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Today’s Writing Tip

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Man vs. Nature is one of fiction’s basic conflicts. This is taken to an extreme when it involves a natural disaster. Which ones occur in your area? Few areas don’t have some geological, meteorological, or regional disposition to such events. How much have you studied the details so you could use such an event in one of your stories? Earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and droughts can all add drama to your story as a backdrop to other plot action.

Each one has its own characteristics, warning window, emergency response, preparedness, and aftermath. Knowing the details is what brings them to life in your story whether it’s the sound of wind and raging water, the smell of an approaching wildfire, evacuation shelter logistics, or gridlocked escape routes. If you experience one, yet don’t have a place for it in your fiction, write up the experience for practice as well as inclusion in your personal history for your children and grandchildren. And you may actually use it eventually and be glad you preserved those details that bring it to life.

P.S. If you know me, you can probably guess that as I write this, my area of Central Texas is undergoing record-breaking floods. I’m safe but waterlogged, my septic tank on strike, if you know what I mean. 🙂

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you’re writing a series, be sure to remind your readers what your characters look like. This also pertains to any key plot elements that happened in the previous episode(s). To you as the author, it’s all one story. To the reader, however, weeks, months, or even years may have passed since they read the first book. Thus, they may have forgotten numerous details, like what the characters look like, or other important details.

Furthermore, it’s also possible that someone will start reading in the middle of your series. These new fans definitely need this information! If they’re lost, then what? Best case, they’ll buy the previous book(s) and read them in order. Worst case, they put it aside and you’ve lost a potential reader.

It’s best if each book in a series has it’s own independent plot, even if it’s part of a larger picture. Flashbacks or character dialog covering previous events are ways to sneak in information they missed. Descriptions of their appearance and perhaps the setting itself should include reminders at least. Your readers will thank you for it.

Today’s Writing Tip

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There are dozens of ways to say “said!” Here are 154 of them!

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away–in other words, back in 1977–my mom gave me a copy of the Readers Digest “Family Word Finder.” As you’ve probably figured out from its title, it’s a thesaurus and its age certainly a witness to how long I’ve been writing. I recently had that book out and discovered a typewritten (yes, typed, like in manual typewriter) list. It contained alternatives (but not quite synonyms) for using “said” in dialog. (BTW, I wrote my first novel on a manual typewriter.)

I remember having a lot of fun creating this list. However, there’s a caveat, especially if you’re addicted to words like myself. Granted, using these appropriately can contribute to imagery, emotion, and clarity. However, using them too frequently can be as grating as having “he said” or “she said” on every line.

In other words, like adding herbs and spices to a soup kettle, use them sparingly, as spicesflavor enhancers, if you will. Be subtle, not glaring, which makes them all the more powerful. Used improperly or excessively, you could wind up with the literary equivalent of adding cinnamon instead of cumin to your chili. Properly administered, they’ll help create dynamic and convincing dialog, a critical component of outstanding fiction.

Without further ado, here we go. Feel free to add any I missed in the comments!

  1. accused
  2. acknowledged
  3. added
  4. admitted
  5. advised
  6. affirmed
  7. agreed
  8. announced
  9. answered
  10. apologized
  11. argued
  12. asked
  13. asserted
  14. assured
  15. avowed
  16. babbled
  17. barked
  18. bellowed
  19. begged
  20. blubbered
  21. blurted out
  22. bragged
  23. breathed
  24. burst out
  25. cackled
  26. called
  27. cautioned
  28. challenged
  29. chattered
  30. chirped
  31. choked
  32. claimed
  33. chortled
  34. clipped
  35. coerced
  36. complained
  37. conceded
  38. concluded
  39. confessed
  40. confided
  41. consoled
  42. continued
  43. cooed
  44. corrected
  45. cried
  46. croaked
  47. decided
  48. declared
  49. demanded
  50. denied
  51. disclosed
  52. divulged
  53. drawled
  54. echoed
  55. emphasized
  56. estimated
  57. explained
  58. exploded
  59. figured
  60. gasped
  61. greeted
  62. groaned
  63. groused
  64. growled
  65. grumbled
  66. grunted
  67. guessed
  68. gulped
  69. hissed
  70. hinted
  71. hollered
  72. implied
  73. inquired
  74. intimated
  75. insisted
  76. instructed
  77. interjected
  78. interrupted
  79. iterated
  80. joked
  81. laughed
  82. lied
  83. maintained
  84. mentioned
  85. mimicked
  86. moaned
  87. mumbled
  88. murmured
  89. mused
  90. muttered
  91. offered
  92. ordered
  93. panted
  94. parroted
  95. pleaded
  96. pointed out
  97. pouted
  98. prayed
  99. probed
  100. proclaimed
  101. prodded
  102. promised
  103. proposed
  104. protested
  105. purred
  106. quipped
  107. rambled
  108. ranted
  109. recounted
  110. reiterated
  111. related
  112. relented
  113. retorted
  114. reminded
  115. repeated
  116. replied
  117. reported
  118. resolved
  119. returned
  120. revealed
  121. scoffed
  122. scowled
  123. screeched
  124. shouted
  125. shrugged
  126. sighed
  127. smirked
  128. snapped
  129. sneered
  130. sniffed
  131. snittered
  132. snorted
  133. sobbed
  134. speculated
  135. sputtered
  136. squeaked
  137. stammered
  138. stated
  139. stipulated
  140. suggested
  141. teased
  142. theorized
  143. threatened
  144. uttered
  145. vocalized
  146. volunteered
  147. vowed
  148. wailed
  149. warned
  150. whimpered
  151. whispered
  152. wished
  153. wondered
  154. yelled

Today’s Writing Tip

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Make it easier for potential readers to find your book by making sure its BISAC code is correct. There are several which include numerous sub-categories as well. They’re not always easy to search since they’re often not in any discernible order.

BISAC stands for “Book Industry Standards and Communications” which are subject headings developed by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG).  To quote from Wikipedia, “BISG has been involved with technological advances such as bar codes and electronic business communications formats. It developed BISAC (Book Industry Subject and Category) Subject Headings, which are a mainstay in the industry and required for participation in many databases.”

These categories have numbers followed by tiers of description that look something like this:

FIC027130 Fiction / Romance / Science Fiction

FIC028000 Fiction: Science Fiction – General

CGN004190 Comics & Graphic Novels: Manga – Science Fiction

If you’ve listed your story with a distributor or sales site, you’ve most likely been asked for its BISAC. The question is whether or not you selected the correct one? With hundreds to choose from, it’s possible you didn’t bother to scrutinize the listing carefully enough to find the best fit for your work. I have found, much to my frustration, that when they’re listed as a pull-down menu, such as on sites like Google Play, ironically they don’t appear to be in any order! Thus, the temptation is to pick the first one that sounds even remotely like you story. It doesn’t really matter, does it?  Wrong!

Considering that there are millions of books out there, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out there needs to be a way to classify and organize them. Librarians have been doing this for years through Library of Congress designations and/or the Dewey Decimal System for non-fiction. However, if the BISAC Subject Headings are “making inroads into library classification” as suggested by Wikipedia, then it’s important that you recognize what they are and why they’re important.

Still wondering why should you care? Here’s why: Because if you’re an author, the proper classification of your story can make the difference of whether or not your readers find it.

There are hundreds of categories for fiction alone. You can find a complete listing of codes on the BISG website. Note that this organization has been around since the 1970s and is located in the heart of the traditional publishing industry in New York City. This is an organization you should take seriously.

Being an Indie author means having to learn how to navigate the particulars of the publishing industry, often with less than even a crash course. BISAC subject headings are one aspect of it that’s a mystery to most Indies, yet could have a direct bearing on your sales. For example, if a book store or library wants to purchase a specific genre based on patron requests, if your books fits like the proverbial glove, won’t you want them to find it?

I rest my case.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Point of view is all about staying inside the mind of a specific character. This means that all descriptions, vocabulary, speech, and level of understanding should be within the scope of what that person knows.

For example, if your protagonist or other POV character is a teenager or child, they are going to see the world through that filter. Thus their comprehension and word choice should be appropriate for someone of that age. The came principle goes for an adult who is deemed highly intelligent. They will see the world according to their assumed education and experience and use more sophisticated speech patterns.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Remember that the basic conflicts in fiction as well as life are man vs. man; man vs. nature; and man vs. self. The more of each that you bring into your plot, the more vehicles you have for building plot as well as suspense.

Your protagonist has to work for what he wants and the harder the struggle, the stronger your reader’s engagement will be. In most plots, there will be an overlap of at least two. Be sure to recognize them for what they are.

Today’s Writing Tip

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It’s a good idea to maintain a timeline for your story to keep track of how much time has elapsed. Depending on the setting, you may get into a new season that will introduce different imagery, adding to your story’s depth.

Obvious, you don’t have to have a day by day accounting unless it’s essential to the plot, but you don’t want to have inconsistencies, either. Using the seasons to show the passage of time is often effective. Most readers can relate, so it’s another way to draw them into the story. Pay attention to the seasons where you live and the best ways to describe the feeling they evoke. Metaphorical meaning can be added this way as well, for both seasons and weather.

What differences are there in saying It was a dark and stormy night in January versus It was a dark and stormy night in July?

Today’s Writing Tip

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If your plot gets stuck, research often helps to get it moving again. Details add credibility to your story and can also provide new plot angles. It never hurts if your reader learns something along the way, whether it’s about the setting or the protagonist’s job.

For example, if you’re writing a mystery, knowledge of police procedure is important, particularly forensics. Getting it wrong will throw readers who know better out of the story and your credibility is lost. The same goes for any other profession. This is where writing what you know works best, unless you’re willing to learn about others through talking to someone or research.

Flooding claims one life, destroys 2900 bridge in Kingsland, forces evacuations – DailyTrib.com – Your Hill Country online news authority

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EDITOR DANIEL CLIFTON Unprecedented is how some are describing the torrential flooding that has killed one person, destroyed the RR 2900 bridge in Kingsland, and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people across the Highland Lakes. But the area might not be out of the clear yet. According to the Lower Colorado River Authority’s hydromet …

Source: Flooding claims one life, destroys 2900 bridge in Kingsland, forces evacuations – DailyTrib.com – Your Hill Country online news authority

Today’s Writing Tip

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Once a story gets rolling, writer’s block is rare. If you get stuck, perhaps you took a wrong turn somewhere with either the character or plot. Forcing a character to do something s/he resists can be a good sign that the character has come alive. In this case, you can often turn him or her loose to see what s/he wants to do. New plot twists can come out that will surprise even you! If you don’t know what’s going to happen next, you can bet your readers probably won’t, either!

If your plot hits a wall, taking a break to do some research will often open things up again.