Oh, That's Subtle: The Little Things Holding Your Novel Back

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Subtlety can mean the difference between a novel that works and one that falls flat. 

The smallest change have a big impact on your writing. One word change, one shift in perspective, and everything's different. Hopefully such changes result in a better story, but when they don't, spotting what's wrong can be frustrating.

Maybe you're struggling with a story right now, or submitting one that's getting good feedback, but just not quite landing anywhere, or having beta readers tell you it's good, but not great, and it's lacking something they can't put their finger on. You know you can fix it if you could just find it.

Take a closer look and see if there's a subtle reason that's holding your novel back. 

Is Your Story Stuck? 5 Questions You Need to Ask

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Anything that helps with plotting is welcomed with open arms in most writing circles. There are so many moving pieces to getting a novel right, it can be hard keeping track of them. Luckily, Laurence MacNaughton has a handy way to make sure our novels have all the key elements they need for a solid plot. Please help me welcome him to the lecture hall today.

Laurence grew up in a creaky old colonial house in Connecticut that he's pretty sure was haunted. He's been a bookseller, printer, copywriter and (somewhat randomly) a prototype vehicle test driver. When he's not writing, he bikes and hikes the Rocky Mountains, explores ghost towns and wrenches on old cars. Laurence is the author of It Happened One Doomsday, The Spider Thief, and Conspiracy of Angels. Try them free at www.laurencemacnaughton.com.

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

Take it away Laurence...

Getting Your Novel to the Finish Line (Part One: Getting Past Getting Stuck)

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I’ve spoken with a lot of writers over the years, and “actually finishing a novel” is high on the list of problems they run into. Although there are many specific reasons for it, I’ve noticed they often fall into two general camps: the story stalls, or the writer gets distracted.

For new writers, it’s frequently a matter of skill level. They just don’t yet know the things they need to move forward, and once they learn that skill, they’ll be okay.

Writing Prompts and Getting Unstuck

By Tamara Ireland Stone, @tamaraistone 

Part of the How They Do It Series 

Pulling an oldie out from the guest archives today, with some great writing prompts to get the muse going after the holiday break. Reminder: Do you have writing or publishing questions? Come on over and ask them on Friday during the end of year question round up. Look for fresh posts starting January 5. Enjoy!

I'd like to welcome YA author Tamara Ireland Stone to the blog today. She's here to chat with us about something all writers face at some point--getting stuck. Even better, she'll also share a few of her favorite writing prompts to help keep the muse happy. These look like a lot of fun and a great way to get started on those sluggish writing days. (Some of them even look like fun ways to develop a character)

Tamara is the author of the young adult time travel romance, Time Between Us, which will be published in fifteen languages and has been optioned for film. In addition to writing, Tamara co-owns a Silicon Valley marketing communications firm and enjoys skiing, hiking, and spending time with her husband and two children. Tamara lives just outside San Francisco, where she is at work on her second novel.

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

Take it away Tamara...

How Do You Cross "the Line" and Take Your Novel to the Next Level?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

There's been a question sitting in my to-answer pile for a while:

Any tips you have on getting just the right amount of description, plot/subplot tangles, and internal thoughts will be appreciated. Now that I've reached the higher side of the curve, the 'line' seems to be the capstone I need to make it to the next level. It's so hard to be objective about exactly where that 'line' is.

This isn't an easy question to answer. Well, that's not entirely true, it's easy to answer but that answer isn't very helpful.

There is no line. It depends on a multitude of factors that's different for every book and every writer.

Like I said, not very helpful.

Five Ways to Jump Start a Stalled Story

By Eleri Stone, @EleriStone

Part of the How They Do It Series

Hitting the writing wall is never fun, but it's not the end of the world or the end of your story. Fantasy and paranormal author Eleri Stone is here today to share a few tips on how to bust past that wall and get your story going again.

Eleri was born and raised in New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Iowa, married her college sweetheart, and settled in the Midwest where she still lives with her husband and their three children. A lifelong fan of fantasy, she started reading romance as an adult and was instantly captivated by the strong female protagonists and character-driven storylines. All of her stories have some element of speculative fiction and they all end with a happy-ever-after.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

Take it away Eleri...

Creating An Imaginary Panel to Get Unstuck

By Jess Keating

Part of the How They Do It Series   

JH: Let's give a big welcome to author Jess Keating today, who's continuing this week's theme of kicking your muse in the butt to get her going. Jess has a unique tip for getting unstuck in an early draft, and one that I bet would be useful in the early planning stages as well.

Jess is a Canadian fiction and nonfiction writer who spends most of her time eavesdropping on children, wrangling animals and climbing trees. She's also a sculptor on the side, has a degree in Zoology (which technically makes her a zoologist), and a Masters of Science (which technically makes her annoying at parties because she never shuts up about random animal and science facts). She's always loved writing and making up stories. She even started a library in her room when she was 8 so she could charge her brother late fees. To this day, he still owes her 8 bucks. Most of her books are for humor loving middle grade kids, but she dips into young adult and picture books when the mood strikes. Her agent is the brilliant Kat Rushall of MLLA.

Take it away Jess...

Need a Jump? Four Ways to Fix a Stalled Story

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Getting stuck happens to everyone, and there are plenty of ways to get stuck. The full on “ack, I can’t write a sentence” block, the “not sure where to go next” conundrum, the “I can’t figure out how to make this work” frustration. Some novels charge out of the gate like they’re on fire. Others make you fight them every word of the way. Then you have the ones that chug along great and then…stall.

I recently dealt with one of those, especially in the third act. I knew what needed to happen, I had an outline, had everything I should have needed to finish the last nine chapters of the dang book.

But they didn’t want to write.

I finally realized it was because I knew what had to happen, but my characters weren’t feeling it. They didn’t have solid goals and motivation to get them where I needed them to go. They were going because I told them to, not because they wanted to. So the story stalled.

Breaking Through: Dealing With Writer's Block

Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I have a different view on writer’s block. I don’t get blocked, I get stuck.

Stuck is a temporary situation. Stuck is a delay. Blocked is more permanent. Blocked is being forced to stop. It may sound silly, but words have power, and thinking "I'm blocked, I may never write again" is terrifying and makes the situation worse. Thinking "I’m stuck, how the heck am I going to get out of this?" is just frustrating. I can deal with frustrating. There’s a way out of stuck.

This mindset helps me look at solutions to getting un-stuck.