Janice Hardy's Blog, page 100

Make Your Setting Come Alive

By Jeffery Phillips

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Setting plays a critical role in a novel by giving the reader a place to settle in and enjoy the story. Today, Jeffery Phillips returns to the lecture hall for some tips on bringing your setting to life.

Jeffrey “Hammerhead” Philips strapped on a scuba cylinder (when Clorox bottles were BCD’s) for the first time in 1967. Dove for two years, decided he liked the water and obtained his scuba certification from NASDS, then became a PADI instructor. He hasn’t stopped diving since. In 1980 he married the prettiest mermaid in the ocean, Kitty. Today, he lives in Monterey, Tennessee, writing fictionalized events of his travels. He's the author of Murder on Devil Ray Reef and Death at Obeah's Fire.
 
Website | Facebook | Goodreads |

Take it away Jeffery...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

It’s a Start: What Not to Worry About in a First Draft

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Let’s continue with first drafts with an updated look at what not to worry about in a first draft.
Writing a novel is a lot of work. There are plots to weave, subplots to finagle, characters to grow, conflicts to craft, and that’s before you get to the actual writing part. With so much to worry about, it might be good to know there are some things you don’t have to worry about until after your first draft is complete (such as spelling and grammar).

Every Last Detail
You don’t need to have every detail in the draft planned in advance. It’s okay if you’re not sure exactly what something looks like or how something works.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Writing Prompt: The Chain Story: Crying Foul

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week’s prompt is a chain story! I’ll give you the first line, and someone else comments and builds off that line. Next commenter will build off that line, and so on.

In the event of two commenters posting at the same time and sending the story in different directions, just pick the line you like best, or try to incorporate both if you can.


Marcello wasn’t one to cry foul, but every man had his limits.

Let the fun begin.




Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Opening Have a Strong Emotional Impact?

Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Real Life Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and we diagnose it on the site. It’s part critique, part example, and designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem.

If you're interested in submitting to Real Life Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines.

Submissions currently in the queue: One

Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through August 4.

This week’s questions:

1. Does the story qualify as literary fiction?

2. What are your thoughts about the story? Did it have an emotional impact on you without being overly sentimental?

3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this short story?

4. If this were the opening story of a short story collection, would you proceed to read the whole collection?

5. Has this story done justice to the depth of tragedy of the situation?

6. Which adjectives would you use to describe this short story?

7. What advice will you give to improve the craft of the story?

Market/Genre: Literary short story

On to the diagnosis…
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Start Me Up: Planning and Writing a First Draft

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I've had multiple writers this week ask me about writing their first novel, so this week's Refresher Friday revisits (and updates) planning and writing that first draft. 

Starting a new novel is both exhilarating and frustrating. There's the excitement of the fresh idea, the promise of the characters, the snippets of cool scenes popping in and out of your head.

Then there's the hard work of actually getting it all down. Figuring out where to start, what to do before you actually begin writing, what process you want to use. Even with four published novels under my belt, I'm no different than any other writer when it comes to first drafts.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

WINNING WAY: Establishing Professional Writing Goals Worth Pursuing

By Damon Suede, @DamonSuede

Part of The Writer's Life Series

As writers we have the best and worst job in the world. We get paid to make stuff up. We are captains of our own destiny. The tools necessary are simple and ubiquitous.

When it comes to my career, I treat our industry as a giant, elaborate game because genre publishing really does have rules and roles, strategy and struggle, touchdowns and trophies… No matter how intense the conflict or dire the stakes, no one gets jailed or murdered because they didn’t hit the USA Today list. That perspective helps me keep my nuttiness and anxiety to a minimum no matter how vile or harrowing the experiences of a given moment.

Because I tend to think of writing as a game I'm always keeping the prize in mind. Every game has a goal that allows you to develop a strategy. If you're not the type of person who examines your personal goal motivation and conflict this can present a giant problem. The truth is we are not all the same and we don't seek the same rewards. Different players in different contexts seek different rewards and play radically different games. Some of us love brutal conflict. Some of us gravitate towards gentle, cooperative détentes the human heart is simply too complex to boil down to a single identity or path to happiness.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Rhythm & Reality of Treating Your Writing Like a ‘Real’ Job

By Bonnie Randall

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

So you’re a hobbyist who is becoming more and more serious about your writing aspirations. Or you’ve already sold some fiction projects yet, like most of us, you also have a day-job.

Which, very likely, you refer to as your ‘real job’.

STEP ONE: Shift your perspective. 
If writing is where your passion is, whereas your day-job is just where your pay-cheque is, then here is the reality: writing IS your ‘real job’. And that means:
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Power of Word Choice in Fiction

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Part of the Past Wisdom Series

This is the first post in a new series, pulling older (but still relevant) advice and tips from the Fiction University archives.
While working n my latest project (a young adult fantasy), I edited a line to better reflect the point of view character’s attitude about the world. He’s the future ruler of an empire, so he tends to think in terms of “ownership” about that empire. For example, for him it’s:
My Empire, not the empireMy Guard, not the guards (as his Guards are unique to him and not like the rest)On the other side, my second protagonist is an outsider to this world, even though she’s lived there half her life. She rarely refers to someone by name (unless they’re a good friend or have no other moniker), but title or role. For example:
The commander (not Commander Xiomo)The inquisitor (not Inquisitor Tavaris)The sentinel (not whatever their name might be)How they refer to the people and things around them is directly tired to how they see themselves in that world.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Wisdom of Past Words (Or What's New at Fiction University)

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

After ten years of running this site, I've written a lot of articles about writing. There are over 2,500 now, and I've written about 1,800 of them (guest posts take up another 700 or so). With the average post around 1,200 words (many closer to 2,000 words or more), that's 2,160,000 words. That's a lot of information about the craft of writing and the business of publishing.

It's also easy to see why it’s challenging to find new topics to write about.

One of the nice things about a site about writing, is that nearly every single article is still helpful, even if it's ten years old. Good writing is good writing, and the tips I gave about, oh, say adverbs, back in 2011 are just as relevant today.

One of the tougher things about this site, is that it has so much information on it, it can be hard to find it all. I've done my best to make it easier, but it's still a lot of words to look through. Not everyone dips into the archives.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Writing Prompt: The Photo Prompt: Hey, Look! Windmills

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week’s prompt is a photo prompt. Write whatever comes to mind, be it a description, a story, or even a poem.

Write something inspired by this photo.

Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com