Writers in the Storm

by Janice Hardy

A novel is about the story, not the technical skills you use to write it.

Fiction is an odd combination of skills. The craft of writing is technical, with rules and techniques that can achieve different results, yet the art of storytelling is visceral, relying on creativity and instinct to pluck the best pieces from our imagination.

While the story is often what grabs us first, it can quickly get overshadowed by the technical aspects.

• Is the opening line hooking?
• Should this be first or third person?
• Are my characters interesting?
• Am I showing or telling?
• Is there too much backstory?

Add in the countless blogs, books, and classes that teach good writing, and it’s easy to see how the focus can shift from telling a wonderful story to writing a well-written book. This can lead to technically well-written novels, but not great stories.

Instead of crafting a story readers can’t put down, we’re counting how many adverbs are in each chapter.

Now, I’m not saying ignore the technical side of writing—that’s how you bring a wonderful story to life—but don’t lose sight of the joy and magic you felt when that story idea originally came to you.

Because the story is what keeps readers coming back, not the technical skill.

How many times have you stopped reading a book that was well written, but the story didn’t wow you? And how often have you only read one book from an author who was clearly skilled, but their books felt flat? Their stories didn’t make you want more.

A story that excites you enough to write it, is a story that can excite readers enough to read it.

And that’s what we all want, right? A story that grabs readers by the shirtfront and hauls them into our worlds so they can play with our characters for a while. We want them to lose themselves in our stories first, and marvel over how we handled our stage direction later.

Here are some things to remember during the drafting process:

1. Make the characters as real as possible.

My high school creative writing teacher said it best: “Stories are just interesting people solving interesting problems in interesting ways.”

Characters are why readers love a book and they’re at the heart of every story. No matter how great the plot, a flat, lifeless character fails to make that emotional connection with the reader. Without that connection, readers don’t care about all those amazing plot elements you worked so hard to develop.

Sure, they might think the book itself is cool, but that memory fades as soon as a great character in another book comes along and captures their heart. Then your story is likely lost, or worse—becomes one of those “I forget the title but it had this really neat twist to it” novels readers talk about, but no one else reads.

Serve the story by being true to the characters in it.

Let them be the best story people they can be, and don’t shy away from showing both their strengths and their weaknesses. Give them motivations only they could have and let them act in credible and plausible ways. The more real a character is, the easier it is for readers to connect and relate to them. Even larger-than-life characters can be grounded in reality. Make sure they:

• Possess a past that shaped their present and who they are as the story opens
• Have flaws that lead them into trouble and allow them to make bad decisions when needed
• Have an emotional center that guides them, as well as makes things harder for them
• Use agency to drive the plot and show the story to readers the way you want them to see it

Stories are about characters, so don’t skimp on yours.

2. Dig deep for emotional connections.

The more emotion a reader feels, the more likely they are to love the story. Make them laugh, cry, gasp in shock or squeal in glee, and those will be the scenes they’re telling friends about the next day. Emotional connections allow readers to feel like they’re in the story along with the characters. Connections make readers care, and when they care, the plot becomes that much stronger and more meaningful.

Serve the story by looking deeper than the surface plot and find the emotional moments that resonate with readers.

It’s not just the stunning plot twist no one saw coming, but the emotional punch that twist caused. Build every tough choice into a gut-wrenching experience, tap into the human flaws we all recognize, and show the fears that we struggle with every day. Make the reader feel right along with the characters. Look for opportunities to:

• Make the internal conflict connect to the theme
• Cause the character’s backstory to be a hindrance to the main problem in the story
• Make other characters mirrors of the problems your protagonist is facing
• Use universal themes and emotions to make your characters relatable to readers, no matter who they are

Connection makes us care, and them more a reader connects to and emphasizes with a character, the deeper they’ll be drawn into the story you want to tell.

3. Pick the best parts to dramatize.

Elmore Leonard famously said, “don’t write the parts readers skip.” Failing to heed this advice has hurt many a story, and resulted in pages of backstory, heavy description, and tedious exposition. You know which moments are the best parts of your story—they’re the ones you can’t wait to write. If a scene isn’t exciting enough to make you want to write it, that’s a good indication that no one will want to read it.

Serve the story by focusing on the scenes that move you.

Find what you love most about every scene and use it to draw readers in so they love it, too. Try to craft every scene so it contains something that makes you want to call your best writer friend and tell them all about this great chapter you just wrote. Embrace the moments that:

• Give you goosebumps just thinking about them
• Get you excited and make you want to tell everyone about them
• Tap into something real and vulnerable about yourself
• Will keep reading thinking about it long after they’re done with the book

Stories come alive when you show them, not when you explain them.

Don’t forget about the parts that move you, and be true to the story you want to tell.

There’s no rule on when to explore the story and when to explore the technical aspects of writing it, so follow your instincts here. You might create the story first and then polish, or get the plot worked out before you focus on the deeper aspects of the tale. However it works for you, go for it. Just take some time before you’re done to develop the story itself, not just how you tell that story.

Free Workshop Alert! I’m giving an online workshop for the Florida Mystery Writers of America on Planning Your Novel in Ten Easy Steps.

When: October 14

Time: 12:00-1:30 pm EST

Cost: Free

The video will be available for on-demand viewing October 15 – October 31.

It’s open to writers of all genres, from beginners to experienced. In this workshop, writers will learn how to create the critical elements of a novel’s plot, how to use goals, conflicts, and stakes to build a story and develop characters, and how to approach a novel in a way that will make it easier to write and be more marketable to agents, editors, and readers.

Here is the link to the event page on the library’s website: https://nova.libcal.com/event/11035820

How do you treat your story in your early drafts? Is it the focus, or does it get refined later?

* * * * * *

About Janice

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she's not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series. Sign up for her newsletter and receive 25 ways to Strengthen Your Writing Right Now free.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound

Top Image by 422737 from Pixabay

by Laura Rossi

Writing can be a lonely journey.

I’ve been in the writing jungle for over ten years now and, even though I can’t consider myself an expert, I think I can safely say that there’s no right or wrong when it comes to writing.

I’ve seen debates on:

• What comes first – the characters or the plot.
• How to write blurbs.
• How to market a release.
• Writers arguing on the difference between author and writer- yes, you read that right.

But at the end of the day what works for you is what will make you successfully produce your art.

Follow the Muse.

If a character is speaking to you, let it, see where it takes you. Write everything down, like you’re in a lecture taking notes, don’t worry about the plot, don’t worry about anything but what the character is telling you. If it’s a strong voice, everything else will follow.

Likewise, if you have this amazing story in your head, write it in bullet points and expand as the ideas crowd your mind.

In other words, don’t listen to what others are doing, don’t listen to people telling you there’s one way. There isn’t. Writing is a learning journey, every single story I’ve written has taught me something new. No kidding. And I think it could be useful to share it with you.

Let’s just all agree on a few things first:

• We write for ourselves.
• Words are coming from the deepest part of our soul.
• It’s about communicating what we feel, how we feel.

Writing is making love with a blank page. You want to fill it with love and leave parts of you there forever.

There’s something so powerful and scary at the same time, the idea that it’s just you and that blank page and no one else to turn to. It’s an intense relationship with constant ups and downs.

Some days you’ll love the words, some days you’ll hate the words, but whatever you do, don’t delete the words!!

What I’m basically trying to say is to go with the flow, follow your gut instinct, and leave reasoning with the editor. You can however, like with any form of art, try to follow these simple suggestions – ones that have helped me, that I’ve learned story after story- to make this journey steadier and simpler for you.

1. Organize your writing space.

Get that nerd thinking cap on, pull out those notepads, cool pens and post-its, and make your desk perfect for you to work on. It sounds like a given. No, it isn’t. I’m a messy person and I’m sure a lot of writers are just like me. Organizing your space will lead you to organize your ideas. Trust me on this, it works.

2. Make sure you play with each and every character.

Figure out basic physical aspects – eye colour, height, hair, etc.- and also behavioural traits. Remember, you are the creator of your writing world. You need to envision the characters to make them consistent. Then you move on to the where the characters are at, what happens, and what will change for them at the end of the story. If you’re good at drawing, draw them. Or if you’re like me—helpless—I find that looking for pictures relevant to the theme of my book online helps me build ideas of the character.

3. Write the plot in bullet points first.

Some writers are amazing at writing beginnings, others at writing the endings, or those significant twists that make the story that much more amazing. Whatever is your gift, use it to build the storyline and don’t be scared if you think your method is unconventional.

There’s no order in creating. Take it from me, most of the times I start from endings. I get the general idea of what I want to write and the first thing I do is to write where I want things to end. Then go backwards and build the plot. Our minds work differently and each of us has a different superpower—hence why I suck at writing beginnings.

4. Not everything you write will be in the story.

Embrace this concept, accept it, and keep writing those parts anyways. It’s never a waste of time. I think if your mind is suggesting that you should jot down something, it needs to be done.

Sometimes you need to write it to figure out what you don’t want in the final draft. It’s okay, it’s actually often eye-opening and helps you put a finger on what you don’t like.

5. Don’t delete. I repeat, don’t delete.

What you don’t like now, you may like later, and then poof. The words will be gone and you won’t remember the wording, the phrases the way you’d written them. I usually leave everything in but highlight it in a bright colour so I know I have to be particularly careful when rereading that part, to see if I want to change it or delete it for real.

Also, a good idea is to write comments using the revision tool on your writing program. Write comments to yourself, things you might want to add later, ideas, hints, details that might suit that part of the story. You’ll thank yourself later during editing.

6. Don’t stress over writing.

If overthinking were a sport, writers would be gold. Listen, ideally, we all want to write every day, get a good sprint, feel good and productive about ourselves. But I’m not here to lie, I’m here to tell you what I’ve learned and that is nope. It won’t be like that every day.

If you don’t feel like writing, or if your mind is focused on something else, step away from that computer and go do something else. Otherwise, you won’t write a word, you’ll feel frustrated, and you’ll lose confidence. Best go for a walk, watch that TV series you were meaning to watch or go out with a friend. You’ll go back to the story with fresh ideas and a different perspective.

7. The writing community is immense.

It’s filled with lovely, helpful, and kind people just as much as bitter, manipulative, and dishonest ones.

Best advice I can give you is:

• Stay alert.
• Don’t trust easily.
• Never pay in advance for any service (editing, gadgets, marketing, cover art) if not via PayPal or any secure payment, so you can always contact to get your money back in case things don’t go as planned.

8. Get yourself the best editor money can buy.

That’s one thing you don’t want to mess up. If it’s just you and that blank page in the early stages of the story, it will be you, the editor and that page filled with corrections, suggestions, and comments before publishing. You want to make sure you deliver the best novel you can manage.

9. Indie or Traditional publisher?

Ha, this alone could be a post. You can try both of them out. I’m indie for most markets and traditionally published in Italy. There are pros and cons for both, but I haven’t made my mind up yet on which is best. However, if you want to go with a publisher, get yourself an agent first.

10. Look into Facebook and Amazon ads.

Whether you are indie or traditionally published, you want to learn how to create good adds. It’s what will give you visibility these days.

11. For the love of God, do not read reviews.

And I say this knowing that you are now wandering off, straight on to those reviews I just told you not to look at. Fine, read them if you want, but keep two things in mind:

1. Don’t let a bad review outvalue the great ones. Why do we always believe the worst and never the beautiful things people say about our work? If the bad review is just offensive and not constructive, ignore it darling. It’s of no use to you.
2. Whatever you do, never comment on a review. (Goodreads lets you do that but no, no, no, stay away from the comment button because it will only end up in a debate, an ugly one. Trust me, I've been there, done that, and I'd take it back if I could.)

12. Last, but not least, be you.

No this is not some slogan to write on a t-shirt, I mean it. Seriously. Trying to imitate other writers or writing the same kind of stories over and over again might feel like the right choice in terms of marketing and building readers, but only if you focus on your uniqueness. Remember who you are and why you are a writer. It will pay off.

I hope my personal to do list has helped you or given you a new boost. Happy writing!!!  

How is your writing journey? What keeps you on your writing path?

* * * * * *

About Laura

Laura Rossi is an Italian multi-genre writer. Raised in the US and in the UK, where she graduated in Psychology and Criminology, she now resides in Italy with her family.

Devotedly interested in the human mind, Laura likes to scare people saying she goes ‘from sweet to psycho in a matter of seconds’ with her characters. One day she’s writing something sweet and funny, the other she’s crafting dark, flawed characters for edgy, twisted stories.

When she’s not busy working in her family business or being a mom, she loves to travel and attend rock shows. If you see her wandering around town with a wicked smile on her lips, she’s probably thinking of putting you in one of her novels, plotting a new thriller in her head or figuring out which character needs to get the bullet.

For any rights or sub-rights query, Laura is represented by agent Nikki Groom at SBR Media.

nikki@sbrmedia.com

Follow Laura

@laurarossiauthor on Facebook and Instagram

Thelaurarossi_situation on Tik Tok

Top Image by Alan Frijns from Pixabay

by Annette Spratte

Being bilingual is a wonderful thing. Almost all my life, I have enjoyed being able to communicate fluently in two languages and to read books in the language they were written in, not having to rely on translations. Being a bilingual author, however, does have its challenges.

In which language to write?

Since I’m a native German, you might think it odd that I wrote my debut novel in English. The reason is fairly simple: The story is set in the US, so why would I write it in German? Besides, I love English, I mostly read in English, and I write my diary in English (for the original reason that my mother doesn’t speak English, hence wouldn’t have been able to read it should she ever have stumbled across it). Enough reasons, right?

I had no idea what I was doing or if I would get anywhere, so I only started worrying about the language when it was clear I would actually finish the story and want to publish it. Finding a publisher was utopic under the circumstances, so I took the route of self-publishing.

The next project was a series of children’s books I wrote for my kids – in German, obviously. At the time they weren’t fluent in English (that has changed by now). To my surprise the series was picked up by a German publisher and I made the decision to focus on writing in German. You have to go through the door that’s open.

But then The Silent Maid showed up in my brain. Set in England, everyone in the story spoke English. Guess what language I started writing in!

Fast forward to today: Eventually, all of my books will be available in both languages, but the setting dictates whether I first write in English or in German.

The Time Factor

Writing a book takes time. My historical novels take me about half a year to write, not counting all the research that goes into the story before I even start writing. Translating a book also takes time. Not quite as much as writing one, but two to three months at least. It’s a constant juggling of priorities.

Do I want the translation finished or write a new book? Working parallel on two stories in two languages doesn’t always work out very well. And even if I choose to use a translation machine to save typing time, my editing time doubles because machine translations are not very elegant, if not downright hilarious, as I’ve pointed out in my post “Should I use Google to translate my novel?”.

Can I make the story work in the other language?

Well, I would be a terrible translator if I couldn’t do that, but it is a challenge, especially where the form of address is concerned. German enables me to establish relationships between people in finely tuned nuances without ever having to describe them simply by the form of address I’m using. That gets lost in the translation.

On the other hand, English has so many words that require bumbling descriptions in German – which is why a German translation usually turns out longer than the original work. Often, a direct translation will sound clumsy, so to make a story work I need to step up a level from translating mere meaning to transporting the underlying atmosphere, linguistic beauty, and emotions. For this reason, under German law, a translation is regarded as a creative work having the same copyrights as an original book.

Let’s not talk about sex…

There’s a reason why I will not translate erotica under any circumstances. I really have no idea why this is so, but the German language is utterly unsuited to describing sex without sounding either blatantly obscene or absolutely silly.

Most of my books are clean reads, but I do have stories that involve sex scenes. I don’t mind writing them, as long as it’s in English.

In the German version of the Way of Life series, the wedding night is a LOT shorter than in the English version. Don’t name things, use hints, and focus on what the protagonists feel rather than what they do, and you can worm your way through a German sex scene without falling apart, while the same scene in English may be created easily with a beautiful, romantic flow.

Maybe it’s just me. I don’t need explicit scenes unless they really fit into the story. In English, I often skip over them if I find them too excessive. In German? No. Just no.

Story demands

Looking back on eight years of writing in two languages, I detect a pattern. The stories I write in English tend to be much more demanding than the ones I write in German. Every story draws me in until the characters become real, and I’m not one of those authors who spend much time procrastinating instead of writing. And yet the English stories dominate my waking thoughts to a greater degree than the German ones. There could be two reasons for this.

Theory A:

Having a wonderfully supportive German publisher behind me makes me search for ideas to work into stories that will fit their portfolio. They involve a lot of research which slows up the writing process.

The stories I write in English seek me out and pester me until I give in and write them despite having other things scheduled. I keep them bottled up until they burst forth with the force of a tsunami.

Theory B:

As a teenager, I found English to be the language of my heart. If I could choose, I wouldn’t be writing in German at all. Unfortunately, I’m very bad at marketing, so having a publisher is a definite argument for writing in German. But writing in English is so much more fun!

So yes, being bilingual is cool, but if you want to publish books in both languages, discipline and time management are vital.

Do you read or write in more than one language? Have you noticed thoughts being lost in the translation?

* * * * * *

About Annette

Annette Spratte is an award-winning bilingual author and translator living in Germany. With nine books traditionally published in German so far, she has translated and self-published her most successful historical novels The Silent Maid and The Potbaker’s Niece into English (more to come). Her trademarks are life-like characters and a vivid writing style that glues readers to the pages.

Her translation schedule is tight, so if you wish to make use of her skills, you need to plan well ahead.

Learn more about Annette on her website http://annettespratte.org

Top Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay