Janice Hardy's Blog, page 63

How to Write a Real Page-Turner, Part 4

By Laurisa White Reyes, @lwreyes

Part of the How They Do It Series 

JH: Once again, Laurisa White Reyes is back at the podium with her How to Write a Page-Turner series, this time talking about multiple point of view.

Laurisa White Reyes is the Senior Editor of Skyrocket Press & Author Services. She has published sixteen books, including  8 Secrets to Successful Self-Publishing  and the SCBWI Spark Award winner  The Storytellers . Laurisa also provides personal coaching for writers. To connect with her, visit Skyrocket Press.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Laurisa...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Why Your Plot Isn’t Working

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

At the heart of every novel is a problem to solve. When the novel has no problem, you’ll have a problem plotting it.

One of the first novels I tried to write “for real” (one I intended to submit to agents and hopefully get published one day), suffered from me not knowing what my novel was truly about. I had a general sense of what the main problem was—save the world—but I never fully understood what that meant to the plot.

I knew the characters all had issues to face and problems to solve, and I knew the details of every one of them. I knew they’d all converge at a particular point in the point in the book and have a massive battle. I even knew specific details about how some of those epic fights would go down.

What I didn’t know, was what my villain wanted, why it mattered, and what he’d planned to do about it. Not on any real level anyway. He wanted to take over the world because he was a bad guy and that’s what bad guys did. I decided what “evil step of his plan” my characters encountered as I outlined the story and had to give them scene goals, with no regard to a larger plot beyond “stopping the bad guy from taking over the world.”

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Sunday Writing Tip: Check for Cardboard Conflict

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, examine your novel’s conflicts and make sure they’re not flimsy as paper.
“Your scene needs conflict” is something writers hear all the time, and while it’s true, it’s also easy to throw in a conflict just to have one. Problem is, that conflict doesn’t serve the story or accomplish the things a good scene conflict is supposed to do.

Check your scenes for conflict, but also really look at each conflict. Is it something that’s truly a problem to overcome that will affect the story, plot, or character in some way, or is it simply a flimsy obstacle that lets you say, “Yes, there’s conflict here?”

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Real Life Diagnostics: Handling Too Many Details in a Query Letter

Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

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: Two

Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through October 12.

This week’s question:

I feel like the last paragraph needs more development, but I don't want to bog the query down with details.

Market/Genre: Query Letter

On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Why Your Character (and You) Should be an Expert in Something

By Alyssa Hollingsworth

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Readers remember (and usually like) characters who are good at things, so it’s worth taking the time to discover where your protagonist had mad skills. Alyssa Hollingsworth visits the lecture hall today to share tips and thoughts on making you and your character and expert.

Alyssa was born in small-town Milton, Florida, but life as a roving military kid soon mellowed her (unintelligibly strong) Southern accent. Wanderlust is in her blood, and she's always waiting for the wind to change. Stories remain her constant.

She got her BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Berry College and my MA with honors in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. She’ll happily talk your ear off about either of these programs — they both rocked!

The Eleventh Trade was her debut novel with Roaring Brook/Macmillan (U.S.) and Piccadilly Press (U.K.), as well as a handful of other foreign publishers. Her second book The Invisible Boy comes out Summer 2020.

Website | Goodreads | Pinterest | Instagram

Take it away Alyssa…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Here’s the Pitch—It’s a Hit! Crafting Your Novel's Pitch Line

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week's Refresher Friday takes an updated look at an old favorite--writing a great pitch for your novel. Enjoy!

Pitching your novel makes most writers cringe, but it's actually one of the first things we learn to do. Telling someone what our story is about happens even before we write it. A pitch is just a more professional version of that.

I’ve chatted about pitches before, so let’s cover some new ground today.

A pitch means several things (the terminology is used interchangeably), so let's clarify what I mean first.

A one-line pitch is the elevator pitch. It's what you say when someone asks "what's your book about?" A pitch paragraph is the entire description of the novel (and the bulk of your query). A query hook is the same thing. I'm talking about one-lines pitches in this article. They can be either spoken or written.

Now let’s look at what makes a good one-line pitch.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Ebooks and Courses and Software, Oh My!

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I don’t care for pushy sales promo stuff any more than most folks do (and I think a lot of writers feels the same way, which is why marketing is so hard for many of us). So please forgive me for this salesy today.

Over the last few years, I’ve become an affiliate for a few people and products I truly felt you guys would A. Like, and B. Benefit from. So a couple of times a year I grit my teeth to do the whole “marketing thing” and try to find that line between promo and pushy.

Oddly enough, it’s easier to promote someone else’s stuff than my own. I think it’s that whole, “Hey, this is pretty cool, check it out” idea versus the, “Hey, look at my new stuff” idea. It’s fun to share, but painful to promote.

So here goes…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Don't Let Your Plot Hijack Your Story

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The plot illustrates the story, but sometimes, it has a mind of its own and takes your novel in the wrong direction.

It’s a common enough tale. You’re writing away, listening to your characters and letting them run the show. They’re diverting a little from your outline, but that’s okay because where they’re going is good stuff. Or maybe you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t have an outline, and you’re enjoying this unexpected path your characters have taken.

And they keep doing it.

And doing it.

And doing it.

You follow, because the plot is moving and it seems like a good idea, and the words are coming fast and furious. You’re getting a huge amount of writing done. You’re feeling so productive!

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Sprinkling Seeds of Backstory: How This Writing Faux Pas Can Work In Your Story

By Bonnie Randall 

Part of the How They Do It Series 

JH: Backstory has its place in a novel, but the trick is knowing when and where to use it. Bonnie Randall takes her turn at the podium this month to share tips on how to make backstory work for you.

We’ve all heard the lectures: Backstory bogs down your book. Backstory pulls the reader out of your story. Backstory BAD. Cutting it GOOD.

Mostly that’s true.

Sometimes, though, a plot or character’s backstory adds to the richness of theme or atmosphere in a piece of fiction—and can even operate to drive the plot forward. The trick, though, is to use it sparingly—and almost cunningly—when you’re crafting your work. Consider:
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

In the Beginning: Which Type of Opening Works Best in a Novel?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Opening lines are your novel's first impression on a reader. As long as it's a good impression, how you get there doesn't matter. 

The opening line of your novel is probably the most important line you'll write (no pressure). How you start your novel determines how many readers (or agents and editors) will keep reading it. And there are a lot of opinions about what that opening line should be.

Do you start with dialogue, description, or internalization?

Each one has a horror story associated with it about the dangers of using that type to start your novel. "Don't open a story with dialogue," or "Never start with description," or "Opening with internalization is just navel gazing."

Truth is, the type of opening line doesn't matter. It's how you start the story that's important. 

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com