Category: Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

All the links below, and over 15,000 others are found in the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by Mike Fleming—where you can search on any topic for free. Like us on Facebook or sign up for our free monthly newsletter for the web’s best links on writing.

Don’t’ forget the new release blogfest that Hart Johnson and I are hosting on June 5th—find more information and sign up here. The best entries get signed copies of our new releases!

Pew Research’s numbers on the rise of ereading: http://bit.ly/HZTdPy @Porter_Anderson @PewInternet

6 Core Storytelling Competencies: Good… Better… Best. http://bit.ly/Ho0oC5 @storyfix

How to successfully launch a YA print novel: http://bit.ly/Ho0OZk @laurapauling

Making a living as a writer–challenges: http://bit.ly/Ho1azf @rachellegardner

How To Get Book Reviews Without Spending (Too Much) Money: http://bit.ly/Ho1qhD @KenBrosky @thecreativepenn

Farther vs. Further: http://bit.ly/HruM8A @writing_tips

The Long Distance Landscape of a Writing Career: http://bit.ly/Ho1Jca @barbaraoneal

The Power of What If: http://bit.ly/Ho1Og8 @bookemdonna

Crime fiction–killers who don’t take responsibility: http://bit.ly/IGODXU @mkinberg

Amazon book reviews–democracy in action, ignorance, or bullying? http://bit.ly/Ho1YE9 @Bob_Mayer

7 Military Ranks Common in Popular Culture: http://bit.ly/Ho23Yx @writing_tips

There Are No Writers Without Readers: http://bit.ly/Ho27aE @JLeaLopez

The True Essence of Character: http://bit.ly/Ho2bHo @livewritethrive

Piracy and Rowling–a few questions: http://bit.ly/Hm2Msl @thefuturebook @agentpete

Important elements for a riveting story: http://bit.ly/Hm2TEi @PAShortt

Different types of paranormal elements in fiction: http://bit.ly/Hm38is @kaitnolan @nicolebasaraba

6 fiction writing tips when planning a novel: http://bit.ly/Hm3nKl @AdriennedeWolfe

The hybrid author: http://bit.ly/IgW5TU @eMergentPublish

The qualities and the effects of despair for writers: http://bit.ly/IgWhSS @sarahahoyt

Ebooks going global: http://bit.ly/Hm3Lsz @thefuturebook

Writers are doing everything backwards: http://bit.ly/IgWvtf @speechwriterguy

Kindle Fire & the Nook Tablet’s popularity prevents Android from real competition with the iPad: http://bit.ly/Hm4JF0 @PCMag

The Lady Or The Tiger – Publishing Choices: http://bit.ly/Hm5ldU @SusanSpann

Using archaeology and myth to unearth the stories of tomorrow–dead reckoning: http://bit.ly/IgYsWx @GeneLempp

Agent shopping while still under contract? http://bit.ly/IgYCxj @bookendsjessica

When Not to Tell Your Character’s Backstory: http://bit.ly/Hm63I0 @KMWeiland

Maps: Why to use them, and how to create them in Excel: http://bit.ly/Hm7tSY @juliettewade

Tips for crying characters: http://bit.ly/Hm8w56 @Artzicarol

Writing Fantasy Songs: Part 2: http://bit.ly/HZlcA4 @fantasyfaction

7 Reasons Your Muse Isn’t Talking to You: http://bit.ly/I4sJsQ @write_practice

Creativity is the Key Skill for the 21st Century: http://bit.ly/I4tfah @markbatey

Understanding Author Platform–All the World Wide Web’s a Stage: http://bit.ly/I4tnXu @kristenlambTX

3 Steps to Reading With Purpose: http://bit.ly/I4tsdu @diymfa

1 writer’s plotting process: http://bit.ly/I4tuSQ @beth_barany

Plotting and The Premise: http://bit.ly/I4twdx

Free Your Inner Process Slave: http://bit.ly/I4tRge @JulieAnnePeters

Blogging, Splogging, & Syndication: http://bit.ly/I4tVww @cherylrwrites

5 reasons to keep writing: http://bit.ly/I4tZfJ @jammer0501

Tips for dealing with backstory in your novel: http://bit.ly/HStgyT @Janice_hardy

Formatting tips for authors: http://bit.ly/HStnuh @curiosityquills

A closer look at first lines and what makes them work: http://bit.ly/HStt59

Writing Tools: Cool Finds: http://bit.ly/HStxC4 @cherylrwrites

How Amazon made self-pub cool: http://bit.ly/I8p9h5

Is Fan Fiction Ready to Go Mainstream Thanks to Fifty Shades of Grey? http://bit.ly/I8pgt8 @tordotcom

What’s the greater fear for publishers? Amazon or piracy? http://bit.ly/I8pqk6 @MikeShatzkin

Character Archetypes: http://bit.ly/I8puQM @woodwardkaren

Exploiting Our Brand: Is There a “Right” Way? http://bit.ly/HwEVF5 @jamigold

How to Create a Cover Photo for Your Facebook Timeline: http://bit.ly/HwEYAK @copyblogger

Amanda Hocking: ‘A lot of authors tend to over market’: http://bit.ly/I8pFvq @galleycat

Lost Sight of the Game? Find it Again. http://bit.ly/I8pKiN @victoriamixon

Open Letter to An Author: http://bit.ly/HwF7Er @kimthedork

Different types of editors and various editing responsibilities: http://bit.ly/I8q0yk

10 Misconceptions About Writing Books For Children: http://bit.ly/IbUNwK @writersdigest

How 1 writer failed his way into a book deal: http://bit.ly/HTPvod

Beware of name dropping: http://bit.ly/HTPDEc @behlerpublish

An explanation of the starbust method of writing: http://bit.ly/HTPRv0 @woodwardkaren

7 Reasons You May Be Losing International Readers: http://bit.ly/HTPUqQ @PYOEbooks

105 Author Blog Prompts: http://bit.ly/IrDS68 @duolit

Goals: Does Every Character Need the Same One? http://bit.ly/IrEpEX @Janice_Hardy

What to do if your book has been rejected by everyone: http://bit.ly/IAS4cl @greyhausagency

How to save your MS Word italics when formatting an ebook: http://bit.ly/IASqQ8 @howtowriteshop

Write truthfully in imaginary circumstances: http://bit.ly/IAT1Bz @NakedEditor

When Arguments Are a Good Thing: Conflict in Dialogue: http://bit.ly/IATcMY @KMWeiland

Too Many Subplots? 3 Tips for Cutting: http://bit.ly/IcfQjN @fictionnotes

When To Bring Backstory Out of the Shadows: http://bit.ly/IcgWvV @noveleditor

Sex in fantasy: http://bit.ly/HqWOS6 @fantasyfaction

Cover Art: Tips for the Do-It-Yourselfer: http://bit.ly/HqWYsQ @IndiaDrummond

Publishers Struggle with iBooks vs. App Problem: http://bit.ly/HqX97r @galleycat

Writers–Ditching the Dread…of Success: http://bit.ly/HqXfMp @RealLifeE

Different methods to apply discipline to your writing life: http://bit.ly/HqXy9P @bob_brooke

(A Writer’s) Age Is Just A Number: http://bit.ly/HqXI1a @mincontro

5 Classic Creative Challenges: http://bit.ly/HHtDtu @the99percent

19 Essential WordPress Plugins for Your Blog: http://bit.ly/HHtPJl @problogger

How to get ideas for stories – be gullible: http://bit.ly/HHu1bA @byrozmorris

The Secrets of Story Structure–The First Half of the Second Act: http://bit.ly/HHu5rK @KMWeiland

Tips for approaching a short story draft: http://bit.ly/HHucDI

Placement of cliffhangers: http://bit.ly/HHuoTm @glencstrathy

What 1 writer learned from writing a 2nd book: http://bit.ly/HHuHh0

Showing–and Telling–Emotion in Fiction: http://bit.ly/HHwsed

Write for Your Audience–Not Your English Teacher: http://bit.ly/HHwPWi @Eliz_Humphrey

Why We Should All Be Writing Short Fiction: http://bit.ly/HHxgjg @annerallen

How to Read a Book Contract – For Avoidance of Doubt: http://bit.ly/HHxEy6 @PassiveVoiceBlg

Are Short Story Openings Different From Novels? (A diagnosis of an opening): http://bit.ly/HEv6oC @Janice_Hardy

6 Ways Bloggers Can Avoid a Visit from The Grammar Police: http://bit.ly/HAG2Wr @writeitsideways @thecreativepenn

4 Key Elements Every Pitch Needs: http://bit.ly/HAG54I

8 Copyediting Tips For Writers: http://bit.ly/HAGsMF @BryanThomasS

Backstory Delayed Gratification: http://bit.ly/HAGELL @mooderino

Wandering eyes… and other body parts: http://bit.ly/HAGHaj

Writing is a Muscle, Flex it: http://bit.ly/Ih5dsQ @WordServeLit

Sonnet Building–Step 1= Ideas: http://bit.ly/Ih7bcB @AnnieNeugebauer

Writers should struggle against style: http://bit.ly/Ih7jc3

Writing for an Audience Can Be Dangerous: http://bit.ly/Ih7moc @livewritethrive

What 1 writer wishes she’d known before reading her first bad review: http://bit.ly/Ih7uEk @wisebird2009

Characterization & Location: What 1 Writer Learned Watching Reruns: http://bit.ly/Ih7zrI

5 Favorite Fonts with Hidden Type Ornaments: http://bit.ly/Ih7CUj @JFBookman

Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to a book-banning school board chairman: http://bit.ly/Ih7LqO @LettersOfNote

How do you keep elements fresh in your fiction? 1 writer uses her hometown for inspiration: http://exm.nr/I5Dtbi @cleocoyle

Everything you need to know about the e-book lawsuit: http://bit.ly/HO3Ccg @LauraHazardOwen

Women’s fiction–poor packaging leads to the genre’s devaluation? http://bit.ly/HO55zd @porter_anderson @MegWolitzer @ruth_franklin

The monsters we create–agency pricing: http://bit.ly/HOatCi @Porter_Anderson @ljndawson @jeffjohnroberts

Elves In Mythology and Fantasy: http://bit.ly/HEjBwf @fantasyfaction

Ways to be a More Productive Writer: http://bit.ly/HEjLnh @janice_hardy

Tips for writing back cover copy: http://bit.ly/HEk956 @SharlaWrites

Emotion Sells Books: http://bit.ly/IqQ8YV @AdriennedeWolfe

Agents and queries: compiled DOs: http://bit.ly/HiMY42 @rebeccaberto

How to Make Your Readers Believe Anything: http://bit.ly/HEklBv @ava_jae

Distinguishing between Plot and Premise: http://bit.ly/J0F5AR

Are More Authors Than You Think Making a Living Self-Publishing? http://bit.ly/J0FJOQ @goblinwriter

Facing a Critique or Editorial Letter: 2 Destructive Attitudes: http://bit.ly/J0FRxN @fictionnotes

When to hit send? http://bit.ly/J0G1Fx

How Copyright Protection Makes Books Vanish: http://bit.ly/J0Gk38 @passivevoiceblg

Ideas for YA author visits: http://bit.ly/J0GYO0

1 writer’s draft system: http://bit.ly/J0H8Vv @JillKemerer

Is There Such a Thing as an American Novel? http://bit.ly/J0HDiu @EddMcCracken

Write What You Don’t Know: http://bit.ly/J0HRGh @jaelmchenry

Writers and taxes: http://bit.ly/IA6X2I @rachellegardner

3 Things to Know About Exposition & Telling: http://bit.ly/IA76TM @victoriamixon

8 Things 1 Writer Learned About Public Reading from Playing Violin: http://bit.ly/HFqbEm @diymfa

1 self-published writer shares his March sales results: http://bit.ly/HFqjnl @davidgaughran

Self-Publishers: Don’t Think Content, Think Problem-Solving: http://bit.ly/HTkrpu @jfbookman

French Editor’s Jump to Agenting “Akin to Treachery”: http://bit.ly/HTkwcZ @pubperspectives

Support Other Writers: 10 Great Ways: http://bit.ly/HTkxO7 @cherylrwrites

E-Book Formatting For Beginners: http://bit.ly/HTkFx1 @talliroland

5 Principles for Using Facebook: http://bit.ly/HTkNMU @janefriedman

Coincidence Is Part Of Storytelling: http://bit.ly/HTkSjH @mooderino

Writing Animal Fantasy: http://bit.ly/Ib1T3e @janice_hardy

3 Reminders about eBooks Versus Paper Books: http://bit.ly/Ib1VZ9 @jodyhedlund

Is making books social a good thing or a bad thing? http://bit.ly/HHHvdX @mathewi

Mixing the 36 Dramatic Situations to Create Something Fresh: http://bit.ly/HHHA1k @4kidlit

The authorial smirk: http://bit.ly/HHHJ4G @sarahahoyt

7 Similar but Distinct Word Pairs: http://bit.ly/HHHKpg @writing_tips

The 7 virtues: http://bit.ly/HHHO8w @mistymassey

The Headline Breath Test: http://bit.ly/HHHTJw

Should I Add [fill in the blank] To My Story? http://bit.ly/HHIgUn @greyhausagency

9 ways to use Meetup.com in a publicity campaign: http://bit.ly/HHJ2ki @PublicityHound

2 Hours to Write (And Why it Works): http://bit.ly/IRYCEl @serbaughman

Teacher’s Guide for your Children’s Books: http://bit.ly/HHJcIl

Using setting to create mood: http://bit.ly/IRZ6tY

Making Readers Turn the Page: http://bit.ly/HHJm2n @novelrocket

The Action / Tension / Emotion Ratio: http://bit.ly/HHJqiy @michellediener

Another reason why experience is important for writers: http://bit.ly/HHJuix

The Funds for Writers resource of grants, markets, and contest listings for writers: http://bit.ly/HHJAGO @hopeclark

This week’s Writing on the Ether from @Porter_Anderson features @ljndawson @mathewi @draccah @MegWolitzer @nickbilton: http://bit.ly/HHKfrT

For literary inspiration follow @AdviceToWriters. Jon Winokur dispenses writerly wisdom of the ages.

Add the Writer’s Knowledge Base as a search engine in all browsers: http://bit.ly/xQl51h

A useful resource for describing settings, emotions, shapes, textures, and more: http://bit.ly/eIGRMO @AngelaAckerman

Have a great week!

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve got an extra post for y’all this week—a slightly different one than usual, since I’m profiling a particular writer. I wanted to mention both a resource for writers and a recently released novel by the author behind the resource.

C. Hope Clark has been editing the award-winning Funds for Writers website for years, listing grants, contests, and markets for writers. She sends out an informative free newsletter with featured writing opportunities (there’s also a larger version that’s a paid subscription).

Hope’s blog is also a great resource for writers.

If you’re considering freelancing for a living or looking for ways to make extra income as a writer, consider visiting Hope’s site for leads.

I’ve met Hope in person (she’s a fellow Carolinian) at at least one conference and found her just as organized and informed as she seems on her blog.

I also recently had the opportunity to read Hope’s new release, a fast- paced mystery, Lowcountry Bribe.

The protagonist, Carolina Slade, is a civil servant for the Department of Agriculture and makes loans to farmers for a living. This somewhat dry, bureaucratic job suddenly becomes more interesting when a hog farmer client offers her a bribe. When she reports his actions to her superiors, she’s shocked when the Feds become involved.

We learn that the Department of Agriculture office has recently had both a suspicious death and a disappearance. As the Feds set up a sting to arrest the corrupt farmer, Slade realizes that the investigators aren’t giving her the whole story on their interest in her office and the bribe. And now there are threats to both her own life, and her children’s.

Hope’s love for the region is evident in her loving and accurate portrayal of Southern life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Her own background in agriculture lends the story real authenticity.

I thought her characters were deftly drawn, particularly her strong protagonist. And I also enjoyed the humor and lighter moments in the book—it’s tough to juggle both action and humor, but Hope did it well.

Now it’s your turn. Read any good mysteries lately? Located any great sites or resources for writers?

FTC Full Disclosure – The author sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it. This didn’t influence my review.

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I spent the other morning at the DMV. The DMV, for my non-US readers, is the Department of Motor Vehicles. It’s one of those dreaded places here in the States—full of high counters and long lines.

My son was with me to get his driving permit. We’d arrived 45 minutes before the office opened and were already 5th in line. By the time it opened, the line wrapped around the corner of the squatty government building. It was freezing outside—a shock after such a balmy winte–and my son and I were moving around, swinging our arms, as we waited. His bouncing was probably nerves and mine was a futile attempt to keep warm.

We finally navigated through the different stations after a bad moment where we’d sat in “the wrong set of chairs” for what we were in line for. The DMV has always reminded me a little of Dickens’ Circumlocution Office. We quickly sat in the right set of chairs and my son took his test.

And, thankfully, passed it. But he wasn’t completely satisfied because he’d missed several questions and he’s a typical Type-A firstborn.

“Mom, I missed the stupidest questions!”

“I’m sure they weren’t stupid.”

“They were. One of them asked when roads are the slickest. I chose ‘after three hours of raining’ because of all the cars that hydroplane—the roads have got to be really slick then. But they said the right answer was ‘within the first 15 minutes of raining’,” he said.

“Ohh. Well, yes. They’re right. That’s because the oil rises up to the road surface and you skid on all the old oil puddles on the road,” I explained.

This didn’t cheer him up. “See! Even you knew it and you haven’t even studied the book.”

“But I’ve been driving for 26 years. I know it completely through experience.”

I think that’s one thing that sometimes gets missed when writers recommend frequent writing as a way to improve. What tends to get mentioned is the skill you acquire.

What I think practice and experience gets you are personal strategies for advancing a story and the confidence to complete one.

If you hit a roadblock, you’ll know the best way for you to handle it. For me, that means marking the scene with asterisks and coming back to it later.

You’ll know what to do when you’re stuck on a scene and you aren’t in the right mind-frame to write it. For me, this means skipping the scene and writing another one that’s better suited to my mood.

You’ll find the easiest method for you, yourself, to write a book…you’ll learn if you should outline, wing it, write in the mornings, write in the evenings, write during your commute. You’ll learn shortcuts, your strengths and your weaknesses. You’ll learn how to keep yourself motivated.

You’ll gain confidence that you can finish a book, submit it, and stomach the reviews, good or bad.

Experience is the only way to figure out what works best for us. It’s the only way to know how to make it through the obstacle course that each book presents. It’s the only way to deal with the end result of being published and having that book in the hands of the readers.

You can read manuals on driving and manuals on writing. But experience counts more. (And, I’d add, experience reading the genre that you write.)

It’s true that our writing improves each time we sit down to write and with each book that we finish. I know my books have stronger verbs, better dialogue, rounder characters, and more literary elements than they did when I started out.

That improvement is more intangible and murky, though, unless it’s directly compared side by side with other examples of my writing. What motivates me, usually, are tangible results. Motivation is a stack of finished books and my level of confidence— things I can easily see, easily feel.

It’s the knowledge of what to do at an intersection full of oil slicks when it starts to rain.

What does your regular writing habit help you gain?

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

My last post was about my layering approach to writing books, and I got a question from a blog reader about how to create subplots and then how to weave the subplot layer into a finished draft.

Subplots are sometimes my favorite part of a book. In fact, occasionally the main plot of a novel will leave me cold as a reader and I’ll flip ahead in the book just to find out how the subplot ends up.

My subplots are almost always humor-based and end up tying into the book’s ending. Your subplot could involve a budding romance, or the protagonist’s teenager’s gradual descent into drug use…really, any plot smaller than the main one that can enhance the main plot (through conflict or character development or by adding complications) in some way.

*****Since I don’t like to write spoilers for anyone else’s books, I’ll do a couple for mine (in books that are older releases) as examples… they’re minor spoilers. But heads up if you’re one of my readers!*****

What I do is come up with complete, small episodes…almost short stories. Then I create scenes with each installment of the subplot story, to create what will end up being a running serial throughout the main plot. For me, it could even be on the level of a running joke that suddenly has more significance at the end of the book.

Most of my books have more than one subplot. The subplots vary in length and complexity. I’ll use two for examples…a very short one and a longer one.

One of my subplots involved two men who were friends with each other and also friends with my sleuth. One of the men was bragging about a prized bottle of expensive and rare wine that he’d acquired. The other man kept dropping hints or outright begging to come over and share a glass of this wine. He found opportunities to celebrate and eagerly asked his friend if he’d open the bottle. But the friend always refused.

I started this subplot fairly early in the book—and dropped in the dialogue mentioning it following a regular scene in the book. So I had a first mention of the subplot with the man bragging about the wine. Then I continued with it at intervals throughout the story….again, each mention was like a mini-episode or the next installment of the mini-serial. So I wrote in a couple of other mentions, escalating the friend’s frustration and his requests to participate in a wine tasting.

Then, at the end of the book, I had the friend completely give up on the chance that he’d ever sample the wine. He decides to go to the wine store and purchase a bottle himself. On the way back with the wine, he comes across the sleuth in a perilous situation near the wine store, and drops the bottle to come to her aid.

This is really, the briefest of subplots. It adds a little humor to the story when things get serious with the murders. It gives the opportunity for bits of character development as my protagonist reacts to the friends’ battle over the wine. It gives a change of pace. And then the subplot makes a surprise appearance again at the end of the story and lends a feeling of continuity and completion at the finish.

Another subplot I wrote into a different series was a little longer and a bit more involved. My protagonist for that series, Myrtle, is a crotchety elderly woman who has a reputation for being prickly. A feral cat takes up with her and she genuinely becomes charmed with it…although the cat attacks visitors to her home. She admires its toughness.

Again, I wrote the subplot straight through on a separate document—the whole story of the subplot in episodes. Then I wove those little episodic scenes into the main plot and tied it into the ending.

Throughout the story the subplot developed: Myrtle becomes acquainted with the cat, the cat acts out with various visitors to the home. The cat develops a true fondness for Myrtle and decides to bring her gifts—sometimes gifts that aren’t dead. Myrtle receives bunnies and other creatures from her determined cat friend. I interspersed these episodes throughout the book. This particular subplot helped develop Myrtle as a character—and showed another, softer, side to her.

At the end, when Myrtle is confronted by the killer, a separate subplot comes back into play (Myrtle’s horrible cooking that plagues the series) which leads into the cat’s intrusion during Myrtle’s confrontation with the murderer….which creates enough of a distraction for Myrtle to take control of the situation.

So….that’s it in a nutshell. I do want my subplots to end up impacting the main plot, develop my characters a bit, and relieve tension in my books. I write them as complete stories, then chop them up into scenes and intersperse them through the main story. Then I tie the subplot into the ending of my book (which also helps me with writing endings…never my favorite thing to write.)

Hope this helps instead of being completely confusing. Now it’s your turn—how do you write in subplot layers to your book? I’d love to hear some other ideas (especially since, when I find something that works for me, I stop thinking of other approaches!)

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Recently I was at an event where I spoke with aspiring authors after my talk.

They asked about the number of books I’d written, then they looked both amazed and discouraged at the same time. “How do you get through a book? There’s just so much to think about when you’re writing.”

I told them that I try not to think about the big picture (plowing through 275 pages, editing it, submitting it to my editor, and worried waiting for reviews) as much as possible. It just makes me feel overwhelmed. If I approach the book as simply advancing the story a day at a time (with an idea of where I’m heading and keeping in mind what readers might enjoy most), then it seems like a much smaller project.

Another trick is that I’m not trying to keep everything in mind as I’m writing a book (except reader enjoyment.) I love reading books about writing, magazine articles on writing, and blog posts on writing, but I can’t focus on character arc, story structure, engaging descriptions, and all the other elements that these resources recommend for a good story.

I use layering and lists as tools to make sure I round out my story later. I write my books straight through (without pausing for chapter breaks) and end up with about 55,000 words. This is the bare-bones story. Then I start layering in other elements. This is what I’m doing right now to put the finishing touches on a book I’m turning in at the end of this month.

Layers

Parts of the book that I add in layers for 2nd and 3rd drafts:

• Setting descriptions
• Character descriptions
• Character last names and place names (I’ll mark as *** on the draft so I can find my spots later.)
• Any scenes I was stuck on. I just make a couple of notes about what I wanted to accomplish with the scene and move on to the next scene.
• Subplots can be included perfectly as a separate layer. In fact, it’s almost easier that way because you can just gradually weave them in to the story that’s already on the page.

I do the same thing with revising. If you think to yourself that you’re editing a whole book, the thought of it can be just as overwhelming as writing the book was.

These are issues that I address in layers for the revision (and for a longer list of things I look for during revision, click this post)

• Typos/grammar
• Crutch words that I use too frequently
• Conflict—I make a pass through to make sure each scene either forwards the plot or adds to the conflict
• Continuity (is the character wearing the same outfit on page 20 that she’s wearing on page 21?)
• Subplots—did they resolve? Did they tie into the main plot?
• Loose ends—is everything resolved at the end of the book?

Lists

Somehow, it’s easier for me to come up with lots of different ideas if I make them into bullet points and put them in list form. These lists could include:

My protagonist’s catch-phrases.
My protagonist’s features. Different physical traits of my protagonist.
My protagonist’s facial expressions.
*5 possible endings for this book.
*5 twists.
*5 possible subplots.
*5 ways the subplots could tie into the main plot.
Or you could do it for character growth:
*5 ways the character could grow.
*5 surprising things that we could learn about a character.
*Top 10 list of things that bother the protagonist (then 10 things that would drive the character crazy that I could write into the book.)
*10 things this character loves more than anything.
You could find other uses for lists, too:
*5 ways to add some unexpected elements to the book (humor, suspense, sadness, fear.)
*5 ways to describe the setting.

The best results are woven into the story or used to inspire dialogue that develops my characters more.

These are the tools I use for every book to make sure that I keep things fresh and keep from feeling overwhelmed. How do you keep focused and keep moving ahead with your story?