Amy Sue Nathan's Blog: Women's Fiction Writers, page 2

Choosing a POV for your novel

Sometimes, I hear voices.

Oh, c’mon, you probably do too.

Sometimes my stories arrive in the form of a character who’s got something to say, and then it’s “easy” to determine POV.

Point of View means not only who is telling your story, but through whose lens the story is revealed to the reader — and that has many implications, doesn’t it. Your reader can only see and know what the POV character knows, and while that may be a lot, it’s not going to be everything (unless you’re going with an all-knowing, omniscient POV).

I believe the best thing to do if you’re unclear, is to notice POV when you read.

For a long time (during the chick lit era in popular fiction) I believed that first person POV meant the book was cute and flip and light. Then I read Cathy Lamb’s Henry’s Sisters — and WHOA — a deep, meaningful novel in first person. My perception had been wrong all along (go figure). With this knowledge I actually tried first person in a short story, which you may have read. It’s also present tense, which trips me up, but this remains my favorite short story that I’ve written and had published.

http://bit.ly/apronstringsshortstory

But you don’t have to write something new to play with POV! Take a paragraph you love from your WIP and rewrite it. You won’t be able to revise it, but rewrite it through a new lens. Ask for opinions. Think about it objectively. What best serves your story?

What POV do you prefer to read and write?

I love an unusual POV like in Eleanor Brown’s THE WEIRD SISTERS. The novel is written in first person plural, narrated from the collective perspective of the three sisters.  THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC by Julie Otsuka is also first personal plural.  I loved both of those books so perhaps I favor that POV for reading, but I don’t know if I’d write it. (I tried. Major blunder.)

I’m considering POV now for my next novel with four different voices being heard. It’s a challenge. I’ll keep you posted!

Please let me know how YOU chose POV!

Amy xo

I loved this book! You won’t go wrong with Susan Gloss! xoxo

Are you an overwhelmed writer?

Hi friends!

Here’s a question Kim asked:

How do I know if I’m just overwhelmed and should power through or if it’s okay to shelve it for right now and start something new?

Be honest with yourself if you’re feeling disconnected or even bored with your own work, because forcing writing or revisions will show!

Step away from your work for a while. By a while I mean more than a day. Maybe a week. Maybe several weeks. Obviously this only works if you’re not under a deadline, but it does work. Does the story call you back? Do the characters pull you to their side? I’d say give yourself a time limit that works for you (I set aside a novel for SIX MONTHS — it became my debut published novel).

Are you having a crisis of confidence? All writers do. Maybe while you’re stepping away, ask for an opinion. I don’t mean a critique,  just an opinion. Does someone you trust like the story? The protagonist? Does she want to read more? If you’re far enough along you could obtain an evaluation of your manuscript or partial from a writing coach LIKE ME. No matter who you ask to help you, be sure to ask for what you want from them (I’ve found non-writers don’t always understand we don’t want their ideas for our stories.)

It’s always okay to start something new–it’s not an offense to your WIP! That move honors YOU as a writer.

Hope that helps!

Ask me more!

Amy xo

And the winner is…

Kim Mower
I emailed you, Kim! Congrats! Your mystery book box will soon be on its way!
So, for everyone else (and Kim too) tell me what writing advice you are looking for and I’ll post at least once a week in May.
Back to the editing desk!

Amy xo

Last Day Giveaway! 30 Days of Writing Advice

My final bit of advice isn’t really about writing, it’s about being a writer.

Find your tribe.



Be generous.



Stay humble.



Keep reading.

In the spirit of the above, I’m running a 24-hour giveaway for a MYSTERY BOOK BOX.

It will include at least two books — one of mine for sure — swag and goodies to be determined. I’d only ask if you post on social media at all, that you include the contents of the MYSTERY BOOK BOX on your social media. If you don’t, that’s okay, it’s not mandatory. (I know you all have stuff to do.)

I will reply to one of your comments to tell you that you’ve won — so check back tomorrow or subscribe to comments on your chosen post. If you don’t claim the prize, I can’t send it. And you know what that means right? MORE FOR ME.

DAY 29 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – Where You Write Matters (or it doesn’t)

DAY 29

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

WHERE I WRITE

After two and a half years in my current home, I bought a desk chair. I didn’t buy a desk, mind you. I’m using a small folding table. And maybe it’ll be where I write Book 5. So I guess this post should be called WHERE I EDIT.

I wrote THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY mostly sitting on my couch, on a chaise, in bed. I write in long stretches of time and skip a day if I don’t get that time. I’d rather spend a whole day on my writers’ manuscripts and the next whole day on my own, than jump back and forth.

The chair and “desk” in my office/guest room is allowing me to leave my work in order when I take a bathroom/lunch/dog-walk/sanity break. Not the case if I’m writing on the couch.

I can’t write outside (oh look! a squirrel/bird/car/air) and I can’t write in a coffee shop because it’s too noisy. I’m self-sequestered to my own home.

Does it matter that each of my books were written, literally, on my lap? Does it matter if yours is not? Or if you have a playlist in your ears at the local Starbucks?

No.

My advice today is DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU. THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG, ONLY WHAT’S RIGHT OR WRONG FOR YOU.

I have friends who write in 15 minute snippets. Others take months for a retreat. Some look at the ocean or mountains. One of the windows in my “garden apartment” is level with the blacktop of my driveway.

Where do you write? How do you write? We won’t touch on WHY. I know this blog’s limitations!

SEE YOU TOMORROW FOR THE LAST #30DAYSOFWRITINGADVICE and a GIVEAWAY!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?

Day 28 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – Understanding Voice in Fiction

DAY 28

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

WHAT THE HECK IS VOICE?

It’s a vague term for many of us, but I tend to take it quite literally. It’s how my writing SOUNDS — inside my head, to my ear, to others’ eyes and ears. It’s the words, syntax, cadence, and pacing — mixed together with characterization and story.

Your writer voice is quite simply, your style.

Voice as much (or more) the reason we read, than is a particular story. It’s why different stories by the same authors appeal to us, or don’t. It’s THE WAY they write, their STYLE!

So now you know!

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?

Day 27 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – Two Tips for Creating Secondary Characters

DAY 27

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

TWO TIPS FOR SECONDARY CHARACTERS

Your secondary characters need love too, and they need to be as carefully created as your main character — just don’t tell her.

My two biggest tips for creating engaging secondary characters are:

Each secondary character must have her own arc.

To me, this means, a little story of their own going on — a subplot if you will, a storyline. Each must have her own beginning, middle, end. That character doesn’t know she’s in someone else’s story!! But…

Each secondary character must to serve the main character’s story.

EVERYTHING in your novel helps to drive the main story forward, even a secondary character’s personal storyline. Ask yourself HOW it does this to make sure, but more importantly ask yourself WHY.

This is something hard to do but easy to check. Go back through your manuscript or outline and focus on your main secondary characters (not the townspeople, as I call them). Note what she’s doing in a scene — why is she there? How is her own story being furthered? How is it impacting the protagonist and the main storyline?

Hope that’s helpful.

We’re getting down to the wire here (cliche).

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?

Day 26 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – To Prologue or Not to Prologue

DAY 26

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

TO PROLOGUE OR NOT TO PROLOGUE

We’re heading to the end of our 30 days, so it makes sense that we’d talk about beginnings, right?

Prologues are tricky. They divide civilized writer types into three camps: the 1) DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT, 2) SURE GO AHEAD BUT CALL IT CHAPTER ONE, and 3) IF YOU DO IT DO IT WELL.

Let’s go with #3, shall we?

In the time and space we have here, it’s better for me to share with you what a prologue is NOT!

Prologues are NOT info dumps or backstory. Prologues are not meant to fill in your reader, bring her up to speed, or make her understand. They’re not cryptic. Just naming a prologue Chapter 1 doesn’t solve the problem unless it’s not really a prologue to begin with.

To me a prologue tells its own s reveals something to the reader that further comes to light throughout the story.

In THE LAST BATHING BEAUTY I included a prologue at the urging on my agent. I was in Camp #1 and then I hopped the fence to Camp #3. My prologue introduces a young, reluctant bride-to-be on the day of her wedding. How and why she ended up in that situation, along with the repercussions of that day, make up the rest of the story.

Hope that helps!

Give me your thoughts on prologues and if you have a question or quandary, as me in the comments.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?

Day 25 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – 5 Tips For Fabulous Fiction First Lines and Paragraphs

DAY 25

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

5 Tips For Fabulous Fiction First Lines and Paragraphs

I love first lines and first paragraphs that hook me, set the tone, deliver expectations. I could do a whole workshop on novel openings, but that’s not why we’re here. (Idea, maybe?)

Here are 5 things to keep in mind when writing the opening lines of your novel.

Introduce your protagonist. Show the reader who she is. Your reader has to know who to care about. (There was a WordPress update so I have no idea why there is gray under those letters, nor can I figure out how to remove it. Not liking this update.)Root the reader in your setting. What’s important, specific transportive? It can be the bigger picture setting or a smaller one. (city vs house) Be visual.Anticipate change. Your protagonist should be on the precipice of something new, or right smack in the middle of chang. En media res is the fancy way to say it. Raise questions. Don’t ASK questions, raise them. Don’t be vague, but provide enough so that your reader knows what to be curious about. Set expectations. Your reader should know pretty quickly what the story is about — at least some of it. By the end of page 1 or 2, if your reader can’t tell you what the story is about, your reader is setting down the book. (boo!)

If you can get most or even some of these into your opening, you’ll be in good shape.

Here are the openings to my three published novels. Obviously I’m proud of them — why do you think they either work or don’t? (You needn’t reply, just something to think about)

THE GLASS WIVES (2013 St. Martin’s Press)

T HE GOOD NEIGHBOR (2015 St. Martin’s Press)

LEFT TO CHANCE (2017 St. Martin’s Press)

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?

Day 24 – 30 Days of Writing Advice – Quick Tips for your Fiction Outline

DAY 24

This month of daily writing advice will include tidbits, tips, and sometimes tricks. This isn’t a replacement for editing or book coaching, it’s meant as a jumping off point for exploration and thought! I hope it helps! ~Amy

Amy xo

TIPS FOR YOUR FICTION OUTLINE

I don’t know about you, but when I learned to outline, the lesson included Roman numerals, capital and lowercase letters, and lots of indenting. It took me a long time to think of a fiction outline as something else. For me, it’s a list of what happens in the story and also, why. At first it’s pretty vague and then as I get going it can become more detailed. Right now I have an outline for my next novel that’s detailed at the beginning and pretty skimpy at the end. The document will evolve as my story does, as my thoughts do.

Two important things to remember when you’re outlining you WIP:

It’s a guide, not a contract. Change up your story? Go in and revise your outline so it continues to be helpful. The best outline may give you security so that your imagination has room to play. If you want the outline to lock you in, still pay attention to your instincts as you write. Think about a cause-effect relationship between your outline points. This eliminates the dreaded “and then and then and then” that befalls many outlines. The first thing on your outline MUST lead to the second. You should see and feel this trajectory. (No this doesn’t cover multiple POV novels necessarily, but this is a just a blog post, you can extrapolate).

How do you feel about outlines? I’m using one for my fifth book because it has four POV and otherwise I think I’d go right off a literary cliff!

Would love some suggestions for the last few day of #30Days. My well is dry (and I’m doing all this on deadline).

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Amy xo

WANT ME AS YOUR PRIVATE WRITING COACH?