Riley Adams's Blog, page 138

Launching a Book–By Throwing a Party

by Duffy Brown, @DuffyBrownCozy

All my life I thought launch was what those really smart rocket science people do to get something into space and never in all those years did I expect to be involved. Yet here I am dong a launch of my very own. Not that I’m putting a rocket in space…though right now that seems like a snap…but I’m launching a book.

What do you mean launch, I asked. The book comes out on a specific day, booksellers, B&N and Amazon put it up for sale, end of story. Done.

To launch my Consignment Shop Mystery series I though it would be fun to do something different. I’ll have a mystery party at my house, I decided! I have the house, I like parties. A match made in heaven.

Sixty is a nice number and I can just buy one of those inter-active mystery party things online. Piece of cake.

You can see where this is going, can’t you. Murphy’s Law on steroids.

First off there are no mystery parties online for sixty that has everyone involved all the time. That means I have to write the mystery. And if people are coming to my house I have to feed them and drink them.

Thirty years ago I decided I wanted kids and my husband went along with it. That gave me four waiters and barkeeps for my party. It took me a week to write the party with characters and clues.

A few things I discovered along the way. The most important is the more alcohol, the better the party and my ability to write the mystery. The second is that your friends are there for fun more than finding out who-done-it. And did I mention the alcohol?

The theme was Roaring 20’s and Duffy’s Speakeasy. Lots of decorations online to buy and an easy theme to dress in costume for and did I mention the alcohol? I divided the guests into families…Manicotti family, Ravioli family…you get the picture. I think I did this at night when hungry. Working in families made everyone pull their info and come up with the killer.

I’ve had three parties now and each time it gets better. If you’re a mystery author it’s a great gig…do it. If you’re a mystery reader get invited to one. If I do party four I’ll let you know. I’d love to have one at the Cincinnati conservatory with a Clue theme. You know, Miss Scarlett in the conservatory with the candlestick. That’s my dream. I’ll let you know when the invites go out.

So…what is the best party you’ve been to? What makes a party special? Got any suggestions if we go to the Conservatory? I’ll give away two Pearls and Poison totes from the answers.

 Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, her license plate is Sherlock and she conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. Duffy’s national bestselling Consignment Shop Mystery series is set in Savannah and the Cyclepath Mysteries are set on Mackinac Island. Duffy writes romance as Dianne Castell and is a USA Today bestselling author.

http://www.amazon.com/Pearls-Poison-Consignment-Shop-Mystery/dp/0425252485

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Amazon Author Central

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Amazon Author Central is an easy, quick way to establish a presence on the world’s biggest book retailer.

I can link to my Author Central page as an email tagline, on my website, or on promo material to help direct readers to all (well, most) of my books on different formats. Because I also write under a pen name (Riley Adams), those books don’t show up on my Elizabeth Spann Craig page.  But in my bio, I mention them and link to my website, which shows all three series.

I link to my Twitter feed and my blog feed to keep the page looking active. I have a bio and recent picture up there.  And I love the feature that Amazon provides: right on the right-hand column of the Author Central page is a section called “Stay Up to Date” which offers to email readers whenever I have a new release.

And…that’s really it.  It’s sort of like LinkedIn—I just set it up and forget about it and let it do its work.

What I hadn’t done, until reading “Amazon Hack: Get Your Book into the Hands of an International Audience” by Penny Sansevieri at Author Marketing Experts, is set up Author Central on various Amazon International sites.  The article details the process, with screenshots.

Fortunately, a lot of the time-consuming part was skipped because your regular Amazon user name and password can be used for all these stores in all these countries and Amazon can connect you fairly automatically with your books.

I did have problems with France when claiming my books—they only saw one book from one series…and from Penguin, so they have to confirm with Penguin that I’m me.

I did also have problems signing into Amazon Japan.  I don’t know why…I may have to set up a separate user name and password there, but that seems odd.  I’m planning on trying again later.

If you use the Chrome browser, it will automatically ask you if you want to translate the page into English (a box pops up at the top of the page for each link).  This is a nice time-saver.

USA: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing

UK: https://authorcentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/landing

Germany: https://authorcentral.amazon.de/gp/landing

France: https://authorcentral.amazon.fr/gp/landing

Japan: https://authorcentral.amazon.co.jp/gp/landing

Let me just go right ahead and put in the link for Google Translate for my non-quad/quint-lingual writing friends. :) I took five years of French but that was unfortunately upward of 20 years ago and I had trouble putting together a simple bio in the language.  It’s better if you have a fluent friend who can translate your bio for you, for obvious reasons.  I’ll be working on mine more, later. One trick I found helpful was taking the translated bio and putting it back into Google translate and translating it back to English.  I found some very strange wording/sentence structure when I did, which caused me to reword my bio to make it clearer.

I will go ahead and save you the frustration of looking: yes, there are many other countries with Amazon stores, among them Canada, India, China, Australia, and Italy. (You’ll find all of Amazon’s international stores listed here.)  No, there are no Author Central pages set up for those countries—I spent way too much time on my Sunday confirming this. You can get to the country’s store, you can sell your books there, but you won’t find an Author Central page to upload your info to (if I’m wrong and you do know of a link…please let us know.) From what I understand, Amazon is working to create Author Central on all these sites, but it doesn’t seem to be a tremendous priority for them.

In addition to working as a promo tool, Amazon also offers sales tracking from the Author Central page:  you can track your weekly sales and even see sales by geographical location.

I’m clearly not making full use of Author Central, but I have a presence there.  You can also add video clips (your book trailers or an interview where you’re talking about your books, for instance).  You can add your events there (these could even be online events like Twitter contests or chats or Google + hangouts or new releases).  You can also add discussion threads for all of your books on your page.

I’m thinking that whatever I can do to increase visibility on Amazon sites has got to be helpful.

Are you on Amazon Author Central?  Internationally as well as in the US?

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Freelancing–the Right Way to Write for a Living:  http://ow.ly/tU6Xv @_RobbieBlair_

How To Bulk Up Your TBR List:  http://ow.ly/tU6q5  @stephauteri @ploughshares

Blood-Red Pencil: I Want to Write a Book…Someday http://ow.ly/tU6C2

Choosing stronger nouns:  http://ow.ly/tU6g6 @AJordon

Achieving Your Writing Resolutions:  http://ow.ly/tU6q0 @krisneri @RMFWriters

10 Simple Productivity Tricks To Manage Overloaded Information http://ow.ly/tU6pR @angee

Know Your Goals: Artist-Author or Professional-Author? http://ow.ly/tU6gb @jamigold

Guest Blogging Is Dead—Long Live Guest Blogging: – Heidi Cohen http://ow.ly/tU6xR @HeidiCohen

Tips for choosing a writing teacher or mentor:  http://ow.ly/tU6fZ @caroldespeaux

Why 1 writer chose to write anonymously:  http://ow.ly/tU6Cd @NikkiGemmell

Persuasive Writing – Emotional vs Intellectual Words:  http://ow.ly/tU6MG @amandaonwriting

11 Steps for Successful Query Submission to Publications: http://ow.ly/tU6MJ @ninaamir

What Are Those ‘Long Hyphens’ All About?  http://ow.ly/tU6C1 @CSLakin

Think Like a Publisher 2014: Production and Scheduling | http://ow.ly/tU6xL @deanwesleysmith

Why We Write http://ow.ly/tU6y0 @TrueFactBarFact @writerunboxed

Story patterns/structure of different crime fiction subgenres: http://ow.ly/u5XtE @mkinberg

Authors: New Blog Topic Generator:  http://ow.ly/tU6fT @wherewriterswin

Stay Safe Online While You Build Your Platform:  http://ow.ly/tU6C4 @EdieMelson

Hugh Howey and the Indie Author Revolt http://ow.ly/tRqnG @markcoker

Why self-published authors should know and understand grammar: http://ow.ly/tRqnI @CSLakin

11 Types of Magazine Articles to Write :  http://ow.ly/tRoNn

Publicizing a book? What to Expect… and When:  http://ow.ly/tRoMA @pubsmartcon

Creative Entrepreneur: Cultivating Raving Fans And Lessons From The Music Industry:  http://ow.ly/tRpn9 @thecreativepenn

Getting Serious With Serialization:  http://ow.ly/tRqzC @BookWorksNYC @roncallari

The Cheater’s Way to a Viral Video:  http://ow.ly/tRoNI @amandaluedeke

Archetypes vs Stereotypes:  http://ow.ly/tRpmB @fantasyfaction

5 Voice Tools That Will Help You Write Better — Without a Keyboard:  http://ow.ly/tRplY @thewritelife

‘My Writing Stinks!  (Or does it?)’  http://ow.ly/tRqoY @kristaphillips

Writing video games: can narrative be as important as gameplay? http://ow.ly/tRqVB @gshowitt

5 Ways to Make an Author Love You http://ow.ly/tRqoK @YAMisfits

7 Quick Ways To Write Sentences That Sizzle:  http://ow.ly/tRpkP @jodierennered

10 Tips for Debut Authors: http://ow.ly/tRp2Y @hannahbeckerman

New Publishing Clashes with Old:  http://ow.ly/tRplv @passivevoiceblg @JanetKGrant

Using Motivation To Shape Your Plot:  http://ow.ly/tRqVm @BookLaurie

Vook Acquires BookIR, Means Realistic Book Sales Data:  http://ow.ly/u1aSA @vooktv @Goodereader

6 Screenwriting Pitching Lessons from the Sharks:  http://ow.ly/tRjWh @scriptmag @jeannevb

Self-Publishers: Hold Yourselves to a Higher Standard:  http://ow.ly/tRkw3 @gjjmcmahon

Book Reviews that Help:  http://ow.ly/tRiIo @EdieMelson

On Author Earnings and Author Yearnings:  http://ow.ly/u1keh @jamesscottbell

Great literary husbands: The men who supported genius:  http://ow.ly/tRjVd @magiciansbook

The Introvert’s Guide to Book Marketing:  http://ow.ly/tRiKZ @timgrahl

Vladimir Nabokov:  Writing, Reading, and 3 Qualities a Great Storyteller Must Have:  http://ow.ly/tRkcp @brainpicker

Creating an Indie Author-Bookstore Symbiosis: http://ow.ly/tRiJq @smclaugh4

Why Traditional Publishers Should Surrender To Self Publishing: http://ow.ly/tRjEG @eoinpurcell

The Best Place to Sell Books is Not a Book Store: http://ow.ly/tRkvG @CoachJudy

Publishing – We’re All On the Same Side:  http://ow.ly/tRjVh @ramez

15 More Online Retailers to Sell Your Book :  http://ow.ly/tRjE4 @111publishing

What tools do entrepreneurial authors need? Live chat at #EtherIssue with @Porter_Anderson going on now.

Author Earnings: The B&N Report: http://ow.ly/u1lGx @HughHowey  @AuthorEarnings

More News on Authors Behaving Badly, Using Well-Known Authors’ Names as Pseudonyms http://ow.ly/u1bSy @lorcadamon

Hugh Howey: When the People of Publishing Are Set Free:  http://ow.ly/u1lvu @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson

Serial Novels Get Second Life With Smartphones, Tablets:  http://ow.ly/tRhgT @nbcnews @kwagstaff

How to Find Creative Inspiration:  http://ow.ly/tRjDu @screencrafting

Mystery Writers–Who (or What) is Your Femme or Homme Fatale”?  http://ow.ly/u19Ic”

7 Effective Ways To Quickly Improve Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/tRkcS @_allisonwrites

Literary prizes make books less popular, study finds:  http://ow.ly/tRkdr @guardianbooks

When Flaws Go Too Far: Avoiding Unlikeable Characters:  http://ow.ly/tRiJS @angelaackerman @writersdigest

The Long and Short of Writing the Middle:  http://ow.ly/tPyG1 @mooderino

Narrative Setting: How To Build A World:  http://ow.ly/tPzZH @woodwardkaren

12 Surefire Signs You Really Are a Writer http://ow.ly/tPB0O @ediemelson

It Takes The Time It Takes: http://ow.ly/tPzYM @ChuckWendig

5 Ways To Write A Complex Female Character:  http://ow.ly/tPB1m

10 Common Mistakes from a Literary Agency Point of View: http://ow.ly/tPA0h @jim_devitt

Indirect/Characterization:  http://ow.ly/tPz3r

A character survey:  http://ow.ly/tPANd

Bringing Tools of the Trade to Self-Publishing:  http://ow.ly/tYeAA @mattcavnar @fakebaldur @Porter_Anderson

How to Write a Query Letter for Magazines and Other Publications http://ow.ly/tPzZe @ninaamir

Hiring the Right Editor: http://ow.ly/tPyFY @miralsattar @pubsmartcon

10 Reasons Our Hero Needs Flaws http://ow.ly/tPzp4 @angelaackerman

Why You Shouldn’t Format Your Word Docs:  http://ow.ly/tPzpa @JWManus

Amtrak To Offer Writers’ Residency Program:  http://ow.ly/tZXcP @huffpost

Studying author earnings surveys: http://ow.ly/tNtyi @jamigold

Becoming an Olympic Quality Writer:  http://ow.ly/tNClR @jodyhedlund

How Point of View Affects Show Don’t Tell:  http://ow.ly/tNzHM @janice_hardy

Before the Query: Preparing to Submit Fiction to Agents and Editors:  http://ow.ly/tNCHm @WritingForward

How authors become mega-brands:  http://ow.ly/tNBS2 @bbc_culture

9 Tips To Crush WriterÂ’s Block:  http://ow.ly/tNBnH @ADDerWORLD

13 Reasons You May Not Be A Successful Writer… Yet:  http://ow.ly/tNBsW @wherewriterswin

How to Show Instead of Tell:  http://ow.ly/tNBOj @KeytopServices

Is Binge Reading the New Binge Watching?  http://ow.ly/tNBYw @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives

Make a Post-It Note Countdown to Stick to Your Habit Plan:  http://ow.ly/tNzEu

4 Points To Remember When Writing A Self-Help Book:  http://ow.ly/tNBIb @writersrelief

The importance of preparing readers for shocking story events:  http://ow.ly/tVuQc @JacksBlackPen

Getting to the Heart of Character Development:  http://ow.ly/tNtxm

Blogging for Authors – Why 1 Writer Has Been Doing It All Wrong:  http://ow.ly/tNBe6 @Windswarlock

Self-Editing–Common Errors and Easy Fixes:  http://ow.ly/tVrwc @SikesAaron

5 Big Problems Facing Science Fiction Writers and How to Solve Them: http://ow.ly/tNC60 @Windswarlock

A Writer’s Voice Is All About Choice:  http://ow.ly/tNzPx @BookGeekConfess

Are You Missing Opportunities to Make Your Writing Stronger? http://ow.ly/tNCwF @janice_hardy

Building a Book: Second Draft:  http://ow.ly/tNCF1 @ShaunEHorton

7 Creative Lessons from Hemingway: http://ow.ly/tNz4E @mbrianorme

Pros and Cons of writing a Trilogy:  http://ow.ly/tNtwW

How Minor Characters Help You Discover Theme: http://ow.ly/tNziL @KMWeiland

How to make a living as a writer:  http://ow.ly/tNyWL @jaltucher

3 Secrets To Power Charge Your Writing Motivation:  http://ow.ly/tNtwF @jameslrubart

How to Craft a Love Scene:  http://ow.ly/tNyQW @RConstantine14

13 Browser-Based Tools For Writers: http://ow.ly/tNz0G @makeuseof

How to Become a Successful Travel Writer:  http://ow.ly/tNyST @_allisonwrites

5 Strange Truths Authors Know About Productivity: http://ow.ly/tNzfI @vgrefer

5 Apps for Copy Editing: http://ow.ly/tU6WY @galleycat

Tips For Jingle Writing:  http://ow.ly/tU7ll @JamesDesh23

15 attributes of an effective query letter:  http://ow.ly/tU79O @bookbaby

Balancing Character Agency:  http://ow.ly/tU7r2 @mythcreants

Writing for the right reasons:  http://ow.ly/tU7qO @jeffgoins

Your Audience Is Unorganized:  http://ow.ly/tU7qt @DanBlank @writerunboxed

Top 10 Tips for Surviving Relationship with a Writer http://ow.ly/tU7le @MargoWKelly

Are You Too Glued To Your Writing Genre?  http://ow.ly/tU7qo @cateartios

Reviewing 101:  http://ow.ly/tU7lh @BooksAndPals

5 Simple Tips for the Writer’s Website:  http://ow.ly/tU78j @losapala

Self-Publishing Isn’t Just for Authors: Video Game Developers Do It, Too: http://ow.ly/tU7ff  @vqnerdballs @BookWorksNYC

Escapism vs. Reality Check: On Creating Honest Fiction:  http://ow.ly/tU7Jk @RyanCaseyBooks

Writers Block Isn’t Real: Except When It Is:  http://ow.ly/tU7Jz @FebruaryGrace

5 Ways to Use Dramatic Irony in Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/tU7qU @JulieEshbaugh

28 Simple Steps to Write, Raise Funds and Publish a ChildrenÂ’s Book: http://ow.ly/tU7IY @TDMBAUncles @writersdigest

Great Character: The Geek (“Sixteen Candles”):  http://ow.ly/tU7Gx @gointothestory

10 Benefits Of Rejection:  http://ow.ly/tVC8A @Author_JSWayne

How to write a query letter in 12 easy steps:  http://ow.ly/tVFXG @amandaonwriting

Google Tips and Tricks:  http://ow.ly/tVBs5  @melaniepinola

How Not to Develop Characters 101:  http://ow.ly/tVBsu @beccaquibbles  @diymfa

How to Finish Your Writing Projects (Even When You Don’t Feel Like It):  http://ow.ly/tVC9l @joebunting

Don’t Get Screwed: The Contract Provisions Every Creative Needs to Know: http://ow.ly/tVCxd @jainspotting

Content Edits:  http://ow.ly/tVBsS @writedivas @larin20

How To Create An Inspirational Workspace For Writing:  http://ow.ly/tVFs7 @writetodone

Questions for Literary Agent David Gernert:  http://ow.ly/tVFsO @jakonrath

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Creating a Production Plan

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve come to the conclusion that production plans are important for any prolific writer, whether they’re self-published, traditionally published, or a hybrid writer.

I was lucky enough with the deadlines for the two traditionally published series that the drafting didn’t (usually) happen at the same time.  Only once that I can remember did I have two books for two different series due at once.  That was…not fun.

But adding a third series into the mix meant I had even more stuff to juggle.  And with self-pub, you have to add other elements onto your calendar apart from the writing: contacting your team, approving a cover, going through the editing process with a freelancer, getting the book formatted, writing cover copy…it’s a lot.

A week ago, one of the members of my self-pub team contacted me to ask when she should put me on her calendar for editing this year.  This made me stop and think.  Production would certainly go a lot faster and smoother and launch deadlines would become firmer if I figured out my calendar for the year, got my team onboard with my calendar, and then simply followed the schedule I’d set.

I’ve heard other writers talk about their production schedules.  Writer Dean Wesley Smith recently posted on the importance of production schedules in his post “Think Like a Publisher 2014: Production and Scheduling.”  Writer J.A. Marlow even offers a free writing and publishing excel template.

I know how long it takes me to write a book (usually 3 months from start to edited finish).  I (roughly) know how long it takes to go through editing (usually 3-4 days for me to respond to edits), cover design process and approval (3 days usually), formatting (a day maybe).

I knew I had two trad-published deadlines this year and that I wanted to write two self-published books (possible because one of the trad-published books was handed in on Jan. 1. so only requires editing) .

I decided to make a list, as a hybrid writer, of all the things I’m responsible for doing (writing related and production related and a smidge of promo).  It looks like this:

Outline (required for trad-pub, now adopted for my self-pub)

Incorporate requested edits for both trad-pub and self-pub

Teaser chapters written, frequently before entire book is finished (trad. pub)

Write back cover copy/promo copy (self-pub)

Update website with launch dates, covers, cover copy, and sample chapters

Ensure I have enough ISBNs for all formats

Contact
See if I have time to pass manuscript by beta readers

ACX up for audition after book is available on Amazon.

Proof ACX

Update bio, list of works

Create and send release newsletters to subscribers

Order proofs for CreateSpace

Upload to Smashwords, Nook, Kindle, CreateSpace.

Note releases on Facebook

Update Goodreads.  Consider Goodreads giveaway. Update my Amazon Author page.

Then I set up my calendar. The trick was to schedule the tasks, keep on schedule, think ahead, and see what steps can possibly even be combined.  I’ve currently turned in one trad-pub manuscript, have just finished a self-pubbed book, have outlined the next Penguin book, and am working on an outline for the next self-pubbed book now.  I’ve got a cover conference with my designer at the end of March…why not just get both self-pubbed books covered at once?  After all, I’ll have a completed outline for that book by then…I could just go ahead and write the cover copy and have that checked off my list.

I’m hoping that putting all of these separate steps on my calendar will help me to just automatically take care of these tasks instead of wasting time trying to remember what I need to do next…or by having to wait for my publishing team members because I forgot to contact them.

Do you set deadlines for yourself?  Does it help you stay on track?

Image: MorgueFile: dhester

 

 

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Mystery Writers–Who (or What) is Your “Femme Fatale”?

 by Joe Benevento

Anyone familiar with mystery knows the “femme fatale,” a character who can prove literally lethal to the man she seduces  away from clear thinking.  Bridget O’Shaughnessy in Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon is an example, presenting herself as a “damsel in distress” in need of Sam Spade’s help and protection, but ending up his ultimate distraction and potential demise (see the character played by Jane Greer in the 1947 noir film, Out of the Past for another classic rendition of the type.)  In spite of our familiarity with the  function of a femme fatale,  not all readers or writers of fiction realize how far-reaching the concept is, how flexible, and how ultimately crucial it can be to any plot involving the kind of thinking needed to unravel a complex crime.

Some detectives avoid the danger of a femme fatale by staying away from any relationship with any woman. The list of detectives who are mistrustful of entanglements with females is a long and illustrious one.  I still am surprised at how many female readers (my fifteen year old daughter among them) are huge fans of Sherlock Holmes, since Holmes himself is no fan of women.  In The Sign of Four, in response to Watson accusing Holmes of being “an automaton….inhuman” because of his disinclination to notice the charms of a woman who has come to them for aid, the detective notes: “It is of the first importance not to allow your judgment to be biased by personal qualities…. The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.”   Much later in the novel he is blunter: “”Women are never to be entirely trusted, not the best of them.”  Another very popular detective, Nero Wolfe, explains to his employee Archie Goodwin, why he prefers him over a spouse: “to have you with me …is always refreshing because it constantly reminds me how distressing it would be to have someone present- a wife, for instance- whom I could not dismiss at will.”  (Fer-de-Lance).   Even a married detective among the bunch, Nick Charles in Hammett’s The Thin Man is retired from detective work before he marries Nora and accidentally re-involved when he reluctantly gets thrown into a new murder investigation; crime solving and domestic life do not mix in classic detective fiction.  Holmes and Wolfe simply avoid women, Sam Spade or Chandler’s Philip Marlowe get involved with femme fatales, but are wary enough not to be undone by them.

Of course this mistrust of women and particularly their sexuality can probably be traced all the way back to the Garden of Eden and the attempt to blame Eve for Adam’s own bad decision making.  In fact, Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose, codifies this tradition for all readers of mystery when he has the monk Ubertino explain to the young narrator why a woman falsely accused of witchcraft is still essentially guilty: “If you look at her because she is beautiful and are upset by her… if you look at her and feel desire, that alone makes her a witch.”  Eco’s novel , set in medieval times, reveals the femme fatale as a by-product of men’s own misplaced carnal desires.

The idea of always making a woman the threat to a detective’s equilibrium has become not only tired but also distasteful to a large portion of the reading public, so mystery writers have made adjustments.  Sue Grafton is one of the most popular writers of contemporary detective fiction.  (She’s presently all the way up to W in her letter by letter mysteries featuring female detective Kelsey Milhone). It is far from coincidental that in her very first book, A Is for Alibi, her detective finds herself entangled with a suspect-become -lover, who essentially serves as her “homme fatal.”

While having a male equivalent is one way to freshen the trope, sexual distraction is not the only option, as a detective can be dissuaded from clear thinking and concentration by a variety of factors: say, his or her checkered past or an ongoing drinking problem.  For example, Jim Chee in Tony Hillerman’s very successful novels set in Navajo territory not only is sometimes distracted by his various romances, but also by his devotion to Navajo culture, which more than once collides with his ability to concentrate on the case at hand.  In A Thief of Time, for example, Chee is less than methodical in his investigation of a crime scene because the proliferation of human bones at the site makes him want to flee because of their especially threatening values within his religion.

Still, while writers like Conan Doyle and Rex Stout got around the femme fatale by having their heroes be immune to her, if you are presenting your protagonist as a “normal human being,” you are going to have to address the question of relationship and how it will affect your hero’s ability to detect.  In Lehane’s Mystic River, Sean Devine’s distraction is the wife who cheated on him and left him. Interestingly, though it is the wife who has been unfaithful, eventually the husband seeks forgiveness, and mostly because we are asked to understand that his attempts to be a traditional tough, emotionless cop are what ruined his relationship with his wife in the first place.  The blame is no longer placed on the woman for attracting the man but on the man for his attempt to be emotionless.

In creating a detective it isn’t only important to show how he or she is smarter or stronger or more resourceful than most others, but also what his or her “femme fatale” may be, what weakness, what bias, what attraction that challenges the ability to detect.  Even Holmes and Nero Wolfe are not immune to this rule; though women cannot seduce them, Holmes has a problem with cocaine and Wolfe a strong disinclination ever to leave his home.  And while we have graduated from Holmes’s categorical dismissal of all women, no protagonist, however brilliant or tough or idiosyncratic, will be fully compelling without a weak point, a humanizing characteristic to challenge that considerable ability.

 

Joe Benevento’s first mystery novel, and ninth book of poetry and fiction over all, The Monsignor’s Wife, came out in September of 2013 with Moonshine Cove Publishing.  For more information go to:www.AuthorJoeBenevento.com 

 

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Self-Editing–Common Errors and Easy Fixes

by Aaron Sikes, @SikesAaron

Many thanks to Elizabeth for hosting me today. My noir urban fantasy, Gods of Chicago, is currently on tour. Since I’m also an editor, Elizabeth asked me to share some tips for self-editing. If all you’ve heard is the (mistaken) advice that good writers never self-edit, then this post should help dispel the misconception (I hope it does at any rate). If, on the other hand, you’re well steeped in the self-editing tradition, then I’ve got my fingers crossed that I can share some new ideas. Please add your suggestions in the comments, too!

Basics of style

The first editor I worked with gave me a valuable lesson in tightening my prose, beginning with the elimination of the verb to be from my MS. This, like all rules regarding exclusion, should not be viewed as a hard and fast proscription. However, the ‘be’ verb works best when it is limited to those instances where no other verb fits the bill. If you can use another verb in place of the ‘be’ verb, your prose will improve and your readers will thank you.

‘Be’ is stative, not descriptive; compelling prose relies upon description to elicit responses and engagement from the reader. If you’ve been accused of telling rather than showing, the ‘be’ verb is probably the culprit.

1) Emma was transfixed. (telling, stative)

2) Emma’s mouth hung open and she stood frozen in place. (showing, illustrative)

Crutch phrases

We all have them. Those phrases that automatically populate our manuscripts, starting paragraphs during action sequences or opening new chapters, transitioning from one stage of a scene to the next. My guilty pleasure is using ‘as’ to indicate action. I see it happening in my head, so I end up writing it as though it were taking place at that very moment.

1. As Brand stepped through the doorway, he felt eyes on him and heard the click of a hammer being pulled back. He dropped to the floor and the bullet hit the doorjamb just above his head.

The first problem with this phrasing (for me anyway) is that I use it far too often. But from an editor’s standpoint, the critical problem is one of clarity and immersion in the story. The reader is being asked to focus on too many details in that first sentence. That means their eyes will likely pass right over it, not really absorbing the action. Sometimes we want the reader to barrel along through a scene, and that’s fine. But it takes a different kind of phrasing to create the tension and suspense of hearing your own death ratcheting back one click at a time.

2) Brand stepped through the doorway and let his foot hang above the floor. He felt eyes on him from somewhere in the darkened room. When he heard the click of a hammer being pulled back, Brand dropped to the floor. The bullet hit the doorjamb just above his head.

Redundancies and how to avoid repeating yourself or saying the same thing twice

Let me get my tongue out of my cheek here.

When it comes to redundancy, I can’t point to specific words or phrases that you’ll want to watch out for. But I can suggest you keep a notepad handy. Get in the habit of writing down any words you notice appearing more than once in your MS. For me, this amounted to the following list:

stumble/d, second later/moment later, huddle/d, hunker/ed, tears, crying, cried, scream/s/ed

I had my characters stumbling, huddling, hunkering, crying, and screaming ad nauseum. It wasn’t until I spotted ‘stumble’ twice in the same scene that I caught on and combed through for redundant verbs (you’ll notice that nearly all my offenses were, um, verbal). Like crutch phrases, we all have crutch verbs. Jot them down and do a full search for each one as part of your self-editing. Your prose will improve and grow tighter.

Related to redundancy is a common error we all make: duplicated words. You’ve seen them in published books and fear that you’ve left them in your MS waiting to jump out on unsuspecting readers. Instances of the the, or that that. For some reason, the and that are frequently doubled. It may be the result of a stop-start moment in our writing. With that, we may have two sentences running through our head at once, since we’re using a relative pronoun. Whatever the cause, save yourself the embarrassment and do a full search for the the and that that.

One other note on addressing redundancies. Use Scrivener or another program designed for authors. The search feature in Scrivener, for my money, makes handling revisions and self-editing almost enjoyable. Instead of endlessly clicking the “Find Next” button, you simply enter the term in the search window and get to see a list of chapters or scenes in which the searched for term appears. This becomes a nice little game of crossing things off a list as you tidy up each scene.

Aural interference

Watch out for common misspellings (teh, thta) and common confusions (form/from and the addition of a plural ’s’ before the verb ‘is’). These happen when our minds are working faster than our fingers. We hear (in our minds) the ultimate ’t’ in that, and our fingers type that letter before the preceding vowel. We mean to type from, but end up typing form instead, or vice versa. We’re going to use the ‘be’ verb (because no other verb works better in this particular instance) and we hear that ultimate voiced sibilant as we’re typing the preceding word, so that word ends up pluralized, or just has a wayward ’s’ tacked on. Do a search of your MS fors ‘is’ and make sure you haven’t fallen prey to this insidious from of error.

I hope you found my suggestions helpful. Please do add your best practices in the comments! What have you noticed as a common error that you were able to clean up during self-editing?

Aaron Sikes (writing as AJ Sikes) is a writer of weird noir fiction and a freelance editor serving the community of independent authors. His stories have been published by Xchyler Publishing, KnightWatch Press, and Fox Spirit Books. Follow him @SikesAaron and sign up for the Gods of Chicago newsletter to get the latest updates on Mitchell Brand’s adventures and story world extras. If you need editing assistance with your manuscript, please stop by ajsikes.com.

Gods of Chicago is available now as a Kindle ebook on Amazon and Amazon UK.

The post Self-Editing–Common Errors and Easy Fixes appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

I also wanted to share with my readers that if you’re looking for a new blog or website header (or just to freshen up your site), Eldon Sarte, who created mine, is offering custom blog headers for $39.

A trad pub editor stresses: for-hire ediotrs are not equivalent to in-house editors: http://ow.ly/tRhgS @andrewkarre

How Not to Spam: An Etiquette Guide for Authors:  http://ow.ly/tMkrD @annerallen

Do @HughHowey ‘s @AuthorEarnings Add Up?  http://ow.ly/tMnPf @stephenpub @philipdsjones

Create Realistic Characters by Studying Human Behavior:  http://ow.ly/tI4iX @SpunkOnAStick

10 Self-Limiting Habits Successful Writers Don’t Have: http://ow.ly/txN5q @DavidKWilliam @writerspotlight

Character: Using Their Fears to Torment Them http://ow.ly/txN5J @womenonwriting

In the Middle—the Small Publisher Debate:  http://ow.ly/tMBL9 @alexjcavanaugh @JulieMusil

20 Typical Mistakes of 1st Screenplays:  http://ow.ly/txN62 @whatculture

Contract Basics: Finances:  http://ow.ly/txN63 @AriaGlazki

Screenwriting: Top 20 Overused Movie Lines:  http://ow.ly/txN6L @ShortList

Author reports Amazon too quick to suspend author Amazon accounts:  http://ow.ly/tRnDm @wordpreneur

Multiple protagonists or 1 hero?  http://ow.ly/txN77 @AronsonLinda

Writing Extreme Emotion Without The Melodrama:  http://ow.ly/txOcL @angelaackerman

3 Grammar Gremlins That Sometimes Sneak into Our Writing:  http://ow.ly/txOd4 @grammarly

30 Quotes That Will Inspire You to Write Better Content:  http://ow.ly/txOds @impactbnd

Author Earnings Analyzed:  http://ow.ly/txOdp @authorearnings

Publishers Now Want You to ‘Binge Read’:  http://ow.ly/txOdL @Jezebel

Stacking the Deck for a Successful Fiction Debut:  http://ow.ly/txOem @PubSmartCon

Top Tip for Selling a Screenplay:  http://ow.ly/txOeJ @jeannevb @scriptmag

7 Quick Ways to Improve Your Writing Skills Today: http://ow.ly/txP1H @angee

The Writer’s 9 Stages of Fear: http://ow.ly/txP6s @Tatum_Flynn

What Determines The Length Of Your Book? http://ow.ly/txPZL @theprexpert

Amazon Vs. Book Publishers, By The Numbers:  http://ow.ly/txQgu @jeffbercovici

Inner and Outer Story Synopsis and Why It Helps Get You Published http://ow.ly/tBcc5 @writeabook

Tips for Pitching a Literary Agent at a Writers’ Conference:  http://ow.ly/tBcsk @chucksambuchino

To Be A Writer Is To Be Alone:  http://ow.ly/tBdxZ @thoughtcatalog @murbysell

Recommended books and podcasts for writers: http://ow.ly/tBcsL @rchazzchute

Top 7 Regrets of Less Successful Authors:  http://ow.ly/tBcsX @111publishing

17 Things Only People Who Have Tried To Write A Novel Will Know:  http://ow.ly/tBcte @whatculture

Write Better Stories By Asking These Questions:  http://ow.ly/tBctA @thewritelife

How Science Influenced a Writer:  http://ow.ly/tBcub  @salon

How to Identify your Crutch Words and Highlight Your Style:  http://ow.ly/tBcv8

Be Sure to Use Your Amazon Author Profile Page:  http://ow.ly/tBguh @SandyAppleyard

How To Create An Entertaining Protagonist: A Story Checklist:  http://ow.ly/tBgzZ @woodwardkaren

5 Easy Ways to Sneak Up On Writing Your Book: http://ow.ly/tBho3 @angee

6 Reasons Why Writers Should Blog:  http://ow.ly/tBhsV @WriteOnTrack_L

Do You Really Need a Blog Tour to Promote your Book? http://ow.ly/tBhHV @FabulosityReads

10 Tips For Overcoming Writer’s BlockL  http://ow.ly/tBiLG @wordtrance

A Brain Scientist’s Take on Bad Reviews:  http://ow.ly/tBjFA by @lkblackburne for @thecreativepenn

7 Free Things You Can Do On Amazon: http://ow.ly/tFGr4 @makeuseof

10 Famous Writers Who Don’t Use Modern Tech to Create:  http://ow.ly/tFGqY @mashable @YohanaDesta

Check The Box: Do You Want To Be Your Own Publisher, Yes Or No?  http://ow.ly/tFGrf @ChuckWendig

A Pattern of Character Emotion:  http://ow.ly/tFGrj @woodwardkaren

Do Free Promotions Really Work?  http://ow.ly/tFGrp @BookBubPartners

8 Common Novel Writing Mistakes Even Good Writers May Make:  http://ow.ly/tFGrq @angee

5 Writing Tips for Finishing Your Book on Time: http://ow.ly/tFGrX @jeffkorhan

Screenplay Structure – Upset the Apple cart:  http://ow.ly/tFGs7 @drewyanno @scriptmag

Blogs, Guest Blogs, and Blog Interviews (Discoverability): http://ow.ly/tFGsc @kristinerusch

The Accidental Poetry of the Copy Editor’s Style Sheet:  http://ow.ly/tFHn0 @leverus

5 Tips for better writing:  http://ow.ly/tFHoo @theBradfordGrp

Screenwriting: the 3-act structure, and how to break it: http://ow.ly/tFHoB @shadowlocked

Self-publishing from the inside: http://ow.ly/tFHqf @ian_sales

Using Dramatic Irony to Create Suspense in Your Story: http://ow.ly/tFHqK @KMWeiland

Hemingway Algorithm App Improves Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/tFHuw @ABC

The Horrifying Love Lives of Famous Authors:  http://ow.ly/tFHXp @flavorwire

Learning Literary Terms With Taylor Swift:  http://ow.ly/tG4dB @KileyRoache @HuffPostTeen

Does the Publishing Industry Discriminate? http://ow.ly/tIdpr @Goodereader

45 Ways to Help Your Favorite Authors Sell More Books:  http://ow.ly/tIdob @amylsullivan1

5 Clever But Simple Ways To Find Inspiring Writing Prompts Online:  http://ow.ly/tIdkb @nfm

7 Strategies and 110 Tools to Help Indie Authors Find Readers and Reviewers:  http://ow.ly/tIdkZ @sabsky

300 fonts to use for your book cover design:  http://ow.ly/tIdlc @Creativindie

Perseverance: A Must-Have for Authors to Be Successful: http://ow.ly/tIdna @b2community

Creating Stunning Character Arcs–The Lie Your Character Believes:  http://ow.ly/tIdlx @KMWeiland

So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’:  http://ow.ly/tIdVT @gointothestory

Best WordPress Themes for Writers & Publishers:  http://ow.ly/tIdkJ @selfpubreview

Misunderstandings in Worldbuilding: http://ow.ly/tIdVR @JulietteWade

Why 1 Writer Didn’t Choose Amazon’s KDP Select:  http://ow.ly/tIdmJ

Is Traditional Publishing a Choice? Not really. http://ow.ly/tIgjZ @mbunker

Lesson 1 writer has learned:  http://ow.ly/tIdmk @nzstelter

Public Writers, Private Lives | Island Magazine http://ow.ly/tIdnv @islandmagtas

How To Use Evernote for Writing Fiction:  http://ow.ly/tIdpK

Who Are You Writing For?  http://ow.ly/tIdXr @BTMargins @annbauerwriter

New @authorearnings report covers more ground, reveals more data:  http://ow.ly/tPQg2 @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

The Ignorance Factor

by Barry Knister, @barryknister

When I first decided to write a mystery series, the initial problem I faced didn’t have to do with writing. It had to do with the crime business.

I’m not talking about the myriad ways in which crime is the business of criminals; I mean the crime-fighting experts who zigzag their way through a landscape littered with clues, in search of answers. We all know who the usual suspects are: police and CSI technicians, private investigators, FBI and CIA agents, medical examiners, lawyers, computer whizzes, etc.

But what if the writer is none of these things, and has no connections with such people? 

In short, my challenge as a college English teacher was to find a way to write engaging mystery novels, but without having to act as though I knew what I definitely didn’t—methods of crime detection, the law and law enforcement, medicine, etc.

The author of the first-rate website you are reading, Elizabeth Spann Craig has come up with clever answers to the problem: the crime detectors in her cozy mysteries are amateur sleuths. They are barbeque cooks, bridge players, beauticians and quilters—small-town southern women whose skills are unrelated to the crime business, but whose wit and curiosity are equal to the task of tracking down criminals.

My own solution in The Anything Goes Girl was to create a central character who’s failed at most everything in her life.  But almost by chance, Brenda Contay finds herself on TV–and she turns out to be good at shoot-from-the-lip broadcasting. When the story opens, she’s become a Detroit TV station’s  popular Lightning Rod reporter.

The trouble is, Brenda is ashamed of what she does. Being successful can’t keep her from feeling tacky and humiliated about reporting on the sleazy underbelly of society. Yes, she was the “anything goes girl” in college, but she has standards.

But Brenda’s on-air stories aren’t what my novel series is about. Like Elizabeth Spann Craig’s amateur sleuths, Brenda Contay becomes involved  in crimes committed against people she knows. This personal element, not professional training, is what motivates her to pursue answers.

Stories have to take place somewhere, so in The Anything Goes Girl, Brenda’s wish to escape from tabloid TV causes her to focus on the death of an old lover. All-state swimmer Vince Soublik drowned somewhere she’s never heard of–Micronesia. It makes no sense that he drowned, so Brenda is off and running.  Her journey to the Pacific reveals what happened, and drops The Lightning Rod into more trouble than she ever dreamed possible.

Why Micronesia? That’s where I served in the Peace Corps. I may not have any first-hand knowledge about cadavers or interrogating suspects, but I do know a thing or two about the Eastern Caroline Islands.

In the second mystery (soon to be released), tentatively titled Love and Death at Kettle Falls,readers learn that Brenda has reaped success by writing a book about her experiences in Micronesia. Now freed from TV, she goes fishing with three other women to Minnesota’s Voyageur’s National Park, otherwise own as the Boundary Waters.

Here again, my ignorance poses a problem: am I a Hemingway type who can speak with authority about hunting and fishing? Ask my wife that questions, then step back and watch her topple over, holding her sides.  But I have been to the beautiful Boundary Waters. By making the women in my story amateurs like me in the great out-of-doors, I free myself from needing to be Mark Trail.

In other words, among the many challenges I face in writing crime novels is the ignorance factor. I don’t want to compete with skillful authors who know more than I can hope to learn. But like me, my readers aren’t likely to be experts. Maybe they will be interested in tagging along with a central character who is more like themselves than, say, Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta, or Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch.

 

Until retiring in 2008, Barry Knister taught English at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield, Michigan. He is the past secretary of Detroit Working Writers, and a past director of the Cranbrook Writers Conference. His first novel, a thriller titled The Dating Service was published by Berkley. In addition toThe Anything Goes Girl, he has also published Just Bill, a short novel about dogs and owners living on a golf course in Florida. His website is www.bwknister.com. He welcomes your messages.

 

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Assessing Pros and Cons of Outlining

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It must have been 2011 when I was first asked to write an outline of a book for an editor.  At that point I’d written four or five books with no outline at all and the request completely freaked me out, although I tried not to let on.  I handed in an outline that was something like 20 pages long and probably took me as long to write as a book would have.

At that point, I decided I’d outline just that series, just for that editor (Southern Quilting Mysteries) and use my regular, organic process for my Memphis Barbeque series (Penguin, but different editor) and my Myrtle Clover series (self-pubbed).

That was when some sort of curse kicked in.  I managed to mangle an organic draft of Rubbed Out (Memphis book 4) and Body in the Backyard (Myrtle Clover book 4) immediately after that.  They were riddled with plot holes, inconsistent characters, lack of motivation…a real mess.  Rubbed Out was a particular emergency since I had very little time to fix it.  I scrapped what I’d written, sketched out a very rough outline for the rest of the story, and pull a successful book out of it.  Body in the Backyard took so long to fix that I decided I was giving up on being a pantster.  It was a good run.  I’d had fun.  But with my crazy production schedule, I’d left myself no room for error.  That was basically it…I didn’t have time to screw up now.

So now I’m counting the books I’ve outlined.  I think I’m at eight books now.  And yet…I still have a love-hate relationship with it.  Am I more efficient, though?  Without question.  I was plenty efficient when I could organically write an organized, logical first draft by making it up as I went along. The problem was that I couldn’t count on my ability to do that.

I think the last time I assessed this outlining process was last May.  Some of the things I discovered then are the same…but I’ve made some additional discoveries, too.  Some good, some bad.

Unexpected Benefits to Outlining:

The ability to pick immediately back up after taking a break from a book. I went to Africa this summer and then came back to a hospitalized family member.  And I picked right back up with my project without missing a beat.

Speed when jumping between series (gained only if outlining immediately after finishing a book in that series).

Clarity of story arc, character arc, and (purely for mystery writing) more methodical placement of clues and red herrings.

I start the book with a better understanding of who the characters are.

I actually get a better sense of what subplots would work with the story before I start (I don’t usually include subplots on my outlines…don’t pass them by the editor, either).

I haven’t run into plot holes since starting to outline.

Cover designer and copywriters can come up with back cover copy and covers (trad pub and self pub) before I’ve even finished the book.  (This does mess with my head a little, but it’s still a benefit).

Unexpected Problems When Outlining:

Writing short. I mentioned this last May and it hasn’t fixed itself. I write so short when I outline. Ridiculously short. I frequently have to add 5,000 words or more.

Stilted scenes occasionally…characters, dialogue, entire scenes will read flat and have to be fluffed up later.

Sometimes…a bit of the spark is gone for me as I write.  It’s not quite as fun.  I can be less enthusiastic about sitting down at the computer.

The important thing to remember when we’re thinking about our processes is—do what works for us.  Who cares what other people are doing?  But…have you found your ideal process yet? So, are you a pantster? Outliner?  Have you ever switched?  What are your thoughts?

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Ask Questions to Find Your Story

 by C. S. Lakin, @CSLakin

I ask a lot of questions in my line of work as a professional manuscript critiquer and copyeditor. Sure, I also give a lot of suggestions and fix badly constructed sentences. But it’s the questions that get to the heart of the story. Asking authors questions helps them get thinking about what they’re writing and why.

So much important information seems to be missing in so many novels—especially first novels by aspiring authors. Novel writing is tricky; there are countless essential components that all need to mesh cohesively. To me, the key to reaching that goal is to ask a lot of questions.

Questions Create Story

Starting a novel is asking a question. What if . . .? What would someone do if . . .? What if the world was like this and this happened . . .? Then those initial questions lead to more questions, which shape and bring life to characters and story. Questions are the key.

Thousands of hours of critiquing and editing has led me to notice that there are some questions I seem to ask a lot. Which tells me there are some general gaps that many writers have in common in their novel-constructing process. I thought I’d share these questions, because maybe they’ll help you as you work on your novel.

1) Where is this scene taking place? I shouldn’t have to ask this, right? The writer is thinking, Isn’t it obvious? I know where this scene is taking place.

It may surprise you to know that readers can’t read your mind. The biggest problem I see in novel scenes is the lack of sufficient information to help the reader “get” where a scene is taking place. Just a hint of setting, shown from the character’s point of view, can do wonders. And what’s usually missing is not just the locale but the smells and sounds, a sense of the time of day and year, and exactly where in the world it is.

2) How much time has passed? So many scenes dive into dialog or action without clueing the reader in on how much time has passed since the last scene. Scenes needs to flow and string together in cohesive time. It’s important to know if five minutes or five months has passed, and it only takes a few words to make that clear. Don’t leave your reader in confusion—that’s a bad thing.

3) What is your character feeling right now? This is a biggie. It alternates with “How does your character react to this?” So many times I read bits of action or dialog that should produce a reaction from the POV character, but the scene just zooms ahead with said dialog or action without an indication of what the character is feeling or thinking. For every important moment, your character needs to react. First viscerally, then emotionally, physically, and finally intellectually. If you get hit by a car, you aren’t going to first think logically about what happened and what you need to do next. First, you scream or your body slams against the sidewalk and pain streaks through your back. Keep this adage in mind: for every action, there should be an appropriate, immediate reaction. That’s how you reveal character.

4) What is the point of this scene? This is a scary question. Not for me—for the author. Because if there’s no point to a scene, it shouldn’t be in your novel. Really. Every scene has to have a point—to reveal character or plot. And it should have a “high moment” that the scene builds to.

5) What is your protagonist’s goal for the book? If she doesn’t have a goal, you don’t really have a story. The reader wants to know your premise as soon as possible, and that involves your main character having a need to get something or somewhere, do something or find something. That goal should drive the story and be the underlayment for all your scenes. That goal is the glue that holds a novel together. It may not be a huge goal, and in the end, your character may fail to reach that goal—you’re the writer; you decide. But have a goal.

I actually ask a whole lot more questions than these. And many are just as important to crafting a powerful novel. I’ve found when writing my own novels that if I just keep asking questions—the right ones—I’ll find just the right answers for that story.

If you can get in the habit of continually asking questions as you delve into your novel, you may find it will lead you to the heart of your story.

 C. S. Lakin is a multipublished novelist and writing coach. She works full-time as a copyeditor and critiques about two hundred manuscripts a year. She teaches writing workshops and gives instruction on her award-winning blog Live Write Thrive. Her new book—Say What? The Fiction Writer’s Handy Guide to Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage—is designed to help writers get a painless grasp on grammar. You can buy it in print here or as an ebook here.

 Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

 

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