Janice Hardy's Blog, page 36
November 10, 2020
8 Suspense-Boosting Techniques for Writers
By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughtonPart of The How They Do It Series
JH: The "need to know" keeps readers engaged in a novel. Laurence MacNaughton shares eight ways you can add suspense to your story.
Suspense is key to keeping your readers turning pages. Make them wonder what will happen next, and you'll keep them engaged and eager to get to the end of your story. If you feel like the suspense is flagging in your fiction, use one of these eight suspense-boosting techniques to make your reader perk up their ears.
1. A character pretends to be someone they're not.
Force your viewpoint character to act like someone they aren't. Maybe they must go undercover to impress someone, fool someone, escape someplace, or get to the truth. Maybe they have to "fake it until they make it."
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 9, 2020
5 Ways You’re Smothering Your Reader in Your Opening Scene
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Let’s look at how much is too much in an opening scene.
I’ve had weekly critiques on the site since 2010, and a large number of those have been opening pages. Between that, my critique groups, clients, random critiques, and of course, my own reading habits, I’ve read a lot of opening pages. And, of course, written them.
Not all have been good. Not all have been bad. Which is fine for most of those pages, as they were works in progress and that’s normal. Opening scenes are tough to get right.
One of the things I see a lot of, is trying to put too much into the story too soon.
And instead of drawing readers in, we smother them in information.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 8, 2020
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at Goals in a Middle Grade 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 through November 14.
This week’s questions:
What I want from this opening scene, is to introduce Zara as the protagonist you want to root for; Zara’s desire to win the competition; a hint of sibling rivalry whereby Zara is keen to earn Aaliyah’s approval. Do these three goals work?
Market/Genre: Middle Grade
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 5, 2020
Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing: Invest in Your Team
By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyesPart of The Indie Authors Series
JH: There's a lot to consider before taking the indie-publishing plunge. Laurisa White Reyes shares tips and thoughts on how to put together the right team for publishing success.
Laurisa White Reyes is the award-winning author of seventeen books, including 8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing . She is also the founder and senior editor of Skyrocket Press and teaches English composition at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Visit her website at www.SkyrocketPress.com.
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |
Take it away Laurisa...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 4, 2020
How to Handle Multiple Speakers in a Scene Without Confusing Your Reader
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Too many cooks might spoil the soup, but too many speakers will clutter the scene.
Before I dive in today, here's a heads up that I'm guest posting at Writers in the Storm today, chatting about 10 Ways to Get a Stuck Story Moving Away. Come on by and say hello.
I love dialogue. It’s the easiest thing for me to write, so there’s usually a lot of it in my books. When it’s just a few people talking it’s no trouble at all keeping the speakers clear, but the more character I put in the room, the harder the dialogue is to write.
Wait, let me clarify that.
The dialogue is still easy. It’s the keeping everyone straight without overwhelming readers that makes me want to scream.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 3, 2020
Tips for Harnessing Story Squirrels
By Orly Konig, @OrlyKonig
Part of The How They Do It Series
JH: Great story ideas can be lost for lack of a place to keep them. Orly Konig shares tips on how to keep track of your ideas and inspirations.
Orly Konig is an escapee from the corporate world. Now she spends her days chatting up imaginary friends, drinking too much coffee, and negotiating writing space around her cats. She is the founding president of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and a member of the Tall Poppy Writers. She’s a book coach and author of The Distance Home and Carousel Beach .
Website | Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | BookBub | Goodreads
Take it away Orly…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
November 2, 2020
3 Ways to Deepen Your Novel’s Premise
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy The premise is the core of the novel. Make it a solid one.
When I first started The Shifter (the first book in my trilogy), I didn’t know it was going to be part of a series. But as the story developed, I saw the bigger picture and where the problem my protagonist, Nya, could lead to.
As that story continued, I focused more and more on Nya’s journey, because stories are about characters in trouble. But by the time I got to book three, I’d forgotten something.
I was ignoring the broader implications of my original premise.
Nya was a “shifter,” someone who could heal by shifting pain from person to person. This included pain of her own, so anytime someone hurt her, she’d able to shift it right back into them. (Which made for some fun fight scenes).
In the first draft of book three, Nya was doing this almost without thinking, and while she struggled over the moral aspects of shifting, getting hurt was no longer an issue for her.
Which was all wrong.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 31, 2020
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at Show, Don’t Tell in Middle Grade
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: Two
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through November 14.
This week’s question:
Is this too much telling?
Market/Genre: Middle Grade
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 29, 2020
Writing Light Doesn’t Have to Mean Writing Fluffy
By Kassandra Lamb, @KassandraLamb
Part of The How They Do It Series
JH: Serious topics don't always require serious treatment. Kassandra Lamb shares tips on how you can write light, and still tackle important topics in your novels.
Kassandra Lamb is a retired psychotherapist/ psychology professor turned mystery writer. She is the author of the Kate Huntington Mysteries and the Marcia Banks and Buddy Cozy Mysteries, plus a non-fiction guidebook, Someday is Here! A Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Publishing Your First Book . She also writes romantic suspense under the pen name of Jessica Dale.
Her specialty as a psychotherapist was trauma recovery, and today she brings us her insights into how the brain connects our past to our present, and the implications for writers regarding characters’ back stories.
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Bookbub Profile | Goodreads | Amazon Author Page
Take it away Kassandra…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 28, 2020
5 Ways to Make Your Characters Hate You (And Why You Should)
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyTo be a great writer, it helps to be a terrible parent (but only to your characters).
I have this philosophy for my characters—what doesn’t kill them makes them more interesting. It allows me to be as ruthless and mean to them as I want, because I know that in the end, all their suffering will make readers love them even more.
My characters aren’t happy about this, of course, but they understand the necessity.
One of my favorite “evil things” to do to them is force them to face horrible, if not impossible, choices. Choices that will tear them in two, make them question themselves and the path they took, and often leave them in dire situations with no hope in sight.
<cackles gleefully>
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
