Dorian Box's Blog, page 7
June 6, 2019
My Cat the Editor
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My Cat the Editor – 1
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April 18, 2019
Defamation in Fiction—What’s in a Name?
Dorian Box All writers should be aware of the risk of defamation in fiction and take precautions to avoid it, even accidentally. There are several excellent blog posts explaining tort liability (civil liability for money damages) arising from fictionalized works containing false defamatory statements about a character who bears similarities to a real person. Here’s […]
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January 6, 2018
The Importance of Factual Accuracy in Fiction — All the Small Things
Is it important to get your facts straight when writing non-fantasy fiction? I’m not talking about the internal consistency of the “facts” you make up, although that is also important, but the accuracy of objectively verifiable facts. The answer is “it depends.” Most (here, here) writers agree that factual accuracy is important in fiction, although […]
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The Hiding Girl Named a Semifinalist for 2017 Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize
The manuscript for my second novel, The Hiding Girl, advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 Publishers Weekly BookLife Prize Contest, where it received near-perfect scores (9.5/10). Of 700 entries, The Hiding Girl was one of 35 books in seven genres, one of five in the Mystery/Thriller genre, and the only unpublished adult manuscript to […]
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March 4, 2017
Songs Named After Women, the Universal Muse for Writers
This is more of a music post than a fiction-writing post, but they are connected. In a recent post about the value of using song references in fiction to evoke eras, moods, etc., I posted the Psycho-Tropics Soundtrack on 8Tracks.com, a playlist of all the songs referenced in my eponymous novel. It was fun to compile […]
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January 17, 2017
Psycho-Tropics Soundtrack — Using Song References in Fiction
By Dorian Box The power of music to evoke deep connections makes song references a good tool for fiction-writers to capture times, places, characters and moods. Not surprisingly (especially to writers, I suspect), scientific research shows “listening to music engages broad neural networks in the brain, including brain regions responsible for motor actions, emotions, and creativity.” The same […]
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March 27, 2016
How good is your novel? Here’s a test.
Wondering about the potential of your book or manuscript to become a bestseller? Wish there were a test to empirically measure it? As a fun exercise, I came up with one. I started with my own list of good fiction qualities then supplemented it with ideas found in other places. One of the most helpful sources was a 2012 […]
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A Test to Grade Your Novel
By Dorian Box
Wondering about the potential of your book or manuscript to become a bestseller? Wish there were a test to empirically measure it? As a fun exercise, I came up with one.
I started with my own list of qualities, then supplemented it with ideas found in other places. One of the most helpful sources was a 2012 Writer’s Digest article containing a list if twenty-one key traits of bestselling fiction from The Writer’s Little Helper by James V. Smith, Jr. I was a bit surprised when I realized Smith’s book is aimed at writing for young adults, but I guess it shows that good writing is good writing regardless of the intended audience. Smith asserts his list was the result of a “study of thousands of reader reviews on Amazon.com.”
My goal was to build a construct a list of the top fifteen qualities. Why fifteen? The answer is very scientific. I wanted to assign a 1-5 rating scale for each quality and have the top possible score equal a nice, round 75. Is it empirically valid? Oh, don’t worry about that. I ran it by the mathematicians at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory just to make sure.
Seriously, most lists I found, while good, contained only a handful of attributes of successful fiction-writing. I wanted a list that would compel writers to think beyond broad categories. (In reality, we could probably reduce any list to Characters, Voice, and Plot.)
Top Fifteen Qualities of Bestselling Fiction
Here are my Top Fifteen Qualities of Bestselling Fiction:
1. The Beginning (starts strong, captures attention)
2. Voice (active, compelling, original)
3. Characters (unique, believable, interesting, funny, flawed)
4. Original/Inventive (creative, original characters and plot)
5. Writing (diction, dialogue, transitions, descriptions, chapter endings, everything that goes into good fiction-writing)
6. Plot Logic (parts fit together, makes sense, no large holes, integrates disparate plot threads)
7. Plot Progression (story development maintains a fast pace)
8. Focus/Clarity (pursues clear objectives)
9. Tension/Suspense (builds throughout)
10. Imagery/Setting (captures an “I’m there” feeling regarding environments/cultures where events unfold)
11. Emotional Connection (characters and story evoke emotions, whether positive or negative)
12. Thought-Provoking (makes readers stop and think)
13. Truth (advances one or more compelling truths)
14. Grammar and Punctuation (professional appearance, particularly important for indie writers without editors trying to get noticed)
15. The Ending (resolves unanswered questions, “satisfying” in the context of the story, suggests transcendence)
Your first thought might be: “That’s not an accurate list. It leaves out A, B, and C.” I’m sure my list does leave out some qualities, and would love to hear your suggestions, but think first whether your additions might already be subsumed in one of the listed categories.
Your second thought might be: “The top qualities for fiction-writing vary by the genre and author’s intent. Not all bestselling novels share all of these qualities.” That’s also true, but even if your intent was not to advance one or more the qualities on this list, rate them all anyway or it will invalidate the scientific test results.
Official Grade-Your-Fiction Test Rules
Here are the “Official Grade-Your-Fiction Test Rules:
1. Score your book 1-5 for how completely it satisfies or advances each of the fifteen qualities:
5 = My book excels as to this quality
4 = My book does a really good job as to this quality
3 = My book is average as to this quality
2 = My book makes an effort but falls short as to this quality
1 = My book does not advance this quality
(Unfortunately, the test is not interactive, so you’ll have to get out an old-fashioned writing instrument and paper.)
2. Be objective. We all can be either our worst critics or biggest fans when it comes to evaluating our own writing, sometimes both at different times of the day. Try to look at your book objectively. As a check, one of more friend who’ve read your book and who you know to be brutally honest to score the test also. Comparing scores could be enlightening.
3. Focus on a particular work, not your general writing ability. Don’t score yourself on your general perception of your writing talent. Being an excellent writer does not necessarily translate to composing a great novel. If you have more than one work of fiction, pick the best one and apply the test to it.
4. Add up the numbers and measure your book by this scoring scale:
65-75 = Awesome. You may be on your way to becoming the next John Grisham or Stephen King!
55-64 = Well done. You are a legitimate contender to be a successful novelist.
45-54 = Nice job. Focus on your weaknesses in your next book to bring it up to the next level.
35-44 = Not bad. You have potential, but need to keep studying your craft.
25-34 = Needs work. Take a fiction-writing course before embarking on another novel.
24 or below = Look for another creative outlet. Not everyone, including a lot of competent writers, are cut out for fiction-writing.
So, of course, I self-graded Psycho-Tropics and, of course, I’m not going to tell you my score, but I think I’ll keep writing fiction. Feel free to share ideas, criticisms of the list, and your own scores!
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December 28, 2015
Vote for Psycho-Tropics on “Best Books Never Heard Of”
Nice to see Psycho-Tropics pop up on this Goodreads list for “Best Books Never Heard Of.” Thanks to whoever put it on there! If you liked (and especially if you loved) Psycho-Tropics, hope you’ll consider adding your vote. (Right now it’s #186 of 1000-plus books on the list.) You can vote here. Thank you!
Psycho-Tropics Editorial Reviews:
“An engaging thriller with plenty of humor, good characterization, and a memorable villain …” — Kirkus Reviews
“Marrying humor with suspense is not easy, but it comes across masterfully …. A truly enjoyable read.” — Judge, 23rd Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards (2015 Award Winner in Genre Fiction)
“Psycho-Tropics is like riding Pipeline with a hangover. It’s jaw dropping, heart thumping and addictively exhilarating, but with a hint of disorientation, dizziness and an unsettled stomach. But by the end you’ll be smiling ear to ear and bursting to tell your mates how good it was.” — Andrew Norton, Surfer Dad UK
“A genuinely creepy sadist is the high point of Box’s dark thriller set in Florida in 1995.” — Publishers Weekly
“[T]he characters are brilliantly constructed, each one with their own quirks and flaws that might seem unbelievable handled by a less adept writer. The dark humor is witty and serves to lessen the tension in all the right ways before it heightens again. … PSYCHO-TROPICS effortlessly captures the wonderful eccentricities of life in South Florida (not to mention in other parts of the state) and offers a dose of oddball humor.” — IndieReader Reviews (Official Seal of Approval)
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