Pile On: Combing Scenes for Dramatic Punch

I wrote this post over a year ago while working on Darkfall. This morning, while picking a golden oldie, I came upon it again. What makes this funny is that yesterday I had the same conversation with the same crit partner, this time over combining events in her current WIP. How funny is that? I took it as a sign that today, someone is looking for just this information.

When I first got my crits back for Darkfall, I knew I had an issue with the ending (no surprise there). My friend tossed out an idea to fix it that I knew instantly was the right move.

Mash the ending together.

Guest Author Miranda Kenneally: A Book is a Song

Today we have YA author (and fellow NLA writer) Miranda Kenneally here to chat with us about making your writing sing, and the little things you can do to make a big difference. Her novel CATCHING JORDAN is another one generating a lot of buzz out there, so check it out. I was a huge fan of the old Zanballer books when I was a kid, so this one is going on my holiday list for sure.

Miranda is the author of CATCHING JORDAN, a contemporary YA novel about football and femininity, coming in December 2011. Other books include THE GIRL I USED TO BE (fall 2012) and BAD, BAD THING (spring 2013). Miranda is the co-creator of Dear Teen Me. The Dear Teen Me Anthology will be published by Zest Books (distributed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) in late 2012. She enjoys reading and writing young adult literature, and loves Star Trek, music, sports, Mexican food, Twitter, coffee, and her husband. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook. Miranda is represented by Sara Megibow at Nelson Literary Agency.

Take it away Miranda…

Gentle Reminders Beat a Slap to the Head: Why Refreshing What Your Know is a Good Thing

I love reading about witting. There's something about an article that looks at -- say dialog -- in a new way and makes me realize I could improve it if I did X, that gets me all aflutter. It's one of the reasons I love reading writing blogs so much. They're a wonderful way to grow as a writer.

I often point these out to writer pals, and I've had some mention (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Yeah, that's a great blog, but it's all basic stuff. We're way past that." In a way it's true, but in a way, it's not.

It's easy to forget about the fundamentals when they're old hat to you. When you don't sweat over structure, worry over dialog, fret over setting, you don't always look at them as closely as you once did. Sometimes, they suffer because of it. Or if not, they might not be as stunning as they could be, because they're good enough. It's all stuff you know. You're past all that.

Real Life Diagnostics: A Question of POV and Voice

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 them on the blog. It’s part critique, part example, designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem.

If you're interested in submitting to Real Life Diagnostics, check out the page for guidelines.

Submissions currently in the queue: Six

This week’s questions:

This is the first scene in my current WIP. It's a fantasy book, and I've been trying to integrate characterization and world building as unobtrusively as possible. Does this opening scene hook the reader? Does it make you want to keep reading? Am I staying consistent with the POV? I'm aiming for close third POV. Finally, what do you think of the voice? Is it at all like a ten-year-old boy's?

On to the diagnosis…

Am I Worthy? You Decide! Top 10 Blogs for Writers

Write To Done is having its "Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog: 6th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest". If The Other Side of the Story has helped you, and you think it deserves a shot at making the list, please head on oven and nominate me. (If not me, then nominate the blogs you think belong in the Top 10. Share the love)


Just head on over to Write To Done and:

1. Leave a comment with "Janice Hardy's The Other Side of the Story at http://blog.janicehardy.com/" in it (go ahead, cut and paste if you'd like)

2. Say why you think it deserves to be in the Top 10 Blogs for Writers. (this is important, as just site addresses don't count)

To make the cut, a blog must be nominated more than once. (I have been nominated twice so far, thanks guys!) and nominations must be received by December 10, 2011. They'll narrow it down to the top 20 nominations, then cull from there. (so if I read this right, the more votes a blog gets the better)

This blog is a labor of love and you guys make it easy to write. I'm so fortunate to have a fantastic group of regulars here to brighten my day, make me laugh, and make me feel part of the wonderful writers' community.

ETA: I just wanted to thank everyone who's posted a nomination and said such wonderful things about me and the blog. I just don't have the words to say how much this support means to me. I'm already a winner cause you guys rock.  

Bulking Up: Fleshing Out a Too-Short Novel

First off, grats to all you NaNo winners (and participants) out there. Way to go. No matter what your total, just tying it is a big achievement. But for those who did get their full 50K (or close to it) and are looking at a too-short first draft, today's post is for you.

What can you do when your novel is too short?

First, let's clear up what "too short" means for this discussion. Stories tend to be as long as they need to be, but what I'm talking about today are manuscripts that are aiming for a particular word count for a particular market and wind up short of that count. (like a 50K NaNo novel that needs to be 70 or 80K for the market ) You don't want to add fluff words to hit your goal (smart folks), but you know the story isn't going to be marketable at the length it is.