Janice Hardy's Blog, page 98

Get Noticed: How to Submit Your Author News to Newsletters

By Ann Meier
 
Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Many organizations rely on volunteers to handle things such as newsletters and blogs, and the harder you make it for them to piece together your writing news, the less likely they are to use it. Ann Meier, newsletter guru for the Florida chapter of MWA, visits the lecture hall today to share tips on how you can make sure your news gets out there.

Ann Meier lives in Orlando and writes Mysteries with a Theme Park Smile for both adult and middle grade readers. Her humorous adult cozy series features an Orlando attraction manager, who unfairly catches the blame when a parade float crushes her boss. Ann’s middle grade mysteries feature an eleven-year-old boy named Buddy, who on the Orlando Area Attractions Kids’ Advisory Board. As he roams the parks, he finds lots of fun mysteries to solve.

The books’ parks are fictional, but Meier was a manager on the Universal Orlando Resort opening team. She also worked at Walt Disney World. She’s received five Royal Palm Literary Awards from The Florida Writers Association for her manuscripts. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and Florida Writers Association. She has co-authored a college textbook, written journal articles, and worked in human resources for a Fortune 100 company. She earned an undergraduate degree in English from Ball State University and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is represented by Elizabeth Trupin-Pulli of the JET Literary Agency.

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Take it away Ann...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Why a Well-Written Novel Can Still Stink

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A writer can do everything “right” and still have a novel that doesn’t engage readers.
I recently finished a novel by an author I like. Their previous series was wonderful and I eagerly dived into the new one, expecting to enjoy yet another exciting tale. Instead, I found a technically well-done novel that left me flat. From the reviews I later peeked at online, I’m not the only one who felt this way.

It was sad, because this author went from “auto-buy” to “wait and see the reviews” with one so-so book. And it didn’t have to happen.

Taste vary, of course (which is why I’m not sharing the title), but the first series was wonderful for several reasons:
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Vicarious Trauma: A Danger Writers Need to Be Aware of

By Bonnie Randall

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

Acclaimed YA author Chris Crutcher said “Once a thing is known, it can’t be unknown.”

As a writer, and as a social worker, I tend to be exposed to, and research, a variety of extraordinarily dark topics. It is the nature of my job to know these things, and the genre of fiction I craft frequently dives into forbidden, life-altering places.

Very early in my career, when I was still paying my dues as a child protection investigator, I recall becoming defensive when a member of Joe Public sneered about CPS workers, calling them ‘brain-dead’ and ‘useless’. My rebuttal was fierce: “You have no idea what these workers are exposed to,” I fired back. “Most people only ever hear about kiddie porn. We’re forced to see it.”

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Are You In or Out? Crafting Outlines That Work for You

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Outlining your novel is a useful tool to keep you focused and on track--but it doesn't have to curb your spontaneity if you do it right.
When I first started writing, I tried every outlining and plotting technique that came my way. I was convinced that if I found the perfect template, all my plotting problems would be solved. I was wrong (there is no "perfect template"), but all that trial and error did help me discover something important.

An outline that worked for me.

It didn’t magically solve all my plotting problems, but it did make it easier for me to plot and see where my problems were, which made it easier to write the novel. Outlining helped me discover the essential pieces I needed before I put words down, so I didn’t spend as much time spinning my literary wheels. It gave me enough structure to let my stories develop naturally, but didn’t plan so tightly that my creativity stagnated.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Writing Prompt: The Story Starter: It’s a Dream Come True

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This 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.

We focus on the bad so much (conflict, Dark Moments, disasters), so this week, let’s write a scene or short story that focuses on the good. Not only is it a nice change of pace, but it’s good practice for the after-climax wrap ups and happy endings.

Show the moment when the protagonist achieves their dream.
Write whatever this triggers, and use these details however you wish. Put them together, use them separately, make one a detail in a scene, whatever inspires you—run with it. Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Young Adult Christian Opening Make You Want to Read More?

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 September 8.

This week’s question:

1. Does the opening work?

Market/Genre: Young Adult (Christian) Fiction

On to the diagnosis…
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The Hidden Risks of Emotional Burnouts in Writing

By Lesley Vos, @LesleyVos

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Burning out happens to writers every day, and some of them don't even realize it--they just feel blocked or stuck, and don't know what to do about it. Lesley Vos visits the lecture hall today to share tips on what to do, and how to avoid, writers' burnout.

Lesley Vos is a seasoned web writer, content strategist, and blogger. She currently writes at PlagiarismCheck.org, helping peers to discover the world of plagiarism-free content.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Take it away Lesley...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Baking a Series from Scratch…

By J. Kathleen Cheney, @jkcheney

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Last time I posted here, I was asked by commenters to talk about how to start a series.That’s a huge topic, and it covers a handful of different quandaries.

As I look at it, there are two main areas:

1. How to PLAN a series, and

2. How to make yourself sit down and WRITE a series.

Now, my own series fall into two separate and fairly equal piles—ones I meant to be series, and ones I didn’t.In fact, most of the other writers I talked to about this topic agreed. Some series are planned, others just happen organically.

Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Do You Have a Story with a Twist, or a Twist That Thinks it's a Story?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Stories with a great twist are stories readers remember, but make sure your story is more a single punchline.
I ran into a problem when writing my adult urban fantasy novel, Blood Ties . There's a twist, and one of the things that kept changing in the original outline was where that twist was revealed. Did I reveal it early on so the reader got to the "cool part" of the idea first? Did I use it as my midpoint reversal? Or was it an end-of-book shocker?

Then it hit me.

I wasn't writing a story that had a twist, I was setting up a 400-page joke with the twist as the punchline. The novel was all about the reveal, not the story. Which was a major problem.

A twist can't be the whole book. The story has to hold up even if readers know the twist.
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Writers: Just Say YES When Opportunity Knocks

By Jonathan Rosen, @houseofrosen

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Opportunities are all around us--if we're willing to take advantage of them. Please help me welcome Jonathan Rosen to the lecture hall today, to share some thoughts and advice on why writers should say "yes."

Jonathan Rosen is a transplanted New Yorker, who now lives with his family in sunny, South Florida. He spends his “free” time chauffeuring around his three kids. Some of Jonathan’s fondest childhood memories are of discovering a really good book to dive into, in particular the Choose Your Own Adventure Series, and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Jonathan is proud to be of Mexican-American descent, although neither country has been really willing to accept responsibility. He is the author of Night of the Living Cuddle Bunnies , which is out now, and the sequel, From Sunset Till Sunrise , coming August 21. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, FromtheMixedUpFiles.Com, The Tuesday Writers and his own website, WWW.HouseofRosen.com

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Take it away Jonathan...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com