Writing 101: How Much Does Word Count Matter?

I've always known exactly how long my books are. I know how long they are while I'm writing them and frankly, I'm always far too concerned about it. Once upon a time, books were supposed to fit into certain industry boxes. But now everyone's reading electronically, everyone else is self-publishing and books as we known them are metamorphosing into something that no industry can hope to corral. So how much does word count matter to you, the indie author? And...does it matter at all?

Counting the Words

In the world of books, length has traditionally played a role. For example, if your story is less than 20,000 words it's not a novel -- it's a novella. And if your story is less than 80,000 words it's a little too thin to be labeled an adult book. Could it be YA, perhaps? They're shorter by about 20,000 words.

It's a lot of numbers, and lots of authors (like me) aren't good with numbers. But if you were trying to go the traditional publishing route with your books, I would advise you to pay attention to those numbers. Maybe not as much attention as I pay to it, because that's not good for you, but some attention surely. 

Writing 101: How Should I End Dialogue?

To comma or not to comma. If you're writing a book, you're going to face this question maybe 100 times...if not more. With each line of dialogue you write comes an important question: am I supposed to end it with a comma or a period? 

The End of the Sentence

Punctuating dialogue is one of the most confusing tasks you'll face as an author. You're already introducing quotation marks into the mix, which is extra punctuation, and you can't ignore all the normal rules of the game, either. So every time you write a new line, it's a new challenge. 

Writing 101: Finding Inspiration

You know you want to be an author...but you don't know what to write about. Coming up with a good idea is one of the hardest parts about being a writer. Don't rack your brain and beat your head against the keyboard. Go hunting, and start finding inspiration.

That's Interesting...

Knowing who you are and what you like is the best way to find writing inspiration. Are you drawn toward romantic movies more than others? Do you choose funny comedies more when you watch TV, or dramatic reality shows? Pay attention to your own interests, and you'll know what sort of stories you ought to be writing. 

Writing 101: Realistic Reactions

So what's the secret of creating a great character? It helps if they're a little flawed, it makes me like them if they have problems to overcome. But the real secret isn't in how the character acts. It's how they react to the world around them. And frankly, some writers can't seem to write realistic reactions.

What Would J.K. Rowling Do?

Suppose that you were confronted by a vampire, just suppose. Pretend that you've just been given terrible news. Imagine exactly what you'd do if you were arrested.

Don't just write things down. This is not a viable way to craft a story. See yourself in this world. Envision how you would behave if all the plot twists were happening to you. Always take the time to do that. Just stop, think and imagine.

Because if you don't,  your book isn't going to be very good. I can't cite any specific examples, because that would be mean, but I've read lots of books with unrealistic reactions. So I can point out some general examples of what that looks like:

Writing 101: What's Wrong With Indie Authors

Notice there is no question mark in the title of this post. I'm not going to attempt to investigate a problem, and point out several generalities that could affect independently published books. I'm going to tell you, plainly, what's wrong with indie authors...and why there are some readers they won't ever get.

Being Indie

For the record, I'm an indie author. Technically I became an indie author when my first self-published book hit the market on Christmas Day, 2012. But I made the decision to become an indie the summer before. So in my way of thinking, I've been an indie author for a while now. I have immersed myself in the community by joining and reading forums, taking part in social media, blogging, and connecting with other bloggers and self-published authors. I have done a lot of research and a lot of blog-reading, and I have reviewed around 15 indie books. These are my qualifications, such as they are.

There's this real piece of work over at Good eReader, who absolutely doesn't pull his punches when he's beating up on indie authors. The way this guy shuns self-publishing, you'd think we were all heroin addicts. But as acerbic as I may find his blog posts, by some measure he's kind in his opinion of indies. Stick around the self-publishing game long enough, and you're bound to hear far worse.

So what's wrong with indie authors? Why does this guy, and so many like him, absolutely hate us? The answer is an ironic one: what's good about indie authors is also what's wrong with them.

Writing 101: Use Your Experience

I have never been to ancient Greece, because I am not capable of time travel...but I've written about ancient Greece. With enough research, authors have the ability to write about pretty much anything -- any environment, any setting, any action. But if you want your book to feel real and resonate with readers, use your experience. Personal experience can be translated to any character in any setting...if you know how.

In My Shoes

A strong literary character is only strong because of what happens to them in the book. Suffering loss, getting married, being heartbroken, going hungry -- these things make a book interesting and can shape a character throughout its pages. If you haven't experienced these things, you can still write about them. But if you choose to write about things that have happened to you instead, your book is going to be much richer.

The Life of a Book

"How would you like to live in a world where you would be judged just by your hair color?"

"I was always curious about the characters, history, events and everything else going on in the novel at all times."

Hope's Rebellion has been reviewed at It's a Book Life. Read the whole thing to find out what the reviewer didn't like about my newest book, and see if you agree! 

Get your copy of Hope's Rebellion at Amazon, Smashwords or B&N.

Writing 101: So What is Passive Voice?

Do you write in the passive voice? Do you know what that means? If you don't, that's okay. I still have trouble with distinguishing passive language myself. It's one of those ephermal writing characteristics that can, very subtly, alter the tone of your book. I'm not one of those writers who are against writing in the passive voice, because every author should strike their own tone when writing their own work. But I do feel that writers ought to know the difference between active and passive voice...because how can you decide if you don't understand both choices? 

We Were Writers

Now, I could get really technical with the forthcoming description of passive voice. In my research for this post, I've discovered that this is the most common approach. But when writing about something that's complicated, taking a highly technical approach isn't likely to help most people. So I'm going to do my best to put it in plain English.