Janice Hardy's Blog, page 101

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

Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Scene Working?

Critique By Maria D'Marco 

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: Two

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

This week’s questions:

1. Is the scene working?

2. Did it make you want to read on?

Market/Genre: Psychological Suspense

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

How Could You Do This to Me? When Characters Betray Other Characters

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week's Refresher Friday takes an updated look at writing character betrayals. 
The always fabulous Donald Maass wrote about reversals over at Writer Unboxed a while back, and there was one tip he gave that I actually had to disagree with a little. (I know, I was shocked too.) He was suggesting various ways you can shake things up in your novel, and one of them was:

What’s the worst betrayal this character could do? Do it.

But in 2011 (when I first wrote this), I’d been seeing the unexpected betrayal everywhere. It had gotten so bad it was verging on cliché. Instead if a betrayal surprising me, I was playing the “I wonder which one of these allies will turn on the hero in the third act?” game. I knew it was coming, and more times than not, it did.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Quick Hits on The Long Con – Five Easy Ways to Look Like a Pro at Conventions

By John G. Hartness, @johnhartness

Part of the Indie Author Series

Image is everything, right? Well, let’s be real. If your content is crap, image isn’t going to save you in the long run, but when you’re in a crowded exhibit hall with a hundred other vendors, and you need to stand out, what are you gonna do, wear a Hawaiian shirt and dye your hair purple?

Please don’t. That’s my shtick, and this hair color was expensive. I don’t want to have to go back to my natural brown just because every other nerd out there has purple hair. But you do have to look good. You have to have a solid presentation, and it needs to not only look as good as the people around you, but it usually has to look better. Because if you’re just keeping up, then you’re not really keeping up. So what can you do to look better than your neighbor in Artists Alley or the vendor room at a con?
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The opening scene of a novel walks a fine line between piquing curiosity and confusing the reader.
Opening scenes are under a lot of pressure—they need to pique reader interest, set the scene, introduce characters, and give just enough information to intrigue, but not overload or confuse. That’s a lot to ask of 250 words.

In our efforts to hook readers and not give everything away, it’s common for an opening scene to be less than forthcoming with information. We hold back details to sound mysterious, we hide clues we worry will reveal too much, we keep our narrative distance, and sometimes, we even bend over backward not to provide the exact details readers need to become hooked.

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

5 Steps to Creating a Perfect Fantasy World

By Andrew Wood, @andrewtheauthor

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Creating a fantasy world is half the fun of writing a fantasy novel. A lot goes into making a world feel real, and Andrew Wood visits the lecture hall today to share his process of building a fantasy world readers will lose themselves in. 

Andrew Wood writes epic fantasy. He loves stories, whether they be books, movies, video games or comics, and is always on the hunt for more. He grew up on books like Redwall, the Wheel of Time and Harry Potter, and from stories like these his love of writing grew. Now he works full-time to tell the stories he has in my heart, and finally force them on to paper where they belong. His first novel, Storm of Fury, was recently published through Inkshares. You can find him on Patreon under his name, where he releases monthly horror, fantasy and sci-fi short stories.

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Patreon

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

5 Reasons to Give Up on Your Novel (And One Reason Not to)

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy 

When it is time to call it quits with your manuscript? Not every novel is going to work, no matter how much we might love the idea. Some ideas don't have enough conflict to maintain 400+ pages of story, others sound great until we get in there and start writing them, and some just need more skill or focus than we're able to give them at that time.

At some point in your writing life, you'll have a moment when you wonder if it's time to move on from a great idea to something else. You’ll doubt the novel is any good, and writing it probably isn’t any fun anymore. You might even be stuck, struggling with every word and unsure what to do with the mess you’ve created.

I’ve written seriously for twenty-five years, and I've had three manuscripts that made me want to throw in the towel—one I went back to and finished, one I'm still considering how I can make it work, and one I know I’m never going back to.

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