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New PDF Guide: Emotion: it’s tough
When I figured out which series were the tops in 2011, I suddenly realized how long it’s been since I put together one of my series into PDF format (hint: years). Plus, it’s my husband’s and my second anniversary of our first kiss. I wanted to celebrate, but I can’t really take you all to dinner. So I made you something instead. (Ten guesses what it is!)
I’m starting with the most popular of last year’s series: Emotion: it’s tough. Portraying emotion in 
fiction isn’t easy—but an emotional experience is exactly why readers buy and read books. Using that emotion makes your writing more powerful—when it’s done right.
Emotion might be a double black diamond ski slope, but it doesn’t have to be treacherous terrain in your writing. Hard work, perhaps always. But impossible? Nope!
So check out the free PDF version of the series Emotion: it’s tough!
Photo by Peter Dutton
Posted in News & Contests, Technique
Tagged emotion, free guide, free writing guide, guide, pdf
1 Comment
Author photos!
Yesterday, I paid a friend to shoot me. Fortunately, he used a camera.
Okay, so my photographer isn’t just a random friend. He happens to be Jaren Wilkey, the 2011 Photographer of the Year for the University Photographers’ Association of America. (Just in the 2011 UPAA print competition, six of his photos also won prizes/honorable mentions including two 1st place finishes.) I’ve seen him take lots of pictures before—and had him take some great pictures of my family—but after working with him yesterday, let me tell you, the man knows his stuff. I mean, just check me out (and these are just straight from the camera):
(okay, I photoshopped fixed my hair a little in this ^ one)
These are three of the just under 500 photos we shot in 90 minutes. I am now armed with reaction shots for any possible blog topic. For example, murderous rage:
I will say this a thousand times: if you have the money or the contacts, get a professional to shoot your author photos. (And the same thing goes a million times for your wedding photos. Still grumbling about mine.) There is no substitute for someone who understands how to really work a camera and use lighting and backgrounds and poses to make you look your best.
In case you’re wondering, taking your author photos is pretty cool and can be a lot of fun, but no, it doesn’t make you feel like the real deal (yet).
Any faves here? How do you want to do your author photos?
In case you missed it, photos by Jaren Wilkey
February Thinky Links!
Over the month of January, I collected the stories I found on Twitter and in my feeds that were just too good to miss and put them together for you! Welcome to “Thinky Links“!
Author Janice Hardy offers some good advice on how to cut a scene without hurting your story
Kristen Lamb gives a really good example of how to start in medias res.
The Editors’ Blog looks at the use of coincidence in fiction, why it’s bad—and how to fix it.
I’ve been working hard on revising my Nano novel, so I’m really far behind on my feeds, but I did happen to see two good posts on EditTorrent recently, the kind that make me want to run around telling people “I’ve been vindicated” in an imaginary battle I was having with no one. The first covers showing versus telling in an interesting way (i.e. not writing 101), including that was is not always bad and is not the same thing as passive voice, and the role of telling in exposition.
The second is how to avoid that obnoxious “As you know, Bob” (or Alphonse) dialogue by slipping in backstory, characterization and other information through subtle cues. I LOVE working on this, and Alicia gives great examples!
Although I’m now with a traditional, regional publisher, I still find self-publishing very interesting. So for two different perspectives on that this month, Daniel J. Friedman takes a hard look at the numbers behind self publishing: what they make, what they’re worth, and what they’re selling. On the other hand, Joanna Penn interviewed Adam Croft on How To Sell 130,000 Books Without A Publisher. And for some perspective on both sides, Future Book looks at Why Amanda Hocking Switched, with some interesting notes on how her publishers are working for her.
And to close, here are a few of my favorite posts on this blog from Januaries past:
- A perennial favorite of mine, how to spot and avoid the most common (empty) gestures in writing
- Another one I still use extensively, creating and editing with a scene chart
- And a few from the series on tension, suspense and surprise:
- Choosing whether plot elements should be set up strongly to create suspense, or should remain a surprise
- One I should probably study a little more: creating suspense in Act I
- What creates tension and suspense?
What’s the best writing/marketing/publishing advice you‘ve read lately?
Photo by Karola Riegler
Top 11 of 2011
Yes, I know, I’m ready for the new year, too. But I was curious: which writing series got the most visits here on my blog last year?
A quick dig through my analytics gave me the answer, and I wanted to share what I found with you! (Did you know I had more than ten series here? Yep, despite the fact that I haven’t made them into PDFs in forever and the Writing Guides page doesn’t have most of them.)
11. Dialogue
An overview of the mechanics and technique of writing good fictional dialogue.
10. Clues in non-mysteries
A new series in 2011, here we looked at how to balance foreshadowing—making sure it’s enough but not too much.
9. Character arcs
By request, we looked at character arcs in fiction, showing growth and change in our characters. I’ve actually used this series while I was preparing for Nano, and I have some new thoughts to bring to this series this year.
8. Bad advice
I have had (and currently have) some great critique partners—but I’ve also received my share of off-the-wall awful advice. Here’s how to tell the difference and take the bad in stride (more or less 
).
7. Aspiring Author Websites
Setting up a website as an aspiring author: is it worth it? I think so! This series talks about how to do it, and what to put on your site. We’ll be seeing more of this with our new Marketing Mondays.
6. Emotion: it’s tough
Even when reading escapist fluff (which is okay!), people read to make emotional connections with characters. Fiction without emotion is flat—but emotion can be hard to write. Here are some ideas and tips in one of two series on this list from 2011. (They might be the only two series I wrote last year…)
5. Backstory
Another one I think about a lot still, and have some more posts in store this year. Backstory is vital, but it’s most interesting and useful to the author. In this series, I discuss why that is—and how to slip the backstory into the real story at the right place and in the right way.
4. Creating Sympathetic Characters
One of our first series, we looked at how to get readers to identify with your characters—even when they’re unlikeable.
3. Deep POV (x3)
Deep POV is the most popular narration mode today. Here’s how to get into your characters’ heads and write through their eyes.
To find ten unique series listed in here, I had to sift through more than ten lines of data. Deep POV was so popular that it had three pages in the top 20 or so series pages!
2. Tension, Suspense and Surprise (x3!)
Tension is vital in fiction. I’ve learned this the hard way and now I look for ways to get it in every scene, in every page. Here are some of the best ways I’ve found to do this.
1. Plot Thickens (x5!!)
A look at several methods of creating and structuring plots—the top series on this site for three years in a row!
I think this year I’ll try to work to get more of these top series compiled into PDFs.
What’s your favorite series? What subjects would you like covered, or re-covered this year?
Posted in News & Contests
4 Comments
Dragging myself to the goal finishline
Reaching goals on autopilot
I’m so excited for the new year! But obviously resolutions really aren’t my thing anymore. Goals, however, are a different story. I set goals all the time—and I want to try to achieve my goals on autopilot this year.
That doesn’t mean coasting through the year, or setting absurdly low goals so I can achieve them, though. I kind of beasted Nano 2011, and—especially the first week—I managed to do this without the world falling down around the ears. I’m the mom, of course, and I set the pace of the household. I do most of the housework. So how did I write 5000-6000 words a day (hours and hours of work) without running out of meals and clean underwear for the family?
Planning.
I was already used to one very useful phone alarm: a 15 minute warning to the time we need leave for Hayden’s school. So I decided to expand on that and use the phone alarm to remind me to do laundry (and switch it, fold it, and hand it off to the kids to put away), work with the kids to empty the dishwasher, read with the kids, start dinner and go to bed on time.
Dinners were also planned: I took the calendar for the month and planned out our meals. Since I knew I’d be working hard, I focused on quick meals, slow cooker meals, meals I’ve squirreled away in the freezer, and family favorites. Themed nights were also big helps. It took a couple hours to write it out, but then for the rest of the month, meal planning was handled and I could just look at the calendar to make out my shopping list.
Even blog posts (on four blogs!) were planned the month in advance. Topics and dates went on the calendar. I made up post drafts for each of those days with the topics all ready to go. I stockpiled topics and full posts. On weekends, I filled in the remaining posts and scheduled them to go.
It actually went really well—until I finished my novel. And then I let a lot of it fall apart. But all that advanced planning helped me to maintain a good routine, be productive and run the house better than I usually did.
So how can that apply to other goals?
Schedule them now.
If you want to write 1000 words a day, pick a time and put it in your schedule. (Doing it at the same time each day can help, too.) Unplug from the Internet. Schedule a time with the fewest kids distractions around. I’ve used a handy plugin that would block certain time-wasting websites during certain times of the day—another helper.
If you want to read a certain number of books next year, start collecting recommendations. Figure out whether you prefer reading on an eReader/mobile device (if you have one) or paper book. I like library books since they come with built-in deadlines—and, oh yeah, they’re free.
If you’re trying to research a project, make a list of resources, get them and give yourself a timeline to read them.
If you want to lose weight, schedule your exercise sessions with yourself. Make up healthy meal plans in advance. Buy and prepare healthy snacks.
We all know that goals should to be broken down into steps to be achievable. But what it really comes down to is to just do it, to quote Nike. Little reminders and baby steps help me.
What does it take to help you just do it?
Photo by Kent Wein
Bring on the new year!
Wherein we review gloss over last year
So as last year drew to a close, I saw a lot of friends posting reviews of their 2011 Resolutions: accomplished this, failed that, oops forgot this, etc. I dug through my archives to see if I should do the same.
The answer was a resounding no. And not because I failed all my goals—but apparently I didn’t make any public resolutions last year. Which kind of explained why I couldn’t remember a single one.
(Except my goal to read 50 books, which I hit after a read-fest the first four days of last week.)
I like that I won’t be starting the new year with the baggage of “oh, I failed at such-and-such.” I love new beginnings—as a child, I actually had toys I never played with because I didn’t want to ruin their pristine state. (Sadly, they were not valuable collectors’ items. We’re talking a rock tumbler and a pottery wheel. Fun, right?)
2011 had some great highs and . . . some nots. I mired myself so badly in edits that I lost all joy in writing, and had to walk away for several months. And soon thereafter, we had a death in my family.
But on the other hand, I had my first book accepted by a publisher! I wrote another book and had so much fun! Hooray!
But I’m ready for a new start. A year without failure and baggage in it yet. A year that’s still mine for the making.
Now to figure out what we’ll make of it.
What do you think? How was your 2011? What do you want to make of 2012?
The big news!
Sorry to interrupt your Nanoing. Hope it’s going well! Just a little news to share here:
My first novel, Saints and Spies, will be published by Covenant Communications in 2013!!!
The book is about an LDS (Mormon) FBI agent who has to go undercover as a Catholic priest to root out the mob in the parish. Falling for the parish secretary? That’s just the beginning of his problems.
I got the email Friday morning while working away at a writers’ retreat (where I pounded out 27,000 words on a new novel that I’m very excited about, too!). It was fantastic to share that with other writers face to face, especially when those writers are some really good friends.
The burning questions
To clarify, no one has actually asked these things; I’m being snarky to myself.
What’s your advance?
Let me introduce you to the concept of economies of scale if you’re not already familiar with it. I’m being published by a regional publisher, which means smaller print runs, which means higher cost per unit. This, in turn, means that there’s a bigger risk assumed by the publisher in printing the books, and a system which just doesn’t lend itself well to the advance-against-royalties model.
Or, the short answer: in this market, they’re almost exclusively on a royalties-only basis.
Why did you settle for a regional publisher?
First of all, that’s a super-rude way to phrase the question. I actually didn’t settle; this was one of my dream publishers. The book itself has a lot of LDS (Mormon) content because the main character is LDS. I knew I wanted to find this book a home with a regional LDS publisher—and I’m thrilled it did!
Edited to add: as my friend and publisher-buddy Annette Lyon pointed out in the comments, this company is also the top publisher of fiction in the market. It’s a pretty big deal (even if you haven’t heard of them).
Does this mean you’re Mormon?
Yep. Have been all along. You’re just now noticing? Hm.
So, what now?
My book was accepted based on the manuscript and a plan for proposed revisions to be extra extra careful about the interfaith issues. I’ll make those revisions and anything else I need to, and turn it in again. In the mean time, over at my publisher (I just love typing that!), they’ll assign me to an editor. That editor will look over my revised manuscript and make content suggestions on characters, plot lines, scenes, etc. I’ll take those to make the book better. Once we’re satisfied, the book goes to a copy editor who proofreads it. Once we get it thoroughly clean, it’s ready for all the technical stuff: typesetting, . . . um . . . well, I know there’s printing involved.
Somewhere in there I’ll receive, review and sign a contract. And a cover design. And also do some marketing planning and the like.
And when did you say?
They’re still figuring out exactly when, but it should be sometime in 2013.
But that’s so far away!
Yes, but this is the speed publishing moves. Also, in less than two months, I’ll be able to say, “My book will be out next year.”
So, are you excited?
Yes! Absolutely! And I got this news surrounded by some of my closest writer friends, many of whom have directly and indirectly helped me grow as a writer, who were then able to celebrate my success along with me. And also comment on how badly I was shaking. And ask me to do a cartwheel. (I did.)
Can I read it?
Oh yes! But I probably won’t be giving out a whole lot of free copies. Sorry, but I’m sure I’ll only receive a limited number anyway.
No, I meant, can I read it now?
I do have an excerpt of the first chapter of Saints and Spies in its current form available here on my website.
Well, awesome! But . . . I’m kind of running out of questions . . . Uh, how his Nano going?
Fantastic! With the retreat, I’m up to nearly 40,000 words in my novel, and it’s so much fun! It’s not going exactly how I planned–I really thought a certain event would be the first plot point, but then when I got there, a new first plot point came in, and now I’m just about at the midpoint and I’m still working up to that certain event.
Ah well, writing is revision, isn’t it?
If you say so. Where will I be able to buy your book?
LDS bookstores including Seagull Book and Deseret Book will carry it, as well as independent LDS bookstores. It might also be in Utah Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. And of course, there’s always Amazon and Kindle.
Will non-Mormons be able to “get” your book?
Oh yes. The Internet is a wonderful thing.
The “get” is in quotes.
Gotcha. There are some jokes and references that are geared toward members of the LDS faith, but I’m thinking about how I can make sure my friends of other faiths can understand the references.
Will your blog change? Your Facebook? Your Twitter?
The answer, of course, is yes. Everything changes. I don’t know quite what I want to do to appeal to both writers and my potential readers, but we’ll see.
Are you tired?
YES. I just dozed off while typing my last response.
Why don’t you go to bed?
Just one more blog post.
Then stop writing this one!
Photo by Angela
Posted in News & Contests, Publishing
Tagged acceptance, acceptance letter, dreams come true, saints and spies
31 Comments
The Keys to Nano Success (and Halloween Scarefest continues!)
Happy Halloween! The scary day is upon us! Made all the more scary by two things: the Halloween Scarefest wrapping up (you can add scenes with a character who’s afraid through today!) and what happens tonight at the witching hour:
NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH BEGINS!
Indeed, the time for Nano has come. And they’ve finally gotten the Writing Buddies feature working—feel free to add me as a buddy. You might be able to find me under the enigmatic name of “JordanMcCollum.”
If you’ve spent October preparing, you’re probably like me, champing at the bit (yes, it’s “champing” and not “chomping”) to get started, and maybe a little amazed you’ve been able to wait this long. You might even be 
planning to stay up until midnight to get a jump start on the month. (Or head to bed early to get a jump start in the morning.)
But even if you’re not participating in Nano this year, there’s sure to come a time when you have to up your productivity: writing for a deadline, a personal goal, a challenge among friends. We can even strive to make the most of our time and our writing efforts outside of Nano (gasp!).
To help with that, throughout November, I’m planning a series on NaNoWriMo success and inspiration: ways to help you get going and keep going, tips for the best Nano ever, and fun ways to reconnect with what inspired you to write this story in the first place.
What do you think? Are you ready for Nano? What areas of Nano do you need the most help with (other than, you know, actually writing the words)?
Photo by Andrew Skudder
