Janice Hardy's Blog, page 64

Sunday Writing Tip: Cut Unnecessary Internalization From Your Scenes

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, check your scenes are remove any unnecessary internal thoughts.
Last week you added thoughts where they were needed, but this week, let’s focus on places where you’ve gone a little too far and let those thoughts ramble a bit.

A common place to to find unneeded thoughts is when there’s a lot of text between lines of dialogue—especially between a question asked and answered, or two statements made by the same character.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Scene Work?

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: Two

Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through October 5.

This week’s question:

Is this working?

Market/Genre: Middle Grade Science Fiction

On to the diagnosis…

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Power Up Your Prose with Rhetorical Devices

By Suzanne Purvis

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Literary devices add zing to your prose, and give you tools to make literary magic. Suzanne Purvis visits the lecture hall again, to share some tips and thoughts on rhetorical devices. 

Suzanne Purvis is a transplanted Canadian living in the Deep South, where she traded “eh” for “y’all.” An author of long, short, flash fiction, and poetry for both children and adults, she has won several awards including those sponsored by the University of Toronto, RWA, Bethlehem Writers, and Women Who Write. You can find her work in print anthologies, magazines, ezines, and ebooks.

She leads workshops at Lawson Writer’s Academy and for Romance Writers of America, including her popular Sizzling, Scintillating Synopsis, Potent Pitches and Brilliant Blurbs, Revision Boot Camp and now she’s honored to be teaching Margie Lawson’s Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices and More class.

Her next class begins October 1st Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

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

6 Ways to Build Traffic to Your Website

By Chrys Fey, @ChrysFey

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Being an author these days also means being a promotor, marketer, and even social media guru—at least to some degree. Today, Chrys Fey takes the podium to share tips on building traffic to our website.

Chrys Fey is the author of the award-winning book Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication . Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book! From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Blog | Newsletter

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

Don’t Make This Common Characterization Mistake

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A flat character can kill an otherwise good story.

I was chatting with an editor of a publishing house recently, who mentioned a problem he sees in a lot of the submissions that cross his desk.

Poor characterization.

Cardboard characters. No sense of depth. Names, but not people. Without that characterization, it's impossible to connect with the characters or the story.

Compelling characters are vital to a novel, so if you want readers to love and connect with your characters, they need to feel like real people. So remember:
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Guest Blogging Builds Platform and Sells Books: 5 Tips For Landing Guest Blogging Spots.

By Anne R. Allen, @annerallen

Part of The Writer’s Life Series

JH: Guest blogging is a fun and easy way to get your name out there without pestering your fans or scaring off potential readers. Anne R. Allen visits the lecture hall today, to share tips on the benefits of guest blogging for authors.

Anne R. Allen is an award-winning blogger and the author of 13 books, including the hilarious Camilla Randall Mysteries, and the Amazon #1 bestseller The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors , named one of the “99 Best Blogging Books of All Time” by Book Authority. She’s also co-author, with Catherine Ryan Hyde, of How to be a Writer in the E-Age . Anne blogs with NYT million-seller Ruth Harris at Annerallen.com.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter |

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

Sunday Writing Tip: Add More Internalization to Your Scenes

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, check each scene for internalization. Are your characters sharing enough of their thoughts?
Last week, you added more emotion to your scenes. Emotion and internalization are often found together, so let’s build on that this week. Check your scenes and make sure you have enough internalization to show what the characters are thinking and feeling.

Aim for a good balance between thoughts that illustrate the character and how they feel about the situation, and the action and dialogue of the scene. While you don’t want a character who never shares their thoughts, you also don’t want one who’s too much in their head.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Scene Showing or Telling the Tension and Surprise?

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: Three

Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through October 5.

This week’s question:

Am I showing or telling to convey the tension and surprise Gail feels at this moment?

Market/Genre: Science Fiction

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

Indie Author Reality Check: Are You Ready to Go Indie?

By Ray Flynt

Part of The Indie Author Series

JH: The decision to go indie or not is a choice authors have to make for themselves. Ray Flynt returns to the lecture hall today to share a fun quiz and thoughts on the "indie or traditional?" publishing path choice. 
Why would you want to be an Indie Published author? Is it right for you? Are there any downsides? (Spoiler alert: Yes.) Isn’t it better to become traditionally published? (Ummm… stay tuned).

We’re going to begin with a quiz. It’s okay, I’m not looking over your shoulder as you mark your paper.

Get ready...set...go!
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Writing in a New Genre. Should You Do It?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Common publishing advice says stick to one genre, but what happens when you want to write in other genres? Should you take the leap or stay where you are?

Growing up, I was a mostly science fiction and fantasy reader, and thus the same as a young writer. As I got older I broadened my reading interests some with YA contemporary, but it wasn’t until around six years ago that I really stepped outside my favorite genres.

My sister in law lent me one of her Jennifer Crusie romance novels when I was visiting one weekend. I’d never read romance, but I had a lot of friends who read and wrote it, so I figured I’d give it a try.

And I loved it.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com