Janice Hardy's Blog, page 93
October 11, 2018
The Value of Critiques and Writing Contests
By George A Bernstein, @GeorgeBernsteinPart of The Writer's Life Series
I saw a recent blog post by a writer unhappy about the critique she received from someone she was using, who “didn’t get” what she was trying to do.
One of the problems we writers can have IS getting our readers to “get it.” And if they don’t, whose fault is that? Yours, clearly.
It seems pretty obvious it’s the author’s responsibility to see that readers understand what he or she is trying to do or say. If your critic doesn’t get it, surely your audience won’t either. Many authors have a problem with criticism. “How dare you challenge my work, that I slaved over and love.” That’s a prescription to failure.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 10, 2018
Top Five Fast-Drafting Tips for Writers
By Ava Jae, @Ava_JaePart of the How They Do It Series
JH: I woke up feeling under the weather today, so I'm dipping into the archives for pearls of wisdom. Here's one from 2015 that's just as useful now as it was then, with tips on fast drafting and how we can get a first draft finished in no time at all. Enjoy!
Please help me welcome Ava Jae back to the lecture hall today. November is fast approaching, and for some, that means NaNo! So if you want to get a jump start on this years race to 50K words, Ava has some great tips on fast drafting to share. And for those who aren't interested in NaNo, but would like to write a first draft a little faster, these tips cams work for you, too.
Ava is a YA and NA writer, an Assistant Editor at Entangled Publishing, and is represented by Louise Fury of The Bent Agency. Her YA Sci-Fi series begins with BEYOND THE RED, from Sky Pony Press. When she’s not writing about kissing, superpowers, explosions, and aliens, you can find her with her nose buried in a book, nerding out over the latest X-Men news, or hanging out on her social media sites.
Blog | Twitter | Facebook | tumblr | Goodreads | Instagram | YouTube channel
Take it away Ava...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 9, 2018
Outline Your Novel the Incredibly Easy Way
By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author)
I've never met any writer who really loves to outline. But a good outline can help you write a better book and finish it faster. Over the years, I’ve developed my own outlining method that is super simple, quick, and (dare I say) fun.
Plus, it's easy. You don't have to read a thick book full of instructions. You don't need spreadsheets or special software. You don't even need to have that much of your novel figured out yet.
All you need is a few ideas, a pencil, and a pack of index cards. (Or yellow sticky notes, if you prefer.)
Ready? Let's do this.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 8, 2018
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, 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
October 7, 2018
Writing Prompt: The Story Starter: Bad News Before a Good Time
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyThis week’s prompt is a story starter, so take the element provided and turn it into a story of any length you choose. If you’re stuck on size, I suggest aiming for 1000-2000 words.
The protagonist is getting ready for a happy occasion, when bad—and hard to believe—news arrives.
Write a tale from whatever this triggers, be it a summer wedding or a ritual to summon a Dark Lord (from the evil wizard’s perspective, of course) or anythng in between. Have fun with it and see what develops.Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 6, 2018
Real Life Diagnostics: Is This Query Working?
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: Two
Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through October 20.
This week’s question:
Is this query working?
Market/Genre: Query Letter
On to the diagnosis…
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 5, 2018
Three Types of Irony in Lois Lowry's The Giver
By Natalie OdishoLet’s Get Lit: Spotlight on Allegory
In The Giver, Jonas is scolded for using imprecise language of “starving”. He is assured by the community that he will never be starving in his life. Isn’t it ironic?
"It’s ironic, a little too ironic don’t you think?" Aside from Alanis Morisette’s literary lyrics, irony is a common rhetorical device used to add drama and mystery.
Lois Lowry uses irony to create complicated layers of ethics, emotion and morality in The Giver. The Giver is the groundbreaking 1994 Newbery award winner in which a young boy, Jonas, is sorted into a painfully real career receiving memories from a tired Giver in a seemingly perfect community.
(Warning! Spoiler alert for The Giver. Read at your own caution.)
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 4, 2018
The Indie Publisher’s Toolbox – Part 2
By Ray Flynt(Part of the Indie Author Series)
Last month, in Part 1 of the Indie Publisher’s Toolbox, we examined an author’s website, including domain name and registration, options for hosting, and a brief look at content.
Now we want to look at two vehicles for direct communication between authors and readers. Specifically, more “long form” communication as opposed to what might be found in brief social media posts (Stay tuned: Social Media will be the subject of a future “Indie Publisher’s Toolbox).
Two months ago, in my first post here about writers as entrepreneurs, a reader posted the following comment, which I consider a cautionary tale as we consider today’s tools.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 3, 2018
Writing Transitions: How to Move Smoothly Through Your Novel
By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Just a heads up that I'm at Romance University this week, talking about plotting a novel when you don't yet know all the details of the story. Come on over and say hello!
As writers, we spend a lot of time on our scenes, but we don't always pay enough attention to how we move from scene to scene. But how we move our readers from line to line, paragraph to paragraph, scene to scene, and chapter to chapter all lead the reader though our story. If we don't do a good enough job, they won't get very far in the novel. Jarring jumps, awkward shifts, missing information, can all knock a reader right out of the tale.
And we don't want rough transitions that make readers give up on the book.
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
October 2, 2018
Writing About Slavery in Historical Fiction
By E.R. Ramzipoor, @ER_Ramzipoor Part of the How They Do It Series
JH: With some topics, it's tough to strike a balance between approaching the subject authentically but not romantically, and being honest about it without normalizing it. Today, E.R. Ramzipoor visits the lecture hall to share some tips on how to write about slavery in historical fiction.
E.R. is a writer and freelance editor represented by Kristin Nelson of NLA. She is based in Berkeley, CA, where she’s working on a novel about a World War II newspaper heist and writing about tech for Sift Science.
Website | Twitter | Tumblr
Take it away E.R...
Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com
