Writing 101: Don't Be Trendy

If you wrote a book about wizards when Harry Potter came out, a vampire story when Twilight became a movie and a dystopian action drama most recently, you're not a slave to inspiration...you're being way too trendy. Authors are terminally uncool...so it's really just best not to try to keep up with the tide of public favor. 

I'm a Barbie Girl

Everyone loves a fad, and I'm no exception. I turn certain movies into full-blown events. I consider myself to be pretty fashionable and trendy...but I don't try to follow book trends. For one thing, they come and go too quickly. By the time I started considering writing a book about wizardry, Twilight was already the next big thing. And before I even had the chance to consider writing a vampire book, it was all about The Hunger Games. 

But even that isn't a good enough reason not to follow trends. You only really need one: you should be writing what you want to write. If you've ever started a novel, grown bored and started four more different novels, you know what I mean. When you have a story that's just aching to be told, you can hardly stop writing -- or thinking about it. If you're only writing something because it's trendy, you aren't writing at your best...or with your whole heart.

So ignore the trends in books, and stick to the trends in fashion (like me). This will help you design more attractive book covers, which is really the only literary trend you ought to bother following at all.

Writing 101: Loneliness

When you write, you're doing it alone. It follows that if you can't embrace loneliness...you can't really be a writer.

My World

There are times when the world is only me and the screen right in front of me, a scrolling marquee of black text that just keeps getting longer and longer with each new thought that enters my head. Writing is a very self-involved experience. The real world goes away as you sink deeper and deeper into the one you're creating.

And that gets lonely. As a writer, you can get lonely even if you're writing in a room surrounded by people. It's just you and the screen. Sometimes, that's great. You're in the zone and you're typing and it's all flowing well. Other times, it's terrifying. The white screen is staring at you, mocking you, taunting you.

You are alone with the screen. You're on your own with the plot, the characters, every twist and turn. Perhaps you have someone to bounce your ideas off of, but only you really understand the world you're writing. Only you do the typing, the editing, the agonizing and the imagining. 

That's lonely. There are going to be times when you drive yourself a little crazy. Doing great writing means being isolated, totally within your own head and totally living on the page. The rest of the world fades away. So remember to step outside of that space every once in a while. Make an effort to connect with real humans (not just Twitter followers) and get away from work to have fun. 

Indie News: New eBook Store Broadens Indie Market

Amazon, B&N and lots of traditional booksellers have opened the door for indie authors to publish and market their work...but in these bookstores, indies have to compete with traditionally-published authors. Libiro, a new ebook store, will allow indies to enjoy more even odds.

Knocking Down the Door

Libiro was created by self-published author Ben Galley and Teague Fullick, a designer.  The website "devotes its shelf-space entirely to self-published and small press titles," Galley told Forbes.

Galley wants to eliminate the stigma that surrounds self-published books "because it simply isn't true. Libiro, being a purely indie store, can showcase the indie market...We want to create our own bestsellers."

And for authors who want to publish on the site, there's another perk: 80 percent royalty. Regardless of your book's length or price, this is the standard.

The store is pretty new, and still rough around the edges. Users are saying they don't get enough analytical data regarding their book sales, and Galley admits they've still got work to do. For now, he says, they're focusing on providing readers with a large selection of books.

Books on Film: Along Came a Spider

Halloween is approaching, and to me that means one thing: time for scary movies. Some of the best scary movies were books before they were film. One of my favorites is Along Came a Spider, the novel that launched a 19-book (and counting) career for literary detective Alex Cross. 

The Book

James Patterson published Along Came a Spider in 1993, introducing the world to Alex Cross.

Cross is a detective with the Washington, D.C. police force and a forensic psychologist. How good is the book that introduced him? Along, so far, has launched 18 sequels, a film adaptation and millions of fans.

At the start of the story, Alex is investigating three horrific murders. The stakes are raised when two prominent students, Maggie Rose Dunne and Michael Goldberg, are kidnapped by math teacher Gary Soneji. Cross is ordered to investigated the high-profile kidnappings, which enrages him because the world seems more interested in the disappearance of two rich white children than the murder of three poor black people.

He's still in a bad mood when he meets Secret Service agent Jezzie Flannagan, head of the children's detail. They clash, but the attraction between the two is obvious as they work together to unravel the mystery.

Soneji has the children at a deserted farmhouse. He buries them alive and goes on to kill FBI agent Roger Graham, who spoke about Soneji as a press conference. As Cross investigates, he learns that Soneji is a bit of a crime history buff and seemingly obsessed with becoming a famous criminal.

Cross is personally singled out by Soneji when the kidnapper makes a ransom demand of $10 million. Alex is ordered to deliver the cash, which he does, but Cross doesn't recover either of the children. At the farmhouse, police find the graves...empty. Soneji has returned to his home in Delaware. Surprisingly, he's a family man with a wife and daughter.

It doesn't keep him from killing another teacher. It's this murder that makes Cross and his partner John Sampson realize that Soneji is also responsible for the earlier murders. As the mystery unravels, Cross learns that the plot is much thicker than he imagined...and the spider web more complex than anyone could have conceived.

The Film

The film version of the book was created in 2001, after a successful adaptation of James Patterson's Kiss the Girls. Though Along Came a Spider takes place chronologically before Kiss, the movie was adapted after. 

But if you watch the film, you'll have some trouble connecting it to the original book. Much of the plot is eliminated and Alex Cross is changed in a lot of ways. Morgan Freeman played Cross on film, a man much older than the character. Because of this, all of his family was eliminated on film.

On film, Soneji contacts Cross directly and Alex is sent on a wild goose chase to deliver the ransom money. Cross kills Soneji in the movie, saving Flannigan's life, before he unravels the rest of the mystery. Soneji doesn't die in the book; he'll be back to bother Alex, much later. In the movie, Cross actually manages to save one of the children.

What Got Adapted?

Most of the book was adapted for film, in fact. Flannigan's eventual fate is eliminated and changed entirely. Soneji's wife and child are removed. The trials are omitted, and the romantic entanglement between Alex and Jezzie is taken out completely. It's a very different story, but still worth a watch. Freeman is masterful as Alex Cross, and author James Patterson praised his peformance in the role more than once. But before you watch, read the book! It's one of Patterson's bests.

Writing 101: Is It Action-Packed...or Rushed?

Every author knows that pacing is an important aspect of every book. When events occur very quickly, it creates a sense of action and excitement. ...Or, it makes the book feel rushed. So if you're writing with a fast pace, you have to ask yourself: is it action-packed, or is it rushed? 

Double Time

Timing and pacing will make or break a book. You can use your words to make time feel as though it's passing slowly, or very quickly, in your story. When scenes are thick and heavy and events are occurring very rarely, time will feel as though it's passing slowly. When events are happening much more frequently and sentences are short and to the point, everything feels fast. Many writers use this technique to create action scenes, and drive the pace forward quickly in order to excite readers.

But when it's not done well, it just makes the book feel rushed. There's a very fine line between writing great action and dragging readers across the pages of your story. The difference between a great action scene and a rushed pace can be summed up in one word: emotion. 

Even during action scenes, perhaps especially during action scenes, you want your readers to feel the thrill of it all. They should be pressured by the weight of the danger, shocked by every new turn of events, frightened that their favorite character will somehow suffer. You want events to come quickly and you want readers to be able to devour the words at a fast pace, but always remember to give them time to gasp. 

And to process what's happening. When you're just firing out information and drawing with rapid strokes, readers don't have time to take note of the fact that Mark has fallen from a shoulder wound and Cara just hurled a rock at Dylan's head. You don't have to be flowery or overly-descriptive, but you should provide enough detail for readers to soak it all in. 

If Mark falls from a wound, describe the burning pain. Let me feel his horror as he watches the rock hit the side of Dylan's skull. Now, shock me when Mark turns to see Cara staring at Dylan, having just thrown that deadly rock. Don't cram events into your sentences so quickly that four things are happening at once. Even in action scenes, it's okay for events to play out one at a time. In many cases, it's preferable.

So re-read those fast scenes, and ask yourself what you're feeling. Ask yourself if you still have time to gasp, and then you'll know if your work is full of action...or just way too quick.

Writing 101: Can You Schedule Creativity?

I make to-do lists and write reminders for even the most mundane tasks. If I didn't, I wouldn't have electricity or any food to eat because I would forget to do it all. I have to put everything on my lists, and cross items off those lists, as each day progresses. I like to try and do things at the same time every day, so it's easier to maintain some sort of order. I've even caught myself putting "work on the book" on my list...and on those days, I get maybe one good paragraph written. 

You can't make yourself be creative. Storytelling isn't something that you can command at will. And I would know...because I've tried.

On My Watch

When you're an indie author, you're also a lot of other things. If you're like me, you've got a ton of things to do in any given day: drink copious amounts of coffee, exercise, clean, work, write, blog...spend lots of time on Twitter. If you work down a list to check all those items off, eventually it's going to be time to write. 

So, write! 

...Can you do it just because I tell you to? 

I force myself to write all the time (it's my job), but I can't force myself to write stories. Well...that's only true up to a point. Most writers can force themselves to write something, even if you're just typing mostly nonsense. But good writing is something that can't be forced. You can't make yourself creative. You know what it's like to be in the zone -- when it's all coming so fast that your fingers can't even keep up with the words pouring out of you. That's not a place that you can put yourself in intentionally.

I'm not a fan of scheduling writing time or setting daily goals, but I have always been an advocate of taking down time to relax and enjoying free time. Into this space, creativity will wander. You will naturally get that writing itch during your free time. You'll get the urge to write, and you'll have the time to follow it. And that's where you'll find the creative zone.

You can't schedule creativity...but you can open the door so creativity will walk through it.

Writing 101: Freebies

In my "day job," I used to write advice articles for freelance writers, and I constantly cautioned them against undervaluing themselves. As a freelance writer, you have to set a minimum price and refuse to waver (unless the economy crashes, but that's a whole different issue). As an indie author, freebies are your bread and butter. You can't possibly undervalue yourself or give enough books away for free. What I'm saying is this: never, ever shy away from giving out freebies.

Free Milk

Homespun wisdom dictates that you should never give anything away for free. Do so, and why would anyone end up buying it? 

But that's just not how it works with books; it's never how it has worked with books. What's the most-read, most-sold, most-known book in the United States? The Bible. It's given away for free all the time, and you can find copies of it in every hotel and church pew in the nation. Yet it also sells more copies every single year. Clearly, people will both drink free milk and buy it still. If that wasn't the case, libraries wouldn't exist. They're dedicated to lending books out for free, particularly all the big bestsellers and legendary classics that everyone wants to read. You can go get a Mark Twain book any time, but people still buy all of them all the time.

Under that philosophy, you should give your book away as often as possible. If you could put a copy of your book in every single hotel room across the land, don't you think you'd get more reviews on Amazon? You certainly would. However, this is not a logistically feasible book promotion. 

Giving free copies of your book away on your blog...now, that is feasible. It's also easy. There are any number of file-hosting sites that will allow you to upload your book file in any format, or multiple formats, and provide you with a link so you can share this file with anyone. I'm partial to Dropbox, but you should explore what's out there and find out what works best.

Smashwords also allows you to run free book promotions any time you like. They give you the added advantage of choosing to mark your books down by percentage instead (25% off, 50% off, and so on). However, Smashwords requires users to have both an account and a special code to take advantage of promotions, and that can be a hassle.

Amazon's KDP program doesn't just allow indies to give their books away for free, it requires it. You choose free days every month as a matter of using the program. I do not advocate this program for indies, however, because Amazon KDP requires an exclusive listing. 

Giving books away for free exposes more readers to your books. Word of mouth is still the most effective book marketing tool in the world, and it's not something you can buy with money. You can buy it with free books. Give them away, get readers talking, and their friends will buy your books when the free promotion is over. 

Many indies are afraid of freebies because they need the sales income. But you'll actually sell more by doing free book promotions frequently. Exposure is everything in this business...and free is free. There are people who will download and read a free book just because it's there. When they fall in love with it, they'll tell everyone. You can't buy that sort of promotion...you can only give it away for free.

Writing 101: Showing Personality

You know how people always tell you "just be yourself" when it comes to any sticky situation? That doesn't apply to self-published authors. In fact, here's much better advice for the indie writer: don't be yourself. Don't be yourself at all. 

What "Be Yourself" Really Means

Everyone makes decisions and forms opinions every day. Some people use all sorts of different criteria when they're deciding what to read -- and the author's personal history and beliefs aren't at all off-limits.

I stumbled across a Goodreads thread not too long ago where one reader stated they wouldn't purchase a certain author's books, because of something they'd done or said.

Unless you specifically write politically- or religiously-toned books, readers don't need to know where you stand on the issues, how you vote or what you think happens to us when we die. Your personal opinions on the President, war and other matters are fine for sharing among friends and family, but you shouldn't use any of your author platforms to tout these opinions (unless you meet the aforementioned criteria). 

But you should still show personality as an author, and give people a sense of who you are as a person. When you're in author mode, this is what "be yourself" actually means. You should be who you are...but be a neutral version of who you are. Be a you who doesn't ruffle feathers. If you're funny, be funny. If you're sexy, be sexy (keep it PG-13 on public platforms, however). And if you want to talk politics, keep it balanced and turn questions back to readers whenever possible. 

Show personality by engaging with readers. Tweet about music you like, shows you watch, movies you've enjoyed. Tell them about your sense of style, what you like to eat, how you spend your time. Be yourself...up to a point. Otherwise, you could be alienating readers. As an indie author, that's something you just can't afford to do.