(I’ve met people who say family are forever. Others who say friends are the family we choose for ourselves. Really depends on how you’re treated by either group.)
You have no choice in family
They are there when you are born
The kinsmen by your side
Or throwing pains along your path
Supporting you when they agree
Dragging you down when they do not
They are a fickle crew
That you can never truly leave
You have a choice in friends
As you meet them in the world
The kindred spirits by your side
The ones who battle by your side
Shoulders marked with tears
And fights over growing tastes
Many friends will come and go
Yet the truest will remain
Which of the two are closer?
The ones of blood or bond
A simple question asked through time
An answer different for each asker
I’m not an expert on writing ‘How To’ books. In fact, Do I Need to Use a Dragon?will probably be the only advice book I write. (Get it now as a 99 cent eBook by clicking on the title!) Still, there are some things I considered and noticed in the way I wrote my advice. It may be helpful for someone else who wants to try to teach others how to do whatever activity they’re into.
PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! I mentioned this on Monday, but I’m going to repeat it. Whatever advice you’re giving, you need to have at least tried to use it. If you are only giving suggestions that were given to you, but you failed to put into practice then you’re kind of lying. You’re passing on information that you haven’t tested out yourself. Even if it failed, you can still mention trying it out and point out what went wrong. A reader might be able to use the advice that failed you because they learn from your example.
Tailor your jargon and explanations for the skill level of your audience. The more industry words and catchphrases you use, the less likely you’re going to help a novice. They won’t know what you’re talking about and can be intimidated. You can counter this by explaining the phrases, but that can turn into the ‘How To’ version of an info dump. If you’re routinely defining words then you might be aiming your book at the wrong audience level.
Be careful using asides and examples into your own fictional works. Spending more time talking about your stories then the craftwork can feel right. You’re showing examples and authors tend to go on at length about their own creations. From the outside, this can look like gloating or a sales pitch. Selling copies of your other books is secondary at best. You’re real goal with a ‘How To’ is to teach the reader some tricks on how to write their own books.
Resist the urge to go on at length about ‘show, don’t tell’. This is more of a personal pet peeve, but this phrase has been plaguing me since high school. Many people will hear it and spout it as criticism without knowing what it means. They won’t factor in the writing style, which might be more telling than showing. For example, third person present tense like I use tends to get this criticism a lot. If you must use this cliché chestnut of advice then try to give it some nuance and explanation.
Try to have some organization to the book. I might be saying this more to pantsers, but I don’t really know how that kind of author would tackle a ‘How To’. I could be entirely wrong in thinking that they’ll grab a topic and just go then move on to the next one on their mind. Guess that still works as long as there is some kind of organizing before publishing. This way, the reader doesn’t feel like they’re jumping around the topic of writing. For example, I went with categories of Author, World, Characters, and Quest to help organize Do I Need to Use a Dragon?
Be honest and open. Don’t be afraid to reveal some of your mistakes and embarrassing moves. Similar to designing a fictional character with flaws, you need to make yourself out to be human. You are the only character of a ‘How To’, which means you can’t make yourself out to be infallible and perfect. If you talk as if you’ve never made a mistake or learned something the hard way then a reader might think you’re hiding something.
Use beta readers whose opinions you trust. This can be a very personal book because you’re exposing your thoughts. Getting people to read it beforehand for clarity and consciousness may be crucial. The danger comes form having someone read it and them disagreeing with every piece of advice you have. This can cause an author to give up entirely on the project, which means any good advice they have will never see the light of day. So, pick beta readers who understand that you are voicing an opinion that they might not agree with, but you still want to say. They will help you clarify your advice for the audience instead of change the advice entirely.
With the release of Do I Need to Use a Dragon?, I’ve been doing some think on the overall process. Of course, this also got me thinking about the existence of ‘how to’ books in general. They’re a pretty big industry from what I can tell, which surprised me for about a minute. Then, I realized why they’re so popular.
Many people want to learn about a trade, art style, or activity. They don’t necessarily have access to courses or experts. Take someone who wants to be an author as an example. It always comes off as an easy undertaking until a person starts. Then, they’re told to take writing courses or join an author group. Yet, they might not have the money for the courses or be anywhere near a group. Others might not be confident enough to take that step into a group because they think only serious authors are there. A ‘How To’ book will fill that void and give one insight into the path they are going to follow.
‘How To’ books have been around for a long time. One can even extend that time if we consider that textbooks and instruction manuals count. That is what ‘How To’ books do at their core. They are written to instruct a reader on how to do something. They differ a little slightly from informative books because they aren’t simply telling you about their topic. A ‘How To’ book’s goal is to get you to understand the topic enough to do the activity on your own. That means, an author has to be very careful and clear in their descriptions.
That was something I noticed about a bunch of ‘how to write’ books that I checked out before tackling my attempt. Some authors were used a lot of jargon and spoke almost entirely about their internal process. It was almost biographical and someone just starting out might not understand the terms. This is why I tried to use simpler language and define anything that I thought might be labeled as jargon. I didn’t want my readers to be confused and think I was talking to people with more experience. After all, I want even the greenest of authors to get something from the book.
Perhaps ‘How To’ books go in levels too. I vaguely remember there being a few books that said beginner, intermediate, expert, hard, and a variety of difficulty descriptors. This makes sense considering you have people of different experiences and training looking for advice. A newcomer might be scared off by an expert level book while an experienced author won’t get much or anything out of a beginner book. That means the person writing the ‘How To’ needs to consider their audience. Probably more so than most other types of authors because these are instructional. You can’t aim for beginners and bombard them with language that only those with experience would understand.
A final point that crossed my mind with ‘How To’ books is to authors specifically. One of the reasons it was suggested by some for me to do this is because it might help sell my fiction books. I didn’t think much of it at the time. Now, I realize how this works. A person who likes your advice is more likely to check out your books to get a better sense of your style. At the very least, they will see it in action and see if you follow your own tips. It would hurt all of your books if you don’t practice what you preach. People would wonder why you wrote the advice in the first place and think you’re trying to trick them.
An author who writes a ‘How To’ would also have to use examples from their own books instead of others. This isn’t mandatory, but it makes things easier and safer. Some people told me to use LOTR, Narnia, GoT, and Harry Potter to prove my points in Do I Need to Use a Dragon?I realized pretty quickly that I’d get in trouble because I don’t have the rights to those. I could get in trouble for noting them since copyrights and trademarks are highly protected. This is why I think most authors who do a ‘How To’ stick to their own creations. You don’t run the risk of a lawsuit.
So, I’ll get more into my thoughts on the ‘How To’ genre throughout the summer. Don’t forget that Do I Need to Use a Dragon?is available on Amazon as a 99 cents eBook (for 1 month only) and a $20 paperback.
I know I should be promoting Do I Need to Use a Dragon?since it’s not even a week old. It’s still for sale as a 99 cent eBook though. It should be a $20 paperback as well. Still, I tend to do random stuff on Sundays because I need a day where I can follow whatever I think of. Today . . . Whale Watching.
I mentioned about a week ago that my family and I went to Cape Cod for a few days. It was a great trip with the highlight being going out for an afternoon to a marine preserve to see whales. We saw three species, but the minke and finbacks didn’t give me many chances for pictures. Everything you see here are the humpbacks, which came very close to the boat at times. Enjoy.
As of the writing of this post,Do I Need to Use a Dragon? has sold 16 copies. Feel free to click on the title to get your own copy. Been getting some good responses, so I’m hoping to sell more and get some reviews. Fingers crossed since I’m now at the point where I can’t put any money or much time into promos.
Okay, so I did start writing Darwin & the Beast Collector like I said I would. I was nervous again for some reason. Managed to slide into things fairly easily. There’s still an issue of fight scenes working differently than in previous series. Darwin is main reason because he isn’t a charge ahead warrior like Luke and Clyde. He’s a run around screaming spells while trying not to get hit type. Another challenge here is that one of the villains is turning out creepier and crueler than I predicted, which is both great and throws me off a bit. I only got 2 2/3 chapters done though. I’m hoping to write 1 1/2 chapters this weekend and then get a chapter done before the next weekend. Going to see how afternoons between work and picking my son up go. Still probably won’t finish until after the next school year begins.
(Noticing that this was a fairly simple week.)
As the title says, I started my summer job, which is working with our Life Skills kids for the next 6 weeks. I do enjoy going to work wearing shorts and a graphic t-shirt since it’s very casual. Nobody has really batted an eye, but I’ve been sticking to Snoopy and Super Mario. We have a new student who is a smiling ball of sunshine and just lights up the room. So, he’s a great addition to the family. Everyone has been great even with a few ‘off the rails’ moments. First week rarely goes 100% smooth, but we made it through and are preparing for next week.
My son was in Buffalo with his mom until he was dropped off Thursday morning. Then, he was back with her Friday night. So, I didn’t get to spend much time with him beyond an evening Pokemon hunt through the park on Thursday. At least we got to discuss him starting camp next Monday and what he wants for food. Hard to get that out of him since he kept catching Pokemon. On the plus side, he got to spend a lot of time with my parents, who he won’t get much solo time with this summer. It’s good for them to have their moments without me around.
Let’s tackle July 4th next . . . It happened. I went with my parents to see fireworks last Saturday. Not a big fan when I don’t have my son being excited, but they included drones making shapes that moved this time. It was a long walk to and from the park, but I’d say it was worth it. The actual holiday was a day off and I went to a friend’s BBQ and fireworks event. His daughter wondered where my son was and was a little down because I keep showing up without him. Just bad timing since he tends to be with his mom whenever they have things going on. Anyway, the food was good, the Burger Cake I brought was delicious, I didn’t have much to drink, and the fireworks were fun to watch. A little too close for comfort at times, but fun.
This brings us to the health . . . I should really put writing higher up. Hold on. I’m going to add a paragraph earlier . . . Back from writing the Darwin & the Beast Collector paragraph. I’m going to talk about the blood pressure thing since it’s been a wild ride. So, I was put on an ACE Inhibitor last Friday, but I kept putting off starting it because of gatherings that involved alcohol and wanting to see how the beetroot powder did on its own. It was looking good since numbers were going down. Well, that July 4th party and other stuff may have been too much because my BP shot up that night. It wasn’t going down much (mid and high 90’s as the lower number), so took my first pill Wednesday night. I did get a little of the cough in the morning. Some achy muscles too, but that could also be the biking and walking. As of writing this post, the diastolic number (bottom one) has gone down to 83 AFTER a long day. Seems even if I feel stressed, my resting BP isn’t leaping to level 2 hypertension. Good sign and I hope it keeps improving.
This week is going to be more of the same as last week. Working, taking my son to and from camp, writing when I can, Lego set once I finish this puzzle, and keeping an eye on my BP. The biggest ‘challenge’ I have to tackle is that One Piece dubbed is now on Crunchyroll, so I have to see if everything we want to watch is on there and decide on switching anime streaming services. I have to get through Season 3 Part 1 of ‘The Witcher’ on Netflix too. Not sure how to feel about it since I know Henry Cavill is gone after this season. Let’s get to the goals.
Legends of Windemere 