Story Sensei

This article I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. The Key Elements Needed Before the Novel is Written In order to craft a more cohesive story, writers should make sure they have these five elements in mind before they start or very soon after they begin writing. There are many different ways to write a story, and no one way is the “only way.” Some writers write as the story comes to them. Some plot out each step before they start writing. Some do a combination of both. But there are five main elements of a commercial story that are crucial for ensuring a strong storyline. Writers should try to nail these elements down before they get too far into the novel. If they don’t, they might end up writing themselves into a hole, or the story might end up being very aimless and episodic. 1. Introduce the Main Character Make sure there is a focal character or hero. Even if there are two main characters, there is always one who is more important to the story, or whose journey is

I talked about characterization and archetypes on MaryLu Tyndall's blog

I wrote an article on Blog Marketing at Christian Fiction Online Magazine: Blog Marketing I don't know how long the article will be up for, so read it quick! LOL

I wrote about time management on Christa Allan's blog .

This article originally was published on Suite101. How to Plan a Character’s Journey In popular fiction, every protagonist goes on a journey, whether physical or emotional. In Techniques of the Selling Writer , Dwight Swain wrote, “Anything endangering survival or happiness creates fear.” And the point of creating fear is to introduce tension. Tension is what hooks readers. A protagonist’s character arc should progress from happiness to fear to tension (for most of the book) and back to happiness. It’s cyclical. Create a Short Setup This establishes who the character is before the events of the story. A writer should show what the character desires, what constitutes happiness for the protagonist. Keep this section short, or incorporate the information within the action of the first chapter or two. Most editors prefer a quick start to the story. Hit the Protagonist With the Inciting Incident Also called the Catalyst, this is an external event that propels the charact

“Never be: Afraid. Aggressive. Arrogant. Unhappy. Difficult. Depressed. Make an editor roll her eyes. Too much artist, not enough business.” --Brenda Schetnan (writing as Molly Evans) in her article, “After the Call--The First Year” Remember, writing is a business. Much as art is a part of your writing, you also have to put on a business hat and think logically. Think market. Think audience. Think improvement.

This question came up on one of my writing loops, so I'm shamelessly stealing it for this blog post. How many completed manuscripts should you have under your belt before you query? 2? 5? 20? How polished should those manuscripts be? And what about series ideas and sequels and prequels? Camy here: The more I talk to agents and editors, the more I realize that they want to hear lots of IDEAS. Polish of the manuscript can come later, but if they don't like your first pitched idea, it doesn't matter that the book finaled in contests and is polished to a high pitch. You better have another idea to pitch to them if they say no to the first pitched idea. This is what happened with my Sushi series. The pub board hated the first book idea (an old version of Trish's story), but they wanted to see the second book idea/manuscript (Lex's story in Sushi for One ). I have several writer friends who have between 5 and 10 finished manuscripts. Don't freak out, many of them have

One of the Steeple Hill editors forwarded this link to an article on Episodic Writing that is simply fabulous: Plotting Problems - Episodic Writing

I recently put together a Synopsis Worksheet that will guide you through the process of writing a synopsis. The best part is that you don't need a full completed manuscript to use the worksheet--just a general idea of your characters and storyline. The worksheet is available as a .pdf file download for only $5. In case you were wavering about whether to buy it or not, here are a few endorsements from happy clients who used the worksheet in my recent Synopsis writing class: Camy Tang has a unique gift for guiding you through the process of putting together a synopsis. Her great insight helps you wrap up the main ideas step by step. I love the way she ensures you have a strong spiritual or internal arc in your synopsis. I can’t say enough good about her Synopsis Worksheet. You can’t go wrong with it. Debbie Lynne Costello Camy's Synopsis Worksheet was just the tool I needed! I dreaded writing my most recent synopsis— summarizing a 95,000 word novel into a few short pages? Aah! B

Click here for part five If your answers to the previous questions were “yes,” then it’s time to hire a freelance editor. If you’ve gotten feedback, entered contests, studied the craft of writing, finished a book, and done your market research, you have most likely moved from a beginning writer to an intermediate or advanced one. At that point, a freelance editor can use her experience to figure out how to push you to the next level of writing craft. You might have submitted your manuscript to a few agents or editors and gotten some rejections. Sometimes the rejections are form letters, sometimes they’re a little more personal (although it’s still a “no, thank you,” which can be frustrating). Often, your manuscript will get many rejections and while your critique partners are sympathetic, no one can pinpoint why your manuscript keeps getting rejected. Maybe you’re finalling and winning various writing contests (consistently finalling and winning), but you’re still getting rejections f

I blogged at Seekerville yesterday on Blogging for promotion , even if you're not yet published.

I blogged at LaShaunda's blog yesterday on the five main parts of a query letter and give an example of one: How to write a query letter

This article I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. The Factor That Keeps the Character in Trouble Every story needs a firm reason the character can’t just walk away from the story trouble. This is called the story crucible. If a character is able to walk away from the story problem at any time, readers will feel dissatisfied with the story premise. The character needs a solid reason why he struggles on and doesn’t just take the option of giving up. The Crucible Has to be Something Vital at Stake. The character cannot continue with his external goal simply because he’s too stubborn to give it up. There has to be more at stake for him. Someone’s life has to be in danger, whether figuratively or in actuality. It could be the character’s life or it could be someone the character cares for. There’s something vital on the line that can’t be ignored or sacrificed. For example: In the movie and series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Buffy is the Slayer, the chosen girl who has po

Click here for part four Do you read extensively in the market you’re targeting? For example, if you’re targeting Christian fiction, do you read a lot of Christian fiction? If you’re targeting mass market romance, do you read a lot of mass market romances? If you’re targeting fantasy, do you read a lot of fantasy? If the answer is no, you are definitely not ready to hire a freelance editor. You may not realize it, but freelance editors can really tell when you haven’t read extensively in the market you’re targeting. Whether it’s a particular genre or a particular publishing house you’re targeting, if you haven’t done your research by reading those books, it’s obvious in your writing. For example, I have read manuscripts targeting, say, a Harlequin category romance line, who don’t have the hero and heroine meeting in the first chapter. If the writers read those romance books, they’d know a requirement of the line is for the hero and heroine to meet in the first chapter. I have also read

Click here for part three Have you finished your novel? If the answer is no, then I’d suggest you finish it first before considering hiring a freelance editor. Why? Because there is something that happens in a writer when they complete a manuscript. Finishing a book requires perseverance and dedication. A writer is tested in these things when she writes a novel, and she can only know if she has those qualities when she types, “The End.” This perseverance and dedication is what separates “real writers” from “wannabe writers.” There are also things a writer learns about the writing craft in finishing a novel —the “sagging middle” syndrome, what a rushed ending looks like, the intricacies of tying up all the story threads. A writer who hasn’t experienced these things is still only a beginning writer, and you want to strive to be an intermediate writer before you hire a freelance editor. That way, the critique will be more effective. Getting your entire novel critiqued by your critique pa

This article I wrote originally appeared on Suite101. Why Characters Need Super-Objectives for Their Story Arcs External goals are the backbone of your character’s story arc, and they give the reader something active to follow. But what exactly are external goals, and why are they so important? What is an external goal? This has been called by different things: Super-Objectives, Character Purpose, Character Direction, or simply Goal. They all mean the same thing—your character has an overarching objective/goal/purpose for the book that he is trying to achieve. An external goal has a definite ending —a point at which the character knows when he has either succeeded or failed. It can’t be a vague desire or hope. It has to be a concrete, solid, physical something the character is striving for. In Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors , Brandilyn Collins states the character’s Super-Objective in terms of action . A character’s external goal

Read part two here Have you read any writing books, gone to any workshops, taken any classes (whether in person or online)? If the answer is no, then you are not ready to hire a freelance editor. The reason is similar to my answer in part one . Writing craft books, workshops, and classes can take you from a beginning writer to a strong intermediate one. You don’t want to waste your good money in hiring a freelance editor who will point out the basic writing mistakes in your manuscript when you could buy a $15 book and learn that for yourself. What book do you start with? I have a nice list of Books on Writing and a few suggestions in my article, “I want to write a novel and I have no clue what to do!” If you have a hard time learning from books, go to a class. A writer’s conference can be expensive, but the workshops there are usually worth the investment. Auditory learners have lots of options--in addition to conference workshops/classes, there are MP3 classes you can listen to. Rand

Camy here: I didn't even realize my Story Sensei blog wasn't publishing these articles the past month! I thought I'd scheduled them to post, but I had saved them as drafts instead. So here they are--better late than never! Read part one here . Have you submitted your work to contests? If the answer is no, then I would suggest you hold off on hiring a freelance editor. Like critique groups/partners, contests can give you honest (sometimes brutally honest) feedback on your writing to make it stronger. Now be warned, contests are often a crapshoot because you never know if you’re going to get a really good judge or a really bad one. However, for beginning writers, contests can be invaluable because there’s a greater probability that you’ll get judges who are further along the writing journey than you are, and who can give you useful feedback. Granted, sometimes you get that crabby judge who says all kinds of wrong and mean things. But weigh even those judged entries carefully

Zondervan and Mount Hermon Writer's Conference Sponsor Competition for Aspiring Fiction Authors Winner Receives $10,000 Publishing Contract GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Sept. 3 /Christian Newswire/ -- Unpublished Christian fiction writers, get your manuscripts ready. Zondervan, a world leader in Christian communications, today announced All About the Story, a writing competition for first-time novelists. The winner will receive a $10,000 publishing contract with Zondervan, and all finalists will have their works recognized during the Christian Book EXPO in Dallas in March 2009. Sponsored by Zondervan and Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, All About the Story is open to any unpublished writer who has attended a past Mount Hermon Writer's conference or who is registered for the 2009 conference . In addition to the opportunity for their work to be published by Zondervan, the winning author will also receive valuable feedback from editors and experienced judges, including bestsell

Hi guys, I didn't even realize that I hadn't been posting here on the Story Sensei for the past few weeks. I thought I'd scheduled Blogger to post, but instead I had saved my posts as drafts and they weren't posting at all. I'll continue my "When should you hire a freelance editor?" series on Friday. Camy