Writing 101: Repeating Words

If you write long enough, you’re going to develop a stable of favorite words. I use “clearly” all the time and describe things as “gray” way too often. When you edit your books, you should also be checking to see how often you’re repeating words. Too much repetition ruins the flow of the book and ends up becoming distracting...becoming distracting.

Clearly, Repetition is Bad

It’s really easy to fall into patterns when you write a lot. Scene structure, dialogue and your narrative voice can start to become formulaic, and you may find yourself repeating words. It’s a bad writing habit that you can’t always break.

You can, however, edit it.

Writing 101: When Characters Grow Backwards

As you experience things in life, you learn and change because of them. This happens to the best book characters, too. Great books have character development...but there’s no rule that your character always has to improve as a person. Sometimes, characters end up growing backwards before they can start moving forward.

Lessons Learned

As an author, it’s your job to put your characters through awful situations. Give them what they want and take it away. Make them fall and hurt themselves at the wrong time. Reveal a terrible betrayal. Some characters take in all this badness and become better people because of it. But, some don’t. People don’t always improve through life. Some of them pick up more flaws as they go along. This is what I like to call growing backwards. It can be a lot of fun to write, if you can make your readers hang around to read it.

Writing 101: How Do You Compare to Other Authors?

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I like to delve into the background of famous authors. I want to know when they started writing, how they got published, if they did anything weird in their spare time, even how much money they had when they died. But that’s a bad use of my time, because I inevitably start comparing myself to those other authors. Do you ever catch yourself doing the same thing?

Stacking Up

For a little while there, I was totally obsessed with author origin stories. One author in an interview talked about how she started writing a short story. Then, she said, the next thing she knew she had a 200,000-word book. Yeah, right. Reading stories like this used to make me feel bad, because I sweat to put 200 words on the page most days. So I stopped comparing myself to them. And now, I feel better.

Writing 101: Breaking Up is Hard to Write

Characters in books are made to fall in love, aren’t they? It happens so often, in fact, that there’s an entire book genre that’s just about characters falling in love. It’s nice to fall in love, and it’s nice to write about falling in love. It’s even nice to read about, and that’s why it gets written about. But in the real world, that shining coin has another side: the breakup. This is a very hard thing to write, but you can’t always avoid it. So flex your typing fingers, and get ready to break some hearts.

We’ll Always Have Chapter One

Sometimes break ups happen on the page, too. There are a few different ways to write it, and I’ve rarely seen it done well. But it is a fact that when characters fall in love, a break up can always happen later...even if it’s only a temporary one.

Writing 101: The Rules of a Trilogy

There are book series, and then there are trilogies. The three stories that make up a trilogy are a series, but they have to be much more than that. If you write your own, are you going to follow the rules of a trilogy?

It Comes in Threes

There are many great book and movie trilogies out there. “Star Wars,” which is both, is a huge fan favorite. I’ll hold up “Back to the Future” as an example of a perfect trilogy any day. But if you really want to know the rules, there’s a movie trilogy you can watch to discover most of them: “Scream.” When it comes to writing your trilogy as a series of three books, the greatest trilogies ever told can help guide you through the specific rules that are now considered to be a requirement.

Writing 101: Why You Have to Micromanage

I had a bit of trouble getting a cover together for my most recent (finished) book. Well, that’s a euphemism. The truth is, I bought like 5 covers. I wish I was exaggerating that number even a little. The first 4 times, I was way too considerate of other people’s creative process. I’ve learned that when you self-publish, even if you don’t do every little thing yourself you have to micromanage every little thing about your book. If not, you’re going to end up with half a dozen covers that you can’t even use.

Every Little Breath You Take

As an indie author, you don’t necessarily have to do everything yourself -- but you do have to direct all of it. Even if you hire an editor, a trailer-maker, a graphic cover designer or a guy to write your Tweets, you’ve got to tell them in explicit detail exactly what you want and what you expect. Because, as I learned, you’re just wasting time and money if you do otherwise.

Writing 101: The Book That Breaks Your Heart

Writing books is a stressful and overwhelming experience, but at the end of the project it fills you with a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Writing books can even be fun...until you write the book that breaks your heart. Maybe it doesn’t happen to all authors, but it did happen to me. Maybe it’ll happen to you, too.

Just Me and My Shadow

In looking back through the blog, you will find that I actually mention this book a lot. I'm being honest when I say I can't get over it; I still think about it all the time. I wrote it some years ago and loved it too well. There's much more to the story, but the point of it is that this book gave me writer's block for an inordinately long amount of time. I put it away and tried to forget it. I got it back out and re-read it. I thought that would help me get it out of my system. It didn't. I’ve read it since. I still feel the heartbreak when that book, somehow, gets brought into the conversation.

Writing 101 Redux: Are You Too Lengthy?

So, are your books just too long? 

Read today's Throwback Writing 101 about going to extreme lengths to find out just how long too long really is.

Writing 101: How Much Blood is Too Much Blood?

I had to take a break after finishing a chapter in my first draft last weekend, and I realized that maybe, just maybe, I crossed a literary line. So now I’ve got to ask myself, how much blood is too much blood in a book? 

Let’s Get Drenched

A certain amount of violence is to be expected in certain types of stories. Can you imagine “The Princess Bride” without the exciting swordfighting? How’d you like to read the Harry Potter books without the wizard dueling? Or maybe you’d be jazzed to crack open a copy of “Divergent” without all the battle scenes and training? Of course not, there would be nothing left. So sometimes, a little bit of violence is required. Or even a lot. But plenty of books don’t get gruesome about it. That makes it tricky for other authors to find out where that line is located. Do you know where it’s at?

http://jadevarden.blogspot.com/2013/12/writing-101-writing-responsibly.html

Writing 101: When Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off

I’ve been vocal in my belief that writing is a skill that can be learned with practice, patience and hard work. It is hard work, though many envision something far different when they first pursue the writing dream. It takes a lot of research, editing and rewriting to come up with something decent, let alone great. But here’s the secret about writing: hard work doesn’t always pay off.

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Many authors will agree that often, luck and good connections play a part in success. If you are obsessed with learning about the backstories of authors, as I am, you will see this is a thread that’s repeated often. Many authors either a) got lucky or b) knew the right people. Of course, they were also talented and hard-working writers. But it’s also true that sometimes, hard work alone just isn’t enough.

Writing 101 Redux: Are Prologues Really That Bad?

Some say that prologues are the worst, but are they right? 

Read this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 post to find out, and see how you feel about prologues at the end.

Writing 101: Instability

For the purposes of this post, let’s assume that you are not the author of “Gone With the Wind” or “Catcher in the Rye.” Let’s also assume you did not create the Harry Potter series. That leaves pretty much all the other authors out there. This is the group who lives with daily instability. And for those who are wondering, the answer is no. It’s not going away...well, unless you write the next Harry Potter, of course. 

Tightrope

For even established authors and writers, the writing game is a tightrope walk. There are pretty much two ways to make money as an author: write a few books that sell a whole lot of copies, or write a lot of books that sell a great many copies. If you’re not doing that, you’re not really making money. As a freelance writer, most of the time you’re going to need to have a lot of jobs that pay well (and a few that don’t really pay that well) just to make ends meet. And here’s the thing about both authors and writers: the rug can get pulled out from under you at basically any moment. Then, you’ll fall down. 

Writing 101: First Draft, Version 2.0

Recently, after many nights of struggle, I managed to finish the final chapter of the first draft of my next novel. But I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I finished the first draft, because I haven’t. For this particular book, I found there was really only one way I could write it and manage to get anything accomplished: sloppily. So I say to all you authors with ugly first drafts, welcome. We are as one.

Building a Book

Did you ever build a model of something for school? I was once tasked with creating a sculpture out of trash, an assignment that lots of people get that I personally think is in poor form. But my grades in Science were always questionable, so I made the sculpture. It was a telephone, because I’m a girl. I started by gluing the popsicle sticks together to create a flat base first. Later, I put together my bubble gum wrapper chain and cut a foam cup to make an ear and mouthpiece. I didn’t add the spray paint until it was all assembled, and it wasn’t until that moment that it looked like something worth looking at. And yes, this bizarre anecdote has a point. A good one.

Writing 101: Catching Up a Series

Catching up a series is the chore you have to face the moment you begin book number two. The problem with writing a series is that you have to begin each book as if your reader hasn’t read the other books in the series. But you also have to write it in a way that won’t annoy fans who are all caught up on all the other books so far. If you can balance yourself on this writing tightrope, you can create a great series. It’s actually much simpler to do than you probably think.

The Story So Far

I’m not going to lie: I’ve read book series out of order. It’s not my fault if book 1 isn’t available...or I don’t feel like reading it. I can’t help it if I’d rather skip straight to the last book than to start all over. Maybe I’ll get to that, eventually. The point is, I may not always be current on your book series when I pick up that book. What are you going to do about it?

Writing 101: The Mini-Cliffhanger

There are some books that feel impossible to put down. You can’t stop turning pages. You keep on reading because you’ve got to find out what happens next. These are the books that readers remember. These are the type so books you want to write. And there’s a trick you can use it make it happen: the mini-cliffhanger.

Hanging By a Moment With You

Lots of readers hate cliffhanger endings in a book, but you can put all sorts of mini-cliffhangers in your book and still wrap things up neatly at the end. If you want to keep your readers turning the pages, put your cliffhangers where they belong: at the end of chapters.

Writing 101: Unnecessary Storytelling

So I’m not going to point fingers at any authors, but I will say that lately I was exposed to some unnecessary storytelling...and I’m kind of mad about it. Misdirecting your readers is one thing, but wasting their time falls into a whole new category. So let’s find out if you’re guilty of unnecessary storytelling, because maybe you are.

Writing and Writing

For every author, there is that moment when thought no longer even seems to apply. Suddenly the words are just pouring out, so hot and thick your fingers can’t even keep up with them. And you’re in such a zone, Mount Vesuvius couldn’t possibly shake up your concentration. You are writing, and it’s going well. Iit’s when you’re in this zone that unnecessary storytelling might start to sneak in. It happens more often than you think.

Writing 101: Being a Sadist

Have you ever tortured a man until he broke down and cried? Killed a person and watched them die? You have if you’re like a lot of authors, because sometimes being a writer means being a sadist. If you write books, you’re going to end up doing a lot of terrible things -- all on the page, of course.

Sadistic

Characters in books start to feel a little like friends, don’t they? I know Anne Shirley well. I would feel totally at home sitting with her in a turn-of-the-century Canadian kitchen, drinking raspberry cordial. For authors who create those characters, the connection is even stronger. And it’s really hard to make terrible things happen to those characters, to allow those characters to feel the pain of it all. But you have to. When you’re writing, you need to get sadistic.

Writing 101 Redux: Toward vs. Towards

Should you be moving toward your dreams, or towards them? Today's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 will answer that question conclusively.

Writing 101: Confessions of an Absentee Author

In a perfect world, I would write every word of my books from the proper typing position, in a comfortable room all alone. I would have an endless supply of coffee and Mountain Dew. And I would type on my laptop, watching the story unfold before my very eyes. This is not how I write my books. I’m about to tell you the truth of how I manage to write books while working an 80-workweek. The truth is, I almost never type books on my laptop. These are the confessions of an absentee author.

To Tell the Truth

Last Thursday, I worked for 16 hours straight. I do mean straight. I don’t take breaks to eat, because clearly I haven’t got the time for that nonsense. I eat one-handed and drive the mouse with the other so I can still get some work done. The Wednesday before last Thursday, I worked for almost 14 hours. Every day, I work all day. When I get finished, I want to sleep. It would be ideal if I could just go ahead and crash then and there with the laptop still on top of me. That way, when I wake up I can just get right back to it. But that’s not very practical, because I still have to brush my teeth. So I don’t go immediately to sleep when I finish working. I may have to fold laundry or clean something up. I’ve got to wash my face and floss. And here is where I find the time to write my books. If you can call it that.

Writing 101: Focus

When you want to write a book, it really helps if you’ve got a good vocabulary. You’re going to need something to write on, and I recommend a lightweight laptop with a full-sized keyboard. It’s always useful to have a good imagination, to have the ability to visualize and picture things. But it is absolutely essential that you have one ingredient, or you will never, ever, ever finish that book: focus.

What’s That Over There?

Seriously, the other stuff can be dealt with. You can buy a thesaurus, right? You can learn typing techniques. Heck, there are classes online for free that teach technique. It’s even possible to improve your imagination. The more you use it, the more it works. Focus...that’s something that you either have, or don’t. And lately, I don’t have it. Do you?