writing tips

How to Write a Flashback

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If I am honest I like flashbacks in a story if they are done well. As long as it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the story and is absolutely necessary to explain the current predicament of the protagonist. What are your thoughts on flashbacks? Are you for or against?

How to Write a Flashback

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How do you write a flashback without confusing your reader? Aren’t flashbacks bad? Don’t they screw up your story? Or can they make your story better?

Alexa posted this question on my “Ask A Question For My Blog” page:

How can I write a flashback scene of my protagonist without the reader getting lost?Thanks in advance

Randy sez: Knowing how to write a flashback is crucial for every novelist. But knowing why to write a flashback may be even more important.

Aren’t Flashbacks Bad?

Some people say that flashbacks are bad and you shouldn’t write them. It’s worth asking why anyone would say that.

A flashback is a scene that you show in your story in real-time, but which happened in the past. The fact that it’s shown in real-time is good. You’re not showing it in narrative summary or exposition. You’re playing it out like a movie in your reader’s head.

So where’s the harm? Why would anyone complain about that?

Read the full post on Advanced Fiction Writing!

 

 

Getting to Know Your Protagonist

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How much time do you spend getting to know your protagonist? While reading this post, I was inspired to go back to a character I had written quite a few words about but never really felt I got her motivations and perceptions quite right. I am inspired to go back now and take the time to fill out the character a little more and then rework my story.

Getting to Know Your Protagonist

Today’s guest post is by Steven-John Tait.

If you’ve ever struggled to get under the skin of your protagonist, don’t lose hope. This post tells how mine went from a protagonist I couldn’t relate to to someone so real to me that I felt guilty about finishing the novel and therefore his existence.

Here’s my experience from initial inspiration to the creative processes I used, and my eventual breakthrough and tips you can apply to your own work.

On vacation in a town in North Brazil, I was drinking a beer at one of many beachside bars, when I noticed a haggard man walking between the tables and chairs trying to catch anyone’s eye. It was obvious he was looking for someone to take advantage of. Nobody returned his gaze except me.

He sat down across from me and asked the waiter for a beer and a cachaça. The waiter looked to me for approval because we both knew that I’d be the one paying. I couldn’t understand much of what my guest said because my Portuguese hardly gets me from A to B, but he interested me, as did the faded tattoos over his arms and the white lines he’d drawn on himself using acid from cashew nut shells.

Here I was on the other side of the world, drinking beer with someone I’d never otherwise have met. I’d been looking for this since I set the goal of writing a novel. Here was my protagonist, and this town would be the setting. From then on I couldn’t think of one without the other.

I returned home, and having found the initial spark sat down to write the novel, but I had a problem: my protagonist.

Read the full story on Live Write Thrive!

10 Tips for Finding Memorable Character Names for your Fiction

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This is such a great post – I have had to bookmark it for future reference. If you struggle to find great names for your characters than this post is just for you!

10 Tips for Finding Memorable Character Names for your Fiction

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“Agnes Gooch,” “Mr. McCawber,” “Albus Dumbledore”: memorable names of memorable characters.

How can writers come up with character names that readers will never forget?

In his painfully funny 2006 book, Famous Writing School, a Novel, Stephen Carter’s writing teacher-protagonist advises his students to seek character names in the obituaries. But although Carter’s bumbling protagonist offers mostly dubious advice, that tip is a keeper.

Obits are full of great names. I keep a list of odd names in a little notebook. I haven’t yet written about Normal Peasley or Lamia Trowbridge, but they’re ready when I need them.

Another great name source is spam. If I happen to catch a good name before I hit “empty spam,” I write it in the notebook.  I  can always perk up a story by subjecting my heroine to a blind date with Zoticus Weatherwax or Hassan Snively.

Read the full post at Anne R. Allen’s Blog.. with Ruth Harris!

 

John Grisham’s 8 Do’s And Don’ts For Popular Fiction

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Apparently, there is a whole series of these, you can find them at the bottom of the article but this is my favorite. Especially number 8. I hate it when authors do number 8 and you have to draw a chart to figure out relationships.

John Grisham’s 8 Do’s And Don’ts For Popular Fiction

John Grisham is an American author who is best known for his legal thrillers. Before writing full time, John Grisham practised criminal law and served in the House of Representatives in Mississippi.

He has sold more than 250 million books, which have been translated into 29 languages. Many of his novels have been filmed including: The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Runaway Jury, and A Time to Kill.

Here is his advice for authors of popular fiction:

1.   Do — Write A Page Every Day

That’s about 200 words, or 1,000 words a week. Do that for two years and you’ll have a novel that’s long enough. Nothing will happen until you are producing at least one page per day.

Read the full post at Writer’s Write.

The Single Biggest Secret to Pantsing: Trusting Your Own Writing Process

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So as a self-proclaimed pantser I have been trying to become more organized in my writing and my life. Maybe I should just be comfortable and embrace my personal chaos.

The Single Biggest Secret to Pantsing: Trusting Your Own Writing Process

by Lauren Sapala

I just started writing a new novel a few weeks ago and I feel like a teenager again.

Yes, there is the euphoria and the excitement of magical new lands to discover, and the thrill of new horizons coming into view.

But when I say I feel like a teenager again, that’s not what I mean. Because, in addition to the euphoria, excitement, and thrill, I am also being clobbered by tidal waves of confusion, self-doubt, intense emotion, and fear, fear, fear.

I’ve been thinking about writing this novel for almost three years. Way back in 2015 was when this character first showed up in my head. I started seeing an image of a man in handcuffs and that image wouldn’t go away. At this point in my life I am now well aware that the images that fall into the “won’t-go-away” category always signal the beginning of a new story for me.

I couldn’t wait to begin…but I also put it off. Then I started the story and was ecstatic…but I also felt weird and scared about pursuing the ideas that were showing up in my mind. I had no idea where they would lead me, and I still don’t. So, for now, I’m just taking it day by day.

This is how I write all my novels, and the process hasn’t ever gotten any easier for me.

Read the full post on Lauren Sapala

A Simple Tip to Help Get Rid of Saggy Middles

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Sorry, it’s not what you think. This post is to help with your writing! If you are like me you can come up with a great opening and a great ending but get bogged down in the middle.

A Simple Tip to Help Get Rid of Saggy Middles

By Fae Rowen
Sagging chins you are on your own…

Need to tone and tighten the middle of your WIP?

Have a saggy, lackluster character that needs work?

Feel like junking your half-finished, used-to-sparkle story?

Don’t.

Today I have a simple tip for you to brighten your character and/or your plot.

Go another way.

I first heard these words in reference to life’s struggles. You know, the ones that hammer you, and you just try to keep your head above water? Instead of encountering each challenge with my lance and sword, I was encouraged to try a different response.

You’ve heard the definition of insanity: You keep doing the same thing, but expect a different outcome.

Well, if you keep fiddling with a character or a plot over and over, approaching it from the same perspective, you’re going to get the same probably-not-acceptable fix.

Go another way.

Read the full post at Writers In The Storm.

Quick Link: Blogging as a Writer

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Taking a quick trip to Elizabeth Spann Craig land where you can learn why it is good for writers to blog and she even has some helpful hints included!

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Blogging as a Writer

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

My first blog post was in August of 2008.  Along the way, I’ve tweaked the content and changed from Blogger to WordPress.  I’ve also played with the number of posts I run a week.  Aside from that, the blog is pretty much the same as it was nine years ago.

But along the way, I’ve seen lots of changes: some writers who used to blog no longer do.  Some folks never started. Some rarely post at all.  Which leads me to this post.  🙂   Should writers blog?  If you decide to blog, how do you keep it up?  And how do you get a blog started?

Why should you consider blogging?

Read the full post at Elizabeth Spann Craig!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: 3 Secrets For Writing Like A Pro

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Wanna know the secret to taking your writing to the next level? It’s all about the tweaking between telling and showing. But those changes make a huge difference in the quality of your story. Award-winning author Stacey Keith, guest posting at Writers And Authors, has some great examples to show you how!

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3 Secrets For Writing Like A Pro

by Stacy Keith

Writing an email is easy. Writing a novel is the kind of hard that requires years of apprenticeship. “Apprenticeship” in this case means getting it way wrong before you get it even a little bit right. Hey, I should know.

You’ve got to commit to a lot of bad writing in order to reach a level of basic competence. Most people don’t go the distance. Most people don’t realize their beginning writing sucks. Most people, even ones who have talent, lack that most essential ingredient to success as a writer: STAMINA.

Stamina (or persistence, if you prefer) determines whether you’re going to be a hack or a writer. Not only must you suffer the slings and arrows of writing bad prose (if you stay at it, you do get better—sometimes a lot better), but if you want to level up, get an agent, get a publishing contract, trust me, you’re going to need stamina for that, too. It can take years.

Now might be a good time to ask: How badly do I want it?

Read the full post on Writers And Authors!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: What Is a Prologue — and How to Write One Readers Won’t Skip

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Do you prologue? I absolutely love a well-written prologue, to me, it is almost like getting bonus information and sets the tone for the rest of the story. Reedsy has a great post on if you should prologue and how to write a great one. Check it out!

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What Is a Prologue — and How to Write One Readers Won’t Skip

A prologue comes before Chapter One and acts an introduction to a story, or a first of “two beginnings.” While there is back and forth on the necessity of prologues as a literary device (more on that later), it is agreed upon that a good prologue contains information that is vital to the rest of the story — though often not in a way that’s immediately apparent. A prologue should only be relied upon when it contains information that would hinder the narrative if present in the body of the novel. Think of a prologue a bit like an appetizer: if done right, it can perfectly prepare you for the main course. If done carelessly, it can ruin your appetite for the novel.

Before we talk about the best way to write a prologue, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what a prologue is — and isn’t.

Read the full post on Reedsy!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: How to Use The Force to Write Your Novel

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Ok, I admit that I picked this post because I am OG (Orginal Geek) and a major Star Wars nerd. But this is still a great post from Randy Ingermanson at his site, Advanced Fiction Writing. And it is not probably what you are thinking of either.

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How to Use The Force to Write Your Novel

Photo by Daniel Cheung on Unsplash

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How do you find time to write your novel when there isn’t time to write? When your life feels like a treadmill to nowhere? When it seems like you’re in exactly the same place you were a year ago?

I hear from writers all the time asking how to manage their time so they can write the novel of their dreams.

The Most Powerful Force in the Universe

There’s a secret to doing this. I’m going to let you in on that secret right now.

If you want to write a novel…

You need to make it a habit to write every day of the week. (Or every weekday. Or every weekday plus every Saturday. Or whatever schedule fits your life.)

The most powerful force in the universe is force of habit.

Why You Need a Writing Habit

Read the full post on Advanced Fiction Writing.

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Plotting With Layers: 4 Steps to a Stronger Plot

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

You know every once in a while you come across something that lets you see issues in a new light? This post by the wonderful and talented Janice Hardy at Fiction University is one of those things. I personally love the idea of using layers to add depth to my stories and her tips really resonated with me. Let us know if they help you too.

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Plotting With Layers: 4 Steps to a Stronger Plot

By Janice Hardy

This week’s Refresher Friday takes a heavily updated look at why plots are like houses, and how “building” with layers will help you create stronger plots. Enjoy!

Plots are like houses. When built on a strong foundation, with good flow and an well-thought out floor plan, readers want to move in and stay awhile. Just as we build in layers, we can also plot in layers. This helps us make sure all the right pieces are in place to hold up our story and allow our characters to live within them.

Layering your plot can create more interesting stories, but it’s easy to go overboard and end up with a convoluted mess. How many layers are good? How many are too many? And mostly, how do you craft a well-constructed story that builds on itself and keeps readers interested?

I’ve talked about writing in layers before, and plotting in layers is similar. It helps to look at each layer individually and try not to build the whole thing at once.

Lay the Foundation for Your Plot

Read the full post on Fiction University!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: A Look at Masterful Character Description Part 2

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

I am sick and I am trying really hard to find the right way to tell you that at Live Write Thrive, C.S. Latkin has written a really good post on dealing with character description. It is more of the show don’t tell, but the way Latkin puts it is quite powerful. Worth your time.

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A Look at Masterful Character Description Part 2

by C.S. Latkin

Let me begin this week’s post, a continuation of looking at masterful character description, by lifting this paragraph from last week’s post:

Description is more than what the eye sees. It involves making judgments, coming to conclusions, forming impressions. Since our descriptions must be filtered through our POV character’s mind and heart, instead of thinking of description as a laundry list of items (hair color, eye color, shoe brand), they should reveal just as much, if not more, about our POV character as the person (or place or animal or food—anything) being described.

I repeat this to be emphatic about the importance of taking the time to both know your characters thoroughly as well utilizing description powerfully and deliberately.

In other words, don’t waste space or your reader’s precious time by writing ineffective description. Make it count. Make it evocative. Make it fresh and revealing.

I’ve been pulling description from James Lee Burke’s novels, for he is a masterful wordsmith. I am continually awed by his descriptions and the way he always seems to sprinkle in these bits at the right times, creating an air of reflection and pausing at appropriate moments.

Read the full post on Live Write Thrive!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Get Some Rejection

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Time for some tough love from James Scott Bell at the Kill Zone. He explains why getting some rejection is a good thing for authors to experience.

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Get Some Rejection

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The other day I watched an old MGM movie, The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954). It stars Elizabeth Taylor at her most gorgeous and Van Johnson at his most likable. Van plays a GI in Paris on VE Day. He gets kissed in the crowd by Liz, which is not something a GI would ever forget. When he sees her later at a party, he makes a beeline for her. Soon they are in love. Then married.

Van had been a wartime correspondent for Stars and Stripes, and lands a job in the Paris office of a wire service. But what he really wants to be is a novelist. He works diligently on his first novel, and finally sends it out.

It’s rejected at several houses. Van is naturally disappointed, but Liz talks him up, tells him to keep trying.

So Van spends the next couple of years writing his heart out. When he finishes the new manuscript he has Liz read it. As he looks on anxiously, Liz puts down the final page and gazes into Van’s eyes. “It’s even more beautiful than the last one,” she says.

Huzzah! He sends it out.

Rejected and rejected and rejected!

Read the full post on Kill Zone!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Supplying Breadcrumbs: How to Hint at a Character’s Emotional Wound – Angela Ackerman

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

This is another great post from Romance University, that applies to all genres. Having a character showing flaws makes them human and more relatable. Thank you, Angela Ackerman!

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Supplying Breadcrumbs: How to Hint at a Character’s Emotional Wound – Angela Ackerman

by Angela Ackerman

Emotional wounds are transformative and have the power to re-shape a character in many negative ways, impacting their happiness, their self-worth, and causing mistrust and disillusionment to skew their worldview. This critical piece of backstory is key to understanding their motivations, and will impact their individual character’s arc, so knowing what it is, and how to show the fallout it generates is vitally important.

Regardless of whether you choose to show the emotional wound overtly during the story or merely hint at it, it will always be necessary to reference the event in smaller ways throughout. It’s a piece of the character’s past that holds vital significance; someone who’s endured the loss of a loved one, physical torture, or a messy divorce can’t simply forget it—especially if it hasn’t been dealt with. It will haunt her, and continue to hold her back in the story until it is dealt with.

Mastering the art of obliquely referencing what has happened in a way that reads naturally is an important skill to master as it pulls the reader deeper into the story through the art of subtext. There are many ways to seed ideas in the reader’s mind about the type of emotional trauma a character has suffered, including showing it through defense mechanisms. Here are three additional ways you can feed information about the event to readers without using info dumps or giving the whole thing away.

Read the full post on Romance University!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: The Five Most Common Issues Writers Have with Their Stories

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

I recognized at least a couple of these issues as ones I struggle with, so I am bookmarking this article from Jennifer Blanchard‘s blog to make sure I can go back and re-read it!

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The Five Most Common Issues Writers Have with Their Stories

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I spend about a hundred hours a year reading writers’ manuscripts and doing content edits on their stories. I’ve seen it all–stories that ramble on for 400+ pages, never really getting to the point; stories that start off pretty good and then about a quarter of the way in change into a totally different story; stories where the voice changes so many times you couldn’t keep up if you wanted to… I could go on.

And this is true for every editor on the planet.

We’ve all seen a wide array of stories from “decent start but still needs work” to “total diaster” to “what the fuck were you thinking?” You name it, it’s out there.

But there are also many stories that have a pretty good start and just need tweaking and revising and editing to mold and shape it into the story it’s really meant to be.

My author and editor friend, Sarah Fox, and I got together the other day to talk about what the most common problems are that we see in writers’ drafts (we’re doing a revision workshop together–see the bottom of this message for more). And we came up with five things that are the most common manuscript problems:

Read the full post on  Jennifer Blanchard!

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.