Jade Varden Official Blog

Not all characters enter into the story fresh and pure. Dickens had a habit of starting his books with the birth of the protagonist, but not every author goes all the way to the very beginning to introduce a character. Sometimes, they've got a past. And if you want me to know about that past, you're going to need a tried-and-true literary device: the backstory. The Story So Far... The story-within-a-story is a well-used writing technique. When that story is a backstory, however, you've got to be careful. Many authors create a backstory for certain characters. I do it all the time to help make them seem more real ; a character with a past is much richer. But when the audience needs to know that backstory, you've got some stuff to think about. Presenting a backstory is pretty tricky business. Prologue: Some authors like to show the backstory right up front at the start of the book, in the prologue . This is a very efficient means of presenting the past part ...

Some grammatical errors become so common, they are integrated into language. Words like forever and alot are prime examples. But some mistakes are still wrong, no matter how often we hear them. I seen is the one I hate the most. On the Grammar See-Saw I don't care how you phrase it or use it, I seen is incorrect one hundred percent of the time. The verb to see is irregular . It has several tenses, like any other verb. The present tense is simply see , as in I see you reading that blog post . The past tense of see is saw , i.e. I saw another blogger writing about that last week . And then there's seen . It is the past participle of see . This means it's only used with another word, like have . For instance, I have seen better blogs . The word seen only works with other verbs, but it doesn't get along with nouns. To use it properly, it's got to have one of its friends. Words like have and has make seen a possibility. Without them, you...

I've always used the computer mouse with my right hand. It's a little weird, because I'm left-handed, but I guess I was just confronted by two many computers with the mouse on the wrong side. So now I always use my right hand. Because I practice good wrist health, I always can. But if you don't, you're going to find yourself in a diner pressing a hot coffee cup against your hand at the age of 20. I know, because it happened to me. Carpaling a Tunnel Yes it's true. I used to order coffee, half-full, while hanging out with my friends in restaurants. I did not really drink the coffee; I pressed the back of my right wrist against it. As it cooled off, I instructed the waitress to pour just a little more in there to heat it back up. This is why I had to order it half-full, you see. I did this for a few months before I finally learned a few things about good wrist health...and carpal tunnel. Everyone has a carpal canal, a small passageway inside the wrist...

Want to write a story about two young lovers who fall for each other even though their families are at odds? Shakespeare already did it. How about a grittier tale, where one jealous brother coldly murders the other? Sorry -- that story's so old, it's in the Bible. There's a theory of belief out there that there are no more original ideas...and I happen to agree. If you're waiting for an original idea before you start writing that book, stop. It's All Been Done When it comes to basic plot, every single sort of love story has already been told . Every drama and comedy was written long ago...most of them by the ancient Greeks.  And mysteries? They're already solved. After all, there are only so many ways to kill.  Read the Bible, the works of the ancient Greek playwrights, and Shakespeare...and you'll see that there's really nothing new in the world of fiction. It isn't your plot that needs to be original, but your take on it does. When you...

If you've ever told anybody, at any point in your life, that you want to be a writer then you've probably heard one very shopworn piece of advice: write what you know . I've decided that they might not be talking about plot points and subject matter, however. I'm pretty sure they're talking about the words. Reaching and Overreaching Everybody has used a word the wrong way. But when you're an author, you're not really supposed to use them incorrectly. Do it in a book, and some savvy reader is definitely going to catch on.  Don't use words you don't really know when you're writing. If you're reaching for words, you're just taking yourself out of the flow of writing the story. Use the words that come naturally when you're writing, and your writing will come to you a lot easier.  If you find that you're using too many of the same words over and over, you need to learn new words. Expand your vocabulary by reading more...

If you've self-published, then you're already learning how to master the art of turning a manuscript into an ebook. Now, you've got to turn that ebook into an audio book. Listening to Books There's nothing new about listening to books. Lots of people have memories of family road trips with a book on tape or book on CD droning in the background. But now that so many people have a smartphone or electronic device of some sort, audio books are back...and they're digital. Once you turn your book into an ebook, the next logical step is to have it read aloud to you so you don't even have to go through the hassle of looking at the screen. Converting to audio books is fairly simple, so don't miss out on this market. With text-to-speech technology, convert any ebook into an audio book. Your software may already have text-to-speech technology. You can always open up your book and use the text-to-speech function to have it read aloud. Record this audio into...

The commitments you make as an indie author matter. They matter so much, I could leave this blog post at that sentence alone -- there's really nothing more to be said. You can't blow them off, you can't pass them off, you can't change your mind. I don't even have to tell you a bunch of reasons why your commitments matter...there's just one that trumps them all. Ready for Commitment I got an email recently, and it got me to thinking about the commitments we all make as indie authors.  Commitments you've got to follow through on, when you make them. It doesn't matter if you're busy, or if you're tired, or if you're hungry and cold and you haven't had any free time in weeks. Because as an indie author, all you really have is your name. Why associate it with someone who disappoints, and back peddles, and fails to follow through?  If you agree to review it, review it. If you agree to be there, be there. If you say you...

It's easy to get a little snobby when you're an author, and that also goes for me. The writer who does years of research for that in-depth biography might smile condescendingly at the author who writes lightweight fantasy fiction. I, too, am guilty of author prejudice. I learned it in the worst possible way: I caught myself turning up my nose at another author recently...a children's book writer. So now I have to ask: are children's books easier to write? A Day in the Life For the record, I don't have kids. I'm not good with kids, and I haven't really spent any time around them. I also don't write children's books. YA books are as close as I get. I remember being a teenager. I don't really remember being a kid.  So when it comes to writing children's books, I don't really have the experience to know what it's all about. I went on a journey to learn more. I began with Carrie A. Pearson , a children's book aut...

Ever literally read a book cover to cover? If you have, and maybe even if you haven't, you've found that there are extra pages at the start of any book. You flip through them to get to the good parts, barely giving them a glance. But if you think you can skip that extra stuff now that you're self-publishing, you're wrong. You need a title page...period. In the Beginning, There Was Junk Honestly, the title page is a rather worthless waste of ink in books -- or so I've always thought. It usually consists of just a few elements, some of which are really redundant. The title: Obviously. The title page is used to repeat the title again. That's in case you missed it on the cover while you were buying the book, transporting the book or selecting the book to read. The author's name is usually placed here as well, because it's very likely you did miss that. The publisher: Often, the title page will contain some information about the publis...

 "I enjoyed reading this book." "Well written and will leave you wondering just what will happen next." Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) has been reviewed at Hope, Love and Happy Endings. Read the whole review to find out why the book got four ducks! 

The F word is considered, in American society, to be the worst of the worst of words. It's so salty, movies and TV shows that contain it come with special warnings. Books don't come with warnings...so when is it okay to drop the f-bomb on the page? For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge The letters FUCK were once scrawled on prison cells of those who were incarcerated for sexual misconduct. Adulterers, fornicators, anyone who maybe showed too much ankle -- don't laugh, it used to be a serious crime. And so, the F bomb was born. For centuries, it would continue to be associated with sex and with the unspeakable. It continues to be provocative, so much so that saying it just twice in any movie will guarantee an R rating. Authors might use it way more than that on just one page of a book. And some readers are always going to hate it. So when is it okay to use? And beyond that, when should you be using it? At the top of the post, I specifically referenced Americ...

How long should chapters be? It's a question that indie authors ask over and over, and one I've asked myself many times. So what's the answer? Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Letters It would be nice if there were certain rules about chapters. For YA, write chapters that are 2,000 words long. Adult romance? Try 5,000. Historical epic? You're going to be skirting 10,000. I'm just making those numbers up out of thin air, of course. There is no standard when it comes to chapter length...maybe that's why authors are asking about it all the time. Every writer does it differently, and maybe that's another reason it's so confusing. But when it comes to chapters, there's really just one answer: there are no rules. I mean it -- none. Lewis Carroll wrote chapters that were one word in length, or a handful of words. He ended chapters in the middle of sentences , nevermind in the middle of scenes. If he can get away with that, y...

Steampunk has gone from being sub-culture to being much  more mainstream, and it's inspired many authors to write lots more books. But before you rush to label your work, make sure you understand the genre. Make sure you can answer this question: what's steampunk?  The Sum of Its Parts To get technical about it, steampunk is a sub-genre of the larger science fiction genre (which isn't at all a bad place to be). All steampunk must have a single element in order to be steampunk: steam-powered engines. If you don't have this, you don't have steampunk.  However, the umbrella could be much wider than you think. The genre does not limit you to the industrialized American or European culture of the 1800s. A steampunk story can be set anywhere in any time -- on a distant moon or in a distant future -- so long as it features the steam-powered machines that marked the early Industrial period. Because the genre harkens back to the Victorian era, it often...

The term character development can be a little confusing. It sounds like character invention; you're developing a character to fit into your story. But that's not what it means. And if a reviewer or agent is telling you that you lack it, you've got a problem.  Every good story needs character development. How do you know you've got it in yours? It's Alive With any book, you want to create characters with whom the readers can relate. Without that, they won't connect with your book and they probably won't like it. So as a writer you spend a lot of time thinking about the main characters in your stories, who they are and what they look like and how they talk.  Here's the trouble: your characters can't be the same at the end of the book as they were in the beginning. You've got to show character development. Without it, the audience isn't going to relate.  Human beings (and I'm referring to the ones who live off th...

"The lies. The twists. The phenomenal writing that is Jade Varden. It kept me completely engrossed and hanging on until the very end." "As Rain begins her own search for the killer, she soon discovers that NOTHING is what is seems. Once you think you know a character or what’s really going on, something else happens and it makes you question EVERYTHING." The Tower (Deck of Lies, #2) has been reviewed at Lily Bloom Books. Read the mostly spoiler-free review to see why the reviewer is second-guessing everything!

Regular readers know that I'm not the biggest fan of writer forums. I think would-be authors ask too many questions instead of doing their own research. But recently I realized it isn't their fault they're so lost. It's mine, because I haven't yet explained how to write a book. It's time to fix that. Turning the Page So you want to write a book. Learn the process, and this very ambitious plan wont seem so overwhelming. In order to write a book, all you have to do is break it down to its most basic parts and plot points. For this example, we're going to write a book about two best friends who fall in love. But the template is solid, and you can use it for any story. When you write a book, always keep the big picture in mind. Every word should drive the plot further. Allow me to illustrate: Introduction: Start with the scenes that introduce your main character . Show the reader what this person is like. Maybe she's a free spir...

"The life of a girl that is more than a mystery series, with amazing ingredients such as power, money and love." "Jade Varden does an excellent job maintaining the suspense and surprises until the last page. You never know what is coming next." Death (Deck of Lies, #3) has been reviewed at Reading...Dreaming by Ruty, longtime friend of the blog. There are spoilers in the review if you haven't read the first two books (and if you haven't, get caught up !). Read the whole review to find out why the book got 5 out of 5 stars!

I look at writing tips and advice every once in a while. My reason is twofold: for one, I need fodder for this blog. But like any writer, I want to become a better writer -- so it follows that I should seek advice. And I keep finding one piece of advice that greatly disturbs me. So today I have to ask: why are you writing? Be careful of your answer. You don't know it, but other authors are judging you. For Love of the Game In scouring interviews, articles and blog posts, I've noticed a particular piece of advice that successful authors trot out whenever they're feeling superior...and trite. Many of them tell writers that they must think about why they are writing...and that if they are doing it for financial gain they will never succeed and never become "real" writers. I'm calling bullshit on that misguided notion, and I'm prepared to explain why.  Many writers don't wake up at age 25 and decide to become writers. You don...

If you've somehow managed to avoid all writer forums, self-published authors, Twitter and the news, I've got some rather shocking news: Amazon owns Goodreads. You haven't noticed any changes yet, but you will soon. It's a big merger that begs a big question: what's it all mean for self-published authors...like me?  The World That Amazon Bought If it's on the Internet, there's a darned good chance that it's owned by Google, or Amazon, or both. Amazon pioneered online shopping. Then it revolutionized the book industry. Now, it's got some other plan that's either exciting, or terrifying...or both. Goodreads is well-known to indie authors because it is the self-published author's best friend. Countless forums allow indies to use the site to market their work, find reviewers and connect with promotional opportunities on other book blogs. The site allows authors to acquire fans, share blog posts and keep all of their book reviews...

I'm terribly behind on my book requests (literally months and months out). I'm over a month behind my own publication schedule for my books. I'm typing this post at 2 am, and I'm going to get less than 5 hours of sleep tonight. I have trouble saying no to stuff...and that's why I'm always drowning in work to do. Brace yourself. You're about to hear a cautionary tale. I Am Not Leading By Example It's me. I'm the cautionary tale. I've managed to get myself into a mess, and I'm going to do what I do best by telling other people how to avoid my mistakes. Just say no .  Read this book! You don't even have to hang up a shingle, so to speak, to receive review requests from authors. You just have to have a blog. You'll get requests through your email, Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, whatever the heck you've got. Some pitches are great. Some books look amazing. Sometimes, it's really hard to say no. But if yo...