Jade Varden Official Blog

Writers have to follow a lot of rules in self-publishing. You have to be careful about using brand names, avoid common mistakes that could screw up your formatting, properly separate your chapters and scenes. But should you be adhering to the common rules of writing as well? The Rules of Writing Ever worked with a professional editor, or tried to submit an article or story to a magazine? If you have, you might know that they strictly follow certain writing rules. And frankly, they follow a lot of them. But for the purposes of this particular lesson, we're only going to be talking about one: paragraph beginnings. Editors are trained to gnash their teeth when they find a paragraph that begins with the words so , and or but . Try to submit an article using these words at the start of a new paragraph, and they're likely to mark up your work with their famous red pens. They don't even like it when you begin a regular sentence with these words. BUT, you aren't writ...

I talk a lot about formatting books for ereaders, proper punctuation, grammar and all the blood, sweat and tears that go into writing an ebook. But the truth is, once everything's said and done and you're good and finished with all the little details you can still find yourself running smack into a brick wall (metaphorically speaking, of course). Because once you've got the perfect blurb and that gorgeous cover and that must-read book all put together, you've still got work to do. You still have to figure out exactly where your book fits into the whole massive world of ebooks -- and it's really not very easy. Which Genre? Before you can publish your ebook in any online store, you're going to be asked a very important question: where does it go? You're going to have to sort your book into multiple categories and figure out exactly what it is you've written. Otherwise, it just can't be sold. Age Group    The first choice you have to make is ...

Tomorrow marks the first day of Indie Author Month, an exciting event that's being sponsored by the Aside From Writing book blog. Up to 30 ebooks will be given away during the event, and a new writer will be featured every day all May long. I'm one of them! Check Aside toward the end of the month to see my feature and find out how you can win books from the Deck of Lies series. Each day, a new indie book will be featured on the blog. The daily posts will also include a small interview with each indie author. Month-long and daily ebook giveaways will also feature heavily in the month-long event. To enjoy all the action and find out what makes indie writers tick, you'll have to check Aside From Writing every day in May!

Is it okay to use semicolons? What does it mean when you add an ellipsis to your story? Do colons have a place in prose? These are the questions that writers have been debating for many years, and some have some very strong opinions. When it comes to the punctuation rules of fiction...well, what are they? The Semicolon "Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college." These were the words of Kurt Vonnegut, a well-known master of the literary arts. Writers are often opinionated -- occupational hazard -- but does that mean Mr. Vonnegut is right, or just passionate about his own style of prose? Other writers have waxed poetic about the meaning one of the semicolon; one well-known writer even likened it to God. 

A lot of readers have been asking me about Book 3 in the Deck of Lies series, and I can now report that the first draft is nearly done! I put in a lot of hours this past week and through the weekend, and I'm now working on some of the final scenes in the book. So far, so good -- right now, I don't see any reason why I won't be able to release the book this summer as planned. When I'm feeling a bit more confident about it, and after I've talked to my lovely cover designer, I'll tell you the exact date you can expect to find the book on Amazon. If you've been to my official site , you may already know you can read the blurb for Death (Deck of Lies, #3) there, but I've also included it below just to help you get excited about the ongoing family saga of lies and secrets. The story will continue this summer with all-new surprises, twists, turns...and romance. All In I never wanted to get in this deep, but I did go looking for the truth before I w...

Dialogue is an important element in any story, but many writers struggle with creating believable conversation. What's the secret to great dialogue? If you don't already know, you'd better figure it out before you publish your work. Bad dialogue can ruin any story, and will make readers stop turning pages. Speech Speaking is a basic part of the human condition, and it's likely that your story is mostly populated by speaking people. Less commonly, you might be writing about non-speaking characters who are deaf, mute or both, but even in this case they will be using some form of communication. It may not be speech in the traditional sense of the word, but you will still be using some form of dialogue so your characters may interact with each other. There's a certain formula to crafting great dialogue. Learn it, and your story will be much richer and more believable. Participants In every conversation, there are characters involved. No matter how many there m...

The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2) has just been released this month -- and to celebrate, I'm releasing a selective excerpt. The piece of the scene you're about to read takes place in Chapter 5. Some names have been hidden to protect the dead (and the spoilers from Book 1!).    I was taken aback by his interruption, and the way he’d honed in on my true feelings. “I…I wouldn’t say I hated her, exactly, but I-”    “Where were you on the morning of March 29?”    “What?”    “March 29, Rain. It was barely two weeks ago. Surely you can remember where you were on the day that your fellow student disappeared?” His voice was low and gentle, almost chant-like.    “I…” And I racked my brain for a moment before the memory clicked into place. Of course. March 29. That was the day I went to school to find that my locker had been completely trashed by Carsyn. I felt my cheeks flame just thinking about it. “I was at school.”    “And befor...

 You spent all that time crafting an exciting book, filled with humor or romance or mystery (or whatever you write about). You wrote a blurb that garnered my interest, designed a cover that got me all fired up. So I bought your book. And now, I wish I hadn't...because you didn't even justify it properly. It's one of the simplest steps, and one of the most overlooked. Justify my interest in your work, and show all your readers that you actually give a crap about it. Take a few extra seconds to set your justification. Otherwise, you might look like an amateur.  Justification  Go to any shelf, pull out any book and open it to any page. You'll always see the same thing: neat, even edges on either side. There will be a few indents where paragraphs begin and end, but the overall look is still clean and straight. You can create the same look with an ebook, and you should. Electronic books should absolutely look like print books, because everyone is familiar with ...