Tag Archives: Writing Tips

Today’s Writing Tip

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Here’s another gripe on the “doesn’t get 5-stars” list, though I haven’t seen this one quite as often. This one is when the main character is forgotten. I’ve seen stories that started out with one person and then s/he disappeared at some point and someone else took over.

Huh? Whose story is it? Even the first chapter should start out with the main character, which is sometimes violated, and may cause the confusion in the first place. If someone off-stage is key, use a prologue.

I saw this happen in one book recently where this transition would have been the perfect place to end it and segue into the sequel. However, doing it halfway through the book definitely didn’t work for me. You just get connected with a character and then he disappears? WTF!

Today’s Writing Tip

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Another complaint that keeps a story from getting 5-stars is too many characters. I would amend that by saying too many extraneous characters. Every person should be tied into the plot in some way and stand out as an individual. If they don’t, ditch him or her. If you really like the person, you can always use him or her for another story.

This is not to say that a meaty plot shouldn’t have a vast array of characters. However, the number should be proportionate to the complexity of the plot and length of the novel. Populating the story with a bunch of people with no story function only keeps the reader wondering what they’re doing there in the first place. For example, if your protagonist’s job is one of the settings, you don’t have to give everyone a name unless the person relates to the story.  In fact, if their place of work doesn’t relate directly to the story, why is it included, anyway? The movie “Nine to Five” certainly was an exception, as well as the TV show, “The Office.” But if it’s not directly related to the plot, minimize it or leave it out completely.

If you do have a long cast of characters and you can justify their existence, then include a dramatis personae in the beginning to help your readers keep them straight as far as where they fit into the story and relationship to one another. A confused reader is inclined to become a lost fan.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Next up on the list of reader gripes is when the characters are all the same. This occurs primarily with inexperienced writers who don’t know how to develop a character properly and just plug a name into the action without bringing him, her, or even it, to life.

Characters should be as distinctive as possible. They shouldn’t look alive, talk alive, or behave alike. The more contrast, the better. Best case, the reader should be able to tell them apart from their dialog alone. Give them speech patterns and mannerisms that make them into a unique person. Interesting characters are what draw readers into the story as much as the plot line. If you don’t care about the people in the story, it has little impact. Building memorable characters is a skill every author should develop.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Continuing with our list of reasons why a novel didn’t receive a 5-star review, here is #3 on the list of reader pet peeves. This one involves overuse of a character’s name. I remember one book in particular where this was so glaring I was yelling at my Kindle, saying “I know who you’re talking about, dumbass! He’s totally alone in the wilderness talking to himself!”

Within a single paragraph, the author must have used the protagonist’s name a dozen time. This, my friends, is what pronouns are for. Clearly, this person did not engage the services of an editor, at least a competent one. This was really quite sad because the author’s premise was quite clever, yet it was so poorly written I barely got through it. To his credit, he did build enough suspense for me to want to know how it ended. But I’ll certainly never pick up another book by that person again and you can bet my review was not even close to 5-stars.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Next on the list after typos for reasons why a story didn’t receive a 5-star review was too many “he said/she saids”. It’s obviously not necessarily to include who said what with every piece of dialog. Again, balance is the key. When it’s a clear “dialog” with one person speaking, then the other, you can go on for a while, as long as it’s reasonably apparent who’s speaking. Nonetheless, an occasional reminder is good, too. If a conversation goes on for a couple of pages, it never hurts to insert either a “s/he said” or perhaps some action, such as a facial expression or gesture, to indicate who’s speaking.

When readers have to go back and figure out who’s speaking, it interrupts the story flow and throws them out of the story, which is something a diligent author should avoid at all costs.

Today’s Writing Tip

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A saw a blog a while back that addressed reasons why novels received reviews below 5 stars. This should be of interest to all writers since we all crave those lovely, ego-boosting, 5-star reviews. We should all realize that reviews are subjective, but there are a few things readers often grumble about. I’m going to go over them the next few days, so get ready to be as objective as possible as you decide if you’re guilty.

The first one, which drives me crazy as well, is spelling errors. Seriously people, how hard is it to run the spellchecker? If I see a review that mentions typos, I will not buy that book. Some will slip past a spellchecker, but those I can forgive, at least a few of them. However, there is no greater pleasure than reading a book where your engagement with the story is never interrupted by a misspelled word or grammatical error. Some readers may not notice or even mind, but anyone who takes their craft seriously will.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Using generic book covers offered by KDP labels your book as amateur and unprofessional. If your intent is only to sell it to friends and relatives that’s fine, but if you want to compete in a commercial market, it’s not going to fly. A generic or poorly designed cover sends the message you don’t care enough about your work as an author to package it correctly. Furthermore, the cover is a potential reader’s first introduction to your story. If it doesn’t catch their eye, it’s doubtful they’ll have any interest in reading it.

I’ve read some books that were horrible in that they desperately needed editing, yet had luscious covers, showing the opposite can also be true. If you want to be viewed as a professional, the quality of both should be top-notch. There’s a lot of competition out there and you don’t want to give people an excuse to pass you by.

Today’s Writing Tip

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There are pros and cons to designing your own book covers. First of all, they need to look professional. It’s not that difficult with stock photos and Create Space and Ingram Spark provide templates for print books which you don’t need if your book is only available as an ebook.

Granted, you can save money and have the satisfaction of seeing your own graphic vision of your story in print, but in most cases a skilled artist can come up with cool ideas you’d never think of. It’s also fun and sometimes enlightening to see your work through another person’s eyes. There are just about as many cover designers these days as there are authors, so it’s not hard to find one. In fact, I’m one of them, so if you need a book cover feel free to contact me. You can see my creations on KalliopeRisingPress.com.

Today’s Writing Tip

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Creative people can often branch out into other media. This comes in handy if your advertising budget is tight. Designing your own promotional material is fun and another creative outlet that comes in handy between book projects or when you have writer’s block.

I find messing around with Photoshop or creating book trailer videos relaxing and fun. If I’m doing it for someone else, there’s a bit more pressure, but it’s a pleasant way to see my stories in a slightly different light.

If you’ve never tried any other means for your creative expression, give it some thought. If you don’t know where to start, there are plenty of classes out there. Some free graphics programs are Canva, Picmonkey, Piktochart, and Pixlr. Check them out!

Today’s Writing Tip

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Knowing where to find fans for your particular genre can be challenging when it doesn’t fit neatly into a certain category. If you’re writing what’s popular, this isn’t so much of a problem, except then there’s more competition. Nonetheless, finding readers may not be as difficult.

However, if what you write is unique, that’s great for not having as much competition, but chances are not that many people will be interested, either. This is something to think about if your sales are slow regardless of consistent promoting. You may not even know how to categorize it, which is the first step! There are numerous cross-genres out there, but how do you find the readers who will eat it up?

I don’t have any easy answers, since this has been one my biggest challenges as a writer. Even once you identify a potential demographic, finding those individuals can be a challenge. Expect it to take some trial and error before you know your best target and then you’ll have to adjust your promotional plan accordingly.