Follow Me to the Playground! The Merry-Go-Round Way of Writing

By Tiffany Reisz

Part of The Writer's Life Series

JH: Common "wisdom" says writers should write every day, but that's not always feasible (or even accurate). Tiffany Reisz takes the podium today to share why keeping momentum going is more important that writing every day. 

Tiffany Reisz is the USA Today bestselling author of The Red, an NPR Best Book of 2017. She has written over twenty novels that have been published in over a dozen languages and twenty countries. Her books have won a Lambda Award, a RITA®Award, and two RT Editor’s Choice Awards. She is married to New York Times bestselling author Andrew Shaffer (Hope Never Dies). They live in Lexington, Kentucky with their two cats. The cats are not writers.

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Take it away Tiffany...

Where to Stick It – Three Types of Scenes That are Begging for Humor

By Tiffany Reisz, @TiffanyReisz

Part of the How They Do It Series

Hi Writing Writers!

I’ve got a new erotic novella out today called MISBEHAVING (Harlequin/Cosmo). It’s the story of Beatriz, a sex blogger, who has to write a review of a sex position manual. The only problem is that she’s stuck at her sister Claudia’s wedding without a date. Enter Ben, the one who got away in college who is acting as groomsman to his friend Henry. MISBEHAVING is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which is the precursor to our modern day romantic comedies. My readers who are used to my darker erotic works were shocked to hear I wrote a rom-com. But I had a good reason to do it—I wanted to.

Let’s Do The Twist – The Art and Science of The Plot Twist

By Tiffany Reisz, Twisted Sister

Few plot devices are as fun or as satisfying as the well-constructed plot twist. What is a plot twist? Our friends at Dictionary.com define a plot twist as:

…a radical change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a novel, film, television series, comic, video game, or other work of narrative.

Radical is the operative word in that sentence. A plot twist is NOT an expected development in your story—the heroine decides to return the hero’s love, the heroine decides to run away from home to avoid marriage. The reader can reasonably expect those sorts of plot developments. A plot twist is a change in the story the reader had little-to-no reason to expect—the heroine of a Regency-era romance decides to marry the handsome man, and then she learns he’s her brother.

Pace Yourself! Some Thoughts, Various and Sundry, on Pacing Your Novel

By Tiffany Reisz, Sadistic Writer, @TiffanyReisz

Oh, pacing. You are a vague, strange thing. Janice asked me last month if I’d consider writing about pacing, which isn’t easy. The pacing of a book is its music, its melody, its rhythm. To quote the great Frank Zappa, writing about music is like dancing about architecture. I can’t offer concrete tips on such an amorphous subject, but below are thoughts on pacing, things to consider when writing and revising your novel.

I’m Dreaming of a Write Christmas! A Gift-Giving Guide for the Writer in Your Life

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

It’s almost Christmas, Writing Writers. And Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Since I’m about to start my Christmas shopping this week, I decided to put together a Christmas gift-buying guide specifically for writers. If you’re on this blog you're either a writer or you want to be a writer. Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas you’ll find an awesome idea to give the writer in your life (or give yourself – after surviving NaNoWriMo, you’ve earned a reward).

The following items are all things I own and use and can endorse wholeheartedly. And no, the companies mentioned did not pay me to pimp their products.

The Alchemy of Inspiration – How to Turn Ordinary Ideas Into Gold

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

The one question professional writers get asked most often and the question we most dread answering is the proverbial “Where do you get your ideas?” Someone asked me this question recently and I, smartass that I am, answered “Alchemy.” But once I wrote the word “alchemy” I realized I’d accidentally told him the truth. One definition of alchemy is “any seemingly magical process of transmuting ordinary materials into something of true merit.” I can think of no better definition of inspiration than turning ordinary stuff into art.

The 2 Most Common Mistakes Writers Make with Backstory

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

What is backstory? It’s the story that came before your story. 

If your lead character is a war hero now returned home, his backstory is the war that he fought and the events that led him to becoming a soldier. This can include events of his youth and childhood, previous romances, old wounds, past traumas. Backstory is information from a character’s past that is relevant to the story currently being told. 

Note the use of the word “relevant.”

Backstory done right can add moving and meaningful layers to fiction. Backstory done poorly can weigh down your work with tedious and pointless information.

Below I’ve created examples showing the two most common mistakes writers make with backstory and their easy fixes.

Pitch, Please! – Three Tips to Improve Your Elevator Pitch

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

At seemingly random intervals on Twitter, a PitchFest will break out. Agents and editors are on the alert that aspiring authors will be pitching their books via Twitter. It’s the new version of the elevator pitch.

What is an elevator pitch, you ask? It’s your book summed up in about 30 seconds or less, twenty-five words or less, or in the case of Twitter PitchFests—140 characters or less.

The problem with these PitchFests is that most writers don’t pitch very well. THERE! I said it. Your book might be fabulous, but if your pitch is boring it'll go splat. You’re trying to get an agent’s attention in 140 characters or less, so it’s going to have to be good. So good that when the agent or editor reads it, they hear the “IN A WORLD…” voiceover guy reading your pitch to a crowded movie theater and an ominous DUN-DUN!!! at the end.

Make Your Own Private Writer’s Conference

Just part of my writing library.

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

Hi Writers!

I’m off to a writer’s conference this week. Everyone goes to conferences for different reasons. Some writers are looking for agents. Some writers want to mingle with their favorite authors. I go to learn. I love all the workshops and the writing tips. I learn something invaluable every single conference I attend.

But fear not! You don’t have to fork over a thousand bucks for plane tickets and conference fees just to learn how to be a better writer. You can do it in the privacy of your own home or public library. Here are five of my favorite writing guides. Read them and you too can learn invaluable writing tricks without ever having to fly to Atlanta, Georgia in the middle of July (God help me).

Make it Stick – The Art of the Chapter Ending

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

You never forget your first time. Your first time you read a book and one single sentence blows the top of your head off and makes you realize the terrifying power of what a great writer can accomplished with a few simple words. Every professional writer has that first moment of breathless chills like a caffeine pill has just kicked in and you feel like the words you read are not words but wings and you can fly with them.

Even Alpha Writers Need Beta Readers

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

Let’s talk betas! Not the fishies, the people! First of all, what is a beta? You often hear the term in reference to software programs or video games. Beta testers are customers or users a company chooses to try out their new product before it’s ready for the market. The everyday user might find bugs and quirks that the software engineer who designed the game or product missed. A product in “beta” is an almost finished product not ready for market yet.

For writers, betas are our first readers of our new books. Many published writers, even bestselling and award-winning authors, have either a critique partner or a set of beta readers who read their books prior to publication. Not every writer uses betas, however. And usually you can tell who those writers are when you read their books.

From Brain to Bookshelf: An Author’s Timeline

By Tiffany Reisz, @TiffanyReisz

Two years ago at RWA 11, author Tess Gerritsen said that the reason people like reading procedurals and medical thrillers is because “readers like secrets and insider knowledge.” Someone on Twitter recently asked me about my writing process with my publisher, and I remembered Gerritsen’s comment. For those who aren’t published authors, the process of writing, editing, and publishing a book may seem like some kind of mystical voodoo. I know it did for me before my publishing career began. I thought I’d throw back the curtain and give the curious an insider look at the timeline and process of how a novel goes from brain to bookshelf.

July 24th, 2012 – My debut novel The Siren, is officially released. On that very day, my publisher and my agent strike a deal for four more books and ten short stories in my Gothic erotic thriller series THE ORIGINAL SINNERS. Book four, which I’ve tentatively titled The Mistress, needs turned in by December 15th. I have five months to write 110,00 words.

Wisdom for Writers From Steve Jobs (Yes, THAT Steve Jobs)

By Tiffany Reisz, @TiffanyReisz

Steve Jobs was many things--visionary, inventor, creator, tyrant, genius. You won't find 'novelist' in that list but when this writer needs inspiration, I turn to Steve Jobs. For

You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.

We're gambling on our vision, and we would rather do that than make 'me too' products. Let some other companies do that. For us, it's always the next dream.

Kurt Vonnegut Can Bite Me

By Tiffany Reisz, @TiffanyReisz

Hi Readers and Writers!

Today we're talking about the rules of writing and when you should break them. What rules am I talking about? The rules that writers, professional and amateur, seem to think actually exist. Here's the thing about the rules of fiction writing--there are none. Every writer has his or her own way of doing things, and since it works for them, clearly it must the right way of doing things. 

God Will Give It To Prince – A NaNoWriMo Blog Post

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

Hi Fiends and Fellow Writers!

I had planned another Star Wars-related craft post but decided since it was NaNoWriMo, I should pay homage to this wild month of writerly obsession by re-visiting my most popular blog post of all time. Last year during NaNoWriMo 2011, I had just finished writing The Angel (book two in my Original Sinners series) in September of that year and had to immediately start writing The Prince (book three) in October. My books run 105,000 to 120,000 words and my contract stated The Prince had to be in by December 1st. That’s right, I had two months to write a 110,000 word novel.

Cue nervous breakdown.

You Need More Scoundrels in Your Life: How to Write a Han Solo Hero in Six Easy Steps!

By Tiffany Reisz, @tiffanyreisz

Hey Readers!

Last month on Janice Hardy’s blog, we had a nice long talk comparing Luke Skywalker to Han Solo. We learned that Han Solo is the real hero of the Star Wars world because, unlike Luke, he has a compelling character arc. We learned to look at our own heroes and decides if we’d written dynamic Han Solos or flat Luke Skywalkers. But what if you’re just starting your book? How does one write a Han Solo-esque hero, a real alpha scoundrel for the ages? Well, I’ve got six easy tips to give your hero a Han!

Han Versus Luke – Who’s the Better Hero?

By Tiffany Reizs, @tiffanyreisz

JH: I'm delighted to announce a new column for the blog: Contributing Authors. This column will continue to develop over the next few months, but the goal is to bring a regular guest author to the blog every Thursday. Four authors, four Thursdays (for those rare fifth Thursdays I'll have to find a wildcard post or maybe do a critique contest or something fun). I have two contributors lined up so far. One for fiction and one for poetry, and my plan is to fill the last two spots with an agent, editor, and/or marketing person to get some inside tips on the business side of fiction.

Kicking off the column is the always informative and fun Tiffany Reisz, and you'll see posts from her every third Thursday (don't worry, I'll have a schedule if you forget).

Take it away Tiffany...