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Helpful techniques for an author
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Riley, Viking Extraordinaire
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Oct 28, 2016 04:16PM
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Ok makes sense. I'll make sure not to do it again however I think I inadvertently did it again before I noticed your comments. Please excuse me for my inexperience with this.
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So what if somebody wrote a self-help book, or a book that deals (indirectly, perhaps) with a subject that they are passionate about, like alcoholism or something. Would entering a thread about alcoholism (or whatever the subject) and then, amid the discussion, mention that you've given a little more detail on the subject in a book that you wrote (or maybe mention stories behind the reason you wrote the book, like a deceased loved one) be considered a bookwhack? Some folks consider that a bookwhack, while others consider it part of who we are just as much as being an author?It'd be like mentioning that I'm running for mayor which, anytime I'm discussing something that has to do with the town, is pretty much an appropriate thing to mention. It's not like campaigning if it just so happens to be a part of your life worth talking about, is it? (BTW, I'm not running for mayor.)
if it fits the subject the thread is about, you can mention what you did or/and why you did it. Naming it or linking it is not necessary. People who are interested can get to it by clicking your name while those who aren't will just read your post and move on.Always starting or ending a post with a link to your book is definitely a bookwhack.
Alfred wrote: "So what if somebody wrote a self-help book, or a book that deals (indirectly, perhaps) with a subject that they are passionate about, like alcoholism or something. Would entering a thread about alc..."The difference is this: We are a group of authors. Our conversations here are generally aimed at helping each other with the various aspects of being an indie author. Let's say, for example, I asked about using the first person narration. You wrote a book using first person narration. You reply as follows:
"For me, getting into my character's head was a bigger benefit than telling the audience about things she didn't see, however, in another book, I used third person because...."
That is perfectly acceptable.
This is not:
"In my book, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Volume 1 (which is on sale today) (which I am willing to give away for a review) (which is great and you should buy it), I used first person narration because it was important that John, my main character, be unaware of the killer in the other room. Here's an excerpt to show you why this is so important..."
Yes, that was exaggerated, but yes, each of those elements separately are all bookswhacks and they are considered in poor taste by Goodreads and if an author receives too many complaints, may have their account deactivated.
Wanted to share a website that was really helpful to me in plotting out my next book. Usually I just have a very basic plot idea and add to it as I go along. But I followed the suggestions on this website and now have a clearer idea of where i'm going. It is making a difference for me.http://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.co...
Zita wrote: "Wanted to share a website that was really helpful to me in plotting out my next book. Usually I just have a very basic plot idea and add to it as I go along. But I followed the suggestions on this ..."That looks like it could be very useful, Zita. Thank you for sharing it with us.
For the last few years I have been writing as a kind of therapy. I needed to get past my past, as it were, and move on with my life. As the keyboard helped me heal, six books and twenty screenplays bubbled to the surface.A good deal of what appeared on the screen was tormented nonsense that only I could appreciate but one of the books seemed to make sense so I self-published it on Amazon. A couple of years later I went back and, using the improvements that came with experience, I rewrote it.
I then paid a freelance editor to, as they say in the movie 'Get Shorty', "Put in the commas and shit." And, the editor said, "I think you've got something here!"
Now, I want to test her hypothesis. Are there people out in the real world whose opinions are highly regarded and who are prepared to read, for free, the words of a complete outsider?
Simon wrote: "For the last few years I have been writing as a kind of therapy. I needed to get past my past, as it were, and move on with my life. As the keyboard helped me heal, six books and twenty screenplays..."You can always seek out betareaders to give you feedback from a reader's perspective.
Kathy wrote: "Simon wrote: "For the last few years I have been writing as a kind of therapy. I needed to get past my past, as it were, and move on with my life. As the keyboard helped me heal, six books and twen..."Thanks Kathy. I checked out your suggestion but the rules of the Betareads community state they are there only to help edit work.
Simon wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Simon wrote: "For the last few years I have been writing as a kind of therapy. I needed to get past my past, as it were, and move on with my life. As the keyboard helped me heal, six ..."I'm not sure which community you're referring to. There are several specific groups here on Goodreads that are dedicated to betareading. If you are saying your book is complete and you don't need betareaders, then there are review groups where you can submit copies of your work. These people have the option of whether or not they want to read and write a review. The other option is for you to publish the book as a freebie. You can then ask people in the ARC groups if they are willing to read and review the book.
Kathy wrote: "Simon wrote: "Kathy wrote: "Simon wrote: "For the last few years I have been writing as a kind of therapy. I needed to get past my past, as it were, and move on with my life. As the keyboard helped..."Thanks again, Kathy. I'm going to check that out. Are there groups that are better for history/fantasy/fiction in your opinion?
Morris wrote: "I hope to open up and do a sort of exchange of helpful ideas different authors use in editing or writing. I open up with this one...On whatever book I am working on, I save today's changes under ..."
I use the one drive system it works like the cloud and that way I can open up any file on any device as long as I can remember the user name and password and make sure I save changes to the drive and not to the individual computer! I do about 80% of my writing from the word app on my iPhone so it helps to have the one drive app installed as well!
Harald wrote: "about screen contrast..."Great tip, where is the colour profiles stored? Would be good to try out.
-Make sure you make the most of your Amazon descriptions. Use bold, italics, underlines and keywords to stand out from the crowd.-Make your Amazon profile page worthy of who you are and what you do. Include links to your social media profiles, connect your blog and add videos. Make it shine.
-Twitter users consider creating your own hashtags either for your books or for info you put out in tweets.
Justin wrote: "-Make sure you make the most of your Amazon descriptions. Use bold, italics, underlines and keywords to stand out from the crowd...."Exactly right. Many authors miss this. You can edit/change your book descriptions ("blurbs") in your Author Central account. What I do is bold the first line, then have no line space before the next lines (not bolded) start.
And don't forget to take advantage of all the Editorial Reviews options. They will appear under the description.
Jennifer wrote: "Harald wrote: "about screen contrast..."Great tip, where is the colour profiles stored? Would be good to try out."
Hi Jennifer. It’s not so much where the profiles are stored (depends on your OS) but more about how to change your “display” options. I’m on Mac, so I can go to System Preferences > Displays > Color and view all the ICC profiles and pick the ones I want. But to create a custom one, I use a Colorimeter and set the color temperature way down low. For Windows, there may be a simple way to adjust this; I’m just not sure what it is. But search for “Display” and see what you can find. Or buy a monitor colorimeter; they’re not that expensive.
It's it's a way to just tracking, you may want to e-mail it to yourself instead of taking up so much space on your computer.
Simon wrote: "Thanks again, Kathy. I'm going to check that out. Are there groups that are better for history/fantasy/fiction in your opinion?"I hope the group's new rules allow me to give a hearty recommendation to the Online Writers Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. It's just brilliant, from the fundamental idea (reviews are in the DNA), to the execution and the community. I won't post a link, as I worry that doing that in SIA is no longer approved.
You can download google drive directly to your mac or PC. That way, when you save it to the google folder on your desktop, you're 1) saving it locally, and 2) automatically uploading/syncing it to your google drive. All in one easy step! It's a great way to save your work and back it up at the same time.Here's more info if anyone is interested. https://www.google.com/drive/download/
You can do the same with dropbox. If anyone uses scrivener to write, that's their recommended cloud storage.
J.B. wrote: "You can download google drive directly to your mac or PC. That way, when you save it to the google folder on your desktop, you're 1) saving it locally, and 2) automatically uploading/syncing it to ..."I didn't know dropbox was the recommended cloud storage for Scrivener. I used to back up copies in my Mac renaming it for the day I've worked on the manuscript. Guess, I should've looked up tips on how to use Scrivener effectively.
I gave up on Scrivener and went to good old MS Word when I had to do some post-work editing. I've been backing up my work on onedrive, although I might need to look for a paid storage since the max is 5 GB and I want to include heaps of photos.
Okay, I use word, Scrivener, NaturalReader, ProWritingAid and Google docs. Scrivener I'm using for research and after going through a bit of training, I'll attempt to use it to write my next book now that I know how to move things around, add, subtract, etc. I can see how it could be a major boost to writing. I like it because I can keep photos, links to websites, notes, etc. all together.NaturalReader has some good voices for the free version but the paid version has more with UK English and US English accents. I've been using it for the last two years. A professional editor stated you need to hear it to know how your work sounds. As y ou listen, youhear the errors and if it is integrated with word, you can stop and make the changes at that time.
ProWritingAid is my newest program. I'm finding it helps to tighten what I write in many ways. It is a decent editing program. If you have the paid version, you can set it up to only review those areas you have problems with like pronouns, overused words, passive verbs, etc.
As to Google docs, I prefer Word over it. Maybe it's because I've been using for over 20 years and know my way around it. I find that I can save my work to the cloud and retrieve it on my tablets or phone.
I also back up with a flash drive just to be safe as I have had a couple of computer crashes. If and when I replace this computer, I have over 10 flash drives to reload plus all my programs...ugggh! just thinking about setting up a new or redone computer is daunting!!!
Barbara wrote: "Okay, I use word, Scrivener, NaturalReader, ProWritingAid and Google docs. Scrivener I'm using for research and after going through a bit of training, I'll attempt to use it to write my next book n..."Hey, Barbara. This is the first time I've heard of Natural Reader. It sounds interesting, particularly about listening to the voices. Thanks for mentioning it.
While trying to create the plot for a new novel (say, a sci-fi thriller), how should one go about the research and other preparations for a good start?
Arun wrote: "While trying to create the plot for a new novel (say, a sci-fi thriller), how should one go about the research and other preparations for a good start?"Nail down your Concept and Premise before you write a single word. The two are very different. Search for Larry Brooks and StoryFix, and you'll be on your way. Good luck!
Arun wrote: "While trying to create the plot for a new novel (say, a sci-fi thriller), how should one go about the research and other preparations for a good start?"Any way you like. There are no right or wrong answers to this. My only bit of advice is that following anyone's method most often results in work that feels constructed, not "lived in". Generally speaking, the greatest impediment, and biggest detriment, to telling a story is thinking about how to tell a story.
Sage J wrote: "I gave up on Scrivener and went to good old MS Word when I had to do some post-work editing. I've been backing up my work on onedrive, although I might need to look for a paid storage since the max is 5 GB and I want to include heaps of photos. "I still back up on flash drives (and still use Word). Though now I email my MS to myself every month or so, so it's out there somewhere.
Barbara wrote: "Okay, I use word, Scrivener, NaturalReader, ProWritingAid and Google docs. Scrivener I'm using for research and after going through a bit of training, I'll attempt to use it to write my next book n..."Thanks for the heads up on NaturalReader. Never heard of it or used it, but I totally agree, hearing it out loud makes a difference.
Arun wrote: "While trying to create the plot for a new novel (say, a sci-fi thriller), how should one go about the research and other preparations for a good start?"This is a very broad questions. Are you asking just 'how do you start to write?' Or exactly, 'how to start a good thriller, how to catch our reader?'
Plots happen. I can't say that I've any solid way to do it. Often they just come to me, inspired by everything else around me. I do lots of research when it comes to more world building/fact finding. But if you are trying to 'catch your reader' in the first five pages, then that is another thing. Often in thrillers you have the kinda prologue action sequence where we see the bad guy do the bad thing, then we shift to the hero. That is one method. Either way, you have to introduce the character and what's at stake pretty quickly for a thriller. Lots of books and websites out there that focus on that.
I would also recommend Larry Brooks Story Engineering for overall plotting. I am a plotter myself and I find mapping it out works better for me. For some it doesn't work, for others it's the only way.
I am occasionally a plotter and will write down story ideas. Other times I just start to write and every once in a while, a story forms into something decent. Sometimes not ; )I write in word and use one drive (cloud type) to save my stuff. Occasionally I'll email something to myself if I'm really paranoid. I haven't tried any of those other ones, but maybe it's time I branch out a bit.
I save a copy on Google docs and also in Evernote every day. That way I have a copy on my computer and two in cloud storage. I can access the google drive and Evernote even without internet access if I save for offline use. Works very well.
I keep all the old or previous versions of books, publicity material, synopses, etc. in a file marked Archive. I used to get in a muddle before I did that, and not know which was the current version.
A note on organization.It can be useful to keep a real time glossary or appendix, where one can keep notes such as on which page a character is introduced, descriptions of people places and things pertinent to the story, relations between characters, dates and times, and much more.
It is common for a writer to search through his or her own work in an attempt to find previously written information. Keeping real time notes allows one to write more freely without concern for keeping mental track of all details.
A note on structure.
Some free write and some outline plots, both can work and have their place, but if a write finds him or her self in need of direction it can be immeasurably helpful to have a "destination" to write towards. That is to say, if you are stuck or the story feels sluggish it can help to write a portion of the story where one wishes it to arrive, then go back and write all the events needed to reach that destination.
That is a really helpful tip. I've spent hours in the past trying to find something I've written - or thought I'd written.
Sometimes I keep a notebook where I jot down in a few words what happened on each page. It's very useful when looking for something.
Plotting, saving, rewrites, yuck. I did discover that plotting will save you a lot of time on the rewrites. As you plot the story, you can research the area you need, and add that to the plot line. There are multiple books out there for how to plot/write a book. Read, take classes and write. You will find what works for you. I do know that just sitting down and writing is a problem for me as I end up going everywhere with the book.
I loved the James Patterson Master Class as it did give very practical ways of getting a book started, but...it didn't really go into plotting. That I learned from Deep Story Techniques class I took two years ago. It gave me all the things each book needs to have to work. The person who taught the class was a script writer who knew what had to be in each movie to keep the viewer's interest. (Think Shrek/Star Wars). You need those same elements in your books.
As to saving, I back up once a week to a thumb drive plus the current changes on any book to the cloud.
When looking for something in a book I'm working on, I go back to my written notes for the chapter it should be in. I also use key words or names...I seldom have a problem with finding what I'm looking for.
Check out "Story Engineering" and "Story Physics" by Larry Brooks.
I definitely second "Story Engineering." I haven't read the second book yet, but I plan to. My thanks to the several people who have recommended S.E. It's available in Kindle Unlimited.One suggestion I would make is highlighting while you're reading this book. I read it on my Kindle the first time around, but for the second round, I am reading it on my laptop via Kindle Cloud. It's much easier to focus on specific points and to highlight them.
I use scrivener to write and it is great for organizing. It has scene and chapter descriptions that are searchable. There is also a custom metadata option that makes finding things easy.
Micah wrote: "I do the same thing with renaming the files.I have a folder for each writing project and inside that there are two other folders: Development and Drafts.
As I'm writing I use the Development fol..."
What's drop box?
Hank wrote: "I write all my books, fiction and non-fiction, in Scrivener. It's a program that stores EVERYTHING about the book in a single file: scenes, chapters, character sketches, plot diagrams, locations an..."what's Scrivener?
I use paper notes for:Character names
Timeline
And random ideas
Up until recently, I've been using Word to write. I had Scrivener but wasn't comfortable with using it after my first experience with it. After taking a quick class on how to use it, I'm doing a novel with it and getting used to it. The character sketches are easy to use and I love that I can make notes in the references to pull the three books together as the book I'm working on is the third in a series. What I don't like about it is the learning curve on using it but I do like that everything is there and easy to take with me. I'm attempting to use it rather than notepads which are hard to pack when you are traveling.
Mod
Scrivener is a word processor like word, but offers some other tools for writers.
Dropbox is a way to save and share files with others.
G.G. wrote: "Or interview them. Ask them questions. Little things like that can help you know them better. "ooh, I like doing that too. Stumbled on a list of through provoking questions online and decided it would be fun to test my characters. These are the ones I used if anyone else in interested:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/6IWCjy/...
keep notes on every decision you make. Character profiles, City profiles, slang, world building, etc. I end up organizing and reorganzing this type of info and one of these days I'll have it all nice and pretty before I even start.
Nat wrote: "keep notes on every decision you make. Character profiles, City profiles, slang, world building, etc. I end up organizing and reorganzing this type of info and one of these days I'll have it all ni..."Then, if you end up writing a popular series, you can share those notes as a book in its own right. I really need to do that - I think I'm going to start. Thanks for the idea!
They would have to gather all my scrapes of papers with notes, the snippets on note pads, my highlights in various books, Scrivener, word and scattered everywhere. Just don't move anything because I can find my notes, knowing exactly where they are. That is as organized a I ever get.
Rohvannyn wrote: "Then, if you end up writing a popular series, you can share those notes as a book in its own right. I really need to do that - I think I'm going to start. Thanks for the idea.Super pleased it was helpful!!! Yeah, I can't wait for the 'World of Wielders' background book to hit the shelves. ;)
Support for Indie Authors
Books mentioned in this topic
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Volume 1 of 2 (other topics)The Silkworm (other topics)
The Cuckoo's Calling (other topics)
