In the past weeks, I have posted tips on crafting the opening of your novel. I also had a post that generated much discussion on the ending of your novel. I saved the best (most troublesome) for last, the middle. Some will refer to this as ‘the muddle’.
This is the part of your novel where you must keep the tension going and keep your reader interested as you lead them from the opening to the conclusion. You have to make sure there is enough action, intrigue, or development (depending on your genre) without giving away too much information until it is necessary to do so.
So, what kinds of devices can you use to keep your plot going without stalling or hitting a wall? Here are some of them:
Foreshadowing:
Foreshadowing involves given an overt or subtle hint to what will be happening in the future chapters of the…
My name is Andrew Joyce, and to my many fans—both of ’em—I want to say hello. To the rest of you good folks, I’d like to introduce myself.
I’m a writer of little renown. Now, as the title of this piece suggests, who am I to give advice? A very good question, one I’ve obviously asked myself. I have four books out and the fifth should be with us any day now. I have gone through what you are all going through. I’ve sat at my damn computer day after day trying to put into words the sensational story swirling around in my head. When I finally had my story on paper—and more or less coherent—I had to start with the editing. Then, to add insult to injury, once the book was published, I had to demean myself to market it. Well, maybe demean is not the right word, but…
A lot of author blogs focus on the writing craft and make posts about tenses, grammar, plot creation, genre, and other topics. Others go into the nuances of Amazon, marketing, and whatever else comes after you hit ‘PUBLISH’. These are very important things to know about and I’ve learned a lot. One of these posts years ago is why I can put a Table of Contents in my books. You really can avoid most of the common pitfalls by looking at what other authors have done. Just read the post and hope over the spike pit, but please make sure to drop a sandwich down to those who fell. I mean, you wouldn’t have been able to avoid the mess if they didn’t stumble first.
Now, I’ve been asked a few times why I don’t write much about the writing craft. I probably have done more than I realize over the years. Mostly, I write about character and world-building things since those are my favorite topics. Haven’t gone into much with the marketing and Amazon side. One reason for the later is because I’ve seen tons of authors tackle the challenge of explaining Amazon and most of them disappeared. There’s a real obsession with figuring out the tricks and hidden workings, but those things probably change every month. Besides, hard to write a new book or promote a published one if you’re spending most of your time analyzing Amazon.
There are a few reasons that I don’t really do a lot of craft-based posts:
I still have trouble calling myself an expert, which is why most of my advice has a warning of ‘this is just me’. There have been many times that another author and I have used a marketing platform or the same writing trick. Yet, one fails and the other succeeds. So, I only know what works for me and I’d hate to jump on a soapbox to declare my knowledge then have people fail. I’ll write about a topic if somebody asks or I’ve figured something out, but I don’t have a lot of confidence here.
I don’t think I write in a common enough style to give advice to other authors. Present tense third person is what I’m most comfortable with, but it means various tools don’t work for me. For example, you can’t reveal the past of a city or person in narration without it coming off very awkward. Conversations are better for information here, which I’ve been told to stop and move to narration because a few past tense authors and readers don’t acknowledge this. Anyway, I can explain my style and that’s pretty much where I stop because the rest is fairly basic like commas and foreshadowing.
Not even sure what to talk about. This should probably be #1, but I can never tell what’s writing craft and what isn’t. Doesn’t say much about me as an author, I guess. The thing is that all of the writing classes and groups that I got involved in were about reading and reviewing. I haven’t been involved in the meat and structure of writing since high school. There were discussions about character development and story structure in college, but I remember the debates more. Well, the thing I remember most is when an author had to sit there quietly while people ripped apart your work in the name of constructive criticism. I always thought this was more to teach people how to handle negative reviews than improve, but that’s just me. The point is that I spent more time fine-tuning my own style than going over the craft basics.
The times I ask for topic ideas, I get requests to write about world-building, specific characters, present tense writing, or fantasy. So, I believe that most people who follow this blog only want to hear about my genre and writings. I’ve been doing that for so long that I can’t even remember what I have and haven’t touched on.
Maybe I’ll figure out a few craft posts in the future, but that could be by accident. So, I’ll open the floor to authors and readers. What is the one piece of writing craft that you would like to read about? Perhaps you’ll see a comment asking about something that you know about, so interact. Let’s just have fun.
First, I would really appreciate it if Pandora stopped trying to make me listen to a cover of ‘Rebel Yell’. I don’t like it and can only thumbs down it so many times before I feel like I’m being ignored. Not against covers, but I didn’t get into this one. Just needed to get that off my chest.
Writing
With my son finishing summer school on Tuesday, I haven’t done much here. Finished the character bios and started the plot divisions for one the Sin stories. Really need a series title for that. ‘Tales of the Ether Son’? ‘Adventures of Sin’? ‘The Ether Son’? It’s hard to figure out because every book is Sin getting into a new adventure with very little connection to the last one until the main plot finally rises up to meet him. He isn’t even aware of the connections beyond running into a few familiar faces and his own personal goal. So, the title has to connect to him, but Sin isn’t easy to pinpoint. He’s a thief who uses a crossbow and is smart enough to get in and out of trouble. Think of Luke Callindor with more arrogance, foresight, and thought. Also, not that interested in being a hero, but he keeps stumbling into situations. Kind of like Mad Max. Anyway, a series title is going to be a pain here.
I managed to get all of the non-interview guest posts done for December and I tested the blurbs of Path of the Traitors on Thursday. Yeah, I just want to mention that they were up for about a day and got no comments. Really hoping that’s not a sign that things are pretty bad. If people want, I can try again tomorrow and see if I get responses and insight into them. Figured a weekday had a better chance of responses, which is partially true. I got a lot of likes on that one.
Laptop
It came back yesterday with the O.S. wiped clean, so I spent the afternoon putting it back together. Didn’t put on all of the programs I used to have since there were a bunch that I never used. I’m still nervous about this machine because they replaced the speaker again instead of the sound card. If it happens again then I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I want to test the machine with external speakers, but I don’t have any or know anybody with them. At least in this case. Still, nice to have the machine back. Oh, and it tricked me into setting up a ‘visual scan’ or something. It only opens Windows when the webcam catches my face. Not sure how I feel about that.
Parenting
This is the main event for the week and it’s been busy. My son got into martial arts last Saturday and we’ve been doing lessons. I brought him to one and my dad brought him to two because I had to cook dinner. They’re early evening, which means we have to rethink our schedules. He’s having fun and learning a lot. It’s MMA from what I can tell since the three classes he’s had are strikes, grappling, and defense. The grappling threw him off, but he was able to demonstrate it on the wife. I warned her it was a bad idea to do it before bed, but what do I know?
We tried to go to a nature preserve too. This really boils down to daddy getting lost in the wilderness for 2 hours. There are plenty of nature preserves around Long Island and this one was in the middle of a suburban area. It had two lakes, which I thought was interesting. Parking was finding a spot on a side street and then wandering along the barb-wired fence until we find an entrance. We saw birds, fish, and dragonflies, but my son wanted frogs. No luck there and finding another way out was a headache. I was eaten alive by mosquitoes and we ended up having to head back towards the way we came in after wandering aimlessly. Hoping to go to one that is on the shore and has ospreys. This one is simpler than the last, so it shouldn’t go south then.
Can’t say it’s been a smooth week though. We’ve been having trouble with food because my son got upset to the point where he threw up. He associated this with eating something bad, allergies, and then being afraid of throwing up. So, we have to convince him to eat and he gets panicky at the mention of breakfast. It’s going to be a long battle to reverse this because he isn’t caring that it makes him sleepy and lethargic. This is made worse by multiple adults having multiple tactics and stepping in each others way.
Oh, there is one funny story here that I almost forgot. My son and I went to a place called ‘Sonic’ for lunch. We had just finished getting the last of his school supplies. He needed to go potty, so he ran off ahead while I cleared the table. By the time I got to the bathrooms, he was inside. I had two shakes and a TMNT figure in my hands, so I needed help getting the men’s room door open. It was black in there, which meant he wasn’t inside. Panic set in for an instant before I realized he would have come to the women’s room first. He’s always gone in with me or my wife, so he never paid attention to the signs. I had to ask the woman behind the counter to check for him. There he was wondering what was going on and unsure of what he did wrong. Apparently, there was someone else inside that didn’t think anything of a little boy in the women’s room. I spent the afternoon explaining the signs and why I couldn’t go in after him. Time will tell if he remembers.
Goals for the week:
Parenting
Working Sin outlines
Maybe do the brackets for Ninja Never Wins
Cook some dinners
Escort little guy to martial arts and swimming
Nature preserves, playgrounds, and other fun stuff
What attracts you to the genre in which you write? I’m not bound to any one genre. What genre I choose to write mostly depends on my mood at that specific moment, or the premise that pops into my head. From there, it develops almost organically. Originally, I started as a screenwriter and wrote action, comedy, and thrillers. As an author, my books follow the same pattern. I’ve written fantasy, action, comedy, and creative non-fiction. Bottom line, my motivation is to write stories that move my readers independent of the genre.
What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d known when you started your writing adventures? That a bird in the hand is no doubt the best advice anyone could get. How I wish I had taken that to heart when I was offered my first sale many years ago. But, alas, I…
Rave Reviews Book Club. One of the objectives of the club is to recognize outstanding talent in its membership. A literary group has been established within RRBC named Rave Writers – International Society of Authors (RWISA). This month the club is featuring these authors on tour. I will be hosting them throughout the month, and I hope you enjoy being introduced to some excellent writing.
Harmony KentLive or Die?
By Harmony Kent
Sometimes, you need to accept help. Sometimes, you need to admit that you need it. Sometimes, you need to take the hand that’s offered. You reached out and took my arm. I let you. I took the assistance I needed. I gripped your hand so that you could pull me to my feet. The last thing I needed was for you to slit my wrists. So much blood. All that carnage. My heart ripped right out of…
Today on Reade and Write I welcome D.H. Gibbs, author of the new sweet romance short story A Touch of Kindness. Like other authors I have interviewed recently, D.H and I are in a Facebook group together. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I typically interview mystery authors, but I enjoyed D.H.’s children’s book, Don’t Go Mango Picking, so much that I thought it would be fun to learn more about her. Welcome, D.H.!
Tell me about your new book.
My new book is called A Touch of Kindness. It’s a sweet romance story about a woman named Mali who grew up thinking that everyone needs a little kindness to help them find their way. When she meets Quin this is what she does. She helps him out of a sticky situation. Of course Quin has secrets that has her wondering what she got herself…
Question: What’s the connection between my passion and social anxiety?
Answer: Both of them grew on me without my noticing. Both have remained with me. And one relates to the other.
How come?
As a child, I was outgoing and always wanted company. But company didn’t want me, especially if it was made of other children. I learned to hide my emotions from them and gradually refrain from talking to them as much as possible. That’s what led to social anxiety. I didn’t know it was coming and certainly didn’t want it. No one does. No one chooses to have social anxiety. It comes upon you when you’re not looking and takes over.
Decades later, I discovered the name, social anxiety, and with it, a world full of people with similar problems and feelings – people struggling in similar ways to me. And I realised how common…
I’ve done shields and swords, so now it’s time for projectile weapons. You’d be surprised how many different types of bows are out there. Even the picture above doesn’t cover it all since it’s missing crossbows and javelins. Anyway, let’s get to the fun:
Javelins– Lightweight spears that a person throws. Not the most advanced range weapon, but it can get the job done. They don’t even need metal tips because you can whittle a point on a stick and get a little distance.
Sling– Another simple weapon that I’m can be a simple leather sling or the more modern slingshot. The bullets can be stones or metal slugs that a specially made for the weapon.
Longbow– This is the most commonly used bow in fiction. It is about as tall as the archer and made from a single piece of wood, which is why they can also be called a Simple or Self Bow. This design has been found all over the world and has even been found with bodies that date back to 3,300 B.C. The Longbow can be seen as the basis for many of the others on the list.
Recurve– This is named for the limbs that curve away from the archer when unstrung. This allows the bow to store more energy and deliver it more efficiently. You have a shorter weapon because of the increase in energy. The Recurve has become the more commonly used bow these days for competitions. A version of this, which is used in the Olympics, is the Takedown Recurve. It can be taken apart and put back together. This is actually the main bow used The Ranger’s Apprentice series.
Flatbow– This bow has wide limbs and, unlike Longbows, narrows as it gets toward the solid handle. The design difference helps to put less stress on the material, so there’s more variety on what can be used. It is more difficult to make, which is the biggest disadvantage.
Composite– This bow is made from horn, wood, and sinew put together instead of a single piece like Longbows. Using a wooden core, the horn is on the inside to compress and the sinew is on the outside to stretch. This stores more energy and allows for a stronger shot. Composites aren’t used as often in fantasy because they are very complicated to make and require more materials. Most times you find a Composite would be with a noble or somebody who could afford it.
Compound– You don’t really see these in fantasy because they first showed up in the 1960’s. These are bows that work of a complicated leverage system of pulleys and cams. Composites used to be called Compounds, but that’s no longer the case. Now, you can put one of these in if you’ve established the basics that would have lead to the invention. Have to love the gnomes.
Crossbow– The invention that comes between bows and guns. This is a horizontal bow that launches a bolt with the pull of a trigger. It’s force is stronger than a longbow because of the mechanical addition. The loading mechanism differs with there being pull levers, push levers, and rack & pinion. Larger ones have a stirrup that you step on to help with loading, which is something that gets forgotten or a smaller crossbow is used. Now there are compound and recurve versions as well as a repeating crossbow from China that has a top-mounted magazine.
Mongol Bow– I just stumbled onto this, so it should be higher up. This is an example of a short bow. These simple piece weapons are easier to use on horseback because of the smaller size. A larger weapon would be ungainly and make it difficult to switch to an enemy on your other side.
Various Throwing Weapons– I’m lumping chakra, shuriken, kunai, bolas, boomerangs, darts, and other small, hand thrown weapons together. These can range from simple designs to complicated. Yet, you can easily make your own for a fictional world because the necessities are that they fit in the hand and can be thrown for a decent distance to cause damage. Not always lethal, but you can add poison to the mix if need be.
In the past weeks, I have posted tips on crafting the opening of your novel. I also had a post that generated much discussion on the ending of your novel. I saved the best (most troublesome) for last, the middle. Some will refer to this as ‘the muddle’.
Foreshadowing:
I’m a writer of little renown. Now, as the title of this piece suggests, who am I to give advice? A very good question, one I’ve obviously asked myself. I have four books out and the fifth should be with us any day now. I have gone through what you are all going through. I’ve sat at my damn computer day after day trying to put into words the sensational story swirling around in my head. When I finally had my story on paper—and more or less coherent—I had to start with the editing. Then, to add insult to injury, once the book was published, I had to demean myself to market it. Well, maybe demean is not the right word, but…
Harmony KentLive or Die?
As a child, I was outgoing and always wanted company. But company didn’t want me, especially if it was made of other children. I learned to hide my emotions from them and gradually refrain from talking to them as much as possible. That’s what led to social anxiety. I didn’t know it was coming and certainly didn’t want it. No one does. No one chooses to have social anxiety. It comes upon you when you’re not looking and takes over.
Legends of Windemere 