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Today’s Writing Tips

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Another challenge to new writers is point of view. No matter how many books you may have read, it does not necessarily stand out what this comprises until you’re confronted with it as an author.

So what does it mean? Generally speaking, everything, including all narrative, needs to be that as seen through the point of view (POV) character’s mind and eyes. This includes the vocabulary. If your protagonist is a child, don’t use big, complicated $5 words unless s/he happens to be someone like Sheldon Cooper on “The Big Bang Theory.” If you’re writing an historical novel, keep the terminology and vernacular, including any euphemisms, accurate to that particular era.

If he or she is a professional, then they should filter their environment and situations through those particular eyes. For example, if your protagonist is a psychologist, he will see things slightly differently than an engineer. When I was writing “The Terra Debacle: Prisoners at Area 51” I had to get into the head of an astrobiologist. This meant I had to learn a whole lot about biology, lab operations, and so forth if I wanted to keep the story authentic. This is what research is all about.

If you read the posting the other day about character building, I’m sure you can see how this contributes to that as well. Everything your character says or does contributes to his personality. I you can’t get inside your character’s head and know these things, then you don’t know him or her well enough yourself.

Today’s Writing Tip

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It’s not always easy to keep your characters’s  physical and personality traits straight. This is particularly true for minor characters who show up several times, but aren’t ingrained in your mind like your protagonist should be.

One way to keep them straight is to keep a file or spreadsheet handy for reference if they’re not vivid enough in your mind without it. This also applies to certain scene locales. I remember reading a book one time where the color of the couch changed. Yes, weird, I know, but I’m the kind of reader who will notice such a thing. I don’t think I’m entirely alone with that, either. Alert readers will notice if your hero’s eyes are blue on one page and green on another.

If you’re writing a short story, this is usually not a problem. But if you’re writing a novel, especially a long one, this can become a problem. Consistency is important and this is one way to be sure you are without having to go back and find where you stated what the person looked like. Another help is making them so unique, as noted the other day, that you can remember.

Think about that for a moment, too. If you can’t remember, how will your readers? The one major difference there, of course, if that you may have taken months to write your book while a reader blows through it in a few days, making it easier for them to remember.

Whatever works for you if you don’t have a steel-trap memory, do it. This is another thing that can throw readers out of the story, a fairly major faux pas.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Have you ever read a story where the characters were entirely flat? So boring you knew they couldn’t possibly be real? These are called “cardboard characters” which refers to those who have no personality.

Usually this won’t be a problem for your protagonist. There are exceptions, of course, such as when your story is so plot driven that the people populating it are simply moving it along. Even when this is the case, it’s important to make them real and relatable.

For your main characters, make sure they have likes, dislikes, and opinions so they act like real people. Let them come alive. Unique gestures and mannerisms help as well as a distinct appearance. Walk-ons or minor characters can be made to stand out in that manner as well.

They say good-looking people are less memorable because their faces are symmetrical. Think about those you remember, either in fiction or real life. Giving distinguishing features to your characters can make them more memorable as well.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Give your book a professional appearance by formatting it properly, whether it’s an ebook or print version. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just professional looking. If you don’t want to bother doing this, hire someone to do it for you. Proper formatting contributes significantly to your story’s readability as well as whether you’re perceived as a professional or another indie author who doesn’t think it matters. Trust me, it does.

There are certain conventions that make a book easier on the eyes and thus more readable. This includes everything from the font, font size, line spacing, paragraph size, margins, pagination, headers/footers, and so forth. In graphic design, serif fonts are recommended for text and sans serif fonts for headings, titles, etc. Of course the latter can be some fancy font if you like, since they’re not something that requires more than a quick glance. If it’s so weird it requires more than that, then think again, especially for your cover.

Other conventions include indented paragraphs for most fiction and blocked paragraphs for nonfiction. One way to get a feel for it is to browse through various books in a library or bookstore. I’d bet dollars to donuts until you started writing yourself you didn’t even notice, assuming it was done properly.

Then, one day, you’re an indie author and have to confront this reality and realize how little you knew. Did you ever notice that the first paragraph in a chapter or section is typically not indented?  Yeah. Things like that.

If you have an artistic side, formatting your book can be kind of fun as you figure out how to present it exactly the way you want. However, if you think it’s a major pain, hire someone to do it for you. You want your hard work dressed properly for maximum impact.

Today’s Writing Tip

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I remember when I first went to work at NASA I felt as if everyone around me was speaking in a foreign language. This was because just about everything from space shuttle to space station components and launch operations were referred to by an acronym. This would be particularly annoying to non-NASA spouses at company parties, who had no clue what those around them were talking about if they started talking shop.

Your reader might have the same problem if you use too much terminology that is unfamiliar. While you want your story environment to sound authentic, this is an area where you may want to consider including a glossary, though these are awkward to access in ebooks, as are footnotes.

When I was a technical writer, the rule (at least at NASA) was to write it out the first usage in that particular document, then include the acronym in parenthesis. From that point on the acronym would be used. In a book this might work, depending on how often it will be used as well as how soon after you define it. If it’s something that isn’t obvious from the context of the sentence or conversation, you might need to ditch the acronyms and go with something the average reader immediate understands.

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you’re an author and get a good review, it makes your day. Suddenly all your effort transforming your creativity into a story is worth it. However, they do little to improve your work. I have learned more from poor reviews than good ones. Some have improved my writing and others have simply helped me understand who likes my work and who doesn’t, which helps with marketing strategies. No matter how good your story may be, trust me when I say that not everyone will like it.

Reviews are subjective. In most cases they’re only one person’s opinion. Okay, if the average of all your reviews is three stars or less, then there may be more of a problem. However, bear in mind that publishers supposedly don’t take your collection of reviews seriously unless there are a few really bad ones in there. Why? Because they figure they’re all from friends and relatives, even if this isn’t the case.

All this considered, if you leave a bad review, do the author and explain why. Few stories please everyone once they get past Winnie the Pooh. If it’s simply not your kind of story, say so as well as why. I recently didn’t finish a book yet left it a four-star review. Why? Because it was well-written, just simply wasn’t my kind of story or what I expected. To me it was too much action and too little plot, but for someone who thrives on taskforce action it would probably be one of their favorites.

So if you leave a bad review, explain why. If it’s technical, e.g. too many typos, say so, giving the author a chance to fix it. You may not like it when you get a bad review, but pay attention. Unless it’s a troll, there is something to be learned. And even if it’s a troll, consider your work is good enough to be considered a threat to someone.

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Yesterday I talked about punctuating dialog. One place that gets tricky is with exclamation points. If you use too many, it gets grating. Even though your character is still excited, angry, or agitated and probably yelling, using too many in succession tends to acquire the look and feel of a comic book.

Therefore, don’t over-use exclamation points! Save them for where they’re really needed for emphasis! Too many gets annoying and reduces their impact!

Capiche?

Today’s Writing Tip

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I’m always amazed when I encounter an indie published book where the author doesn’t know how to punctuate dialog. Seriously? I remember learning that back in elementary school. However, I’m old as dirt, so maybe that was another one of those things eliminated from school curricula. However, if you’re going to represent yourself as an author, then it’s your job to learn such things.

I have seen some really weird, albeit creative ways to convey characters conversing. However, as far as enhancing the story, forget it. It’s another one of those dreaded distractions that throws a savvy reader out of the story.

Here are the basics:

If it’s a simple statement, you use a comma, NOT a period. “I’m going to the store,” he said.

If it’s a question, then use a question mark. How obvious can it be? For example, “Do you need anything at the store?” The trick here is if it’s part of the narrative, then sometimes it’s ambiguous.  I get that and have run into it myself a few times, especially when a character is wondering about something. Wondering, by it’s very nature, is a question. However, sometimes it’s not that obvious. In dialog, however, it should be pretty clear that something like “I wonder if he’s going to the store this afternoon?” is a question.

If someone is excited, angry, or speaking/thinking in an agitated state, then use an explanation point! “What do you mean you’re not going to the store? You said you were and I need some butter!”

It’s really not that hard, is it? Yet I’ve seen it done incorrectly numerous times. C’mon, indie authors! You can do better!

Today’s Writing Tip

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Producing your first draft is a major milestone. Many authors,  myself included, compare it to having a baby, especially if you ever actually HAVE had a baby. At some point in your story, you may feel as if you’re 9 1/2 months pregnant and really want to be done with it.

firstdraftWhen you do, by all means celebrate! You deserve it! But don’t think for more than one glorious day that you’re finished. No matter how great your work seemed as you put it down on paper initially, chances are it can be improved. Probably a lot, depending on whether this is your first book or tenth or more.

If the first draft is comparable to a pregnancy, the second draft is comparable to potty training. If you’re a parent, I probably don’t need to say any more to complete the analogy.

When you get to what you think is your final draft, (probably comparable to raising teenagers) start tightening your story by trimming adverbs, adjectives, and prepositional phrases. Many adverbs go away when you select the correct verb.

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Here’s another booby trap for authors:  When rewording a sentence, make sure you take out any words that are no longer needed. Many of the editing faux pas examples I find involve extraneous words that weren’t deleted when a change was made.

Always reread a sentence after you revise it. This is one of the easiest mistakes to make when you’re editing. If you don’t catch it and clean it up, your reader will trip over it like an overly friendly cat rubbing against your legs.

Creating flawless copy isn’t easy or simple. There are all sorts of alligators hiding in the water, just waiting to jump out and startle your reader and make you look like an amateur. This is why you need a good editor.