Janice Hardy's Blog, page 33

Are You Looking for a Critique Group or Partner?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

It's Critique Group Time Again! The 2021 Winter Session is now open!

Finding other writers to share work and critiques with isn't always easy, particularly for newer writers who often don't even know where to start looking. 
In 2013 I created "Janice Hardy's Critique Connection" to help such writers connect with like-minded folks looking for critique groups or partners. It was designed to help people find long-term, quality writing partners, not just places you can toss up your work and get quick feedback.
It went from a one-time event to annually, and now to every six months (I open it up every January and July). 

If you're looking to join or create a critique group, add more to your existing group, or find a critique partner, odds are you'll find someone here.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a YA Fantasy 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: Two

Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through Jan 16.

This week’s question:

1. Does this opening work?

Market/Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

On to the diagnosis…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

A Look Back, a Look Forward. What Are Your 2021 Goals?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

It’s a new year, and time to take a look back on what we accomplished, and set new goals for 2021.

Happy New Year, everyone!
And a quick note...Janice Hardy's Critique Connection will open up on Sunday, January 3. So if you're looking for a crit partner or group, keep an eye out for that.
Moving on...

I write these round ups every year, and it’s always interesting to me to see what I did (and didn’t do) over the previous twelve months. This year was quite the year, and despite everything the pandemic brought, it did give me time to reflect on what I wanted from my writing career. After a decade as a professional author, it was time to make some hard decisions, and I did.

It also gave me time to develop my thoughts into goals, and then plans, and then I realized what I wanted to do was a two- or three-year-plan, not a few months of work. But that’s okay, because having that detailed and comprehensive plan is good. I have a much better understanding of what I need to do to accomplished my goals now.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

I'm Not Evil: Writing from the Antagonist's Point of View

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Should you write scenes in your antagonist's point of view? Maybe.

The first novel I ever wrote “for real” (with the intent to submit it to agents) used points of view from both the protagonists and the antagonists. It was one of those epic fantasy monstrosities with about twelve point of view characters and a backstory history I thought could become its own series (I shudder at the thought now).

This novel will never see the light of day, but it still has the best villains I ever wrote.

They were layered. They were compelling. They were interesting. But mostly? They were fun to both write and read about.

I had no idea what I was doing back then, so I think the reason they turned out so well was because I wrote from their perspectives. I had to know them to do that, so they became real people with real problems they were just trying to sort out, same as my protagonists.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

How to Write More in Less Time with Voice Recognition

By Jenna Harte
Part of The Writer's Life Series
JH: As dictation software has gotten better, more and more writers are using it to increase their productivity. Jenna Harte shares tips and advice on how to start "speaking" your book 
Jenna Harte is a fan of romance and murder, usually mixed together. 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’s also the author of the Sophie Parker Coupon Mystery Series and the Southern Heat contemporary romance series. She owns SwoonworthyHEA.com an online community for people who love to read and write romance, and is the host of Illicit Liaisons, where each week she and her guests discuss the good, the bad and the naughty of romance fiction. She is currently launching Write with Harte, a podcast and other resources for romance authors. When she’s not writing about passion or murder, she lives in central Virginia with her husband, and geriatric cat, Peaches. Keep up-to-date on all the passion and mayhem at her website.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube
Take it away Jenna...

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

A 5-Minute Fix to Jump-start Your Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Never fear the blank page again.

Blank pages stink.

Even when I know what I want to write, I still have days where I struggle to get that first line down. Once I do, the words usually pick up speed and I slide into my scene and my writing sessions, but not always.

On those days, I write that first line, then delete it. Write it again, and hit the backspace key like a woodpecker on a tree. Eventually, I get up and make a cup of tea and start the whole process over again.

This happened a lot in my early writing days. It didn’t take long for me to realize there had to be a better way to start writing. I examined my process. Since I’m a plotter by nature, I sought answers there first.

And found one.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

5 Questions to Turn a Character from Flat to Fabulous

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy
Sometimes we just need a little help to create a memorable character.

Some writers develop incredibly detailed characters before they ever start a story.
I am not one of those writers.
I do the bare minimum necessary to create a character, then I throw them into my story and see what they do. By the time I’ve written the first draft, I know who they are and can revise accordingly.

Although I’ve written this way for decades, I’m not sure I’d recommend it. It’s an interesting tactic, but it has left me with a lot of revising I wouldn’t have needed if I’d done a bit more character work before I started writing.

Lately, I’ve wondered if I should change my process, or at the very least, add another layer of character creation at the start. Because I’ve always said that characters drive the plot, and I’m a plot-driven writer, so my process is missing a critical aspect when I think about it from that perspective.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Stuck in Your Story? Try This Fun Exercise to Shake Up Your Muse

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Sometimes we get so focused on what’s supposed to happen in our novel, we forget to consider what could happen.

Unless you're incredibly lucky, at some point in your writing life your creativity is bound to stall.

The novel you loved yesterday feels flat today, all your ideas sound "meh" and nothing really excites you about your current manuscript. It happens, and scary as it can be, there are ways to knock your muse out of her slump and get things moving again.

Sometimes the best way to get unstuck is to look at the novel from a different perspective.
Changing your perspective can shake loose preconceived ideas and allow you to see the story and characters in ways you hadn't considered before. These different views often spark ideas that breathe new life into a novel that needs it.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a Spec Fic Opening Scene

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: Three

Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through January 9.

This week’s question: Is this opening working so far?

Market/Genre: Speculative Fiction

On to the diagnosis…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Difference Between Tricking Your Reader and Surprising Your Reader

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy 
If you’re going to trick your readers, proceed with caution and a lot of skill.
During a world-building panel I did at the Space Coast Comic Con, we had a brief discussion about tricking readers. Some authors on the panel were for it, some against it, and there were strong opinions on both sides.
It made me think about what makes a good twist vs. a bad trick. Because some novels trick readers and we love the author for it, but others trick readers and we refuse to ever read that author again.

I think it’s the Dallas vs. Newhart difference.

For those who weren’t watching a lot of TV in the 80s, both shows had huge twists that surprised viewers. One worked, one did not.

In the show Dallas, a beloved character (Bobby) died in a season finale. The next season proceeded without him, developing storylines and dealing with his death and all the normal things you’d expect to happen after killing off a favorite character. Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com