Category Archives: Random Musings

Today’s Writing Tip

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Do you ever read the dictionary? Words are an author’s tools. Your vocabulary will determine the quality of your writing. Using the word that precisely expresses your meaning strengthens your writing.

By reading the dictionary from time to time, you’d be surprised what you might discover that will come in useful. Along those lines, when you’re reading and encounter an unfamiliar word, look it up. While you may be able to discern its meaning from the context, it is likely to have a certain slant that adds to the sentence’s meaning.

This is the kind of precision that makes your writing stronger.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Does your story have a deeper, philosophical or thematic meaning than meets the eye? Symbolism is an important element if you really want to make a point in a subtle way. This can make the difference between fiction and literature.

When I was in school studying literature I often wondered if the author deliberately included the symbolism or if it just “happened.” This is something to think about as an author. Incorporating a strong theme and symbolism into your story can give it substantially more depth. While it may escape the more casual reader, anyone who knows something about literature, particularly some reviewers, will catch the meaning and give you more respect as a writer.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Cross-genre stories become more popular everyday. This is one way to appeal to a broader audience, provided it’s done in a way that doesn’t stretch credibility so far it snaps or not deliver what the reader is expecting.

Romantic suspense has been around for a while as well as several others that are primarily a romance, such as historical romance, Gothic romance, and more recently science fiction romance. Obviously, the romance element works well to add interest to a story as well as its setting and circumstances.

The primary theme of romance is “boy gets girl” or vice versa. However, other genres, such as mysteries, thrillers, horror, and fantasy can all provide the backdrop and, in some cases, comprise more of the plot than the romance element.

How well the plot in one of these other genres is constructed will determine whether it’s simply another setting for romance or legitimately fits into another genre solidly enough to not be considered simply a romance in disguise.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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A cross-genre sometimes referred to as Sci-Fa blends the elements of science fiction and fantasy. Know where one ends and the other begins. Fantasy has a magical quality that is often unexplained–it’s just there. Science fiction typically has a technological basis.

However, there are numerous stories, including Star Wars, which incorporate elements of both. The space battles and technology in the Star Wars stories were clearly sci-fi, but “The Force” and its powers were more metaphysical, and thus fantasy, in nature. Having a space traveler arrive on a planet with magical powers is another possible theme. Done well, this cross-genre can appeal to fans of both genres.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Similar to fantasy, anything is possible in science fiction, provided you set it up properly. The main difference between fantasy and sci-fi is whether it’s unexplained magic, related to the environment (such as crystals), or purely technological.

Whichever you choose, make it convincing. Science fiction requires some explanation, usually of a technical nature, even if you don’t go into the details. In other words, it’s likely to involve certain devices. In today’s modern world, it’s becoming more and more difficult to stay ahead of the technology as what was once science fiction becomes science fact. Thus, science fiction seems to be trending more toward futuristic stories, often dystopian, of the consequences of advanced technology.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Your story action and plot require feasibility. In fantasy, anything is possible, but you must lay the foundation so its credible within the realm you’ve created. Designing a world where magic is the norm isn’t as simple as you may think.

Every cultures operates within certain norms, rules, and even laws. How are these powers gained? Can anyone use them? What about those who use them for evil? Are all powers created equal? Do certain items (swords are very popular) contain magic accessible to only one person? What do they need to do to unleash it?

Without some rationale, fantasy can fall flat. No matter what you make up, it has to be convincing so the reader can feel as if they’re part of that world. If there’s no foundation, they’re likely to roll their eyes and find something else to read.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Interacting with fans, either on social media or at signing events, is what keeps them engaged. You have to sell yourself as a person as well as your work. This is not always easy for authors who are introverts.

One way to get over your trepidation step by step is to go to a few such events to scope them out, meet other authors, and observe how it works. Starting in your local area is also advised, where you’re more likely to meet friends and neighbors that make you feel comfortable.

Being active in a local writers group is another way to get over your jitters. If you’re well into the publishing world, volunteering to speak to the group is another avenue. If you’re terrified of public speaking, find your local Toastmasters club and sign up! They’ll help you get past it with flying colors.

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Including interesting content on your Facebook page or in your newsletter is important. Your audience will quickly get bored if all you ever do is hawk your books. What interests do most your readers have? What will they find interesting?

If you don’t know, then there’s a good chance that’s you’re also missing out on venues where you should be marketing and promoting your work. How do you find out? You might try the personal approach and visit the Facebook pages of some of your “fans” who have liked your author page. See what kind of information they’re sharing and the types of activities they enjoy with their friends.

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Book trailer videos are a great way to entice readers to read your book. Rather than simply words on a page, they employ visual and audio stimuli to capture the essence of your work, whether it’s fact or fiction.

Depending on your marketing budget, it’s possible to find various sources to create one for a reasonable price. However, if you enjoy creating in various media, it can be fun to create one yourself. This can be done virtually for free by using one of the free online apps, such as http://spark.adobe.com. This one has limitations, but is great for your first effort. If you’re familiar with Power Point, you can create simple videos with it as well. A previous blog of mine explains how here.

Once your ideas exceed its capabilities, there are others, though some require a subscription to access all their features, such as WeVideo. Like all promotional vehicles, this one requires marketing savvy to catch potential readers attention and motivate them to buy your book. As you’ve probably already discovered, nothing is ever simple about promoting your book.

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It’s been said that everyone on Twitter is talking and no one is listening, unless, of course, you’re already famous. Thus, it’s a somewhat iffy social media platform for book marketing. Any success you have on this platform will be directly proportionate to how many followers you have and their quality.

Whatever you do, don’t ever buy followers! The chances of them having the slightest interest in your books is so low, you probably have a similar or even better chance of winning the lotto. One thing you can do to try and place your tweets in the right news feeds is to use appropriate hashtags. It’s still a huge crap shoot, but does increase your chances slightly.