Writers in the Storm

Fae Rowen

I've been writing for twenty-five years. I started when an English-teacher friend suggested I write down the story that I thought about every night before I fell asleep. As a math teacher, I had no intention of writing a book, but I'd finished my first one, a medieval kind-of-fantasy-for-sure romance in only nine months, while working two jobs.

After that I started taking classes, joined writers' groups, reading writing craft books, attending conferences, found a couple of good critique groups…you know the drill.

As I (finally) finish the edits on my second book, I've been thinking a lot about my writing in the new decade—how it will change, what I can do to make it better. Here are my thoughts.

1. Learn more about and practice until I've got Deep POV in my Tool Box.

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a great resource for all things Deep POV. So is Margie Lawson. Here's what Deep POV is: The writer is in the head of the character, but is not writing in first person. Deep POV is for writers who prefer third person, but want to expose more of their characters' thoughts and emotions without distancing the reader.

Example from PRISM 2: Rebellion:

Before Deep POV revision: "Jericho lifted the cover off his plate. A portrait-perfect salad with artfully cut and placed vegetables. Too bad eating across from Gatfield ruined his appetite."

After revision: "Jericho skewered the salad with his fork. What he wanted to do with that fork would have landed him in jail for homicide."

Many people think Deep POV is about specific details. It can be, but remember that writing in Deep POV gives the reader information she can't otherwise see.

2. Pay more attention to what I've written immediately after I write it.

Laura Drake uses an Excel Worksheet for writing scene details after-the-fact. We're both pantsers. Outlining my book would take all the fun out of writing it, but I've spent way too long editing, and I see the value of being able to find at a glance where things happen, when characters are introduced, and look for the balance between plots and subplots and character time on the page.

I've spent hours searching for the name of a not-even-secondary character that ended up being more important and I couldn't remember his name seventy pages after his introduction.

3. Give myself enough time to edit...

Without cramping my time and potentially comprising the quality of my work.

As an eternal optimist, I always think I can finish whatever the task in less tie that it ultimately tasks me. Positive thinking only works so far. I have to put in the chair time, which I think I've finally figured out with this last revision.

4. Learn more about "layering in"...

Emotions, Deep POV, "inner life," backstory, character insights through multi-passes. (I'll need a class or a good book for this.)

5. Take at least one class a year...

That will challenge my ability and "level up" my writing.

In 2020 I'm planning on attending the Kauai Writers' 4-Day Masters Intensive. I'm sure there will be at least on new writing trend taught there.

6. Set small daily, or at least weekly, goals...

To keep my writing on track and my WIP progressing.

I'm not a goal-setter; I don't make New Year's Resolutions. But I have found that when I do strive for a reasonable word- or page-count, I'm more productive.

I know some writers have large wall poster with production calendars. I'm not to that point, but I need to hold myself accountable for showing up and writing on a schedule that works with my week's activities.

7. Write "tighter" in my first draft.

So far, my track record with word counts and finishing books, then revising them is, well, a failure. After three or four rounds of edits per book, I end up with a file of cut words which equals the size of the finished book. Yipes! How much more productive can I be if I don't spend that writing and cutting time?

That means sticking tightly to my characters' goals motivation, and conflict. No adding scenes that" enrich" what we know about the character, their backstory, their life. Only scenes that move the plot of the book forward belong on the page.

8. Figure out the hidden, sometimes from themselves, things that make my characters tick before I finish the book...

And have to edit in those very important details and cut the unimportant, though perhaps "quaint" beliefs that make them unique in their world.

(It happened again in this book. I was sure I knew what fired my female protagonist. Turns out, I discovered a deeply-held belief I hadn't known about before I got halfway through the final edit. Really? How could I not have known?)

9. Enjoy writing.

My process, sitting in the chair, listening to critique feedback and re-working—all of it, as I work. I do this because I love writing my stories and hope they will mean something to my readers. Why can't I enjoy myself?

How do you plan on growing your writing skill into the next decade?

About Fae

Fae Rowen discovered the romance genre after years as a science fiction freak. Writing futuristics and medieval paranormals, she jokes that she can live anywhere but the present. As a mathematician, she knows life’s a lot more fun when you get to define your world and its rules.

P.R.I.S.M., Fae's debut book, a young adult science fiction romance story of survival, betrayal, resolve, deceit, and love is now available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Fae's second book in the series will be available for pre-order on Christmas, 2019.

Penny Sansevieri

Yes, the holidays are upon us, but that doesn’t mean you’ve missed all your opportunities to sell a few more books before 2020.

I’ve collected a list of important dates and strategies that work really well with the amount of time we have left and I encourage you to work in as many as you can—you’ll be glad you did when you’re relaxing, happily sipping eggnog and sales keep coming in!

Offer Free Holiday Shipping

Amazon has spoiled most consumers for shipping charges. Customers flat-out don’t like to pay shipping charges anymore. Because shipping costs have increased, it’s become increasingly important for every other online store to follow suit.

If you do sell books from your site, I encourage you to eliminate shipping costs during December. If you temporarily eliminate shipping costs, announce the start and stop dates to your email list and on social media.

To add sparkle to this offer, let buyers know that you personally autograph books for recipients, which makes wonderfully personalized holiday gifts!

Double Check Important Sales Days

As the holidays approach, the dates for special promotions seem to pile up. Let’s review the most popular dates to keep on your radar:

Christmas Eve

When: December 24

What you can do: Here’s your opportunity to reach the procrastinator.

Remember, e-books don’t require any shipping time. Promote your e-book as a last-minute gift or virtual stocking stuffer for all those people your fans and followers might have forgotten.

An e-book also makes an excellent no-clutter fruitcake alternative to a host or hostess gift!

Boxing Day

When: December 26

What you can do: There’s a bump in e-book sales starting on December 26 that goes through the New Year, so Boxing Day is book-marketing gold.

Why? Lots of people receive brand new eReaders and tablets for the holidays, and start playing with—and buying books for—their new toys the day after Christmas.

Many people also receive gift cards for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple for Christmas and other holidays in December, and people start redeeming gift cards for merchandise and e-books.

Advertise your limited-time discounted book as a deal for new eReader owners!

New Year’s Day

When: January 1

What you can do: Online traffic picks up in the afternoon on New Year’s Day as people start to wake up and recover from the previous night’s festivities. They also don’t want to let go of the holiday bubble yet, AND, as mentioned for Boxing Day, many have gift cards to spend.

Don’t forget New Year’s resolution season is in full force by now as well. Get creative with your book’s sales pitch!

If you write nonfiction, you can no doubt think of some sort of resolution to tie in with your topic.

If you’ve written fiction, go with the resolution to read more—reading more is so common a resolution, it’s almost always a sure thing.

Bonus Amazon Shipping Deadlines

When: The 10 days leading up to Christmas Day (depending on your location and the shipping options)

What you can do: This is a great opportunity to promote your paperback or hardcover books.

Use a “books make great last-minute gifts” message and remind fans and followers that they still have time to get a gift to people before Christmas.

And thanks to Amazon’s full-service approach, your buyers can have your book wrapped and even include a gift message.

Get creative and make a plan around each one of these major holiday shopping dates, so you’re ready to execute your different book marketing strategies with minimal effort and drama. Which means now’s the time to start planning and scheduling social media posts, pre-write emails, and secure any discount e-book promotions.

Do Your Own 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways

Everyone is familiar with the 12 Days of Christmas. The theme even has an established hashtag.

Consider whether you can organize all your giveaway and promotion ideas into a 12-day series to play into the theme.

Your 12-day series can be as simple as picking 12 ideas for bonus content, promotional materials, and giveaways and fleshing out your own details and timeline.

If your book has an “easy to shop for” reader audience, you can invest in 12 small gifts to encourage readers to engage with your brand.

For example, women’s fiction, which is broad and relatively easy to shop for, a 12-day theme could include a small box of chocolates, a beaded bracelet, or a Dead Sea mud mask. Think stocking stuffers! Offer one of the stocking stuffers for giveaway each day so your fans and followers engage with your promotions. Maybe to earn a day 1 entry, they email you a receipt for one of your books they’ve purchased. Day 2 they share a link to your book on Amazon on their Facebook account, and day 3 they submit a screenshot of their review of your book on Goodreads.

The options go on and on. Focus on 12 valuable things your readers and followers can do for you, match those with 12 inspiring rewards, and you’ve got a 12 Days of Christmas promotion nearly ready to go!

The Takeaway

Most authors fall short because they assume they’ve lost their chance at success, when in reality that’s rarely the case.

Instead of admitting defeat, think, “What can I still do?” because there’s always something, oftentimes a handful of somethings that, when added all up, actually start moving the needle and producing results that will inspire continued, consistent efforts.

Have you ever done a holiday promotion? What other ideas do you have?

About Penny

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling 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 eighteen books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon, Revise and Re-Release Your Book, 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors, and Red Hot Internet Publicity, which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet." 

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

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com. 

by Lisa Hall Wilson

One of the more common questions I get asked by those interested in learning Deep POV is: how do I know if I’m going deep enough for deep POV? How do you tell if you’re actually writing in deep POV? How do you know if you’ve “got it” or not?

Quick recap: What Is Deep Point Of View?

Deep POV is a stylistic choice to remove as much narrative distance as possible between the reader and the point of view character. It’s an immersive storytelling style of writing – like putting your reader in a virtual reality SIM or first-person shooter style of writing.

The problem, especially when you’re newer at writing, is that you can read a couple of blog posts and get a survey of the basics and believe you’re writing in deep POV. All I have to do is remove these few red flag telling words and I’m good. Not so much.

I spent ten years in that demoralizing cycle of: Am I in deep POV now?

No, not yet.

Deep POV is hard, it takes the idea of telling to new levels of intensity. Your internal dialogue must sound like the character is alone in their own head. The emotional depth is almost visceral. And simply obeying the rules isn’t enough.

To make deep POV work for you, you need to do more than know which words to avoid, you need to know what effect removing those words is aimed at creating. Then you strategically use that tool to create specific effects.

The Basics Aren’t Enough

The basics of deep POV are outlined in many many blogs online. Remove distance. Create immediacy. Write tight. Incorporate sensory details. Avoid naming emotions.

Most of the time, in deep POV, if you name an emotion: angry, hated, loved, envied, grieved, etc. it’s considered telling in deep POV. What’s considered telling in deep POV is perfectly acceptable in shallower writing styles, so it’s not that it’s wrong but it’s creating distance between the reader and the character and removing that distance is the goal.

Bronnie hated going to school. Everyone teased her. She trudged towards math class and wished she was anywhere else. The faces lining both sides of the hallway weren’t angry, in fact, they looked to be having fun. They laughed and giggled and pointed like she was the freak at the circus they’d all come to gawk at. She ducked into class, her shoulders sagged with relief, and counted the seconds until the bell rang.

This is very close to deep POV, but there’s telling, some emotional distance that feels like storytelling. Instead of walking that hallway with the character, the reader is in a theater seat watching this happen – which isn’t wrong, but it’s not the immersive effect we’re trying to create.

Below, I’ve highlighted where the telling and distance creep in, and anyone just learning deep POV will reword the sentences to avoid using those words. However, it’s still not diving deep into the emotions of the moment – what I call the character’s WHY.

How To Dive Deep

The reason this feels like storytelling is because the reader is being told how the character feels. Deep POV gets curious about how emotions feel and lets the reader decide what emotion is being experienced. Bronnie hated going to school. This is telling and author intrusion in deep POV because it’s there simply for the reader’s benefit. Deep POV is written as though the character moving through a scene doesn’t have an invisible audience.

Three more doors, then math class, and then she could escape. Go home to her books.

This sentence does more than TELL us she hates school, it SHOWS us how she feels. The reader now becomes the judge and decides what label to give that emotion. It’s a view through this character’s particular lens.

Everyone teased her. She trudged towards math class and wished she was anywhere else. The faces lining both sides of the hallway weren’t angry, in fact, they looked to be having fun. They laughed and giggled and pointed like she was the freak at the circus they’d all come to gawk at. She ducked into class, her shoulders sagged with relief, and counted the seconds until the bell rang.

The big red flag words here are “wished” and “with relief” because they’re telling, but removing those words/phrases still doesn’t put the scene into deep POV. The whole paragraph is written as though the reader is being told a story. There’s no intimacy, no raw emotion, no stakes, no why. Let’s try a rewrite aiming to remove the distance and immerse the reader IN the story.

Three more doors, then math class, and then she could escape. Go home to her books. Bronnie clutched three text books to her chest like a shield and set a fast pace as though the hallway were a bed of hot coals. The cool kids stood at their lockers waiting to pounce like bored over-fed cats. She kept her head down. Please don’t notice me. Please be too busy with your boyfriend and your gossip.

“Freak.” Lizzie’s high-pitched taunt had every head turn in Bronnie’s direction.

Her teeth ached and she unclenched her jaw. Just leave me alone. Bronnie shifted her books to ward off Lizzie’s insults.

“I donated that sweater to the church last summer. It has a hole under the arm doesn’t it?” Lizzy latched onto Bronnie’s wrist and jerked her arm up to point at the hole. The hallway roared with their laughter.

Bronnie jerked her arm free. Papa got her birthday gift at the church clothing bank? Heat from her chest erupted upwards, her face on fire. Her daddy’s the town drunk, Papa’s deep voice echoed in her mind. She don’t know any better.

Steven stepped into her path. Bronnie swerved to avoid him, clutching her books so he couldn’t knock them to the floor again.

He blocked her escape. “What’s the matter, freak? Cat got your tongue?”

She couldn’t swallow around the lump in her throat. Be the bigger person – maybe that was true, but Papa didn’t have to get to math class. Why hadn’t the bell rung? Her eyes stung.

“Boo!”

She flinched from the verbal punch.

Steven’s head tipped up with the force of his laugh. “Loser!”

Tears welled up, but she sucked in a deep breath, enough to inflate her belly. She ran the last few feet to class. The bell rang and she slid into her seat in the front row. Safe.

Yes, the deep POV version is much longer. Deep POV will add to your word count which is why you need to be strategic with it. But do you see how this scene puts the reader IN that school hallway with Bronnie? The reader is left to figure out what emotions she’s feeling, but understanding how that emotion feels is more immersive than labeling it would be.

Can you see the difference?

There’s no storytelling, there’s just a raw experience filtered through Bronnie’s perspective (her perspective dictated by what’s important to her RIGHT NOW).

Now, if this scene doesn’t move the story ahead, if Bronnie just needs to get to class, then diving this deep will slow the pace for no reason. That’s where an understanding of the rules and the effect the rules are intended to create, is essential.

Starting January 2^nd, I’m launching 15 days of deep POV where I’ll be going live on the Confident Writer’s page on Facebook answering the most common questions I get about deep POV.

Does writing in deep POV frustrate you? What’s your biggest struggle right now?

About Lisa

Lisa Hall-Wilson is a national award-winning freelance journalist and author who loves mentoring writers. Fascinated by history, fantasy, romance, and faith, Lisa blends those passions into historical and historical-fantasy novels. Find Lisa’s blog, Beyond Basics for intermediate writers,  at www.lisahallwilson.com.