Quick Link: Make The Most Of A Scene Through The Senses – With A Simple List

November 6, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

This is one of those ideas who simplicity is brilliant! At Writers Write Anthony Ehlers shares a simple list that you can use to get the most of out of using your senses to really bring the reader into the scene.

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Make The Most Of A Scene Through The Senses – With A Simple List

by Anthony Ehlers

But don’t forget – that deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball

Bringing in as many of the senses to a scene in a novel or story is a powerful way to lift your writing, to make it more vivid, authentic, alive.

Real people react to the senses at every moment of their lives: fictional people should too. Sometimes, as writers, we bring in the senses to a scene … then forget to thread them through the rest of the scene. And this could be a missed opportunity, isn’t it?

For example, in a romance novel, you could have two young lovers enjoying a picnic by the lake when they are caught in a spring storm. The rain takes them by surprise on the sunny afternoon. They run for the cover of an old abandoned gazebo on the edge of the park, where they make out passionately.

List the sensations

Read the full post on Writers Write!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Herd Your CATS

November 3, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Of course, we are not talking about literal cats, more literary CATS. Or as James Scott Bell at Kill Zone describes it “Character Alone Thinking Scenes”. While these types of scenes can be very powerful, they do have to be used at the right time. Read the article and tell me what you think!

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“Everything in the universe is either potato or not potato”

Herd Your CATS

by James Scott Bell

We all know that getting a reader inside a lead character’s head is one of the keys to compelling fiction. But it has to be done seamlessly so it doesn’t jerk us out of the narrative and put a crimp in the fictive dream.

Which means we have to learn to handle what I call “Character Alone Thinking Scenes” (CATS) in a deft manner.

The first issue is whether to begin the book with a CATS. As last Wednesday’s first-page critique demonstrated (in my view, at least) the answer should almost always be No.

Why? Because we have to have a little personal investment in someone before we can care deeply about their feelings.

Imagine going to a party and you’re introduced to a fellow with a drink in his hand. You say, “How are you?” and the guy says, “I’m really depressed, man, I wake up every day and the room looks dark and the sun never shines, even though it’s out there, and I don’t see it because of the dark dankness in my soul, and life has lost its meaning, its luster, whatever it was it once had for me when I was young and ready to take on the world. Ya know?”

AHHHH!!!!

Read the full post on Kill Zone

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Throwback Thursday! Blogs: 10 reasons authors should have one

November 2, 2017 by Publetariat

Throwback Thursday – sharing some of our great older posts that still are important today!

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Blogs are a few years old in the tech industries, but now they are a must-have for authors who want to get the word out. If you don’t have a blog yet, here’s why you need to get blogging!

1. People can find you and your books on the internet.

Google loves blogs and regular content updates. Blog software allows you to update your blog whenever you like, creating extra pages for your website. These are indexed and over time you can build up a great internet presence so people can find you when searching.

2.Connect with like-minded people.

Being a blogger opens up a new world of networking. You can connect with other authors who blog, or literary agents, publishers and communities all over the world.

3.Two way interaction and feedback.

You can allow comments on your blog so people can connect with you directly by leaving a message. You can also comment on other blogs. This allows an interaction that cannot be achieved by a static website or email.

4.Marketing you as an author.

You can add all sorts of information about yourself at your blog, including photos, videos and examples of your work. You can list your publishing credits, your ebooks, articles, media appearances and anything else you want to use to market yourself as an author.

5.Book promotion.

Have a special page for your book where you can add photos, your book trailer, downloads of chapters and any other information on your book. You can do special blog posts, for example, an interview with you talking about your book, or a giveaway.

6.Online sales channel.

You can use your blog as a place to sell your books and services. If you integrate with a shopping cart or use a service like Smashwords or Clickbank, you can add links for these Buy Now pages.

7.Writing practice.

Blogging is a very dynamic way of writing. Sometimes you will get an idea and want to blog on it immediately. You will do some research, try to write something catchy or useful, and then post it all very quickly. Sometimes you might spend a lot longer on one piece, but generally you write between 500-800 words and get it out there. If you get “bloggers block”, then chances are you are not interested enough in the material to sustain a blog on it, so move on!

8.Blog your book.

You can use your book as the key material for your blog. Take excerpts and use them as posts, and then spin off from those posts into new things. This will get you traffic related to your topic/book subject so make sure you have a sales page that allows people to buy your book.

9.Build an audience.

People can subscribe to your blog through an RSS feed which means you can build a following who read your work. You can build relationships with these people and get direct feedback through comments and seeing how people respond to your posts.

10.Build your platform.

Publishers these days want a “platform” meaning that you have a following, people who will buy your books. If you are self-published, this is even more important as you will need to sell it yourself. Blogging enables you to build this platform in terms of a body of work, an online presence, knowledge of the industry and marketing as well as hopefully some people who are interested in what you have to say.

Quick Link: When Does a Writer Rest? It’s Time to Talk About Self-Care

November 1, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

You know how much I love self care articles and with today being the first day of NaNoWriMo, a time when people go crazy writing, that this article from The Write Life would be perfect!

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When Does a Writer Rest? It’s Time to Talk About Self-Care

by Emily Wenstrom

Let’s start with some cold reality: My 2017 Q2 sales report is in.

I sold a grand total of 25 books, between two titles.

While my publisher assures me this is normal for a small press author between releases, I was somewhat distraught over this report.

There are a lot of reasons behind this dip in sales. As my publisher pointed out, I was in a lull between releases (my last true launch was March 2016, over a year before). Additionally, my personal life was in upheaval.

I had just settled back into my home in D.C. and returned to a full-time office job after two years of freelancing and flexibility. Additionally, a loved one was in the midst of chemotherapy treatments, and for whatever reason, the hubs and I had chosen to do an unusual amount of travel during this period.

In short, it was a busy and overwhelming time in just about every way. I was exhausted. This limited my ability to write consistently, let alone focus on marketing.

Sometimes, something just has to give.

Read the full post on The Write Life

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Quick Link: 5 Writing Tips: Harlan Coben

October 31, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

This is a short but good post at Publishers Weekly by bestselling author Harlan Coben. It amused me but still good words to write by.

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5 Writing Tips: Harlan Coben

Working off my Rule 3, I’m going to skip boring you with a long introductory paragraph and get straight to it:

1. You can always fix bad pages. You can’t fix no pages.

So write. Just write. Try to turn off that voice of doom that paralyzes you.

Read the full post on Publishers Weekly!

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NaNoWriMo is tomorrow! Are you prepared?

October 31, 2017 by Publetariat

Hooray NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow! Are you ready? Me neither but I am close. The most I normally do is get a folder prepared in my Dropbox so I can work on my story anywhere. Dropbox is free to start off with and allows you to access your file almost anywhere.

In my Dropbox folder, I keep my MS Word doc and my excel spreadsheet that I use to track where I am at count-wise. There are so many good writing tools out there. I use Scrivener for non-NaNo writing because of all the lovely tools it has that I get lost in. When it comes to NaNo though, I love MS word because I can easily keep an eye on my word count.

Because I like to keep a close eye on my daily word count I have created a spreadsheet that helps me to track my daily progress. I realize that most people are fine without doing this but in case you are compulsive like me, I thought I would share the tool. You enter your total word count each day, and then the spreadsheet lets you know how many more words you need in order to reach 50K, how many days are left to reach that goal, how many words you need to write daily to reach 50K by November 30th, and finally how many words you need to write to reach the daily goal.

The Google link should open a copy of the spreadsheet as a new google doc just for you. The Excel link should either download an excel file or prompt you to save it. Both of these programs are very simple and should pose no security risks. Next year I will try and make a pdf form.

Google Sheets

Excel file

Speaking of word count, for some, 50k words in a month is nothing, but if you are like me, that is a real challenge. So remember, “don’t” is one word but “do not” counts for two! What are your NaNo writing hacks?

Be safe and have a great day!

Paula

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Quick Link: Process Goals: 6 Ways Slowing Down and Thinking Small Will Help You Write Your Book

October 30, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Is it any wonder why I love Anne R. Allen and of course Ruth Harris when they do a great post like this?

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Process Goals: 6 Ways Slowing Down and Thinking Small Will Help You Write Your Book

by Ruth Harris

Psychologists differentiate between outcome goals (write a book) and process goals (the steps it will take to write a book). The outcome goal focuses on the big picture and the end result—a diamond-studded World Series ring, an Emmy, the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby.

An outcome goal (Bestseller! Glowing five-star reviews!) is one over which you have no control. No wonder you feel overwhelmed and intimidated before you even begin.

The big picture is, well, big. You can’t control it and it’s hard to define. Do you want a bestseller? NY Times or USA Today or both? A nomination for a literary prize? Pulitzer? National Book Award? A book your Mom/third grade teacher/college professor will be proud of? A book that will get revenge on the guy/gal who dumped you and prove to the world that they were wrong and you were right?

Even if you can pin down what you want from the book, you still have to write it.

OMG, a book? 60,000-100,000 brilliant, well-chosen words that actually make sense?

Read the full post on Anne R. Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris

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Quick Link: 5 Tips for Creating Believable Fictional Languages

October 27, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Today’s offering is a little selective – it’s for people who want to incorporate a fictional language into their story. Fictional languages have really grown with there now being professionals who do nothing but create fake languages. But that sounds expensive and is probably out of our budget. So here is Amber Massey posting over at Helping Writers Become Authors to help us save a few bucks!

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5 Tips for Creating Believable Fictional Languages

by Amber Massey

Gone are the days when you could speak gibberish in a movie or a novel—think Princess Leia’s scene negotiating with Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi—and pass it off as obscure, exotic fictional languages.

Today, when your characters speak fictional languages, your audience expects these languages to sound real, with natural-sounding vocabulary and an authentic flow and syntax. Blame authors like J.R.R. Tolkien, who spent many decades fine-tuning Quenya, Sindarin, and the other languages in his epic fantasy trilogies.

But Tolkien wasn’t alone. From Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels to HBO’s Game of Thrones, using believable fictional languages helps readers believe in your mythology and immerse themselves in your world.

And unlike HBO, you don’t need to hire a team of linguists to start creating your own language. These five tips can help get you started.

Read the full post on Helping Writers Become Authors!

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Quick Link: How to Build a Personal Brand While Staying Authentic to Your Craft

October 26, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

This is the hard part about being an author as opposed to a writer. You have to market yourself. That is hard, a lot of us (me included) have a hard time connecting socially on the web and think of marketing as a dirty word. At The Write Life, Andrea Guevara has some great information on how to help us so that we can reach others while still staying us.

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How to Build a Personal Brand While Staying Authentic to Your Craft

by Andrea Guevara

You’re a writer, a change-maker, someone who influences culture — not a boring old corporate brand. You roll your eyes when it comes time to talk about working on your personal brand.

I get it; It goes against your anarchist, artist nature.

A few years ago after nearly two decades as an entrepreneur, I came back to my love: Writing.

About a year into my time at the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, a classmate and I attended an all-day marketing for writers seminar. Somewhere around the second or third presenter, I was totally overwhelmed. I thought the hardest work I’d do as a writer would be the writing. I had no idea just how much the publishing industry had tightened its belt, and how much promotion was now in writer’s hands.

I wanted to create art, not be a one-woman marketing show.

Read the full post on The Write Life!

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The art of desensitization and how it can help your writing

October 26, 2017 by Publetariat

Prozie’s twin, except Prozie has a cuter nose.

If you have seen the trailer for the next Star Wars movie The Last Jedi then you have seen a Porg. It is that really cute creature that is sitting with Chewbacca and is pictured on the right.

This particular Porg looks an awful lot like my latest rescue kitty, Prozie. Hang with me for a moment here.

Prozie (short for Prozac, my animals are all named after pharmaceuticals) had a very traumatizing start in life, and by the time we got her, she had a permanent “I am going to be ate” look on her face. She was terrified 100% of the time. But slowly we worked with her and while she is still scared of a lot of things, she is enjoying her life.

One of the great tools that we use is desensitization. Basically, it is a process of taking little steps with things that make you afraid until you are no longer afraid of them.

I know, what does this have to do with writing? Everything!

A lot of times our fears are holding us back from doing what we want to do. Spend some time and figure out what is holding you back. For me, it is fear of putting myself out there and being accepted. Break down the issues and figure out what you can do to take safe baby steps towards that fear. Slowly get used to what you fear and you can lessen it’s hold on you. For me, posting here is a BIG step. But each time I do it, I become a little less fearful. The world hasn’t ended and I have yet to become a meme. So far so good!

Life is hard sometimes and growth sucks but it is good for you. What is holding you back?

Have a great day!

Paula

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Quick Link: How Do You Know When to Stop Expanding and Start Revising?

October 25, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

I don’t know about you, but I could write and write and never get to editing. So this article from Mary Carroll Moore at her site, How To Plan, Write, And Develop A Book, is a really good post for people like us!

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How Do You Know When to Stop Expanding and Start Revising?

by Mary Carroll Moore

The relationship of writer to book-in-progress reminds me of a marriage. As opposed to a date.

Poems, articles, columns, and short stories are all creative commitments, sure. But even if they linger unfinished for a while, they are short relationships compared to 350 pages of manuscript.

With a book, you regularly re-evaluate your progress, your purpose, and your plans. You recommit again and again. Not unlike the work it takes to make a marriage work.

Many of my students weary of this. Is it ever done? they ask. When is enough, enough?

Some writers ask this when stuck or bored. Revising seems like more fun than continuing to draft chapters. But there is a real moment when the book has expanded as much as it needs to, and only in the more microscopic work of revision can the writer discover the next levels of truth in the story.

A writer from New York, working on his nonfiction book for several years, once sent me a very good question about this: “At what point does one realize what they are trying to write is the final ‘version’? My subject/point of view has changed several times. When do I stop?”

Read the full post on How To Plan, Write, And Develop A Book!

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Quick Link: Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story

October 24, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Creating a sense of time is really important to help your reader effortlessly engage in your story and keep track of when they are. At Now Novel, they have a great post with tips on how to write these types of scenes.

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Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story

Scene breaks and transitions allow us to experience things happening in different places and times, and to different characters. Writing good scene breaks and transitions will keep your story moving, even as you switch between settings (places and times) and viewpoints. Read tips and illustrative examples:

1: Use scene transitions to shift between time periods

There are many ways to use scene transitions and breaks in your book.

One way to use scene transitions is to switch between present experiences and backstory.

Zadie Smith uses this type of scene transition effectively in her novel White Teeth (2000). In her first chapter, set in 1974 and 1945, the owner of a Halaal butchery saves Archie Jones from committing suicide in his car. The scene ends thus:

Read the full post on Now Novel!

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If you build it they might not come, and that is ok.

October 24, 2017 by Publetariat

I have talked before about writing because you have a story in you that needs to get out, or because writing is something that you love. The fact is, its quite probable that you will never become a millionaire by writing and that is ok. You might be able to make a decent living from it, with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work.

The fact is you will have to find your own motivation to keep you going. I was talking about NaNoWriMo this year and trying to encourage everyone I know to join. It is a great challenge and quite fun. My daughter asked about where all my stories are and I let her know they are all here waiting for me to do something with them. My son remembered a story I had written for NaNoWriMo a few years back and asked if he could read it.

BAM! Encouragement received.

I know encouragement from families members is kind of a given but my young adult son remembered this title from years ago, remembered the plot and really wanted to read it. He is a smart kid and he totally did not have to say that.

Because my writing is something I do for me, it is enough encouragement to keep me excited for this year’s NaNo and thinking about brushing up on that novel afterward. Who knows, with enough encouragement I may actually finish something someday.

What is your encouragement?

Have a great day,

Paula

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Quick Link: The 3 Biggest Pitch Mistakes This Editor Sees Every Day

October 23, 2017 by Publetariat

Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

For those of you trying to get some extra writing jobs here is a great post by Nicole Dieker at The Write Life that will help you up your game!

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The 3 Biggest Pitch Mistakes This Editor Sees Every Day

by Nicole Dieker

The Write Life wants to help you get better at pitching! We’ve compiled our best tips into a simple, printable checklist for you to use time and time again. Best of all? It’s free. Click here to grab your freelance writer’s pitch checklist.

As an editor, I read a lot of pitches.

Some of them are really easy to say yes to — they’re the pitches that outline a strong, clear narrative with a takeaway for the reader. Other pitches are easy to say no to — they’re either poorly written, irrelevant to the publication or (as is often the case), both.

It’s the ones in between that are hard.

Every day I see writers pitch ideas or topics that could be great stories if they’d done a little more work or written a slightly better pitch. Sometimes I ask them to rework their pitch.

Sometimes I take a chance and hope there’s a good story in there. But often, I say no. After all, I have plenty of better pitches in my inbox.

If you’re a writer who’s sending out pitches but not getting a lot of assignments, maybe you’re writing those in-between types of pitches — the kind that could be really good with a little improvement.

Here are three of the most common pitch mistakes I see every day, along with how to fix them.

Read the full post on The Write Life!

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Make The Most Of A Scene Through The Senses – With A Simple List

List the sensations

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The Do’s and Don’ts of Naming Characters

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When Does a Writer Rest? It’s Time to Talk About Self-Care

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5 Writing Tips: Harlan Coben

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Process Goals: 6 Ways Slowing Down and Thinking Small Will Help You Write Your Book

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5 Tips for Creating Believable Fictional Languages

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How to Build a Personal Brand While Staying Authentic to Your Craft

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How Do You Know When to Stop Expanding and Start Revising?

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Writing scene breaks and transitions that develop your story

1: Use scene transitions to shift between time periods

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The 3 Biggest Pitch Mistakes This Editor Sees Every Day

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