Category: Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A friend of mine has a party each summer. Each summer she tells me, “Now, Elizabeth. I know you don’t like parties, but I’m counting on you to come!”

Each year, I forget this party is imminent and when she reminds me about it (always, always in person), I’m sure I look completely stricken before I say, “Of course! I’m looking forward to it.”

The thing about this party is that I usually only know a few people there. This isn’t a big deal because I’m actually more comfortable with strangers—except for the fact that every single year I’m somehow introduced by the people I do know at the party as “their author friend” to the other guests.

Y’all know what I mean. Terrifying. I usually down my fair share of wine at this gathering.

Each year I also forget that everyone else in the world (excepting, perhaps, other writers), enjoys parties. Each year when I visit my friend in the days before the party, she’ll say something like, “What dish are you bringing to the party?” or “What are you wearing to the party?” or “What do you think if we do such-and-such at the party?”

And again I’ll give her this completely startled look. Sometimes I will even have already forgotten about the upcoming party (it would be on my calendar–but not in my head.) I won’t have given a thought what to bring to the party or what I’d wear. Each year it makes her laugh.

Each year I’ll go to the party (I went last week, actually.) I’ll visit with everyone, then leave fairly early with great relief. Without my serving dish.

Yes, I’m really a difficult person to be friends with. :)

There are details, while I’m writing, that are just not particularly important to me. A lot of them have to do with the things I mentioned above.

Setting, clothing descriptions, character descriptions, and dialogue tags come to mind. Details. Even as a reader, I tend to skip over them. I had some description. I had some tags. But obviously, I didn’t have enough.

At first, when I was writing, it took repeated notes from my different editors to point out the problem. Subconsciously, I must have thought that if it didn’t matter to me, it didn’t matter to the reader. And, really, it went deeper than that. These characters and places were so colorful and animated in my head–I think I forgot that others couldn’t see them too.

I’d find notes in Track Changes on the first few books from editors (different publishers, different series): Elizabeth, who is talking here? or Elizabeth, how old is this character? or Can you tell us a little more about what this store looks like? I can’t picture it. or This would be a great opportunity to tell what everyone is eating at the party.

Eventually, I realized I was getting the same notes a lot. Although writing description and other details slows me down while I’m writing (because I do labor over it—it’s not natural for me), I now layer in my details after I’m done with the first draft of the book. That way, everyone’s happy.

Because of course readers want that kind of information! Most people do. But it took my editors to point that out to me.

The point I’m making with this post is a couple of different things. First of all, we could all do with beta readers and editors to help point out what we’re blind to in our own book.

Also, if there are things that take extra effort from us—things that we have to take special care to write well—then layering in the text after the first draft can be a good way to accomplish that goal.

Have you ever found holes like this in your story—or had someone else point them out? Do you enjoy reading or writing details and description?

Image—Flickr Abdallah™’s photostream

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 17,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.

Have a great week!

Using details for setting – insider details and audience details: http://bit.ly/M6j2A5 @juliettewade

Comparing pitches and queries: http://bit.ly/OLX44O

Help for Burnt Out Bloggers: http://bit.ly/OLX5FS @writeitsideways

Tips for producing podcasts/other interviews with multiple guests: http://bit.ly/RD1HAF @Porter_Anderson @philipdsjones @samatlounge

An agent on publishing uncertainties: http://bit.ly/M6EYLj @rachellegardner

Tips for Dealing With Rejection + Other Success Strategies: http://bit.ly/M6FdGh @janefriedman

What’s your motif? http://bit.ly/M6Fd95 @livewritethrive

On writing diversity: http://bit.ly/M6Fj0q @sjaejones

Marketing and writing–the balance between strategy and creativity: http://bit.ly/M6FnNL @thecreativepenn @turndog_million

5 Everyday Life Ways to Spark Article Ideas: http://bit.ly/M6FusO @JulieBMack

Disable Comments for a Better Blog? http://bit.ly/M6Fw3W @problogger

15 word games: http://bit.ly/M6FzN1 @writing_tips

The mechanics behind some ebooks’ success: http://bit.ly/M6G2yT @laurahazardowen @Porter_Anderson

Birdhouse-like Mini Libraries: http://bit.ly/PN70Mf @pubperspectives

Why Your Hero Needs a Yappy Sidekick: http://bit.ly/N2VEyz @KMWeiland

Afterward vs. Afterword: http://bit.ly/O9pwi4 @write_practice

Revising with Anticipation: http://bit.ly/Pq7DXA @4YALit @marissaburt

Is Your Character Stagnating? http://bit.ly/Pq7HGx @KMWeiland

3 Book Marketing FAILs and Lessons Learned: http://bit.ly/Pq7P9g @duolit

Should you stop writing? http://bit.ly/Pq83wU @ronvitale

The Courage To Launch: http://bit.ly/Pq8jfk @originalimpulse @ollinmorales

Writing Creative Non-Fiction: http://bit.ly/Pq8nMe @TimHillegonds @janice_hardy

Is Your Writing Any Good? 7 Ways to Tell: http://bit.ly/Pq8uYa

20 Tips for Writing Strong Heroines: http://bit.ly/QyCvfo @adriennedewolfe

Do Books Need A Beta Version? Analytics For Books Pave The Way: http://bit.ly/QyCzvT @fastcompany

Lightning Source Best for Self-Publishers? http://bit.ly/QyCZCt @bengalley

Ways to make money that go beyond ebook sales: http://bit.ly/QyDn3D @goblinwriter

Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity: http://bit.ly/QyDqfU @markmcguinness

How Batman Can Teach You To Be a Better Writer: http://bit.ly/QyDtbx @fuelyourwriting

How To Harness Your Creative Temperament and Stay Sane, Married and Sober: http://bit.ly/QyDyMr @kristinnador

A History of Sisters in Fiction: http://bit.ly/QyDxYS @theatlantic

How and Why to Guest Post: http://bit.ly/MkrJlE @karencv

Building an Online Platform: http://bit.ly/Q8E1zc @TheLitCoach

7 Free and Legal Places to Find Photos: http://bit.ly/QBM4dD @marcykennedy

The New World of Publishing: Fear: http://bit.ly/OoKxCl @deanwesleysmith

Pros and cons of POD: http://bit.ly/OkBbsW

Finding writing quotations on Goodreads: http://bit.ly/MFotCQ

Preparing the perfect pitch: http://bit.ly/LRrEWr @writerashley

An agent and author discuss the romance genre: http://bit.ly/NgC2YG @RoniLoren @SaraMegibow @janice_hardy

All about medical writing: http://bit.ly/ONoseS @womenonwriting

How a Traditional Publisher Could Harm a Writer’s Career: http://bit.ly/MFp5bH @passivevoiceblg

5 lessons from a book tour newbie: http://bit.ly/RmiEPU @jamigold

Writers–be careful what you pay for: http://bit.ly/OcZdYu @nicolamorgan

5 Ways to Keep Your Writing Submissions Organized: http://bit.ly/NsWpB8 @krissybrady

How to Know When to Go to a Writing Conference: http://bit.ly/OSYMxq @jodyhedlund

How to create and maintain narrative interest: http://bit.ly/PXCaRc @jammer0501

Research Guides For Every Subject: http://bit.ly/OMLseb @litreactor

The 7-Step Write a Book Fast Program: http://zenhabits.net/write/ @zen_habits

Jack London’s Advice on Honing Your Creative Craft: http://bit.ly/OzEV7Y @mcd_owell

25 Helpful Websites for Writers: http://bit.ly/OB4Mz5 @JulieBMack

30 Dr. Seuss quotations: http://bit.ly/LLzlNT

When authors apply a signature touch to a crime fiction novel: http://bit.ly/PSKMEA @mkinberg

Tips for perfecting your pitch: http://bit.ly/LU71sy @behlerpublish

Too old to debut? http://bit.ly/QWEl7m @nicolamorgan

The Discard Pile. Or, Learning by Doing: http://bit.ly/QWEAiL

How to Control a Media Interview: http://bit.ly/QWEWpJ @writersdigest

6 tips for increasing ebook sales: http://bit.ly/QWFgEI @woodwardkaren

Structure–why it might be the missing element to make your writing sing: http://bit.ly/QWGMGW

A series on POV: http://bit.ly/RAI3kG , http://bit.ly/RAI6g5 , http://bit.ly/RAI6g7 @noveleditor

The Development and Popularity of “Gritty Fantasy”: http://bit.ly/MXkC8C @The_Idlewilder

Handy hyphenation chart: http://bit.ly/MXkFBx @livewritethrive

Take Your Author Website to the Next Level: http://bit.ly/MXkING @writersdigest

When you have too many ‘looks’ in your manuscript: http://bit.ly/MXkSEM @janice_hardy

How 1 writer (who says she has less talent than her peers) had a successful trad. publishing career: http://bit.ly/ODfbdG @threekingsbooks

The villain’s journey: http://bit.ly/NXVK0y @diymfa

Snappy Answers To Awkward Questions About Characters: http://bit.ly/NXVQVW @EeleenLee

Printing up your book for submission purposes? http://bit.ly/NXVXkb @behlerpublish

Writers…Weathering the Transition – Keeping the Faith: http://bit.ly/NXW8Mj @passivevoiceblg

Writing the skeptic: http://bit.ly/NXWbHY @glencstrathy

Why Readers Pirate eBooks: http://bit.ly/NXWhzj @jasonboog

A Blog Series that Look at Great Characters: Marge Gunderson (“Fargo”): http://bit.ly/NXWB13

How Being Lazy Can Fuel Your Writing: http://bit.ly/NXWEtR @krissybrady

10 Recent Science Fiction Books That Are About Big Ideas: http://bit.ly/NXWJxL @io9

In Praise of Ripening: http://bit.ly/NXWPFr

Understanding Screenwriting: Snow White and the Huntsman, Brave, Bernie, and more: http://bit.ly/NXWUZS @House_Next_Door

Lightning Source Best for Self-Publishers? http://bit.ly/QyCZCt @bengalley

An agent on publishing uncertainties: http://bit.ly/M6EYLj @rachellegardner

Help for screenwriters–resources on drama: http://bit.ly/RncJZb

A Small-Budget Advertising Experiment: http://bit.ly/RncQE9 @DeeDeTarsio

7 Prompt Websites to Fill Your Creative Writing Well: http://bit.ly/PDQIAV @KrissyBrady

Tips for writing action scenes: http://bit.ly/Rnd8uD @thomasaknight

Creating Flawed but Enjoyable Characters: http://bit.ly/PDQSZ4 @yahighway

20 Synonyms for “Type”: http://bit.ly/RndotQ

5 Reasons to Write Your Scenes in Order (and 3 Not to): http://bit.ly/NcFCGJ @KMWeiland

How Indie Authors Can Work With Trade Publishers: http://bit.ly/NcFIOt @ornaross

The Use of Drugs In Fantasy: http://bit.ly/NcFNSz @BenGalley

The Principle of Fair Use and Image Usage for Bloggers: http://bit.ly/NcFUNO @jane_l

Is “Show, Don’t Tell” Overrated? http://bit.ly/NcGj2W @jamesscottbell

The 10 best closing lines of books: http://bit.ly/NcGHhG @guardianbooks

Weird O’Clock: On the Mainstream Success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” : http://bit.ly/NcGRFU @wordforteens

Self-Publishing Audiobooks: Is it Worth it? http://bit.ly/NcHHm7

Plan a Book Launch Party for an Ebook: http://bit.ly/TfNdVS @BookMarketer

Do former journalists make good novelists? http://bit.ly/NcHXBx

What Makes A Mystery Cozy? http://bit.ly/NcI8N9 @NancyMehl

Why You Need to Harness Your Sorrow to Write Well: http://bit.ly/NcIdQS @write_practice

What TV Taught 1 Writer About Writing Epic Fiction: http://bit.ly/OO4qVS @yahighway

How to choose an excerpt to showcase your novel: http://bit.ly/OO4NzN @dirtywhitecandy

A Former Big 6 Editor Gives 5 Tips for Sure-Fire Rejection: http://bit.ly/OO4Uvl @RuthHarrisBooks @annerallen

Professional screenwriters analyze “The Social Network”: http://bit.ly/OOzSmU

Which Type of Opening Works Best? http://bit.ly/OOG9iz @Janice_Hardy

Making the most of ideas–dealing with our fear: http://bit.ly/OOGrpE @davidbcoe

5 Tips For Making a Living as a Writer: http://bit.ly/OOGNMU @rachellegardner

How to speak publisher: E is for e-books: http://bit.ly/OOH16M @annerooney

Why Counting Words May Be Hazardous to Your Health: http://bit.ly/OOHfuQ @livewritethrive

Which is Right for You – Lightning Source, CreateSpace, or Both? http://bit.ly/OcfxYw @MorganMandel

5 Scenes Every Romance Novel Needs: http://bit.ly/NFkRiT @howtowriteshop

On the term ‘aspiring writer’: http://bit.ly/NFl6um @avajae

The importance of sabbaticals for writers: http://bit.ly/NFlCs4 @threekingsbooks

Publishers need to speak their readers’ language. Recommendations: http://janefriedman.com/2012/08/09/writing-on-the-ether-50/#3 @Porter_Anderson @DigiBookWorld

3 Misplaced Modifiers: http://bit.ly/NFmahH

Writing to the Market: http://bit.ly/NFmsoX @JustineLavaworm

Writers should create a journey for their readers: http://bit.ly/NFmIEa @TurndogMillionaire

Why Are We Wired for Story? http://bit.ly/NFmU6p @lisacron

5 Simple Steps to Let Your Writing Back In: http://bit.ly/NGDnqV @krissybrady

1 writer’s goal–25 words a day: http://bit.ly/NGDymi @Tsuchigari

Are You a Good Writer? http://bit.ly/MtlMIZ @Porter_Anderson @silvermanjacob @JaneFriedman

The perks and pitfalls of signing books: http://bit.ly/NGDG5d @guardianbooks

Reporting Sexual Harassment in SF/F: http://bit.ly/NGDYZZ @jimhines

Common manuscript problems: http://bit.ly/NGEcQx @novelrocket

Differences between rookies and pro writers: http://bit.ly/NGEtD6 @Peter_DeHaan

5 Emotional Stages of a Book Launch: http://bit.ly/NGEFST @roniloren

Publishers need to speak their readers’ language. Recommendations: http://bit.ly/MBjYYM @Porter_Anderson @DigiBookWorld

The future of bookstores? http://bit.ly/MBkuGa @Porter_Anderson @peterturner

Dialogue Attribution Tips: http://bit.ly/OO4EMU

Add layers to your plot: http://bit.ly/MBVFK5 @DeeWhiteauthor

Hotels as Escape in Romance Novels: http://bit.ly/MBVU7V @meganf

After The First Draft–Approaching Revision: http://bit.ly/MBWpyX @mooderino

Offsite book events: http://bit.ly/MBWLFH @behlerpublish

Social media isn’t the magic bullet for self-epublished authors? http://bit.ly/MBWXVq @passivevoiceblg

Upgrade Your Superlatives: http://bit.ly/MBYLOg @writersdigest

A Writer’s Audience: Important or Not? http://bit.ly/MBZqza @susanjmorris

Genre prejudice: http://bit.ly/MBZEGD

Top 10 query mistakes: http://bit.ly/MBZMGc @rachellegardner

Time Management For Writers or How to Herd Cats: http://bit.ly/MC01B8 @SarahAHoyt

Character Mind-Reading: http://bit.ly/MC0HGA

The particular perils of historical fantasy: http://bit.ly/MC0R0D @Gollancz

After the pitch, cover your bases by sending in requested materials: http://bit.ly/RtIP5G

The future of bookstores? http://janefriedman.com/2012/08/09/writing-on-the-ether-50/#2 @Porter_Anderson @peterturner

Crime fiction research–knot analysis and use of luminol by police: http://bit.ly/OLBYkO , http://bit.ly/QeEAaa @clarissadraper

Tips for naming your characters: http://bit.ly/R7UW8o @JodieRennerEd

Why there is no epub bubble, & how to market ebooks responsibly: http://bit.ly/NxhP07 @DavidGaughran

List of 170+ authors who have sold 50,000+ self-published ebooks to date: http://ow.ly/cLGRC via @JaneFriedman

The path to survival for the illustrated book biz? http://bit.ly/OYYsTj @MikeShatzkin

How to put more emotion into your writing: http://bit.ly/QLhLkE @JoannaSlan

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I had an interesting email exchange with another writer after Friday’s post ran. She mentioned that she had been at an event recently to talk with new writers and had been surprised by the folks who said they wanted to write but didn’t know what to write about.

I emailed back that I had also been very surprised by hearing this from other new writers. For many writers, the problem is having too many ideas and not being sure which to work on.

But I’ve run into more and more writers who aren’t sure what direction to go in with their writing. They seem almost overwhelmed with the possibilities.

When I’ve run into writers like that, I’ve always tried to figure out what it is that they want. Sometimes they haven’t thought about what they actually want—and they start to.

Some writers will want to write completely for themselves and don’t want to share their work with others. Some will want to write a book that they pour their heart into and hope that it will find readers who love it as much as they do. Some will want to write blockbusters or books with high commercial appeal.

Knowing what you want helps define your direction in this business.

Deciding your publishing direction also ties in with a post from Porter Anderson in an extra edition of his popular Writing on the Ether column for Jane Friedman. The entire column makes for good reading, but the section, in particular, that I found interesting was “Jacob Silverman to Will Self” toward the end of the post.

Here’s a quotation from Porter Anderson’s column, quoting journalist Elizabeth Day’s Guardian article quoting author Will Self (did you follow all that quoting? :) )

“I don’t really write for readers,” Self says …”I think that’s the defining characteristic of being serious as a writer. I mean, I’ve said in the past I write for myself. That’s probably some kind of insane egotism but I actually think that’s the only way to proceed – to write what you think you have to write. I write desperately trying to keep myself amused or engaged in what I’m doing and in the world. And if people like it, great, and if they don’t like it, well, that’s that – what can you do? You can’t go round and hold a gun to their head.”

I think there is a lot of merit in that viewpoint. I wrote for myself for years and found a lot of satisfaction in it. And you’re a writer, even if you never publish a book. I recently read a thought-provoking post by writer Mark Charan Newton for Tor Books on “The Joys of Private Writing.”

But I also think that writing for readers is not only possibly more satisfying than writing for oneself (at least, I’ve found it more so), it can also be a way to develop skills and a readership while you’re waiting to release the book you’ve written for your own benefit (or for art’s sake.) Admittedly– I’m sometimes pragmatic to a fault…and prone also to look at the dollars and cents side to projects.

I’ve found some reward, in other words, in being paid for writing.

So, from that viewpoint, I’m going to suggest points to mull over as you’re exploring your direction and book ideas. These are, obviously, intended for writers who are interested in pursuing publishing—not those who’d like to write completely for themselves.

What if you know you have an interest in writing, but you’re not sure what to write? Here are some points it might be helpful to consider:

Your own interests, as a reader: What do you naturally lean toward when writing or reading? Which genre? What do you think you’d most enjoy writing? We have to spend a long time with a book—we need to enjoy the process and pour that love of writing into the book. Which story would you enjoy telling the most?

Analytics of the genre: In that genre, what are some of the factors that make it a good read? Humor, action, strong characters, magical powers, three murder victims, etc.? As a reader, what do you enjoy most about the genre?

Market saturation: Is there an area or subgenre that is currently saturated? Or does it seem like the readers are avidly buying the books as fast as they are written, even if it IS saturated? (Vampires and zombies come to mind.)

Book length: What is the length of most of these books? Have you got an idea that you can develop into that length? Is your idea too broad and can’t fit into one book? Book length, of course, is also going through a change with the digital trend—but you still want to shoot for the right ballpark. Editing a trilogy out of a single book can be a bear.

What are publishers of this genre looking for currently? If you’re going traditional, who represents and publishes this genre? Go online and see what kinds of things they might be asking for on their submissions page.

If you have many ideas, which should you work on?

Protagonist: Which protagonist can carry my story better? Which is better-developed? Does one have more opportunity for internal conflict? Does one have ample growth potential?

Characters: Which project has secondary characters that are more appealing? Which create depth for my protagonist by interacting with him/her? Which may be a villain that readers will love to hate?

Plot: Which storyline can I easily picture? Which one has more conflict and more depth?

Time: Is there a story that requires more research than another? How much time do I have for the project? How long would I, ideally, prefer to spend on a single project?

Market: Which story will appeal to a greater number of readers? Which has more of a hook to sell to a publisher? Or…which has the better hook for a direct-to-reader/self pubbed book?

Series potential: This may be genre-book specific—but is there a story that lends itself to more than one novel?

There’s a really fine balance here between being calculating and embracing an idea because we love it and because we want to write it to personally satisfy our own creative need. We can always choose to write the “book of our heart” as I’ve heard it called and have faith that others will love it as much as we do.

The business-oriented side of me thinks that it might be helpful to write something that we think has commercial appeal and that we’re excited about writing (don’t write something in a genre you don’t enjoy, just because you think it will sell—if you hate the book, or hate the genre, that disdain is going to show) and then release the book of our heart later, after we’ve developed readership. In traditional publishing, if the book of your heart tanks, it sure is hard to find another gig. Although having a traditionally published book tank might offer the perfect opportunity to move our next book into the self-pub realm.

Again, y’all, this is all in the for-what-it’s-worth category. And…another important thing to remember is that we shouldn’t have our whole writing career riding on one book. The fear of failure has got to be a huge factor in this writer hesitation when choosing an idea. The important thing about failure is dusting ourselves off, learning what it was that we did poorly, and writing another—better—book. Better because we failed or didn’t meet our own expectations. It’s killed me when a couple of great writers that I know have completely given up writing when their books didn’t do as well as they hoped. We’ve got to keep on going.

Now I’m interested in hearing your ideas. If you publish your work, how do you balance art and commercialism? How much do you focus on audience when you write? How do you decide what to write?

by Joanna Slan, @JoannaSlan

New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber has said, “If you don’t cry while you’re writing it, the reader won’t cry while she’s reading it.”

Easier said than done.

Putting emotion into your manuscript takes practice. The act of writing typically starts in the left hemisphere, that part of our brain given to sequencing. Otherwise, what we write would be a jumble of words. However, when arranged logically, words become sentences, sentences make up scenes, and scenes build action. At the peak of several scenes, we reach a climax. But that highpoint doesn’t mean much to the reader unless it evokes intense emotion. For that we need the right hemisphere, the section of the brain where emotions are perceived.

Let’s take a real life example, the mass shooting in a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado. The facts by themselves have great impact. With them in hand, we understand logically what happened. But when we learn about the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of the people involved, our emotions become fully engaged. Only then can we recognize the full impact of the tragedy.

Most of us have a side of the brain that we favor. We resist switching from one side of our brain to the other because switching takes energy. But as writers that’s exactly what we need to do! Because to offer our readers an engaging experience, we must appeal to both of their hemispheres—and we can only do that by using both of ours.

Writing with Both Sides of Your Brain

To overcome your natural resistance, break the process into two steps, a left brain pass and a right brain pass. First lay down the narrative track, the logical sequence of events, using the left side of the brain. This should cover the basics, the who, what, when, where, why, and how. Once your narrative is in place, commit to a second pass, using the right side of your brain.

When working with the right side of your brain, pay particular attention to these areas:

1. Sensory information—What are your characters smelling, seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching? With your mind’s eye, “look” for color, pattern, texture, flavors, scents, and distinct images, because that is how we process sensory input. When readers experience the world the way your character does, they will find your book more enjoyable.

To activate your senses, consider doing on-site research. To get the details right in my new mystery, DEATH OF A SCHOOLGIRL, I visited a carriage museum. There I spent time examining the sorts of conveyances used in 1820. After running my hand over the horsehair seats, touching the wood-rimmed wheels, and sniffing the old leather, I used what I learned to write a scene where my protagonist, Jane Eyre Rochester, travels by coach to London.

2. Specifics—Choose detail over generalities. It’s not a dog. It’s a pit bull. Or an Irish wolfhound. Or a Corgi. See how the image changed in your mind as the words went from general to specific? Whenever possible, exchange any vague reference for its exact counterpart.

3. Strong verbs—Vivid verbs add clarity. Try to eliminate any variation of “to be.” That includes was, is, be, been, and so on. (For a terrific refresher course on reducing your use of the “to be” verb construction, go to http://www.uoflife.com/wc/creative/be.htm)

During your second pass, imagine yourself in the role of your characters. Ask yourself, “What would I be feeling if this was happening to me?” Don’t be afraid to act out the scene, because that will help you get the physical reactions right. Once while writing a woodland scene in a Kiki Lowenstein book, I reached to my mouth to pluck out a stray twig that wasn’t there. Readers often tell me how realistic that scene is

I’m not surprised. If it’s real to me, I know that it’ll be real to my readers.

***

Joanna Campbell Slan has taught writing to corporate executives and at Illinois State University. She’s the author of the Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series, which includes PAPER, SCISSORS, DEATH, the Agatha-Award finalist for best first novel. Her newest mystery series debuts with DEATH OF A SCHOOLGIRL (Berkley Trade/August 7), the first book in The Jane Eyre Chronicles, featuring Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth. Visit Joanna at www.JoannaSlan.com

by Jodie Renner, freelance editor, @JodieRennerEd

Have you ever read a book where the name of the main character was jarring to you, seemed inappropriate, or just wrong?

Or have you mixed up two characters because their names were similar? Or said “Who’s that?” because suddenly the author started using a character’s nickname or first name, when previously all you knew was their last name? What you choose to name your characters can be the difference between annoying/confusing your readers and having the story flow naturally, with all the little details falling into place to make a seamless, believable story world.

A few years ago, I did a critique of a novel in which the cruel, abusive father was named “Danny” and his eight-year-old abused son was named “John.” I definitely thought “Danny” sounded much more like a nice kid than a nasty adult, and why not give the young boy a more kid-like name, like “Johnny”? Switching the two names would have worked fine, too.

Here are some tips for naming your characters:

– Avoid too-common and too-forgettable names like “Jim,” “John,” “Bill Smith,” or “Bob Jones.”

– Avoid really weird, unusual names that draw attention to themselves — unless it’s for a really weird character!

– Choose a name that fits the character’s personality and role. Don’t name your he-man hero “Harold” or “Wilfred,” or your despicable villain “David” or “Josh” or “Jordan” or “Richard” or “Jason” or “Matt” or any other very popular name. People don’t want a nasty bad guy to have the same name as their brother, boyfriend, husband or son.

– Avoid old-fashioned names for contemporary characters, like “Ebenezer” or “Cuthbert” or “Gertrude” or “Henrietta” or “Josephine.”

– Also, to reflect the actual makeup of North American society, be sure to use some characters and names from other ethnic backgrounds besides Anglo-Saxon.

– If you’re writing historical fiction, research common names for that era and location. Don’t make the mistake of calling your 18^th-century heroine, for example, “Taylor” (used only for males in that era).

– Even for contemporary fiction, don’t name your 50- or 60-something male Jordan or Brandon or Justin or Tyler or Kyle, as those names weren’t popular for babies 50 or 60 years ago. There are several websites where you can find the most popular baby names for any given year. Here’s a good one: http://www.sheknows.com/baby-names/rankings/yearly. Just type in the year to see a list of popular baby names for that year. For example, if your mail character is 52, here are some of the most popular names for boys in 1960: David, Michael, James, John, Robert, Mark, William, Richard, and Thomas. If you’ve got a 20-year old male, some of the most popular baby names for boys in 1992 were: Michael, Christopher, Andrew, Matthew, Joshua, Brandon, Tyler, Ryan, Zachary, Justin, and Kyle.

– From typing in the year of birth on the same website, here are some popular names for a 16-year-old girl, born in 1996: Jessica, Ashley, Taylor, Samantha, Alexis, Sarah, Megan, Amanda, and Stephanie. For your 25-year-old spunky, savvy heroine, some popular names for girls born in 1987 were: Jessica, Ashley, Amanda, Jennifer, Sarah, Stephanie, Brittany, Nicole, Megan, Melissa, and Danielle. For a 60-year-old woman, Linda, Patricia, Nancy, Karen, Barbara, Susan, Deborah, Carol, Sandra, Donna and Sharon were all very popular names in 1952. And an 80-year-old woman born in 1932 might be named Mary, Betty, Norma, Doris, Helen, Mildred, Dorothy, Joan, Ruth, Shirley, or Alice, among other possibilities.

– Don’t confuse your readers by naming different characters in the same story similar names, like two guys named “Jason” and “Jake”; or two women named “Eileen” and “Ellie.” In fact, it’s best to avoid using the same first letter for different characters’ names in the same book, or even similar internal sounds, like “Janice” and “Alice”; or “Helen” and “Elsie.” You can help the readers out even more by varying the number of syllables of your main characters’ names.

– Be flexible about the names you choose. As your story and characters develop, you may decide to rename some of them to suit new character traits they’ve taken on. Then you can just use your “Find and Replace” function to change the name throughout the whole manuscript in seconds.

– Finally, what about characters who are called different names by different people? That can get confusing for readers who are barreling along trying to keep up with your fast-paced plot. Suppose you have a female police officer named Caroline Hunter. The other officers call her “Hunter” at work, her friends call her “Caroline” and her family calls her “Carrie.” It would be unrealistic to have her friends and family call her “Hunter” just to help the readers out. So, as a reminder, be sure to throw in her full name from time to time, like during introductions or whatever. Also, if you start out a scene using “Hunter,” it’s best to avoid switching to “Caroline,” as the inattentive reader might suddenly wonder who this Caroline is who just walked in. Keep “Hunter” for that scene, with perhaps the occasional use of her full name. If she’s with her parents and sister, she’ll be “Carrie” but you could throw in the “Caroline” or “Hunter” somewhere, just as a reminder, like when she’s answering the phone, or when a neighbor kid addresses her mom as “Mrs. Hunter,” etc.

– Stumped for a name? Look through the phone book or name books, or Google “popular names in the 18^th century” or “popular Irish names” or whatever. As you’re searching, make lists of names and nicknames that appeal to you for future writing, under different categories, like “hero,” “heroine,” “male villain,” “female villain,” “best friend,” “minor tough guy,” etc.

What about you? Have you ever read a book where you thought the main character’s name was “off”? Or you got confused as to who was who?

Jodie Renner is a freelance editor specializing in thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries, and other crime fiction, as well as mainstream, YA and historical fiction. For more info on Jodie’s editing services, please visit her website.