Lauren's link love: YA vs. middle grade, commercial vs. literary, writing camp, & Twitter tips

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

The Key Differences Between Middle Grade vs Young Adult | @marielamba at @brianklems https://t.co/mtIRPG99GA #writing #childrensbooks

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) February 29, 2016

Like I need an excuse.

Put Down the Broom: Tidying Up Can Hamper #Creativity | @PassiveVoiceBlg https://t.co/JE5gHZMvan #writing #amwriting

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) March 1, 2016

A question many of us have:

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Commercial and Literary Fiction? https://t.co/MTPaXxNUYP #writing #amwriting pic.twitter.com/QChnpQVNMl

— Angela Ackerman (@AngelaAckerman) March 1, 2016

Ready to submit? Use Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript to help!

Here's a glowing review for a seemingly dull book: Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, by Chuck Sambuchino and published by Writer's Digest Books. It goes into the nitty-gritty, boring old details of exactly how you present your precious writing to a potential agent or editor.

It's all in the details

It covers all major forms of writing, from article writing to nonfiction to short stories to novels to children's books, scripts, and poetry, and it details not just how to present your manuscript itself but also all the essential elements that go along with it: a query letter, a book proposal, an author bio, a synopsis, and more.

You might think the book would gloss over details, like that you'd have to infer from a generalized description of fiction submissions how to cater for a particular genre, but this book is all about details. I love books that are all about details! Are you writing a mystery novel? Covered. A graphic novel? Covered. An author-illustrated (or not) picture book? Covered. Need to know how to submit the acknowledgements page for your nonfiction book? Covered. An endorsements page for your novel? Covered. How about your radio commentary? Dude, it's covered.

Lauren's link love: Editing tools, author publicity, & crafting a book

Links to share, collected at @LaurenWaynecom on Twitter:

5 Ways to Use #Instagram as an Author | Jane Friedman #writing https://t.co/W3OsTNpeHH

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) January 25, 2016

#Writing is as hard as breaking rocks. Sparks and splinters fly like shattered steel. Clarice Lispector #amwriting pic.twitter.com/pX2yIvxqx5

— The UnNovelist (@TheUnNovelist) January 27, 2016

7 Web tools that check for empathy, inclusivity and more https://t.co/HMUnAIf6hV

— Lauren Wayne (@LaurenWaynecom) January 28, 2016

Lean into your writing challenges

Sometimes when you're writing fiction, you'll get to a place where a character does something unexpected, and you'll want to fix it.

Or you'll realize your plot would be stronger if some terrible thing befell your protagonist, but you have a protective urge pulling you back.

Or you'll introduce a detail that messes with the tidy outline you had in your mind, and you try to figure out a painless way to erase it.

Don't. Move forward. Push through the hard way, never minding the thorns. Laugh about how much harder and messier you're making it for yourself.

Nine times out of ten, your novel will be better for it.

Creating character & setting sheets for your novel

I mentioned in my post on winning NaNoWriMo this past year that one thing I noticed in writing the second book in my mystery series is how hard it is for me to keep track of minor characters' names and settings. I realized I needed a system in place to handle all these details.

Why make character sheets?

You're chugging along on your work in progress when suddenly your mind blanks. Were your protagonist's mom's eyes blue or brown? Rack your brain no more! Simply consult your handy-dandy character sheets, scroll to the appropriate box, and there it is in print: Oh, right! They were hazel!

If you're writing a series, it's even more imperative to keep track of these pesky details from one book to the next. Remember how long your characters have lived in a certain place, or what jobs they had in the past. Note down when they first met a new friend.

You can make the same type of notations for settings and other details in your stories. Then you'll know where their favorite diner is located, what its name is, and who the surly server is they love to hassle.

The other benefit of having character sheets (also known as character profiles, character questionnaires, character charts, etc.) is that it inspires you to include more description. If you're like me and description is locked into your head but rarely makes its lethargic way onto the paper, having character sheets staring you in the face with slots for eye color and height and so forth makes you want to make decisions about those things and figure out interesting ways to include them. Clever descriptions will bring your novel alive, so it's a boon to have an avenue for mindfully considering what to add to your writing.

So, now that I've convinced you you need them…

How do you make character sheets?

Some writing software, such as Scrivener (a Mac program I used for one NaNo), has built-in capabilities for crafting character sheets. I wanted something more mobile, though, because I often work on my novels (and blogging) when I'm out and about. Most comprehensive writing software (including Scrivener) doesn't have a mobile component that works on my (Android) phone.

Enter: Google Drive. Bam.

I already am writing my current novel in Google Docs, and I transferred my earlier writing there as well. (FYI, I blog on the go using Chrome and the horrifying Blogger app, but I don't recommend either for publishing, just for drafting. They both truly suck for the job, and I will take any suggestions for improvement over them.)

For my character sheets, I also considered Evernote, since it's also readily available on both mobile and computers, but I have problems with the Evernote app being finicky, and I understand and like the functionality of Google Drive. Plus, I realized I could best organize the data in — nerd alert! — a spreadsheet!

Google Sheets to the rescue!

Hope you can kind of see that. You can click on it to embiggen a bit.

On winning NaNoWriMo 2015

First of all: Woot!

I hadn't been planning to do National Novel Writing Month this past year, but Tree of Write On, Mom! asked if I was going to, and so I did.

I am very suggestible.

The idea popped into my head that I could use the opportunity to do something I'd been meaning to, which was write the second book in my mystery series. And so I did! And now I feel so much better!

It's still a crappy first draft, because I'm working on finishing up editing the first one right now instead of fixing the second, but it's nice to have the story written and sitting there ready to edit. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

It makes me think I should write a novel every other month or so. Maybe every three months, with two off to edit? (This isn't going to happen, but apparently it could!)

I write like Raymond Chandler

Apparently.

I write like
Raymond Chandler

I Write Like. Analyze your writing!

Is it sad to admit I've never read a Raymond Chandler novel? Now I guess I have to!

If you want to see what author your WIP resembles, check out I Write Like. It's just for fun, and a nice distraction from actually writing. Heh heh.

If you need even more procrastination distraction, I recommend finding things like this and other tools and camaraderie at the National Novel Writing Month Participants Facebook group.

Thank you, Mr. Exposition

Sam and I are junkies for mysteries and appreciators of the jerk-cum-genius character as showcased popularly in House. So we decided to give Backstrom a watch.

For those who aren't as glued to their screens as we are, Backstrom is a new TV detective show on Fox starring Rainn Wilson. The titular character is presumably fabulous at closing cases but is otherwise a nearly unbearable boor. I found the pilot we viewed problematic for several reasons, one of which I'll talk about here.

Despite that, I'm curious now to try out the original source novels by Swedish author Leif G.W. Persson and have the first on hold at the library. I'm wondering how different the show is from the books. For instance, are the women as vapidly pretty? (/sarcasm)¹ Here's an affiliate link to the first in the series on Amazon (the English translation), where you can see the dubious tactic of putting Rainn Wilson's face and full-body silhouette on the cover, a choice that might backfire if the series is canceled.

Anyway, what I'm going to address today is the writing sin of telling readers the background facts in a plodding fashion. There's a scene in which Backstrom goes to his house and says something to the man there along these literal lines: "You're my roommate who's a gay man and who also fences stolen items, which I tolerate because you are my criminal informant. We are not romantically involved."

It's not quite that awkward, but close.

Sunday Surf: Where's the money in publishing?

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The 7k Report – Author Earnings

What authors are really earning self-publishing vs. traditional publishing, and what’s right for you. Hint: Self-publishing’s earning more for everyone. Really interesting results!

1 WEEK AGO

Finances self-publishing traditional publishing

money (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

An Open Letter to Journalists and Brands About Blogger Compensation | IFB

If you’re doing the work, you deserve to be paid. Tips for bloggers working with brands.

1 MONTH AGO -  2

blogging Finances monetizing 2 notes

Haters and Critics: How to Deal with People Judging You and Your Work - James Clear

How to focus on the positive and respond to the negativity.

1 MONTH AGO

writing criticism blogging reviews comments negative comments

On Professional Editing and Why I Charge My Friends For Advice

So I only work with highly successful highly motivated writers and I expect great things from them. You can’t hire me if you are only dabbling or if you want someone to tell you how great you are. You can only hire me if you are willing to succeed. And you can only hire me if you are going to be so successful that you make back my ridiculously high hourly fees and then some.

1 MONTH AGO

writing editing

Sunday Surf: Google dos & don'ts for bloggers and bad romance novels

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The Top Ten Signs You're Reading a Very Bad Romance Novel | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Hilarious list that goes all the way to 11. I particularly appreciated this one:

Number 2.5: There’s a widow who is still a virgin, despite being married to Lord Humperslut for years and years.

How is this possible? Well, sit back and we’ll tell you. The heroine married Humperslut just before he started introducing his bloodstream to metric tons of opium, and his penis was lost shortly thereafter in a tragic riding accident. His young bride is sworn to secrecy lest his reputation suffer, leaving her to misery and, of course, sexual unfulfillment.

OK, fine, we’re exaggerating a little — but only a little. Yet again, the Sacred Virginity of the Heroine rears its ugly maidenhead, and the heroine’s validity as a woman is tied up in the sanctity of her love canal. Virgin widows may have been novel plot devices back in the day, but Romancelandia is lousy with those beasts. We say it’s time to put this particular cash cow out to pasture.

5 MONTHS AGO -  60

novel writing romance novels novels genre novels writing reading 60 notes

How to Use Google As a Blogger - Smart School House

5 MONTHS AGO -  2

Olympic, side-splitting cozy: Murder on Ice, by Alina Adams

Want some novel reading to go along with your Olympics watching? As the women's figure skating finals come into view, read up on the world behind the scenes in Alina Adams' hilarious and entertaining mystery, Murder on Ice.

Granted, Murder on Ice is set at the world championships, but close enough. For those of us who follow figure skating once every four years, this is all a fun new experience.

Full disclosure up front: I happened to tell Alina Adams on Twitter (I think? It was awhile ago — I am anything but prompt!) that I loved her book (the paperback version) and was going to review it on my blog, and she offered to send me the multimedia Kindle version as well. So this isn't a sponsored post, but I did get a free enhanced e-book out of it!

So, this all makes me want to review Murder on Ice first as a reader — and then as a writer. It's an inspiring book in both categories!

Reader's review

Bex Levy is a researcher for the TV series 24/7, and she's in charge of knowing everything — absolutely everything — about the figure skating competition that the famous commentators might need for their patter and that the show might need for choosing camera angles and interview opportunities.

I came across the term micro-niche, and I love it. As a reader, it means you can find something written specifically to your interests: In this case, you can enjoy a peek into the world of figure skating and the world of being a professional TV researcher, as well as enjoy a cozy mystery along the way. I suppose some readers choose interests that already align with what they know; I actually love opportunities like this, where I get to see into a life I've never led.

It's not enough just to have an intriguing setting, though — fortunately, the book comes through with a clever mystery and plenty of funny. An Italian judge is murdered — and Bex's boss decides that, as a researcher, Bex is the perfect person to find the killer in time to reveal on air at the finale! But no pressure.

Bex, underpaid and generally beleaguered, sees no choice but to agree. She does already know all the players and quickly becomes adept at nosily sussing out their secrets.

One of my favorite passages is when Bex considers the lengthy and detailed descriptive travel passages in mystery fiction. I've often wondered about the same thing.

"As a reader, Bex had assumed the technique was nothing more than filler. […] However, now that she was a sleuth herself, Bex decided to give all those poor, maligned writers the benefit of the doubt and guess that the interminable itinerary listing was actually a sensible way of organizing their thoughts in a linear fashion, the better to make sense of the knotty puzzle before them."

She decides to give it a go:

"She noted that they seemed to be driving down Nineteenth Avenue. The street was … street colored. Concrete colored. Gray.
[… ]

And, anyway, now they had left Nineteenth Avenue and were driving through Golden Gate Park, which was pretty and green, as parks are wont to be. Finally, they pulled out of the park and alongside the Pacific Ocean. It was blue and big and, presumably wet."

#NaNoProgMo Profile: Crackerdog Sam

This is one in a series of profiles of our National Novel Progress Month authors and their works in progress. If you'd like to submit your own interview, please fill out the form, and I'll be in touch!

Today's author is Crackerdog Sam (that's his hobo name), my own dear partner and co-parent and a fabulous writer. I interviewed him over pizza with the kids — any insight and hilarity in wording are his, and any errors in transcription are mine.

Sam hopes he finishes his WIP in time to read it to the kids.

What project are you working on?

I am attempting to flesh out or "write" [quote marks his!] the second half of my novel that is currently only outlined. Basically, I'm trying to get a draft out of it. It will be spotty with chunks missing or places that are rambling on too long, but just to get something concrete on the page.

What's the tentative title?

I'm not telling.

What's the genre?

I guess it's a mashup of old-time high adventure with modern conveniences. It follows the same rules as The Princess Bride, but it's set in modern day, which is to say it's romantic and adventurous and has a lot of fantastical creatures, but it doesn't have magic or the paranormal. I don't know what genre that is. There is also no villain, so it's kind of a mix of The Princess Bride and Spirited Away.

What's the target audience?

It's for 8- to 14-year-olds.

Vary your characters' names

I recently read a book in which the three main male characters' names were Rafael, Richard, and Robert.

Dude, I could not keep those suckers straight.

I fully admit I maybe read a little too quickly at times, and I also admit names are not my strong suit, but … but … c'mon, authors, throw your readers a bone and choose names that won't be easily confused.

Richard and Robert were the worst, because in my mind they're sort of interchangeable "nice" names that are both two syllables and start with Rs and have an R toward the end as well. As I'm skimming along, I can't distinguish them for beans.

At least Rafael is a little bit more unusual and with a different sound, and it was often abbreviated as Rafe (oh, for a Dickie and a Rob, too!), but is it too much to ask that if there are going to be three important male characters that they not have names that all start with the same letter?

Now, I know writers of nonfiction or fictionalized history might have no choice. And maybe there are certain occasions when sequels or prequels inadvertently force similarly named characters to collide. But, for the most part, you as the author are fully in charge of giving your characters names that won't give your readers fits.

To that end, here are my humble suggestions:

1. Don't name everyone with the same initial letter.

This is surprisingly tempting. Our brains work in logical trains, after all. When we've come up with one good name that starts with a certain letter, it's only natural to think up similar names first. Keep the wheels turning, and don't settle on your first choice.

Keep in mind letters that are different but sound alike: Corrie and Kerry. I'd suggest avoiding even letters that are the same but sound different: Celia and Chris — because in skimming, it might still be easy to mistake one for the other.

Remember last names, too: Mrs. Adamson and Mrs. Allison and Mr. Arlington would drive anyone to another book.

Sunday Surf: Tracking submissions, mass PayPal, and traditional vs. self-publishing

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

Tracking Your Submissions - Triple Tracking Method -- Writers Write(R)

To collect better data, create 3 submission tracking spreadsheets: general, individual manuscript, and individual publication.

3 MONTHS AGO

Submissions novel submissions manuscripts agents publishing

QueryTracker | Free Database of Literary Agents and Publishers

Free database for tracking your manuscript queries

3 MONTHS AGO

Submissions novel submissions manuscripts query agents publishing

Put your children in danger: A guide for authors

At the same time as I am reading Virals, a young adult novel by Kathy Reichs, I have happened upon this YouTube video from Feminist Frequency (thank you to Our Feminist Playschool for the direct) reviewing the book The Hunger Games:


The whole video's very interesting, as are Anita Sarkeesian's other works, but I just want to pull out one teensy tidbit that relates to the novel Virals as well as the whole oeuvre of children's literature.

Anita says that she finds it unbelievable that the parents in The Hunger Games wouldn't stand up and refuse to let their children be sacrificed.

Oh, yes. Totally. But that's viewing it as an adult and being all reasonable and stuff. Young adult and children's fiction depends on adults — and parents in particular — being ineffectual, powerless, cruel, or entirely absent.

Sunday Surf: About pages, Facebook marketing, and Adsense tips

Links to share, from Writing Tidbits:

The Essential Checklist for Submitting Your Novel to Agents | WritersDigest.com

6-item checklist to follow before sending off your first novel query!

1 WEEK AGO -  1

novel writing novels novel submissions agents Submissions query writing fiction writing 1 note

What Will You Find When You Download Your Twitter Archive? | BlogHer

You can download all your Tweets easily now!

My very first Tweets were RTs, so that’s boring, but my third Tweet ever made me laugh:

is once again searching for overdue library items.

— Lauren Wayne (@Hobo_Mama) May 6, 2009

Still true.

1 WEEK AGO

Twitter Social media blogging blogging tips

12 Blogher conference tips that no one else will tell you

Big-sister tips for enjoying a blogging conference.

1 WEEK AGO

blogging blogging conferences conferences blogher blogher13

CreateSpace: a Review | Freeman Ng

Helpful review of publishing a book with color interior pages at CreateSpace.

1 WEEK AGO

self-publishing publishing print on demand CreateSpace

Positioning your Adsense Ads III : @ProBlogger

Interesting info on AdSense locations: Be aware that AdSense fills the ads from the top down, so make sure your most prominent ad spot is being filled with the best ads first.

3 WEEKS AGO

advertising AdSense google blogging tutorials Finances monetizing

How to Write Your “About Me” Page : @ProBlogger

There are four main questions that readers want answered on your About Me page:

1. who you are…
2. your expertise and how it addresses…
3. their problem or goal, and how they can…
4. contact you

Includes sample “About” page.

3 WEEKS AGO -  1

blogging blogging tips about page marketing tutorials 1 note

Add an ‘About’ Page to Your Blog : @ProBlogger

Tips for what to include.

3 WEEKS AGO

blogging blogging tips tutorials about page marketing

How to Manage Your Facebook Marketing in 30 Minutes a Day | BlogHer

Feeling overwhelmed by your Facebook page upkeep? Here’s an easy system to have one simple but effective post a day.

3 WEEKS AGO

facebook facebook fan pages Social media blogging tutorials

Guest room: Three hacks to access your site’s Pinterest statistics « Birmingham Blogging Academy

Three ways to track pins from your site.

1 MONTH AGO

Pinterest Social media blogging blogging tips tutorials statistics

Blogger Beware: 3 Ways You Could Be Breaking Amazon's Affiliate Program Rules - I Can Teach My Child!

Verboten: Shortening links; including links in ebooks, emails, or PDFs; and buying through your own link. (For #3, you can always buy through another blogger’s link right here — and add your own link!)

1 MONTH AGO

amazon amazon associates affiliate marketing affiliates blogging

Surf with us:

We love following along with fellow Sunday Surfers. If you have your own post of reading links to share, please link up your post on Hobo Mama or on Authentic Parenting. The linky will go live every Sunday, and you can link up any day that week. You only need to add your post to one of the sites, and the linky will automatically show up on both sites.

You can get the Sunday Surf button by Jenna Designs and some code to add to your post from my Sunday Surf page.

Check out previous editions for good reading, and you can find more shared items during the week at my Tumblr blog, Hobo Mama's Shared Items.