Jaire Sims's Blog, page 6

Want to Write a Good Mystery? Here Are Some Clues for You!

As one of the most popular genres in fiction, it’s worth knowing a thing or two about how you could approach writing mystery stories. I also feel they’ve risen to new heights thanks to the growing interest in tales of true crime showcased in podcasts, on TV, and through streaming services like Netflix. People like a good puzzle and want to figure it out, whether on their own or by someone else, to learn how it all went down. So if trying to stump readers and lead them on a merry chase appeals to you, then let’s get into the makings of a mystery.

Do You Actually Want to Write a Mystery?

Before you dive into your outline, it’s important to understand the distinction between writing a mystery and a thriller since they’re easily confused. Both involve intrigue from some unsolved crime or question.

But with a thriller, said problem often incites an impending tragic or catastrophic event, like a murder or a human-made disaster that the hero needs to prevent. They’re intense due to the fast pace and ongoing action leading to a showdown. If that sounds like what you have in mind, then you want to write a thriller, my friend.

Meanwhile, a mystery builds its tension through slow, methodical pacing with the odd bits of action to keep things lively. The central puzzle keeps the readers going, challenging them to find the solution before you inevitably reveal it, hopefully providing satisfaction one way or the other.

What’s more, these stories are told from a first-person perspective, making them more personal and involving the reader more directly in the plot. Within mystery, you have several ways to approach your story, like classic noir-style, procedural cop drama, or cozy in a small town, for example.

Tension Keeps Them Hooked

A cornerstone of the mystery genre is tension. You’ll keep readers engaged by setting up a complex, exciting puzzle. The closer your character gets to a possible solution or uncovering more clues and questions, the higher the stakes and the higher the tension.

While stakes are essential in any book, they’re vital to the success of your mystery story. While you don’t need to incite your protagonist’s quest with a high-profile murder or crime, the problem still must be a big deal for the tension to remain high.

So, one of the first questions you’ll want to ask yourself is, “what is the mystery, and why does it matter?” From there, you can brainstorm outwards to find out who and what is affected, to build multiple threads for your readers to follow, keeping them guessing.

Each Page is a Piece of the Puzzle

The other vital component to any mystery is a good puzzle, but it’s also the hardest bit to get right. You want it to be difficult enough that readers stay engaged but not so hard as to frustrate them. Or too easy that they don’t even bother reading the rest of your book!

Like I said before, while you’re challenging them to try and solve your mystery, it needs to result in a satisfying conclusion, confirming that your reader was correct or illustrating an exciting series of reasons why they were wrong.

That means you’ll need to invest time into carefully planning and outlining your story. A mystery novel is bound to fall flat if you try to wing it. One tried and true technique is to write backward.

So, devise your solution and the plausible conclusion to your story, then work your way to the beginning, filling in the steps and building your roster of believable suspects and measures towards the solution.

What Makes it a Challenge?

When you’re building out your puzzle and the protagonist’s journey along the way, you’ll need to have significant obstacles that stand in the way. You have some options when it comes to crafting these obstacles.

Sometimes they’ll be pretty clear, straightforward physical barriers: hired muscle, locked doors, the hero’s budget, etc. Other times they will appear as more indirect means of misdirection known as red herrings.

The red herring is your friend when writing mysteries. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s a philosophical concept of arguing wherein someone provides a very plausible, false lead. With appropriate use, you can throw your readers off the scent, so they don’t figure out your mystery too soon.

But you can’t rely on them too much or use them too soon. While you want your puzzles to be challenging, you don’t want them confusing. Readers should be surprised when you reveal the facts instead of feeling like they missed a crucial bit of information.

Take It Slow

Keep in mind that mysteries are a slow burn. After dropping them into the action with the inciting incident and getting them hooked, you want to drip-feed details so that your audience isn’t solving the problem within the first fifty pages.

Thankfully, the first-person perspective lends itself well to this sort of pacing. As any good detective should, you’ll have your hero analyzing every aspect of their case. By sticking to the adage, “show, don’t tell,” you can provide a rich tapestry for the five senses and feed information to the reader that will build out the world.

It’s your opportunity to create a fully fleshed-out cast of characters for readers to “question” in their minds as they try to determine who could be the culprit. You want to allow your hero (and readers) a moment to consider what they’re learning along the way.

The Who and the Where

In first-person, you’ll have to think creatively about how you introduce your main character and setting since people don’t go around consciously describing themselves or their surroundings to themselves.

To help with this, determine why this mystery is important to them. What’s on the line for this particular sleuth? Building on that, you’ll be able to find out what makes them unique from other detectives in the genre and write better stakes.

Similarly, what makes the setting necessary to your mystery? You can create some of your best obstacles through the location or period of your story. In many cases, it almost becomes a character of its own. The atmosphere is so important in a mystery, so make it distinct and tangible.

How Would You Do It?

If you’re going to create a mystery that needs to be solved, you need to know how to commit it. Get to know your antagonist and the crime. What drives them? If you write a foil with clear goals, then the why of the offense will fall into place nicely, along with the possible obstacles.

Put in the research of all the locations, the potential law procedures, and other vital aspects. You more or less want to be ready to commit the crime yourself (but don’t, obviously!) As I said, if you wing your plot threads, then there will likely be a few holes.

So instead, do your best to get away with it, which will help you put together all the elements of a great caper and discover the challenges your hero investigator will present the antagonist with throughout the story.

The mystery novel is a staple of fiction and a thoroughly enjoyable way to approach writing. If you like the idea of challenging your readers with puzzles while entertaining them, then this is the genre for you. Spend some time reading about other detectives like Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, or Nancy Drew to fuel your creativity, then dive into researching a near-perfect crime.

If you need help getting started with structuring your story, I’ve got a great webinar for you; if I do say so myself. I’m always open to questions and comments, so please email me at jsims@jairesims.com or find me on social media.

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Quick Tips to Help You Start Your Travel Writing Career!

Some people dedicate their whole lives to jet-setting. They hop from place to place, taking in all the world has to offer. You’ve likely seen some of them on social media as influencers, humble-bragging about the fantastic life they lead so we can all live vicariously through their nomadic journey. But frequent fliers are also open to the exciting opportunity of being travel writers.

What Is Travel Writing?

It’s a weird genre to define, but it’s evolved over the years. Initially, it was travelers (primarily men) describing their trips. But, sometimes, someone would inject more personality into it, and that’s what it has largely become now.

They’re non-fictional accounts of people’s travels through a lens of exploratory curiosity, wonder, and willingness to learn. They’re a sort of personal quest where the author is the hero, and the adventure is to take in all they can of what their destinations have to offer with as much humility as possible.

People approach it as prose, diary entries, or essays, while some in poetry and others mix it all in, hence why it’s hard to pin down and describe it as just one thing. But if you love to travel and the growth it offers to people willing to embrace it and want to express that to inspire others, you can start today!

The General Rules

As a first-time author who wants to join the ranks of travel writers, you need to know the basics of the format. They’re all done in first-person, past tense, to describe a journey that has happened.

Regardless of the framework you write in, most try their best to capture the intimate details of their journey: Vivid sights, specific smells, the soothing ambiance (but don’t belabor it like you’re Tolkien.)

Finally, the goal is to entice readers to read on and possibly head on their own trip, so the tone is kept conversational and relatable and gives people insider tips. You’re selling an experience, your experience, so you’ll want them to feel like they were there beside you.

Making It Yours

The most commonly suggested means of standing out is to make your voice obvious. You’ll want to find a way to bring your unique perspective to your writing (like how I could lend my opinion on what it’s like to visit a city as someone on the spectrum and how friendly it was to navigate, for example.)

Couple that personal insight with confidence, like you’re the expert. That doesn’t mean presenting yourself as the aficionado on all things San Francisco or Lyons. But you can be of your trip — you planned it, went on the journey, and had the experiences, so you know it best, from start to finish.

Prove yourself as a dependable source of insight based on how you approach travel, and you’re that much more likely to achieve success and gain an invested following.

Finding Your Readers

How you go about getting your writing out there is up to you. Thankfully, it’s easier than ever for a travel writer to find a following, thanks to the internet and the accessibility of modern travel. What was once a hobby for the rich, anyone with a writing implement and a desire can do.

Travel Blogging

The simplest way to publish your work is through blogging. While Livejournal is a device of the past, people can still make a website cheap and quick that suits the theme of their adventures.

Then, all you need to do is write and market it. Take to social media, share it with other travelers, guest post with established bloggers; do whatever it takes to build your audience, and you’ll find success.

Logs and Memoires

Taking this approach is more of an investment of time and money. Thankfully, I did recently discuss how simple it is to self-publish online. But you can also turn to a literary agent specializing in travel writing to pitch your tales.

The main thing is that you’ll need a more extended, narrative account of your trip or trips. When I wrote above about you being the hero of your quest, travelogs, memoirs, or essays are what I had in mind.

Publications

There are online and print magazines that offer spaces for guest authors and columnists to share their stories. It is generally a more journalistic approach, as you’ll often need to frame your thoughts into an opinion article or editorial. But, if you can get traction here, it’s an excellent way to get your name out there as an authority on travel.

Not everyone wants to be a homebody. If you have a knack for the written word and the travel bug, then harness it! Reading about other people’s trips can be fascinating, especially if someone cannot travel freely.

Plus, when done right, you can build a great business from it that could even lead to paid sponsored trips to some exciting destinations. It’s something plenty of people want to read about, so you know you can find an audience. The point is, while I enjoy writing fiction, it’s not the only option out there.

If there’s a chance for you to write about something you love, and you didn’t know this was an option before, then you do now! So when you get started, find me on social media or email me at jsims@jairesims.com to share your travels, and I can check them out.

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Is Self-Publishing on Amazon Too Good to be True?

Sometimes it’s hard to remember Amazon’s humble beginnings as an online book retailer. Now it’s this monstrous, money-making entity with its own brand of goods. But you can still buy books! And through their Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) service, it’s never been more straightforward for an author to get their work out into the world, at least in digital format. Before you jump into it, though, I want to take a good look at what it has to offer you and how you can make the most of the experience if you decide it’s the best route for your novel.

Setting Up KDP for Success

You need only a cursory glance over the website to learn that it’s fast, easy, cheap, makes money, and allows you to retain intellectual control over your book. Sounds too good to be true, right?

Thankfully, it isn’t. You get global reach and 70% royalties, and you could publish today and possibly see it on digital shelves tomorrow! All it takes is a bit of time to sign up for an account and review some of the ins and outs of the whole process.

When you get into setting up your book, you need to have a clear idea of these three items to help people find your story:

Book DescriptionMake it as captivating as possible (a tall order, I know.)KeywordsAt least 7 should do nicely.CategoriesAbout 10 categories are recommended.

Additionally, you need an eye-catching cover, a great title, and a subtitle. You’ll also want to know your book’s length, ISBN, and audience, describe the physical details if applicable, prepare a biography, and include a few other elements to give your novel the best SEO footprint.

That said, don’t stress if you feel you missed something or want to refine your answers — you can always go back and edit, even after you’ve published.

Physical or Digital?

The cool thing about KDP is that it’s not for ebooks only. They will print physical copies and handle all the shipping and return details on your behalf. So all you need to do is decide if you want physical, digital, or both. Both certainly won’t hurt, but the latest statistics show that print sells better.

Essentially it comes down to the fact that it’s just plain satisfying to hold a physical book in your hands and read it. Cost-wise, the two formats are pretty close these days, too. So the price often won’t factor into people’s purchasing decisions as much as it used to. That’s because the big publishers forced Amazon to adjust their pricing, so it didn’t tank the market for them.

For the physical method, though, there is a lot of stress in ensuring you’ve got all the details straight because once they’re printed, you can’t change them. So make sure you double-check everything if you go this route. Also, keep in mind that Amazon deducts printing and shipping costs from your royalties.

So that potential 70% looks more like 60% (or about 40% if you go through the Expanded Distribution method) after they take their cut. There’s also a delivery cost for ebooks, but it’s a lot cheaper, and you won’t pay anything if you’re on the 35% royalties plan (a bit more on that below.)

Then I Can Relax, Right?

Not so much. True, as I said, Amazon handles most of the details and makes the process easy. But that only means that pretty much everyone and their dog can print a book. It’s a massive ocean of content; you’re just one drop in it. So before you rest on your laurels, it’s crucial you develop a game plan to get your novel out in front of people’s eyes.

For myself, that meant developing my website and slowly growing a brand that, if nothing else, draws attention to my name as an author and reminds people about my book, Getting By.

All that said, Amazon may get your book out there, but they won’t tell people about it. It’s up to you to market your novel: On social media, in emails, your blog, book reviews, through YouTube, podcasts, and even skywriting if you have to!

Otherwise, you will waste all your time and money on writing, editing, proofing, cover design, and anything else. Develop a plan or invest a bit more in hiring a company to do it with or for you to give your novel the best chance at success. It’ll be one of the best investments you can make.

Things to be Mindful Of

Before you commit to KDP, there are a few bits to be aware of when making a decision. First, they have exclusive rights to the publishing for 90 days, so you can’t go to any other platform until that time is up.

Secondly, those royalties won’t roll in until 60 days after the first sale of your novel, so budget accordingly. Plus, direct deposit is the best way to go. With checks or wire, you need at least $100 in sales before they send you anything.

Speaking of those royalties, I will clarify that there are two options for your royalties, 70% and 35%, which largely determine your book pricing options. Make sure you read the differences clearly, and you’ll be set up for what suits your needs best.

Lastly, check the DRM option. Kindle does allow people to lend a digital copy of your book for a brief period, but if you don’t enable Digital Rights Management to protect your novel, they can outright copy it for free.

Whatever your feelings about Amazon and its owner, Jeff Bezos, it’s a fantastic platform to help new authors take control of their publishing. It’s free, offers a simple enough interface to work with, and takes care of the bigger issues like printing and shipping.

Just make sure you’re ready to do the legwork to help your novel get discovered by providing the most detailed and SEO-driven information and crafting a winning marketing plan.

If you want to learn more about publishing independently, I’ve covered some of it in my blog before and gotten even more in-depth in my course, so check it out and sign up! Please find me on social media or email me at jsims@jairesims.com should you have more questions.

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6 Great Brainstorming Techniques to Fuel Your Creative Writing

When you have a new idea for a story, it’s thrilling. You want to put pen to paper and just run with it. But it’s not that easy, is it? Sometimes writer’s block stymies your flow. In other cases, you need to step back and structure your approach; otherwise, you could create a jumbled mess. And brainstorming is the best place to start with getting your ideas out to make sense of them.

From Mind to Matter

Brainstorming your story is so helpful. While it is so spontaneous at first, it does bring structure by allowing you to build a foundation of the vital points for your story. First, you can get your best ideas out early in the process, saving you from forgetting them down the line and allowing you to prune and adjust some that aren’t so hot as you go.

As you get those ideas out, you’ll likely notice patterns and themes repeating, and you can nail down your story’s central premise. Characters, setting, and everything else generally falls into place shortly thereafter. Then, with all those big concepts starting to get sorted, you’ll feel an abundance of relief.

Brainstorming takes a lot of the pressure off your mind, as you’ve got that creativity stored somewhere else, and you’ve made tangible progress towards writing your story (which is always cause to celebrate yourself a little!)

So How Do You Do It?

As I said above, I have my own technique, but there are several ways to approach your brainstorming. Ultimately, they all facilitate the same goal: Allowing you to surprise and inspire yourself and clear your mind so you can focus on what’s essential in your writing.

Freewriting

My go-to style, with this approach, you let your thoughts flow from mind to pen (or keys) to page. Doesn’t matter what it is; let any tangential idea spring forth, then sort through them later. It’s a great way to remove self-judgment the more you practice, as you remind yourself there’s no bad idea while doing it.

You commit to writing any word that comes up, whether sensical or not. But before you dive in, though, set yourself a limit: Amount of time, number of words or pages, that sort of idea. While much of what you write may not work for your current project, there will definitely be the odd nugget or phrase you can tweak and spin into your story.

Cluster Map

Also known to some as an idea web or brainstorming cloud, this one more literally ties your thoughts together. You get your main ideas down on your paper, then connect similar themes and concepts together, allowing you to sort it all out easier.

It’s still pretty chaotic, like freewriting, but it lends itself to making more order in the end, depending on what works for you. Start with a central idea and let it all flow out from there, and I’m sure you’ll find some gems that work for your story.

Storyboarding

This is a fun one if you respond better to visuals. You, more or less, create a sort of comic book for your ideas. You can draw out a scene or series of scenes with basic shapes and figures and describe it all.

It’s an excellent method for brainstorming specific ideas and concepts for your stories, like set-piece moments. Sometimes you need to see it, whatever “it” is, and then more inspiration will follow.

The Big Six Questions

Another great approach is to pick a topic and ask those classic questions: Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How? As you start to answer them, you’ll see how thoroughly you’ve thought it through or where the holes exist. As you see these imbalances, you can research and flesh out your ideas better or abandon them altogether. Whatever works best for your story.

Word Bank

Here’s a technique that’s the opposite of some of the more free-form ideas I’ve presented so far. To generate a word bank, you want to write down as many words as you can associate with a topic.

You’ll do this for as many as you need relating to your story. It helps you build a storehouse of words to use for this or other stories while helping you avoid repeating the same ones over and over again.

Make a List

The classic method, jotting your ideas down freely in bulleted lists, is sometimes the way to go. Don’t worry about stringing together whole sentences and thoughts.

This method is somewhat similar to freewriting but presented differently, so all that matters is what you write from point to point, whatever thoughts come to you. Eventually, you’ll get some united themes and a great idea.

My brainstorming list is by no means exhaustive. There are numerous methods you can use to generate and structure your thoughts. Some are better left for more technical writing, but if they speak to you, who am I to stop you?

So long as you’re getting your ideas out before trying to write them, then you’re on the right track. And also, keep another thing in mind: While I mentioned a lot about how brainstorming will lead to breakthroughs, it can also illustrate what you don’t need in your stories.

Weaning out the weaker concepts is just as important to the success of your writing as it is to generating brilliance. So, be honest, if brutal, with yourself about some ideas. But also give yourself the benefit of the doubt and explore some of the more surprising and possibly abstract concepts you came up with.

If you have a tried and true method of spinning out your thoughts, don’t hesitate to share it with me. I’m on most social media platforms, and you’re welcome to email me at jsims@jairesims.com.

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Something About The End

Hello! Everyone wants to tell a satisfying story that leaves their readers fulfilled and excited to trust them with their time again for the sequel! What’s the difference between a lackluster ending and a spectacular one? There’s something about the end of a novel that outweighs the beginning and middle by a mile. When was the last time you read a great book with a terrible ending? The vast truth is that an awful end sours the entire book. Your effort and writing are wasted if the end is unfulfilling, and as an author, it’s your duty to guide your readers to a satisfying conclusion that rewards their investment in your story!

You Must Earn Your Ending

Endings are inevitable yet surprising conclusions. You’ve had your entire novel to pay off your set-ups, reveal your secrets, and expose the reader to the machinations behind your antagonist’s grand plans. Here are a few ways to figure out if your ending is truly earned:

Your protagonist’s key weaknesses play a role in their ultimate success after self-reflection reveals a core truth.The state of the world after the climax’s resolution directly results from the clash between the protagonist and antagonist forces.There are no new concepts or ideas introduced near the end of your novel that conveniently help wrap up the ending.By the end, all of the central questions from the start of your novel have been purposefully answered.Let Your Readers Fill In The Gaps

Answer the primary loose ends your readers hope to tie up, but make space for their imaginations to fill in a few minor gaps. No end will satisfy every reader, but whenever a reader can draw their own conclusions, they’re more likely to feel connected to the resolution of the ending.

So make sure there’s space for your readers to plug a little piece of themselves into your novel’s end chapters! Try to focus on tangential details and story beats like, for instance, the state of a city or village or a large group of townsfolk affected by the events of your story. Describe one or two, and let it be known that there are many more.

That way, you’ve offered space for your reader to personalize an aspect of the resolution without majorly neutering your core ending beats! Sometimes it’s helpful to have the main characters pass through and see the consequences or fallout for themselves.

This method gives you a first-hand opportunity to describe what they see and even offer a more direct question about what the rest of the population might be doing straight from your protagonist!

If your main character is asking that question to themselves, they are indirectly asking the reader to consider what the answer might be and encouraging them to imagine their answers. That’s a great way to include your reader in your novel’s final wrap-up!

Spotlight The Growth (Or Failure) Of Your Protagonist

Depending on the nature of your story, your protagonist will rise and overcome several personal obstacles to become better than they began, or they will expressly fail to do so, and their world will feel the consequences. Whether your protagonist’s heroic or tragic, you need to hammer home the final result of their arc.

Did they succeed? Make sure it’s a satisfying success! Did they struggle to earn their growth? What did they give up to succeed? What are the consequences of their failure? Do we get to see the ramifications of their loss? Do readers get to feel your protagonist sit in the consequences of their actions?

If you don’t show your audience in no uncertain terms how your protagonist has changed (or failed to change) by the end of your novel, then they haven’t interacted with your story enough to be your true main character, in my opinion.

We are following their exploits for a reason. So then it’s the expectation of the reader that they will experience the challenges and hardships and victories and failures of the main character. Your protagonist must face their shortcomings repeatedly until they discover new realizations about themselves that will ultimately help determine the resolution of their story!

If your main character drifts through your story without learning anything, they are either perfect, unnecessary, or boring!

Avoid Obvious Tropes and Cliches

There have been enough novels written now that several conventions have become typical and expected by even the most casual readers. Avoid these most common tropes when cultivating your ending:

No “Deus-Ex-Machina” solutions to the major eventDon’t let the climax resolve without the protagonist’s inputDon’t let your antagonist lose without colossal failureDon’t let your protagonist win without working hard for it

Some fantastic online resources have cataloged the most common or egregious tropes in modern media, such as https://tvtropes.org/.

TvTropes is outstanding for staying aware of audience expectations or even setting up the concept of a trope precisely so that you can subvert it later in your novel to the surprise and delight of your audience!

It’s essential to be aware of the conventions of your genre and medium when writing your story to create something unique and unexpected for your avid readers! Think about which tropes most likely apply to your particular story, and make a list of the different ways you subvert expectations by defying those signature tropes!

Let’s be honest: endings are brutal. As authors, we want to satisfy everyone, and it’s not an easy endeavor to tie all of your best-laid plans together in a nice, neat bow in the final chapter. But I believe in you!

If you want a more in-depth look at writing a compelling ending to your next novel, check out my course, where I give more detail and provide examples with other resources. If you want to get in touch about anything, you know where to find me on social media or at jsims@jairesims.com.

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Do You Want to Keep Your Readers Happy After the First Pages?

Most of your book’s story takes place in the “middle” segments. Characters grow, change, and explore the world around them while twists and turns move them along their way. With your antagonistic force revealed, you can cause a variety of tense moments to challenge your cast. And all of it should build to the climax and resolution at the end of your book. So, how do you make the middle engaging enough to keep people reading after the beginning has hooked them?

Starting the Middle

It’s all about the plot. The inciting incident from the introductory pages of your story signals a shift from the beginning to the middle. What happens after sets readers up for the inevitable conclusion.

While that doesn’t mean you can’t introduce a few more elements or characters to your story, you’ll want to do so sparingly and not let any of those elements take away from the main plot thread. Remember that the middle pages work in service of advancing the main plot.

Some New Faces, Places, and Situations

Expanding on the idea above, you’ll likely be introducing a variety of new factors that help tell your story. But whenever you do so, ask yourself: “Does this advance the plot or help readers learn about the protagonist(s)?” It shouldn’t play a big part or even be necessary if it doesn’t.

It becomes essential to figure out the difference between minor characters and extras, scenery and settings, and scenes and activity. Each of these elements adds an opportunity to meaningfully grow your story while the other injects some flavor into the world so it can feel alive.

Understand that distinction, and you’ll be well on your way to fleshing out the central portion of your novel.

Keep Readers on the Hook

The beginning should already make clear what your protagonist hopes to achieve. As you continue to develop the plot, it’s intrinsic that you stay focused on that goal or set of goals. That will be the driving force behind your character’s motivations, for better or worse, and readers will keep turning pages to find out how they’ll succeed (or fail.)

If you don’t establish a clear goal, you’ll likely meander throughout the middle chapters and lose your audience. So, as you write, remind yourself of what your characters want (remember setting stakes?), what drives them, and what impediments stand before them.

Try to have this plotted out somehow, in point notes or graphs or one of those crazy boards with the yarn going every which way — the point is, know the trajectory so you can write about it meaningfully.

There’s More Going On Than the Reader Thought

While the middle generally follows the main thread, here’s your chance to introduce subplots. Again, this should support the central arc and allow you to develop your story’s tertiary characters or themes.

You can reveal a new character who joins the main cast for a while or raise the stakes with a harrowing side adventure where the heroes learn something vital for their primary goal. As your book develops, you’ll likely end up with multiple subplots to keep driving the story’s momentum, and they’re key ingredients in keeping your audience reading.

Setting Up the Climax

In high school English, they often cover story structure, and as you near the end, you find what’s called the “rising action.” Honestly, that pretty much happens from the inciting incident onwards. That’s because you want to enhance that conflict I told you to build as you go.

It will keep readers hanging on in anticipation of the book’s climax, as every encounter or moment of contention builds the character’s knowledge, skills, and experience to help them (possibly) succeed in facing their final challenge.

If you aren’t continually introducing new conflicts, you’re setting readers up for a boring read. The climax needs to bring some sense of satisfaction. If it just suddenly happens without any action along the way, there will be no payoff.

Challenge your heroes — not only is it more believable (life is generally a struggle, remember?), but it’s more interesting.

The End is Nigh

Your climax sets up the finale for your novel. It’s what your entire story has been building to: a confrontation that, ideally, will bring all your protagonists’ struggles to a satisfying end as they reach their goal (unless you’re writing a series, then there’s a chance things could go awry…)

To make the most of this potentially epic moment, the stakes should never be higher: life or death, wealth or poverty, love or loss, those sorts of things. And in order to get what they want, your hero needs a challenge that pushes their limits, so everything seems nearly out of reach.

One way or another, it’s good if it’s unsafe, and they feel insecure in their ability to succeed. Your readers will be on the proverbial edge of their seats. Then, when they ultimately win, whether in part or full, they at the very least should walk away having learned something or changed in some way, providing a purpose for all the struggle.

If you can get your readers hooked within the first pages, following the above tenets can keep them going. Use your middle to grow the connection between your audience and the characters.

Raise the stakes, challenge the heroes, make them earn their prospective victory, and take your readers on an emotional roller coaster that they can’t stop riding. You can check out my online course to dive into a more detailed discourse on your book’s midsection.

Like I’ve said before, it has loads more info and resources to help you learn the ins and outs of writing your manuscript and then self-publishing it. As always, please feel free to get in touch with me at jsims@jairesims.com or on any social media platform.

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Want to Hook Your Readers? You Need to Nail the Beginning!

If you’ve been writing for a while, then no doubt you know that all stories need a beginning, middle, and end. For those reading who are new to writing, then trust me, the fundamental structure for storytelling is everywhere. Think about any conversation you have: You don’t just start with, “My mom got an award yesterday,” and leave it at that. Or maybe you do, and if so, you’re a monster (I kid! …mostly!) But a statement like that could be the story’s beginning, middle, or end. On its own, it’s the beginning and end and isn’t enough. People want to know more. So I want to provide a starting point and review some of the basic points in developing the structure of your novel, beginning at, well, the beginning!

Where to Start?

As you may know, Maria Rainer from the Sound of Music sings where we should begin. Every good story needs to start somewhere, and that’s entirely up to you. But some vital elements make for a better beginning.

By including these structural foundations in the opening moments of your manuscript, you’re sure to get readers interested and invested in what comes after the first third.

Introduce Your Cast

At the very least, you must introduce your audience to your main protagonist early on, if no one else in your story. Provide insight into their character, motivations, background, and those sorts of details.

But avoid a large “info dump” of exposition. Keep your readers engaged by offering little bits at a time. Less is more, as they say, and it holds true for exploring your characters.

Hook Readers

To make readers stick with your story, you’re going to need compelling hooks. What’s a hook? It’s a plot device that grabs readers’ interest, pointing them towards a specific part of your world and keeps them reading to learn more.

As long as it occurs within the first few sentences of your manuscript, you should be able to get your audience to stick around until the end of your book. Some staples are:

A vivid description uses specific language to create a clear image in the imagination, capturing attention.Declarations that focus on a particular circumstance, like a prophecy or an announcement, ideally be resolved later.Asking a big question off the top that won’t be answered until later in the story.Using similes and metaphors to better illustrate an aspect of your story and help readers connect.Set the Scene

Your story happens somewhere, and the sooner you can illustrate the setting for your novel, the quicker readers can connect to the world. You don’t want them doing the mental gymnastics of trying to create it for themselves whenever someone speaks or does something.

That doesn’t mean you describe each intricate moment, but if you give them a broad idea of where an event is happening, it supports your narrative and will help readers engage.

Making a Mood

The tone or mood established for your story is almost as important as the setting. If you shift from, say, slapstick comedy to epic drama-horror halfway through your narrative, it’s going to confuse readers (but it’s cool to do both; it just needs to happen at the start of your book!)

So, early on, you want to make it clear what your audience can expect to feel, which is conveyed by setting, language use in dialogue, and other narrative factors. Consistency is key to keeping your readers connected to the story.

What’s At Stake?

Letting your audience know early on what the central conflict is and what’s at stake for your characters gives readers something to care about. Nothing engages more than a conflict that builds tension.

People naturally want that tension to be relieved, so they want to read more to get that resolution. When something is obviously at stake for the characters, there will be conflict and, thus, tension, so make sure that comes into play early in your manuscript, or no one will want to keep reading.

The Inciting Incident

Again, a common phrase in the writing world, but it can easily be misunderstood. Having just written about conflict and stakes, I want to be clear that your inciting incident will be a source of conflict, but it shouldn’t be the most prominent point of tension in your story. It’s right there in the term “inciting.”

This is just the incident that gets the ball rolling, so you’re allowed (and encouraged) to make some steeper hills for your characters to climb throughout if you want your readers to maintain the thrill.

Getting your book off the ground can be tricky. It’s challenging enough to just figure out what to write about, let alone do it well. But using these essential building blocks to introduce readers to your novel can increase your chances of success.

If you want a more in-depth look at creating a great introduction to your book, check out my course, where I give more detail and provide examples with other resources. I love reading the start of a story.

There’s so much excitement in the newness of it all, so I hope these notes all help! If you want to get in touch about anything, you know where to find me on social media or at jsims@jairesims.com.

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Want to Keep Your Creative Passion Alive? Take a Break!

Are you having a moment with your writing where it feels kind of “ho-hum?” Like you’re dissatisfied with everything you’re adding to the page, or you struggle to write anything at all? You, my friend, maybe burnt out and in need of a break.

It happens to everyone in any field when they’ve been at it for too long without a chance to rest their mind and body genuinely. But when we step away, it gives us time to reflect on our work, possibly see things from a new perspective, or even clear our heads and focus on other matters entirely.

Then we can come back to our craft ready to put in meaningful progress once again. Taking a break can be tricky if a publishing house supports you, as most agreements come with deadlines (it’s still possible, but you’ll need to manage your time well). If you’re self-published, you can set your own schedule.

The danger there, though, is you can let yourself get sucked in by complacency or apathy and possibly never return to your story. Both have pros and cons, but in either situation, you must work out when and how to step away.

Do You Need a Break?

First, let’s look at the signs that you need to rest. When you’re knee-deep in your creativity or berating and guilting yourself because you’re locked in writer’s block, it can be hard to notice the need for a break. Your issues can manifest in any number of the following ways:

You’re continuously bumping writing to the bottom of your to-do list for other meaningful prioritiesYou have little to no desire to writeThere’s a sudden urge to scrap it all and start againThe act of writing (or doing anything) is exhaustingWriting or the idea of it brings you a lot of anxiety and fearYou keep wanting to start a different project

Any of those factors could indicate burnout, and attempting to force the issue will lead to lackluster results and resentment towards a practice you love. And nobody wants either of those things.

Does this mean you hate writing or never want to do it again? Not likely. But if you don’t honor those signs and step away for a breather, it could drive you to quit altogether, so listen to yourself and mind your needs.

Everything Will Be Okay

To start, you’ll probably need to deal with the guilt of allowing yourself to rest. If the idea of taking a break doesn’t bother you, that’s great! I applaud you for living in a healthy state of mind.

But for so many others, I know what it’s like to self-flagellate whenever you’re not writing. “I should be drafting ideas!” or “I need to read some more theory,” or “Why don’t I look into publishers, agents, etc.?” and other thoughts that swim through our heads.

But it’s okay. Everyone needs a break, so why should that be different for you? Take the time you need to recenter and approach your writing again at your best.

Plan Your Breaks

A great trick to keep yourself fresh and avoid needing prolonged breaks from burnout is scheduling a “dark day” every week. That’s a day when you don’t write or do anything creatively related to your writing.

It’s easy for us writers to get lost in our work all the time, going at it in fits and starts at any hour on any day. But when we don’t set healthy boundaries, our brains start to eat, sleep, and breathe writing, leaving room for little else.

By giving yourself a regular day off, you can make space for other aspects of your life that will (surprise!) feed your craft! And when you know you have those days coming up, you can make the most of them by planning. You can take a personal outing, set up social gatherings, or whatever else that recharges you.

Me, I like to walk or binge some of my favorite shows. Whatever you decide to do, make it something that lets you rest and refills your energy, spoons, well — whatever imagery you use — so you are refreshed in the end. Plus, there are some potential fringe benefits to some suggested activities:

Going for a walk lets your thoughts flow and allows you to observe people.If you watch TV, films, or read books, they can inspire your own story.You can try meditation to clear your head and reduce anxiety, along with other health benefits.Exercising is also great for you and similarly makes room in your mind for creativity and brainstorming during or after the act.Socializing with friends is another chance for people-watching, and who knows? Your antics may make their way into part of your story.

If you fall apart from stress or burnout, who will write your story? You’ve got to be mindful of what your body and mind tell you throughout the creative process. Writing is a labor of love, and you need to see it through to the end.

But it won’t do you good to work yourself into the ground and never finish anything. So take it easy on yourself, appreciate all you’ve done so far, and show yourself the kindness and gratitude of taking a well-deserved break.

If you want to share other techniques or suggested activities for handling your breaks or want to talk about anything else, track me down on social media. You’re also welcome to send an email to me at jsims@jairesims.com.

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Want to Write Better Dialogue? Then Use My Tips in Your Novel!

Dialogue is so much more than your characters talking about their days. It’s an opportunity to grow your world by sharing their opinions on local politics or the excitement about exploring certain regions. It lets you shape a perspective for readers about the main antagonist, whether it’s explaining why they’re irredeemable or simply misunderstood.

You’ll be able to provide clues with dialect, slang, or accents to define a region or build the character of a city. Your dialogue has so much power that amateur writers easily overlook. Though with the right approach, you can use these moments of character interaction not only to tell but also to show something to your readers.

The Basics

When you approach your scenes, there are some necessities to keep in mind if you don’t want dialogue exchanges to become hum-drum and kill your novel’s flow.

Write With Intention

Every conversation has to have a goal for at least one of the characters involved or to provide some necessary information for the reader. Like I’ve said before, no one in your book should be talking for the sake of talking.

While it’s best to break up long narrative passages with dialogue and offer the reader’s eyes a break, make sure it has some meaning. Every line should be purposeful.

Conflict and Consequences Raise the Stakes

When your scenes are intentional for your characters, that it’s clear (or maybe not entirely clear…) that someone needs something, there’s bound to be conflict. Conflict is necessary to create room for growth in your book.

When there are struggles and desires at play, it reveals a lot about your cast and there are bound to be consequences for their actions or words in dialogue sequences. I talk about it more in my course, but that leads to raising the stakes.

Now, that doesn’t mean every conversation is life or death, but it still needs to matter. When something is at stake, you’re naturally creating tension, which will hook your readers.

What Do Your Characters Want?

Well-written dialogue that captures the above two tenets will shed light on your character’s desires. Obviously, you don’t want them to expound their whole lives by monologuing all the time. Still, if you choose their words, actions, or reactions carefully, it can illuminate who they are and how they feel about a given person, place, or thing.

Looking at the Details[image error]

With the basics of quality dialogue in mind, you’re already halfway towards writing better scenes. But to stand out further and really blow your reader’s minds, there’re little details you can keep in mind. Adding any or all of these theories can flesh out your characters and world even more throughout your story, bringing it to life.

Building Character

As I wrote above, desires, conflict, and consequences are products of writing with intent and will reveal details about your characters. But to take that a step further, consider a few more things that make people real.

First, our relationships often define how most people interact. Most characters speak differently with their parents than their best friend or hated foe. By changing their word choices or making good use of dialogue tags, you can reveal what one person means to another. Like this character talking to their mom:

“Yes, mom! I’m working on my homework right now,” Sasha responded politely.

Versus their best friend:

“Ugh, Lily! I’ve got this mountain of homework from Mr. Stephenson’s class, and I think I might die…” Sasha groaned into the phone.

In these two very different exchanges, we’ve learned that Sasha’s mother expects obedience and that Sasha has a teacher named Mr. Stephenson, who gives a lot of homework and may be a character crucial to the story.

Next, consider how you can use your descriptive dialogue or action tags to reveal body language and expression to tell something about your characters. So many people have nervous ticks or habits that give them away: Otherwise, we’d all be poker stars, am I right? Or, as I demonstrated above, we color our words with emotions depending on how we feel about something. Let’s take another look at Sasha’s life and what she can tell us about herself without words:

“Sasha, can you see me for a moment before you go?” Mr. Stephenson asked as the class started to file out of the room.

She slowly grabbed her things, wondering what she could have done wrong. “Sure.”

Everyone was gone, and she stood before her history teacher’s desk. “Did I forget part of the assignment?” Sasha absent-mindedly tugged at strands of her blonde hair, like she usually did when she was fretting.

Mr. Stephenson smiled warmly. “No, not at all.”

With a relieved sigh, Sasha’s hand let go of her hair. “Then what’s up?”

We learn here that she does have a nervous habit, and this exchange speaks to a lack of confidence in her schoolwork. And we also discover that, maybe, Mr. Stephenson isn’t all that bad.

One thing to keep in mind with your descriptive tags, though, is not to go crazy with them! You want to make them strong and use them wisely. The above example condensed a lot into one scene for these purposes, but I’d likely keep it simple for a few lines afterward. Otherwise, it’d kill the pacing, and the reader would start to “tone it out.”

Furthermore, watch out for redundancies. Someone can say, “Ugh!” or they can be described as groaning – not both!

The last thing to cover here is power dynamics. Another key aspect of relationships that you can use the above two techniques to convey. Because let’s face it, hard as we try, we’re not all equal in this world. Some of us are naturally drawn to leadership or power, while others feel comfortable following and helping as a part of the whole. But those power dynamics need to come up to make compelling, real tension in your dialogue. Sasha has a few places in her life where this comes into play, like with her younger sibling:

“So, when you take the five apples, and you add three more apples, how many apples will the boy have?” Sasha quizzed Cheyenne. Since their parents didn’t get home from work until 6 o’clock, it was usually up to Sasha to help the first grader with her homework. They had a routine now, and the older sister came to look forward to it most days.

Her little sister’s brow furrowed in concentration while she counted on her fingers. “Uh…”

“You got this, Chey. Five…” Sasha prompted, “Plus 3…?”

Sudden inspiration lit the little one’s face. “Eight apples!”

“Yeah, nice work, Chey!”

The siblings exchanged a high-five before moving on to the next question.

But when she’s working with the captain of her lacrosse team.

Millie meant business, which is what made her a great captain. She was Sasha’s inspiration on the field. But now that Sasha was put on the spot, she was mortified. “You’re going to be on my wing for practice, Sasha.” The words rang in Sasha’s head.

She realized she hadn’t responded yet. “C-cool!’

“Show me what you’ve got, Sasha,” Millie said as if it was no big thing.

But it was a big thing. A huge thing. The team hadn’t even started to warm up, and Sasha was already sweating.

See the difference between these two moments? While Sasha seems cool, calm, and confident in helping her sibling, she is less assured when interacting with her idolized team captain. As far as we can tell, Millie isn’t a bully or anything, but her opinion clearly matters to Sasha. Playing with these dynamics exposes a lot about your characters and who they’re interacting with.

Readers Can Read Between the Lines

Subtext is the concept I mentioned above when characters might not make their intentions obvious. It’s a great hook and reveals crucial details about your character and story when you insert subtext into their dialogue or actions now and again.

When someone says one thing while meaning another or behaving contrarily, you strengthen a scene because it shakes things up for the reader.

Cut the Fluff

While you want to write real, genuine dialogue, you don’t need it to be too real. You can leave all the greetings aside (unless there’s something vital in that exchange) or make them part of the narrative.

You waste a lot of ink with every “Hello!” or “How are you?” your characters could exchange. In that vein, while the occasional speech may be necessary, you don’t want too many long-winded passages from your cast, either. To make an impact and keep readers engaged, get to the point.

Conversation Isn’t Always Polite

People aren’t always waiting for someone else to finish their sentence before jumping in. Also, people like to curse to get their point across or because that’s just who they are.

Making your dialogue messy is another place to make it real and insert further details about your character. Maybe they have impulse control? Perhaps someone isn’t well-educated or comes from the bad side of town? All of that information can come out in sequences like that.

Saying Things a Certain Way

The way your characters talk can reveal a lot about a specific place in your book or, like I said above, how they are raised. Using slang or putting in affectations helps to breathe life into your settings and make the general populace more exciting.

Plus, when you create a strong character choice with their “voice,” you can eschew the need for character tags in some places because it’s so obvious who is speaking. Get creative and develop your own colloquialisms and idioms to establish a sense of time and place to make your story stand apart.

And be sure to maintain consistency unless a circumstance, like a different power dynamic, changes how they might speak.

Some Last Tips

When it comes to understanding how authentic dialogue sounds, there are a few final things you may want to consider. Each of these activities and tips gives you an opportunity to learn about and strengthen your writing further.

Listen to Real Conversations

In my blog, I wrote about listening in on conversations to help you overcome writer’s block. While that doesn’t mean you should be eavesdropping on everyone’s private chat, it can help you pick up on the nuances of human interaction.

Pay attention to how they behave when speaking. Notice how their tone shifts depending on the topic. And see if they change anything when a new person or circumstance is introduced to the conversation.

Say It Out Loud

A tried and true method of determining if your dialogue sounds real is to speak it. When you or someone else hears it and plainly says, “Well, that doesn’t sound right,” it probably doesn’t. You can also use speech-to-text software if you don’t have someone else to work with.

It may not nail inflection, but you should be able to hear if dialogue sounds clunky. Or there’s always the good old-fashioned voice recorder, which almost every smart device has nowadays. However you go about it, listen carefully and be honest with yourself — your writing will be better for it.

First-Name Basis

Just because your characters know each other’s names doesn’t mean you have to use them in every line of dialogue. It sounds unnatural when they constantly address each other by name, especially if they’re the only two people in the conversation. Similarly, you need to find creative alternatives for your tags, too.

Don’t Say It All — Show It, Too

The adage “show, don’t tell” exists for a reason. That doesn’t mean you can’t ever throw exposition into your dialogue. But it would help if you did so sparingly.

Drip feed details about your story and world throughout to keep readers wanting more and excited for each tidbit of info you drop instead of frontloading into some grand speech. Which, I’ll remind you, rarely happens in reality, so why should it be in your book?

Coupled with the technical aspects from my last blog, all of these tips can make for more believable, grounded exchanges between your characters. Your book will flow, develop naturally, and have a stronger sense of place and purpose with each conversation.

Dialogue is a brilliant tool for writers, but a lot can go awry with so many ways to approach it. But with steady practice and careful observation, you can bring your characters to life in a way that will keep readers engaged.

Please check out my course and webinar if you want to get more out of your writing. I’d also love to hear from you if you have any questions or suggestions about what you’d like me to write about in the future. Please find me on social media or write to me at jsims@jairesims.com.

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Want to Write Better Dialogue? Here’s the First Step!

When you’re putting your story together, it’d be weird if no one said ANYthing, whether externally or internally. More often than not, readers are drawn to conversations and exchanges between your characters. But not only for the sake of variety or to simply see them speak. Dialogue is another conveyance for sharing insights into your cast, the world, and the story from differing perspectives. That means it’s vital you learn to approach these exchanges with care and consideration. Otherwise, they fall flat and ruin your novel’s pacing. Poorly-written dialogue can quickly kill an otherwise seemingly remarkable story and cost writers extra during the editing process. So I want to start by sharing some of the technical aspects you need to consider.

Formatting Matters

One of the easiest places for most newer writers to get tripped up is formatting their dialogue exchanges. “But isn’t that the editor’s job to deal with?” you ask. Sure, but the more technical editing they need to do, the less focused they are on the big picture items that can make your story fantastic.

Also, the longer an editor spends working on the various components of your novel, like I said, the more expensive it becomes. So by first understanding the basics of formatting your dialogue, you’ll save yourself, and your editors, a lot of time and headaches.

A Single Line of Dialogue

The most basic way you’ll see or write dialogue is like so:

“You look well today, my friend.”

The whole sentence is inside the quotations and the end-of-dialogue punctuation with it. One of the most frequent mistakes I see from ANY writer is that they misplace their punctuation! Inside the quotes, always.

Tag Your Dialogue

To give your exchanges more character, you need to add dialogue tags. These will indicate who is speaking and how they do it. It’s pretty common but vital to get these right, so take a look:

“You’re joking,” Louise said.

Arthur replied brightly, “I am not!”

“No?” she inquired. “Well, that’s nice to hear.”

That little conversation shows a few ways you can portray your tags. When the tag comes AFTER the dialogue, you must have a comma inside the quotations. The comma goes at the end of the tag when it comes BEFORE the dialogue. Finally, when the tag is midway through the sentence, you combine a single line with the dialogue tag.

And take notice of that question mark. Where the quotations start and the dialogue tag ends is the sentence — the question mark won’t change that. It, and other punctuation like it, will function like a comma where dialogue is involved.

New Paragraph for Each Speaker

Every time someone new speaks in an exchange, it starts a new paragraph, which you indent (unless you’re starting after a scene break or a new chapter). No matter how much or little they have to say, that’s the rule. Like so:

“But that’s impossible! My mother told me that anyone who travels into the woods will surely die!”

“I’m sorry to say, but your mother was lying,” he said solemnly.

“No!” she exclaimed vehemently. “No, I just won’t believe it!

“And do you know why? My mother told me this when she was on her deathbed. You don’t lie when you’re about to die. Not to your daughter, not ever!” She collapsed to the floor, weeping.

He moved to comfort her, attempting to shoulder some of the grief she clearly felt.

It helps clarify who is speaking when you follow this rule. Additionally, in the second sentence, I ham-fisted a paragraph break for the woman. When someone speaks long enough to warrant a new paragraph, you don’t close each paragraph with quotations, as you’ll notice in my example. That helps to clarify that the same person is still speaking.

Taking Action

When someone is speaking, they often don’t stand there and do nothing but move their lips. Having some action to break up the dialogue is excellent, but specific rules apply.

“Wait a minute…” Dario stopped in his tracks. “Do you see that?”

“What are you” —Trent turned around to look at Dario—”talking about?”

Dario was pointing at smoke just beyond the horizon. “That.”

Following the finger, Trent looked, gasped, then exclaimed, “Oh my goodness!”

It’s almost like a single line and a dialogue tag but works a bit differently. The first sentence is how you write it when action occurs between lines of dialogue that are complete sentences, creating a pause.

In the next line, using an em dash (—) is a version where you indicate someone is taking action while speaking since not everyone waits until they’re done moving to say something. Finally, the last sentence illustrates the difference between attributive actions and attributive tags. To better explain this, here’s how it would look written grammatically incorrect:

Following the finger, Trent looked and gasped, “Oh my goodness!”

People can’t gasp and say things in the same breath. Just try it. You’ll sound weird, inhaling your words. But it’s a rookie mistake that you need to watch out for when you’re trying to find alternatives to “said,” “replied,” “answered,” and so forth. Make sure you mind the words that are actions and not a way of coloring dialogue.

With these fundamentals in mind, I hope you can structure your character conversations better. While I knew a few of the basics, some of the finer points in writing dialogue eluded me until I did more research or received feedback from my editors on Getting By.

In my next blog, I’ll go into some of the more creative aspects of writing your dialogue. Because, as always, I want to set you up for success and learn from my work.

Speaking of, if you haven’t checked out my course or webinar, there’s so much more information I can dive into on the publishing and writing process, so you can start planning out how you want to launch your novel when the manuscript is ready.

Otherwise, I always welcome an email at jsims@jairesims.com if you have comments or questions and invite you to find me online.

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