How to: Microplot

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend and are ready to crank out the words this week! Today, I'm talking about microplotting. You know, that thing you do when you're furiously writing your novel. Oh! You don't do that? Don't know how? Well, sit back, relax, sip your coffee, and read on!

Some people have a detailed plot when they sit down to write their novels. If that's you, this post isn't your friend. But if you're of the other kind, the plansters, who only know where the story begins and ends when you start writing, and maybe have a couple of plot points you want to hit along the way, you may find this useful.

Microplotting isn't a long, drawn-out plot. You make decisions on the fly about what's going to happen to your characters, and you type them out like so:

In this chapter:
Beatrice will discover who has betrayed her.
How that happens:
She finds the key.
She opens the door.
She reads the riddle.
She solves the riddle, but has to seek help from Hayman to do so.
When Hayman reads the riddle, he becomes ill.
Beatrice must speak the answer aloud.
The betrayer's name appears in smoke, and it disappears just before Hayman comes to.

Then, you go above the microplot and write furiously. When you're typing out the microplot points, that's when you look up any names or important features you want to remember as you're writing. If there's something you don't know or forgot to include, type XXX in the place of the item and move on. Keep writing. Don't slow down to look it up. If you're consistent with your marker type, then you can do a find later and take the time to fact check or do research.

Microplotting can push your novel to a whole new level, but be careful of getting sidetracked. Stay on the path to the conclusion you're pushing toward. It's fun.

I don't know about all of you, but every time I've tried plotting out each chapter, I fail and end up having to scrap it and re-do the whole thing. Now, I go high-level plot points and fill in the blanks as I write. My loose outlines look something like this:
Chapter 1 - Introduce character, tone, and setting. Be sure to drop nuggets of what's coming (the beginning of change from now to the end).
Chapter 2 - Beatrice gets in trouble at school for something and a letter is sent home.
Chapter 3 - Beatrice is grounded because of the letter, and she ends up acting out at school again in some way.
Chapter 4 - Beatrice is suspended.
Chapter 5 - Beatrice meets Mark, and he ignores her because she's a "bad girl" (this makes her want to change because she really likes him).
... other chapters I fill in like the ones above.
Last Chapter - Beatrice and Mark finally get together.

So, in each chapter, I microplot how to flesh it out once I get there. Those outlines are treated as living documents and are changed often.

I hope this helps some of you when you're sprinting!

Did you find this useful? What do you do when writing? Plotter? Pantser? Plantser? Hit me with your process!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Is it Wrong to Expect Readers to be Active Participants in the Story?

Happy Thursday! Today, we're gonna talk about description, how it might impact the reader, and what authors might or might not expect from the consumer. Ready? Grab your coffee or tea, and let's get going!

So, I'm on the phone yesterday with an author friend of mine, and we got into talking about what we expect from our readers. Both of us agreed that we write with the assumption that the person picking up the book has a brain and understands the basics of the world they live in.

For example: If you say someone walks into a bedroom, do you need to write out to the reader that there's a bed, or is that something you can expect them to infer by telling them it's a bedroom?

Several writers will go into great detail about the room's furniture, but those machinations are usually reserved for the times that it matters, right? Say, if there's something "off" about the decor, or if the bed is an antique and should be admired for a moment. Even if the scene calls for a description to tell the reader it's a male's room or a sex cave, that's okay. But if the character is just walking into a bedroom, is it really necessary to bog the reader down with minute details right off the bat?

Here are some other ways to work those details into the story without having an information dump--again, unless the character is actively admiring, or scrutinizing, the decor:

• As the person is active in the room, they run their hands over things like the brocade on the chaise lounge.
• When they tell someone else to sit, it could be noted they made the choice of where to place the person based on potential comfort level.
• If the character lies on the bed naked, the satin sheets could feel cool on the skin.
• While they're being made to wait, they can then notice one thing about the room and scrutinize it to give their brain a distraction.

There are several ways of describing a room's contents without going into infodump mode, as you can see above. Unless you're actively trying to slow the story down, is it really necessary to tell the reader everything that's in a common room (bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, etc...)?

I think, perhaps, we should give our readers a little credit and assume they have brains in their heads. If I read that someone is sitting at the bar in the kitchen, I have a pretty good idea of what that room will look like.

I've gone into description and when it's useful in this post, and I went into how to paint the scene in this post. If you're looking to heighten tension with description, here's a post I wrote a while back that breaks it down (this post also compares showing and telling).

What do you think? Do you expect a more active participation from your readers, or do you spoon feed them all the things?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Being Put in Impossible Situations

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Well, the kidlings here in Ga are back in school, and that means Mommy can finally concentrate on things she needs to do without interruptions. While my child is good about not coming into my office when she knows I'm working, she's still a kid. Sometimes, she just can't help herself. But yay to being back on track. This post isn't about all that, however. Today, I'm going to talk about something I hate: being put in an impossible situation. Ready? Let's get going.

My definition of an impossible situation, for purposes of this post, is one where if I do one thing, I look like an ass, and if I do the other, I compromise my core values, allow myself to be deeply hurt or disappointed, or let people take advantage of me. Either way, as you can see, it's lose/lose. As you read, keep that in mind.

I've had sessions with counselors in which I'm told I have a very good sense of self-awareness, but that I need to be firmer with people. I should tell them when they hurt or disappoint me. For example: I know what it was that hurt me and why, but I can't bring myself to address it with someone else because I'm afraid of hurting them even though they've hurt me already. Oftentimes, I find myself commiserating with characters I see in movies that do stupid stuff, those folks that no one but me seems to understand, and I end up feeling badly for them.

Why is this?

Well, while talking out a situation one time, it was pointed out that I'm a giver with a very high core value of integrity, and while I never believed I expected anything in return, that wasn't quite the case.

I believed that if I gave and was honest, I would get loyalty in return. Now, loyalty isn't friendship. A true friend is there because they genuinely like the person you are and respect you. Loyalty, however, can be earned and independent of friendship. Someone who is loyal doesn't necessarily have to like you.

I hold people to a very high standard of behavior that includes respect of me and my time along with a few other things I have a hard time compromising on.

Let me clarify: I don't do things so people do things in return for me. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying I give, and what I want in return is respect, thoughtfulness, and to not be put in impossible situations.

Here's one:
My son tells a friend they can stay over before asking me. I just took the kid all over town for school shopping, and I have three other kids in the house besides him. I'm just not in the mood to deal with someone else's child. I say no. He stands there and begs me, says he already invited the kid, and begs me some more. For every no, he has a reason it will work out, and he refuses to call the kid and tell them they can't come.

Okay, now I'm in an impossible situation. 1. ) I can either call the kid's parents and tell them the kid can't come, or 2. ) I can give in and be miserable all night. Several things eat at me about both of those options (please know I realize we'll all react differently to these things--these are my opinions and feelings--they may not make sense to you): 1. ) This option makes me look like a terrible parent (an ass) who can't keep their kids under control and it disappoints another child who might have been looking forward to something. It also has the likelihood of ruining the other set of parents plans they may have made with the expectation their child would be gone for the night. 2. ) If I give in to my kid, I reinforce that he can beg and get his way. Worse, I allow him to have control over me. I would be tired and grumpy, and I'd have yet another mouth to feed, another kid to clean up after, and another someone in my house (this alone causes me stress).

There are so many of these examples that I could throw down here, but I'm not going into all that. Today, I'm trying to get you to think about yourself and maybe even your characters' situations. It can be cathartic to write about people who behave in a different manner than you, but be careful to dig deeply and show why the character is the way they are to your reader. If you'd just read the beginning, without understanding why I reacted the way I did, you probably would've said that you'd stick to your no and be done with it. Hell, maybe you'd still say that. But this is showing you what it might be like via the inner turmoil of another.

I hate disappointing people or making them feel badly about something they've done. I also can't stand being selfish. It eats at me. So, when it comes to me standing up for myself, oftentimes, folks have no idea they've hurt me--even when it's deeply--because I move forward and pretend like everything is okay (this is especially true if they can't see me--if they can, they'll see the tears, but I'll insist everything is fine unless pushed, and then I tend to explode because I'm trying really hard to keep it under control--lose/lose) or I end up just ignoring them because I know I'll hurt their feelings if I say something.

My issue is that I expect other people to be as careful with my feelings as I am with theirs. This is what I refer to as loyalty.

I'm working on it.

What are yours? What do you think of the above? Do you have this issue? Do any of your characters? How did you show it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

A Complete Guide to Sprinting During NaNoWriMo

Happy Friday, everyone! Whew! Day three of NaNo and I'm sitting at 12.5k words (and I'm not done writing for today).

What's that you ask? How?

Easy.

I've been doing writing sprints.

What the heck is a writing sprint? Great question!

Writing sprints are set amounts of time where a writer produces words as quickly as they can. Once the timer buzzes, they stop and do a word count, then pick up again when the next sprint starts.

Person with the most words gets a round of applause (or sometimes, a prize, depending on the sprinting group--however, this comes with an issue: cheating to win--when there are no prizes, no one has a need to falsify their stats, and nothing needs to be verified).

Sprints (typically) last anywhere from 15-60 minutes. They can be done on any social media site, though the preferred space is usually a designated thread on Facebook.

Brought to my attention by fellow author Ali Winters (thank you, woman!), there's a sprinting page on the NaNoWriMo site that will accommodate individuals as well as groups. Click here to be taken to that page. If you look below, you'll see the two options at the top and a "Dare Me" button near the bottom. I'm the curious sort, so I clicked mine. Below are the results. It changes every time you press it, too. Fun stuff.

I didn't play around with the group sprint button yet, but I have half a mind to get some of my writing buddies together and do just that.

Now, here's how to get the most out of your sprints:

1. Know where your story is going. I like to plan a point about 10k words in that I know I want to get to, and build the prose up to there, but some folks go 2k. Whatever floats your boat, ya know?
2. Write furiously for that half hour. Turn everything else off and be with your words.
3. Give yourself plenty of time between sprints to refresh, go pee, or get coffee.
4. If you can, take your eyes off the page and look elsewhere (or just close them) while you type. This will prevent you from noting and backspacing out misspellings, bad punctuation, or other flubbubs we writers make.
5. Don't burn out. Take long lunch breaks or whatever other break you need when you need it.
6. Try not to write a lot during your lulls (the periods between sprints). Use that time to plan what you'll write when you come back to sprinting or to just veg.
7. Keep something to drink handy. Though you may not need it, it's better to have it and not use it. *grin*

Here's how my sprints are set up:

• In the morning, I set a block of 1-3 hours aside (lately it's been 10AM, 11AM, and NOON). 
• The first 30 minutes of those hours are used for sprinting, and the second 30 are used for tweaking, fixing my crazy misspellings I got from not looking at the screen, and marking things I want to take a closer look at later (during edits). 
• Then I break for a long time (like 2-3 hours--NOON-2 or 3PM).
• More time is set aside for later. Again, 1-3 hours (it's been 8PM, 9PM, and 10PM, but this week is a special one, so that will likely be cut by Monday.)

I'll show you next week's projected schedule so you have a better idea (life things have to happen on different days, but I'm not going to worry about it). I also don't write on weekends. Those are for my family. I refuse to succumb to writer burnout.

M-F

9AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

10AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

11AM - Sprint for 30 minutes

NOON-2PM - BREAK TIME (real break--no looking at my WIP)

3PM - Sprint for 30 minutes

4PM - Sprint for 30 minutes

Thing about it is, it works. I'm averaging 1k words every 30 minutes. If I sprint for 30 minutes, 5 hours a day, I've written 5k words. I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but when you see that counter go down on your NaNo dashboard under "words per day to finish on time," you'll feel like a flipping ROCK STAR.

Any tips to add to the above?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

How to Win NaNoWriMo in 7 Easy Steps

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Wow. Just wow. I started NaNoWriMo yesterday, and I'm pumped. I missed NaNo the last 2 years, but I won in 2012 and 2013. Not only did I win, I did so while taking days off to spend with my family and getting down time. I'll show you.

I've marked the days I had no progress with a red bar over the top.

These were my stats for The Bird in 2012:

As you can see, I took Thanksgiving week off.

These were my stats for I, Zombie in 2013:

Your eyes aren't fooling you. I wrote that book in just 10 days.

HOW DID I DO IT?

Well, I stuck to the following seven rules:

1. Know where your story is going. Something not a lot of folks realize is you can plan ahead, and even create an outline, before November 1. Even if you haven't sat down and thought about it yet, there's no time like the present. Even rough plot points you want to hit over the course of the novel will help more than I can say.
2. Don't shoot for the word count NaNo says you need per day. Double it. If you can, triple it.
3. Set aside time to write each day. UNinterrupted. No social media. No email. No work. You'll be surprised what you can do in fifteen or thirty minutes when you're focused. Schedule around things you have going on in your life. Stick to the schedule like glue.
4. Have a NaNo survival kit ready. Even if you haven't put anything together, take a day and do it now. It'll save your forehead later on. I no longer use Evernote. I now use MS Word 365 with the sync across devices feature. I have my MS on my phone AND my iPad, and it updates to my computer automagically. Here's a link to my kit: Jo's NaNo Survival Kit
5. Do NOT panic. If you fall behind, you CAN still catch up. If you need that break, take it, but be disciplined enough to come back when you're done.
6. Make sure friends and family know what you're doing so they can respect your time. 50k words in 30 days isn't a joke.
7. Stay on task. Tack these on the wall behind your computer. I know that may sound hokey, but looking up the tiny details will bog you down as you write. Take some time and make them now. I swear it helps. Don't edit. That can come later. To go along with that: Don't read the whole story until December 1. Make notes of changes and put them into action later.

I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything, but it's early, and I'm eager to write today. *grin*

Several groups have write-ins, so check the forum for your local chapter. You can also scour Facebook to find people doing writing sprints. Those are AWESOME.

This year, I'm not shooting for one novel; I'm working on several novella-length titles for the current F5 project. Using the NaNo dashboard to keep up with my progress. No, I won't validate once I'm done. I'm just in it for the fun of writing.

Here are my current stats:

Abysmal. LOL! But I'll get there.

How are you all doing? If you wanna be my writing buddy, add me here.

Well, that's all for today, folks! WRITE ON!

Jo

Write Better. Write Faster. Right Now. A FREE 4-Part How-to Video Series

Happy Wednesday again! *grin* Okay, you guys, strap in, because this post is a doozy!

I'm so excited to share this!

Want to write faster (and BETTER)?
Want to finally write that novel?

This is where you start.

This 4-part video series is designed specifically to teach you—for free—how to start writing better, faster, today.

FYI, the makers of the videos are Heather Hildenbrand & S. M. Boyce: published, best-selling authors. They’re the real deal, with a NBC film option and published novels to drool over. They run a company called Find Time to Write and in true Find Time to Write BOSSness fashion, they decided to tackle the largest issue first.

Authors hire these ladies to level up their careers and propel them forward. But today, they’re doing this video series for free.

Check it out here.

Now, there's a place at the bottom where you can stick your e-mail address in and get the next three videos absolutely FREE, too.

What do you think? Will you be checking it out? Let me know in the comments.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Set Your Story!

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and are ready to start the awesome week ahead. No? Well, grab that coffee and let's talk about setting. You know, that place in your story where your characters dwell.

There are two ways to go about giving setting:
1. The old way of bogging people down with pages and pages of "what the character sees."
2. The more interesting way of putting the character IN the setting and letting the reader know how it feels.

We're, obviously, focusing on the second way.

Why? Because it's more interesting to read and keeps folks from paging through your book really fast.

So, what's the difference? If you aren't sure, I ask you to recall a book you read in some time and space where your eyes glazed over as the author described the trees, flowers, and sun.

Now do you know what I mean?

Let's get the hell on with examples, shall we?

Example of style 1:
     Juniper sat on the stone bench and stared at the water after her breakup with Harold. Red roses bloomed in abundance, their thorny stems intertwining. Next to them were pansies in every color of the rainbow. On the water floated boats with giant, white sails billowing in the wind. Across the water stood the poor houses. She used to live there. People were standing outside or sitting in chairs, doing nothing. A couple of children were playing in the many puddles on the street. Broken down cars with weeds growing out of them were scattered here and there.

And so on, and so forth.

Now, let's give style 2 a try:
     Juniper sat on the bench, the cold of the stone seeping through her shorts as she stared at the water, wishing it would bring calm with its lapping sounds. Red roses bloomed near the shoreline in abundance, their thorny stems intertwining like lovers in a secret embrace. She couldn't help but think how, just hours before, she was in a similar embrace. While the roses would be strong, her love was broken.
     Why did it have to be that way?
     Through the ship sails, she could just make out the poor houses on the other side of the river where her family lived. Once upon a time, she was one of the dirty children playing in the puddles and around the abandoned cars--those weeds growing out the windows and doors gave her hay fever more times than she cared to mention. But she'd gotten out of there.
     What about that didn't Harold understand?

This isn't a vice I suggest you use often. Page after page of anything like that will get old. However, if you're in a key scene, you should get your reader invested in the story by pulling out all the feels.

In the first example, you're looking at the scenery as an outsider; in the second, you're feeling how it might impact someone.

There's the key to engaging the reader in a show, don't tell, situation. Again, telling is for the parts where not a lot is happening and you don't want the reader to slow down and pay attention. More on showing vs. telling in this post.

Care to give it a try? Revamp a scene and share with us!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Stealing Plots

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had a fantastic week and are looking forward to the long weekend. Perhaps you want to use that time to craft new book ideas. Well, you've come to the right place! Today, I'm going over how you can steal plots from real life to craft novels. Intrigued? Then grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you remember the posts I did on plot ideas (part one and part two), you'll know I'm a huge advocate of using things you see/read/hear to inspire you. Well, let's look at life for some inspiration and see exactly how that works.

Situation one: You're sitting, watching the news, and a story comes on about terrorists on a train and three heroes who leap in and save the day (anyone remember this?). That's an awesome story, right? Those men have been talked about often since that day.

Situation two: Friend one calls you, sobbing. Her husband was part of the Ashley Madison scandal, and your friend has discovered he's had multiple affairs. Her life is ruined, and she tells you all the warning signs she saw but ignored as you try to make her feel better.

Let's break down and re-work both situations for awesome plot ideas, shall we?

Situation one: What if the terrorists were vampires and the heroes were slayers? Or, what if they were all women instead of men? What would've happened if it were some kind of plot to get rid of a different terrorist who was planning to bomb the train, and the men sent to stop it were thwarted by the "heroes" who thought they were doing something good?

Situation two: What if the husband wasn't cheating, but he'd been doing some kind of recon mission for the CIA or some secret organization? All the "warning" signs weren't what they seemed, but the wife has no way of knowing because she doesn't know he's a spy/assassin. That's a whole different story.

It's not the situation that matters; it's the details you want to store away in your brain for the book you can write with these ideas that are important.

What caused those men to react? What were they thinking? What did they see?

What were those "warning" signs your friend is talking about? How did her husband act? What excuses did he use to get out of the house and meet up with those women?

All these questions can be answered by watching interviews or asking questions. Be the sleuth. Be creative. Bend the world to fit the story you want to read, and write it.

Whether you're a paranormal, contemporary, fantasy, dystopian, contemporary, murder mystery, or other genre author, you can make your story and characters feel more real to your reader when you use real-life situations as the basis.

So, this weekend, my challenge to you is to take something you see on television or hear on the news and turn it into a plot for a novel in your genre.

Post them below! Let's see how creative you can be!

Well, that's all for today, folks. Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Character Bios - Visually

Happy Thursday, everyone! Today, I'm going to give you a tip to help you keep those characters you're writing about straight (and maybe even the places they live). This is gonna change the way you write forever
—I hope. It's a way to keep your characters (and their details) visible so you never have to stop writing and look something up. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you've been here before, I'm going to assume you've downloaded my free PDF on Novel creation. If you haven't, get it here. There's a wonderful section in the back that'll help you create a character bio. This is what you need right now. My PDF is free to download, print, and redistribute as you see fit, but please, do not sell it. It's meant to be a free tool for authors.

I tend to write character-driven fiction, so my buddies in the story are key to making things feel real to my readers. There's a requirement that I know those folks inside and out.

So, once I've decided on some details, how do I keep them straight without going back to that document every single time I want to give some goodies to the reader?

Well, this is where Google and a color printer are your friend! Do a search for your character (brown haired male with blue eyes, for example), and put it in a Word document. Size the image so it takes up most of the top. Beneath it, type out the character's height, weight, birthday, location, parents' names, and any other nuggets of fun you think you'll want to reference. Make those details BIG and BOLD.

Click print.

Create one for each character, and print those reference sheets out.

Tack them on the wall behind your desk so you can see them!

Now, go do the same for locations (these can be general or scene-specific).

Boom! All that pretty info is right there for you. All you have to do is look up!

Here's an example of one of mine (for the upcoming novel I'm writing with the Fractured Glass ladies):

Doesn't that make it so freaking easy?

Because you aren't redistributing the images, you don't have to purchase them. These are for YOU, not the world. Even if they have a watermark on them, you can see the details well enough. If you decide to use the photo for something else, please, PLEASE be sure and purchase the full sized image and correct rights.

Same goes for location scenes.

If you take the time to do this, you'll never have an inconsistency issue, and your work will gain a ton of momentum!

Have you ever done anything like this? What do you use? Discuss!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Novel Research - How Much is Too Much?

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! Welcome to another week of fun. Yeah, it's Monday, but you now have five whole days to get in your writing groove. Today, I'm talking about research. You know, that stuff that makes your book seem plausible to your reader. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

As you all are probably aware, when I was writing M, I had to do a lot of research for a few topics and scenes included in the novel. Here are a few:

Buying explosives online (yes, you can!).
What the range on a GPS tracker is.
Best sniper rifle.
What genes are responsible for reproduction.
What genes/chromosome strands are associated with malformations of the heart.
How to pick a lock (actually picked a lock to learn what this was like).
Self-contained cities (how they work).
Moving sidewalks and how one steps onto them.
What genes are responsible for "giantism."

And those are just a few. I've asked other sci-fi writers, and they have pretty much the same experience. You have to learn as much as possible so your story can ring true. Sure, you can ask an expert or read an article about how to pick a lock, but until you do it, you don't know what pitfalls may happen or how it feels.

I've talked about this before on my post Writing What You Don't Know, but sometimes you need to get into the meat of your story by heading out and experiencing things for yourself.

Don't leave your words to someone else. The way I describe something might not be the way you describe that same thing.

As a bonus, the next time you want to write about what it feels like to walk over hot coals, you'll already know. Those little tidbits will be stored in your memory bank or feelings workbook.

It's not just sci-fi that demands research. If you're planning a book where you deal with legal issues or historical facts, you have to look that up, too. Writers are born researchers, and we usually have a thirst for first-hand knowledge of topics.

What's been the most fun/interesting thing you've ever had to research for a book? What book was it?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Atmosphere Feels - Helping Readers Feel the Characters and Setting

Happy Friday, everyone! Holy cow, what a week, huh? It's been blazing trails here on my desk. Huge edit, schedules for bloggers, handling the radio show, and blogging every day have me so confuddled, I'm not sure whether to scratch my watch or wind my butt. But! Today, I'm all about the writing tip! I had a discussion with Teal Haviland, creator of the awesome website My Endless Endings (it's like a smashup of Facebook and Goodreads), and she suggested a post on atmosphere and feels. So, we'll be talking atmosphere and all the feels your character can get from their surroundings (and how to communicate that to the reader). Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

So, your character is on their journey, and they walk into a room. Let's do this via examples. My character will be named Teal, and she's going to her grandmother's house.

     Teal stepped into the room and plopped down on a sofa, putting her feet on the coffee table. A teapot was sitting nearby, and she snagged a cup, filling it with the hot liquid. She took a sip, and relaxed as she waited for her grandmother to come downstairs.
     After waiting for half an hour, Teal wondered what was taking Grandma so long. Something felt off. She usually made an appearance within five minutes or so, and Teal was getting worried. Carefully, she put down the cup, rose to her feet, and walked back to the foyer to look up the stairs.

Okay, there's Teal in her environment. You all know I'm not one of those writers that goes into a ton of description. However, there's a time and a place for everything. You need tension in this scene, so description and engagement of the five senses will help. Remember this post. Yeah, only this time we're talking about how the environment impacts the character's feels. If you have your Feelings Workbook, pull it out now. Let's edit!

     Teal stepped over the threshold to a dimly lit foyer. Shivers ran down her spine when she inhaled and the musky scent of the house assaulted her. Moving to the living room, she sat on the flower-print couch, wondering where the plastic cover went, and put her feet on the antique coffee table. A silver tray with a porcelain teapot and cups was nearby, and she tossed a sugar cube in one of the cups before pouring over the liquid. She took a sip, wrinkling her nose at the bitterness of the drink, being careful not to burn her tongue, and sat back as her eyes scanned the room and she waited for her grandmother to come downstairs.
     Time ticked by, increasing the unease Teal felt when she entered. Where was Grandma? She always arrived within five minutes to spread the latest gossip from the other blue-haired ladies in the neighborhood.
     Teal's shoes clicked on the floor when she put her feet down. In the absolute still, it was like a gunshot. She winced, carefully put down the cup, and removed her shoes. Holding the slingbacks by their straps, she rose and tip-toed back to the foyer. Her heart pounded in her chest and echoed in her ears.
     One of the floorboards in the ancient wood creaked, and she paused, ticking back her ears. Dread slammed into her, and she let her gaze float up the stairs, tracking the fresh boot prints on the beige carpet.

In the first passage, you understand something's not quite right at Grandma's house. In the second, you feel like it's something sinister. Smell, sight, sounds, touch, and taste are all engaged.

Why? What's the difference?

In the first passage, there's little to no description of the environment or how it's impacting the character. If the surroundings don't have a feeling, your reader won't feel. Sure, you can tell them, but they want to feel it, too. You have to show in this case. If you noticed, from the content of passage two, we're now aware plastic is missing, the lights are dim, the tea is hot, it's too quiet in the house, and there are fresh boot prints on the carpet.

What do you think Teal will find based on the first passage? How about the second?

What do you feel when you read each one?

We can bring a lot out by describing the atmosphere of the character's environment, and it'll translate to the reader. I do ask that you use this tactic sparingly. Pages and pages of description will bog your reader (and your story) down.

Now you try it. Start with a passive scene, and make it an active scene.

Let's see your results. Don't be scared to share!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Your Opening Scene

Happy Thursday, everyone! Hang in there, Friday is just around the corner. Today, I'm talking about your opening scene. There are certain obligations you, the writer, have in those first few pages, and I'll go over the most imperative four. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

When you're browsing a bookstore, do you just read the blurb on the back of the book, or do you open the cover and read a couple of paragraphs to see if you might like what's inside?

I'm betting you do a little of both. Well, the people who plan to read your novel will likely do the same thing. Why not hook them with a little bit of oomph? There are a couple of things people don't even know they're looking for, but if those things are missing, their reader brains will shut off and your book will be stuck back on the shelf or dropped back on the table.

Some of these, I bet you even do on accident. Besides the tips on using powerful words, from a post I wrote on the first one hundred, you have to set certain things up. If you missed the post before this one, I recommend checking it out, too.

1. You have to hook the reader into the story. This goes back to that post on the first one hundred words. These words should be powerful and resonate deeply in the soul. Perhaps even introduce the central conflict or present a question that will be answered later. Either way, you want them to keep reading.
2. Consistency is the ruler of all else. Your beginning should set the tone and establish rules you'll adhere to later on in the story. Don't have the reader walk into a suspense thriller only to throw them into fairy land a page later (unless it's a fantasy thriller with killer sprites that slash people to death with razor wings). You get the point here. Also, don't use a hook that has nothing to do with the rest of the novel. Readers will feel, rightly so, they've been hoodwinked.
3. Give the central conflict. Your reader wants to know why they should keep reading. If Jane is going to plod through the book with no direction or goal, it probably won't be something many (any?) people would enjoy spending time on. There's room for some action. If you're using a prologue, this is where you can show the blood, guts, and gore (if that's what your book is all about) just before the bad guy escapes and leaves a path of death in his wake. Yes!
4. Hint at the ending. Have you ever been stuck at the end of a story that's flown from your fingers up until that point? It might be time to start reading your manuscript from the beginning. If you've crafted it well, you'll have an idea of where it's going by examining where it began. Readers like that, too! When they have a vague idea of what might happen, they're intrigued enough to buy the book to find out. Think "central conflict" as mentioned above.

Don't backstory dump on your reader! Please. Readers aren't stupid. In fact, many of them are highly educated and well read. They know how to infer things from the text. You don't have to spoonfeed them every single detail. Especially in the first chapter. Trust that your audience is intelligent, and your writing will take on a whole new level of awesome.

Did you know any of these? What's your favorite hundred opening words of all time?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Being Emo - Emotional Triggers for Creating Rich Characters

Happy Tuesday! As the title of the post implies, today I'll be talking about emotional triggers you can (and should) use for your characters. As a writer, you're a student of human nature. Let's put those studies to use in your writing so people can identify with your MC. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I often wonder why writers of an older generation have books that scream at readers with such truthiness. Now, I'm not saying younger folks can't write deep novels (because they can, and do), but those little sparks of talent are rare and have likely been cultivated. Many people tend to take up writing when they're in their late twenties or early thirties.

Why?

Because they've lived it. They have a greater well of life stuff to draw precious words and experiences from. Don't you love sitting and talking with older people? Listening to their stories is like reading a really great book that answers questions you want to ask. A teenager who's lived a normal life (no abuse or bullying or anything like that--you get my point) will find this more difficult.

So why am I bringing all this up?

Today is about emotional triggers. Older folk have more of these to draw on simply because they've been in the world longer and experienced more. Reading about something and feeling/living it are two different things. No matter how engrossed in a book you are, you never really know everything that was going on around the character or in their past. That novel would be like War and Peace. When you live it, you can draw on it more readily.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying only older people can do this exercise; I'm saying their lists will be longer--and probably easier--and that's okay. I just don't want you to be daunted or frustrated if you have nothing for a particular item. This could open up an opportunity for you to talk to someone else and listen to what they have to say about the emotion.

Exploring your character in depth like this can lead to a more rounded individual on the page. Heck, this may help a younger generation of writers hit that ever-elusive personified character we all strive for. Either way, it'll help you get to know your MC.

There will probably be more than one answer for each of these, but try to think of just one the first time through.

Here's the list:

• Shame - When did the character feel shame? Why? How has it shaped them?
• Joy - Yup, that moment when they felt they could fly without wings. What happened afterward?
• Fear - This is a big one because it fuels a lot of the ways we perceive ourselves. Insecurities can arise from fear. What change did it cause in your character?
• Guilt - Another big one. Carrying around guilt can cause your character to react a certain way in a specific situation. How heavy is the burden? Will they ever admit it?
• Love - When did they feel it the first time? How did it shape their perception?
• Failure - Will your character give up after a huge let down? What was it and how did they push through?
• Courage - What were they facing when they showed courage? Did they succeed or fail? How did that shape them?
• Forgiveness - There's always that one screwup. Who was the forgiver? Did it make the character stop and think about holding a grudge with someone else later on?
• Rage - How did they internalize it? Did they? What were the repercussions if they acted out?
• Indignation - Someone pushing the character to do something they refuse to do? What prompted it? Why didn't the character take part? Moral code?
• Sorrow - Profoundly. Stemming from death of a loved one. How did they deal with it?

I know that's a long list, but it'll give you some fodder to draw on as you write your story. You don't have to reveal all of them (remember that comment above about a book being different from a life?), but you'll have a better grasp of who your character truly is if you give them all the emotional baggage.

Have you ever done an exercise like this? How did you fare with this one?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Men vs Women - Author's Voice

Happy Thursday, and welcome to another writing tips post, everyone! Today, we're talking about your author voice and how it translates to the reader vs how you want it to translate. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

How about a slice of truth to start us off?

If you're a female, chances are very good that, no matter how hard you try, you'll sound like a female when you write (even if from a male POV). Same goes for you males.

While there are authors who've managed to pull off writing as the opposite sex, I'm positive their editor made a huge difference. If that editor was male and the voice in the book was male, he likely told the author that a man/boy would never think/say/do "this." Likewise for the male writing as a female, using a female editor.

So how can we, as writers, fix it?

Let's go into the male writing as a female first:

Women are emotionally driven creatures. We cry, we care, and we talk about our personal lives a lot. When we talk, we generally use softer words like "would you mind" and "what do you think about this." We're often unsure about what we say or how it will come off to other people (we care about what you hear), and we don't like to hurt feelings or be crass.

Our thought process leans toward our families or responsibilities when we're in peril, and most of us aren't as highly competitive as men. To get us interested, you have to put out a ton of feeling and market to our gentle, helpful, feminine side. We also love to be empowered.

Now, women writing as men:

Men are action and solution driven creatures. If there's no clear goal, and the character isn't fighting toward something they can achieve against all odds, men won't identify. They use clear, demanding speech, that tends to lean toward sarcasm and "taboo" topics. They don't talk about personal things, and they generally prefer confrontation to descriptive floweriness.

Their thought process leans toward the thrill of the moment, and most of them desire to win. To get them interested, you have to market to their competitive, thrill-seeking side.

How do you get to know a woman's thought process? Spend time talking with them, asking questions, and paying attention to how they interact with their peers. Same goes for how to get into a man's head. You have to really immerse yourself in the gender if you want to be believable.

Go now and take a look at ads geared toward women, and then look at some geared toward men. See any difference? That's what connecting with a gender is all about. Books work the exact same way.

If you're a non-fiction writer, you may need to create two separate books; one that uses language women want, and one that appeals to men.

Male readers consume only 20% of the literary fiction read today. Know what that means? Right! Women are left with a whopping 80% of the pie.

Wow.

So what do the other 80% of men read? Sci-Fi, History, and Political. Certainly food for thought.

Have you stepped into the shoes of the opposite gender? How did it work out for you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Avoiding the Backstory Infodump by Using Layers

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're talking about backstory. Every character has one, but no one wants it shoved in their face in huge chunks. I'll be giving you some ways to work the yummy goodness in as your story progresses so you can avoid the dreaded infodump. Ready? Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

#1: Throw out tidbits in dialogue

This one can be fun. Say you have two characters arguing. One friend screams at the main character about an embarrassing or revealing thing that happened in the past that shaped the MC's personality. Boom. Backstory. One character can also be talking to another and reveal something about the MC's past to explain why he/she reacted the way they did in a situation. There's no need for a whole conversation about it; just throw things in here or there.

#2: First person thoughts

I have an excellent example of this one! In Fractured Glass Kelly Risser lets Sloan remember a time when she and Diego rode an amusement park ride and he yakked afterward. This reveal came when he groaned through her earpiece after she flipped around and around, and she needed to recall his motion sickness issue. It flowed right into the story, but gave the reader a better understanding of Diego.

#3: Memories

This one can be a bit tricky. Some people go into memories as a whole separate scene, but they don't have to be set apart. You can add a snatch of them here and there like sprinkles, rather than dredging the entire cupcake and leaving the reader with a mouth full of pasty yuck. When the character sees a rose, he/she can have three lines of memory that recalls the funeral of a good friend. Don't get bogged down in details.

#4: Third person narrative

While it isn't the best way to work in a lot of drama, you can have the narrator recall a situation where the MC changed or did something amazing/horrid. "This one time, at band camp, Harry and Joe..." You get my point.

#5: Long flashbacks or dreams

This is where you cut out a chunk of story and lend it to the character's drama. It becomes a whole separate scene in the chapter where you go into feelings, who, what, when, and where. Long flashbacks should be used sparingly (italics are hard on the eyes). If in a dream sequence, try offsetting it with asterisks rather than setting in italics. Be sure you're setting time and space in there somewhere so you don't lose the reader.

#6: Paperwork

Exactly what it says. Maybe the character finds an old newspaper article stuffed in a photo album that was locked in a trunk in the attic for fifty years. Perhaps it's birth certificates. If you're V. C. Andrews, it would most certainly be the latter, and the document revealing Mom and Dad as brother and sister won't be discovered by the child until the last page of the last book. Yikes.

Something important to remember: Don't use these items until your story has been well established. Readers need some mystery as they dive into the prose, and most don't want to be dumped on early in the novel. When there's nothing left to discover, why keep reading?

I hope you found these tips useful.

Any you hadn't thought of?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo