Janice Hardy's Blog, page 23

On the Road: 5 Ways to Keep Your Protagonist Proactive

I'm guest posting at Writers in the Storm today, with 5 Ways to Keep Your Protagonist Proactive and your plot moving. 

If your protagonist isn’t making the story happen, then why are they the protagonist?

A protagonist who sits around waiting for things to happen or just goes along for the ride when things do happen, isn’t doing anything to help advance the story. It might seem like it because they’re in the middle of everything, but if you took them out and put any other character in there, would things still unfold the same way?

With a reactive protagonist, the answer is often “Yes,” because the plot is happening to them, not because of them. They’re not making any decisions that only they could make, based on motivations unique to them. Anyone faced with X problem would make Y choice, because the author set it up that way so Z would happen. The character is irrelevant to how the plot turns out.
Read the full post here!
Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Easy Tips to Incorporate Backstory into Your Novel

By Jenna Harte
Part of The How They Do It Series
JH: Backstory helps readers understand a character, but too much of it can turn readers off. Jenna Harte shares tips on adding the right details to show the past and not bog down the present. 
Jenna Harte is a die-hard romantic writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently getting into trouble. She is the author of the Valentine Mysteries, the first of which,  Deadly Valentine , reached the quarter-finals in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013. She has a contemporary romance series, Southern Heat, and a cozy mystery series, Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery Series. 

Romance authors can join her free writing community for support, accountability and more at WritewithHarte. Jenna loves talking to anyone and everyone about romance fiction. You can join her free romance fiction reader community, SwoonworthyHEA to talk romance with other readers. 
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube
Take it away Jenna...

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

5 Reasons You’re Struggling with Your Revision (And How to Fix Them)

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Revising a novel is a lot of work, but if every word is a struggle, there might be a problem you’re missing.

In theory, novel revisions should be easy. You’ve already written the story, you know where it goes and how it all unfolds, and now it’s just a matter of making the novel better.

In practice, it takes work. The first draft is more brain dump than workable manuscript, and there are always details to work out, characters to develop, and plot holes to fill.

Revisions are a part of writing, and as much as we wish they'd go smoothly, they don't always work out like we planned.
Some manuscripts fight us more than usual and nothing we do makes them into the glorious novels we know they could be. When we run into such a troublesome beast, it helps to step back and figure out the problem before we make a mess of our stories.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at the Importance of Clarity on the Opening Page

Critique by Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

WIP 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 WIP Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines. 

Submissions currently in the queue: Two

Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through May 15.

This week’s question:

1. Does this opening work?

Market/Genre: Young Adult

On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Building POV and Stakes in Short Stories

By Rachelle Shaw

Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series

JH: Short stories have little time to make readers care about the protagonist and their problem. Rachelle Shaw shares tips on how point of view and stakes can pull readers into your story.

Individually, POV and stakes both play an important role in developing a story that compels readers to keep going. For short works of fiction, the biggest challenge usually comes with choosing which POV is right and what kind of stakes works best for the chosen narrative.
In a previous post on this site, I mentioned how short stories should cover a single event that shapes the main character’s journey in their overall arc. Even though only a snippet of that larger arc is covered, the backstory leading up to that point serves as motivation for the choices your character will make during the event.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Pulling Levers in the God Machine

By Spencer Ellsworth, @spencimus
Part of The How They Do It Series

JH: A deus ex machina ending usually kills a novel, but a little "god manipulation" is common in some genres—and readers are fine with that. Spencer Ellsworth share thoughts on how much readers will accept when it comes to the "unexplained win."

Spencer Ellsworth is the author of  The Great Faerie Strike  from Broken Eye Books and the Starfire space opera trilogy from Tor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children, and would really like a war mammoth if you know a guy.
Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Take it away Spencer…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Why You Should Know Who Your Narrator Is Talking To

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Your narrator has a bigger impact on the novel than you think.

Every story has a narrator–some narrators are the protagonist, others tell the tale as a group, and some lurk in the shadows or hover above the story like an all-seeing-eye. Sometimes we’re in someone’s head like an imaginary friend, other times we’re a fly on the wall. Whichever point-of-view style a writer chooses, it’s pointing at someone.

In grand terms, that someone is the reader, but it can be more subtle than that. Some novels break the fourth wall and address the reader directly, while others have their characters exist in a world that feels as if we’re watching it on closed-circuit TV.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at Piquing Reader Curiosity on Page One

Critique by Maria D'Marco

WIP 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 WIP Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines. 

Submissions currently in the queue: None

Please Note: As of today, critique slots are open.

This week’s questions:

1. Does this opening work?

2. Would you turn the page?

Market/Genre: Psychological Fiction

On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Danger of Self-Rejection (And Tricks on How to Battle it)

By Royaline Sing, @RoyalineSing

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Sometimes, writers can be their own worst enemy. Royaline Sing shares her story of self-rejection, and how she overcame it to achieve her dream of publication.

Royaline’s first fiction work was a notebook length movie script, featuring her favorite stars. She was probably ten. It hasn't seen the light of the day (And it won't). But storytelling lingered. Now, she writes through the noise of lovely two kids, a very supportive (but sweetly clueless) husband and a bank job where numbers rule.

Born and brought up in India, she’s a huge fan of Bollywood romantic movies and likes all things Marvel. She loves to travel and has so many destinations on her bucket list: Scotland, London, Agra, you get the picture.

She writes Historical Romances, with heroines setting their own norms and coming to toes with heroes worth loving.

Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

Take it away Royaline…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Building a Social Media Plan

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoach

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Most authors would rather write than market, but social media is a useful way to connect with readers. Rochelle Melander shares tips on creating a social media plan you can live with--and maybe even enjoy.

Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is an author, certified professional coach, and teaching artist. She is the author of twelve books, including  Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity; A Guide for Writers, Entrepreneurs, and Creatives . Through her writing and coaching, Rochelle Melander has helped thousands of people overcome writer’s block, design a writing life, turn their ideas into books, navigate the publishing world, and connect with readers through social media. Her debut book for children Mightier Than the Sword: Rebels, Reformers, and Revolutionaries Who Changed the World through Writing will be released in July. She interviews authors and publishing professionals on her Write Now! Coach blog.
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Take it away Rochelle…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com