Janice Hardy's Blog, page 61
October 20, 2019
Sunday Writing Tip: Show What Your Characters Are Afraid Of
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Each week, I’ll offer a tip you can take and apply to your WIP to help improve it. They’ll be easy to do and shouldn’t take long, so they’ll be tips you can do without taking up your Sunday. Though I do reserve the right to offer a good tip now and then that will take longer—but only because it would apply to the entire manuscript.
This week, think about what scares your characters, and where they worry in your scenes, and make sure readers can see that, too.
Fear is a great motivator, and often our characters are acting out of fear, or because they worry about terrible consequences.
It’s also a useful way to show the stakes in a scene, as characters typically worry about the things they might lose. And when characters worry, so do readers.
For more on adding fear (and this stakes and even tension) in your novel, try these articles:
Creepy Clowns and Haunted Hotels—Unspooling Why Our Characters Get Scared Psychological Trump Cards That Cripple Us What Are Your Characters Ashamed Of? What Makes Your Characters Uncomfortable? Writing the Terror Scenes Why Every Writer Should Watch “Mama” Using Vocal Cues to Show Hidden Emotion 5 Ways to Convey Emotions in Your Novel Brainstorming Your Character's Emotional WoundWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 19, 2019
Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Rewrite Working?
Critique By Maria D'Marco Real Life 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 Real Life Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines.
Submissions currently in the queue: Zero
Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are open.
This week’s question:
1. Is this rewrite working?
Market/Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 18, 2019
How to Hurdle Your Writer’s Block
By Nick Wisseman, @NickWisseman Part of The Writer’s Life Series
JH: Getting stuck happens to us all, and sometimes we need a little help in shaking our muse free. Nick Wisseman takes the podium today to share tips n how he gets over his writer's block.
Nick Wisseman lives in the woods of Michigan with his wife and daughter, ten dogs, sixty cats, and forty horses. (The true number of pets is an order of magnitude smaller, but most days it feels like more.) He's not quite sure why he loves writing twisted fiction, but there's no stopping the weirdness once he's in front of a computer. You can find the complete list of oddities on his website.
Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Newsletter
Take it away Nick…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 17, 2019
NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel’s Middle
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Continuing with the annual NaNo prep posts...we dive into the turning points and problems of writing your novel's middle.
Middles might be the most common tough spot for writers, and with good reason. The middle makes up half the novel, and it’s where all the heavy plot workings happen. We usually have a decent idea of how our stories start, and roughly how they end, but that middle? What do we put in there? That often eludes us.
This is when a lot of novels start to bog down, so there’s a good chance many NaNo writers will stumble here. But don’t worry, because I know a great trick to overcome middle woes. The Mid-Point Reversal!
This is a major event that happens in the middle of your novel that helps bridge the gap between the end of the beginning and the beginning of the end (act one and act three for those using the Three Act Structure). It effectively breaks your three acts into four acts, making each section a little easier to manage.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
An Introvert’s Guide to Writer’s Conferences
By Sarah McGuire, @fireplusalgebraPart of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Conferences are an amazing and fun way to learn and network, but they aren't always easy for introverted or shy writers. Sarah McGuire is back this month with tips on how shy writers can make the most of a conference without stressing themselves out.
Sarah McGuire is a nomadic math teacher who sailed around the world aboard a floating college campus. She writes fairy tales and would be just fine if one day she opened a wardrobe and stumbled into another world. Coffee and chocolate are her rocket fuel. She wishes Florida had mountains, but she lives there anyways with her husband (who wrote this bio in less than three minutes!) and their family.
Website | Goodreads | Twitter |
Take it away Sarah…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 16, 2019
Do You Suffer From NWS?: Living With Nice Writer Syndrome
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Due to conference brain from traveling and presenting over the weekend, I'm dipping into the archives today for one of my favorites, with a little update as well. How to tell if you're too nice to your characters. Enjoy!
Do you love your characters?
Do you wish nothing bad would ever happen to them?
Then you might suffer from Nice Writer Syndrome.
This is a common malady. We spend hours and hours creating our characters, interviewing them, filling out complicated character sheets, determining which personality they are on the Myers-Briggs Scale. They become like family, and we can't bear the thought of doing anything bad to them.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 14, 2019
There's Still Time to Attend the Romance Writers Summit (And it's Not Just for Romance Writers)
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyIf you haven't heard about the Romance Writers Summit yet, you still have time to sneak in under the wire (and see my session on Great Opening Scenes).
The summit is like attending an amazing writer’s conference without ever leaving your house. Kris Kennedy has brought together quite the collection of authors, editors, screenwriters, and even game writers, and sat down with every one of them to ask questions writers want answers to.
It might say “Romance Summit” on the door, but these sessions offer writers of all genres advice they can use.
Over twenty speakers will share their knowledge and expertise with interviews and sessions filled with helpful advice.
The Summit begins today and runs through Friday October 18. Every day, a set of videos goes live at midnight (Eastern) for 24 hours. Log in anytime during the next 24 hours to watch that day's videos. Next day, a different set of Expert Interviews goes live. Repeat, through Friday. Once registered, you'll receive email reminders each day.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 13, 2019
Sunday Writing Tip: Make Your Characters Vulnerable
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyEach week, I’ll offer a tip you can take and apply to your WIP to help improve it. They’ll be easy to do and shouldn’t take long, so they’ll be tips you can do without taking up your Sunday. Though I do reserve the right to offer a good tip now and then that will take longer—but only because it would apply to the entire manuscript.
This week, make your characters vulnerable.
For compassionate people, seeing someone’s vulnerability tugs at our heartstrings and makes us connect, and even care. But in our haste to make our protagonist “heroic,” we sometimes forget to make them vulnerable, too.
Look for moments in your story where a character can exhibit vulnerability. Pay particular attention to highly emotional scenes, or scenes where you want to surprise readers.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 12, 2019
Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Idea Worth Pursuing?
Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyReal Life 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 Real Life Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines.
Submissions currently in the queue: One
Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through October 19.
This week’s question:
Is this idea worth pursuing?
Market/Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 11, 2019
NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel’s Beginning
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyIt's NaNo prep time again, and I always like to pull out these tips on plotting your novel's beginning, middle, and ending to help those going for 50K words come November (or if you're just about to start a new novel on your own).
For many, the beginning of a novel is the hardest part. Getting the right opening scene, finding the right inciting event, even figuring out the perfect first sentence can keep you from getting anywhere at all. But don't worry. Beginnings aren't are scary and they appear.
In many ways, they're the easier part, since you probably already know the most critical aspects of your story--the protagonist, the goals, the conflict, and the setting.
If you're not yet sure on what to put in your novel's beginning, let's take a closer peek at what goes into a beginning.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
