#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Choose Your Words Wisely

Have you ever read a short story or a book that felt off? The story itself was good but something just didn’t feel right. There is a good chance poor word choice was throwing you off.

The way I see it, one of the most important things a writer can focus on is word choice. Especially when it comes to dialog. Dialog can make or break a story. As a writer I need to know when to have a character say “hello” versus having a character say “hey.” I need to know the connotation behind words, particularly if I am writing a period piece or a story taking place in a certain country (if the story takes place in the US but a character had just moved there from London, it would be a smart choice to have the character use British slang versus having them use American slang.) 

Along with good word choice, I find that my favorite writers aren’t afraid to use “colorful” language. They use cuss words and content appropriate slang which I feel make the story feel more real and the characters more relatable. It’s kind of sad that I feel the need to mention this, but Americans are extremely weird when it comes to language. The word “fuck” will have some of them up in arms and they will act like you’re an obscene idiot for using the word, but they have no problem watching something extremely violent as long the language isn’t too filthy. I’m looking at you, PG-13 movies.

So, when you’re writing your next story or editing your current story, please look at your choice of words. Does the word make sense in the context of the scene? Did you make productive choices? If a sentence doesn’t sound right, try changing a word or two and see if that helps.

I hope this helps you in your writing. Please let me know if you have any word choice tips or advice!

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#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Writing About Rape/Sexual Assault

Writing about a sensitive subject such as rape is hard and it should be. My current project will include a rape scene, it’s in the rough stages now and I’m not enjoying writing it.

So, why am I including it? 

Because the survivor’s story needs to be told.

And for that reason I decided I needed to write a post to help other writers if they decide to include rape or sexual assault in their story.

First, you really need to think about why you want to include a rape scene in your story. Normally I would list reasons why you should, but instead I’m going to list reasons why you shouldn’t.

1. To give a protagonist something to avenge. I am not saying that other people aren’t affected by a loved ones rape, but it shouldn’t be used as a stepping stone for anyone who isn’t the survivor.
2. For shock. (No explanation needed.)
3. For characterization. I’ve seen rape used to showcase how evil a character is. I’ve also seen it used to show how an evil guy (Negan from the Walking Dead) has a moral compass (he doesn’t mind bashing a few heads in, but he refuses to allow his guys to touch a woman without her consent.)
4. For entertainment. If the rape doesn’t affect the plot (the story will be fine and doesn’t fall apart without it) then don’t include it.
5. Don’t write it from the rapists point of view if the story is the survivor’s.

If you still feel like the scene is still necessary here are some tips I have:

1. (If in third person) don’t let the narrator linger on the survivor’s body. Don’t describe the survivors body in an erotic way. It’s rape, not sex.
2. Focus on how the rape affects the survivor. You can still touch on how it affected those who love the survivor, but it’s not their story.
3. Significant others can be upset and want to hurt the person who did it, but that shouldn’t be your only motivation for including the scene.
4. Use the active voice.
5. Nothing should insinuate that the survivor “asked for it.” The perp can assert that and if you’re going to have a bad cop, they can assert that but (if in third person) the third party shouldn’t. 
6. You don’t have to go into detail. You can “fade to black.” It will still matter to the survivor.
7. Enlist sensitivity readers. Their advice will be valuable.

I hope this helps anyone who might be diving into writing about such a tough topic.

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#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Happy NaNoWriMo!

I can’t believe NaNoWriMo is almost here. This year has really flown by and I’m not sure  I am ready to write 50,000 words in 30 days (luckily I do have a few story ideas running through my head.)

For this month’s Author Toolbox Blog Hop, I am going to be sharing some tips for surviving National Novel Writing Month.

Tip #1: Write in the environment that works for you. Do you need silence? Do you need music? No distractions? All of the distractions? Make your writing space what you need it to be.

Tip #2: Make a writing soundtrack. If you need silence then you write, you don’t have to listen to the sound track while writing, but it could provide inspiration when you hit a road block. Find songs that fit the mood of your story. Here is a sample of my current soundtrack (maybe you’ll find a song here that inspires you…):

1. I Did Something Bad by Taylor Swift
2. Perfect Places by Lorde
3. Adore by Amy Shark
4. Happier by Marshmellow ft. Bastille
5. Miracle by ChVrches

Tip #3: DO NOT EDIT AS YOU GO!! Not only is it impossible, it’s extremely unproductive. Let those mistakes add to your word count. Forget about them and know that you can fix them once November is over.

Tip #4: Enjoy yourself!!

See you guys again in the new year and keep an eye out for a list of my favorite books of 2018!

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Author Toolbox Blog Hop: Plot Armor

Plot armor isn't just a TV show trope, it occurs in fiction as well. 

What is plot armor? Plot armor is is when a main character's life and health are safeguarded by the fact that he/she is the one person who can't be removed from the story. Plot armor isn't just that the main character survives through so many unrealistic scenarios, its that they survive without injury or loss. 

So how do you avoid plot armor? Show the main character's damage and loss. If they're shot in the shoulder, don't have them using that arm frequently afterward (unless some magic is involved and they heal quickly.) If the main character has lost someone they cared about, don't bring them back (I dislike this, even in sci-fi novels... it lessens the loss.)  Basically, make your character's decisions matter. If the character makes careless or reckless decisions, make sure they suffer real consequences. 

The best way to avoid plot armor... follow George R. R. Martin's lead and allow main characters to die and to suffer extreme loss (if your story calls for it.)

Thanks for reading. I'm sorry this is so short. I have recently landed a new job and have become so busy!!

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#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Knowing Your Limitations

For this month’s #AuthorToolboxBlogHop I’m going to talk about knowing your limitation as a writer.

I had a friend read a few chapters of my WIP and while she liked it, she was also kind of upset that my main character was a straight white girl. My cast of characters is pretty diverse. My main character lives with her aunt. Her aunt is married to a black woman who has a son from a previous marriage that the main character loves like a brother. None of those characters were just written that way, they evolved as I wrote them. She would like me to make the main character a bisexual woman of color. 

I do not agree with her.

Not because I don’t think a bisexual woman of color deserves to have her story told, but because I am not the person to tell her story.

I am not bisexual, gay or questioning. I’m not a woman of color. I know that I write best from personal experience and that I wouldn’t be able to do her story any justice. I know I could research and I could interview people but I know my limitations as a writer.

Now, I am not saying that a writer can’t write outside of their experience. That would be stupid and dangerous. I mean, To Kill a Mockingbird would have never been written if Harper Lee didn’t feel capable. 

What I am saying is that I don’t feel like I am the one to write that story, especially with the story I am working on.

Someday I might be able to write a story with a person of color who is questioning their sexuality at the center of it, but not now. I know I am not ready and I know I not the writer to write that story.

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#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Tips from Stephen King's "On Writing"

Welcome back Author Toolbox Blog Hoppers!! This month I am sharing my favorite tips from Stephen King's wonderful book, "On Writing." If you don't already own this and/or have never read it, I definitely recommend it. Will every piece of advice work for you? Probably not, but the advice is valuable nevertheless.

1. If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.

This is so true. If you don't read, it's going to be a lot harder to write. If you don't write, why would you want to be a writer?

2. The best stories always end up being about the people rather than the event.

I agree. When stories focus to heavily on the event and not the people experiencing it, the story ends up feeling empty.

3. You should avoid the passive voice.

Yup, the passive voice is annoying. When the story is told from a passive voice, the characters lose their agency and become someone who has things done to them instead of doing things themselves.

4. The road to hell is paved with adverbs.

I agree with this when the adverb is added to a dialog tag. However, I feel like adverbs can be used wisely in dialog. 

5. Never use "emolument" when you mean "tip."

Yep, step away from the Thesaurus! I understand wanting to change up a few words here and there or if you have a character that only uses the biggest words possible. But constant use of big words in place of smaller ones that mean the same thing is tedious to read and can take the reader out of the story.

6. Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's.

This is classic show-don't-tell. Yes, you have to be descriptive to an extent, but you don't want to take the reader's ability to imagine away from them.

7. If you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.

YES YES YES!! If writing makes you happy, you won't want to stop!!

Well, it's nice to be back at it. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and happy new year. I wish you all nothing but the best in the year to come!

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#AuthorToolboxBlogHop: Writing By Hand

Have you ever found yourself staring at a screen and your brain goes as blank as the word document you have pulled up? Whenever I find myself stuck in this position I run though my usual writer's block prompts. Which one works the best?

For me, it's pulling out my journal and writing by hand. But why is it so effective?

1. Writing the old fashioned way sparks creativity in a way that no computer screen ever can.
2. It's hard to erase handwriting. Erasing is tedious. I know you could just throw away the notebook but I find that keeping "bad" writing/ideas is a great way to learn. Also, sometimes something you thought was bad, never really was.
3. I find it easier to write with wild abandon than to type that way. When I type I constantly try to edit as I go. When I am writing by hand I don't feel that need.
4. When using a computer, especially now that every computer has an internet connection, I am constantly distracted. Email, social media, Reddit, even these blogs all distract me. Writing by hand allows for less distraction.

So, next time you're hit with some writer's block, try writing the old fashioned.

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Said is NOT Dead (#AuthorToolboxBlogHop)

"All that I ask is that you do as well as you can, and remember that, while to write adverbs is human, to write he said or she said is divine." - Stephen King

The purpose of a dialog tag (according to me) is to help a reader determine when someone is speaking and who is speaking. As a story goes along and the reader gets to know your characters, dialog tags become less important. Why? Because readers can be lazy and tend to skim over things that seem unimportant. 

So, for something that most readers tend to ignore, why have writers started avoiding "said" like the plague?

I am not 100% sure why, but I have a feeling it has to do with English teachers trying to enhance their students' vocabularies. If you do a simple Google search for "said is dead" 100s, if not 1000s, of worksheets pull up with "said" substitutes. Some of the substitutes make sense and others make for immature or clumsy writing.

Substitutes That Make Sense 

• Yelled
• Mumbled
• Stammered
• Pleaded
• Responded

Substitutes That Confuse Me

• Laughed
• Grinned
• Bawled
• Faltered
• Breathed

For me, the ones that make sense work because they indicated how the sentence is being said (though this could also be done with appropriate context clues in the dialog and scene.) The ones that confuse me just don't make sense. "Hello," he grinned makes ZERO sense. Why? Because grinning isn't speaking. "Hello," he said with a grin on his face/ while grinning, makes more sense. Whenever I read a story full of awkward ways to say said, I end up falling out of the story and wind up distracted.

I also find myself distracted when a writer uses too many adverbs after said/dialog tag. He yelled loudly (the fact that he is yelling should be enough to indicate that he was being loud.) She said sadly (again, context clues within the scene and dialog should alert the reader to how things are being said while also allowing the reader to use their imagination.)

So, when should you use something other than said? When it is organic, natural, and most importantly, when you're not using the other word just to avoid using said. 

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Voices of YA

Thank you Molly Looby and Raimey Gallant for tagging me!! And thank you Caitlin Lambert  for creating the Voices of YA tag!!

Here are the rules!

1 Thank the person who tagged you

2 Link to the original creator

3 Answer the ten questions

4 Tag at LEAST TWO other YA writers/bloggers

ABOUT THE WRITERS:

What draws you to YA?

YA feels limitless. It doesn’t have to fit into a certain box and can basically be about anything. 

Describe your writing process. Do you like outlines and structure, or seeing where the story takes you?

My writing process is not structured by any means. I don’t really do outlines. I do a lot of  writing my ideas out by hand in an actual notebook. When I write my ideas out, I let them flow and write whatever comes to mind. Later, when I am typing up my story on Scrivener, that is when I process my notes and make them make sense. 

How long have you been writing? Where are you in your journey?

I have been writing, according to my mother, since I came out of the womb. I only have one book published, The Best Mixtape I Have. It was self-published shortly after NaNoWriMo a few years ago. It is horrible and not at all edited. I do love the story line, but I wish I wouldn’t have rushed it. I just wanted to enjoy the free copies that I received from finishing NaNoWriMo. I am currently working on a book that I am definitely taking my time on and hopefully I won’t self-publish. 

What do you need to write? Coffee? Music?

I need my notebooks and music. Coffee is nice but isn’t a requirement. Music is a requirement, however. I have a special soundtrack that I listen to when I write. I’ll share a sample:

Contagious - The Night Riots 

The Night We Met - Lord Huron

Silvertongue  - Young the Giant

Do You Remember - Jarryd James

If you could offer one piece of advice to another writer (other than "don't give up"), what would it be?

Don’t ever let anyone tell you how it is for you. Whether it be a friend, an agent, a publisher, if making certain changes makes you feel uncomfortable or if you feel like you are destroying your story, do only what you feel best. Now, I am not saying that agents and editors don’t know when changes need to be made, but sometimes you have to go with your gut. You know your story and you know how it needs to be told.

ABOUT THE BOOKS:

What book still has you reeling from its plot twist? (*no spoilers please*)

I can’t really think of any…

What books are you most anticipating for this year?

It was The End of Oz by Danielle Paige, but I kind of already dug into that book and finished after a day. 

I am also looking forward to The Royal Bastards by Andrew Shvarts. Here is an official synopsis: In Bastards, we follow Tilla, an intrepid but surly cast-off of Lord Kent of the Western Province, who raised her as a baby but more or less shrugged her off once he discovered his trueborn children. But when a visiting princess chooses to sit with Tilla and other kingdom bastards at a royal dinner, everything starts to change. Especially when Tilla finds herself helping to safeguard the princess’s life as rebellion brews.

In your opinion, which YA book/series has the most unique premise?

I like the Dorothy Must Die series by Danielle Paige. I love the reimagining of The Wizard of Oz and how Paige mixes teen angst with a classic story.

What is your all-time favourite quote from YA lit (I know, I'm cruel)?

“So, this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad and I'm still trying to figure out how that could be.” - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky. 

What book do you most hope will have a movie adaption?

The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. The book is beautiful and I would love to see it played out.

Thanks again for my tag! I am tagging DJ Humphries and Amy Laurel!

Change: A Story Needs It

Last week I ranted about the changes that I am currently going through and I promised to share how one could use that change in their writing.

Well, how do you use what you’re going through in your life in your writing?

1. Keep a journal. Writing about your feelings about things as you are feeling them is the best way to capture the emotions in a raw way. 
2. Use that journal to help mold your characters. It is much easier to write a realistic emotional scene if you know you how that emotion actually feels. For example, if you have ever moved and felt said about it, you will know exactly how to have your character emote that without it being over the top or unrealistic.
3. The changes in your life, no matter how small, can be used as inspiration for your story. Maybe you have a character that feels like their life is piling up on them but it feels off to have everything be a major issue. I hate it when I read stories about people who literally have every bad thing you can imagine happen to them. So, if you have a character who has gone through a series of bad things (they got into a car wreck and lost their job in the same day) using a small change could be the best way to set the character off (like their favorite snack being taken off the market or even going to. different restaurant than their usual for a birthday dinner.) I feel like making the tipping point something small makes the situation for realistic. 

Why do I feel that way? Why wouldn’t it be something major that sets a character off?

When I think about my own life, I was fine with moving and getting a new job, but it was spending a holiday (Valentine’s Day, a day I don't even care about) in our temporary living space that made me cry. With everything changing around me, I couldn’t help but long for something to stay the same. I feel like that tends to be the case with most people. Most people say that big change freaks them out when it’s really the little things that get to them. For example, moving is a big change and while it is normally not a bad thing, a lot of people hate it. I don’t think they hate it because they don’t want a change of scenery, but because of the little things that will be different (you might have to use a different grocery chain, your bedroom might be set up differently, but mostly, it’s just not the same.)

Why is using your experience with change important in your writing?

Because you have no story without change. If your character’s life is the same from beginning to end, if there is no change, no growth, then you didn’t tell a story.

I hope this helps you harness your own experiences and using them in your writing. Next week I will talk about words and why word choice is extremely important.

Going Beyond the Big Picture

After I do my cutting and deepening drafts I move on to actually editing. My personal editing style has two steps: macro and micro-editing.

The macro editing is still in the realm of the big picture and that is why I do it before I micro-edit.
The things I look for during this edit are:

1. The story moves under its own power and that nothing about it feels forced. 
2. The story is dramatic. No one wants to read a story where there is no conflict. We might say that we hate drama, but that only applies to our own lives, we want drama in our fiction.
3. It is intimate and I don't mean it has sex in it (but it isn't a problem if there is.) What I do mean is that the reader gets to know and care about the characters. Good stories have characters that readers bond with and feel as if they really know.
4. The story takes place in a special world. It doesn't have to be the magical wizarding world but it does need to feel exclusive while also being relatable.
5. It is somewhat compressed. I am neither a minimalist or a maximalist, I fall somewhere in between. When I look for compression in a story I look for a day to read like a day and not like five days. Sometimes writers get ahead themselves and pack too much action into one day and that only works in stories that take place in a day and doesn't work well for series. (I also make sure each paragraph is no longer than eight sentences long, no one wants to read a wall of text.)
6. The language is consciously crafted. The words being used to tell the story have to reflect it. I would never tell a story about the Battle of Culloden and have the characters speaking with New Yark accents and using American slang. 
7. Lastly, the story is complete and satisfying.

If I have to fix anything from above in my story then I go back and do another cutting and deepening draft before I move on to micro-editing.

When I have looked for all of those things and feel satisfied with it then I start looking at the small stuff. I read each sentence out loud. Doing that allows me to find the missing words, the typos, the misused punctuation, and the grammar mistakes. I also have someone else read it as well. That someone doesn't have to be an English major, they're just a second set of eyes to help you catch things.

After editing the whole story, I save it and walk away from it for a while. I give it a couple of days and then at look at it again. I look for the same things, the same mistakes, and fix them.

I hope that helps you with any future editing.

I am not sure what next week's post will be about, but I'm sure I will come up with something. Have a lovely weekend!

Whoa... We're Half Way There...

So, tomorrow marks the halfway point of National Novel Writing Month. As of now I am at just a smidgen over 25,000 words and completely exhausted. So, I thought I would share some tips to keep you going.

Do you need to up your word count? You could start by adding extra scenes. Some of those extra scenes might feel like fluff but you never know when an extra scene will pull your story out of a rut. Here are some examples of scenes you could add:

• A scene of dialog between the main protagonist and a small child. 
• A scene where two characters have a drunk late night chat. This adds to the word count sufficiently as drunk people tend to repeat themselves and also have conversations that go in circles.
• Have your character go into reflective mode. Did something major just happen to them? Have them think about it and its possible implications. 
• Have a character avoid making a decision and have them argue about it instead. A good argument always ups your word count.
• Add a sex scene or multiple. You can be extremely descriptive and come up with some creative blocking. 

Something else you have to do if you want to reach 50k words is to allow yourself to write some garbage. Tell your inner editor to take a break and just write.

I really hope that everyone is doing well on their NaNoWriMo mission!

The Night Before NaNo

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I have to admit that I am pretty nervous. I have an idea and I have my characters, but man, I'm not sure how I will pull off this National Novel Writing Month. The important thing is that I am going to try my hardest.

Things I am going to do tonight: 

• Take my kiddo treat-or-treating
• Eat some candy
• Watch a scary movie
• Outline the scene I will be writing on November 1st
• Sleep

Tomorrow I am going to:

• Go to work
• Write at least 2,000 words (I prefer to start off over the 1,667 words a day just incase I fall behind.)
• Outline a scene for the next day
• Sleep

I would like to wish all my fellow NaNoWriMos good luck! I hope that you find the story you want to write. I hope that writer's block never rears its ugly. I hope that you get the crazy awesome rough first draft that you need!

Remember, the world needs your novel.

(P.S. I will try to post things to inspire you throughout the month, good luck again.)

NaNoWriMo Preparation

Well, we are three days away from the beginning of National Novel Writing Month and I can't wait to dive into writing recklessly for thirty days of November. 

Since NaNoWriMo is so close I thought I would share some prep tips.

1. Hold yourself accountable. Let people know that you are participating. Text your friends, tell you family, scream it to the world via social media. The more who know you are doing it, the more people who are going ask how it is going, the more likely you are to actually do it. No one wants to face the embarrassment of failure, but I feel its worse to face that you honestly just didn't try.
2. Find others to help keep you motivated. Raimey Gallant put together a site to list people participating in NaNoWriMo. Click here to be added to that list. Also visit NaNoWriMo's Forums to discuss your story and to receive advice and motivation to keep writing.
3. Visit NaNoWriMo's Pep Talk page for advice from fellow writers.
4. Write down any ideas you have for a story. Write down names and places that interest you. 
5. Buy a notebook dedicated to National Novel Writing Month. Fill it with plots and character descriptions. Use it to write in when you aren't near a computer.
6. I know that Halloween is the night before NaNoWriMo begins but adequate sleep is a must and not just the night before it begins but every night. You can't think straight on only 2 hours of sleep. You need sleep.
7. On the flip side you also need things to keep you from getting sleepy during the middle of the day. So do what you need to do: Load up on coffee, soda, or tea. Drink your water. Fill up on sugar. Run a mile. Whatever energizes you, do it!

I hope you find these tips helpful and I'll share more tomorrow and Monday. Happy Saturday everyone!