A to Z - All About Writing: Genres

Welcome to the Blogging A to Z Challenge, where, this month, I'll be focusing on all things writing. This may be a random jumping around of topics within my theme, but hopefully something somewhere will be useful to someone. (V is for vague - see that last sentence.) Check out all the participants here . Lets get on with today's letter.

G is for Genre

Genre is what kind of book you're writing. The category you would go to in order to search for it. Where would you find it in a bookstore? There are a lot of genres. Knowing what your story falls under is important because genre plays into a lot of things both at the writing and trying to publish stages.

While you're writing, you need to know what genre you're attempting to fit within. Yes, you can combine genres, but do keep in mind that odd combinations make your book more difficult to sell because the audience for that is likely smaller. Meaning you might want to think twice about that Western Steampunk Mystery Romance.

Different genres have different expectations from readers. It's a good idea to read the genre you're writing to know what those elements are. You'll want to writer your story with the majority of the readers of that genre in mind with regards to word usage, characters, heat and violence levels and other types of content.

Genre plays into word count as well. Middle grade is shorter than young adult. Science fiction and fantasy have much higher word count thresholds than many other genres. It's a good idea to do a little research and know the general range to shoot for.

When you're ready to try to sell or publish your story, you'll need to know what genre it is in order to search for the correct market. You don't want to sent out your western romance to a publisher who specializes in literary fiction. That would be a waste of everyone's time. If you're looking for a publisher, you may want to know other comparable titles within your genre with which to compare your work.

What genre's do you write?

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Prefer paperback? The print book goes live on April 20. Reviews are always appreciated.

A to Z - All About Writing: Facebook Groups

Welcome to the Blogging A to Z Challenge, where, this month, I'll be focusing on all things writing. This may be a random jumping around of topics within my theme, but hopefully something somewhere will be useful to someone. (V is for vague - see that last sentence.) Check out all the participants here and lets get on with today's letter.

F is for Facebook Groups

I wish I'd been clued into this one years before I broke down and asked a fellow writer. There are groups for all kinds of writerly things on Facebook. Do a search in Groups and you'll very likely find something that fits your needs.

• Review/Arc readers
• Writing groups in your area
• Reviewers
• Beta Readers
• Marketing groups
• Promo groups
• Support/accountability groups
• Local author event groups

They're all out there. Go forth and search.

Got any favorite Facebook groups you'd like to share?

Would you like a free e-book? This April, I'm giving away free copies of my new anthology, Destiny Pills & Space Wizards. Claim your copy here: https://claims.instafreebie.com/free/vhJFWpLL Enter code atozpromo

Prefer paperback? The print book goes live on April 20. Reviews are always appreciated.

A to Z - All About Writing : Editing

Welcome to the Blogging A to Z Challenge, where, this month, I'll be focusing on all things writing. This may be a random jumping around of topics within my theme, but hopefully something somewhere will be useful to someone. (V is for vague - see that last sentence.) Check out all the participants here and lets get on with today's letter.

E is for Editing

Yesterday we covered Developmental Edits, but what about the edits you do yourself before anyone else sees your work?

And yes, you should always edit before you show your work to someone else. If you're going to ask someone to read your work, you want them to focus on the story, not typos, weird formatting, missing words, or jumbled sentences. A few of those will probably slip through no matter how many editing passes you make, but putting your best work forward will get you the most useful feedback, chances of getting published, and better reviews. 

Editing is best done in passes. Trying to spot everything at once is an overwhelming task so break it up into focus areas. Rather like the developmental editing we talked about yesterday, it's beneficial to start with the big stuff and work your way down to avoid making more work for yourself. Passes might look like this:

• Main plot and character(s). Does the plot move from point A to Z with a fulfilling ending? Is it engaging? Does the MC internally change from beginning to end? Are they likeable (at least in the degree that someone would want to read about them for a couple hundred pages)? Do they have agency (see day 1)? Are character motivations clear and believable?

• Subplots and secondary character(s). Are the subplots necessary? Do they benefit the main plot and characters? Do the secondary characters change? Do they add to the story? Can they be combined to tighten the story? Are they well rounded? Do they have proper motivation for their actions?

• Chapter by chapter. Does each chapter have a beginning, middle, and end? Does it build tension from one chapter to the next? Does it have a clear opening and enticing ending? Does each chapter serve a purpose to propel the plot and MCs journey (internally and/or externally) forward? Are the pacing and voice cohesive throughout?

• Description. Are all the senses being used? Is the setting adequately described in each important scene? Are the characters described enough that the reader can tell them apart? Are any world words, technology, foreign languages/words, gizmos, and anything else out of the ordinary that you threw in there clear enough that the reader is going to understand them in context and not be thrown out of the story. Are your details (character, setting, etc) consistent throughout?

• Dialogue. Does each character sound different? Does it serve a purpose? Can it serve more of a purpose/hold more tension? Does it sound natural? Is it clear who is speaking? Are there any places where action beats will serve better than simple tags?

• Paragraphs and sentences. Do they vary in length?  Are there massive paragraphs that need to be abroken up or too many short ones in a row? Do they start differently (no one wants to scan the page and see every paragraph starts with 'He') Do the sentences have good rhythm? Are the sentences clear? Does the sentence phrasing vary? Reading aloud during this pass is the best way to find most of these things.

• Word choices. Adverbs - can they be switched out for stronger verbs. Adjectives - are there enough or too many?  Are names clear and not to similar? Do the names (places, characters, etc) fit the story/setting/tone. Do the words being used convey the story clearly? Can any words be removed to tighten the story?

• Typos. Oh typos, the bane of our existence. This is also a good pass to do aloud so you can catch those pesky homonyms and missing/repeated words amongst many other things.

Is there anything you edit for that I missed here? 

Would you like a free e-book? This April, I'm giving away free copies of my new anthology, Destiny Pills & Space Wizards. Claim your copy here: https://claims.instafreebie.com/free/vhJFWpLL Enter code atozpromo

Prefer paperback? The print book goes live on April 20. Reviews are always appreciated.