Jade Varden Official Blog

How long should chapters be? It's a question that indie authors ask over and over, and one I've asked myself many times. So what's the answer? Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Letters It would be nice if there were certain rules about chapters. For YA, write chapters that are 2,000 words long. Adult romance? Try 5,000. Historical epic? You're going to be skirting 10,000. I'm just making those numbers up out of thin air, of course. There is no standard when it comes to chapter length...maybe that's why authors are asking about it all the time. Every writer does it differently, and maybe that's another reason it's so confusing. But when it comes to chapters, there's really just one answer: there are no rules. I mean it -- none. Lewis Carroll wrote chapters that were one word in length, or a handful of words. He ended chapters in the middle of sentences , nevermind in the middle of scenes. If he can get away with that, y...

Steampunk has gone from being sub-culture to being much  more mainstream, and it's inspired many authors to write lots more books. But before you rush to label your work, make sure you understand the genre. Make sure you can answer this question: what's steampunk?  The Sum of Its Parts To get technical about it, steampunk is a sub-genre of the larger science fiction genre (which isn't at all a bad place to be). All steampunk must have a single element in order to be steampunk: steam-powered engines. If you don't have this, you don't have steampunk.  However, the umbrella could be much wider than you think. The genre does not limit you to the industrialized American or European culture of the 1800s. A steampunk story can be set anywhere in any time -- on a distant moon or in a distant future -- so long as it features the steam-powered machines that marked the early Industrial period. Because the genre harkens back to the Victorian era, it often...

The term character development can be a little confusing. It sounds like character invention; you're developing a character to fit into your story. But that's not what it means. And if a reviewer or agent is telling you that you lack it, you've got a problem.  Every good story needs character development. How do you know you've got it in yours? It's Alive With any book, you want to create characters with whom the readers can relate. Without that, they won't connect with your book and they probably won't like it. So as a writer you spend a lot of time thinking about the main characters in your stories, who they are and what they look like and how they talk.  Here's the trouble: your characters can't be the same at the end of the book as they were in the beginning. You've got to show character development. Without it, the audience isn't going to relate.  Human beings (and I'm referring to the ones who live off th...

"The lies. The twists. The phenomenal writing that is Jade Varden. It kept me completely engrossed and hanging on until the very end." "As Rain begins her own search for the killer, she soon discovers that NOTHING is what is seems. Once you think you know a character or what’s really going on, something else happens and it makes you question EVERYTHING." The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2) has been reviewed at Lily Bloom Books. Read the mostly spoiler-free review to see why the reviewer is second-guessing everything!

Regular readers know that I'm not the biggest fan of writer forums. I think would-be authors ask too many questions instead of doing their own research. But recently I realized it isn't their fault they're so lost. It's mine, because I haven't yet explained how to write a book. It's time to fix that. Turning the Page So you want to write a book. Learn the process, and this very ambitious plan wont seem so overwhelming. In order to write a book, all you have to do is break it down to its most basic parts and plot points. For this example, we're going to write a book about two best friends who fall in love. But the template is solid, and you can use it for any story. When you write a book, always keep the big picture in mind. Every word should drive the plot further. Allow me to illustrate: Introduction: Start with the scenes that introduce your main character . Show the reader what this person is like. Maybe she's a free spir...

"The life of a girl that is more than a mystery series, with amazing ingredients such as power, money and love." "Jade Varden does an excellent job maintaining the suspense and surprises until the last page. You never know what is coming next." Death (Deck of Lies, #3) has been reviewed at Reading...Dreaming by Ruty, longtime friend of the blog. There are spoilers in the review if you haven't read the first two books (and if you haven't, get caught up !). Read the whole review to find out why the book got 5 out of 5 stars!

I look at writing tips and advice every once in a while. My reason is twofold: for one, I need fodder for this blog. But like any writer, I want to become a better writer -- so it follows that I should seek advice. And I keep finding one piece of advice that greatly disturbs me. So today I have to ask: why are you writing? Be careful of your answer. You don't know it, but other authors are judging you. For Love of the Game In scouring interviews, articles and blog posts, I've noticed a particular piece of advice that successful authors trot out whenever they're feeling superior...and trite. Many of them tell writers that they must think about why they are writing...and that if they are doing it for financial gain they will never succeed and never become "real" writers. I'm calling bullshit on that misguided notion, and I'm prepared to explain why.  Many writers don't wake up at age 25 and decide to become writers. You don...

If you've somehow managed to avoid all writer forums, self-published authors, Twitter and the news, I've got some rather shocking news: Amazon owns Goodreads. You haven't noticed any changes yet, but you will soon. It's a big merger that begs a big question: what's it all mean for self-published authors...like me?  The World That Amazon Bought If it's on the Internet, there's a darned good chance that it's owned by Google, or Amazon, or both. Amazon pioneered online shopping. Then it revolutionized the book industry. Now, it's got some other plan that's either exciting, or terrifying...or both. Goodreads is well-known to indie authors because it is the self-published author's best friend. Countless forums allow indies to use the site to market their work, find reviewers and connect with promotional opportunities on other book blogs. The site allows authors to acquire fans, share blog posts and keep all of their book reviews...