Jade Varden Official Blog

Do you talk about your books before you're done writing them? Share tidbits and excerpts before the final draft is done? Ask questions about what readers want? Stop. Every author needs secrecy. Otherwise, you end up writing for other people...and not for you. Shhh.... Every writer has their own process, but there are some universal truths when it comes to writing a book. And one universal truth that really matters: stories change. I thought about a book I wanted to write for years and years, from the time I was a child. Finally I decided to start bringing it to life. Originally, the story was going to be told from the daughter's point of view. I was going to kill her mother early and the whole story was going to be about this girl's struggle. I started researching, and planning, and imagining. And pretty soon, I wasn't telling the daughter's story at all. I was telling her mother's, and she did not die. Everything about that book changed...

Today I'm pleased to host Sarah-Jane Lehoux. She's stopping in on her Sevy Series Blog Tour to talk about the hard work that goes into writing.  When people learn that I’m an author, at some point in the ensuing conversation, they’ll say, “I could never write a whole book!” To which I say, “Of course you can. IF you actually tried.” Anything You Can Do... See, humans are born with an imagination. We are born with the ability to remember past events and ponder on the future. We have a brain that can learn and grow and reshape pathways and all sorts of other neat stuff. It’s pretty impressive, the human brain.  I could look at a doctor and think, “Oh, I could never do what she does!” But you know what, yeah, I probably could. Sure, some people inherently lean more towards certain professions than others, but that’s just the start. What comes next is years of hard work, trial and error, and *GASP* learning.  I very much believe that anyone can...

"I was so obsessed in it and couldn't stop talking about it." Read the review of Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) at Karen's Choice to find out why the reviewer can't stop thinking about the book!

Ever read a book that made you feel happy? Hopeful? Scared? Some authors know how to play with your emotions, and it's a skill that can be learned. Find out how to set a mood with your writing, and start jerking on those heartstrings. Evocative Words You can say that hamburger looks tasty , or you can say it looks mouth-watering . Which description made you feel the hungriest? Certain words and phrases evoke certain emotions, and it's the author's job to figure out which ones to use to create the right emotion in the reader.  Was Jessica upset or was she in despair ? The mood created by each word is very different, though either might be appropriate to describe the mood of the character. When you're writing, it's important to pay attention to the way certain words and phrases make you feel -- because if you feel it, the reader will probably feel that also. Do you want them laughing or crying? Groaning or gasping? Feeling hopeful...or hopeless? The wor...

In real life, people commonly shout when speaking with great passion. Sometimes in real dialogue, people stress certain words or phrases without raising their voices. This is how we emphasize when speaking. Now, you need to master the art of emphasizing words when you're writing. There is a standard that authors use. Learn it to be one of them. What We're Yelling About There are a lot of different ways to use writing to show emphasis on a particular word or phrase. Sometimes, a simple exclamation point is enough.  "Wow! I didn't know Johnny had a power boat!"  Clearly, the person speaking is doing so with a great deal of enthusiasm. One can infer that they're speaking rather loudly and with some emphasis, because of the exclamation points at the end of each thought. There are other ways to show passion in dialogue .  "She said what about my hair?" The emphasis on the word what shows that the speaker has put emphasis on this wo...

"A tornado of chaos with crosswinds of lies and deceit." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at the Coffee Pot . Read it to find out what the reviewer didn't like about the story...and what they did!

Writing a story within a story is one of the most common literary techniques, and used so often you may fail to notice every time it's happening. Character dreams and remembrances can be a story within a story, though in the most traditional sense when this device is used you'll be following two different plots. Either way, it's a risky writing move. When it's done well, it can be great. When it's done poorly, readers end up hating both stories.  A Tale of Two Stories If you read novels regularly, the story-within-a-story scenario is pretty much unavoidable. It's going to crop up in the form of diary entries, newspaper articles, perhaps a book the character is reading. To name just a few of the authors who have used this technique, I present Chaucer, J.R.R. Tolkien , Edgar Allen Poe, J.K. Rowling and Herman Melville. At times, the story-within-a-story technique is done remarkably well. Fried Green Tomatoes has two separate plots that unfold toge...

If every story has a hero, logic follows that it must also have a villain. In writing, we call this character the antagonist. But because we are writers, we are able to make our villains as unique as we like. Your antagonist doesn't have to be evil or frightening. Hell, write it a certain way and it doesn't even need to be human.  Evil and Good Your main character is your protagonist, and in any good story there will be plenty of conflict to keep your hero from their ultimate goal. Perhaps they want to gain someone's love, overcome some problem, solve a mystery -- whatever it is they want to do. Something is going to stand in the way of this goal. That something is the antagonist, or the villain of your story.  In some cases, the villain will manifest itself as another character in the story. Perhaps it's a rival love interest, or a detective who is also working on the case your character wants to solve, or even the criminal themselves. Some stories have m...

I was asked and interview question that brought this character to mind, but I've thought about her a lot. The interviewer asked me how I avoid writing a Mary Sue character. I told her I'm not sure that I do, because that's the truth. Sometimes she sneaks in...whether we realize it or not. Mary Who?  Mary Sue a literary term named after an actual character that appeared in some 70s-era Star Trek fan fiction. I'm a huge fan of all pre-JJ Abrams Trek , so I have no problem with sweet little Mary Sue. In the original story, she was a very young and yet amazingly adept officer who had adventures in which she invariably saved the day. Now, a certain type of character is known as a Mary Sue , and she's not always female. Many have likened another Star Trek character, Wesley Crusher, to a Mary Sue. Generally speaking, a Mary Sue character is there in place of the author. She's quite normal or very young, yet somehow has amassed an amazing amount of sk...

Foreshadowing, hint-dropping, a little tease here and there -- these are time-honored literary techniques that keep the reader hooked and wanting more. But you can get to a point where you've just pushed the reader too far. If you tease, and tease, and tease, even when you deliver you won't get the reaction you wanted. Looking Into the Future Foreshadowing is a fancy literary term for hint-dropping . When you allude to the reader that something is about to happen, or if you say so outright (which is generally what I do in my writing), you're foreshadowing. You are, essentially, dropping teasers about upcoming chapters of the book. And like any good literary technique, it can be over-done . In other words, you can't drop too many hints. I read a book, once, with a main character had a very extensive backstory . Now, this is not unusual. The fact that the author teased this backstory, without revealing it, and for a good 80 percent of the book, was unusual...

When insurance companies use it, they've got a great excuse. When writers use it, they're called lazy. But the deus ex machina , known in some circles as acts of God, can be a viable plot twist...especially when all other possibilities have been exhausted. Snub this literary technique if you will, but it's been used by some of the greats -- everybody from H.G. Wells to J.K. Rowling. Here Comes the Calvary We've all reached that point in a story, whether it's one we're reading or one we're telling, when it seems that all hope is lost. When the situation seems so dire, it's impossible to see any light at the end of the tunnel. When that happens, the writer has a few different options for untangling the mess.  The most controversial is arguably the deus ex machina . Loosely translating the Latin, this actually means "act of God." Through this technique, a heretofore unexpected event is suddenly thrust into the story from out of now...

Some of the most dramatic moments in stories are abruptly halted, cut off in the middle. When the rest of the scene is finally revealed later in the story, it's pretty heady stuff. Cutting away can be a great writing technique to make any story more thrilling. But it can also be done too much, and poorly, in ways that will simply wreck your story.  Scene, Interrupted "There is no more need for questions, Inspector." The interruption halted the room, and all eyes turned to him. "I believe I know who killed Mr. Monroe."  Two weeks before that fateful night, Phillip was in Tangier... Cutting away from a scene at a pivotal moment has a number of different effects on a reader. It heightens the tension and draws out the suspense of the story, certainly, but it's also frustrating. When a reader is caught up in a scene and they feel themselves edging close to a conclusion that isn't delivered, it can be incredibly annoying.  The secret of...