Guest Post: The ESSENCE of Writing Serial Novelle

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Book Series, Guest Post, Indie Author, Novella, Science-Fiction, Self-Publishing, Writing Tips

Today I’m excited to have indie author and friend J. K. Ullrich as a guest on the blog! An award-winning Science-Fiction author, she’s recently finished an awesome Sci-Fi series called Syzygy and is here to talk about her experience with the novella story form. Enjoy!

The ESSENCE of Writing Serial Novelle

What do Of Mice and Men, Animal Farm, and The Metamorphosis all have in common? Besides a reliable spot on English class syllabi, each of these classics contains less than 40,000 words, technically a novella. While these famous novelle (that’s the plural, thanks to how the Italian language declines feminine nouns) probably wouldn’t have landed a deal with modern publishers, who rarely consider manuscripts under 70,000 words, readers find a lot to like about the format. Lauded author Ian McEwan praised short fiction that can be read in one sitting, “like enjoying a three hour movie or opera”. If bingeable streaming TV is more your taste, however, consider a novella serial. Earlier this year I completed Syzygy, a science fiction novella hexalogy. Fun yet challenging, the project taught me the ESSENCE of writing a serial novelle: Evaluate the master plot, Structure the component parts, use Suspense, Echoes, and Negative space to Concentrate storytelling, and plan an Endgame for publication.

Evaluate

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America define a novella as fiction from 17,500 to 39,999 words (70-160 standard pages). That doesn’t leave room for meandering tales that take chapters to hit their stride. Advance planning is essential, especially if you intend to release each novella as you complete it. Plot the master arc just as you would a novel, and don’t skimp on the details. I learned this the hard way when I reached Pt VI: Right Ascension and discovered that my notes, so precise for the early titles, contained little more for the final installment than “Heroes confront antagonist. The end.” That put me in the awkward spot of reverse engineering scenes that fit with everything I’d already established. Having a comprehensive outline from the start would have saved me a lot of agony!

Once you’ve worked out the big picture, subdivide it into individual novelle. If I framed the entire Syzygy story (about 160,000 words) in three-act structure, the first two installments would be Act I (about 40,000 words total) books three through five would be Act II, ending with the peak crisis (about 70,000 words total) and part six is the climactic Act III (about 40,000 words). Each episode builds on the previous one, adding tension and advancing the story.

Structure

Component novelle are more than just arbitrary slices of the broader arc: each needs its own internal structure. Let’s zoom in on the plot outline above….

In the scope of the entire Syzygy saga, Transient Phenomena is only half of act one, but as a standalone, it still reflects classic plot mechanics with its own beginning, middle, and end. This helps every piece feel complete. But not too complete. The key to any good series is tempting the audience irresistibly onward.

Suspense

Notice something different about the Transient Phenomena outline compared to the series outline above? There’s no drop at the end to represent denouement; the action keeps rising. I drew readers through the series by ending each novella with a question or twist that would send them scrambling for the next story right away. Part I leaves Ash’s decision and Skye’s fate unresolved. Part II concludes with a revelation that turns everything upside down. And so on. Identify the suspenseful points in your master plot and divide up the story around them. (I went a step further and tried to end every chapter with a hook as well!) Is it a little cruel to leave readers hanging? Undoubtedly. But is that not an author’s prerogative?

Echoes

A good hook may pull readers through your series, but it takes more than a core plot line to fuse separate installments into a cohesive, satisfying whole. One way to cultivate connection is to draw parallels between the pieces. Plot and character development accomplish some of this, but I found it was the nuances that really pulled the story together. For example, Ash and Skye’s quips about their respective name meanings in the first book establish an inside joke between them, and variations on it play across the series. Offhand dialogue from early installments, echoed later at a critical point, resonates with new meaning. This technique adds thematic depth and facilitates narrative cohesion. It’s like the baseline in a piece of music, a common rhythm beneath the changing melody. In novelle, even the background is important!

Negative Space

“Negative space” in visual arts describes the sometimes-empty area around the main subject of an image. Narratives have negative space, too, in the ambient details surrounding major events.  Novelle writers can use it as a canvas for implications, making the most of their limited pages. In the opening scene of Transient Phenomena, Skye steals equipment from the Colony and detects a radio signal emanating from Earth. Two simple plot points, right? A lot more appears between the lines:

• The harsh living environment of lunar dwellers (and the presence of rival settlements, at least one of which is struggling to survive);
• Skye’s status as an outsider in her community (and the existence of a leader who would punish her for disobedience);
• Her habit of talking to herself (suggesting chronic isolation);
• Her skill with telemetry and electronics (which she’s been prevented from using); and
• A previous discovery of the same signal, ignored for unknown reasons.

By integrating all these clues into the background, I avoided exposition and saved precious wordage. (Transient Phenomena is available free for Kindle and Nook if you want to read the whole scene and judge for yourself.) Leveraging negative space helps writers get the most out of every paragraph.

Concentration

The prologue I just described introduces a protagonist, implies parts of her backstory, establishes key world-building elements, and poses questions that keep readers turning pages…in only 566 words. Concentrated storytelling like this helps maximize impact in the pithy novella format. As you edit, appraise the manuscript with economical eyes. Can you condense any sequences, combine any scenes? Can any characters do double duty? For example, the supporting character Violet is Hazel’s mother and Ash’s father’s work partner and the mechanic responsible for the Colony’s plot-entangled power grid. I could have created a separate person for each of those roles, but combining them makes for a more interesting character (and helps keep the cast from becoming unmanageably large over the course of the series). Once you’ve streamlined the narrative, pare down the prose. My prolix English major habits struggled at first, but I came to appreciate the brisk elegance of novelle.

Endgame

Your novella may be as fast and trim as a well-engineered spacecraft, but don’t launch it just yet. Publishing a novella serial involves a few more decisions than publishing standalone work. Will you release each installment as you write it? A steady flow of new titles can build a reader base hungry for more, and but you risk continuity errors or writing yourself into a corner if you haven’t planned the story well. What about completing the whole series first? That enables comprehensive revision, but it might take years to complete the entire thing, and having your name off the market that long can be problematic (especially for Indies).

Whichever path you choose, Novelle are a hard sell—people are already reluctant to pay a few dollars for “full-length” novels, much less shorter works—but serials enjoy the advantage of various marketing options.

• Make the first story “permafree” to entice readers to give it a try (hopefully all those suspenseful hooks will drive them to buy the rest).

• Once all the installments are available, Amazon allows authors a series page where shoppers can buy all the books in one click.

• Release the complete series in a single-volume edition. Bonus content, like a new epilogue or spinoff story, can make the omnibus an especially appealing purchase.

With swift storytelling honed to its ESSENCE, novella series offer a unique and rewarding experience for authors and readers alike!

Anela says: Many thanks to J. K. Ullrich for an insightful look into the structure and execution of writing a novella series! Check out her website to learn more about her work and find other great articles about speculative fiction and more. 

You can grab the first installment of her Syzygy series for FREE on Amazon! It’s a fast-paced story with plenty of twists and awesome characters, so don’t miss out!

Ash was never supposed to visit Earth. After a genetic engineering catastrophe wiped out civilization, the survivors—inhabitants of a lunar mining colony—planned to rebuild on Mars. That was before a group of rebels seceded to the dark side of the moon, taking critical data with them. Now conscripted teenagers scavenge the ruined planet for species to use in terraforming. At fifteen, Ash is the best diver in a generation. But when tragedy strikes, he vows to end his colony’s dependence on its old homeworld at any cost.

Skye has never set foot on Earth. It’s not even visible from the moon’s far side, although the exiles’ mystic leader promises they will return home someday. Skye has discovered something that could realize this long-awaited dream, but she’s an outcast among outcasts, and no one will listen to her plan. To save her people, she might have to betray them.

Worlds collide when Ash and Skye meet, blurring the boundaries between enemies and allies, deception and truth. Their choices could win a future for humanity…or finally drive it to extinction.

Grab it on Amazon!

 

Guest Post: Realms of Culture

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Fantasy Romance, Guest Post, Jeffe Kennedy, Writing Tips

Super excited to have award-winning author Jeffe Kennedy as a guest on the blog today! As a huge fan of her work (Read my review of her new release, The Shift of the Tide), I am always so impressed by the cultures in her novels. Seriously, I have found myself talking about some of the intricate and fascinating aspects only to realize the level of detail I went into made it sound like an actual culture that existed somewhere. So, I asked if Jeffe might tell us a bit about her writing approach regarding the different cultures in her Fantasy worlds and what she does to make them seem so real.

I often get asked about how I construct the cultures in my fantasy worlds. Well, more broadly, readers and other writers ask about my worldbuilding process. Anela here specifically asked about the cultures. She mentioned the Nahanaun culture from The Pages of the Mind (Anela says: This one just won a RITA award, woooo!!), in particular, and the Faerie society in my Covenant of Thorns trilogy. She also asked about the cultures as they’re experienced by my characters as outsiders to them.

That last question is actually quite pertinent. It’s a common trope in fantasy to have a character who is what we call “a fish out of water.” This acts on a couple of levels. The character who is plunged into an unfamiliar world with a new set of rules has to find new abilities in themselves, to learn to overcome the challenges of those circumstances. If a person remains in familiar surroundings, there’s no impetus for them to change. Taken out of their pond, they have to learn to breathe air in order to survive. Also, a fish out of water character serves as an avatar for the reader—they allow the reader to learn the world along with them.

As for the rest, I often reply that I learn the world as the characters do, by riding around in their heads as the story unfolds. That’s true, but it’s also an oversimplification. I might observe the world through their perceptions—which includes their own ideas and cultural preconceptions—but I try to base aspects of the world on real life principles.

1. Physical Laws.

It’s important to determine if the world follows the same physical laws as ours. Some aspects, like gravity and molecular cohesion are hard to get away from and still have a comprehensible story. In the world of The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms (the world of The Pages of the Mind), most of the standard physical laws apply, with the addition of magic. In the Faerie of Covenant of Thorns, I twisted up some of those laws. The presence of magic changes how the natural world works, particularly the rate of mutation and evolution.

2. Ecology

I’m a biologist by training, so I’ve studied a lot about how ecology—climate, temperature, geological features like oceans or mountains—influences the flora, fauna and human civilizations there. For example, in our world, animals tend to be larger the farther north they live. So Wyoming bobcats are much bigger than New Mexico bobcats. When I built the world of Nahanau, I knew the islands would be formed from volcanic activity and be in a tropical climate. The types of plant life and animals there would be informed by all of that. Because volcanic islands have barrier reefs (a consequence of how they’re formed), I knew there would be sea life associated with barrier reefs, and so forth.

3. People and politics

The humans who live in a particular environment are as much a product of it as the plants and animals. The Nahanauns live in a consistently warm environment, so their dress and building construction reflects that. On top of that, because of the openness of their society, I figured they’d have more flexible ideas about personal property. In Faerie, humans have no magic and thus no power. They’re lower class citizens and their towns reflect that. In that society, the types of fae who have the most magic—and are most willing to wield it—rise to the highest levels. But that kind of society leads to near-constant battling, as well.

4. Language

Deciding on a culture’s language can be a twisty proposition. Because a book is an exercise of language to begin with, the language the story is written in dictates a great deal. I usually make the “home” language of the main characters be pretty close to modern American English, for simplicity’s sake. Some readers don’t like this because they feel the language of epic and high fantasy should be like in Tolkien. But Tolkein wrote in the early 1900s—the language he used was different than modern American English. I don’t think it’s any more “accurate” to use British English of the early 1900s for fantasy that American English of the early 2000s.

When I go to create a language foreign to the main characters, I usually base it off another language in our world, so there’s a sense of familiarity that also evokes place. For Nahanau, I used Hawaiian words and put a slightly different spin on them. I did this for names, as well. For Faerie, I used Gaelic as a base.

Finally, because I wanted Nahanaun to be a perplexing language for the heroine, Dafne, I complicated their verb tenses. I added words to indicate past and future, like oriental languages such as Chinese do. I also had those tenses colored with good or bad fortune, partly to illustrate the culture, and to make things more interesting.

5. Mythology

Finally, I always try to be sure to include the spiritual outlook of the human culture. How people view the intangible world is as important as the effects of the tangible one.

Many thanks for being a guest on the blog, Jeffe!

Check out her newest release in The Uncharted Realms series, The Shift of the Tide

Free from the hand of a tyrant, the Twelve Kingdoms have thrown all that touch them into chaos. New allies appear–and enemies encroach–from all sides. To survive, they must adapt to this new reality without a moment of doubt…

Growing up in a country where magic was common as dust, Zynda never had to worry about her enchantments upsetting the balance of nature. But the land beyond the borders of the thirteenth kingdom calls to her. It may be foreign and ugly, but the strangeness is laced with an excitement she has never known. Outside her homeland, Zynda’s shapeshifting and sorcery are a potent advantage to nations grasping for dominance–and the thrill of power lures her even as she recognizes the threat she poses to these magic-buffeted realms.

A ruthless enemy stalks them, promising destruction if she does not fight with all her strength–but if she upsets the equilibrium of the land, all will pay, the common people most of all. And a man of this outside world fascinates her, a mossback with no scrap of magic in him. He knows nothing of the fears and temptations pulling at her. But in his steady embrace she learns she must choose well–for the consequences may reach farther than she ever imagined…

 About Jeffe Kennedy

Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning author whose works include novels, non-fiction, poetry, and short fiction. She has been a Ucross Foundation Fellow, received the Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship for Poetry, and was awarded a Frank Nelson Doubleday Memorial Award.

Her award-winning fantasy romance trilogy The Twelve Kingdoms hit the shelves starting in May 2014. Book 1, The Mark of the Tala, received a starred Library Journal review and was nominated for the RT Book of the Year while the sequel, The Tears of the Rose received a Top Pick Gold and was nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2014. The third book, The Talon of the Hawk, won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015. Two more books followed in this world, beginning the spin-off series The Uncharted Realms. Book one in that series, The Pages of the Mind, has also been nominated for the RT Reviewer’s Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2016 and won RWA’s 2017 RITA® Award. The second book, The Edge of the Blade, released December 27, 2016, and is a PRISM finalist, along with The Pages of the Mind. The next in the series, The Shift of the Tide, will be out in August, 2017. A high fantasy trilogy taking place in The Twelve Kingdoms world is forthcoming from Rebel Base books in 2018.

She also introduced a new fantasy romance series, Sorcerous Moons, which includes Lonen’s War, Oria’s Gambit, The Tides of Bàra, and The Forests of Dru. She’s begun releasing a new contemporary erotic romance series, Missed Connections, which started with Last Dance and continues in With a Prince.

In 2019, St. Martins Press will release the first book, The Orchid Throne, in a new fantasy romance series, The Forgotten Empires.

Her other works include a number of fiction series: the fantasy romance novels of A Covenant of Thorns; the contemporary BDSM novellas of the Facets of Passion; an erotic contemporary serial novel, Master of the Opera; and the erotic romance trilogy, Falling Under, which includes Going Under, Under His Touch and Under Contract.

She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the popular SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads and pretty much constantly on Twitter @jeffekennedy. She is represented by Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.

 

The First Rule of Writing

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Author Goals, Craft, Reading, Storytelling, Writing Tips

Have you ever watched any of the Gordon Ramsay shows? If you haven’t, you’re missing out because the guy is entertaining as hell. Some of the insults he hurls at the cretins in the kitchens have me wheezing with laughter. Granted, it must take courage to work with him because he’s like a General commanding an army, shouting out orders and scaring the bejesus out of the new recruits.

He’s abrasive, he’s impatient, but we forgive him for it because he’s passionate and let’s face it, he knows what he’s talking about.

But there’s something else I noticed about him outside of these on-screen antics: He is constantly tasting new dishes. He also does a lot of traveling to eat in places renowned for their food. Not just five-star restaurants, but tiny family owned places famous for their cooking. He does a lot of research into ingredients, where they came from, how they’re grown. Why does he do all that? Because in order for him to keep the magic in his cooking, he has to continue to observe and learn how others do it. He has to taste it and see it to know it.

I’ve found the same to be true for writing so I thought I’d pass along what I’ve learned. A sometimes overlooked but vital component in the writer’s journey is that they must continue to read to keep their writing vibrant and original. Why?

Three main reasons:

1. It gives you a front row seat to effective storytelling and narrative, characterization and dialogue, tension and pacing.
2. It expands vocabulary (Does anyone else have a little book into which they jot down cool words they want to use?)
3. It reinvigorates the imagination – Have writer’s block or stuck in a scene? Reading can loosen that knot faster than a tenured sailor on a clipper ship.
4. Okay, here’s a bonus part to this: It’s fun!

Has anyone else ever been reading a book only to stop, scratch your head, and wonder if it was written by an author who doesn’t read in the genre they’re writing or maybe at all? I see the emotion or setting they’re reaching for but they just can’t seem to effectively articulate it. I can’t help but feel this is because they haven’t seen how it’s done. One can argue that it’s a matter of talent but I feel it is more inexperience coupled with a lack of investment in learning. Pouring over books on craft is important to know the tools to writing, but reading novels/short stories/novellas demonstrates how to wield them.

But I don’t have time for reading!

Obviously, to be a writer you have to actually write books and time is limited–especially for those doing this gig on the side–but really, one has to make the time for it. I wish I had a more eloquent (or diplomatic?) response to this. Reading time is not wasted writing time. The mind is working on one’s own writing while doing it. And step AWAY from Netflix. Watching storytelling is not nearly as helpful as reading it on the page—I’ve had to beat back my lazy side when it tries to win this argument with that logic. Resist!!

Read Effectively

It’s fun to sink into a story, but a mentor of mine pointed out that it’s important to pay attention as well. I love dissecting how a book made me feel the way it did, figuring out what the author did (or didn’t do) to grab my attention. My internal monologue goes something like this: “Hm, I liked that side character. Why? How did the author make him/her distinct from the others? I’m dying to read more about the romantic subplot. How come? How did the author hook my heart?”

I observe it, take notes (yes, I’m a big nerd. are you really surprised?), and mash all that literary goodness into my own work my own way. If only dissecting frogs were this fun, I’d have totally snagged an A back during my bio/chem lab.

The biggest realization I’ve gotten from reading? Writing is not all “learn by doing”. It’s also “learn by observing”. Personally, when I’m not writing—or changing a diaper—I’ve got my face in a book. With eBooks priced at $2.99 or less (or on Kindle Unlimited or even free a lot of times), cost isn’t the barrier it used to be for this crucial aspect in a writer’s life.

All. The. Time.

The first rule of writing for me is this: Read. Read widely and voraciously. Think like a chef. Words are the ingredients. Spend time with them outside of the kitchen.

Any writers out there live by this one? What other fundamentals help you along in your writing?

Striking Notes

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#amwriting, Dystopian, Inspiration, Science-Fiction, Writing Tips

It’s probably not news to anyone that music is inspirational. It stirs memory and emotion in a way nothing else can. As an author I find it immerses me into the scenes of a story line and energizes my creative thinking. Music is another one of those things that I’m in awe of, particularly since I haven’t any talent in it myself. Yeah, I can play a little “Heart and Soul” on the piano and I can sing on key (Don’t look for me to appear on “The Voice” or “American Idol”. I have a firm grip on the extent of my singing abilities), but that’s about it.

The odd thing about me though, and I don’t know if others share this, is that the music needs to have decent lyrics for me to really enjoy it (if it has vocals). Musical lyrics, like poetry, are the most abbreviated version of a story out there in my opinion. They have little space to communicate emotional impact so every word counts. You’ve heard a song with tons of filler or one that tells a story in a way you’ve heard a thousand times. It lessens the piece. It seems writing, in any form, is hard.

Hearing a song with music and lyrics that feel like a soundtrack to a story I’m writing is like getting hit by a lightning bolt. It doesn’t even have to be a new song. It can be one I’ve heard before that suddenly takes on a new meaning. I’ll easily surpass two thousand words in a day when this happens. I know, I know, a lot of authors out there write double or triple that (Lindsay Buroker is renowned for her writing speed), but I don’t usually go that fast. Three kids and a full time job will do that.

As I’ve been writing the installments of my short story series Insurrection I came across a few songs that zapped me in the inspiration department. Since it’s in the Sci-Fi/Dystopian genre, it has themes centered around rebellion and redemption.

Muse’s song “Uprising” is a track I’ve replayed quite a few times while writing. Their videos are pretty radical. Raging teddy bears, etc.:

Then there’s the new version of “The Sound of Silence” by Disturbed. I found a fan video that paired it to images from Mass Effect (love that game!) and it’s pretty awesome. Since part of my story line involves a past where humanity was almost destroyed by an alien force, it felt like watching a piece of my own story. Of course the details are completely different, but the music and the visual accompaniment of a world on the brink of annihilation is exactly what I’d envisioned.

How has music inspired you creatively? Are you like me in that the song has to have good lyrics in order to really capture your attention, even if there’s a good beat?

A day in the life…

Tags

#amwriting, Indie Writer, Writing Tips

Recently I read an article by Hilary Mantel in which she expounded on what her writing day looks and feels like. If her name is unfamiliar to you, she writes amazing historical fiction, the kind of stories that hold on to you long after you’ve finished the book. A lot of people love her work, but those who don’t like it REALLY don’t, so fair warning. Either way, her stuff makes an impact.

Anyway, on to my point: I love reading the little insights into how professional authors approach their day because I always learn something from them that I can apply to myself. Okay granted, I’m not really a professional author in that I don’t earn a living from it (yet?) but I still like to treat the endeavor professionally, and part of that is being flexible with the things I think I know.

As is typical of Hilary Mantel’s writing style her descriptions use simple language that is nonetheless so visceral in its detail that one can’t help but feel immersed in her experience:

“Days of easy flow generate thousands of words across half a dozen projects – and perhaps new projects. Flow is like a mad party – it goes on till all hours and somebody must clear up afterwards. Stop-start days are not always shorter, are self-conscious and anxiety-ridden, and later turn out to have been productive and useful. I judge in retrospect.”

This really spoke to me, especially the part where she works on multiple projects. I’ve heard a thousand times from other sources that authors should stick to one project at a time and off on other ideas until they finish that one project. I still think there’s wisdom in this to a degree. If you’re constantly bopping around from one idea to the next, you’ll never finish anything. But, as with so many unbreakable “rules” you hear about in writing (or any creative field), one should allow some bend when following it.

In my case, I usually have several projects cooking at the same time. In fact right now I have a short story series I’m in the third installment of, a couple of novella series (one in its third, the other in its first installment), and a novel. Novels tend to have multiple story lines going on, and character arcs to keep track of, and a larger cast of characters. Sometimes I just want–nay, need–to churn out shorter works. I find it helps center my brain for the complex web of larger story lines. After that break I’m able to get back into them with greater energy and joy.

Stupid as it sounds, that one-project-at-a-time-rule always had me feeling a bit guilty about it, as if I were cheating on the novel somehow. Ms. Mantel’s description of her writing day points out that the creative mind isn’t like a train with tracks leading one way or another. It’s more like riding a horse. You lead it, but it’s important to remember that it has a will of its own. You work together. Sometimes you keep it to the path, and sometimes you let it run loose across that open field.

And finally, this:

“I stop for the day when some inner falling-away says, that’s all there is. It feels like a page turning inside – the next page is empty. Nothing is left then but to go to bed and wait for dreams and for the next day.”

Such a beautiful description of something I think all authors experience.

For the full article–and it’s worth a read–click here

What about you authors out there? Do you find you need to stick to one project at a time or do you work on multiple things?

From the revisions booth & other news

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#amwriting, Dystopian, Newsletter, Science-Fiction, Self Published Book, Writing Tips

Those of you who frequent the ramblings of my blog, or the newsletter, know that I’m almost finished with revisions of my first novel, “A Ransom of Flames”. Yes, I know, I’ve been saying that for a while now. It’s amazing how a teething baby can interfere with the writing schedule. But laments aside, the plan is still to publish this month. I went through all of my editor’s comments and now I’m doing a final read through to tighten up sentences and make everything as crisp as I can.

So, every writer has a few twitches when it comes to their prose. You know, that handful of words they tend to use over and over and over, unaware the mania is even happening.

A few of my own:

• People meeting each other’s gazes–A little goes a long way. I had to take out a bunch of these. Seriously, it’s like I had them in staring contests.
• WAY too much of the word “about”: Hands gripped “about” a weapon. Belts “about” the waist”. Cloaks “about” shoulders. Good GOD, already. Make it stop!
• Tendency to…trail off dialogue sentences. Again, some of this is okay but I was…stretching it. I’ve mentioned this about a book I reviewed some time ago. Apparently noticing it while reading doesn’t mean it’ll be noticed while writing. *face turns red* Thank goodness for…revisions.

Publication will be a bit later in March than I thought, but better a small delay than rushing things out before they’re ready. Of course, a couple of weeks ago I took a short detour from revisions to start a Science-Fiction/Dystopia short story series titled “Insurrection”. The beginning installments will be published in the next few weeks. Constant rewrites started to drive me bananas. I had to break ground on something new.

Those of you who subscribe to the newsletter will get the first story of the series for free in the next edition. Not signed up? You can do so here

The cover of Book One:

For now, it’s back to the revisions. I’m starting to understand why authors say they are sick to death of their book by the time it goes to publication. This will be my sixth time through.

What about you fellow authors out there? Any writer ticks you notice frequently in your manuscripts? What tricks do you use to find them/get rid of them?

Guest Post: On Perseverance

Tags

Inspiration, Self Published Book, Writing Tips

Self-published author and blogger Jonathan Kile brings a little perspective on forging through the peaks and valleys of the writing life to get things done. It’s an awesome article, so let’s just get right to it.

Take it away Jon!

The other day Anela asked me to talk a little about persevering as an independent writer. Just a few hours later, I got a message from a friend asking “How do you keep at it? How do you find the time?” So, I take this all as a spooky coincidence that has nothing to do with the position of the moon, or a conspiracy that Google is feeding friends subliminal messages to my contacts via Android phones. (Where’s my tin hat?)

A little background. I have a full time job as an outside sales rep. I have two kids under six. My wife works full time at a college and the free time in my day starts at about 9:15 p.m… the exact time it is as I write this. We also have a busy social life and I serve on a non-profit board. So how did I write, edit and publish a novel in 12 months and keep up two blogs? How did I write the sequel in nine months? (It’s in editing now.) There are two answers. One simple answer, and one that’s more complicated.

The simple answer, I just did it. The time between 10pm and midnight (and sometimes 1 am – when I’m on a roll) is for writing. 95% of my writing take place late at night. That’s when I can fit it in. Is that when I’m most inspired? Hell if I know. I don’t get the chance to write in the morning after the coffee kicks in. Maybe your schedule is different, but you have to use the time you have available to write for… um… writing. Stop watching Netflix, get off Facebook, step away from Instagram (whatever that is) and write. A recent scientific study conducted by Cambridge University found that 0% of books were written without an author writing them (+/- 3% margin of error.)

The more complicated answer to persevering as a writer is passion. I suppose it takes a lot of discipline to delay sleep and start writing at 10pm. But for me, it isn’t discipline at all, because I want to do it. Sure, I wish I had time at noon, but I don’t, and I want to write books. If I’m going to have 7 novels in 7 years, I’m going to have to write when time allows. I love writing. It isn’t a hard decision. An article in last Sunday’s New York Times talked about why child prodigies so often flame out. A child may have an uncanny ability to play the piano at 3 years old. But unless they develop a passion for it, they’ll never put in the hours of practice it takes to become exceptional at it. If sitting down to write is something you dread, is it really something you want to pursue?

I mean, really, we all have this rosy image of the “life of a writer,” retreating to a remote cabin with the family in tow, writing at big mahogany desk, sipping tea (or bourbon) and occasionally zipping off to New York to meet your fancy editor. But we all know that those writers end up getting stalked by serial killers through the woods, or their kids attack them with farm tools because that cabin was haunted. And that New York editor? They’re looking for a job. In reality, by the time you have your “overnight bestseller” you will have spent thousands of unpaid, unrecognized, unappreciated hours writing hundreds of thousands of words you may never share with a soul.

After the first book in my series came out, I spent 2015 writing the sequel and laying the groundwork so that I can build an audience with two books in my catalogue (it’s called a sales funnel.) I just got my 1099 from Amazon. With the hours I have in invested, there are shirt-makers in Bangladesh who pity my wage as a writer.

Yet I keep at it and I just do it, with passion. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not special. I don’t have some rare insane motivation that other people lack. There are days and sometimes weeks that I don’t write a word. In fact, I stewed for almost three weeks before writing the climactic showdown in my next book. It took me over two months to write the last 5,000 words – something that could have taken me two or three days. But I kept at it, and behold, I have another novel to publish.

Hemingway could have written this 750 word blog post more concisely. In fact, he did when he said, “The shortest answer is doing the thing.” Go do the thing.

Thanks Jonathan for such an inspiring and hilarious kick in the pants! Always needed on a Monday. Want to know more about this author and his work? Explore his website at Well Oiled Author.

For Sale $0.99!

Transporting a family heirloom across the country seemed like an easy task for disillusioned Michael Chance. But before he can cross the Mississippi, the secrets of his family’s grandfather clock and a mysterious French woman put him on an uncertain path. The life Michael knew is about to be left behind as he searches for answers amid a dangerous conspiracy that will lead him from the museums of Paris to Nazi havens in Argentina.

The Grandfather Clock is a globe spanning thriller with rich characters, history, action, romance and mystery.

About the author:

By day I am a peddler of petroleum products, navigating a Glengarry Glen Ross landscape of cutthroat sales. By night I assume the identity of novelist and child-wrangler. With an undergraduate degree in economics from Florida State University and graduate work in Florida Studies at USF St. Pete, I spent 12 years in non-profit fundraising. I now use that experience to volunteer for causes care about. My first published novel The Grandfather Clock is available on amazon.com. I am currently writing my second and third novels, blogging on my website and cursing my editor.

Market Research: Trends in Speculative Fiction

Tags

Book Marketing, Dystopian, Fantasy, Paranormal, Science-Fiction, Self Published Book, Steampunk, Writing Tips

For those of you subscribed to the Amid the Imaginary newsletter, you’ll remember that I mentioned a research project I’ve been conducting. The question of my thesis: What trends or themes are in overabundance in the Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Paranormal, Steampunk genres.

To find the answer, I went to the book reading source: Book review blogs

Why them and not casual readers? Three reasons:

1. They read a ton of books and are more likely to notice specific trends.
2. They have a demonstrated passion for books.
3. Since they write reviews for these books, their opinions reflect a greater consideration for the story than a casual reader.

The book blog community came back with awesome responses which I’ve compiled into really interesting results.

Some bits on Methodology (otherwise known as dry facts):

I surveyed 200 book blogs that review self-published books in these genres. My hope was a response rate of at least 30%. It took some time, but I received 86 replies, a response rate of a whopping 43% (Book blog peeps are the best!)

Note: I did not take the survey myself to avoid contaminating the results with bias.

As I started to compile the data, I went through and marked any answers I saw more than once, finding nineteen common answers. But some of those nineteen had only two or three blogs that identified them as trends which isn’t a strong indicator. Using a range of 20-25%, I classified a trend to be one identified by at least 17-21 blogs.

The results were fascinating. Far from the genre specific trends I expected, the main call outs crossed genres entirely, providing more evidence that it’s always about the story and the characters.

The top three categories were mentioned by 64% of surveyed blogs.

They were:

• Romance Aspect
• Heroes/Heroines
• Villains

Each category contained three main points that book bloggers are fed up with. I will go over each one individually in upcoming posts to really flesh out the issues noticed. Keep an eye out for those coming soon.

Meanwhile, some points with strong indicators (20-25%) that were genre specific:

Fantasy:

• Too many elves!
• Too much of “The Chosen One”
• Rushed world building/world building not well integrated with the story

Science-Fiction:

• Captains are always human
• Too much of the Han Solo trope (smirking rascal who pretends to only care about money but really has a heart of gold)
• Too much emphasis on the Science and not enough on the Fiction (the dreaded research info dump vs. storytelling)

Dystopian:

• Always takes place in the U.S. What happened to the rest of the world?
• Lacking in diversity (or diversity found only in the bad guy/side kick)

Paranormal:

• Too many angels!
• Too many vampires, werewolves, zombies or fae. Try other mythology!

Steampunk:

• Always Eurocentric. Needs to expand to other parts of the world.

If you’re an author, I am by no means saying that these results mean you should despair and dump your WIP if it includes any of the above mentioned items. I still hanker for a vampire story now and then, or a U.S. based post-apocalyptic situation. Story ideas come to writers from that mysterious ether of the imagination and strike us like lightning from the sky. That a writer should tell the story in their heart is not in question. But we should consider the practical applications of our art as well and reach for something new to weave into a plot line.

Resilience and adaptability: The seasoning of a successful author.

What do you all think about the results so far? Any thoughts on the accuracy? Have you noticed any of these trends in your own reading?

NaNoWriMo: The Results

Tags

#amwriting, Craft, Fantasy, NanoWriMo, Writing Tips

Long story short, I didn’t make it. Of the 50,000 word goal, I clocked in at 46,532 words by end of day on November 30th. Thus, this round goes to NaNo. Missing a couple of days of writing because of the holidays (Damn you, turkey and pecan pie!) along with some toddler colds, sealed my fate. I typically average about 1,000 words a day. Pushing that to over 1,600 definitely required a reordering of my life to get it done (Guess I’ll have to find out about Glen’s fate when The Walking Dead is available on Netflix). Sometimes that daily goal happened. Sometimes it didn’t.

While my competitive side feels some disappointment, the writer side of me is actually pretty stoked to have gotten 46k n’ change onto the page. This dragon novel I devoted to NaNo will probably top out at 75,000 words, meaning that the first draft is halfway done after just one month’s work. Woot! Sure, I haven’t slept in 30 days, but sleep deprivation is the fuel of creativity, right? Someone said that once, didn’t they? It’s possible I hallucinated that…

Things I learned from my first bout of NaNo:

I’m a hybrid Pantser/Plotter: I like to invent as I go and allow for adjustments but I need the foundation and frame of the house to build at a steady pace. In other words, I need to know where I start, what (generally) happens in the middle, and the ending.

Research before getting too far: As it turns out, when one is writing a Fantasy novel set in medieval ages, there’s a crap ton of research required to get the day-to-day details right: from the housing, to the way people cooked, to how they traveled, to the animals they kept. You’re essentially writing historical fiction. Thankfully I’m nerdish in my love of research so I had a lot of fun with this. I officially know the difference between a bliaud and a jerkin.

Know your people: This being my second novel, I became keenly aware of how easy it can be to overlay personality types from a first novel onto new protagonists. I got to know those characters so well that it’s hard to put them away. My solution? Write up a personality description of the main players to get a feel for them and for reference (especially helpful with dialogue and to keep behavior consistent). Some examples I have jotted down: Taciturn but with a great sense of integrity and courage. Witty with a wry sense of humor that hides fear and loneliness. Practical, sharp tongued but with a kind heart and honest disposition. Actually, it kinda looks like an online dating profile.

Reality Check: I determined that 1,000 words is a good daily goal for me and my life at the moment. My hubs is a great support and totally picked up the slack during NaNo to allow me to give it my all, but long-term, that 1,600 count is a touch high. I’m comfortable with that. Work/Life balance, as they say.

And anyway, doing the math on this gig, if I average 1,000 words a day I can complete a rough draft in approximately two months. Allowing for revisions, beta reading and an editor, (and any other curve balls of life) I can aim to publish two quality novels a year, along with a smattering of short story works I’ve got brewing. In all, not too bad for this mama.

So, what do I think of the work I completed during NaNo?

The story is solid, but thank God for revisions.

So how did NaNo go for everyone else? Did you make it to Mt. 50,000?

Guest Post: Self Published Fiction and the Quest for Quality

Tags

Book Marketing, Fantasy, Guest Post, Self Published Book, Writing Tips

The process of getting an idea onto the page, into a publishable book, and finally into readers hands, has many stops along the way. How does one figure out whether the finished product is ready for the world? Self-published writers, or authorpreneurs, have the added challenge of doing it all on their own. Today’s guest, author Aderyn Wood, offers a road map and some sage advice on quality control before hitting that “Publish” button. 

Take it away, Aderyn!

Self Published Fiction and the Quest for Quality

I’m an Indie author and I’m pretty passionate about self-publishing. As such, I want to support and read other indie authors. I’m always on the lookout for self-published books, fantasy in particular, that will get me turning the pages and totally immersed the way my old favourite trad pubbed books do.

But if I’m going to be honest, the search for quality self-pubbed books is not always easy, and it seems in my quest to find some shiny gems, I often end up with a big bag of turnips. The quality varies on many levels. There’s a lot of books with interesting plots and characters, stories that would have held my interest, writing that almost made it, but just didn’t cut it quality-wise, and could have if the author had incorporated quality control measures in their writing-publishing process. As a reader, this is frustrating, as I really want to read and LOVE the work of fellow Indies.

So how can indie authors get quality control? And how do you get it without the budget of a traditional publishing house?  We don’t have a team of agents, editors, cover designers and marketers. We have to work all this out, and pay for it, ourselves. I’m by no means an expert, I’m still learning, but I’ve now incorporated strategies that help me gain some quality control in my process. And most of them cost nothing.

So, here’s a process, from writing to marketing, that helps to create the best book for the cheapest possible price – but be warned, you will have to invest some money along the way if you want a quality product.

1) Write your book.

Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, whether you write every day or only on weekends, this is the most important step of all. Just write the damn book warts and all, and write it as quick as you can. I spent about two decades of my life saying, ‘one day I’ll write a book.’ Now, (that I’m about to start writing my sixth book) I look back and wish I’d just stopped talking about it and done it already!

2) Let the book ferment. In On Writing, Stephen King recommends locking your first draft away in a dark drawer and letting it rest, like the way we let bread dough rest between kneads. He suggests that it should sit for a minimum of six weeks. So, forget about it for a couple of months. This will allow you to read your manuscript with ‘fresh eyes’ when you return to it. Don’t let anyone see it yet. While you’re waiting, you could work on your next novel, or read some books on writing and/or editing.  There’s always more to learn and there’s plenty of good books on writing available. But keep in mind, the best way to learn more about writing, is to write.

3) Edit your book and create your second draft. Get your manuscript out of the drawer, cut out those unnecessary adverbs, make sure your POV is consistent, and tidy up your grammar. Now you’re getting it ready for someone else to read – but not the reading public, not even friends and family, not yet. 

4) Workshop your book and welcome robust critique. This can be confronting, especially for new writers. I remember the nervous butterflies when I first had my work seriously workshopped. I discovered so much about what I was doing ‘wrong’. It was how I first learnt about filtering, something I was doing a lot of, and within six months my writing had improved dramatically.

Critiquing is a wonderful part of the process where other people can pick out the flaws in your writing that your brain can’t see, but when highlighted, they become rather obvious – whether they are character inconsistencies, plot holes, places where you need to kill your darlings, or the dreaded info dump – a good group of critiquers will make such weaknesses visible for you. I find the best critquers are fellow writers, and there’s heaps of them around. While you’re at it, do some critiquing yourself. Critiquing the work of others can help you learn a lot about how to improve your own writing. There’s plenty of information around on how to find a critique group.

5) Create the third draft. Now that it’s gone through the workshop grind, you can edit and create the next draft – but it’s still not ready for publishing.

6) Get Beta readers to read it. Finally, you can ask your friends and family to read your book and give you feedback. But if you’ve written an epic fantasy novel, only ask those friends who actually read and enjoy epic fantasy. Otherwise, you’re not going to get the right kind of feedback. You should also give your beta readers a small list of specific questions that will help you get the feedback you need, otherwise you might get very general stuff like ‘it was good’, which is nice, but won’t help you much to improve it.

7) Create the fourth draft. Do yet another edit, incorporating any feedback from your beta readers that you choose to take on.  But, it’s still not yet ready for readers to buy.

8) Get an editor.  Hire a real, professional editor with actual editing qualifications who is not a friend or family member and who you DO have to pay. Everything up to this point has been free. Or would cost very little (an online subscription to a critique site might cost a small annual fee). To hire a real editor is going to cost you real money.  But you know what? This whole process can take a while. It takes me about six months, and that’s enough time to save up the money. I always budget for at least $1000 to get a real editor to edit my work. But at this point, after the manuscript has had so many other eyes on it, it’s in pretty good shape and makes the editor’s job that much easier.

Sometimes my editor has charged me less than her original quote because she didn’t have to spend as much time on it.  Joanna Penn has an extensive list of editors and editing resources on her site. However, every country, state or region will have local editors and resources available. I found my editor through my state’s association, Editors Victoria, and their freelance list – so check out your local resources too.

9) Create your final draft.  Incorporate that all-important feedback from your editor. Ok, now it is ready to face the world!

10) Send out ARCs. This is a new step for me that I’ve only just incorporated with my latest release, but it’s totally worth the time. I used to think it was somehow ‘wrong’ to ask reviewers to review your book, but that was just silly. Sending out Advanced Review Copies has been a long tradition in publishing houses, and Indies are just as entitled to employ the practice.

By contacting reviewers and politely requesting they review your book in return for a free Advanced Review Copy, you will get some early feedback, and reviews posted very quickly after publishing. One of the advantages of self-publishing is that you can modify or fix any typos, or anything else, instantly, both before and after the book has been published.  A good place to find Indie friendly reviewers is on The Indie View.

10) Publish your masterpiece. Assuming you’ve paid for a real cover art designer to create the cover – yes, this costs real money too, but not as much as hiring an editor. I usually pay no more than $200 USD for my cover art; also assuming you have gone through a rigorous process with your blurb/book description, it is time to publish!

11) Market your masterpiece. Yes, this means paying for real book sites to advertise your book, and again you have to pay with real money. But it doesn’t have to break the bank. You can spend as little as $10 – and in some instances this would be the best course e.g. if it is your first book. The more you pay (in most cases) the more return you will see. Marketing does not mean abusing social media with ‘buy my book’ posts. Something, I’m embarrassed to say, I did after my first publication. Yes, I was one of those authors who sent out way too many tweets, all focused on some kind of ‘buy my book’ message. Now I hang my head in shame about it, but at least I am fully qualified to inform you that such use (abuse) of social media has no real positive effect on sales. It’s not a surprise really; social media is awash with spam.

So that’s my process as it currently stands. I’m happy to report that I’ve had good feedback so far, in terms of my rather small number of reviews from readers who have enjoyed my books and the ‘quality’ of the finished product. But, I’m still learning, and it’s early days in my writing and publishing journey. I’m sure my ‘quality control’ process will continue to evolve. One thing I would like to do in the future (when my budget allows) is to hire an additional editor to better reflect the kind of rigorous process inherent in a traditional publishing house.

I think we indie authors owe it to ourselves, our readers and to each other to ensure that a self-published ‘label’ doesn’t equate to poor quality. I’d love to hear any ‘quality control’ tips from fellow authors – do you have a ‘quality control’ measure that works for you?  Or have you made mistakes (as I have) in your writing/publishing journey?

 

Many thanks for providing a thorough and thoughtful run-down of your process, Aderyn! I fully agree with all of these points!

Check out Aderyn Wood’s book, Currently FREE today and tomorrow only (12/2 & 12/3)! Pick up your copy while there’s time!!

The Raven (The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic Book 1)

A lonely outcast is forced to reveal her secret Gift – but will such power bring acceptance?

‘The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic’ is a collection of histories that will take readers on a journey into a rich new fantasy world. Enjoy stepping into the dark days of time in this sweeping prehistoric fantasy. ‘The Raven’ is the first Chronicle in a collection set in a vibrant new world by Aderyn Wood.

From high fantasy to paranormal, Aderyn’s stories cover the broad spectrum of Fantasy. Inspired from childhood by the wonder and mystique of Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising and the adventures in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, her love of the Fantasy genre has been life long. As a writer, she brings characters and places to life in stories filled with magic, mystery, and a good dollop of mayhem.

Aderyn studied Literature, History and Creative Writing at university, travelled the world, and taught English before becoming a full-time writer. She is also a part-time farmer passionate about self-sufficiency and poultry. She lives in a cosy cottage on a small farm in Victoria, Australia with partner Peter, their dog, cat, and a little duck called Snow.

http://aderynwood.blogspot.com

Explore her work:

The Raven (Latest Release, High Fantasy)

The Viscount’s Son (Paranormal novella, #1 in a trilogy)

The Borderlands: Journey (YA Contemporary Fantasy, #1 in a trilogy)