Writer/Writing Tips
The Concept of Platform
The concept of a writer’s platform get’s talked about a lot and is very confusing since you tend to get a difference answer depending on who you ask. Well I was doing dishes and this thought came to me:
No matter what you’ve written you need to be able to answer three questions.
1. Who is going to buy my book?
2. How are they going to know it exists to buy it?
3. Why would anyone want to read my book, aka, what are your credentials?
Bam! That’s what makes up your platform.
For example:
1. I write YA fiction so I figure my audience is going to be YA readers
2. How will I get the news out? Well, I belong to the Willamette Writers, I’m involved in the Arts Alliance of Yamhill County, I am in close contact with my local schools. It’s a start .
3. Well, while I don’t have any previous fiction published, I read a lot and blog book reviews in my genre regularly. You have to know your market and part of that is reading the books in it.
A wonderful book on platform building is by Christina Katz, and is called Get Known Before the Book Deal.
To find out more about it, visit her site:
Mind Maps
If you’ve read my blog then you know that I like to use mind maps to help me brainstorm and organize my plot. I generally use www.wisemapping.com which is a free, Internet based program. It works really well and the one big plus is that I can log into my maps from any Internet connection.
However, there is another program that I really like. It’s called Inspiration. It is software that you have to buy and runs around $70.00 for a single license. You can also download a free trial to see how it works. The one big plus of this program is that you can visually create a mind map and the software automatically creates a typed outline, based on your mind map. When you edit your mind map, the outline gets edited, and visa versa. The outline format also has drag and drop capability for easy reorganization. So if you have the extra money, it is worth looking into. To download a free trial for Inspiration 8, go here:
Organic Writing
Sometimes as writers we get bogged down in trying to pace a sentence correctly or finding the perfect punctuation, but sometimes we have to let it go. Often when I’m stuck I just have to write. Who cares if there are fragments or if the phrasing is awkward. It’s first draft, it’s about capturing the basics of that scene, well for me at least. We were discussing in my critique group that this concept of just writing is classified as organic writing. I guess you say it’s writing in it’s raw form. Yes, you have to go back and clean it up and pay attention to those fragments and punctuation but often, that first spark and those first words are where the magic happens. So don’t be afraid to let go and just write.
Everyone Needs A Little Help
One particular member of my writer’s critique group is blessed with the incredible ability of strong word choice, verbs in particular. I envy him. Sometimes I feel like I fight for every verb I choose, and I finally decided it was time to invest in some help. So, I bought The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale. Basically it is a large book that is like a thesaurus on steroids. I’m impressed with it thus far and I feel it was worth the money.
No, just using the Microsoft word thesaurus is not enough and so far this book beats out thesaurus.com too. I haven’t actually found a website that is organized in the same manner and has the same results as the book I just purchased. If I ever do find a website that matches or rivals this book, I’ll be sure and let you all know.
The What If Game
As you might already know, I am writing a YA series. The first book is called Pelegra and the Son of Merek. Writing this book has been an ongoing process that has taken about two years. One year of writing, and another year of re-writing.
For this particular book the hardest chapter for me was chapter one. It wasn’t the issue of getting started but of figuring out my main character’s background and how I wanted to introduce him as well as how to hook the reader all in the first chapter. It’s hard to find that balance between enough back story and too much back story.
My point is that I did complete a first draft and did several rewrites with the helpful feedback of the critique group that I belong too. But, the first chapter still just wasn’t working as well as the central plot conflict. So I made a drastic decision.
Start Over.
Now I haven’t really started over, most of what I’ve written is usable, I just have some specific edits to do and a few chapters to add to the overall manuscript. But I was willing to start over and the first step I took was to play the what if game.
I opened a fresh mind map ( I use www.wisemapping.com) and typed what if. Then I let go of everything but my most basic plot line and started typing out fresh ideas.
That brain storming session completely changed the first chapter into something I’m happy with, added two characters to the novels, and added an entirely new dimension to the central conflict making it more engaging for the reader.
So if you are stuck and have been for awhile, throw away all your preconceived notions about your plot and characters and play the what if game. Who knows what will happen.
The Gifted Series: Book Trailer
Something that you are seeing more of is the concept of commercials and/or trailers for books. Honestly, I’m surprised that it’s taken this long to become more popular and I feel that it still has a ways to go. I think that as a society we rely too much on t.v. and/or internet to tell us about things and that includes new books. It only makes sense that trailers are a step in the right direction for book marketing. I still don’t see many trailers on t.v, but I have have seen a few. Anyway, I stumbled across this trailer for the Gifted series by Marilyn Kaye. It looks like a good read. The Gifted Series trailer can be found here:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/flashVideo/element_id/2140398090/taxid/34194.html.
Overcoming Obstacles
We all have those times in our lives where nothing makes sense, we see no hope in whatever it is we are doing, we are time crunched, scatterbrained, and in dire need of a vacation. For me, these are the times where writing gets shoved to the side and forgotten about for weeks at a time. I know, bad me. I guess the point of this post is that we all face obstacles that stop us from writing either by stealing away our time or blocking us creatively. I think the key thing for working through these times is relaxation and hope.
I know that with the economy the way it is those two things are much easier said then done. Still though find things that help you relax, once you are able to relax your mind is free to wander and it is through these random thoughts that one often finds a path they didn’t see before that can lead to renewed hope.
If you like to walk or run, do it.
If you like music find something soothing.
For others simply taking a shower helps clear their mind.
It’s easy to get bogged down in the every day crap. You have to remember to mentally step away from it on occasion. Yes that may mean neglecting the laundry or the kitchen for one afternoon. But in the grand scheme of things is one afternoon of undone dishes really going to matter? No. Especially if it brings you peace of mind.
Another thing for you to consider if you currently feel you are surrounded by chaos, is to stop and remember what you were doing in your daily life the last time you did not feel chaotic. Myself, I listened to music at night, brainsync music. I wrote often in a journal, just to vent. Typically when I find I stop doing little things like that, life starts making less sense to me. So remember, little acts of relaxation, often lead to thoughts of hope and sometimes that’s enough to get through the crazy times in our lives.
A couple of website I really like for music sources is www.brainsync.com where you can purchase brainsync music and www.pandora.com, which is a free internet music project.
Marketing
I know some writers think that if they have a great book that their editor loves then it will surely makes it’s way to best seller status. Yeah, I use to think that too, a long time ago. There is one thing you have to remember, you may write because you love it, but for publishers, it’s a business. Writer’s should always be honing their craft but you also have to learn about the business end, and I don’t mean contracts and royalty checks. I mean marketing. As a writer you will need to know how to market your book. While I was at the Willamette Writer’s Conference, I attended a workshop called Red Hot Internet Basics with Penny Sansevieri. Now I do not consider myself a ‘basic’ internet user. I honestly thought I would sit there and hear the same old same old about have a website, have a blog, get on facebook, etc. While she did talk about these things, she talked about HOW to make them work for you. HOW to use them to market. It was an incredible workshop. Her website is http://www.amarketingexpert.com
It offers a free newsletter that has really helpful tips. I recommend subscribing to it. She also has a book out, Red Hot Internet Publicity. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my to get list.
She talks about using Google Alerts and being active on other sites to help get your name out there. Also she talked about using www.twitterfeed.com to feed your blog to your Twitter account. She provided some great info and I recommend signing up for the newsletter, which is also packed with marketing tips. Just go to her site and a box pops up to sign up for the newsletter. http://www.amarketingexpert.com
Down to Details
I hope that you’ve done some ‘fun’ writing lately. I know, all writing is fun, it’s the editing that can be a pain in the rear. At least, that’s how it is for me. While I was at the Willamette Writer’s conference, I was extremely lucky to be able to sit down at a table with Charlotte Cook, one of the agents and presenters at the conference. She graciously allowed anyone who wanted to meet her one morning to sit and chat. This was in follow up to her workshop: An acquisition editor polishes your first pages. I wasn’t able to stay for the whole thing because I had to go pitch, but it was incredibly nice of her to do and it was helpful. Something she talked about it something that you’ve probably already heard about. Spacing, margins, font. I know that getting that detailed seems silly, but it’s important to remember that editors and agents do care about and look at those things. Don’t change your margins to cram in more words. Don’t use times new roman font (unless submission guidelines say to), it’s harder on the eyes. Read the submission guidelines. Simple things. If you don’t already have a ‘formatting’ book I recommend Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon. Great book; lots of good advice. Reading something like this if not this book will help save you from some of the sillier mistakes that can be made. Such as putting two spaces after a period. I’m not that old but that is how I learned how to type. I think I’ve started rambling so I’m going to sign off for today.
~Keep Reading
Show me, don’t tell me
This is probably going to be quite obvious but I wanted to talk about showing versus telling. I know we’ve all heard that. I know that sometimes I do it and don’t even realize it. So I’ve written three sentences below, each giving more detail and hopefully, showing more and telling less.
1. He laughed at her while she hopped around comically.
2. He laughed at the funny expression that flitted across her face
3. He laughed at her wrinkled nose and pursed lips as she hopped on one foot, clutching the other in her hand.
“Damn chair, who put that there!”
“You did.” He grinned at her.
As you can see with the third sentence I continued, going further into the scene. For me, the writing flowed easier. I also want to point out something about the dialogue, something that I only learned this year, 2009. The second line of dialogue is punctuated with a period and then a separate sentence. Why? Because a person cannot grin words, at least so I’ve been told. It is one of the ‘rules’ you can get bogged down in but it is still important. Interestingly enough, I haven’t found a book that deals with the punctuation of dialogue to an extent that I would like. So, if you want to learn more, you are probably best off going to your local library or bookstore and perusing several books to see what their dialogue sections say.
Something you can try to practice showing versus telling is to write a scene, showing an emotion. Never use any adjective or adverb that can be linked to the emotional word, such as angry.
So, give it a go.
Anger
Happiness
Morose