Finding the Balance When Writing About Violence

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

This week's Refresher Friday is an updated look at finding the balance between realistic violence and violence used for shock value. Enjoy!

There was a lot of chatter about the violence in Mockingjay, the final book of Suzanne Collins's YA blockbuster The Hunger Games series. I paid attention because at that time, I had just finished my own struggle with how to portray a realistic war in my The Healing Wars trilogy. The challenge was to be authentic, but not make it so horrific I'd freak out my younger or more sensitive readers. Or bore those who aren't so sensitive. Every reader has a different tolerance level for violence.

Discoverability, or The Two Hundred Pocket

By Dario Ciriello

Part of the Indie Authors Series

Discoverability—as ugly a word as I ever saw—is the term increasingly applied to the dilemma facing every author and publisher: how to make your book discoverable so that it can be found.

The challenge is even uglier than the word. Consider:

• Between 600,000 and a million new titles were published in the US in 2012, of which about half were self-published¹ Amazon Kindle alone carries over 800,000 digital titles
• Less than one in ten new books will get professionally reviewed²
• The average brick-and-mortar bookstore will stock well under 1% of the millions of books actually in print in the US, perhaps even less than 0.1%³

Are Your Characters Living in the Moment or Watching it Pass By?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

There was a bit of a scare in the Hardy household yesterday. Our oldest cat took a tumble and hurt his hind leg. He's okay (he'll be limping for a few days), but for a little while yesterday I was a basket case. For the rest of the day I was a nervous Momma, and that's going to continue until my little guy is back to his old self.

In the grand scene of things, this was no big deal.

To me, it was a huge crisis. Someone I loved was hurt.

Even worse, someone vulnerable I loved was hurt and needed my help.

Procrastination Be Gone! Tips for Staying Focused as You Write.

By Allison Rushby, @Allison_Rushby

Part of the How They Do It Series

Please help me welcome Allison Rushby, to chat with us about something I'm so very good at--procrastinating! Actually, she's here to share tips on how to avoid it and get some writing done, which is even better.

Allison Rushby is the Australian author of a whole lot of books. She is crazy about Mini Coopers, Devon Rex cats, Downton Abbey and corn chips. She always writes very hard indeed and never procrastinates on Twitter at @Allison_Rushby, or on Facebook. Her latest release is Being Hartley (YA).

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

Take it away Allison...

5 Ways to Hook Your Readers

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

"You need a strong hook" is advice you hear a lot of in writing, and it's good advice. A strong hook pulls readers in and makes them want to read more.

It “hooks” the reader, captures attention, and piques interest in the novel. The gotcha or twist that makes the novel compelling and fresh.

It’s the “ooooh” factor that probably got you excited about the idea in the first place. It might be a plot point, a character goal, or a conflict. It could even be the theme.

Real Life Diagnostics: Clarifying Your Goal, Conflict, and Stakes in the Opening Scene

Critique By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Real Life Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and I diagnose it on the blog. It’s part critique, part example, and designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem.

If you're interested in submitting to Real Life Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines.

Submissions currently in the queue: Six (+ 1 Resubmit) 

Please Note: As of today, RLD slots are booked through April 12. The Sunday diagnostics will shorten that some when my schedule permits, but I wanted everyone to be aware of the submission to posting delay.

This week’s questions:

Does this work as an opening? Would you read more, or put this down?

Market/Genre: YA Fantasy

On to the diagnosis…

Tightening Your Novel With a Preposition Patrol

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy 

This week's Refresher Friday takes another look at prepositions--and how taking another look at them in your own work can help tighten your novel. 

There's nothing wrong with prepositions or prepositional phrases. They're a perfectly good tool in a writer's toolbox. But they're often found hanging around troublesome sentences, or even sentences that aren't bad, yet you know in your heart they can be better--if you could only figure out why they bug you in the first place.

For those who haven't been in English class in a while, a preposition is kind of like a stage director. It shows (directs) the relationship to the other words and phrases, connecting them and showing how they relate to each other. Often it's a physical or spatial distinction, like Bob put the knife on the table. The zombie brains splattered above the door. In the courtyard, three zombies tried to chew through an old Barcolounger.

Becoming a Self-Published Author

By Patricia Cruzan


Part of the Indie Authors Series

To become an author certain disciplines need to be developed: reading books, studying the language, and studying others’ books. Most writers love to read, so that discipline isn't that hard. But, if you want to write children’s books, spend time at children’s areas of a public library, at home bookshelves, or at a bookstore. Reading books of various genres and levels will help you become familiar with the types of books you can write.

Titles: The First Impression a Novel Makes

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with titles. They either come to me like bolts from the blue, or I spend months struggling to find the right one. Usually, the easier the title comes to me, the more well-formed the story idea is.

When this happens, I know I've tapped into a critical element of the story, and that element will likely resonate throughout the entire novel. That's the power of the right title.

The cliché says you can't judge a book by its cover, but readers do judge them by their titles. A great title will catch the eye and entice a reader to pick up your book, while a bad title will keep readers away or attract the wrong readers for your story.

The Emotionally Healthy Publishing Career

By Sara Megibow, @SaraMegibow

Part of the How They Do It Series

Publishers Marketplace | Nelson Literary Agency

Please welcome literary agent Sara Megibow, who joins us today to share some advice on how not to go crazy as a writer.

Sara has been with Nelson Literary Agency since early 2006. Her first responsibilities included reading query letters, sample pages, and full manuscripts, and she was promoted to Associate Literary Agent in 2009. From sexy romance to epic fantasy, Sara has loved reading since picking up her first copy of The Hobbit. Sara earned a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a B.A. in American History from Northwestern University. She loves to ski, hike, kayak, and hang out with her beat-boxing husband, adorable son, and fuzzy cat.

Take it away Sara...