Chris Baty's Blog, page 2

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 27

For Day 26, we’re featuring a cover designed by Emma for Young Adult novel Kleine Streuner by Rose Witt!

Kleine Streuner

A frustrated law student decides to move to Brighton, UK to kickstart her career as a streamer. There she makes the acquaintance of two established streamers who agree to support her in her endeavor to reach her subscriber goal milestone. However, unbeknownst to her, these two streamers pursue their own goals in agreeing to put a certified nobody on the map.

About the Artist

Emma has always had a keen interest in the visual arts but it hasn’t been until taking up a harrowing university degree that painting and graphic design has become her sorely needed outlet. 

Her socials can be found here: instagram.com/elmovert 

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here’s Emma’s thoughts:

The main motive of the cover shows the house in which one of the streamers resides, which becomes the central setting for the story. In the background, you can see the ocean and architecture mainly found in the South of England where the story is set. The cover is set during night time, which is more or less the time when streamers work. The five people on the cover are the most important characters, and the boy in the bottom left corner hints at the conflict of the story (him leaving the others).

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 26

For Day 26, we’re featuring a cover designed and written by YWP author Clover called The Elevator, a Young Adult novel.

The Elevator

The Elevator is a brand new TV show made by the United States government. The premise is simple, a thousand kids drafted and locked in a tower filled with deadly challenges, streamed worldwide. Despite the estimated 0% chance of survival, will any of these kids survive?

About the Author

Hello! I’m Clover and I go by any pronouns. I’ve liked writing and drawing since I was little and being an author or illustrator when I grow up is something I wouldn’t mind. I love creating different worlds and scenarios in my head, and that’s where the majority of my ideas, including for this book, come from. The Elevator is the book I’m writing for NaNoWriMo this year and I’m feeling very inspired, so I can’t wait for November to start!

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here’s Clover’s thoughts:

I came up with about 5 different compositions for my cover but i ended up liking this one the most. I wanted to make the cover include both the main character, Sono, and the actual elevator (because of the name of the book). For the colors, I was stuck between green and red but I chose green in the end because I felt like it would be better for this particular scene. I don’t really draw backgrounds or full pieces too much so this was a fun challenge! The text was also really hard to include.

How to Write a Quality First Draft

ALT

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. ProWritingAid, a 2023 NaNo sponsor, helps you turn your rough first draft into a clean, clear, publish-ready manuscript. Today, author Krystal N. Craiker shares some tips on how to make sure your first draft has some good bones to start with :

One question I often hear about National Novel Writing Month is, “Won’t my novel be of terrible quality?”

It’s true that writing 50,000 words in 30 days won’t give you a polished manuscript. And it’s always great to embrace the creative mess of the first draft.

However, there are some tricks to ensure that your first draft has plenty of usable content. These tips are also a great way to move your story along when you get stuck.

1. Have a Plan

Pantsers, this might be hard to hear. But having even a basic outline of your story can ensure you stay on track. You don’t have to sacrifice creativity when you outline. After all, you’re still the author creating a story. 

A detailed outline can even act like your messy first draft. The more work you put into planning, the better your first draft will be. When I spend more time plotting, I spend far less time cutting things from my later drafts.

2. Make Every Scene 3D

Okay, I get it. Not everyone is a plotter. Luckily, there are other things you can do to ensure your first draft is good quality. One is adding enough sensory detail to bring your story to life.

I like to use a 3D method: have at least three of the five senses in every scene. It’s a great trick to improve the flow of your scene. Take a few minutes to immerse yourself in your story and write what your characters are experiencing.

You might change it or move it around in your final draft, but you’ll save yourself time during revisions if you add sensory detail from the beginning. 

3. Reword Your Writing

Sometimes we get stuck after one bad sentence. The imposter syndrome kicks in, and the scene just falls flat. 

Ideally, we completely turn off our inner editor during NaNoWriMo. But when you encounter that one pesky sentence, it’s okay to rewrite it. 

You can use a tool like ProWritingAid’s Rephrase. Just highlight your sentence, click Rephrase, and select a new sentence. Rephrase uses your own words and enhances them. And don’t worry about security and privacy—ProWritingAid never uses your writing to train AI.

4. Embrace the Chaos

Of course, the most important thing about National Novel Writing Month is to embrace the messy creative process. It’s okay not to have a perfect manuscript at the end of the month—no one will. 

Everyone will need to revise, edit, and rewrite after November ends. That’s why NaNoWriMo includes “I Wrote a Novel… Now What?” resources. And when you’re ready to turn your mess into a masterpiece, ProWritingAid will be there to help.

Krystal N. Craiker is the Writing Pirate, an indie romance author and content writer who sails the seven internet seas, breaking tropes and bending genres. She has a background in anthropology and education, which bring fresh perspectives to her romance novels. When she’s not daydreaming about her next book or article, you can find her cooking gourmet gluten-free cuisine, laughing at memes, and playing board games. Krystal lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband, child, and basset hound.

Top photo by No Revisions on Unsplash

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 25

For Day 25, we’re featuring a cover designed and written by YWP author Sylvie Witherspoon called The Ups and Downs of a Baby-Sitter Witch, a Fantasy novel.

The Ups and Downs of a Baby-Sitter Witch

On the verge of being kicked out her coven, Moria, a teen witch who dabbles in reanimation, is sent to a collect supplies for a very important potion…at Fairyland Theme Park.

Completely out of her element, Moria grudgingly sets out to find ingredients like “tears of a spoiled child” and “teenage lust” while under the guise of a toy store employee. To complicate things further, four year old Lucy falls into her care.

Lucy’s everything Moria isn't—hyper, friendly, a pink-loving wanna-be-princess—but Moria finds herself beginning to care for her spunky ward. Then, as a serious plot deep within the workings of Fairyland begins to reveal itself, a terrible accident befalls Lucy. Caught between feelings and worlds, Moria must learn how to be strong AND kind, or she may not be able to fulfill a baby-sitter’s core purpose: to keep their charge alive.

About the Author

Sylvie Witherspoon is a 16-year-old writer/illustrator and nerd who loves brainstorming story ideas and filling up stacks of sketchbooks. She drafted her first full-length novel at age 13, her second at 14, and has been writing (and drawing) with the goal of being published ever since. She hopes The Ups and Downs of the Babysitter Witch will be her first true graphic novel, combining three of her favorite things: an unconventional heroine, quirky humor, and spooky magic! You can find her drooling over the best middle-grade/YA books at her local library, where she hopes her own creations will someday populate the shelves.

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here’s Sylvie’s thoughts:

The goal was to create a situation of contrasts (eg, Princess pink versus Edward Gorey goth black-&-white) and instability (roller coaster). Moria, in a rare moment of cheer, is caught in the thrill of a rapid descent which only she and Lucy are fearless enough to enjoy.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 24

For Day 24, we’re featuring a cover designed and written by YWP author Percy Keeran called To Live or To Burn, a Fantasy novel.

To Live Or To Burn

A young boy, Vivian, is forced into the throne after the death of his father. He, overwhelmed by the large amount of power in his hands, decides now is the time for revenge until he is stopped by a girl from another world. This girl, Orla, is nothing like he’s ever seen before. She’s snappy and blunt yet somehow… kind?

About the Author

My name is Percy (Perseus for long) Keeran. I’ve been drawing since 3rd grade, and I am currently a sophomore in high school. I have plans to attend Rhode Island School of Design when I graduate and major in illustration. The 2023 NaNoWriMo will be the second I am participating in, but this cover was from my first project. It was my first large, “serious” project, and I enjoy looking back on the previous year’s work.

Cover Design Process:

This year. we gave designers the optional prompt to explain their design process for the cover! Here’s Percy’s thoughts:

The first set of designing my cover was picking out a color palette. I used red for power, orange for excitement, as well as gold and purple for luxury. Vivian, the main character’s, design has always been clear in my head as well as his story. The puppet strings attached to him are just subtle enough that you have to look for them, but tell a lot about his character.

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 23

For Day 23, we have Adventure novel Seek Thy Truth by R.S. Knight! This cover was designed by the amazing returning designer, Marc English!

Seek Thy Truth

A retake on the classic story, the Pied Piper but with an adventurous twist… The story follows Godfrey, an exuberant historical con-artist during the 1700’s who’s hellbent on trying to rewrite fables to his liking throughout different parts of the world just to gain popularity and money. He hears about the chilling story of a mysterious female figure in Hameln, Germania who showed up and took not only children away, but the adults as well. He decides to try his luck in rewriting their tale by finding out what he can to spin, only to realize there must be a more sinister force at hand than a mere fairytale.

About the Author

This author has chosen to keep their identity a secret!

About the Designer

Marc English (marcenglih.design) has been making art since he was a kid. He became a designer as a young adult, then went to MassArt for the same. Within four years of graduating he was teaching there, and has since taught design in grad and undergraduate programs in the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala. An author of a book on identity, Marc has served clients across the U.S., from Vietnam to Tel Aviv, and places in between, focusing on his version of identity. President of AIGA/Boston, he founded, served as president for the Austin chapter, created their Design Ranch retreat, and served on the AIGA national board of directors. He spends his time watching films, reading books; banging on a variety of musical instruments; roaming on four wheels, 2 wheels, under sail, on foot; and listening to strangers tell their stories. He has a few of his own.

12 Tips for Drafting Forward During NaNoWriMo (And Beyond!)

ALT

To accomplish your big writing goals, you have to focus on drafting forward. The team over at Freewrite knows how to do that better than most! Freewrite ,  a 2023 NaNoWriMo sponsor , is a dedicated distraction-free drafting device designed just for writers to separate the drafting from the editing process and get words on the page. Today, the Freewrite team is here to share their top 12 tips for doing just that:

Here at Freewrite, we love when NaNoWriMo comes around, because we’re all about helping writers set their stories free. We’re big proponents of the “write now, edit later” method of writing to help writers reach writing flow and increase productivity. The goal of drafting forward (and NaNoWriMo!) is to get a first draft recorded and translate your thoughts into writing on the page.

We’re going to share the top tips we recommend to writers who want to try this method but don’t know where to start. Try these out during your next writing session to see how they help you ditch the distractions and make serious progress!

1. Save research for later. (Or start with it!)

Yes, research is important. But it can also quickly turn into a form of procrastination. Complete the bulk of your research before you start writing, or, if it’s a topic you know well, commit to doing any research after. When you’re drafting and come to a place where you need to fact-check or gather information, simply leave a note to yourself right there in the text and continue drafting. 

2. Plan well.

With a timed challenge like NaNoWriMo, it helps to plan out your daily benchmarks in order to finish on time. Consider setting a daily word count goal or making a schedule for the month so you know exactly where you stand each day. Make an outline if you’re a plotter, or if you’re a pantser, spend some time getting into the world of your story.

3. Decide you’re going to write a messy first draft.

We recommend stating it outright to yourself, or maybe writing it down on a Post-It where you can see it each day: My goal is to write a messy first draft. Embrace that imperfection so that you can write more freely!

4. Silence your inner critic.

As you write, revisit your messy first draft goal and resist the urge to critique or edit your work as you go along. Instead, concentrate on getting your thoughts down without judgment. This means not overanalyzing each sentence. Did that last sentence sound ridiculous? Who cares?! Anything goes in a messy first draft. You’ll refine and revise later!

5. Turn off your inner spell-check.

Freewrite devices have no spell-check or grammar checker for a reason. Every squiggly line is a distraction, a moment that your writing flow is broken and you have to resist going back to fix typos. Even if your eyes recognize a typo, train your brain to fix it later! Remember: we’re focusing on getting out thoughts and ideas in the first draft, not grammar.

6. Eliminate external distractions.

We’ve done the hard work for you by creating Freewrite. 😉 Now, put your phone in the other room, turn off the TV, and start writing.

7. Write quickly.

This is just another way to trick your brain into writing from that deep, creative place that can’t be reached when you’re overthinking. Strive for a flow state where you’re typing at the speed that your thoughts come to you.

8. Use placeholders.

If you can’t think of the right word or need to look up a source, just insert a placeholder and keep writing. Our favorite placeholder is “xx” because that can easily be searched in editing software later. Other people like the more straightforward “[INSERT SOMETHING FUNNY]” or “[CHECK SOURCE]”. You can fill in those gaps during the editing phase.

9. Keep moving forward.

If you encounter writer’s block or a difficult section, resist the temptation to stop and dwell on it. Skip to another part in your story and return to the challenging section later. We like to add a note to ourselves right there in the draft to remind us to come back to that spot when editing.

10. No back-tracking.

Often while drafting, a brilliant sentence will come to us. But it’s describing something we just described. What to do? Do not go back, delete the first sentence, and replace it. Simply keep writing the new sentence! These redundancies are easy to correct later.

11. Experiment.

Try different styles and approaches without judgement. You can compare and contrast and pick the best one later, during the editing stage.

12. Write!

Relish in the creative flow and the freedom of having one job to do: writing. Don’t worry about grammar or story structure. Focus on the joy of creating.

With a few tweaks in how you draft, we hope you’ll be surprised by how much you write, the creative ideas your imagination comes up with, and how much fun you have while writing.

And if you try the above rules of forward drafting, we’d love to hear your experience!

Reminder: NaNoWriMo 2023 participants are eligible for a special Freewrite offer.  Find all the details here.  

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 22

For Day 22, we have Fantasy novel Once In A Dead Moon by Frankie! This cover was designed by the amazing returning designer, Jesse Hernandez!

Once In A Dead Moon

On moonless nights, monsters come out to destroy all in their path. But when the moon is stolen from the sky, a new threat reveals itself, The Nightweaver. King Morana vows to stop this beast, whilst his sister, Princess Vesna, searches for the missing moon.

Morana learns that he is the Nightweaver and must decide who and what to believe. Whether to go against all he’s ever known, or to embrace them and destroy himself in the process.

Vesna meanwhile learns the past of the Moon God as she travels from kingdom to kingdom, learning forgotten tales and meeting Deities she had only ever read about. She is given context on what she has known her entire life, and though she learns much of the same things as her brother, the two come to different conclusions as how to deal with it.

About the Author

This author has chosen to keep their identity a secret!

About the Designer

Learn more about Jesse Hernandez at www.jessehernandez.cc

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 21

For Day 21, we have LGBTQ+ novel Mirror, Mirror by Jasper Savannah! This cover was designed by the amazing 30C30D coordinator, Debbie Millman!

Mirror, Mirror

“Mirror, Mirror” unfolds the tale of Starla, destined to be the savior of the world as the Ice Princess. However, her lifelong preparation shatters when she discovers she’s not the Ice Princess after all, and it is instead a seemingly unworthy orphan girl—who doesn’t seem to really identify with being a girl at all—who is thrust into the role. Fueled by resentment and a sense of loss, Starla reluctantly guides her replacement, Rayna, who navigates the complexities of palace life and what it means to be a hero, while wrestling with gender identity.

About the Author

From a young age, Jasper Savannah found ways to channel their passion for writing—whether journaling, roleplaying Warrior Cats online, or creating goofy family newsletters. Now freshly graduated from college, they’re re-embracing their passion for writing as a fledgling LGBTQ fiction novelist. Jasper aspires to write what they love to read: fantasy, YA, and queer fiction, especially the ones with happily-ever-afters. They write not only to craft relatable queer heroes for their fellow LGBTQ readers, but also to unpack their own story and better understand themself. As they continue to gain confidence throughout their writing journey, Jasper looks forward to eventually publishing. Beyond writing, they enjoy reading, roller skating, and obsessively curating book playlists on Spotify.

About the Designer

Debbie Millman is a writer, educator, artist, brand consultant and host of the radio show Design Matters, as well as the President of Sterling Brands for the last twenty years and President Emeritus of the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Read more about Debbie on her site!

30 Covers, 30 Days 2023: Day 20

Day 20 is represented by Science Fiction novel I Am Not Unseen by YWP writer Emily Brown! This cover was designed by the amazing Catelijne van Middelkoop!

I Am Not Unseen

Claire lives in a world where a small amount of people have superpowers. Unfortunately, she does as well.

She is invisible, inaudible, untouchable —and she’s been trapped like this for the last 6 years, with no way to be seen. Even her own brother doesn’t know she’s alive.

Then Tam moves to town, the boy who sees things that aren’t real — or so they say. But Claire knows it’s not true, because as they both find out, he sees her. He’s the only one who sees her. Can Claire truly be seen again? And can Tam set aside his fears to help a girl he’s only just met, a girl who may not even be real?

About the Author

Emily B. is a homeschooled Christian author, poet and singer/songwriter. She enjoys reading, writing, most performing arts, and of course spending time with her family. Her wall is
currently plastered with sticky notes from her latest idea.

Emily has wanted to be a writer since the day she learned that books are created by people, and has not changed her mind.
Her goal is to be a published novelist, and she hopes NaNoWriMo will help her finish her first draft.

About the Designer

Catelijne van Middelkoop is a third generation Dutch designer and co-founder of Strange Attractors Design, a trans-disciplinary research studio known for its experimental and nonconformist approach to critical design practices.