Writers in the Storm

by Ellen Buikema

Have you ever had a story playing in your mind and wanted to retell it for the amusement of your friends? If you begin without knowing what statements to use and the specific order you’ll find yourself with a choppy, not-so-interesting mess. Taking time to organize our thoughts makes the difference between a great tale and a flop.

The act of writing makes the brain take notice.

Keep your favorite writing implement or other recording device nearby to capture those nuggets.

A teacher friend uses the Smart Recorder app on her smartphone to audibly record her thoughts. She transcribes her ideas later in the day and uses them in her lesson plans. The same can be done for characters, scene notes, or anything else related to your stories.

Here are a few other apps to check out to help organize your thoughts.

• Google Docs
• TiddlyWiki is a non-linear note-taking tool.

When too many ideas compete for dominance in your mind it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. This may seem counterintuitive, but clearing your mind is a valuable method for organizing thought.

Methods to clear the mind

• Meditate.  Meditation uses minimal time and frees your mind to focus on what’s really important. Start by finding a quiet location where you can relax for five minutes. With practice you can work up to twenty. Minute length isn’t as important as taking some time out of the day to relax.
• Sit with your eyes closed and take calming breaths. Use a word or mantra to repeat in your mind to brush away the thoughts. The mantra can be any word that has no real significance to you. Some people use the word one. If you find that you’ve drifted from your mantra, gently go back to it. You’ll notice days when meditation doesn’t seem as calming. Those are the days you need it the most.
• If you are not getting enough sleep, meditation will help fill some of that deficit.
• 4 Square Breathing. This simple breathing technique can be done anywhere, anytime, and is a great stress reliever. Here is the technique:
  • Inhale four counts (four seconds)
  • Hold four counts
  • Exhale four counts
  • Hold four counts
  • Repeat 5 to 6 times
• If desired you can increase the counts, further slowing your breathing.
• This technique increases focus and concentration while organizing the pattern of breathing. It is a gentle workout for the nervous system, making us more responsive and less reactive.
• Exercise. Exercising reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases endorphins which elevate mood and make focus easier to accomplish. That focus is necessary for organized thought.
• Declutter. A cluttered workspace can induce stress. Take some time to clear your desk or work table and make sure to treat yourself afterward—chocolate, wine, a movie, pizza and beer. Whatever works!

Use methods that best suit YOU

How you decide to organize is tied in part to your favored methods to learn. No one way is best. Intelligence is displayed in different forms. Most people show their intelligence in multiple areas.

Here are some organizational suggestions based on Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.

• Visual-Spatial – Use mind maps, charts, colors, and pictures for organizing notes.
• Linguistic-Verbal – Keep a journal. This is particularly helpful if you write before sleeping. Your brain will continue to work out issues during sleep.
• Logical-Mathematical – Use outlines, numeric charts and graphs for notes.
• Bodily-Kinesthetic – Act out or imagine concepts. Anything physical cements ideas.
• Musical – Listen to music while you write. Mood music for scenes will make a positive difference.
• Interpersonal – Brainstorm ideas with other people. Sharing information will clarify thoughts.
• Intrapersonal – Work in a quiet venue. Too many people drain your energy. As with Linguistic-Verbal intelligence, journaling helps.
• Naturalistic – If possible work in an area with a view or an outdoorsy poster. Taking time to enjoy plants or playing with a pet will relax your mind and organizing will follow.
• Existential – Meditation will help with the deep dives needed to answer intense questions, freeing you to work on mundane thoughts.

Getting your thoughts down

• On paper, whiteboard, or electronic device, make a list of everything accumulating in your head. Use the technique from the list above that works best for you.
• Step back and treat yourself to something fun that has nothing to do with your project. A short time away as a gift to yourself for a job well started will allow you to relax.
• When calm, ideas flow with less resistance. Pushing too hard enhances frustration, shutting off the creative juices.

How do you organize your thoughts? What do you use to clear your mind of cluttered thoughts? Share your favorite techniques with us down in the comments section!

* * * * * *

About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Work In Progress, The Hobo Code, is YA historical fiction.

Find her at http://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

by John Peragine

For NaNoWriMo, I decided it was time to write book two of my trilogy, The Secrets of the Twilight Djinn. I learned volumes by just finishing the first book of the series. Book one was a bit of a fluke (I wrote about it here and here) and I had to make a decision on how to approach book two.

I had no real plans for publishing the first book, as I had written a chapter a day for my son's bedtime story. He has a chronic serious illness and the original story was created to soothe all of the emotions connected long hospital stays. It was not until a couple years later that my son insisted that I publish his book, now titled Max and the Spice Thieves.

Book one was definitely a pantser book. It took several rewrites and edits before I could honestly say it is done. As I worked on it, I realized that the book was going to be a trilogy. (Since a fourth book has formulated in my head, it might end up being a bigger series than originally expected.)

However, for book two, I'm switching sides and plotting it out. Step one: Gaining direction by reviewing my first book to see where I had been. The Hero's Journey is embedded in my brain since I used it with many of my ghostwriting projects so it was no surprise to find it was the underpinning of Max and the Spice Thieves.

Excellent! A structure I could re-use. Tolkien and Rowling did, so why can't I? Then doubt crept in and I wondered: Are there other tried and true plot structures I could be using?

Let's explore those...

#1 - Hero's Journey

This structure is used a lot in epic tales and epic movies like Star Wars, Dune, The Lord of the Rings, and so much more. Joseph Campbell is probably the most well-known person to discuss the Hero's Journey and its relation to myths. It centers around a hero who is torn from their ordinary life and is pushed into a world they never imagined to complete a hero's quest.

My favorite book describing this structure is The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler. Here are the 12 steps:

1. The Ordinary World
2. The Call of Adventure
3. Refusal of the Call
4. Meeting the Mentor
5. Crossing the First Threshold
6. Test, Allies, Enemies
7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
8. The Ordeal
9. Reward (Seizing the Sword)
10. The Road Back
11. Resurrection
12. Return with the Elixir

The link in the first paragraph gives a really good layout of how the Hero's Journey works, using diagrams and examples from two movies (Star Wars and The Matrix).

#2 - 12 Chapter Mystery Formula

For Agatha Christie fans, this is a formula that creates the pace, subplots, and red-herrings and reveals a great mystery novel. Click here for an excellent in-depth description of this plot formula. This link also includes "Raymond Chandler's 10 commandments for writing a detective novel" and "Frank Gruber's Fool-proof 11-Point Formula for Mystery Short Stories."

Here are the components of Agatha Christie's method:

Plotlines

Mysteries often have at least one or more subplots. Work on these first before breaking them into scenes.

1. Main Plot
2. Subplot

Scenes

1. Introduction
2. Disclose the mystery
3. sub-plot
4. Set the sleuth on the path
5. Erroneous conclusion
6. Facts about suspects
7. Broaden investigation
8. Sleuth's background
9. Change of focus
10. Reveal hidden motives
11. Reveal results
12. Review the case
13. Solution
14. Weigh evidence
15. Resolution
16. Climax

Acts

You can organize your book further into 4 acts.

Act 1

• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3

Act II

• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6

Act III

• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9

Act IV

• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

#3 - Dan Wells 7-point Plot Structure

Dan Wells is a well-known, best-selling horror book series writer. His very nice set of videos describing his structure, based on one of his conference presentations, can be found here.

Chapters

1. Hook
2. Plot Turn 1
3. Pinch 1 (This is when something goes wrong)
4. Midpoint
5. Pinch 2
6. Plot Turn 2
7. Resolution

#4 - 8 Sequences Method

Ever imagine your book as a screenplay? The 8 sequences Method is often used to plot out screenplays and can also be used for writing novels. Click here for a solid description of this method, which involves the following:

Plotlines

Just like the plot outline for mysteries, you will want to work out you plot and subplots first.

1. Main Plot
2. Subplot

Scenes (Sequences)

1. Status quo & Inciting incident
2. Predicament & Lock-In
3. First Obstacle & Raising the Stakes
4. First Culmination/ Midpoint
5. Subplot & Rising Action
6. Main Culmination / End of Act II
7. New Tension & Twist
8. Resolution

Acts

You can organize your sequences into acts. Acts are like chapters in that they contain a sequence of events, that need to be resolved in the next act.

Act I

• Sequence 1
• Sequence 2

Act II

• Sequence 3
• Sequence 4
• Sequence 5
• Sequence 6

Act III

• Sequence 7
• Sequence 8

#5 - Action/Adventure Genre Plot

This plot structure uses elements of the Hero's Journey and screenplay writing. Click here to explore this method.

1. Hero's circumstance
2. Receives a mission
3. Begins toward goal
4. Travels to an exotic location
5. Encounter damsel
6. Encounters henchman
7. Chase
8. Major complications
9. Assistance
10. Infiltrate fortress
11. Captured
12. Narrow escape
13. Attain goal
14. Battle henchman
15. Battle villian
16. Plot twist
17. Resolution
18. Conclusion

#6 - Billy Mernit Romance Seven Beats Formula

This structure, detailed by Michael Hockney, is for the When Harry Met Sally fans, as it works well with romantic comedies. Mernit organizes his beats (sequences) as follows:

1. Setup / hook
2. Meet/inciting incident
3. Turning point
4. Midpoint / Raising the stakes
5. Swivel: second turning point
6. Dark moment/crisis
7. Joyful defeat/resolution

#7 - Jami Gold Romance

For those that like a more traditional romance formula- Jami Gold offers a nine beat structure.

Scenes (Beats)

These beats represent inciting incidents and pinch points for the characters.

1. Opening
2. Give
3. External & Internal
4. How
5. External & Internal
6. How
7. External & Internal
8. External & Internal
9. Show

Acts

These acts are similar to other plot structures as a way organize sequences. The acts also represent main plot points in the story.

Act I

• Opening image/hook
• Inciting incident
• End of the beginning

Act II

• Pinch point #1
• Midpoint
• Pinch point #2
• Crisis

Act III

• Climax
• Final image/ resolution

I've recently started using Plottr to build my book. It is simple and relatively inexpensive. My two favorite features are that you can export your plot into Scrivener and that some of the plots I have described in this article are available as templates. Several WITS bloggers also use OneStop for Writers for help with plotting and characters.

There are many more plot structures, and perhaps I will do a follow-up blog with some more ideas. I like to take these structures and use them as a foundation, and then make changes that suit my style and my story. There is no right or wrong plot structure or strategy for writing your book! Whatever works for YOU is the best method.

Do you use a specific plot structure in your books? Do you think they help or hinder the creative process? Are you a plotter, pantser, or a combination of the two? We want to hear about it down in the comments!

About John

John Peragine has published 14 books and ghostwritten more than 100 others. He is a contributor for HuffPost, Reuters, and The Today Show. He covered the John Edwards trial exclusively for Bloomberg News and The New York Times. He has written for Wine Enthusiast, Grapevine Magazine, Realtor.com, WineMaker magazine, and Writer's Digest.

John began writing professionally in 2007, after working 13 years in social work and as the piccolo player for the Western Piedmont Symphony for over 25 years. Peragine is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. His newest book, Max and the Spice Thieves, will be released on April 20, 2021. JohnPeragineBooks.com. Click here for a free first chapter. (The new cover is below!)

by Melinda VanLone

We've talked a lot here on WITS about your book cover, and how important it is to your overall marketing strategy. Generally speaking, the cover we're talking about is your e-book cover. For most indies, it's the first and sometimes the only cover ever created. But once you write a story there are other formats that can and should be produced from that content, and all of them need cover artwork. All of them should use that original e-book cover as the starting point and branch out from there.

eBook

The original, the main star of your product platform, and the go-to jumping off point for all other marketing efforts associated with that book. Whether you design your own or hire a professional, you should end up with a (usually) 6x9 inch (1800 x 2700 pixels) JPG file.

Considerations I keep in mind:

• I build my original file at 300 dpi, because this hi resolution file has the most flexibility for repurposing to other formats. 
• I build the file in Photoshop, so that I can maintain layers, because again it will give you the most flexibility going forward.

From there, branch out into the other formats:

Soft Print Cover

This artwork is used for the print on demand version of the book, whether you're going with KDP or Ingram Spark, or your publisher is having the book printed at their own press. The print wrap uses the eBook cover as the basis for the front, and expands on the theme to wrap around the book spine and back. The back graphic should be more of a background than a stand out piece of art, so that type can be easily read against it. The back usually includes a blurb, and a barcode for sales purposes, and sometimes may also include information like author bios or websites or sales price. The spine usually includes the title and author name (if there's room). 

Both KDP and Ingram Spark provide templates you can use to ensure that your print wrap is the correct size, because that size will depend on what trim size you select and how many pages the interior of the book contains. It's vital that your final file matches what the system believes the size should be, or it will be rejected. 

Audiobook Cover

Audiobook covers are for the most part only a digital file, and almost always square rather than vertical, which means the original eBook cover must be adjusted to fit.

Considerations:

• Rather than simply shrinking the eBook file, this cover should be designed specifically for the square format.
• I use all the elements from the eBook cover, but work with them to make sure it doesn't look stretched or squished in the new dimensions.
• There's no template to download for this format, simply create a new file that is 2400 x 2400 pixels or larger, at 300 dpi, and then bring your eBook artwork into that new file.

Hardcover

Hardcover books are not something that most Indie authors tackle, simply because they cost a lot more to produce which means you have to charge more, and are less likely to get good sales. That said, at some point, it's nice to have the option (they make great gifts for your parents, for example), and Ingram Spark does allow for this type of format. Through them you can create a hardbound book either with a book jacket or without. The book jacket wraps around the hardbound book, with inner flaps that can support even more information and graphics. If you choose to go without, the cover image can be printed directly onto the hardcover or the cover can be wrapped in fabric...the possibilities are as unlimited as your pocketbook. 

Ingram Spark provides templates for these files, or if you're working with a local vendor they will probably be happy to help make sure the file you deliver to them will work for your book specs. There is currently no option to produce a hardbound book through KDP.

Other Editions

Genre expectations differ country by country, so it can sometimes be a good idea to craft a cover suited to the country the book will be sold in. You'll often see that the same book in the UK has a completely different look from the one in the US. If you choose to have your book translated into another language, its cover will be at least a little different by default because the title will have to be changed, at the minimum. If you are changing the title, you might as well change the graphics to match the expectations of that country while you're at it. That way you'll maximize your chances of making a sale. 

Merchandise

Part of building a platform often involves promotional materials such as bookmarks, postcards, key chains, pens, posters, banners (for conferences)...the list is endless. All of those materials might feature your cover art in some way, whether it's just borrowing the background or whether the entire book cover is pictured. All of those materials will use that original eBook file as the foundation graphic. 

Every Version Created Costs Time and Money

As you can see, that one piece of artwork, the eBook cover, does a lot more heavy lifting than simply being an icon for one type of book, which is why getting a professional cover is so important. If you're working with a designer, expect them to charge an additional fee for every format you request. Each one takes time and effort to make sure you get the exact right file to ensure your uploading process is successful, and that the product you produce looks as beautiful as it should. Often a designer will negotiate a package price up front for multiple formats created from the original digital file, so be sure to ask about all the formats you anticipate needing.

Do take advantage of all the many ways you can utilize your cover art and content, because the more formats you can offer potential customers, the more sales potential you create for yourself. 

What questions do you have for Melinda? Do you do different covers for each of your book formats? Share your thoughts with us down in the comments!

About Melinda

Melinda VanLone writes urban fantasy, freelances as a graphic designer, and dabbles in photography. She currently lives in Florida with her husband and furbabies.

When she's not playing with her imaginary friends, you can find Melinda playing World of Warcraft, wandering aimlessly through the streets taking photos, or hovered over coffee in Starbucks.

Her elementary fantasy series, House of Xannon, begins with Stronger Than Magic. For more information on covers, visit BookCoverCorner.com.