Spring Forward With The Editing Process

 The great joy of writing a novel is to see your work actually go on sale to readers. Whether it is in bookstores or on a library shelf or available for sale online, the moment you see your book available to readers will make just about any writer smile. Finally the book will be viewed by others beyond you, your critique partners, your friends and family and the editor from your publisher. 

Your work may be criticized by readers and given good or bad reviews, but it is out there. It makes those long hours of coming up with ideas, finding just the right words and then struggling with the editing process all worthwhile. But the editing process can get you down. That's where you see all the problems with your work. The places where you make a typo or say something the wrong way all comes suddenly flashing in front of you. Small things that you missed suddenly starting flashing like bright red lights. 

A good editor can make all the difference in the world, and working closely with an editor can make your work much better than it started out to be. My book editors have been very good, not only at helping me fix my work to make it better but they have also given me encouragement as I work on my next book.

But there are other steps you can take to make your writing better even before it gets to the editor.  

1. Read over your work as you finish the day. Perhaps save the last 20 minutes of your allotted writing time to the editing process. That can help you finish the day on an up note, or you might even look it over before you start writing the next day. That way your words and plot are firm in your mind when you start writing the next scene or chapter of your book.

2. Read your work out loud. This was a habit I formed when I was working in television news. Of course it made sense there because our stories were going to be read out loud and we needed to make certain the copy was error free so a simple mistake didn't catch the anchor by surprise while reading it live on the air. Reading over character conversations out loud is especially important. Is how you are phrasing a sentence the right way someone would speak? Not everyone talks alike. Are you showing that in your writing style and in the conversation the characters are having? A teenager and an older person probably won't be the same. How does the conversation sound?

3. Make a list of problem words or phrases that you can go back and check as you write. Are you using the same words over and over? We all have those small phrases we sometimes fall back on without realizing it. A good editor will point these out, but why let it go that far? Look for them yourself and fix the problems before the story ever goes to an editor.

4. Don't be afraid to take a writing lesson every so often. No matter how much writing we do, it always helps to have a refresher course in either grammar or writing dialogue. Sometimes we often fall into little traps or the problem of making all our writing sound alike. There are some popular bestselling authors that I read that I often find myself looking for some of the same issues they have exhibited in other books. Make certain your writing is the best it can be.

I've taught many writing classes over the years, but I still often take writing classes just to stay up on the latest writing styles and to make certain I'm not falling into old bad writing habits

5. Don't lose sight of your goals and become discouraged. We all want to write the best book and we want readers to enjoy our work or to find some value in it so they keep coming back. We can get to that point if we keep writing and keep working toward being a better writer with every story we turn out.

Finally, if you want to become a published author, don't give up. These days you can publish yourself, but if you do, you still want to build a reader base so work hard at your craft and make every story the best it can be.

Happy writing!   

Hook Your Readers

 After a hiatus due to Co-vid, we are back in business here at Write That Novel--ready to help writers get through these difficult days of struggling to either find time to write, or the will to jump back into our fictitious worlds. Writing fiction can be difficult when there is so much nasty reality staring us in the face. But sometimes it can be fun to escape and to give our characters, our settings and our problems something WE can control. So, with that in mind, let's jump back into the world of fiction and work on how to become even better writers in a world we can create and control.

Writers are always looking for ways to hook their readers. We all want to draw in those readers with our words, our characters, our plots and our stories. We want ways to capture their attention and then to keep them reading our stories and then look for more books we may be writing. 

One way to  keep those readers turning the pages and coming back to look for our names on books is to keep working on our craft and improving how we write our stories. With that in mind let's look today at developing and writing Scenes and the use of Hooks.

Those elements are the handy writing tools that can  work together to do the job of pulling in and then hooking readers. Simply put,  most scenes need to propel the story forward. A scene without meaning is useless. Look at why you are including each and every scene in your book. If it doesn't have a purpose, there is no reason for it.

Beyond that, then look at how you might use a hook to keep the plot moving forward. Scenes that end with some kind of a hook really propels the plot. A sudden problem or dilemma coming at the very end of a scene can keep the reader turning the page instead of turning out the light and going to bed. Some scenes might even become stronger with an opening hook.

Still another way to use use scenes is as you plot your book. Instead of a vague outline you can plot  by actually using multiple scenes. Many writers use index cards to plot putting one scene to an index card or you might use a separate page in the computer.  This method is great for the writers who don't like to come up with a formal outline because each scene can be written individually and then shuffled around to come up with the desired plot.  Each scene can be moved back or forth until it is in the "right" place.

 Writers who don't like to plot often prefer to write their books a scene at a time.  If they have an idea for a certain event or scene, writing that scene out of order can help the creative process.  Getting the scene down while it is still fresh in their mind can improve the book.

A scene shows what happens as the action or the emotional problems/reactions unfold minute by minute. A typical book of let's say 85 to 90,000 words has about 70 or so scenes, give or take a few depending on the length of each scene,  with each scene moving the story forward or giving the reader insight in the growth of the main protagonist.  Let's look at what we need as you write settings:

Each scene should have a small plot in it. 

Remember time and setting. Where is the action taking place. A confused reader will put down your book if they don't know where the characters are and how much time has passed since the last scenes.

As part of the action of the scene, the character MUST react in some manner either to the previous scenes problem or to the plot's overall situation and also show an emotional change or reaction

Always remember motivation the reader needs to know (the motivation behind the character's actions)  and understand the goal of the protagonist4

The conflict can be in the action, or it can be in the emotional tension and finally the protagonist or whoever has that scene's POV needs to make some sort of a decision.

Scenes can be a variety of lengths, depending on what you choose to include.  Some action-filled scenes may run two to three pages, while a simple conversation may be only half a page...but, on the other hand, it could also be three or four pages.  It all depends on your style, genre and whose POV the scene is in.

Be careful how you treat the setting of your story...pages and pages of description, while maybe interesting, should be broken up and used sparingly and scattered in various scenes. I am currently working on a story set in British Columbia, and it's cool, damp atmosphere is a big change from my last story set on the dry plains of southern Colorado.

Use your setting to enhance each scene, to pull your readers into the character's world, but the main things to remember is you write each scene is that the scene must propel the story forward.  Each scene needs a reason.  If a scene does not serve a purpose, then that scene should be deleted.

Keep in mind as you begin to put the scenes in order that you will want a variety of action-packed scenes intermixed with slower scenes or reflective moments.  Too many fast-moving scenes coming one right after another can leave a reader breathless, while too many long, emotional scenes can lull a reader to sleep.

Mix the length of the scenes with a progression that makes sense in moving the story forward and that allows the reader time to think and react along with the characters.

Remember - Each scene needs to contain a reaction to what has just happened or to the dilemma with the choices to be decided upon.  A decision, which reveals the character's determination and the direction of the overall plot and some type of goal set up for the next scene should end the scene.  This is where you can make good use of the hook.

Try a hook:

      1 - At the end of a scene (or chapter) so the reader will keep turning the pages

      2 - At the beginning of the scene to get the reader "hooked" into reading all of the following pages. 

       3.  At the end of the chapter -- this is the most frequently used way because just like at the end of a scene the reader wants to keep going, but this is a bigger commitment moving on to the next chapter. 

A famous use of hooks that I can relate to that you probably see every day if you watch newscasts is the last comments a news anchor makes before throwing to a commercial. As a news producer many years ago, I wrote "teases" before each commercial aimed at keeping viewers seated or wanting to come back for the next news segment. Those were "hooks" -- reasons for viewers to stay tuned, and that is the same way you use a "hook." Keep your readers with you by the use of a hook.  

You might see that in books where the writer puts in an action event at the end of a chapter. Are you going to put that book down before you fall asleep? Probably not!

Learning the basics of the writing process, including hooks can keep your readers enjoying your work.

Happy writing and good luck

Getting off to a Fresh Start

At the beginning of every new year don’t we always look at different ways to start off fresh? We want to make our resolutions or set goals and look for new ways to make certain we actually accomplish what we set out to do. The idea sounds great and so many writers start off with the best intentions and then we hit the bitterness of reality. There are kids to pick up, a job to do, chores that need to be completed. Our writing can fall off and those goals of writing 200 words a day can fall too easily by the wayside. Before long the book we swore we would write this year or the word count we wanted to meet every week is not happening.

How can we make this work? How can we get our goals accomplished? Sometimes it starts by making smaller goals.  But… those goals are also a necessity. This past week I was part of an online group chat with authors and what I found was that almost all of us had one big goal – we all wanted to get a book finished and published.  The approaches to how to do it were as varied as the people. Some wanted to write every day. Others wanted to set certain goals for the week. Some wanted to get the book done as quickly as possible and then focus on editing.  And that is where writers should start. Let’s look at some of the strategies you might try to get your writing goals accomplished this year.

1.       Set goals. That was one of the first thing everyone in the writing group agreed. Setting a goal or several goals is a good to get started. That way you always have something to shoot for. If you don’t set a specific goal and you only give a vague idea of what you intend to do, how will you know when you’ve accomplished anything. Set a specific goal and then go after it.

2.       Set a goal that works for you.  If you know your work hours are long or that there are certain days you won’t have time, then setting a daily word-count goal may not work for you. However, setting a weekly writing goal might.  It might even make more sense to set an hourly goal – ‘I will write five hours this week.’

3.       Be realistic.  If you know you can’t write every single day then don’t make a goal of writing every single day. Set a goal of so many hours a day or set a word count for the day at the beginning of the week.

4.       Look for opportunities that will let you meet your goal.  Find that extra time right after the kids are put to bed or get up an hour early in the morning. When I had a regular job, I wrote in the hours before I had to get ready for work and often on weekends. I gave myself whole weekends of setting everything else aside and did a writing retreat on my own.

5.       Don’t let setbacks STOP you. We all can set goals that we want to meet and then suddenly three weeks have gone by and you haven’t written anything yet. Don’t panic. Just get started! Look over your goals again and see where they can be revised. And then get going again.

Writing can be a lonesome chore and it can get very difficult when you don’t feel like doing it, but sometimes you just have to sit down and DO it. Write something other than on your novel, like a blog or even just write down your feelings. If you want to succeed at your writing goals this year, unfortunately the only way you’re going to get there is to WRITE! 

Getting Back on Track - 5 Tips

The end of summer has always meant the end of the vacation season so it is time to get back on track – and that means getting back into a writing schedule.  How can you do it when there is still so much to be done?  We’ve learned a few tips that can help:

1. Schedule your writing time. When we were working regularly often we made time before going to work. Or we knew certain time on the weekends was a good time to write. Either way, the time was already set aside and just like brushing your teeth at a certain time or watching TV at a certain hour, when the clock rolls around to that time you should be ready to write. Schedule half an hour or an hour, but schedule it!

      2.Write during your lunch hour. Do you regularly have plans or people you go with? If not, take your ipad or notebook and sit down at the lunch table with them beside you. We’ve heard plenty of writers say they even GO out to restaurants or coffee shops to get a break from home and write.

       Set a daily word-count and find the time to reach it. Sometimes, when things get hectic it is hard to find a set time to write, but if you set a certain word count every day, you might be able to get in some writing here and there, and then by the time evening comes you may find you only need to write one more page to reach your goal.

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      3. Set up a writing group.  One thing that has worked for us is to meet a couple of friends at a coffee shop and we talk for half an hour and then we sit and write for the next hour. It means we will get some writing done every day and often one or two of us will stay on to get more writing done.

4. Take a writing getaway. This is one of my favorites. Starting 30 years ago when I would drag around portable typewriters, notebooks and laptops wherever I was going, I began spoiling myself with weekend getaways out of town. I finished writing my first book that way. I had a favorite hotel on the beach where I could sit by the window, feel the ocean breeze and type. (I’m sure it drove the others staying there crazy) I was more than happy when I could finally take a computer and do the same thing. The schedule called a morning walk on the sand, breakfast, writing, and finally dinner by the beach t and then more writing – that was a great way to spend a weekend. I’ve done the same in the mountains and even in busy cities--though my walking there was shopping. But the fun part was getting away and indulging the writing spirit.  

       5. Try a new writing method.  If you're just getting back in the groove, try a new method of writing. This is a good time to experiment with something you have been wanting to try. This summer at the RWA National Convention, I attended a class on Scrivenor, and it made me curious enough that I want to see how it works.  I'm also experimenting with Dragon Speak which is dictating the story instead of writing. 

Whatever it takes to get you going again can not only get more words written, but it might rejuvenate your writing process.  What have you got to lose?  And think of how much you have to gain!

5 Tips for Surviving the Summer

As summer ends we usually find that we've gotten a lot less done than we anticipated.  Often we set unrealistic goals about writing all through the summer vacation or carrying out all that fantastic research and now we're ready to write. In the meantime the project sits there and gathers dust, but it doesn't get started, much less finished.  So now, the summer is ending. What can you do to get yourself going again. The fall rush will soon be started, with the resumption of school and all those other small things that didn't get done still need doing.

And your writing project?  Again, it sits there.

What can you do to get going again? Well, with the kids back in school it might be time to set your new fall schedule too.

1. Set aside a writing time.  With schedules being re-done, why not try to set up your own writing time too. Try writing in the morning. Either do it once the kids are off to school  or try that final hour before having to go pick them up.

2. Go the library and do your research. With the kids back in school some of the busy time at the local library might be less busy and that could  mean a quieter time and less traffic at the library. If there is research you've been wanting to do, this might be the perfect time to to it.

3. Visit the local book store. Reading a new fiction novel might be just the thing to get your own writing ideas flowing again. Finding the latest release by your favorite author might also be a good way to get your own writing groove back.

4. Look for a critique group. Again, with the kids back in school, there might be other writers in your area looking to start a new group or for new members of an existing group. With the change in the season and in schedules some people might be falling out so the groups might be looking to re-arranging.

5. Try joining a new writing group. Some will stop for the summer, so check out the local libraries or look online to see if there are any writing groups meeting. Visit local book stores and check the bulletin boards to see if there are nearby groups looking for new members.

Whatever you choose to try, this is the perfect time of the year to start a new project. It's like the beginning of a new school year. The next few months will probably be spent inside, so why not begin a new book? You could be finished by next spring!

5 Tips for Writing Descriptions

Today I got a question from a student in one of my writing classes about her characters. It wasn't about how to build them or how to make them unique. It was about how to describe them.  She had no idea where to start and it got me to thinking about how we place our characters into our stories.

How can you go about showing who they are without starting out with a long laundry list? You know that list -- you've seen it in book after book: he had brown hair, blue eyes, and a stocky build or she had blonde hair, bright green eyes and a body to kill for. One of my favorite authors (I won't mention who because she writes books that are bestsellers) but in every book the character description is the same starting with "she was a tall woman with....fill in the blanks, but it is always the same structure. Or you've seen that book where the author has the character stop in front of a mirror and examine her looks. That was the norm several years ago and writers used it so much it became a cliche.

Those options are there, but there have to be other ways too.

1. Try having another character describe your hero or heroine. Maybe the best friend admires your heroine's courage or maybe they discuss that attribute, plus others, in a conversation. This is a simple way to set the stage for what might be coming a little later. Or maybe the hero takes one look at the heroine and is drawn by her vibrant blue eyes--that tells the reader something about him and her at the same time.
 
2.  Have the character describe her/himself.  This works fine in a first person narrative.  I was always amused by how mystery author Sue Grafton would let Kinsey Milhone describe her carefree lifestyle and her lack of stylish concern.

3.  Compare characters. This can come from the character himself, comparing his strength on the football field or battle field to his chief rival, or having the heroine compare her physical strength with her sister who wouldn't be caught dead in a gym or on a soccer field.

4.  Try having the character lament the habits or looks they don't have. At the same time they can bring in the physique, looks or attributes they lack.  This can be very useful and fun if you are writing a lighthearted romance or your character is self deprecating at times.

5. Just do it! There are times when you have no choice but to be straight forward and just give the basic details. At times like that, just get it in there and get it completed so that you can move on. It might be in some of the small details as you start bringing your character to life in the first chapter or you might sneak it in as part of the opening action.

But remember, we do want to know what those look like. We want to know if she is taller than those around her and she is self conscious about it or if he is shorter than a the basketball players who tower around him as he takes them to task as their coach.

5 Tips for Writing Romantic Suspense

My writing career started off as a romance writer but I soon got the urge to write suspense as well. As I explain to friends and readers, those bodies just started falling and they kept turning up in strange places to ruin my romances until I couldn't very well ignore them. I had to include them in my romance stories and have my hero and heroine not only fall in love but solve the crime too.

Why write romance and romantic suspense? The combination can be fun. Just when things get slow in the romance, I can always have the suspense ratchet up because someone is either in danger or gets killed.  The same is true in suspense. When the heroine thinks all she has to do is solve the crime, suddenly some guy enters the picture and she has to deal with all these strange romantic feelings.  The treachery by an author never relents!  We love to torture our heroes and heroines and test them every way we can.  Shove a problem in their way and then let them get out!  So what do you need t know if you want to write romantic suspense?

1. Get both plots under way quickly. Don't hesitate on either one. Introduce the hero and heroine in

the first or second chapter and get the romance started, whether it is their meeting or using opposing viewpoints. Let the reader know who they will be following in the book. If you are writing romantic suspense, editors and romance publishers usually want their story to begin almost simultaneously with whatever the mystery is going to be. I've heard that from both agents and editors.

2. Get your characters involved not only with each other but with the story as well. We don't want a woman who is just along for the ride or the hero who just turns up when she needs help.  We want them both invested in the mystery, even if we aren't quite sure until the end if one or the other might even be involved in the murderous or criminal event.  If you can make one look guilty, even better!

3. Don't let the romance overwhelm the mystery or the other way around. As I mentioned earlier,we want this story to be 50-50 so neither one should overwhelm the other. You want to use the romance to keep the characters emotionally involved with each other, but they can both be involved in solving the mystery, even if they are on different sides or hoping for different outcomes.

4. Don't over do one element to the detriment of the other. If you find yourself more invested or involved in the romance, then perhaps you are writing a romantic story with suspense elements. On the other hand if you find yourself so focused on police activity or on law enforcement, then perhaps you are writing a detective story with romantic elements. Is there enough emotion involved? Would you rather focus on police details? Or are you so caught up in your romance you are simply sliding over those scenes involving crime solving? Be honest as you decide what you are writing. You can fix in the editing process, but by the end you should know which genre or sub genre your story belongs in before you got to an editor or agent.

5. Watch that ending. It needs to wrap up both the mystery and the romance. Perhaps the hero and heroine have just decided they are going to be friends now that they have solved the case, but be sure you have a satisfying conclusion for the reader.

There are more  rules for writing romantic suspense, but this is a good way to start. The main thing is to remember your characters. Which are they more suited for? Look them over and determine if they belong in a mystery or if they prefer a romance. Often your characters will know before you do!