Category Archives: Writing Tips

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you’re writing a series, have you ended each volume with a cliffhanger? Most series constitute an ongoing story, but if you end each one in the middle of a nail-biting scene, bear in mind that there are pros and cons.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve encountered such endings before and actually said something out loud that wasn’t very nice. In other words, sometimes they irritate your readers.  If the sequel has not yet been released, it’s even worse. In that case, if a reader has to wait, they may forget all about your story in the meantime or remember how frustrated they were at how the book ended. Granted, if your reader really loves your story and characters they’ll deal with it and look forward to the next book, but otherwise it could backfire. Mainly, be aware it doesn’t always work as expected.

Another thing to consider is that not all readers will start with volume 1. Starting a book in the middle of an intense scene carried over from the previous book is likely to be confusing, not something you want to do to a reader.

What do you think of cliffhangers? Feel free to leave your thoughts on them in the comments.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Another way to get out of writer’s block is to create a promotional video for your book.  Videos are another excellent way to express your creative energy. You can find still pictures on Pixabay while Videezy has video clips to liven it up. For your script, your book blurb is a good place to start. In fact, if you haven’t written your book blurb yet, this is the time to work on that, too.

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to create a basic video on sites like http://spark.adobe.com. The basic online version is free and even includes some images and music you can use. There are more sophisticated subscription sites like the one I use, http://www.wevideo.com, if you really want to get into it and customize your message.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Here’s another cure for writer’s block: Design some memes to use on social media to promote your work, whether for existing books or your WIP. Sometimes the visual stimulation coupled with creating matching phrases can be the boost to your imagination you need to get back to writing.

If nothing else, go to Pixabay or wherever you get your graphics, and download a few that work well with your story. The visual stimulation never hurts, whether you’re looking for landscapes that represent your settings or people who look like your characters. Often when you figure out what to say on each one it helps you get back to writing your story.

Today’s Writing Tip

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One of the most frequent criticisms for a book is lack of challenge. One way to avoid this is to make sure that every time your protagonist is within reach of what he or she wants  that something gets in the way to prevent it. This builds suspense as well as character engagement. You want your readers rooting for him or her and they’ll be a lot more sympathetic if it’s not easy.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to baby my favorite characters and don’t like for them to suffer or be discouraged. However, that is not how life really is. If the plot proceeds too smoothly, it will make readers roll their eyes and maybe even throw the book across the room (not advisable with an ereader). While a satisfying ending may ultimately see them getting what they want, they should work for it, the harder the better. In good rule to follow is if things are going too well, stop and figure out what could go wrong. Then throw that obstacle in their way.

Today’s Writing Tip

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When doing your final edit, it may be helpful to do so on a print copy. If you’re an indie author who uses POD (print on demand), this is easily done. I’ve found it’s much easier to spot typos and other issues in a print book than on the computer. It places me more firmly in the position of a reader than going over it on the computer screen. I don’t know why, it just registers in a different way.

This is probably because I’m old-fashioned and spent most of my life reading physical books. It may be just as effective on an ereader, which I’ll have to try, though marking anything you want to change isn’t quite as easy or satisfying as using a red pen. I do a lot of reading on my exercise bike, which obviously gets complicated with regard to reading anything on the computer screen, especially if you have a desktop. When I’m reading a physical copy of my own book on that exercise bike, however, it’s much easier to see it through a reader’s eyes.

A print copy is also a lot easier to flip through or go back and forth to check for continuity. Then again, this could just be me and my propensity for a tangible book with real pages. Nonetheless, you might want to try it and see how it works for you.

Various reviewers always want a print copy. I can understand why.

 

Today’s Writing Tip

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Beta readers are essential to authors. These are the folks, usually fellow authors or existing fans, who read what you THINK is your final draft and point out why it’s not. Of course you need to brace yourself for some criticism. One way to deal with that if it really bothers you is to see your beta readers as team members, pre-editors if you will, who will help you perfect your product.

You may not agree with all their suggestions, but they’re worth considering. It’s always interesting to see if your readers are going to get any point you’re trying to make or not. They can also help find typos and other grammatical issues, like misused homonyms.

If you’ve never been a beta reader, offer to do so for an author friend or favorite author. Besides being a great way to network and make new friends, you’ll be surprised what you learn along the way. When you find something that really sticks in your craw as a reader, be honest about whether you may be guilty of the same faux pas.

Today’s Writing Tip

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When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Is that what you are doing now or did you take a different turn somewhere along the line and wind up something else? I have found that those childhood dreams may get buried, but never entirely go away.  They are deeply programmed in your psyche and aren’t happy when they’re suppressed.

Any career that interests you is fun to research and thus a great one to use for your protagonist. Even if you never got to be what you originally hoped to be, you can do it vicariously through one of your characters.

Who knows what you might discover in the process. It may even motivate you to finally pursue your original dream or perhaps decide it was best left behind. Either way, your subconscious will thank you.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Adverbs get a lot of well-deserved bad press with regard to writing. More often than not they’re a symptom of lazy writing. These verb modifiers can more often than not be eliminated by using a verb that incorporates the feeling or action you want to express. This is where having a good Thesaurus is essential. Every author should have one within arm’s reach of where they do most their writing.

Whenever you start to use a word ending in “ly” challenge yourself to replace it with a better verb. This is something you should pay close attention to while editing your first draft.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Another remedy for “writer’s block” is to read a book about writing. I recently read “Emotional Beats” by author Nicholas Rossis. While it didn’t necessarily help move my story forward, it gave me a plethora of ideas for polishing what I already had. In the process of doing that, I got back my momentum and was able to move forward with the story.

This book particularly focuses on capturing emotion. This is where “showing” and not “telling” really counts. If you have trouble with this, which can be particularly challenging for new writers, I highly recommend Rossis’ book. There’s also an excellent section on analogies as well as a few parts that are loaded with useful synonyms for over-used words like walking.

You can find it on Amazon here.

Today’s Writing Tip

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If you get stuck, a.k.a. “writer’s block”, there are numerous ways to get out. One way I’ve found is to let my characters take over the story. Just start writing and see what they do. Even if it’s something you edit out later, at least it keeps the ball rolling.

I had this happen to me recently in my WIP. I really didn’t know what was going to happen next, so I just let my characters have a conversation. The next thing I knew, they had figured it out.

This probably sounds weird, unless you’re an author, in which case you can probably relate. Writing a novel is a cooperative venture between you and your characters. If you get stuck, call a meeting with them and find out what they think. You’ll be surprised what they can come up with. Just don’t tell your non-author friends because they might think you’re ready for the funny farm. However, if they know you well enough, they probably already have that opinion. 🙂