writing

Likeable Characters?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

How do you know if your character is likeable? #writetip Or at least sympathetic, or interesting, or has some characteristic that will keep your readers reading?

When I started writing, I couldn’t figure this out. Then I discovered it’s easier to tell if a character is unlikable or uninteresting. I started to look, and I mean seriously look, at books where I couldn’t connect with a character.

Things that bother me:

  • A character who’s having a pity party for one for tooooooo long.
  • A character that does nothing but whine.
  • A character that is all evil – really there has to be something more than evil.

To me, a character who has a likeable trait, any trait, makes them sympathetic.

Maybe they have a kind streak. Say the character is about to commit a crime, or has just committed a crime, and they stop and help a dog that’s been hit by a car and it lying at the side of the road. That might make me cheer for their escape – depending on the crime of course.

Maybe they put something or someone ahead of their own desires.

Maybe they have a sense of humour.

But mostly, they need to care about something. If they don’t care about anything, how can I care about them? And if I don’t care, why would I keep reading?

Writing Interrupted

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

Do you take a break from writing? I don’t like to, but sometimes I have to be realistic about what’s going on in my life.

This week, I drove from Winnipeg to Kingston (2000 km)  with 3 adults, 3 kids and 3 dogs in one van.

Let me tell you, this in not an environment that is conducive to writing. I even missed posting a blog last Monday, which is a first for me.

So I tell myself, give myself a break. Let the writing be put on hold for a week and enjoy the family time.

🙂

Maxwell Huxley Guest Blog

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Michael Conn writes a guest blog on Jenny Keller Ford’s blog. Jenny is doing a series of guest blogs featuring YA authors.

Maxwell Huxley’s Demon is my brother first novel and the first in a series, and today is his day on her blog.

Thanks to Jenny for hosting the blog.

Can you use dialogue to speed up your character?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 3 Comments

 

I think so. #writetip I discovered one way to do this while I was proofreading the German Version of my novel, Fracture Line.

My character enters a scene and says two short sentences. Both are five words long. The only punctuation is a period after each sentence.

The translation turned the two sentences into one connecting them with and.  It’s only one more word, but it changes the from two simple sentences to a compound sentence.

When I read the translation I realized the longer sentence was slowing my character. I wanted her to rush in and blurt out her news, not take her time to be articulate.

The German sentence sounded more eloquent, but it didn’t give the impression I wanted.

Do you have other ways to give the impression your character is in a hurry?

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Setting in Your Novel: What to Include?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

#writetip

How do you decide what to include and what not to include when you are describing the setting in your novel?

I read Ken Follett’s novel Whiteout, and realized I didn’t skim a word. I started thinking about why I wasn’t skimming the narrative, something I tend to do because I’m not that interested in flowery descriptions. Others love it, but I like a fast paced story where I can relate to the characters.

After I finished the novel, I opened the first page of Whiteout and got out my pink highlighter. I highlighted every setting description. Since I’d already read the book, on my second reading I knew how the setting would be used.

I discovered that Follett spent time on setting description only if it was relevant to the story. This may seem obvious, and sometimes I need an idea to hit me on the head, but it became clear that I didn’t skim because I needed to know what the setting looked like to understand the latter scenes.

Try this with a novel where you didn’t skim any text, and see if you discover the same thing I did. There are so many ways to learn 🙂

Now when I’m describing a place, I do it twice. Once in full detail, so I understand and know it. Then I write it a second time, cutting what doesn’t need to be there and leaving the bits that will end up in the novel. These bits are the parts the reader needs to understand in order to believe and be engaged in the story.

When proofreading, I check for description that isn’t needed. Cut – cut – cut and into the garbage it goes. (Okay so really, stored in a folder on my computer but you get the point.)

Editing: Computer or Paper?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 4 Comments

That is the question. #writetip

If you are editing your own work, I think it depends on where you are in the writing process.

If someone else it editing your work, I think it depends on what they prefer.

If you are editing someone else’s work, I think it depends on how they like to receive feedback.

So . . .

Editing your own work:

Early in the process, I like to edit on paper. I use the blank space for story ideas, for writing whole new scenes, and for research ideas. The flow of the pen feels good in my hand.

Late in the process, I like to edit on the computer. This is when I am checking grammar, format, repeated words, etc. All things that are easier to search for and do global changes on if you are working on your computer.

Someone else editing your work:

I like to ask what my reader prefers. Some think better if they can write on paper. I’ve had readers comment on a kindle copy. Others like software. Whatever they want is fine with me. If they are willing to comment on my novel, I’m happy to get the comments in any form.

Editing someone else’s work:

I decide this based on what the author prefers. Sometimes geography dictates how.

Do you have any preference for editing?

Hints for a Murder (in a Mystery Novel)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 10 Comments

#writetip

Are you writing a murder mystery, crime novel or other type of mystery? Sometimes it’s hard to tell when to drop hints and when to hold them for later in the story.

I like to read a mystery and not know who committed the crime until the climax. I like to guess, but I don’t want to be sure. There is a balance between knowing who done it and only having an idea.

Too many hints and the answer is obvious, and I feel let down by the book. Too few hints, and I feel cheated.

So what do I do to avoid this problem?

I have readers that only look for the guilty party. I ask them to read my novel but not correct any errors. I want them to concentrate on who done it.

 I have them mark the margin every time they suspect a character. I ask them to put the character’s name in the margin along with a note of why they think the character is guilty.

Do you have a method for  finding out if your hints are in the right place?

Writing A Journal NOT

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

#writing Sometimes experiments fail. I wrote about writing a journal and how I thought it might help writing a novel in Does Writing a Journal Help you Write a Novel?

Well, all my journal entries have turned into scenes of my novel. I start out with something about me or what I observed during the day, but then I move right on to Look the Other Way (My fourth novel).

I think the problem is my novel is WAY more exciting than my day-to-day life :), so why would I write about my day?  I haven’t given it a long time to work, but I guess I like to write fiction, not fact or thoughts.

Anyone else find journal writing doesn’t come naturally to them?

The Final Proofread

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 11 Comments

#writetip

I’ve discovered the final read of a manuscript is not much different in English or German. Yeah, so they are two different languages, but once the writer is ready to submit their manuscript to an agent or for self publishing, there are a few things to check that don’t depend on language.

To make this step easier, I:

  • change the font to anything other than the font I normally type in,
  • increase the viewing to %175,
  • turn the invisible characters on,
  • AND, read slowly.

This step takes time. For an 80,000 word manuscript, I need 40 hours to do this properly. That’s 40 hours of intense concentration without interruptions.

What do I look for? At this point, I’ve already proofread for spelling and grammar mistakes so I want to check for:

  • extra spaces,
  • double periods,
  • quotations marks that don’t have a matching partner,
  • extra lines between paragraph or page breaks,
  • consistent heading format for chapters,
  • consistent headers, footers and page numbering.

Before you send of your manuscript, don’t forget to:

  • remove bookmarks,
  • accept or reject any changes,
  • and turn off markups,

Your story may great, but you give yourself an edge over other submissions if your manuscript is technically perfect.

If you have any tips, let me know.

Public Versus Private Writing

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

#writetip

To write well, you must experiment. There might be those who can write genius without practice, but who really believes that?

I get nervous when I present new work for the first time to readers. The advanced readers copy is a special piece of work. It means the first comments from someone who doesn’t live in my head. The work becomes public.

So I started thinking about public versus private writing. Private writing stays hidden in the basement of my computer. A room where only I have the key. Okay so it’s a password, but what the hey.

This is the place where I can write whatever I want without worrying about whether someone else will like it. I love this place. It’s a fun place to be where the imagination can soar.

Without private writing, I don’t think I would ever have finished a novel.

Do you have secret writing?