Janice Hardy's Blog, page 83
February 1, 2019
The Daily Mindset Practice That Will Help You Achieve Your Writing Goals
By Jennifer BlanchardPart of The Writer's Life Series
JH: Sometimes the things standing in the way of our writing dreams is our own doubts and fears. Jennifer Blanchard visits the lecture hall today to share tips on how to get our of our heads and back into our writing.
Jennifer Blanchard is an author, screenwriter, Developmental Book Editor, and the founder of The Feel-Good Life Center. Grab her FREE Story Secrets audio series here and start writing better stories.
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Take it away Jennifer...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 31, 2019
What to Do if Your Book Cover Sucks
By Karen Amanda Hooper, @Karen_HooperPart of The Indie Authors Series
JH: A terrible book cover can not only break an author's heart, but hurt the sales of that book. While traditionally published authors have little say (usually) in what their covers look like, indie authors have full control--but that doesn't mean they always get it right, either. Please help me welcome Karen Hooper to the lecture hall today, to share her experience with redesigning her covers and why.
An Amazon bestselling author, Karen Amanda Hooper writes magical romances for all ages. Her books range from the sea to the stars and beyond, including: The Kindrily series (YA paranormal), The Sea Monster Memoirs (YA fantasy), and Virtual Arcana (YA science-fiction).
Karen was born and bred in Baltimore, frolicked and froze in Colorado for a couple years, and is currently sunning and splashing around Florida with her beloved rescued bulldog. She's addicted to coffee, chocolate, and complicated happily-ever-afters.
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Take it away Karen...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 30, 2019
What Writers Need to Know About Hooks
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyWriters get a lot of advice on the value of hooks in a novel, but “hook” can mean different things depending on its usage.
At every stage of a novel, you have different hooks and different needs. In the idea stage, the hook is the cool thing that makes you want to write it, and will make readers want to read it. In the drafting stage, you want to hook readers with the scenes themselves to keep them reading. In the polishing stage, you want sharp hook lines and clever twists.
Every one of these situations involve hooks, but each one uses them in a different way. Not understanding the various types of hooks can lead a writer astray and cause them to struggle to fix something in their novel that might not actually be broken.
Someone might tell you, “There’s no hook,” and refer to reasons why a reader would want to see a scene unfold. But another might mean there’s no unique concept behind the plot. A third might say there’s no cool twist or clever premise behind the story.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 29, 2019
New Market – New Game: Defining Short Fiction
By Sarah Dahl, @sarahdahl13Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series
JH: A few months ago, I was chatting with Sarah Dahl about short fiction, discussing how little is “out there” about this side of the craft: writing shorter, and publishing it, and I asked her to do a series to focus on this growing market. In this (roughly) monthly series she'll discuss why writers might want to consider writing shorter – and how they can make the most of it.
Sarah Dahl lives on the edge of the rural German Eifel and writes historical fiction (novels and short stories) primarily set in the Viking age. She was an editor in several German publishing houses and managed a translation agency. The magic of writing re-entered her life at UCD Dublin, where she sat in J.R.R. Tolkien’s office every day, while working on the ‘Dictionary of Hiberno-English’. Tolkien’s spirit must have done something to her creative muscles – it sure wasn’t the bland view from his office. She became a full-time writer soon after and still works as an editor, translates, and coaches new authors. She is interested in everyday life in bygone centuries and the human stories that may have occurred behind the hard, historical facts. Sarah just released her collection Tales of Freya , seven sensual short stories set in the Viking age.
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Take it away Sarah...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 28, 2019
All Is Lost: Four Kinds of Death in Fiction
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Death comes in many forms, especially when you’re writing a novel.
With the popularity of Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat beat sheet, the “Whiff of Death” moment has many writers asking, “Do I need to kill someone every book?” Of course not. You also shouldn’t do it just because a popular story structure format says you should. But for stories that will benefit from a “death” for emotional or storytelling impact, the All Is Lost moment is a great opportunity to grab a reader by the feels.
While the death part of “whiff of death” suggests we actually kill someone, it’s not recommending an actual death every time. Death refers to a loss, usually profound, for the protagonist. That can mean a character bites the dust, but it can also mean the loss of hope, or the loss something once held dear.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 27, 2019
Sunday Writing Tip: Make Sure Your Scene Beginnings Hook Your Readers
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 how you open each scene and/or chapter and make sure you’re giving readers a reason to turn the page.
So last week we looked at our scene endings. This week, let’s look at how we’re beginning each scene and chapter.
The beginning of a scene or chapter is where we show readers why they want to read this scene. There needs to be something in it for them, otherwise they might set the book down and go watch TV. You want to ask the right story questions to pique their interest and make them want to learn the answers to them. You want to tempt them with the potential for something bad to happen. You even want to dangle the possibility of good things happening that they’ve been hoping for all along.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 26, 2019
Real Life Diagnostics: Can You Feel Any Tension or Conflict in This Scene?
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: Three
Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through February 16.
This week’s questions:
1. Is it showing vs telling?
2. Can you feel any tension or conflict?
Market/Genre: Romantic Comedy
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 25, 2019
The Line Forms Where? Knowing Where to Start Your Novel
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyThis Week's Refresher Friday takes another look at analyzing your novel to ensure you're starting it i the right pace. Enjoy!
Openings are hard, especially if you're not sure if you're starting in the right place. The sheer amount of "is this opening working?" submissions I get in Real Life Diagnostics is testament to that.
The old "start with the action" has frustrated many a writer due to its ambiguity, and even when we think we've done it all correctly, beta readers can still feel the opening isn't grabbing them.
I've talked about first lines and first pages before, so today, let's focus on figuring out where to start your story, and how to diagnose it if you're worried you're starting in the wrong place.
First, analyze your current opening, either the first scene or the first chapter if it's only one scene:
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 24, 2019
Using Vocal Cues to Show Hidden Emotion
By Becca Puglisi, @beccapuglisiPart of The How They Do It Series
JH: Tapping into the hidden emotions and subtext of a scene is a wonderful way to pull readers into that scene. Becca Puglisi visits the lecture hall today to share her tips on creating subtext and using vocal cues to show the hidden emotional layers of your characters.
Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and author of bestselling books for writers—including her latest publication: a second edition of The Emotion Thesaurus, an updated and expanded version of the original volume. Her books are available in multiple languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers—a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.
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Take it away Becca...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
January 23, 2019
Do You Think He Likes Me? Conveying Emotions in Your Novel
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Today's Afternoon Rewind takes another look at conveying emotions in your novel. Enjoy!
Describing outward emotions can often sound forced because people in the moment feeling those emotions aren't usually thinking, "I just want to stare deeply into his eyes." They're thinking about the color, the way the other person makes their heart race, how time seems to stop when their gazes meet. It's the effect of that deep gazing that's on their minds not the actual gazing part.
Let's say you're writing a situation that requires an emotional response. Instead of looking at the character who's about to become emotional in some way, try going inside her head and thinking about what that person would feel.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
