Writing 101: Paragraph Indents

Formatting is very strict in fiction writing. Crack open any novel, and 99 times out of 100 it will be formatted very specifically -- with paragraph indents. So it's only natural that when you're writing, you automatically hit the tab button as you type along. But you shouldn't, because the tab button is actually the devil.

The Devil in the Details

Yes, the tab button is Satan incarnate. And if you want to avoid a formatting Hell where html code will slap you around with pitchforks, you will never, ever use it when you're writing.

Writing 101: Creating a Sensational Blurb

Along with a great cover, you need a sensational blurb in order to move books. You've got very few chances to grab the reader's attention, and the blurb is one of the best shots you're going to get. It has to set the tone for your book, give readers information about what they can expect from the work and compel them to take a deeper look. The blurb has got to do a whole lot -- but you know, it can't be too long, either.

What's in a Blurb? 

You've already poured your heart, soul, blood and tears into creating an entire book -- and you should feel great about that. It's incredibly difficult to tough it out all the way from Chapter 1 to The End, and you deserve to be proud. But after you've put so much of yourself into that work, it can be heartbreaking when no one bothers to read it. Now, you've got to face a task that's very challenging in its own way: getting people to read what you've written. You do that with a sensational blurb.

After you've already done all that writing work, writing a blurb out of nowhere can feel overwhelming. Break it down into small pieces, focus on certain elements, and power through it.

• The hook. The very first line of the blurb has to reel those readers in, so they want to keep reading the rest of it. Work on that first line the way you worked on the first line of your book. Grab them! You have just one shot, and this is it, so take it. 
• The details. Now, let a brief summary of the book unfold. Remember everything you've learned about descriptive writing. Don't tell the readers what they can find in the book -- show them. 
• The lasting impression. After you've whet the reader's appetite for more, end with a line that's going to make them want to buy the book. Make it exciting, make it compelling, make it great. Remember, you've got to make them want to read more. Give them a cliffhanger, give them a question, give them something that makes them want to do that.

Blurb Extras

The blurb is a great promotional tool, so use it. You can always add a few extras to your blurb to make it even more sensational. Pepper the blurb with the best review quotes you've got, particularly those from reputable and respected sources (like fellow authors or very well-known review blogs). If your book is part of a series, mention the other books in the series in the blurb to get readers to take a look at these works as well.

Writing 101: Writer's Block

It happens even to the best of writers: the dreaded block. It can strike without warning, and it can last for a long, long time. So how do you deal with writer's block? Waiting it out isn't really an option, so you've got to find a few tricks that might shake that creativity loose again.

Facing Writer's Block

Only you know when you've got it. For many writers, even admitting to writer's block can be a problem. If you've spent several days on one particular scene, or can't seem to get motivated to write even after several days, you might have writer's block. It's okay to admit it, because you've got to confront it if you're going to beat it. And there's lots of ways to beat it.

• Begin at the beginning. Stumped by a story? Go to page 1 and start reading. Read it not like a writer, but like a reader. Let the tale re-engage you, and read all the way up to the point where you're stuck. By the time you get to it, you may have new energy and motivation. Simply reading where you've been can help you figure out where you need to go. 

• Study your outline. If you don't have an outline, you should. Refer to your outline when you get stuck, and you should have a guide to follow. When you know where the story needs to go, it's a lot easier to figure out how to write it. 

• Walk away. Stress can make it hard to write. It's possible that you're blocked because you're over-thinking your plot. Take a break from your work for one or two days, and do something absolutely not writing-related. Play a game, go on a short trip, visit with friends and family -- do something else.  After your break is over, come back to the story with fresh eyes and a cleared mind and you may find that the block is gone. 

• Work on something different. If you're not feeling the same passion for your project, it might be because another project is on your mind. Go ahead and work on another book, another idea, research notes for an entirely different work, whatever. After a few days, you may find yourself thinking of your blocked story again. Sometimes, just getting back into the flow of working -- even if you're working on something else -- can help you overcome the block. If a certain story is completely blocking you, start working on a different story to get back into the habit of writing.

Writer's block isn't a joke. Many great writers can suffer from this malady for months or even years. Be willing to try every trick in the book to overcome the issue. Remember that it doesn't matter what you're writing...just that you are.

New Interview at Indie BookSpot

Want to know what I'm up to when I'm not blogging writing 101 tips? Visit Indie BookSpot to read my latest interview, and find out how I approach ebook-selling.

Writing 101: Chapter Breaks and Scene Breaks

Every book has just one definitive end, but each chapter is a small ending within the whole. Sometimes, the only way to move forward in a book is to end a scene and then jump to another point in the story. But how do you go about doing it all? Do you know how to write good chapter breaks and scene breaks?

Ending a Chapter

It's a tricky thing to end a chapter, trickier than most writers credit it to be. Each chapter ending should feel a bit like an ending, as if there is some small conclusion -- but at the same time, each chapter must compel the reader forward into the story. It's perfectly fine to create cliffhanger chapter endings, to move into a very tense and emotional scene and then end it abruptly only to have it continue in the next chapter. However, every chapter shouldn't read that way because readers like to come to natural stopping points within a book. Often, a chapter will end at the end of a day, a big event or an important conversation. The chapter that immediately follows will open with a new day, a new event, a new scene.

It's important for your writing to feel fluid, especially from one chapter to the next. You want your readers to get caught up in your story, to keep reading and feel unable to stop -- but sometimes, they do need to stop. It's a delicate balance, and only you can find the perfect one for your story. Look for the natural stopping points in your story, and make sure they're present. Look for fluid chapters that lead easily into each other, and be certain that's happening. Then you'll know you've mastered the art of ending a chapter.

Length is the least important of all factors in a chapter, though many authors do try to keep theirs even. You can always create a very short or very long chapter to produce a certain effect -- say the characters are going through a long journey, so you create a very long chapter so the reader really feels the length of the trip. Try to be fairly consistent with your chapter lengths, but always end a chapter when it feels most natural for you to do so. Good writing requires a lot of hard work and careful research, but some of it is pure instinct.

Ending a Scene

Ending a scene can be even harder than ending a chapter, because you'll be abruptly moving from one series of events to another all in the same chapter. It's also important to consider how to end a scene stylistically, so there's a lot going on when you suddenly shift gears in this fashion. When a scene comes to a natural conclusion (or an abrupt one, you're the writer) you have to immediately switch into something else -- but you've got to warn the reader it's happening.

It's common to create a scene break by inserting symbols, all alone, between your paragraphs. It's common to use three asterisks (***), but you can choose any symbols you like. Make it easy on yourself by choosing something on the standard keyboard. Don't create formatting headaches where they don't need to happen. If you'd like to go for a softer scene break, simply create a completely blank line between paragraphs.

Writing 101: Descriptions

If I ask you to visualize a ball, what do you see? A baseball, white with the classic stitching? Maybe a football, with its unique elongated shape and pointed ends. Maybe you see a bright orange basketball, an item that's big enough to hold with two hands. But if I ask you to visualize a ball that's hand-sized and fuzzy green, you ought to know I'm talking about tennis. The descriptions in your book are everything, and I'm never going to be able to picture anything in your story if you don't include them. Are you taking the time to write descriptions...or just a bunch of events?

 Descriptive Writing

Ever heard the expression show me, don't tell me? A favorite battle cry of writing teachers the world over, it simply means that you should describe the events you're writing about -- instead of just writing them. Here's the difference:

Kate walked into the living room, cup in hand, to tell John exactly what she thought of him. 

I just told you that Kate is entering into a scene in the living room, and John's about to get it. Now, I'm going to make you visualize it.

Kate moved briskly into the living room with quick steps, the fingers of her hand clutched so tightly around the green plastic cup the knuckles had turned white. Her brown eyes, shining with anger, immediately searched for John's familiar laughing mouth.

 Now, you've pretty much received the exact same information: Kate's totally pissed at John, and there's about to be a living room showdown. But you've received so much more information from the second version. You know that Kate's glaring at John with angry eyes, and he's probably unprepared for it because he's hanging out in the living room laughing. You know she has a weapon, after a fashion, and you even know that it's green plastic (so, not a very good weapon). You know that she's moving quickly, which suggests she's about to explode. Knowing all of this makes it a little easier to picture Kate and John and their confrontation, right?

Now, take it a step deeper. Tell the reader what the living room looks like. Show John's reaction to Kate storming into the room. Does he sit up straighter and take notice, or is he too caught up in his own thing so he remains casual and unaffected? You can tell me that John doesn't notice Kate in exactly those words, and I'll get it. But you can also tell me that John continued to stare at the TV screen with his back slumped against the blue cushions of the couch, barely glancing away from the flickering images to take note of Kate's arrival, and then I'll know it. I'll be able to see it.


Describing Your Nouns

Another rallying cry of English teachers: people, places and things. If you remember your early school years, you know I'm talking about nouns -- and you've got to describe those, too. It's a lot more fun -- and for some writers, much easier -- to describe action and verbs. But a great writer also has to describe people, places and things without being boring about it.

If readers are going to visualize their story, make sure they know what they're looking at. Describe the way your characters look, the setting they're in, even the food they're eating or the way the carpeting feels beneath their feet. Don't forget to tell me what color the carpet is, and always give me size comparisons I can relate to. "Jane was a petite woman." Well, compared to whom? Next to the right person, anyone can look petite. If you tell me instead that "Jane, from behind, could easily be mistaken for a teenage boy just entering high school" I know Jane's a pretty skinny little thing, indeed. If you tell me the pillow was big and fluffy, I can picture something -- but if you tell me the pillow was twice the size of Jane's cocker spaniel I know we've got a massive pillow on our hands. I have a point of reference, and that makes visualization easier. Are Jane's eyes green, or are they as green and dewy as the morning grass? Green and bright, like copper left too long in the rain? The fresh, new green of unfurling spring growth? There are a lot of greens out there, and you don't know which one I'm going to picture when you throw a color at me.

Turn to great writers to see really good examples of detailed, descriptive writing. Ernest Hemingway is an acknowledged master of descriptive writing. He conveyed his imagery on all five senses, describing tastes and smells along with colors and billowing smoke. Sit back and observe your scenes and watch them play out in your own mind. Then, just write them down.

Writing101: Book Trailers

Once upon a time, writers like Louisa May Alcott and Jane Austin sat hunched over wooden desks next to oil lamps, scribbling out fantastic prose in longhand with bottles of ink sitting just within reach. They sent voluminous manuscripts -- ink spots, and all -- off to publishers, who were happy to turn these gigantic collections of parchment into beautifully bound books. Those days are long over. Today's writer has to become an expert on using the Internet, a star in social media, an editor, a book formatter, a software guru, a forum nut -- and yes, even a graphic designer. Want to be a professional writer? You'll be lucky if you spend even half of your working hours actually writing. Among the many non-writing tasks you'll be asked to perform, you need to learn about book trailers. What they are. Who they're for. What to do with them. And, oh yeah -- how to create them from scratch. Put away your bottles of ink, and get out a keyboard.

What's a Book Trailer?

Commercials have existed for as long as television, and movie trailers have been made for flicks since the silent film era. Above all, movie trailers -- those minute-long clips you see in theaters for upcoming films -- are advertisements. And even if you aren't from Hollywood, you can make one for your book. And you should.

Your book is not the same as a film, I know. But people love looking at videos online -- go and ask YouTube if you don't believe me. Good luck getting through the piles of money that litter the path to the front door. An exciting book trailer, presented like a movie trailer, can create interest for a book the same way it can for a film. And here's the good part: you'll be advertising something they can immediately buy without even moving from the chair. You don't have to motivate your audience to wait three weeks, then get fixed up and go out to the theaters for a big night on the town. You just need them to click a link, and then another link. Think you can create a video that might make them want to do that? Sure you can!

Creating a Book Trailer

No one understands better than you what your book is about. Now condense all that into a minute-long series of text and images, and you've got a book trailer -- after a good four hours (or more) of pure tedium and stress. First, start thinking of the main points in your book. Is it about love? Murder? Grief? A coming-of-age tale of two sisters? Describe your book, to yourself, in a few words (no more than one sentence). Now you've got a starting place for your book trailer.


Think about all the trailers you've seen. First, the trailer introduces a character, a place or some concept. "The end of the world" may appear on the screen in bold lettering. In the background, a ruined cityscape will slowly come to life. Now I'm hooked. Why did the world end? If the world has ended, what's happening? Show me another image -- a heroic man with a gun standing in shadow. The text reads: "One man must save society." Who is he? I want to know him. Now I'm drawn in, I'm being carried along. And that's how you make a book trailer. Take me through different images, different catchy lines and at some point introduce me to the book. Remember to tell me where I can get it, the title of it, the author, maybe even throw the book cover in there at some point so I can be certain of what I'm buying when I go looking for it. End dramatically, and the trailer's over. Now I'm rushing through cyberspace to buy your book.

So...now you just need a bunch of images and software that helps you create a video from scratch. It's daunting, but it's actually easy if you know where to look. If you've got Windows 7, you've probably got movie making software already on your machine. Look for existing software first on your Mac or PC. If it's not there, you'll need to turn to free software online. No problem -- it's out there. Windows has a safe, very user-friendly free software package, and so does Mac. If that fails, try looking at CNet's list of software.

Once you've got your video program installed, open that bad boy up and start to play around. Throw some of your existing photos on there, music you've downloaded and play around with the tools. Once you're satisfied you know how it works, open up a new project and get to work. You're going to put this trailer live on the Internet, so the first order of business is don't break any laws. You have to have copyright-free, license-free, free free free images, video and music for your trailer. No logos, no footage taken from any movies you like, no songs you bought on iTunes. No. Even if you own it, you don't have the license to re-distribute it and YouTube will remove that trailer. If you took the video yourself of some trees blowing around (or whatever), that's fine. It's yours, use it. If you took the images and they don't have any logos or copyrighted material in them, use them. If you made the music, use it. Otherwise, make darn certain you're downloading something that you're allowed to use. You can find free music, free images and even free video footage that you're welcome to use. Take the time to do so, because you'll just have to fix it later if you don't. Arrange all your elements in your movie maker software, upload it to YouTube (accounts are free; you've already got one if you've got a Google account of any kind) and start promoting that book trailer.

Buying a Book Trailer

Okay, wow, that's a lot of work. It takes a ton of searching and no shortage of stressing to produce a book trailer that others will like. You can always make it easy on yourself by hiring someone. There are companies out there that specialize in creating book trailers, and still others that have found a niche in making indie book trailers in particular. Look for them on writers' forum groups. Find book trailers by other indies on YouTube, and if they were made by someone else you should see that person or company's logo at the end or beginning of the trailer. Contact them through social media, or their official website, and you're in business. Professional trailer makers will have a specific questionnaire for you to complete, or specific questions about what you want, and they'll take care of the rest. If you've got the money to spend, a professionally-made book trailer can make a big impact.

Writing 101: Chapters, to Title or Not to Title

Should you give your chapters titles, or just number them all the way through? How do readers feel about it? What's the point of doing it? Chapter titles might seem like a little detail, but any book is nothing more than a bunch of details laid out in a pleasing manner. Some readers have very strong opinions about chapter titles, and there may be a certain stigma that comes with using them. So the main question is: to title, or not to title?

Chapter Titles

Using titles for chapters (example: The Bright Red Balloon) as opposed to simple numbers (Chapter 3) adds another layer to any book. When used properly, chapter titles can make a very big impact on readers. But chapter titles can bring certain negative elements to your story as well.

• The Good

Chapter titles help to set the tone for what's coming up in the next few pages. A gripping chapter title can completely arrest a reader, and make them keep reading when they might have closed the book to continue another day. Good chapter titles can show off a writer's particular flair and creativity as well, truly acting as something extra and enticing in the story.

• The Bad

In some readers' minds, chapter titles are linked to children's books. Children's books very commonly use chapter titles, and though other books do as well it's standard through the genre to use chapter titles. Non-fiction works also commonly use chapter titles; generally they are somewhat long and very explanatory in nature and this sets these works apart from the more literary titles you'll find in fiction.

• The Ugly

Chapter titles can weigh a story down as much as they can elevate it. Using a theme for chapters, for example, can be very interesting but also very tricky. Make sure you choose a theme that makes sense. Seasons or states of weather, for example, could set a specific tone and mood for each chapter (The Dawn, Dusk, Rainy Day, Winter, etc.). Random colors, on the other hand, may feel nonsensical to the reader (Blue, Black, Yellow, Green) and become off-putting. Don't think it hasn't been tried. Everything's been tried. Avoid ugly chapter titles by repeating yours out loud to yourself and thinking of the imagery it brings to mind. Does that fit the pages that follow? Does it make you want to read those pages? Think like a reader, and your titles will do what you want them to do.

Forget That

Many fine books have no chapter titles, just a plain reference at the top of the page. You certainly don't have to have them, if you don't want them, but it's not a bad idea to employ certain tricks to help keep the pace of your story moving. It can be somewhat disconcerting to be following a tale, and then stumble across a simple "Chapter 4." What's going to make me continue reading?

• The Good

Numbered chapters are simple, and they won't take anything away from the prose as readers are moving through the story. No one's stopping to take a second look at a number four, so your readers aren't pausing to discern the meaning of some enticing title that's inserted itself into the middle of your tale. Numbered chapters help to set a serious tone for a book, and they keep readers engaged in the story while still offering natural stopping points.

• The Bad

Maybe too many stopping points. You don't want someone consistently reading just one chapter a day of your work -- at least, not really. Ideally, you want them to get so caught up in the story they've just got to keep going. You want them to get to the end of that chapter and think, no way I can stop now! as they turn another page. That's why it's a good idea to use a little trickery, here and there, and break disciplined reading habits whenever possible. Instead of dividing the book neatly into numbered chapters that each naturally stop and start at the end and beginning of certain scenes, insert a few cliffhanger chapter endings. Begin an exciting new scene toward the end of a chapter, only to leave the reader hanging in a climactic moment. If it's done well, they will barely even notice that they've slipped into a whole new chapter -- they're just trying to get to the juicy stuff.

• The Ugly

What's so wrong with numbered chapters? They're simple, they're easy and frankly, they're time-saving. Who wants to come up with 20-something different titles? Wasn't titling the book hard enough? Here's the problem: some readers hate it. For whatever reason, a certain contingent of readers are completely turned off by numbered chapters. Some find it to be boring -- or worse, lazy. It's a disheartening truth that all writers must face, but readers form opinions. Isn't that what writers want them to do? Once they start forming opinions about your setting, your plot and your characters, every tiny detail is fair game. Writers have to look at all the aspects of every decision they make -- good, bad and ugly -- and go from there. It's your book. Win them over however you think is best.