Month: March 2020

How to Keep Writing (Motivation)

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Once you start writing, you’ll find that it isn’t as easy as it looks. You may start a few projects, then abandon them…unfinished. A common problem amongst writers, so how do you deal with it? The answer depends on where you are when you hit that wall. Some writers never even started, despite the fact that they claim they want to write. Some get going, but then the enthusiasm fades away as they get deeper and deeper into the story. Then there are the ones who seem to be afraid of finishing. If you never actually complete your book, then you won’t have to hear anyone critique it—avoiding failure by avoiding completion? That’s not what you want to do.

How Far Have You Gotten?

If you’ve just started…or are just thinking about starting…you may have concerns whether your writing is going to be worth anyone’s time. Don’t consider that now…just write for yourself. Once you get going and have a project in development, then you can start thinking about your Target Reader. Ideas loose in your head just get all jumbled up and confused. Merely putting them onto paper will help spotlight where you need to expand.

Other writers get bogged down near the end of their undertaking. The closer they get, the more they fear that it won’t turn out as they wanted. Sometimes the ending they’ve planned just won’t work out because of some things that have happened earlier in the story. They thought they knew which way it was going, but when they got there, it just wouldn’t happen.

I can commiserate with them entirely. I knew how a novel I was working on was going to end…but half-way through, the characters told me that they didn’t want that ending. [sigh] I had to go with what they wanted and rewrite the entire ending.

The mere fact that you have come this far is a testament to your determination…just a bit more and you’ll be done! You’ll have accomplished something few others have. It won’t be completely finished, but I’ve always said that I can’t edit a blank page. Get it written…then address the issues.

The majority of failed writers get stuck half way through the novel. The beginning and the end are fine…it’s the muddle that drags them down. Trying to keep inspired as you’re writing can be a problem.

How to Keep Going

No matter where you get stuck, there are ways to get going again, but first you need to decide if you want to keep going. If writing is a hobby…because you like writing…then there’s no reason to keep going. I wrote a resignation letter one time that used the line: “If it ain’t fun, don’t do it.”

On the other hand, if you are writing in hopes of making a living, then you need to treat writing as a job. If you called your plumber, and he said, “I just don’t feel like plumbing today”, you’d probably be a bit surprised. What if your baker decided to take a day off because he wasn’t in the mood to bake? It would shock you. If you, as a writer, didn’t put forth at least some effort every day, then it isn’t really a job…I don’t know what it is.

The best habit to develop is of writing daily, then half the battle is conquered. Excepting weekends, you sit and write…whether you feel like it or not. Some days may be more productive than others, but at least you have something to show for it.

I heard tell of a writer who stopped for lunch after spending the morning writing. His wife asked him how it was going, and he replied, “I put in a comma.” That evening, after working all afternoon, he answered his wife’s question with: “I took the comma out.” Not all days are going to yield something creative, but at least you’re attempting to do it. In basketball, they say that you’ll miss every shot that you don’t try.

Track Your Progress

Daily writing goals help, and by graphing your work, you’ll see how it adds up…how close you are to your goal. Using Excel to graph your progress can be challenging, but if you keep the analytical side of your brain active, you can reserve the creative side for your writing. (When I was in university, I always took a maths/science class as well as art/creative writing class…and I used the far south carpark if I didn’t have a kinesiology class. Gotta to keep both parts of your brain active!)

If you prefer someone else graph your work, use a program similar to Pacemaker Planner to set up a goal and daily plan, either word count or time spent. It then shows how much work you need to do—as you work, you enter how far you’ve gotten. It then compares that with where you should be…and can adjust the later dates to accommodate your actual progress. (Very useful if you’re trying NaNoWriMo.)

Eliminate Distractions

If you get easily distracted, most word processing programs have a Distraction Free setting. If you need more, there are programs out there comparable to Focus Writer. It allows you to configure an environment and background that helps you stay on task.

Blind Write takes a unique attitude towards writing. Fully espousing the philosophy of turning off your internal editor during the process of writing, they allow you to set your topic and a timer, then just type away…the only thing is that you can’t see what you’re typing…not until the timer runs out. It’s certainly a good way to get some ideas down without being bothered by small typos, phrasing issues, word choice problems, etc. Once the timer ends and you can finally see what you’ve typed, you just copy and paste the text into any word processor for clean-up. (It will really test your typing skills, too!)

I really recommend you try it…even if just for fun.

The Five C’s of Plot

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Just as we earlier had gone over the Three C’s of Writing, we will now look at the Five C’s of Plot. By considering these five ideas, you will be able to develop a skeleton that you can then fill in with appropriate details to build up your story. These aren’t named quite the same as the Five Plot Points, but I’ll show where they tie in. Before you start expanding your story by aiming for the Plot Points, you may want to at least identify what these concepts are in your story, so you can use them as a guide.

Character

Of course you have to have some characters in your story…otherwise who would we be reading about? Some authors argue that Plot is more important than characters…others argue the other way around. I find that Characters are part of plot, so you can’t have one without the other.

Right up front, you need to create a wonderful main character (MC) that the readers can worry about. You’ll also need a flock of minor characters to carry out the various tasks required of them (Elements—Character). We get to know all these characters in Plot Point #1, Introduction, but they need to be believable, not flat, or the reader won’t care what happens to them. All right, now that you have your cast of thousands, what do you do with them?

Conflict

Here is where the real story starts. To find the conflict, the question you have to ask yourself is why is this day different from all others? That’s the key to the start of conflict. Something happens in our Hero’s life that disrupts things the way they were. Although he spends the rest of the story trying to get back to normal, it never happens. This change in his situation makes a change in him as well.

The Conflict could be internal (he realises that he needs to change) or external (someone or something interferes with his life). A good example is a Bad Guy taking something away from him or preventing him from getting something he desires. It could also be something as simple as a tree branch falling on his car. This conflict happens as part of Plot Point #2, Inciting Event, but that’s just the beginning.

Complications

Here is where the bulk of your story resides. There is a problem…and every time your MC tries to fix the problem in front of him, another, greater, problem develops. You can have fun with these complications…dreaming up more and more convoluted difficulties. If he gets out a chainsaw to cut up the branch lying across his car…he could find the gas tank empty…OR he could be cutting the branch apart and the saw kicks back…slicing off his fingers!

It’s your choice to envision appropriate setbacks for him…depending on how seriously you want him to fail. These complications, taking place during the Rising Action, continue to escalate until the Hero is defeated…he has reached his Darkest Point (Plot Point #3).

Climax

This is the point where your Hero finally turns things around, coming from behind to somehow defeat the enemy. The method he uses to succeed in completing the challenge is up to you, but it has to be logical, though not predictable. Twenty-twenty hindsight will make it clear why he did what he did, but the reader shouldn’t be able to guess what’s going to happen before it does.

In addition, you have to remember that it has to be his decision that makes the difference, though possibly guided by his Mentor. Once he makes that decision, and is committed to following through, he goes for it and something changes…either himself or the world…but he never manages to return to his old self (Transformation). This part of the process matches up with Plot Point #4, also called Climax (isn’t that amazing?).

Conclusion

Now you finally get to tie up all those loose ends you left lying about with all the subplots you so carefully wove throughout the story and maybe explain how your Hero achieved his victory. This is your chance to show the reader the new world that was created by the Hero’s change.

Now would be a good time to allude to other activities in the continuation of the story…possibly revealing that a subsequent story may be about to take place. (Remember, the best way to get your first book to sell is to write a second book…and to get that one popular? Just write a third! You aren’t a one-trick pony, are you?) After all this, you’ve ultimately reached Plot Point #5, Resolution, just with a different name.

Put It All Together

Now that you have the Five C’s identified, all you have to do is figure out the rest of the story…but with this foundation, that should be easy, right?

First Impressions

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Readers can’t buy your book unless they know it exists, and it’s your job to let them know that your amazing book is out there and ready for them to find. A big way you can make a good first impression is knowing what your book is about. Yes, you’ve written it, so you know everything that is going on in it, but can you succinctly explain what it’s about…without hemming and hawing…stuttering…taking way too much of someone’s time? That is where creating an Elevator Speech will help.

The next biggest way to announce that your creation is out there works when you aren’t even around: printed info that you can hand out or make available for folks to grab later. We’ll cover both of those right now.

Elevator, Blurb, or Logline

If you have only 30 seconds…as the elevator moves from floor to floor…to tell someone about your book, you need to have a quick, yet complete, summary of your book…ready to go. That’s the idea behind an Elevator Speech. You’ve prewritten it to include enough information to catch someone’s attention, yet it leaves out enough to keep their curiosity up. Once you’ve perfected it…and practiced it in front of a mirror until you’re tired of it…you’ll be ready to tell anyone, any time, all about your book.

When used on the back cover as a blurb, you can also add quotes from well-known folks in appropriate fields, either praises about the content of the book or compliments regarding your expertise in writing it. When done right, the back cover can entice potential purchasers to open up the book and start reading…right there in the store aisle.

Though similar to a Synopsis, an Elevator Speech differs in content and audience. A Synopsis includes a brief, but complete, version of your entire story…including the Climax and Resolution…and is intended for Acquisition Editors or Agents. They don’t want to be entertained…rather they need to know that it is a finished product and has a satisfactory ending, so they can evaluate the marketability. Elevator Speeches, on the other hand, usually stop just shy of the Climax, often barely hinting at the Darkest Point. They are for prospective readers who need to be convinced that they must read the whole thing.

If you shorten it even more, you can use it as a Logline. Often only one sentence long, a Logline captures the main character, the central conflict, and the stakes involved, along with a key concept that makes your book distinctive.

Printed Material

You can’t always be around when readers are looking for something to read, but instead of trying to find them, let them find you. If you can put your info into their hands, then you can sit back and let them come to you. Putting your contact info…and enough of a hook…on different kinds of items can work wonders for your sales. You can use something as small as a business card (though there’s not much room for your pitch) or a bookmark (more room…for a picture, too), as big as a postcard (cover picture and a blurb), or even as huge as a poster (plenty of room for all kinds of info).

Business cards can be handed out whenever you meet with readers…and they will remember you when they get home. Bookmarks are always useful to readers and can be offered to interested folks. Postcards can be mailed as well as being available for folks to pick up when they wander past your table at the book fair. Posters that can be seen across a room will attract attention, drawing folks to come over to see what all the fuss is about. (Imagine a 3 foot by 5 foot poster of the picture to the side…now that draws a crowd every time he sets it up!)

Any type of handout you use should include some basic info: your name, your site (and QR), the book’s name, and the Logline or Tagline. On the larger ones, include your book’s front cover, so they’ll recognise it when they go shopping. You can also use a scene from in the book in addition to the cover to draw more attention.

QR Codes

We’ve mentioned QR codes in more than a few postings, but we never detailed just what they are. Let’s rectify that deficiency now. The abbreviation QR stands for Quick Response—a method of encoding information (such as a URL) in printed material that can be scanned by a smartphone.

Sharing your URL in print is fine, but folks often balk at having to type it all in or even just searching for your site. Putting it on your business card as a QR code eliminates that issue…they can just scan it with their phone, and it will take them directly to whatever page you’ve encoded. That’s a key point…because you pick the page they are sent to, you can have multiple similar pages and different QR codes on different items pointing to each one. That way you can see which handouts give you the best return for your investment—you can do your own A/B testing.

A Logline or a Tagline?

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Although today is National Grammar Day, we aren’t going to examine any aspect of grammar…rather we are going to expose yet another baffling term that is probably new to you…actually a pair of terms that are often confused. Because you’ll probably need both a Tagline and a Logline, it’s a pretty good idea to distinguish them.

Logline

Commonly expanded and used as an Elevator Speech, or expanded even more to become a Blurb, a Logline is a quick description of your book that includes enough information so the reader knows what it’s all about. Easy enough to build…determine the proper parts and put them together.

Start with your main character…but not his name, just a quick description as an outsider would see him with a couple descriptive adjectives to give some depth.

  • A former boy scout

Then you need to add some setting, just enough to set the general situation or time period. You could also include an indication of genre here.

  • A former boy scout, now in his early twenties, is finishing up college

Next, mention what’s changed in his life. Why is the story starting here? That would be the Inciting Event from Act I. Don’t go into too much detail, just a quick reason why things have changed.

  • A former boy scout, now in his early twenties, is finishing up college and arranges one last great adventure with some fellow scouts

Now we need to know the stakes…what could happen…what are the risks?

  • A former boy scout, now in his early twenties, is finishing up college and arranges one last great adventure with some fellow scouts. Using some experimental technology, they plan to travel far to experience a new world

Finally we need to get the reader to care about the characters.

  • A former boy scout, now in his early twenties, is finishing up college and arranges one last great adventure with some fellow scouts. Using some experimental technology, they plan to travel far to experience a new world where they discover more about themselves than they expected and have to make some crucial decisions to ensure that all return safely

Optional

To keep the tension strong, a ticking clock is handy to have.

  • A former boy scout, now in his early twenties, is finishing up college and arranges one last great adventure with some fellow scouts. Using some experimental technology, they plan to travel far to experience a new world where they discover more about themselves than they expected and have to make some crucial decisions to ensure that all return safely before the door to the new world closes.

That covers the Logline, just two sentences.

Tagline

Often found as a subtitle on a novel, the Tagline gives a feeling of what the book is about…but none of the details. You can’t predict anything about the book from the Tagline, but it makes you want look more, just like a slogan—complementing your cover image as it illuminates the heart of your book.

Creating a Logline was a straightforward step-by-step process…creating a Tagline, on the other hand, is a whole ’nother ball of wax. Because your Tagline has little to do with the content of your book, there is no quick and easy method to create one. It is a purely creative task, so we suggest that you consider the list below for inspiration and do a lot of brainstorming. Come up with as many as you can and pass them by your friends and family, critique partners, possibly total strangers. See how they react, what questions they ask, what excites them. Would they pick up the book based on that alone?

You’ll probably recognise some of the following Taglines…and could even name the book, movie, or show.

  • There can be only one.
  • A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
  • Who you gonna call?
  • One ring to rule them all.
  • …the temperature at which books burn.
  • Winter is coming.
  • Don’t go in the water.
  • Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…
  • Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.
  • The truth is out there.
  • We are not alone.
  • There are two sides to every story.
  • Half Boy. Half God. All Hero.

As you can see, even if you know what those Taglines refer to, by themselves, they don’t give any clue what the story is about. That’s the problem with Taglines. All we can do is wish you luck!