R.J. Blain's Blog, page 85

Gifts fit for a Queen – Holiday Short Story on Literary Escapism

I’m pleased to announce that my short story, Gifts fit for a Queen, is now up on Literary Escapism as a part of their holiday story series. Storm Without End fans can get a glimpse of Kalen from before he was King!

100 Hours into a Countdown Deals Promotion

On December 9, 2013, I started a countdown deals promotion for my novel, Storm Without End. I used a five increment promotion with the following prices: $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, $3.99, and $4.99.

At the 100 hour mark, 3 price increments have completed, with the caveat of unclaimed gifts, which are added to the appropriate increment when they are claimed.

At the time of this posting, my novel is ranked as the following:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,220 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

#21 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror >  Dark Fantasy
#25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror >  Dark Fantasy

At its best, I was ranking #3,393 in Kindle Store, with #10 in both Dark Fantasy categories, #58 in Sword and Sorcery, and #74 in Epic Fantasy (kindle), and #89 in Epic Fantasy (Books).

This was a huge accomplishment for an unknown author, and the amount of support I’ve received from the Google+, facebook, and twitter communities has been staggering. Thank you.

So, let’s talk some numbers. I’ve shown you the rankings, so, what does all of this mean?

In order to reach 3,393 ranking, I had to sell over 50 books in a day at the $0.99 and over 25 books at the $1.99 price point as a follow up, approximately. When the price shifted to $1.99, I was still seeing a trickle of sales from the $0.99 price point as gifts were claimed. These gifts combined with live sales resulted in my 3,393 ranking.

In order to maintain that ranking point, I had to keep selling books.

At 100 hours, to hold the 6,220 ranking, I had to sell 132 books plus 3 lending library borrows, plus 3 ‘out of US’ sales. These ‘out of US’ sales are people who have amazon.com accounts with their kindles but live outside of the USA. I can tell that these were the types of purchases because I would see the number increase on my main stats page but they would not show in the promotions stat page.

This works out to just over 1 book an hour being sold.

So, let’s take a look at this a little deeper. What does this mean in terms of revenue?

Note: I am excluding the ‘Out of US Sales’, all sales prior to the promotion, and the lending library sales from these figures.

At the $0.99 price point: 61 sales, $60.22 in revenue, $38.69 in royalties.

At the $1.99 price point: 52 sales, $103.48 in revenue, $69.04 in royalties.

At the $2.99 price point: 19 sales, $56.81 in revenue, $38.76 in royalties.

To be fair, I actually have 4 hours worth of $3.99 figures, which accounts for 0 sales, so no revenue or royalties. Each of the price points lasts 33 hours.

Now, what does this mean in the overall game plan for me as a new author? Well, I’m going to be very honest with you, and just show you all of the numbers. Yes, all of them.

I will use grand totals by source for simplicity’s sake. All of these numbers are prior to December, as I have confirmed income rankings. I will list my sales totals for the entirety of December, although I will not be listing my total income, as I do not have confirmed numbers for these.

Storm Without End

Amazon: 19 sales, $60.05 in royalties
Createspace: 1 sale, $1.04 in royalties
Indiegogo Campaign: 37 sales, $1158.72 in contributions (after fees).

The Eye of God

Amazon: 33 sales, $122.19 in royalties
Createspace: 1 sale, $0.90 in royalties
Indiegogo Campaign: 43 sales, $1,284.01 in contributions (after fees).

December Figures, Including Promotion:

Storm Without End: 138 sales (US), 2 sales (UK), 2 sales (CA), 3 borrows, 10 paperbacks
The Eye of God: 8 sales

So, what does all of this mean? Absolutely nothing. That’s right. In the short and long term, there is no way of knowing how this promotion will impact my sales in the future — until the future gets here. I’ll let you know as I figure it out, and if I see an increase of sales due to the visibility I’ve gotten as a result of the promotion. That said, after seeing the results of the promotion, I will be using countdown promotions in conjunction with the release of my other novels. This way, people new to each of the series can grab up a copy of the first book for super cheap if the second book appeals to them. After the promotion, I will be permanently marking down the first book a little in price so new fans can enjoy the entire series without going bankrupt.

One thing I would like to make clear is this: I did not make any actual profits for either indiegogo campaign. What the indiegogo campaigns let me do was produce the books and have the funds to pay my people — the perks otherwise sucked every last cent out of the campaigns. I’m fine with that, because my goal wasn’t to make a profit, but to get the books produced so they could start off making profits when they launched.

Future books I’m using my editorial work and my royalties to pay for my fees for my editors and my cover artist. Needless to say, I have absolutely no regrets over going exclusive with Amazon in order to do this promotion. It has given one of my books a huge boost (including 3 reviews!) and I think it will serve as an excellent starting point for my career. Right now, I couldn’t drop my client work or anything like that… No worries there, clients! Maybe in 2015 I’ll become rich and famous… oh hell, who am I kidding? I’d be happy if I made enough to help pay household expenses at this point.

I wouldn’t call this a runaway success, unless the internet decided to all start posting 5* reviews and my sales magically skyrocketed at the higher price point, but there you have it.

And there, I just put my money where my mouth is. I know many people have asked for actual numbers, so there you have it. Actual numbers.

They aren’t large numbers, but they’re mine. In the case of The Eye of God, these are numbers since late July. In the case of Storm Without End, they are since early November.

And, here is the reality of an author’s position: If you find these posts useful, and the resources I post of use, consider buying one of my books. All of the work I put into my website and writing resources are done during my spare time, taking away hours from my novels and my clients.

You can view my author page on amazon here.

Alternatively, you can learn more about The Eye of God and Storm Without End on their pages on amazon as well.

How can you help your favorite authors?

I’ve heard this question asked by quite a few people, so I’m going to take a few minutes to tell you some ways you can help your favorite authors.

1: Review their books.

You don’t need to leave more than a few sentences and a star rating, but taking the time to go to amazon.com and goodreads and doing just that is a good way to help other customers know what you thought about a book. Here is a very quick guide on how to choose your star ratings:

1: This book is absolutely terrible. It is full of editing editors. (Do you see what I did there?) The author took no care with the story. It’s just bad. It is so bad you threw up in your mouth a little. It is so bad that you recruited a friend to read it with you just so you wouldn’t suffer alone.

2: This book was pretty bad. Sure, you may now have thrown up in your mouth a little, but it was bad enough you winced. It’s full of errors. The story line is abysmal. The only thing going for it is the fact that you know it could’ve been worse.

3: This book was okay. Pretty average. There were more errors than you thought there should’ve been, but you were entertained. You think that there are things that could be improved, but hey, that’s life. It was a middle of the road book.

4: You thought the book was pretty good! It could be better, but you’d totally recommend this book to your friends. It may have some errors, but all in all, it was a pretty good read, and you don’t feel like you wasted your money. You might even read it again.

5: This is one of your favorite books. It doesn’t have any noticeable problems. You love the characters, you love the story, and you’d totally take a copy to bed with you and snuggle with it. It’s a book you talk to your friends about. It’s a book that sticks with you. It’s a book that makes you think, makes you laugh, or makes you cry. Simply put: You loved it.

A short review can be something like… “I loved this book! The characters were interesting, there were twists and turns I didn’t expect, and it kept me wanting more. was my favorite, and I really liked of writing.”

Anyone can leave a comment like that, and it shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes at max to write something. Just let people know why you loved or hated the book. You don’t have to leave monster reviews like I do. You really don’t! Other customers often don’t read the long ones; they want a general gist if the book might appeal to them.

2: Tell People About the Book

Social Media and word of mouth can be powerful tools for a fan to make others aware of a novel. Tell others why you loved the book, and give them a link to it. Give the book as a gift to your friends, if you can. Either way, let people know what you thought of the book, even if it is only a few sentences or a single tweet.

3: Tell the Author!

As a reader, I notice when other readers tweet or send a post to an author saying they loved the book. As an author, when someone does this for me, it makes all of the effort and hard work worthwhile. It may not help the author sell a book (although it might…) it does brighten their day! Some authors (like me) may only manage to mumble an embarrassed ‘Thank you!’ but don’t get discouraged by that — I can be a bit shy, especially when people start saying nice things about me. Other authors get bombarded so hard by their fans that they struggle to keep up, but most authors are really grateful every time someone says something nice about their books!

You matter, no mater how large or small your network is. Never forget that, readers.

70 Hours into a Countdown Deals Promotion

As promised, I’m back to talk a bit more about my countdown deals promotion with amazon.com. Here’s a very brief recap of this post. First, only KDP Select members may attempt a countdown deals promotion. All previous contracts and sales with other e-book providers must be cleared off the books before you enroll in KDP Select. You may start a countdown deals promotion thirty days after you enroll in KDP. You can’t change the price of your novel for a certain period of time before / after the promotion.

The story:

On December 9th, my countdown deals promotion launched. See the post above for the general play by play of the deal.

On December 10th & 11th, the price increased from $0.99 to $1.99. Something interesting happened. My book managed to make it onto five top 100 lists. At it’s peak, here are the categories and the rankings:

Overall Ranking: 3,393
#10 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
#10 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror > Dark Fantasy
#58 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
#74  in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Epic
#89 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Epic

In the first 33 hours in the $0.99 bracket, I sold 60 copies of the novel. In the second 33 hours in the $1.99 bracket, I sold 41 copies of the novel. At the time of this posting, I have sold 1 novel at the $2.99 bracket.

It took approximately 50 sales to breach the 4,000 overall rank on amazon, and the remainder of the sales has kept it fluctuating between 4,500 and 3,390 overall ranking.

Here is the sour truth of things: Prior to the countdown promotion, I had sold a grand total of 25 books via amazon. (My indiegogo campaign ‘sold’ an additional 37 copies of the novel.)

In short, the countdown deal promotion has made a significantly huge impact on my fledgling writing career. This is entirely thanks to the Google+, twitter, and facebook communities, as well as thanks to the power of family and friends.

I definitely couldn’t have gotten even this far without your help.

Now, a little sidetracking to discuss the problems with this promotion.

First, because I’m an unknown, new author, I don’t have the selling power of others. I don’t have a fan base. I have to entirely rely on people seeing the cover, checking out the description, and then deciding to check out a sample. That’s a really hard sale. A really hard sale.

Because so many people bought the book as gifts for others, the book has gotten a great deal of exposure I otherwise couldn’t get.

I’m steadfast against free book promotions. Why? I worked many long and hard hours on this book. It’s my career. It’s my life. I give away a lot of my time as it is. I need to pay the bills. Free promotions don’t help me pay the bills. At least with $0.99 and higher countdown deal promotions, I can at least try to pay my way in my household and catch up on holiday season bills. This lets me reach fans who aren’t certain about my books because of its normal price.

I priced Storm Without End at $5.99 to reflect the length. It’s almost 100,000 words, compared to The Eye of God ($4.99) which is 80,000 words. I will mark Storm Without End and The Eye of God both down a dollar or two when the second books of their series launch. I feel this will give new readers a chance to get older books at a more reasonable price. (And I will also run countdown promotions in conjunction with novel releases so new readers can get more books for a better price.)

Second, I’m an independent author. There is definitely a negative connotation with being an independent. There is a belief that because I’m an independent, I’m automatically not good enough to be a traditionally-published author. Now, I don’t know if this is true or not. Sure, I submitted my books. Sure, I got rejected — on requests for fulls after partials.

I’ve also learned a lot since then. You can read this post for more on why I am so very grateful to have been rejected. But, as with all things, reality and finances got in the way. I had to choose: Go independent or give up my writing career completely.

I chose going independent. I am a writer. That is what I do, and that is what I’ll always do. But, because I don’t have a publishing house backing me, I have a lot of hurdles I must overcome. I don’t mind it, but it is a major complication in the whole launching a career thing.

The Issue with Gifting

Back to the quirks of the countdown deals promotion: When I launched this promo, I suggested that people give my novel to their friends and family as a cheap Christmas present. A lot of people liked this idea, and that’s what they did. When you deal with rankings with amazon, gifting only counts to your ranking when the receiver accepts the book.

Almost 40 hours after the end of the $0.99 promotion, there are still people accepting the gifts. This is great! But, it means you will have no idea what your actual numbers will be (or how your rank will be impacted) because of how gifting works. This is just something you should be aware of.

The Lure of the Stats Page

Don’t ask me to make sense of the stats page. I really can’t figure out how it works. Sometimes it is real time. Sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes, it can take a day or more for a sale to be noted. Sometimes seconds. I’m convinced that sometimes, it just doesn’t get added at all.

I can’t give you tips on how to avoid obsessively checking out the sales/stats page in the kdp site. I haven’t succeeded at avoiding staring at it in hopes my novel will somehow be a runaway best hit. (And the realist in me says that I’ve probably hit my peak and will be extremely, extremely lucky if I ever even get remotely close to the 3,000s ever again.)

It is what it is. (You mean poopyhead stats page!)

I will leave you with this as food for thought for now.

There will be more, probably at around the 100 hour marker in the countdown deals promotion. It’ll probably involve me crying into a frosty glass of something alcoholic as my chance for fame crumbles to dust. Or me breaking out the port because the unthinkable success runaway I don’t think could ever happen to me happened. Either way, I suspect there will be alcohol involved.

An Open Letter to the Agents Who Rejected Me

Dear Agents Who Rejected the Full of my Manuscript,

Thank you.

A few years ago, I got an invitation from you to submit the full of my novel after you had scouted me on a critiquing website. You made a revision list, I did the work, and it wasn’t what you were looking for. You had a lot of feedback. You invited me to submit one more time on those revisions.

I did the work, and it wasn’t what you were looking for.

Thank you for the opportunity. (Even if a few friends of mine had to quietly peel me off of the ceiling afterwards.)

I learned some valuable things from you, and from several other agents who also rejected the full of my manuscript. I learned that the publishing world, whether traditional or otherwise, is a ruthless place. It’s a hard place. It’s a competitive place.

I learned that it wasn’t about me. It was about my books, and they weren’t good enough. I learned that an agent could like me without liking my books. My book isn’t me.

It took me a few months (or more…) to really understand that, but I needed to learn. The opportunity lost still makes me wonder ‘what might have been’ but I am grateful you said no. I think I learned more from facing failure than I would have at outright encountering success.

I hear how you get flack over the whole rejection thing, and that it is the most onerous part of the traditional publication stint. I also hear how rejection helps make people stronger. Helps to grow thick skin. Improves a person.

It doesn’t, not unless the person is a little like me, and views it as a challenge. Then it’s great. Rejection just means I have to play harder, write better, be better. Some folks don’t get that. It’s okay. Some people don’t work like that, but I certainly do.

So, thank you for that kick in the ass. I needed it.

Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to make Storm Without End nearly as strong as it is today. It definitely wouldn’t have been strong enough to make one of amazon’s bestseller lists in position #10. Sure, I was the one who put in the effort, the sweat, the tears, and the blood to improve myself and my writing, but without you, I never would have realized I needed to put in the hard work. I never would have really and truly tried.

There is no pain quite like getting so close to a goal and failing.

Some people give up and walk away, burned. Others stand back up and try again. I still haven’t reached my dream of traditional publication, but I have accomplished things. I had to make my own way in the world, and it meant putting aside one dream for the main course: Becoming an author.

So, thank you for solidifying that traditional or self publishing wasn’t my actual goal, but that writing books was. That sharing my stories with anyone I can reach out to is the actual goal.

I still want to become a traditionally published author. It could still happen.

Maybe one day one of my manuscripts will find its way to your door again, and you’ll find we might work well together. Or not. We’ll have to see. It still twinges sometimes, when I think of ‘what might have been’. I do look at my sales and go, ‘this could have been 10,000 books’ instead of 100 books. Then I buckle up, lift my chin, and remember one thing:

100 can become 10,000, if I work hard enough, if I write well enough, and if I keep writing.

Thank you for making me really realize what my dream was, and giving me the strength to chase it down and try for it. Rejections can hurt. They stab the ego. They damage the esteem.

But, I overcame that, and I’m so much better for it, and I have you to thank, Agents. I don’t think I could have ever learned to take it to the next step without your rejections.

You may never know who you are. You probably don’t care — you have your real clients to work with, and I’m just one drop in the ocean. You probably won’t read this.

But, if you are an agent, and you do find this page, thank you.

You work hard so authors like me can shine.

Fondly,

RJ Blain

Amazon Rankings and Promotions

Today marks the first day of my very first countdown deals promotion. My promotion for Storm Without End is scheduled to run from 12:00 am December 09, 2013 to December 14 and 12:00 pm PST. This is 168 hours.

What is a countdown deal?

A countdown deal is a limited time promotion where amazon allows you to mark down your book in $0.99 increments (0.99, 1.99, 2.99 and so on…) over a set period of time. You can choose the number of days (up to 7) and the number of increments. Only KDP Select members can take advantage of this promotion type.

Unlike other royalty programs with Amazon, countdown deals use the royalty percentage of your novel at full price versus the percentage when the book is set to $0.99. So, if you sell your book at $5.99 normally, you have a 70% sales bracket, which means you’ll earn 70% of $0.99 instead of the normal 35%.

What to Watch Out For

If you have your book enrolled in other sites (like smashwords) and you want to become a KDP Select member to take advantage of countdown deals, you need to make certain that your novel is off of all other digital vendors before you enroll in KDP Select. While amazon will permit you into KDP Select, if your book has remnant presences on other sites, they will deny your countdown deal and you will have to wait until your next KDP Select cycle in three months.

Also, you can only run one countdown promotion per 90 day period.

The Impact of my Countdown Deal

My promotion has been running for 17 hours at the time of this posting, and I’m going to be bluntly honest about my sales figures and royalties.

Before the countdown promotion started, I had 3 sales and one lending library borrow of Storm Without End for the month of December.

Within the first 17 hours of the promotion, at $0.99, I earned 21 new sales.

So, what does this mean in terms of royalties?

3 sales earned me $12.42 in royalties. 21 promotional-rated sales has earned me $13.09 in royalties. So far, I’ve done a complete week worth of sales in the first day of my promotion. But the real benefit wasn’t necessarily in the sales, but rather in the increase of rank.

Impact on Ranking

After watching the ranks all day, and being familiar with what one sale at the $5.99 marker does, I’ve come to the conclusion that in order to get the same rank movement I need to sell ~5-6 copies at $0.99 to get the movement of one sale at $5.99. Mileage varies a little, as it’s little jumps versus one big jump — which actually does make a notable difference. So, let me clarify that. If five or six people bought Storm Without End at the exact same time, it would have the same impact as one sale at $5.99.

Before the promotion, I was riding at approximately 150,000-200,000 in ranking.

This is a screenshot of Storm Without End’s ranking during hour 17 of the promotion.

Prior to the promotion, I wasn’t listed on any top 100 lists at all, and at the time of this screenshot, this was the highest ranking the book had ever earned.

So, there are definitely short-term benefits to running a countdown promotion. What the long term benefits will be?

Only time will tell.

More tomorrow on the Countdown Deals promotion system.

A Year in the Life of a Full-Time Author

2014 will mark the first complete year of trying my hand at being a full-time author with an editorial side job. As such, I’m trying to plan my work in advance so my proofers are prepared for the reality of the insane things I’m trying.

I’m both excited and terrified. Without further ado, here’s my tentative schedule for 2014.

Wish me luck. I’ll need it. Better yet, send chocolate.

January 2014

Novel Goals

Finish Draft of Inquisitor
Draft 10,000 words of The City of Clocks
Draft 10 pages of Storm Surge
Draft 25 pages of Royal Slaves

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

February 2014

Novel Goals

Draft 5,000 words of The City of Clocks
Draft 10 pages of Storm Surge
Draft 50,000 words of Royal Slaves
Transcribe 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

March 2014

Novel Goals

Draft 5,000 words of The City of Clocks
Draft 10 pages of Storm Surge
Draft 50,000+ words of Royal Slaves - Finish
Transcribe 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

April 2014

Novel Goals

Draft 5,000 words of The City of Clocks
Draft 10 pages of Storm Surge
Transcribe Royal Slaves
Edit Royal Slaves
Send Royal Slaves to Rachel (Proofing Editor #1)
Transcribe 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

May 2014

Novel Goals

Draft 25,000 words of The City of Clocks
Draft 25,000 words of Storm Surge
Implement Edit Royal Slaves
Send Royal Slaves to Jenny (Proofing Editor #2)
Begin Formatting Royal Slaves
Transcribe 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

June 2014

Novel Goals

Draft 50,000 words of The City of Clocks - Finish
Draft 25 pages of Storm Surge
Implement Edits of Royal Slaves
Publish Royal Slaves 
Transcribe 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

July 2014

Novel Goals

Transcribe The City of Clocks
Draft 25,000 words of Storm Surge
Complete transcription of Inquisitor
Edit 3 Chapters of Inquisitor
Edit 10 Scenes of The City of Clocks

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

August 2014

Novel Goals

Edit The City of Clocks
Draft 25,000 words of Storm Surge
Send Rachel The City of Clocks
Edit Inquisitor

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

September 2014

Novel Goals

Implement Edits of The City of Clocks
Finish Storm Surge
Send The City of Clocks to Jenny
Send Inquisitor to Rachel

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

October 2014

Novel Goals

Implement Edits of The City of Clocks
Transcribe Storm Surge
Format The City of Clocks
Publish The City of Clocks
Implement Edits of Inquisitor
Send Inquisitor to Jenny
Edit Storm Surge
Send Storm Surge to Rachel

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

November 2014

Novel Goals

Implement Edits of Inquisitor
Format Inquisitor
Publish Inquisitor
Implement Storm Surge Edits
Send Storm Surge to Jenny

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

December 2014

Novel Goals

Implement Storm Surge Edits
Format Storm Surge
Publish Storm Surge

Editorial Goals

One first read/edit for a client
Complete any second reads that hit my inbox.

NaNoWriMo 2013 – Writing Challenges – Day 28, 29, and 30

NaNoWriMo Day 28, 29, and 30 Challenges

Word Challenge:  parturition

Definition:   The process of bringing forth young; the act or process of giving birth

Word Challenge:  esprit

Definition:  sprightliness of spirit or wit; lively intelligence

Word Challenge:  dissolution

Definition:  the act or process of resoling or dissolving into parts or elements; the resulting state; the undoing or breaking of a bond, tie, union, partnership, etc; the breaking up of an assembly or organization; dismissal; dispersal; an order issued by the head of a state terminating a parliament and necessitating a new election.

  Theme Challenge:  Birth, Life, and Death (The Cycle of Life)

 For the final three challenges, work in the entire cycle of life; birth, life, and death. It can be of one individual, of a family, or of connected individuals. That said, there should be a relation between these people so the entire cycle can be shown; the death of a complete stranger isn’t a part of your main character’s life cycle, for example. As a theme, show how the basic progression of life, from birth to death, impacts individuals and those close to them.

Plot Challenge:  The Life Cycle (as a plot)

 Incorporate the specific events of life in your plot; these need not be connected, as the theme challenge. One plot point should be birth, one plot point should be one of the ‘major events’ in a person’s life (marriage, house acquisition, moving, graduating school, becoming an adult, and so on) and the death of a character.

Tie each of these events to your current plot arcs.

Character Challenge:  Coping with Life

From the view point of one character, have them deal with all of the elements of life; you can have the main character observe the consequences of these elements on a friend or acquaintance. However, one character must deal with all three of these elements in life, preferably within a short period of time. Show how the character is impacted and changed as a result of these things.

Alternatively, you can repeat elements of life (One character dealing with three deaths close to them, for example…)

Conflict Challenge:  Tarot Readings, Ouija Boards, Crystal Balls, and Superstitions, Oh my!

Major events in people’s lives can cause a sudden and dramatic change of characteristics. One of your characters has snapped. Take one of your characters who is not typically into tarot readings, Ouija boards, and superstitions, and make them obsessed with the teachings and ideals of those who typically use these things.

Explore the major conflicts such a shift can cause in a group of people. Tie in the plot and character challenges for a little extra flair.

Build three conflicts relating to the use of these fortune telling tools. Explore Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, and Man vs society conflicts. (Man vs Man being disagreements between two individuals, man versus nature being a conflict between a character and the environment around him, and man vs society being the views of a group of people against his or her beliefs.)

Fun & Games: A Night on the Town

 Your characters, by now, are likely at the final stages of their adventure. Or, if you’re writing a full-length big fat fantasy, are right in the thick of things.

Your characters go out for a night on the town. Include three of the following elements:

Plundering, Mayhem, Arson, Concert, Movie Theater, Explosions the characters caused, Explosions the characters didn’t cause, drunken debauchery.

Let’s just say they really light up the town.

 

NaNoWriMo 2013 – Writing Challenges – Day 27

NaNoWriMo Day 27 Challenges

Word Challenge:  toothsome

Definition:  delicious; attractive; luscious

  Theme Challenge: Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Prove this theme through the unconditional love of something others view as ugly, unwanted, or otherwise unattractive. It can be the beauty seen in a human (IE, Hunchback of Notre Dame style or Beauty and the Beast) or the beauty of a particularly ugly animal, or even the beauty in a misshapen piece of artwork.

Plot Challenge:  Victory Lost & Second Chances

Your characters are on the verge of victory over some challenge. However, they get so cocky about it that their victory is lost. Give them a second chance, but give them a very low possibility of success. What do your characters do?

Character Challenge:  Crumbled Self Esteem

 Pick one of your characters with a notably strong self-esteem. Put them in a situation where their self-esteem is significantly damaged and see how this impacts the other characters.

Conflict Challenge:  Conflicted Objectives

In the later sections of a novel, it is not uncommon for characters to have conflicting objectives. Take a conflict point between two of your characters and bring it to the forefront. There is no room for compromise. Someone will win, someone will lose.

Pursue the consequences of this conflict.

Fun & Games: Determined to Disprove Science

 Your characters are feeling particularly snarky and set out to disprove science and fact. It doesn’t work, but they do make something explode. Explore what scientific fact they were attempting to disprove, and the resulting explosion.

NaNoWriMo 2013 – Writing Challenges – Days 23, 24, 25, and 26

Word Challenge:  wroth

Definition:  stormy; violent; turbulent :: angry; wrathful (usually predicatively)

  Word Challenge:  halcyon

Definition:  peaceful; undisturbed; happy

  Word Challenge:  gimcrack

Definition:  a showy but useless or worthless object

  Word Challenge:  adamant

Definition:  not susceptible to persuasion; unyielding

    Theme Challenge: The Virtues of Man (Cardinal)

 Pursue the four virtues of man (Using classical western Cardinal guidelines.). The virtues include Temperance, Prudence, Courage, and Justice.

You can use this with or without religious connotations.

Plot Challenge:  Quartet

Include a quartet of something, be it poets, musicians, singers, or artists, and create a plot point relevant to your novel surrounding each of these individuals. Try to include a quartet element to these plot points. (Example, you could use the theme challenges, you could use an elemental theme (fire, water, earth, air) or anything involving a theme of four.

Character Challenge:  

A character has been given four goats to take care of for a day. Goats are troublesome enough on their own. These four goats, however, embody the absolute worst characteristics of goats.

Temporarily or permanently ruin the relationships of four friends (or enemies) through the power of goats.

Conflict Challenge:

Create a conflict for your characters using four of the following seven deadly sins:

 Wrath
Greed
Sloth
Pride
Lust
Envy
Gluttony

Tie each of the sins together to create an overlaying conflict – bonus points if you match the sins to their cardinal virtual counterparts to enhance the theme.

Fun & Games:  Serial Graffiti Artist

 A graffiti artist is obsessed with the number four and groups of four. However, this artist has decided to play a game, using his art to form a riddle, a bit like a scavenger hunt. Have your characters decide to try to solve the artist’s puzzle.