Category: Uncategorized

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

On Sunday, my daughter and I took advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk at the park.

It was like a hundred other walks at the park that we’ve taken over the years. Sunny and warm. There were lots of people and dogs walking. The birds were chirping loudly, since it’s a protected habitat there. And my daughter wanted to play Poohsticks on the bridge for the eleventy-bazillionth time.

It was all very peaceful…and unremarkable. My daughter and I stood on the small bridge and waited to see which of the two sticks she threw into the fast-moving creek would come out quicker on the other side.

Then I saw him. A Mr. No-Shoulders, as my mother would call him. A snake, sunning himself on a rock.

Now, snakes in the Southern US are not remarkable. They’re everywhere. And this winter they really didn’t hibernate since it never really got cold. There are probably a ton of sleep-deprived, grumpy snakes around North Carolina right now.

But snakes usually wisely avoid Southerners. They don’t want to see us and we don’t particularly want to see them.

And this snake was watching my daughter and me closely, suspiciously. It was pretty in the sun, actually. Until it quickly leaped into the water to get away from us.

We continued on our walk…until we saw another snake sunning itself. I took a picture of one of the snakes (above) and didn’t have a chance to ask my Scout son or outdoorsy husband what type it was. Water moccasin? Cottonmouth? Copperhead? Who knows?

I’m never a fan of writing setting. It’s the kind of stuff that I skip over as a reader—unless there’s a remarkable detail that makes me interested. If a snake intrudes on a normal, everyday walk at the park, I’m more interested. If the setting is atmospheric, if I feel the setting is setting a mood, if the setting is viewed through the eyes of a character and gives me more character insight….then I don’t skip it.

How about you? How do you set apart your settings to make them pop and tie them into the story or indicate something interesting about your characters? Do you enjoy reading and writing setting?

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Tonight I’m speaking with the creative writing students at my alma mater, Presbyterian College in SC. It’s a great liberal arts school with a strong English department.

I’ll be giving a reading (a short one, since I have little faith in my ability to be entertaining) and then talking a little about the writing business before taking questions.

And I’m planning on spreading the exciting news about being a 21st century writer—that it’s the best time ever to be a writer.

I’m never sure if that message is getting out to writers, unless they’re plugged into the online writing community. The talk of bankrupt book chains, struggling independent bookstores, and decreasing advances from traditional publishers might be eclipsing that message.

Ultimately, writers have got a new gateway—directly from us to our reader.

Why this is exciting:

We have choices. We can choose to follow the traditional publishing route of finding an agent and then a publisher. Or we can hone our work, get our manuscript professionally edited, formatted, and designed and self-publish our books. Or we can do both (I’m taking the hybrid approach, myself.)

We can develop a niche readership. Let’s say that you are completely engulfed in working on projects that feature your favorite things—horror and marine biology. Before, if your idea wasn’t commercial enough to get the strong sales needed for a slot on the bookstore shelves, then there was no hope for you. You could either publish the book yourself (with a great deal of expense and poor distribution) or else you could just share the story among your friends and family.

Now you can self-publish it…but for very little expense, compared to the old days. And your distribution is online—it has the potential of reaching millions, worldwide. In that group of millions is your niche reader…the ones who are also obsessed with horror and marine biology. The challenge for you is to get the word out to these readers, in an un-obnoxious way, that your book exists.

We can explore different genres. In the pre-ebook days, if you’d made a good name for yourself in one genre, it was pretty difficult to make the leap to another one. Some agents only represent one type of book. So, if you were a fantasy writer who wanted to write thrillers, your agent might not represent thrillers. You’d have to find another agent….by again going through the query process. And then you’d have to basically start from scratch to find a publisher.

Now, if you can write it, you can publish it. (It still might be wise to use a pen name if your name is particularly associated with a particular genre…that way you’re not confusing your readers. You can still always give them the chance to read your other books by telling them you’re writing another genre under a pseudonym.)

We can explore formats. Do we feel like experimenting with short stories or poetry? Previously, if we wanted to reach readers with those formats…well, it was going to be a long-shot. We’d be trying to get inclusion in anthologies, or literary magazines or publishers who put out chapbooks. There was a strong possibility that the stories or poetry would never find an audience, never get reviewed, never inspire, never receive feedback.

Now we can sell short stories or serials or poetry, ourselves. We can price them as a collection or price them as singles. We can even sell them at a low price as a loss leader to gain visibility for our other, full-priced work. We can experiment.

We can have complete creative control. Now, admittedly, this is a scary area sometimes. And I’m one who previously just wanted to write the stories and promote them and not have to think about formatting or covers or design.

Now, though, we can expand our thinking into other channels. We can envision what we’d like our cover to look like and the kinds of readers that we’d like to appeal to with them. We can set a tone. And, importantly, we can outsource these tasks to experts and have them complete our vision of our book. If that vision proves not to connect with the readers…well, we can change it. That’s amazing, in itself.

We can put our books in readers’ hands faster—keeping series continuity and making our connection with readers stronger. Traditional publishing takes a while. When I hand in a manuscript, it’s a full 12 months before that book gets to the reader. Now, after I write a book and edit it, I send it to professional editors and cover designers and then to my reader. It takes about 1-2 months after I turn over my manuscript.

What do you look forward to most as a writer these days? How are you enjoying our new freedom? Does it still seem scary, or is it becoming exhilarating?

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Below are the writing-related links I tweeted last week.

The free Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine, designed by software engineer and writer Mike Fleming, makes all these links (now over 14,000) searchable. The WKB recently celebrated its one-year anniversary.

Sign up for the free monthly WKB newsletter for the web’s best links and interviews: http://bit.ly/gx7hg1

Top Ten Pacing Tips: http://bit.ly/x3MR7a @aliciarasley

How to Resurrect a Stalled Manuscript: http://bit.ly/yBACsY

Getting the bookstores stocked for your signing: http://bit.ly/w81T2z @behlerpublish

Accenting passages: http://bit.ly/wCj6uH @LiteraryLab

Break down your story into a logline: http://bit.ly/AuxO0l @Gary_Fearon_

QR Code Fiction Series Seeks Stories: http://bit.ly/zOAd1T @ebooknewser

Sympathetic Characters: http://bit.ly/vZOf50

What 1 writer learned & the mistakes she made when epublishing: http://bit.ly/wepLtN @rachel_abbott

Science Fiction eBook Market Under the Microscope: http://bit.ly/w3D6S4 @KOMcLaughlin

Self-esteem & your online presence: http://bit.ly/zCPRrU @gripemaster

Top 5 Fake Bookish Twitter Feeds 1 Editor Wishes Existed: http://bit.ly/ztueMR @NewDorkReview

Article Writing 101: http://bit.ly/wQkE6G @juliemusil

An editor explains the different types of editing & how writers could improve their books: http://bit.ly/xWkXXR @TheresaStevens

The gift of music breathes life into stories: http://bit.ly/wtrkS2 @KMWeiland for @byRozMorris

Types of Numerical Terms: http://bit.ly/AAd5SH @writing_tips

Your Email Might Be Somebody’s Last Straw: http://bit.ly/xbTOhW @rachellegardner

1 Writer Believes Amazon’s KDP Select Is God’s Gift to Authors: http://bit.ly/xiQBz4 @TweetTheBook for @thecreativepenn

Formatting your book with OpenOffice: http://bit.ly/ApcaZ9 @selfpubreview

How to Use Archetypes in Literature When Creating Characters for Your Novel: http://bit.ly/ztdU8X @writersdigest

A look at romance writing and romance subgenres: http://bit.ly/wT1svp @roniloren for @nicolebasaraba

7 Ways to Brainstorm the Best Title for Your Book: http://bit.ly/w8TRvO @beth_barany

Writers cons–editor and agent appointments: http://bit.ly/xz9oys @bob_mayer

The Tech-Empowered Writer (AWP Panel Resources): http://bit.ly/y7fuE4 @janefriedman

5 Steps to Write an Ending: http://bit.ly/w21Tl4

With KDP Select, Amazon Gains Authors’ Exclusivity—Cheap: http://bit.ly/zG4PMb @laurahazardowen

Quick Mind Tricks for More Productivity: http://bit.ly/zdcyld @RealLifeE

Solidifying Scene Structure: http://bit.ly/zBPCWU @Mommy_Authors

How to Write an Effective Email Pitch: http://bit.ly/ySqpWp @alexisgrant

Script frenzy in April: http://bit.ly/xFhh63

How To Spot A Reader: http://bit.ly/xTtUCp @BookishWallace

Let go of the glass slipper dreams: http://bit.ly/xzcIYG @sarahahoyt

When Your Backstory Becomes Your Story: http://bit.ly/xpFLvw @KMWeiland

Dragging historical figures into the 21st century: http://bit.ly/yKHHUv @annerooney for @history_girls

Alliteration in picture books: http://bit.ly/yDgpPk @Kid_Lit

True Colors: Using Color Theory to Boost Your Writing: http://bit.ly/wKgUik @DiyMfa

7 tips for beginning a romance novel: http://bit.ly/wwhfxM @ruthieknox

Misadventures in publishing: http://bit.ly/x0fq9T

Brushing up on irony: http://bit.ly/zSPabF @readingape

Editing Tips–Tightening Scenes: http://bit.ly/xDS5EB @jamigold

Outline Failure: http://bit.ly/wRywfA @fantasyfaction

Tips for Inventing Names: http://bit.ly/yS5t4m @writing_tips

Do Writers Get Better the Longer They Write? http://bit.ly/xa4DNp @jodyhedlund

Writing Job Listing: Is It Legitimate or a Scam? http://bit.ly/xdnveX @luannschindler

Creativity Blocked? A Solution: http://bit.ly/AamTmh

Can Blogging Help Your Writing Process? http://bit.ly/A0C9Or @jhansenwrites

Powerful Dialog: Shorter Is Often Sweeter: http://bit.ly/yzCAIV

Target audience–what it means and tips for finding yours: http://bit.ly/xqRP33 @mjcache

Commonly Misused Words: http://bit.ly/ySm8kc @lynnettelabelle

Procrastination Tools for Writers #1: Recycling Your Old Manuscripts: http://bit.ly/yPZZU8 @JoWyton

An editor warns against arguing with a rejection letter: http://bit.ly/zoGpIg @behlerpublish

12 Dos and Don’ts of Blogging: http://bit.ly/ychuxj @writersdigest

How to Give a Character a Personality: http://bit.ly/yA6hM6

Structure for screenwriters: http://bit.ly/zEOvmL @jacobkrueger

Stay Independent or Sign on with a Publisher? http://bit.ly/xUMhZq @goblinwriter

Branding: Where Marketing and Writing Become Friends: http://bit.ly/ysiiO1 @JFBookman

Getting an agent – Mortal Kombat style: http://bit.ly/zQql2f @emlynchand

Tips for Turning Online Procrastination Time into Writing Research Time: http://bit.ly/zlRInS @lbgale

5 Tips for Publishing Ebooks: http://bit.ly/wLDhVR @FictionNotes

The Eightfold Way: The 8 Basic Don’ts for Novel Writers: http://bit.ly/ze5HYy @Bookgal

Digital Self-Publishing: Should Publishers Be Worried? http://bit.ly/yHXkPz @TheAtlantic

50 ways to get more people to like your Facebook page: http://bit.ly/AgQwuY @FacebookFlow

Rules vs. Practice—Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammar: http://bit.ly/wJMrNU @noveleditor

Creativity Is More Like Expertise Than Intelligence: http://bit.ly/z1FjtU

The Unexpected Ending: http://bit.ly/zu6nyi @dpeterfreund

An agent says that writers can’t buy quality writing: http://bit.ly/wXRVPX @greyhausagency

When Nostalgia Gets in The Way of Your Writing Career: http://bit.ly/xWXD3A @Margo_L_Dill

Writers and Charlie Bucket Syndrome: http://bit.ly/zIC7s7 @BooksAreMyBFs

45 Synonyms for “Food”: http://bit.ly/x9Te3B

Protecting our writing time: http://bit.ly/zNnzw4

The 7 Worst Mistakes Of Indie Authors And How To Fix Them: http://bit.ly/zvmOYL @thecreativepenn

A refresher on infinitives: http://bit.ly/wAuTD8 @heidiwriter

Transitions & Seeding – Essentials For Plausibility: http://bit.ly/zduYtx @BryanThomasS

Worldbuilding with horses–horses in space: http://bit.ly/A2glUu

7 Tips for Self-Editing Your Novel: http://bit.ly/zCvURw @MelissaKNorris

Establishing Style: http://bit.ly/wCFSba @Ravenrequiem13

Tips for writing a synopsis: http://bit.ly/wMPXky @writersherry

Writing multiple books a year–in less time than you think: http://bit.ly/yMFxwf

Can you get away with starting a book with a dream sequence? http://bit.ly/zAQ8sJ @Janice_Hardy

How to Think Like an Editor: http://bit.ly/zmJcer

Thoughts on writing evil characters: http://bit.ly/A7MvOV @sarahahoyt

A look at subplots: http://bit.ly/wqa7Ak @TheresaStevens

Anchor Scenes for Story Structure: http://bit.ly/yUXqlE @WriteAngleBlog

An agent on 13 things writers should know about Pinterest: http://bit.ly/z4nDeN @rachellegardner

Gradable words: http://bit.ly/wfhwOt @writing_tips

25 Inspiration Sources for the Discouraged Writer: http://bit.ly/yo7k8w @cherylrwrites

Author Blogging 101: The Power of Viewpoint: http://bit.ly/z9vcyH @jfbookman

5 things about traditional publishing that surprised 1 writer: http://bit.ly/xbyQxo

Turning your author website into a store: http://bit.ly/zGloxu @JenTalty

How reading fairy tales can help us with our writing: http://bit.ly/yMaFqA @rebeccaberto

On The Road: How To Produce Great Work While Traveling The World: http://bit.ly/yOe0Pa @jacobmcook

5 tips for building popularity–not just followers–on Twitter: http://bit.ly/xruil7

Eventually You’ll Care Less (…and that’s a good thing!): http://bit.ly/woot6I @SaundraMitchell

6 Reasons Authors Should Love Facebook’s Timeline: http://bit.ly/yvkTBW @marcykennedy

Never Run Out of Blog Topics: http://bit.ly/z635es @MariaZannini

Flip the Script: Tell, Don’t Show: http://bit.ly/ykWoKZ

Fire Your Muse: http://bit.ly/yyqwSY @jillkemerer

How 1 writer decides when to be part of an anthology: http://bit.ly/wHnDLD

If the coffeehouse is losing its appeal, remember your library: http://bit.ly/xrQbvj @fuelyourwriting

The Big 6 and Agency Pricing: http://bit.ly/xdx6bE @Porter_Anderson

The controversy over 4G human hotspots: http://bit.ly/yiUFfd @Porter_Anderson

Amazon singles–the sales figures: http://bit.ly/x1xa52 @Porter_Anderson

Tips for developing your short story into a novel: http://bit.ly/wHWLY3

5 eBook Publishing Experts To Watch: http://bit.ly/xrqnr2 @ebooknewser

Crafting Memorable Scenes in Fiction: http://bit.ly/zeEcjs @4kidlit

Why the Video Game Industry Needs Writers: http://bit.ly/w3AOcu @jasonboog

Failure–The Key Ingredient to the Successful Writing Career: http://bit.ly/AjYy3F @kristenlambTX

How to Climb Out Of Your Blogging Slump: http://bit.ly/z9crTS

How to speak publisher – D is for double-page spread: http://bit.ly/y7tsHL @annerooney

How to Pin Quotes on Pinterest: http://bit.ly/wXbJrL @galleycat

Entertainment vs. Truth: http://bit.ly/yIwrHM

Thoughts on writing strong female protagonists: http://bit.ly/zCsTxG @VioletteMalan

Meaningless motivations: http://bit.ly/xES6NM

A Quiz About Tactical Syntactical Revision: http://bit.ly/wzbsbq

8 things writers should know about Goodreads: http://bit.ly/FOacSQ @rachellegardner

Tips for writing historical fiction: http://bit.ly/xzmNlb @sanjidaoconnell

Are Your Promo Efforts Unique? Or Do You Blend In? http://bit.ly/z9BlOI @jodyhedlund

15 common grammar goofs: http://bit.ly/wTPgiB @copyblogger

Tips for moderating panels: http://bit.ly/FOarx6 @mistymassey

When Does Fan Fiction Cross an Ethical Line? http://bit.ly/zpYjmU @jamigold

Article Writing 101 (Part 2–Organization, Writing, & Markets): http://bit.ly/Ax9UuJ @juliemusil

Tips for creating interesting characters: http://bit.ly/zlqfYn

Are most agents qualified to negotiate contracts with publishers? : http://bit.ly/FObwoy @PassiveVoiceBlg

How to End a Novel With a Punch: http://bit.ly/xtqTSK

Diversity in writing: http://bit.ly/yPwAhW @YaHighway

10 Favorite Fictional Archers: http://bit.ly/FObVrc @tordotcom

Getting the ugly out: http://bit.ly/wFPzi6 @bookemdonna

3 ways your values can help you write your book: http://bit.ly/FOc2D9 @originalimpulse

The Average Book Has 64,500 Words: http://bit.ly/FQ92BI @PWxyz

Transitions – linking forward through the story: http://bit.ly/FQ9kIW @juliettewade

The secret of epub success: http://bit.ly/FQ9u2T @bob_mayer

How to Use Your Blog to Sell More Books: http://bit.ly/FQ9vnr @goblinwriter

Adding sensory details to our stories: http://bit.ly/FQ9U9q

Finding an Agent–Why You Can’t Always Trust the Source: http://bit.ly/FQ9XSR @victoriastrauss

A guide to the Christian publishing market: http://bit.ly/FQafJp @rachellegardner

How Your Reading Material Can Influence Your Writing: http://bit.ly/FQaeFc

Tips for writing with vivid detail: http://bit.ly/FQanbP

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

After my post Wednesday on writing multiple books a year, I got some questions on Twitter and via email about my editing approach. I thought I’d tackle that topic today.

First off, I want to stress that—like writing—not every editing method works out best for every writer.

This is my method and I’m probably fast at it because 1) I’ve practiced it a lot 2) I note all editorial feedback and use it for future books 3) I read quickly 4) I make quick decisions on my manuscript’s changes.

I just finished a book on Wednesday and this is the process I’ll use to edit the book:

I read the book from start to finish. As I’m reading, I put in chapter breaks (I don’t put in chapter breaks as I draft the book.)

During my first read-through I fix easy errors like typos or poor word choice. I make sure there’s variety in my sentence structure, I add strong verbs…I basically work to make the book better on a very basic level.

I also turn on Word’s Track Changes and use their comment feature to make notes to myself. I make comments in the margins character description, setting details, character motivation, etc. That way I can go back and layer in those changes when I’m done reading through the book.

I make a pass for continuity errors, which are very frequent errors of mine, since I write in short chunks of time without looking at the previous day’s writing. During this pass, I’ll also make sure my scene transitions are smooth and that story elements are consistent.

This time I’m also going to make a special pass for echoes—unintentional word repetition. I always do a search for my favorite overused words/crutch words (just, nodded, sighed), but this will be a new pass for a related area since my last manuscript had a lot of echoes in it.

I’ll make a pass for pace (this includes looking for conflict) and strong characterization. Is the story moving along at a fast enough clip? Are there boring parts? Do my characters pop? Are there weak characters who need additional fluffing up? I’ll also eliminate some of my weak word choices (little, very, so, really, some, seem, maybe) and some filter words (to provide a deeper POV).

Because the timeline is so crucial to mysteries, I’ll have a pass where I chart out suspect timelines and make sure my sleuth knew what she knew when she knew it. While I’m doing this, I make sure the solution makes sense and there were enough clues for the reader to reach the same conclusion my sleuth did. I also look for any potential plot holes during this timeline pass.

I go through and address the problems/issues that I found.

Then I read it through again to get the big picture view. And I make sure the subplots and main plot wrap up at the end. When I find more problems, I address those as I go.

Then usually I’ll read it through again, quickly, and frequently aloud. And I make the corrections that my first reader (thanks, Mama) finds. And read it through again (yes, by this time I’m heartily sick of the book).

I can do this all in about a week. It’s a different process than the creative process, so I can write at the same time and not feel any sense of burnout.

Then I immediately hand it all over to qualified professionals. :) In the case of my Memphis Barbeque mysteries and my Southern Quilting mysteries, the manuscript goes right to my managing editor. Then it goes to various copyeditors and proofreaders. In the case of my Myrtle Clover mysteries, I hire freelance editors to take a good, hard, critical look at my books. I’ve got a free directory of freelance editors here.

What’s your editing process like? What types of things are you looking out for?

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

As a busy mom, I’m squeezing my writing time out every day. For you, you might be limited by a day job or an elderly parent, an illness, or other responsibilities.

I’m averaging writing between 3 1/2 and 4 books a year.

That might sound like I’m pouring an excessive amount of time each day on my writing.

I’m really not. I really can’t.

I started, in January, to write the two books that I’m contracted under to finish by July. They are in two different series.

To do this, all I have to write is 3 1/2 pages a day until I hit 275 pages for each book. In one month, you end up with slightly over 100 pages.

I’ll admit that I’m a pretty quick editor, but that’s just from practice and a knowledge of the kinds of screw-ups I typically make. After each book goes through my publisher’s editorial process, I have even more data on the types of errors I should watch out for the next time.

I wake up at 4:50 a.m. , an hour before I get my children up. I usually write nearly three pages in about 40 minutes. The rest of the time I check emails, respond to messages on social media, and plan blog posts.

I don’t have a full outline for my stories. I do have an idea where I want to go. But I always know what I want to write the next day. I also have a note reminding me where I left off the day before. This helps me jump into my story when I open up the document on my computer.

The rest of each day’s writing goal I finish outside my son’s high school while I’m waiting in the carpool line for about 20 minutes.

On good days where the words are really flowing, I’ll write more. Days when I have unexpected dead space, I’ll write a little more.

It doesn’t really take that much time. And most people won’t want to write three or four books a year. One is enough for many.

For one book, you again just need to think about what makes a reasonable goal. I’m pretty fond of a page or a page and a half for writers who are just trying to establish a regular writing habit. Or maybe if you set yourself a weekly goal, instead of a daily one.

I think the problems crop up when you have a goal that’s really big…like a chapter a day. I’ve only once set a chapter a day goal and and I was sitting right on top of a very scary deadline that had sneaked up on me.

Let’s say your goal is 1.5 pages a day. That’s 270 pages in just 180 days. That goal still leaves you half a year to edit, even if your first draft is a disaster and you’re a slow editor. A page a day gets you 275 pages in a little over 9 months.

I found I could always hit a page a day or seven pages a week. This was when I had a toddler in the house and life was especially crazy. It might mean that I had to write two pages some days to play catch-up (sick baby, sick mama, travel, holidays), but I could definitely hit that goal on a weekly basis.

I also noticed that if I wrote regularly, I could hop right into my story again with very little trouble.

If I finish a book early, then I start right in with the next book.

The most important thing is not to get discouraged. Writing a book can seem like this tremendous challenge. If we break it down into achievable blocks, it keeps us motivated.

Another tip? Don’t be critical of your first draft. It’s fixable. :)

How do you set and hit your goals? Do you have page goals or time-related goals? Daily or weekly goals?