Writing Tips

How to Write Compelling and Balanced Backstory

October 20, 2014October 20, 2014Writing Tips

By Jeni Chappelle, @jenichappelle

Writers often spend hours creating a realistic and compelling backstory for each major character in their novels. After all that hard work, it’s natural to want to include as much of that as you can. But there’s a fine line between clarifying a character’s past and writing too much backstory. Readers don’t usually need to know much of the characters’ history in order to engage with the story. Here are some ways to help you find the right balance.

The Four I’s

First, let’s revisit what makes an engaging backstory. Only include backstory that fits four criteria—I call it The Four I’s.

Important: It’s directly relevant to the plot.
Individual: It reveals something essential about the character.
Interesting: It pulls the reader in with mystery.
Interval: It’s spread out so it doesn’t overwhelm or bore the reader.

Twitterific Writing Links

October 19, 2014October 17, 2014Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Why Humorous Fantasy Isn’t Popular: http://ow.ly/CyKNw @mharoldpage

11 best practices for working with an editor: http://ow.ly/CyKND @awsamuel

5 Tips How to Write and Sell a Picture Book with a Plot: http://ow.ly/CyKNH @plotwhisperer

The Craft of Outlining: http://ow.ly/CyKNL @Sullivan_Kiki Continue reading

The Expository Opening to Novels

October 6, 2014October 9, 2014Writing Tips

Guest Post by Jack Smith

A strong opening to a novel is, of course, important. If the opening is boring or off-putting in any way, the reader is likely not to read on. It is true that some readers will be patient and hope things pick up, but naturally you can’t count on that. There are four basic opening types in fiction: exposition (I mean by this expository prose), description, narrative summary, and narrative scene. They are all used by published writers, and one isn’t better or worse than the others. What’s important is deciding which works best in your novel.

Exposition, as a rhetorical mode, means explanation. Writers are sometimes steered away from an expository opening for fear of mere telling. Who wants to read a long, boring presentation (or telling) of background information setting up the story? Readers want to get directly involved in the conflict; they want to be pulled in. But don’t fear the expository mode—instead, work it to your advantage. Continue reading

Story Signposts

September 26, 2014September 25, 2014Writing Tips

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I find my daughter’s middle school English homework a lot more interesting than she does.

She had a page of notes regarding “signposts” she should be looking for as she reads through various books for school this year. I did some poking around online and found that this material comes from Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. The notes were interesting to me, as a writer. For one thing, they pointed out areas that could be problematic for us as we write our books. Here’s what I read in her notes, and my thoughts in italics.

6 signposts:

Contrast and contradictions: When you’re reading and a character says or does something that’s opposite of what they normally do. Asking why the character is doing that action may help you understand character development, internal conflict, and theme. Or—it could be a plot manipulation, if done poorly. Or it could mean a distracted/hurried writer who isn’t maintaining character consistency.Continue reading

6 Steps Writers Need to Tame the Story Beast

September 22, 2014September 21, 2014Writing Tips

by D.E. Ireland, @DEIrelandAuthor

If you’ve come with up a unique idea for a book, congratulations. But you may need advice on how to shepherd this idea from that first inspiration to typing the last line of your final draft. Here are six steps that can help you along the way.

First you need a light bulb moment. An idea pops in your brain, you say, “what if…?” and off you go to develop the premise. It’s perhaps the most exciting part of writing. Then reality sets in. We came up with the novel idea of Eliza Doolittle solving mysteries with Henry Higgins. But we first had to ascertain whether Shaw’s characters were in the public domain (yes, thankfully) and steer clear of Lerner & Loewe’s film My Fair Lady, which isn’t.