Story Sensei

The writing book, Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King (second edition), suggests eliminating dialogue tags in favor of action beats. For example, instead of he asked, she said, he demanded, replace the dialogue tags with action beats whenever possible. I've mentioned this before, but I thought I'd use a few more examples. Sometimes we writers go overboard on the action beats. For example: “How have you been?” He tucked in his tie. “Fine. How are you?” She fidgeted with her necklace. He sipped some water. “Work’s been busy.” “How’s the new manager doing?” She wet her lips and glanced around at the other diners in the restaurant. He looked up. His eyes pinned her to her seat, while his smile reminded her of Hannibal Lector. “He’s doing fine, just fine.” Only keep in the action beats that do something for the scene. If an action beat indicates emotion, or if you’re trying to convey a character’s personality in the beginning of the manuscript, then le

Kaye Dacus interviewed me about writer’s voice. The interview is below. You can also go to her blog for more answers on writer’s voice by Gail Martin and Shelley Bates . Kaye: How did you find your unique writing voice? Did you struggle to find it or did it come easily to you? Camy: Both, actually. When I first started writing, my voice was very muted because I didn't understand what a writer's voice was. Then I started to realize that each writer needs to let her natural "voice" come out in order to distinguish herself from every other writer out there. If you pick up an Amy Tan book, you can tell the writer's voice is very different from Helen Fielding's (Bridget Jones). You'd never mistake one for the other. I wanted my voice to be distinctive like that. Once I figured that out, I let go of all inhibitions and wrote exactly how I wanted to write, regardless of rules, etc. I fixed things up in revisions, but my voice was there on the page, uninhibited an

ATTENTION: UNPUBLISHED MYSTERY/SUSPENSE & ROMANTIC SUSPENSE AUTHORS The Kiss of Death Chapter's 2007 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense is rapidly approaching, and although the body count is adding up, there's still room for yours! Look what New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan has to say about the Daphne … "In 2003, I finaled in the Single Title Daphne and came in second. While I didn't sell that book, the editor and agent comments were invaluable in helping me figure out my writing strengths and weaknesses. As a result, the next year I found an agent and sold THE PREY to Ballantine." -- Allison Brennan, author of SPEAK NO EVIL, out now!!! So pull those manuscripts out of the crypt and send them post haste. Why? Because the deadline is March 15, 2007. What happens if you don't? It frightens us to say. The Daphne has enlisted the help of some acquiring editors and agents as final round judges who rarely judge contests.

This is a trick I learned from both Colleen Coble and the book, Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias . Instead of naming an emotion, show the character under the strain of the emotion. Instead of writing, “Anger burned through her,” show the anger burning through her, without writing the word “anger.” A volcano exploded in the pit of her stomach, spewing gases up to sear her nose and make her eyes sting. She could barely breathe through her taut throat. Her hands shook with the strength it took to hold them back from slapping him. The strength of the imagery and the power of the emotional moment is heightened if you can show the emotion rather than naming it. When writing the rough draft, don’t think about stuff like naming the emotion or not. Just get the scene down. I even write notes to myself in brackets so that I can plow through without stopping to enhance my language or fix my typos. However, when you’re revising, go through each scene and look for places you might n

For every new scene, there’s typically some sort of description to ground the reader into the setting. Whether it’s a kitchen in a quaint farmhouse, or a Regency drawing room, or the wild Montana wilderness, or an urban police station. As writers, we strive for accuracy. Farmhouses typically don’t have crystal chandeliers, and Regency drawing rooms wouldn’t have a computer sitting on the Chippendale desk. But don’t just give your readers the visual descriptions—give them the experience of walking into the setting by stimulating their olfactory senses. In other words, smell. Our scent memory is incredibly powerful. We don’t necessarily remember the exact smell so much as we feel certain emotions triggered by a smell, or even the mention of a specific scent. Contrast a diner with the aroma of hamburgers and fries versus a Midwest farmhouse filled with the warm, spicy smell of Grandma’s apple pies in the oven. Or maybe walking into a New York high-rise office that reeks of the editor-in-

The writing book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King (second edition) is one of the best books for bumping your writing up to the next level and making it look more professional. If you haven’t read this book yet, I strongly suggest you buy it or borrow it and read it right away. They suggest eliminating dialogue tags in favor of action beats. For example, instead of he asked, she said, he demanded, replace the dialogue tags with action beats whenever possible. The reason is that dialogue tags are often redundant. Many times, it’s already obvious who is speaking. The dialogue itself can sometimes indicate how the character is speaking, with what emotion. And dialogue tags are often accompanied with an –ly adverb, which can be “telling” the reader the emotion when you should “show” it instead. “Did you have to kill the postman?” he demanded angrily. Dave sailed into the kitchen. “How are you doing, Mary?” He stopped short. “I’m just waving around a bloody

The Christian Writers’ Market Guide by Sally Stuart Camy here: This is one of the best resources for Christian writers who want more information about magazines, publishers, and agents. I personally used the magazine listing more than anything else, especially in trying to find markets to publish my short fiction stories. This is only a jumping-off point—it’s up to the writer to get sample copies of the magazine and figure out the style and tone of the articles for each publication. But writing articles is a terrific way to beef up your resume, even if you’re writing a novel at the same time. One thing I do caution is for writers to write what they delight in. If you don’t like writing articles or short stories, then don’t. But if you enjoy it, then go for it and beef up your resume. And above all, if you want to write that novel, you have to schedule time to work on it in addition to any other articles or stories you do. If your goal is to finish that book, then don’t give up too mu

After I was contracted, several people—including my senior editor and my agent—mentioned that one reason I was so "sellable" to the publishing committee was because I had a definite brand and niche in the marketplace. I know many authors hate to brand themselves or lock themselves into a certain genre or type of writing, but because it's becoming so difficult to get a contract these days, it's definitely something to think about. Several writers have been published in multiple genres quite successfully, but unfortunately, they are very few and far between. To maximize a writer's chances of presenting a manuscript that will be accepted to a pub board, they have to think about branding. The pub board doesn't care as much about the writing--after all, that's why the manuscript has gone through the editors, to ensure the writing is strong. The pub board cares about if they can sell this book to booksellers, if they can make any money off of the print runs. If

I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned anything about the Genesis contest yet. Well, it’s finally here! The 2007 Genesis contest for unpublished writers, put on by American Christian Fiction Writers . The Genesis contest, formerly known as the Noble Theme contest, is becoming one of the largest Christian Fiction writing contests in the world. Yours truly is the contest coordinator (again) this year. Head on over to the Genesis page on the ACFW website for more information. Some highlights of the contest: --We have TEN CATEGORIES of Christian Fiction --You can enter as many entries as you like, in as many categories as you like (although you need to pay a separate entry fee for each entry) --It is all electronic this year, which means no postage, no printing, no copying, no self-addressed stamped envelope, no entries or scoresheets lost in the mail. All entries will be judged using Microsoft Word’s Track Changes feature. And if you don’t have Microsoft Word, no problem! We can return you

You don’t want your protagonist to be perfect—repeat after me, Perfect is boring —but you do need your protagonist to be likable. Think to yourself what makes your friends and family likable. What traits, actions, feelings, morals? What do you most admire in others? Give those characteristics to your protagonist. Look at other books, plays, and movies and take note at how the author makes the character likable (or fails to make the character likable). For example, in Jane Austen’s Emma , the heroine is mistaken in her observations and decided in her head-strong opinions, yet she is likable because she often shows genuine love for her silly friend Harriet, acknowledging how Harriet’s open and heart-felt manner makes her a better person than Emma herself. Emma is certainly not perfect—if she were, the story would be only a couple chapters long—but Austen makes her likable with actions and traits that make the reader respect and admire her. Make your own characters strong, flawed—and lika

You don’t need a paragraph to describe your character, whether the Point of View character or any other character in the scene. A segment of descriptive narrative slows down the reading flow, and you want to keep your reader riveted to the page. Make character descriptions short, strong, and unique. Short—Again, you don’t need a paragraph. Start off with a short phrase or sentence at the beginning of the scene, and sneak in bits of description as the scene progresses. Strong—Use vivid and specific language. Don’t be wishy-washy and use words like nice car, lovely flower, short man. Instead, use richer language like firecracker-red Mazda RX-7, a crisply unfolding creamy orchid, a few inches above a fire hydrant. Unique—Avoid clichés. Period. Instead of dirty dishwater blonde, think up something more original and unusual, limp hair lying in strips like a paper mulberry tree. Read good writing to see good description at work.

First off, let me say that I personally don’t advocate basing characters off of people I know. Aside from the fear of being sued, it can be awkward if the person doesn’t like how you portray them, or if other people don’t like how you’ve portrayed them, or if other friends get their feelings hurt that you immortalized so-and-so in print but not them. However, each person has traits you can borrow, and you can create your characters out of a composite of these traits. My father-in-law’s tendency to always tell bad jokes made it into my heroine’s Uncle Howard. My dad’s favorite pastime, bowling, made it into my heroine’s father. I do my best not to base the majority of a character’s personality off of a single person. I’ll usually try to come up with something general such as a mythological archetype (see 45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt ) and then create a three-dimensional personality by adding a unique background and different traits. Even when using archetypes, no two c

Here’s another great quote from Dwight Swain on characterization: The key to effective character presentation is contrast. Think about it. If your heroine is just like a typical heroine in your genre, she’ll be boring and two-dimensional. If she’s just like a minor character in your story, she’ll again be boring and two-dimensional. Contrast your characters both against other books, and against other characters in your book. The first is harder, but I keep in mind Donald Maass’s advice to make your characters larger than life. Make them do things you wouldn’t do. Make them better than who you are, make them even better than your real-life heroes. I’m not saying to make them perfect, but to make them richer. The most memorable characters in fiction are those who are out of the common mold, with multiple facets and a dominant impression on the reader. Also make sure your characters aren’t too much like the other characters in the story. The most obvious method is to make sure their dial

As a writer, you need to take care of your body. If you are in good health, your blood is feeding your brain so it buzzes faster and the writing comes easier. I know it’s hard when you’ve been chasing kids all day and/or working a full-time job, but a few minutes and a couple small changes can make all the difference between blazing creativity or writer’s block. Take a ten minute stretch or walking break every hour. This can not only help a bad back, it will get your heart pumping lightly to send more oxygen to your brain cells. Another option is to stand as you work, whether with your laptop on a shelf or elevating your monitor and keyboard so you can stand at your desk. Drink lots of water. Keep a water bottle by your writing area so you can remember to drink enough. If you’re hydrated properly, your brain works more efficiently and fuels your creativity. See? Just a few small changes can help your writing tenfold!

Dwight Swain made a point in Techniques of the Selling Writer that is a truth which endures today. How do you shape development of your characters? Stress is the formative factor, the thing that makes or breaks a man. So, plunge your people into conflict. Let pressure strip away the gloss and reveal them as they really are. No matter how much writing styles have changed through the years, this still holds true for all characters. Conflict and stress is what reveals their personalities to your reader. A character who seems rather two-dimensional can often be fleshed out more by putting him in an extreme situation. What are your character’s hot buttons? What are his fears? What are his weaknesses? Slam him with one of them in a difficult scene. Readers tend to root for the underdog, so putting pressure on your character can add to her appeal. Pressure can reveal more about the character’s inner depths and motivations as the character reacts to the conflict, which helps the reader unders

After I was contracted on my Asian chick lit novel, I had what’s called macro edits or developmental edits. And one of the biggest problems I had to address in my macro edits was TOO MANY CHARACTERS. Trying to be cute—well, as cute as I thought I was being, anyway—I had named practically every person my heroine interacted with, from the receptionist to the talent scout she had to call. I had a quandary, because while I could get away with writing, “Lex talked to the talent scout on the telephone” in a synopsis, it was hard to make her dialogue with Mr. Nameless Talent Scout in the actual manuscript. Lex dialed Talent Scout, who picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” “Hi, Talent Scout. My name is Lex Sakai, and I work for SPZ Sports Zone.” The problem with too many characters, however, is that if you drop names of people who are never heard from again, it can confuse the reader and make the story seem “crowded.” They’ll have a hard time remembering the names of the minor characters who a

Names mean something. Everybody knows that. Your reader, however, will not always know that Amaterasu means “shining over heaven.” Be sensible in naming your characters. It’s good if you can pick a name that means something significant to the story or the character’s personality, however don’t go overboard. Most readers don’t really know what most English names mean. Also think about how that name falls in a historical context. A name like “Agatha” was popular many years ago, whereas “Kaitlyn” is more modern. Therefore, the initial picture in a reader’s mind when they see the name “Agatha” might not be the buxom teenager she actually is (and my apologies to any buxom young teens named Agatha). Don’t take alliteration too far. It can be humorous, but don’t make a name that will cause your readers to stumble in their reading flow. “Petunia Petrucci” might be funny, but if your reader is taken out of the story every time they see the word Petunia (especially if she’s some hulking Nurse R

When creating your characters, make every aspect of their lives mean something to the story. That includes their occupations. A person’s job says a lot about their personality, their likes and dislikes. One of my Sushi Series heroines, Alexis “Lex” Sakai, chafes in her engineering position. However, when she’s offered a job working for a huge sports information website, she jumps at the chance because she’s a sports nut. Lex’s job reflects her interests, and her coworkers and responsibilities at work impact the storyline in various ways. The job is not just “a job,” but also a plot point and almost a character trait. Think about your characters’ jobs, and brainstorm how they can influence the storyline in some way. That will make a more tightly woven story.

The key thing an editor will want to know early in the synopsis is each major protagonist’s external goal. This should be obvious within the first 1-3 paragraphs. The external goal must be concrete and specific, not something vague like “Jane wants to become a successful rock star.” A good external goal has a definite end to it, where there is a point when the protagonist knows exactly when they’ve succeeded or failed. An external goal is typically something physical that can be touched or held, although not always. For example, a good external goal for Jane would be “to get my picture on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine” because that’s the point at which she knows she’s become a successful rock star. Then all her actions in the story will be aiming toward that goal of getting her picture there. The goal is not always specifically stated like this in the manuscript. For example, in your manuscript, you might show Jane fingering Rolling Stone and dreaming about her picture there,

Do you have any lines of dialogue in your synopsis? Even if they’re key lines, cut them and tell what’s going on instead. You can usually trim by telling instead of showing. For example: Luke hangs on the overhanging metal strut, armless and vulnerable. Darth Vader reaches out to him and says, “Luke, I am your father.” “No! That’s not true!” Luke denies, then falls down the duct to what he believes will be his death. Vs. Luke hangs vulnerable on the metal strut. Darth Vader insists he’s Luke’s father, which Luke denies. Luke drops down the duct. Be careful about the climax of the story—that’s usually the place where writers are tempted to include key dialogue lines which the story pivots upon. However, in trimming a synopsis, it’s better to cut those dramatic lines in favor of “just the facts” and a shorter synopsis.

There was a two-part interview with my Zondervan Senior Editor, Sue Brower, over at Novel Journey with Gina Holmes. Sue used to be Senior Marketing Director before she became Senior Fiction Editor, so she brings a lot of extra background to her editing. She thinks not only about the writing, but also the marketability, the author's brand, etc. She's been really great to work with. Check out the pearls of wisdom from the woman who “discovered” me . ;) Part One Part Two

If you have something you’re aiming for, then it can motivate you to be efficient and productive. I’m not talking about goals like “get an agent” or “get a publishing contract” which are not things you can control. I’m talking about concrete goals for you to achieve. Things like “finish my manuscript this year” or “research and query ten agents.” Set deadlines, if you can: “finish my manuscript by December 30th, 2007” or “research and query ten agents by January 31st, 2007.” If writing is something important to you, then spur yourself on in your writing career. Set goals and work toward them. This is kind of funny, but this type of setting goals is just like giving your characters external goals. The goals are concrete, with a deadline, and not something dependent on things out of the character’s control.

I just got this e-mail from Randy Ingermanson, who publishes the Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine : Hi all, For nearly two years, the most popular feature in my Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine has been my monthly column on marketing. Some of my readers don't even write fiction! Some of you read this e-zine only for the marketing information. I'm delighted to tell you that I'm launching a new free e-zine dedicated to teaching advanced internet marketing methods to writers of all stripes, whether you write fiction or nonfiction, whether you have been published or not, whether you are techie or not. The new e-zine will be called THE MAD GENIUS WRITER. (My friends came up with this name, and I defer to their near-unanimous opinion, the wretches.) THE MAD GENIUS WRITER is for writers ONLY! (And your editors, agents, publicists, and publishers.) I do NOT want anyone else reading it. I hope to unleash your inner "mad genius" to help you market your work as effectively as

The three Barbour editors, Rebecca Germany, JoAnne Simmons, and Susan Downs, have a blog! It’s called The Edit Café , and it’s FABULOUS. The blog posts offer great insight into the action behind the editing process, and they answer questions, too! Head on over and say hi. Tell them Camy sent you!

HEARTBEAT INTERN CONTEST for Pre-Pubbed, Pre-PRO Romance Writers Accepting entries starting January 1, 2007! This is a brand new contest aimed at beginners. In other words, if you’ve been published in any format at any time, or have achieved RWA-PRO ( Romance Writers of America ) status, you’re not eligible. CATEGORIES & JUDGES Romantic Suspense: Patience Smith - Silhouette Suspense. Erotic Romance: Alicia Rasley - Red Sage Anything Romance w/ Medical Elements: Sheila Hodgson - Harlequin Mills & Boom Medicals Inspirational Romance: Melissa Endlich - Steeple Hill Series Romance (long & short): Scott Eagan - Greyhaus Literary Agency Single Title Romance: Hilary Sares - Kensington First place winners in each category will receive a critique from Lois Winston, Agent with Grayson Literary Agency. TIMELINE 1. Entries accepted from January 1 - February 1 (Entries with a postmark of February 1 or before will be accepted until February 6). 2. If a deadline falls on a Saturday/Sunda

Oh, goodness! Sara’s heart pounded in her chest. “Josephine! I didn’t even see you there!” While just 10 years ago, books had tons of exclamation points all over the place, these days, most editors prefer limited use of exclamation points, especially in dialogue. They typically suggest using them only if someone is screaming or shouting, rather than just a raised voice. Some are nazis about it, some aren't. I would suggest getting rid of as many exclamation points as you can just in case you come across someone who's picky about it.

Separate from your own unique writer’s voice is each individual character’s voice. Sometimes writers will not make each character’s own dialogue distinct enough to be able to tell characters apart. Many times, if you remove the dialogue tags and action beats from a scene of dialogue, the two characters will sound exactly alike, whether it’s two men, two women, or a man and a woman. Each character should be so individual that even their speech patterns are distinct. I’m not talking about dialect or slang. Lots of things can contribute to character voices--pacing and rhythm, word choice, grammar, sentence length, casual versus formal. Don’t cop out and give one person a lisp or a dialect—try to make them unique just by their words alone. You, as the writer, know who is who as you hear each character talking in your head. The challenge is to convey the distinction on the page to the reader. One exercise I like to do is to take an incident and have different characters tell it. Often, I ca

When reading contest entries or manuscript for critiquing, sometimes dialogue goes on for too long. This can affect pacing, and it can also disengage the reader if the dialogue isn’t necessary to character development or the plot. Look through your own manuscript to see if a few interchanges in a scene of dialogue might be unnecessary. Sometimes things like that are needed to set tone, or reveal character, but look through your dialogue to see if anything can be cut. You as the writer have a good feel for what's vital to your voice and the tone, and what might be just fluff. Most writers say that anything that can reduce word count will usually only make the story better. Anything that can speed up the pace a bit during action scenes (dialogue) will help glue the reader to the page.

Rather than listening to me talk, why not read a few good articles on dialogue: http://www.jamesscottbell.com/Site/Dialogue%20Tips.html http://www.sff.net/people/alicia/artdialogue.htm http://www.pammc.com/dialogue.htm (good examples of proper punctuation for dialogue) http://www.charlottedillon.com/Articles.html http://www.writing-world.com/fiction/index.shtml These last two are websites with several articles on various topics, including dialogue. These links were current as of the publishing of this blog post. If any are broken, please e-mail me or leave a comment to let me know.

Mark Goodyear made a great point that one way to learn to write good dialogue is to read good dialogue, and one of the best resources are good plays. Specifically, the Tony winners, since aren’t those the best plays written in America? If you go to his blog post about it , he gives the website of the Tonys and how to search for plays to read. Plays can be found in your local library. They might also be in the drama department of your local high school and available for loan, so send your child on a recon mission. Another good resource is online stores where you can buy cheap used copies (which you can then flag and mark up with notes). Look for dialogue that moves you, then look through it again to discover why. Look at pacing, sentence rhythm, word choice—especially word choice specific to certain characters. Judicious use of sentence structure and sentence length also make up good dialogue. Once you analyze good dialogue, you’ll find you’ll be more critical of your own writing as y

All dialogue should have some type of conflict. Exchange of information or small-talk is boring and slows the reading flow. The characters don’t need to be fighting with each other, but there should be something one of the characters is fighting FOR. Fighting to hide information, fighting to obtain information, fighting to right a wrong, fighting to convince the other. In the words of Randy Ingermanson ( Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine ), “Dialogue is war.” A dialogue with two strong forces has the energy to propel the story forward. It tends to be highly emotional, but at the same time very simple and direct (unlike actual conversation in real life). The best way to have both emotion and simplicity is to lay the dialogue down first and then go back later to refine, cut, clarify. Because dialogue is emotional, it also tends to be more give-and-take, more back-and-forth. In our modern publishing industry, it’s rare to have a character go on and on without the other character responding.

“I know you did it.” He slammed his fist on the table. She fingered her long necklace with manicured fingers. “I never said I did.” “We have you on tape.” He reached out to touch the micro-recorder. “I told you, I was only joking when I said that.” She wouldn’t look at him. He crossed his arms and glared at her. “People don’t joke to kill someone.” “That’s not true. People joke about killing their friends all the time.” She crossed her arms and stared him down. Even though we vary the sentence structure and the position of the dialogue, the action beats in this conversation are a bit much. You don't need to identify the speaker every time he speaks. You can have back and forth a bit and still know who's speaking. Action beats should have a purpose --to show inner emotion or characterization, not just as filler in between lines of dialogue. “I know you did it!” “I never said I did.” “We have you on tape.” “I told you, I was only joking when I said that.” She wouldn’t look at him

“As you know, Bob, your mother left you at the age of five to run off to California with the family lawyer, leaving you to be raised by your bohemian grandparents. Do think it’s affecting your judgment about this child abandonment case?” Be careful about dialogue that’s there just to inform the reader. Bob would know what his mother did, and wouldn’t need to be told or reminded. “You’re too close to this case, Bob.” “What do you mean?” He crossed his arms. She spoke with a hitch of hesitation in her voice. “You were the same age as this kid when your mom . . .” She didn’t have to say it. As a child, he’d prayed for an earthquake to swallow up both his mother and the ex-family lawyer in California. Maybe he was too close to this. Some things won’t seem like telling at first, but at closer look they might: She spoke with a hitch of hesitation in her voice. “You were the same age as this kid when your mom left you for the family lawyer.” (Does Bob need to be reminded whom she ran off with

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Keep practicing. Voice is developed by writing, writing, writing. Try doing a voice writing exercise each week. It only takes a few minutes, and that weekly stretching and warm-up will help your writing the rest of the week. And not just short exercises--use your manuscript as practice ground for unleashing your raw voice. Take a scene, or a page of your manuscript. Work some of the exercises with that piece of your writing. Not only will you be developing your voice, you’ll also be working on beefing up your manuscript. Don’t be discouraged if the exercises don’t seem to be showing dramatic results. Often a writer’s voice comes out subtly, in waves or glimpses. Some writers’ voices are loud, others are soft and more subtle. Don’t a

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Speak your voice through characters. Like a ventriloquist, you throw your voice into a story character so that it's you and yet not you speaking. More than anything, it should be the character's voice that dominates, but your own voice will add vibrancy to your character. Your heroine will have her own unique way of speaking, and it will also depend on her audience. She may speak one way to her mother and a different way to the hero. Through it all, don't be limited by her personality--rather, let her individuality unleash your own raw voice. Take a persona and notice if you speak directly in his voice--in his skin--or describe him as if you're in the room. Sometimes, this can indicate a preference for first person v

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Take a lesson from children's storytelling. When children tell stories, they improvise with things connected to their emotions, urgent and important to them at the moment. The duckie in their lap, the blue carpet, the stinky smell from the diaper bag, the lint under the table. It doesn't have to make sense, it doesn't have to be polished. What makes their stories compelling is that it's raw and free. Our writers' voices come out when we can emulate their storytelling mindset. This is related to what we say in public and private. There are certain things we will only say to our families, or sometimes just to ourselves. I'm not talking about foul language or unpleasant bodily functions. Opinions, one-line zinge

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Discover your natural rhythm. All of us have a natural cadence to our speech and thoughts. It's a combination of our genes and environments. For every writer, it's unique. Write nonsense words in grammatically correct sentences, or do free-writing--keep the pen moving even if you just write nonsense or the same sentence over and over. You'll discover things about your voice. Your sentence length, your word choice. Alliteration, metaphors, similes. Twists of phrase, dialect. Learn to be aware of these aspects of your voice's cadence.

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Write your voice with your whole body. An opera singer or a screaming child uses his entire body to project his voice. It's a comprehensive, total physical feat. A writer is the same. You want to use your entire being--your whole body--to bring out your writer's voice. This will mean different things to different writers. The important thing is to discover your own all-encompassing combination of rhythm, force, and music that is your voice. The key is all-encompassing--try to involve all of you, not just your mind. Try to imagine what it's like for you to write from your gut, from your toes, digging in with your shoulders, straining with your spine. Make it an energetic feat, requiring force and strength, pulling in aspe

Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to find and/or further develop your voice. (Most of these exercises are taken from Finding Your Writer's Voice: A Guide to Creative Fiction by Thaisa Frank and Dorothy Wall ) Unusual situations and a sense of urgency will bring out voice. External stimuli: Create a certain setting or mood by surrounding yourself with objects that will put you emotionally in different states. Try laying on your desk several things that make you mad. Or maybe things that make you sad. Be creative and utilize all five senses. Create different atmospheres that run the gamut of your emotions--don't hold back. Explore difficult emotions, intense emotions. Internal stimuli: Use your mind to put you in different places, at different times. A cold, lonely prison cell. A loud, crowded prison cell. An abandoned warehouse during WW2 with bombs exploding. A desolate cornfield during the Depression. What's important is to put

One vital way to make your writing stand out is voice. In many of the contest entries I've judged and manuscripts I've critiqued, writers have muted their natural voice to sound bland and generic. Writing that's alive with its own distinct vocal flavor is a joy to read. The prose is richer and more vibrant, the characters more three-dimensional--all because the writer opens herself to her own writing style and revels in it. However, voice can also be the most difficult and slippery aspect of writing craft to discover and perfect. Raw, creative voice often doesn't result in a polished piece. The key is to first lay down the story with your unhindered voice and polish later. But how to unleash your voice? Many times, a writer's internal critic is hampering the free reign of his unique style, but certain exercises can help him lift all restraints, open the cage door, and let the lion roar. Not all these exercises will work for every writer, but some might enable you to

Howard Books fiction editor Terry Whalin has started a "Writing Tip of the Day" where you can insert html code into your blog or website and have his writing tip automatically change each day. He has 31 tips now, and intends to write more later. Information is at this blog post . I've inserted it in my sidebar so you can see what it looks like. It's a terrific idea and Terry's background and expertise makes him an ideal person to write these tips for writers.

This is a page or two listing books similar to yours but different in some way. This is to show how your book would both fit in and stand out from the books already in print. Make sure the books you list aren’t too old. List recent titles over older ones. Show clearly how the books are similar, but also show clearly how yours differ. For example: Embryo Factory: The Stem Cell Wars by Rev. Richard A. Humphrey and Dr. Loren J. Humphrey, ACW Press, 2003. This Christian suspense dives deep into the complex moral and technical issues surrounding stem cell research, using a minister and a physician as protagonists. Bitter Dragon also deals with stem cell research, but takes the issue a step further into human cloning and fetal tissue harvesting for disease therapy, with a backdrop of action and adventure pushing the Asian heroine into danger.

Don’t list things like “willing to appear on Oprah”—well, duh. Plus so few authors actually make it on Oprah, period. Be specific about what you personally can do. What groups do you belong to, and what can you realistically do to use your connections to promote your book? For example: Do you work in a school and can you influence the librarian or other schools’ libraries to carry your book? Do you belong to any national organizations and can you give workshops on your book topic at your local chapter? Do you have an active blog or website and can you utilize that to spread the word on the internet?

If you don't have many writing credits, don't point it out. If you have a lot, point only to the relevant ones. If you wrote an article on abuse in Woman's World and an article on stretching in Runner's World , include the Woman's World but not the Runner's World . If you belong to a national writers organization like RWA, ACFW, SFWA, MWA, then include it. Also include if you’ve ever worked in a publishing house or for a magazine. Don't ramble on for paragraphs and pages about your family and experiences—keep it to only those things that are pertinent for your story. If the main plot of your story is about hang-gliding and you've done that several times, then include it. But if your story is about the stock market, then don't include the hang-gliding experience. Your social connections can also have pertinence. If your story is set in medieval Scotland and you belong to a local Scottish Heritage group, then mention that. However, if the main plot o

This is a great website uncovering various agent scams and unscrupulous practices among agents. http://www.sfwa.org/beware/ There's also a highly informative blog. http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/

Quick tip for how to write a synopsis Another quick tip for how to write a synopsis

This is basically the same as the story blurb you included in your query letter. Your story blurb will either hook the editor or not. Here are some pointers. 1) Try to write it in the tone or voice of the novel. If your manuscript is a romantic comedy, make the blurb sound fun and flirty. If your novel is a dark thriller, make the blurb sound sinister and exciting. 2) It should name the main protagonists. The villain can also be named if he/she is a major protagonist. 3) The main protagonists' external goals should be clear. 4) There should be some hint of the major obstacle(s) in the protagonists' way. 5) A nice touch is to add a little info on the main protagonists' internal or spiritual conflicts. 6) Unlike a synopsis, you do not need to give away the ending, but you may if you prefer. Example: Risa Takayama would rather eat rotten tofu than listen to her aunts’ tweaking her about her weight and lack of a Significant Other. She’s the Elephant Man next to her Barbie-doll

Not all proposals are set up the same way, but here’s a bare-bones structure of a typical one. --(optional) Story blurb. Just a paragraph—two to four sentences—about the story. Similar to back cover copy. --Synopsis. Should be about one to two pages long. DO reveal the ending. This is the entire story laid out. See “Synopsis” on the right sidebar to see my other articles on synopsis writing. --Bio. Your writing credits, any experience in the writing or publishing industry, and any social connections or life experiences that have any relevance to the story. --Hook. What makes this story unique? How is this story different from any other book that’s sitting on the shelves at Barnes and Noble? What kind of spiritual, emotional, or personal message will a reader glean from it? --Category/genre. Make it easy for the editor/agent to know what the major genre is. --Length of manuscript. Round to the closest 100 or 1000 words. --(optional) Alternate titles. Expect your publisher to change your

Psychology for Screenwriters by William Indick From the back cover: To make their stories come alive, screenwriters must understand human behavior. Using this book, writers can make Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erik Erikson, and Joseph Campbell their writing partners. Psychology for Screenwriters helps scribes craft psychologically resonant characters and conflict. You’ll learn to create convincing motivation, believable identity and development, and archetypes that produce authentic screen moments. Camy here: It might be because I majored in Psychology in college, but I thought this book was one of the more fascinating writing books I’ve read this year. This book was most useful to me to explain the concept of archetypes and dramatic situations—why there only seem to be a limited number of them that are used often in drama and novels, why they’re important, the psychological theories behind them that explain their power over an audience or a reader. As writers, we’ve read

One thing I see often in the entries I judge in contests is long passages of dialogue. And why not? Jane Austen got away with it. Historical romance writers—even the current best-selling ones—have long paragraphs of one person talking. Granted, historical novels have a completely different atmosphere that’s more conducive to long stints of dialogue, but let’s face it, folks—do YOUR friends like to hear you talk for that long without stopping? Believable dialogue in contemporary fiction, especially, needs shorter passages and more back-and-forth between characters. One person says a sentence or two, the other person responds to what they said. Historical fiction can have slightly longer passages, but big ole’ long honkin’ paragraphs might lose your reader’s attention. Shorter passages of dialogue also serve to pick up the reading pace. Long passages of dialogue can become ponderous to the reader and stall the story flow. Here’s an exercise that takes this to the extreme, but can help yo

I probably should have run this post when I started my short series on cutting a synopsis. (Click on "Synopsis" on the sidebar to see all my synopsis posts.) While I haven’t talked to every editor and agent on the planet, the majority of the ones I’ve spoken to prefer a 2-3 page synopsis. However, every editor is different. One editor will want a one-page synopsis, another will want an extensive chapter-by-chapter synopsis. In my experience, it’s usually better to opt for the shorter synopsis when submitting a proposal. If they want a longer one, they usually specifically mention that they do. Another reason to have a short synopsis handy: Writing contests often have you submit a short, 1-2 page synopsis with your entry. Here’s a little tip: when querying a novel, it doesn’t hurt to slip a one-page synopsis in with your one-page query letter. And it doesn’t cost any more in postage. Also, when submitting a partial manuscript or a proposal (only at the editor’s request, of cou

If you don’t have a chance to go to a conference and meet the agent face-to-face, or if the agent doesn’t attend the conference(s) you go to, then ask other writers about their agents. If you belong to an online writers group, ask them to e-mail you privately about their agents. Ask about communication styles and work ethics. Ask them about their relationships, how the agent works, etc. Also, tell them you’ll keep all their information completely confidential. Another good idea is something a published author did (I want to say Rene Gutteridge did this, but I’m not positive)—she contacted several editors and asked them to give her the top three agents they enjoy working with. That way the editors aren’t put on the spot about any particular agent.

All agents have different communication styles. Some agents are more minimalistic—short, to-the-point e-mails, and not very frequent. Some of them don’t mind if you contact them often, they just won’t contact you back as much. Other agents, however, prefer minimal contact from you, as well. For some people, this type of minimal-communication agent is what they prefer—they don’t want to be bombarded by information they don’t really need, they just need an agent who will work in the background for them. Other agents are more in contact with their clients. They e-mail and/or call frequently, and welcome reciprocal contact from clients. Since I am a more chatty person, my agent is the latter. That simply meshes with my personality—it’s an individual choice. For you, figure out what kind of communication the agent has. Ask questions. Give hypothetical scenarios. “How often will you contact me in a typical week?” “Once you send the manuscript to editors, how often will you contact me? What w

Randy Ingermanson wrote an excellent article about bad agents in his Advanced Fiction Writing Ezine : .PDF file text file No agent is much better than having a bad agent. At best, a bad agent will not push your manuscripts promptly and will waste your time. At worst, a scammer will take your money and ruin your chances with publishers through reprehensible business practices. Anyone can print up a business card and call themselves an agent, whether they have any experience or connections with editors and the industry or not. Don’t go with any agent who charges a reading fee or sends you to a specific book doctor or editing company. Check that the agent is a member of the AAR (Association of Authors' Representatives) . Members are required to adhere to their Canon of Ethics, which prohibits scammers.

Many writers worry about sending queries or proposals to several agents at once. First of all, if you received these submission requests at a conference, it’s understood that you might have multiple requests and therefore multiple submissions. It’s also fine to send multiple queries to multiple agents, however you should check the agent’s website to see what his/her policy is on multiple submissions. Some agents discourage it. Some agents don’t care. Whether you have multiple submission requests from an conference or you’re just sending multiple queries to agents, in your cover letter or query letter, let the agent know that your manuscript has been submitted to other agents. It’s a common professional courtesy. Do NOT skip this bit of communication. If an agent requests a partial manuscript or a full manuscript, e-mail or write to the other agents you submitted to and let them know such-and-such agent has requested the partial (or full). It might garner more interest in your writing,

For some houses like Heartsong Presents and Steeple Hill, a writer doesn’t need an agent to sell to them. Some writers who have targeted those houses worry an agent is just taking them on for an easy sale. As a writer, you can tell if an agent is truly interested in you and your writing. Did they read your manuscript? Offer suggestions or feedback? Do they plan which specific editors to send it to because they know the editors’ specific tastes? Do they communicate with you quickly and consistently? Is their communication thorough? And for goodness’ sake, if an agent requests your proposal or your full manuscript, SEND IT! They don’t have time to request those things if they aren’t genuinely interested in your story idea. It’s not like they have nothing to do but log in manuscripts and then send a rejection letter. They have a lot of other things taking up their time, and they’re not going to waste any of it by asking you to send something they intend to reject later.

Some authors insist that agents reside in New York so they have more opportunities for face-to-face time with editors in New York. I can see the logic of that. So what about if your agent lives in California? Or Colorado? It depends on which publishers you are targeting. Let me say that again: It depends on which publishers you are targeting. Not all publishers are in New York. This is especially true for CBA publishers. If you are targeting Bethany House, they’re in Minnesota. If you’re targeting FaithWords, they’re in Tennessee. If you’re targeting Zondervan, they’re in Michigan. My agent lives in California, which is terrific because I can meet with her every so often. She flies to visit publishing houses every year, and she has connections with all of them that she encourages by attending various conferences. She is the primary reason Zondervan bought my chick-lit series, because of her connection with the Zondervan editor. So . . . New York? In my opinion, not necessarily. However

I’m going to flash around the b-word, so if you’re easily offended, skip this post. Some writers agree with branding, some don’t. Some writers like finding a marketing niche, others feel it hampers their creativity. There’s nothing wrong with either opinion, but your agent should agree with whatever your opinion is. Some agents are heavily into branding. They not only pitch your manuscript, they’re pitching your brand, you as the writer. They’re pitching you so that the house will take you on and develop you as an author with that particular flavor of writing. Some agents are more open to writers who want to branch out into different areas. They encourage creativity, no matter where that may take the writer. They can recognize good writing and push whatever genre manuscripts their authors put out. There is nothing wrong with either side. But you as the author should decide which type of agent you want to target. That’s why reading their online interviews or listening to workshops on CD

This might seem like a dumb question, but think about it—here is your chance to choose who you get to work with. You want someone you get along with and who has the same work ethic as you do. You won’t necessarily be buddies, but you want to at least be happy to talk to them. That’s why it’s good to research the agents you query. Read online interviews or buy CDs from conferences of workshops the agent gave, or agent panels the agent was on. If you can afford it, go to conferences to meet them and talk to them. They don’t bite. Just get to know them, even if you don’t have anything to pitch to them. You will get a good feel for who you’d like to work for, and which agent has the same types of goals you do in terms of career.

Yes, I’m shouting. Before I go into some tips on how to pick an agent (and possibly receive an offer of representation), I want to point out this very important part of the submission process. For some people, this is a no-brainer, but I’m always amazed at people who’ve never heard this piece of advice. Before you query that agent (or editor, for that matter), finish the manuscript. There are TONS of writers who never finish that first manuscript, and agents know this. Therefore, if they are interested in your story, they are going to want to see the full, completed manuscript. For one, they want to know you finished it. For two, they want to know if you can sustain your brilliance in the first chapter throughout the rest of the book. Many novels sag in the middle because the writer loses steam. If that’s the case with your manuscript, it’s not ready to submit. Period. You want that manuscript ready to go if they come back with a manuscript request. You won’t want to make them wait for

This is a tip similar to writing synopses--if the sentence is not relevant, then get rid of it. Each sentence, each nugget of information should pertain to : --The main storyline. Typically, the story blurb doesn't take more than 1-3 paragraphs. --The main protagonists. The villain only if he/she is a very major character. --The characters' spiritual or emotional arcs, and the epiphany or realization at the end/climax. I'm not talking sentence after sentence. One sentence or phrase at the beginning about each character's emotional conflict, and (optional) one near the end about what he/she learns or realizes. --The characters' external goals and the major obstacles against those goals. Notice I said major obstacles. Leave the minor stuff out. Again, just a sentence or phrase about the characters' external goals. --An issue dealt with in the book. Say your heroine is an abuse victim. Then any information pertaining to that might be useful. However, don't go

Not all query letters are set up this way, but here's a quick and dirty skeleton structure: Date (I usually put September 13th, 2006 to make it look nicer) For editors: Name, title, house, address or For agents: Name, agency, address Greeting (make sure you address the person by name—for example, Dear Ms. Lawton) First paragraph. Some people start with a hook, some people start with the info line. It's up to you, although I have heard of some editors/agents who detest the hook opener, so I usually play it safe and start with the info line. I am excited to present my novel, The Twelve Dates of Christmas , a completed 45,000 word Inspirational Christmas romance set in San Jose, California. Story blurb. Typically they're one to two paragraphs long, and they can be similar to back cover blurb. Risa Takayama would rather eat rotten tofu than listen to her aunts’ tweaking her about her weight and lack of a Significant Other. She’s the Elephant Man next to her Barbie-doll cou

In a query, your story blurb will either hook the editor or not. Here are some pointers. 1) Try to write it in the tone or voice of the novel. If your manuscript is a romantic comedy, make the blurb sound fun and flirty. If your novel is a dark thriller, make the blurb sound sinister and exciting. 2) It should name the main protagonists. The villain can also be named if he/she is a major protagonist. 3) The main protagonists' external goals should be clear. 4) There should be some hint of the major obstacle(s) in the protagonists' way. 5) A nice touch is to add a little info on the main protagonists' internal or spiritual conflicts. 6) Unlike a synopsis, you do not need to give away the ending, but you may if you prefer. Example: Risa Takayama would rather eat rotten tofu than listen to her aunts’ tweaking her about her weight and lack of a Significant Other. She’s the Elephant Man next to her Barbie-doll cousins, so she throws herself into her wedding accessories shop in t

Literary agent Kristin Nelson posted on her blog a few examples of query letters that caught her attention. Shanna Swendson Jennifer O’Connell Becky Motew Jana DeLeon Lisa Shearin

An editor will want to know how your character changes over the course of the book, so it’s important to include the character’s spiritual arc or arc of internal conflict. It’s pretty simple. In the first paragraph or two, mention the character’s flaw, or spiritual struggle, or internal conflict. Mary has given up on God and blames Him for her parents’ death. Josh has always felt a need to control the people in his life, influencing their decisions. After all, it’s for their own good. In the middle, show how the characters are coming to realize that their spiritual/internal state is wrong. Mary is intrigued by Alice’s strong faith despite the horrible things that have happened to her. Mary rethinks her lost faith in the face of Alice’s unwavering trust in God and assertion that she has no business questioning what God has allowed. Josh is shocked at his brother’s outburst, and wonders if it’s true that he’s trying to control his family like a set of tin soldiers. In the climax, show ho

While a synopsis is usually not your best writing, and a synopsis is all telling and no showing, you should nevertheless try to make the synopsis sound like your writer's voice and the tone of the story. If your story is poignant, try to make the synopsis sound that way. If your writer's voice is uniquely quirky and the story is, too, try to get that into the synopsis. Risa Takayama has no social life because she's thrown all her energies into her wedding accessories shop in the mall. Unconventional, rebellious Risa hates the numerous family gatherings because her aunts tweak her about her weight and lack of a Significant Other. vs. Risa Takayama would rather eat rotten tofu than listen to her aunts’ tweaking her about her weight. She’s the Elephant Man next to her Barbie-doll cousins with their Ken sidekicks, so she throws herself into her wedding accessories shop in the mall, All the Trimmings. She’s becoming so savvy and self-sufficient, she hasn’t needed to bother God f

There are some places where certain types of nouns and verbs can be eliminated entirely. Things like "He realizes", "She understands that," "He hears her say," "She sees him." He follows her. He sees her enter the hotel. vs. He follows her. She enters the hotel. He reads the family Bible. He discovers that Sally is his cousin. vs. He reads the family Bible. Sally is his cousin. His reaction opens her eyes. She realizes she's always been in love with him. vs. His reaction opens her eyes. She's always been in love with him. However, be aware that sometimes, these verbs can't be eliminated, so don't beat yourself up if you can't do it: They fight. She realizes she's always been in love with him. vs. They fight. She's always been in love with him. (doesn't make sense)

This is similar to tip #8. Sometimes you can substitute a different noun or verb that's a little shorter than what you have. Because the format is typically left justified, even one less letter in the sentence can be enough to eliminate a line (see tip #7 about getting rid of short lines). He sneaks up to the house. vs. He creeps to the house. He needs to stay out of her way. vs. He needs to avoid her. She leaves her job. vs. She quits.