offense, the impact of that offense on the relationship and the relationship of their people… As my dragon detective Vern likes to complain, “It can take them half an hour to ask where the bathroom is.” (And, thanks to their changed biology, they do have half an hour before the need is urgent.)

Keep in mind, too, that the more that quirk is part of their nature, the more effect it will have on their civilization–but that’s lesson 5.

For more reading:

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Alien-Species-Star/dp/0345442202/ref=sr_1_1/104-5069618-1512745?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189371773&sr=1-1 The Essential Guide to Aliens (Star Wars) by Ann Lewis and RK Post. It’s amazing what people have come up with for creatures. Contains their history, biology and sociology. Great for ideas.

Dragon Magazine: Although out of print, each issue had a bestiary with incredible detail about certain kinds of creatures.

Dungeons and Dragons Players Handbooks or Monster Manuals: Pick a fantasy creature and these writers have thought of everything from how they react in an adventure to what they wear as pajamas. Forget the dice and the stats and just play with the ideas.

Real life creatures: Google a species that may have traits you want – like starfish or manta rays or birds. Even if you aren’t looking for a full creature, you might learn something. For example, if your alien has wings and can fly, you will want to study what else is involved – do they have feathers or skin like a bat? Do they fly or just soar like a flying squirrel? How does their anatomy support the wing structure?

 

Karina Teaches – Lesson 2

 

Over this year, Karina is going to share some of her writing seminars on the blog, with the lessons and references for further study. We’ll be posting these once a month. There’s no assigned homework, but if you have questions, please ask them in the comments. Her first workshop is worldbuilding. This is Lesson 2. Find Lesson 1 here.

 

Lesson 2: Physics, Geology and Geography

HEY! Don’t open that! It’s an alien planet! Is there air? You don’t know!

–Guy Fleegman, Galaxy Quest

The more we know about the universe and what it takes to create Life, the more we realize just how amazing it is that any life–let alone sentient life–could have developed even once. The world must have a sun that is the right age, be in orbit at the right distance with an atmosphere to block out dangerous radiation and provide something to breathe. There must be carbon or some other basic building block that can combine with other elements to produce complex molecules that will work together. And of course, there must be water or a logical water-substitute. There must be time for those to evolve, societies to develop, etc…

Now, you may not have to start with quite these basics, but you should know to some degree (as determined by the need of the story) how what you’re doing will alter that delicate balance. Alter the mineral content of the world, and you might change its gravity. Change the gravity too much and you lose atmosphere. Introduce two moons and you mess with the tides. Even removing the tilt of your world (the earth sits at about a 23.5 degree tilt to the sun) and you mess with the seasons and the warming of the planet. Not that you can’t do these things, but you need to be aware of them and how they affect your world–and (if they are important to your story) what you’ll do for a work-around.

Second point for today is that planets are not homogeneous. Mars, for example, has a rep for being rather plain and desert-like, but it has fantastic topography, from huge mountains to incredible canyons, long stretches of deserts and rocky flatlands. There are polar ice caps (albeit made of carbon dioxide). Even the gas giants have regions of different climates and “topography,” or else they would not have storms. So the idea of a completely “Springlike” planet or an entirely harsh, rocky world isn’t especially believable.

Of course, there are exceptions. Arrakis (Dune) was desert from pole to pole, but Frank Herbert made it successful for several reasons: it was critical to the story, believable in its presentation, grounded in reason (the scarcity of water and the actions of the sandworms, who walled off water and kept it from rising to the surface), and he acknowledged (through the characters) its uniqueness in the galaxy, thus making it a mystery to draw you into the book rather than a distraction to pull you out.

The point, of course, is to know WHY your world is the way it is, and to make sure that its unique characteristics carry their own unique consequences. Fantasy artists can toss in another moon because it’s cool; writers have to deal with how that second moon affects the werewolves every month–or how it affects the counting of the months, for that matter.

Unless you are an astrophysicist, astrobiologist and geologist, you probably can’t readily say what will happen when you start tweaking your world. Fortunately, others have done that thinking for us. Find books, seek out professors at your local university–or call around and find an expert. And of course, remember that how deep you get into worldbuilding depends on how vital your world is to your plot–if you’re writing a fantasy tale that takes place inland, you don’t need to know how your second moon affects your tides so much as how it affects your werewolves. If you’re doing a “pirates on Xenologia” adventure, you’d better know how the oceans react to your second moon.

But my story takes place on Earth! You may not have to worry about the physics (unless you are introducing some paranormal element, in which case you might consider the “physics” of that), but your area still has geology and geography. Consider the differences between San Francisco, Chicago and Phoenix, for example. One is hilly and foggy; the other has multiple rivers; the third is flat and dry. Each has its own geography, and keep in mind that for the sake of your story “geography” includes man-made elements. Part of the geography of Los Angeles includes Chinatown, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, Beverly Hills… When I think about the geography of my hometown, Pueblo, Colorado, I think of the winding highway, I-25, with the mall at the north end, just before the big stucco welcome signs, and the rusting steel mill on the south end, where the city sort of peters out to an empty lot of the old drive-in and the greyhound race track.

 

For More Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extraterrestrial_life

http://www.humantruth.info/aliens.html A fair summary of different life possibilities–from organic to robotic

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0091886163/vexencrabtree “What does a Martian Look Like? The Science of Extraterrestrial Life” by Jack Cohen

 

Transitions – How to get your character from here to there

MC900434910[1]One area of writing craft that doesn’t get a lot of attention is that of writing transitions. You’ve gotten to the end of a scene, or maybe just to the middle, and the characters need to move to a different location, or perhaps some time must pass. How do we accomplish that in a way that moves the story forward and also keeps the reader’s interest?

I admit to hitting spots like this and getting stumped. I know what is coming up, but can’t quite figure out how to make it happen on the page. Sometimes I just skip the transition, leave a space or type “needs something” in red, and go on. When I come back, the answer is often clear and I can add, then revise and move on.

Deconstructing transitions can help. Ask questions of yourself or the characters. What needs to happen next? What is a logical way of getting there? How can I as author make the “getting there” part compelling? Can I reveal characterization? Can I set a tone? Can I use an active verb? What word choices will help me create the imaginary situation that I hope my reader pictures and feels? How can I do this in an unobtrusive way?

A simple solution for time shifts is to double space between scenes. In more complex time situations, a timing cue may be necessary, i.e., a day, date, or time as a header at the beginning of a chapter. As in any literary technique, get the most bang for your buck with each word.

For instance, in Hijacked, my first novel, the female protagonist is a pilot. I purposely used weather cues that a pilot would notice to alert the reader to the time shifts. The setting became a vehicle for those transitions: A thunderstorm to indicate that summer had arrived, the brilliant color of fall foliage as seen from the air to denote autumn, the sight of malls (again, from the air) engulfed in oceans of cars just before Christmas. I used those opportunities to deepen the heroine’s character, i.e., how she felt about what was going on in her life at each of those seasons, and to move the story forward, i.e., her musings about past events or how to proceed with relationships. Is there a unique aspect of one of your characters or your setting that might serve to assist with transitions?

In more complex time situations, a timing cue may be necessary, i.e., a day, date, or time as a header at the beginning of a chapter. I used this technique in Unholy Bonds, the sequel to Hijacked. Create a timeline outside of the book as a reference; it will help keep things straight. This idea is especially helpful in creating tension in a novel of suspense. Conversely, it can indicate the passage of long periods of time and slow the pace of a more introspective novel.

Within a chapter or scene, your goal is to move the characters around without creating a sense of plastic figures being manipulated by the author. Describe their movements in terms of their personalities and within the context of the emotion felt or displayed at that moment. Give them reasons, valid ones, for going where they need to go. Use transition words (then, next, after, etc.) if you need to, but keep them to a minimum or the story begins to read like an instruction manual.

Avoid the “grocery list” approach. Too many details getting the character from one spot to another risks losing the reader’s interest. Keep only the details that move the story forward or reveal something about the character. If they need to get out of the kitchen, into the car and down the street before the next interesting thing happens, try to get that done in a sentence or two—not six.

For instance: He dropped the milk carton on the counter and sprinted to the door, grabbing a coat on the way to his vintage Harley. A roar of noise and black exhaust carried him away from safety and into the unknown of danger. Where is Patty?

Okay, I know that’s sort of hokey, but I established a whole lot of stuff in a few sentences and got him out of the house and down the street. Our hero drinks milk and rides a vintage Harley (potentially contradictory and character revealing information.) His bike belches black smoke, so it might need some maintenance. He’s leaving a place of safety and heading into danger, which makes him brave or impetuous – or both. And as he’s moved from one place to another, he’s (hopefully) kept our interest and created a sense of urgency, both on the page and within the reader, who now needs to keep reading.

What we avoided was: He picked the carton of milk up and sniffed it, but then set it down. It wasn’t sour, but a thought crossed his mind. He hadn’t heard from Patty yet, and she had promised to call him when she arrived at work. Where was she, anyway? Concerned, he walked quickly down the hall where he picked up his keys and his coat, then checked his pocket for his wallet. Satisfied that he had everything he needed, he stepped out of the house, closed the door and locked it, then took the three steps from the porch to the sidewalk. His motorcycle was parked on the driveway, and he walked over to it, then picked up his helmet and put it on. (Are you bored yet? I am! And it’s so painful I’m not going to write any more! But I bet you get the idea!)

Many times, the transition doesn’t need to be exact.  Sometimes you can simply start the next sentence or scene with a thought in the character’s POV that indicates a change has taken place, then move on from there. Flashbacks followed by “leap forwards” can work, too, but use caution. Overuse or poor execution of flashbacks cause more problems than they solve.

This is a good time to get out your favorite novel and read a bit of it, paying close attention to how the author treated transitions. How do you handle transitions? Do you have suggestions beyond what I’ve addressed here? Please share! 

10 Steps to Indie Publishing

Printing pressThese are the best of times for authors—and possibly the worst of times! The changes in the publishing industry over the past five years are nearly as significant as the advent of the internet. In fact, the two developments are intertwined and build on each other.

We all know traditional publishing has undergone tremendous upheaval. It’s still difficult to find an agent. Same goes for a publishing home, doubly so when entire houses fold or get bought out by another entity. Authors are taking to the waters of Amazon and related ponds by the droves, flooding the markets with their manuscripts.

What are some advantages to independently publishing your work? Total control is the one most often mentioned. You work directly with a cover artist to produce the best one for your story. You can replace it if you decide it’s not working. You can set your pricing, then change it at a moment’s notice if needed.

Total control is also the disadvantage to indie publishing. Marketing is incumbent upon you, no one else. Make no mistake: this is a big responsibility.

Given this environment, if you are interested but have yet to dip a toe into the pool, how do you go about what has become known as indie publishing?

1. Know your goals. Do you want to get something in print form for family and friends? Skip down to items 4 through 7 and ignore the rest. Do you want to reach readers who don’t personally know you? Start here and slog through every step listed.

2. Hone your craft. Write the best book possible, run it by critique groups and/or beta readers and/or enter it in contests to get unbiased feedback. Then hire an editor and revise. Yes, this will cost money. Yes, you must do it. Do not fall prey to the delusion that your book is the best one on the planet or the only one not in need of professional editing. It’s not. You can always make it better. Believe me, if your critique partners/beta readers/editors say it needs work, it does. Fix it. If you don’t, the whole world will be privy to the lashing you will get from Amazon and Goodreads reviewers. So make it the best possible book before you put it out there. At least no one will be able to say “poorly written/edited!”

3. Buy books on the process. Let’s Get Digital and Let’s Get Visible  by David Gaughran are great resources, they are cheap, and they are fairly up to date. He is a proponent of the Amazon-only model. If you are comfortable with reading advice by savvy romance writers, The Naked Truth About Self-Publishing by The Indie Voice is another great resource.  This group is a proponent of getting your work out to every venue possible; why limit yourself to one vendor? These three books come to less than $15 and lay an excellent foundation for understanding the nuts and bolts of self-publishing.

4. Explore publishing options. Amazon’s self-pub arms are KDP for ebooks, Create Space  or print on demand, and ACX for audio books. Ingram Spark is another option. Barnes & Noble, Apple, and Kobo have platforms for uploading books; I have not gotten that far and do not have information to share. I’m sure others can contribute to the conversation here!

5. Utilize the tutorials on each publishing site. They provide a wealth of information. My experience with customer service on each site has been exceptional. If your budget allows for additional services, pretty much anything you need is available .

6. Remember that nothing is set in stone. If you make a mistake, all you usually have to do is replace the file. For ebooks on KDP, the old one will still be available for sale until the new one goes live. With Create Space, the title will not be available during the changeover, typically twelve hours or so. That said, some mistakes require taking the book down and reissuing it. Call customer service if it looks like something you can’t address on your own.

7. Mistakes: You will make them. The earth will not stop rotating. You will fix them. A week later, you will probably have forgotten the details. Moral: Be nice to yourself when you demonstrate your humanity. Even better, laugh!

8. Connect with your writing community. Ask for help, share insights, cheer each other on, and promote each other’s work. There are enough readers out there for all books. Amazon gave a presentation at a conference I attended recently. Their statistics show a dramatic rise in books sold since the ebook became widely available. More titles, more sales. Readers are voracious. There is enough success to go around; it’s not a finite quantity.

9. Adapt. There is no right way or wrong way to do this. The only given is the quality of the product you put out. Beyond that, much of the process for individual books is trial and error. Try something and see if it works. If not, try something else. Be persistent. Realize that marketing is part of the authorial journey these days, whether you are traditionally or independently published.

10. Remember this is a business for the long haul. It may take years to build a following. Meanwhile, keep improving your craft and writing new content. That is the one action you can take to improve visibility of your books, and visibility translates to sales. Continue to interact with readers, either online or in person, so they remember you and look for your books as you write them.

Questions? Discussion? How about suggestions of books or other resources you’ve found? Please share!

The End: Sweet Words for an Author, Sweet Experience for a Reader

The EndThe end.

Two of the most satisfying words a writer can tap onto a keyboard.

We’ve all dreamed of typing those six letters, and many of us have been fortunate enough to have achieved that particular success.

In my past few posts, we’ve discussed beginnings and middles. Let’s talk about endings today.

How do you craft an ending that works? You know what I mean: the ending that satisfies in a way that nothing else can. The good guys win, the couple (finally!) gets together for their happy ever after, the world is saved from certain disaster.

Yet I suspect many of us know when an ending doesn’t work. Have you ever read a book where the story had you in its grip—and then it fell flat and limped to the last page? I have. It feels like the author suddenly lost interest. Perhaps they were on a deadline and just typed a bunch of words to fulfill a contract. Or maybe they really didn’t know how the book ended, so they just threw some words on the page and hoped they would do. And that the reader wouldn’t notice.

Alternatively, I’ve read books where The End happened ten or fifteen pages before the printed pages did. It’s disconcerting to be engaged in the story, come across that emotionally satisfying ahhh that is the indisputable end…but then things keep happening and the characters keep talking, and as a reader, you’ve lost interest.

To avoid a bad ending, go back to the beginning. Is your theme still clear? Will the ending make that theme shine (even though it’s likely not stated outright)? What is the question posed at the beginning of the book? There may be an overall question, along with individual questions for each of the main characters. Are those questions answered in the last chapter?  What about the middle? Does all that suspense and tension you’ve nurtured through the book come to a climax that is addressed in the final scene(s)? If you’ve been paying attention to these elements of craft, you’ve set yourself up for a good, satisfying end.

Pacing is another issue. Keep the tension strong; don’t dilute it with throwaway words or scenes. When the end is reached, end the story; don’t belabor it.

Make sure all loose ends are tied up. This is a great task for critique partners and/or beta readers. Whatever did happen to Uncle Bert after everyone else hared off after the bad guys and left him chained to the gushing water pipe in the basement? Or Sally rescued the lost kitten in chapter two, but the kitten was never mentioned again. What happened to it??? You can bet your readers will ask these questions!

Whatever you do, please, please avoid the temptation to use a plot ploy at the end. No hand of God reaching down to set all aright, or aliens/knights in shining armor/Navy Seals (that haven’t been part of the book until now) suddenly appearing out of nowhere to solve all the problems. Or a minor character who inexplicably becomes the linchpin upon which the premise of the entire book now rests. I have read books that ended this way, and they were disappointing, to say the least. Keep your characters true to their motivations and your plot logical. That makes for authenticity, and happy readers.

The ending should have a twist that no one saw coming. No one likes to read clichés, whether within the book or at the end. Do your best to give the reader a wonderful surprise, one that delights or challenges. Don’t be afraid to brainstorm different endings; too often we pick the first idea that pops into our head. The best idea may be the fifth or eighth. Have fun with this. Readers will enjoy the result.

What about epilogues? They seem to be more effective and better received than prologues. An epilogue can be a wonderful way to tie up remaining loose ends (especially in an action-packed story). It can even set the scene for the next book, if you are writing a series. But keep it short. No more than two pages. Make it count; otherwise, it’s best to leave it out.

You want your readers to be satisfied so they will write nice reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. You want them to tell their friends about the great book they just finished. You also want them to like the end so much they’ll come back for your next book. And the next one.

So give them an ending that carries an emotional punch, the one they hope for. Your reader has invested money and, more important, their time. Make it worthwhile.

What have you learned about writing endings? Any tips to share? I’d love to hear them!

Books, and Toned Middles

belly dancers for CWG croppedLast month, I talked about beginnings and how important they are to drawing the reader in to your book. It seems appropriate to continue on to story middles today.

Middles ought to be pretty simple. After all, it’s the stuff that happens between the beginning and the end. Many authors, however, struggle with middles. There’s a term for middles that lose their direction and energy: the dreaded Sagging Middle.

How do we keep our middles on task, doing the unsung but necessary work of getting the reader to the end of the story? How do we keep the energy high? Most important, how do we keep the reader engaged?

It’s best to step back and look at the big picture first. What is the underlying theme of your story? Is it clear and evident in every scene, though it’s likely never stated outright? Theme should be the basis for every action that takes place, every decision a character makes, and even descriptions of setting. Every word you use can and should further the development of the theme you’ve chosen. For more on THEME, click here.

Next, what about story structure? If you’ve built even a rudimentary five-sentence outline of turning points for a particular story, it is much easier to keep the individual scenes pointed in the right direction. No ambling about aimlessly in the rose garden and boring the readers—unless, of course, the rose garden is critical to both the theme and structure of this story! In that case, amble all you want, as long as there is purpose. For more on STRUCTURE, click here.

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. Each scene in a story must have tension. This is sometimes referred to as conflict, and always results in suspense. Suspense isn’t defined as horror movie scary stuff; it’s simply a reader asking the question “What happens next” and turning the page to find out.

This is the key to toning up the middle of your book: Every scene and each chapter must have higher and higher stakes for the main characters. Each character has more to lose as the story progresses, and each character is forced into increasingly difficult choices. As situations evolve, and as the characters slog their way through their troubles, they reveal their increasingly deeper secrets to the reader. The characters struggle, and they grow. The reader identifies in some way, roots for them, and is willing to be swept along. For more on ROOTING FACTORS, click here.

One caution: Watch for filler, and ruthlessly cut it. It’s easy to rationalize that since this is the middle of the book, the reader is already caught up in it and won’t put it down, so you don’t have to work quite as hard, and nobody will notice that this whole scene/chapter doesn’t really advance the story; it’s just there because you, the author, like it. Nope. Readers are smart. Cut the scene if it doesn’t advance the story. Cut the details if they don’t advance the story. I know. It’s hard. If it’s too hard, create a file for deleted scenes and put the cuts there so they’re accessible if you want them later. I find that’s sometimes a necessary intermediate step, even though those end up fully deleted later. Human nature is pretty funny!

Once you approach the end of the book (or even at the end of chapters!), resist the urge to tie up loose ends too soon. I admit to that failing as a new author. My first attempts at chapters all had tidy endings. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Every chapter should end with an unanswered question. Analyze your favorite I-couldn’t-put-it-down book. What created that quality? I’m willing to bet it was ever more crucial unanswered questions, and lots of loose ends. For more on TENSION, click here, and for more on HOOKS, click here.

What tips do you have to share regarding middles? I’d love to hear a new take on the subject!

In the Beginning…

"The Beginning" Road Sign with dramatic blue sky and clouds.The most important part of your novel, short story, or even nonfiction piece is the beginning.

What compels the reader to keep reading? How do you craft a beginning that doesn’t bog down, one that keeps the reader engaged?

There are several schools of thought regarding beginnings. Depending on the genre, the beginning can create a normal world (think of the movies Star Wars or The Wizard of Oz), and let the reader get to know the characters in their natural habitat. Women’s fiction and literary fiction tend to follow this style. Caution: Choose the details of the everyday life carefully, to the point of foreshadowing what’s going to come nextnamely conflict. What’s at stake for the main character? In Star Wars, Han Solo saw his family facing the loss of their way of life, and peace. Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz, engaged in a life or death battle to keep Toto.

What we tend to remember in these stories is the outrageous intergalactic characters and battle scenes of Star Wars or the Technicolor adventures on the way to Oz. Yet when one analyzes the story structure, the “black and white” ordinary life is where the story begins—and presages the main conflict in a way that amplifies the conflict when it arrives.

A different way to begin a story, common especially in suspenses, is in media res, which throws the reader into the deep end of the swimming pool along with the main character. Picture a book beginning with a young woman being snatched from a sidewalk and shoved into a van. The van speeds off—and of course the reader is going to turn the page to find out who, why, where, and what happens next??? This technique can be very effective. The author gives concise clues to setting (city or suburb, day or night, good neighborhood vs bad, etc.), characterization (she fights back or is paralyzed with fear, the snatcher and snatchee know each other and have shared history, etc.), and motivation (kidnapping vs bodyguards collecting an errant charge vs fraternity joke, etc.) without much else in the way of detail to ground the reader. It’s not for every story, though; imagine Dorothy opening the door of the house after setting down in Oz, with the story beginning in Technicolor. The event would lose much of its impact, and the subsequent conflict would lose its sizzle.

One of the most common mistakes new writers make is starting the story in the wrong place. My advice is to write it the way that makes sense to you, then come back when you’ve finished the whole thing and re-read the beginning. Chances are you’ll hit a certain paragraph where everything springs to life. That’s where your story really begins. One common suggestion is to dump the first chapter and start with the second. Personal experience: I had to dump the first three chapters of my first novel—they were that boring, even to me! But I had to write them in order to discover where the story really began. You may have to cut words, but they are never wasted; you always learn something important about your characters, even if it doesn’t end up as words in the book. 

Another common mistake is to explain the characters and back story (what happened before the book started). This is called an information dump. Resist. Draw your characters clearly through their internal and present thoughts; let the reader get to know them deeply, layer by layer. What brought them to this point will be revealed in good time. Another wise bit of advice I’ve come across is to get about thirty pages into a story before disclosing back story.

Dialogue is a great way to tell a story, and the beginning is no exception. If you can incorporate dialogue at that point, do so, and make it unforgettable.

For a fun exercise, go to the library or a bookstore, or even your own shelf of well-worn favorites. Open to the first page and read the first line. Is it compelling? Intriguing? Why did you want to read more? How much information about the character, setting, motivations and tone did the author convey in those few words?

When it comes down to it, the story begins when there is a change in the main character’s life. The change can be subtle or cataclysmic, but that is the point at which you, as author, commence weaving a tale that will hold readers in thrall until the words The End.

How do you know where your book begins? Do you have a strategy for determining what the opening scene is, or who inhabits it? Please share!