Janice Hardy's Blog, page 44
June 30, 2020
Writing Through Difficult Times
By Shanna Swendson, @ShannaSwendsonPart of The Writer’s Life Series
JH: When the world is falling apart, it's hard to be in the right emotional space to write. Shanna Swendson share tips on balancing stress, emotion, and getting words down when we need to.
Shanna Swendson earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas but decided it was more fun to make up the people she wrote about and became a novelist. She’s written a number of fantasy novels for teens and adults, including the Enchanted, Inc. series and the Rebel Mechanics series. She devotes her spare time to reading, knitting, and music. Her most recent release is the young adult fairy tale fantasy Spindled .
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Take it away Shanna…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 28, 2020
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a Screenplay
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: Four
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through May 1.
This week’s question: Do you think it/they work?
Market/Genre: Screenplay
JH Note: Something very different this week—a screenplay. I know nothing about them, but Maria has had experience here, so I thought we’d give it a whirl.
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 25, 2020
The Best-Kept Secret “Real” Writers Use to Crush Writer’s Block
By Jacqueline Myers
Part of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Not every writer has the same process, and the wrong process can actually keep you from writing. Jacqueline Myers shares thoughts and tips on how who you are influences how your write.
Jacqueline is currently happily at work on her second mystery series (under a pen name) while sharing what she's learned with other writers. Using the synergy of personality theory and brain science, Jacqueline coaches writers using a proprietary methodology that helps them overcome their debilitating creative blocks so they can write un-put-down-able books.
If you are struggling, she'd love to see how she can support you! Schedule your free story strategy session here. You can also email her at jacqueline@intuitivewritingcoach.com.
Take it away Jacqueline…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 23, 2020
Why You Can't Concentrate Right Now
By Bonnie RandallPart of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Writers everywhere are experiencing something that's far worse that simple writer's block, and for a very good reason. Bonnie Randall shares why it's hard for us to focus right now.
It has been a wild year. 2020 has impacted the quantity, consistency, and flow of my writing. Productivity has been a challenge because my concentration has been nebulous, jittery.
Unsurprisingly, many other writers and content creators are reporting similar challenges—and as a result I’ve seen multiple articles offering solutions to these issues: ‘How To Stay focused During COVID’, ‘How To Muscle Through the Multitude of World Events And Keep Creating Content’, ‘How To Crank Out a Bestseller In the Midst Of Global Meltdowns (I should probably take a peek at that one). 'Writing in the Time of Covid-19'
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 20, 2020
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at Show, Don't Tell in an Opening Page
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: Four
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through July 18.
This week’s questions:
1. Is it better as first person or should it be written as third person
2. Should I develop the main character before this segment or is this okay as a start of a story.
3. Is there too much telling?
4. Would you want to keep reading?
Market/Genre: Unspecified
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 18, 2020
Word of Honor: Revising Your Book for Word Choice
By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoachPart of The How They Do It Series
JH: The right word at the right time can turn a bland sentence into a memorable one. Rochelle Melander discusses ways word choice impacts your writing.
Rochelle Melander is an author, speaker, and certified professional coach. Melander is the author of 11 books including Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity . As the owner of Write Now! Coach, Rochelle teaches writers, professionals, and business owners how to turn their ideas into books, navigate the publishing world, and connect with readers through social media.
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Take it away Rochelle…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 17, 2020
5 Ways to Add Internal Conflict to Your Scenes
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyStrengthening the internal conflict in a scene can lead to a deeper connection with your reader.
Back in my “still working out this writing thing” days, I didn’t even know what internal conflict was. I had a vague sense that conflict was the plot, and that it involved grand battles and exciting fight scenes (it didn’t, by the way). I thought that in order to write an exciting novel, I needed to pack it full of exciting action.
Since I’m a plot-focused writer, this misconception fit my writing style well and kept me struggling to understand conflict longer than I should have.
Eventually I figured it out and my novels improved. And once I knew what skill I lacked, I focused on developing that skill—in this case, conflict in general, internal conflict in particular. This “skill cycle” was also part of my process, where I’d hit a technical wall in my writing and then shift to learning how to handle it.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 16, 2020
Harsh Does Not Equal Honest: Pick Your Beta Readers Carefully
By Dario Ciriello, @Dario_Ciriello Part of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Feedback doesn't have to be mean to be useful. Dario Ciriello shares thoughts on dealing with beta readers, tough crits, and the struggles of new authors just trying to get help.
I’ve seen more than one new author crushed by tactless or even downright mean feedback from beta readers, and I don’t like it. So a couple of weeks ago, I tweeted the following as a simple PSA:
Too many writers upset by overly harsh feedback from betas. PICK YOUR BETAS CAREFULLY. They should be people you know well, who get your genre, whom you trust, and who are experienced, secure writers. Don't just let anyone read your draft.Surprisingly, this got pushback from a few people who insisted they wanted and welcomed harsh feedback, didn’t want to be coddled, didn’t want to use people they knew as betas because they wouldn’t give honest feedback, wanted people who didn’t read their genre because that would let them appeal to a wider audience, and yada yada.
Wrong.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 15, 2020
Super Charge Your Scenes: A 5-Day Writing Challenge
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyIntroducing Supercharge Your Scene
A few weeks ago, I was interview by J. Thorn for his Writers, Ink Podcast. We got to chatting afterward, and he told me about a new site and program he was launching in June, which would begin with a free 5-day writing challenge on super charging your scenes. The challenge starts today, and it like a little mini-at-home-workshop.
Here are the details...
Have you ever had this thought? “This scene isn’t good enough. But I don’t know how to improve it.”
Maybe you shrugged and moved on to the next chapter. Something about that scene you just wrote is niggling at you, but you don’t know what to do about it.
Or maybe you’ve tried revising it…but something is still off.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
June 13, 2020
WIP Diagnostic: Is This Working? A Closer Look at a Middle Grade Query
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: Three
Please Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through July 4.
This week’s questions:
1. Have I solved the problems of the first draft?
2. I know the current query letter still doesn't give a good sense of how the whole world fits together. To give background: There are no authors. Everyone is a book character (whether they know it or not) and the only thing that exists outside of books is the meta-data library realm (a gigantic ramshackle library dimension that houses all the books of the world, and is policed by warrior monk librarians.) The meta-data library doesn't become a feature until the final act. Does it need to be mentioned in the query letter?
Market/Genre: YA Query
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
