7 Tips to Following the ‘Rules’ of Writing

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

My Life is a Lie

With such a maze out there, we can never tell what we should or should not do until we attract someone’s wrath.  I’m here to give you a few tips to navigate this maze with the least amount of stress.

  1. You see what worked for that author?  Don’t expect it to automatically work for you.  This goes for writing, editing, promoting, and everything.  Just a guidelines fits the story of a guy whose blog you follow, doesn’t mean it’s exactly what your story needs.  So, don’t alter your only copy to try it out and then find that it makes your work feel unnatural to you.
  2. Just because a person is quoting a ‘rule’, doesn’t mean they actually know what they’re talking about.  Some of them picked it up in a seminar or reading a tip book without actually putting it into practice.  They quote it like scripture, but then start talking about how they plan to use it in their own story . . . once they get around to writing it because it’s still in the planning stage.  So, consider the source of the criticism and their own experience before you take things personally.
  3. As soon as the person says ‘Stephen King’, brace yourself for #2.  It might not go that way, but that tip book I mentioned tends to be his.
  4. If an author comes to you with ‘rules’ and they are polite about it then it’s a good time to listen.  Presentation is everything and the effort put into being gentle with the advice is a sign of two things.  One is that they care about helping you instead of regaling you with their own knowledge.  The other is they have put some real thought into how their experience can relate to your story.  It still might not work, but this means you can have a conversation.
  5. Nobody knows how to write immediately, so there will be some ‘rules’ that you find will work for you.  Don’t toss everything away and stick to your original guns that you created in high school.  You might not really know how commas work.  You might have a problem with info dumps.  There are always weaknesses that need to be shored up, which some ‘rules’ can help with.  Just don’t jump down every rabbit hole that is presented to you.
  6. Do your own research.  Depending on the words and opinions of others can push you in THEIR direction with YOUR story.  They don’t understand exactly what you’re going for, especially in a series.  They might not even know your genre, so they talk in a fairly general idea.  Story Insert:

    Long ago, I went to several writing seminars and local experts with Beginning of a Hero.  They all gave me what I thought was good advice and I tried to use it all.  The thing is that none of them were fantasy authors, so it was all general.  None of them were authors of a series or even fiction too.  I nearly destroyed my idea because I followed all of this advice without doing my own research.  In fact, the only time I ran into a fantasy author during this time, he told me to stick to it and continue building my world.  That’s it.

    This means that you need to compare the advice you get to the research you do and the path you want the story to go.  Otherwise, you can destroy your story and any passion you had for the craft.  After all, if you genuinely ‘kill your darling’ and it isn’t able to be revived, an author might not try again.

  7. This sound stressful to you?  Well, I said these should help with creating the least amount of stress.  That doesn’t mean none.  In fact, the hardest period of an author’s life could be the beginning.  You don’t have confidence or experience, so you look to those who have that.  Some may take you under their wing while others try to change you into a copy of themselves.  There are a lot of minefields for an author trying to find their style, path, and voice.  The declaration of ‘rules’ makes it a lot harder, so just be wary and you’ll make it through.
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Motivation – How to Maintain it and How to Get it Back if Misplaced

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Great list of motivation revivers.

John W. Howell's avatarStory Empire

Hello SEers. John, with you today to discuss motivation.

Pixabay Image

I feel a little like the resident coach when it comes to my topics here on Story Empire. I think that is true because I am concerned that those who have chosen to be authors (Yes, that’s you) work in an environment that, for the most part, is self-driven. Unless you have a big contract with Random House, the words you write are words you choose to write at a pace you choose to write them. With all that freedom comes the pitfalls associated with self-directed productivity.

What are those pitfalls? Here are just a few procrastination, self-doubt, poor time management, and lack of motivation.

Pixabay Image

Given the title of the post, I want to discuss the last one, motivation. I have been seeing a lot of correspondence where authors seem to be commiserating with each other on…

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Guest Post: Seasons of Story

Posted on November 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

L. Marie's avatarEl Space--The Blog of L. Marie

Today, I welcome to the blog a good friend who has been here a number of times—the great Lyn Miller-Lachmann. You have the floor now, Lyn!

Spring is my favorite season. I appreciate the buds and blossoms, the longer days, the fresh smell of grass after a rain shower. Yet I don’t feel the urgency to get outside with each warm day, the way I do in the fall. I know there will be many more warm, sunny days. I can afford to waste a few of them.

Writing fiction, though, I have to break the habit of wasting days. I don’t mean procrastinating in my daily word count. As a fan of spring and its endless possibilities, I tend to let my characters dilly-dally, smelling the roses, spending an afternoon on a winery tour in southern Moravia while the bad guys hunt them down.

A tight timeline is a…

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Teaser Tuesday: Who Am I? #fantasy #tips

Posted on November 17, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m pretty nervous about putting this out here.  It’s the opener for Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips) and its’ where I explain myself and the book in general.  This is me putting myself in the spotlight instead of a character.  More importantly, I know that people seem to miss part of my explanations of things and then I get feedback that I have to counter.  So, I’m really concerned that I’m doing my best and people will simply skim this.  I wrote it to be a casual, simple style as if you’re talking to somebody about writing instead of me being a lecturer.  These are not blog posts from the past, but new ones that go deeper into topics.  Well, here we go:

*****

Who Am I?

Hello! Bet you didn’t expect this book to start that way, but I couldn’t think of any other way to start this off. As you can tell from the cover, my name is Charles E. Yallowitz and I am the author behind the series listed on page 3. Legends of Windemere, War of Nytefall, and Ichabod Brooks are all fantasy books, which is my preferred genre. Bedlam is a post-apocalyptic action adventure series, but it might get a mention or two along the way. I’ve been writing fantasy since I was a teenager, so I feel it’s my area of semi-expertise. Still, not every author creates a writing tip book, so one has to wonder what drove me to this point. Well, this is the section for me to explain myself and for you to decide if you will keep reading . . . Not this paragraph, but this overall part of the . . . Let’s just move on.

When I began self-publishing in 2013, I created a blog to promote my books and discuss writing with my audience. Over the years, I’ve made several posts about magic systems, various monsters, hero types, and whatever else crossed my mind as a topic. I had many people tell me that I helped them through a problem within their own story or that I inspired them to try an idea they were unsure of. This always made me smile. One day, a few years ago, a friend told me that I should write a book of fantasy writing tips. I fought it a bit because this is me putting myself in the spotlight without a character to hide behind. To see if I had anything worth saying, I began jotting down notes on fantasy topics and reading parts of other writing advice books. Before I knew it, I had a small notebook that was nearly filled with thoughts that I felt other authors should hear. Be rather silly of me to do all of that research and thinking only to give up due to shyness, so I set out to write what you are hopefully about to read.

There’s that strange way of presenting stuff again as I let my personality out and act like we’re really talking. Well, that’s really the way I wanted to go. As I said, I read some excerpts from other writing tip books and they all struck me as similar. They came off as textbooks with plenty of jargon and the occasionally aggressive declaration. Almost like every tip was written in stone and required a vocabulary list to figure out. From my own experience, I’ve found that this doesn’t work when talking to newer, less experienced authors. The industry words can cause confusion and the idea that this advice is how it HAS to be can turn them towards mistakes for their own story. The truth is that no piece of advice works across the board. A tip that helps one author make a strong story could cause another to sabotage their idea. That’s why I don’t want to write this advice as if I’m preaching from a pulpit. Instead, I’m sitting in a chair by the fire with snacks on a table and hoping you take the empty seat across from me. If even one section helps an author improve then I’ve done my job and stepping out of my comfort zone was worth it.

Sticking with the casual style of delivery, I decided to write these entries as if they were for a blog. This creates a rather laid-back, simple style where I stick right to the points and don’t try to pad things for space. A few tip book sections that I read felt like what they were saying could have been summed up in four paragraphs instead of ten pages, which is something that I want to avoid. You shouldn’t get lost in what I’m talking about here. My job isn’t to entertain or draw you to my writing style. It is to help you become a stronger author, get over any blocks in your path, and hopefully boost your confidence. Blog entries can do that because they typically have to be at just the right length. Too short and you don’t explain yourself. Too long and you lose the audience. I’m aiming for that sweet spot to the best of my ability.

Let’s see what else I had for this. Brief bio? Check. Inspiration for writing this book? Check. Why I’m acting in a way that some may call unprofessional? Check. Oh, I had the odd disclaimers, which can be boiled down to three things:

  1. As I said before, not every piece of advice will work for every author. We are individuals with our own stories to tell. That means we translate and utilize advice differently, which is how it should be. I am neither right nor wrong here. These ideas are simply my opinions and thoughts on a variety of fantasy topics. In fact, I went fairly general on a few things, so they can even help you if you’re writing another genre. You can tell from ‘The Author’ section alone that I might have some insight into writing as a whole instead of solely fantasy. In other words: Recommend this book to your friends even if they don’t write fantasy.
  2. Many people who said I should write this book had another suggestion that I couldn’t accept. This makes me think some readers are expecting it as well. Due to legal reasons, I can only use my own books and stories as examples. The legal reason is that I can’t afford either the rights to mention non-public domain works or a lawyer to defend me if I attempt such a thing. Better to stick within the safety of my world. This will come off as me promoting my own books, but if I don’t do it then nobody will.
  3. I really like making lists.

That covers the biography portion of this journey. You know what you’re getting into if you keep reading. A collection of fun and casual meanderings about being a fantasy author and crafting worlds of magic. Do you even need magic? Well, that’s going to be one of many questions that we delve into. Enjoy.

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The ‘Rules’ of Writing: Real or Choose Your Own Adventure?

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

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“Kill your darlings!”

“No prologues!”

“Show, don’t tell!”

“Only use ‘say/says/said’!”

“You must eliminate 80% of your first draft!”

I’m sure we’ve all heard these or variations over the course of our writing careers.  Some of us have used these with the intention of helping other authors.  You might be noticing where I stand on this just from that last sentence.  I mean, we’re all trying to hone our craft and we go to each other or the public for advice.  After all, other authors have tricks/rules that we my have never considered.  Yet, we’re more likely to run into the standards above and someone who happily praises Stephen King as if he’s the man who invented the written word.  Yes, I know his book on writing is popular and I was given it during my 400-level college writing course.  Still, there is a major flaw in all of this, which is what I’m about to touch on and probably piss people off.  Heck, I’ve probably done it already.

I use a wide variety of dialogue tags.  I use prologues.  I do so much pre-writing work that I don’t tear apart my first draft because I’ve done that already.  Writing in present third-person seems to short circuit the ‘show, don’t tell’ adage because how I write comes off as telling to some.  In other words, I don’t follow these things at all, which has struck a rather ultra-critical chord with some.  Oddest thing is that many who come at me about the ‘rules of writing’ have never finished a first draft or published.  Yet, they find me to be someone who can be talked to because I don’t do what I’m supposed to do.  Heck, you have blogs dedicated to teaching people how to write beyond the grammar, spelling, and basics that every story has.  It’s rather frustrating too.

You see, these really aren’t rules.  They’re guidelines built off either the habits of famous authors or what people believe sells books.  The first group is treated like gospel because struggling authors think copying them will earn the same results.  It ignores luck, hard work on the promotional end, and the time that they published.  That third option is very important because it means they filled a niche at some point, but that niche no longer needs filling.  You run the risk of being called a copycat here too.  Now, the second category is done through research and everyone wants to sell books.  Yet, your average reader doesn’t follow these things and only reads what they like.  For example, not every reader cares if you introduce the main hero in the first sentence.  In fact, this rule means that there can’t be any world building or leading up to the debut, which can be used in some genres to draw people in.  So, you might actually do more harm than help if you follow certain guidelines.

One of the biggest problems I have with this type of gatekeeper mentality (and that is what it is) is that it limits the styles and habits of authors.  It makes new authors think that they are failures or not meant to be in the craft because they aren’t like everyone else.  If everyone wrote books exactly the same with no prologues, limited dialogue tags, the same amount of telling, the same tense, and everything else then it would be a rather desolate landscape in terms of creativity.  Some authors write best with those things and you need an author to put their heart and soul into their work.  If I cared more about getting the rules right than crafting the actual story then I think there would be something missing from my characters.  You can do both, but you may have to sacrifice part of yourself to follow the pack.  That will show and you might find that you don’t really like what you create then.

Some may think I’m a hypocrite since I write a blog a writing and am working on Do I Need To Use A Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips). Well, here’s the thing.  I never say that my suggestions or what I do is a rule.  They’re not even suggestions.  Unlike many people, I fully admit that I talk about what works for me.  It doesn’t work for everyone and I don’t expect it.  I’d be the first to stop someone from using my suggestions to criticize another author.  That’s really all those things above are.  Most people don’t even use some of them correctly.  I once had three people in the span of a week say the following:

  • Person 1-  Your book shows more than it tells.
  • Person 2-  Your book tells more than it shows.
  • Person 3-  You found just the right balance of showing and telling.

Is it possible for all three to be right?  OF COURSE!  Your average reader doesn’t really know the difference.  It’s down to personal preference.  Some people would rather be shown than told and others are the opposite.  A third group is just in it for the escapism or whatever drew them in regardless of the rules.  This is why it’s so frustrating to see authors practically cannibalize each other over these silly adages.  I mean, several authors drank alcohol a lot, but you don’t see anyone saying that’s a rule.  Authors are humans and everyone develops their own style.  Some have prologues and others don’t.  That’s the greatness of books.  Each one is different.

So, what do you think about the ‘rules of writing’?  Are they really rules?

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Finding Balance

Posted on November 16, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Some great suggestions for finding author/other life balance here.

Joan Hall's avatarStory Empire

Hey, SE Readers. Joan with you today. This post is going to be short and (hopefully) sweet. Many writers and would-be authors around the world are knee-deep in NaNoWriMo.

While I chose not to take part this year, I have done it in the past. It’s not something you just decide to do. No matter if you’re a plotter or a panster, to succeed at this 50K word challenge, you have to plan and find the right balance to succeed.

NaNo aside, writers have to make time to write. Many of us hold full-time jobs. We have families. There are social events to attend. And unless you’re independently wealthy and can afford a house full of servants, there are a variety of household chores to do. Somewhere in all that, we need time to sleep. Is it any wonder we’re often lucky to have three or four hours per week…

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I’m Tired

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m tired
Uttered repeatedly
Yet never understood
Energy is questioned
Told to nap
Or have a snack
As if I’m simply sleepy
Too many utterances
Result in doctors
Blood tests
And eventual frustration
My yawns are deep
Of neither body or mind
The soul is sluggish
Dragging my mood down
Leaving me tired
With no other words to use
I cannot say more
For I am too tired
I cannot explain
For I am too tired
All I can do is say
I
Am
Tired
And pray you understand

This came to me a long time ago.  Many times, I’ll feel drained and say that I’m tired, but get some unhelpful reactions.  I’ve been told to take a nap, have some fruit, see a doctor, exercise, or that I’m always tired.  That last one hurts the most.  If you know someone who is constantly saying they’re tired then you might want to consider that it isn’t a physical ailment.  At least, not that alone.  People will work themselves very hard to the point of physical exhaustion, but this also means they aren’t taking care of their minds.  The stress remains and any mental health issues get bolsters, so they develop a mental fatigue that leaves them listless.  Free time?  Confusing and wasted because one is too tired to take advantage.  It stacks and turns into a horrible fatigue that even a week long vacation with no stress can fail to erase.  I find myself always coming back to the edge of this place, especially on weekends.  Will it ever change?  Hopefully, but I think a big part is getting the people around me to realize ‘I am tired’ is a declaration of being at my mental limits and not that I had a bad night’s sleep.

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Goal Post: Made It Through the First Quarter . . . 25 More To Go?

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

This was the last week of the quarter, which had Veterans Day smack in the middle.  It was a nice reprieve and I had my son, so we got to have fun.  We might even have another art post coming up next weekend if he finishes his two current projects.  Okay, I writing this last night after a glass of chianti, which is hitting me harder than I expected.  No more for me.  I’m exhausted too.  It was a really grueling week.

Work was busy because the end of the quarter meant a lot of traffic in the testing center where I spend most of my time.  This is where most of my energy went to and it got steadily more difficult as the week went on.  Handled it all though and things are ready for next to be easier.  Please let it be easier because I could use a simple week.  There are parent-teacher conferences for my son though, so we’ll see how those go.  I do hope to get a little more progress done on . . . something.  Anybody remember what I was working on again?

Writing has been weird this week.  After finishing the first drafts of War of Nytefall and having no other series to pounce on, I feel lost.  Normally, I’d take a week to relax and gather my energy.  That didn’t happen with working and parenting.  I tried to start Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips) and only got through the intro, which will be posted on Tuesday.  I took a long time to write it and it was nerve-wracking because I realized that I’m the main character.  I don’t have a skin to wear in the spotlight like Luke Callindor or Clyde.  This is me . . . and my social anxiety kicked in and I severely doubt how well it came out.  I came up with so many reasons:

  • I rushed . . . Even though it took me 3 hours.
  • I used contractions . . . That was the plan.
  • People will think it’s too casual . . . That was the plan!
  • People will hate it . . . I got nothing to counter this one.

The big thing is that people will ignore me stating that this book will be written as if they are blog posts.  They are made to be casual and easily understand with minimal jargon to help people who might be starting out.  More experienced authors may see this as me being sloppy and that worries me.  It’s happened on this blog at times where a fellow author will miss a chunk of my post and make a critical comment that doesn’t really connect.  That worries me a lot more than it should because I will have to depend a lot on other authors helping to promote this.  No idea what to do with the cover and inside art either.  First time I’ll be putting pictures into a book and I want to make sure that they look good.  Cost might be an issue too since I’m looking at cover, Legends of Windemere art, War of Nytefall art, and Ichabod Brooks art.  Maybe one more right before the end, but I don’t know what that would be.

I have my son this weekend, so I won’t be writing.  My nights have been used to set up a long line of Tuesday posts where I put 3 songs to each Legends of Windemere book.  A lot harder than I imagined and it brings me into February.  I wish I had some good February topic posts, but the well is running dry right now.  Feel free to suggest anything that isn’t Ye Olde Shoppe.  I know that one is popular, but I can only do those when lightning strikes.

I’m hoping to get back to Do I Need to Use a Dragon? after my son goes to his mom’s next week.  That will be after I see how people take to the intro.  If it’s an utter disaster then I’ll slink away and work on Ichabod Brooks or something.  I’m also contemplating dropping all of my single books to 99 cents around Thanksgiving since I haven’t had a sale in 2 months.  It’s clear I’m not going to make money on this or that I’m seen as worthy of a $2.99 price tag.  Read an article that the onslaught of non-fiction political and current state of the world books has reduced fiction sales too.  I can believe that considering how many people I meet admit that they refuse to read fiction out of fear of missing something in reality.  Guess escapism is a bad thing now?

Bought a new toy that won’t show up until around Christmas, so I’m going to keep that a secret.  Started playing ‘Mega Man X’ with my son.  It’s fun on the Nintendo Switch, but I realized that there is a response delay.  This game was originally in the Super Nintendo and my reflexes expect a certain reaction.  Buttons are smaller now, so I can’t pull off a lot of my more agile moves or dodge things.  I hit jump at what I think is the right time and X doesn’t always react accordingly.  I have to take a lot of hits to the face and hope I survive now.  Still, it’s fun to play an old series with my son.

Wish I had more to report, but that’s it.  Stress has me filled with doubt about a lot of things, so I need to chill a bit more often.  That might be the goal for the next week if things are slow enough.  I chipped a tooth and need to find a dentist, so there’s that event I guess.  I’m running out of steam here and hope that I presented the crazy of the week in some fashion.  Enjoy the weekend.

Goals of the week:

  1. Parenting fun this weekend.
  2. Make it to next weekend.
  3. Finish the Music Video posts.
  4. Get tooth fixed?
  5. Training one night.
  6. Parent-Teacher Conferences.
  7. Possibly do some writing if I can get my confidence back.
  8. Outline if I get a slow period?
  9. Watch more ‘Yu Yu Hakusho’ without falling asleep.
  10. Biking.
  11. Remembering other things I wanted to mention here.
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5-Star Review for ‘War of Nytefall: Eradication’ #fantasy #vampires

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Check out the great 5-Star Review of
WAR OF NYTEFALL: ERADICATION!

Really happy that N.N. Light enjoyed it.  🙂

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The Scallywag Salad Buffet

Posted on November 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Homer Simpson

Welcome to our fine eating establishment.  Here you can make your own salad with all of our ingredients.  Well, we don’t let you touch the food due to health concerns.  You look through the glass and tell our sterilized robots what to pick from  Then, you will get served outside next to the lake where we have our rainbow dolphins.  Don’t worry about them because they’re harmless . . . and robotic.

Now, let’s begin with the base of your salad.  Most people go for the typical lettuce or spinach, which we have here.  As you can see, we have a ton of each and they are safely contained to prevent them from falling on any of our workers.  The sign back there says it’s been a week since we had an accident, which is our personal best.  Now, we have other bases if you want.  This is our onion pile and we have a bowl made completely out of carrot sticks. Hollowed melons and coconuts are an option since we take the skin off to allow for eating of the entire product.  We recommend these to help the planet.  Other options include large heads of cauliflower with skewers for the other veggies, a giant mushroom cap turned upside down, and this circular piece of dough that we can cook up.

Let’s move on to the other additions.  There are far too many to list because you can put anything in a salad.  Here are the veggies that range from tomatoes to a type of radish that tastes like a cucumber.  We think that’s because they were sent with the cucumbers and that taste infects everything.  All of our mushrooms, as you can see in our nursery, are edible and safe.  Yes, I know that black one has a skull and crossbones on it, but I assure you that the symbol is a lie.  That species simply evolved a way to make humans avoid eating them.  It’s quite intelligent and only screams once when bitten into.  Now on to the fruits that are picked fresh from the farm out back.  None of our fruits have been kept in syrup, so they don’t come with extra sugar.  Like the vegetables, we have every type that you can think of and some you’ve never heard of.  For example, this is a strawberry . . . Oh, you’ve heard of that?  Never mind.  These are the meats that range from these crumbled cow remains to these spicy red discs that may be pork.

Cheeses!  We make these ourselves in the basement laboratory, which is only the word we use since we don’t know what else to call it.  Cheese factory sounded too close to another establishment.  Nothing really special about these.  People are very particular about their cheeses, so you come in knowing what you want.  Do you smell that aromatic combination of aromas?  I wouldn’t know because my nose became utterly useless a month into having the position of Cheese Preparation Lord.  Your salad can be topped with slices, chunks, crumbles, shredded, and powdered if you wish.  Yes, we keep the croutons in this section too, but there’s no variety in them.

Last, but not least, we have all of our dressings.  Our saucier traveled the world to collect as many recipes as she could.  We make them fresh in the morning and put on as much as you want.  In fact, we prefer to put it on the side and bring you more if you think you need more.  Our more popular flavors are in the front such as tropical mango, ranch, Italian, seasoned tomato dressing, spicy peppermint pesto, and buffalo.  That last one isn’t what you think it is.  Not made from the animal, but all of the ingredients come from Buffalo, NY.  Our saucier assures us that it’s the traditional way to make it.  In the back are our lesser known dressings such as coffee slurry, bubblegum, melted cherry chapstick, and caramel cottage cheese.   They are nauseating, but you never know when someone will come in and ask for them.  It hasn’t happened yet, but I’d rather be prepared just in case.

There you have it.  What would you like?  Sorry, but the only way out of our establishment is to use the back door.  The robotic guard won’t let you out unless you have a salad, so there’s only one way to leave.  Yes, this is why we make so much money and it’s entire legal in this city.  Now, what would you like?  Cooked flattened dough, seasoned tomato dressing, shredded mozzarella, and the meat discs.  That is a very popular salad for some reason.  What do you call it?

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