Author Jean Davis

Saturday, April 7, 2018

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.

Friday, April 6, 2018

A to Z - All About Writing: Facebook Groups

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

Thursday, April 5, 2018

A to Z - All About Writing : Editing

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?

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

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

A to Z - All About Writing: Developmental Edits

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.

D is for Developmental Edits

A Developmental Edit is your first stop when you're either paying for an edit or receiving one from a publisher. A dev edit will cover the big picture aspects of your story. There will be comments on the overall plot, subplots, characters and their motivations and arcs. It might cover whether the story needs more description, action, tension or dialogue.

This stage of editing shouldn't be about the nitpicky things. It will help get the main story shaped up and tightened to create a compelling plot and host of characters that readers will care about.

You might think you have all of this covered, but you know your story. It came from your head. You can see the setting, you know the characters, the backstory and where book two will be headed. Everything seems perfectly logical in your mind.

Unfortunately, (or probably not because it's a darn twisted place) the reader is not in your head. It's very likely that some of what you think is clear on the page isn't actually there at all. There's probably a whole host of details still in your head that just need a little prodding by an editor to be shaken loose in order to fill out the story.

If you have a good critique partner, someone you trust, that isn't afraid to get critical and tell it how it is, they may be able to do this step for you. However, if you are going for publication, you'll be hit with a dev edit regardless of the fact that you think you have this step already covered. Odds are, there are still a bunch of things that could be fixed. It always seems like a story is never quite done.

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

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

A to Z - All About Writing: Critique Groups & IWSG

C is for Critique Groups

One of the big issues I find with many new writers is that they write a story and dive into submitting it without ever having anyone else read it. By anyone else, I mean someone other than your mother or significant other. I'm talking about fellow writers who will be happy to offer advice while tearing your word baby apart. That can sound traumatic, but it sure makes for a stronger story. Remember, you are not your story. A story is a thing you made. That thing almost always (no, really: always) can greatly benefit from a few pairs of critical eyes.

You can find critique groups in various places. If you're looking for an in person group, in which case you will likely be asked to bring a few pages to read out loud and bring copies for the group to write comments on, check your local library or sometimes local bookstores. Those places are where these types of groups usually meet. Doing a search on Facebook might also turn up groups in your area.

If you're not fond of getting critiqued in person, I suggest an online group. Online groups are nice when you have a busy schedule, don't like dealing with people face to face, or don't live in a bigger city that might support an in person group. I've found I get very honest and great feedback online that gets glossed over a lot more in person. It's easier to be truthful when you're not face to face, calling out ugly sentences, scenes, or irrational character actions. Not only that, but the person doing the critique can take their time, save it and come back to it after thinking about what they really liked or didn't. There are many groups out there and a google search will get you to most of them. My personal favorite is Critique Circle.

Find a group that fits you. That might be a genre group, a large group, a small group, a group that you feel comfortable with, though that might take a few meetings to establish one way or the other. Groups might meet every week or bi-monthly or once a month. Online groups usually require that you critique others before earning critiques of your own work.

A few things to remember when being critiqued:

Don't defend your work, but asking for clarification is fine.

Smile and say thank you, even if you totally don't agree.

The critique an opinion. It may be spot on, totally off, or somewhere in between. Don't get offended.

Use what feels right to you and discard the rest.

Give advice that pisses you off a few days to sink in before discarding it. Truth can be painful.

No one can write your story but you. Use rewrite suggestions if they fit, but keep your voice.

A big bonus of being part of a critique group is that you'll likely learn just as much if not more by critiquing the work of others than receiving critiques of your own work. It's easier to see what feels off, sounds bad, annoys you, and what makes something great in other people's work than it is when reading your own. Figuring all that out will make your writing stronger.

Are you part of a critique group?

And hey, it's the first Wednesday of the month! That means its time for an Insecure Writers Support Group post. Too bad this didn't coincide with I day, that would make things easy. We can't have that.

This month's question asks: When your writing life is a bit cloudy or filled with rain, what do you do to dig down and keep on writing?

Honesty, when I'm having a sucky time of writing, I stop writing. At least for a day or two. Not for good. I have a hard time being creative when my mind is wrapped up in negativity or the stress of a project or submission issue. So while some people might push through that and keep on going, I'm not one of them. I need a couple days of distance from whatever has me down to process or come to terms with it before I can dive back into being productive.

What about you?

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