Janice Hardy's Blog, page 31
January 26, 2021
How to Sneak Flashbacks into Your Novel
By Spencer Ellsworth, @spencimus
Part of The How They Do It Series
JH: Flashbacks are on the "use with caution" list of writing, but done well, they can enrich a novel. Spencer Ellsworth share thoughts on how to make flashbacks work in your story.
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
January 25, 2021
Writers: Stop Being Nice to Your Characters
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Going easy on your characters often results in a plot that no one wants to read.
There are some writers who cringe at the thought of putting their characters into danger. Caring authors who encourage and look after their fictional charges as they send them on their literary ways.
I’m not one of those writers.
I love to torment my characters. I cackle with glee when I devise something horrible to do to them. Maybe it’s my dark side coming out, I don’t know.
Take the characters in my teen fantasy series, The Healing Wars. The heroine, Nya, never gets a break from me. First, I kill most of her family (this is before the story opens). Then, I give her an evil “is it a blessing or a curse?” magical ability (she can heal, but only if she shifts pain from one person to another). To add insult to this injury, I give her a little sister who can heal without the nasty drawback and all its nastier side-effects (because ya know, being jealous of your little sister really bites).
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 23, 2021
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a Cozy Mystery Opening
Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyWIP 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: One
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked until January 30.
This week’s question:
I've been working hard on creating better characters. My goal is for Cherry to be compelling from her first moments—is that coming through?
Market/Genre: Cozy Mystery
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 22, 2021
Why Your Novel Isn’t Hooking Your Reader
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy How to tell the difference between good setup, and bad setup, in your novel.
I’ve always written fantasy and science fiction, so I learned right away how perilous setup is to a novel. I wrote dozens of terrible beginnings and first acts that were barely more than a dramatized version of my notes. Characters gave lectures, they didn’t have conversations. And I’d stick my authorial nose into the story to explain the things my characters didn’t know.
I even wrote the dreaded, history-ladened “fantasy world building prologue” a time or two. [shudders]
On the bright side, facing this extra challenge early on helped me figure out how show, don’t tell and point of view worked, which made writing in general a lot easier. It also taught me a very good lesson I still use today.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 21, 2021
4 Secrets to Successful World Building
By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughtonPart of The How They Do It Series
JH: A believable world is a must for a fantasy or science fiction author, but how much world do you really need to build? Laurence MacNaughton shares four secrets to craft a world readers will want to explore.
Anytime you write a story that breaks the boundaries of the "normal" world, you need to do what's called world building. Do it right, and you'll transport your readers to an amazing place they've never been. Do it wrong, and it will kill your story faster than a stake through the heart.
Whether you're talking about magic, monsters, aliens, space travel, whatever it is you want to write about, there's an art to world building. Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 20, 2021
5 Steps to Your Next Novel Idea
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Want to write a novel, but you just don’t know what to write about? This easy process can help.
Finding fresh novel ideas is a daunting process, even when you know exactly the kind of story you want to tell. But sometimes you don’t know what you want to write, or you have a vague idea of a concept but aren’t sure how to take it beyond that.
Maybe you know the types of novels your like to read, and the movies and TV shows you enjoy watching, and you know you want something along those lines, but still can’t find the right idea to develop. It’s just too overwhelming.
Sometimes, you just need a little help guiding your muse to the right idea for your novel.
Not knowing what you want to write about is frustrating, and it could cause you to jump into writing a novel with an idea that’s not yet ready. Diving in too soon often results in hitting a wall a few chapters in, which leads to even more frustration and a fear that you can’t be a writer after all.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 19, 2021
Procrastination: Dump Old Myths and Discover a Fun Solution
By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoachPart of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Writers have a lot of "legitimate" ways of not working (I'm just doing research, honest!) Rochelle Melander busts a few myths about goofing off, and what we can do to get back to writing
Rochelle Melander is a speaker, professional certified coach and the author of 11 books for adults, including Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and Live to Tell About It) and Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity .
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Take it away Rochelle…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 18, 2021
A Lifeline for When Writing is No Longer Fun
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy
Losing the fun of writing is more than just writer’s block. And it takes a different path to fix it.
Talk to a group of writers and you’ll hear a common theme—we write because we can’t not write. It’s our passion, our love, what we enjoy doing.
But what happens when we lose the joy of writing?
Years ago, I started a novel I couldn’t wait to write. I loved the idea, the world, the characters. I was excited about the theme and how this novel would stretch my creativity. The first draft went well and I submitted it to my critique group.
And they hated it.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 17, 2021
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at an Urban Fantasy Short Story Opening
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: One
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through January 23.
This week’s questions:
1. Does it grab attention?
2. Would you read on?
3. Does each character seem to have a personality?
4. Does it work?
Market/Genre: Urban Fantasy Short Story
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 15, 2021
A First Class Bad Guy: How the X-Men Can Help You Craft a Better Antagonist
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyNothing says your bad guy has to be bad.
My husband is a huge comic book geek, and after a few years of marriage, I developed an appreciation and enjoyment of the genre myself. We see all the superhero movies, and you’d be surprised (or not if you’re also a fan) by how often I find useful writing examples in those 90 minutes.
One thing the Marvel Superhero folks do well, is create wonderful characters. They’re layered, with real problems and real issues that make their choices believable and relatable—even the villains.
Which brings me to X-Men: First Class.
The movie follows the story of the two anchor characters of the X-Men: Magneto and Professor X, otherwise known as Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier. The antagonist and the protagonist. The villain and the hero. Like many great and tragic hero/villain pairs, they started out as friends and wound up on different ideological sides.
And that’s where Magneto gets neat-o.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
