Riley Adams's Blog, page 76

Developing Your Cozy Mystery Story Concept

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One of the questions I’m most asked when I speak is how I come up with my ideas.  This,  of course, is probably the number one question that all writers are asked when they’re public speaking.  At least I usually am asked a variant of the question because they want to know how I come up with mysteries.

I usually say that I start with the victim.  And that’s true … about 75% of the time.  It’s an easy way to start out a cozy mystery.  You can develop someone who’s either really hateful and has plenty of enemies or create a character who seems too good to be true…and is.

Once I have a good idea who my victim is, it’s easy enough to come up with my suspects. Who would most want this person dead?  An ex-wife?  A neighbor he’s had disputes with? The husband of the woman he’s having an affair with?  The suspects come together naturally when you really know your victim.

Sometimes, though, I’ll start a different way.  I’ll have an idea about the type of mystery I want to write or some element that I want to explore.  A couple of times I’ve wanted to do a ‘road trip’ mystery where I took my characters away from their usual setting (on a cruise, for instance).  Once I wanted to try my hand at a traditional ‘manor house mystery’ where the characters were all trapped by weather in a house with a murderer. Once I wanted to give a go at writing a cold case murder.  Or I’ll want to write a book with two different killers, working alone.  With these books, I’ll start with the setting or style of murder and then start figuring out my victim and suspects.

I’ll give an example for those of you who might be new or just starting out with cozies.  I recently wrote an outline for book 10 of the Southern Quilting Mysteries (and a caveat here–this is book 10. I am using backstory more at this point in the series and this may or may not be great for a book 1 in a series).  I decided that I wanted to bring in a newcomer to the small town I set the story in…someone from my sleuth’s past.  I also wanted my sleuth to be considered a suspect by police. This was the story spark for the whole outline.  Once I’d decided that, I brainstormed a character who might work well in that role: a past friend? Boyfriend? Coworker?  I settled on coworker because I didn’t really need any story conflict between my sleuth and her new husband (an annoying friend or boyfriend wouldn’t have served my story as well).  Then I created a character that had caused my sleuth stress in her past and moved her into town…where she was promptly murdered.  Hey, it’s a murder mystery. :)

Then it was easy enough to come up with a list of suspects for the death of this annoying character.  Then I filled in my cozy outline. 

So that infernal question, where do you get your ideas from, sometimes provokes a little thought.  Obviously starting with the victim doesn’t always work for me…it’s good to know how else I can effectively brainstorm a cozy mystery.

Where do you get your ideas from.  :)  What’s more, do they come to you in routine ways?

Two Ways to Develop a Cozy Mystery Concept:
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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 45,000 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.

News and Cool Stuff

I have a book coming out tomorrow.  :)  Book 9 of the Southern Quilting Mysteries, Rest in Pieces releases April 23.

Interested in reading free translated books?  AmazonCrossing has 9 translations available for free in celebration of World Book Day…only through April 24, so be quick.  More information in this Publishing Perspectives article by Porter Anderson.

Business / Miscellaneous


Jane Friedman talks about the business of being a writer: @ChicagoManual @JaneFriedman


Grants for Writers and other Funding Options: @JaneFriedman @IndieAuthorALLI


5 Reasons It’s Time to Call In An Editor: @rsmonterusso


With Fewer Debut Novels Selling, What Do Editors Want To Tell Authors? @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives


The 8-Step Guide to Starting a Freelance Writing Business: by James Johnson @thewritelife


Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


Man Booker International Prize Announces 2018 Shortlist: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Tips for considering conferences: @cathychall @womenonwriting


‘Man Booker 50’ Celebration Features Stars, Commentary, Workshops: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Abu Dhabi International Book Fair Includes 25 Translations from French, English, and German: @Porter_Anderson


Industry Notes: The US Publishers Association and BookExpo Announce Panels, the UK’s Sunday Times Prize Opens for Entries: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration


10 Things to Remember When Writing Brings You Down: @jasonbougger

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


Five Threequels That Really Make The Series: @tordotcom @Spencimus


15 of the Creepiest Children in Literature: @lithub


10 Great Small Press Books Worth Picking Up: @lithub


The Annotation Project: Holes: @CockeyedCaravan


Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation


If You Want to Write, You Have to Get Started: @annkroeker


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


Tips for Writing Through the Tough Times: @Annette_Dashofy @WickedCozys


Stay Safe Online While Building Your Author Platform: @EdieMelson


Tips for Writing During a Life Change: @AuthorSAT


6 Tips for Remembering Story Ideas: A List for Writers: @KathySteinemann


Doomed by Depression? @LesleyVos @RomanceUniv


What Physics Can Teach Us About Writing Fiction: @theariellewis @The_Millions


Genres / Fantasy


Making Better Magic Systems: The Heart of Your Tale: @davidfarland


Genres / Horror


Reading Horror Novels Helped 1 Reader Deal with OCD: by Sara Harrington @ElectricLit


Genres / Mystery


Lingerie as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg


Department stores as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg


Eye Witness Testimony for Writers: @SloanTamar


Tips for Better Suspense Writing: @SueColetta1 @MTW_2018


Narrator Dick Hill on His Career Bringing the Work of Famous Mystery Writers to Life: @MTW_2018


Warehouses and Storage Facilities as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg


Genres / Non-Fiction


How to Write a Killer Book Introduction: @kellyexeter @copyblogger


Genres / Picture Books


The 5 Elements of an Unforgettable Children’s Book: @DaveChesson @WritetoDone


Genres / Romance


Why it’s so hard to find fiction that doesn’t focus on love and sex—and why that’s a problem: @chengela @ElectricLit


Genres / Screenwriting


20 Little Things That Make Script Readers Hate Your Screenplay: by Brian O’Malley @scriptmag


Top 10 Lessons from the TV Writers’ Room: @ellenbyronla


Promo / Blogging


Four Essential Elements to Writing a Great Blog Post: @JeffGoins


Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting


How to Write a Killer Amazon Bio and Sell More Books: @Bookgal


Promo / Miscellaneous


What Book Marketing Is – and Isn’t: @GlennJMiller


Collaborative Book Marketing – Joining Forces with Other Authors (Video): @LPOBryan @YourNewBooks @IndieAuthorALLI


5 Reasons To Promote Your Book: @JL_Campbell @TheIWSG


10 Platform-Building Strategies for Writers on a $0 Budget: @shaylaleeraquel @ADDerWORLD


Branded Short Links: @jvlpoet


Three Ways to Revive the Fortunes of a Dying Book: @DaveChesson @theindiepubmag


Promo / Newsletters


Best tips for authors to build an email list and grow their audience: @Nick_Stephenson @IndieAuthorALLI


Promo / Platforms


Four Ways to Create Your Author Persona: @DonnaGalanti


Promo / Social Media Tips


Facebook Algorithm changes and the impact on authors: @SelfPubForm @IndieAuthorALLI


Identify Your Authentic Social Media Voice: @EdieMelson


Promo / Video


How to Use Live Video in a Product Launch: 7 Ways: @LuriaPetrucci @SMExaminer


How To Produce a Killer Book Promo Video: @wildboundpr @WritersDigest


Promo / Websites


5 Features of Effective Author Websites: @Bookgal


Publishing / Miscellaneous


How Long Should a Book Be? Word Count Guidelines: @annerallen


What Authors Need To Know About Voice Technologies Such As Amazon Alexa And Google Assistant: @SelectaStory @thecreativepenn


Storytelling Competition from Film and TV: What Can Publishers Do? @Porter_Anderson @BytetheBook


Video demonstration of audiobook editing in Cubase Pro: @Its_CCHogan


The Association of American Publishers’ Allan Adler Testifies on the Hill About the Marrakesh Treaty: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Choosing an Audiobook Narrator: @annacastl @IndieAuthorALLI


“What it Means to Publishing that ‘Everything We Touch’ is Competing for Our Attention”: @everythingpau @Porter_Anderson


Publishing / News / International Publishing


China Literature Sees France, UK as Key Rights Buyers at London Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson


Industry Notes: Bogotá’s Book Fair Second Pro Program; Amazon UK’s Second Kindle Storyteller Award: @Porter_Anderson


Macmillan’s Second Major Political Book of 2018: James Comey’s ‘A Higher Loyalty’ Goes to Market: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Industry Notes: Nurturing Publishing Startups at ContentShift, and Honoring YA Translations at GLLI: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


BIEF’s Nicolas Roche on French Publishing in the World: ‘Meetings All Year Long’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing


5 Important Things Authors Need To Know About Self-Publishing: @thecreativepenn @SelfPubForm


10 Reasons 1 Writer Became A Self-Publisher: @jckunzjr


Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying


How to Write a Book Proposal (and why you should read this whether you’re writing one or not): @PaulaSMunier @CareerAuthors


Publishing / Process / Book Design


Create the Perfect Book Design with Tips from Joel Friedlander: @JFbookman @IndieAuthorALLI


3 Inspirational Design Ideas from Bestselling Book Covers: @DaveChesson @JFbookman


Publishing / Process / Translation


Readers Enjoy Free Prominent Translations from Amazon Crossing (Free through April 24): @Porter_Anderson @amazonbooks


Writing Craft / Arc


The One Big Thing That Most Manuscripts Lack: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants


Writing Craft / Beginnings


5 Elements of a Great First Chapter: @TCKPublishing


Writing Craft / Characters / Arc


Why A Compelling Emotional Arc Means Your Character Has To Lose Something: @LisaHallWilson


5 Turning Points of a Character Arc: @Janice_Hardy


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


Writing Characters: Digging Beyond Life: @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid


The Risks of Character Neglect: @MaryGillgannon @RMFWriters


Getting to Know Your Protagonist: by Steven-John Tait @LiveWriteThrive


Writing Craft / Common Mistakes


4 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Suspense in Your Novel: @LMacNaughton


Writing Craft / Drafts


Asking Yourself These 5 Question Can Help You Write Better First Drafts: @kristen_kieffer


Writing Craft / Humor


6 (More) Ways to Improve Your Book by Writing Humor: by Usvaldo de Leon @KMWeiland


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Professional Obituary Writing: @knownemily @suntimesobits @Linnea_Legacy


Crafting the Reader Experience to Sell More Books: @KateWritesBooks @IndieAuthorALLI


How to Write a Brilliant Twist Ending: @DavidHSafford @write_practice


Reel in Readers With a Devastating Choice: @ZoeMMcCarthy


3 Reasons to Write Imitations of Your Favorite Authors: by Karen Krumpak @WritersDigest


How Should a Character Say Nothing? @jamesscottbell


How to Expand Your Novel Idea into a Stronger Story: @nownovel


Writing Craft / POV


Keeping Your Entire Scene in Deep POV: @LisaHallWilson


Writing Your Character’s POV: @Lindasclare


Writing a Limited 3rd Person POV: @DN_Bryn


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming


4 Methods For Creating Character Names: @TheRyanLanz


10 Tips for Choosing the right Character Names for your Fiction: @annerallen


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining


How to Plot Your Story and Create a Loose Outline: @JillWilliamson


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting


Brainstorming Isn’t Cheating, It’s an Author’s Secret Weapon: @LynnHBlackburn @EdieMelson


Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar


This Is How to Correctly Use Commas in Your Writing: @Grammarly


13 Common, Clunky Sentence Structures That Weaken Your Writing: @danasitar


Hyphenation Help: @editoreditorial @IndieAuthorALLI


Writing Craft / Revision


Self-editing Checklist: @karldrinkwater @IndieAuthorALLI


5 Quick Fixes To Make Your Essay Better Right Now: @GuerillaMemoir @brevitymag


Does Your Writing Need a Paramedic? by Marlene Caroselli @ProWritingAid


Writing Craft / Scenes


3 Exercises To Help You Create The Flow From Scene To Sequel: @AnthonyEhlers


Writing Craft / Special Needs


9 Tips for Writing Physically Disabled Characters in Fantasy: @_HannahHeath


Writing Craft / Word Crafting


Master List of Ways to Describe Happiness and Joy: @BrynDonovan


Avoiding Transition Words in Writing: @Kid_Lit


Tools to help us with word choice: @writerstevens @RMFWriters


Writing Craft / World-Building


The importance of world building to any genre: @KC_Norton


Writing Tools / Apps


How to set up Scrivener for a series rather than a single novel: @JeremyJmenefee


Writing Tools / Resources


A Search Engine For Writers: @MTW_2018 @thewritingtrain @Hiveword


Uncategorized


How to make a living as a writer:

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Recaps in Mysteries

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Recently, I was looking over my customer reviews on Goodreads (I know…I rarely read my reviews there, although I always read them on Amazon) and one of them stood out to me.  A reader said that he especially appreciated the way that I handled recaps because he was able to catch back up when his Kindle malfunctioned and skipped ahead.

The Best Way to Recap:

I think the best way to handle recaps (especially in a cozy mystery) is to have them between the sidekick and the sleuth.  Otherwise, you end up in a situation where you have a lot of interior dialogue.  That makes your sleuth engage in too much thinking and not enough doing.  Even for the slower pace of a cozy mystery, that can slow the story’s pace down a little too much.

Although:

I find it’s also helpful for the sleuth to think private editorial comments  while interviewing suspects.  Especially if something a suspect says directly contradicts something that another suspect said. I keep it very brief and keep things moving in the interview. It’s the sleuth registering contradictions (which helps the reader notice them, too). 

How Often to Recap:

I don’t have my sleuth and sidekick together questioning every suspect because some of the interviews are impromptu.  Maybe the sleuth and a suspect ran into each other at the grocery store or at the park while walking their dogs. It makes it very natural for the sleuth to catch up his or her sidekick soon after.

I also recap at regular intervals whenever they sleuth and sidekick are just hanging out together, trying to relax from the stress of the case.  I feel as though it’s normal for them to hash the case out between the two of them.  I’ll frequently have the sidekick stuck on a particular suspect while the sleuth favors a different person.  Neither one will usually be the right killer, or, if they are the right one, it will be for a different reason, etc.

Always Being Careful Not To:

Draw too much attention to clues. And don’t beat the red herrings to death.

Don’t be too repetitive with the recaps.  Briefly state a reminder of old points and spend longer fleshing out newer bits of information.

As a Nice Bonus:

Recaps serve a great purpose for the writer, too…keeping it all straight in the writer’s mind.  Mysteries can be convoluted.

As a reader, do you like recaps? How do you handle them, as a writer?

Tips for better recaps in your murder mystery:
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Consistency

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Some of you may not know this because I do have a culinary mystery series and was on a food blog for a long time…but I don’t consider myself a good cook.

My problem is that I’m not consistent.  And my inconsistency in the kitchen has a lot to do with focus (or lack of it).  I’ll cook something that everyone in my family likes and then cook it the next month (differently) and everyone will be forcing it down.

When I first started writing, I didn’t find consistency important.  If I’d continued on this track, it would have meant for some really uneven writing in later books. I wasn’t jotting down small facts for later books in the series, for instance.  I wasn’t necessarily consistent with characterization, although I managed to smooth that out in later books.

Recipe for consistency in my books:

First off, I keep a story bible.  Anytime that I throw out any details about a recurring character or setting, I make sure to keep track of it.  Otherwise, it’s all too easy to mess up in later books and ruin that continuity.  That’s sure to pull readers right out of a story when they spot it.

I make sure that characters behave in ways that are consistent with who they are.  If they don’t, there need to be good mitigating circumstances to explain it.  If I change who a character is to make the story work, I’m cheating the reader.

I ensure that the style is consistent. When I worked with Penguin, they would create style sheets for my series to make sure that if I’ve chosen a group to be called the Cut-Ups, that they aren’t called the Cut-ups in other books.

I’m consistent in terms of what I’m delivering in my chosen genre.  I’m not throwing in any surprising gore or endangering children because that’s not what readers have come to expect from me or from cozy mysteries, generally.

I make sure settings and characters are consistently familiar to readers, but described in different ways (no copy-pasted descriptions) for the books.

For further reading: 

Making a Series Bible Using Excel by Heidi Hormel on the IWSG site

How to Create a Series Bible for Your Fiction by Lorna Faith

A Free Consistency Checker (for Style) as a Google Docs Add-On

Keep Characters Consistent by Shay Goodman

How do you ensure consistency in your writing?

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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 45,000 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.

News and Upcoming

If you’re in the Anderson, SC area, I’ll be speaking at the Friends of the Anderson County Library’s Annual Meeting next Sunday, April 22 at 3:00.  The topic will be mystery reading and writing.  More information can be found here. 

Struggle with your author bio?  The folks at Reedsy have a free template to help out. 

The Alliance of Independent Authors had their online conference yesterday.  You can watch their recorded panels here.  The full agenda is here.

If you are a mystery reader or writer, check out Mystery Thriller Week.   I have a post there today on the WKB search engine.

Business / Miscellaneous


Editing: differences between content editing and proofreading, how much you should pay, more (video): @Wiseink


How To Build A Youpreneur Business Around A Personal Brand: @ChrisDucker @thecreativepenn


Naming Your Small Indie Press: A Generator: @ElectricLit


Finding the Money to Write a Book: @hopeclark


Numbers that Matter in Traditional Book Publishing: by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors


The Business of Writing — Interview with @JaneFriedman (podcast): @DIYMFA

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


Why Authors Enjoy Visiting Schools and How Schools Can Help Authors: @JoFranklin2


Awards Program Notes: UAE’s Etislat, Canada’s Cundill, and USA’s Sisters in Crime Open for Submissions: @Porter_Anderson @EtisalatAward @SINCnational


National Book Foundation program”distributes free, new books to young readers through public housing authorities” in the US: @Porter_Anderson @nationalbook


Closing London Book Fair’s Day One: The 2018 International Excellence Awards: @Porter_Anderson @LondonBookFair


London Book and Screen Week CAMEO Awards Include Film, Stage, Gaming Adaptations: @Porter_Anderson


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration


5 Unlikely Places to Find Inspiration: by Danielle Boccelli @DIYMFA


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


What Are the Rules for Lending Your Books to Friends? Librarians, as the Experts, Respond: @erinkbart @electriclit


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing


Forming Practice from Passion: by Michael Michel @sfwa


Micro-Progress Your Novel: @ClareLangleyH @killzoneauthors


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


DIY Writing Retreats: @wvancamp @morvenwestfield


What No One Told You About Becoming an Author: @CathyFyock @EdieMelson


Stop Romanticizing Your Writing Career: @KristinaAuthor @WritingCoop


How Writing a Story is Like Making a Quilt: @EricaVetsch


Returning to Writing After a Stage Four Cancer Diagnosis: by Annabelle Kim @lithub


Magic Cloaks, Lucky Charms, and Other Writerly Superstitious Habits: @SarahMMcCoy @WriterUnboxed


Make Time for Writing as a Parent in 3 Simple Steps: @aliventures


7 Important Things for a Writer’s “Not-to-Do” List: @colleen_m_story


The Importance of Self Care for the Writer: @KelsieEngen


Social Anxiety and Sharing Your Creative Work (Podcast): @EllenHendriksen @DanBlank


3 Ways to Quickly Boost Your Writing Creativity: @colleen_m_story


Genres / Fantasy


Making Better Magic Systems: Organic Magic: @davidfarland


Fantasy Cliches to Avoid: @jasonbougger


Genres / Horror


Horror: Defining the Genre, Sub-genres, Styles, and More: @AnnieNeugebauer


Tackling The Hillbilly Horror Trope: @SignalHorizon


Genres / Humor


Writing Tips: Using A Comic Relief Character For More Than Comedy: by Jonathan Vars @thecreativepenn


Genres / Miscellaneous


The Curious Writer: To Dabble is Divine: @BradHerzog @TheIWSG


Genres / Mystery


9 Tips for an Amateur Sleuth: @WickedCozys @DebSennefelder


Genres / Non-Fiction


Nonfiction: 3 Ways to Break Through to Your Reader: @WriteToSell


Genres / Romance


What is Your Character’s Love Language? @DiAnnMills on @EdieMelson


Genres / Screenwriting


38 Good Reasons Your Script Might Get Rejected: @Bang2write


Genres / Short Stories


5 Reasons Why Flash Fiction Makes You A Better Writer: @Charli_Mills @sacha_black


Promo / Blogging


5 Reasons Blog Posts Fail: @NathanielTower


4 Questions to Help You Start a Successful Blog: @JeffGoins


Promo / Book Descriptions and Copywriting


Tips for writing back cover copy: @DN_Bryn


Promo / Book Reviews


In Praise of Negative Reviews: @rafiazakaria @thebafflermag


Promo / Connecting with Readers


Imagining Your Ideal Reader: @barbaraoneal


Promo / Metadata


How to get Your Book Ranked for More Amazon Book Categories (Podcast): @DaveChesson


Promo / Miscellaneous


The Connection System: Book Marketing 101: @timgrahl


List of Free and Paid Book Promotion Websites: @thDigitalReader


Promo / Newsletters


How and Why to Clean Your Email Subscriber List: @EmilyWenstrom


Promo / Social Media Tips


3 Ways to Build a Social Media Audience that Loves You: @BetJett @EdieMelson


Create Social Media Images with Canva and Pablo: @CaballoFrances @BookWorksNYC


How to Use Scheduling To Automate Your Social Media: @thecreativepenn


Promo / Speaking


How to Find Unique Speaking Opportunities to Promote Your Novel: @erikaliodice @WriterUnboxed


Promo / Websites


Media-Friendly Author Website Content: @BuildYourBrandA @BookWorksNYC


Publishing / Miscellaneous


“Factors in a Digital Transformation of Academic Publishing”: @Porter_Anderson @KirenShoman


Kindle Worlds Asked and Answered: @Susan_Stoker @RomanceUniv


Publishing / News / International Publishing


Industry Notes: Indonesia Named London’s 2019 Market Focus; McIntosh Is CEO of PRH US: @Porter_Anderson


Publishing / Process / Book Design


Is Your Book Cover Too Cluttered? @SarahBolme


Publishing / Process / Formatting


How to Format Picture Books for Kindle and ePub3: @FictionNotes


Publishing / Process / Services to Avoid


Is the IAPWE a Scam Preying on Writers? @tamaragane


Publishing / Process / Translation


Translation Alternatives to Babelcube:


Writing Craft / Beginnings


Using the Inciting Incident to Start Your Story in the Right Place: @scribesworld


5 Guidelines For A Great Chapter Two: @StephMorrill @GoTeenWriters


The Challenge of Pulling Off a Dead Narrator: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman


How to Start A Novel (incl. 31 Famous Story Openers): @RidethePen


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


3 Ways to Know (or Choose) Your Fictional Character’s MBTI Personality: @MandyCorine


The 6 Basic Stages of Character Change: @CharacterComma


Writing Your Character’s Inner World: @Lindasclare


Writing Craft / Common Mistakes


Resources on “Show, Don’t Tell” for Novelists: @Beth_Barany


How Over-Explaining Will Kill Your Novel: @Janice_Hardy


How to kill off your characters without even trying: @BirderMurder


Writing Craft / Conflict


Six Stories With Contrived Conflict: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants


Writing Craft / Dialogue


Don’t Let Your Dialogue Stray From Your Characters: @jamesscottbell


Writing Dialogue Resources For Novelists: @Beth_Barany


Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story


Upstaged by Backstory: Are You Writing the Wrong Novel? @DavidAlanMack


Writing Craft / Hooks


6 Examples of Hooks: @stacitroilo @RomanceUniv


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


How to Make an Old Plot New: @AndreaWriterlea


6 Tips for Reimagining Classic Fiction in Your Writing: by John Kessel @WritersDigest


How to Write an Epistolary Novel: @RobinRWrites


Tips for revealing character secrets: from Just a Writing Aid


Writing Craft / Pacing


Keys to Moving Your Plot Forward: @LiveWriteThrive


Writing Craft / Plot Holes


Plot holes and pot holes. 8 common plotting mistakes & how to fix them: @RuthHarrisBooks at @annerallen


Writing Craft / POV


Is There a Difference Between Perspective and POV? @EditingWizard


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research


Narcissistic Abuse and Codependence for Writers: @SloanTamar


A Writer’s Guide to Firearms: Assault Rifles: @Nicholas_Rossis


Tapping the Experts: How to Enrich Your Research and Your Writing: @carolcram @WomenWriters


Nursing Misconceptions in Fiction: @StephanieSauvin @DanKoboldt


Writing Craft / Revision


Macros for fiction editors and authors: by Paul Beverley


Writing Craft / Scenes


Don’t Write Scenes-Write Images: @KMWeiland


Writing Craft / Series


The Most Important Part of Sequels and Retellings: @SeptCFawkes


Writing Craft / Settings and Description


Writing a Powerful Setting: @themaltesetiger


Writing Craft / Tension


Micro-Tension as a Secret Ingredient of Great Fiction: @Peter_Rey_


Writing Tools / Resources


Free 10-module Online Novel Writing Course: @jesslourey

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Developing a Bad Idea into a Better One

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I work on story subplots two different ways.  Sometimes I write them in as I go, including them in the text.  Sometimes I write them out separately on a different document and weave them in after I’ve finished the mystery.

This time I’d written in the subplot as I went.  But, after finishing the book and reading back through it, I was unhappy with the subplot.  It seemed too much of a contrivance to me. Plus, it meant that I was adding in another recurring character when my series already had quite a few.

But there were parts of the subplot that I liked. I was pleased with the way it developed a character in the story.   I decided to rework it instead of scrapping it completely.

Here are my tips for reconstructing a story element.  There are other approaches, but this was the way I was able to do it without making my head spin too much:

First off, remove (cut) the offending storyline completely.  I searched for the character’s name, but you could also reread the draft and cut as you went.

Next, save the cuttings. Paste them into a separate, saved document.

Then reimagine the storyline.  Can the character/subplot serve the story in another capacity?

Additional considerations: can you connect this story element in a meaningful way to the main plot?  Can it be used to develop a recurring character?  Bonus points, if you can.  I found a way for the character to impact two separate subplots.

Open a fresh document and save it.  Mine was “Subplot Text.”   Write out the reimagined storyline, using any bits and pieces from the cut storyline as possible to save time (for instance, I could use the character’s description and some of her dialogue).

Reread your draft.  Weave in the storyline as you go, pacing it throughout the story for better impact.

Is it a pain?  It is.  I haven’t done this in a while (I usually don’t have any major revisions because I’ve gotten very used to my pattern for writing), and it took some time.  But I’m pleased with the finished project and I know that I haven’t created a problem for myself with future books.

If you’re not sure exactly what doesn’t work in your story or need more help staying organized with your revisions, I’m linking to some articles that might help.

The Art of Revising: Macro Revision by R.L. LaFevers

Want to Make Revisions Easier? Create an Editorial Map by Janice Hardy

How to Stay Organized During a Revision by Janice Hardy 

Decisions: What and How to Revise by Darcy Pattison

Do you ever rework bad ideas into better ones?  How do you go about replacing storylines that don’t work?

Tips for revising story elements that don't exactly work:
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Translation Alternatives to Babelcube

 

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Last year I started branching out into translation.  At the time, the main platform I found to support royalty-sharing translation (no upfront costs to the author…the author and translator share the royalties for the project) was Babelcube.  Babelcube has definitely been around the longest, but there are some problems with the platform.  In particular, I wasn’t happy with their distribution/ sales channels and the exclusivity in their terms of service (my Spanish translator, Alfredo Moyano, was interested in creating an audio version of Dyeing Shame in Spanish and the ToS didn’t allow us to pursue it, although Babelcube doesn’t have its own audio platform).  More about my thoughts on Babelcube in this post. 

I knew the terms of service going in, and wasn’t happy from the start…but I couldn’t find any other options.  Another translator I’m working with proposed a collaboration where I would act as publisher and distribute the book and pay the translator after receiving royalties.  However, I wasn’t very comfortable with that.  I was fine with handling the distribution (we would have gone very wide, since that’s what I’m accustomed to), but I didn’t want to be in charge of distributing funds.  For one, it was going to be a timesuck to take screenshots of earnings on all the platforms. For another, I had concerns about the tax implications.  Plus, I wondered what kind of a mess I’d be leaving for heirs if I were to be hit by a train tomorrow.

I bugged people on forums and in groups asking if blockchain had gotten to the point where translators and I could easily divide up earnings automatically.  From the lack of response I got to this question, I came to the understanding that either the tech isn’t there yet, or that writers weren’t aware of it, if it was.

This leads me to the alternatives that I’ve finally discovered.  One of them, TraduzioneLibri ( TekTime), was pointed out to me by Mark Williams, who runs the always-helpful Facebook group International Indie Authors (you must ask permission to join).  It’s an Italian company, but now has an English-facing site.  The distribution is much better than Babelcube’s (and does include audio) and so are its terms of service.  I’m now in the process of hopping over there from Babelcube with my Spanish translator.  More on their agreements/ToS here.

Additionally, there’s a cool collaboration feature on the site BundleRabbit.  Although most writers might be familiar with BundleRabbit as a way of bunding books into ‘box sets,’ they have a collaboration portal for writers interested in co-authoring (or, in my case, working with a translator).  My German translator,  Theresia Fink, first mentioned it to me, and I read more about it on Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s excellent site.  The ToS for BundleRabbit is here.   I’m used to reading these service agreements at this point, but for some reason, I stumbled through this one and needed clarification.  I asked for through the site’s contact form and got an almost immediate response from the site’s creator, himself.  Chuck Heintzelman wrote: “BundleRabbit only has the right to publish the assets you upload to the sales channels (Amazon, Kobo, CreateSpace, …) you specify. You control this…You are 100% free to publish any project you publish on BundleRabbit any where, in any form.”

I’m excited that there are more viable options for royalty-sharing in translation.  I’ll update you more after I’ve had some books published on these sites.

Have you checked into translation for your books?

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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 45,000 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.

Business / Miscellaneous


How To Analyze Your Competition And Create Your Own Author Success: @DaveChesson


Editorial Encroachment: @KristineRusch


The Differences between Copyediting and Book Coaching: @AndreaWriterlea


Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous


“James Patterson and his first president-collaborator Bill Clinton are to speak at BookCon in June”: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


London Book Fair’s Quantum Keynote: Tom Goodwin, ‘Digital Darwinist,’ on Surviving: @Porter_Anderson @tomfgoodwin


Internet-Generation Readers: “IPA president @michielams said reading is crucial, as are new digital storytelling tools”: @Porter_Anderson


Rights Roundup: Titles That May Rock the Rights Center at London Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Creativity and Inspiration / Goal setting


Building Rigor into Your Writing Process: @BJoycePatterson @DIYMFA

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration


3 Stages to Creative Reciprocity: @itsnickyblue


Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers


10 Fictional Characters That Are Definitely Having a Worse Day Than You: @Keith_Rice1


So You Want to Read Gothic Space Opera: Here’s Where to Start: by Matt Staggs @unboundworlds


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing


How to Schedule Time for an Imaginative Process, Rather Than an Exact Task: @StefanieFlaxman @copyblogger


How to End Writing Interruptions: @TheJohnSoares


10 Ways to Increase Your Writing Productivity: @AnitaFreshFaith


Multitasking is Killing Your Writing: @weems503 @write_practice


Flicking the Switch: Activate Writer Mode: by Christine Hennebury @10MinNovelists


Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly


6 Tips On How To Be Prolific: @ericbeetner @LitReactor


Creativity and Inspiration / Success


Is Your Definition of Success Hurting Your Writing Progress? @heididupree @colleen_m_story


Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life


5 Ways to Perk up Your Writers’ Group: @SamBoyceEditor @scottishbktrust


5 Big Lies That Stopped 1 Writer from Publishing Her First Book: by Jennifer Smith @savilleneuve


Love Your Writing: a Writer’s Self-care: @Melfka @10MinNovelists


Genres / Memoir


How To Fast Draft Your Memoir: @RachaelHerron @thecreativepenn


Genres / Miscellaneous


How To Choose Your Writing Genre: by William Grigsby @WritetoDone


Genres / Mystery


Business partnerships as an element in crime fiction: @mkinberg


Detectives Who Get Into the Business Because of Their Parents in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg


Genres / Romance


Fat shaming in romance: @Kris_Bock @RomanceUniv


Genres / Science Fiction


Research: How to Write About Biomedical Researchers: @DanKoboldt


Research: Writing Microbes in Outer Space: @coachhays64 @DanKoboldt


Genres / Short Stories


How to Publish a Short Story: Write Your First and Second Drafts: @sarahstypos @write_practice


Promo / Miscellaneous


5 Ways How Indie Authors Avoid Inadvertently Sabotaging Their Best Marketing Options: @Naked_Determina


50 Book Marketing Ideas Every Author Needs to Know: @ReedsyHQ


12 Book Marketing Mistakes Every Author Needs to Ban in 2018: @ReedsyHQ @RicardoFayet


How to Create Pre-Launch Buzz: @BadRedheadMedia


How Marketing Actually Works: @DanBlank


Promo / Newsletters


One Important Element for Your Newsletter:


Promo / Social Media Tips


Authors: Don’t Put All Your Eggs in the Facebook Basket: @Bookgal


Plan Your Next Book Giveaway with Rafflecopter: @TCKPublishing


3 Ways Authors Can Gain Visibility Using Twitter: @kathleengage @NinaAmir


Promo / Speaking


How to Build Authority and Grow Your Audience by Speaking at Events: @HelloMorganTimm @teachable


Promo / Websites


Want More Readers? Fix these Five Website Mistakes: @StoriesWithGill @annerallen


Where to Sell Books at Your Author Website: @JanalynVoigt


Publishing / Miscellaneous


The Opportunity of Kindle Scout: @wmussell


Is There a Writing Mulligan in Your Midst? @JudithBriles @JFbookman


Your Guide to Audiobook Production and Distribution: @ricwol


Collaboration: 10 Tips to Make it Work: @maryannwrites


Publishing / News / Data


A joint study with data from 35 markets sheds light on worldwide publishing and the book industry: @Porter_Anderson @WIPO @IntPublishers


Publishing / News / International Publishing


Publishing Perspectives Spring 2018 Magazine With Publishing News and Market Data (Free Download): @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives


Industry Notes: Frankfurt Has Two Wild Cards This Year; PW Star Watch Welcomes Canada: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives


Wattpad Studios Formalizes Asian Expansion: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad


Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing


Knowing when it’s time to submit your story and where to start: @tessaemilyhall


Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying


How to Submit a Book Proposal to Publishers in 3 Steps: @ReedsyHQ


Publishing / Process / Book Design


3 Signs Your Book Cover Design Misses The Mark: @lieshapetrovich @thewritelife


Publishing / Process / Contracts


When to Say No to a Contract: @PCzajak @WritersRumpus


Publishing / Process / Formatting


How To Format Your Ebook And Print Book with Vellum: @thecreativepenn


Writing Craft / Beginnings


8 Keys To Opening Your Story The Right Way: @StephMorrill


How to Make the Best Use of “Routine” Events in Your Fiction: @peterselgin @JaneFriedman


Avoid bad book beginnings: @jamesscottbell


Pro Analysis: A First Page Critique: @PBRWriter


Writing Craft / Characters / Development


How to Craft Wounded Characters: @MarchMcCarron


The True Test of Character: @KAMcCleary


Writing a Believable Character: @Lindasclare


Want Memorable Characters? Focus on the Little Things: @AngelaAckerman


Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists


8 Tips to Keep Audiences Engaged When Your Story Stars an Unlikeable Hero: @scribesworld


Give Your Hero a Hard Time: @jimdempsey @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Diversity


Stereotypes & Tropes to Avoid: from Writing with Color


Writing Craft / Hooks


Developing your Opening Hook: @nownovel


The Editor’s Clinic: A Look at your Hook: by Dave King @WriterUnboxed


Writing Craft / Literary Devices


Foreshadowing examples: How to tease plot developments: @nownovel


Writing Craft / Miscellaneous


The Oral Tradition of Storytelling: Curing the Contemporary Culture Crisis: @AGHackney


They Put Your Book Down, but Don’t Take it Personally: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed


How to Hide Exposition Through Action: @jehunter5811 @LitReactor


Writing Craft / POV


6 Tips for Describing a First Person Point-of-View Character: @LauraDiSilverio @CareerAuthors


How to Write Fiction from Multiple Viewpoints and How a Head-Hopping Point of View Hurts Your Book: @TCKPublishing


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting


A Handy Tip for Crafting a Seamless Plot: @Janice_Hardy


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research


Is your next story research light or intensive? @raimeygallant


Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats


Beat and Scene Index Cards Written By @emilyvgordon and @kumailn for The Big Sick: @savethecat


Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar


3 Examples of How Missing Words Cause Confusion: @writing_tips


Writing Craft / Series


Writing a Trilogy: Essential Tips for Crafting a Three-Part Series: @DanKoboldt


Writing Craft / Settings and Description


Mapping Your Story’s Setting: @SaraL_Writer


Writing Craft / Tropes


Why You Should Avoid Bigoted Heroes Who Learn Better: by Chris Winkle


Writing Craft / Word Crafting


3 Ways to Expand Your Vocabulary: @the_writing_pal


60 Words for Types of Restaurants: @writing_tips


Writing Craft / World-Building


Discovering People Groups and Backstory: @ShanDitty


Uncategorized


History for Fantasy Writers: Medieval Childhood: by E.L. Skip Knox @mythicscribes

 

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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One Important Element for Your Newsletter

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A while back (far enough back that I can’t remember the source), I read an article that suggested writers should include their backlist titles in their author newsletter.

This surprised me.  I think of my newsletter as valuable real estate.  Did I really want to clutter it up with a list of 25 books?  I also figured that most of the readers who signed up for my newsletter were focused on hearing about new releases…that they’d likely read most/all of the other books.

But the argument in this blog post I read was fairly convincing.  For the newsletter that went out for my last release, I included (at the bottom of the newsletter) a full backlist of my three series, with each title linked to the specific book’s page on my website (which has complete ordering information for a variety of different retailers and formats).

To my surprise, when I read my newsletter stats, I saw that, aside from the link for the new release, the most clicks were for various books in the backlist…in particular, the first book in the Myrtle Clover series.

Since I write under several names, it occurred to me that maybe some of my readers weren’t even aware that I had other series.

Maybe some readers were clicking on book one to give it as a gift to a friend or family member to start them on a series that they enjoy.

Maybe some readers simply couldn’t remember if they’d read a particular book or not.

At any rate, it was something that took very little effort on my end (I just copy-pasted my back matter from a document I keep for that purpose) and it resulted in a nice bump in sales for my backlist.

As an extra step, you can link to a printable list of your backlist in PDF form (with ISBNs) for those readers who like to order from bookstores.

For more ideas on elements for your author newsletter, read “50 Ideas for Author Newsletter Content” by Zoe McCarthy.

Have you ever included a book list in your newsletter?   What else have you included in your newsletter that has received a good response from readers?

One important element for your newsletter:
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How To Develop Creative Receptivity

by Nicky Blue, @itsnickyblue ‏

‘The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.’ — Sigmund Freud

When I lapse in dedicating time to developing creativity in my life, I end up becoming very driven by reactive thinking. What I mean by this is, my thinking process seems to get governed by existing ideas, prejudices and familiar anecdotes. It feels as though I am mainly operating at the level of the conscious mind. An assumption arises that ‘I’ am in control of the creative process. I have these ideas in my head, which I manically splurge onto a page. This can be productive in getting things done but I find it can produce quite mediocre work. Aspiration for creativity is that it taps into something much deeper. When I give time to my developing my creative process, I realise this is very possible.

There are of course, days when creativity flows through me and there seem to be no limits to my productivity. I kid myself life will always be like this. Then one fateful morning, I wake up and sit in front of the computer and nothing, diddly squat. It feels as if I don’t have a creative bone in my body. It took many cycles of this to admit to myself an obvious truth. The creative process takes work, dedication and time. It is an investment I have to make in order reap the rewards later down the line.

‘Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being. Creativity requires passion and commitment. It brings to our awareness what was previously hidden and points to new life. The experience is one of heightened consciousness: ecstasy.’ — Rollo May.

A lotus will not produce flowers without the right amount of light, water and nutrients. Similarly, we need the right conditions for our creativity to bloom. Where I wanted to focus my attention, is the place that lies at the basis of all artistic endeavours, creative receptivity. I spent a long time experimenting with different creative exercises and spiritual techniques. After a while it became apparent to me there were some common themes to building creative receptivity. I have grouped these themes into three stages:

1.Calm Your Mind: Another way of putting this could be, get out of the way. This taps into what we know about spiritual practice. In most spiritual traditions, wisdom insight and inspiration arise from the basis of a calm mind. Whether that is prayer or meditation, Tai Chi or affirmation. Whatever our practice, if we can learn to quiet the everyday chatter of the mind, we can start to access something deeper. For me it is meditation, I have been practising for around 20 years. I go on meditation retreats every year and find it a great way to process what’s going on for me. I find 20 minutes in the morning a great way to build calm and spaciousness. I don’t always do it but I certainly notice the difference when I do. I love this quote by Jascha Heifetz.

‘If I don’t practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.’

See your practice as a gift to yourself. It’s so easy to stop doing a spiritual or creative practice if the results are not immediate or obvious. Remind yourself how wisdom and inspiration can slowly and subtly pervade your life. You just need to show up and be open to the process.

‘You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait, just learn to become quiet, and still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.’ — Franz Kafka

This then can become self-propelling process, the more we invite creativity into our lives, the more we can start to tune into a state of presence. This, in turn, inspires further creativity. It is quite common for artists to find themselves in highly absorbed states when working. The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, describes these states ‘Flow’ and identifies artistic pursuit as one way to attain it.

‘Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.’ (1)

2.Set Your Intention: Ask yourself for what you want. I don’t mean a Rolls Royce! I mean a missing piece of a story you are writing or a key component to how you need to restructure your business. When I first started doing this I must admit, it felt a little strange. But guess what? The questions always seem to get answered. Now it feels like the most natural process in my life. The unconscious is always working in the background. Studies in the fields of both neuroscience and psychology are constantly refining and illuminating how this process works. (2) Depending on your spiritual and philosophical beliefs you may have to go out on a limb to start with here. But if you try it with an open mind, you’ll be amazed by the results.

‘Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.’ —Thomas Edison

3.Trust and Determination: last but not least we need to trust in the process. There is nothing like doubt to muddy the water. I’m not saying you should blind faith in what you do but rather be open and stick with a practice for at least six months. Set a date in your diary and try not to judge results until then. Make a determination to always do your practice. Just like you wouldn’t want to let a friend down for a meeting, don’t let yourself down. The more we can train this psycho-physical organism to a routine the easier it becomes. Research suggests we can form new habits in around 66 days at which point we are not struggling to continue with that activity.(3)

The more I develop these three aspects of my emotional and spiritual life, the more I am rewarded with creative inspiration. I wish the same perseverance and the same rewards for you. Above all, never give up! I have this poem by the Dalai Lama on my wall. It has provided inspiration to me for many years.

Never Give Up

No matter what is going on

Never give up

Develop the heart

Too much energy in your country

Is spent developing the mind

Instead of the heart

Be compassionate

Not just to your friends

But to everyone

Be compassionate

Work for peace

In your heart and in the world

Work for peace

And I say again

Never give up

No matter what is going on around you

Never give up

 I’m Nicky, I am from Brighton in England. I grew up fascinated by books like Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected and t.v. shows like The Twilight Zone. For years I played and wrote songs in an alternative rock band before going back to university and studying English Literature and Philosophy. I now have a passion for writing fantasy and dark comedy fiction. I love stories that dig beneath the surface of everyday life and play in the shadow worlds that we all have.

 

 

3 Stages to Creative Receptivity (via @itsnickyblue ):
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