Writing 101: Write What Interests You

I watched crime shows and court shows all day, every day while working on the final book in the Deck of Lies series. They inspired me, and helped me stay in the right head space to get the story together. Also, I really like those shows...it's why I like to write mysteries. I've found that if you write what interests you, you write better.

What the Heart Wants

Suzanne Collins got the idea to write The Hunger Games while watching news and reality TV. She watched politics and brutal competition, so that's what she ended up writing about. She wrote about what she likes, what interests her, and it became a hit.

It's a pretty simple formula. If you're interested in something, and passionate about it, your story is going to be much richer. Your love of the topic itself will enhance every aspect of your tale. Research will be easier and the words will flow more freely. So now all you have to do is figure out what interests you...and parlay that into a bestselling book.

Should be no problem.

Wait...What Does it Want?

Pay attention to the things that interest you. Are there similarities in the TV shows you watch, your favorite movies? Certain themes or ideas that strike you?  Maybe it's a setting that grabs you the most. Do you like movies and TV shows about life near the beach, in the snow, in fancy mansions or maybe in the mean streets of the city? Figure out your interests, and you might find some story ideas in there.

For example, maybe you watch a lot of cop shows and shows that are set in high school. You like movies that take place in big cities with plenty of singing and dancing. Why not write a story about a high school girl who moonlights in the city as a private detective -- and she's in the school glee club? It could be a zany comedy filled with hijinks as she tries to balance these two seemingly disparate interests (something you could write well if you share these interests), or a romantic drama in which she helps apprehend a ring of vicious criminals and wins the heart of the lead singer in the rival glee club. 

Play the game with your own interests, plucking out various pieces of them and putting them together in a plot. Who knows? Maybe you'll find your own Hunger Games.

Writing 101: Limit Your Characters

Have you ever forgotten someone's name that you went to school with, someone you met a few times, that neighbor who lives down the street? If it's possible for you to forget the name of real human beings who are standing directly in your face, just think how I must feel when I'm trying to memorize the 52 characters you put into your book. As an author, you have to limit your characters. Otherwise, I'm going to start forgetting them...so why should they be in the book in the first place? 

Bob and Jim and Nancy and Fred and Donna and Phil and Becky and...

Frankly, I'm lucky if I can accurately remember my own address and two phone numbers. I walk around all day with several of my own characters rattling around in my head, plus I'm juggling storylines from like a dozen different totally interesting shows at any given time. So honestly, it's just cruel for you to expect me to keep track of the 30-plus characters you've added to your 200-page book. Give them names that are any more complicated than Jill and Bob, and I'm in danger of getting a short circuit in my brain. 

Here's the rub: I've got way less stuff going on than the average reader you want to target. That's because I only read one book at a time, and I do it pretty darned slowly. The readers you want to target? They devour books by the day, absorbing and picking apart plots for breakfast, lunch and dinner. What are the odds that they're going to remember all your multi-faceted characters three weeks from now?

The odds start to get better if you focus on creating just a few really great characters. In every book, there are three basic character types. It's in your best interest to keep the names in each column down to a reasonable level. 

• Main character: Your protagonist is, clearly, the most important character in the book. I should get to know everything about the way this character works, how they think, what they want, and so on. Make sure you give me the chance to do that by keeping the focus on this character. Don't dazzle me with 17 love interests or 7 best friends, along with 12 siblings and 34 cousins. I want to know this character. Don't be afraid to put this person in a room, alone, with only their own thoughts. You don't have to have additional characters in every single scene to make scenes interesting.

• Supporting cast: Of course, every main character does need to have some sort of plot to follow. Your supporting cast might be made up of close friends, family members, love interests, fellow students and/or co-workers. These are the people the main character interacts with most frequently. I want to get to know these characters, but only well enough to figure out their relationship to the main character. That's who I care about. They're called a supporting cast for a reason -- they're here to complete the protagonist's story, not to tell their own. Keep the supporting cast simple, focusing only on the key players, and make each one of them distinct enough for me to tell them apart. I shouldn't have to re-read every name and ask myself "wait. Who the hell is that person, again?" Continue to remind me who the hell that person is, because if you don't I will forget.

• Extras: There are going to be background characters in every story. Teachers, background co-workers, the parking lot attendant, a grocery store clerk -- into every life, random faces flit by constantly. I don't care about background characters. Give me a name and a little bit of description, so I can picture the scene, but don't give me their whole life history. I just don't care, and it's too much to memorize. Let background characters enter the scene and then leave; that's their job.

Too many characters only clutters up the story. It becomes a distraction and forces me to constantly question and double-check. If I'm looking back through chapters to figure out what's significant about Cathy, I can hardly focus on the plot you've so carefully constructed. You don't need a lot of people or a lot of extras to create a great story -- you just need the story. Highlight the characters who count, and let the others linger in the shadows. I don't need to know them all, and I'm not going to love them all. Put a spotlight on just a few of them, and they'll be a lot more meaningful to me...and all your readers.

Dramatic Justice

"This book throws you into the drama and it NEVER.STOPS. The writing is spectacular!"

"I loved it! It was exciting, crazy and full of twists and turns you never see coming. I highly recommend it!"

Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Lily Bloom Books. Read it to find out what the reviewer found jaw-dropping about the book.

Writing 101: What You Should Know About Taxes

It's March...do you know where your income is coming from? Before you break the federal law, figure out what you should know about taxes as a self-published author. 

Two Sides to Every Coin

Once you sell a certain amount of books through any venue, from Amazon to Smashwords, you will receive a check in the mail or an automated payment of some sort; it all depends on the payment information you've submitted. When this happens, it's an amazing day. You earned money as an author, and you are a success.

And you are liable for it as a taxpaper. Because here's what you may not know about self-publishing: you're doing it as an independent contractor. What does that mean?

It's pretty simple. You have sold something, a product, on Amazon (or B&N, or whatever). Amazon has taken their cut of the profits and now they are giving you what you have earned as the author. But they have not taken taxes out. Amazon is not your employer. You didn't fill out tax paperwork with them, they are not filing for you with your state or federal agencies. You are an independent contractor.

And you're responsible for claiming your taxes yourself. As a citizen of the United States or any other country (and I am assuming you are), you must pay income taxes. Everyone who lives and works in any country must pay taxes to the central government. The government uses this money to build roads, pay teachers in schools and put cops on the streets -- your basic public service stuff. Amazon isn't claiming your income for you because you do not work or Amazon. You have to claim your income yourself.

When you earn money as an independent contractor, you are technically self-employed. And you're in luck, because so am I.

In the United States, this is how it works: when you earn income as an independent contractor, self-employed professional, freelancer or a self-published author, you must claim this income in order to pay income taxes. Your income taxes are based upon a percentage of what you earn; it's roughly 25% unless you earn more than $200,000 a year but if you earn more than $200,000 a year you probably already know what you need to know about taxes. Here's the fun part: you must also pay self-employment taxes. This is about 15% of your total self-employment earnings. The SE tax pays for Social Security, Medicare and other programs that are usually covered by payroll taxes. As a self-employed professional, you do not pay payroll taxes, so that's why.

Confused yet? The good news is, you are only liable to claim your income and pay self-employment taxes if you earn more than $400 as an independent contractor. More good news: the money you spend on your books is tax-deductible. That cover you bought from that artist? The editor your hired to help clean up your words? That tester Facebook campaign you launched? Yes, even the cost of the official copyright -- it's all tax-deductible, because it's a direct business expense. Claim all your expenses, and this is deducted from the independent income you've earned. That means your tax payment is lessened.

Due to new tax laws taking effect in this year, as a self-employed professional you can no longer claim your taxes and pay them only once a year. In the past, many independent contractors have managed their taxes this way. This is no longer allowed. If I'm reading all the information correctly, which is admittedly questionable, self-employed professionals are now obligated to make quarterly tax payments -- the means every three months. This April 15, you must claim all the self-employed income you earned in 2012, and pay all associated taxes. You must also claim all the self-employed income you have earned in 2013 up to April 1. You must claim your taxes, and pay them, again every three months for the remainder of 2013...and for the foreseeable future, until the tax laws change.

It's pretty frightening, I know. Tax forms are pretty much impossible to understand. If you're confused about it, don't be afraid. Call the IRS and get help. They're always there and they will absolutely help you, even if the problem is that you can't pay the taxes you owe. They'll work out a payment plan with you and they're very flexible, so don't be afraid. I've called them several times, and their customer service is far better than what most private corporations are willing to offer.

Get Addicted to Justice

"This fairly addictive, well written novel is a must read for people looking for something fresh, quick, and mysterious." 

"The plot is wonderful and the characters are amazing. I am addicted to the mystery and lies!"

Counting in Bookcases has reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Read the spoiler-free review before you get your copy of the book.

Movies on Paper: Star Wars

I've written many posts about books that became films. Much more rarely, this happens in reverse: people write books inspired by movies. The best example you're likely to find is Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope. It was on film first. Now, it's in everything.

The Film

I'm certain there's nothing I can tell you about Star Wars that you don't already know, except maybe that I find Family Guy's to be the definitive spoof and I'm sorry, Mel Brooks (Spaceballs reference). 

It's basically your classic heroic tale, only set in space. The story, to paraphrase, goes something like this. A pretty young and untried filmmaker named George Lucas got an epic idea for a movie, so he wrote it all out. He started showing it around, and movie studios were overwhelmed. They told Lucas he didn't have a movie in his hand -- he had several movies. So Lucas selected the middle chunk of his epic sci-fi fantasy story and said, let's make this into a movie. The studio said, let's make it three.

So they released A New Hope, technically the fourth chapter in the epic story but the first movie made in the franchise, in 1977. 

It blew everybody away. The special effects were mind-boggling and the story so good, everybody pretty much overlooked the fact that three unknown actors were playing the leading roles. Star Wars has it all: romance, mystery, space battles, scary soldier guys, a creepy villain with an amazing name, a little weird guy who's surprisingly wise, a princess, swordplay...and a Bigfoot. It hits all demographics. 

This was a sci-fi movie to end all sci-fi movies, and the franchise has done nothing but grow for the past thirty-five years. A New Hope spawned (so far) 5 more movies, comic books...and dozens of novels.

The Books

There are way, way too many Star Wars books to list, and the authors are numerous as well. Suffice it to say that a great many authors have been inspired by the first film and its subsequent sequels and prequels. Read them to learn a great deal more about different periods in time and all your favorite characters from the films.

Moved to Write

A good story is a good story in any medium. My Twitter followers might know that I'm a big fan of The Walking Dead, which was inspired by a series of graphic novels, and I am not a fan of comic books. There aren't a lot of movies that have inspired authors to create books, but it is proof that inspiration to write can come from anywhere. 

If you can't find your own story to tell but the words inside you are clawing to get out, why not try an adaptation? Many successful, and wonderful, books have been written as adaptations or re-tellings of other stories. Shakespeare and Jane Austen remain favorites in the adapted classics department, but your inspiration may come from anywhere. Tell us the untold story of someone from one of your favorite movies, or books, or poems or even songs. It's still an original idea if it's something that hasn't been seen before, a twist perhaps on something we have. 

Who knows? Maybe you'll write something so interesting, others will be inspired by you.

Writing 101: Getting an Agent

So, you want to get a literary agent. You've written you book, and it's good. Good? It's great! Agents ought to fall over themselves for it. ...If only you knew how to get to the agents. I can tell you how to do it, but I can't promise you'll be happy with the results.

How to Get an Agent

First, don't bother querying any agents until your book is done, done, done. I'm talking it had better be edited and polished to the nines, or you're only doing yourself a huge disservice. Once it is, I want you to put together a list. Do whatever you can to make sure it's a big list. 

• The List

Let me preface this by saying that this is going to take some time. You increase your chances if you take the time to follow these steps, and even then your chances are slim. That's the nature of the business. Go to Agent Query first. This is a reputable site that contains listings of literary agents. Use the search feature to seek agents who accept your genre. Select other criteria as desired. It goes without saying that if you can't pigeonhole your genre, don't bother doing this. If you want to get yourself an agent, you have to got to sell it. You can't sell it if you can't define it. Again, this is just the way the business works. 

Get out your Writer's Market next. If you don't have one, get one. It's really one of the best tools for writers, and I'm pretty sure it's now available in an e-version so that might be the best way to go. Either way, you have to go through the agent listings (and the book has many; it is quite thick). Copy the relevant information for all the potential agents you find. They will be listed by genre and a good deal of additional information will be offered, so this will take some time. Put the list together and save it. You will need it again. Take care not to get repeats; you will find many of the same agents in the Writer's Market and on Agent Query. 

• The Letter

You've got a nice juicy list of agents -- great! Now, you have to write a great pitch letter, also known as the query. First rule: five paragraphs, no more, and make them short and sweet. Agents receive hundreds of letters every day and they will definitely skip yours if you decide to wax poetic for 9 meaty paragraphs. 

Get right to the point, but let your natural voice shine through. The first line of the letter should be your hook. Ask a question, make a strong statement, say something crazy. The name of this game is to write whatever it takes to get their attention, though I do suggest you relate it in some way to your book. For example, if I wanted to pitch a book based off of this blog, my letter might begin with something provocative like What do most authors get wrong when they're writing books? Then I'll go on to answer that question by pushing my agenda.

The opening paragraph is your hook and your brief intro -- sort of a hey look at this! It's my book and my name is Jade, only much more professional. The second paragraph goes into more detail. Answer basic technical questions by telling them the length of the book, how many chapters, and the basic plot. Again, get right to the point. You don't have to be flowery, just compelling. Show that you have a good understanding of your own material by describing it in a succinct, interesting way. 

The two following paragraphs should go on to explain the book in more detail, and detail your own qualifications and your target audience. Tell them who this book appeals to, and why. Tell them why you're the best to write it, and anything else you can toss in there. Have you self-published already? Do you have a big blog following or lots of fans on Twitter? As the saying goes, if you've got it, flaunt it. Don't pull your punches in this letter. 

In the closing and final paragraph, quickly sum it up. State that you're seeking representation for this project and thank them for their time and consideration. Always include your contact information at the bottom. Do not send anything else. Send only the query until and unless you are instructed to do otherwise. 

And All the Rest

Fifty percent of the time, you will hear nothing back from any agent either way. Of those who do respond to you, most are likely to be rejections. However, if you have written a strong enough query letter you will get at least one response. Write a brilliant query and you may get more. Read the email they send you more than once and follow all instructions to the letter. Good luck! 

Writing 101: If You Don't Know About It...

Then why are you writing about it? As some of you probably know, I spend much too much time reading forums. Often, I'm wading through endless questions about setting, animal husbandry, types of vegetables, head trauma...one guy sincerely wanted information about bear attacks, because the animals aren't native to his geographic region. It's a pretty thin excuse for practicing a really bad writing tactic: overreaching...and I could make an argument for laziness, too. Either way, it's bad - so stop! There are alternatives to asking random questions about the secret life of onion bulbs in open, public writer forums. 

 Totally Unfamiliar Territory

I find it incredibly mind-boggling that so many writers would use plot devices with which they are utterly unfamiliar -- particular when so much stuff could just be changed to fit something about which the author is more knowledable. Let's go back to bear guy, shall we?

In the book he was creating (and this is a general "he," I can't possibly know the sex of the person who posted the question but bear attack feels like a masculine choice to me), one of the characters was going to get attacked by a bear. Yet he knows nothing about bear attacks, so why not ask a public forum group at large for help?

Why not, indeed? Allow me to count the ways.

• Anonymous answers are always the wrong answer: You're writing a book that's meant to be published. The minute you put some incorrect information in there about the habits of bears, I promise you that one of the people who reads your work will be some sort of ranger, zookeeper or animal expert. They will call you out on Amazon and you will feel bad about it. You don't know who's answering your forum questions or what the heck they know about bears or any other subject. Until you get it from three respectable sources, it just isn't true. That's it.
• You should do your own work: I'm an indie author like you, not your personal research assistant. It's rather unfair for anyone to go around on forums asking random research questions. Why? Because I already know you know how to use the Internet; you're posting on forums. Clearly you can find this out yourself, so why are you asking? In the same amount of time, you can discover the info. I touched on this very thing in another forum-related rant (thinly disguised as a blog post), but it bears repeating because it keeps happening.
• You don't know what you are talking about: If you have to look up bear behavior and attacks to finish a scene, maybe change the scene. Why? Because reading text about how bears attack and looking at pictures of grizzlies just isn't the same as facing a pissed off one in the woods, that's why. You haven't been in that situation, and maybe you've never even seen a bear. Why put one in the story? Write the scene to describe an event that maybe you are a little more familiar with, and you'll be able to add so much more to it. Writing what you imagine is great, but it adds a lot more depth when you write what you know. 

As an author, you will have to explore totally unfamiliar territory a lot. You have to think about characters and feelings and motives and settings and events. Don't make it any harder on yourself than you have to. You get to choose the plots and the setting, so try to choose something that you're comfortable with. You can create a scifi world that still resembles your geographic region in some ways. You can invent animals that are similar to the pet rabbit you had as a kid. Interject real memories and knowledge of your own into your stories, and you'll see that you write much better stories.