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Good luck with your revision! And thanks for sharing the link. The site seems really interesting! :)
Yesterday I started a list of Troublesome Words. You know the ones. The words that say “Hey look at me! I’m the mark of an amateur writer!”
Once I’ve finished compiling the list (which grows longer with every writing session), I’m going to round it out with some “official” watchwords published authors recommend I avoid.
The Troublesome Words fall into different categories, such as:
- Vague Words like about, maybe, probably, and possibly.
- Distancing Words like think, feel, see, and hear.
- Filler Words like begin, just, quite, and very.
Obviously, context is key. I don’t need to get rid of “and the race began.” But instead of saying “He began to eat,” I should say “He ate” or “He dug in.”
(Proof I’m already improving: I rewrote the previous sentence several times as I went, so that I didn’t say “just” or “might.”)
Let’s add to the list! What are some of your troublesome words?
Writer’s Workshop: How to Make Fanfics Original
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Hey, at least I’m more original than the other guys!
Fanfiction makes a nice stepping stool for the beginning writer. You don’t have to worry about world building or creating three-dimensional characters – all of that has been done for you. Instead, you can focus on plot, character interactions, scenes, and finding your voice.
At some point, however, you have to branch out on your own. But that doesn’t mean you can’t draw on what you’ve already written. With a few key changes, your fanfiction can turn into original fiction.
If you find yourself with a fanfiction you really love, and would like to translate into original fiction, start finding ways to modify all the trademarked aspects. It sounds silly, but you definitely don’t want to be accused of stealing a character or world. That means you can’t just change names. It might take several rounds to change everything to your satisfaction, but it’s worth it.
Take my Fragment of the Moon novel. Originally, it was an Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfic. Set fifteen years after the show, Toph takes on a student and helps save the new Earth King from assassination. The fanfiction project fell apart, but I loved the idea too much to abandon it entirely.
You’ll recognize the king’s assassins from my novel description, and the main character can manipulate metal, but pretty much everything else has changed.
At first, I altered the basics. Toph became Nadika, a light-eyed girl with a tough attitude who could “bend” earth, metal, and water. Iroh in retirement became Hoji, a local innkeeper who had a fondness for tea. All magic was element-based. Her student wasn’t a sandbender, but he was a street rat.
Yeah, no one would be able to tell where that came from. Obviously it needed a few more tweaks.
I switched to the Chinese elements, expanded the magic system, and added a pantheon of gods. Hoji and the student disappeared entirely, and Nadika dropped most of the attitude and her magical talent. Now I had something more closely resembling an original world with original characters. And with each incarnation, it’s only getting further away from Avatar.
Some similarities you’ll never be able to avoid. Say you re-write your Harry Potter fanfic, and two of your characters like each other but/and bicker constantly. Chances are, readers are going to be reminded of Ron and Hermione. But don’t sweat it. Lots of authors use that device; you’re in good company.
The key to translating your fanfiction? Choose one or two aspects of your fanfic that you want to use, and make sure you keep that in mind throughout all your changes. If you don’t lose sight of why you’re re-writing the fic in the first place, you’ll be all set.
Writer’s Workshop: Theme
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I know. The dreaded “T”-word. Bear with me, though. I’m not going to ask you to analyze your novel – at least not conciously.
You can’t be afraid of theme. It’s going to creep into your story whether you like it or not. Have a bad guy? You’ve probably got good vs. evil. Does your main character have a family? Are they overcoming adversity? Yup. Those are themes.
Most themes – unless you’re one of those preachy writers – are added to your story subconciously. You may not even be aware of them until a reader points them out. Or maybe you’re able to figure out yourself after a read-through or two.
The point is: once you know them, you can use those themes to enhance your story.
For example, one of my themes in Narrator is reality. Is Calder the crown prince he was born to be, or the younger prince Calder made him? Tayryn hides behind a fake name and reputation. Saydie bounces back and forth between spy and ally, and it’s usually unclear which she is. Pennington is always there, manipulating the story in the background. And so on, and so forth.
Now that I’m working on my second revision, I can make sure to play up the reality angle to increase different conflicts. I needed more space to flesh out character development, so I put the gang in a setting (the dream world) where they were sure to question reality – and each other’s motives and desires. Small details like Tayryn’s illusion spells or a bard’s song might help to enrich the theme as well as the world.
So find out what your themes are, and figure out ways to use that and add layers to your story or build the conflict. Any other tips on theme you’d like to share?
They make you cry. No, okay, not really. They have layers!
Or at least, they should, unless you’re writing a children’s book. And I’m not talking just text and subtext. You should have layers in all aspects.
Characters are both the easiest and most difficult thing to layer. We all know flat characters are boring. Give your characters complications, faults, good and bad traits.
Layering plot is a bit more complicated, but it makes sense. After all, a mystery isn’t very fun if you know how, why, and who dunnit all at the beginning. Use misdirection to keep your readers guessing.
Dialogue is your layering friend. People rarely say what they mean. Why would they in your book? You don’t have to stick with downright lies, but let your characters come at conversations sideways.
The best books to read are ones that you can read over and over, and get something new out of it every time. (That means they are super layered.) The Secret Country is like that for me. Conversations can take on whole new meanings from one reading to the next.
So layer your stories. Your readers will thank you.
Do you have any other tips for layering? Share in the comments.
Writer’s Workshop: Beginnings
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One of the most frequent questions I see from other writers is “where do I start my story?” Obviously there is no magic formula, no winning solution. Each beginning depends on the needs of the individual story.
There are, however, general guidelines to let you know if you’re starting in the right place:
- If you start too early your readers will fall asleep. You want to start just before the inciting incident (Harry receiving the letter from Hogwarts, Katniss’ sister being chosen for the Hunger Games). Everything that comes before it is backstory, and readers won’t have much stomach for it.
- If you start too late your readers will be confused. In medias res is a classic way to begin a story, but if it requires too much explanation for your reader to understand, you might be better off backing up a few events.
- Finding the right inciting incident may be difficult. Imagine if Harry Potter started on his first day of classes. Everything that came before would have to be explained in the narrative, and we wouldn’t get much of a sense of his life growing up with the Dursleys, or the way he befriended Hagrid and Ron and made enemies with Draco. All of these are important to his character, and are better shown than told.
How would you set up the beginning to your novel?
Do you ever wish you could be like your favorite author, churning out a fantastic book every single year? Well, you can’t. Not yet, anyway. It’s a difficult thing to do, and you can’t possibly have enough ideas simmering on your back burner yet.
The problem is, you can’t go chasing every idea that catches your fancy. There are too many of them. And most of them are so fleeting and half-formed, they can’t hold up for an entire story.
Instead, you need to let your story ideas marinate. Think about where you can take the characters, what kind of conflicts they can face. Experiment. Dream. Don’t rush into a septology with a half-baked idea for book #3.
I recently re-vamped my idea for Fragment of the Moon, combining conflicts I wanted to work with, adding (and subtracting) characters and side plots. It’s 100% more ambitious, but I think the story will benefit tenfold.
Writer’s Workshop: Writers as Sadists
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The most adorable picture of pain ever.
Over Halloween, my friend Kailer said jokingly that she didn’t know I was a sadist. (At least, I hope she was joking. Ha.)
But that got me thinking: aren’t all writers sadists?
I mean, who else would run people through a gauntlet of heartache, terror, and loss all for the amusement of themselves and/or readers? (The fact that they are fictional – and a case for schizophrenia – is another point entirely.)
If you’re not a sadist, you are going to have inherently boring stories. Everyone living together in harmony, happily ever after does not make for a good read.
Even the advice we’re given is sadistic. Find your story lagging? Insert some conflict! Make your characters cry!
So don’t be afraid to admit you’re a sadist, writers. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Bring on the pain.
Writer’s Workshop: Keep Readers Hooked
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The best way to keep a reader’s attention is to withhold as much information as you can to keep the story interesting. It won’t do to lose your readers or to never answer any questions, but what good is a mysterious stranger if you learn everything about him at once?
Consider this conversation:
“Frodo: Who are you?
Aragorn: I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, last of the line for the Gondor throne. I was raised in Rivendell with the elves, but lately I’ve been up north with the Rangers. Oh, and I’m one of those people who lives a really long time.”
Pretty bland, right? The average reaction would be, “so what?” But if the reader discovers these tidbits along the way, as part of the action, Aragorn as a character slowly starts to take shape.
Omitting details is a sure-fire way to keep your reader turning pages. Who is this tantalizing stranger, and how does he play into the story? Is he friend or foe? Your reader won’t want to put the book down until these questions are answered. And if you’re a pro, you’ll raise more compelling questions to replace them.
What do you think? How do you keep your readers hooked?
If you look at your favorite author’s collected works, you’ll notice that they come back to the same themes again and again. These themes resonate with them. They can span from the classic (man vs. nature) to the philosophical (why are we here?) to the general (originality).
Which themes resonate with you? You’re the only one who can say. If you don’t know them off the top of your head, there are a few ways to discover them.
First, take a look at the books and movies you like. What themes do they have in common? Chances are those are the ones you are drawn to.
Next, look at what you’ve written, even if it’s a false start for a story or just a short scene. You’ll find that you like to work with the same themes, just as your favorite authors do.
Now, what themes do you see? Mine, for example, include hidden identities, political intrigue, and gods interacting with mortals. You might recognize these elements in my Fragment of the Moon and Gatekeeper pieces.
Writer’s Workshop: Weaknesses
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I know we like to head off criticism and talk about our strengths as writers, and that’s important, but we also need to acknowledge our weaknesses. If we don’t, how are we supposed to improve?
First, discover what exactly your weaknesses are. If you have no idea, ask another writer to look over some of your work and see if they can spot them.
Second, figure out how to improve. Read blogs or books, talk with other writers, etc. Do what you have to so you know where to start.
Third, practice. I find it works best to go by scene or chapter, and focus on improving one weakness at a time.
For me, it’s description. So every time I have to describe a character or location, I slow down and make sure to write in a way that will help the reader see what I’m envisioning.
How do you deal with your weaknesses?
Welcome
Official Progress
4/21 segments
A narrator hijacks a cliche fantasy story, much to the chagrin of its characters.Status: Second revision
A young noblewoman with strange powers must choose: her king or her soul.1,639/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
When a girl's heart is stolen, she's plunged into a world of magic and shadows - but can she get her heart back before she loses it completely?1,087/70,000 wordsStatus: First draft
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