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Articles about craft.

How To Write The Ending Of Your Novel

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There is plenty of writing advice about the first 10 pages, the importance of hooking the reader at the start and making an impact in the first paragraph. But what about making sure that the reader wants to buy your next book?

If your ending sucks, it can leave a bad taste in the reader’s mouth and will ensure they don’t want to read your next book. So here are some tips on writing endings for your …novels:

  • Don’t cheat and suddenly have everything work out fine. This is lazy and the reader isn’t fooled. For example “And Jesus lived happily ever after”. From ‘How Not To Write A Novel.
  • You can surprise the reader but you must also satisfy them. There should be more than one possible ending to a book, so the reader doesn’t just give up as they know what will happen. It’s worth foreshadowing this ending with hints in the rest of the book though so that they are surprised but it is not entirely out of the blue. Paraphrased from Holly Lisle. This is also covered by the disappointment of twist endings at Kim’s Craft Blog.
  • Don’t use sappy extraneous contemplation. This is the big problem with the ending of Dan Brown’s ‘The Lost Symbol‘. The last chapter or two is just watching the sun rise and thinking about the experience. Boring and pointless.
  • Some genres have an expected ending that you can’t mess with. If your genre is romance, they have to get together at the end. There’s no getting around this unless you want to change genres! You also need to keep some characters alive if you have a series of books planned.
  • Don’t forget to end the book (or explain it is a trilogy!). I recently read ‘The Passage’ by Justin Cronin, a very chunky post-apocalyptic, majorly hyped novel. I enjoyed it but was hugely disappointing in the ending which basically didn’t end. There were so many loose ends so I went onto Twitter to see if anyone else felt the same way. A wonderful fellow tweeter pointed out that the book is first in a trilogy! However, this doesn’t excuse the feeling of disappointment as the brilliant ‘Hunger Games’ by Suzanne Collins is also the first in a trilogy and wraps the story up and yet still leads onto the next book. It’s definitely a balance.
  • The resolution comes after the climax. The ending does not have to be in that last action/adventure scene. It needs to be after the climax so the story is rounded out. In film, “the audience can catch its breath, gather its thoughts and leave the cinema with dignity” From ‘Story’ by Robert McKee.

    The graph on the right shows the climax and then resolution – from my seminar notes!

Here are some of comments from Twitter – thanks to all who contributed!
  • Make it satisfying. Doesn’t have to be good or happy, but readers want to be satisfied. @Kessbird
     
  • Surprise the reader and definitely tie up the lose ends (I hate sub-plots that are just abandoned!) @graywave, author of ‘TimeSplash’
     
  • Emotionally move the reader in some way to make her feel that her money was well-spent. @jchutchins , author of 7th Son thriller trilogy
  • Think of the biggest, most mind-blowing final conflict you can. Then make it bigger. :) @AlanBaxter, author of ‘Realmshift’
     
  • I always start with the idea of where I am going, makes it so much easier to get there! @PhilippaJane , author of ‘Chasing the Bard’
     
  • End on a note of anticipation. Leave with the reader wanting more. @teemonster , author of Billibub Baddings books
  • “…and then the world exploded” @ShearersBooks
     
  • Endings in a book must come natural, but “out of the box” at the same time. @myotherhand
     
  • Write the ending out fully that comes to mind. Then try cutting the last line or paragraph. It’s often an improvement. @vickigundrum
  • Ending depends on the beginning. in my two novels i have chosen unhappy ending and the third one a happy ending. @sudampanigrahi
     
  • End with a question to encourage comments. :) @code_and_prose
     
  • Always go back to your opening point. @smuttysteff
     
  • Figure it out before you write the beginning! @ChrisMorphew

 

This is a reprint from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.

Top 10 Novel Writing Mistakes

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I don’t know about you, but I learned to write, and am still learning to write, the hard way. I made the novel writing mistakes and then figured out what I should have done. I’m certain it’s the same for many, if not most, novel writers.

Regardless of how you learn, if you keep your eyes open for these top ten novel writing mistakes, your novel will have a stronger chance of acceptance.

 
[ Listen to a PODCAST of this article. ]
 
Beyond the common errors in spelling, word use and punctuation, I feel the top ten novel writing mistakes are:
 
1. Weak Characterization
2. Ineffective Dialogue
3. Poor Plotting
4. Point of View Errors
5. Flat Writing
6. Too Much Backstory
7. Summarizing
8. Failing to Target Your Writing to Your Audience
9. Lists
10. Too Much Description
 
Let’s look at each of these in a bit more detail, shall we?
 
Weak Characterization: It is imperative you serve your readers a healthy diet of characters with believable motivations, realistic actions and fully formed relationships. You reader needs to know why your major characters do what they do and why they feel the way they do. Read more about CHARACTERIZATION
 
Ineffective Dialogue: Dialogue is one of the trickiest aspects to a novel. It must sound like people speaking to each other when, in fact, character conversations are nothing like conversations between people. Your novel’s dialogue must be much more compact and plot focused, yet, you must retain the personal aspect of it. Read more about DIALOGUE
 
Poor Plotting: Plot is the bread and butter of your novel, and a well structured plot is a blend of art, psychology and the craft of writing. An effective plot requires, pace, motivations, a believable storyline, character arcs and so much more. Read more about PLOT
 
Point of View Errors: POV relates to which character sees the action that transpires within your plot. Irregular shifts in POV proves difficult to the reader, and maybe even worse, POV errors can creep into your novel with little trouble. The secret is to reserve each character’s POV to a single chapter. Here’s more on POV
 
Flat Writing: Flat writing occurs when you input narrative or dialogue that has no meaning to the plot. It shows you’ve lost control over your story due to lack of a plan, lost interest or maybe something as simple as you’re tired. When you find narrative or dialogue that doesn’t move your story forward, it’s time to edit it out.
 
Too Much Backstory: Backstory is anything that came before chapter one. It’s history. The problem is backstory tends to stop the novel’s momentum. More often than not, it’s not necessary to the story and should be eliminated. If backstory is necessary, work it into your story in small nibbles rather than large bites of information and only after the major plot is developed. There’s more on BACKSTORY
 
Summarization: This harkens back to the classic saw of "Show. Don’t tell." In lieu of simply stating a fact in your narrative, develop this information by way of character actions and dialogue. For example, don’t simply say your character is good at math. Have a scene where his math skills are put to the test and he excels. There’s more on "SHOW, DON’T TELL
 
Failing to Target Your Novel to Your Audience: Most writers, especially those new among us, often fail to come to grips with the fact your writing is a business venture. As a consequence, novels are often written without a focus on those who will eventually purchase your product. For example, if your story lends itself to the male market, you don’t want too much emotional action. In contrast, if your market is the adult female, you’ll not want too much in the way of blood and guts. Save that for your teenage male audience.
 
Lists: A common sign of a novice writer is his use of lists within their novel. A classic example of this is with the description of a meadow. The new writer will name all the flowers in the field. It’s usually better to paint a verbal picture with only a few details and allow the reader’s mind to fill in the blanks. In the example of a meadow, you might mention the wavering patches of red and violet as the wind sweeps over the ground in lieu of the list of flowers.
 
Too Much Description: In the same light as lists, the readers imagination is what makes your novel come to life. Too much description imposes your imagination upon the reader. With this in mind, don’t tell him the cloud formation looks like an elephant, unless the elephant is necessary to the story. Instead, tell them the clouds created formations in the sky and allow them to "see" whatever they formations they wish. This will make the story much more personal, and thus enjoyable, to your reader.
 
Are there more common errors in novel writing? You bet. However, if you focus on these ten early in your writing career, you’ll be well on your way to that elusive well-received novel.
 
Now, which of these errors do you commit and what have you done to fix them?
 
Until we meet 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.

Author Fay Risner To Speak At Athena Club Nov. 8, 2010

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Nov. 8, 2010, the Belle Plaine, Iowa Athena Club has invited me to speak about my Civil War book – Ella Mayfield’s Pawpaw Militia – A Civil War Saga In Vernon County Missouri. ISBN 1438235461. Sold on Amazon, ebay and http://www.booksbyfaybookstore.weebly.com It seems only fitting that today’s members in a club that was founded in the 1800’s would be interested in history from that era.

Awhile back, I signed up on a website for Iowa authors. Iowa Center for the Book – http://www.iowacenterforthebook.org This is the site the Athena Club looked on to find an author. They found my name and list of books.

　

I’m getting prepared for the Athena Club meeting. I kept my bulletin board from the book sale at a Civil War reenactment last year. A hand drawn map of Missouri points out Vernon County’s location. The map is covered with statistics like how many battles and scrimmages were fought in Missouri. Across the top of the map is the definition for bushwhacker and jayhawker, plus pictures of a bushwhacker and two Union soldiers stones which are my great grandfathers buried in the Montevallo Cemetery and a picture of a woman’s grave who was a slave before the war and lived to be almost 100. Montevallo’s only black citizen after the war, Isabel Taylor was my parents neighbor in the 1930’s. In plastic covers, I have a copy of my great grandfather’s discharge paper, a picture and a story about Isabel Taylor from the Nevada Daily News. I’ll set out a stack of business cards so the club members know how to contact me later for future sales and a box of my other books to go through for those that like my different genres (Amish, mystery, western or Alzheimer’s themes) while I talk.

Bushwhacker Ella Mayfield’s story was an easy one to write. History provided me with details and dates of battles and towns burned by Union soldiers. The 1887 Vernon County History book supplied information about the Mayfield family. The authors point of view about the Civil War others wouldn’t know that didn’t live in that area until I wrote this book and talked about the era. My book is considered fact based fiction. The conversations and some of the details I added were my imagination because I wasn’t there.

An added plus for me, my parents grew up near Montevallo. We went there to visit family and friends often when I was a child so I know the landscape well. For many years, I’ve revisited that area, traveling in the same places that my parents and Ella lived.

Women, who homesteaded with their husbands, were sturdy, hardworking individuals. They could shoot a squirrel rifle, ride a horse, wield an ax and hold on to the reins of work horses or mules struggling to pull a small plow across unbroken sod. All the while, they had just delivered a baby or were expecting another one. It’s no wonder, these same women were able to hold their own among men in Ozark bushwhacker bands. The Mayfield family were considered heroes in Vernon County during the war. They suffered as much as any other family. Ella lost two husbands, two brothers and two brother-in-laws to Union soldiers and in the end was burned out of the timbers that hid her and her band so well.

Homesteaders weren’t interested in slavery. They had large families to help farm the 160 acres they signed up for. To keep that land, they had to build a cabin and plant crops for five years then the farm belonged to them. When the war started, family members, women, children and elderly were left behind to protect their homes and land. They fought to stay on the land they had put so much sweat into making their home. Years later, bushwhackers that come to mind are the James brothers and Younger brothers. Living in a land completely destroyed by fire and battles, these men chose to be outlaws rather than make an honest living. That was not how the bushwhackers of Vernon County began. Early on, the men came home from battles, disillusioned by battle losses, death of friends and relatives. The battles they were sent to fight were too far from home to protect their families. These men chose to become bushwhackers and fight at home to try to keep the Kansas Jayhawkers and the Union soldiers from burning their homes and killing their families. Angered by raids made on what belonged to them, the bushwhackers raided in Kansas, burning and killing. Ft. Scott Union soldiers tracked them back into Vernon County. Hit and run fighting was easy for the bushwhackers with vast timbers to disappear into, caves to hold up in and creeks to ford to hide their tracks. By the end of the war, the few women, children and old men left in their homes ran out of food to give the bushwhackers. The Union soldiers saw to that by destroying extra food, gardens and taking away milk cows to keep starving settlers from giving aide to the militias. The sympathizers had to move away from the areas to survive. That didn’t stop the bushwhackers. They were afraid to shoot what little game was left for fear the soldier patrols would hear a shot. Instead, they lived on berries, nuts, persimmons and pawpaws. Finally, the Union General, Thomas Ewing, in Kansas City issued Order No. 11. Burn Cass, Jackson, Bates and most of Vernon county south of Kansas City to run off all the southern sympathizers and what was left of the bushwhackers. That did it. In the smoky haze of spreading fire, Vernon County citizens and the last of Confederate solders fled to Arkansas.

That’s when Ella and her second husband gave up the fight. A few months after they arrived in Arkansas, Ella’s husband was killed. I tried to find out what happened but so far don’t know the answer. Ella came back to Vernon County, married a man farming not far from where her family’s farm had been. She used her first name, Amanda, which as time passed helped others forget her involvement in the war. After so many hardships, Ella had a normal life. She farmed with her husband, moved to Oklahoma later in life and is buried there beside her husband.

Now thoughts about summers -Yesterday and Today

Last Thursday was my husband’s birthday. I brought his 89 year old mother out for the day. In he afternoon, one of his sisters brought her two grandchildren that think coming to our place is like visiting a zoo. Our son joined us after he got off work. It was a super day with low humidity and warm sunshine that made our ash trees shade feel good. This was a day reminiscent of days in the Ozarks when I was small. In those days, my family spent many hot afternoons under a large maple tree, sipping real lemonade and Kool Aid. Our fan, compliments of a feed store, was a small piece of cardboard with a tongue depressor like handle. Many weekends when relatives came to visit, the grownups sat in the shade while the kids played. Dad bought a 50 pound block of ice which he busted up in a gunny sack, and everyone including the kids took turns cranking on the ice cream maker. We didn’t seem to mind the heat in those days. Maybe because we didn’t have air conditioning, we were acclimated to Missouri’s humid heat.

Many a summer evening, my family sat outside until bedtime. We had a porch swing. When my younger brother and I were small, my parents sat in it with us while Dad told us stories about what it was like when he was a kid or the Civil War stories his father told him about his grandfather. When we outgrew the swing, we sat on an old quilt in the grass. Dad bought a telescope. He pointed out stars and constellations, told us the names and let us look at them. The moving star that traveled from North to South was Russia’s Sputnik.

The house stayed hot through the night. We slept on the floor in front of the front porch screen door with a small, old fan stirring the air some. I was agile enough in those days not to mind the hard floor. The only reason I’ve thought twice about those days was Mom’s story about the large black snake that crawled under the screen door and slithered across the floor. The creature was looking for a cool place, too. At night for a summer or two, we slept sideways on an old iron bed out in the yard. Summers tended to be hot and dry so my parents didn’t worry about the old mattress getting wet. If a shower came up and passed through, the sun came out. The mattress was baked dry by bedtime. We lived on a blacktop road, but no one came by after ten o’clock to see us sleeping outside. That was the whole neighborhood’s bedtime so traffic was nonexistent until morning. My parents woke up at daybreak to milk cows. When passerbys drove by during the day, they probably thought the bed was a trampoline for the kids.

Now it’s summer in Iowa. The heat index of 104 one Wednesday was enough to drive my husband and I out of our un-air conditioned house that evening until the sun set. Not much of a view from our yard these days with ten feet tall corn plants all around us. One night, we watched four hot air balloons float near our house, turn and go back the way they came, but that Wednesday night and since then it has been too hot or stormy for balloons.

Another evening, my husband made the mistake of digging out a dandelion near my clematis vine which housed a minature nest of baby red headed finches. The frightened birds flew out into the lawn and bushes. After the surprise wore off, they decided they weren’t ready to leave home just yet. From several directions, the young birds made a clicking sound, trying to talk their mother into coming for them. Finally, my sympathetic husband hunted each baby up and put them back in the nest so their mother could find them. That quieted them down.

Most summer afternoon and evenings, we’re content to watch panting sparrows and warbling jenny wrens. How do those tiny birds muster up such a loud song? As you can see if my husband and I have any kind of breeze, plenty of shade, a refillable glass of tea and song birds entertaining us, we’re easy to please. Maybe it’s because we know what winter will bring.

　

　

　

E-books and the Ever-Decreasing Circlets of Hardback Books

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Yesterday we looked at Amazon’s latest move in their stand-off with Penguin (Pearson Group) over negotiations on the implementation of the agent model on e-books by the major publishing houses. Amazon have reduced some new penguin titles in hardback to $9.99 to telegraph to their customers that they want control and flexibility on retail pricing rather than be under constraints imposed by the agreements they have with publishers.

Amazon know publishers are deeply uneasy about the future for hardback books as the lead format release for a new title, and while Amazon are taking the hit on a $9.99 discount, they are send a very clear signal out to their customers—we’re on the side of the of the customer and just look at what these publisher guys are trying to do to us.

I questioned the real resolve major publishers have to get behind the development and promotion of their e-book strategy, and while this year’s London Book Fair came and went in a whisper, last year’s Fair underlined for me the first inkling I had that UK publishers were just not willing to embrace e-books in the way they needed to. My feeling now is this reluctance may actually extend to many US publishers, who may like to be seen to be actively behind the steady rise in e-book sales, but secretly they are hoping the market levels and bottoms in the next couple of years so they can revert back to their tried, trusted and sacred printed book. I commented yesterday on the resolve of publishers to seeing e-books take off. 

“I have one overriding feeling about the agency model adopted by the major publishers in their agreements reached so far with Amazon – whose executives have spent many an hour locked away behind polished doors – and it is the belief that publishers are still not wholeheartedly behind the growth and development of e-books. What I see is the battle for control rather than any innovation and prosperity for e-books.”

Judith Rosen, of Publishers Weekly, on Friday, highlighted the approach of Circlet Publishing in the USA, a small press run by Cecelia Tan and her husband, Corwin, since 1992. Three years ago they had to stop publishing print editions of their titles due to a financial downturn, and instead, in an effort to revitalise the business, they focussed on e-books for their science fiction erotica lists. Tan never saw the move as a means to become an e-book publisher, but an effort to rescue Circlet Press. She told Rosen in the Publishers Weekly article:
 

"There’s still no replacement for the ‘real’ book. Three years ago Circlet was essentially dead in the water. Bookstores weren’t ordering in the quantity they used to. There’s been a real shrinkage of the erotica shelf. [In 2008] That’s when I taught myself to format for the Kindle.”

Through a mix of fundraising campaigns on www.circlet.com, Tan hopes to raise $5,000 for Circlet Press’ first printed book in three years by creating a CD compendium edition of twenty of their best e-books. It was interesting that Angela Hoy of Booklocker.com commented of the article on Publishers Weekly. Booklocker were a pioneer of selling e-books online way back in 1998. In fact, Booklocker did not sell their first printed edition until a year later.

So, the bigger question remains…
 
Why are publishers secretly terrified of e-books and what it will mean for the publishing industry?
 
Publishers are correct to point out that taking a book from submission to print ready file costs the same amount whether it is intended for print or e-book format. Beyond this stage is where publishers incur their biggest expense—on printing, marketing and distribution. The marketing expense will always focus on the sector where the largest sales are, and up till now it has been through media and in-store promotion. It is print runs and distribution discounts which eat away at publisher budgets. In an ideal e-book dominant market, print-runs are reduced and if we are to use the agency model as a future business template, then 30% is what the retailer gets, less than what is negotiated for many print book discounts.
 
For a $10 paperback, an e-book should not cost to the customer any more than $6.99 as an e-book, and its hardback counterpart has not place costing any more than that whether it is being released for the first time or not. Where publishers can be innovative is offering a hardback edition for the retail and library market bundled with an enhanced e-book edition. Attempting more than that from the buying customer is extracting more than the publishing centre will hold.
 
It is time for publishers to access the true value of books in whatever format or medium they are published. The real battle for the survival of the hardback—something publishers seemed desperate to hand on to—is not in their hands, but rather entirely dependent on how slowly or quickly universities, libraries and book clubs move to embracing digitalisation, and something tells me, in these financial times, it will come a lot sooner than later.
 
 
Circlet Press is a Cambridge, Massachusetts publishing house founded and managed by Cecilia Tan. It specializes in science fiction erotica, a once uncommon genre, and its publications often feature BDSM themes.

Tan founded the house in 1992 after researching the markets for publication of her own stories, which combined science fiction plotlines with explicitly sexual themes. At the time, science fiction publications turned away such material as unsuitable for their audience, and most publishers of erotic material were hard-core pornographers and uninterested in any material whose plotlines extended beyond the simple formula encounter story (in which two people meet and sex ensues).

The ground-breaking combination of sex-positive, woman-centered erotica with science fiction and fantasy themes came as a result of Tan’s editorial vision that rather than combine the worst clichés of both genres, the mixture could instead expand the boundaries of what was possible in each. Science fiction had developed a somewhat deserved reputation for being dismissive or neglectful of human character development issues like love, lust, attraction, and family issues, while erotica was definitely ripe for something beyond the encounter formula. Placing stories into a science fictional or magical context allowed writers for Circlet Press to remove their stories from their contemporary political context and sidestep issues such as feminism, AIDS, and sexual identity politics.

 

This is a reprint from Mick Rooney‘s POD, Self Publishing and Independent Publishing.

My Fiction Workshop Fortunes

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The capacity to tell stories is an accident of birth for me. I was born thinking this way. There was no point in my life when I did not think about stories and causal events, about humorous and dramatic ways in which events could be told, and about how a blank page could be filled with wonder. If I have wandered far and wide, and been driven, seduced or called away from writing in my life, I have always returned to a string of authorial stepping stones that connects my past with the future before me.

Actually becoming a writer — by which I do not mean a professional, but rather a practicing writer — is a combination of accident and intent. The more things go in your favor, the easier it is to harness gifts and put words to a page. The more things go against you, the more you must overcome. Whatever obstacles I’ve faced in life, I was born with a number of storytelling gifts. I also happened to be born and raised in a town that is home to a school that values fiction writing. That I neither new nor cared about these things until I went to college is yet more evidence that the fates were being kind.

My Home Town School
By nature I am not a particularly adventurous person. I have tended most of my life to look before I leap, even when others have counseled that he who hesitates is lost. So it should not come as a surprise that when I finally decided to go to college, after considerable academic carnage in my high school career, I had no thought of going anywhere except to the school in my home town. It wouldn’t have mattered what college it was, or what town I had been born in: that’s what I would have done at that point in my life, and probably for a decade after. (It’s true that my grandmother, father, mother, aunt and uncle also went to the same university, but that’s not why I went. I went because it was familiar and close.)

That I was born in and grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, is an accident. That Iowa City is the home of the University of Iowa, which is the home of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is also an accident. I planned none of it, yet when I finally decided to wade into storytelling, after more academic carnage in college, the Workshop was there.  

Now, if you remember nothing else about this post, please remember this: I do not have an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I have a Bachelors’ degree from Iowa, and all of the following relates to my undergraduate experience. That the process I went through, and even the level of instruction I received, was commensurate with the graduate workshop, is a blessing, not a license. Whatever an MFA is worth or means, I don’t have one.

My Fiction Workshops
When I went to Iowa the undergraduate offerings were pretty much as they are now. The first class I took, Fiction Writing, was a class you simply registered for. After that I submitted stories to the Undergraduate Writers’ Workshop each semester, and was fortunate to be accepted each time I did so.

Here are the people who taught the six workshops I attended over three years:

  • Leigh Allison Wilson — MFA student and Flannery O’Conner freak, who would go on to win the Flannery O’Connor Award for short fiction the following year.
  • Jack Leggett — the director of the Workshop at that time.
  • Hilma Wolitzer — an award-winning novelist who just recently dipped her toe in the cyber sea. (Stop by and say hi!)
  • Bob Shacochis — a writer’s writer, and at that time the most recent winner of the National Book Award for first fiction.
  • Rust Hills — long-time fiction editor of Esquire magazine, and a person about whom I will have more to say in an upcoming post.
  • Jack Leggett

Looking back, that’s an absurd list of extremely talented people. To me at the time, however, they were almost ancillary to the process — by which I mean the nightmarish process of risking my ego, identity and life in order to determine whether I had any capacity to tell stories. Because somewhere along the line that became more important to me than anything else.

The Workshop Environment
With all that literary firepower floating around, and with the Workshop’s storied history as a backdrop, you might imagine that I was exposed to all kinds of secret handshakes and rare literary knowledge. You might also imagine that the environs of the Workshop were teeming with publishers and agents looking to scoop up the next award-winning breakout star, and I’m sure there was some of that. At the undergraduate level, however, and even at the graduate level, almost all of the conversations I was privy to were about craft.

And I’m not just talking about the students. Of all the workshop leaders listed above, I cannot remember any of them talking about literary trends or publishing deals or bullet-pointed solutions. There were no classes on pitching ideas or writing query letters or figuring out how to please the gatekeepers of the day. There weren’t even discussions about how hard it is to write, because every single person there — at every level — took that as a given. (There’s no point grousing about the emotional trauma of writing when everyone in the room is going through the same hell.)

So what did all these people talk about? They talked about craft. They talked about the stories that were being workshopped on their own merits, not relative to what anybody else was doing at the time. They talked about whether or not each author hit what they were aiming at, and why that was the case. They talked about how some of what a writer writes comes from a place that no one can control, but once it’s on the page it’s the writer’s responsibility to shape it and make it work harmoniously.

We all wanted to be effortlessly great, but those teachers never talked about writers who were effortlessly great or profound or genius. They talked about editing and cutting and tightening and focusing and killing darlings, because they knew that there never has been, and never will be, a writer who is effortlessly great.

My Father
I had a difficult relationship with my father, for reasons I think anyone would understand — chief among them abandonment. After I had been writing in college for several years, and had been in the Undergraduate Workshop for a year or so, I happened to talk with my father about the Workshop and about my interest in fiction writing.

Now, my father had his own history with the University of Iowa, some of which I knew about second-hand through my mother or family friends, but nothing I knew about directly from him. So when he told me that he had been in the Writer’s Workshop himself, back in its early days, I was neither surprised by the fact nor surprised that I had not previously heard about that part of his life.

As we talked it turned out that not only had he been in the workshop, but one of the people in the workshop with him was Flannery O’Connor. It also turned out that Flannery O’Connor was incredibly shy and could not bring herself to read her stories aloud when she put them up — as was then the practice.

My father had been a musician and band leader, and because he had a pretty good voice even then (which only got better with age, and alcohol), it turned out that he was one of the people who read Flannery O’Connor’s stories out loud for her. (I later told this to Leigh Allison Wilson, and I still have an image of her rapt and excited face in my mind. That my father’s story made its way to her — to the one person on the face of the Earth who wanted to hear it more than any other — amazes me to this day.)

Now, interesting as that all is, that’s not the happy accident I wanted to tell you about. The happy accident is the fact that I didn’t learn about any of this until I had already invested myself and tested myself in a number of workshops. Because when I say I didn’t have a good relationship with my father at that time, what I mean is that I didn’t like him and I didn’t want to be like him.

Had I known about his fiction-writing past I almost certainly would have decided not to pursue my own interest. So I will be forever grateful that I knew nothing about my father’s history until I had made storytelling and writing at Iowa my own.

The Limits of Luck
In the end, I feel I took full advantage of the fortunes that befell me. I don’t talk about these experiences much because I didn’t work to put myself in that position. I know a lot of writers — both in spirit and by profession — who never had such advantages, but who would have given anything to take my place, and who would have worked like dogs to get there.

I got lucky, and I know it. What luck didn’t and couldn’t do was write a single word I wrote. And I wrote a lot of words.

So whether the fates are smiling on you on any given day, or throwing obstacles in front of you like a tornado tossing trees, remember that you can always write. Even when you think you can’t write, put a few words down. It will give you a new stepping stone to stand on, and bring another within reach. And you won’t have to lean on luck.

 

This is a reprint from Mark Barrett‘s Ditchwalk.

Screenplay Writing Interview II with Shannon L. Arrant

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I started reworking my 2nd mystery, Firebug, into a screenplay. Initially I am changing over to present tense and cutting out unnecessary verbiage. Once I do all that, then I’ll have to look at what’s left with an I to cutting or cutting back. Now, as promised, here is the second installment of my interview with Shannon.

What are some tips to help improve a writer’s screenwriting?
The first is to accept that novels and screenplays are two completely different things. Screenplays have a set format that is the standard industry wide. If you want to be taken seriously as a screenwriter and don’t want to film your script yourself, it is imperative that you use the proper formatting.

There are many different screenwriting programs out there that will handle the formatting for you. Final Draft (www.finaldraft.com) is the most popular however it’s expensive. I personally use Celtx (www.celtx.com). It can handle formatting for screenplays, stage plays, audio plays, and even comic books. It formats perfectly. If you decide to produce your screenplay yourself, it even allows you to track all aspects of a production from start to finish. Best of all, it’s free!
A word of caution, though: Just because you’re using a software, it doesn’t mean the onus isn’t on you to understand how to use the many screenwriting elements correctly. No amount of proper formatting will save you if you don’t know how to use Flashbacks, Voice Overs, Parentheticals, etc … correctly.

Perhaps the biggest tip I can give any screenwriter is to know where you’re going before you even begin. Take the time to create an outline of your main plot and all your subplots. The best way I’ve come across of doing this is to use scene cards. A scene card can be an index card, a piece of paper, or even a page in a notebook or Word document. These are such wonderful tools, I’ve even taken to using them in my novels as well as my screenplays.

This is what one of my scene cards for my screenplay ‘Sisterhood of the Sword’ looks like:

Location – Tavern
Time of Day – Night
Characters – Maria, Catarina, Nohemi, Villagers

Description/Goal of the Scene –
The Villagers have assembled to attempt to figure out what to do. Maria is adamant about standing and fighting. Catarina wants the women to pack up and run. Nohemi isn’t certain what to do but she knows they need to do something. Through a passionate speech, Maria manages to sway the Villagers and Nohemi to her point of view. Catarina leaves the meeting, upset that no one saw her point of view and worried about the women.

Important Dialogue (optional) –
Catarina-“Maria, you have nothing to lose.”

Maria-“I have nothing to lose? How can you say I have nothing to lose? I have everything to lose! My honor, my dignity, my life…I stand to lose it all, just like the rest of you. True, I am a widow and I have no children. But that doesn’t make me any less of a woman! My farm, my life is here, in this village…just like all of you. We all have everything to lose. And that, that is why we must stand and fight.”

Villagers: *mutter amongst themselves, nodding, agreeing with Maria*

Nohemi: “She’s right. Maria is right. We have to stay and fight.”

Catarina: “Nohemi, how can you say that? What do you know of war?”

Nohemi: “I know the day after I was wed my husband was called off to fight in one. I know one is coming to me. That is really all I need to know. Whether I like it or not, whether I know anything about it or not, war is coming for me…and the rest of us. I know I need to do something. I know that I am choosing to fight because I believe what little I have is worth fighting for.”

Catarina-“You are all crazy. None of you have any idea what you are getting yourselves into.”

Here’s the actual scene I wrote based off the above scene card:

INT. TAVERN – NIGHT

The tavern is small and homey looking. A bar is at the back
of the room. Mismatched tables and chairs are spaced
throughout the room.

The Villagers are crowded into the small space. Every chair
is filled. Women stand against the walls. THE TAVERN
KEEPER’S WIFE moves through the crowd, filling up mugs from
a pitcher.

The air is tense. The Villagers mutter amongst
themselves. Maria sits at the bar, looking
morose. Catarina comforts Nohemi as best as she can at a
table in the corner.

INEZ stands up from her seat. Inez is a young woman, in her
mid 20s. She has a fair complexion with blond hair and
brown eyes.

INEZ
What are we going to do?

Inez’s question causes some of the other Villagers to speak
up, asking the same thing. Maria turns from the bar to face
the rest of the room.

TAVERN KEEPER’S WIFE
What can we do? Our husbands are
gone.

The Villagers mutter nervously amongst themselves.

INEZ
I’ll tell you what we can do. We
can run, that’s what.

Some of the Villagers nod and mumble in agreement.

Maria speaks from where she sits at the bar. Her voice is
quiet, but it cuts through the room, silencing it.

MARIA
We can fight.

Catarina looks up in alarm.

CATARINA
What? Are you mad?

Maria stands up.

MARIA
Hell yes, I’m mad! My sister was
brutally murdered!

CATARINA
That’s not what I meant.

MARIA
I know what you meant,
Catarina. My answer is still the
same. We need to fight.

Catarina stands. The Villagers watch the two uneasily.

CATARINA
We need to run. Pack up what we
can, burn the rest, and run. We
can head to the coast; to our
husbands. From there we can tell
the King what’s going on.

Some of the Villagers nod their approval. Others look
uncertain.

MARIA
What if these men pursue us? What
then? Your father said they were
coming for revenge. We know what
they’ve been doing to villages they
have no real grudge
against. There’s no telling what
they will do to us. We have to
make a stand. We have to
fight. It’s the only choice we
have.

CATARINA
Maria, you have nothing to lose.

MARIA
How can you say that? I have
everything to lose! My honor, my
dignity, my life… I stand to lose
it all, just like the rest of
you. I may be a childless widow
but that doesn’t make me any less
of a woman! My farm, my life is
here, in this village… just like
all of you. We all have everything
to lose. And that, that is why we
must stand and fight.

The Villagers mutter amongst themselves. They nod in
agreement with Maria.

Nohemi speaks up quietly from where she’s seated near
Catarina.

NOHEMI
She’s right. Maria is right. We
have to stay and fight.

CATARINA
Nohemi, how can you say that? What
do you know of war?

Nohemi stands. She looks Catarina in the eye.

NOHEMI
I know the day after I was wed my
husband was called off to fight in
one. I know one is coming for
me. That is all I really need to
know. Whether I like it or not,
whether I know anything about it or
not, war is coming for me… and
for the rest of us. I know I need
to do something. I know that I’m
choosing to fight because I believe
what little I have is worth
fighting for.

More and more of the Villagers nod in agreement with Maria
and Nohemi. Catarina looks around the room in complete
disbelief.

CATARINA
You are all crazy. None of you
have any idea what you are getting
yourselves into.

MARIA
Be that as it may. We still
believe we need to make a stand and
we shall.

Catarina casts one more look around the room before simply
shaking her head. Pushing through the crowd, she heads for
the door to the tavern.

From this you can see how the scene card gave me an excellent starting off point. I knew what I needed to accomplish in the scene before I even began it and was able to flesh it out from there as I wrote.

The average – screenplay will have anywhere from 45 to 55 scene cards. I find it’s best to start with around 50, just in case you think of any scenes as you’re writing that need to be added or moved around to make the plot and pacing of the screenplay flow better.

 

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

I Like Customer Reviews

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In a previous post I wrote about a review I requested from Charlie Courtland for A Promise Is A Promise from my Nurse Hal series. Charlie is the author of Dandelions In The Garden and has a book review website: http://www.bitsybling.wordpress.com. I appreciated her good review and the fact that she put it on Amazon and www.goodreads.com, where it could be seen by [many] people.

According to Steve Weber in his book Plug Your Book, Amazon has some regular customers who offer reviews on every book they read. One negative review can hurt sales. He says keep asking for reviews. The more often your book is reviewed, the less likely a minority opinion can dominate. Numerous authentic reviews lessen the chance that a single review can overtake and monopolize the Spotlight position.

Think about it. Reviewers have likes and dislikes when they pick a book to read. That may play a factor in their reviews. Plus, their intention is to review the book, so they’re naturally watching as they read for what they want to say. What would be great is to see more positive customer reviews on Amazon, but how do we go about getting buyers to respond? I want to know what people who buy my books think of them. Most book readers aren’t reading a book to find mistakes, but to be entertained. Those are the buyers most likely to leave a good review. Anyone who has bought an item from Amazon knows if you don’t leave a review in a certain amount of time, you get an emailed reminder. That means the book buyers don’t just forget. It’s always possible they didn’t like some of the books well enough to write a positive review so they decided not to write one at all.

As far as my books are concerned, I’ve gotten good reviews from ebay buyers and private sales. These are the buyers I was referring to who read my books for the entertainment value. I always make a point to ask buyers for a review so I’ll know how they liked my books. Most of them are glad to comply and all the reviews have been good. I know they aren’t just saying that. They like my books well enough that they want to buy another one.

I thought about how well my ebay buyers respond, and I had to wonder what was the difference between ebay and Amazon buyers. Maybe it has something to do with the reviews left by the experienced reviewers. Most book buyers couldn’t measure up to those detailed critique reviews with one of their own. Maybe buyers don’t know how to write a review they think would be all right. I can tell you from firsthand experience, I’m not good at giving a constructive review. When I was active on http://www.authonony.com I submitted Christmas Traditions and A Promise Is A Promise to get the opinion of other authors. Their reviews and thoughts were very complimentary and detailed, but I found it hard to review their books as well as they did mine. What I know for sure is I either like the books or don’t, and that’s based on the genre and the story in the books I like to read.

I write books I hope are stories people will like to read. These books make you laugh out loud sometimes, describe characters that remind you of someone, and you miss them when the story ends. Those are not my words, but words my customers have used to describe my books. So why is it so much easier to get ebay and private customers to give me positive reviews than it is to get them on Amazon?

Perhaps, there is another simple answer besides knowing how to write a review. On Amazon, customers don’t have contact with the author of the books. Sales are impersonal business transactions. On ebay and private sales I can reach out to customers to add the personal touches to my sales so they get to know me. I sign my books for buyers. I have their email addresses so I can let them know the book had been sent so they can watch for it, and I tell them I appreciate their business. I ask for a review, if they have time to contact me, after they read the books. I think they respond back, because I reached out to them. Many of these buyers have become my email pen pals. They email me to find out how soon another book will be published. I have email addresses on a mailing list so I can notify buyers when a book is for sale. I’ve never been a fan of mass emails. That to me is very impersonal. I know the process takes time, but I email each buyer one at a time. Besides, that way I can visit with many of them. Some of these buyers email me once in awhile to just to say hi. Makes me feel blessed to get to know so many wonderful people in the United States.

With this all in mind, I started two new discussions under Christmas Traditions in the Kindle bookstore on Amazon. The first one explains that I have decided to put my books on Kindle and that I hope the buyers like this book. There’s a short explanation about the use of Old English pronouns, because my book is a historical fiction. The second discussion is Reviews Needed For Christmas Traditions. Since I have sold many of these books on Amazon, I asked if the buyers could give my book a review. I explained I didn’t want or need a detailed review like the experienced reviewers give. It would be great if they could click one to five on the stars and just say they liked the book. That would be enough to encourage other buyers to give my books a try. Now I’m hoping that the customers find the discussion and read it.

I added three sample reviews for Christmas Traditions-An Amish Love Story from other buyers to give them an idea what I’m hoping for:

I had a hard time putting the story down. It has some interesting twists and turns as we follow the customs and false pride of the characters.

You are so descriptive. I felt the little thread of hope Margaret felt, but she didn’t see.

I enjoyed this book very much. You sure made the characters come to life and what a sweet love story you have told. I wondered if you may be thinking about writing a sequel to this book.

What more could any author ask for when the book is already published and in the bookstores? By then it’s too late for a detailed, constructive review if it’s not positive. Reviews as simple as the reviews above show other buyers the books are worth reading for the entertainment value of each one. So book customers on Amazon or other sites: speak up and let your favorite authors know how you feel about their work. Your opinion not only counts with other consumers, but it matters to the author.

 

This is a cross-posting from Fay Risner‘s Booksbyfay blog.

The New & Improved The Creative Penn: Resources Galore, Now Easier to Find!

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New Resource Pages: Writing, Publishing, Book Marketing

Amazingly, [The Creative Penn] now has nearly 400 posts and nearly 3000 comments and I get emails every day with questions, so I thought it was time to add some better navigation options. I want this to be a really useful site for all who visit!

So, I have added a new Resources page that has links to my main content. It includes:

Writing – including FAQ like ‘How do I find the time to write?’ as well as creativity ideas, tips on how to write your book if you are just starting out, the psychology of writing and genres.

If you are writing a novel, you might like the page I have done tracking my own progress through my first novel, Pentecost.

Publishing – includes the publishing quadrant of traditional publishing, self-publishing, print-on-demand and digital publishing with ebooks.

Book Marketing and Promotion – includes author branding and platform building, blogging, social networking, podcasting, video, speaking, and other strategies including press releases, TV, radio and more.

Basically, I have found the best posts from the blog including top podcasts and included them on one easy page for reference per topic. I appreciate any comments on other questions you might have that are not answered there, and I will keep adding more info for you.

If you do enjoy the articles and podcasts on this site, please click here to sign up for free updates by email whenever a new post is published.

This is a cross-posting from Joanna Penn‘s The Creative Penn.

Secrets to Fix Your Novel's Plot

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Listen to a PODCAST of this article. 

Of all the necessary components to a well-received NOVEL, plot is among the top three. Should your PLOT sag at any point, you’ll find the entire novel lacks the intensity needed to make it onto the best-seller lists.

 
There are three major areas that tend to drag down your plot. They are:
 
1. The Beginning is Too Slow
2. The Middle Drags
3. The Ending is Predictable
 
Let’s look at solutions to each of these common problems.

The Beginning is Slow 

If your plot, those events that happen to your major characters, stutters from the outset of your novel, it’s probably because you’ve set too low a standard for your characters. There’s nothing to hook your readers.
 
To fix this, think of how you can make things worse for the major character. What will cause him the most angst? Try a bit of mind-mapping or, as they called it in my day, brainstorming. Just allow those nefarious ideas to ramble around into your mind and see if anything jumps to the fore. The more ideas you conjure, the better the odds the best idea will appear.

Keep this first section simple. Incorporate lots of conflict but not too many people. One character is good, two are ample.

Make this situation self-explanatory. If you spend a lot of your word count to bring people up to speed as to what’s happening, it’ll make your opening drag. That is, consider a great deal of action and dialogue. Descriptions aren’t necessary and don’t add much here.

Another method by which to pump up the start of your novel is to begin with or create a new motivation for your hero. What causes him to do the things he does? That might get your reader’s [interest] to flow. 

The Middle Drags

Should your novel suffer the dreaded sagging middle, the general secret is to inject additional conflict, more confrontation. Just be sure you add conflict and not just action. (Conflict is your character’s emotional response to action.) 

You might also add a plot twist. Take the story in a new and unexpected direction.
 
You can also introduce a major, yet unexpected, character. Just make sure he’s logical and necessary to the story.

Another technique to prop up your sagging middle is to introduce additional motivation. For example, if at the start of your novel your hero hates women, in your sagging middle your reader may find he actually hates women with tattoos. They also need to find out why he hates this "brand" of woman.

The Ending is Predictable

The third typical problem is when everyone sees the trees long before they come upon the forest.

You can fix this issue in a number of ways. First, like the method with which we fixed the sagging middle, add a new twist. Brainstorm a number of potential endings then pick the one that feels best to you. Be sure to insert this twist far enough back in your novel so it works into your plot with ease. If you just plug it in at the end, it’ll look contrived.

You might also survey your ending to see if you’ve spent too much time explaining loose ends and the like. This often leads to too much narrative and not enough excitement.

You may wish to ensure there are no coincidences at this part of your novel. Your ending must follow that trail of crumbs you left in the preceding parts of your novel.

With a little planning, most plot errors can be corrected. Spend some time with an outline and see what happens.

 

Did any of you have plot issues with your novel? How did you fix them?

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.

From Glimmers to Guts: 7 Steps to Self-Publishing

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I sometimes wonder how other writers develop their books. Do they plan it all out from the beginning so nothing’s a surprise? Do they “fly by the seat of their pants” and just begin writing? Do they write in bits and pieces, then somehow put it all together like a puzzle? There could be as many ways to write a book as there are people who write them. I, myself, have at least two ways I develop my books: the fiction way and the nonfiction way.

Because my nonfiction writing is a whole lot more organic (something between piecing a puzzle together and just sitting down to write from the beginning), I’m going to focus on the seven steps I use to put together a fiction book from the first glimmering of an idea to sending the guts off to the POD (print-on-demand).

  1. Come up with a general idea — I know this seems rather obvious, but it’s really the first place you have to start with any writing project. Sometimes I find that I have to narrow, or even expand upon, the original idea as the process goes along, but I still have to start somewhere.
  2. Map the plot line — You can use the same plotting method for short stories and novels, though you do need to remember that the rising action in a novel will be much longer. I like to use a plot line to get me started. By the time I’ve filled out the entire plot line, I’ve pretty much envisioned the entire story in my mind. For me, the process is like watching a favorite movie that I have complete creative control over.
  3. Get started — At this point I feel comfortable enough to actually begin writing. I have an idea where the story is going, but the characters still sometimes do surprising things I hadn’t planned. It’s also the longest and, sometimes, most frustrating part of the process. As I write each scene I do my best to describe it entirely, putting in a lot more detail than it warrants. My reasoning is that it’s a lot easier for me to cut than to add. Along with writing the story, I also format its appearance. It’s easier to catch widows and orphans and know what the ending page count will be if you set up the formatting at the beginning.
  4. The 4 R’s — You’ve heard of the 3 R’s: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. Let me introduce you to Reading, Re-working, Re-reading and Re-writing. If writing the first draft seems difficult, the editing process can feel impossible. I have a simple solution. I read through the first draft making only minor editorial marks for spelling, typos, punctuation and quick notes about parts that feel awkward. I don’t do a lot of editing the during the first read because I want to make sure the overall story flows. I then go back chapter by chapter and re-work anything that was awkward. Finally I give it a second, more thorough read, making longer notations about changes and additions that need to be made to give the story more depth. After I complete the needed changes I move on.
  5. Fresh eyes — This is a term I picked up working at NWMSU’s weekly newspaper, but it’s just as important in self-publishing. When you’ve finished the 4 R’s it’s time to let someone else read your work. The more eyes that read it, the more mistakes will be caught before you send it to the printer. I can’t stress this enough. Let an editor, your family, your friends, even the family dog read it. Okay, maybe not the dog, but you get my point.
  6. The 4 R’s — That’s right. Once you’re buddies have read it, it’s back to the computer to fix what they’ve found. But don’t despair. You’re almost finished.
  7. And print — Finally! All you need to do now is send it to the printer. I use Lulu.com, though I’ve heard a lot of good things about CreateSpace. Once your book is ready to upload to the POD of your choice, it’s just a matter of following their instructions.

Self-publishing can seem overwhelming at first, but if you follow these steps I think you’ll find your path just a little smoother on The Road to Writing.

 

This is a cross-posting from Virginia Ripple’s The Road to Writing.

Top 10 Worst Self-Publishing Mistakes—Explained!

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I learn a lot from the comments readers leave on the blog. People have pointed out errors, shown me resources I hadn’t heard of, and made connections that had never occurred to me. It’s a big web out there, and one of the things I enjoy most is this sharing of knowledge, resources and experiences.

Two weeks ago I published Top 10 List of the Worst Self-Publishing Mistakes, a semi-serious look at normal mistakes newcomers to self-publishing might make. But a couple of people asked if there was going to be a follow-up article. They wanted to know the reasons why these were the so-called “worst mistakes” so they could avoid making them.

So here is the follow-up, the explanation for why you wouldn’t want to do any of these things when it comes time to publish your book. I’ve copied the questions from the earlier article and given an explanation for each.

Top 10 Worst Self-Publishing Mistakes—Explained!

“10. You thought you could re-use that ISBN you paid so much for since the novel you put it on last year isn’t selling anyway.”

Explained: You never want to re-use an ISBN, or even use it for another edition of the same book. The ISBN is known as a unique identifier. It’s intended to be assigned to one edition of one book. You book’s information has been entered in book databases everywhere, and you will only create tremendous confusion between the two works, hurting sales for both, if you attempt to re-use an ISBN. Just don’t do it.

“9. Everybody knows the words to the song, so it’s okay to quote lyrics from it throughout your novel, right?”

Explained: Check out this blog post about using bits of songs in your writing. The author here found, after using only snippets of 60s songs in a party scene, that he had a liability of over $6,000. Just like paintings, poems, or any creative expression, people’s lyrics and music are protected by copyright law, and violations of this law can be expensive and very damaging. If you want to use it, get permission first.

“8. The photos looked fine on your screen, and that means they will look fine when they’re printed, it just makes sense.”

Explained: Graphics on screens are all displayed at a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi) in Reg-Green-Blue (RGB) colorspace. That’s just the way computers display graphics. However, when you go to print your book, your color photos will need to be 300 dpi in the Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black (CMYK) colorspace. So no, the image you see on your screen, no matter how gorgeous, may not have enough resolution to print well.

“7. I picked Arial for my book because the name reminded me of my middle school girlfriend.”

Explained: Many people don’t notice typefaces, typography, design, serifs, ligatures, and the other elements book designers take for granted, and why should they? But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter what typeface you use. The classic book typefaces, when used correctly, will produce a book that’s beautiful, readable, and reader-friendly. That’s why they’re classics.

“6. I know they’re charging me $6,000 to publish my book, but I get 10 copies, absolutely free!”

Explained: Well, $6,000 divided by 10 is . . . The point here is that if you want to publish your own book you may be better off using a plain author services company like CreateSpace or Lulu than a subsidy publisher. Why? The subsidy publisher makes its money from sales to authors–that’s you. If you use a service like CreateSpace you are the publisher and you use them as a printer. You pay only for the services you decide you need, and then you make your money from book sales.

“5. I thought it would sound more impressive if I wrote my memoir in the third person. All my sports heroes talk that way.”

Explained: By far the best way for most authors to present their information in nonfiction books is with a clear, active, straightforward style. Attempts to create unusual styles, strange viewpoints, exotic points of view almost always fail since they are incredibly difficult to carry off well. Both you and your readers will be well served by a natural conversational style that follows a normal and expected narrative. This will make your valuable information stand out, not an eccentric of saying it.

“4. I really got the unit price down, but I had to print 10,000 copies. You have any room in your garage?”

Explained: Having a plan on how you intend to market, publicize and sell your book before entering into book production is highly recommended. The unit cost of your book is meaningless if you never sell any. Many self-publishers are using digital printing through print-on-demand distribution to minimize this type of risk. However, you have to plan your book, its retail price, and your method of distribution before going to press.

“3. Sure, I included an invoice with all the books I sent to book reviewers. Hey, they don’t care, it’s just a big company paying the bill.”

Explained: Although reviewers do usually work for larger companies, sending an invoice with a review copy will ensure that while you won’t get paid for the book, you won’t get a review either. The convention is that you are asking for valuable editorial time and space in a publication, and certainly the least you can expect is to provide a book to anyone gracious enough to go to the trouble of reviewing your book.

“2. It was cheaper to print my novel as an 8-1/2″ x 11″ book because I got so many words on each page.”

Explained: Although it’s true that you can save money in digital printing by creating a book with fewer pages, a novel printed full page on letter-size paper with small margins and tight lines to “get so many words” on a page is likely to be read by no one. Making your book difficult to read is a quick way to eliminate many readers. There is no economy in printing books that no one wants to read.

“1. What do you mean, I need a cover designer? Don’t books come with covers?”

Explained: Most author-services companies are only too happy to put a cover on your book for a fee, or to turn you loose on their cover creation programs. But it’s pretty easy to tell most of the books that have been “designed” this way, and it isn’t a pretty picture. If your book is worth publishing, and you want people to buy it, and you understand the cover is the primary way that people will identify the book wherever it appears, don’t you think it might be worthwhile to get a cover designer you can afford to create a cover for you?

Well, there you have it. If there was any doubt, you now know some good things to avoid when it comes time to publish a book.

 

This is a cross-posting from Joel Friedlander‘s The Book Designer.

Converting Novels to Screenplays

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Time and Page Constraints

How many times have we heard the comment, “The book was a lot better?” Well, there are some good reasons for that. Writing for the movie industry takes a different set of writing tools and constraints. The word “constraints” is the primary key.

The rule of thumb for a screenplay is that one page is equal to one minute of movie time. Most movies fall into time lengths of 90 to 250 minutes with 120 minutes being the standard target length. Now, compare that constraint to the length of most novels, which range from 250 to 750 pages and even longer for some. How does one cut the novel length down to the screenplay time constraints and still communicate the essence of the novel? I will answer that question, but first here are some other considerations.

Different Writing Style

Screenplays are written in third person and present tense. If you think you can just change your novel into those style requirements, you will find that is a laborious task at best. I have written two screenplays based on novels. It is a time consuming task. It is so easy to miss changing all the verb forms and tense forms in almost every sentence. It really takes attention to detail. You have a choice of whether to make all those changes to the whole book and then determine what will be cut or remain or vice versa. I feel in the long run it’s safer to make the style changes first and then make the cuts, but you may prefer to do it the other way—whatever works best for you.

Critically Important Considerations

Movies are primarily a visual media. This makes showing rather than telling absolutely essential. Dialog must be kept short—no long expository speeches or explanations. Action is king. There should be no off-camera explanations by a 3rd party narrator. Conditions, settings, and motives must be shown by what the actors do and say. Back story should be kept to a minimum. A very brief visual flashback might be appropriate if it is essential to the story’s development. For example: a novel might explain the reason why a woman develops a hatred for all men with page after page of action discussing sexual abuse by a father or brother. In the movie version, there might be a 20 to 30 second flashback showing an abuse scene to explain the reason why the woman hates men. Showing is hyper-critical. Telling takes too long and is boring.

Cutting Down the Novel

The primary guidelines or criteria for making cuts are:

  • If something doesn’t move the storyline along, get rid of it
  • Be brutal about which characters are essential and which are not
  • Dialog should be kept short
  • Action must be the primary communication means used by the writer
  • Remember, keep the screenplay as visual as possible.

When I turned my first mystery into a screen play, I actually had to totally eliminate or reduce a few nonessential characters. I saw the same thing happen in the movie version of Stephanie Myers second novel. The wheelchair-bound Indian father of one of the werewolf boys had many pages of dialog in the book and numerous mentions of him by other characters. In the movie he got about 30 seconds of movie time. If a character or scene is not essential to the story, get out the editorial knife.

Remember showing vs telling is even more critical in a screenplay than in the book version. Keep it short but powerful.

The Bottom Line

Movies are far more expensive to produce than novels. Whereas a major publisher may invest several tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars in a book, A movie production will require tens of millions of dollars. Unless it’s a major studio with very deep pockets, the production company often will have to find major investors willing to take a chance on the movie’s likelihood of returning the investment plus a sizable profit. A small, independent production company has accepted four of my screenplays; however, they have not been able to find enough willing investors to fund the movies. Being accepted, even if there has been no contract or upfront money, is gratifying, but it won’t buy any groceries. Most production companies prefer to use materials by previously successful screenwriters to minimize the risk to their bottom line. That is why it is so difficult to break into the business. Another factor that raises a barrier against writers is age. Many production companies believe only young writers can connect and communicate with younger target audiences—a major ageism factor.

Screenplay Formats

There is a very strict and detailed set of formatting requirements for screenplays. Don’t even try to write your screenplay in Word! There are too many possibilities for format errors. Use an established screenplay formatting software package. I have used several in the past and have found “Final Draft” to be my preferred program. Dramatica is another good company.

Final Consideration

Still, despite the barriers, cutting a novel down to screenplay length is definitely a worthwhile endeavor. You will learn so much about your writing and your work from this translation process that it becomes a wonderful self-education exercise. If nothing else, you will gain an appreciation for the screenwriters and their process. It will also provide you with new eyes when watching movies, knowing what goes into producing a screenplay. Remember, most movies are built upon screenplay that have ultimately been produced by the the consensus of committees. That is another reason many why so many movies don’t live up to their novels. Still, it is a worthy exercise to try just to improve your writing game.

 

This is a cross-posting from Bob Spear‘s Book Trends blog.

A Christmas Gift

by

On a cold December day in Baltimore, Maryland in the year two thousand nine, Jennifer was  at home in her bed.  Michael, her  devoted husband, was by her side. Jennifer has been gravely ill for the past few weeks suffering from metastatic breast cancer. She spent most of the  year in the hospital having chemotherapy treatments. The cancer had already  metastasized  beyond the breast. Just recently Michael had taken her home, since the doctors had done all they could.  December was a more difficult month for her. She was eating very little and had lost more weight. Her health  further deteriorated to the stage where she was totally bedridden. Suddenly, Jennifer opened her eyes and wheezed,"call the children!"
 
 
                                                                                                       
 
                                                                                                                     
 
 
Fifty Years Earlier
                                                                                                                       
 Jennifer and her parents, Mary and Robert,  had just finished a pleasant dinner together. Jennifer was on Christmas break from school where she was in the fourth grade. After dinner, she and her mom were going to May’s department store. Mary had to pick up a few gifts  in layaway. Jennifer wanted to buy her dad a Christmas gift, since Christmas was only two days away.  As they departed from the house, a light snow suddenly began to fall. Jennifer always liked this time of the year with the homes tastefully decorated with Christmas tree lights showing through the windows. The parking lot was nearly full when they  arrived at the department store. Mary fortunately found an open space at the far end.  The long, slow walk was extremely slippery due to the snow.
While in the store, they quickly went to the layaway department to pick up Mary’s gifts.
 
At the household department, Jennifer found a picture frame she really liked. She wanted a frame for a picture she had taken with her dad. However, since the checkout line was twenty deep, and it was getting late,  Mary told her she would pick the frame up in the morning.
After exiting the store, Mary cautiously drove  home  since the snow had rapidly intensified.
When they safely arrived home, Robert met them at the door and said, "thank God you’re home, I was concerned due to the snow."
After Jennifer gave her mom and dad a goodnight kiss, she  brushed her teeth and took a shower before bed.
Before falling asleep, she thought about all the precious moments she had spent with her loving mom. She was closer to her mom than dad but loved them equally.
 

The following morning, Christmas Eve, Mary prepared to go to the department store.  Before she left, she anxiously glanced out the bay window.  The snowy sky had given way to a beautiful sunrise. On the way to the store, Mary noticed several vehicles in roadside ditches.
 
Jennifer woke up to the sound of voices.  She quickly got dressed to find out what was happening.  When she reached  the bottom of the stairs, she clearly saw two men conversing with her dad.
One, a stubby, black-bearded man whom she immediately knew as their family minister.  The other, a tall rather thin man wearing a uniform that she didn’t recognize.  She slowly walked toward her dad. However, before she reached him, he told her to go back to her room, and he would talk to her shortly. Subsequently, the voices downstairs abruptly ceased.  When her father walked into her bedroom,  she noticed tears freely streaming down his cheeks.
He immediately sat down and gave her a comforting hug and a gentle kiss. He said, " your mother was coming home from the department store when a car lost control on the snow covered winding roadway and hit her car”.
"Your mother has passed on to be with God in heaven". His eyes were so sad while saying this. 
She quietly put her arms around her dad and started to cry.

Later Christmas Eve, Jennifer briefly glanced at the Christmas tree. She was uncertain if she could open her presents knowing that her mom was sadly missing. Her dad said,“your mother would have wanted you to open your presents”. With moist eyes, she reluctantly agreed. Suddenly, her mood partly changed to delight. She said," dad look what Santa brought me, I always wanted a diary!" Her dad went over and gave her a kiss and said, "your mother asked Santa for a diary."She knew you wanted one." After all the gifts were opened, she went to her bedroom immediately to start writing. Dear mom, I am writing to you in my diary Santa brought me. Santa also brought me a beautiful china doll, and I named her Mary. It was getting late so she finished writing in her diary. Merry Christmas and I really miss you, Love Jennifer. Her father laid down with her until she fell asleep,

Jennifer continued to write in her diary every Christmas Eve to her mom.
She would describe all the experiences she had throughout the year.
 
 
 
 
Michael summoned their loving children together with the family minister to express their final words of farewell.
Jennifer’s father had passed away two years earlier.
There was a certain amount of peace as they gathered around her bed to pray.
She was fading in and out of consciousness.
For the first time in months, she could embrace Cindy, her three year old granddaughter.
When in the hospital, Cindy had been extremely fearful of all the machines next to her Grandmother.
Cindy gently ascended onto her bed, and they shared one precious moment together before she fell back into unconsciousness.
 
Suddenly, Jennifer opened her eyes and her hands fervently reached upwards towards the corner of the room.
With a faint whisper, she said, " My mother is here, she looks so radiant."
The family thought she was probably hallucinating. However, Marie, Jennifer’s  ten year old granddaughter
said, "Grandma where is she? I can’t see her."  she said " you won’t be able to see her; she is here for me, not you."
Jennifer glanced over to her night stand and asked Michael to get her diary.
When he gave her the diary, she clutched her hands tightly around it.
Marie asked her mom, "What was that, that grandpa gave to grandma?" She told her it was her diary that Santa brought her  when she was ten years old.
She had written her entire life  in that diary.
 
 
 Marie said, " Mom will I get a diary for Christmas?"
Before she could answer, Jennifer began to speak. With her hands tightly clutched around her diary, she said," this is my Christmas gift to my mother."
Jennifer then closed her eyes and passed on. It was Christmas Eve.
 
 
 
 

A Christmas Gift

by

On a cold December day in Baltimore, Maryland in the year two thousand nine, Jennifer was  at home in her bed.  Michael, her  devoted husband, was by her side. Jennifer has been gravely ill for the past few weeks suffering from metastatic breast cancer. She spent most of the  year in the hospital having chemotherapy treatments. The cancer had already  metastasized  beyond the breast. Just recently Michael had taken her home, since the doctors had done all they could.  December was a more difficult month for her. She was eating very little and had lost more weight. Her health  further deteriorated to the stage where she was totally bedridden. Suddenly, Jennifer opened her eyes and wheezed,"call the children!"
 
 
                                                                                                       
 
                                                                                                                     
 
 
Fifty Years Earlier
                                                                                                                       
 Jennifer and her parents, Mary and Robert,  had just finished a pleasant dinner together. Jennifer was on Christmas break from school where she was in the fourth grade. After dinner, she and her mom were going to May’s department store. Mary had to pick up a few gifts  in layaway. Jennifer wanted to buy her dad a Christmas gift, since Christmas was only two days away.  As they departed from the house, a light snow suddenly began to fall. Jennifer always liked this time of the year with the homes tastefully decorated with Christmas tree lights showing through the windows. The parking lot was nearly full when they  arrived at the department store. Mary fortunately found an open space at the far end.  The long, slow walk was extremely slippery due to the snow.
While in the store, they quickly went to the layaway department to pick up Mary’s gifts.
 
At the household department, Jennifer found a picture frame she really liked. She wanted a frame for a picture she had taken with her dad. However, since the checkout line was twenty deep, and it was getting late,  Mary told her she would pick the frame up in the morning.
After exiting the store, Mary cautiously drove  home  since the snow had rapidly intensified.
When they safely arrived home, Robert met them at the door and said, "thank God you’re home, I was concerned due to the snow."
After Jennifer gave her mom and dad a goodnight kiss, she  brushed her teeth and took a shower before bed.
Before falling asleep, she thought about all the precious moments she had spent with her loving mom. She was closer to her mom than dad but loved them equally.
 

The following morning, Christmas Eve, Mary prepared to go to the department store.  Before she left, she anxiously glanced out the bay window.  The snowy sky had given way to a beautiful sunrise. On the way to the store, Mary noticed several vehicles in roadside ditches.
 
Jennifer woke up to the sound of voices.  She quickly got dressed to find out what was happening.  When she reached  the bottom of the stairs, she clearly saw two men conversing with her dad.
One, a stubby, black-bearded man whom she immediately knew as their family minister.  The other, a tall rather thin man wearing a uniform that she didn’t recognize.  She slowly walked toward her dad. However, before she reached him, he told her to go back to her room, and he would talk to her shortly. Subsequently, the voices downstairs abruptly ceased.  When her father walked into her bedroom,  she noticed tears freely streaming down his cheeks.
He immediately sat down and gave her a comforting hug and a gentle kiss. He said, " your mother was coming home from the department store when a car lost control on the snow covered winding roadway and hit her car”.
"Your mother has passed on to be with God in heaven". His eyes were so sad while saying this. 
She quietly put her arms around her dad and started to cry.

Later Christmas Eve, Jennifer briefly glanced at the Christmas tree. She was uncertain if she could open her presents knowing that her mom was sadly missing. Her dad said,“your mother would have wanted you to open your presents”. With moist eyes, she reluctantly agreed. Suddenly, her mood partly changed to delight. She said," dad look what Santa brought me, I always wanted a diary!" Her dad went over and gave her a kiss and said, "your mother asked Santa for a diary."She knew you wanted one." After all the gifts were opened, she went to her bedroom immediately to start writing. Dear mom, I am writing to you in my diary Santa brought me. Santa also brought me a beautiful china doll, and I named her Mary. It was getting late so she finished writing in her diary. Merry Christmas and I really miss you, Love Jennifer. Her father laid down with her until she fell asleep,

Jennifer continued to write in her diary every Christmas Eve to her mom.
She would describe all the experiences she had throughout the year.
 
 
 
 
Michael summoned their loving children together with the family minister to express their final words of farewell.
Jennifer’s father had passed away two years earlier.
There was a certain amount of peace as they gathered around her bed to pray.
She was fading in and out of consciousness.
For the first time in months, she could embrace Cindy, her three year old granddaughter.
When in the hospital, Cindy had been extremely fearful of all the machines next to her Grandmother.
Cindy gently ascended onto her bed, and they shared one precious moment together before she fell back into unconsciousness.
 
Suddenly, Jennifer opened her eyes and her hands fervently reached upwards towards the corner of the room.
With a faint whisper, she said, " My mother is here, she looks so radiant."
The family thought she was probably hallucinating. However, Marie, Jennifer’s  ten year old granddaughter
said, "Grandma where is she? I can’t see her."  she said " you won’t be able to see her; she is here for me, not you."
Jennifer glanced over to her night stand and asked Michael to get her diary.
When he gave her the diary, she clutched her hands tightly around it.
Marie asked her mom, "What was that, that grandpa gave to grandma?" She told her it was her diary that Santa brought her  when she was ten years old.
She had written her entire life  in that diary.
 
 
 Marie said, " Mom will I get a diary for Christmas?"
Before she could answer, Jennifer began to speak. With her hands tightly clutched around her diary, she said," this is my Christmas gift to my mother."
Jennifer then closed her eyes and passed on. It was Christmas Eve.
 
 
 
 

 

A Good Edit Would've Fixed That

by

Once again, I’m judging for Writer’s Digest’s annual Self-Published Book Awards, and once again, the need for a good edit is crying out to me from the pages of most of the entries.

Mind you, I’m not talking about the occasional typo or missing space between words. Most of you would think those things are nits, just as likely to have been introduced in the typesetting phase as to have been overlooked in a prior editing pass, and I’d agree with you. No, I’m talking about a pervasive inattention to detail, improper usage or faulty constructions running throughout a given book’s pages. Has your work fallen victim to any of the following problems?

Repetitive Usage – Do you have certain pet expressions or turns of phrase? It’s fine to use them, but use them sparingly. In one of the books I’ve read this year, the phrase "that’s the point" (and its many variants, such as "that’s the whole point," "but the entire point of…", etc.) appears so frequently as to be distracting. Variations of the expression are spoken by every character in the book and turn up all too often: in one case, three times on a single page. On another page the phrase appears in two consecutive sentences, spoken by two different characters. Perhaps in that latter case, the author made a purposeful choice to be repetitive. If so, the desired effect isn’t apparent.

Convoluted Sentence Structure – If I have to re-read many of your sentences or passages repeatedly to comprehend their meaning, your work fails the clarity test. This seems to be a particular bugaboo of fantasy and science fiction books. Perhaps in trying to achieve a certain tone of scientific realism or mythology, the authors simply go overboard with stilted language. Using big words, lots of technical, philosophical or religious jargon, or many made-up words doesn’t automatically inject realism into your work. It’s far more likely to introduce confusion. Also, as a rule of thumb, if you find a sentence you’ve written has more than two sub-clauses or phrases offset by commas, you probably need to think about breaking it up into multiple, smaller sentences.

Losing the Thread of Tense – If your character is recalling or retelling something that happened in the past, the recollection or retelling should generally be given in past tense—and stay in past tense. Consider this (totally fabricated) example:

I will always remember that summer. We went out on the boat nearly every day, and wished we’d never have to go back home. That year, my goal was to catch the biggest bass so I go to town one afternoon, I buy new bait and stronger fishing line. I get out on the water the next morning, earlier than anyone else. I cast my line and wait.

The first two sentences are in past tense, which is fine. The third sentence begins in past tense (goal was to catch the biggest bass) but then switches to present tense (I go to town, I buy new bait) and tense remains in the present for the rest of the passage.

Switching tense correctly is particularly important when the narrative is intended to go back and forth between past and present tense, such as when a detective is investigating a cold case and has to interview a bunch of people about their memories of the events in question. When tense changes, is the interviewee still talking about his past experience, or sharing some new realization with the detective in the present day? Tense is what’s supposed to clue the reader in on this sort of thing, so if you’re switching tense incorrectly or unintentionally, you’re confusing the reader.

Using Internal Mologue for Omniscient Exposition – An internal monologue is nothing more than a character talking to him- or herself. We’ve all talked to ourselves at some point, we all know what it’s like and how we "sound" in our heads when we’re doing it.

We talk to ourselves to cogitate on things, refresh our memory of events, go over mental to-do lists and the like, but real-life internal monologues are not like journal entries. They do not provide a factual accounting of events, because the person experiencing the internal monologue already lived those events and knows what happened. They also cannot provide a factual accounting of events that were not witnessed personally by the individual having the internal monologue. Look at the following two examples—again, examples I’ve constructed just for this blog entry:

Mike couldn’t stop obsessing over the events of that night. Three a.m., and his mind was still spinning.

Garrett refused to stop drinking, and I knew I shouldn’t let him have his keys back, but I was afraid he’d shoot me if I didn’t hand them over. He was doing about eighty when he hit that curve, still swigging from a bottle of Jack. He never knew what hit him. The funeral’s tomorrow. I know what everyone there will be thinking, and they’ll be right. It was all my fault.

Guilty or not, Mike knew he’d be expected to make a showing at the memorial service.

Compare this example to:

Mike couldn’t stop obsessing over the events of that night. Three a.m., and his mind was still spinning.

What was I thinking?! I never should’ve given Garrett his keys, whether he was waving a gun in my face or not. Now he’s dead and it’s all my fault. How can I face everyone at the funeral tomorrow?

Guilty or not, Mike knew he’d be expected to make a showing at the memorial service.

In the first example, the author is using an internal monologue to present expository (factual or background) information from an omniscient point of view: the point of view of someone who knows, and can see, all that’s happening or has happened to anyone involved in the story or setting, and also knows what any character is thinking or has thought at any given time.

The first monologue relates factual information Mike has no reason to be re-stating in his own head. It also reports on events which occurred outside Mike’s presence; Mike might’ve learned how fast Garrett was going from a police report or news story, but how could he know Garrett was still swigging from a bottle when he hit the curve? And how could he know Garrett "never knew what hit him"?

The second monologue is more realistic. In it, Mike doesn’t report on events, he reconsiders his role in them. He expresses his feelings about the events, and fearfully anticipates what’s coming next. 

 

This blog post is getting pretty long, so I’ll wrap it up for today and report on some other common problems in a future post or posts.

Bottom line: if my allotment of books from the contest gives an accurate indication, about 19 out of 20 self-published books need a professional edit—and aren’t getting one. It’s a real shame when a self-publishing author gets the tough stuff right (believable dialogue, pacing, plot, characterization) but releases a book that’s still hopelessly marred by problems like those above—problems that could’ve been easily remedied by a good edit.

 

This is a cross-posting from April L. Hamilton‘s Indie Author Blog.