23 (More) Websites That Make Your Writing Stronger

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This post, by Suzannah Windsor Freeman, originally appeared on Write It Sideways on 8/17/10.

A while back, I posted a list of 23 websites and blogs that make your writing stronger.

The post was, and still is, a favourite with readers.

Since writing the list, I’ve subscribed to a number of other sites that continue to help me in my writing journey. They cover fiction, freelance writing, blogging, publishing, and more.

If you want to learn more about writing or enhance your natural strengths, check out the following resources (in no particular order.)

PS If you find this list useful, please share it on Twitter, Facebook or StumbleUpon – I’d really appreciate it!

There Are No Rules
 
1) There Are No Rules: Jane Friedman, publisher at Writer’s Digest and regular contributor at Writer Unboxed, always has a wealth of helpful information on fiction, publishing, and self-promotion. Each week, she also shares a list of the Best Tweets for Writers.
 
 
Word Love
 
2) Word Love: Randy Susan Meyers, author of The Murderer’s Daughters, shares great tips on writing fiction.
 
 
Write For Your Life
 
3) Write for Your Life: Copywriter Iain Broome, whose first novel has found literary representation, provides information on all types of writing, and includes regular videos and podcasts.
 
 
Victoria Mixon's Advice Column
 
4) Victoria Mixon’s Advice Column: This professional writer and editor offers a no-nonsense approach to writing and publishing advice.

 

Read the rest of the post, which includes 19 more sites, on Write It Sideways.

Outlining: Straightjacket Or Lifeline?

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One of the arguments I had with my father when I was in grade-school was over the necessity of outlining when writing. He was for it, I didn’t see the need. By college I had a better understanding of the importance of having a clear organization for essays. However, what I tended to do was sketch out a very short outline, then write a quick rough draft–getting all my ideas down, then I would go back and write a new outline (now that I knew what I really wanted to say), and finally I cut and pasted the material into the right sections of this new outline.

By the time I was working on my doctorate, I had become committed to outlining, and my first outlines became more and more detailed. The work I was doing was simply too complicated–particularly once I was writing my dissertation–to wing it. This was long enough ago to be pre-desktop computer, which meant any changes required retyping the whole document, so it paid to be organized from the get go. I spent the next thirty or so years teaching, where I had the same conversations with my students that I had had with my father about the virtues of the outline-only now I was the one for it.

Needless to say, when I sat down to write the draft of my historical mystery, Maids of Misfortune, I outlined the plot. I literally outlined the whole story, chapter by chapter, listing under each chapter the scenes, characters involved, and the information that needed to be conveyed (clues, motivations, red-herrings, etc.) I remember being very puzzled by several members of my writing critique group, who were also writing mysteries at the time, who did not do outlines. In fact, they weren’t even sure who the murderer was, if there were going to be more than one murder, or how the murderer was going to be discovered. This seemed terribly disorganized, necessitating a good deal of rewriting once the plot elements were finally determined.

However, now that I look back at the path that first draft took before it ended up in the version that I published (with it’s new plot twists, new characters, new scenes, and deleted scenes), I am not sure I didn’t end up doing as much rewriting as the non-outliners did.

So now I have started writing Uneasy Spirits, the sequel to my first mystery, and I am confronted with the question, is an outline necessary? Can it become an obstacle to creativity or does it ensure a well-paced plot?

On the anti-outline side of the argument, having an outline can cause tunnel vision. In Maids of Misfortune, I originally had my protagonist, Annie Fuller, go undercover as a maid in the murdered man’s house about half-way through the book. My outline said I had to have all sorts of establishing scenes between Annie and the second protagonist, Nate Dawson, before she could disappear into her role as a servant. It took a number of beta readers to point out to me that this made the plot way too slow, and that I could actually rearrange my outline!

Another anti-outline argument I have heard numerous times (from non-outliner writers) is that once the whole story is plotted out in an outline, they lose interest in telling it. They get bored. They know “who done it,” so they don’t have the motivation to spend the months it will take to flesh out the story. For them, one of the prime motivations in writing is to “see what comes next,” something they feel they have lost when they have the whole novel plotted out. I confess that since I have lectured on the American Civil War about 10 times a year for 30 years (300 times!), always knowing “how it turned out,” but always trying to find new and better ways to describe what happened and why it happened, this argument has never held much weight.

Yet in favor of the anti-outlining argument, I do think that outlines have caused me to overwrite. I spent a good deal of time cutting in the last revision I did before publishing Maids of Misfortune, and a lot of it was because I had been so busy writing scenes in order to introduce the “clues” I had seeded throughout the plot outline that I lost touch with how to keep up the pacing.

On the other hand, having an outline ensures that the main plot points don’t get lost when there is a long time between the conception of the book and its actual completion. For example, I came up with the plot for Uneasy Spirits years ago (when I became discouraged by my inability to sell the first manuscript, and I thought I should move on, hoping editors might be more impressed if I had two books in hand.) I spent several weeks doing some background research for the book, developed character sketches for the main characters (victims, murderer, red herrings), and finally outlined the plot. Then I put this work away (summer was over and I was back to full time teaching).  Fast forward more than five years and the stuff that life throws at you, and I was finally ready to start on this manuscript. Without that typed outline and character sketches I would have been at square one.

A second pro-outline argument is that it helps you develop the story arc. One of the most difficult tasks for the college students I teach is to develop a thesis for their essays. They know what a topic is, and can write about a topic, but they have trouble developing an opinion about that topic. They write, “this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened.” But they can’t tell you why something happened, or why it was important. The books that I enjoy the most–even within the narrow confines of genre writing–are the ones that tell the story about how events changed characters-for better or worse. Writing an outline that not only introduces clues and red herrings throughout the story, but also includes scenes designed to change the main characters by challenging their beliefs and patterns of behavior, ensures that my stories will have that arc (or thesis) and that it is organic to the story itself, not grafted on after the fact.

For a final pro-outline argument, it can guard against writer’s block. I read about writers block, how people stare at a blank page for hours, days, weeks, and this just has never happened to me. While I can procrastinate with the best of them, once I sit down to write, I have always had that outline in front of me, and I have always been able to write something. I know what the next scene is supposed to be about, who is in the room, what they are supposed to be talking about, and this makes it easy to start writing.

This doesn’t always mean the scene comes out the way I planned it. As most writers will tell you, writing can be a magical experience where the characters have a decided mind of their own. For example, according to my outline for Uneasy Spirits, the first chapter was supposed to be set in Annie Fuller’s boarding house (Annie is my protagonist), and it was supposed to be a scene between Annie and Miss Pinehurst (who somehow mutated from a Miss Pringle in the outline). Instead as I sat down to write, while it was set in the boarding house, a completely new character, Mrs. Crenshaw, started talking to Annie. Instead Annie and Miss Pinehurst had their meeting in the next chapter, but in a cemetery rather than in the boardinghouse. So, whether I follow my outline, or rebel against it, I seem to have something to write–hence–no writer’s block.

I guess my conclusion is that I will continue to use outlines for my novels, but try to remain flexible, so that they will carry me along, not hem me in.  But I would love to hear from all of you.

Do you outline your plot before writing, or do you just wing it? And what are your reasons for outlining or not.

 

This is a reprint from M. Louisa Locke‘s The Front Parlor.

Self-Publishing Company Comparison: Amazon CreateSpace, Lulu or Lightning Source?

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This post originally appeared on Blogthority on 11/15/10.

This article will compare the book costs and overall costs (including distribution) for three of the biggest self-publishing companies – Amazon CreateSpace, Lulu and Lightning Source.

Ok, so you wrote a great book and were rejected by every publishing company in North America.  Or maybe you would rather self-publish your book and do your own promotion and maintain more control over the book.

The question now becomes:

Which self-publishing company do I use?

Lulu and Amazon CreateSpace are probably the best known self-publishing companies, but there are many to choose from.  Lightning Source is another option, but it is not a publisher – in fact it is a printer and you have to set up a publishing company (easy) in order to get an account there.

Most of the self-publishing companies you will encounter (such as Lulu) use Lightning Source as the printer for your book.  Needless to say, having an intermediary company involved will cost you money, but it should also be a bit easier to get your book into print.

How self-published compensation is calculated

In order to analyze the self-publishing options properly, we need to understand the costs involved with self-publishing – printing and distribution.  Note that the distribution costs are only applied to books sold through a distributor such as Amazon.com.  If you buy the books directly from your publisher and sell them yourself – then you are the distributor.

To calculate the book profit, you simply subtract the printing cost and the distribution cost from the retail price (set by the author).

Example:  An author has a book with a retail price of $10, the distribution fee is set to 40% and the printing costs are $3.50.

The profit  = Retail price – distribution fee – printing cost = $10 – $4 (40% of $10) – $3.50 = $2.50 per book.

Using a Third party publisher

 

Read the rest of the post on Blogthority.

I'm An Indie Author

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This post, by Cathryn Grant, originally appeared on her Suburban Noir site on 11/11/10.

While I was finishing my novel, the universe shifted. The economy imploded and ebooks exploded. Since my head was buried in my manuscript, I didn’t immediately realize the impact of these events.

I’d followed publishing for long enough that I knew a fair amount about the ups and downs of getting a novel published. In fact, I originally started writing and submitting short stories because I’d been told that short fiction publication credits would help catch the eye of an agent. While I worked on the final rewrites of my novel, I began compiling a list of potential agents. I started working on a query letter and following agents’ blogs.

There was never a doubt, until early 2010, that I’d follow the traditional path. But the world changed.

In addition to upheaval in the publishing industry and the global economy, two significant things happened in my life.

The first was in January 2010. I’d had a simple website up for about eighteen months. The site provided my author bio and two short stories that had been published in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines.

One Sunday morning I woke up to a message from a stranger in my in-box. A man in Australia had read the stories on my website, liked them and was interested in knowing whether I had any novels that he might consider developing into an Indie film. I checked out his credits – legit, including an award and a very suspenseful, skin-crawling short film. We started corresponding. The chapters I sent him (from an earlier novel) weren’t a good fit for an Australian setting. Nearly a year later we’re still in touch, and he’s still interested in future work. I don’t know if anything will ever come of it, but his email made me realize the power of the web for getting my fiction out far beyond my little corner of the world.

 

Read the rest of the post on Cathryn Grant‘s Suburban Noir.

The Dark Side Of Your Novel's Hero

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We all know our HERO requires a weakness. But did you also know he needs a dark side, a shadow if you will, and this part of him needs to come out? I didn’t until I read my EDITOR’s suggestions for my current manuscript. In one of her four hundred thirty-two suggestions, she recommended I needed to play up my hero’s dark side a bit more.

(Listen to a PODCAST of this article.)
 
The fact she mentioned this proved I didn’t know enough about the concept, so I did some reading on the subject. I now feel I have a better handled on the idea and thought I’d pass along what I’ve come to know. After all, it is all about the sharing, isn’t it?
 
To start, if your hero must have a dark side, what good is it if it doesn’t come out of hiding? That was the editor’s point. As I reevaluated my manuscript and the character in question, I realized my hero had a shadow, I’d simply not used it to effect.
 
So, what is this shadow and what might cause the good guy to turn to his dark side?
 
His dark side is the villain. Surprised? So was I until I thought it through.
 
The villain personifies those qualities opposite of your hero, right? He therefore possesses those characteristics your hero despises or those that may even frighten him. And why does the protagonist hate those qualities? It’s because these aspects of his personality are his own shadow, a deeply subdued part of himself.
 
Whoa… Flashback to Psych 101.
 
In any case, how might the hero’s dark side come to the fore? Most often it is the villain who draws it from him. It is he who pushes the hero’s buttons and forces the good guy over the edge. In effect, he provokes your hero to his breaking point.
 
Consider "The Lord of the Rings." The master ring pulls from its owner their worst, does it not? How about "The Wizard of Oz?" Dorothy kills the witch who, in turn, wants to kill Dorothy for killing the witch’s sister, all of which is contrary to Dorothy’s basic personality. This all makes sense when we realize a villain must force the hero into some sort of obsession if the good guy is to complete his quest.
 
Think of it like this. Take your hero’s finest characteristic and use it against him. Does he think himself a brave soldier? Them maybe he should run away when he first faces combat like in "The Red Badge of Courage." Does he believe marriage is sacred? Then have the villain force him into a divorce. Is he a happy-go-lucky guy? Then turn this characteristic into irresponsibility. The secret to this, is to ensure the motivation for this transformation is valid. Did Dorothy have a reason to kill the Wicked Witch? Yup.
 
What keeps the hero from becoming a bad guy himself? It’s choice. He chooses not be become like his nemesis, thus again subduing his own dark appetites.
 
The good part of this whole shadow concept? It allows for character growth. It fills in his personality and gives you a more three-dimensional character. It overcomes the imbalance that kept your hero from his goal.
 
You can develop this dichotomy in your hero by way of a three-pronged technique. You first develop his high qualities. Then find the opposite of these. Finally, you assign a physical behavior to this contradictory characteristic.
 
For example, if your hero loves children, the opposite is to hate children. The activity that might brings this out is he causes a child’s death.
 
So, a major aspect of a fully developed hero, is to give him a dark side, a shadow, then bring it out of him by way of a button-pushing villain who posses those same traits.
 
I don’t know about you, but I found this interesting. Regardless, I’ve got work to do on "Born to be Brothers."
 
Have you brought out the dark side to your hero? How did you do it?
 
Until we speak again, know I wish for you only best-sellers.

 

This is a reprint from C. Patrick Shulze‘s Author of Born to be Brothers blog.

How To Write Drunk And Edit Sober

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This post, by Mark Dykeman, originally appeared on Thoughtwrestling on 5/12/10.

Writers are supposed to write drunk, then edit sober, according to the late Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway knew a lot about writing and drinking, so he must be right.

But what does the phrase mean? Should it be taken literally?

Let’s talk about Hemingway’s quote. I’m going to suggest some healthier alternatives to cirrhosis and death for the sake of trying to write. After all, if our readers take his advice literally, we’ll run out of readers.

Write drunk

If you want to follow Hemingway’s advice literally, I’m assuming that you know how to procure and imbibe alcoholic beverages. That clearly sets the stage for writing drunk.

There’s two main reasons why you shouldn’t follow Hemingway’s advice:

  1. It’s bad for your health because many people fail at exercising moderation and too much alcohol damages your health.
     
  2. It costs money that you could be using to support [Thoughtwrestling] by purchasing future products and services.

Instead of literally writing drunk let’s reflect. What is it about alcohol that is good for the creator?

  • Blurred vision?
  • Slurred speech?
  • Loss of balance?
  • Passing out?

Or, is it…

The removal of inhibitions?

 

Read the rest of the post on Thoughtwrestling.

The Indie Publishing Life

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You’ve arrived at the end of your journey to publication. Slowly the realization dawns that you have now transitioned into being an author/publisher. As you promote your book you’ll start to connect with the wider community of indie authors and self-publishers.

This is a rapidly-growing cohort of people who have traveled a similar path. It surprises a lot of new self-publishers to arrive here, and realize that all the work they have put in—sometimes for years—is actually the introduction to a much larger world.

As an indie author you will keep learning about book marketing and promotion opportunities. Part of being a self-publisher is having an activist mindset. You are tuned into your niche, your genre, or your subject area. You know what’s happening and who the players are.

One day you’ll be surprised when an author who is just starting to think about self-publishing starts asking for your advice, leaning on your wisdom.

Learning from Other Self-Publishers

Indie publishing is a field full of helpful, active, intelligent people. You had the drive to write, publish and market your book, and that sets you apart from many people who only dream of doing what you’ve done. Hearing from other self-publishers is a powerful way to connect to the drive that’s common in us all.

Self-Publisher With Drive: The Amazing Tania McCartney
Where Beauty Meets Art: An Interview with Jennifer Robin, Author of Growing More Beautiful
Chris Finlan—From Page One to ‘Take One’ in Less than a Year

Book Marketing in the Social Media

A lot of our interaction takes place at industry events and workshops, and like many self-publishers you’ll find these groups and their online counterparts powerful tools in continuing your education.

Networking online and off also opens you to co-publishing ventures, leads you to skilled vendors for your books and marketing projects, and helps you address the inevitable questions that occur in this fast-changing environment.

2010 BAIPA Get Published! Institute
Top 5 Discussion Forums for Self-Publishers

Living the Indie Author Life

Of course, although our book is finished and on the market—and hopefully selling well—there is more writing to do. It’s long been my feeling that the best way to make your publishing program a success is to take what you’ve learned and start on another book that can be sold to the same people who are enjoying your first book.

There are lots of things to keep up with in the changing world of publishing, and lots of ways to do it.

Dear Suzanne: 7 Things Writers Need to Know Today

One of the great things that has happened as a result of the growth of self-publishing is a gradual fading of the “stigma” self-published authors have been fighting for a long time. But it’s gradual, and there are times when it seems that we are only getting reluctant acceptance.

Indie Bookstores and Indie Publishers: On The Same Page?
Self-Publishing Pro and Con(temptuous)

The Ending is the Beginning

From here it looks like we are well into a golden age for indie authors. It’s the best time ever to be a self-publisher and more people are achieving life-changing success by publishing their own books. And so let’s bring this journey to it’s end:

8 Reasons Self-Publishing is Entering a Golden Age

Thanks for traveling a little way on this road with me, and I hope I’ve been able to speed you on your journey. May you publish well, and with satisfaction. You deserve it.

 

This is a reprint from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

Book Publicity Tips For Authors

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Book publicity is the process of seeking and getting media coverage for books and their authors. Media coverage can potentially exposure your book to a large number of people and it offers more credibility than some other promotional methods. It’s also a great way to build your author platform, name recognition, and expert reputation.

Although a newspaper article or radio interview won’t cost you anything, you may have costs associated with generating interest from the media, such as hiring someone to write a press release, paying for press release distribution services, or hiring a publicist to prepare publicity materials and make media contacts on your behalf. If your budget is limited, you can do these tasks yourself.

Below are some resources to help you learn how to generate your own media coverage:
 

  • Award-winning publicist Sandra Beckwith offers a terrific publicity workbook packed with book publicity forms and templates.
  • Author and marketing expert Marcia Yudkin recently wrote and distributed nine different press releases for her new series of books. In this case study, she shares the details.  Also, take a look at Marcia’s article on how to generate media coverage.
  • This book publicity article by Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, has some very helpful tips for the most effective ways to pitch the media.
  • Joan also offers an excellent free course on how to use news releases effectively. You can sign up to receive a daily lesson by email for 89 days at no charge, or purchase the entire series in ebook format so you don’t have to wait three months to get all these great publicity tips.
  • This collection of book publicity tips on the Savvy Book Marketer blog includes several guest posts written by experts in book publicity and promotion.

There are many online press release distribution services. For my most important releases, I use the paid service at PRWeb.com. For routine releases, I use the free service as PRLog.com.

Media coverage can be valuable way to gain attention for your book. If you don’t already have a book publicity plan in place, get started today.
 

This is a reprint from Dana Lynn Smith‘s The Savvy Book Marketer.

NANOWRIMO DAY 11: Feeling the Burn? Writers Tools (Scrivener!) and Toys (Pandora!) That May Save the Day

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This post, by Andrea King Collier, originally appeared on SheWrites on 11/11/10. Hopefully it’ll offer some help and support to Publetarians who are also NaNoWriMo-ers at the halfway point.

As Andrea Collier, our NaNoWriMo correspondent, nails the near-half-way mark (20,400 words), she has an epiphany about her protagonist and turns to Scrivener, Pandora, a digital voice recorder, and…oh yes, old-fashioned notebook and pen.

DAY 11: Oh She Writers and SheWriMos, all the cake is gone. Even though I am clipping away at my 50,000 words, I feel like I’m hitting the wall. Time for writer’s toys and distractions.

Okay, I should not be feeling like this until next week, which is the half-way point. But I’m getting ADD. I’m still laying down words at the rate I promised myself– steady and messy. But SheWriters, I am back to wondering what I was thinking. I am beyond the put butt in chair phase. The glow of focus is blurry. And sometimes I embed stupid stuff in my work just to keep me interested. Like today, I added a section called “It was a dark and stormy night.” I listed all the things that could happen on a dark and stormy night. This was not good. It was just a diversion. I notice that I play computer Scrabble more. I curse at the computer more. And the critic is really getting to me. I curse at her too. (But as fellow She Writer Tayari Jones points out, criticism can hurt, but it’s essential!)

I am now at 20,400 words. Can you believe it? So technically I am almost at the halfway mark. Consistency has its virtues. Consistency is like the NY City Marathon. It’s worse than that. It is like running the marathon blindfolded, with a drunk seeing-eye dog. I don’t have a clue where I’m going—except that I’m going to 50,000 words or bust. I have gained three stressed out pounds. And I split open my toenail after kicking the scale.

So let’s talk about writer’s toys and tools. It’s a topic of discussion over at GalleyCat, and I know I can no longer be singularly focused. I eventually have to find ways to trick myself into writing my NaNoWriMo words. I have had a hard time posting anything on their site. So that is not on my list of fun diversions this week. But I did get a terrific, inspirational pep talk from the fabulous writer Aimee Bender. Her words will knock out any writer, NaNoWriMo or not.

The toys and tools:
 

Read the rest of the post on SheWrites.

Dealing With Characters In A Series Of Novels

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I’m preparing to write the 6th mystery in my Enos Hobson Leavenworth Mysteries Series; therefore, some of that which I will share with you is fresh in my mind. As a professional storyteller, I have always believed that the best stories are based around their characters. If we don’t consider characters, there is no basis for plot.

When I wrote my first book in my series, I considered who I would need to tell my story. I named them, assigned them roles, defined their appearances, defined their interactions, and considered their back stories to explain who they were and why. I developed a computer data base to keep all that straight, which became my Bible or ready character reference. That data base has become rather extensive now. I needed a system to determine how my characters should change or stay the same. The following is a method that seems to work well for me:

Character Development Spreadsheet

You can use a spread sheet or a table in a word processor to do this. Create three columns, 1 for the character’s name. 1 for the good things, & 1 for the bad things. This is not a Bible but a simple set of statements of where each character is at the start of the story and in what directions should he or she go in this story. It looks something like this:

Character:
Good  –   Negatives

Tommy (protagonist):
Proud of HS graduation.  –  Doesn’t know where money for college will come from.

Lucy (Girlfriend):
Happy she & Tommy graduated.   –    Going away to college. Needs to break up with Tommy.

Bill (Tommy’s Brother):
Looking forward to being star of football team.  –   Will become paralyzed by a car wreck soon.

Dad:
Plays favorites w/ Tommy.  –   Bill’s injury causes Dad to begin drinking heavily again, losing job.

Jimbo (Hoodlum):
Has been gone to reform school.  –   Gets out, gets drunk, crashes into Bill’s car to cause the injury.

Now, this is way too simplistic of an example, but it helps to develop character motivations and directions in the story. You can see the possibilities for conflict already. Is Tommy going to possibly be placed in a position of either ignoring the family problems, forget about college to help the family with Bill since Dad is no longer capable of doing so? Should he acquiesce to the breakup or try to go to Lucy’s school? What will happen to Jimbo. Should he become a major character who reforms and takes on responsibility to help Bill throughout the story? Or, should he be sent to jail for the rest of the story?

A lot depends on what has happened in previous stories and deciding if the characters should stay the same or should they grow and develop in different directions?  Once all this is decided, you can decide how they fit within the context of a set of plot points. In other words, where have they been, where are they right now, and where will they be going.

Outline

Now it’s time to list the chapter numbers and consider what happens in the story along the way to the end by considering the good and negative aspects of the characters. I write a few sentences about what should happen in each chapter right under the chapter number. Those stay in as a reference until I write each chapter, after which I delete them. This insures the characters go in the directions I felt they should be going. Now I realize this process may sound too much like a strait jacket to you seat-of-your-pants writers, but there is plenty of room in this structure for your muse to run wild. None of this has to be locked in concrete. There are times when I have changed the descriptive sentences under a chapter number to accommodate a creative idea I got that would change everything. The methodology is meant as a means to energize creativity while keeping the story on track with good reasons for all the characters doing what they do.

Blending Techniques

I do the spread sheets and then I use Contour software (designed for screenplays, but I’ve found it works for novels as well) which asks pertinent questions that cause one to create a meaningful story framework. Once I’m done with that, I combine the considerations of both approaches to create the chapter outlines.

 

This is a reprint from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

You Have To Dream Big

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I’m a big believer in reaching for the stars. If you only ever have mediocre dreams, you’ll probably only ever have medicore results. I firmly believe in working your arse off and holding onto those dreams of great success in whatever it is you want to do. If you don’t have faith in your ability to achieve great things, why should anyone else?

Work hard, dream big, don’t be a tit. That’s my philosophy lesson for today.

With that in mind, Joanna Penn pointed this out to me and I thought it was hugely entertaining. So I’m using it to dream big. Click on the pics for a bigger version. Go and try it yourself.

realmshift magesign billboard 1 300x200 You have to dream big

realmshift magesign billboard 2 300x213 You have to dream big

(I’m not sure if I’m expecting my books to one day be Broadway musicals, but that would be kinda mad.)

 

This is a cross-posting from Alan Baxter‘s The Word.

Anatomy Of A Bestselling Novel

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This post, by Kristen Lamb, originally appeared on her blog on 11/1/10.

Want a way to stand out from all the other writers clamoring to get an agent’s attention? Want to be a best-selling author with stories that endure the tests of time? Learn all you can about the craft, particularly novel structure.

Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly as glamorous as creating characters or reading about ways to unleash our creative energy. Structure is probably one of the most overlooked topics, and yet it is the most critical. Why? Because structure is for the reader. The farther an author deviates from structure, the less likely the story will connect to a reader. Agents know this and editors know this and, since they are in the business of selling books to readers, structure becomes vital.

Story that connects to reader = lots of books sold

Story that deviates so far from structure that readers get confused or bored = slush pile

As an editor, I can tell in five minutes if an author understands narrative structure. Seriously.

Oh and I can hear the moaning and great gnashing of teeth. Trust me, I hear ya. Structure can be tough to wrap your mind around and, to be blunt, most aspiring writers don’t understand it. They rely on wordsmithery and hope they can bluff past people like me with their glorious prose. Yeah, no. Prose isn’t plot. You have to understand plot. That’s why I am going to make this upcoming series simple easy and best of all FUN.

Learning narrative structure ranks right up there with…memorizing the Periodic Table. Remember those days? Ah, high school chemistry. The funny thing about chemistry is that if you didn’t grasp the Periodic Table, then you simply would never do well in chemistry. Everything beyond Chapter One hinged on this fundamental step—understanding the Periodic Table.

Location, location, location.

See, the elements were a lot like the groups at high school. They all had their own parts of the “lunch room.” Metals on one part of the table, then the non-metals. Metals liked to date non-metals. They called themselves “The Ionics” thinking it sounded cool. Metals never dated other metals, but non-metals did date other non-metals. They were called “The Covalents.”  And then you had the neutral gases. The nerds of the Periodic Table. No one hung out with them. Ever. Okay, other nerds, but that was it. Period.

All silliness aside, if you didn’t understand what element would likely hang out where and in what company, the rest of chemistry might as well have been Sanskrit….like it was for me the first three times I failed it.

Novel structure can be very similar. Back in September we talked a lot about novel beginnings (pun, of course, intended). Normal world has a clear purpose, just like all the other components of the narrative structure. Today we are going to go back to basics, before we ever worry about things like Aristotelian structure, turning points, rising action, and darkest moments.

 

Read the rest of the post on Kristen Lamb’s blog.

I Didn't Plan This Post

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I didn’t think that much about this post at first. When the title came to me it was after a few minutes of sitting here, realizing that I really didn’t have a plan for this week’s post. I had this vague notion that I wanted to write something here before the work week was over, but I really didn’t have a specific idea I wanted to develop into an article. Then I realized that the subject of planning itself – especially in the context of writing – was a worthy subject. It’s one that I do address from time to time, but I will admit that I’m not the best planner.

You see, I’m not a planner by nature at all. I struggle daily with the concepts of planning, scheduling, and setting goals. What articles I write about it only serve to heighten my awareness of this need to have a plan. Clearly, I am not alone in this. You know very well what it’s like, those of you who also don’t find that planning is a natural tendency. You struggle with meshing your chaotic thoughts into coherent sentences just as much as I do.

The Plan Itself

Plans are a tool of structure and order. They also have the added bonus of helping you get things done more efficiently and with fewer problems in the long-run. For the writer, the plan can sometimes get mixed up with certain attitudes about outlining, but I’m sure most of you long ago read in one of those many writer’s guides that we don’t necessary need to follow some stringent outline structure like we used when we were high school. I wouldn’t dare suggest that for any of you. I certainly have not desire to codify my thoughts about how a piece of writing is put together using letters, Roman numerals, and the like.  Plans are pretty flexible things when you think about it. They can be conceived in an endless variety forms and are used to accomplish all manner of things in our lives – every single day.

When a plan is conceived and brought to fruition you have to smile at the pleasure the one who pulled it off must be feeling.  Think about it this way. Say if you’re working on a book and you spend some time at the beginning to jot down some notes about what you want to happen; it doesn’t have to be static. You’re merely giving yourself some rough guides going forward. Now, picture the finish line folks. You’ve used that plan to finish your story in a more sensible manner. You no longer have to wait for so-call inspiration to cast you headlong into a story with no sense of the purpose or the goal of the narrative. That little plan is your insider’s guide. You know where it’s all headed. 

 

As For Me

The point where the rubber meets to road for me is actually learning what is involved in conceiving a good plan. Depending on the subject or project you have before you, the plan may be rather small – a few points jotted down on paper to tell you what needs to be done in order complete the task. That is really enough sometimes. Now, the more complex your gig is, the more you’ll have to think about it. Nobody wants to get bogged down in ill-conceived ideas. (I know I don’t.) That sort of cinches it for me, really. I need a plan going forward. In fact, there is a need for more than one plan. I have lots of things going on at once so I need a cohesive strategy to make it all fit.

In the end, all I have to say is, "I love when a plan comes together."

 

This is a reprint from Shaun C. Kilgore‘s blog.

20 Creative Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block

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This post originally appeared on the Web Design Schools Guide site and is reprinted here in its entirety with the site’s permission.

Writer’s block is the bane of anyone and everyone who writes. You’ll be cruising through a story, your words are flowing nicely, until suddenly you’ve hit the brakes and can’t restart the engine. Most of us try to work through the road block, endlessly searching for inspiration, but sometimes you just can’t produce anything worthwhile. Instead of cursing the writing gods or pressing the delete button, take your hands off the keyboard, take a deep breath and consider trying one of these 20 creative ways to overcome writer’s block:

  1. Relaxation Techniques: Practicing relaxation techniques can be extremely effective for overcoming writer’s block. Relaxation techniques can improve concentration, boost confidence and increase blood flow to major muscles. Taking a break from your writing to do a relaxation exercise will get your blood flowing and your brain back on track.
     
  2. Attend a Writer’s Workshop: Attending a writer’s workshop is a surefire way to inspire you and overcome writer’s block. You may not be able to attend a workshop at the onset of writer’s block, but you can take the lessons and tricks you learned that will help you rise above writer’s block.
     
  3. Jot in a Journal: It’s a good idea to carry a journal with you whenever you’re out and not sitting in front of a computer, so you can jot down story ideas, character names, conflicts or anything that comes to mind. Then, when you’re stuck on something, you can refer to the journal for ideas or inspiration.
     
  4. Sleep on It: You may have exhausted your brain of ideas for one day, so it might be in your best interest to sleep it off. More than likely, you’ll wake up refreshed and ready to tackle your story the next day.
     
  5. Read Inspirational Quotes: Sometimes the only way to get inspired is to read other’s inspiring words. Try reading inspirational quotes that will rejuvenate your spirit and get you back to writing.
     
  6. Go for a Walk or Jog: Sometimes the only way to get back on track with your writing is to get moving. Go for a walk or jog to clear your mind and take in your surroundings. You never know what observation could be applied to your story and overcome your writer’s block.
     
  7. Do Something Mindless: When you’re experiencing writer’s block, it’s best to step away from the computer and calm your brain down. You may find it beneficial to do something mindless like watch television, a movie or read a magazine before you return to writing.
     
  8. Switch to Another Project: When you’re experiencing writer’s block, take a breather from what you’re working on and switch to another project. That way you’re still being productive and exercising your brain, before returning to your original project.
     
  9. Writing Exercises: When you’ve fallen into a writing slump, try a writing exercise that will help you brainstorm and keep your mind fresh. Some writing exercises provide a prompt that narrows your focus, while others are free of constraints.
     
  10. Stream-of-Consciousness Writing: Stream-of-consciousness writing allows you to use interior monologue to put your thoughts on paper. This kind of writing is raw and often difficult to follow, but it can clear your mind of nonsense and help you get back on track.
     
  11. Change Sceneries: Your desk and white walls will get pretty old after a while. Venture away from your normal workspace and change sceneries when you are struggling with writer’s block. Even changing rooms within your house or going to your backyard will offer enough variety to get you out of your funk.
     
  12. Play a Game: Playing games is a nice break from the frustrations of writer’s block, but it can also help you overcome the challenges in your writing. Games of all kinds can have a positive effect on your creativity and problem-solving skills.
     
  13. Make an Inspiration Board: An inspiration board is an effective tool for overcoming writer’s block. This board is a collection of visual ideas like newspaper clippings, magazine pictures, photographs and just about anything that can be used to inspire you when you’re in a major slump.
     
  14. Switch Art Forms: Sometimes you’ve got to step out of your art form and into another to start fresh. When you have writer’s block, you may want to shift your efforts toward another art form, such as playing a musical instrument, painting, drawing, dancing or photography. Whatever experience you choose, it will surely boost creativity and freshen your writing.
     
  15. Unplug the Internet: Unplugging the Internet is one solution to overcoming writer’s block. This will put a temporary end to the countless distractions that circulate the web, like Facebook, Twitter and even e-mail. Getting back to the basics is refreshing and can make a huge difference in your overall productivity.
     
  16. Read Blogs: One way to overcome writer’s block is to read the work of others. Blogs are fun to read and they touch on so many different topics that are bound to give you an idea or two.
     
  17. Cut out the Rules: Writing without rules is especially helpful for those who have writer’s block. This approach allows you to write without inhibitions and let the words flow without interruption. In order to practice this difficult exercise, you’ll have to ignore spelling, grammar, formatting and context rules and just write. You can always edit later.
     
  18. Listen to Music: Music can be extremely inspirational and relaxing at the same time. Listening to the right song can spark a new idea, help you solve a problem and collect your thoughts, which may be all you need to get over a bad case of writer’s block.
     
  19. Talk and Ask Questions: When all else fails, spark up a conversation with others to get past your writer’s block. Better yet, ask fellow writers what they think of your topic or how can you expand on a particular part of your story. You’d be surprised by the amount of great ideas that come from the people you interact with everyday.
     
  20. Follow the News: Whether you pick up a newspaper, turn on the local news channel or read a story online, the news is filled with real, raw stories that can be incredibly inspiring. News articles are also great references for expanding your vocabulary.

 

 

Why Do People Resent Indie Authors?

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This post, by Ruth Ann Nordin, originally appeared on Self-Published Authors Lounge on 9/24/10.

I could insert “self-published” into that title, but as an “intelligent” person suggested on one of those “lovely” forums, “Indie means you go with a small publisher.  Self-published means you did it yourself…without the help of an editor, blah, blah, blah.”

There are people who are out there who don’t understand the nature of publishing and the distinct difference between a commercially/traditionally published small press author, a self-published (via vanity press) author, and a true indie author.  Now you know why I have to use the term “self-published” all the time.  A lot of people just don’t get the distinction so to save myself the headache of having to spell it out for them, I opt to make it simple.

Now, how many small press authors consider themselves “indie authors”?  Anyone want to raise your hand on that one? 

Okay.  So this is why I should not go on those stupid forums on a certain website.  I should probably avoid all forums since there’s usually a group of people without a clue.  They don’t do the research, and then they spout their opinions as if they know something when those who know the facts sit back and shake their heads at the person’s lack of knowledge on the subject.

So what prompts this particular rant? 

I’m glad you asked. 

I am sick and tired of this attitude running amok the forums where if a person so much as dares to praise an “indie” book, that author is automatically accused of gathering her friends into a circle so they can suggest a book.  And you know why this author gets accused of this?  Because this is an author who’s been “self-published” instead of “indie published with a small publisher”.  (Hey, their words, not mine.) 

 

Read the rest of the post on Self-Published Authors Lounge.