Writing 101: Chapter Length

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, you can get away with anything you want, too. 

So, forget about length. Next? Uniformity. Some authors like to have fairly precise chapters. I used to read an author who wrote chapters that were so perfectly organized, I could finish each one in exactly 30 minutes. Seriously, I could practically time a watch by it. Weird stuff. But this is just a matter of personal preferences (or maybe with some authors, a weird compulsion). If you want uniform chapters, write them. If you want to be as unbalanced and random as Lewis Carroll, do it. You're writing your book, so go crazy if you like.

What I'm saying is this: disregard chapter length. If you're writing in an organized fashion, you've got an outline to follow so you have a rough idea of what should happen in each chapter. Write out your scenes until the chapter feels complete and all important plot points are covered. When it's done, you'll know. Forget about how long it is, and write the next chapter. 

Instead of worrying about how many words or pages your chapters are, worry about how long it takes you to write them.That's something worth thinking about.

Writing 101: What's Steampunk?

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 features the fashions, art and general styles of the day. Often, technology is enhanced to make the setting much more mechanized than what would be historically accurate. The ideas that marked the era and general inequality is often changed for the sake of steampunk stories, in which women often hold key roles.

H.G. Wells and Jules Verne could both be considered steampunk writers because they envisioned future worlds and grand steam machines. However, the term didn't actually exist until the 1980s (so they were really pioneers). More contemporary steampunk authors include Scott Westerfield and Cassandra Clare. 

To learn more about the steampunk genre, research the Victorian Era. It's rich in great ideas and some pretty amazing fashions.

Writing 101: Characer Development

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 the page) are never static. They are constantly taking in new information every single day, learning something new or honing their skills in a particular area of expertise. You can see the proof of it for yourself. Open up your files, and read a little bit of that last thing you wrote. Now, go and find something you wrote at least one year ago.

You're better at it now, right? That's because you, too, undergo character development in that your own character develops over time. The same thing has to happen to the characters you put on the page. In any good book, there is some plot. Events will occur. Interactions will happen. Your characters will meet new people, learn and do new things. Like real people, their personalities and world views should change accordingly. 

That's character development, and every good book has got it. Show that your character is learning and adapting, that they are changing because of the events that are happening to them on the page. Show growth. Do it well, and you'll find that people enjoy your writing much more.

Trapped by the Tower

"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!

Writing 101: How to Write a Book

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 spirit, so the opening scene is her bungee jumping. This gives the reader immediate information.
   
• Introduce the cast: What's this world like? Show the character in her normal life, interacting with the people who make up her world.
   
• Introduce the drama: Time to meet the love interest (or whatever it is that will move your plot forward). Set it up for the action.
   
• Show the action: Okay, introductions over. Time to make stuff happen. Throw obstacles in the way, give your characters challenges. Allow them to succeed or fail.
   
• Progress: Readers want to know they're getting somewhere. Make sure your character is reacting. They should grow and change in direct relation to the events of the book. Lets use our example. A girl in love might change her appearance, maybe join activities to get her closer to the one she loves.
   
• Result: The character is reacting and taking action. What are the consequences of that? It helps that there are only two possibilities. It will either push the character closer to their goal, or set them back.
   
• End: Know how it ends, or your story will meander along with no purpose at all. Always be driving toward the end.

 

And everything else? It's mostly cosmetic. Once your plot is in place, either on the page or in your mind, the details are easy. Be descriptive without going overboard, edit until you just can't edit anymore, check the story for flow and accuracy...and you're on your way.

Dying of Suspense

"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!

Writing 101: Why Are You Writing?

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't go to sleep one day and wake up the next saying "I think I'll write a book." It's a decision I made at age 9, to write a book that is, but I didn't manage to put a full story together for many, many years. When I was 9, all I wanted to do was write. I didn't think about the money involved.

That's because I was 9, and didn't understand money. A few (very few)  years have passed, and now I know the one thing I need to know about money: no one can live without it. And I love to write. So naturally, and quite reasonably, I hope to make money writing because this would seem to be more fitting for me than to make money doing something else...say making saddles. I'm sure it's a noble profession, but I don't really have a passion for saddle-making so I'm not certain I could be very good at it. 

Yet so often I see successful authors offering up little nuggets of wisdom saying that to be a great writer, you mustn't think about money. And I strongly disagree. If thinking about money motivates you to write, do it. If you dream about making enough money to support yourself with your writing, keep doing it. This notion that you can't write to make money is silly and cruel. Everyone wants to make money doing what they love, whether it's saddle-making or storytelling.

Some advice, I think, is meant to be ignored. Next time you come across a successful author suggesting that you can't write to make money, send them a comment: if they don't think authors should write to make money, they ought to make all their books free.

Amazon Gobbles Goodreads, and What it Means for Self-Published Authors

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 in one convenient place. It is the only site that even comes close to having as many book reviews as Amazon. 

And now, Goodreads is owned by Amazon. Every author knows that Amazon is already a well-established site. It's already got book reviews. It's even got writer forums. So what the heck is going to happen to all the stuff on Goodreads...and, for that matter, to all self-published authors in general? Is Amazon, the site that built the indie author, now about to kill them all? 

According to a blog post I stumbled across in my research, Authors Guild president Scott Turow is practically predicting Armageddon. He called the merger "a textbook example of how modern Internet monopolies can be built...the key is to eliminate or absorb competitors before they pose a serious threat." In a roundabout way, he even accused Amazon of attempting to control information in order to drive sales.

There's no secret to the fact that Amazon is in the business of making money. With more than 16 million regular users and many millions of reviews, Goodreads was in line to be serious competition. Now it's not. For Amazon, this was a pretty simple business move. The company also released a new Kindle model to compete with the iPad, and nobody's screaming "conspiracy theory" over that. 

But it is scary. Goodreads has become a warm and fuzzy home to many self-published authors. Amazon, to many indies, is still a towering mountain that's impossible to scale. As soon as you climb up the lists a little, you'll slide back down. So what does it mean for the self-published author? Will Goodreads continue to exist?

The answer is that no one knows what to expect. Amazon hasn't made any sort of big announcement, Goodreads has offered up a saccharine public statement about how swell it all is, and everything is pure speculation at this point. The smart money's on more of a complete merger, with Goodreads operating as a stand-alone book discussion community. This could allow Goodreads ratings and reviews to remain in place, but GR author pages could become a thing of the past. Amazon has its own author pages.

But only time will truly tell. If the Goodreads indie author community does fade away due to the merger, don't despair. The indies will band together again, somewhere new, and wait it out until Amazon (or Google) buys it.