Janice Hardy's Blog, page 107
May 15, 2018
5 Reasons Your First Draft Hates You
By Florence Gonsalves, @florencefornow Part of the How They Do It Series
JH: Many writers have a love/hate relationship with their first drafts, and often, that relationship depends on how well the draft is going at the time. Please help me welcome Florence Gonsalves to the lecture hall today to share five (fun) reasons why your first draft hates you.
Florence graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 with a major in philosophy. Upon getting her diploma, she promptly abandoned Kant and after numerous jobs and internships pursued her lifelong dream of becoming a novelist. Her debut novel, Love and Other Carnivorous Plants, releases today.
Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram |
Take it away Florence...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 14, 2018
8 Signs You Might Be Over Plotting Your Novel
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Plotting a novel can be a strange thing sometimes. We might have one idea we develop without trouble, or we might struggle with every goal and scene. And then there are the novels where the plot ideas hit us so fast we barely have time to write them all down.
But sometimes, what looks like a great idea is just an extra idea, and before we know it, our novels are so over plotted we don’t even know what it’s about anymore. Trouble is, we don’t always recognize an over-plotted novel when we write one.
They can be sneaky, making every plotline seem necessary, because they’re usually connected to characters and ideas we don’t want to cut. They’re shiny, often fun, and once they’re in the story, they fight stay there.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 13, 2018
Writing Prompt: The Free Write: I Didn’t Mean It
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyThis week’s prompt is a free write, so take the seed below and run with it. It doesn’t have to turn into anything (unless you want it to, of course), just let the words flow and see where they go.
Write down this opening sentence and follow it wherever it goes:
It wasn’t as if I’d meant to do it.
Write as much or as little as you’d like. Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 12, 2018
Real Life Diagnostics: Would You Keep Reading This YA Novella?
Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyReal 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 May 26.
This week’s questions:
Does this opening provide enough conflict? Do you care about the main character (Nicole) based on this snippet? Is there enough of a hint at future conflict? Would you keep reading?
Market/Genre: Christian Literary YA Novella
On to the diagnosis…
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 11, 2018
Do You Feel It? Writing With Emotional Layers
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyThis week's Refresher Friday takes another look at writing with emotional layers. Enjoy!
Nobody feels one way all the time, or even one emotion at a time. There are a myriad of emotions floating around in our heads at any given moment. We might be happy for a friend who just got a promotion, but also jealous because we were passed over for one. Or thrilled for a sister marrying the man of her dreams, but worried because he’s been married four times already.
Characters are no different. When you approach a scene, think about the different emotions those characters might be feeling. Just like plot layers, consider the emotional layers of your story and how you can use those layers to deepen the scene and connect with the reader. Ask yourself:
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 10, 2018
Cleaning Up Your Mailing List: The Why and the How
By Marcy Kennedy, @MarcyKennedyPart of the Indie Author Series
A key tool that we have as indie authors for keeping in touch with our readers is our newsletter or mailing list. Building and maintaining a mailing list is considered foundational to a strong author business for good reason.
Unlike social media sites—or even our website—email is a direct means of communication. We’re not hoping they come to our site or hoping that our status update shows up in their social media feed. We’re also in control of our list so that, if a particular social media sites dies a dramatic death, our list doesn’t go with it.
But mailing lists still require maintenance. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been doing my regular “clean up” on my mailing list, which made me think this might be a good time to write about it as well.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 8, 2018
Plot Problem? Fix It Fast with a Retcon
By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author)
Sooner or later, every story runs into a little hiccup. As you write, you'll discover that certain facts don't fit together anymore. Maybe a character needs to be changed or removed. Maybe you find a plot hole big enough to drive a Mack truck through.
Somewhere, in the inner workings of your story, something has gone awry. You need to fix it, or you'll have a big problem on your hands.
So what do you do? Put your story on hold, and go back to the beginning in a desperate attempt to make things right?
Bad idea. You might end up killing your writing momentum. Instead, you need to keep moving forward toward "The End."
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 5, 2018
Real Life Diagnostics: Do You Connect with This Main Character?
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 May 19.
This week’s questions:
Do you connect with the main character? Does it give you a better feel for who she is and what she wants? Is there enough happening in the beginning to catch your interest and keep you reading?
Market/Genre: YA Fantasy
Note: This is a revised submission. If you’d like to see how the writer revised, check out the original page.
On to the diagnosis…
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 2, 2018
What a Coincidence! Creating Plots That Don’t Feel Like Accidents
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Dipping into the archives today with an oldie but goodie on how to avoid a story full of coincidences and contrived plots from 2014.
No matter how exciting a story may be, if the plot hinges on coincidences and contrived events, readers will feel cheated. Does the protagonist always seem to find the right person at the right time, who happens to have the exact item she's looking for? What about the hero who overhears conversations that reveal the information he needed? If solutions to problems seem to fall into the protagonist's lap with little to no work, odds are your plot is going to feel contrived.
Plots work best when events happen for reasons rooted in character goals and motivations and not just because the author wanted it to unfold that way. There’s a fine line between situations that read plausibly and ones that feel like a series of unlikely coincidences.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
May 1, 2018
How to Make Writing a Habit
By Tamar Sloan, @SloanTamar Part of the How They Do It Series
JH: I don't think I've ever met a writer who didn't want to be more productive (myself included). Making writing a habit is one way to do that, and Tamar Sloan visits the lecture hall today to share thoughts and tips on how to avoid the bad habits that sap our productivity and create good habits that will help us with our writing.
A school psychologist by day, Tamar channels her passion for books into creating young adult stories about discovering life and love beyond our comfort zones. She is the award-winning author of the Prime Prophecy Series. Her debut novel, Prophecy Awakened, is an epic story of a love that defies boundaries. When not reading, writing or working with teens, Tamar can be found with her ever-patient husband and two beautiful sons enjoying country life on their small acreage in the Australian bush. Tamar finds it deeply rewarding to share her stories and she loves to hear from her readers and fellow lovers of all things book related.
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter |
Take it away Tamar...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
