Category: Writing

Categories
Writing

7 Ways to Fall Back in Love with Your WIP

Sometimes the spark dies. You take a long break. You put your book on the backburner for some reason. Then you have to figure out how to start writing again.

Maybe you’re coming out of burnout or have simply been too busy with other things to write your current book. Whatever the reason, when you open up your document it hits you hard—you’ve fallen out of love with your WIP.

Some people would give it up at this point. Maybe it’s kind of a lame story after all. It just doesn’t interest you anymore, so why keep torturing yourself over that blank page? It was just a phase. Maybe I’m not really a writer at all.

But you’re here because that isn’t you. You want to start writing again and finish that WIP. You’ve poured too much into it to abandon it now. So, what are you going to do? It’s up to you, but here are seven possible strategies that might help you fall back in love with your WIP.

#1 Make and listen to a playlist

For a lot of authors, music can really get the imagination going full-sail. If you haven’t tried making a playlist for your WIP, maybe you should blow some time doing that now, since you feel stuck anyway. You can go with instrumentals and soundtracks, or try hunting down songs with vibes and lyrics that line up with your characters and themes.

Once you’ve got your playlist, spend some time listening to it while doing other things. You’ll probably start daydreaming which could lead to brainstorming, which could lead to actually wanting to write.

#2 What do you love about the project? Write some of that

Go ahead and write some scenes you’re looking forward to. Write the things that excite you about the story. You know which characters you enjoy the most—write some interactions between them or throw them into a fun action or humor scene you may or may not actually use.

Don’t try to do a good job or fit these scenes into your manuscript. You don’t even have to finish a scene if you don’t feel like it. Skip around to different scenes until you find one you do feel like writing.

#3 Write letters, journal entries, etc. by your favorite characters

You need a deep connection with your characters. Getting into your main characters’ minds and immersing yourself in their hopes struggles and views of their world is a powerful exercise. Writing letters from one character to another, from yourself to your characters, is one way to do it. Journal entries are also great.

Feel free to pick any point in your story to write from. It can be from before the beginning, after the end, near the climax, or exactly wherever it is you’re stuck right now. Grab a notebook or open a new document and start writing. (Plus, this could potentially double as fun bonus material to help promote your book later.)

#4 Re-read your favorite parts

If you feel like your writing as terrible right now, try going back to some scenes you’ve already written and rereading them with an open mind. You might even be able to remember some scenes you actually enjoyed writing, or felt good about once you got them down. Check those out.

You might even end up re-reading several chapters—or even the whole manuscript so far. This is actually a good sign. That means you’re more interested in your story than you might have thought.

#5 Tell someone else about the project—tell them what makes it good

This is a great project. If it wasn’t you wouldn’t have started it. Try talking to someone—anybody who is nice and will listen. Tell them your premise. Tell them why you love the characters and why you wish you lived in their world. You started writing the book you wanted to read, didn’t you? Why did you want to read it?

Recommending your book to other people is a skill you’re going to need to learn anyway. If you don’t want to bother an actual person with your rant, try just writing it out. You might come up with some good loglines or material for your blurb that will come in handy later, so be sure to save it.

#6 Make fan-art or write fan-fiction of your own stories

Be your own biggest fan for a while. If you draw, crack open your sketchbook and start drawing some of the best moments from your story. If you’re not inclined that way, just try writing. Write some alternative universe pieces. Drop your characters into the modern world, or Narnia, or swap them out with the crew of the starship Enterprise and see what happens.

These fan-works can be as lazy or as elaborate as you’d like. The point is to shake out the creative stiffness and have some fun with your characters again. This will give you a chance to develop their personalities and might even give you some idea for plot twists that could liven up your actual story.

#7 Find what’s making you feel stuck and fix it

If you feel up to it, maybe you want to get down to business and find out what’s really making you feel stuck. Is there something you’re actually struggling with about the project itself? Do you know what it is?

Put some thought into it and then start brainstorming. Treat it like a puzzle with an answer you want to find. But don’t put pressure on yourself to solve it too fast. Remember—this is part of the writing process. Not all writing is putting words down in a document. That’s the easy part. This is the part where you have to use your brain and do what only you can do for your story. Don’t be afraid to work hard on it and take your time.

What If I’m Still Stuck?

Did you actually try everything? Have some hope. I doubt you can really stay uninterested in spite of all your efforts to start writing again. There’s a reason you started this WIP. You’re going to find a reason to finish it. There will be hard parts. It’s probably going to take a lot longer than you expected. But if you are truly meant to write it, you’ll fall back in love with it eventually. Trust the process and give yourself grace.

Categories
Writing

How to Write an Excellent Book Review

One of the most prized things in the indie author community is a good review. We’re always hoping for one. Checking our Goodreads and Amazon pages periodically wondering if somebody found our book.

We’re always asking for reviews from anyone who picks up our books. From the amount of authors out there begging their readership for reviews, you might be tempted to think a book review is a gift to the author. A little payoff for their hard work. A few stars for their months or years of effort.

But what if I told you reviews aren’t for authors?

I’m an indie author. I also really appreciate reviews. But here’s the thing: books are just like any other product. If you bought a set of deluxe bath towels, and you decided you would highly recommend them, you might leave a review. But who would you be writing that review for? The manufacturer? Or the potential customers who might be looking for some luxurious new bath towels?

Who Are You Writing For?

Now, it’s definitely true that not all book reviewers are writing with the potential reader in mind. I would group book reviewers into three categories according to the apparent intended audience:

  • Author-centric Reviewers

Often, these reviewers are friends or colleges of the author—or people who consider themselves to be. When a reviewer is reviewing a book for the benefit of the author, it can show up in several ways. Some reviewers will literally format their review as an open letter to the author. They are addressing the author, by name, either praising them to the skies or yelling at them for being some kind of monster. There isn’t usually much in-between with this kind of review.

  Other times, the reviewer just seems to be giving a rather generalized “this book is amazing, everyone should read it” kind of summary. Though these kinds of reviews sound, on the surface, like they are aimed at potential readers, at the core, they were written to benefit the author. These reviews are styled after celebrity endorsements rather than reader reviews. They tend to come across as what they probably are—promo material, not actual recommendations to readers.

  Another kind is the review written by a reader who considers his or herself a constructive critic—telling the author what they could do better in the interest of “helping them succeed.” These reviews honestly come off pretty condescending and tone-deaf and are actually some of my personal least-favorite to read. Seriously. If the author didn’t pick you to be an editor or a beta-reader, mind your own business. This is not a good way to set yourself up as an authority in the industry—but then again, apparently you already consider yourself an authority, so you’re probably not listening to me anyway.

  • Self-centric Reviewers

You’re going to run into a lot of this on Goodreads, if you hang around. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with it. Freedom of speech, after all. People should feel free to express their feelings. But these kinds of reviewers aren’t actually that useful for someone trying to decide whether or not to read a book. Let me explain.

  Basically, a reviewer who writes for their own benefit is just venting. It can be positive, negative, or dead in between, but this kind of reviewer is speaking very specifically from their own point of view and not trying to give an objective evaluation of any kind. They’re strictly comparing a book to their own tastes and expectations. Typically, they star a book according to their enjoyment of it—not how well it was written or executed. This makes their reviews entertaining, but practically useless to anyone who doesn’t have precisely the same tastes in fiction.

  • Reader-centric Reviewers

The reader-centric review is the only one potential readers are going to genuinely trust and consider before buying or borrowing a book. A reader-centric reviewer is actually thinking about potential readers’ interests as they write the review. They’re thinking about the kind of reader who would enjoy the book vs. the kind that probably wouldn’t. They’re recommending or not recommending the book based on a set of important and fairly general criteria, and taking the time to explain what was solid and what seemed off.

  This is what you want to shoot for if you want to write a review that is actually useful to potential readers.

So, what should you include in your review? What should you talk about and focus on? The easiest way to decide is to think about what you’re looking for when you read through reviews of books you’re considering picking up. As the reader, what do you want to know?

 What to Include (some suggestions)

Some systematic types who read and review dozens or hundreds of books a year use a kind of rubric to evaluate a book. Things they tend to consider include:

  • Plot
  • Character development
  • Pacing
  • Worldbuilding
  • Theme

Some reviewers will use star-rating systems for each element. Some will even give letter grades (which annoys me and gives me war-flashbacks.) However you choose to do it, it’s important to explain (with as few spoilers as possible, of course) why you rate things the way you do. Pick things apart a little but try to be fair about it. Readers can sense bias.

Other things many readers want to know when looking for something to read:

  • Content ratings and any sensitive topics or disturbing imagery
  • Approximate age of the target audience
  • Any tropes included and how well-executed they were
  • If there’s a cliffhanger, HEA, or a ton of character death
  • If the chapters are very long or very short
  • How much the story fits into a genera or strays from it
  • The message or worldview that comes through
  • If the dog dies

So, in conclusion, just be aware of the mindset of people who are looking for a good book. You’ve been there. You know how to help someone find something they’ll enjoy. Just write your reviews from that position, and you’ll probably come up with something people will trust and appreciate.

P. S. Speaking of appreciation, I do want to add an endnote from the perspective of an indie author saying how much we really do appreciate your reviews. Positive reviews are extremely important to indie authors. I won’t downplay that. If you’ve ever enjoyed an indie book, by all means, give it a review. It’s not about giving the author an ego-boost, though. What we really need is a review that’s directed toward potential readers, so that you can help the right people find the right books.

Because that’s what great reviewers do.

Categories
Writing

Why Beautiful Prose Still Matters

I don’t read much fanfiction. I get a little nauseous slogging through what’s out there. There is just so much, and so much of it is just…wow.

What the fanfiction universe has to offer is a very interesting cross-section of amateur writing. There are a lot of levels of seriousness and dedication. You can tell who is interested in actually writing and who is mainly interested in uh…toxic relationships between questionable character pairings.

And a lot of the writing is absolutely horrible. I won’t slam it too hard, since I know a lot of the writers are young and we shouldn’t expect too much. But when you’re browsing Wattpad you can tell right away when a story is going to be unenjoyable to read. You can tell by the first sentence, typically.

But every now and then I come across something shocking. I come across something stunning—something that sounds like it came out of a published novel. And not just any published novel but a good one. A turn of phrase that’s memorable, emotional, quotable, iconic. It’s a piece of art.

Does that mean I want to read the rest of the story? Does it mean the character development is powerful with a deep transforming arc? Does it mean the plot is well-paced and intriguing or the theme is subtle and meaningful?

No. But does it make me, just for a second, kind of wish I could read it anyway?

Believe it or not, for a second, it does.

For a while now, writers have kind of looked down on prose.

Now, it’s absolutely true that prose can be overdone. You can use way too many words to describe something that could have been evoked in two or three. Sometimes the fancier world is less specific. Not every sunset is worth a whole paragraph.

But some sunsets will be. More on this later.

There’s something I’ve got to tell you. It might be hard for you to hear, but here’s the fact: if you’re reading this, there is a one-hundred percent chance you are not Earnest Hemmingway. How do I know this? Because Hemmingway is dead.

Sparse is not always better. I almost think a lot of the advice the fiction-writing world has adopted is academic writing advice. Clear and concise, brief as possible, only saying just enough to relay the necessary information. If you really love minimalism, I won’t knock it, but sorry, that doesn’t sound like art to me. And fiction is supposed to be art.

I have read professional published novels that sound like eighty-thousand-word outlines because the author was afraid of prose. Is that really what people want to read? Because I don’t actually find it that satisfying.

So, what makes good writing?

I’m going to stick to four main things:

  • Character development
  • Character-driven plot
  • Well-handled theme
  • Beautiful prose

Let’s look at these one at a time.

Character Development

This one is huge. There is no story without character arcs. This is easily the area I have put the most study into because, first of all, I love it, and second, your characters and how they change and respond to the events of the plot literally is the story.

If you want to learn more about building characters and crafting powerful, satisfying arcs, I highly recommend Abbie Emmons. I’m pretty sure I’ve watched every one of her videos at least once and her free worksheets are incredibly handy. She’s been a game-changer for my character work.

So has K. M. Weiland’s Creating Character Arcs. I really appreciated how well this book tied plot-structure and character development together, which leads into the next point.

Character-driven Plot

Plot and character development are intrinsically linked, and really shouldn’t be separated. The plot should be driven by the characters’ decisions, which in turn are driven by the characters’ inner changes. This keeps the plot from feeling like an awkward series of disconnected events strung together.

Oh, my tip for this is study three-act structure and always bring it back around to who the characters are and what they’re seeking. That will put you way ahead of a lot of writers already.

Well-handled Theme

I didn’t used to think much about theme. I just kind of let it happen. You can do that as long as you don’t neglect getting into your characters’ heads and finding out how they think. But you shouldn’t be afraid to use theme in your fiction. As long as you keep it grounded in the complexity of your specific story and your characters’ circumstances, it won’t come off too preachy.

Prose

Prose is the medium you’re working in when you write. It’s your paint, your clay, your graphite. You have to use words to write. Without prose, your story can’t materialize. Everything else on this list is just an abstract idea. When you begin to write, it finally condenses out of that haze in the form of prose.

But why is prose important?

For one thing, it ties back to character. Whether or not you write in first-person, your prose is the voice of your point-of-view character. On the most basic level, it shows us what they see, hear, feel, smell and taste as they move through the story.

It also shows how they perceive it all. Prose gives us a look through their lens—it’s effected by their emotional state, by their understanding of their world, by their preconceptions and assumptions and fears. It’s not security-camera footage that just flatly shows what happened.

And beyond that, prose is about pulling a reader into a moment. Some moments need to be highlighted and lingered on. You might want to describe that sunset after the city burns. You don’t need action at that point. You don’t even need characters at that point.

This is for the reader. They need a second to take it in. Your reader is a human too. Humans need time to feel.

Writing is probably the most complicated art form that can be wielded by one person. Film takes a team. Operas and ballets enlist whole companies. But when you sit down to type out a novel in the solitude of your room, you have a whole universe at your command—and you can’t skimp on anything. Readers will notice.

Categories
Christianity & Creativity Writing

5 Myths About Christian Fiction

I have recently noticed some Christian authors are backing away from the “Christian fiction” label. Some writers don’t want to write “Christian fiction” or at least are reluctant to call their novels that. Some believe they can reach a wider audience by avoiding the label, and others have just had so many bad experiences with reading Christian fiction in their past that they just have no interest in writing it.
Okay, just to get this out of the way, I certainly am not trying to say that Christian writers should only write Christian fiction. My debut was not technically Christian fiction, and neither are the vast majority of my short-stories and poems. Neither do I think God doesn’t use non-Christian art to his glory. I’m an advocate for both.
Here’s the real problem, and I think it’s important. When I find out why these Christian authors are avoiding the “Christian Fiction” label, I discover their reasons are often based on false assumptions. Myths. I’m going to break down the five big ones here, as far as I understand them.
Let’s get to it.
Myth #1 Christian fiction is a genre

A lot of authors, myself included, really dislike the idea of limiting themselves to a genre. We want our freedom and flexibility. We don’t want to get strapped down to one genre and be expected to write that for the rest of our lives.
  What if I told you Christian fiction is not a genre? Neither is YA or MG. Christian fiction is an audience label. It can be contemporary romance, spy thrillers, who-dun-it mysteries, space opera, historical war stories, and, yes, even cyberpunk dystopia set in near-future Budapest. The term “Christian fiction” defines the expected audience.
  Now, a Christian audience will expect a few things. Probably no ultra-graphic content or excessive language. They’ll also probably appreciate it if at least some of the main characters are Christians, and that Christian values are presented in a positive light, but beyond that, the genre is entirely your choice. 
Myth #2 Christian fiction is preachy

Yes. Badly-written Christian fiction is often preachy. So is some non-Christian fiction, actually. But preachiness is not and 100% should not be essential to Christian fiction. It’s actually a writing flaw to be avoided. Nobody really wants to read that.
Saying you don’t want to write Christian fiction because it’s too preachy is like saying you don’t want to write YA fiction because the characters are too whiny. Yes, a lot of YA characters are annoyingly whiny, but who controls that? The author. Who controls the tone of Christian fiction? Also the author. 
So, rather than calling out the bad writing in Christian fiction and saying you can’t write it because you will suddenly acquire the same lack of skill if you try it, maybe you could be a part of the solution and start writing non-preachy Christian fiction. It is possible, and you are that good.

Myth #3 Christian fiction must have a salvation plotline

There needn’t be a salvation story included at all. This is absolutely not an essential part of Christian fiction. In fact, I think we need more Christian fiction that focuses on all the crazy stuff that happens after conversion. That’s something we really need to see.
I’ve noticed a flaw in a lot of contemporary Christian thinking these days. There is an unspoken lie out there that all that really matters in the Christian life is “that moment” when you “get saved.” We’ve put so much stock in the alter call that we turn around and neglect new believers—and mature believers—in favor of going out and grabbing for more and more of those “decisions for Christ” that can be tragically transient. Christian readers really need to see the rest of the story. It’s a journey. It doesn’t end with walking out the door.
People seem to think you have to set up a Christian story like you would plot a romance. She’s lonely, she meets the guy, they struggle, he proposes, she finally accepts, ding-dong wedding bells, the end. Christian fiction can, and should be showing more of the narrative. It should expand to include all parts of the Christian spiritual journey, not just the very brief event of accepting Jesus.

Which leads into our next myth.

Myth #4 Christian fiction is an evangelism tool

This one is controversial, but the more I think about it, the firmer I take my stand, here. I do not believe Christian fiction should be created as an evangelism tool. I’ve talked about this on this blog before. I just don’t think it’s worth it to orient your whole novel around trying to convert your reader (who is most likely already a Christian) and potentially losing all interest and nuance as a result. The work of a Christian novelist is not to storify Romans Road or whatever your favorite get-‘em-saved formula is. Our goal is to create a deep, compelling, and enjoyable work of art that happens to be pretty bold about the truest thing in the universe.
I strongly believe that Christian novels have a purpose separate from a gospel tract. There is so much power in art, and so much good work to be done in this world. Use your imagination. That’s what authors do best. Explore new scenarios and learn how to confront the lies and difficulties of living through your writing. There are so many themes, so many ways to uplift and empower your fellow Christians.
Christians have so much more growing and learning to do after they convert. Christian fiction can help them. And it can help them in a fun, interesting, engaging, world-changing way.

Myth #5 Christian fiction is limiting and irrelevant

As I’ve kind of already stated, I don’t think Christian fiction should be limiting at all. I would love to see more authors who are dissatisfied with the current offerings of Christian fiction get to work broadening the field of options. There is so much that hasn’t been explored, but that doesn’t mean exploration is impossible. You have a chance to create something new. 

You don’t have to write Amish, historical, or contemporary romance with a pat little massage and a quick conversion scene. Write in any genre that calls your name. Write what you love the most. Create the flavorful, non-preachy, hard-hitting, actually creative Christian fiction you’ve always wanted.

“Irrelevant” is one of those dreaded words when it comes to creating something for the world at large. I don’t think the risk of Christian fiction being irrelevant is actually that high. I think if the world thinks Christian stories and themes are irrelevant, that’s kind of a sign that the world doesn’t know what is relevant. Your Christian story matters. It can help someone. Don’t be afraid to put it out there.

The fact is, we really need some young blood in Christian fiction. We actually could kind of do with an all-out revival. For those of you who grew up hating Christian fiction because it was generic, preachy, lacked substance, lacked variety, and just overall never spoke to you—I feel you. Some of my least favorite novels I ever suffered through have been Christian fiction. But that is not because there are unavoidable problems with the whole category. It’s because of the above myths. Too many authors continue to believe them and write accordingly.

So many times have I come to the end of a really good secular story and paused to think, “Man, it was great…but there was something missing.” We, as Christian authors know exactly what the missing piece is. We have the power to put it in.

Christianity needs to keep its voice. The world is so full of antagonistic voices. I’m seeing more and more ugly twisted depictions of Christianity in mainstream fiction. We need to keep speaking for ourselves—speaking for God, through our art. 

So, if you feel called at all—and if these myths, or others have been holding you back, it’s time to blast through them. You have a mission. You can write Christian fiction and make it amazing.

Categories
Writing

15 Ways to Add Color and Depth to Character Relationships

Gotta love a big list post, right? I’ve had this list stashed away in my writing journal notebook for a while, just as a reminder to myself and a brainstorming prompt. Characters and their interactions are essential to driving a story and keeping it dynamic and interesting. Too often I notice authors slacking off on the complexities of interpersonal relationships in their stories. Some characters are nice to each other, some are mean, some are in love, some mentor each other or behave “like brothers” or “like sisters.”

But within these general outlines in real life, there’s a lot more going on than just that. There are numerous ways for brothers and sisters to relate to each other, and numerous ways to be in love. Sometimes characters can actually seem to lose their personalities and become stock-photo siblings or cute cake-topper couples. Unfortunately, this seriously detracts from my emotional investment in their relationships as the reader.

So, as a writer, I need to stretch my imagination a bit and search for ways to develop character relationships outside the obvious. This post is mostly focusing on positive, or overall-positive relationships. There’s a lot more to these relationships in real life than thoughtful words, friendly smiles and comforting hugs all around. Here are a few suggestions I noted to myself.

#1 Let them fight

No matter how much two characters love each other, there’s no way their interaction is going to be a frolic through a meadow of dancing buttercups all the time. Even the nicest characters have flaws. (And remember, conflict is a good thing when you’re writing fiction.)

#2 Give them a secret they can share

Another thing that’s always good is secrets. And when two characters get to guard a secret together, they naturally grow closer. It can be anything from a matter of life and death to simply trying to hide a stain on the carpet from important company.

#3 Let them worry about each other

I probably see this enough with romantic couples or parents with children, but people worry about people they care about whether it’s technically their responsibility to or not. And in a gripping story, there’s always plenty to be concerned about. Explore your characters’ personalities in the way they express or don’t express their concern.

#4 Have them plot something together

Similar to the idea of them keeping a secret together, showing your characters working on an elaborate plot or plan together will highlight their individual problem-solving approaches and unique kinds of ingenuity.

#5 Make them laugh at each other

I’m not really talking about intentional jokes, here. Characters who are close friends will be very sensitized to each other’s…peculiarities. And once they’ve reached a point when they know their relationship can take it, they will probably start both teasing and simply smirking to themselves over the other’s quirks.

#6 Let them discover each other’s weaknesses

Weaknesses are essential for creating a fully-developed character, and once characters have stumbled upon each other’s broken places, there’s potential for a lot of interesting dynamics between them as well as, of course, plot developments. 

#7 Make them misunderstand each other

Your characters may have similarities and might see eye-to-eye most of the time, but they are distinct individuals with different experiences. Confusion is bound to interfere with their communication sometimes, and it can add to your story while highlighting differences in your characters’ views of reality. 

#8 Give them in-jokes

My siblings and I have so many in-jokes. It doesn’t take very long to start creating them within groups, so this should also be true of fictional characters. In-jokes can be used as running gags throughout books or throughout a series to add that all-important humor element and reference characters’ past experiences together.

#9 Have them protect each other

And I don’t mean create an Official Protective Boyfriend character and leave it at that. A protective boyfriend is pretty predictable unless you can create a unique and memorable way for him to express his protectiveness. Sometimes a best friend’s protective impulses can be just as strong as any hunky love-interest’s, and outside of a romantic situation, they can pack a lot more of a punch.

#10 Let them reverse roles sometimes

Sometimes the funny one gets in a bad mood and the more serious one has to try to lighten the moment. Don’t give one character all the good lines and don’t let one get all the injuries while the other is constantly the designated healer. Turning the tables now and then will allow you to explore more sides to your character interactions and create depth.

#11 Give them a chance to break rules for each other

This is especially good for deepening relationships involving rule-abiding characters. Sometimes a character should find themselves in a situation where they’ll either have to go against the flow or sacrifice their devotion to their friend. Actually, they could choose either way, and it would add dimension to their relationship and make for some interesting plot material.

#12 Make their wills or personalities clash now and then

Strong-willed characters are always satisfying to read about. Stubbornness is a major factor within relationships and it can be a great way to create friction and conflict between two lovable characters. The same is true for characters who simply clash because of pronounced differences in personality. Sometimes neither is in the wrong. They just approach the world differently and get in each other’s way.

#13 Let them pick up on each other’s hints

People who are close enough and interact frequently enough can reach a point where they almost seem telepathic because of their ability to read each other. Certain facial tics, postures, or ways of phrasing statements can carry a lot of meaning, and some characters could become great at recognizing them. Some characters might read the signs and analyze them consciously, others might get a hunch and not be sure where it was coming from. Another opportunity for characterization.

#14 Have them miss each other when they’re separated

This constitutes a whole plot for some romances, but it shouldn’t be neglected in platonic relationships. Separation can highlight the ways characters impact each other’s daily lives. What does character A miss when character B is gone? Think outside the box. Of course, they miss their smile and their jokes, but think of the other, more specific things they might take for granted.

#15 Let them sacrifice for each other

Sacrifice is a great way to demonstrate love between characters through meaningful, plot-driving action rather than words or warm fuzziness. If one character has the opportunity to give up something of their own goals or desires to further those of another character, it always rings true for readers who are hoping to see both true friendship and true heroism in protagonists.

Have fun exploring your character friendships.

Categories
Writing

The Power of Reverse-Outlining for Revisions

This might be the most useful technique I’ve ever discovered when it comes to editing and revision. I did it for the first time while I was working on Dronefall Two, Lightwaste. I’m at the dreaded revision stage for my current WIP, Rainchill, Dronefall Three, but I’m not dreading it like I used to, because I just finished creating my reverse-outline.
So, let’s get straight to business.
What is a Reverse-Outline?
I can’t remember where I read it, but somewhere someone said you should keep a running outline of your chapters and scenes that you can refer to during your revision process. I decided what I wanted was a concise, uncluttered, list-like map of my whole novel in clear chronological order. It looks a lot like a plot, but actually a bit more detailed, in my case, and much easier to read. A reverse-outline is an inventory of what’s there, in your finished manuscript, before you begin your revisions.
How do I create a Reverse-Outline?
If you decide to implement this tool into your own revision routine, you’re going to want to customize it and tweak it so that you get the most out of it. I give my first draft a rest for…probably too long, and then return for an objective read-through. I divide my outline into chapters and my chapters into scenes.
I label my chapters with numbers and names. I know a lot of people don’t name their chapters, but if you don’t, I might recommend that you give them names or some quick descriptors in your reverse-outline. This will just make it a lot easier to navigate and see your overall plot as you revise.
Most of my chapters contain three scenes, but the actual number of scenes ranges from two to five. There are several ways you can choose to handle your scenes in a reverse-outline. You could just write a quick sentence describing what happens. Or you could write the character goal, the conflict, and the outcome. I have been using James Scott Bell’s HIP acronym. H=hook, the thing that pulls you into the scene. I=intensity, the action or conflict of the scene. P=prompt, the thing that makes you read on. I find this method helpful because it highlights how readable and interesting a scene is…or is not. This way, when I’m revising, it’s easy to see when a scene is boring.
So, when I write all this down, it sort of looks like this:
Ch. 1 CHAPTER NAME
Sc. 1
H:a crazy thing happens I: it escalates to global hysteria P:someone get help!
I leave wide margins and make notes when I find a major plot-hole or scene I could improve. Once I’ve been through the whole novel, writing it out this way, I can get to work on revisions with my reverse-outline as a roadmap.
How do I use a Reverse-Outline?
A reverse-outline does some really helpful things for me. First off, it forces me to read my first draft quickly, and summarize my overall structure as well as my chapters and scene-work. I now have my story written out in its most important details in an easily accessible format. Not only have I probably made the major plot-holes and dropped threads clear to myself already, but I can keep this reference handy for all my smaller edits. Having the plot in front of me all the time will safeguard me against creating other plot-holes that might result from my stupid brain trying to mess with the chronology of my story in my memory. (This is a problem for me.) I want to be able to quickly check the order of events without searching my document.
There aren’t a lot of limits to how you can use the reverse-outline in your editing process. I’ve gone through and ranked my ten weakest scenes and gone back in to improve each one. I’ve marked which scenes were action and which were reaction, found the turning-points, and flagged the scenes that seemed too heavy-handed or forced. You can track the emotional range of a story, or the surfacing of sub-plots, or character POVs by color-coding. You name it. If it’s something you feel you need to edit for, you can use the reverse-outline to assist you.
Reverse-outlining might be particularly useful for visual people or those of us who stray quite a bit from our original plot and need to remind ourselves what actually went down in the manuscript. If you think this sounds like too much fuss, it actually isn’t. You’re going to want to read through your first draft anyway, and taking notes in this way really doesn’t take any extra time. If you’ve never done anything like this before, you might find that it actually helps take some of the pain out of revisions.  

Categories
Creativity Writing

Strange Ways I Fight Writer’s Block

Writer’s block does happen. I have heard people rant about how it’s just your imagination and how “real” writers don’t get writer’s block. “Just keep writing,” they say. “It’s an excuse for laziness,” they say. Oh, okay, if that’s your philosophy, fine, be a snob about it. But for the rest of us, something’s got to be done to get out of the rut.
  I know the feeling. Your mind gets all clouded and dull and drifty. You can’t look at the screen. You can’t remember how anything is spelled. Your vocabulary is down to like, five words. If you start writing, sawdust and dead moths start piling up inside your word document somehow. Maybe it comes from physical exhaustion, maybe it’s lowkey depression, maybe you feel harried by all life’s other demands on your mental energy.
   These are real problems that are going to affect your creative output. It’s only natural. If you know there are practical things you need to fix before you can write—hey, do them. If you don’t know what needs fixed…try doing it my way.
·         Read really bad writing. I know, this is not something most author blogs encourage aspiring authors to do, but it can fire me up. I suggest hitting a fanfiction site and finding a story from a fandom you care about with some really sloppy writing in which the author makes some decisions you really hate. Be angry, be very angry. Then crack your knuckles and open your manuscript. Show ‘em what realwriting looks like.
·         Start writing your scenes as dialogue only.Writing dialogue fills up a page fast, and it’s encouraging. It also narrows your focus to one element of your writing so that you’re not grappling with so much at once. Writing fiction involves balancing so many skills at once, it’s no wonder it gets overwhelming. Just focus on making the dialogue work. Come back and write the narrative in later, and feel free to alter it then.
·         Use really weird words and expressions. Don’t worry about your readers. You can edit all you want later. The idea here is to loosen up and get your brain into play mode. One thing that’s sure to cause writer’s block is taking yourself and your work way too seriously. There’s a very fine line between genius and crazy—forget it until you make yourself laugh. Laughing is good for your artist’s mind.
·         Move to a completely different project. Don’t get tunnel-vision on your main project. Always have several other ideas on standby to stimulate your creative circulation. These can be writing projects (probably at least a few should be), visual art or a craft, if that’s your thing, writing a song, building a model, remodeling a room, teaching your cat to sing the entire Ring Cycle—whatever. Just try channeling some serious energy into some other interesting activity.
·         Start a notebooking challenge. I’ll probably end up doing a whole post on this in the near future. I don’t know if this is a thing, or if I invented it, but it involves making a list of prompts for yourself in a notebook. (I know how many creatives are obsessed with notebooks.) The prompts I write typically involve a combination of writing and drawing. Some examples I’ve done are: Draw islands that represent emotions, find random words in the dictionary and write new definitions for them, draw a creature that looks the way you feel…things like that. It’s a great exercise if your creative muscles are stiff.
·         Talk to somebody about your project. If you can find a friend or family member sympathetic to your cause, it can be very helpful to have someone to talk to about what might be stalling your progress. If you have someone in your life who has read some of your work, all the better, you’ll have less to explain. They may have some interesting insights about your project that you yourself were blind to. Other people can be very helpful, even if they have no advice. It’s just good to let somebody else in your creative world now and then.
·         Do something completely out of the norm. Adventure is a great cure-all. Just get up and go somewhere strange, do something unique. The rhythms of everyday life can make you feel trapped sometimes. You have freewill. Go ahead and break them. Remind yourself you’re not a robot from time to time. Robots rarely write great stories.
  So, there’s my advice to those suffering with writer’s block. I like to think I’m a pretty good example of a hyperactive idea-generating dynamo, but I won’t pretend even I don’t get burned-out on occasion. I definitely do. But I’m doing better now. I can feel the change writing this post has made to my brain chemistry. I’ll get some novel-writing done today.

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