Marketing your ebook and links

Today you'll find a post by me over at Romantic Friday Writers. The post is all about marketing your novel once you've published, and has some helpful tips for self-publishers. Please head over and say hello!

So that my blog is not completely empty this week, here are some fantastic links on story structure and finding a formula for your plot:

1. The Lester Dent Pulp Paper Master Fiction Plot
2. Structure by Screenplay Mastery
3. Get a Little Conflict in Your Scene
4. Writing Novels - Formulas and Structures
5. How to Write Your Novel Using a Formula
6. Story Structure and Plot - Novel Writing Tips
7. Plot and Pacing Part One, Plot and Pacing Part Two and Plot and Pacing Part Three
8. Story Elements Checklist for Brainstorming Index Cards
9. Writing Lessons by Richard Setlowe
10. Novel Endings 

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How to Font your Cover

I've blogged before about creating your own book covers in DIY Book Covers, today I want to get more detailed on one major part of covers - fonts. 

Most self-publishing or Indie publishing authors spend a lot of time looking for, or creating, the perfect image for their book cover, but sadly, many fail when it comes to font choice or application. Here are some points to remember:

Choose a style that suits your genre, but is easy to read. I see many swirly, formal script fonts that may give a luxurious feel, but are often hard to decipher. Simplify, and then... simplify more. For example, if you have a grungy urban novel, whether it's fantasy or a boy's adventure read, this font could look good:

The above is also a good example of understanding shade and tone. The light/white-ish font contrasts nicely with the green background. It helps to understand your basic colour wheel, colours that sit opposite on the colour wheel are complimentary colours. The picture below takes you to a good site that explains colour:

But having light font against dark or vice versa is simple, what if your background image is not one tone and varies from light to dark or has different colours, right where you want your title? Well, you could choose a different background, you really don't want anything too busy (a lot of amateur covers seem to have lots of floating heads or items that will appear in the story, remember this is a visual representation, it doesn't have to be literal). No? Ok, here's a little trick:

If you use a professional design program, such as InDesign (my choice), you'll have the option to outline your lettering, this line is called the 'stroke'. You can have a thin stroke, like in the image above. This is just enough to make the text stand out against the background. I like how the above cover mixes a white stroke and black stroke (black stroke on a black font does not work for this effect, it just makes the font look thicker). Or, you can make the stroke thick, so it becomes an important element in your cover. I took this font from KC Fonts:

And added a stroke to create this effect:

I wanted an old horror movie style, so I added a shadow to the text. Here's a tip, with shadowing, you can also change the strength of opacity, that is, how solid it looks. I wanted a soft, smokey shadow, so I don't have 100% opacity.

Also, use your space wisely. Don't have your title run right up to the edge of the page. Make it look like it's comfortable there. Of course you can break all these rules if you're artistic enough to make it work.

My last point is on license. There are many sites that offer free fonts, but did you realise that they're only free for your personal use? If your kids have an assignment or you want to decorate a non-profitable blogsite, sure. But, if you are using a font for a commercial purpose, such as a book cover for an ebook you plan to sell, then you need to pay for a license. This works the same as purchasing a license for your cover image (if you purchase from sites such as Shutterstock). Don't panic, you can find very reasonably priced fonts. Check out KC Fonts guidelines on Personal and Commercial use. Kevin from KC Fonts gave me a very good price on the use of my font (I'm sure font designers understand the reality of ebook revenue).

Images and fonts are people's creations and art, the creators deserve acknowledgement and remuneration for their services.

Here's some more covers I think do a great job with font:

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Structure Complicated Plots

I posted about epic fantasy and its need for multiple plot lines, you can find tips on Creating Multiple Plot Lines here. It's one thing to come up with lots of ideas for multiple plots, but this can become confusing when you try to outline or compose your epic fantasy novel. Here's some different ways to keep track of and add structure to complicated plots:

Time-lines

Create a time-line for the events of the story, beginning just before the inciting incident and ending just after the final climax. Now using the same time frame for each main character, plot out their story events on that time line. Next you will compare each character's events. You want everyone's story to come together or peak at the same major climax point, but the events that confront them on their individual journeys could happen at differing times. This way, you don't get too much overlap or repetition and keep a constant pace with tension rising right up to the big climax.

Index cards

Many authors use index cards to plot out their novels. Write a short synopsis of every scene on the cards, labeling each card to identify which main character it relates to (some will relate to multiple characters when their paths cross). Then lay the story lines out in order, in rows of character plots. This way you can coordinate when they should cross, move scenes around to suit and identify unnecessary or repeated scenes.

Colour coding

A very simple idea, but whichever structure style you prefer, assign different colours to the main characters, it will make it easier and quicker to identify each plot line.

Story arcs

You'll probably already know about story arcs, this is the path your character takes and the changes to your character throughout the story. Almost always, a character should grow and learn through their experience. You can chart a character's story arc similar to the time line, the overall arch will be your leading protagonist, but they may have other characters they meet along the way, and those characters will have their own arcs. Some might stay to the end of the story and others might come and go (or just go, if they die). By using a different colour for each character, your story arcs might look something like this (apologies, I found a great example online, and then couldn't find it again when I was ready to do this blog):

Mix up the structures

Some of your characters may be on a hero's quest, or some might be experiencing growing tension until the climax, other characters might follow the classic three act structure. You can mix it up, and probably keeping track of their comings and going in the time-line will be enough.

I've also been reading James Scott Bell's Plot and Structure, and he suggests when writing complex plots you understand your theme, which can emerge from your characters' struggles. He also says that in an epic plot, the lead's (protagonist) objective may change to suit the stage of their quest, for example, in the beginning of the story they might want to fulfill some personal desire, during the middle they might be just trying to survive, but in a later stage/setting, their objective might be more selfless and they may set out to save someone (like a princess from a dragon). If you have two or more parallel plots (two characters, each with their own quest and objective), cut back and forth as each character heads towards the shared climax.

My study into writing fantasy fiction continues. To help on my quest, the kids and I visited a local games store and for the very first time in my life, I have now played:

It totally baffled me. 

As well as the two instruction manuals included, we were talked into taking another 300+ page manual on character creations. Turns out, there's lots of maths and recording to this game. Day two of instruction reading, and I was still not any closer to understanding the game so we could play. I then paid a nice sum to subscribe to the online community. Still confused. Matilda, who is all of eleven, got frustrated with me, sat down and read through the thinest manual and quickly became our Dragon Master. She has been talking me through. What I have discovered, is it's a great way to create novel plots and... I really like squishing goblins.

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7 Tips to Fix Dialogue Suck

It's time again for Insecure Writer's Support Group hosted by Alex Cavanaugh. You share any insecurities you have about writing and offer support and advice to help other emerging writers. I like the idea of sharing weaknesses, if we drop the pressure of measuring ourselves against others, we can have a lot of fun, even with the stuff we suck at. 

It's okay to suck sometimes, because if you keep trying, you'll suck a whole lot less. Eventually you won't suck at all! Or at least that's what I hope.

If I look at my strengths and weaknesses in writing I would say my descriptive language needs a lot of work, but that I capture the voice of my character well. This reflection came as a surprise to me, because when I started blogging in 2009, I admitted I sucked most at dialogue. So, I set about to learn what I could about writing dialogue, here's some tips I picked up:

1. Watch out for 'Talking Heads'...

If your conversation runs too long, you'll have endless he said/she saids, and the reader loses a sense place - all the reader sees is floating heads rambling on. The solution? To break it up, insert a few actions and descriptions to remind the reader where the characters are. 

These are the sort of lines you can insert.

"He makes me feel like a woman."

Max slammed his fist on the pine table, causing the china cups to shake. He pushed his chair out and it fell - he didn't pick it up, instead he stormed out of the room.

Susan followed him."We need to finish this."

Swinging around to face her, Max's profile filled the doorway to their bedroom.....

Get your character to move around, pick something up, stare at the sky... anything to put your reader in a physical place.

2. Said is fine...

When writers start out, they often worry about their limited vocabulary and can abuse thesauruses in an attempt to find more loquacious ways of speaking. You can have characters yell, declare, admit or whisper, but if they are truly just 'saying' something, then use 'said'. It's simple and does not distract from the voice. Said is one of the magic words that disappear as we read, so it's a lot less intrusive than other tags.

3. Where to begin...

Don't feel like you have to start at the beginning of the conversation. Does the reader really have to hear: 

"Excuse me Mike, can we talk for a moment?"

"Sure Lacey, what it is it?" blah blah blah.

You can start halfway through conversation, or create impact by starting after one character has dropped a bombshell to the other. Jump straight into tension and drama. 

4. Language... 

Have fun with your characters, slip a joke in or highlight their personality in the way they speak. In any room full of people you will find a mix of personalities, funny people, rude people, boring people, shy people, etc etc etc. Make sure there's variety in your characters when they speak, don't have them all sound like one generic character voice.

Speaking out loud when you write the dialogue can help you create individual voices for your characters. 

5. Name calling...

Don't overuse names. When you speak to someone you know, you don't use their name in every line. It's okay occasionally when you want to make it clear who's speaking, and Mum's often do it when they're mad at you (in fact then they usually use your whole name - no abreviations!). 

6. Accents... 

I loved Wuthering Heights and the gothic but romantic language used. There was however, one character, a gamekeeper or some such thing, and I could not understand a word he said. Thick accent? Consider either not making it extreme, or making it extreme only occasionally. When this character has something important to say, make sure your reader can understand it. If necessary, include a translator.

7. Quality versus quantity...

There's no one formula for the quantity of dialogue you should use. Stream of consciousness text may have almost no dialogue and others quite a lot. Think about your audience. Teens tend to talk a lot, so if you are writing about them or for them you may want to have lots of dialogue. If your descriptions seem to drag on, you may need more dialogue, or if your narrative looks like a script, perhaps you need less (or insert more movement between lines).

Have fun writing dialogue, make it as different, quirky or dramatic as you can! As with all writing techniques, if it doesn't move the story along, cut it out. (I know I promised something on narrative structure, but soon, really)

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Creating Multiple Plot Lines

So many characters and each believe they are the true hero.

Via: Screen Rant

Most stories follow a protagonist, or hero, through their journey to overcome adversity, evil, boredom, loneliness, or whatever it is they are up against. However, some stories need more characters and story lines to cover the epic plot.
Multiple plot lines are common in fantasy. Anyone who's read George R R Martin's Game of Thrones (or seen the tv series) will know there are many key characters in this novel and each of them has their own story arc or plot line. If your story has many occupants, here's some tips:

• Each character has their own story. Don't just throw in characters to enhance your protagonist's story. These characters have had their own paths leading up to this point. Remember, every character, even the busty barmaid serving mead to your luckless young hero, thinks this is THEIR story.
• Consider POV. Most novels with multiple characters use third person point of view (POV) (this is where you use 'he, she, they, it...' to explain what characters are doing). This is because if you speak from many character's POV, you can easily confuse your reader. There is a trend in YA fiction to use first person POV (using 'I, we...'), this is to give the reader a feeling of closeness to the protagonist. You can still achieve this closeness by using third person omniscient POV, this is where we can hear the thoughts of characters and therefore understand their motivations. Most complicated plots, such as multiple story arcs, will use third person POV varying between limited (watching the characters, we're not in their head) and omniscient POV. For more on POV, this site explains it well: The Three Points of View in Writing.
• Epic antagonist. If there are many different characters interweaving, you'll want to separate them into teams of light and dark, good and evil or blue and red (if you don't want to suggest one team has more justification than another). Your characters that lead these teams must be epic. If we have many characters telling stories in this novel, you want the antagonist to stand out amongst them all. I believe his story arc is even more important than the hero's, because it is the antagonist who drives the narrative. The best advice I've heard is to remember, a good antagonist believes HE is the protagonist.
• Voices must be LOUD. I don't mean every character shouts, but each character must have a very distinct voice, to stand out and be heard amongst the crowd of characters. Great writers make every character distinct by their voice, even if they all look exactly the same (simply changing hair colour, gender or size is not a good way of making your character an individual). You can achieve this by making sure you know each character and their motivations well. Do up extensive character profiles, meet their family, live in their skin. For more on the importance of individuality of characters, you can see this post: James Baldwin and Character Who-ness.
• Each story has its own time-frame. If you have multiple story arcs in your epic novel, don't start them all at the beginning of the novel and end them all at the close of the book. Each character's story will begin when they have their own inciting incident, and they may end much sooner than the overall story (especially if they die), or they may continue their own quest into book two. By giving each story arc its own point of rising climax, you give the reader more places to feel the rising tension and more small lulls where they can relax (momentarily).

It's a big job keeping track of many plot lines at once, especially if you're writing the epic novel as a collaboration with other writers. In my next post, I'll show you various techniques for keeping track of multiple plot lines and story arcs.

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Crime - Truth and Fiction Exercise

My favourite crime show!

My writing centre (QWC) and the talented Meg Vann hosted another amazing writer's workshop - Research for Crime Fiction. This one was made even more special by the setting - The Queensland Police Headquarters, which hosts the Qld Police Museum. What a perfect place to study crime research!

All writers went along with a brief outline of the crime novel they would like to work on. My crime fiction is Warracknabeal Kids: 

In the summer of 1939, a freak fire tore through the Warracknabeal Racetrack, destroying the decrepit clubhouse, but nothing else. This was suspicious enough, as the insurance payout would fund a much needed rebuild. When the town scallywag, 13yr old Harry Conner, finds a dead body in the burnt-out ruins, there's no doubt this is foul play. But the body disappears and no one believes him, not even his father, the local sergeant. Harry is on his own solving this case and he's wondering if it has anything to do with his own mother's disappearance two years ago. Perhaps his father knows more than he's saying. Meanwhile, across Victoria, the state is experiencing the worst bush fires it has ever seen.

My story was inspired by learning the clubhouse really did burn down in 1939 and the circumstances were suspicious (locals said the insurance payout was the most luck that track had ever seen). I decided to add a body and a town full of quirky characters. Real life provides plenty of prompts for murder mysteries, just watch the news or read the papers. But if a real crime inspires you, how can you go about using it for a novel without offending people involved?

One exercise we tried was to mix up events, characters and locations from different eras and crimes. We walked around the Police Museum taking note of the crimes and artifacts that interested us. This is something you could try using online resources for your news articles. Here's the steps we took and my responses:

1. Choose one person (victim, investigator, witness, etc) and record three details about that person: Eileen O'Donnell was one of the first women officers in Queensland, joining the force in 1931. She was good at catching bag snatchers. Women could not make arrests, but mostly did typing or chaperoning male officers when they arrested young women.
2. Choose one setting and record three details (from a different source): A vet surgery was the setting for Brisbane's notorious cat-lady murder. Found inside was the body and blood samples from two people, one belonging to the victim. Smell of ammonia and cat urine. Smooth linoleum floors. Very violent struggle.
3. Choose one incident/event: 1977 string of rapes and murders. Victim found in apartment by boyfriend. He had been at night classes at local TAFE before discovering the body.

The next step is to change any names (people and locations) and mix the elements together for a story idea. This is what I came up with:

   'Step back love, don't want to taint the crime scene.' Officer Robert Hacker put an arm out in front of officer Joyce Malloy, as if protecting her from stepping into traffic. 

   He'd already warned her several times on the way to this scene that it might be brutal and she could wait in the car if her stomach wasn't up to it.

   Joyce let out a 'humph' and stepped around Hacker's arm. She'd been on the force since 31. Her and Louise the first women officers in Queensland. Five years. Hacker had not yet served six months and he was giving her orders. 

   In her time on the force she'd seen robberies, assaults, wife-beatings, but, as she peered into the doorway of the veterinarian's office, she acknowledged she'd never seen anything this bad. Through the stench of feces and urine wafted ammonia, and in crates cats howled for release.

   Joyce stepped over the dead woman's extended arm, taking care not to tread in the glossy dark blood spread across the otherwise dull linoleum. 

   Another one dead. Women in men's professions. This one a vet, the last a lawyer. The knife used to rip the life from the deceased left by the body, just as the report had said about the previous victim.

   'Woah, you're a bit keen there Joyce.' Robert stomped in and for a moment almost lost his balance, slipping in the menacing fluid.

   He looked down, up at Joyce, back down, then threw up over the body.

Think you'll give this a try? It's a worthwhile exercise, you never know what you'll end up with!

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Why Writers Should Flash

Flashing is a great way to tighten your writing, instead of having pages to set up your story, you only have a line or two. It's also a great way to feel more productive, a novel takes a long commitment, but with flash fiction, you can get several pieces quickly to the point 'the end'. I find it very challenging and have a lot of work to do before I can claim to master the flash. Luckily for me, Romantic Friday Writers provide plenty of challenges for flash writing. Why not give it a go? Click the picture to sign up to this challenge, your prompt - Being the Perfect Ex.

Unsure how to tackle Flash Fiction? Try these links for some tips:

Fiction Factor - Writing Flash Fiction

Matt Moore Writes - How to Write Flash Fiction

He’d stay if he knew.
‘I've got the photo album. You love looking at it, remember?’
No. She did not remember. Not the album or the woman holding it.

‘Here’s your favourite, you and Lilly.’

Lucy straightened. It was the photograph from the Autumn dance. Lucy was wearing her new tight skirt, just like Lilly. The girls had changed in the ladies room, Lilly warning Lucy, Keep your mouth shut, Mum’ll flip if she finds out. And there he was, dark hair combed back, thumbs in pockets, wild eyes daring the camera. Lucy ran a finger over the the figure in the picture.

‘Max.’

The woman turned the page.

Lucy peered at the next photograph. ‘Who?’

‘It’s you.’

‘I’m so… old.’

The woman laughed and gave her a hug. ‘That was your seventieth, everyone came, remember?’

Seventy? But last night her and Max… they fought. He left. 

‘Here’s one of the whole family.’ The woman pointed to a group of smiling strangers. 

‘Who’s this?’ Lucy poked at a face.

‘That’s your nephew, Sam.’

‘Who’s this?’

‘Ron, Lilly’s husband, and look there’s Lilly. Jess and Rachel are Sam’s kids. See, I’m there too, with Richard.’ 

Lucy's finger jabbed a pasty image with lifeless eyes and then waved it at the man with the matching face seated by her hospital bed. 
‘Him?’

The woman frowned. ‘Henry, remember?’

‘Where’s Max?’

The woman's shoulders dropped, she reached across and closed the album.

‘Did I tell him?’

‘Tell him what? Who is Max?’

Keep your mouth shut. Mum’ll flip if she finds out.

‘We had a fight. Lilly will know him.’

‘Lilly died last year, remember?’

Lilly’s gone?

Lost. Everyone she loved gone. A moment flittered over a lifetime.
Except... ‘Do I have a child?’

‘Yes! You do remember, don’t you?’

The woman’s dark eyes shone with pleasure, those same eyes… a name...

‘Gemma?’

Gemma hugged her. She was hers. A flash of memory, a wild-eyed girl, maybe four, in a muddy dress.

‘Gemma… your father...’

Gemma pulled back, her grin wide. ‘It’s okay Mum, Dad’s here too. He always comes to visit his sweetheart, don’t you Dad?’

The old man’s focus didn’t move towards them, but he nodded.

Henry? Max had known. They’d fought. He left.

Lilly’s warning. Yes, she’d just shut her mouth. She was Henry’s sweetheart.

I'm not at all sensitive when it comes to feedback, feel free to critique if the mood strikes you, I do listen... sometimes.

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