Author Jean Davis

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

A to Z - All Things Writing : Understanding what to keep and what to let go

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 . Now, lets get on with today's letter.

U is for Understanding what to keep and what to let go

Getting all that feedback from editors, beta readers and critique partners can be overwhelming. So how do you know what to take into account and what to ignore and everything in between?

• Did more than one person point out the same issue? That's a good sign that it's not just a subjective opinion and is something you should take a deeper look at.

• Thinking of that person's comments overall, do they seem to have a good understanding of your book/characters/plot? If so, that's a good indication that this comment is something to give thought to.

• If the feedback is 90% praise, read that and enjoy it, but focus on the other 10% more. The issues they did pause to point out might be major ones.

• Does the comment feel harsh or hit hard on a sensitive issue? You don't have to agree with it 100%, but it may be something you should let digest and work on with a clear head another day.

• Remember all feedback is subjective. It's someone's opinion. It might not be right. It might not be right for your particular story. But just because someone disagrees with an aspect of your story, doesn't mean they're wrong either. Give it some thought and time and move forward as appropriate.

• Should you make all the changes everyone suggests? Goodness no! What a frankennovel that would make. Use what your gut tells you should be used. You're the one writing your story.

• Don't be afraid to make changes, even big changes, but only when your heart is in it. It's too easy to get bogged down in trying to make everyone happy and that can suck the life out of you as a writer.

• Some people like to offer suggestions, and that can be very helpful to illustrate what they mean in the context of their comment. Use caution when adopting these suggestions word for word because they're not in your voice can stand out like a sore thumb. Try rewriting that line/section in your own words using the suggestion as a guideline instead.

Keep in mind, that through it all, you have that back up copy of your original work. You can rewrite edit your heart out because your precious words are always safe, gathering dust in a folder on your hard drive. No one can take those away from you - even though you'll probably never ever go back to them.

How do you decide what to keep and what to let go?

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 is now live on Amazon. Reviews are always appreciated.

Monday, April 23, 2018

A to Z - All Things Writing: Talking About Your Novel

T is for Talking About Your Novel

Maybe you like telling people what you're writing about or maybe you dread it, but either way, it's good practice.

While you're writing, telling a few trusted people that you're writing a book can be great accountability. They will likely keep asking you how it's going. This will hopefully guilt you to stay relatively on task. If you don't have friends or family members who can fill this role for you, because not everyone is always supportive, find a writing group, either online or in person.

No one likes to talk about their book while it's in submission. That's a long, nail-biting process that is full of speculation and despair. Write something else while you're submitting. It will give you something more pleasant to talk about.

Once you have your book in your hand, you're going to have to start telling people about it or it will only ever be in your hands. Use that synopsis, your blurb and your logline and tell everyone about your book. Don't spam everyone at every turn, but do mention it when the opportunity arises. The more practice you get talking about your book, the easier it becomes. After a few times, those couple sentences about your book will just roll of your tongue and sound natural instead of forced by sheer panic.

It may sound weird to think about bringing up your book with people in your daily life, but you never know what people like to read. Toss the information out there and see what happens. The biggest trick to remember is to know when to expound on your couple sentences and when to stop there and move on in the conversation if they don't seem interested. Aiming for the hard sell isn't going to gain you sales, it's only going to annoy people.

Do you enjoy talking about your writing or do you avoid it?

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

Saturday, April 21, 2018

A to Z - All Things Writing: Synopsis

S is for Synopsis

Did you write an outline for your novel? If you didn't start with one, go write one now. Yes, post-novel. It will make writing your synopsis so much easier.

You know what happens in your novel, but now that you're ready to publish or submit your novel for publication, you're going to have to start telling other people what your novel is about. Coherently. The way to do that is to boil down that whole novel into a few pages. If you've never done this before, it might sound impossible. It's not. I promise.

With that outline in hand, write two to three sentences about each chapter. What important steps to does your main character take and why? What will happen if they don't succeed? If big things happen to supporting characters, mention that too. Try to be as conscience as possible. It doesn't have to be super pretty. This stage is only for you. You've just created a synopsis for each chapter. That wasn't so hard, was it?

Now, take those pages and read them through. Consider how to tell your story in brief to someone who hasn't read it yet, using the map you've written for yourself. You have a main character who has a goal. There is some opposing force. There are stakes. There may be secondary characters or multiple main characters who have important roles in the main plot or big subplots. Don't try to get into detail, but you do need to cover the highlights from beginning to end and make it sound engaging. Aim for three pages maximum.

Got the novel down to three pages? Groovy. Now make it one page.

Take that one page and that's what you can work from to create your query letter or back cover blurb. Both of these should not contain the end or the whole plot, but do need to have some of the information you have in your hand and they also need to be engaging. We'll cover those more on X day.

Congratulations, you made it through the step man writers dread. Once you've done this a time or two, it gets easier and involves far less hair pulling and slamming of your head against the desk.

Do you like or dread writing your synopsis?

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

Friday, April 20, 2018

A to Z - All Thing Writing: Rewriting

R is for Rewriting

This is the stage where the magic happens. You've written the end on your first draft. You've read it over and made some notes. Maybe you've done that post-draft outline I mentioned earlier this month or you have your original outline to refer to. Now its time to hit the ground running and clean up this mess.

Rewriting is crucial step if you've picked up an old draft with the intent to finish it or have added a bunch of scenes to a previously 'finished' piece.

My favorite method of rewriting works like this:

1. Save a copy of the first draft as draft two. This preserves all your precious original words for posterity. While I do this to make myself feel better, like I have a safety net if I screw something up along the way, I've never resorted to going back to the first draft again. Nevertheless, it frees up your conscience for rewriting.

2. If the draft doesn't totally suck, (like this is your fifth or sixth novel and you've got this writing thing down somewhat AND the first draft wasn't a bear to write), you might choose to carefully read over every line scene by scene, consider what needs to be changed while consulting your notes and outline and proceed through the book.

2A. Or, as is often the case for me, there are a lot of changes that need to be made. To prevent writing a frankennovel (created when too many bits and pieces are frantically sewn together) I rewrite the entire thing. Yes, every word. Starting at the top of the document, paragraph one, I write the new paragraph one below it, delete the old on and proceed to the next paragraph. You're probably thinking this sounds like a hell of a lot of work. Really, it's not. You're not having to think so much about putting a whole draft together now. It's about making what you already have, better.

What should you be looking for while rewriting?

• Word choice - can you say things clearer or without so many words?

• Voice - the frame of mind in which you started the book and where it ended are probably different. Now that you know the ending and all the leads up to it, you can go through make it cohesive.

• Description - if you didn't add much of that the first time around, now's the time. There's also the possibility that you only discovered what some of the setting, characters, and gizmos were in the middle or end of the book and they need to be added into the beginning.

• Plot fixes - this includes adding scenes to properly foreshadow events or introduce characters, ironing out scenes, cutting subplots that didn't end up being needed, etc.

Keep in mind that this isn't a pass where you should be super focused on typos and micro edits. This step is about getting the story itself into shape. Edits after this stage will add polish.

Do you rewrite or skip right to editing?

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

Thursday, April 19, 2018

A to Z - All Things Writing: Questions Make The Best Critiques

Q is for Questions Make The Best Critiques

I've been trading critiques for ten years or so and I can easily say that my favorite ones have asked me questions. Sure they tell me what they like and what they don't, and I'm always open to suggestions if someone has a better way to convey something, but it's the questions that are golden.

I know what I mean. I can see the story in my head and hear the character speak. I know why they're doing what they're doing. But is that on the page? Is it deep enough? Is it clear enough? Logical to anyone other than me? Not always.

So if anyone ever asks you to critique or beta read for them, do them a favor and ask questions. Obviously, questioning everything would get on the writer's nerves in no time, but if you're wondering something, ask. Even if it's something that you find out is explained two chapter later. I'd like to know when you start to wonder about it. Is it in the best interest of the story to keep that information from the reader for two more chapters or do I need to drop a little more info earlier on?

Why is the character doing this? I would think they would act this way: ____
What does this place look like?
Remind the writer to use senses. What does that old woman smell like?
Did the writer through some unexplained gizmo into the story? Am I supposed to know how this thing works?

There are so many possible questions. Don't hesitate to be inquisitive. And writers, don't answer the person asking. Put the answers in the story.

Some of my favorite parts of books I've written came from answering questions asked by critique partners and editors. Think of it as your chance to ask the writer instead of yelling at the tv, "Why are those kids going into the dark woods in the deserted summer camp to make out?"

One question can spark a whole train of inspiration. Never be afraid to ask.

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

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

A to Z - All Things Writing : Plotters and Pantsers

P is for Plotters and Pantsers

If you get a bunch of writers together in the same room or forum, you'll soon learn that there are two main camps. There are pantsers and plotters. Building off of yesterdays outlining post, this seemed an appropriate direction to wander.

Plotters, are those organized writers who spends weeks or months or even longer in preparation before ever committing a word to the actual story. They outline, research, and create character sheets. Plotters might even break the whole book down by scene and know what happens and who will be in it. I've met a couple of people who do just that. Once they get to writing, it's just a matter of filling in the scene and checking it off. This sounds like the perfect method for those who like to jump around while writing that first draft because everything is still relatively organized.

A plotter would know their character, Gary's every quirk, his detailed physical description, that he failed math in the fourth grade, that he has a rash on his left elbow and prefers blondes because they remind him of the hot lady that used to live next door when he was twelve.

Pantsers like to just sit down and marvel at the words that flow from their fingers. Their stories seem to have a life of their own, twisting and turning in unexpected directions from day to day. You might often hear a pantser saying something like their character isn't speaking to them or they aren't behaving. If you're a plotter, this may sound like a bit of nonsense or outright insanity. Sorry, it's just how we write. We're often surprised by where our story is going and where it ends up.

A panster would say: Wow, when this story started I had no idea Gary was gay and that he was allergic to olives and that's what would spur him into discovering the cure for feline baldness!

Then there are the plantsers, the hybrid writers who plan a little and wing the rest.

Which one are you?