How to Get Published

by John Bowers

One of the hardest things I face when writing a novel is keeping the story consistent. Writing a book-length story may take from a few weeks to a few months, and you put the story down a few hundred words at a time. Over a period of several weeks, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what happened earlier, and consistency can suffer.

If you’re writing from a detailed outline it may be easier, but if you’re like me, outlines are too restrictive. When I start a novel I usually have a general idea of what the book is about, three or four high points I want to hit, and a couple of characters. From that starting point, the adventure begins, and I usually don’t end up where I thought I might. But the journey is fantastic-I discover the story as I go, just as the reader does later on. (more…)

by John Bowers
One of the great things about reading a good adventure book is the atmosphere in which the story takes place. If the author is good, you are transported to whatever setting he describes, and wish you were actually there as events take place. Atmosphere is critical to a good novel, but how hard is it to create?

There are many kinds of atmosphere. Initially we think of the setting, like a cool autumn day where the trees blaze with color and a delicious little wind stirs the leaves around your feet; or a sunny beach where the sun bakes you brown and the surf crashes loudly while circling seagulls screech overhead-but atmosphere can be more than that. Atmosphere can be a pall of gloom that settles over a city under siege, a joyous giddiness that infects the guests at a wedding, or a cold dread that stalks the streets where a serial killer remains at large.

You can develop an exciting plot, colorful characters, and lots of action, but without atmosphere, your novel is missing a key ingredient. (more…)

by Al Kalar
One of the pieces of advice I give writers is, “join a writing workshop”. No, not a one-day “become a best-selling author” given by Famous Writer. I’m talking about a peer-to-peer workshop that’s really a club.

Well, I do follow my own advice. I’ve been a member of an online workshop since the late 90’s and I learned a LOT. I still learn more on a regular basis, but I also dispense advice (everyone does from the day they join).

This last weekend, I critiqued a submission from one of our members. The writer is a big fan of “classic” pulp science fiction and decided to write his book in a similar style, including a rather lengthy “foreword”. I took him to task over the forward (it violated my favorite “rule”: get right into the story, explain later if at all). I also objected to the fact that he started with four separate story lines (part of the reason for the forward). (more…)

by Victory Crayne

Ah, that sweet spot when you’ve completed the first draft of a new story. In your excitement, you may want to show others your creation. After all, if you had so much fun writing it, it MUST be good, right?

Hold it right there!

First drafts can always use some revisions and, in some cases, SERIOUS rewriting. You wouldn’t want people to read your half-baked draft and think that it is your BEST work, would you? (more…)

by Al Philipson

A good story often involves a number of details. Plots, people, and things that often come together at the end to produce the all-important climax.

Along the way, you’ll include a number of things which may or may not be important to the story. Keeping track of these things over the months it takes to write a novel can be daunting at best and impossible at worst, especially if, like me, you forget things easily (why did I come into this room?). (more…)

by Al Kalar

Good writers get all they can out of a verb.

For instance, when a character moves from one place to another in a scene, he doesn’t “move across the room”. He “plunges”, “saunters”, “minces”, “charges”, “slinks”, etc. across the room.

Let’s look at an example:

Jim moved over to Henry and hit him in the face.

[yawn]

Jim charged Henry and smashed a fist into his face.

So, what happened to Henry?

Henry fell to the floor. His nose was bleeding.

[Wake me when it's over]

Henry crashed to the floor, blood flowing from his mangled nose.

Remember to review your verbs when you edit your own work. Not just action verbs, but any verb. Victims aren’t afraid, they “quake”; their knees shake, their stomachs churn, and their bowls threaten to disgrace them.

Your thesaurus (often built into your word processor) can be a good friend, but your mind and a command of a wide range of verbs are your main weapons.

by Al Kalar

Head Hopping:

You’ve seen it in the writings of even established writers. The scene is being played out from the viewpoint of one character, when suddenly you’re given the internal reaction of another character. Some writers can do this without confusing the reader, but often the reader is left hanging, wondering who’s thinking or feeling something.

“Head hopping” is the result of sloppy writing. New authors (who get rejected because of this) and established writers who have become lazy are the most frequent offenders. The established writer gets away with it because his work will sell in spite of it and his publisher knows this (but still dislikes putting the story out that way). (more…)

by John Bowers

One of the hardest things I face when writing a novel is keeping the story consistent. Writing a book-length story may take from a few weeks to a few months, and you put the story down a few hundred words at a time. Over a period of several weeks, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what happened earlier, and consistency can suffer.

If you’re writing from a detailed outline it may be easier, but if you’re like me, outlines are too restrictive. When I start a novel I usually have a general idea of what the book is about, three or four high points I want to hit, and a couple of characters. From that starting point, the adventure begins, and I usually don’t end up where I thought I might. But the journey is fantastic-I discover the story as I go, just as the reader does later on.

The problem with writing that way is that things will often happen that I didn’t anticipate. Characters may make decisions on their own (don’ t laugh, this actually happens), and I find myself on a side road heading for a different horizon than the one I had aimed for.

That isn’t always a problem, but when you get into the details, consistency can get lost. (more…)

by Michelle Gagnon

During our first page critiques, we discussed the danger of incorporating strong language on page 1 of your manuscript. Encountering an f-bomb at the outset of a novel can turn off a lot of readers, so editors are understandably leery of acquiring works with it.

However, I think that strong language does have a place in novels- at least in mine. I frequently get emails or reviews from people who say things like, “I loved this book, but wish that someone had gone through and crossed out all the f-bombs for me.” Equally perplexing to me are the people who claim that they “didn’t mind the f-bombs, but at times Gagnon takes the name of the Lord in vain.” (more…)

by Michelle Gagnon

Yesterday, Joe discussed knowing where you’re headed before getting started. I received an email from a college friend this week who’s writing his first novel, and he asked me a few questions about my process. I thought I’d share some of what I said in reply. Of course, there is no one “right way” to write a book; everyone has to find his or her own path. But after hammering out four books, I’ve learned what works for me.

1) At what point do you seek formal feedback, rather than just cranking it out?

I don’t show my work to anyone until I’ve completed two drafts. And then I send it to my “Beta readers,” 5-7 people whose opinion I trust. What I’ve discovered, however, is that they’ll all like different aspects of the story, and they’ll all criticize different aspects. I always take that feedback with a grain of salt. If more than one person is saying the same thing, I know it’s time to go back and figure out where I went wrong. (more…)