Jade Varden Official Blog

When people read your book, you want them to have a strong sense of who your main character is. So if you don't know, they're not going to get that out of your pages. And when audiences can't connect with a character, the book isn't going to do well. So today we have to ask a question: do you know your character?  Identifying Characteristics Think about your main character ...and now interrogate yourself. What are the identifying characteristics of this character? Don't tell me what they look like -- I'm not interested in hair or tattoos right now. Is the character brave? Honest? Sneaky? Cunning? Funny? Shy? If you can't answer, you haven't done your job as a writer. Because I'm not the only one who will ask. Your readers will, too.

 I've been writing, and I'm using the word loosely, since I was a young child. It's always been my passion and it's always been what I do. And it wasn't until recently that I started thinking about what it must be like to be on the other side. When I asked someone close to me if it's hard to be a friend or family member of a writer, there was no hesitation. The answer was a strong "yes!" So maybe us writers ought to keep that in mind in the future. Don't forget about what it's like for your friends and family...because honestly, you're hard to live with. Shhh...Writing I probably mutter "I'm busy" or "I'm writing" at least once a day to someone who's trying to talk to me. I don't look at the person I'm addressing. I can't, because I'm busy staring at the screen. I've shushed people, I've dismissively waved them away, I've allowed them to talk to me for upwards of 5 minutes...

When you're a writer, literary terms are going to crop up all the time. There are many of them that you should know how to define. Otherwise, you may not understand your own reviews. What's That Mean? There are actually dozens of complicated literary terms , but some are used more often than others. Know what they are, and what they mean, so you'll know whether or not you're using them when other people say you are.

I tell you, readers, it's a problem. Commas aren't being used the right way...and as an author, you can't let it happen to you. Are you sure you know how to use commas and names -- the right way?  Comma, Comma, Come On!  Using commas gets confusing. Use too many and you've fouled up the sentence. Use too few and there's no natural pause to your narrative. Use them the wrong way, and I'm liable to come after you. 

Have you ever laughed until you've cried, or cried so much that you just had to laugh? People aren't equipped to feel one emotion all the time, and that's why they can't read books that are just one thing. Whether you're writing a comedy or a tragedy, all good books have elements of both. That's what makes them good...because life is both. Walking the Line By a certain school of thought, all books fall into one of two categories: comedy or tragedy . But within that framework there are infinite story possibilities, numerous twists and turns. No story should ever be all comedy or all tragedy, because every reader will reach a point when they can't laugh or cry anymore. But if you learn how to jerk them back and forth between the two, they won't be able to stop reading.

Above all else, believable characters can make a book believable. The events in The Hunger Games are outrageous, but we buy into the books because Katniss is so real even on the page. That's why you can't start bullying your characters in your books. You have to move them around and make them do what you want, but you've got to find ways to keep it believable. Otherwise, you're just bullying your readers, too. Puppetmaster You've got to make Charac Ter go to the lake, because that's where they will run into Luv Interest. But why is Charac Ter going to the lake? No matter where you're putting your character, make sure you know why they're going there. When you as the author force them there with no good reason, you're bullying the character and you're cheating your readers.

A lot of authors will tell you to write a certain number of words a day, to plot a book to have a specific amount of words by the time it's done. But I guess I'm not like a lot of authors, because I'm going to advise you to do the exact opposite. If you try to write within some sort of weird word count box, you're not really writing. So stop worrying about the word count. I'll tell you why.  Limitless No, I'm not contradicting myself. All my feelings about overly-long books still stand. Overall length is still an important consideration, but not so important that you should be thinking about it every time you put your fingers on the keyboard. Because when you try to write to a certain word count, you're really stifling yourself. And for a writer, that's no good at all. 

Like many authors, I like to read. And sure, sometimes I like to sink my teeth into a big, meaty paragraph that takes up half the page. Sometimes I like to really get into a big scene, just slide into it, and lose myself in walls of text. Note that I said sometimes . Run-on paragraphs can be an effective tool...but I also see it get overused -- a lot . Figure out how to tighten your paragraphs up, because short really is sweet. A Real Cut Up Long paragraphs are great, but only every once in a while. Visually, those thick paragraphs can be off-putting and scary. Reading one run-on paragraph after another begins to feel boring pretty quickly, and it will make a book feel like it's dragging. 

"Can you imagine a world where people are judged based on their hair color?...This unimaginable place becomes very realistic while reading Hope’s Rebellion." "These three girls all have completely different pasts, but end up coming together in a battle that will change the world." Hope's Rebellion has been reviewed at ReadWriteLove28. Visit the blog to read the whole thing . Find Hope's Rebellion at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and everywhere online books are sold.

When someone asks what you do for a living, what's your answer? If you say anything other than "writer" or "author," it's wrong. You're probably also an employee. Maybe a waitress, or a police officer, a teacher or a stay-at-home mom. But your first answer should always be "writer" or "author." You can add the other thing, too, if you want. As an indie author, you should always be promoting. Start by marketing yourself as the writer you are, right away at the first introduction. Writer, Author, Indian Chief According to the cold, hard numbers, indie authors are successful -- in some ways, more so than traditionally-published authors. So you have no reason to shy away from telling people that you're an author, and an indie author to boot. People know about Amanda Hocking and John Locke and Fifty Shades of Grey . So be proud of who you are and what you do. If you present yourself like a professional who has pride i...

If you read Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, the words are pretty flowery and formal, and I think that's confusing to writers who live in the now. Because you have to remember one important thing when you're writing: readers are your friends.  Did We Just Become Best Friends? Books are not the place for you to be formal. You can do that on Twitter, if you want. I've long believed that we could use a bit more formality on social media, but books are intimate. You're putting your soul on the page, and somewhere out there some individual is reading those pages that represent your tears and sweat and missed sleep . So I don't want to see formality in your books. That's where you want to be casual, and treat the reader like they're actually your close friend...because now, they are.

This is a post where I'm going to tell you about what I'm doing, and then caution you to do the exact opposite of what I'm doing. Seriously, do not be like me. I'm overworked. A lot of indies are.  So, this is a post where I'm going to tell you how to fix it...and probably never follow the advice.  Midnight Oil When you're an indie author, you're basically signing up to perform two full-time jobs at once. There's the full-time job you've probably already got, unless you're independently wealthy or otherwise live outside the mundane daily world of commerce.  Then, there's your new job as an indie author.  Between the research and the writing and editing and picking a cover and making a trailer and browsing forums and tweeting and all the other stuff you have to do to be good at being an indie author, it gets exhausting. It gets to the point where you're overworked. And that gets to be bad for you...pretty quickly.  ...

 Today, Jade's blog is pleased to welcome author U.L. Harper! To this day I get asked about my inspiration. Where do I get my ideas from? I think I’m inspired by what everybody is inspired by. Being Inspired For the longest time I thought I was inspired by Kurt Vonnegut. Damned proud of it too. Cat’s Cradle is a classic in my book, and Slaughterhouse Five opened my eyes to the world, even if I never read the first four (just kidding). It impressed me and still does. After reading Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club , I was sure that it was the prototype for every first-person present-tense novel. Violent, honest, sardonic, moving, and funny with a twist, not to mention short and at a third grade level. I figured I was influenced by Chuck, and proud of it. And then there was Clive Barker and his Weaveworld , Imajica , Great and Secret Show novels. Works to live by. I’m not even going to bring up Hellraiser because that’s opening a box I don’t have time to explore right...

You'll notice that there's no question mark at the end of the post's title. It's because I already know why the classics are classics. And unless you know it, too, your book may not be regarded as a classic 50 years from now.  Why I Don't Like 'Wuthering Heights' Look, I've got nothing against any of the Bronte sisters . I, too, am touched by their tragic story. But I've made it very clear -- sometimes through my characters -- that I don't particularly care for "Wuthering Heights" as a story. I find it impossible to believe and the plot drags along. The point is, this book is a classic. And like many other classics, it has a few key elements in place that have made it so popular. Even though I didn't like it, many people do. So what elements make it so great?

I've talked a lot about book length, but that's because it's such a fine science. You always want to leave your readers wanting a little bit more. They should feel just a little sad, and not at all relieved, when they get to that last page. That's why all authors have to make sure their novels can pass the boredom test. There's only way to administer the test: you have to read your own book until it almost drives you out of your mind.  Back Off, I'm Editing Editing a book basically means reading it -- over and over and over and over again. In fact, four times isn't really enough to give your book a thorough edit. Seriously, it's not. Because even if you can somehow get rid of all your mistakes, proofread all your grammar and punctuation, check or plot holes and eliminate all the excess stuff you don't need, you still have to make sure your book can pass the boredom test.

Through a certain series of circumstances, I got into an argument about tobacco recently. I was involved in what we're going to loosely term a writing collaboration, and the point is that someone wanted to add tobacco to a scene that was taking place in the 1300s. So naturally, I had a complete fit about it. Tobacco wasn't brought to Europe until after the famed voyage of Columbus in 1492, and you don't even have to be a history buff (like me) to know that. I got (metaphorically) bloodied in the ensuing argument that erupted, and it got me to thinking about disregarding history...and when it's okay to do that, for the sake of the story. What Does It Matter? I'm a big fan of historical accuracy, and I've been known to go into a rant about Disney movies that will almost shatter windows (many are inaccurate). So I'm always going to be the person who says everything should be historically accurate to the tiniest details. If tobacco didn't exist, th...

If you can paint a strong enough picture with just one scene, and get that important point across, you can save yourself a whole lot of writing work. Harness the power of a single scene, and make it work for you. A Quick Word I've made no secret of the fact that I'm deep into editing mode lately, but what I haven't mentioned is that I took a break from the book. It wasn't intentional. Work piled up on me, and I've had no time for much of anything but sleeping and working. So I ended up being away from editing for about a week, and it changed everything. I learned that there's a lot of power in a single scene...and I saved myself a lot of rewriting.

A number of authors are coming together to create Authors United, a group who wants Amazon to ends its war with Hachette. Their demand? Amazon will continue giving them standard royalty payments for their Hachette titles, and Amazon will go back to stocking Hachette titles on their website. The requests seem reasonable...and yet this war has been going on for weeks. Where do you stand on the battle lines?  To the Mattresses Around 1,000 authors have already signed one petition against Amazon. So far, however, attempts to get Amazon to the negotiating table have failed. The letter that Authors United sent to Amazon will be published in the New York Times in a matter of days. Signers of the letter include Stephen King, John Grisham, James Patterson and David Baldacci. Many of these well-known authors have already donated money to the group for advertising and other purposes. However, there are authors on the other side of the war . A petition on Change.org, essenti...

Are books getting shorter? More and more, I'm finding that the books on my reader are pretty quick reads. When I recently looked at 10 books from the top 15 Amazon bestsellers in fiction, half of them were less than 300 pages. The other 5 contained fewer than 500 pages. Not one that I saw was a thick, epic novel, like a Little Women or Clan of the Cave Bear . Should you be aiming to write shorter books, too?  Pages and Pages   Have you ever gotten a good look at Gone With the Wind ? The printed book can practically be used as a deadly weapon -- it's that heavy. Epic-length novels are something that people once took for granted. Big, thick heavy books were very much the fashion when Jane Austen was weaving her tales. But these days, big books are becoming harder to find...not just on the bestseller lists, but all over the book market. 

Amazon recently unveiled yet another program designed for indie authors, and if you use Amazon services you've probably already been treated to the email blast. Kindle Unlimited is a book-sharing program that gives readers a database of books to read. It all sounds great...until you learn that, like Amazon's KDP program, it requires exclusivity.  Going Steady Amazon wants you to be their steady significant other...for ever. Authors who participate in Kindle Unlimited must be members of KDP Select, Amazon's exclusive program for indie authors. The authors who use KDP Select cannot sell their books on any other website, such as Barnes & Noble and Smashwords.  One could argue that Amazon sells more ebooks than all those other websites anyway. One could also argue that Amazon has provided all the platform and marketing opportunity for self-published authors, and they clearly support indies. What about CreateSpace?  There is a good reason that Amazon ...