Writers in the Storm

By Janice Hardy (@Janice_Hardy)

I’ve always been drawn to writing science fiction and fantasy, which means that I’ve written a lot of first drafts based on “cool ideas” but no real conflict. Sure, I had a sense of what the problems were, and maybe even a few key scenes unfolding in my mind, but the books were about the idea, not characters with specific problems. 

No surprise, those drafts never got beyond the first draft.

Many a novel has been started with a vague idea and a lot of pages that explain why that idea is so cool. They’re even well-written novels, but in the end, they fail because there’s no point to them and no problem driving the plot.

Are you making this mistake in your novel?

Take a look at your current manuscript. What’s the problem of the novel? Is it a specific, concrete problem to solve (such as catch a killer, find the money to save the farm, defeat the evil wizard before she enslaves the realm) or is it a vague issue (such as find love, learn to rely on yourself, show how X came to pass)?

If the point of the novel is a vague issue, odds are you’re going to have trouble writing the first draft, because there’s nothing for the protagonist to do. Without a problem to solve, there’s no plot. 

Evaluating Your Story

Here is a template to help you evaluate. Test your novel and fill in the [bracketed information] of this statement:

My novel is about [the protagonist] who [has a problem], because [the reason the problem exists]. To fix it, [the protagonist] must [risk something of value] and [specific action that has to be done to resolve the problem] or [what happens if they fail].

For example:

My novel is about [Lisa] who [is part of a government experiment], because [she was born with a special gene that allows her to sense emotions]. To fix it, [Lisa] must [risk her life and defy her government] and [make people aware of what’s being done to people like her] or [they’ll kill her].

Can you tell what this book is about?

There’s a general sense, but the specific plot isn’t there, because “defy her government” is a vague idea, not a problem to resolve. Her “problem” is also that she was born with a special gene. There’s nothing here that says how that’s affecting her life or what problem she has because of that gene.

Let’s dig a little deeper. I’ll add the parts we’re filling in as a reminder:

[has a problem]: [is part of a government experiment]. How is this a problem? Captain America was part of a government experiment, too, but he volunteered to serve his country. This is a good example of a vague idea that feels like it’s enough to carry a novel, because odds are you know it’s bad and an issue, even if you don’t know how yet. It feels like enough to plot with, yet it’s probably not.

[the reason the problem exists]: [she was born with a special gene that allows her to sense emotions]. This gives specifics, and is good, because it tells us why the protagonist is special. You can instantly picture several reasons how this might work, how it might help her, and how it might hurt her. But it doesn’t say how this is a problem.

[risk something of value]: [risk her life and defy her government]. This is another vague and unhelpful description. How is she risking her life? How is she defying her government? Without those details, it’s difficult if not impossible to plot this story.

[specific action that has to be done to resolve the problem]: [make people aware of what’s being done to people like her] Great plan, but how exactly does she do this? And is this the real climax of this novel? She goes on TV, shares her story and all is well? Odds are no, just making people aware isn’t going to do it, and there’s more here to do before this problem is resolved.

[what happens if they fail]: [they’ll kill her]. This seems like a great stake, but how often do protagonists actually die? Almost never, so readers know this isn’t going to happen, and you as the author know it isn’t going to happen. Which means you don’t really have anything at stake.

See how easy it is to write a pitch line for a book that won’t help you write the novel?

To find the story problem, you’d have to figure out the specifics of these vague ideas.

“Defy her government” might be hijacking the local TV station and showing videos of the treatment or the experiment itself to create public outrage and force government intervention. It might be causing a revolt. It might even be escaping and running away. What does Lisa have to do? Find the specifics, and you’ll find the story problem.

Let’s look at an example that works (my novel, The Shifter):

My novel is about [Nya] who [has a missing sister named Tali], because [Tali was kidnapped by people wanting to exploit her magical ability for financial gain]. To fix it, [Nya] must [risk her freedom] and [use her own magic to break into the Healers’ League and rescue Tali from her kidnappers] or [Tali will die and Nya might get captured and exploited herself].

It’s raw, but what has to be done in this novel is fairly clear. The plot will come from Nya trying to find and rescue Tali from kidnappers. That’s not all that happens, of course, but this is at the heart of the novel and the plot is all about resolving this problem.

Let’s dig a little deeper:

[has a problem]: [has a missing sister named Tali] This clearly states the problem and it’s easy to extrapolate that finding the sister is the goal. I could have added “she must find and rescue” to be more specific.

[the reason the problem exists]: [Tali was kidnapped by people wanting to exploit her magical ability for financial gain]. This sets up the problem and who the antagonists are. There’s inherent conflict here, even if there are still details about the why to work out.

[risk something of value]: [risk her freedom] Freedom is a bit better than life, because it’s quite possible (and likely) that Nya will lose her freedom at some point in the story. If I wanted to clarify this further, I could add “and her anonymity, her only protection against people who would exploit her as well.” That tells me that Nya is very likely going to lose her anonymity and the safety it provides.

[specific action that has to be done to resolve the problem]: [use her own magic to break into the Healers’ League and rescue Tali from her kidnappers] A specific act for specific motives, and also connects back to the original problem stated—has a kidnapped sister.

[what happens if they fail]: [Tali will die and Nya might get captured and exploited herself]. Tali dying is a real possibility, as is Nya being exploited. These are stakes readers can see happening, and stakes I could have happen, that won’t stop the story cold.

Final Thoughts

Could I flesh this out more? Sure, and if I was writing this for the first time, I probably would, since I’m a plotter. But there are enough concrete details here to prove that this idea has a problem, real stakes, and a specific plan of action to solve it.

Odds are I won’t hit a wall at page 100 and not know where the story goes next, which is a common issue with vague goals and unclear story problems.

Try your own idea and see what happens.

If you have trouble filling this template out, that’s a red flag that there’s no problem to solve, just a vague sense of where the problem lies. If you can fill out the template with a concrete and tangible problem, odds are your novel has a conflict you can work with.

How did your novel or idea do? Which of the steps in the "template" gave you the most trouble? Share with us down in the comments!

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.

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by Penny Sansevieri

For many authors, creating a successful book marketing campaign seems as difficult and mysterious as effectively whipping up a delicious chocolate souffle. What are the ingredients, what are the tricks, what are the best tools and in what order should I be using them?

While there is an art to baking and also an art to marketing, you don’t have to be a professional to find your way to the sweet smell of success. Marketing amateurs can make great progress toward a terrific book marketing campaign by working on bite-sized pieces. So instead of chocolate souffle, think Snickers fun-size – and let yourself have that fun!

Today, I have some small but mighty book marketing strategies for you; many of them are quick and/or free.

You might think about sprinkling them through your week, doing one a night. Or maybe grab a handful and settle in on a weekend afternoon. You’ll find you’re in a much better position, marketing-wise, when Monday rolls around.

Claim What’s Yours

Claim your Amazon Author Page. It’s Amazon. This is a Must Do and you already know that. If you’ve been reluctant, decide you’ll just add your bio. Baby steps ARE steps.

Claim your Author Profile on Bookbub and get your books listed. It’s free to submit your book to be added to your profile.

Claim and fill out your author page on Goodreads and claim ALL your books. At minimum you should have representation on this site, even if you haven’t taken steps to use all of its features as part of your well-rounded author marketing approach…yet.

Use What You Already Have

Celebrate declining Covid cases by masking up and making your way out into the world to leave five of your author business cards around town this weekend. If you have a way for someone to use a coupon code on your website – jot that down as well to really up the ante!

Brainstorm a bunch of ideas for your next blog posts. Don’t overthink it, don’t commit to all of them, just jot down every single idea that comes to you. Overthinking can be one of your biggest author marketing downfalls.

Publish one of your popular blog posts on Medium. It’s fast and super easy to find new readers and extend your author marketing.

Look at your blog or website and find three improvements you can make. Or, look at other authors’ sites and steal a few ideas you’re missing out on.

Read your author bio on Amazon and social media. Spend five minutes thinking about how you could improve it and make notes.

Plan an upcoming newsletter to send to your mailing list. You don’t have to plan it, write it, illustrate it, revise it, edit it, and send it all in one sitting. Break it into manageable chunks and take satisfaction in chipping away at the process to get to a great product!

Socialize and Network

Comment on a post on a popular blog or on a newspaper article. Commenting is one of the most effective ways to get noticed as an indie author. If there is the option to reply to already posted comments, even better, as you will be entering into a conversation and getting a chance to show off your knowledge or experience in a key area of interest to those who frequent that site.

Join a writers’ group. Sometimes other writers have good ideas you can steal!

Follow 100 people on Twitter. On average about 20 will follow you back. Do it regularly and you will build a solid following to help your author marketing on Twitter.

Follow 10 friends of your friends on Facebook. You’ll be surprised how many will accept your request because they will see that you are in some way connected to them. You never know, you might be connecting with new fans!

Follow 10 authors in your genre on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (or whatever platforms you frequent). Not only is this good networking, you’ll also likely pick up some tips and tricks of the trade and learn from their own author marketing activities.

Share five posts of interest on Twitter, Facebook, or any of your social media accounts. It’s amazing how many people will notice and perhaps follow you back because you are sharing and playing nice, not shoving your books down people’s throats.

Find five new blogs that cater to your genre and add them to your master blogger list. Before you click out of each, leave a comment. Everyone wants feedback and bloggers will remember and be appreciative of whatever tracks you leave behind.

Learn New Tricks

Google search ‘book marketing for 2021’ and read two articles. You won’t ever come up with new ideas if you’re not always trying to learn. Learning does take time, but it’s free – pick your battles.

Read up on SEO and learn to write your blog posts around keywords to increase visitor traffic.

List some new materials or tools you’d like to master and then choose one to spend an hour on.  Maybe you’d like to learn more about using Canva (which is free!) so you spend your time making a few practice social media posts featuring your dog. Perhaps you’ve been wanting to up your Zoom game so you do some research on ring lights and the best way to set up your desk for video chats.

Check out a few websites and blogs for writers and independent authors with an eye toward free downloadable information. You might emerge from a dedicated surf session with everything from a monthly book marketing planner to a reader profile sheet. We routinely offer both of these tools at the end of Author Marketing Experts blog posts.

Final Thoughts

Book marketing doesn’t have to be a scary slog through the unknown if you make use of what you already have, build on your current success, look for holes in your learning, connect to others with like-minded interests, and, most importantly, enjoy the ride.

Best of luck to you!

What small actions have made a big difference in your book marketing efforts? Share them with us down in the comments!

About Penny

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU. She was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine. 

Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon Optimization programs as well as Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of 18 books, including How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon: 2021 Amazon Ads Powerhouse Edition, Revise and Re-Release Your Book, 5-Minute Book Marketing, and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet." Her next book From Book to Bestseller is due out in Spring 2021.

AME has had dozens of books on top bestseller lists, including those of The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal.

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com.

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

We all know your main character can’t suddenly stand up and dance around the room without having SOME motivation for doing that. Maybe a red laser-dot just revealed there’s an assassin trying to get a clean shot through the window, or maybe somebody just announced “you inherited three billion dollars” or their favorite song just came on the radio. Without any motivation or inciting incident, the sudden dancing is gonna look plain weird.

We know, too, this same character can’t accept a job in Antarctica without some motivation for doing that. Maybe it’s a chance to work with an old love who’s indicated an interest in picking up where they left off, or maybe the pay will cover a new roof for poor Grandma’s house, or perhaps there’s a rare breed of penguin expected to appear and being the first to see it would rejuvenate a faltering career.

Motivation vs. Goals

It’s pretty easy to come up with a motivation for whatever gets your character started on the action of the story. But technically, avoiding an assassin or reconnecting with an old love or spotting the amazing penguin isn’t a motivation. It’s an understandable desire, but it’s not a motivation.

It’s a goal.

”Fine,” you say. ”But that’s all just semantics.”

It could be, sure. Or it could be the difference between a character who goes through predictable actions without ever really coming alive on the page, and one who makes readers feel like this character is so fully, vividly real that they’d recognize ‘em in an instant if they met each other on the street.

(Or a ranch, a windswept moor, a vintage boutique, a bustling emergency room, or wherever this character tends to be seen.)

Why do we care about motivation?

Motivation is what makes this character the person they are.

It also makes ‘em the person they’ve been long before the story ever began, and the person they’ll be long after it concludes.

That’s not to say their motivation must remain consistent from beginning to end. It certainly CAN, and still deliver your readers a truly compelling character all the way through the story and beyond, but it doesn’t HAVE to.

Think about someone who wants something.

It might be a character in a book you’re immersed in right now. It might be someone you live or work with. Heck, make it easy – think about yourself and something YOU want!

It doesn’t matter whether you choose a tangible goal like “a new phone” or “a trip to Paris” or something loftier like “a cure for Covid” or “the happiness of my children.” No matter how lofty the goal might be, it’s still driven by a motivation.

How to choose the right motivation?

We don’t always know, and neither do our characters, what motivation lies behind a goal. I might want a new phone to make life more convenient, or to have more room for photos of loved ones, or to impress my co-workers, or to quit spending so much on repair hacks, without ever thinking about why that particular outcome matters to me.

The same is true if I want to cure Covid. Saving the world is an understandable desire, and there are all kinds of possible motivations:

• Someone might want the acclaim that comes from discovering a cure.

• Someone might want the recovery of their beloved father who makes life easier for them.

• Someone might want the freedom of once again being able to go anywhere anytime with anybody who looks interesting.

• Someone might want the world to be a healthier, happier place.

Which of those will be the most interesting character?

Any one of the above would work, except the last.

Wanting the world to be a healthier, happier place is pretty bland. It’s pretty universal. It doesn’t really TELL us anything about this person.

Whereas a character who wants acclamation, who wants Dad to smooth things out, who wants to explore every avenue they can find, is almost certainly going to be less bland. More interesting.

More the kind of person we’d like to read about.

So does that mean your characters should never have truly good, noble reasons for doing what they’re doing?

We’ll get into that more next month during “Plotting Via Motivation,” which goes into considerably more detail on how to use motivation to make your book shine. And because I always give a free-class prize to someone who leaves a comment whenever a blog gets 25 or more commenters (hmm, is that a word?)...

Let me ask you a question:

What’s a book you remember enjoying, and what did the main character want?

Please share it with out down in the comments. You don’t need to say WHY they wanted it, just WHAT they wanted. That’ll be a good way of showing how many different kinds of motivation can lie behind just about any desire…which is one more reason books are so fascinating to read!

And, yes, write. :)

Laurie

(Who should mention that as of February 22 the class is on a wait-list basis but it can’t hurt to email WriterUniv.com@gmail.com if you’re interested.)

About Laurie

Laurie Schnebly Campbell has taught Plotting Via Motivation for WriterUniv.com every spring for the past decade, with some authors taking it annually to plot their next story and others saving the “Big Fabulous Worksheets” to use on their own for subsequent books. She still loves getting Amazon shipments of novels she watched taking shape during the class and reading them not as a coach but a fan.