Jade Varden Official Blog

One of the worst mistakes a writer can make -- and a sure way to anger a reader -- is not sticking with a firm tense. Make your work consistent by choosing which tense you're writing in, and find out exactly how to do it. Tenses There are three different tenses, but most authors use only two of them. Once you choose your tense, you're going to have very specific grammar rules to follow -- so choose wisely. Past By far the most common tense in book-writing, past tense is used when the events being described have already happened. The narrator is telling the tale from some point in the future from when the book takes place. A book written in past tense doesn't have to be historical or even dated -- it can be contemporary, taking place even as the reader is working their way through the book. The narrator, however, is in the future. That's important grammatically, because as a writer you have to be certain you're using past-tense words to describe e...

After you agonize over every word and debate plot points until nothing in your book makes sense any more, the last thing you want to do is worry about packaging. But at the end of the day, it takes a compelling cover to sell any book. A gripping image, a title that reaches through the screen -- a reason to buy, that's what every reader is actually looking for. And chances are, if they don't like your cover they're never going to read a word you've written...no matter how great the blurb may be. Designing a Cover Only very artistic people have the skills and know-how to create both the text and cover for a book completely from scratch, but you may not have to. There's lots of ways you can create a cover, and not all of them involve sitting down at a drawing pad or graphic design program. DIY If you've got the skills and the materials, you can always use a program or a piece of paper to literally draw and create your book cover from a completely blank s...

The book trailer for The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2) is now live! You can get the book at Amazon .

"I will read whatever this author writes." Another reader has given Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) a 5-star review! Find it at the Kindle store to read the review and download your copy.

Now's your chance to win the first two books in the Deck of Lies series FREE! Click the link and sign up to win. Good luck!

Point of view is the most basic element to any book, and the first thing you're going to have to decide when you sit down to write (or stand, I'm not here to judge your style). Are you going with classic fly-on-the-wall, personal firsthand storytelling...or something even more bold? POV isn't something you should determine on a whim. Know who exactly is telling the story, and why. Perspective There are only three types of POV in book-writing, and that makes it easy to pick one. Perspective in books changes everything, so you have to make a decision when you pick your POV. Each option has its own advantages, and disadvantages that will limit you as a writer. First-person POV When you're telling a story from the first person, a single character is relating the tale. You'll be writing lines like I looked her straight in the eye , or I took a deep breath before speaking . But when you're in a character's head, you've got to get inside their h...

Writers are creative by nature, but that doesn't mean they can pull a thousand names from their heads without breaking a sweat. Naming characters can be pretty stressful, and we've all suddenly changed a name at the last minute for one reason or another. When you're drawing a blank, there's lots of resources out there that will help with naming characters.  Name Resources The simplest way to find names for your characters is to turn to sites designed for expectant mothers. Type "baby names" into any search engine, and you'll discover a wellspring of name resources that just won't quit. In fact, it can get overwhelming. Narrow the field by choosing a certain letter or combination of letters that speaks to you, and type that into a search string on the baby site itself. Baby sites are very helpful, and many of them will organize names by gender, origin, letter, popularity and a host of additional categories. If you want to write a character ...

It's an exciting feeling to finish a book, but once all the writing and editing are done you've still got more work ahead of you -- so don't start celebrating just yet. Your book might look great in a document file, but there's all sorts of things that can go wrong when you try to convert it for eReaders. Software really helps when you want to make your book look great electronically, not just on paper. Get Some Software Your book isn't going to look the same on an eReader as it does on your computer. But even if you don't have an eReader, you can find out what your book looks like to your readers (and make sure it's perfect before it's published). First, you've got to convert your book into a format that eReaders can actually read. For that kind of thing, having the right software really helps. Mobipocket is free, and it converts .html, .pdf, .txt and .doc formats into the Mobi format used by Kindle. Upload the book directly through the so...