Riley Adams's Blog, page 48

September 6, 2020

Creating Believable Characters

by Yen Cabag

When we read a novel, we want a story that grips us, and characters that feel so real they’re almost our friends—or enemies, as the case may be. And when we turn the last page, we feel an almost bittersweet parting because we had been so involved in their lives for the last three hundred pages.

But believable characters don’t just walk onto a page all by themselves, even if that’s what it feels like sometimes. As a writer, you have the power of creating three-dimensional characters that your readers can relate to from the very first time they meet, and follow their journey all the way to the last page.

How to Create Believable Characters

So when you start to write a book, here are some tips to help you create characters that are so real, they become a part of your readers’ lives:

1. Be meticulous about their backstory.

Some writers shy away from creating backstory because they think it’s unnecessary or bogs down the narrative. But knowing what makes your characters tick is crucial for making them come to life both for you and for your readers.

Explore your character’s past experiences, especially things that make a deep impression on him. From there, you will find logical responses that you won’t have to invent but just automatically springs up as you write that character out.

One of the most important things you need to decide from the get-go is what drives your character. What are his fears, dreams, ambitions? What’s hindering him from achieving those goals? What is a lie that he believes about himself or about the world that’s keeping him from all he wants in life? And how does he need to change in the process?

2. Give them strengths and weaknesses.

There’s nothing more boring than a character who’s always predictably good or always predictably evil. After all, in real life, people always have different facets to their personality, and no one is strictly black or white.

One way of doing this is to create a character profile for each of your main characters. Think especially of strengths and weaknesses that will affect how they react to the events in your plot.

3. Explore colloquialism and other nuances in your characters’ language.

One way of creating characters that live on in your readers’ minds is by giving them a distinct voice. Is one of your characters from the South? Then give him a Southern twang. Do you have a well-educated man conversing with a man whose family had always been farmers? They will obviously use different words.

Colloquialism, when done well, is a great way to bring characters off of the page and have their voice ringing in your readers’ ears. For example, L.M. Montgomery’s Pat of Silver Bush effectively uses the Irish twang for one of the main characters, making her identifiable even without dialogue tags.

4. Show your reader how your character responds.

A piece of common advice for writers is, “Show, don’t tell.” This is an even more crucial tip when it comes to character development. Don’t just tell your readers that Miss Prissy is meticulous about her clothes; show how she smooths it down every five minutes, and yells at the maid for a missed spot, or immediately goes back in to change when she gets a tiny drop of tea on it.

Creating Compelling Characters

In the end, look at creating memorable characters is like making new friends: when you get to know your friends, you see aspects of them that you don’t always observe from your first acquaintance. Add layers to your characters’ lives, and they will become clearly more interesting people to know and remember way after the story ends.

And who knows, if you succeed in endearing your readers to them, maybe that will inspire you to write a second book!

Author Bio:

Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.

Writer Yen Cabag (@TCKPublishing ) With 4 Keys to Character Development:
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Published on September 06, 2020 21:01

September 5, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 56,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

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Published on September 05, 2020 21:01

August 30, 2020

Flawed Protagonists: Resources

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I've worked on two of my series for so long that I can't really even remember the genesis of the protagonists' personalities. But I do remember creating their flaws. Both protagonists of the series have flaws that are closely modeled on my own as well as flaws of people I know well. I knew how those flaws trip me up and family up and it was easy to work those into the characters. The funny thing is that the protagonists are nothing like each other except when it comes to their flaws.

Developing a third series this year, I had to really sit down and think about flaws and which might be useful for the new sleuth. The last thing I wanted to create was a Mary Sue/perfect protagonist. I used a couple of tools to help me create Ann, including Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi's book The Negative Trait Thesaurus to help me really consider the direction I wanted to go in.

If you have a character that's too perfect, readers aren't going to relate. We all have our flaws. Even Superman had kryptonite. It just gets boring reading about someone who never screws up. And I think it would probably make for a very short book, too.

Writing about my own flaws and the flaws of people I knew was the easiest way to tackle it. I was intimately familiar with them and their outcomes and it was cathartic writing about them. I was under a deadline or two with my publishers and it was really a no-brainer. But you can't just pick on the same flaws for every new series.

Besides the book, I used a few favorite articles to help me hammer out my new sleuth's issues:

September C. Fawkes' post, “Fixing the Mary Sue Character in Your Story”

Janice Hardy's “5 Traits to Help You Create Your Character's Personality”

E.V. Scarlet's “62 Character Flaws for Creating a Well-Balanced Character”

Amanda Patterson's “123 Ideas for Character Flaws”

K.M. Weiland's “5 Ways to Use the Enneagram to Write Better Characters”

What kinds of flaws have you saddled your characters with? How did you find inspiration for those flaws?

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Published on August 30, 2020 21:02

August 29, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on August 29, 2020 21:01

August 23, 2020

How to Choose What’s Next

by Kai Strand, @KaiStrand

I’ve been writing with the intent to publish for more than a minute now. More than a decade. I’m not even going to do the math to see if I’ve hit the double decade mark. Who wants that reminder?

I mostly write for kids and teens. I love crafting stories that involve discovery and problem solving and friendship. Oh, wait, books for the grown-ups among us contain those themes as well. Huh. When an idea I’d had bumping around inside my head wouldn’t convert well into a story for young adults, I realized I should just write a book for adults and a new pen name was born.

As I mentioned, I write mostly for kids and teens. Most of my published work is targeted for the middle grade or young adult reader, but I do have a few books published specifically for adults. I purposefully chose to publish those under a different pen name – not because I think I can hide my identity from my teen readers and keep them from discovering books where adults might do more than kiss, but because I wanted to make sure there is a clear line in the sand.

As an author, I write stories that contain adventure, sometimes fantasy, love, heartache, characters acting heroically or making bad decisions. When the name Kai Strand is on the book cover, you are less likely to find the main characters falling into bed together (though the teenagers often want to!) When the name LA Dragoni is on the cover, they still might not be falling into bed together, but they also might. Does it bother me that my teen reader might migrate to my adult reads? I don’t think it’s my place to worry. I’m not marketing the books directly to underage readers, and hopefully their parents are involved in their reading choices.

How do I decide who to write for next? It depends. When readers are clamoring for a specific book, that definitely inspires my choice. If I have a series going, I generally try to keep it moving forward at a reasonable pace. For example, I’ve recently sent the prequel to Day of Reckoning to my critique partners and hope to publish it soon. Otherwise, I write what I’m inspired by. I often have several manuscripts going at a time, because I’m not adverse to hopping from middle grade to adult to young adult from one day to the next. However, once I get into a story line, I’m usually too invested in the characters to leave them until their story is told. And I hope you feel the same way when you read their story.

Award winning Kai Strand, author of The Super Villain Academy series, is often found exploring hiking trails and snapping pictures of waterfalls in her Oregon hometown. Mother of four, Kai uses her life experiences to connect with young readers. With middle grade works such as Save the Lemmings, and The Weaver Tale series, and emotional YA adventures like Finding Thor, and Worth the Effort, Kai has written compelling stories that tweens, teens, and their parents love.

Kai has given numerous presentations throughout Oregon about her work and the writing process. She loves interacting with teens and gaining their insight on their latest reads as well as what they would like to see in future stories.

To find out more about Kai, please visit www.kaistrand.com.

About the book:

Not only does twelve-year-old, Terra, learn she’s a Nature’s Spirit destined to serve the peaceful underground city of Concord, but she also finds she is named in a prophecy as the only one who can thwart the leader of the death tribe.

The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld. They’re responsible for the termination and cleanup of Concord’s beings. When their leader, Blanco, learns Terra is the one who can derail his day of reckoning, he does everything he can to get rid of her. Including, dispatch a “Bringer” to complete the ultimate of death janitor duties.

Not only does Terra want to stay alive, but she hopes to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents too. So, Frank, a Spirit of Security, is assigned to protect her. Together, they undertake a secret investigation of how to defeat Blanco. But with the future of Concord and Terra’s very own life at stake, will they find the answer in time?

You can find Day of Reckoning at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Kobo

How Author @KaiStrand Chooses What to Write Next:
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Published on August 23, 2020 21:01

August 22, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Business / Miscellaneous

How to Set up an Online Bookstore: @FictionNotes
Building A Creative Business For The Long Term: @nataliesisson @thecreativepenn

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

UK Comedy Women in Print Announces Digital Ceremony: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
German Book Prize Jury Names 20 Novels to Its 2020 Longlist: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Digital Programming: The Women's Prize Would Like To Sell You a Ticket: @Porter_Anderson @WomensPrize @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Five Great Thrillers Set in Isolated Places: @NinaLaurinBooks @CrimeReads
How to deal with reader's block: @pubcoach
Celebrate Independent Bookstore Day 2020 Virtually: Four Meaningful Things You Can Do From Home: @smegallywrites @BookRiot

Creativity and Inspiration / Miscellaneous

Tips for Writing Cliffhangers: @evmysterywriter @killzoneauthors

Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation

Five Characters With Weak Motivations and How to Fix Them: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
What is Your Why? Finding Your Character's Motivation: @HankPRyan @CareerAuthors

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

Build Your Perfect Writing Schedule: @ProWritingAid

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Keeping in Shape for Better Productivity: @Peter_Rey_
The Emotional Roller Coaster all Writers Experience: @plotwhisperer
Books versus TV, Narrative Voice versus Scripted Scenes Longmire, Outlander: @MaraPurl @annerallen
Procrastination Expert Says There's No Time to Lose: @EricMTwiggs @IndieAuthorALLI
Stop Letting These Excuses Get in the Way of Your Writing: @NathanielTower
Digital Self Care for Writers: @EdieMelson
Writing Outside of Your Comfort Zone: @jcwalton24 @DIYMFA
Writing Superstars: @davidfarland
Journaling Tips for Writers: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson
Seven Tips For Writing Success And Sanity: @SherriLeimkuhl1 @WomenWriters
The 10 Habits You Must Develop Before You Can Finish Writing a Book: @MegDowell
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: by Elizabeth @AngelaAckerman

Genres / Fantasy

The Importance of Good Fantasy Art: by Robert Zoltan
The Shadow Archetype and Powerful Villains: @mythicscribes

Genres / Middle-Grade

World-Building in Middle Grade Fantasy: @HenryCClark @DIYMFA

Genres / Miscellaneous

5 Tips to Write a Marketable Genre Fiction Series that Readers Love: @createastorylov

Genres / Romance

How to Plot a Romance Novel Step-by-Step: @lisadaily
Six Character Archetypes for Love Interests: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Believe, Care, Invest: The Bourne Identity: @CockeyedCaravan
Screenwriting: Believe, Care, Invest: Casablanca:
5 Character Revealing Scenes To Enhance Your Screenplay: @CreativeScreen

Promo / Ads

Tips for generating keywords for Amazon Sponsored Ads: @BirdsOAFpress

Promo / Metadata

How to Change Your Kindle Keywords and Why You Should: @DaveChesson

Promo / Miscellaneous

Timing Your Book Launch: @Bookgal
Audiobook Promotion Tip:

Promo / Newsletters

Email Marketing Tips for Writers: @mindofkyleam @ProWritingAid

Promo / Platforms

Author Branding Tips: @WriterRSJ @wvancamp

Promo / Websites

SEO Tips for Writers: @brotzel_fiction @hopeclark

Publishing / Miscellaneous

The Great Gatsby prequel set for release days after copyright expires: @alisonflood @GuardianBooks
A Beginner's Guide to Literary Magazine Submissions: @anitatrimbur @kristen_kieffer
Ecco and Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney Create a Publishing Diversity Fellowship: @Porter_Anderson @CynthiaDSweeney @eccobooks @pubperspectives
Understanding Author, Agent, and Publisher Responsibilities: @mike54martin
Trade-Published Romance Sees a Coronavirus Boost in the States: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Dr. Seuss Powers Ahead, With Newly Expanded Licensing in Europe: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / Amazon

US Publishers, Authors, Booksellers Call Out Amazon's ‘Concentrated Power': @Porter_Anderson @AmericanPublish @AuthorsGuild @ABAbook @pubperspectives
Self-publishing News: Is Amazon Too Big? @agnieszkasshoes @IndieAuthorALLI

Publishing / News / Data

US Summer Book Sales Reports from NPD and AAP StatShot: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Canada's Giller Foundation Donates $50,000 to Indigenous Literature: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Ukraine Book Business After Lockdowns: An ‘Almost Complete Collapse': by Eugene Gerden @pubperspectives
International Insights: Europe: @thenewpubstd @IndieAuthorALLI
Lebanon's Publishing and Bookselling Community: Assessing the Damage: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Belarus Crisis Prompt Alarm from European Writers' Council, PEN International: @Porter_Anderson @anneapplebaum @CouncilWriters @pen_int @pubperspectives
Words Without Borders: Paraguay's Indigenous Guaraní-Language Poetry: @Porter_Anderson @wwborders @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

How to Publish with KDP: @HarmonyKent @StoryEmpire

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches

Tips & Tricks For Pitching Like a Pro: by Ericka McIntyre

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying

Finding an Agent: Tips: @thenovelry
Your Query Letter Hook and Revealing the Ending: @Kid_Lit
A Literary Agent Reviews Query Letters Submitted by Viewers: @jmdargz @ReedsyHQ

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections

Storyville: Surviving Rejection: @richardgthomas3 @LitReactor

Publishing / Process / Formatting

How to Format Your eBook and Print Book: @kikimojo

Publishing / Process / Legalities

Authors Can Now Register Copyright in Multiple Short Online Works Together: @AuthorsGuild

Pen Names: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly: by Mae Clair @StoryEmpire

Writing Craft / Beginnings

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a Screenplay: by Maria D'Marco
Screenwriting: Character Introductions: @GoIntoTheStory
Six More Requirements for the First Pages Of Your Bestseller: @10minnovelist

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Creating Unforgettable Characters: @TheKerryEvelyn @FloridaWriters1

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Cultivating Emotional Resonance In Your Writing: @aprildavila

Writing Craft / Dialogue

The Importance of Using A Casual Tone in Dialogue: @FrugalBookPromo @SpunkOnAStick
Breaking Writing Rules Right: “Don't Write Direct Dialogue!” @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

5 Ways Harlan Ellison Can Help You Improve Your Writing: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
21 Writers on Their Favorite Children's Books: @knownemily @lithub
On the Endless Symbolism of the Best Summer Movie Ever Made: Jaws: @oldrutigliano @lithub

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Crafting Exposition in Storytelling: by Temidayo Azeez @shaylaleeraquel
Writing Action Adventure Fiction And Systems Thinking: @NickThacker @thecreativepenn
Stuck In The Middle: What's Your Story Trying to Tell You? @PatHatt24 @TheIWSG
How to Send a Message With Your Story: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Do Your Characters Worry About Money? @AndreaWriterlea @TheRyanLanz
Narrative Device: On the Origin of Story: @brannansirratt @StoryGrid
Writing Tips from an Editor (Who Also Writes): @tarysande
The Importance of Turmoil in a Story: by C.S. Boyack @StoryEmpire
How Can We Learn and Improve Our Writing Skills? @JamiGold

Writing Craft / POV

Touching Your Audience Deeply through Viewpoint: @davidfarland

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

Naming Your Characters: @annehawkinson @FloridaWriters1

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

How to Create a Blockbuster Book Series: Creating Your Story Grid: by Michael Finberg @WriteToSell

Writing Craft / Revision

Fiction copy editing for indie authors: Are you fit for purpose? @LouiseHarnby

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

Working with Critique Partners: @shaelinbishop @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Scenes

The Antithesis Method: A Simple Solution to Getting Unstuck in a Scene: by Bonnie Randall

Writing Craft / Scenes / Conflict

Conflict Thesaurus Entry: Being Mistaken for Someone Else: @AngelaAckerman

Writing Craft / Transitions

How are your transitions? @pubcoach
How to Move From One Scene to the Next: @jamesscottbell

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Published on August 22, 2020 21:01

August 16, 2020

Audiobook Promotion Tip

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I've always struggled a little with audiobook promotion, never really sure what I was supposed to be doing with the free codes I was getting from ACX, the platform and distributor I use. The fact that I had so many free codes always made me feel a bit guilty that I wasn't using them to find new audiobook readers. I did use them for newsletter giveaways and felt good about that since it was a special perk for my subscribers.

One of my narrators contacted me in June and said she'd heard from another author about her success with the site Free Audiobook Codes. Free, that is, for the readers who get them. For authors, known as “advertisers” on the site, it's not free, but it's reasonable. $12 a title or, for folks with a large catalog, $55 for 5 titles. You can upload multiple sets of codes per title. There are more price tiers on their FAQ.

I've used other audiobook giveaway sites before, including Audiobook Boom. I also had success with that site and the price was comparable. The difference is that, with Audiobook Boom, you have more to keep up with. You must send the codes to each person individually. With Free Audiobook Codes, they handle the entire process for you. You can list it and forget about it.

I'll give my usual caution here that your mileage may vary. This worked out well for me and my genre and might be worth a go for you. But to make sure you don't waste money, I'd try it out with one book first. In fact, that's exactly what I did.

The listing process is easy….your name, book title, audiobook cover, narrator, description, genre, and the link on Amazon.

Here's an important ACX policy to know that may affect what you choose to list:

Fortunately, I do have a good number of audiobooks published before that date so I was eligible to earn royalties on promo codes. If you don't, just weigh whether you want to participate as a way of gaining possible reviews or visibility for your book or series in the long-term.

If your codes are gone in an hour…don't be surprised. That's about as long as it took for mine to be taken.

Once a certain number of your codes are redeemed on ACX, you can request more. Click the button to request them, even though it always looks as if the button is grayed out and can't be clicked. It can be, if you have enough redemptions:

After doing this, I promptly proceeded to forget about the listing after updating the codes with new codes several times.

I forgot, that is, until I received my June statement and found myself pleasantly surprised. You can see below the royalties I gained in the US for my Southern Quilting Mystery, Patch of Trouble. I didn't keep up with my UK codes quite as well in June and that's reflected here:

At any rate, it was definitely worth the $12 I paid.

Again, your mileage may vary and, as with any promo opportunity, be sure to proceed with caution.

Do you have any new promo tips? Do you have audiobooks to promote? How do you promote them?

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Published on August 16, 2020 21:01

August 15, 2020

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on August 15, 2020 21:01

August 9, 2020

Former Teacher and YA and MG Author on Handling The Age Group

by Beverly Stowe McClure, @beverlymcclure

Writer and former teacher Beverly Stowe McClure with reminders on dealing with kids during these tough times:

This is a great subject, and I am delighted to share my thoughts with you and would enjoy hearing yours, as well. Remember, these are my thoughts, not facts on dealing with children and teens. Many years ago, I was a teacher. I know lots of things have changed since then, but some things are still the same. The students. Well, they’ve changed in some ways, too, but they still need guidance through those tough school years, even if they believe they know everything.

I did not teach in High School or Middle School, but my students, from second grade to third to fifth, taught me as much as I taught them, perhaps more in some ways. I learned to be patient. How did that happen when the little trouble-maker in the class always questioned me about something? Instead of insisting I was right, I listened to his/her idea or suggestion and gave it some thought. If it wouldn’t work, I explained why, but thanked him/her for the suggestion. Build up a child’s or teen’s self-confidence, and they’ll do better in school.

Fifth grade was my favorite. The children are more independent and also think they know more than anyone else, which they may very well be correct. Patience, again, gives them the self-confidence they need. Be honest. Talk with the students to help them understand what they’re doing is wrong, if it is. When a kid needs a kind word, complement him/her for something they’ve done. Kind words. Sincere words. Honest words. They can tell when you’re not being truthful.

Children and teens need encouragement. So do parents and teachers. Work together. Sometimes, more help is needed for a student that’s having problems. Time to talk to the parents, if they haven’t already. Work together. Our children, no matter their age, are priceless. Take care of them. They’ll be the parents and teachers someday.

Thanks for these tips, Beverly, for working together with kids, especially during these tough days. My own children are grown now, but I remember “patience” being one of the most challenging aspects…and the most-needed! Readers, do you have tips for dealing with kids or developing patience?

Most of the time you'll find Beverly Stowe McClure at the computer, writing stories young voices whisper in her ears, everything from contemporary to historical to sport and ghostly tales. Several of her novels have won awards, such as the Children's Literary Classics, Next Generation Indie Awards, Eric Hoffer Awards, Purple Dragonfly, and others.

When she's not writing she's snapping pictures of wildlife and sunsets. She also has stories published in three Chicken Soup For The Soul Anthologies. A former school teacher, Beverly is a long-time member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. She also teaches a women's Sunday school class at her church. And she's working on starting a Newsletter to keep fans updated with her work.