Angela Ackerman's Blog: Writers Helping Writers, page 150

How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions: Be Invisible!

One of the most difficult areas of description is when it comes to showing the appearance of a protagonist, especially when writing in first person POV. We need readers to “see” our protagonist, but how do we deliver description that feels natural and active? Luckily my friend Nola Sarina, Author Extraordinaire, is here with terrific advice on using Voice & Being Invisible to convey details not only about the main character, but the rest of a story’s cast. Please read on!

 

Most authors have encountered the advice: “Avoid the dreaded mirror scene!” Why? Because using a mirror to describe your main character is a crutch upon which many authors rely to give their readers a visual snapshot of the characters in a book. But giving a snapshot not only interrupts the flow of a scene, it also reminds the reader that an author wanted them to see something. To make an authentic, deeply-connected bond between reader and character, the author must immerse the reader in the character’s voice and stay out of the character’s way.

Image via @Jill111 @ Pixabay
So how do you stay out of the way and give your reader a vivid, visual connection with your characters, without interrupting the flow of the moment?

Physical description of a character only matters if your character has a reason to acknowledge it. Your main character will likely notice the thick, curly red hair of the girl she has a crush on. But will she notice her own straight, faded-red hair and her clothing choice of the day? Not likely, unless it directly applies to the moment. Even then, it must be laced into the scene in a delicate way so the reader does not recognize the author’s desire to show the character’s appearance.

So how can you get visual imagery across without resorting to a mirror or forced-feeling self-observations?

Take a look at this passage, which features a very common, yet disengaging, pattern of physical description:

I tried to keep my cool, tossing my long, faded-red hair over my shoulder as the popular but judgy Sarah raked her critical glare over me. Her freckles wrinkled along the bridge of her nose. Wearing black leather pants and a black tank top, I was a stark contrast to her blingy, Barbie-pink look.

When I am faced with an apprehensive encounter, I don’t often think about the fact that my hair is faded, or red, or long. I just toss my hair. I might try to convey a certain attitude with the motion, but I don’t think about the color or the length until it applies to the moment. I also wouldn’t make clear-cut observations about my antagonist’s popularity (though the reader absolutely needs to know these things) because these observations are largely situational and intuitive. The same is true for my and outfit or surroundings. In a situation where I don’t fit in, I’m focused on the reactions of those around me—or my own reaction to their apprehension—not the colors, sizes, or styles.

So while this example isn’t wrong, it interrupts the action of the scene to give your reader a snapshot-view of the characters in the author’s voice before moving forward. It’s a bit like saying, “Look at these characters and then I will show you what they do.” But to seamlessly integrate the description and the action in a continuous flow, the author shouldn’t say anything at all. Rather, the main character says, “Come with me, let’s go!” and flows right into the story without reminding the reader that it was once imagined and written by someone else. The author should be invisible every step of the way.

Don’t use description dumps to give your reader a chance to see the appearance of your character. Instead, give your character a chance to show their appearance to your reader through voice and action.

I tried to keep my cool, tossing my hair over my shoulder. But a long, faded-red strand swung too far around my head and whipped me in the eye, earning a smirk from Sarah as she raked her critical glare over my figure. Her friends, sparkling like Barbie’s closet in pinks and bling, moved in to form a half-circle around me, reeking of popularity and judgement.

“What is this, the Goth Club?” Sarah said, wrinkling her freckled nose at my all-black-and-leather look.

This way, your reader still has a sharp, vivid picture of every character in the scene (including the main character), and sees these things as they happen—as they matter—rather than pausing to study a snapshot of characters in the scene first.

Making sure that your character is the one who tells the story, not you, keeps your author voice out of the way, and allows your readers to immerse completely into the experience of the character. By becoming an invisible author, you encourage your readers and your characters to connect on an intimate, authentic level through the journey they take together.

Nola Sarina lives in Southern Alberta, Canada with her husband and three children. Born in Minnesota and raised to appreciate reading and writing of all types from an early age, she found her favorite titles within the genres of dark fantasy, science fiction and romance. She is the author of the dark fantasy romance Vesper series, and also writes paranormal romance and erotica with co-author Emily Faith. Please stalk her on Facebook and Twitter!

Gilded Destiny

A woman’s memory returns when she falls in love with the monster who took it from her. 

AMAZON

GOODREADS

Jaded Touch

It took three scars to break her, and two men to save her…

AMAZON

GOODREADS

Phantom Nights

Release Date TBA

The darkness Samantha’s faced in her life pales in comparison to what she’ll face to save the demon she loves.

GOODREADS

Do you try to be an invisible author? What do you struggle with most when it comes to writing character description? Let us know in the comments!

The post How to Write Vivid Character Descriptions: Be Invisible! appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Character Talents and Skills: Astral Projection

Before we get to today’s entry, two housekeeping items. First, Becca and I are happy to announce that our PDF provider, GUMROAD, has officially put a VAT tax collection system in place, allowing us to once again be able to deliver our PDF books to VAT countries. WOOT!

Secondly, our friend Janice Hardy asked us to give a special shout out to KIDLIT WRITERS, because Springmingle is happening soon. What is Springmingle? An awesome conference event for writers in Decatur, GA.

Calling all kidlit writers and illustrators: Springmingle ’15 Writers’ and Illustrators’ Conference will take place on March 13-15, 2015. Meet editors and agents from industry-leading agencies and publishing houses—and the friendliest, most supportive colleagues one could ever hope to find. Attendees will find nearly a dozen workshop sessions, including: 101+ Reasons for Rejection, Writing La Vida Loca, and Traditional Picture Books in a Digital Age. Visit their website for a complete listing of workshops: https://southern-breeze.scbwi.org/events/springmingle-15/. Present by SCBWI/Southern Breeze Region.

ASTRAL PROJECTION

As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer. 



When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wake boarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story. 

Description: using one’s astral body (a spirit form) to travel in an out-of-body experience to the astral plane. It is believed that astral projection occurs naturally during sleep, where one’s spirit body goes to another plane of existence to have actual experiences that create the basis for our dreams. If one becomes aware of being in a dream state, this is called lucid dreaming. A character experiencing a lucid dream would then be able to direct the dream, shaping what happens consciously. Or, they could push aside thoughts and emotions influencing their specific dream they are in and see the astral plane as it really is.

Astral projection can also happen consciously with relaxation and visualization techniques. Characters with this skill can astrally travel to different locations instantly by visualizing a specific place, meet with other beings in the astral plane, and receive spiritual lessons in the form of symbols to give insight into themselves, the past, or to receive premonitions of future events. The astral body remains tethered to the physical body during all travels until death occurs.

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: being able to relax easily, concentration that forces distractions to fall away, having a thirst for knowledge, having strong convictions that there is something more and feeling driven to find it, having a strong memory

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: peacefulness, curiosity, focus, wisdom, open-mindedness, spiritual, perceptive, controlled

Required Resources and Training: practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation, honing one’s dream recall, learning to find the point just before sleep and balance in that state to slowly and willfully encourage the astral body (soul) to leave the physical body, practicing AP by going somewhere close by and studying an object in detail, and then waking to recheck the object to confirm if the details are exactly as one remembers

Associated Stereotypes and Perceptions:

There are many who disbelieve in astral projection and instead feel the experiences people have are merely due to vivid dreams. Because science cannot prove that people believing they are having an out of body experience are actually traveling anywhere, many believe the shared experiences of AP (such as flying) is merely “guided imagery” (an experience that happens because the person was told to expect that experience to happen).

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:

For communicating in a safe plane beyond the reach of one’s enemies
Using AP to travel to dangerous places and assess what is happening, and then to report back
to gain a higher understanding of spirituality and what everything means
to gain insight into what the future holds so one can act accordingly
to visit places too far away to travel to, including other worlds or planes of existence

You can brainstorm other possible Skills and Talents your characters might have by checking out our FULL LIST of this Thesaurus Collection. And for more descriptive help for Setting, Symbolism, Character Traits, Physical Attributes, Emotions, Weather and more, check out our Thesaurus Collections page.

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4 Research Hacks for Writing Thrillers

Chances are that if you write for long enough, you’ll find yourself penning a story about a topic or in a genre that you have no firsthand experience with whatsoever. It’s a humbling experience. You feel like a hack, feeling your way through the process, totally unqualified to write the story that’s begging to be told. This, of course, is where research comes in. And that, naturally, is why Rachel Amphlett is here today—a thriller author who, contrary to popular opinion and her own imagination, is neither a crackerjack fire fighter, an international spy, or a four-star general. And yet she writes thrillers. HOW IN THE NAME OF JAMES BOND DOES SHE DO IT???

One of the most common questions I’m asked as an author is, “How can you write thrillers if you’ve never served in the military/emergency services/spy agencies/etc.?” It’s a fair question. But before I explain my research process, I’d like to share some background about where I get my love of the thriller genre.

Both my parents have a passion for history. When I was growing up, our summer holidays in the UK were either spent visiting castles around Devon, Dorset and Wales, exploring old air traffic control towers on ex-World War II airfields, or visiting military museums. I soaked up the knowledge our parents passed onto us. We were always encouraged to learn more about the places we visited and to let our imaginations run wild.

By my teens, I was soaking up novels by writers like Ken Follett, Dick Francis, Alistair McLean, and Jack Higgins. I love the way these authors maintain a foot in the thriller genre while exploring both historical and international settings—in fact, I’ve always been a bit jealous of their ability to do this so seamlessly.

I enjoy the genre because of the thrill of the chase, the adrenaline rush that keeps you turning the pages well after midnight, and the twist at the end that nearly makes you drop the book in surprise. And it was a fairly effortless step to move from reading thrillers to writing them.

Obviously, you don’t have to be an expert in a particular field to write in a certain genre or about a certain topic. It’s enough to have a passion for it and an active imagination. But you still need to write your story believably and realistically. For that, you’ll have to do some serious research. I’ve developed some tried and true tips along the way, and I’d like to share those today—not only with other thriller writers, but with anyone attempting to write a story that falls outside their scope of experience.

Read the News

This is a good place to start if you don’t have firsthand knowledge of a particular subject, time period, location, or career. Some of the best material can be found by

reading the current affairs news sections of reputable national newspapers.
exploring the issues that defense agencies face, both globally and at a local level.
researching articles on how your character’s career affects both the individual and the family.
staying informed about current threats.

Make Contacts

This is where your search engine will come in handy. Great places to start include

Museums and Historical Sites. Visit them. Talk to the volunteers, who are often personally involved in some way with your subject of research. Remember to take your camera and either a notebook or voice recorder for taking notes. One of my favourite teenage memories is when I was allowed into the vaults of Bristol Museum in the UK to see artefacts that weren’t displayed to the general public. There’s no harm in asking an archivist if you can do the same. If you can’t visit the museum in person, contact the press office; introduce yourself, tell them what information you’re looking for, and remember to thank them afterwards!
History Societies. These enthusiasts can save you hours of research, and if they don’t have firsthand knowledge about your subject, they can often put you in touch with someone who does.
Military and Emergency Services Recruitment Pages. Are you looking for information about a specific role in the military? Do you need to know the hierarchy within the Army, Navy, or other branch of your country’s military? Check out the corresponding recruitment page or website—and be prepared to get distracted, because there’s a lot of great information there.
Specialist Websites. Organizations such as the FBI or state and federal police agencies have an amazing amount of information on their websites. For example, the FBI website has detailed descriptions about all of its divisions and specialist teams, as well as information on current threats and historical accounts of cases that have been solved.

Network

Now use your contacts to build a panel of experts. Mine now includes a doctor, a surgeon, police officers (from the UK, USA, Australia, and Canada), serving and ex-army personnel, and journalists. Trust me, we have a lot of fun discussing what I can put my protagonists and their enemies through! When building your own panel of experts, be sure to include the following:

Friends and family. Do you have friends serving in the military? Family members who have lived or visited the international setting from your story? From my experience, people are happy to share what they know and help you get your facts straight. Sometimes, it really is as simple as asking.
Museum Contacts. Who did you speak to on your visit or phone interview? Keep their details and stay in touch. You never know when you’ll remember a question you forgot to ask or need to check your facts.
Social Media. Stuck on a question? Give a shout out on Twitter or Facebook. You’ll be amazed at the number and quality of responses you’ll receive.

Listen

It’s not enough to bombard your contacts and network with questions. Be prepared to listen, too. Often it’s their anecdotes and examples that create that A-ha moment, and you never know what you might find out by accident. Everyone has a story. Make it your job to listen with respect and soak up that knowledge.

And lastly, remember two old sayings that are very true:

There’s no such thing as a stupid question.
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.

Best of luck with your research!

Thanks for being here today, Rachel. One of my earliest novels was a historical fiction set in the California gold rush. Since I’d never even been to California, much less panned for gold, there was a lot of research involved. Rachel’s suggestions are good ones, and I’d like to personally emphasize the importance of being bold with your questions. In my research phase, I remember feeling nervous about contacting strangers and peppering them with questions. But everyone I spoke to genuinely liked talking about what they knew, and if I asked something about their particular topic that they didn’t know, they were eager to find the answer. So don’t be afraid to ask those questions.

What about you? Have you ever written in a genre or about a topic that was out of your expertise? If you’ve got any additional research techniques, please share them in the comments.

Rachel Amphlett previously worked in the UK publishing industry, played lead guitar in rock bands, and worked with BBC radio before relocating from England to Australia in 2005. After returning to writing, Rachel enjoyed publication success both in Australia and the United Kingdom with her short stories before her first thriller, White Gold, was released in 2011.

Rachel’s Dan Taylor thrillers, White Gold and Under Fire, and her standalone thriller, Before Nightfall, are all Amazon bestsellers. Rachel’s fourth novel, Look Closer, will be available for pre-order in February 2015, with a publication date of late March 2015. A further thriller is scheduled for release in June 2015 while a third Dan Taylor thriller is being written.

You can keep in touch with Rachel via her mailing list, Facebook, and Twitter.

 

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Character Skills & Talents: The Confidant

As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer. 



When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story. 

Description: Being skilled at getting people to confide in you

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: being able to read people well, being a good listener, having a knack for making people feel comfortable and at ease

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: attentive, nurturing, discerning, observant, charming, perceptive, alert, tactful, empathetic, persuasive, devious, manipulative, hypocritical

Required Resources and Training: Being a confidant is more of a natural gift than a trained skill. There are just some people that others feel at ease with; people instinctively trust them and feel comfortable sharing their private feelings. Some confidants humbly acknowledge this skill and use it to help others. Others see a weakness that can be exploited and use their talents to take advantage of those who too easily misplace their trust.

Associated Stereotypes:  grandmothers, aunts, and other maternal types; the quiet member of a girl clique; therapists and psychologists; con-artists; Svengalis and other controlling figures

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:

when a character has a secret that needs to be revealed to readers
when your character needs information that someone else has
when a character needs to bribe or blackmail someone
when a character has a Savior complex and wants to help others
when a character desperately needs to be needed
when the information shared, even out-of-the-blue, offers incite into the main character’s weakness or overall problem

Resources for Further Information:

Getting People to Open Up to You

Why Do We Confide in Complete Strangers?

 

You can brainstorm other possible Skills and Talents your characters might have by checking out our FULL LIST of this Thesaurus Collection. And for more descriptive help for Setting, Symbolism, Character Traits, Physical Attributes, Emotions, Weather and more, check out our Thesaurus Collections page.

The post Character Skills & Talents: The Confidant appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

The Confidant

As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer. 



When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story. 

Description: Being skilled at getting people to confide in you

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: being able to read people well, being a good listener, having a knack for making people feel comfortable and at ease

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: attentive, nurturing, discerning, observant, charming, perceptive, alert, tactful, empathetic, persuasive, devious, manipulative, hypocritical

Required Resources and Training: Being a confidant is more of a natural gift than a trained skill. There are just some people that others feel at ease with; people instinctively trust them and feel comfortable sharing their private feelings. Some confidants humbly acknowledge this skill and use it to help others. Others see a weakness that can be exploited and use their talents to take advantage of those who too easily misplace their trust.

Associated Stereotypes:  grandmothers, aunts, and other maternal types; the quiet member of a girl clique; therapists and psychologists; con-artists; Svengalis and other controlling figures

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:

when a character has a secret that needs to be revealed to readers
when your character needs information that someone else has
when a character needs to bribe or blackmail someone
when a character has a Savior complex and wants to help others
when a character desperately needs to be needed
when the information shared, even out-of-the-blue, offers incite into the main character’s weakness or overall problem

Resources for Further Information:

Getting People to Open Up to You

Why Do We Confide in Complete Strangers?

 

You can brainstorm other possible Skills and Talents your characters might have by checking out our FULL LIST of this Thesaurus Collection. And for more descriptive help for Setting, Symbolism, Character Traits, Physical Attributes, Emotions, Weather and more, check out our Thesaurus Collections page.

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The Art of Story: When Telling Trumps Showing

Show, Don’t Tell. This is something we say quite a bit at WHW. As most of you know, our thesaurus collections are packed with inspiring ways to help you ‘show’ so you can craft compelling fiction that readers feel they can almost see, hear, taste, smell and touch.

But while showing is key to writing a great story, telling has its place too, and so it’s important to know how to do both well. Becca has written a great 2 part post on Showing vs. Telling HERE and HERE, so I won’t reinvent the wheel. If you like, check them out!

So, back to TELLING. When is it okay to Tell instead of Show?
High Action or Fast Pace

When there’s a lot going on in a scene, like your hero is running pell-mell through the woods to evade an axe-wielding maniac, or you’re neck deep in a scene where a frantic flight attendant is trying to land a plane during a terrorist takeover, then pace is king. Slowing down to describe the soft melody of crickets and scent of pine needles won’t fit with scene A any more than play by play description of a passenger helping by giving CPR to a pilot fits with scene B.

This is not to say high action scenes are all tell, no show, because they aren’t! Only that word economy is important, and doing more with less is key. We maintain the intensity by choosing what is important enough to show, and what can be told.

Fight scenes are an excellent example of this. Describing every blow, dodge, twist, kick and stab in micro movements will cause readers to skim. Instead, we want to only show details that give the fight scope and intensity, and tell the bits that need to be conveyed quickly for readers to keep up and “see” what’s happening. Let’s say there’s a brawl going on between fueding brothers in the kitchen. If our hero Josh grabs a chair and smashes it over Tim’s head, readers really don’t need to know that it is a cheap wooden chair with one wobbly leg, or that Josh was actually aiming for Tim’s left shoulder, but because his brother shifted mid swing, it cracked him on the head instead. These details slow the scene down. Instead show us one swift image that paints the action unfolding: Josh hooking the chair with his boot to drag it close, and then swinging it at Tim’s head. BAM.

Time, Location or POV Leaps

Stories, by nature, often jump around, chopping out the boring stuff between critical scenes. If our main character Betsy went to sleep at the end of one scene and nothing important happens to further the story until she leaves for summer camp the next afternoon, we don’t need details of her waking up, eating breakfast, and the rest of her usual routine until the bus finally shows up at her door. Use narration to summarize the time between going to sleep (all full of nerves over a week at summer camp!) and pick up again when her butt hits the unyielding plastic bus seat the next day.

A single line of transitional telling can help readers skip the boring stuff and anchor them immediately into a new scene. The same goes for shifting the POV (after a scene or chapter break,) or if the story leaves one location for another. If it has no bearing on the plot, readers don’t need to read about a character getting in their car, starting it up, fighting rush our traffic and nearly getting rear ended before they meet someone at the library. If a bit of telling summary like, Jenny drove to the library to meet Amy helps tie those location shifts together better than showing can, do it.

Revisiting a Static Setting

If your story involves the character returning to the same setting repeatedly, you do not need to freshly describe the location each time. Consider a main character who runs a pharmacy checkout. If nothing has changed since the last time she worked a shift, don’t gob up the page with redundant setting description. Instead, focus on the action. (The only time this doesn’t apply is if the setting has changed significantly from the reader’s last visit. If for example, a car has driven through the pharmacy storefront creating a tsunami of pill bottles, condom boxes and maxi pads, then this is something that must be shown.)

High Emotion that Endures

Any scene that is packed with emotion can be a descriptive minefield. Too much showing can cause melodrama to rear its head, but too little and the moment can flat line. Whenever emotional tension goes on for an extended period of time, make it a jagged climb. This means showing readers a range of emotions, not just one, and to mix showing and with tiny (TINY!) bits of telling to give the moment scope and allow readers a chance to catch their breath. If an extended emotional scene is all show, show, show, you run the risk of confusing or overwhelming readers.

Details that Do Not Further the Story

When it comes to description, a scene should have color, but too much and the story canvas becomes a runny technicolor mess. Identify which details matter, and which do not. If something furthers the plot, provides needed characterization or helps the reader feel more deeply part of the scene, then show it as needed. But if a detail is more instructional or better served by telling, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of narrative to explain it so we can then focus on what is really happening.

What other situations can you think of where Telling might be better than showing? Let us know in the comments!

 

Image: Geralt @ Pixabay

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Talents and Skills Entry: Enhanced Taste Buds

As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer. 



When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story. 

Enhanced Taste Buds

Description: the ability to taste even the most subtle of flavors, and distinctly tell the difference between bitter, sweet, salty, sour and umami.

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: Enhanced taste buds have a genetic component, but anyone can learn to improve their range of taste. Having a love of food, a keen interest in nutrition, the desire to experiment and try new things are all qualities that will help a person develop their sense of taste.

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: focused, curious, attentive, unbiased, patient, open-minded, self-controlled

Required Resources and Training: People with a heightened sense of taste need to protect their taste buds through healthy choices. As smell affects taste, avoiding environments that have lots of scents and not wearing body sprays, perfume or aftershave will help keep one’s palette neutral. Avoiding bad habits like smoking, and foods that are overly salty or spicy will keep a character from scarring their palett. Attending a culinary school or apprenticing for a chef will help expose them to new tastes and textures, widening their experience and knowledge. Travel can also provide excellent opportunities to try different types of food and spices, not to mention learnings unique cooking methods if one’s goal is to become a chef.

Associated Stereotypes and Perceptions:

that people with sensitive taste buds are picky eaters
that people with this talent avoid processed food, fast food and do not eat junk food because they are “snooty” about what they eat

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful:

excelling in the culinary industry (chef)
the ability to pick up on flavors that should not be present (drugs, poison, etc.)
being able to blend flavors and re-imagine food, inventing something new and earning fame

You can brainstorm other possible Skills and Talents your characters might have by checking out our FULL LIST of this Thesaurus Collection. And for more descriptive help for Setting, Symbolism, Character Traits, Physical Attributes, Emotions, Weather and more, check out our Thesaurus Collections page.

 

Image: Artistlike @ pixabay

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10 Editorial Steps From the Agent “Call” to Published Book

I am ever so excited to hand the reins over to the fabulous Martina Boone, author of Compulsion, book 1 in the Heirs of Watson Island trilogy. There’s a few reasons for this. First, if you don’t know Martina, well, she’s brilliant. Not only is she an uber talented author with a head full of writerly advice which she dispenses at her blog, she is also a very compassionate and supportive friend who is always thinking about how to help other succeed. I love that.

Second, having her here gives me a chance to gush about her YA debut, Compulsion. You might remember how Becca recently blogged about her favorite reads of 2014. Well, GUESS what book tops my own 2014 list?  You bet your bananas it’s Martina’s Compulsion. There is SO MUCH I want to say about this book, but I really should zip it for now so Martina can give us a rare window into what happens between signing with an agent and holding the beloved book in your hands.

The Ten Editorial Steps From the Agent “Call” to Published Book

Like most writers, I’ve dreamed of “being a writer” most of my life, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I decided to throw everything I had at learning to write and getting an agent and getting published. At that point, I read all the books and blog posts that might help me get “there,” and I found so much material that a friend and I started AdventuresInYAPublishing.com to collate all that information and share it with other writers.

Once I signed with an agent, though, I felt like I’d suddenly plunged into an information void. Even with COMPULSION out in the world and PERSUASION well on its way, I still constantly feel like an idiot pestering busy people with questions, or keeping the questions to myself because I’m too embarrassed to ask them.

When we’re starting out as writers, we rarely look beyond the process of getting an agent. That hurdle on its own seems so huge, but truly, it’s just the beginning of the editorial journey our books will take. No, wait. Don’t groan. That’s a GOOD thing, because once your book is out in the world, readers and reviewers are going to pick apart every choice you made. They’ll love them or they’ll hate them, but in your mind, you’ll need to be able to defend those choices knowing exactly why you made them.

After the agent call, here are ten more editorial steps your book will take:

Revising with Your Agent: Even after you’ve polished your manuscript enough to snag an agent, that agent will probably do a round or two of revision with you before sending your book out to editors on submission.

On Sub: While you’re revising, your agent is making lists of editors and putting together a submission packet that will contain the pitch as well as any supporting information that will help “sell” your book to an editor and acquisition panel. The pitch has its genesis in your query letter, and you may find that big chunks of your query eventually end up on your book jacket. You and your agent will probably work on the pitch together before submitting to the editors most likely to love your book.

The Offer: Before you get an offer, your editor may speak to you and share any editorial vision he or she has for your book or query you about follow-on ideas. Both the dollar amount and the supporting information the editor provides will tell you whether they see the book as a mid-list or lead title and how important it will be for their “list.”

 The Editorial Letter: Usually even before your agent and the publisher’s legal department have finalized the contract and the check for the first third of your advance is in the mail, your editor is busy reading your book and preparing the overview what’s needed to bring it to full potential. An editorial letter can range from a couple pages to many pages addressing the manuscript’s strengths and areas for improvement. You may go through one or several rounds of developmental edits.

 The Line Edit: Once the structure is in place, your editor will go through the manuscript line by line, looking for ways to strengthen the writing, clarify meaning, make images more specific, eliminate cliches and writing ticks, eliminate wordiness, etc.

The Pass for Press: Your editor will review the line edits once you turn them in and she or he will “accept” the manuscript. That’s the trigger for releasing the second third of your advance payment. At this stage, if not before, the book goes to the production department, which schedules out the production process. The book designer starts developing how the interior pages will look, and the cover designer has probably already been working on the exterior jacket in the meantime.

The Copy Edit: The managing editor will turn the book over to a copyeditor. This may be someone in house, or an outside freelancer. It may occur in track changes in Word, or as physical marks on paper. The copyeditor will correct any grammar issues, check for continuity, clarity, and consistency, and pose any queries on facts, timeline, etc. for you in the margins. When you get the Copy Edited Manuscript (CEM) back to review, it’s usually due to your editor very quickly. As I’ve learned the hard way, you need to make sure that this isn’t the first time you see your manuscript printed out on paper, because it will read very differently than it does on your computer screen. CEMs are not the place to make a ton of changes, but they’re a better place to make changes than any point further in the process.

Galleys/ARCs: Once your manuscript is copyedited, it will be changed from an electronic Word file into a typeset file within the publisher’s design program, where it is printed out into page proofs for further editorial scrutiny and distribution to reviewers, booksellers, and power readers—people who can help spread the word about and build excitement for your book. Depending on the publisher and the timeline, you may get to review the proofs before Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) are printed and bound, or you may see the ARCs first and get a few copies for yourself at the same time that they are prepared to go out for review. Don’t fret either way, ARCs are expected to contain errors.

1st Pass Pages: When you get the proofs of the typeset pages, it’s your first chance to see what your book will really look like, how the fonts look, how the paragraphs flow on the page, and how the pages and chapters lay out. You’ll also review for remaining typos and any inadvertent errors introduced when the file and edits were keyed in. Making changes at this stage is expensive, especially if they change pagination. If you make too many changes, your publisher could charge you for the expense, so you’re looking only for things that *must* be changed or corrected.

2nd Pass Pages: Whatever changes were made in the first pass will be reflected in the second pass, but your publisher may not send 2nd PPs to you. At this stage, your job on the manuscript is essentially done, and it’s a surreal feeling to know that there’s nothing more that you can do.

At this point, all of you—your agent, editor, production team, art department, marketing, sales, and publicity team, everyone at your publisher—have done their best, and it’s time to to turn the book over to your readers.

Getting a book to print is truly a gargantuan effort, and it’s a leap of faith and love on everyone’s part. The process is not for the faint-hearted, and there are times when I wanted to crawl in a hole and weep with the pressure and the stress and the sense that I couldn’t possibly make the book good enough. The first letter I received from a reader reminded me of why we do this though—because it was a letter very much like one I would have liked to have written to my favorite author about a beloved book. And hearing that my characters, world, and words have meant that much to someone is an amazing and energizing feeling.

(We often think that hardest part is writing the book, but this post shows how much more still needs to be done after the yes. And then there’s marketing, promoting…as Martina says, not for the faint-hearted. But the product of ALL that hard work? Right here. Trust me, you NEED this book! ~ A)

Three plantations. Two gifts. One ancient curse.

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lives with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead–a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who somehow seems to know what Barrie wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family’s twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

IndieBound  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Amazon  | Walmart | Target | Book Depository  (free worldwide shipping)

The truth? I devoured this book. You ever wish a fictional world was a real place, and its characters living, breathing people that you could sit with and talk to? That’s the effect this book had on me. I loved Barrie and Eight, the push and pull of their personalities, and most of all, the love and loyalty they have for family. Watson Island felt as real and authentic to me as my own backyard. Reading this book was an experience in the truest sense. I loved discovering how magic compulsions, curses and feuds played out between the three families, and the secrets and danger that ties them all together.

A GIVEAWAY? HECK YES!
I feel utterly COMPELLED to make sure others experience this book, so Becca and I will be giving an ebook copy away to one commenter!

Please, do check this book out, and add it to your Goodreads list.  I can’t recommend it enough. You can find Martina all over the place, so reach out and say hello:

Martina’s Website | Blog | Tumblr | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Twitter

Questions about the Publishing Journey? Fan of Compulsion like me? Tell us all about it in the comments!

 

The post 10 Editorial Steps From the Agent “Call” to Published Book appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Critiques 4 U, January Edition

Pixabay

CONTEST IS CLOSED

Happy 2015, everyone! I hope you’re getting your January groove on, making goals or resolutions or whatever it is that gets you going in the New Year. I’m sure that some of you are wanting to rework that opening page or fine-tune those editing skillz. And if that’s the case, you’re in luck. ‘Cause it’s time for Critiques 4 U!

If you’re agonizing over that first page and you wouldn’t mind me chainsawing taking a gander at it, leave a comment that includes: 

1) your email address


2) the working title of your WIP
3) its genre (no erotica, please)
4) the intended audience
ONLY ENTRIES THAT FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED.

3 commenters’ names will be drawn and posted tomorrow. If you win, you can email me your first page and I’ll offer my feedback. Best of luck!

The post Critiques 4 U, January Edition appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.

Talents and Skills Thesaurus Entry: Lipreading

As writers, we want to make our characters as unique and interesting as possible. One way to do this is to give your character a special skill or talent that sets him apart from other people. This might be something small, like having a green thumb or being good with animals, to a larger and more competitive talent like stock car racing or being an award-winning film producer. 



When choosing a talent or skill, think about the personality of your character, his range of experiences and who his role models might have been. Some talents might be genetically imparted while others are created through exposure (such as a character talented at fixing watches from growing up in his father’s watch shop) or grow out of interest (archery, wakeboarding, or magic). Don’t be afraid to be creative and make sure the skill or talent is something that works with the scope of the story. 

LIPREADING 

Courtney Rhodes @ Creative Commons

Description: The ability to read other peoples’ lips in order to understand what’s being said

Beneficial Strengths or Abilities: good vision

Character Traits Suited for this Skill or Talent: focused, persistent, determined, observant, discerning

Required Resources and Training: Lipreading is a skill that many hearing impaired individuals are able to do with accuracy. Their ability comes from a lifetime spent practicing. As with any other skill, once must practice reading others’ lips in order to become proficient at it. 

Associated Stereotypes: those with impaired hearing

Associated Perceptions: When portrayed in fiction, lipreading is often 100% accurate. But there are many factors that can make lipreading difficult: the position of the person being read, the person moving around and making it difficult to see their lips, an obstruction that blocks the lips (a raised hand, food being brought to the mouth, someone with a cold who is always covering a cough or blowing their nose, etc.), a speech impediment that causes a person to form words in an unconventional way, a person speaking with a strong accent or dialect, etc.. These are things that can make lipreading difficult; keep them in mind for ways to frustrate your hero and make it more difficult for him to attain his goal.

Scenarios Where this Skill Might be Useful: For most story purposes, the lipreader would want to be able to use his skill without being noticed, so it would be necessary for him to be able to do so from a distance. To meet this need, he might have excellent vision or utilize binoculars or a scope.

When a spy needs to gain information while remaining unnoticed
When someone wants to know what a peer or love interest thinks about her
When a coach wants to know what plays an opposing team will be running
When two people need to communicate without being seen or overheard
When a detective or police officer is watching a suspect and wants know what is being said

Resources for Further Information:

Lipreading Training Course and Games

Beginner’s Guide to Lip Reading

You can brainstorm other possible Skills and Talents your characters might have by checking out our FULL LIST of this Thesaurus Collection. And for more descriptive help for Setting, Symbolism, Character Traits, Physical Attributes, Emotions, Weather and more, check out our Thesaurus Collections page.

The post Talents and Skills Thesaurus Entry: Lipreading appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS™.