Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 134

Working a Paranormal Element into Mysteries

Guest Post by Marsali Taylor, @MarsaliTaylor

The world is a more interesting place than our science can explain.

I’ve always been at ease with the idea that the world is stranger and more interesting than our present scientific knowledge can account for.  Maybe it’s because I’m Scots; one look at old ballads shows we’re a people used to second sight, omens, superstition, ghosts, devils and companies of the Elven folk.  French friends assure me there are no fantomes in French castles, whereas no self-respecting Scottish castle would have fewer than three.

Maybe it’s my own family.  My sister has a story of meeting a kilted man who seemed to vanish when she turned her back on him.  My mother recalled my granny’s wheelie shopping bag falling from the back of a high shelf at the moment she had a heart attack in hospital; with my artist father, an easel which nobody was near fell over at the time his mother died.  I vividly remember having an awful, choking cough one night, and being raised and given a soothing drink which took it completely away.  When I bounced downstairs the next morning and asked, ‘What was that drink?  It worked like magic!’ my parents stared at me blankly …

On top of that, I’ve subscribed to the wonderful magazine Fortean Times for over thirty years.  I’m not sure the world is quite as odd as that, but I’m certainly prepared to be open-minded about the frequently-seen big cats in the British countryside, showers of frogs and sea-serpent sightings.  I’m convinced we have a household boggart, and talk to him occasionally, though I’ve not gone so far as to leave milk for him.

Cass, my main character in my detective novels Death on a Longship and the newly-published The Trowie Mound Murders, is a liveaboard sailor with ten years experience of roaming the world’s oceans.  In Death on a Longship she recalls having seen a ‘mer-horse, off Fiji, with a glistening neck and blind, saucer eyes’ and in the book currently being edited, A Handful of Ash, she remembers having seen a ghost ship, with ragged sails and dead men climbing the rigging.  The sea is a good place for seeing strange things, especially from a silent sailing craft.

Cass grew up in Shetland, which is rich in traditional lore.  Her friend Magnie, a retired whaling-man who taught her to sail, is full of good stories, or yarns.  When two visitors spot a grassy mound which they think may be a Neolithic chambered cairn, Cass tells them that it’s known as a ‘trowie mound’ (the word trow comes from the Scandinavian troll), and urges Magnie to recount the story of the fiddler who was invited to play for a trowie wedding:

It was Magnie’s best story and he told it well, from the midsummer-eve opening by that green hillock, when a local fiddler was asked by a small, brightly clad man if he’d come and play at a wedding, through the description of the trowie celebrations to the man awakening by the knowe again, to find the landscape changed around him, old houses gone and new ones grown. ‘And he went back, that man, to his ain hoose, and the folk there stared at him, until the auld man by the fire minded tales o’ his own grandfather, who’d disappeared one night and never been seen again, and that was this very man.’

‘And what happened to him then?’ Sandra asked.

Magnie’s rare smile wrinkled up his weathered face. ‘You’re thinking he mebbe withered up in front of their eyes? Na, na. Well, they asked him to bide, he was their own kin, but he never settled. There was naebody he kent, you see. In the end he spent day after day ida kirkyard, joost lookin’ at the graves. Then, when midsummer came round again, he said he’d had enough. The trows would be glad o’ a good fiddler, he said, and midsummer eve they’d be out and about, if ever they were. He’d go up to the knowe and ask to be taken in. So that night up he went and that was the last they ever saw o’ him. But sometimes you’ll hear – and I’m heard it myself – you’ll hear a strain o’ fiddle music coming out of that very mound, or see lights moving around it, and I’m seen that too.’

Magnie’s story is a traditional one; I’ve had the very cottage pointed out to me.  The moving lights he describes are a feature of my own village.  They were at a house called Slyde, and I’ve been told they were common enough for folk to detour on the way home from a dance ‘to watch the Slyde lights.’

‘Just like people coming down the hill carrying a lantern,’ one person told me.  ‘You’d see them from the other side of the voe, but the old man that lived there, he never saw them at all.’

Interestingly, our voe, or sea loch, is right on a fault line – we’ve even had an earth tremor here, centred just two miles from our house.  I wonder if the Slyde lights were some form of piezo-electricity?

Another of Magnie’s tales that’s featured in The Trowie Mound Murders is a selkie (seal-human) story which gives Cass troubled dreams:

I’d dreamt last night about Magnie’s selkie wife, one of those dreams that left you with a sense of foreboding that clung like a dark mist for the rest of the day. I’d been that selkie wife, born a seal and delighting in the roughness of the waves, yet shedding my skin to be a woman on shore, and dance on human feet in the moonlight – until a young fisherman had hidden my skin and kept me for himself. In the dream, I’d loved him, and melted into his arms. I wasn’t going to give the face a name, not even to myself. But my selkie wife had grown gnawingly, achingly, heartsick for the sea, and I’d searched for my skin in the bare house with its driftwood furniture, in the cluttered byre under the old dogskin buoys and tangle of lines, until I’d become frantic, thinking he’d destroyed it, and I’d be trapped on this heavy land until I died of longing. I’d run into the sea, leaving my baby wailing in its cradle, and awoke gasping as my mouth filled with water –

I knew where the dream had come from. My friend Magnie had been telling ghost stories, and one of them had been of the wailing baby, the selkie wife’s deserted child, which had sickened and died without her. I knew why too. It wasn’t hard to analyse. After a dozen years at sea, as yacht skipper and dinghy instructor, I’d decided to go for a commercial qualification at the North Atlantic Fisheries College in Scalloway, Shetland’s ancient capital. … I was dreading it, a year of school, of being trapped day after day ashore, stuck in this northern climate, with no chance of tiers of white sails above my head, and the southern cross bright before the prow in the blue-black night. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to do it, that the call of the sea would be too strong…

Later in the story, Cass and her crew Anders hear the crying baby for themselves … and when one of her sailing pupils goes missing, Cass sets off to discover the secrets of the Trowie Mound.

It’s fun weaving another world into my stories.  There’s a tradition in detective stories that the world has to be rational, and everything has to be explained in the last chapter; but I want to keep resisting that.  The murderer is unmasked, of course, and the plot explained, but Cass still knows that she lives in a world which includes a mer-horse, off Fiji, with a glistening neck and blind, saucer eyes.

Death on a Longship and The Trowie Mound Murders are both published by Accent Press, and available from Amazon as book or e-book.  Cass’s third adventure, A Handful of Ash, is set in the ‘witches’ town’ of Scalloway, and will be available as an e-book from July.

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She lives with her husband, five cats and two Shetland ponies on Shetland’s scenic west side. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women’s suffrage in Shetland. She’s also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group. 

 

The post Working a Paranormal Element into Mysteries appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

How to Know If You’re Editing Too Soon:  http://ow.ly/wXLkF @losapala

Promoting Your New Book with Promo Websites: http://ow.ly/x8p9v @silas_payton

“Don’t Let Your Hurt Stop You” :  http://ow.ly/wXLXz @PiaPadukone @writersdigest

17 Lost Manuscripts: L. Frank Baum, Ernest Hemingway, John Milton, and More:  http://ow.ly/wXL3c @BookishHQ           

How To Think Like A Writer:  http://ow.ly/wXLoI @carolyn_greg

How to Break Out of the Slump and Finish Your Book:  http://ow.ly/wXKZb @shaynakrish

10 Quotes to Inspire Writers:  http://ow.ly/wXLbO @bethvogt

Tips for making your books discoverable:  http://ow.ly/x6N03 @jakonrath

The Value of Editing For Authors:  http://ow.ly/x5QS6 @BryanThomasS

Do Negative Thoughts Give You Writer’s Block? 5 Ways To Cut Loose:  http://ow.ly/wSx19 @writetodone

Kindle Publishing: A Step-by-Step Guide for Selling Your Book Through Amazon: http://ow.ly/wSxDh @Heathervdh @alexisgrant

How To Break Up With Your First Draft:  http://ow.ly/wSyt4 @chrstnejschmdt

Series Readers€”What they Really Want to See in Our Books:  http://ow.ly/x6P0e

Crafting Memorable Characters:  http://ow.ly/wSB10 @QLindseyBarrett @Missouri_Review

4 Danger Signs To Search For, Before Sending Off Your Novel:  http://ow.ly/wSvFN @charliejane  @io9

Feed the reader inside the writer: http://ow.ly/wSAtc @noveleditor

‘Creative Ideas Aren’t Enough: —You Need the Courage to Act On Them.’ http://ow.ly/wSzc9

How Thinking Like Johnny Depp Can Help Your Writing:  http://ow.ly/wSyUj @WriteToSell

The Focus Drought and How to Get Your Focus Back:  http://ow.ly/wSwy4 @missafayres

Simon & Schuster Embraces E-Book Subscriptions:  http://ow.ly/x6MhA @mashable @sfiegerman

All Character, No Plot:  http://ow.ly/wSxUW @mooderino

Search Engine Ranking- The Value of Social and Search: http://ow.ly/wSyH2 @jim_devitt

Initiative to get indie books into libraries + new author earnings info: chat at #EtherIssue: 11 am ET/4 pm BST (now) with @Porter_Anderson

The Accomplished Creative’s Afflictions:  http://ow.ly/wSxeZ @JeffreyDavis108

Tips for writing epilogues:  http://ow.ly/x0WmV (from the Clever Girl Helps blog):

When police must dig into flawed investigations in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/x5Wag @mkinberg

Writing lessons learned from Divergent:  http://ow.ly/x5QIu @JulieMusil

7 secrets about editors every freelance writer should know: http://ow.ly/wFavA @michellerafter

Tips for Writing a Fiction Series: Developing Spin-Offs and Sequels:  http://ow.ly/wF8WJ @AdriennedeWolfe

4 Ways Fictional Romance Sometimes Reads False:  http://ow.ly/wQRCY @vgrefer

What Scandal Can Teach Us About Plotting and Tension:  http://ow.ly/wF860 @Janice_Hardy

4 Reasons Why Your Hero Needs A Special Skill or Talent:  http://ow.ly/wQRIM @angelaackerman

University Presses Under Fire:  http://ow.ly/wQV7A @TheNation @scottesherman

6 Things Every Hero Needs: http://ow.ly/wQQkr @bang2write

How a writer’s name can make or break the popularity of their work:  http://ow.ly/wQPH3 @NewStatesman @ofarry

Self-Published eBook Authors May Out-Earn The Rest By 27%:  http://ow.ly/x4C39 @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson

A response to the statement: ‘The novel is dead.’:  http://ow.ly/wQRW5 @acrossthemargin

An agent answers query questions:  http://ow.ly/wQVxB @MsMariaVicente

Tips for marketing on Amazon:  http://ow.ly/wQUUn @noahkagan

How to create the perfect trailer (for films–useful for books as well):  http://ow.ly/wQVlw @creativebloq

The Whys, Whens, and What-Nots for Opening a Story:  http://ow.ly/wQPoL @jodyhedlund

3 Things to Know About Exposition & Telling: http://ow.ly/wQVJK @victoriamixon

Initiative to get indie books into libraries + new author earnings info:  http://ow.ly/x3amb @HughHowey @Porter_Anderson @cjlyonswriter

How to self-publish a print book, worldwide:  http://ow.ly/wQPle @Belinda_Pollard

Is there a “best day” to buy books, or promote books, in the Kindle Store? http://ow.ly/wQQv2 @BookGorilla

May 2014 Author Earnings Report:  http://ow.ly/x38ec @authorearnings @HughHowey

Tips for New Authors (Finishing Your First Book):  http://ow.ly/wQRfD @AOwenBooks

7 Writing Lessons Straight From Jennifer Weiner’s Mouth :  http://ow.ly/x2Y3h @galitbreen

Write It : Don’t Fight It! (The answer to: Are you a writer?) http://ow.ly/wQRwY @adderworld

The New Golden Age of Short Fiction: 12 Reasons to Write a Short Story This Month: http://ow.ly/wQSzo @annerallen

The No-Stress Way To Create Your Story’s Logline:  http://ow.ly/x00qW @PBRWriter

3 Tactics to Stop Letting Inspiration Rule You:  http://ow.ly/wNKum @EmilyWenstrom

3 Ways Nonfiction Can Be the Fiction Writer’s Greatest Resource: http://ow.ly/wNM3h @livewritethrive

The Story of Story: How 1 Writer Learned to Stop Worrying & Love Structure: http://ow.ly/wNQdK @justinismorrow

5 Ways to Create Conflict in Your Story:  http://ow.ly/wO0dI @screencrafting

Agents – the Good, the Bad and the Ugly:  http://ow.ly/wNOad @ClareLangleyH

Storytelling Strategies: When In Trouble, Reach for the Deadline: http://ow.ly/wNR8O @scriptmag

Top 10 tips for being a literary agent: http://ow.ly/wNZHr @JonnyGeller

The 5 Essential Story Ingredients:  http://ow.ly/wO0p8 @writersdigest

If You Don’t Write That Book, Who Will? Deciding What to Write:  http://ow.ly/wNQTI @JanetKGrant

A Balance of Strengths to Take Your Story Higher: http://ow.ly/wNMXm @writingeekery

3 Tips for developing theme:  http://ow.ly/x0Vjb  (by Jack Smith)

Fantasy and How the World Ought To Be:  http://ow.ly/wNNei @mythcreants

Advertising on Goodreads:  http://ow.ly/wNL4g  @AuthorMelindaC

Sympathy for a Good Villain:  http://ow.ly/wO0NL @DrewChial

Our Young-Adult Dystopia:  http://ow.ly/wNOij @michelledean

Planning Your Novel with Google Maps:  http://ow.ly/wZZSk @ClarissaDraper

How James Patterson Works With His Co-Authors:  http://ow.ly/wNZZA @woodwardkaren

Persuasive charmers–a character type found in crime fiction:  http://ow.ly/ @mkinberg

Screenwriting: The Bourne Identity’s Everyman that Isn’t:  http://ow.ly/wNN4t @cockeyedcaravan

Writing Groups and How They Can Go Wrong:  http://ow.ly/wYqeS @VictoriaAddis

Why no one is seeing what you post from your Facebook author page:  http://ow.ly/wKsat @chrisrobley

The 10 Worst Pieces of Writing Advice You Will Ever Hear:  http://ow.ly/wKsp5  @manzanitafire

Raising the Tension in a Flat Opening Scene http://ow.ly/wKtHZ @Janice_Hardy

The Thrill of the Write:  http://ow.ly/wKtfj  @wordsxo @writerunboxed

1 Writer’s 5 Favorite Pieces of Writing Advice:  http://ow.ly/wKsIO @OakleyColleen @womenwriters

‘Trying’ to Self-Publish:  http://ow.ly/wKr3g @hopeclark

Why Tumblr is Useful for Bloggers:  http://ow.ly/wKsAJ @ava_jae

Time travel cliches:  http://ow.ly/wKtBh

Why you & your art need a creative adventure:  http://ow.ly/wKttc @FortheCreators

7 Book Marketing Strategies Guaranteed Not to Lead to Sales:  http://ow.ly/wKtmJ @NathanielTower

Amazon Launches New Kindle Store Section Devoted to eBook Singles – Short Reads:  http://ow.ly/x9xxf  @thDigitalReader

Narrative Arc: Shaping Your Story:  http://ow.ly/wXLiQ @fcmalby

Amazon’s Disappearing Reviews:  http://ow.ly/wXLTi @kcrosswriting

Publishing is More than Books:  http://ow.ly/wXLQB @HughHowey

Which Is More Important? Writing or What We Write?  http://ow.ly/wXKPS @KMWeiland

3 things to know about out-of-print books. http://ow.ly/wXKVz @wweek

eBook Pricing: What’s Wrong with Free? http://ow.ly/wXLe3 @lorcadamon

A new-old Amazon scam for the unwary reader: | Indies Unlimited:  http://ow.ly/wXLhw

How to Write More:  http://ow.ly/wXKNh @writersdigest

Why ‘Game of Thrones’ Writer George R.R. Martin Uses an Old School DOS Machine:  http://ow.ly/wXSVG @nofilmschool

Screenwriting for Readers vs. Audience:  http://ow.ly/wXSWw @scriptmag @ruth_atkinson

Movie Scripts: 8 Animations Scripts For Screenwriters: http://ow.ly/wXSYC @goodinaroom

The Best Method to Break Writer’s Block:  http://ow.ly/wXT1c @joebunting

What Is Your Story? http://ow.ly/wZ9o1 @jenlouden

Why 1 Writer Reads Reviews… Even the Soul-Crushing Ones:  http://ow.ly/wZ9Mt @GwenHeasley @MartinaABoone

The Little Things Holding a Story Back:  http://ow.ly/wZa1A @Janice_Hardy

Epilogue tips:  http://ow.ly/wZ9Ee

How to really get readers to care about your characters:  http://ow.ly/wZ9zL @onewildword

Not-So-Risky Business: Book Promotion on a Budget:  http://ow.ly/wZ9Xe @TeeMonster

Taxes 101 for Authors:  http://ow.ly/wZ9y1 @susanspann @rmfwriters

Portals in science-fiction:  http://ow.ly/wZ9uS @victoriasicoe

Do You Know Your Novel’s Theme?  http://ow.ly/wZa2r  @Janice_Hardy

Writing and the Creative Life: Boundaries of Space, Boundaries of Time:  http://ow.ly/wZ9AK @gointothestory

10 Steps To The Best Cover For Your Book:  http://ow.ly/wZ9Cq @Mal_Rock

The difference between a commercial and a literary plot:  http://ow.ly/wZ9wK @writers_write

Jot Down Writing Ideas With Six Word’s:  New iPhone App:  http://ow.ly/x0RV4 @galleycat

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing a Book that Doesn’t Suck: http://ow.ly/x0NQj @brandonclements

5 Tips for Setting Up a Writing Space:  http://ow.ly/x0Pvp @StacyEnnis

Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing… #4: You Need An Agent to Sell Overseas:  http://ow.ly/x0OpJ @deanwesleysmith

Evernote’s Moleskin: Analog to Digital Notebook with Plenty of Space for Play:  http://ow.ly/x0QHb @appnewser

Great Character: Sam Shakusky (“Moonrise Kingdom”):  http://ow.ly/x0QWN @A2Jason

13 steps to creating a writing-centered life: http://ow.ly/x0S9i @collectiveself

Romance Writing: 6 Types of Alpha Heroes:  http://ow.ly/x0Q1L @JackieAshenden

The 7 habits of highly effective writers:  http://ow.ly/x0O8e @pubcoach

Gimbling in the Wabe – Why Do People Read Bad Books?  http://ow.ly/x0R9T @LitStack

Psych for Writers: Emotional Scenes and Unreliable Narrators:  http://ow.ly/x0PIM @SkyeFairwin

How To Market Your Book To The Locals – 4 Secrets: http://ow.ly/x0Qu3 @KristenEckstein

How to Charm the Pants Off an Editor with the Power of Your Words: http://ow.ly/x0QmL @pshares

The Amateur’s Guide a Professional Book Package: http://ow.ly/x0S0p @DIYMFA

5 Tips To Edit Your Own Screenplay:  http://ow.ly/x0P8W @bang2write

Nonfiction: how to plan and outline your book before writing the first word:  http://ow.ly/x0Rn8 @NinaAmir

How to save a bundle on editing costs…without sacrificing quality:  http://ow.ly/x2Xu3 @jodierennered

How James Patterson Works With His Co-Authors: http://ow.ly/x2XJ4 @woodwardkaren

On Quitting Writing: ‘I Can’t Go On. I’ll Go On.’  http://ow.ly/x37B5 @TheReviewReview

How to Get Boys to Read Books | Children’s Literacy Foundation: http://ow.ly/x37tL @cliforg

How to Hack the Habit of Creativity http://ow.ly/x37ay @mythicscribes

10 Things That Make A Reader Cringe: http://ow.ly/x2XbO @dmoncrief0131

Self-publishing will save literary fiction: http://ow.ly/x37wb @HughHowey

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The Power of Covers

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I think by now most of us have agreed that, whether they should or not, covers have a tremendous impact on what readers purchase.

In a split second, a good cover indicates a book’s genre.  This is probably the most important role of a cover, in commercial fiction.

As Mark Coker of Smashwords states in his free ebook, The Secrets to Ebook Publishing Success:

Your cover is the first impression you make on a prospective reader. It’s the visual embodiment of everything your book represents. Great covers, through their imagery alone, can communicate genre, topic, mood and setting. A great cover image makes a promise to prospective readers. It helps them recognize your book as one they’ll enjoy reading.

I actually received an email from a reader recently.  She’s an avid reader of the Myrtle books and also enjoys the Southern Quilting mysteries.  She hadn’t, oddly to me, ever commented on my Memphis Barbeque books (and I knew that she was aware that I write that series under a pseudonym).  She told me in her email that the Memphis books looked very “serious” and she’s a fan of humorous mysteries. She decided to give them a go recently and told me “I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover” since she’d enjoyed the books and found them the humorous/bordering-on-campy reads that I usually create.

In her email, she particularly referenced this Memphis cover as one that had given her pause:

I had a conversation in the comments with writer Meg Wolfe last week about tone in our books.  I mentioned that the title above, Hickory Smoked Homicide, had had a darker tone to it—because I was in a dark mood, for some reason. I had nothing going on in my life to justify the dark mood, except the fact that this book was incredibly difficult for me to write and I think the struggle, weirdly,  came out in the tone.  This was the book that I nearly deleted several weeks before deadline out of complete frustration.  Then I had an epiphany after speaking with a friend who had grown up in the culture I was writing about, and the book ended up working out really well.

But!  The cover designer at Penguin totally picked up on the tone and you can see it in the cover.  It did scare away some cozy readers of mine, I’m sure.  But I ended up receiving more emails from male readers than I ever had.  So maybe it ended up working out for me in the end.

I definitely have a particular feel in mind when I’m contracting a cover for my self-published books.  This is a cover that I got back on Wednesday from my current cover designer, Karri Klawiter for a book that will come out this fall (yes, I’ve found it smart now to go ahead and get covers for books that I haven’t even finished writing yet):

To me, this is the kind of cover that clearly indicates a light mystery.

We know it’s important, but how do we connect with a good cover designer if we’re self-published authors? Well…it does take a little research.  Most authors are great about sharing on their blogs who did their covers—considered a nice plug for the designer they worked with. So, if you browse your genre on Amazon, paying special attention to the lower-priced books (because, the way the current climate is, those are still more-likely to be self-published books), make note of the book titles that reflect the cover look you’re going for.  Then you can click on the author’s Amazon Author Central page, which ordinarily connects to a blog.  Then you can search the blog for keywords like “cover designer.”

I also maintain a free spreadsheet of ebook professionals, which include cover designers.

So, these are my observations from a non-designer side of the business.  What observations have you made about your own covers and what works?

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Series Readers—What they Really Want to See in Our Books

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve just finished the latest Southern quilting mystery—book five in that series, due to release in late 2015.  So that means, right now, I’m no longer under a contract until Penguin decides if they’d like to acquire more books for the series (likely something they would determine after seeing sales figures for book four, coming out in August).

For the first time…ever, really…the only project I have to work on is my self-published Myrtle Clover series.  I started book seven at my usual full throttle, and then slowed my writing pace down a bit and decided to take a more thoughtful approach. 

I have a completed outline for the book.  The mystery looks pretty sound.   Readers told me they especially wanted more humor and the book’s outline has plenty included.

But then I remembered some of the other emails I’ve gotten.  Readers have been writing me and mentioning things they’d like to see in my Myrtle stories. Others wrote that they were “so glad to hear more about____”.   I remember reading these emails and being baffled because the elements the readers liked and wanted to hear more about seemed very incidental to the story.

But I know by now that anything readers like, even if it seems incidental to me, is simply a sign that I’m not getting it.

I started looking more closely at those elements and what I saw was that they were interested in seeing more glimpses of what everyday life is like for my recurring series characters…when they’re not solving a mystery.

Someone mentioned wanting to find out if Myrtle’s sidekick, Miles, had children and grandchildren and what they were like.

Someone else wanted to know where the yard gnomes all came from and how long Myrtle had been collecting them.

The things they’d  mentioned fell into a couple of groups—information that I identified as background info that’s up in my head but never written about, and information that I had honestly never even considered.

What’s curious to me is that there is so many articles out there warning against extraneous detail and how readers don’t want it cluttering up a story.  That’s one of the main writing “rules” that we all read about over and over again—dump the backstory.

So I’m wondering if there’s a point in a series where readers suddenly are really very interested in this extraneous backstory.  Because it still has no bearing on the mystery or subplots.  And, unless I work it very carefully into a story, it still would resemble an info-dump.

What I’d rather do is to work a story around some of this information that readers have become curious about and make them either important to the mystery or important to the characters’ general personality—have it be something that either gives the readers some insight as to how they ended up being the way they are or show more about them as they are now. Maybe I could even pull some of the info into a subplot—extra points if I can connect the subplot to the main plot.

I do enjoy glimpses in characters’ pasts in other long-running series.  Elizabeth George has done a nice job showing us working class cop Barbara Havers’s background and how her background is now impacting her present.

What I did was make a Word document with a list of questions.  The questions were both what I thought readers might be interested in knowing and what they had already indicated to me that they’d like to find out.  They included everything from the unnamed street where much of the action in the stories takes place to what book literature-loving Myrtle is currently reading.

I’ll set about incorporating some of them into this story, some of them into upcoming stories.  I’ll try to make the information significant, too, because there may be some new readers happening into the series for the first time.

As a reader, is there a point when you start becoming interested in extraneous detail?  As a writer, when have you started adding some of this backstory into your series?

Image: MorgueFile:  ARTG33K74

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Developing Thematic Ideas in Your Fiction

Guest Post by Jack Smith

I tend to like fiction that can be read on several different levels.  It’s not just a good story; it also points to abstract ideas of various kinds—to themes beyond the literal level of character and plot.  Perhaps it suggests something about the nature of evil, about personal identity, or about the nature of freedom.   How heavy should the machinery of idea be?  Naturally, this depends on what your purpose is and who your audience is.  I won’t take that question on here, but I will say that there are several thematic techniques that can work seamlessly with story.  You don’t have to trowel on ideas like icing on the cake.

What are these techniques?  I’ll deal with three.

Repetition.  When a given word, thing or place, or action is repeated several times, it can begin to mean more than what it would mean if it occurred just once.  For instance, if the story has to do with freedom from different types of oppressive situations or environments, and if the word “cramped” is used in several different contexts, the reader may get an existential sense for the various ways humans can be cramped.  Perhaps your character feels cramped in her small house; perhaps her menial job cramps her; perhaps she feels cramped in her marriage.  And then perhaps synonyms of the word cramped can be introduced: “hampered,” “hindered,” “impeded.”  The cluster of words centered around this idea of being cramped can help illuminate the various kinds of threats to human freedom—and the nature of freedom itself.  It’s possible to find ways to thread your story or novel with the ideas suggested by a given key word.

If a particular thing, or place, is mentioned repeatedly, it can also take on meanings beyond its literal existence.  For instance, if your protagonist’s house has a view of the mountains, and your protagonist is often at her window looking out at it, this might suggest a desire to break free from life’s ordinary, mundane restraints and embrace the wildness and freedom of nature.  What are the various properties of nature that suggest this freedom?  The mountain could become symbolic of all the qualities of freedom she seeks, whether she can obtain this kind of freedom or not.

An incident, if it is repeated several times, can also take on larger meanings beyond the literal.  If the protagonist’s husband is always leaving the house to go to his high- powered job, and the protagonist feels stuck there with little future ahead of her, then this constant exiting of the husband can take on larger meanings.  It might suggest different societal spheres for men and women: the opening of opportunities for men in career fields (as the husband steps outside) and the closing off of opportunities for women (as the door shuts each time on the wife).

Development of key events with suggestive imagery.  Imagine that your protagonist undergoes a sudden illness.  If you provide enough suggestive details, you can point to an idea at a more abstract level—perhaps the fragile nature of human existence.  Your story isn’t just about this one sick person with this sudden illness; it’s also about human vulnerability period, the tenuous nature of human existence—or rather it can be.  Through apt metaphors—comparing the illness to falling in a manhole, having a plane crash on one’s house, being hit by a stray bullet—the reader will begin to see your story at a more general level: how humans can suddenly be struck down with no apparent defense.


Key passage.  Sometimes character thought or reflection can suggest a larger frame of reference, especially if the language is metaphorical.  Imagine that your protagonist is a vulture capitalist—already a metaphor.  He thinks to himself: “I’m the spider and they’re the fly.  It’s a matter of sucking them dry.”  With this image and others, one might get at the very essence of vulture capitalism—beyond the surface-level story of the machinations of a particular vulture capitalist.

A work of fiction that takes on multiple meanings is, to me, more interesting than one that has only a character and a storyline.  I want to think beyond these to larger implications.  A story has to work as a story first, though, with a strong character and an interesting character arc.  But look for ways to raise your short story or novel to levels beyond the literal.  Don’t force it, but when you see opportunities, take advantage.

Jack Smith is author of the novel Hog to Hog, which won the George Garrett FictionPrize (Texas Review Press. 2008), and is also the author of Write and Revise for Publication: A 6-Month Plan for Crafting an Exceptional Novel and Other Works of Fiction, published earlier this year by Writer’s Digest. His novel ICON will be published in June by Serving House Books.

Over the years, Smith’s short stories have appeared in North American Review, Night Train, Texas Review, and Southern Review, to name a few. He has also written some 20 articles for Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market, as well as a dozen or so pieces for The Writer. He has published reviews in numerous literary journals, including Ploughshares, Georgia Review, Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, American Review, Mid-American Review, and the Iowa Review.

The post Developing Thematic Ideas in Your Fiction appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Write Down Your Dreams to Release Creative Blocks:  http://ow.ly/wIm5r @losapala

How Stress Assassinates Creativity:  http://ow.ly/wIma5 @_RobbieBlair_

An Author’s Perspective on the Hachette-Amazon Battle:  http://ow.ly/wXLIh @author_sullivan

Could The Term “Women’s Fiction” Be Bad For Authors?  http://ow.ly/wXUYx @randysusanmeyer @Porter_Anderson

Do Big Publishers Make Sense Anymore?  http://ow.ly/wIl9C @ShariJStauch

A YouTube channel focused on topics for writers: http://ow.ly/wU1O9

How to write an author bio that sells books:  http://ow.ly/wWHUn @zackheim

Different ways to end scenes:  http://ow.ly/wKrw5

Why a Writing Routine Matters and How to Start One:  http://ow.ly/wKrqo @stacyennis

Putting yourself into your writing (techniques for memoir, non-fic, and more):  http://ow.ly/wKrWW @Belinda_Pollard

How to be sure you’ve got a compelling plot:  http://ow.ly/wKtOI

Screenwriting: 6 Reasons Dialogue Is Your Enemy:  http://ow.ly/wKsYh @bang2write

5 Tips for Writing Historical Fiction:  http://ow.ly/wKrCn @writersdigest

A refresher: how to use quotation marks with punctuation:  http://ow.ly/wKsRh @writers_write

Character Skills and Talents: Survival Skills:  http://ow.ly/wKt92 @angelaackerman

7 Book Marketing Strategies Guaranteed Not to Lead to Sales:  http://ow.ly/wKtmJ @NathanielTower

Can a Small Press Book Get a New Life with a Big Publisher? http://ow.ly/wImdo @Dear_Editor

Historical Fiction: 3 Tips for Leaving the Slush Pile Behind: http://ow.ly/wIlnm @tweetonsisters

Characters Under Stress:  http://ow.ly/wIl60 @hayleymckenzie1

All about ‘high concept’:  http://ow.ly/wIlVl @beccaquibbles

The New Golden Age of Short Fiction: 12 Reasons to Write a Short Story This Month: http://ow.ly/wQSzo  @Anne R. Allen

Getting Our Work Out There (A Look at Wattpad):  http://ow.ly/wXHx6

Email List Building: Create a Sign Up Incentive:  http://ow.ly/wIm7E @writerplatform

For Those Considering Self-Publishing:  http://ow.ly/wImgJ @RateYourStory @koryshrum

The Art of the Done List: Harnessing the Power of Progress:  http://ow.ly/wIl27 @99u

What Makes a Media Release Effective?  http://ow.ly/wIlka @LisaHallWilson

Killing the Top 10 Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing: No One Buys New Writers: http://ow.ly/wImsP  @deanwesleysmith

The Importance of Letting ‘Em See You Sweat http://ow.ly/wIjqw @LisaCron

What Poets Know That Most Writers Don’t:  http://ow.ly/wImnn @schwamb

The 5 Biggest Risks 1 Author has Taken:  http://ow.ly/wIm31 @BadRedheadMedia

Digital first publishing and the troubled fortunes of digital first publishers: http://ow.ly/wT7WU @dearauthor

10 Tips for Writing Children and a Descriptive List: http://ow.ly/wHCaL @SharlaWrites

3 Reasons Why We Can’t Afford Not to Go to Writing Conferences: http://ow.ly/wHCdV @magdalenaball

Why You Need an Editor (And How to Save Money Finding One):  http://ow.ly/wHBTq @sabsk

Choose the best genre for your book on Amazon:  http://ow.ly/wWHuA @zackheim

How clichés and jargon can ruin your writing: http://ow.ly/wHC0d @AnthonyEhlers

New Author? Simple Steps to Success:  http://ow.ly/wHBUA @christinenolfi

Straying from the Party Line: The Bourne Identity:  http://ow.ly/wHBYH @cockeyedcaravan

How Much Time Book-to-TV Adaptations Get Out of a Page: http://ow.ly/wHBSo @galleycat

Showing through Point of View:  http://ow.ly/wHC8F @fictorians

Writing For Good:  http://ow.ly/wHC6h @randysusanmeyer @btmargins

Why Your First Draft Isn’t Crap: http://ow.ly/wHBWO @Adderworld

Positive and Negative Goals for Protagonists:  http://ow.ly/wHC3S @jennycrusie

3 Tips for a Happy Author-Publisher Relationship:  http://ow.ly/wF6xj @marygkeeley

The Absolutely True Diary of a Socially Challenged Author: http://ow.ly/wF5oQ @gripemaster

Hemingway’s 7 Fiction Writing Tips:  http://ow.ly/wF6al @Danesh

When an agent relationship isn’t working:  http://ow.ly/wF629 @janelebak

Why Writers Should be on Twitter and How to Get There: http://ow.ly/wF5x6 @gretaboris @LitCentralOC

When Should We Skip a Scene in Our Story? http://ow.ly/wF6Gg @jamigold

How to Value your Writing: http://ow.ly/wF6CY

Twitter Mute is a Savior from Spamming Indie Authors:  http://ow.ly/wShzl @Goodereader

Making it as a writer–safe accountability– http://ow.ly/wF7L8 @jennaavery

A writer’s thoughts on NA: http://ow.ly/wF9Ea @MissDahlELama

5 Ways to Create Conflict in Your Story:  http://ow.ly/wO0dI  (from ScreenCraft):

How to promote your book on Amazon:  http://ow.ly/wF8Np @wileyexchanges

Fictional Reality:  http://ow.ly/wF9NB @biljanalikic

Will printed books outlast printed money, or football?  http://ow.ly/wT8a0 @MikeShatzkin

Executing story turning points:  http://ow.ly/wF9Y7 @medkno

I Finished My Novel……Now What?  http://ow.ly/wF77w @growwithstacy

The Editorial Process:  http://ow.ly/wF80I @rachellegardner

Keeping it simple: On plain language:  http://ow.ly/wF700 @niemanstory

How to Write a Stupid Character: http://ow.ly/wF8Dp @KMWeiland

A recap of @Janefriedman ‘s keynote address from the PubSmart Con: http://ow.ly/wF8qG @K8Tilton @MartinaABoone

Carpe Diem–Create Something: http://ow.ly/wF7lH @ChuckWendig  {lang}

Stock photos that don’t suck:  http://ow.ly/wSzz3 @dustin

What Happened to the Harlequin Romance? http://ow.ly/wFae4 @newyorker @AdrienneRaphel

Novel Writing and Themes:  http://ow.ly/wF9ql @EMCastellan

Poets and Poems: Robert Frost, Wendell Berry, and the Woods:  http://ow.ly/wSg5q @gyoung9751

Series: Keeping Things Fresh Without Alarming Readers: http://ow.ly/wQA34

Plotting, Pacing, and Crossing Over:  http://ow.ly/wzF7R  @AnneGBrown  @writerunboxed

A Synopsis Checklist:  http://ow.ly/wCdDB

How to Write Your Story in 6 Steps:  http://ow.ly/wCefM @ClaireJDeBoer

3 Steps to Choosing The Perfect Freelance Editor:  http://ow.ly/wzGAO @ebooksandkids

What is writer’s block secretly telling you? Wit and wisdom from bestselling author @JamieFord:  http://ow.ly/wRacA @JulieMusil

Self-Publishing #Fails : http://ow.ly/wChlt @JFBookman

How to Boost Creativity with an Idea Log:  http://ow.ly/wzFFE @CherylRWrites

Isaac Asimov on Lifelong Learning, Science vs. Religion, and the Role of SF in Advancing Society:  http://ow.ly/wzHnl @brainpicker

Promo and Marketing Materials that Work: http://ow.ly/wCdve @erin_bowman

Skimming: Never a Good Thing:  http://ow.ly/wCfFt @FaeRowen

Writing a book using 15 minute increments: http://ow.ly/wzFyR @BookEmDonna

Amazon and Hachette Go to War:  http://ow.ly/wPF0Y @HughHowey

Story and the Dimensions of Character:  http://ow.ly/wzFdI @shalvatzis

Publisher-retailer conflicts are affecting readers. Chat on #EtherIssue at 11 ET,  4 p.m. BST (Now) with @Porter_Anderson

Tips for creating a fictional American town:  http://ow.ly/wzGrf

Be Specific When Writing Reviews:  http://ow.ly/wCgAE @JeriWB

Will publishers still be around in 10 years time? Actions to embrace:  http://ow.ly/wPuYG @Porter_Anderson @fakebaldur @brianoleary

Your Character’’s Flaw is His Greatest Strength:  http://ow.ly/wzIjM @monicamclark

What Type of Editor Does My Manuscript Need?  http://ow.ly/wChpp @WriterlyTweets

Why We Should Read Poetry: http://ow.ly/wCdqT @AnnieNeugebauer

Realistic vs. Logic:  http://ow.ly/wzH5V @CharleeVale

Money, Writing And Life:  http://ow.ly/wQMBo from @JaneFriedman and @TheCreativePenn

Money, Writing And Life:  http://ow.ly/wQMBo from @JaneFriedman and @TheCreativePenn

Traditional Publishing or Indie Publishing?  http://ow.ly/wCeqH @LynnetteLabelle

How To Spot A Fake Amazon Review:  http://ow.ly/wCdXO

Writing in more than one genre: http://ow.ly/wzGf6 @scottthewriter

Writing Romantic Suspense that Sizzles:  http://ow.ly/wzFRe

Writing Around The Day Job:  http://ow.ly/wChct @rosieclaverton

The Secret Sauce for Indie Publishers: Attitude: http://ow.ly/wCeaQ @ninaamir

Themes to Explore in Your Writing: Strength:  http://ow.ly/wChfd @birgitte_rasine

5 Tips for Running a Writers’ Circle:  http://ow.ly/wzFiL @standoutbooks @btmargins

When Retailers & Publishers Collide: Who Gets Hurt?  http://ow.ly/wNyue @Porter_Anderson @victoriastrauss

Simple techniques to survive in the screenwriting trenches:  | My Blank Page http://ow.ly/wzEXp

Should You Read About Writing? http://ow.ly/wzHvl @jaelmchenry @writerunboxed

Killing off favorite characters… can we do it? Should we?? http://ow.ly/wzItx @JungleReds

Finish that Draft of Your Story Now:  http://ow.ly/wCgoK @plotwhisperer

Stephen King: How I wrote Carrie:  http://ow.ly/wCdie @guardianbooks

Why Write fiction? The Page versus the Screen:  http://ow.ly/wzHel @CSLakin

Review: PDF to InDesign Conversion Software for Book Layout:  http://ow.ly/wzGiF @JFBookman

Publishers and Games Developers Face Culture Clash: http://ow.ly/wL8vr @MarkPiesing

Publishing’s Metamorphoses: Recap of Berlin Forum: http://ow.ly/wL0j5 @Porter_Anderson @HughHowey

The Ultimate Story Checklist using The Bourne Identity:  http://ow.ly/wxPXd @cockeyedcaravan

10 Great Authors Who Disowned Their Own Books:  http://ow.ly/wxQvH @io9

A writer reports in on his first Kickstarter effort:  http://ow.ly/wxNPI

4 Pieces of Facebook Advice You Can Ignore:  http://ow.ly/wxRHi @lisahallwilson

Targeting Your Readers One Headshot at a Time:  http://ow.ly/wl71m  @givemeyourteeth

3 surprising facts about self-publishing:  http://ow.ly/wl7iA   @Belinda_Pollard

Sometimes – It’s Who You Know:  http://ow.ly/wmHyw  @rachellegardner

The Unsung Benefits of an English Degree: http://ow.ly/wl8WE  @bookriot

Confessions of a Failed Writer:  http://ow.ly/wmGO2  @0jnolan

Choosing Your Screenplay Genre:  http://ow.ly/wmGQ3  @screencrafting

What is the Future of Bookstores?  13 Divergent Views from Publishing Insiders:  http://ow.ly/wmGYk  @CarmenConnects

7 Tips for Making Stories Into Roleplaying Campaigns:  http://ow.ly/wxPho

Paranormal or literary? Which age group is the book for? How to categorise your novel:  http://ow.ly/wxOAY  @roz_morris

Turn Your Main Character’s World Upside Down: http://ow.ly/wxOK7  @joanyedwards

The police procedural subgenre: http://ow.ly/wJOxO  @mkinberg

Is Honesty the Most Important Trait in a Likable Character?  http://ow.ly/wxQ9I  @KMWeiland

11 Inspiring Quotes from the World’s Best Writers:  http://ow.ly/wxQoC  @LauraPepWu

The importance of a professional email address: http://ow.ly/wxRmy

Do You Write by Heart or Head? Technique Overload:  http://ow.ly/wxNLs  @cateartios

Transitioning from Fiction to Nonfiction: 4 Easy Steps: http://ow.ly/wK1Uj  @NinaAmir

An easy way to make your plot plausible : control your novel’s timeline: http://ow.ly/wxOoV  @roz_morris

3 Ways Creative Writing Shakes Your Complacency:  http://ow.ly/wxQH3  @vgrefer

Words describing tastes of foods:  http://ow.ly/wxLlb

News of and reaction to a publishing hackathon: http://ow.ly/wKRsk  @philipdsjones  @Porter_Anderson

30 Ways to Promote Blog Posts:  http://ow.ly/wxP7C  @writers_write

45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’:  http://ow.ly/wxPTV  @writers_write

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Getting Our Work Out There (A Look at Wattpad)

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Visibility and discoverability are words that I encounter time and time again on the industry blogs I follow.  There are a lot of books in the marketplace right now.  How can you make your book stand out…and find readers?

The best approach for obtaining visibility (in the current climate…things change rapidly) is to compose a lot of well-written books.

I’ve been pretty happy about my visibility on retail sites (90% Amazon, really), but I keep wondering how to reach more readers.  I’ve got avid readers who  I’m determined to keep  happy.  But how do I reach out to other demographics?  Can I reach other demographics?

One publishing platform I’ve been hearing a lot about for the last year or so is Wattpad.  There are authors I respect over there: Joanna Penn and Lindsay Buroker among them.  They wrote glowing recommendations of the platform. As Joanna put it in her January post “How to Use Wattpad as an Author” : “How does Wattpad sell books? It’s about building a fan-base for your writing, as opposed to your tweets or blog posts.”

You’d think I’d have gotten on Wattpad much quicker than I did.  I was even, for heaven’s sake, on a virtual panel with the Head of Content of Wattpad, Ashleigh Gardner, back in November for Dan Blank’s Get Read online conference. I was fascinated hearing her talk about the readers there: 25 million readers and growing.  And another big number: 85% mobile (across all devices).  In addition, it’s supposed to be a good way to gain international readers.

Wattpad is free to upload to and to read from. So this is for writers who maybe already have a perma-free book published or who want to hook readers with one.

I did have reservations about using Wattpad, which is why it has taken me so long to get on there:

1)      It’s where the young people are.  I have an older readership and my youngest protagonist is in her sixties.  My oldest is in her mid-eighties.  Wattpad has a lot of fan fiction and YA and I was worried I wouldn’t fit in.

2)      I don’t want to write serials.  I love the idea of writing serials, I love the way readers respond to serials…but I didn’t want to be on the hook for a serial while I’m under contract to Penguin-Random.

So…this was me basically just not understanding the platform.

Because you don’t have to upload the book as a serial…in the sense that you’re writing it as you go along.  You can take your already published book and stick it up there, chapter by chapter.  So…no pressure.

And…yes, that’s where the young people are.  But it’s growing every day.  And…don’t I need to find some young readers, too?

Also I saw…an open niche.  Okay, 25 million readers.  How many cozy mysteries could I find on the site?  I found one.  Exactly one.  And two chapters of another.

It sounded like there would be very little competition.  And that, honestly, is how I got a toehold at Amazon—I was one of the earliest self-published cozy mystery authors to show up there.

If you’re interested in Wattpad, it’s very easy to get published there.  Of course, I did kill most of my Thursday there because I had to read everything about it that I possibly could and figure out best practices and site etiquette.  I’ll share what I learned, below.

Getting started on Wattpad:

First I set up a user name and profile (since we’re authors, it’s a good idea to use our real name or the name we write under as our user name).  I put a picture of myself up there and stated that I was from North Carolina, USA.  They had other basic info on there for Wattpad’s benefit, but not to be shared on the site.

Then I clicked “create.”

I put in the title.

I copy-pasted from the book’s Word document into the box on the screen.  But I wasn’t wild about the way it looked, format-wise. So I copy-pasted the first chapter into Notepad and saved it as a .txt and then hit ‘upload a file.’ It looked better to me.

Just like Amazon, I chose categories for the book.

I added tags for the book (cozy mystery, mystery, amateur sleuth, etc.)

I rated the book’s content…we can choose G, PG, etc.

I linked to the book’s Amazon page. (Advanced tab: External Link).

After we ‘save and publish,’ we have the opportunity to click on the square where our cover would be and upload a cover file.

We can also then add a book description.  You click “My Works” below your profile name and picture and then select “Manage” next to your book’s title.

That was about it.  It looks like this.

As for the best practices, this is what I was able to find out:

Like all sites, begging for people to read your content is considered in poor taste, although apparently they do have a special club (forums are called ‘clubs’ there)  set up for writers to do so. I didn’t look for that club.  :)

Upload regularly.  There were complaints from readers about getting hooked on stories and the writer neglected to upload a chapter for weeks.  Wattpad recommends updating your profile to explain the delay, if you encounter some sort of unexpected issue you’re dealing with.

But only upload a chapter at a time. Apparently, to game the system over there, you want each chapter to get votes and comments, which increases visibility and readers.  As each chapter uploads, you get fresh opportunities to hook more readers.  So if you put all the chapters in at once, you lose out on chances to get in front of more readers.

Don’t blackmail readers (!) Apparently, there are some writers on the site who have withheld the next chapter until they reached a certain number of ‘votes’ (which are sort of like ‘likes’).

If your book is part of a series, you may want to put the series title in with the book title.

Replying to comments is considered a best practice. So, this isn’t like Amazon where nothing on earth would compel me to respond to a review there.

Comments can be deleted…but I have a hard time imagining a time when this would be appropriate.

When you upload another chapter, an email or notification goes out to your followers on Wattpad.

It’s considered all right to put a short call-to-action at the end of each uploaded chapter.  There’s no way to hyperlink, though.   So, write something like:

“Progressive Dinner Deadly” and other Myrtle Clover mysteries are available in ebook, audio, and print formats from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, and other retailers. Follow me on Twitter (elizabethscraig), sign up for my newsletter, or visit my website at Elizabethspanncraig.com for more information.  Hope you’ll enjoy the book. 

At the bottom of our profile page, there is a message board.  We can broadcast messages to our followers there and readers can contact us there.

Many writers will post a couple of chapters from their sequel on Wattpad as a teaser…without putting the entire book up.  This is considered fine as long as you put {Excerpt} in the title somewhere so readers understand no other chapters are forthcoming.

There are several extras and social media options there.  You can cast your characters with movie stars (for fun, obviously, and to give readers an idea what your characters might look like). You can dedicate chapters to particularly loyal fans/commenters on the site.  You can upload pictures and YouTube videos that correspond to various chapters.  In other words…you can add some multimedia aspects to your story or multimedia aspects that complement it.  I’m not quite there yet, but I think it’s very cool.

Wattpad’s help center is here.

That’s all I’ve got so far since I’ve only been on it for a few hours and have no followers or readers yet. I was willing to give it a go.   Basically, It seemed like a good way to get my work in front of more and different readers.

Have you had any experience on Wattpad?  How have you tried any other new ways to put your book in front of readers?

The post Getting Our Work Out There (A Look at Wattpad) appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Series—Keeping Things Fresh Without Alarming Readers

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’m an avid reader of mystery writer M.C. Beaton’s (pen name for Marion Chesney’s) books and have been for many years.  I keep track of her releases and order them when they become available.  She writes a few series under different names, but the Hamish MacBeth series is my favorite and has had a huge influence on me.  Beaton’s books are the reason I’m writing cozy mysteries.

One of the reasons I track her books, apart from my own enjoyment, is because she’s successfully kept this particular series going for 30 books.  (My series with the most books is only at 6 books…working on the 7th now).  And Beaton has not only retained her readers, she’s increased her readership.  She’s recently become active on social media (years ago I couldn’t even find a photo or contact info for her online…when I was already all over the place online) and that seems to have also helped gain her readers.

I remembered the other day that she had a fairly recent Hamish release and I hopped on Amazon to order the book.  Usually her books are highly rated by readers who are just as avid as I am. This time I was surprised to see some bad reviews and scrolled down out of curiosity…interested to see what readers were saying.  This isn’t my usual approach, since readers are terrible about giving spoilers on Amazon, but I wanted to see what they were saying this time.

Readers who gave negative reviews mentioned an increase in the number of bodies, a darker feel to the (previously cozy) series…a couple even saying it read like noir, complaints about out-of-character behavior by the beloved sleuth, and even readers claiming they thought the book had been ghost-written (!).

Of course, this made me want to read the book even more, to see if I’d get the same impression, myself.

So…this is a very long-running, very successful series.  Maybe Beaton wanted to make some changes to keep the stories fresh or to keep her interest in the series from waning.  Some readers may have been more responsive to her changes than others.  Maybe the changes happened too swiftly for the series?   This all made me ask:

What do you do when you’re wanting to keep a long-running series fresh?

It’s probably more difficult to…

Change the protagonist’s personality.  Readers were saying that Hamish’s personality seemed different—that his response to stressful situations was inappropriate.  Personality changes can be pulled off, but there needs to be good reasons for the changes that readers can believe.

Change the tone of the books.  Tricky.  Readers were saying that this book had a “noir” feel to it…and it’s a cozy.  If the whole rest of the series is light and you introduce a dark book or vice versa—there may be some pushback.

Other ideas that might be easier to try:

Introducing new and possibly recurring characters into a series. Obviously, these would present different opportunities for interaction with the protagonist—conflict, friendship, love interest, antagonist.

Adding an ongoing conflict/trial/challenge for the protagonist to address. This could come in the form of another character or a health, job, or emotional challenge.

Adding a continuing storyline. If we haven’t had a continuing storyline from book to book, we could consider adding one to offer the opportunity for character growth.

Showing a different side to the main character (but one that fits in with his or her overall personality).

Taking the characters on a road trip (be careful here).

Providing opportunities for character growth (particularly with a continuing storyline, as mentioned above).

Of course, if all else fails and we really feel boxed in by our series and are longing to do something very different, the very safest course might be…to start another series.

Have you got a long series of books?  How have you managed series change?  As a reader, have you noticed instances where an author has pulled it off…and where they’ve struggled?

 

 

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Transitioning from Fiction to Nonfiction: 4 Easy Steps

by Nina Amir, @NinaAmir

There are many reasons for novelists to enter the realm of nonfiction. However, moving into this unknown territory can feel hard and scary, especially for those who like to write fiction by the seat of their pants. For planners, it’s not quite so difficult.

Even though by nature I’m a seatser, I’m a huge advocate of planning. The reason why is simple: Planning helps a book succeed—no matter the genre. It provides a writing guide for a marketable book.

Here are four steps to take to plan out your nonfiction book and end up with a guide to take you from start to finish.

Step 1: Decide why you want to write your nonfiction book. It’s always important to be clear about your goals. You want your book to help you accomplish them. Will your book help you sell your fiction? Do you just want to write something different? Do you want to build a business around your book? I suggest you write nonfiction that dovetails with your fiction in some way to help you create a successful writing career. In this way you can create a brand that works for all the books you write. Also, be sure the book you write fulfills your purpose, whatever that may be.

Step 2: Create a business plan for your book. This is where the planning comes in. A business plan for a book follows the format of a book proposal. It’s only a proposal if you propose the plan to a publisher, and even a publisher considers a proposal a business plan. If you self-publish, this is your business plan.

Going through the process of accumulating the information for a business plan will help you:

Determine if your idea has a high likelihood of selling.
Craft your idea into a marketable book.
Hone your idea into one that is unique in its category.
Polish your idea into one that is necessary in the marketplace and in the category.

Accomplish all of this by conducting a market and competitive analysis and then retooling your idea based upon this information. (I suggest that you accumulate all the information necessary for a business plan at some point. You can learn more about this process in my book, The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively.)

When you have finished these two sections of your business plan, complete three more sections:

The Overview: This is a brief summary of your book (a paragraph or two) that reads like back-of-the-book copy. It also includes a pitch for your book, a 75-word (or so) elevator speech. Mention just after this the length of your final manuscript, any backmatter, illustrations, special features, etc., you plan to include. Also compile a list of benefits—the value you will provide to readers.

Now you have a clear picture of what you plan to write. You really know what you are writing about.

The List of Chapters: This is your table of contents. When you are done with the overview, do a mind mapping exercise or simply brainstorm all the ideas you might have about content for your book. Throw it all out there on a white board, poster board or computer mind mapping program. Don’t stop until you run out of ideas.

Then organize this information into chapters. You likely will end up with major subjects, those that are obviously chapters, and minor ones that go with the major ones. The minor topics can become subheadings in your chapters.

Type this up into a table of contents for your book.


The Chapter Summaries: It’s now time to flesh out your idea with a chapter-by-chapter synopsis. For each one of your chapters, write a paragraph or two describing the content. This will help you remember exactly what you plan to write.

Review all your material and evaluate if the book you have planned accomplishes your Step 1 goals. Also evaluate if it is unique in its category as well as necessary in its category and market based on the information you accumulated in Step 2.

Step 3: Create a Writing Guide

Create a two-step writing guide based on the work you have done previously. Use it to write a marketable book and one that fulfills your goals—the reason you want to write nonfiction.

Create a computer folder called “[Your Book Title] Writing Guide.” Place within it:

The Overview of your book (from your book’s business plan).
The List of Chapters.
The Chapter Summaries.




Create individual chapter documents for all the chapters in your book and place them in the “[Your Book Title] Writing Guide” folder. Open a document for each chapter. Copy and paste that chapter’s summary into the document twice. Leave the first summary intact. Break the second duplicate summary into bullet points or subheadings with spaces in between. Each sentence might become a bullet point or subheading, for example. (If you find it easier, determine what questions you need to answer, what benefits you need to provide, or what solutions your need to provide to address the topics about which you need to write.)

Step 4: Write Your Book

To write your book, open the writing guide and review the first three documents.This reminds you of the book you want to create and helps you stay focused on your idea and the promises you want to keep to readers. In particular, read the pitch to stay focused on your book’s topic and on the unique and necessary angle. Refer to this anytime you feel lost, stuck, or off track. Refer back to the list of benefits to remind yourself of the value readers expect from your book and to be sure you deliver it.

Compose your manuscript using the bulleted chapter summaries. Open a chapter document. Review the complete summary at the top to remind yourself of that particular chapter’s content. Then, write your chapter by moving from bullet point to bullet point, section to section, subhead to subhead, until you get to the end of your chapter. Write in the space underneath each bullet point.

Although the planning process takes some time, you will find that you can write your nonfiction books easily and efficiently using this process. Apply it to fiction and you’ll have the same results.

About the Author

Nina Amir, author of How to Blog a Book: Write, Publish, and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time and The Author Training Manual: Develop Marketable Ideas, Craft Books That Sell, Become the Author Publishers Want, and Self-Publish Effectively, transforms writers into inspired, successful authors, authorpreneurs and blogpreneurs. Known as the Inspiration to Creation Coach, she moves her clients from ideas to finished books as well as to careers as authors by helping them combine their passion and purpose so they create products that positively and meaningfully impact the world. A sought-after author, book, blog-to-book, and results coach, some of Nina’s clients have sold 300,000+ copies of their books, landed deals with major publishing houses and created thriving businesses around their books. She writes four blogs, self-published 12 books and founded National Nonfiction Writing Month, aka the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge.

To learn more about Nina, visit www.ninaamir.com. Get a FREE 5-Day Become a Published Author Series from her when you click here.

The post Transitioning from Fiction to Nonfiction: 4 Easy Steps appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Thanks to Prashant C. Trikannad for the generous review of Body in the Backyard and interview with me on his blog,  Chess, Comics, Crosswords, Music, Cinema.   We discussed why I chose an octogenarian sleuth for the Myrtle Clover series, small town murder, and my writing process, among other things. 

And it’s Mother’s Day in the States.   :)  A happy day to all the moms out there…including mine, Beth Spann.

26 Types Of English Majors:  http://ow.ly/wsByJ @buzzfeedbooks

Best Method for Handling Rejections (and getting published):  http://ow.ly/wsBFD @EricaVerrillo

Google Plus Tips and Tools:  http://ow.ly/wsC7N @steverayson

How to share your content more than once without being spammy: http://ow.ly/wsC5r @kissmetrics

Writing Craft–5 Great Ways to Learn It:  http://ow.ly/wsBCL @lesliemillernow

The Routine of Farming and Writing:  http://ow.ly/wsBrV @andilit

The Difference Between Symbol and Motif:  http://ow.ly/wsBQ6 @epbure

Story Themes: What’s Your Worldview? http://ow.ly/wsBO2 @jamigold

Writing and the Creative Life: The Mundane and the Marvelous: http://ow.ly/wsBuk @gointothestory

8 Tips for Writing Back Cover Copy: http://ow.ly/wsCiI @RuthHarrisBooks

5 Common Web Mistakes:  http://ow.ly/wvEcX @loriculwell

Tips for writing intoxicated characters: http://ow.ly/wvF7v

5 Ways To Improve A Perfect Story:  http://ow.ly/wvEFs @yeomanis

Generating Suspense Through Conflict: http://ow.ly/wvESx @woodwardkaren

Why Series are Becoming Hot:  http://ow.ly/wvEis @kristenlambTX

Talents and Skills Thesaurus Entry: Mechanically Minded:  http://ow.ly/wvFhl @beccapuglisi

How To Measure Success: http://ow.ly/wvEzL @kristinerusch

25 Quotes That Will Inspire You To Be A Fearless Writer:  http://ow.ly/wvELm @buzzfeed @jaypugz

How to do a time jump http://ow.ly/wvEVL @glencstrathy

What Do Your Rejection Letters Really Mean?  http://ow.ly/wvFAm @wherewriterswin

Creating Religions & Belief Systems http://ow.ly/wvFdU @mythcreants

Writing nonverbal cues to enrich your characters’ lives: http://ow.ly/wvEnS @onewildword

11 Beloved Books With Shockingly Bad Reviews:  http://ow.ly/wvEuM @chrisritter16

A Script Reader’s Checklist:  http://ow.ly/wvEZj @screencrafting

How to Write the Dreaded Query Letter:  http://ow.ly/wvM8k @write_practice

See Your Book Idea Through the Lens of a Publishing Professional: http://ow.ly/wvF3H @ninaamir @thecreativepenn

7 Traits of the Social Writer:  http://ow.ly/wmHku @LPOBryan

10 Screenwriting Tips from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest: http://ow.ly/wl9Uj @scriptshadow

Three Tips for Monetizing Your Back-List:  http://ow.ly/wmHoE @digibookworld

5 Steps Toward Your Truest Contribution:  http://ow.ly/wmHrC @kcraftwriter

Guerrilla marketing for books: http://ow.ly/wmH6b @CNNMoney  @JenAlsever

Are Your Characters Fighting Obstacles or Each Other? http://ow.ly/wmHcG @janice_hardy

5 Practical Ways To Kill Your Characters http://ow.ly/wmHFx @stuartaken

3 Common Writing Fears & How We Can Overcome Them: http://ow.ly/wmHuB @elephantjournal

Top 10 diary books:  http://ow.ly/wsBBa @guardianbooks

Avoiding Police Stereotypes in Novels:  http://ow.ly/wENTZ @JJHensleyauthor

Foreign Rights Agents: Everything You Need To Know (& Why You May Want One):  http://ow.ly/wsC8X  @2seasagency

Caveat editor: beware the e-plagiarist:  http://ow.ly/wsBN1 @ArlenePrunkl

5 Ways To Improve A Perfect Story (by John Yeoman):  http://ow.ly/wznNf

Perils of the Writer: Knowing When to Deviate from the Outline: http://ow.ly/wsBvU @marshallmaresca

The Pomodoro Technique for getting work done: http://ow.ly/wsBsW @joelrunyon

19 Writing Tips From Writers And Editors For The New Yorker: http://ow.ly/wsBRI @grace_land

Writer Fuel: Of Pasta, Gifs, and a Balanced Writer’s Life: http://ow.ly/wsBKR

I discuss my writing process, why I chose an octogenarian protagonist, and small town murder in this new interview: http://ow.ly/wFyeC

Marketing books in the Christian Marketplace: http://ow.ly/wrB6D @SarahBolme

Script elements one consultant looks for:  http://ow.ly/wrCty @scriptmag

Embrace Simple Writing Habits to Crush Writer’s Block:  http://ow.ly/wrCMX @nickbrodd

Classifying Your Book: How to Research & Target Literary Agents:  http://ow.ly/wrB9h @ChuckSambuchino

Advice on finding a writing or illustration mentor:  http://ow.ly/wDPCX @inkyelbows

Stuck: OCD and Writer’s Block:  http://ow.ly/wrAzY @Fletchathustra @psychtoday

5 Ways to Defend Your Writing Time:  http://ow.ly/wrA6a @LA_Screenwriter

Why it’s impossible to self-edit:  http://ow.ly/wrAMJ @novel_gazing @writersdigest

Let’s Do Away With Literary Snobbery:  http://ow.ly/wrCWX @Wendy_Tokunaga

6 Reasons To Be A Writer:  http://ow.ly/wrCD0 @LittlegatePubli

5 tools learned at #AuthorU:  http://ow.ly/wrBpm @PublicityHound

The 5 Best Things About a Backed Up Septic Tank (If You’re A #Writer): http://ow.ly/wrDfv @gaelynnwoods

Marketing for the Indie Writer–Getting Started:  http://ow.ly/wCg1e @SeeleyJamesAuth

A Writer’s Journey: Lessons Learned from 1000 Books:  http://ow.ly/wrB0Q @NatRusso

How to Have a First-Ever Writing Session:  http://ow.ly/wrAom @WriterAmyKierce @ParadeMagazine

Tips for handling a time jump from Glen C. Strathy:  http://ow.ly/wznIB

How to Organize Your Story Ideas:  http://ow.ly/wrzYb @writersdigest

Saving the Semi-colon: Should Writers Use or Avoid This Controversial Punctuation Mark? http://ow.ly/wrzMI

Children’s Books. Still an All-White World? http://ow.ly/wrAaO @Chicago_Creole  @SLJournal

The Top 5 Ways To Fail As A Screenwriter:  http://ow.ly/wrCTv @scriptcoverages

Idols and Peers for Writers: http://ow.ly/wqBHf @monicabyrne13

How Can Publishers and Translators Meet More Efficiently?  http://ow.ly/wqrMB @RossUfberg

Getting Started – Seven Tips from Famous Writers:  http://ow.ly/wqsqr @Writers_Write

The importance of silence to writers: http://ow.ly/wqsS6  @ADDerWORLD

‘We Need Diverse Books’ calls for more representative writing for children:  http://ow.ly/wqsfo @alisonflood

6 Tips To Get the Best From Your Writer’s Retreat:  http://ow.ly/wqsKn  @AineGreaney

Pricing eBook Collections:  http://ow.ly/wqs2G @JohnRPhythyonJr

5 things Indiana Jones taught 1 writer: http://ow.ly/wqs9O @danieljamespike

Tips for Cultivating Contacts at Conferences: http://ow.ly/wqCov  @bonniedoran @PattiShene

9 Ways Writing is like CrossFit:  http://ow.ly/wqBEm @LynnHBlackburn

How to Spot Your Writing Tic :  http://ow.ly/wzokT  (by Lauren Schmelz):

Using A Crowd To Create Tension In Your Story: http://ow.ly/wzofi (by writer Sharla Rae)

5 Common Problems 1 Writer Sees In Your Stories: http://ow.ly/wmHMG @ChuckWendig  {lang}

Journalist Porter Anderson on the sudden price hike of ISBNs: http://ow.ly/wznyO

Creating Stunning Character Arcs: The Second Half of the Second Act:  http://ow.ly/wmHKk @KMWeiland

What Are You Doing to Improve? http://ow.ly/wmIsC @MichalskiLiz @writerunboxed

Generation gaps featured in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/wzxxX @mkinberg

2 Tips for Finishing Screenplays:  http://ow.ly/wmHTR @jeannevb

5 Tips for Successfully Submitting Your Writing to a Publisher or Agent:  http://ow.ly/wmHRZ @CANArtsConnect

7 Things Your Fiction Fans Want to Hear You Say: http://ow.ly/wmIqv @storyrally

The slow, tragic death of the LGBT publishing industry:  http://ow.ly/wxR3y @thesteveberman @salon

5 tips for aspiring science fiction writers:  http://ow.ly/wmGAu @CharMcConaghy

11 Authors Who Became Famous After They Died:  http://ow.ly/wl9bo @endovert

Confessions of an ADD Writer: http://ow.ly/wmHHK @ediemelson

How Retailers, Publishers And Indies Can Fix The E-Book Industry http://ow.ly/wl89X @forbes @AmandaBabs1

Lit fic and digital publishing–a wrap-up of panelist views from The Muse’s Town Hall: http://ow.ly/wwNhm @Porter_Anderson

Crime fiction needs more clean-living cops, says police chief: http://ow.ly/wla30 @guardianbooks

Writer? Actor? What’s the Difference? http://ow.ly/wmHBQ @sanfranmag

How Different Are Books, Digitally?  http://ow.ly/wl7at @eoinpurcell

5 Ways to Fuel your Imagination:  http://ow.ly/wmH0E @M_Richmond21

It Just Got Even More Expensive To Make Your Book Visible: http://ow.ly/wwLKu @BeatBarblan @Porter_Anderson

4 Reasons Authors Shouldn’t Edit While they Write:  http://ow.ly/wl6Hf @vgrefer

Why Too Many Flashbacks Might Be a Warning of Deeper Story Problems:  http://ow.ly/wl7xU @kristenlambtx

My guest writing prompt for @StoryADayMay: http://ow.ly/wwLgo . Join the daily story challenge at http://storyaday.org/news/

What’s the Perfect Job for Our Characters? http://ow.ly/wl9Cn @jamigold

Authors’ New Amazon Headache:  http://ow.ly/wl8sL @SarahPinneo

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language:  http://ow.ly/wl9KR @writers_write

Getting it wrong – Writing disability in fiction:  http://ow.ly/wmGG7 @VisFic

3 Ways Writing Fiction Is An Adventure in the Fairy Tale Style:  http://ow.ly/wl7PP @vgrefer

What Does ‘Women’s  Fiction’ Mean? http://ow.ly/wjeiD @randysusanmeyer

8 Things Most People Don’t Know About Amazon’s Bestsellers Rank (Sales Rank) : http://ow.ly/wjdE4 @makeuseof

Diversity, Authenticity, and Literature:  http://ow.ly/wjepF @runwithskizzers

How to make an audiobook with ACX €“ more tips for narrators, producers and authors:  http://ow.ly/wvV63 @roz_morris

In defense of predictability:  http://ow.ly/wjeJG @bwilliamsbooks

How to Cheat to Find More Work Time http://ow.ly/wjek0 @jodyhedlund

Optimizing Your Google+ Circles:  http://ow.ly/wvFn5  @gpstberg

10 Incredible Things You Learn From Writing Every Day http://ow.ly/wje1K @tayyabbaber

On Crowdfunded Literature, And What It Means For The Future Of Publication:  http://ow.ly/wje7O @adamgomolin

A Rogue Academic on Fiction:  http://ow.ly/wjdSb @bschillace

Choosing a Point of View Character http://ow.ly/wjebU @janice_hardy

About ‘Marketing to Writers’:  http://ow.ly/wv0gI

How to Research Keywords to Help you Create the Perfect Book:  http://ow.ly/wjf8M @bookgal

The Magic of Expanded Dialogue Tags:  http://ow.ly/wjeS9 @indievisible4

Monetizing the Backlist (But Please, Don’t Call It That): http://ow.ly/wjdyq @pubperspectives

Scrivener: Series “Bible”:  http://ow.ly/wjex5

Which eBook Distributor is Right for You? Costs and Benefits of the 3 Biggest Distributors:  http://ow.ly/wu2OK @SpunkOnAStick

3 Trends Among Ebook Readers: http://ow.ly/wjdsd @digibookworld

Writing For Your Audience: http://ow.ly/wu1Yt @authorterryo

Naming Characters:  http://ow.ly/wjeDP @rsmollisonread

Why Quieter Stakes Are Easier to Plot With http://ow.ly/ @Janice_Hardy

What to do with an old ebook?  http://ow.ly/wfpKV @DinaEisenberg

How to Send a Kindle MOBI Review Copy Directly to a Kindle Device:  http://ow.ly/wfpS5 @trainingauthors

Can Exercise Make You A Better Writer?  http://ow.ly/wfnY9 @tinagabrielle

So You Need a Sales Funnel:  http://ow.ly/wfogv

Sell Sheets: A Guide For New Self-Publishers | http://ow.ly/wfpdq by Joseph Kunz

10 Of The Worst Screenplay & Novel “Fillers”:  http://ow.ly/wfqpC @bang2write

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