Jade Varden Official Blog

Every author should have some structure when they're writing. I'm a big fan of  plotting and planning and pre-researching, and I'll advocate writing an outline any time you give me a chance. But sometimes, writing the story takes us off the outline and outside the original plan. When that happens, there's only one thing to do: go with it.  On a Tangent Things don't always go the way we plan, and that's especially true for writers. When you sit down and outline a novel at the very beginning, it's still just a concept. But things might change as you begin to write.  Stories have a way of taking on a life of their own. As you write that book, you start to really get to know a character. You begin to think like them, see things the way they see them, and sometimes plot points that you planned no longer fit the person you've come to know on the page.  It's good to plan, but writers also have to know how to adjust to those changes. It'...

The vast majority of fiction books are written in the past tense. Almost every anecdote ever shared is told in the past tense. It's a tiny change from right now to just a moment ago, but writing in the past tense confuses many authors who might otherwise be wonderful. It's common, so writing in the past tense should be easy. It should be second nature. But there is a big problem with the past: the word had . All the Words We Had Inserting the word had into a sentence does not automatically mean you're writing in the past tense . In fact, in many cases that I've observed, it only makes those sentences grammatically incorrect. It's tricky, because often had looks and sounds right. See if you can spot the incorrect grammar in the examples: I had walked over there yesterday. You had saw that when? It had sound like thunder in my ears. She had said that last week, though. Which one is right? If you said none of them , you might ...

Want to be a writer? First, pretend you're an alien. You're on Earth, far from your home. And you have to study these strange creatures. Because if you want to write, you have to study humans. It's best if you do it objectively...as though you aren't one of them at all. Take Me to Your Leader It helps if you know some stuff about grammar, and it's a good idea to keep a thesaurus on standby. But if you're going to write, you have to be able to get inside someone else's head. To make a character real , you have to give them hopes and dreams. They're going to need motivations and explanations for why they're doing whatever it is they're doing. They have to feel like real people...so obviously it helps if you know a little something about how real people think, and react, and what drives them. Don't panic. You don't have to put on a wig and start following people around. I'm not advocating that you act like you're i...

"As she learns more and more about her past, everything she knows changes forever. Can she come out of the tornado unscathed?" The Bibliophilic Book Blog has reviewed Justice (Deck of Lies, #1). Read the review to find out why so many details are left unwritten!

In school, some smartypants always starts a paper with the definition of the word that encompasses the subject of said paper. Some teachers hate it so much, they tell their students not to write that way. So here's your warning: this is a post about the definition of motivation...at least, the one I've decided to use for the word when it's applied to authors. Because I've discovered the ugly truth about motivation, and I know the dark secret no dictionary is ever going to tell you. Synonyms and Staying Focused You've got to stay motivated . You've got to be motivated. As long as you're motivated, you'll be able to write! If this sort of advice has ever made you physically queasy, then you understand the dark pain that some writers are forced to face. Because the truth about motivation and writing is this: you can have it, and still not do anything about it. I'm motivated to write -- clearly, I am doing so right now (real time ...

"A few flawed characters, a dash (or more) of romance, some (or many) secrets, a bunch of character growth, and a few surprises spell out a pretty good recipe." "Through circumstances she couldn't control, she was taken from the world she was already comfortable in and shoved into a cold, superficial one." Read the latest review of Justice at Reading is My Treasure , and go to the end to find an interview with me where I talk about writing the Deck of Lies series!

I've avoided writing about this subject in all possible ways, and believe me I could have kept my head buried in sand much longer. But the question cropped up recently during a standard interview, and I've been thinking about it ever since. So today we writers have to ask ourselves a question: where does race belong in books? This Land is Your Land Some literary characters are very clearly defined when it comes to race. James Patterson has never made it a secret that Alex Cross, his main protagonist, is a black man. Tony Hillerman writes about Native American heroes. But did any of the Harry Potter books implicitly state that he's a white boy? Race is often implied in books, more than stated, and that's my personal approach. Through descriptions, it's possible to convey race without stating it outright. A pasty or pale-skinned character can be a presumed Caucasian. The phrase "coffee-colored" appears a lot with African-American charact...

Every time you sit down at your keyboard to write a book, and actually do it, you've won a battle. Writing a book isn't just about finding a pretty way to put the words down on the page. It's not just about entertaining, or educating, or agenda-pushing. It's about defeating that little voice inside yourself that tells you you're crazy for thniking you can write a book.  Every writer faces insecurity. And when you keep writing anyway, you're winning the battle...but you're not ever going to win the war.  Fooling the World It takes a certain amount of bravery to put a book out there for someone else to read, whether you're self-publishing and inviting the world at large to judge your words or you're asking your closet friend to take a look at some chapters. It's frightening to put yourself in another person's hands like that.  Insecurity stops lots of would-be writers from pursuing their dreams, and it trips up even the mos...