Open Up! Writing the Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy

The primary goal of an opening scene is to make readers want to read the next scene. 

You’d be surprised how often writers forget the whole point of an opening scene, because their focus is on establishing the setting, introducing the protagonist, and telling readers all about the cool story waiting for them. 

Don't get me wrong, these are all important things, but on their own they’re not going to do what an opening scene needs to do—grab readers and keep them reading.

And the best way to grab readers is to give them a puzzle they’ll want to know the answer to. 

An intriguing first line that poses a question (literal or metaphorical), an unusual situation, a mystery, a contradiction that doesn’t quite make sense. A great voice and character they want to get to know better is another way to hook readers. As long as it’s something or someone that makes them think, “I want to know more about X.”

3 Ways to Deepen Your Novel’s Premise

By Janice Hardy

The premise is the core of the novel. Make sure it's solid.

When I first started The Shifter (the first book in my trilogy), I didn’t know it was going to be part of a series. But as the story developed, I saw the bigger picture and where the problem facing my protagonist, Nya, could lead to.

As that story continued, I focused more and more on Nya’s journey, because stories are about characters in trouble. But by the time I got to book three, I’d forgotten something really important.

I was ignoring the broader implications of my original premise.

Nya was a “shifter,” someone who could heal by shifting pain from person to person. This included pain of her own, so anytime someone hurt her, she’d be able to shift it right back into them. Which made for some fun fight scenes.

In the first draft of book three, Nya was shifting pain almost without thinking, and while she struggled over the moral aspects of it, getting hurt was no longer an issue for her.

Which was all wrong.

5 Ways to Find the Backstory Readers Want to Know

By Janice Hardy

Readers don’t mind backstory—as long as it’s something they want to hear about.

The first novel I ever wrote was fantasy, so naturally, it had a lot of backstory. Every character had huge histories and shady pasts, and I couldn’t wait to share every last detail with my readers.

And it turned out about how you’d imagine.

Boring pages, no action, flashbacks that nobody but me cared about. It was a mess.

A person’s past is part of life, and everybody has one—especially fictional characters. But that past isn't always relevant, even if it is interesting. Stopping to explain a character's history tends to bog a novel down.

How Could You Do This to Me? When Characters Betray Other Characters

By Janice Hardy

Betrayal can come in many forms, and most of them make for great stories.

The "unexpected betrayal" has always been a popular trope, but there was a time when it was everywhere, especially in young adult novels. 

The "trusted mentor suddenly turning on you" was the most common, but betrayals were coming from all quarters. Close friends, random people, family. They started to feel a bit deus ex machina to me. It was like yanking off the mask at the end of Scooby-Doo and seeing Old Man Withers.

So instead of a betrayal surprising me, I was playing the “I wonder which one of these allies will turn on the hero in the third act?” game. I knew it was coming, and more times than not, the same old "Aha! I was secretly working for the villain" was the big twist. 

The problem here...

The Practical Guide to Using Character Archetypes in Your Novel

By Janice Hardy

Character archetypes are a useful tool in creating characters for a novel.

At some point in your writing journey, you’ve probably come across the term "archetype." This has no doubt led you to articles quoting Carl Jung (the father of psychology) and his twelve character types. Pursuing that further, has likely led to multiple articles about the variations of those and the common archetypes used in fiction.

And then your head likely started spinning and you wondered how the heck any of that was going to help you write a better novel.

But there’s a difference between Jungian archetypes and fictional archetypes. 

Jung’s focus was on defining the human psyche, not telling a grand tale, so his list tends be more thematic in nature. Which is great if you’re writing literary fiction with Deep and Meaningful Themes, but not so great for the rest of us.

5 Ways to Turn Off Your Inner Editor and Get More Writing Done

By Janice Hardy

Our inner editor is an enemy to our muse—here’s how to shut it up.

I think writers would get a lot more written if there was a "first draft keyboard" without a delete or backspace key. 

Sure, those first drafts would be a mess, but we’d be free to just type and let the words flow without the ability to fix them—so there’d be no inner editor telling us to go back and tweak them.

It’s only natural to want to write the best draft possible, but sometimes the creative process needs to be set free to get anywhere. 

Constantly stopping to tweak or fix a word can sap our creative energy and lower our productivity.

You Get One Page to Hook a Reader. Yes, Really.

By Janice Hardy

Many readers decide before the end of the first page if they’re going to keep reading.

A lot of pressure is put on the opening page of a novel, and for good reason. It’s the first impression the reader gets, and if that reader isn’t hooked in some way, they won’t move on to the second page. 

As unfair as it seems, 250 words (roughly one page) are often all you get to convince readers to stay with your story and read your book. It might be tempting to pack the entire story into that first page, but that's absolutely the wrong approach.  

All you have to do is give readers something that promises them that your novel will be worth reading. 

Which is much easier to do than you might think.

Are You Missing Opportunities to Make Your Writing Stronger?

By Janice Hardy

Little tweaks can make a big difference in our novels.

It always amazes me how many decisions go into writing a strong novel. There's the big stuff, like the plot and characters, but something as simple as your title, or where you break your scenes can be the difference between a good book and great book.

Use too many clichés? The novel feels familiar and unoriginal. Throw in a ton of adverbs? Your readers don't feel the full weight of the story's emotional layer. 

You have so many opportunities to write a strong novel, and more writers should take advantage of that fact. 

How a Story’s Genre Influences the Role of Fear

By Angela Ackerman

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Fear is at the heart of so many stories, because it’s often what’s keeping the protagonist from whatever it is they want in the story. It has so many potential uses in writing great fiction, and Angela Ackerman is here to share some genre-specific ones for us today.

Take it away Angela…

No matter the genre, fear is always present. It anchors readers in the character’s experience by closing the gap between story and reality. Fear taps into our instinct for self-preservation and the universal struggle to manage it without letting it take over.

But fear doesn’t look the same in every genre. Reader expectations shape the kinds of dangers characters face and the fears that drive their choices. In some stories, fear centers on emotional vulnerability and relationships; in others, it comes from danger, secrets, or the loss of control.

Seven Tips for Building a Literary Community That Makes You Happy

By Tess Perko

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Becoming part of a writing community can be a rewarding and beneficial experience for the often-lonely business of writing. Jess Perko takes to the lecture hall today to share her publishing journey and how she found her "writing home." 

Take it away Tess...

Writing can be a lonely process, but not if you have a writing community. I wake up each morning enthusiastic about connecting with other writers and readers. That’s because I’ve made a promise to myself to enjoy the process of publishing my book and social interaction with other people I meet along the way.