Book Marketing 101: Everything Writers Need To Know About Literary Agents and Querying

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’ll be covering everything from querying basics to how to find a literary agent and land a book deal in 2021, when more than 75% of books published by the big five New York presses get sold by literary agents. Literary agents are experts in the publishing industry and can be career-long mentors and managers and there’s plenty of reasons why writers both new and experienced alike could benefit from hiring an agent.

Agents are market experts and can secure the best possible book deal for their clients as well as negotiating fair contracts, protecting the writer’s rights, ensuring clients are paid accurately and fairly as per industry standards, and ultimately serve as the middleman between the author and publisher.

In 2021, more than 75% of books published by the big five New York presses get sold by literary agents. Literary agents are experts in the publishing industry and can be career-long mentors and managers.

Do I need an agent?

Honestly, it depends on the commercial viability of your book. If you want to be published by one of the five major New York publishing houses, (i.e., Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Macmillan, and Hachette) then you’ll need an agent to be sure. However, if you’re instead writing for a niche market (i.e., time period fashion) or wrote an academic or literary piece, then perhaps you don’t need an agent. Agents take on clients based on the size of the advance they think they can for the project. If your book doesn’t command a decent advance, then the project may not be with the agent’s time and you’ll have to sell it yourself. Unfortunately, most writers have a difficult time being honest with themselves about their work’s potential. We all want to see our names on the New York Times Bestseller’s list, but that’s just not a realistic expectation. It comes down to this: not every book is cut out to be published by a New York house, or even represented by an agent.

There are different levels of commercial viability in the publishing industry. Some books are “big” and are suited for Big Five traditional publishing houses, while others are “quiet:” books and are suitable for mid-size and small presses. If you’re realizing your work might not be a good fit for one of the major publishers, don’t despair. There are many mid-size houses, independent publishers, small presses, university presses, regional presses, digital-only publishers who might be thrilled to have you work —you just need to find them.

These types of books typically are suitable for a major traditional publisher:

• Genre or mainstream fiction, including romance, erotica, mystery/crime, thriller, science fiction, fantasy, young adult, new adult

• Popular nonfiction you’d see stocked in Barnes & Nobel —contingent upon a strong premise and existing author platform.

Major New York publishers usually won’t sign a nonfiction book unless it realistically anticipates selling 10,000 to 20,000 copies minimum.

To better understand what sells, consider picking up a month-long subscription to PublishersMarketplace.com and study the deals that get announced. It’s a quick and inexpensive education in commercial publishing. I’d also suggest taking a peek at the agent database at Literaryagencies.com

When to query

Naturally, the easy answer is once the book has been completed. Truthfully, there is no one size fits all approach to figuring out when you should query your novel, but the query questionnaire below might help you determine based on the state of your manuscript, feedback you’ve received, and your experience with the writing process, whether or not you’re ready to query.

What stage is your manuscript in currently?

If you are still in the preparation phases of the writing process, consider checking out my Manuscript Basics guide for some quick tips for formatting your manuscript for editing or submission.

How to find an agent

When it comes to actually selecting agents to query, you definitely should do your own research. Look into as much as you can find on current releases, popular titles, publisher names, top/mid-tier agents, authors, and trends in your genre. Finding a literary agent for your book is like finding a spouse —it’s a learning process and period of research best conducted by you and there is not one-size-fits-all approach to securing an agent.

PublishersMarketplace.com is the best place to research literary agents; not only do many agents have member pages there, but you can search the publishing deals database by genre, category, and/or keyword to pinpoint the best agents for your work. Some other resources to consider include QueryTracker (free and paid versions) and Duotrope.

If you really prefer to hire someone to find appropriate agents for you to submit to, try Copy Write Consultants.

Consider attending writer’s conventions and getting involved in editorial associations to build connections and organically network with industry professionals. Local writing workshops and bookstore/library events (such as indie author signings/readings) are great ways happen upon literary agents in the as opposed to seeking them out from behind the screen!

Assuming you’re ready to query, there’s a few common materials you’ll likely be asked to provide:

• Query Letter - a one-page pitch letter that gives a brief description of your work

• Novel Synopsis - a brief summary (typically no more than one or two pages) of your story from beginning to end

• Nonfiction formal book proposal - complex proposal documents (Roughly thirty pages worth) to sell nonfiction books to publishers

• Novel proposal - your query letter, a synopsis, and perhaps the first chapter. There is not an industry-standard definition of what a novel proposal is.

• Sample chapters - the first two to five chapters of your manuscript. (Always start from the beginning of the manuscript; don’t select a middle chapter, even if you think it’s your best.)

Keep these questions in mind when researching agents in your genre:

• What’s the agent’s sales track record? Examine their client list and the publishers they’ve recently sold to and determine based on your genre/category and your own sense of author identity if they’d be an appropriate fit for you and your project.

• Does their communication with you and other writers inspire confidence?

• Do they seem genuinely interested and enthusiastic in you and your project?

Additionally, you may want to keep these optional extra steps in mind if you’re waiting to hear back from queries:

• Author media kit

• Author/Book website

• Author newsletter

New authors with an existing reader base are highly desirable to literary agents and publishers. Putting your work out into the world and building a fan base beforehand can easily give you a leg up over competing writers in your genre. (I’ll have a blog post discussing exactly how to do this in a future post so subscribe to know when that comes out!)

Hook, Book, and Cook Query Sandwich Formula

If the idea querying, marketing, selling, and putting yourself out there makes your skin crawl, then think about it this way: it’s much easier to sell to one person than to ten. If you have an agent, they will do all of the gross publishing heavy lifting so you can focus on writing and connecting with your reader base.

The three main ingredients of a great query sandwich are as follows: the hook, the book, and the cook. To start, the hook is the query —or the pitch, as mentioned earlier.  Next, the book is the book itself (what key information about the book should you divulge to the agent on first impression). And lastly, the cook is the writer —you. In keeping with the sandwich metaphor — the “hook” and “cook” sections are the slices of bread and the “book” section is the meat of the sandwich — the slices are the least important part of the query and should take up the least amount of reading time in comparison to the meat. 

Hook

You can probably guess why the first section of this metaphor is called the “hook,” but as expected, this section is specifically the pitch to the agent and it’s what “hooks” or demands their attention as a reader. Queries serve to sell the agent your story and the hook’s sole purpose is just that. It’s at most, a few lines to grab the agent’s attention and make them invested in your story and you as a potential client. If the agent reads the hook and finds their interest piqued, they might then read the description of the book and become even more interested to read more, (at which point you’ve “hooked” an agent and opened up connections for potential book deals).

Book

Center around character and work in subtle details about the world rather than info-dumping or over-worldbuilding. Your query isn’t the place for overly flowery vocabulary or backstory either. This section of your query should give the agent just enough of a taste to make them interested in being invested in the story, but not enough to give the plot away or disinterest them before they can even read it.

Be sure to keep storytelling elements character, conflict, and stakes at the forefront of your mind. This section of the query is designed to make the agent care, so show them enough character to make them make a connection and then weave in the conflict and stakes so that not only does the agent now know who the characters are, what they want, and what will happen if they don’t get what they want, but they’re also emotionally invested in the story, which is what will drive them to read it for themselves.

Pro tip: Don’t open the “hook” or “book” sections with rhetorical questions as a cheap grab at the agent’s attention. It’s overdone, comes off as try-hard, and doesn’t deliver the effect as intended so it’s better leaving them out altogether.

Example: “Can Clara save the world and still make it to the school dance by 8? Keep reading to find out!”

Cook

Two women talking at a conference table. Photo by Amy Hirschi.

While the “cook” section of your query is technically about you, don’t give the agent your whole life story or try to cultivate any specific perception of you as a person other than being a writer. This section is your time to showcase your knowledge and experience as a writer and make the agent confident in your abilities. Consider any certifications or degrees you have earned, any workshops, courses, or masterclasses you’ve attended, or any writing clubs or critique groups you’re involved with and how you can use these connections to demonstrate that you’re a capable, competent, writer who is serious about sharing their work with the world.

Additional errors to avoid include mentioning side characters or love interests that do not critically pertain to the prevailing plotline, bogging down descriptions with hard-to-pronounce proper nouns and/or stylistic spellings. Likewise, remember the KISS method —keep it simple, sweetie.  Simplicity, clarity, and subtlety are the keys to a great query.

Personalize your query

Some optional personalization to your query email includes introductions, genre comparisons, and any additional important/useful information about your novel/series as it pertains to the agents and marketing side of publishing.

One example of a great introduction/connection in action is when a friend of mine attended a writing conference where she unknowingly met her agent. She had never given agents much thought beforehand, but after attending a panel where several literary agents spoke about the book marketing process, she realized she needed to reach out. When she finally completed her book, she was able to break the ice in her query email simply by mentioning they’d attended the same conference and how her advice had helped her.

Don’t include that you’re a first-time or new author; your agent will assume unless you include any relevant published works or previous agents, that you are a new author. The “cook” section of the query is an excellent place to mention relevant writing/marketing experience.

You might also consider providing some comparisons for other books in your genre. Genre comparisons demonstrate to agents that you’re well-read in your niche genre and that you’ve done your research and understand the market you’re writing to. Genre comparisons can also provide a lot of marketing information such as where it might sit on the shelf, what demographic the book might appeal to most, what tones, themes, and tropes are to be expected from a book of any given genre. However, make sure you don’t outright put down other authors or genres when providing comparisons. You’d be surprised how many stories I’ve heard about writers who have included “my book is like so and so’s book but better” when the writer simply means they’ve put an interesting new spin on an old storytelling element.

Additionally, it might be wise to mention that your book is standalone or intended as part of a series. While we might know where the story is headed as the author, it’s ideal for a novel to both be able to stand on its own as well as having series potential, so try not to have your plans set in stone.

Check agent guidelines before submitting

At the end of the day, every agent conducts business differently and their submission guidelines may vary from one agent to the next. Ensure you’re doing everything in your power to result in a successful query by double checking your agent’s submission guidelines prior to submission. When it comes to personalization, some agents enjoy getting to know more about the writers that send in submissions while others prefer you simply leave it out. Checking guidelines before sending your query through will ensure you don’t push potential agents away by making careless mistakes.

Additionally, if it takes some pressure off, remember that if you simply take time to research your genre and potential agents, proofread and put effort into your query, and ensure that it follows agent guidelines, you will be a step ahead of your competition. Just by chatting with other editors and agents, I’ve learned that the general consensus is that most people just send a query off without a second thought and if you put even just a little extra energy into your query, that time and effort will shine through.

Note: Almost no agent accepts full manuscripts on first contact. (This is what “no unsolicited materials” means when you read submission guidelines.) However, almost all agents will accept a one-page query letter unless their guidelines state otherwise. (If they do not accept queries, that means they are a completely closed market.)

Wait on your query for 24-hrs before sending it

Once you’ve drafted the perfect query email, save it as a draft in your inbox for at least 24-hrs before sending it. When that time is up, sit down and re-read your query for any missed typos. I personally struggle with this and it’s why I always say everyone can benefit from a second set of eyes, even editors. Grammar, usage, and spelling are unfortunate errors that conceal the quality of your work, so thoroughly proofread your query before hitting that send button. Read it out loud or consider having a mentor or critique partner give it a second set of eyes. If you’re your only proofreader, get some distance from your query by literally stepping away from it and coming back with a fresh perspective so that you can catch any errors you might have missed in your previous revisions.

Do I need an editor before querying an agent?

It’s completely up to you and how you feel about the state of your manuscript. Whether or not you hire an editor to polish your manuscript, your submission should be 100% complete and in its best version prior to querying.

Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency said “In general, too many submissions come through our slush pile that aren’t ready. In my opinion, an editor could have helped many of these books get to the next level. However, I acknowledge that hiring that person is expensive. If you are going to get an editor, don’t skimp - hire someone with credentials and client referrals in the genre of work that you are writing” and suggests that writers “read 3-5 books in your genre, published in the past 2-3 years, preferably by debut authors and published by major publishing houses” if they believe they need professional editing but can’t afford to hire an editor. (Megibow 2021) However, I think this advice is excellent for familiarizing oneself with their given genre. Inversely, you could find agents that represented your favorite books and research their work as well.

Close out your query concisely

Once again, keep it simple, here. Consider closing out your query email with a classic “Thank you for your consideration” and a “Sincerely, YOUR NAME.” Sign your email with your legal name (and if writing under a pen name or pseudonym include “YOUR NAME, writing as YOUR PEN NAME HERE” as well). Avoid statements such as “I look forward to hearing from you soon,” or “Will send manuscript upon request” because these are automatically assumed as part of the agent intake process. After closing your email, include your contact information and relevant social media links (author/public pages.)

Never mass email agents

The writer to agent intake process is inherently an individualized experience and should be treated as such. As writers with a vast overwhelming competition, it’s easy to see how mass-emailing could be tempting since getting a book deal seems like such a numbers game, but it’s more delicate than that. Agents are humans who make connections to stories just like our readers do and thus, you want to ensure you’re doing your research and finding an agent who will be a good fit for you. Querying an agent is a lot like cold emailing in business — it’s harder than most other forms of communication because you typically lack any prior relationship with your audience and you lack non-verbal feedback so you can’t modify your approach in real time, but it doesn’t have to be cold, per se. Much like with editors, writers can and should be encouraged to make a real, lasting connection with your agent and truly, your writing, book sales, and reader base will all benefit from having that genuine writer-agent relationship. Another way to add some warmth and attention back into your cold queries is to always address agents by their name (never “Dear agent,”) and ensure their name is spelled correctly. Additionally, if you decide to use pronouns to regard your agent, ensure in each instance that the correct pronouns are being used.

Use a professional email address and profile picture for your query email

This seems like a no-brainer, but don’t put in all that work to come up with the most amazing query email only to have it flop on the transmission level of the process. As an author, you should have a professional email for all your writing business needs, but if you get a lot of traffic in your inbox already, consider creating an account designated solely for query submission. Ensure the email address itself is self-explanatory, easy to read, write, pronounce, and remember. yournamequeries@gmail.com is simple enough. For your profile photo, consider a professional business-style headshot photo or a company logo if applicable. If you want to show some personality through your profile picture, try to avoid obscene or offensive imagery.

Don’t respond to rejection emails

Don’t waste your time by sending responses to rejection emails. It might be tempting ask them to elaborate on any feedback they gave you or to thank them for notice of rejection, but it’s just not necessary at the query stage. Agents can provide incredibly useful feedback when appropriate, but in response to a rejection email is not the place to seek out further feedback. Delete the rejection email, move that agent’s message history to your archives, and move on to the next query email.

Smart query

Smart querying is the perfect combination of querying best practices, batch querying, and cold email marketing tactics that serves as the single most effective strategy for landing literary agents out of thin air.

Create a diverse, yet genre-specific agent pool

Once you’ve done some market research and you feel like you have a decent grasp on publishers and agents that deal in your genre, start building a pool of agents who you can smart query and query again later. To establish a truly effective agent pool, come up with a mixture of middle and top tier agents as well as agents who typically are known for responding slower/faster to query submissions. It’s generally a good idea to have a healthy mix of different kinds of agents for your genre (as opposed to all top-tier or all quick-responding agents) because you may want options. A wide variety of stable, established agents as well as emerging agents with potential, is essential to successful and smart querying.

Test batch queries

One key element of smart querying is “test batch querying” where like the name suggests, you send out query emails in strategic batches. Unlike just mass-emailing, agents test batch querying allows you to essentially test-run your query before putting all your eggs into baskets. To batch query, choose 3-5 agents from your pool who respond quickly to queries (leave your dream agents out of test batches) and send your query to them first. If you get 1-2 interested responses (they’re requesting the full manuscript for review) then your query is working, and you can open it up to the rest of the agents in your pool. If you find that agents are getting to the manuscript and losing interest, your manuscript may need more attention first.

Pro Tip: When building your pool of agents to query, do your due diligence on social media. Research your prospective agents on and off the page and ensure your values and work ethic align to avoid any creative differences in the marketing process down the line.

Feedback

I didn’t want to spend too much time on this topic but remember to take any and all writing-related advice and feedback with a grain of salt, of course. Literary agents, like editors, like writers, are all just readers and book lovers at the end of the day, they too are looking for the next story to fall in love with. They make real, meaningful connections to characters and events, so the main goal of a query letter isn’t to sell your story to the agent, but rather to make your story matter to an agent.

After you send out queries, you’ll get a mix of responses, including:

• No response at all, which means it’s a rejection. Don’t sweat it—this is normal. Move on.

• A request for a partial manuscript and possibly a synopsis.

• A request for the full manuscript.

If you receive no requests for the manuscript or book proposal, then there might be something wrong with your query. If you succeed in getting your material requested, but then get rejected, there may be a weakness in the manuscript or proposal. You might occasionally receive personalized feedback regarding the state of your manuscript but it’s not standard practice.

And that’s it for my extensive guide on literary agents and querying! Thanks for checking out my blog post! Did you find any of this helpful? Please let me know and don’t forget to share your experience the comments below!

Bibliography:

1. Copy Write Consultants. “Literary Agent & Publisher Research.” webpage, accessed September 11, 2021.

2. DuoTrope. “Homepage.” Duotrope website , accessed September 11, 2021.

3. Hirschi, Amy. “Woman in teal t-shirt sitting beside woman in suit jacket.” Unsplash photo, (Thumbnail photo) March 5, 2019.

4. Megibow, Sara. “Should You Hire an Editor Before Querying? Agents Weigh In!” Adventures in YA Publishing, July 6, 2014.

5. Publishers Marketplace. “Home.” Publishers Marketplace website, accessed September 11, 2021.

6. QueryTracker. “Home.” QueryTracker website, accessed September 11, 2021.

7. The Directory of Literary Agents. “Find USA Book Agents Looking for New Writers | List of Literary Agents 2022-2023.” Literaryagencies website, accessed September 11, 2021.

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing

• Check out my other Book Writing 101, and Freelancing posts.

Recent blog posts:

— Payton

Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

Hi Readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’re discussing dialogue tags and how to properly format them. Consider this as your new intensive, all-encompassing guide for doing fictional dialogue well.

No matter what genre you write in, learning how to write dialogue effective is an essential part of any writer’s toolkit. Poorly-written dialogue can be distracting or worse —it could cause your readers to close the book in disgust. However, dialogue that is done well can transform your characters into truly believable people and you readers into satisfied, lifelong fans. Of course, the best kind of dialogue isn’t just believable conversation between characters. Good dialogue provide exposition, involves distinct language true to the voice of the speaker, and most importantly, helps move the story along. Dialogue is directly tied to pacing, plot, and tension, and can make or break your story just as much as lame characters or a sagging plot.

This guide is separated into three parts for your convenience: 1) Dialogue Basics, 2) Punctuating Dialogue, and 3) Dialogue Tags—and is filled with cheat sheets, quick-reference-guides, examples, and more to help you with your writing! (This post took me a long time to write, so if you found it helpful, please consider leaving a comment and sharing this with your writerly friends!)

Of course, this is just my own experience as well as examples of other writers who have done dialogue well, but this is by no means a rulebook for dialogue. I’m simply a proponent of the idea that if you know the rules of the writing world well, you can effectively break them well.

Dialogue Basics

Enter late, leave early.

If you’ve been around the writing world for a moment, you might have heard this phrase tossed about when discussing scenes, pacing, and dialogue. It’s a helpful saying for remembering to start a scene at just the right time instead of too early or too late.

Alfred Hitchcock once said that “drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.” Hinging on that, you could say that good dialogue is like a real conversation without all the fluff, and one of the best/easiest ways to cut out that boring fluff is to enter the conversation as late as possible.

Think about it: How many times have you heard someone in real life or in media say, “I hate small talk.” It is the same for your readers. They don’t want to be there for every single “Hi, how are you doing today?” or “I’m doing great, how are you? Thanks for asking. The weather is lovely, isn’t it?” This is a fine and good, but its not interesting dialogue, and it’s highly unlikely that this would move any story’s plot along in a meaningful way. The same goes for other kinds of small talk that usually occurs at the beginning and end of a scene. In order to avoid this kind of slow-paced dialogue, simply enter late and leave early.

Keep dialogue tags simple.

Dialogue tags are the phrases in writing that indicate who is speaking at any given time. “I want to write a book” Layla said. In this case, “I want to write a book” is the dialogue and “Layla said” is the tag. Of course, there are plenty of other dialogue tags you could use besides “said,” such as “stated,” “exclaimed,” or “declared” and so on. When writing dialogue, you generally should keep these elaborate tags to a minimum. Think of it this way, to the reader “said” is boring and simple, but its virtually invisible. Readers expect you to use “said” and because of this, it isn’t distracting to the reader.

Remember the KISS method —Keep It Simple, Sweetie? Remember that for dialogue tags. It’s always better to air on the side of caution than risk potentially distracting your reader with overly complicated, elaborate or convoluted dialogue tags.

As American novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard put it:

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But ‘said’ is far less intrusive than ‘grumbled,’ ‘gasped,’ ‘cautioned,’ ‘lied’” (Leonard 2021).

“Intrusive” is the operative word here. You want to bring readers into your scene and make them feel like firsthand observers, like one of the characters in the background, without drawing attention to the fact that they’re reading a book. Wordy dialogue tags are a surefire way to yank your readers out of the immersion of a story and snap them back to reality. When you raid your thesaurus for fancy dialogue tags, you risk taking readers out of the scene for a fleeting display of your verbal virtuosity. This is true for any writing where you use convoluted language where you would be better served using simple language instead. If it serves a purpose to use uncommon or elaborate verbiage, then by all means, do so, but if its just for the sake of using big words, the practice of using “wordy” language is best avoided.

Additionally, in some instances, dialogue tags can be removed altogether. If there are only two or three people present in a conversation, dialogue tags aren’t always necessary to keep track of the speaker, especially if their voices are distinct convey a character’s personality to the reader.

Descriptive action beats are your friend.

Action beats are descriptions of the expressions, movements, or even internal thoughts that accompany the speaker’s words, and are included in the same paragraph as the dialogue to indicate that the person acting is the same person who is speaking. Action beats help illustrate what’s going on in a scene, and can even replace dialogue tags, avoiding the need for a long list of lines ending in “he said,” or “she said.”

Check out the fourth part of this guide for an example of how to use action beats to strengthen and vary your dialogue structure.

Character voices should be distinct.

Another key aspect of writing realistic and engaging dialogue is make each character sound distinctly like “themselves.” This employs the use of a number of different linguistic elements, such as syntax and diction, levels of energy and formality, humor, confidence, and any speech-related quirks (such as stuttering, lisping, or ending every sentence like it’s a question). Some of these elements may change depending on the circumstances of the conversation, and especially when it comes to whom each person is speaking, but no matter what, there should always be an underlying current of personality that helps the reader identify each speaker.

Example: Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

In the very first piece of dialogue in Pride and Prejudice, readers encounter Mrs and Mr. Bennet, the former of whom is attempting to draw her husband, the latter, into a conversation of neighborhood gossip.

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”

     Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

     “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.”

     Mr. Bennet made no answer.

     “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently.

     “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.”

     This was invitation enough.

     “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.” (Austen 2002)

Austen’s dialogue is always witty, subtle, and packed with character and is never simple or convoluted. Readers instantly learn everything they need to know about the dynamic between Mr. and Mrs. Bennet from their first interaction: she’s chatty, and he’s the beleaguered listener who has learned to entertain her idle gossip.

Develop character relationships.

Dialogue is an excellent tool to demonstrate and develop character relationships throughout your story. Good dialogue establishes relationships, but great dialogue adds new, engaging layers of complexity to them.

One of the best ways to ensure your character’s dialogue reflects their personalities and relationships is to practice some dialogue writing exercises. It’s likely that you won’t actually end up using the products of these exercises in your writing, but they’re an easy, low-pressure way to practice developing your characters and their relationships to one another.

For this kind of practice, I’ve found that exercises like “What Did You Say?” are particularly helpful.

Pretend three of your characters have won the lottery. How does each character reveal the big news to their closest friend? Write out their dialogue with unique word choice, tone, and body language in mind.

If the lottery isn’t interesting enough, consider changing things up. Maybe three of your characters have a role to play in a murder investigation. Each one knows a different take on what happened. Lottery or murder investigation aside, developing your character’s relationship will teach you more about your characters themselves, their stories and circumstances, and how to write dialogue that best fits within that framework.

 Find similar exercises here.

Developing character relationships alongside and through dialogue is an excellent opportunity to work on both simultaneously. In this exercise, there are a number of characteristics that will affect how each character perceives and delivers the news that they’ve won the lottery (or that they’ve been involved in a murder investigation).

These characteristics might include whether a character:

• Is confident and outgoing vs. shy and reserved

• Takes things in a lighthearted manner rather than being too serious

• Has lofty personal aspirations or doesn’t

• Couldn’t care less or wants to help others

• Thinks they deserve good things or not

Carefully consider each of your characters and which of these categories they fall into. This should help you determine how they all relate and react to each other in the context of such news.

Show, don’t tell.

Much like the “enter late, leave early” saying, you’ve probably seen or heard this phrase making rounds throughout the writing world. It’s a sliver of advice that creatives like to use as a buzzphrase in writing communities, but there may be a golden nugget of wisdom to be found in it.

Readers enjoy making inferences based on the clues the author provides, so don’t just lay everything out on the table. This doesn’t mean be cryptic —on the contrary. It basically means you should imply information rather than outright stating it.

Take the dialogue below for example. Even if this is the first instance the reader encounters of Jones and Walker, its easy to deduce that they are police officers who used to work together, that they refer to each other by their last names, and that Jones misses Walker — and possibly wants him to come back, despite Walker’s intentions to stay away.

 Hey, Jones. Long time no see.”

“Heh, Yeah, Walker, tell me about it. The precinct isn’t the same without you.”

“Well, you know I had good reason for leaving.”

“I do. But I also thought you might change your mind.”

However, cloaking this information in dialogue is a lot more interesting than the narrator simply saying, “Jones and Walker used to work together on the force. Walker left after a grisly murder case, but now Jones needs his help to solve another.”

Of course, sometimes dialogue is a good vehicle for literally telling — for instance, at the beginning or end of a story, it can be used for exposition or to reveal something dramatic, such as a villain’s scheme. But for the most part, dialogue should show rather than tell in order to keep readers intrigued, constantly trying to figure out what it means.

Bounce quickly back and fourth.

When writing dialogue, it’s also important to bounce quicky back and forth between speakers, like in a tennis match. Consider the ping-pong pace of this conversation between an unnamed man and a girl named Jig, from Hemingway's short story, "Hills Like White Elephants".

It might seem simple or obvious, but this rule can be an easy one to forget when one speaker is saying something important. The other person in the conversation still needs to respond. Likewise, a way to effectively break this rule is to intentionally omit the other character’s response altogether if the plot warrants it. Sometimes, leaving the other character shocked proves to be just as effective on the reader. 

On the other hand, you don’t want lengthy, convoluted monologues unless its specifically intended and needed to drive the plot forward. Take a close look at your dialogue to ensure there aren’t any long, unbroken blocks of text as these typically indicate lengthy monologues and are easily fixed by inserting questions, comments, and other brief interludes from fellow speakers.

Alternately, you can always break it up using small bits of action and description, or with standard paragraph breaks, if there’s a scene wherein you feel a lengthy monologue is warranted.

Try reading your dialogue out loud.

It can be tricky to spot weak dialogue when reading it on the page or a computer screen, but by reading out loud, we can get a better idea of the quality of our dialogue. Is it sonically true to the characters’ distinct voices? Is it complex and interesting, conveying quirks and personality beyond plot? Does it help drive the plot in a meaningful way or is dialogue being used to fill space? If it is the latter, it should be removed, but more on that next.

For instance, is your dialogue clunky or awkward? Does it make you cringe to hear it read aloud? Do your jokes not quite land? Does one of your characters speak for an unusually long amount of time that you hadn’t noticed before, or does their distinct "voice" sound inconsistent in one scene? All of these problems and more can be addressed by simply reading your dialogue out loud.

Don’t take my word for it, take John Steinbeck’s! He once recommended this very strategy in a letter to actor Robert Wallston: “If you are using dialogue, say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.”

Remove unnecessary dialogue.

Dialogue is just one tool in the writer’s toolbox and while it’s a useful and essential storytelling element, you don’t have to keep all of the dialogue you write in your first or second drafts. Pick and choose which techniques best tell your story and present the interior life of your characters. This could mean using a great deal of dialogue in your writing, or it might not. Carefully consider your story and the characters and whether or not it makes sense for them to have dialogue between one another in any given scene. Just because dialogue can be brilliant, doesn’t mean it’s always integral to a scene, so feel free to cut it as needed.

Format and punctuate your dialogue properly.

Proper formatting and punctuation of your dialogue makes your story clear and understandable. Nothing is more distracting or disorienting within a story than poorly formatted or improperly punctuated dialogue —well, except for an excess of wordy dialogue tags instead of “said,” but I digress! Likewise, knowing when to use quotation marks, where to put commas, full stops, question marks, hyphens, and dashes will make your text look polished and professional to agents and publishers.

How to format dialogue:

• Indent each new line of dialogue.

• Put quotation marks around the speech itself.

• Punctuation that affects the speech’s tone goes inside the quotation marks.

• If you quote within a quote, use single rather than double quotation marks.

• If you break up a line of dialogue with a tag (e.g. “she said”), put a comma after the tag. However, if you put a tag in between two complete sentences, use a period.

• Speaking of tags, you don’t always need them, as long as the speaker is implied.

• If you start with a tag, capitalize the first word of dialogue.

Avoid these major dialogue mistakes.

Tighten up your pacing and strengthen your dialogue by avoiding these common dialogue issues. Although the differences in some of these examples are subtle word choice, usage frequency, and arrangement play a big part in dialogue delivery. Consider how these small changes can make a big difference in your writing.

Too many dialogue tags

As you might have guessed, the most contradictory advice you can receive and most egregious errors you can make when writing dialogue have to do with dialogue tags. Do use them. Don’t use them. Don’t use “said.” Do use “said.” Do use interesting tags. Don’t use too elaborate tags. How does the lowly writer win?

Consider this: good storytelling is a delicate balance between showing and telling: action and narrative. So, how does one do dialogue well? Craft and maintain a sustainable balance between action and narrative within your story. I can’t tell you when and when not to use elaborate dialogue tags or when  to cut tags out altogether, but I can suggest that when you examine your dialogue, keep this idea in mind and consider it when you sense the balance of action and narrative has skewed slightly (or dramatically) to one side or the other.

Constantly repeating “he said,” “she said,” and so on, is boring and repetitive for your readers, as you can see here:

So, keep in mind that you can often omit dialogue tags if you’ve already established the speakers, like so:

One can tell from the action beats, as well as the fact that it’s a two-person back-and-forth conversation, which lines belong to which speaker.  Dialogue tags can just distract from the conversation — although if you did want to use them, “said” would still be better than fancy tags like “declared” or “effused.”

Lack of structural variety

Much like the “too many tags” issue is the lack of structural variety that can sometimes arise in dialogue. It’s an issue that most commonly presents itself in narrative but can occur in dialogue as well. Not sure what I’m talking about? Take a look at these sections again:

Now, action beats are great, but here they’re used repeatedly in exactly the same way — first the dialogue, then the beat — which looks odd and unnatural on the page. Indeed, any recurrent structure like this (which also includes putting dialogue tags in the same place every time) should be avoided.

Luckily, it’s easy to rework repetitive structure into something much more lively and organic, just by shifting around some of the action beats and tags:

Another common dialogue mistake is restating the obvious — i.e. information that either the characters themselves or the reader already knows.

For example, say you want to introduce two brothers, so you write the following exchange:

This exchange is clearly awkward and a bit ridiculous, since the characters obviously know how old they are. What’s worse, it insults the reader’s intelligence — even if they didn’t already know that Sherri and Kerri were thirty-five-year-old, twin sisters, they wouldn’t appreciate being spoon-fed like this.

If you wanted to convey the same information in a subtler way, you might write it like:

This makes the dialogue more about Indiana Jones than the brothers’ age, sneaking in the info so readers can figure it out for themselves.

Unrealistic smooth-talking and clichés

In your quests to craft smooth-sounding dialogue, don’t make it flow so smoothly that it sounds fake. Unfortunately, this is a weak point of sounding your dialogue out aloud because even though it may sound good, it may not sound believable. Consider reading dialogue with a friend or critique partner to see if it sounds believable coming from someone else. If it doesn’t sound any better read by your friend, it might be an indicator that your dialogue needs some work. It can also be helpful to record dialogue (with the participants’ permission, of course) and study it for natural speech patterns and phrases. (Feel free to leave out any excess “um”s and “er”s that typically accompany authentic dialogue.) Authentic-sounding written dialogue reflects real life speech.

Likewise, you should steer clear of clichés in your dialogue as much as in the rest of your writing. While it’s certainly true that people sometimes speak in clichés (though this is often tongue-in-cheek), if you find yourself writing the phrase “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” or “Shut up and kiss me,” you may need a reality check.

For a full roster of dialogue clichés, check out this super-helpful list from Scott Myers.

Disregarding dialogue completely

Finally, the worst mistake you can make when writing dialogue is… well, not writing it in the first place! Circling back to one of the first points made in this guide, dialogue is an integral part of storytelling. It’s an important element in any story, no matter the genre because it provides exposition, indicates, personality, and character relationships, and can even be used to reveal a major plot twist during the climax.

So, what do you think of this guide? I will be adding to it periodically, so make sure to bookmark it and join my newsletter to get notifications when updates go live! Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Bibliography:

1. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Penguin Books, 2002. Amazon.

2. Du Preez, Priscilla. “sihouette of three people sitting on cliff under foggy weather photo.” Unsplash photo (Thumbnail photo), March 5, 2019.

3. Leonard, Elmore. “Elmore Leonard: 10 Rules Of Writing.” Fs blog post, accessed June 27, 2021.

4. Myers, Scott. “The Definitive List of Cliché Dialogue.” Medium article, March 8, 2012.

5. Reedsy. “A Dialogue Writing Exercise.” Reedsy blog post, accessed June 27, 2021.

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing

• Check out my other Book Writing 101, and Freelancing posts.

Recent blog posts:

— Payton

Book Review: Goodbye Again by Jonny Sun

Hi Readers and writerly friends!

This week in Bookish Things, we’re talking about Jonny Sun’s book, Goodbye, Again, which I read a couple of weeks ago and just loved!

I read this book after watching Katherout’s video on YouTube, “I no longer aspire to have a career” where she discussed the idea of a “dream job” and how she no longer dreams of labor —She is one of many speaking up on this greater discussion about laziness, productivity, burnout, mental health, and being overworked and I’d recommend giving her video a watch.

Goodbye, Again is a profoundly sentimental, immensely reflective, and introspective read. It touches on sensitive subjects such as loneliness, the end of the world, the rat race and losing yourself by getting caught up in the working world, depression, self-care, and the like, but not just for the sake of discussing these difficult topics. Sun handles these subjects with care and grace and carves out a space for the reader to feel less alone in their experience with loneliness, belonging, and burnout.

Goodbye, Again came into my life this spring, after I had failed three out of four of my senior college courses (not because of capability, but rather due to burnout and poor mental heath). I had gotten so caught up in school and producing content online at such a rate that it was unsustainable and quickly doomed to crash and burn. That’s exactly what happened. I lost sight of myself and what I wanted out of life and ended up being forced to take time off to focus on my mental health. All of this to say, that Goodbye, Again arrived just when I needed it to.

Goodbye, again by Jonny Sun. Photo by Jonny Sun.

Until I’d read this book, I never realized that I used productivity to cope with loneliness. Sun strives to "fill the blankness" of weekends in the city; but "instead of turning to people, or to hobbies, or to Going Places or Seeing Things, I find it easiest to turn to doing more work to try to fill, or perhaps keep at bay, that emptiness and that feeling I can't ever fill that emptiness enough," he writes. In a lighthearted tone, he confronts this learned response of coping with loneliness through productivity and invites the reader to do the same. This discussion was initiated through his alien character Jomny in his 2017 graphic novel, Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too — however this time around, he works through burnout in his own voice with his own personal experiences. In this way, his specificity actually gives way to reader relatability.

"Whenever I am in an unfamiliar place, it has become a coping mechanism for me to look for plants that I recognize from elsewhere, and to look for plants that I've never seen before anywhere else but that I can start recognizing as familiar," he writes —his words serving as a metaphor for feeling rooted in his communities and a reminder for what we can learn from them: rest is a necessity; growth takes time; some things don't change —paring these ideas with illustrations of succulents on the joining page.

The layout of the book is divided into six parts which allows the reader to take breaks between any of the stories, should they need to. It’s rare that a book will physically accommodate what the writer himself seeks to accomplish by writing the book —to create a space for the reader to sit with loneliness and burnout, even if it means you’re temporarily leaving his world to do this.

Without sharing too much, I’d like to show you a couple of my favorite sections of the book. In one titled “Playlist For A Funeral” Sun says “The playlist for my funeral is 252 songs long now, and I feel like it’s not done yet. I feel like it’s still missing pieces, or that I haven’t found the perfect single song that I love more than any of these other songs that would render my list obsolete. And I think that means I want to keep adding to it. And I think that mean, that this is some sure sign, that I want to be alive.”

This is a passage that really hit close to home for me, especially recently as I’ve been going through a major depression. Reading this section of the book made me feel validated in my thoughts and feelings and the book overall, made me feel like it was okay to feel lonely. Loneliness is neither a bad nor good emotion —it doesn’t have any particular connotation or denotation attached to it. However, people like to view loneliness as a bad emotion because it doesn’t exactly feel good to be lonely. Solitude on the other hand, is viewed as a good emotion, because it seems like the loneliness is intentional or self-imposed. Lastly, positive solitude is the state or situation of being happy or content to be alone. I’ve learned that the difference between all of these instances of loneliness is mindset. If you no longer look at loneliness as a bad emotion, but just an emotion, like any other that comes and goes, then it becomes easier to sit with it rather than trying to shove it down with substances, distractions, or toxic productivity.

If you’re dealing with depression, struggling to cope with loneliness, or just looking for a lovely book to read, I would highly recommend Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun. Summer is here, bringing with it fun, sun, and warmer weather and the reminder that we should all slow down, take time to rest for the sake of resting, and practice taking care of ourselves. Even as the pandemic comes to a close, there’s no shame in taking a break from reading if you need it, but if you’re feeling ready for a new, meaningful but lighthearted summer read, I suggest starting out with Goodbye Again. Trust me, you won’t regret letting Jonny Sun into your life.

Have you read Goodbye, Again by Jonny Sun? What did you think of it? Do you have any recommendations based on this book? What did you think of this review? Let me know in the comments below!

Bibliography:

Related topics:

• Check out more of my book reviews!

Recent blog posts:

—Payton

Self-Care Tips for Readers and Writers

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Reader Life, we’re going over how to practice self-care for both readers and writers. It can be hard to remember to take care of ourselves, and I think after the insane year we’ve all had with 2020, we’ve been reminded how valuable good, regular self-care is important for everyone, no matter what hobbies or occupation you may have. While these tips are geared more for readers and writers, they’re certainly applicable for any kind of creator.

Woman reading in a relaxing floral milk bath. Photo by Monstera.

Give yourself a little grace as a writer

Sometimes it’s hard being a writer—I get it. Sometimes we get writers’ block and sometimes we just don’t feel like pulling up to the computer and cranking out 1200 words a day for the month of November, or ever for that matter. Writing is hard. No matter how many times I say it, it doesn’t make the process any easier. Writing can be really, really, reeeeeally difficult sometimes. Most of the time, in fact. It’s a process that makes you swoon, cry, cringe, hyperventilate, and want to tear your hair out at every turn. It’s frustrating when you want to write but you just don’t feel motivated or inspired enough to do so. It’s frustrating when you feel motivated and inspired but you just don’t feel like writing.

Give yourself grace as a writer. Remember, writing is hard, and it takes time to finish projects. Be kind and patient with yourself and remind yourself often, that writing isn’t something that everyone can do and that’s why you’re special and essential to this world.

Read my blog post, When Writing Becomes Difficult.

Read my blog post, 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit.

Stop caring what others think and stop comparing yourself to others

This goes for both readers and writers—stop comparing yourself to other people and stop worrying about what other people think. This kind of thinking doesn’t benefit anyone and can end up consuming so much of our time and energy.

Readers, stop comparing yourselves to other readers who may have read more books than you, may be faster readers, or who have more aesthetically pleasing bookshelves (and in turn, social media feeds.)

Writers, stop comparing yourselves to other writers who may have been published before you or who have published more books than you have, writers who may come up with beautiful words or excellent writing, or writers who seem to write easily without difficulty.

Everyone should stop comparing themselves to others and remember to appreciate the good qualities about themselves and enjoy the positive things that them apart from the other people in their community.

Allow yourself to put down or part with books you dislike

Give yourself permission to DNF—Did Not Finish—books that you don’t like or feel like a chore to read. If you find the book isn’t grabbing your pages at a hundred pages in, or you realize you have to bargain with yourself to sit down and read, consider that the book in question might not be for you and that’s okay. Think carefully about the books you read and try to build a reader profile for yourself, so you know what books to seek out and which ones to avoid in the future. If you notice historical fiction is just not captivating you the way paranormal romance does, then evaluate your tastes and remember to seek out books that align with them as you search for your next read.

Take frequent writing breaks to recharge your creative battery

Woman writing and using a laptop. Photo by cottonbro.

This piece of advice is essential. We’ve all been there —we glance at the clock and gasp after spending hours writing or reading the day away, hunched over our books and computer screens, in some other world. For readers and writers alike, remember to take frequent breaks to break up the tedium that reading/writing for hours so often brings. Readers, stand up and move around between chapters and writers, do some yoga or some kind of gentle movement to loosen up and get you out of your head. Consider taking a walk outside for fresh air or stroll down to your favorite coffee shop for a post-chapter treat!

Read for pleasure and not for work

Many of us creative bookworms often read to create content for our YouTubes, blogs, and social media accounts and we often read to review books. However, I implore you, dear reader, to remember to read just to read. Read for pleasure and read books that you enjoy. You don’t always have to read the most anticipated book of the year or the book of the month, especially if you can’t find time to read for yourself.

Write just to write

This is easier said than done, right? At first yes. Try writing just to dump all of your thoughts, feelings, items you were supposed to remember, lists and anything else taking up creative space in your mind. This is called brain-dumping and it can work wonders for writers who get stuck in their heads or are easily distracted. Try writing morning pages—Invented by Julia Cameron—where you mindlessly write for several pages, first thing in the morning to clear your mind for the important work you will do later.

Read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron here.

Stay on a writing schedule

Read or write regularly. This will make it easier to sit down to work on your manuscript or dig into your reading material every single day. It might be hard to remember at first, so set alarms for yourself until it becomes a habit for you. Carve out a space and time for completing this activity daily and it will, slowly but surely grow increasingly easier for you. Eventually it will become like second nature. When that time rolls around each day, you’ll feel the writing/reading itch creep in and you’ll know what to do.

 Check out my blog post, Writing Every Day: What Writing as A Journalist Taught Me.

Maintain a balanced diet

While this isn’t exactly related to reading or writing, it is related to being human. No matter what your hobby or occupation is, balanced diets are integral to your health and should never be left out of the self-care conversation. Remember to drink plenty of water and eat balanced meals throughout the day. Consider having a snack with your book and treat yourself to an occasional glass of wine or coffee while you write.

Move your body regularly

Much like the practice of maintaining a balanced diet is important for all readers and writers (and people in general,) exercising regularly is as well. Regular, quality exercise is crucial to your health and can help you keep your energy and mood elevated long after you’ve finished working out. There are countless studies that support the notion that exercise is directly linked to happiness and maintaining a positive mood and energy. So, like reading and writing, set aside time to exercise and loosen up.

Pro Tip: Couple your breaks with short, gentle stretch routines to knock out two birds with one stone.

Check out my Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions blog post.

Get plenty of good-quality sleep

Writing/reading are ultimately mental activities, and what we know about the brain is that brain function decreases when there’s a lack of sleep in our lives. This article from the Sleep Foundation explains how lack of sleep can impair our day-to-day cognitive function.

Sleep is an important time for the brain. Levels of brain activity change in each stage of sleep — including both rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM) sleep — and evidence increasingly suggests that sleep enhances most types of cognitive function.

Getting enough hours of high-quality sleep fosters attention and concentration, which are a prerequisite for most learning. Sleep also supports numerous other aspects of thinking including memory, problem-solving, creativity, emotional processing, and judgment.

—Sleep Foundation

How Lack of Sleep Impacts Cognitive Performance and Focus

Investing in yourself is also directly investing in your creativity and writing career. Consider what lifestyle changes you can make to positively impact your sleeping habits.

• Adhere to a strict sleep schedule

• Pick up a set of noise-canceling earbuds/earplugs

• Upgrade your mattress and bedframe

• Create a practical and nourishing night routine

• Pick up some blackout curtains

• Get a white noise or sound effects machine

• Treat yourself to luxuriously soft bedsheets and comfy pillows

• Cut off the caffeine in the afternoon

• Turn your bathroom into an at-home spa for heavy writing days

Don’t forget to celebrate both the small and big wins

Two friends working creatively outside with coffee. Photo by Keira Burton.

Don’t forget to celebrate your small and big wins, no matter whether or not you’re a reader, writer, both, or neither. If you knock out a book, make sure to update your Goodreads Reading Challenge, and treat yourself to a coffee. If you manage to write through a particularly difficult chapter of your novel reward yourself with a break and 30 minutes of your favorite TV show. Celebrate in whatever way makes sense for you and your life, but make sure you don’t forget to set aside time to recognize when you’ve hit major and minor milestones and completed your goals. The challenges and wins alike can all blur together and without taking time to reflect and cherish your successes, its easy to get caught up in the drudges of the writing world. Don’t let the negativity and workload drag you down. Honor you small and big wins alike by taking time to celebrate the hard work you’ve done and how far you’ve come

Meet another reader/writer for coffee

I know this will be difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic but when this all blows over, make sure to reach out to your friends and family to catch up over coffee or a nice meal, and gush about all of your favorite reads or current writerly projects. In the mean time, if you can abide by social distancing guidelines while meeting a member of your safety circle or visiting with a new friend, try to find time to do so, but safely.

And don’t let isolation keep you locked inside —find your next adventure between the pages here.

Pro tip: Try working outside at a local park, in a coffee shop, or at the library for a change of scenery. Sometimes getting out of the house and out of your usual writing space might help spark inspiration and refresh your creativity. Plan a co-working date with a friend or colleague for extra focusing power.

And that’s it for my self-care tips for readers and writers. Have you practiced any of these tips before? What has worked for you in your reading/writing practice? Do you experience any overlap between the two activities? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Further Reading

• Writing Every Day: What Writing as A Journalist Taught Me

• When Writing Becomes Difficult

• 5 Reasons Most Writers Quit

• Yoga For Writers: A 30-Minute Routine To Do Between Writing Sessions

—Payton

Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

A stack of books with different points of view. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’re discussing how to choose the right POV—Point of View—for your book. This refers to not only the way your story is told but also who is telling your story. The point of view is the lens through which your readers connect with your characters and having the right POV can make your story while having the wrong point of view can certainly break it. There’s no real wrong or right here, but sometimes certain viewpoints just make sense for certain stories. We’re going to look at the definition of POV, the importance of POV, the four different POV’s, what POV’s are popular in what genres, how to know when the POV you’re using is right/wrong for your novel, the top POV mistakes new writers make, and how to execute POV well so that it acts as the perfect vehicle through which you tell your story.

Point of View Definition

Point of view is (in fictional writing) the narrator's position in relation to a story being told, or  position from which something or someone is observed.

The point of view, or POV, in a story is the narrator’s position in the description of events, and comes from the Latin phrase, “punctum visus,” which literally means point sight. The point of view is where a writer points the sight of the reader.

Note that point of view also has a second definition.

In a discussion, an argument, or nonfiction writing, a point of view is a particular attitude or way of considering a matter. This is not the type of point of view we’re going to focus on in this blog post, (although it is helpful for nonfiction writers, and for more information, I recommend checking out Wikipedia’s neutral point of view policy).

I also enjoy the German word for POV, which is Gesichtpunkt, which can be translated as “face point,” or where your face is pointed. How’s that for a great visual for point of view?

Note too that point of view is sometimes called “narrative mode.”

Why is Point of View so Important?

So, why does point of view matter so much? Point of view filters everything in your story. Every detail, event, piece of dialogue, person, and setting is observed through some point of view. If you get the point of view wrong, your whole story will suffer for it.

One writing mistake I see often in my editing work is when writers use the wrong point of view for their stories. As the writer, it can sometimes be hard to tell when your story is written in the wrong point of view, but for readers it sticks out like a sore thumb. These mistakes are easily avoidable if you’re aware of them and I’ll go over just how to do that later on in this blog post.

The four different types of POV’s

• First person point of view. First person is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in the story, relating his or her experiences directly.

• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it’s still good to know (this POV is common in nonfiction, such as blog posts like this one).

• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.

• Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all characters in the story.

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator is in the story and is the one who is telling the events he or she personally experiencing. The easiest way to remember first person, is that the narrative will use first-person pronouns such as My, Me, Myself, and I. First person point of view is one of the most common POVs in fiction writing. What makes this point of view so interesting and challenging, is that all of the events in the story are experienced through the narrator and explained in his or her own unique voice. This means first person narrative is both biased and incomplete, and it should be.

Some things to note about first person point of view:

• First person narrative is mostly unique to writing. While it does appear in film and theater, first person point of view is typically used in writing rather than other art mediums. Voiceovers and mockumentary interviews like the ones in The Office, Parks and Recreation, Lizzie McGuire, and Modern Family provide a level of first-person narrative in third person film and television.

• First person point of view is limited. First person narrators observe the story from a single character’s perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story. Instead, they are telling their story, not necessarily the story.

• First person point of view is biased. In first person novels, the reader almost always sympathizes with a first-person narrator, even if the narrator turns out to be the villain or is an anti-hero with major flaws. Naturally, this is why readers love first person narrative, because it’s imbued with the character’s personality, their unique perspective on the world. If I were recounting a story from my life, my own personal worldview would certainly color that story, whether I was conscious of it or not. First-person narrators should exhibit the same behaviors when telling their stories.

Some novelists use the limitations of first-person narrative to surprise the reader, a technique called unreliable narrator. You’ll notice this kind of narrator being used when you, as the reader or audience, discover that you can’t trust the narrator.

For example, Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl pits two unreliable narrators against one another. Each relates their conflicting version of events, one through typical narration and the other through journal entries. Another example is Rosie Walsh’s Ghosted, where the main narrator conveniently leaves out some key information about herself and her missing lover which could change reader opinion of her, had it been presented earlier in the story.  Once it finally is presented, readers can’t help but feel they were deceived by the narrator and wonder who they should trust at the end of the story.

Other Interesting Uses of First-Person Narrative:

• Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird is told from Scout's point of view. However, while Scout in the novel is a child, the story is told from her perspective as an older woman reflecting on her childhood.

• The classic novel Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad, is actually a first-person narrative within a first-person narrative. The narrator recounts verbatim the story Charles Marlow tells about his trip up the Congo river while they sit at port in England.

• Many first-person novels feature the most important character as the storyteller. However, in novels such as F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, the narrator is not Jay Gatsby himself but Nick Carroway, a newcomer to West Egg, New York.

"I lived at West Egg, the — well, the less fashionable of the two, though this is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them. My house was at the very tip of the egg, only fifty yards from the Sound, and squeezed between two huge places that rented for twelve or fifteen thousand a season. The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard — it was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy, with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and a marble swimming pool and more than forty acres of lawn and garden. It was Gatsby's mansion. Or rather, as I didn't know Mr. Gatsby it was a mansion inhabited by a gentleman of that name. My own house was an eye-sore, but it was a small eye-sore and it had been overlooked, so I had a view of the water, a partial view of my neighbor's lawn and the consoling proximity of millionaires — all for eighty dollars a month."

—F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

2 Major mistakes I often see writers make when using First Person Point of view:

• The narrator isn’t likable. Your protagonist doesn’t have to be perfect, and in fact, that’s generally frowned upon because people want to connect with characters and no real human is perfect. They don’t have to be a cliché hero nor do they even have to be good. However, your main protagonist must be interesting. Your audience won’t stick around for even a hundred pages if they have to listen to a character they just don’t enjoy. This is one reason anti-heroes make fantastic first person narrators —they may not be perfect, but they’re almost always interesting.

• The narrator tells but does not show. We’ve heard this phrase “show, don’t tell” thrown around a lot in the writing community, and while it’s often used as a buzz phrase, and requires some elaboration to make sense, it’s especially true with first person narration. Don’t spend too much time in your character’s head, explaining what he or she is thinking and how they feel about the situation. The reader’s trust relies on what your narrator does, not what they think about doing. It’s all about action. To build on that, first person is the absolute closest a narrator can get to a reader’s personal experience—by that, I mean readers will make the most connection and feel the most represented by first person narration, as long as it is done correctly. Everything the narrator sees, feels, tastes, touches, smells, hears, and thinks should be as imaginable as possible for your reader. It needs to be the difference between looking at a photo of a field of wildflowers and actually standing in the field (mentally.)

Second Person point of view

While not often used in fiction —it is used regularly in nonfiction, web-based content, song lyrics, and even video games — second person POV is good to understand. In this point of view, the narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns such as “you” and “your.” Thus, you become the protagonist, you carry the plot, and your fate determines the story.

Here are a few great reasons to use second person point of view:

• It pulls the reader into the action of the story

• It makes the story more personal to the reader

• It surprises the reader because second person is not as commonly used in fiction

• It improves your skills as a writer

Some novels that use second person point of view are:

• Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series? If you’ve ever read one of these novels where you get to decide the fate of the character, you’ve read second person narrative.

• Similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure series, there was a really interesting and unique interactive game based on Josephine Angelini’s Starcrossed Trilogy that could be played from the Figment website. It was based in Angelini’s modern-day world and surrounded the main character Helen Hamilton, who is gradually revealed to be a modern-day Helen of Troy. The game was a playable maze that took place in Hamilton’s dreams —she would wake up each night after having the same nightmare of being trapped in an endless labyrinth.

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern takes place primarily in third person but every few chapters, it shifts to second person which pulls the reader right into the story.

The opening of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern:

ANTICIPATION

The circus arrives without warning.

        No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentioned or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it wasn’t.

        The towering tents are striped in white and black, no golds and crimsons to be seen. No color at all, save for the neighboring tree and the grass of the surrounding fields. Black-and-white striped and sizes, with and elaborate wrought-iron fence encasing them in a colorless world. Even what little ground is visible from outside is black or white, painted or powdered, or treated with some other circus trick.

        But it is not open for business. Not just yet.

        Within hours everyone in town has heard about it. By afternoon, the news has spread several towns over. Word of mouth is a more effective method of advertisement than typeset words and exclamation points on paper pamphlets or posters. It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe.

        And the black sigh painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:

Opens at nightfall

Closes at dawn

        “What kind of circus is only open at night?” people ask. No one has a proper answer, yet as dusk approaches there is a substantial crowd of spectators gathering outside the gates.

         You are amongst them, of course. Your curiosity got the better of you, as curiosity is wont to do. You stand in the fading light, the scarf around your neck pulled up against the chilly evening breeze, waiting to see for yourself exactly what kind of circus only opens once the sun sets.

        The ticket booth clearly visible behind the gates is closed and barred. The tents are still, save for when they ripple ever so slightly in the wind. The only movement within the circus is the clock that ticks by the passing minutes, if such a wonder of sculpture can even be called a clock.

        The circus looks abandoned and empty. But you think perhaps you can smell caramel wafting through the evening breeze, beneath the crisp scent of the autumn leaves. A subtle sweetness at the edges of the cold.

        The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon, and the remaining luminosity shifts from dusk to twilight. The people around you are growing restless from waiting, a sea of shuffling feet, murmuring about abandoning the endeavor in search of someplace warmer to pass the evening. You yourself are debating departing when it happens.

        First there is a popping sound. It is barely audible over the wind and conversation. A soft noise like a kettle about to boil for tea. Then comes the light.

        All over the tents, small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies, the waiting crowd quiets as it watches this display of illumination. Someone near you gasps. A small child claps his hands with glee at the sight.

        When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears.

        Stretched across the top of the gates, hidden in curls of iron, more firefly-like lights flicker to life. The pop as they brighten, some accompanies by a shower of glowing white sparks and a bit of smoke. The people nearest to the gates take a few steps back.

        At first, it is only a random pattern of light. But as more of them ignite, it becomes clear that they are aligned in scripted letters. First a C is distinguishable, followed by more letters. A q, oddly, and several e’s. When the final bulb pops alight, and the smoke and sparks dissipate, it is finally legible, this elaborate incandescent sign. Leaning to your left to gain a better view, you see that it reads:

Le Cirque des Rêves

        Some in the crowd smile knowingly, while others frown and look questioningly at their neighbors. A child near you tugs on her mother’s sleeve, begging to know what it says.

        “The Circus of Dreams,” comes the reply. The girl smiles delightedly.

        Then the iron gates shudder and unlock, seemingly by their own volition. They swing outward, inviting the crowd inside.

        Now the circus is open.

        Now you may enter.

—Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

There are also many short stories that use second person, and writers such as William Faulkner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Albert Camus that played with this point of view.

2 Major mistakes I often see writers make when using Second Person Point of view:

• Breaking the fourth wall completely. Some writers, such as Shakespeare often broke the first wall within their writing. However, this must be done correctly, otherwise, it yanks the reader straight out of the story and leaves them feeling distracted and often causes them to cringe at the poorly executed technique. In the plays of William Shakespeare, a character will sometimes turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Puck says:

“If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear.” —William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Breaking the fourth wall is a technique of speaking directly to the audience or reader (the other three walls being the setting of the story/play.) Another way of looking at it is this: it’s a way the writer can briefly use second person point of view in a first or third person narrative.

• Unintentionally alternating between first and second person. This only works if it was done intentionally and makes sense within the context of the story. I am interweaving first and second person in my blog post because I, the writer, am sharing my personal experience with you, the reader. This works and is most common in web-based content, social media or non-fiction, and it can be tricky to pull off in fiction writing.

Third person point of view

In third person point of view, the narrator is outside of the story and is relating the experiences of a character. The central character is not the narrator and in face, the narrator is not present in the story at all. The simplest way to understand third person narration is that it uses third-person pronouns, such as he/she, his/her, they/theirs.

There are two subtypes of third person point of view:

Third person omniscient – The narrator has full access to all the thoughts and experiences or all the characters in the story. This subtype of third person narration is not limited by a single viewpoint.

Examples of Third Person Omniscient:

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Read my Review Here)

• Atonement by Ian McIwan

• Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Atonement is a 2001 British metafiction novel written by Ian McEwan. Set in three time periods, 1935 England, Second World War England and France, and present-day England, it covers an upper-class girl's half-innocent mistake that ruins lives, her adulthood in the shadow of that mistake, and a reflection on the nature of writing. McIwan makes clever use of story order, tense, and third person POV to tell a story from multiple points in time, and due to its nature as a metafiction, the story recognizes itself as a work of fiction that likely could not be achieved in any other point of view.

Metafiction is a form of fiction which emphasizes its own constructedness in a way that continually reminds readers to be aware that they are reading or viewing a fictional work.

Third person limited – the narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the character in the story, often just to one character. It is not uncommon for dialogue to be the primary mode of storytelling in this point of view because if the narrator has little to no access to the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters, the reader might not get that information from a third person limited narrator.

Some examples of third person limited:

• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

• Ulysses by James Joyce

• 1984 by George Orwell

Should you use third person omniscient or third person limited?

The distinction between third person limited and omniscient point of view is unclear and somewhat ineffectual.

Complete omniscience in novels is rate—its almost always limited in one way or another—if not because the human mind isn’t comfortable/capable of handling all of the thoughts and emotions of multiple people at once, then it’s because most writers prefer not to delve that deep into each character anyways.

To determine which subtype of third person point of view you should use in your story, consider this:

How omniscient does your narrator need to be? How deep are you going to go into your character’s minds? How important is it to the story’s pacing, plot, and characterization that you reveal everything and anything they feel or thing at anytime? If its not absolutely necessary, consider leaving some parts out in order to build intrigue in your readers.

2 Major mistakes I often see writers make when using Third Person Point of view:

• Blurring the line between omniscient and limited. This happens all the time because writers don’t fully understand the very, very thin line between the two subtypes. While it can become confusing at times, there certainly is a distinction to be made and you should take great care to ensure you use one or the other in your writing, but not both at once.

• Giving readers whiplash by alternating between two characters POV’s too quickly. This happens all too often with omniscient narrators that are perhaps a little too eager to divulge all the character inner workings. When the narrator switches from one character’s thoughts to another’s too quickly, it can jar the reader and break the intimacy with the scene’s main character. Drama requires mystery, intrigue. If the reader knows each character’s emotions, there will be no space for drama.

Woman sitting at a table in the foreground with a man smoking in the background. Photo by cottonbro.

Here’s an example of third person omniscient that is poorly executed:

Meredith wants to go out for the night, but Christopher wants to stay home. He’s had a long day of work and just wants to relax, but she resents him for spending last night out with his friends instead of her.

If the narrator is fully omniscient, do you parse both Meredith’s and Christopher’s emotions during each back and forth?

“I don’t know,” Meredith said with a sigh. “I just thought maybe we could go out tonight.” She resented him for spending the previous evening out with his friends when he had to work yesterday as well. Was it such a crime for her to want to spend time with her partner?

“I’m sorry Mere,” Christopher said, growing tired of the nagging. “I had a long, crappy day at work, and I’m just not in the mood.” Why couldn’t she just let it go? Didn’t she realize how draining his work was? He felt annoyed that she couldn’t step outside of her own view for even a moment.

Going back and forth between multiple characters’ inner thoughts and emotions such as with the example above, can give a reader POV whiplash, especially if this pattern continued over several pages and with more than two characters.

The way many editors and writers get around the tricky-to-master third person omniscient point of view is the show the thoughts and emotions of only one character per scene (or per chapter.)

Some examples of third person omniscient done well:

In his epic series, A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin, employs the use of “point of view characters,” or characters whom he always has full access to understanding. He will write an entire chapter from their perspective before switching to the next point of view character. For the rest of the cast, he stays out of their heads.

• Gillian Shields expertly switches between her characters viewpoints by chapter and by book. In her Immortals series, the first book takes place from the first person POV when told by the main character and switches to third person omniscient when told by the supporting characters. The second book is told the same way. The third book instead is told by one of the supporting characters. The fourth book is told by another.

• Leda C. Muir’s series, the Mooncallers is a fantastic example of excellent execution of third person omniscient point of view as well.

How to choose the right POV for your novel

So, now that we’ve discussed the different types of POV, examples of them executed well, and the top 2 mistakes for each type, let’s discuss how to select the best POV for your story.

Firstly, there’s no “best” or “right” point of view. All of these points of view are effective in various types of stories and there are always exceptions to these “rules.” However, it is true that some POVs are often used in certain genres and some are just better suited for certain types of stories.

• First person – Most often used in YA Fiction in all subgenres, but especially in coming-of-age stories and romance. Often used in Adult romance as well. Romance stories typically alternate between main character and love interest, switching every scene or every chapter.

• Second person – Most often used in nonfiction including but not limited to: cookbooks, self-help, motivational books, entrepreneurial, business, or financial books, and interactive narratives such as Choose Your Own Adventure.

• Third person limited – Most often used in all fiction subgenres for all reading levels. This is the fiction go-to. The third person limited POV is fantastic for building tension because the narrators viewpoint is limited.

• Third person omniscient – Most often used in high fantasy or heavy science fiction.

Of course, like I said, there’s always exceptions to the rules. If you know the rules well, then you know how to break them well.

If you’re just starting out with writing, I would suggest using either first person or third person limited point of view because they’re easier to master. However, you can always experiment with different points of view and story tenses and by practicing them, you improve your ability as a writer. Good, prolific writers learn to master different points of view because it opens their writing up to a greater audience and allows more people to feel included in their writing. Of course, we haven’t even discussed inclusivity, works by authors from a marginalized community, or sensitivity writing, but that’s topic for another day. (I’ll probably cover that in this series so keep an eye out for that.)

Whatever you chose, stay consistent.

The number one issue common to all of these different points of view is that new writers often mix them up or unintentionally alternate between multiple viewpoints within one story. As mentioned under the section covering major mistakes with third person omniscient, the other points of view can suffer from unplanned interweave of multiple viewpoints. The main takeaway here is that you should pick one and be consistent. If you do choose to alternate, consider only alternating between a handful of characters and use only third person limited or first person with each one. Whatever point of view choices you make, be consistent.

There are writers who effectively and expertly mix narrative modes because they might have multiple characters who the plot revolves around, but these kinds of switches generally don’t take place until a break in the text occurs, perhaps at a scene or chapter break.

And that’s it for my blog post on the points of view and how to identify and use them! What is your favorite POV to write in? What is your favorite POV to read in? What is your least favorite POV for both of these? What POV do you struggle with most? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check out this week’s writing challenge!

Writing challenge: Your mission this week is to write for fifteen minutes while changing narrative modes as many times as possible. Post your writing practice in the comments and take some time to read the work of other writers here.

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101: How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

Check out my other Book Writing 101, and Freelancing posts.

—Payton

Book Review: Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Hi readers and writerly friends!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This week in Bookish Things, I’m sharing my thoughts on Erin Morgenstern’s dazzling novel, The Night Circus. I was wholly and completely enchanted with this stunning young adult fantasy, centered around a mysterious nocturnal, travelling circus.

Two starcrossed magicians engage in a deadly game of cunning in The Night Circus, the spellbinding New York Times bestseller that has captured the world's imagination.

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

—Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

The first page of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I cover this more in-depth in the Freelancing counterpart to this blog post, “Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel,” but this story is told from multiple points of view and from different story tenses as well. The narrative jumps from past to present to future seamlessly and seemingly magically to give readers a whimsical, realistic, yet ancient-feeling story. It bounces between second person and third person point of view, a storytelling method that makes reader feel like they are watching the character’s stories unfold one moment and walking through the caramel-and-vanilla-laden paths of the circus grounds the next.

While I do wish this book’s romance had been more prominent (because I just love romance and can’t get enough of it) I do appreciate that the romance present in the story both served to drive the plot in an organic, uncontrived way, and added to the whimsy of the circus itself while not taking place within the circus the entire time.

All of the characters—from the circus itself, to the performers and circusgoers—are alluring, multidimensional, complex characters. These morally-grey, deeply flawed characters are relatable, realistic, and easily loveable—a rarity in books like this one, that have a very large cast of characters. The way Morgenstern seemingly effortlessly weaves so many intriguing character arcs into a single story is truly mystifying—every character has a part to play.

The pacing of this novel is just superb. Some complain that it is a bit of a slower read, but I, charmed by the fantasy of the circus, could not devour this story faster! The way the skips through time are entwined with alternating points of view made for a remarkably interesting story structure and a pacing that never felt boring or dull. The Night Circus is a story of hope, wonder, magic, and love. If I had to pick one word to describe it, I would choose Dreamy, because the imagination and spirit of this story continues to leave me spellbound long after I’ve turned the last page.

That’s it for my review of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Would you visit the Night Circus? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Check out my other book reviews!

—Payton

21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021

A stack of books I want to read in 2021 next to my vintage typewriter and a set of candles my sister gave me for Christmas. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Last year, I hopped on the bandwagon and made 20 Bookish Resolutions for 2020, but this year I’m upping the anti by doing 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021! I managed to knock out 6/20 of my bookish goals last year and this year, I am hoping to switch a few of those out for new goals while keeping a few I didn’t end up completing.

1.      Read 52 books.

Last year I set the goal for myself to read 30 books and I missed that goal by a long shot. I had to end up adjusting my Goodreads reading challenge to 12 books about halfway through the year because the pandemic struck and as a mood reader, I just could not bring myself to pick up a book with all the craziness happening in the world. I did end up completing the adjusted goal —I read 13 books by the end of 2020. However, towards the end of 2020, I picked up several books and finished them within a few days, and it reminded me, that I really can knock out some books. I want to challenge myself to read one book a week in 2021, if not to make up for the lost time in 2020, then to really get some of these books off my TBR and give myself a good reason to grab some new books next year!

2.      Read the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

This is the year. This is it—I can feel it in my bones. I am going to read the whole Harry Potter Series this year. I’ve spent my life avoiding spoilers but this year I am going to read it a joint the wizarding world once and for all! I think I might also watch the movies—you know, for good measure. —Me, 2020.

This quote aged well. I didn’t even pick up the first book in the Harry Potter series. I think I might have jinxed myself by being SO sure I’d read it. However, this year I am going to try even harder to get that one under my belt once and for all.

The House Of Night Series by Kristin and P.C. Cast on a bookshelf with dragon egg candles and an Artemis sculpture.

3.      Read the House of Night Series by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Last year, I planned to knock out this series as well. I’ve only read three out of twelve books, but I heard two new books came out in 2020 and I’m excited once again to read this series. After reading the tame Angel series by L.A. Weatherly, I am dying to sink my teeth into a spicier paranormal romance this year. I’ve already started the first book, so fingers crossed I keep this momentum going all year!

The Starcrossed Trilogy by Josephine Angelini. Photo by Payton Hayes.

4.      Read the Starcrossed Trilogy by Josephine Angelini

Here’s another uncompleted 2020 resolution. I definitely want to get this book read in 2021, especially since I am also craving some good ole mythological romance after devouring the Wildefire trilogy by Karsten Knight like it was candy.

5.      Read more classics

This is another resolution I had for 2020, and while I did acquire more classic literature, I haven’t yet read any of my new acquisitions. Among the new finds are, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Lereoux, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I’d really love to dig into these classic reads in 2021.

The Grisha Saga by Leigh Bardugo. Photo by Payton Hayes.

6.      Read The Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Yet another uncompleted 2020 resolution—we’ll get to some new resolutions soon, I promise! Last year, I called this the Siege and Storm trilogy in my 20 Bookish Resolutions for 2020 blog post, but it’s really called the Shadow and Bone Trilogy. I think I made this mistake because I had accidentally read the Siege and Storm book first (it’s actually the second book in the series, oops!) and it’s gotten me confused ever since. This year I hope to actually read the trilogy and to read it in order this time.

7.      Read more entrepreneurial, financial, and business-related books

I did a fantastic job of reading books from this genre in 2019 and I read a few in 2020 as well, but I’d like to break up all the fantasy books with a few new entrepreneurial reads in 2021. I’d like to read some from Gary Vaynerchuck, Jen Sincero, and Napoleon hill.

8.      Complete my incomplete series by acquiring the missing books

I have several books I snagged from Dollar Tree a few years back and I’d like to get the rest of their series so I can finally read them! I picked two of them up today and saw that they were the final books in their series and was disappointed I couldn’t actually read them without spoiling them for myself. This is where buying more books is actually a good thing!

9.      Sarah J. Mass

Last year, I had planned to finally check out some of the books by Sarah J. Mass but never actually got around to it with the pandemic and all. I had a friend in college who did an entire presentation on her and have been exited to check out her writing ever since. Now that I’ve heard rumors that one of her books is getting a tv show, I absolutely have to see what all the hype is about!

10.      Read Across the Universe by Beth Revis

I reeeeeally really want to read this series. I’ve been admiring it on other bookish people’s shelves for a couple of years now and I think it’s about time I not only picked up the series but read it. The covers are stunning, and the premise just gets me every time. I need to read this series now! —Me, 2020.

I still reeeeeally really want to read this series. Looks like its time to go on  a book-buying spree (online of course!) because I also still don’t own this series yet!

11.  Killer Unicorns by Diana Peterfreund

Here’s another 2020 book goal. I’ve mentioned this series in a recent Freelancing blog post— Book Writing 101: Coming Up with Book Ideas And What To Do With Them—and it reminded me that I really need to read this series. The short story, “Errant” that Peterfreund wrote for Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love was exceptional (and even better with the audiobook to accompany your tangible copy!) and I’m still looking forward to reading more about killer unicorns—a refreshing take on the overplayed, yet majestic mythical creatures.

12.  Engage more with my online book club

Classic paperback books in a wire basket beside my vintage typewriter. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Last year I had goals of joining an IRL book club, but the pandemic really threw a monkey wrench in that one! Instead, I made a book blub channel in my discord server so my friends (whom I play World of Warcraft and other video games with) can converse about our favorite reads. As we roll into 2021, it doesn’t look like the pandemic is letting up anytime soon, so to keep myself safe and keep up the bookish conversation, I’d like to engage more with my friends in our book club channel and hopefully read more of their recommendations as well!

13.  Get another bookshelf…later

Last year I planned to get my hands on another bookshelf, but truthfully, I don’t have the space for it and I expect I’ll be moving sometime in 2021, so I’ll be holding off on that goal for a little while longer. I hope to replace my current bookshelf situation with better quality shelves, but for now, the books just continue to pile up on every available surface—the warping bookshelf I bought secondhand in 2017, the wall shelf filled to the brim with books and other fun knickknacks, and the precariously balanced stack of books growing on my floor. Here’s hoping that I get a new place before I am swimming in books—although, that many books is really more of a good problem, right? Right.

14.  Focus on my own reading goals as opposed to comparing myself to other readers

Last year I had the goal to stay current and read more books published in 2020 and read more books that were popular last year, but I’ve decided it might be better to just stay in-the-know about those kinds of books and instead try and catch up on my TBR! I’d really like to get a bunch of these bookish goals accomplished this year so I don’t have to worry about having the same goals for three years in a row!

15.  Read from a genre I don’t enjoy, again!

This year I read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (The review came out for this book last week, so check it out here!) and while I typically don’t gravitate toward dystopian fiction, I really enjoyed that novel. It certainly had more impact on me than I think it would have had I not read it during the COVID-19 pandemic, because the entire premise hit very close to home for me in 2020. Since this read was so enjoyable, I’d like to read more of Mandel’s works to dip my toes in more dystopian fiction in 2021.

16.  Take better reading notes

This is a new bookish goal for me, but I’d really like to get better about keeping notes from the books I read. I don’t really want to create a commonplace book just yet, but I have been jotting down quotes and new words I find in a little black journal and so far, that has been great! I save the page numbers so I can flip back to them anytime.

17.  Read a book to buy a book

This was a goal I had last year and while I didn’t exactly complete it, I didn’t fully fail it either. I bought a few books last year but ended up reading several of them, so technically they cancel themselves out, right? Right. I’d like to read more books that I already own and use new books as a reward for myself, though. This might help me chip away more of my TBR pile rather than just keep adding to it. (I’ll keep adding new TBRs to my Goodread’s shelf though!)

18.  Participate in a reading challenge

While I did participate in the Goodreads yearly reading challenge, I didn’t end up completing a secondary reading challenge like I had hoped. I would very much like to participate in Booktober or complete the Romance Reading Challenge for February 2021.

19.  Start one book at a time and finish it

In 2020, I had the goal to give myself permission to leave a book unfinished because all of 2019 I beat myself up about not wanting to finish certain books even though I truly didn’t enjoy reading them. I decided if it’s a slog to get through a book and the first 100 pages haven’t hooked me, then it might be better to set that book down. However, I’d like to be better about only starting one book at a time and making sure to finish it before starting another. I plan to only have one fiction book and one non-fiction book that I’m currently reading, so I don’t get stuck in reading slump, but also so that I don’t end up starting a million different books and never finishing them. Chronological order is the key here.

20.  Develop better reading habits

In 2020, my 20th bookish goal for the year was this one, and similar to goal number 18, I neither accomplished nor failed this goal because while I found it hard to get myself to read most of 2020, the pandemic was certainly a thing that happened and certainly a factor that contributed to my year-round reading slump. I’d like to get better about reading daily and carving out a space each day that I know is strictly for reading.

21.  Make more bookish friends

While my best friend, partner, and father are all avid readers, I find none of them share interest in my favorite genres other than fantasy, so I’d like to make friends with more bookish people so I can branch out and have some fresh new conversations about books and get to know what other people are reading and enjoying. Initially, I’d have hoped to accomplish this by going to an IRL book club, but as mentioned with goal number 12, that’s kind of impossible for the foreseeable future. Instead, I’ll try and make online bookish friends via Goodreads, Bookstagram, and Facebook!

And there you have it! Those are my 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021. What do you think? Do you have any bookish resolutions for the new year? Comment below and let me know what you thought of my list!

Related Topics:

• 20 Bookish Resolutions for 2020

• Books I read in 2020

• Spring Cleaning for Writers: 10 Things Every Writer Should Do Before 2020

• How To Organize Your Digital Life: 5 Tips For Staying Organized as a Writer or Freelancer

• 8 Ways To Level Up Your Workspace And Elevate Your Productivity

• 5 Actionable New Year’s Resolutions For Writers

• 8 Questions Writers Should Ask Themselves in 2020

—Payton

Book Writing 101 - How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

Freytag’s Pyramid from Serious Daring by Lisa Roney. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Freelancing, we’re continuing the Book Writing 101 series with the 3rd part of the series, How to Achieve A Good Story Pacing. If you’re looking for the rest of the series, it will be linked at the end of the blog post!

What is story pacing?

In literature, pace, or pacing is the speed at which a story is told —not necessarily the speed at which the story takes place. The pace is determined by the length of the scenes, how fast the action moves, and how quickly the reader is provided with information.

Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages

Pacing is an element of storytelling that seems to trip up many new writers. It can be hard to pin down. What is a good pacing for a story? Well, to get a better idea of good story pacing, we have to look at bad story pacing first.

Pacing is also tension. It’s how you build out the rising and falling action of your scenes. When I reference “action” in this blog post, rising and falling action is what I am talking about. This may be literal action scenes, conflict, events, plot points and pinch points, and other peaks and valleys of plot.

If you read my blog post about where to start your novel, then you might remember this next bit. That post (linked at the end of this blog post) is specifically for starting a book, but it serves as a great reminder for starting/ending you scenes and chapters as well.

Pacing is also how you enter and leave scenes and chapters. It’s how you open a scene and keep the momentum all the way through to the “turning point” of that scene or chapter. It’s how you close that scene/chapter and lead into the next one. Think about the “enter late, leave early” rule when trying to achieve goo pacing within your story, and how events in your story drive the plot forward.

Bad story pacing

This usually occurs when a story is told at a pace or speed that is either just too fast or too slow for the plot and the events that happen within the story. Story pacing that is just too fast almost gives the reader narrative whiplash in that, everything is being presented so quickly that the reader just can’t seem to keep up and is lost in confusion. Story pacing that is just to slow usually ends up boring the reader and making it hard for him or her to stay motivated to finish the book.

Story pacing really has more to do with the amount of information being presented and the intervals at which it is being presented. Books that have too-fast story pacing often just bombard the reader with information faster than they can process it. For example, a thriller writer may leave things out of the story in an attempt to build intrigue but as the plot progresses, the reader will be come increasingly more confused. In fantasy, too-fast pacing usually arises when the writer drops in a ton of names in rapid succession without really giving the readers time to orient themselves.

However, on the flip side, too-slow pacing can arise in fantasy in much the same way as well. Taking entirely way too long to establish backstory or info-dumping is a great way to slow the story down and bore the reader. And truthfully, this isn’t unique to fantasy; this issue can manifest itself this way in all genres.

Pacing that is too fast: Too much information is presented too often.

Pacing that is too slow: Not enough action is presented often enough.

I know, it looks like I said the same thing twice. But the truth is, story pacing is all about balance. There is a very delicate balance between action and information that even seasoned writers struggle to master.

Identifying pacing issues with word count

This might only be useful if for writers who have critique groups, agents, or editors but essentially, you can identify bad pacing by looking at the word count of a novel. If your editor says “the word count is too low for your genre” then they’re essentially saying, your pacing is too fast, and you’ve not spent enough time building out the story and included too much action. If your editor says “the word count is too high for your genre” then they’re saying your pacing is too slow, and you’ve spent too much time building out the story and not including enough action.

Sentence structure can make or break pacing

Long, drawn-out, convoluted sentences, word paragraphs, big, pretentions words, and overly descriptive purple pose will absolutely kill your pacing. Think about these things and keep in mind that if it doesn’t add to the writing style, voice, tone or drive the plot, then you don’t need it. Characterization should be dropped in here and there, and not done in page-long descriptions with wordy backstory. Big words and extensive vocabulary should only be used if it makes sense for the voice and tone of the story, and not just for the sake of making your writing “sound smart” or upping your letter count.

This doesn’t mean that shorter and more direct sentences are key either. Like I said, it’s all about balance. The secret to achieve this balance and good story pacing is varied sentence structure. Look at the sentences below.

Sarah wanted to read a book. She got up out of her chair and grabbed a book off of her shelf and sat back down. She opened the book and began reading.

Sarah yawned, sleepily remembering it was reading time and stretched as she rose out of her chair. She slowly ambled over to her expansive bookshelf, not sure what to read next, now that she’d finished her last novel the day before. She lifted a heavy blue book with an ornate cover and carried it back to her chair where she cuddled up and began reading.

The first series of sentences is very stale and boring, and it presents the action too quickly by simply telling the reader what is happening. However, the second series of sentences is entirely too colorful and takes too long to get the info across to the reader. Look at the series of sentences below.

Sarah yawned and looked out the window, realizing the sun was setting and it was reading time. She rose out of her chair and moved to the large, oak bookshelf, filled to the brim with hardcovers and paperback in every color. Thumbing through the first few pages of several books, she found one that had intricate illustrations for ever chapter and decided that would be her next read. Sarah settled back into her cozy reading chair and opened the hefty fantasy tome, eager to begin her next adventure.

In the third paragraph, you can clearly see how varied sentence structure makes the scene more interesting. This is the key to achieving balance between action and narrative and achieving good story pacing. Mastering this writing technique will help you keep this delicate balance no matter what genre you write in because sentence structure is part of every kind of writing. I even use it in my blog post writing.

In addition to this, consider what the purpose is of your chapter or scene and if it isn’t providing the reader with key information, moving the plot forward, or making space for characterization, then perhaps you don’t need it. Scenes that serve no real purpose for the story should be cut from the manuscript because they only drag out the story and slow the pacing. Typically, all scenes should be meeting these three criteria and it’s certainly all about balancing out the time each one takes to achieve their individual purpose.

Story structure can help you with pacing

Much like sentence structure, story structure can be a great way to determine the pacing of your story and where you might be doing really well in terms of tension and pacing and where your story might be sagging a little. The 3-Act Story Structure is just one (popular) example.

I think a lot of writers have a hard time with pacing because many of us grew up learning about the 5 elements of plot with a very set-in-stone triangular structure, but I like to think of plot as more of a bell curve. In the graphics below, you’ll see the 5 Elements of Plot versus the Plot Bell Curve (based on the 3 Act-Story Structure) and how pacing looks with each of these story structuring methods.

The issue with the Elements of Plot is that this structure allows entirely too much time to pass between major plot points. This is where many writers’ issues with the “sagging middle” originate from. Look at the bell curve, where tension is kept evenly from plot point to plot point. Instead of a terribly slow and steady incline, the rising action builds tension right from the inciting incident and falling action slows tension from the midpoint to the confrontation.

So, to recap:

• Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages.

• It’s how you build out the rising and falling action of your scenes.

• Story pacing is all about balance. There is a very delicate balance between action and information

• Varied sentence structure makes the story more interesting

• Scenes that serve no real purpose for the story should be removed

• Try using the plot bell curve instead of the elements of plot to see how it affects your story’s pacing

And that’s it for my blog post on how to achieve good story pacing. I hope this post helped you and if it did, make sure to comment below and check out the related topics for more Book Writing 101 posts!

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

—Payton

Bookish End of the Year Survey

Hi readers and Writerly friends!

Before we get into it, I have an announcement! Form this post forward, the Current Faves category on my blog will be called Reader Life. I’ll still put similar content into this category, but I feel like this would be a better name than Current Faves and it will allow me to cover a wider variety of topics! The buttons and new thumbnail headers are going to reflect this change, but all previously published content will remain the same. I’m going to try and update all of my links to match, but if you find a link that isn’t working, please let me know and also comment what kind of things you’d like me to cover in this new category!

This week in Reader Life however, I’m going to be completing the End of The Year Book Survey created by Jamie from PerpetualPageTurner.com! Make sure you check out her post here and share it if you do decide to complete it for yourself!

Note: The survey is for books you read throughout the year, no matter when they were published, and is not limited to just books that came out in 2020!

I’m going to keep my answers fairly succinct because there is a lot of ground to cover. Let’s get into it!

2020 Reading Statistics

Number of books Read:15

Number of Re-Reads:2

Genre read from the most: Paranormal romance

Best in Books

1.       Best Book You Read In 2020?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. Read my review here, and my 21 Bookish Resolutions for 2021 post here.

2.       Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Dirty Pretty Things by Micheal Faudet

3.       Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I went into this book knowing I might like it (based off of rumors from other readers) and ended up LOVING IT. I typically don’t like dystopic fiction much but I truly enjoyed this read and I am looking forward to reading more from Mandel in the future.

4.       Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?

Shadows Rising by Madelline Roux. I shared this World of Warcraft read with my WoW friends in our discord book club and several did end up reading it. I also lent my hardcover copy to my bestie and I think she’s still working on it as I write this post. I can’t wait to gush with her about this book when she’s finished reading it.

5.       Best series you started in 2020? Best Sequel? Best Series Ender of 2020?

The best series I read in 2020 hands-down is the Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight. This is easily the best sequel and best series ender as well. It easily surpassed the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly, and since I am not finished with the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, I don’t think that counts. This trilogy was like the balm to my soul. The writing was incredible, the pacing was excellent, and the premise was right up my alley. Read my review here.

6.       Favorite new author you discovered in 2020?

Emily St. John Mandel

7.       Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

8.       Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

A stack of several books I read this year with the pages facing out. Some books grabbed my attention while others made me fall asleep at every page turn. Photo by Payton Hayes.

The Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

9.       Book You Read In 2020 That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

The Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

10.   Favorite cover of a book you read in 2020?

The Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

11.   Most memorable character of 2020?

Zoey Redbird from the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast

12.   Most beautifully written book read in 2020?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and the Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight

13.   Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2020?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

14.   Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2020 to finally read?

The Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

15.   Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2020?

“Hell is the absence of the people you long for.”

—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 144, Para 3.

16.   Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2020?

Shortest: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Longest: Angel Fire by L.A Weatherly

17.   Book that shocked you the most

The Wildefire Trilogy by Karsten Knight—the ending was completely unexpected, but in a good way.

18.   OTP OF THE YEAR (You will go down with this ship!)

Alex and Willow from the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

(OTP = One true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

19.   Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Damien and Zoey from the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast

20.   Favorite Book You Read in 2020 From An Author You’ve Read From Previously

Chosen and Betrayed from the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast (These were my only re-reads in 2020)

21.   Best Book You Read in 2020 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/ Bookstagram, etc.

I am not really sure how to answer this. It seems like all of the books I read this year were recommended to me at one point or another except for Dirty Pretty Things by Micheal Faudet. I suppose I was really motivated to read Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel which was recommended to my by Mollie from @Molliereads and Shadows Rising by Madelline Roux which was suggested to me by Amazon, before Shadowlands (the newest World of Warcraft expansion) came out, but other than that, I am not too sure.

22.   Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2020?

Alex Kylar from the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

23.   Best 2020 debut you read?

I didn’t read any books that came out in 2020!

24.    Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Shadows Burn from the Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir.

25.   Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

Dirty Pretty Things by Micheal Faudet

26.   Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2020?

The Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

27.   Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

28.   Book That Crushed Your Soul?

None of the books I read in 2020 were particularly soul-crushing.

29.   Most Unique Book You Read In 2020?

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

30.   Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

None of the books I read in 2020 made me mad or angry, really.

My Blogging/Bookish Life

1.       New favorite book blog/Bookstagram/Youtube channel you discovered in 2020?

Merphy Napier and Ariel Bissett on YouTube

2.       Favorite post you wrote in 2020?

It would have to be my Author Interview with Melanie Martins about her book, Blossom In Winter and romantic thrillers. Check that out here.

3.       Favorite bookish related photo you took in 2020?

This one of my copy of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

4.       Best bookish event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events,  etc.)?

Since pretty much all events were canceled in 2020 (Thank you COVID-19!) I think the only one that really counts for me is my discord book club that I participate in with my World of Warcraft friends.

5.       Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2020?

I got my first comment on one of my blog posts in December 2020.

6.       Most challenging thing about blogging or your reading life this year?

Felling motivated to create content with everything that happened in 2020.

7.       Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

Comments: Why Fanfiction is Great Writing Practice and How It Can Teach Writers to Write Well

Pageviews: How To Write Best Friends to Lovers Romance - That Feels Realistic

8.       Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

Author Interview: Melanie Martins (Author of Blossom In Winter)

9.       Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

I Visited The Full Circle Bookstore In OKC

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

Yes! I completed the Goodreads Reading Challenge! I read 15/12 books in 2020!

Looking ahead

1.       One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2020 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2021?

Marked from the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, only because I just finished the book that precedes it on the last day of the year, so I really didn’t have time to finish it. However, its next on my list and I will absolutely have it read early January (and possibly even before this post comes out!)

2.       Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2021 (non-debut)?

Hmm. I think I would have to say the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on the rest of this series. I wanted to read it so badly this year, but I made myself refrain from purchasing any more books until I knocked out a few more of my TBR’s that I already own.

3.       2021 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Girls at the Edge of the World by Laura Brooke Robson

4.       Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2021?

Mooncallers Book 3 (Unnamed) by Leda C. Muir. She says she’s been editing this book and it’s due to be finished anytime now, and I am JUST DYING to get this book. I really enjoyed the first two in the series and I truly can’t wait to see what happens next.

5.       One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2021?

I hope to read 52 books in 2021. I think I can really do it. If nothing else, I would like to read at least two books a month. But I am going to try my hardest to meet that one-book-a-week goal.

6.       A 2021 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):

I haven’t read any 2021 releases early, but I’d like to read some eventually!

And that’s it for my 2020 Bookish End Of The Year Survey! Make sure you check out Jamie at Perpetualpageturner.com and fill out the survey for yourself here! Leave me a comment answering one of these questions and if you do decide to fill out the survey, make sure to link it in the comments and share it with Jamie and myself so we can see your results!

—Payton

Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

Hello readers and writerly friends!

Three friends sitting on a rocky hill at sunset at Joshua Tree. Photo by Cynthia Magana.

What’s in a name? It’s a question Shakespeare asked and many other writers today find themselves pondering because sometimes character names are a very crucial part of creating compelling characters. A name can make or break a character’s believability and so, authors should always chose carefully when selecting names for their characters. However, this isn’t something to get too in-your-head about. While there’s many factors that can influence a character’s name, it’s really up to you to chose something you feel best represents that character. If you’re just starting your novel or still in the first draft phase, consider using [Main Character], [Supporting Character 1], and [Main Antagonist] as placeholder names while you get the first draft completed. Names aren’t something to interrupt the writing process over. You can always come back to your characters later and change their names during the editing phase.

If you’re in the editing phase, this blog post is for you so, let’s get into it!

So, what actually is in a name?

As mentioned, there’s a lot of different parts of picking a name for your characters from etymology, to genre, to time-period, etc., and its easy to get overwhelmed with the sheer research you must do to carefully curate names for characters that you want to be compelling and memorable. Names are incredibly important because they tell the reader a lot about your story—cultural background, genre, influences and worldview, time-period, setting, and identity. However, picking a name that doesn’t suit your characters can do a lot of harm to your story, from distracting the reader, to losing relatability and connection between the reader and characters, which is ultimately the most important part of storytelling—the reader-character-connection.

Parents, experience, upbringing, and worldview

I go into this a little bit in my blog post, “How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters” but when crafting a character, you have to take a lot of external factors into consideration including family trees. If you have a female main protagonist in your story, its important to note that her parents are going to have a direct effect on her name, her upbringing, and her worldview.

If you’re trying to determine a name for this character you might ask yourself the following:

• Does she have both or only one of her parents and what is their situation like?

• What are their names (if you have picked already)?

• What kind of upbringing did they have?

• What kind of names would they name their daughter?

• What is the setting like and what kind of names would be prominent in this setting?

• When was the character born?

This information is all, lower portion of the iceberg and doesn’t necessarily have to make it onto the page, as long as you know the answers and how they inform characterization. These kinds of questions should be at the front of your mind when considering what to name your characters.

Genre

Contemporary, historical, and time-period pieces

First on the list, let’s look at genre as a starting point for coming up with names for characters. If you’re writing a contemporary novel or historical fiction, for example, you could use a baby name website, or modern name generator to try and spark inspiration for names. Essentially, contemporary works would encompass anything that seems realistic and plausible today and the names should follow that. Historical fiction would require some research —such as looking up popular names in certain countries during a specific year to get an idea what names were in use in the setting of your novel.

Science Fiction, High Fantasy, and invented names

I think a lot of the naming struggle comes from writers who’s works fall into the science fiction and fantasy category because they feel as if they have to completely make up new names from scratch for world building and immersion and that can be really overwhelming to both new and experienced writers alike. While you can pull names out of the air, its typically easier to base your characters and cultures off of real-world people and cultures and use real names as a starting point. For example, in short story, The Sieka of Sahn’Jatar, is set in the middle-east in Terrae Forrh and this setting is based off of the Sahara desert and the middle-east on Earth and the cultures are also based off the cultures of those locations, i.e., Iran, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Sudan, Morocco, and India. Names, appearances, mannerisms, language, and accents are inspired from these cultures as well. However, the Nelnaiian elves in the southern part of the continent are inspired by France and their language is mildly derivative of both French and Spanish.

Essentially, if you had to compare your fantasy/sci-fi characters and cultures to that of the real world, which ones would the be most like? Once you determine this, research the language and names of that real-world culture and see what minor twists you can put on existing names to tailor them to your world while keeping with a general theme for consistency’s sake.

For example, if I wanted to name a young elven girl that would have lived in Sahn’Jatar, I might pull names from Syria. One I found was Amira. To make this more suited for my fantasy world and less like I found it in a baby names list, I might add or remove vowels/consonants until I have something new. Aamira or Amiira could work. Or I could even use Ammira or Amirra.

If I wanted to keep the pronunciation but change the spelling, I could use Emira or Amire. If I wanted to make the name or masculine I could tack an “o” to the end of the name or change out the “a”s for “o”s such as in Amiro, Omiro.

I could swap letters around altogether to end up with Imiro, Omira, Imira, or Amiri.

Pro tip: Always double check that your result isn’t something that exists or is widely popular in your inspo culture or another culture. For example, if my result from the name exercise above was Omar, then I’d simply be back at square one. It would be okay to use this name because of its origin in Muslim culture, but I would have to be cognizant of the fact that this is a real name/word/concept in an existing culture. It might be better to tweak it again if I didn’t want readers to think “Hey, that’s my name!” or that I simply pulled it out of a list. Instead, I might use Omaar and so on. Just know, that you might have to go through this process a few times to come up with the most perfect, original names. Certainly, cross-check your work.

The main takeaway here is that you’d use existing names and cultures as a starting point and tweak them until the become x) as original as possible while y) fitting the characters and setting of your story.

Consider these things when trying to invent your own character names:

• What language and culture are the from? What are they inspired by?

• How are vowels and consonants pronounced?

• Are male and female names/words conjugated differently?

• Are their honorifics such as with Korean or Japanese?

• What do your names suggest about society, class, and privilege?

Use the answers to these questions as a rule-system for naming your characters, so that you can ensure consistency and uniformity among members of specific societies, groups, and kingdoms. Of course, there will always be exceptions to the rules, especially if you have regions that are sort of melting pots of culture.

And on the other hand, you do want to be careful when using real-world cultures as inspiration for your invented world. Try to avoid using stereotypes in your fantasy if they’re offensive, or harmful to the culture you drew inspiration from. For example, in my short story I mentioned earlier, the Saabuli, a warband and reigning power over Sahn’Jatar is inspired by militant Muslim culture, however I try my absolute best to avoid including stereotypes or mention of terrorist themes in the story. Just be mindful of whatever culture you’re drawing inspiration from and make sure to do your research.

Additionally, ensure your names all fit well together. Make sure your first names and last names both look aesthetically good together as well as sonically work well with one another. Take time and care to ensure your all the names in your entire cast of characters make sense together against the backdrop of your setting and genre. You wouldn’t have a high fantasy story where all the characters have intricate names except one, who’s name is Jerry, right? And of course, the same goes for Sci-Fi.

Naming places

As mentioned in my blog post about creating compelling characters, the setting/world is also a character in a sense, and especially in Sci-Fi and fantasy where a lot of worldbuilding takes place, it’ quite common to have to come up with names for universes, galaxies solar systems, worlds, continents, countries, regions/provinces/states, counties, cities, towns and infrastructure/landforms. I would argue that naming places in Sci-Fi and fantasy is pretty similar to coming up with names for people. The only differences are a) there may be several words/spaces/punctuation in the name, and b) infrastructure and landforms may be included in the name.

An example from my own writing— a river in Terrae Forrh is called the Lae’ir’nali river. There are also some tepuis in Terrae Forrh, a singular one called Kuketi Tepui, and a mass of tepuis, upon which a city has been formed, is called Asyanir, The Tabletop City. Another name for tepui is table-top mountain. So, you can see how I used the different landforms in their own names.

History and Culture

All names are rooted in history and culture and as mentioned before it’s a good idea to take inspiration from existing history and culture as a starting point, even if you’re not trying to make up your own names from scratch. Your challenge as the writer, is to come up with a fairly concrete historical and cultural basis for your names.

Of course, if you have various cultures represented in your book, consider how their names might sound different. I wouldn’t expect my French-derivative names to sound anything like my Syrian-derivative names. It all has to do with characterization, worldbuilding, and ultimately identity. If you’re writing a Sci-Fi story that takes place across multiple planets with different races, consider what various naming conventions may be used to give characters their names and how they fit in with those races and cultures.

Name trends

Something to keep in mind when naming characters is that names do rise in and fall out of popularity over the years and names do go through trends, especially first names, since last names are usually passed down through the family line or are adopted/dropped with change in marital status. First names are often affected by gender and tradition. Male names are often passed down in patrilineal fashion whereas girls may be named after a grandmother, aunt, or godmother instead.  If the names in your book have been passed down through your fictional families’ bloodlines, consider how and where they got those names and why they would pass them down. Additionally, you should consider the religious and traditional aspects of inherited names as well.

US map showing states where the names Ashley and Jessica were the most popular in 1992 based on data provided by the Social Security Administration.

Graph showing the popularity of the name Ashley between 1970 and 2012, with prevalence peaking in 1988 at roughly 50,000 children with this name. Data provided by the Social Security Administration.

Names not only reflect culture, but they reflect character

It’s a sort of chicken versus egg cycle when it comes to characters and names—the name becomes the character, and the character becomes the name. Whether we realize it or not, our name is very much a part of our identity. Think about how characters might behave differently if they had a unique/hard to pronounce/read/spell name as opposed to having a common easy name. My name for example, is Payton and I was at least fourteen before I ever encountered anyone else with that exact same spelling and they were a guy! It was a relatively uncommon name when I was growing up and people would always ask me “Oh, is it Peyton with an e?” and I’d have to correct them. So, as an adult, I naturally have a complex about my name and the way its spelled. I take pride in knowing my name is somewhat unique, but I know I may never find my name on a Coke bottle and that’s just how it is. I am just as befitting of my name as my name is a part of my identity.

However, I grew up when the name “Ashley” was very, very popular and likely knew over 20 different Ashley’s throughout K-12, including one of my best friends and my older sister. I decided I was so sick of hearing that name in all my classes and with friends, I would never name my daughter that if I had one. I remember I had a music class one year where there were three different Ashleys in that class. We had to call them Ashley C., Ashley T., and Ashley H just to tell them apart.

Consider how names might influence your characters’ personalities:

•  Are they self-conscious about their name?

• Do they feel like their name suits them?

• Do they get picked on in school because of the spelling?

• Do they have a thick skin because they’re used to people butchering the pronunciation?

• If their name is really common, do they hate their name for it’s lack of uniqueness?

• Do they get confused with other kids in their class (Such as with the Ashley example above)?

• Do they change their name or go by a nickname to establish some sense of identity and individuality?

• How are your character’s perceived and then treated because of their names?

Because of the “which one came first?” nature of the naming/character process you can really work backwards or forwards. That’s why I suggest writers use placeholder names while they get their first draft done. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, or green or experienced with characterization—the naming process can be tricky for any kind of writer. It’s a very experimental process with a lot of playing around with words and culture and language to see what works and what doesn’t.

Additionally, remember to do research within your genre to determine if the “popular” name you’ve chosen for your main protagonist is not the same or at all similar to other books in that genre. After you’ve gone to the trouble to find the perfect name for your character, it would be a shame for readers to just get him/her mixed up with another character from a completely different story by an entirely different author.

Examples of bad names

Anachronistic names

Nothing severs the reader-character connection faster than a name that distracts or annoys the reader or is so forgettable that the reader has to flip back through earlier pages just to remind themselves of the main character’s name. Try to avoid names that are just absolutely outlandish for your setting and genre. If you’re writing about a time in which you did not live through personally, do your due diligence and conduct as much research as you can to ensure your names fit the time period about which you’re writing. Names that stick out as being unrealistic for the time period are a dead giveaway that the author lacks experience in said time period. For example, if I was writing a story set in England in the 1800’s I might give the name Matilda to my main protagonist, but if I named her Maylee it would be a clear sign, I didn’t do my research on the time period. You just can’t give names that were popular in 2007 to characters that were born in 1943.

Distracting names or names that just don’t make sense

Likewise, names that are distracting in other ways—such as Jev, Patch, or Vee Sky in Hush, Hush, has always been distracting to me. I never felt like any of these names suited the characters they were given too and wondered if Fitzpatrick could have spent a little more time naming her characters. In the same vein you don’t want names that are going to be completely unpronounceable (ornate names are often best left for fantasy and sci-fi, but even then they need to be pronounceable and relatively easy to read.)

Forgettable names or names that sound too alike

Additionally, names that are forgettable or easy to mix-up with others are just as bad. When I read the Angel series by L.A. Weatherly, I found myself often getting the side characters names mixed up or forgetting them altogether. The supporting angel killer characters all blended together and the angel’s names—such as Paschar and Bascal—were very hard to tell apart (and imagine listening to those names on audiobook, you’d never remember the difference between them!) Likewise, you want to make sure that you don’t have too many characters with names starting with an “a” if the main character’s name starts with an “a”. Don’t be afraid to have some diverse names.

Resources for coming up with names and how to save names

As I mentioned earlier, for fantasy, I like to derive invented names from existing cultures, but how/where do I find these names? And what if you want to use names that do exist for a contemporary work, where would you go to find them?

Baby name websites and random name generator sites are key here. I wouldn’t use the fantasy name generator because it pulls fictional names from existing works which can be plagiarism if you’re not careful and aware of this. Additionally, you can use naming books such as LLewellyn’s Complete Book of Names.

If you’ve found some names you’d like to keep for later, I would suggest making a digital list somewhere, be it in Microsoft Word, Evernote, Google Docs, Scrivener, Pages, or what have you, keep a running list of Female First Names, Male First Names, Non-binary names and Surnames.

Also, on the topic of Non-binary and unisex names, consider the history of names that originally were male names but became popular for females and vise versa. Also consider how you can put a new spin on a traditionally binary name to breath new life into it and use it in a way it has never been used before. And while writing niche is important because you do want people to have some specifics to make connections to, you should consider if its possible to use unisex or non-binary names in your stories because they are more inclusive and will help a wider audience of readers connect with your characters and their story.

Naming Miscellany

Naming Villains

When naming characters, and villains especially, double check that your “perfect names” don’t actually exist in the world. This serves as a final pass on your part to ensure that no accidental libelous writing can be found in your book because your villain’s name is almost entirely made-up by you. I always Google my villain names just to ensure that no one is going to come knocking because they ended up as the bad guy in my book.

I had a friend who was named Katniss Everdeen (no, I swear I am not making this up.) and when Suzanne Collins’ dystopian trilogy, The Hunger Games came out, it was an absolute nightmare for her. She said she couldn’t travel or get pulled over without having TSA and Police grill her about her supposed fake name. She said she considered changing her name, but she doubted the process would be any less grueling than day-to-day life because wherever she went to change her name, they didn’t take her seriously. Finally, almost a decade after the hype blew over, she has found a little peace, but people still ask her about it to this day.

Four friends watching the sunset. Photo by Helena Lopes.

Using your friend’s names

Feel free to pay homage to you friends, family and people who have inspired you but using their names in your stories but try to limit it to only one of their names as opposed to full names, and again, don’t used these names for villains or characters painted in a bad light.

Taking inspiration from existing works of fiction

Be very careful when taking inspiration from existing works. Some works of fiction are just so, SO popular that the names of the characters in these works are just as famous as celebrities. It is very apparent when the name Edward shows up in a new writer’s work, that they were obsessed with Twilight growing up, or the name Jace for the love interest of the female, main protagonist, after Jace Wayland appeared in the fan-favorite Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare.

And that’s it for my guide to naming fictional characters and places! This was the fourth installment of my Book Writing 101: How To series. Let me know what you think of coming up with names and if this blog post helped you, leave me a comment down below! At the end of this post is a list of related topics including a link to my Story Binder Printables, and the first 3 parts of this series. See you next week for part 5!

Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101 - How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• LLewellyn’s Complete Book of Names

• Babynames.com

—Payton

Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This is a spoiler-free review.

This week, in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and boy, do I have so much to say about this book. So, with out further ado, let’s jump into the review!

[Insert satisfied, yet melancholic sigh here.]

Station Elven by Emily St. John Mandel with votive candles. Photo by Payton Hayes.

For starters, I must admit that reading this pandemic dystopian fiction in 2020 has absolutely influenced my opinion of it. The subject matter and premise felt more tangible and less like words on a page after existing during COVID-19. Station Eleven book will forever hold a special meaning for me because it represents a lot of my worst fears about how the pandemic could potentially spiral into a full-blown apocalypse scenario. This severity doesn’t seem so far-fetched. I think, if everyone read this book when the pandemic began, we’d be in a much better state right about now.

This is your friendly reminder to stay home and wear a mask if you have to go out. Trust me, we don’t want things to play out like they did in the story.

I’ll try and wrangle all my complicated feelings about this novel, but truly I feel awed and speechless. Reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a lot like slowly peeling back the layers of a yellow onion— tearing it away, bit by bit until you’ve reached the center. It’s a little savory, a little sweet and it lingers, but oh, it stings, that tiny sun in your palm. The layers of this story seem to unfold all at once, past and present interwoven together like the wedded roots of a great tree—the way the overlapping storylines finally, finally click into place with the final page.

Hell is the absence of the people you long for.

—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 144, Para 3.

Station Eleven is a story thick with nostalgia both for what once was and for what could have been. It’s a painfully realistic image of what life might be like thirty years after a devastating pandemic, and an economic collapse, people all over the globe desperate to survive. It’s a story of longing, sorrow, isolation, remembrance, and grief, but it’s also a story of preservation and perseverance—hope buzzing like the spark of electricity humming to life in a city just over the horizon, like a well-kept secret unleashed after decades of silence. It’s a story about survival, resilience.

These taken for granted miracles that had persisted all around them.

—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 233, para 1.

The most poignant theme in this story is who and what we take for granted. During COVID-19, I learned I take a lot of mundane people and things for granted—such as grocery stores and the overnight stockers and bag boys. I always hated going out to the store before we were confined to our homes, but nowadays, I find short, necessary outings to my local supermarket (when issues arise with delivery) have become a precious commodity. And with those outings, the backbone of America—the essential workers have, in putting their lives on the line for months, enabled this country’s economy to survive against overwhelming odds.

On silent afternoons in his brother’s apartment, Jeevan found himself thinking how human the city is, how human everything is. We bemoaned the personality of the modern world, but that was a lie it seemed to him; it had never been impersonal at all. There had always been a massive delicate infrastructure of people, all of them working around us, and when people stop going to work, the entire operation grinds to a halt. No one delivers fuel to the gas stations or airports. Cars are stranded. Airplanes cannot fly. Truck remain at their points of origin. Food never reaches the cities; grocery stores close. Businesses are locked and then looted. No one comes to work at the power plants or the substations, no one removes the fallen tress from electrical lines.

—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 178, para 5.

The last line struck a particular chord with me because as I was reading this book, my power went out—a rogue tree limb had fallen on our powerlines submersing my street in complete darkness for the better part of a day. I felt like a forgotten dweller of the Undersea, longing for light and warmth where it seemed none was promised.

Station Elven cover art photo. Found on npr.org.

The scariest thing about this story overall is most certainly the way Mandel explains how the collapse happened— how the pandemic spread across the globe like wildfire, consuming entire cities, and leaving crumbling civilizations in its wake, how phones and the internet went down and then electricity, and finally how gasoline staled and left people with zero communication and zero transportation. But then again, where could they go? The entire world was affected. It’s a very real possibility— a horror story rooted more so in reality than in the fantastical.

It's a story about what we leave behind, what we carry with us—baggage from a life and world before, and new beginning and just what else this awakening world might contain.

And then there’s the unwillingness to comprehend the outbreak and the severity of it, even as it is presented by the news, the unwillingness to comprehend what it meant. The panic. After getting an alarming phone call from his nurse friend Hua, Jeevan rushes to the local store and fills seven shopping carts with groceries before pushing them miles through the snow to his brother’s apartment where they hole up there for weeks. Sound familiar?

He woke at 3:00 in the morning, shivering. The news had worsened. The fabric was unraveling. It will be hard to come back from this, the thought, because in those first days it was still inconceivable that civilization might not come back from this at all. 

—Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven, 239, para 2.

Station Eleven is an impeccably cleverly written glimpse into the not-so-far-off future of modern society following a terrible pandemic. The way Mandel lays out the puzzle pieces before the reader so that as the pages turn, the parts fall into place is beyond exceptional. I can typically see plots like this from a mile away and usually have the story figured out by the time I reach the last page. Mandel kept me guessing and wondering what all the interconnecting pieces meant. When it all came together, I was astonished.

And that’s it for my in-depth review of Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven! Have you read this book? What are your thoughts on it? How do you think it applies to our current circumstances with COVID-19 and 2020? Let me know in the comments below!

Check out my other book reviews!

—Payton

10 Times A Book Made Me Hungry

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Have you ever been forcefully induced into a craving because some character in a book you were reading happened to be eating something and suddenly you just HAD to have it? Have you ever come to associate certain flavors or smells with books because the characters in them frequently imbibed them and now it’s ingrained in your memory? Yeah, same here. This week in Reader Life, I’m giving you a list of the top ten times I was made hungry by books. I was inspired by C.G. Drews over at paperfury.com who wrote a fantastic list of ten books that made her really hungry and talked about what she calls “foodie fiction.” I’ll have her article linked at the end of this blog post but you can also find it here! Fair warning, this list might make you hungry. Proceeding on an empty stomach is ill-advised.

1.    The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

This one made it first in the list because this goes right back to my early years of childhood when I first read C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and was wholly and completely consumed with a gnawing hunger for Turkish delight. Why? I dunno. I’ve never had a bite of the dish in my entire life, but the way Edmund was obsessed with the sweet treat so much so that he felt compelled to trust the White Witch just to get his hands on some was the main takeaway of that story for me. I still think about Turkish delight from time to time—especially when I hear anything to do with Narnia—and wonder, why haven’t I tried it yet?

The White Witch?" said Edmund; "who's she?"

"She is a perfectly terrible person," said Lucy. "She calls herself the Queen of Narnia thought she has no right to be queen at all, and all the Fauns and Dryands and Naiads and Dwarfs and Animals—at least all the good ones—simply hate her. And she can turn people into stone and do all kinds of horrible things. And she has made a magic so that it is always winter in Narnia—always winter, but it never gets to Christmas. And she drives about on a sledge, drawn by reindeer, with her wand in her hand and a crown on her head."

Edmund was already feeling uncomfortable from having eaten too many sweets, and when he heard that the Lady he had made friends with was a dangerous witch he felt even more uncomfortable. But he still wanted to taste that Turkish Delight more than he wanted anything else.

—C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

While he was eating the Queen kept asking him questions. At first Edmund tried to remember that it is rude to speak with one’s mouth full, but soon he forgot about this and thought only of trying to shovel down as much Turkish Delight as he could, and the more he ate the more he wanted to eat, and he never asked himself why the Queen should be so inquisitive. She got him to tell her that he had one brother and two sisters, and that one of his sisters had already been in Narnia and had met a Faun there, and that no one except himself and his brother and his sisters knew anything about Narnia. She seemed especially interested in the fact that there were four of them and kept on coming back to it.

“You are sure there are just four of you?” she asked. “‘Two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve, neither more nor less?” and Edmund, with his mouth full of Turkish Delight, kept on saying, “Yes, I told you that before,” and forgetting to call her “Your Majesty” but she didn’t seem to mind now.

—C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

Did you read C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia? Did you get this same bone-deep craving for Turkish delight as I did? Here’s a fantastic article by Leah Schnelbach that explains why Turkish Delight was the ultimate temptation for Edmund in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

And here is a fantastic recipe for Turkish Delight, by Kate Young of The Little Library Café, that she took great care in getting as authentic and close to the story as possible: Turkish Delight. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Bagged caramel corn in a wire basket. Photo by Hung Diesel.

2.      The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

There are just so many spectacular confections and marvelous midnight meals mentioned in this book, but what stuck out to me the most was the caramel corn and the flavors that were common to the circus itself.

“There are vendors traversing the crowd around you, selling refreshments and oddities, creations flavored with vanilla and honey, chocolate and cinnamon.” —Erin Morgenstern, The Night Circus.

This book made me absolutely ravenous for circus-style kettle-cooked caramel corn. Try saying that five times fast! But seriously, I was so desperate to find this treat while I was reading this novel back in January of 2019, and unfortunately Crunch N’ Munch and Cracker Jack weren’t going to cut it. One day I went into my local Sam’s Club and lo and behold, there was a vendor selling freshly cooked caramel corn and it was delightful. Suffice to say, I bought the big bag.

Read my review here.

3.       The Mooncallers by Leda C. Muir

This book series made me hungry more times than I could bother to keep track of—whether it was for marbled cheese and tuma bread or hot tea and roseleaf cigarettes (I know it’s not technically food, but it counts!) didn’t matter. It seemed like everything consumed in this high-fantasy series had me drooling and wishing the fictional characters would share.  

4.       Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Elven Lembas bread comes to mind immediately when I think of food and Tolkien’s Middle-Earth in the same breath. That and potatoes and second breakfast. Let’s just say, there’s a lot to make you hungry in Middle-Earth, especially if you’re reading about these dishes instead of watching them for mere seconds on the screen. One thing is clear—if meat’s back on the menu, I’ll pass, and same for the fish a la Gollum.

Here’s an awesome article called, “There and Snack Again: How to eat everything in Lord of the Rings” by Nate Crowley of Nate-crowley.com that, as the name suggests, goes into detail about how to make each and every one of the Middle-Earth dishes, complete with background information and full-blown recipes.

Abundant autumn cheeseboard. Photo by Brooke Lark.

5.       Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Don’t even get me started on this food-filled high-fantasy series. In the first book alone, there more than 62 different foods mentioned from suckling pig to sweetbreads and apricot tarts. Next time you’re planning a feast, take a page from Martin’s books—you’ll be sure to turn heads with the delicious and extravagant dishes you find in Westeros.

6.       Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Cappuccinos. Need I say more? No? Okay, good.

Just kidding. You probably need context.

In Station Eleven, there’s a scene where one of the characters—a paparazzo—is interviewing a famous actor and he mentally resents the fact that the actor’s publicist gives his interviewee a steaming cappuccino but fails to offer him one as well. Sharing is caring, you know.  I couldn’t help but feel for him and realized I wanted one too. I promptly closed the book and rushed to the nearest coffee shop to grab myself a mocha cappuccino to sip while I read.

Read my review here.

7.       Charlie and The Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

Taking it back to my childhood once again, I present to you Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I’d be surprised if you’re reading this post and have never read or at least watched the movie (yes, the one with Gene Wilder!)  If you have, then you know full well how drool-worthy all the sweets and snacks are in this story. I found myself wishing I could swim in the chocolate river, chew Wonka’s 3-Course Dinner Gum, or one of the edible daffodil teacups.

8.       Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

While I haven’t yet read the Harry Potter series, (I know, I know! This year is the year!) I would be remiss if I left out the infamous Butterbeer—a beverage I saw in the movies and still makes my mouth water to this day. I recently heard that a bar in Toronto makes a drink called “Betterbeer” that is theoretically similar to the fictional beverage and I’ve never been so ready to travel north to icy Canada in my life.

9.       Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone

Although I did read this book, you technically don’t have to read it for it to make you hungry—one glance at the cover will have you craving an orange in seconds. This staggeringly honest portrait of people reaching for the courage to connect is much like an orange—a little sour, a little sweet, with a stinging flavor that lingers.

10.       Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

While this book series didn’t make me particularly hungry for any specific foods (mostly because they were all scavenged for and eaten straight out of a can) I felt a pang for the characters who either often starved as they holed up, hiding from the angels, or celebrated when they could find untouched canned goods in abandoned homes. I remember vividly, Willow and Seb eating kidney beans straight out of a can and could only empathize with their feelings of hunger even though the sound of canned, uncooked beans didn’t sound particularly appetizing.

Read my review here.

And that’s it for my top ten books that made me hungry! Have you been made hungry by any of the books I mentioned here? What book made you the hungriest? Have you ever cooked a fictional dish before? How’d it go? Let me know in the comments below!

Thumbnail photo by Анна Галашева.

Further reading:

• Foodie Fiction Article by C.G. Lewis at Paperfury.com

• Why Was Turkish Delight the Ultimate Temptation in C.S. Lewis’ Narnia? by Leah Schnelbach at Tor.com

• Turkish Delight. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Kate Yong

• There and Snack Again: How to eat everything in Lord of the Rings

• 10 Times I Was Attacked By the 5 Senses While Reading

• Immersion Reading - Audiobooks and Ambiance

• Get Immersed in Your Reading/ Writing With The 5 Senses

—Payton

I Did The "Do I Have That Book Challenge?"

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Reader Life, I decided I’d take it back a few years to the “Do I Have That Book?” challenge and try it for myself. I didn’t really use social media and I sure as heck didn’t have this blog when the challenge took the bookish community by storm but I’m not missing out, even now!

A quick disclaimer:

Before we get started, I didn’t put affiliate links in this blog post because there would be just SO MANY. You’re welcome! Instead, if you’re interested in any of these books, consider using this link to search them on Amazon! This will link to an amazon Wishlist with all of the books mentioned in this blog post.

Do you have a book with deckled edges?

I do! My first run-in with deckled edges consisted mostly of confusion because I thought it was just some overlooked print error, but no! They come like that! Now, I have a tender appreciation for the quaint, uneven edges.

The book I chose for this question is my hardback copy of Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone, a book that caught my eye in Dollar Tree with it’s unravelling orange on it’s front cover and charming deckled edges.

Tell Me One Thing, by Deena Goldstone. Photo by Payton Hayes.

World of Warcraft Mage Graphic Novel. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book with three or more people on the cover?

Yes! This one was actually pretty tricky to find a book on my shelf with 3 or more people on the cover. At first I wondered, do statues count? And decided no—no they don’t. Then I wondered, do reflections count? And also decided no. Finally, I found a book with three characters on the cover—Mage, a World of Warcraft graphic novel written by Richard A Knaack and illustrated by Ryo Kawakami—which had two spellcasters and two dragons on the cover. I wondered, do dragons count? And decided yes—yes they do, because in the Warcraft universe, dragons have humanoid forms as well.

White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book based on another fictional story?

I do! Well, technically I don’t own them, but I’m borrowing the White Rabbit Chronicles by Gena Showalter from my good friend Gary. It’s inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll. It totally counts! 

Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?

I actually had to count titles for this one, how fun! As it turns out, Shadowland by Alyson Noël fits this criterion! Shadowland is exactly 10 letters long!

Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?

Hmm. Let me check.  Nope! Not a single one! I tried to think of any I’d read that started and ended with the same letter and still nothing. The closest I got were The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame and The Slayer Chronicles by Heather Brewer coming up short only because of the articles in their titles.

My old bookshelf filled with books, trophies, and trinkets. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a mass market paperback book?

Do I ever? Absolutely. Most of my books are mass market paperbacks!

Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?

Does the Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly count? Technically her first name is Lee, but she publishes under L.A.

Do you have a book with a character’s name in the title?

I do! The entire Maximum Ride Series by James Patterson. All the books have a character’s, name in the title—Maximum Ride in the first, second, third, eighth and ninth books, Max in the fifth book, Fang in the sixth book, and Angel in the seventh book—except The Final Warning, which contains no name in it’s title. Man, why did it have to break the pattern?

Do you have a book with two maps in it?

Yep! The Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir has at least three maps in each book!

Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?

I have the City of Bones by Cassandra Clare which the rest of the series was not only turned into the movie, The Mortal Instruments, but also the Shadowhunters tv drama series.

Do you have a book written by someone who was originally famous for something else? i.e. celebrity, athlete, politician, TV personality, etc.

Yes, I have Channel Kindness: Stories of Kindness and Community by Lady Gaga, and both of Amy Landino’s books, Vlog Like A Boss and Good Morning Good Life! (Check out my GMGL book review here!) I used to have an autobiography written by Jennifer Lopez but I donated it to the Midwest City library a few years ago.

Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?

Nope! I have one with gears on it which is giving me some very steampunk vibes, but no clocks.

Do you have a poetry book?

Oooh, I’ve got this one!  I have two poetry collections from the Poetry Foundation, four consecutive years of Pegasus from Rose State College (2016-2020—all of which I’m published in!) Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (If we can really call that a collection of poetry).

Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?

I have a couple actually. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, for one. Looking for Alaska by John Green, for two. I’m sure there are more but I cannot remember them all. (Check out my Station Eleven book review here!)

Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?

P.H.? Nope.

Do you have a book of short stories?

Yes! I have a paperback copy of Kiss Me Deadly, a collection of 13 paranormal romance short stories from authors such as Diana Peterfreund, Becca Fitzpatrick, Maggie Stiefvater, and Michelle Zink, to name a few.

Do you have a book that is between 500 and 510 pages long?

Do I? I feel like I do, but looking at my shelves, I’m not sure which ones.

Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?

Yes, I have a ton of books that were adapted into films. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Maximum Ride by James Patterson (possibly the worst adaptation ever), The World of Warcraft novels and graphic novels, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, The Great Gatsby by Scott F. Fitzgerald, Dracula by Bram Stoker, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (definitely the best adaptation ever), Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, Ulysses by James Joyce, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, Atonement by Ian McEwan, and Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

As you can tell, most of my books that have been adapted for the screen are classics!

Do you have a graphic novel?

I do! Do comics count? I have various World of Warcraft comics and the first installment of the Haunted Youth comic, by Alister Dippner. I also have some stellar World of Warcraft graphic novels and some Maximum Ride graphic novels. Beyond that, the only other novels I own, that have any artwork are my many fantasy novels with their maps, the Dragonriders of Bresal by Salamanda Drake, which has illustrations scattered throughout the duology, and the Mooncallers series by Leda C. Muir which has intricately drawn chapter headers.

The upper shelves of my bookcase containing books on dragons, vampires, angels, elves, and more. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Do you have a book written by two or more authors?

Yes—The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast, Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings.

And that’s it for my take on the “Do I Have That Book?” challenge! This was actually a really fun challenge! I had a lot of fun looking over my shelf and trying to answer the questions! I wish I could have said yes to all of them, but that just goes to show—I need more books! Let’s start a discussion below! What is your favorite book-to-film-adaptation? Which one is your least favorite? Do you have/enjoy reading graphic novels?

Thumbnail photo by Alexander Grey.

—Payton

Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

Hi readers and writerly friends!

The How-To Series continues! This week, in Freelancing, we’re going to discuss how to come up with story ideas and what to do with them! This is normally where I’d direct you towards a useful, related blog post, but we’re gathering quite the list already, so I’ll just leave that bit at the end of this post for your convenience!

And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!

So, where do book ideas come from?

Book ideas can come from anywhere. That’s it. Blog post over. We can all pack up and go home. Right?

Well, yes, book ideas can come from practically anywhere, but it takes more than just a juicy theme or a compelling character to make a book. You certainly need those elements present to make a thrilling novel, to be sure, but its so much more than that. However, we’re not here to discuss the elements of a novel —no, we did that last week. (Check the links below!)

While novel ideas can come from just about and where and anything, you can also brainstorm novel ideas. Think about your favorite novels and see how you can create a mashup of two or more stories that would fit well together and put your own twist on it, such as Alexa Donne’s Jane Eyre in Space —Brightly Burning, or Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, (the same writer who did Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!) for example. While the latter is a literal mash-up, the former is more like a mash-up or genre-bender with Donne’s own twist on the original premise.

So, think about how you can put your own spin on your favorite tales!

How would x-story be different if it were…

• set in space? in the center of the Earth? on another planet?

• told in another genre?

• told from the opposite gender or a non-binary narrator?

• told from someone with 30-years age difference?

• told from the perspective of an animal?

• mashed-up with your favorite movie?

• told from a different POV or story tense?

 Write the book YOU want to read

These are just a few ways to put a refreshing spin on old stories to make them feel new. You can also consider what kind of book YOU want to read. How would your favorite story be better? How could you change it to include certain elements you feel it is lacking, but with a whole new cast of characters, a new theme, and a fresh new setting? How can you rework and existing story to include more representation for a minority?

Explore fun websites to spark inspiration

I have an interesting little blog post that does just this! (It’s listed at the end of the blog post too!) Essentially this post is a long, organized list of fun websites that you can read or interact with to spark inspiration for your next book. If you already know what you might like to write about, try some of these sites out to see how you can put a new spin on it to make it your own story that has never been told before. For instance, I might like to try rewriting Hush, Hush, but instead of the typical plot points that occur throughout that story, I might swap the genders of the characters, and set it in 1943, where an asteroid shower has been happening for the last 30 years. See how that immediately changes the whole story? It might not be the best example, but you get the idea! Consider reading articles on news sites from Buzzfeed to the New York Times to get inspiration from the crazy every-day lives of other people, like Florida Man. Sometimes, the truth can be stranger than fiction and can spark even the most outrageous novel ideas that eventually become great stories!

Read bad books!

Ever heard of BookTube? Well, if not, then bless you! It’s what book YouTubers and others in the community like to call the little corner of the video-streaming service that is dedicated to all things bookish!

Consider looking up scathing reviews of books you may or may not have heard of and see how you can rewrite them to succeed in the areas they failed. Obviously, none of this advice is suggesting you plagiarize, by any means. However, it is okay to take an overly broad and vague story premise, mold it, and make it your own. How can you turn this book that is absolutely loathed by the Bookish Community into a novel that readers everywhere will love simply by reimagining the things they went wrong with? For instance, there are plentiful mixed (and mostly critical) reviews for Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings Zenith. 

Here is the description from Goodreads.com:

Most know Androma Racella as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary whose reign of terror stretches across the Mirabel Galaxy. To those aboard her glass starship, Marauder, however, she's just Andi, their friend and fearless leader.

But when a routine mission goes awry, the Marauder's all-girl crew is tested as they find themselves in a treacherous situation and at the mercy of a sadistic bounty hunter from Andi's past.

Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a ruthless ruler waits in the shadows of the planet Xen Ptera, biding her time to exact revenge for the destruction of her people. The pieces of her deadly plan are about to fall into place, unleashing a plot that will tear Mirabel in two.

Andi and her crew embark on a dangerous, soul-testing journey that could restore order to their ship or just as easily start a war that will devour worlds. As the Marauder hurtles toward the unknown, and Mirabel hangs in the balance, the only certainty is that in a galaxy run on lies and illusion, no one can be trusted.

—Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, Zenith

This book has a 3.11 average rating and is most known for its unconvincing worldbuilding, lack of original vocabulary explanation (the author drops in made-up words without explaining what they mean beforehand and leave the reader to remain confused, since there is a lack of a glossary in the book as well?) sci-fi elements that simply don’t make sense —such as impenetrable glass spaceships (with metal defense covers?) and golden, double-trigger revolvers— characters that are lazily thrown together and also do not make sense, poor-quality writing, overwhelming number of clichés present throughout, and—I’ll save you the rest because I could go on and on. The point is that this novel was incredibly overhyped, and fans of Alsberg’s YouTube videos were sorely disappointed when the book did not deliver.

So, as a writer, how could rework this story to succeed where it failed? How can you take extra time and immense care to ensure your characters are compelling and are actively evolving throughout the story? What kind of research can you do to verify that your story keeps in line with traditional sci-fi elements, while managing come across in a refreshing, interesting, and new way? How can you make sure your readers thoroughly understand the vocabulary and systems present in your book? What do you personally wish had been done differently? These are the types of questions you have to consider when brainstorming, because if you think you have the skill to rework a very poorly received influencer novel such as Zenith, then you just might have a story idea on your hands. I would suggest reading books that have overwhelmingly terrible reviews and seeing if you can distill the poor, unfinished, low-quality work into something fresh and new that you too would want to read.  You can also do this with movies, TV shows, plays, music, and any other art form that leaves you feeling underwhelmed or unsatisfied once you’ve finished consuming it.

One fantastic example of a writer who reworked a story they were unsatisfied with is Claudia Grey’s Defy the Stars which she wrote after seeing the movie Prometheus and being dissatisfied with how the movie’s producers portrayed David 8. She was inspired to rework the story and write her own book about an android the way she wished it had been told.

In an interview for Nerdophiles on Twitter, Grey explained how she got the inspiration for Defy the Stars from Prometheus:

How did you come up with the idea of writing Defy the Stars?

You know, the actual genesis of this story came a few years ago when Prometheus came out. A lot of it had to do with Michael Fassbender’s performance as David 8. He just walked right into the uncanny valley and stayed there and it was great.

One area the movie didn’t really explore much but that was really interesting was the fact that Elizabeth Shaw was trying to really evaluate how much of David is machine. It’s this very tiny thing but I thought that was a really interesting thing they should have played with more. They have this person who has this other mission – her job is not to analyze this guy – but who spends time trying to figure out if she’s working with a machine or if she’s working with somebody. And that’s not going to be a question that has a really solid answer.

That idea then took root and became the idea of Defy the Stars.

—Claudia Grey, Nerdophiles

Read more from this article in the link below!

Another great example of a story premise that was reworked is “Errant” by Diana Peterfreund.

As per Goodreads.com:

In 18th century France, a noble family prepares to celebrate their daughter's arranged marriage by holding a traditional unicorn hunt. But when an unusual nun arrives at the chateau with her beloved pet to help the rich girl train, nothing goes as expected. Starring hunters, fine ladies, fancy frocks, and killer unicorns.

—Diana Peterfreund, Errant (Killer Unicorns #0.5)

This short story is not only a historical reimagining of arranged marriages with never-before-seen traditions, but it’s also a fantasy. With KILLER UNICORNS. It’s exquisite.

Don’t be afraid to look to other media where narratives left you feeling dissatisfied and consider how you can tell them in a new way that succeeds where these stories failed. And on the flip side, look at where your favorites succeeded and consider how you can channel that into your story idea.

Take inspiration from your own hobbies and interests

Are you a gamer? Consider writing yourself into the world of your favorite video game and then change it to make it your own. Are you a chef? Consider how you can reimagine cook-books to find balance between overly chatty blog posts and old-school recipe-only cook books that lacked that certain something something. What kind of morbid curiosities can you dive deeper into to pull a story from? I personally have a morbid curiosity with true crime and sinkholes even though they both creep me out. Maybe I could write a thriller about people adventuring into the world’s deepest sinkhole only for the trip to go awry and lead to murder, mayhem, and mystery as the characters grow increasingly desperate to survive being trapped inside the belly of the earth?

Yeah, no I wouldn’t write that. Not ever. Not even if you paid me. Sinkholes and caves are the worst!

But you could! You could write about LITERALLY ANYTHING.

What weird thing are you obsessed with? Can you turn it into an interesting, new, dark, fantasy? How can you weave that topic into a novel?

Examine events and people form history to spark inspiration

What is your favorite time period to study? I personally love the Revolutionary war and the romantic period in literature. What chunk of history fascinates you? (Leave a comment below!) How can you take your favorite elements of that time period and either modernize them or convert them from history to fantasy?

Subscribe to writing prompt websites and social media pages

There are TONS of writing prompt profiles on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram and not to mention the plethora of other websites on the world wide web. You can find story ideas on reddit or on Wattpad too! I personally am subscribed to @redditvoice, @reddit, @mr.reddit and @writing.prompt.s on Instagram and I am signed up to receive daily writing prompts from Storyaday.org (they also have a great list of where to find story prompts). Likewise, you can purchase writing prompt books or even play around on your favorite meme sites to spark inspiration. You can also take inspiration from fanfiction as well!

Those are just a few ways to come up with ideas, but they can truly come from anywhere. The truth is, the more media you consume and the more life experiences you have, the more avenues you have open for story ideas to just waltz into your life. Watch some movies, read a few books, go out and catch a local play and then sit down for a good ole brainstorming session and see what you can come up with.

How to keep your story ideas once you’ve been inspired

MS Word document with New Story Ideas. Alternatively, you can use Pages or Google Docs. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Just like with writing, there’s a ton of different methods of jotting down your story ideas. You can keep them in a notebook or binder. You can make an ongoing Google Doc or Microsoft Word Document. You can store them in Scrivener or Evernote. It really doesn’t matter what you use. Just make sure you keep them organized and include enough information so when you come back to them, you remember your ideas vividly and know where to pick them back up. I prefer to keep my fleeting ideas in a single Microsoft Word document titled “New Story Ideas” where everything is in a bulleted list.

 Sometimes, the ideas a fully fleshed out while others are simply one-liners because that’s all I could think of when I was writing it down for later. Figure out what works for you and keep it in an easy to reach place so you can access it whenever the creative spirit strikes you! If you can try to write a brief synopsis for your book ideas so you can come back to them and know exactly what you were talking about 1, 2 or 5 years later. Additionally, don’t be afraid to let your story ideas ferment within that list and feel free to add to them over time when you get more inspiration for them.

And that’s it for my blog post on how to come up with story ideas and how to keep them once you’ve gotten them! Brainstorming is such a personal process and can be different for every writer. How do you come up with ideas? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to check back next Friday with another installment of this Book Writing 101 Series! Part 4 will be out next week!

 Related topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Nerdophiles Interview with Claudia Grey

• Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love (Errant by Diana Peterfreund)

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

Thumbnail photo by Jason Goodman.

—Payton

Series Reveiw: The Angel Trilogy by L.A. Weatherly

This is a spoiler-free review.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. Photo by Payton Hayes.

This week in Bookish Things, I’m doing an in-depth review on L.A. Weatherly’s Angel Trilogy! This is a series I have been meaning to read for so long, picked it up in the summer of 2019, and didn’t finish it until just before the end of 2020! After reading Hush, Hush, I needed a new paranormal romance to do with angels and I honestly thought this one was going to be my next fave. I had such high hopes for this trilogy, and even skipped reading Hush, Hush this year, to make sure I knocked it out before 2021!

“It’s worth it you know,” said Alex, smiling into my eyes.

“What is?” I said.

His thumb moved slowly over my cheek. “All of this. Having you. It’s worth—anything.”

—L.A. Weatherly, Angel

I’m going to start off with my least favorite parts of the series and then end on some positives. This biggest issue I had with the story was the romance. It just didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed the characters and felt like they really meshed well together, but the romance was just lacking and left me wishing we’d gotten to see more of it. However, I understand this series leaned more on the young side of YA Paranormal fiction, than adult.

“There is no greater universe than holding you…”

—L.A. Weatherly, Angel

Secondly, I hated the angels. I know that was the point of the story—they’re not exactly the good guys in this one! But I almost found the passages that had to do with the angels themselves to be unbearable and I often wondered, did we really need to read this? But of course, we did, it was in fact, important to character development and progressing the plot. I just couldn’t hardly stand reading about them because I despised them SO MUCH.

Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. Photo by Payton Hayes.

On the other hand, though, the characters in this series were SO GOOD. The main character was certainly a refreshing take on the special girl trope, as were her peers. I found myself enchanted and enamored with all of the characters and was often rooting for them. There were times that this series hurt my feelings as I read because the characters would say or do something to each other and I couldn’t help but think, oh, my heart. Did you really have to say/do that? And of course, they did have to say/do that because tension and plot devices.

Another story element that L.A. Weatherly does well in her Angel trilogy is she really created a new, refreshing depiction of angels that I’ve never seen before. In Angel Burn, Angel Fire, and Angel Fever, angels are malicious, otherworldly beings who feed on human life forces and leave the people they’ve fed from irreparably damaged in their wake. In the story, AKs, or Angel Killers hunt angels by shifting their consciousness up through their chakra points so they can see the angel’s halos—their Achille’s heels—and then they shoot them down. The way angels (monsters) and angel killers (monster hunters) are portrayed in the Angel trilogy really give a new presentation of the monster hunter theme often seen in YA paranormal fiction.

The prose was expertly crafted, and the characters voices felt believable and unique. The protagonists garnered reader investment and the villains warranted loathing, as they should have. The story’s premise was a new and refreshing delineation and the mythology easily believable and digestible. The narration alternates between both Alex and Willow smoothly and seamlessly. The romance albeit lackluster aptly served to drive the plot along rather than simply being romance for romance’s sake. Overall, if I had to rate this series on a 5-star scale, I’d give it a 3.5, only for the fact that the romance just didn’t cut it for me. To be fair, I was measuring it up against Hush, Hush, and of course, it didn’t stand a chance in hell (yes, pun intended.)

And that’s it for my in-depth review of the Angel trilogy by L.A. Weatherly! Have you read this series? What did you think of it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Check out my other book reviews.

Thumbnail photo by Payton Hayes.

—Payton

Breathing New Life Into Humanities At Rose State College

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This week in Artsy Things, I wanted to republish an article I wrote for the 6420 Magazine. They’ve redone their website again so I figured I’d try and post all my writing here! This article was supposed to be second in a three part series, but was adjusted to fit all the core information into one brief article for the magazine. You can learn more from the articles linked at the end of this blog post!

In part one of this series, we looked at the research and development the Fall 2019 Mural class conducted in preparation of the new humanities mural. They visited with Randy Marks from OKC’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, Pablo Barrera from Oklahoma Contemporary, and the heads of the Arts Division from OCU to see what the process was like getting a mural up in public spaces, what Oklahoma Contemporary was doing to make public art more accessible, and what new courses and features OCU’s art division had to offer art majors transferring from Rose State College.

The start of an art-covered campus at Rose State

Even though the process for getting a mural up at Rose State was different than the process for public art, they still had to render out their ideas, budget their supplies, and put together a presentation for the Humanities Building Interior Mural Committee on the Rose State College campus. They narrowed down their ideas down to two mural concepts, one done by Fine Arts major, Ashley Gilliland and one done by myself. The committee chose Ashley's design due to time constraints and planned for my mural to be done next semester.

Once all of the prep work was complete, the mural was set to begin. They started sketching the design out on the wall and in days, had the first layers of paint up. Over the past few months, they've been working on it, each Tuesday and Friday, and they made considerable progress for only working two days out of each week of the semester. They just finished the mural and sealed it on Tuesday, December 10th, 2019, so it's officially finished.

Suzanne Thomas described her thoughts on the mural class, how it differed from previous years’ classes, and her thoughts on the mural:

“This mural class was more about the process and procedures that an artist must go through before they create artwork. Especially artwork that is meant to be viewed in public. I think a lot of art students have this idea that art is just about their personal expression, but public art, i.e., like murals, are about the reflecting the values within the community at large. This class was different in that there was more research that had to be done, more collaboration among the students, and Humanities faculty. I am really proud of the mural and their work!” said Thomas.

No Limitations

No Limitations mural in the Humanities building at Rose State College

Humanities Brain Mural Planned for Spring Semester

When the mural class rendered out their concepts for the first painting, at least three of five students came up with a left brain versus right brain type of design. They said this happened with zero communication or collaboration on their part and thought it was a good sign that they were on the same page. However, due to the fall semester moving so quickly, the students of the mural class, Suzanne Thomas and the Humanities Building Interior Mural Committee agreed it made more sense to do Gilliland’s mural in the fall semester and save my mural for the spring semester.

The Humanities Building Interior Mural Committee was torn between the two mural concepts and voted to have both done since they couldn’t pick one over the other. The second design is planned for the spring semester. I will be completing the mural as an honors credit project for my painting class, with the help of volunteer high school students from Midwest City High School. We’re still getting all our ducks in a row but so far, Humanities Dean, Toni Castillo’s approval we have a few students who have volunteered to work on the mural, and Suzanne Thomas’ has agreed to mentor me on the project.

Since I will be spearheading the project, it is my job to organize all the logistics from reaching out to the high school to recruit students, obtaining liability waivers, and getting everything approved between both schools. This project is exciting because it benefits all three parties—the MCHS students who will be receiving recognition for their volunteer work on the project, Rose State College which is using this as a recruitment opportunity for the Fine Arts Department, and myself who will of course receive recognition for the concept as well as an opportunity to participate in a leadership program.

Toni Castillo, Dean of Humanities provided her thoughts on both of the murals and her plan for breathing new life into the Humanities building:

“The mural project is a perfect opportunity for the Humanities Division Art Program to showcase the exceptional talents of Rose State students. I am particularly gratified that the project is completely student driven—their vision, their presentation, their implementation—so that eventually that entire upstairs corridor of our building will be a legacy of their values left for all who come here. Professor Suzanne Thomas, who has headed the project, has shown particularly strong leadership in the way she has structured the class and worked with dedicated Honors Program students to complete the project, as those students have in turn reached out to involve area high school students. The project in that corridor will be ongoing for several years until we finally have a true venue for experiential art here at Rose.” said Castillo

Spring Humanities mural completed in the summer of 2020 due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Unfortunately due to the pandemic, I had to push my mural back until the summer where I was one of the only people allowed in the building. Since then, I have completed it and was awarded honor’s credit for it’s completion. It was an incredible opportunity I will be gracious to Rose State College and Suzanne Thomas for forever. Below is a slideshow of the completed mural.

Humanities

“Humanities” mural in the upstairs back hallway of the Humanities building at Rose State College

Further reading

Exploring Oklahoma Murals Where Public Art Is More Than Paint

Exploring Oklahoma Murals Where Public Art Is More Than Paint

Is there an official opening date? Will there be a special opening ceremony or event for the public?

Oklahoma Contemporary - New Home

Artist VARA Waiver

General VARA Waiver for Works of Visual Art

COVID-19 Delays Oklahoma Contemporary’s New Location Opening Ceremony

New Light—Oklahoma Contemporary’s Plan to Re-Open

Making Space With Oklahoma Contemporary Interview With Pablo Barrera

Making Space With Oklahoma Contemporary: Interview With Pablo Barrera

Thank you for reading my article about murals at Rose State College and fine arts in the OKC area! If you’re in the area and interested in art, I highly encourage you to check out Oklahoma Contemporary and get involved with the art community here in Oklahoma!

—Payton

Exploring Oklahoma Murals Where Public Art Is More Than Paint

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Suzanne Thomas’ Fall 2019 Special Topics In Art: Mural Students paint the finishing touches on the first Humanities hallway mural. Photo by Ken Beachler at Rose State College.

This week in Artsy Things, I wanted to republish an article I wrote for the 6420 Magazine. They’ve redone their website again so I figured I’d try and post all my writing here! This article was supposed to be first in a three part series, but was condensed, so the full versions will be here.

In Suzanne Thomas’ Fall 2019 Special Topics In Art: Mural class, students learned all the ins and outs of getting a mural up in public space when they met with the Randy Marks from the Oklahoma City Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. The same day, they met with Pablo Barrera, Oklahoma Contemporary’s inaugural Curatorial fellow and the Division heads of the Fine Studio Arts at Oklahoma City University. After learning about the public art process and different opportunities for art in Oklahoma, the students began preparing for the mural they’d be painting in the upstairs, back hallway of the Rose State College Humanities building.

OKC Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs

     When the mural class met with Randy Marks from the OKC Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, they learned that the process for getting not only murals, but other forms of public art installed is a much more extensive process than slapping paint up on a wall. First, one must go through the Oklahoma City Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs to get their artwork approved, if it’s going to be on public property or on the external surface of a building (Indoor murals are at the discretion of the shopkeeper).

     The mural artist must build a presentation which includes the stages of execution, mockups, expected start and finish date, location, and a budget for the project if it will require public funding from the city. The presentation must be formally presented in front of the Oklahoma City Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs Committee and approved. Once approved, the artist will begin preparing for the mural process; this includes gathering materials, preparing the workspace, and getting the necessary paperwork and waivers in order.

     It’s important that muralists get a VARA Rights Waiver. Anyone who commissions a mural or other work on the interior or exterior of a building, they should ask the artist to sign a waiver of VARA rights before the work has begun and have this reviewed by an attorney and ensure that the waiver is transferrable to future owners of the property.

When the mural class met with the Oklahoma City Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, they learned the importance of VARA waivers because on January 23, 2017, Bob Palmer’s 2-year old mural, on 46th and Western (along the crown heights area) was painted over by Alotta Action Advertising, a new company who had just moved into the building.  This mural was a legacy piece by one of Oklahoma’s most acclaimed artists, and the idea that it has been covered up has a lot of artists upset at the lack of respect for the internationally renowned artist.

The mural class also learned about Kent Twitchell, the Los Angeles artist who settled his lawsuit against the U.S. government and 11 other defendants, for $1.1 million, for painting over his six-story mural—“Ed Ruscha Monument,” that was painted on the side of a federal government-owned downtown building.

Once all of this has been done and the artist gets the green light, work can commence on the project—and that’s when the paint finally goes up on the wall.

Making Space with OKC Contemporary

     After their meeting with Oklahoma City Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, the class stopped by the newly constructed Oklahoma Contemporary building to check out the building-in-progress the murals adoring the fences around the construction site, and to chat with Pablo Barrera, the Director of Oklahoma Contemporary. He told them Oklahoma Contemporary’s new building would be open in March 2020 (the opening has since been postponed due to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic), that the building’s exterior was made to reflect Oklahoma’s picturesque sunsets and sunrises. He also showed us the murals that they’ve set up along the construction site, called Making Space.

Fine Studio Art Division at OCU

     When the students finished their visit with Oklahoma Contemporary, they visited briefly with some of the art Bryan Cardinale-Powell, Associate Professor and Chair of Visual Art and Film, and Jeff Price, Professor of Game Design and Animation  at Oklahoma City University. They learned about their extensive art programs, saw their high-tech graphic design studio, and some of their projects for upcoming courses—notably their motion capture room which was under construction during the visit. It was neat to see a full-blown art studio with every tool one could imagine for bringing artwork to life. Beyond that, students saw they even had their own little art museum and exhibit hall. The area was bigger than Rose State College’s fine studio arts area but smaller than the Fred Jones Museum at the OU campus in Norman.

New Humanities Mural at RSC Coming in Spring 2020

      After the class met with the different local art communities, they decided to get to work on their own mural. You can read more about their process and experience in part 2 of this series, “Breathing new life into Humanities at Rose State College” which will be featured in the Spring issue of the 6420 Magazine from the 15th Street News, at Rose State College, as well as here. The next part in this series, also covers Dean of Humanities, Toni Castillo’s vision for breathing new life into the RSC Humanities building by covering all the hallways in murals.

Further reading

Breathing new life into Humanities at Rose State College

Breathing New Life Into Humanities at Rose State College

Is there an official opening date? Will there be a special opening ceremony or event for the public?

Oklahoma Contemporary - New Home

Artist VARA Waiver

General VARA Waiver for Works of Visual Art

COVID-19 Delays Oklahoma Contemporary’s New Location Opening Ceremony

New Light—Oklahoma Contemporary’s Plan to Re-Open

Making Space With Oklahoma Contemporary Interview With Pablo Barrera

Making Space With Oklahoma Contemporary: Interview With Pablo Barrera

Ken Beachler Photography with Rose State

Ken Beachler

Thanks for reading my article about murals and fine arts in the OKC area! If you’re in the area and interested in art, I highly encourage you to check out Oklahoma Contemporary and get involved with the art community here in Oklahoma!

Check out more posts in Artsy Things!

Thumbnail photo by Payton Hayes.

— Payton

Book Review: Ghosted By Rosie Walsh

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Hi readers and writerly friends!

This is a spoiler-free review.

This week in Bookish Things, we’re discussing Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book review was my contribution to the 15th Street News’ special 50th Edition Newspaper! Check them out here.

Almost every one of us can relate to the sour feeling and phenomenon of being “ghosted” and what it feels like to never hear from someone again. For those who have read Gillian Flynn’s psychological romantic thriller, Gone Girl, Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce and/or anything by Llane Moriarty, then you may have heard about The Man Who Didn’t Call or Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. This book is a romantic thriller from cover to cover and I devoured this fantastic summer contemporary like it was candy. Or perhaps, honey is the better word; the prose is so smooth and sweet, and it draws you in and keeps you hooked until the end. I ate up this short 174-page whirlwind of a tragic love story within the span of a single day, if that tells you how truly wrapped up in it, I was.

There’s no better feeling than picking up the perfect book for your current season of life— the ideal read you’re just craving. I nabbed this book just before summer started and left it sitting on my shelf for weeks before I realized what gold lay in store or me within its pages. I picked it up around July and was left hungering for more as soon as I’d put it down. Ghosted was sweet, to be sure, but it was also equal parts heartwarming, and heartbreaking, gushworthy, swoonworthy, and it’s a story I will always look back fondly on.

This contemporary romance has everything you could ever want— complex relationships that make your heart ache, flawed, yet deeply loveable, compelling characters, multiple layers of secrets/intrigue guaranteed to keep the pages turning, a pacing that you’ll find makes you hold your breathe one moment and sigh out of relief the next, and a premise that is just utterly dazzling. The TWIST was so, so good.

“Seven perfect days. Then He disappeared. A love story with a secret at it’s heart” —Rosie Walsh, Ghosted.

An underlying theme in this book, much like Walsh’s other works is the protagonist who is not what he or she seems. Layers of mystery woven together pull readers in ever deeper the longer they read and leaves them eager for more even after the mystery is solved. Walsh makes clever use of Facebook posts and text messages to build suspense— an apt strategy for creating a compelling and relatable read for many readers today.

Although it was hard to break away from the story, I found myself having to put the book down a few times because certain scenes were just so raw and deeply moving to me. And I would chalk this up to personal response, however after a quick glance at other reader’s reviews on Goodreads and Amazon, it’s clear I am not the only one who felt this way.

“I was ready to hate this book. I didn't pick it up for an entire day, not wanting the story to go the way I thought it was. But it called me to just see, just see how it ends. And I couldn't put it down until it was though!” —Angie on Amazon, July 28, 2018.

Ghosted by Rosie Walsh. Photo by Payton Hayes.

I was honestly touched by the unforeseen way mental illness was portrayed and the kind of dysfunctional relationships that can be wrapped up in it. I had a lump in my throat throughout these scenes because Walsh just gets it. It is always refreshing to read an author that is able to examine something from multiple perspectives, especially subjects as complex as mental illness, loss, bitterness, and tragedy. Walsh lovingly and honestly wrote around these sensitive topics with great empathy and care.

This book gets a lot of criticism for having a contrived plot, unrealistic characters, and cringe-inducing writing. I simply have to disagree. From the outside looking in, someone being “ghosted” may seem obsessed, childish, and naïve. However, I implore these readers to think back to when they were treated this way (or imagine it, if they have never experienced this) and consider how painfully unyielding this experience truly is. Closure is never promised and although people joke endlessly about “ghosting” each other on social media, its wound for some, that may never truly heal.

“This plot is focused and squeezes its reader into the manic grip of Sarah’s growing insanity, dragging us on a journey that is both obsessive and dryly comical.” —Kristin on Goodreads, July 9, 2018.

I should also say that I typically see plot twists coming from a mile away. I’m the kind of reader who has to cover the bottom-half of the page with my hand to keep my eyes from darting down as I read, eager to know whether I’ve figured out the twist just before it happens. However, this plot twist shocked me. If you think you know where this story is going, you’re wrong.

Ghosted is a real hold-your-breath-squeal-as-you-read-grit-your-teeth-can’t-stop-smiling kind of book and is absolutely the perfect summer read. (Also great for the fall if you love cozying up with a sweet read and your favorite warm beverage.) If you love Liane Moriarty’s writing, I am confident you will also love Ghosted.

You can find Ghosted by Rosie Walsh here.

Check out the 15th Street News here.

And that’s it for my review of Rosie Walsh’s Ghosted. What do you think of this novel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Read more of my book reviews!

Thumbnail photo by Payton Hayes.

—Payton

Christmas 2020 For Writers: 5 Must-Have, Useful Items For The Writer In Your Life

Hi readers and writerly friends!

Its December 2020! Can you believe it? It somehow simultaneously feels like this year flew by and just dragged on forever. Well, against the background of 2020’s chaos, its holiday season once again, hooray! While we can’t all be with our loved ones during this crazy time, you can still show the writers in your life love by gifting them something useful they’ll actually use! Ditch the boring old notebook and go for one of these ideas! If you’re the writer in your life, gift yourself something nice or add your faves from this list to your own personal wishlist!

Books about writing

• Chicago Manual of Style (Contains everything a writer needs to know about grammar, formatting, style, and industry standard practices!)

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• The Novel Planner: A Daily Planner for Authors by Kristen Kieffer

• Pep Talks for Writers by Grant Faulkner

• No Plot? No Problem! A Low Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing A Novel In 30 Days by Chris Baty

• On Writing by Stephen King

Want more amazing books to choose from? Here’s a list of my favorites —40+ of the best books on writing.

Annual subscription to something useful

Sometimes writers just need the right tools to write. Pick up an annual subscription you your writer’s favorite word processors, apps, writing tools, design software, and marketing services!

Writing Tools

• ProWritingAid

• Grammarly

• Hemingway App

• Medium

• Skillshare Creative Writing Classes

• Wordtune

• Dabble

• Campfire Blaze

Word Processors

• Pages (Mac)

• Microsoft Word (Windows)

• Scrivener

• Word Perfect

Design and Website Tools

• Canva (Lightweight but powerful photo editor and design app)

• Squarespace

• Squarespace Campaigns

• Google Domains

Marketing and Exposure

• Draft2Digital

• Clickfunnels

• Duotrope

• WriteSpike

• Prolificworks

• Bookfunnel

MasterWriter claims to be the “leading songwriting, lyric writing and creative writing software.” If the writer in your life is a creative writer or songwriters, consider picking up a monthly, yearly, or two-year license for $9.95, $99.95 or $149.95.

With this software they can access a suite of useful writing tools that will not only encourage them to express themselves in “a unique and meaningful way,” but will also give them the means to do so digitally, whether their a songwriter, poet, novelist, or blog writer.

Author photoshoot with a professional photographer

Regardless of whether the writer in your life has been published or not, its always a great idea to have professional photos taken. Writers can use these in their resumes, writer websites, media kits, social media profiles, and more. This is likely something they’d never think to get themselves but will ultimately end up paying for themselves since the value of professionally shot photos far exceeds the cost of the service fees. Many photographers will even lightly edit the photos for you. Consider hiring photographer for 1-2 hours and heading out to a library or public park with all of your favorite writerly tools in hand.

Pro Tip: Search Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, or Groupon to start looking for affordable photographers near you.

If you’re in the Oklahoma City area, I would recommend Jae McBride of @Jaeashtenphotos and Jalea Alexandria of @j.alexandriaphotography on Instagram.

Writer’s Associations and Editing Masterclasses

Writers never stop learning and growing. Help the writer in your life become a better writer by taking professional masterclasses or by making valuable connections with other writers and literary freelancers by getting them an annual subscription to a writer’s association.

The Christian PEN (Proofreaders and Editors Network) has tons of affordable masterclasses and lesson packs to chose from.

Writersrelief.com has a great list of writer’s associations to chose from.

Check out these amazing editorial associations!

The Christian PEN offers masterclasses, lesson pack bundles, and even group rates.

Check out my courses here!

Comfy writing room additions

Complete your writing set up with these comfy, warm, adjustable, and ergonomic office-space must-haves!

Writing isn’t a sprint —it’s a marathon. Writing takes time and that means your writer will be parked at their desk for hours on end, typing and staring at a screen. Outfit the writer in your life with a comfortable set up from seating to warmth to blue-light glasses. Get more writing done with a comfy desk chair, adjustable footrest, or even fingerless handwarmers (so you can still type!) Consider tossing in a candle warmer to keep your tea/coffee warm while you write!

• Ergonomic wrist rest

• Comfy, breathable desk chair

• Adjustable footrest

• Fingerless handwarmers

• Lumbar support backrest

• Candle warmer

If you want to go above and beyond and splurge on yourself or the writer in your life, consider picking up a new writing computer for them. This is a vital tool for the writing and editing process and can last them years. Bundle it with writing software and/or a masterclass to really go the extra mile this holiday season!

Story Binder Printables

Bonus Item!

Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

For only $10 you can help yourself or the writer in your life keep their writing notes organized in a beautiful and easy-to-navigate Story Binder! Choose from 10 beautiful covers, take advantage of quick reference pages, easy prepping and developing kits for your story, and make use of 52 pages of actionable content that will help you stay on track while writing your story! The best part is, you get access to my Story Binder Printables FOREVER! Reprint and reuse this system for all of your novels!

These are just a few of the faves on my personal wishlist. I might even end up gifting myself a couple of these! Show the writer in your life that you care and want them to succeed in their craft by gifting them something they can actually use in their writing practice! If you’re shopping for yourself, remember you’re investing in your passion and career, so no shame in the occasional writing book or masterclass and in fact, it’s highly recommended! Happy Holidays readers and writerly friends! Have a merry and safe holiday season this year!

Thumbnail photo by Element5 Digital.

—Payton

Book Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right Place

Hi readers and writerly friends!

I’m so glad you’re here and I can’t wait to get back into this series! (I may have gone on a  mini vacation/camping and I have been playing a lot of WoW lately! Hello, Shadowlands!)

In any case, after a long-awaited return, the How-To Series is back and this week in Freelancing, we’re going to discuss where to start your novel. Make sure to if you haven’t yet read my blog post, “Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)” ! It’s a great first step to writing your novel. If you’re ready to start bringing your story to life, just keep reading to learn how to start your book in the right place!

The importance of starting your book in the right place

You might have heard this phrase —I think you might have started this story in the wrong place— before from a friend or critique group or what have you. It’s actually a very useful and critical piece of advice because the start of your novel is arguably the single most important part. From the very first page/scene, readers get an idea about your voice as a writer, what the story will be about, what the characters are like, and more. The first page just might be the most important part of your book. But don’t fret! It’s doesn’t have to be as dramatic or as daunting as it first may seem. The key to a good opening scene is one that introduces character, conflict, setting, and ideally, stakes. The opening scene should establish your main protagonist (or if you’re writing with flashbacks, it can introduce your antagonist too!), introduce the main conflict/themes of the story, present the setting as both where and when the story takes place (and what rules/systems/cultures and other aspects exist there), and should reveal the stakes of the story. 

Achieve balance between action and introduction through pacing

This of course, is going to require much of you since there is a lot to accomplish in the opening scene, to be sure. However, the secret is in the pacing. Whenever someone says “I think you might have started this story in the wrong place” it has to do with pacing more than the actual location in the plotline. For example, if you start your story too early or too late, that simply means you haven’t given enough time to establish all of these aspects of a good opening scene: a) character, b) conflict, c) setting, or d) stakes. If you start your story too early, then you will end up with a pacing that feels slow or takes entirely way too long to get the proverbial ball rolling. However, if you start your story too late, then your story will feel rushed and the reader will feel confused and as if they have no clue what is going on. The former usually presents itself in a “waking up” or “weather scene” which is typically irrelevant and will bore your reader, while the latter presents itself typically in action scenes, where the reader is dropped into a situation where there is just not enough information to assess said action.

Start just before the inciting incident

A helpful tip I always try to tell new writers is that they should start their story just before the inciting incident. This doesn’t necessarily mean, fifteen minutes before the action, but it can. It doesn’t necessarily mean that the story will start five minutes before the action, but it can. It really depends on your story and the plot you have created, but you should always try to start your story just before the thing happens that sets the story in motion.

For instance, if you’re writing a YA Highschool Paranomal romance— where a girl discovers she’s a vampire while she’s at school and everyone makes fun of her— you wouldn’t start the story with her waking up. Instead, you might start with your main protagonist sitting in class when she starts feeling unwell. Thoughts are racing through her mind as she struggles to pay attention to her instructor. She can hear her heartbeat drumming her ears, but wait—its not her heartbeat she hears, its her classmates’ and she can hear their blood pumping through their veins as well. Suddenly, she gets up and rushes to the bathroom just to get away from it. When she looks in the mirror, she’s horrified that there’s no reflection. Another girl comes out of the seemingly empty stalls behind her and comments on how pail she looks. Her best friend rushes into the bathroom after her to check on her at the request of her teacher. They look at her in awe as they realize she’s just begun to transition from human to vampire. And to top it all off, the popular girl group comes into the bathroom…

Of course, this is a really overplayed and cheesy cliché, but I’m sure you understand my point. I wouldn’t start a story like this with the weather or someone waking up, or going to sleep, and neither should you, although many, MANY stories seems to start in this fashion. In this example, the inciting incident is the main protagonist transitioning into a vampire. However, you could start this story with her sitting in class when this physical transformation comes on.

Get to the party late, leave early

This advice might not be the best for real life situations, but it works wonders for writing stories. The first part of this saying suggests you should open your story with a social gathering of some sort, or the party. All kinds of different people might find themselves at a party (or other social event, it doesn’t have to be a party. Consider how the event might be different if it were set in a fantasy story or murder mystery!) Think about what groups might attend this party and how your cast of characters fit into this backdrop. Consider where the party might take place and how you can use this sub-setting to establish your story’s greater setting. Present the stakes of the story by introducing the relationships among characters and how they interact with one another. If you haven’t read my blog post, “How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters,” you should check it out. I discuss how setting can even be a character of its own and how characters drive the plot. 

The second part of this saying refers to when your characters actually get to the proverbial party, i.e., when does the story start in reference to the inciting incident. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to start the story right before things change and set the story in motion, but it’s always good to start it as early before this as you can. Likewise, the latter part of the saying —leave early, reminds writers to close the scene early. Don’t end things prematurely, but definitely move on before things start to peter out and get boring for the reader. If your characters are at a party, don’t write until they’re standing around trying to say goodbye for half an hour after everyone else has already left. If it’s not interesting or crucial for character development, and doesn’t drive the plot forward, you don’t need it.

The Hush, Hush Saga by Becca Fitzpatrick. Photo by Payton Hayes.

Let’s talk about prologues

Prologues are great for some books and story-killers for others. For sci-fi and fantasy novels, prologues are typically told from an alternative point of view and/or story tense, i.e., third-person, past-tense. They serve as a great way to throw in extra worldbuilding lay the groundwork for systems and other aspects of your story. However, prologues don’t always give an accurate portrayal of what your book will be about, for this reason. Likewise, an unfortunate occurrence in the reader world, is that many readers just skip over the prologue entirely. One way I have found to get around this is to write a flashback/repeat prologue — where you start with a scene that will occur later in the book but will not make complete sense until the reader reaches that point in the story and puts the puzzle pieces together for his or herself. This can be tricky, however and depending on your plot/genre it might not make sense for your novel. If I do end up writing a prologue, I prefer to do it once the story is completed. Naturally, your story should be able to stand on its own without a prologue. I would check out prologues from popular stories in your genre or review prologues from your favorite books to get an idea of how to execute a successful prologue.

• If you are going to write a prologue, here are some general tips.

• Keep it short and sweet, but not too short of course.

• It should align with the tone and themes of your story If it is told from a different tense or point-of-view, make sure its not a stark contrast from the rest of the storytelling so readers can get an accurate idea of the narrator’s voice for the rest of the story. 

Prologues naturally slow down the pacing of a story, so consider whether your story really needs to have one. If the answer is yes, consider what information will be present and how you can weave it into the story later, to avoid readers missing crucial story details if they do decide to skip your prologue.

Examples of good openings:

Example 1: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I’m going to start with my all-time favorite series —you guessed it, Hush, Hush, by Becca Fitzpatrick. (And you thought I wouldn’t, tsk, tsk tsk.)

Hush, Hush does have a prologue, but after that it starts off very domestic, or day-in-the-life but quickly grabs the readers attention on page one. I personally like to think of the first chapter as the true starting point of the story. While the elements in the prologue come back around later in the story, it could also do without it.

I’ve included this entire chapter for educational purposes only. All credit goes to Becca Fitzpatrick and Simon and Shuster Publishing.

1

COLDWATER, MAINE, PRESENT DAY

At my side, Vee Sky said, “This is exactly why the school outlaws camera phones. Pictures of this in the ezine would be all the evidence I’d need to get the board of education to axe biology. And then we’d have this hour to do something productive— like receive one-on-one tutoring from cute upperclass guys.”

“Why Vee,” I said, “I could’ve sworn you’ve been looking forward to this unite all semester.”

Vee lowered her lashes and smiled wickedly, “This class isn’t going to teach me anything I don’t already know.”

“Vee? As in virgin?”

“Not so loud.” She winked just as the bell rang, sending us both to our seats, which were side by side at our shared table.

Coach McConaughy grabbed the whistle swinging from a chain around his neck and blew it. “Seats, team!” Coach considered teaching tenth-grade biology a side assignment to his job as varsity coach, and we all knew it.

“It may not have occurred to you kids that sex is more than a fifteen-minute trip to the backseat of a car. It’s science. And what is science?”

                “Boring,” some kid in the back of the room called out.

                “The only class I’m failing,” said another.

                Coach’s eyes tracked down the front row, stopping at me. “Nora?”

                “The study of something,” I said.

He walked over and jabbed his index finger on the table in front of me. “What else?”

“Knowledge gained through experimentation and observations.” Lovely. I sounded like I was auditioning for the audiobook of our text.

“In your own words.”

I touched the tip of my tongue to my upper lip and tried for a synonym. “Science is an investigation.” It sounded like a question.

“Science is an investigation,” Coach said, sanding his hands together. “Science requires us to transform into spies.”

Put that way. Science almost sounded fun. But I’d been in Coach’s class long enough not to get my hopes up.

                “Good sleuthing takes practice,” he continued.

                “So does sex.” Came another back-of-the-room comment. We all bit back laughter while Coach pointed a warning finger at the offender.

“That won’t be part of tonight’s homework.” Coach turned his attention back to me. “Nora, you’ve been sitting beside Vee since the beginning of the year.” I nodded but had a bad feeling about where this was going. “Both of you are on the school eZine together.” Again I nodded. “I bet you know quite a bit about each other.”

Vee kicked my leg under our table. I knew what she was thinking. That he had no idea how much we knew about each other. And I don’t just mean the secrets we entomb in our diaries. Vee is my un-twin. She’s green-eyed, minky blond, and a few pounds over curvy. I’m a smoky-eyed brunette with volumes of curly hair that holds its own against even the best flatiron. And I’m all legs, like a bar stool. But there is an invisible thread that ties us together; both of us swear that tie began long before birth. Both of us swear it will continue to hold for the rest of our lives.

Coach looked out at the class. “In fact, I’ll bet each of you knows the person sitting beside you well enough. You picked the seats you did for a reason, right? Familiarity. Too bad the best sleuths avoid familiarity. It dulls the investigative instinct. Which is why, today, we’re creating a new seating chart.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but Vee beat me to it. “What the crap? It’s April. As in, it’s almost the end of the year. You can’t pull this kind of stuff now.”

Coach hinted at a smile. “I can pull this stuff clear up to the last day of the semester. And if you fail my class, you’ll be right back here next year, where I’ll be pulling this kind of stuff all over again.”

Vee scowled at him. She is famous for that scowl. It’s a look that does everything but audibly hiss. Apparently immune to it, Coach brought his whistle to his lips, and we got the idea.”

“Every partner sitting on the left-hand side of the table—that’s your left—move up one seat. Those in the front row—yes, including you, Vee—move to the back.”

Vee shoved her notebook inside her backpack and ripped the zipper shut. I bit my lip and waved a small farewell. Then I turned slightly, checking out the room behind me. I knew the names of all my classmates … except one. The transfer. Coach never called on him, and he seemed to prefer it that way. He sat slouched one table back, cool black eyes holding a steady gaze forward. Just like always. I didn’t for one moment believe he just sat there, day after day, staring into space. He was thinking something, but instinct told me I probably didn’t want to know what.

He set his bio text down on the table and slid into Vee’s old chair.

I smiled. “Hi. I’m Nora.”

His black eyes sliced into me, and the corners of his mouth tilted up. My heart fumbled a beat and in that pause, a feeling of gloomy darkness seemed to slide like a shadow over me. It vanished in an instant, but I was still staring at him. His smile wasn’t friendly. It was a smile that spelled trouble. With a promise.

I focused on the chalkboard. Barbie and Ken stared back with strangely cheerful smiles.

Coach said, “Human reproduction can be a sticky subject—”

“Ewww!” groaned a chorus of students.

“It requires mature handling. And like all science, the best approach is to learn by sleuthing. For the rest of class, practice this technique by finding out as much as you can about your new partner. Tomorrow, bring a write-up of your discoveries, and believe me, I’m going to check for authenticity. This is biology, not English, so don’t even think about fictionalizing your answers. I want to see real interaction and teamwork.” There was an implied Or else.

I sat perfectly still. The ball was in his court—I’d smiled, and look how well that turned out. I wrinkled my nose, trying to figure out what he smelled like. Not cigarettes. Something richer, fouler.

Cigars.

I found the clock on the wall and tapped my pencil in time to the second hand. I planted my elbow on the table and propped my chin on my fist. I blew out a sigh.

Great. At this rate I would fail.

I had my eyes pinned forward, but I heard the soft glide of his pen. He was writing, and I wanted to know what. Ten minutes of sitting together didn’t qualify him to make any assumptions about me. Flitting a look sideways, I saw that his paper was several lines deep and growing.

“What are you writing?” I asked.

“And she speaks English,” he said while scrawling it down, each stroke of his hand both smooth and lazy at once.

I leaned as close to him as I dared, trying to read what else he’d written, but he folded the paper in half, concealing the list.

“What did you write?” I demanded.

He reached for my unused paper, sliding it across the table toward him. He crumpled it into a ball. Before I could protest, he tossed it at the trash can beside Coach’s desk. The shot dropped in.

I stared at the trash can a moment, locked between disbelief and anger. Then I flipped open my notebook to a clean page. “What is your name?” I asked, pencil poised to write.

I glanced up in time to catch another dark grin. This one seemed to dare me to pry anything out of him.

“Your name?” I repeated, hoping it was my imagination that my voice faltered.

“Call me Patch. I mean it. Call me.”

He winked when he said it, and I was pretty sure he was making fun of me.

“What do you do in your leisure time?” I asked.

“I don’t have free time.”

“I’m assuming this assignment is graded, so do me a favor?”

He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms behind his head. “What kind of favor?”

I was pretty sure it was an innuendo, and I grappled for a way to change the subject.

“Free time,” he repeated thoughtfully. “I take pictures.”

I printed Photography on my paper.

“I wasn’t finished,” he said. “I’ve got quite a collection going of an eZine columnist who believes there’s truth in eating organic, who writes poetry in secret, and who shudders at the thought of having to choose between Stanford, Yale, and … what’s that big one with the H?”

I stared at him a moment, shaken by how dead on he was. I didn’t get the feeling it was a lucky guess. He knew. And I wanted to know how—right now.

“But you won’t end up going to any of them.”

“I won’t?” I asked without thinking.

He hooked his fingers under the seat of my chair, dragging me closer to him. Not sure if I should scoot away and show fear, or do nothing and feign boredom, I chose the latter.

He said, “Even though you’d thrive at all three schools, you scorn them for being a cliché of achievement. Passing judgment is your third biggest weakness.”

“And my second?” I said with quiet rage. Who was this guy? Was this some kind of disturbing joke?

“You don’t know how to trust. I take that back. You trust—just all the wrong people.”

“And my first?” I demanded.

“You keep life on a short leash.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re scared of what you can’t control.”

The hair at the nape of my neck stood on end, and the temperature in the room seemed to chill. Ordinarily I would have gone straight to Coach’s desk and requested a new seating chart. But I refused to let Patch think he could intimidate or scare me. I felt an irrational need to defend myself and decided right then and there I wouldn’t back down until he did.

“Do you sleep naked?” he asked.

My mouth threatened to drop, but I held it in check. “You’re hardly the person I’d tell.”

“Ever been to a shrink?”

“No,” I lied. The truth was, I was in counseling with the school psychologist, Dr. Hendrickson. It wasn’t by choice, and it wasn’t something I liked to talk about.

“Done anything illegal?”

“No.” Occasionally breaking the speed limit wouldn’t count. Not with him. “Why don’t you ask me something normal? Like … my favorite kind of music?”

“I’m not going to ask what I can guess.”

“You do not know the type of music I listen to.”

“Baroque. With you, it’s all about order, control. I bet you play … the cello?” He said it like he’d pulled the guess out of thin air.

“Wrong.” Another lie, but this one sent a chill rippling along my skin. Who was he really? If he knew I played the cello, what else did he know?

“What’s that?” Patch tapped his pen against the inside of my wrist. Instinctively I pulled away.

“A birthmark.”

“Looks like a scar. Are you suicidal, Nora?” His eyes connected with mine, and I could feel him laughing. “Parents married or divorced?”

“I live with my mom.”

“Where’s dad?”

“My dad passed away last year.”

“How did he die?”

I flinched. “He was—murdered. This is kind of personal territory, if you don’t mind.”

There was a count of silence and the edge in Patch’s eyes seemed to soften a touch. “That must be hard.” He sounded like he meant it.

The bell rang and Patch was on his feet, making his way toward the door.

“Wait,” I called out. He didn’t turn. “Excuse me!” He was through the door. “Patch! I didn’t get anything on you.”

He turned back and walked toward me. Taking my hand, he scribbled something on it before I thought to pull away.

I looked down at the seven numbers in red ink on my palm and made a fist around them. I wanted to tell him no way was his phone ringing tonight. I wanted to tell him it was his fault for taking all the time questioning me. I wanted a lot of things, but I just stood there looking like I didn’t know how to open my mouth.

At last I said, “I’m busy tonight.”

“So am I.” He grinned and was gone.

I stood nailed to the spot, digesting what had just happened. Did he eat up all the time questioning me on purpose? So I’d fail? Did he think one flashy grin would redeem him? Yes, I thought. Yes, he did.

“I won’t call!” I called after him. “Not—ever!”

“Have you finished your column for tomorrow’s deadline?” It was Vee. She came up beside me, jotting notes on the notepad she carried everywhere. “I’m thinking of writing mine on the injustice of seating charts. I got paired with a girl who said she just finished lice treatment this morning.”

“My new partner,” I said, pointing into the hallway at the back of Patch. He had an annoyingly confident walk, the kind you find paired with faded T-shirts and a cowboy hat. Patch wore neither. He was a dark-Levi’s-dark-henley-dark-boots kind of guy.

“The senior transfer? Guess he didn’t study hard enough the first time around. Or the second.” She gave me a knowing look. “Third time’s a charm.”

“He gives me the creeps. He knew my music. Without any hints whatsoever, he said, ‘Baroque.’ “ I did a poor job of mimicking his low voice.

“Lucky guess?”

“He knew … other things.”

“Like what?”

I let go of a sigh. He knew more than I wanted to comfortably contemplate. “Like how to get under my skin,” I said at last. “I’m going to tell Coach he has to switch us back.”

“Go for it. I could use a hook for my next eZine article. ‘Tenth Grader Fights Back.’ Better yet, ‘Seating Chart Takes Slap in the Face.’ Mmm. I like it.”

At the end of the day, I was the one who took a slap in the face. Coach shot down my plea to rethink the seating chart. It appeared I was stuck with Patch.

For now.             

—Becca Fitzpatrick, Hush, Hush.

Fitzpatrick, Becca 2009. Hush, Hush, 7-17. New York, Simon and Shuster.

Sorry in retrospect for the long excerpt, but I just had to include Hush, Hush. How could I not?

Anyway, this opening scene absolutely nailed it in all the areas it needed to for it to be an interesting, gripping, and memorable start to one of the most well-known romantic thrillers.

✔️ Established compelling characters

Nora, Vee, and Patch are the prevailing main characters here. They all have interesting and unique personalities that not only set them apart from one another, but even in this short first chapter, the reader can tell these characters are going to be entertaining to watch interact with one another.

✔️ Outlined the story’s core conflict

Nora versus Patch —that is, as far as the reader knows, the story’s main conflict. Nora is creeped out by her new class partner, who seems to know so much about her and refuses to shed any light on himself.

✔️ Introduced the setting for the story

This story takes place in Coldwater, Maine, and is set in the present day. The reader quickly learns that the story is currently being told from the setting of a high school classroom. Based on the supporting characters, tone, and how the students interact with the coach, readers can infer that this story takes place in the 2000’s or later, thanks to the dialogue. It is likely many readers themselves can relate to this type of Sex-ed class setting and I for one, can certainly connect with the idea of having a high school sports coach double as a professor as that happened to me more often than I would have liked.

✔️ Presented the story’s stakes

Nora doesn’t want to fail this assignment and she seems to think Patch doesn’t care either way. The stakes are high because Nora doesn’t want her grade to drop but Patch gets under her skin so easily. Him leaving his phone number on her hand, acts as an open invitation to see what he’s all about. Will Nora bite, just for the sake of her grade? This question is what drives the reader further into the story.

It’s dynamic, interesting and ultimately pushes the reader further along in the plot in a way that feels organic. ✔️

Example 2: Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Another example of book that opens at just the right time is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. While I don’t particularly enjoy dystopian fiction, I can’t deny I was hooked from the first page of the series. I’m not including an excerpt for this one, because it is very likely we all know how this story starts out.

Here’s a recap:

Hunger Games opens with main protagonist Katniss Everdeen on the morning of The Reaping. It all starts out very domestic and day-in-the-life as Katniss gets is getting ready and taking care of her family. It demonstrates the level of poverty they are living in and sets the tone for the YA dystopian fiction. As the story progresses, we learn more about this world, how the systems inside this setting work, the characters and their relationships and ultimately, how they are impacted by said systems. Katniss eventually goes out hunting, and her interactions with Gale —them discussing their concerns about The Reaping and their desire to protect and provide for their families —really introduce these characters and their values. This is a series of scenes that lay out the story for the reader and very neatly drive them towards the Reaping. By the time the reader reaches that point in the story, he or she already knows the characters, their values, the oppressive nature of the world they live in, and when everything happens with the reaping, it evokes an emotional reaction from the reader. When Katniss wanting to do whatever it takes to protect her family conflicts with her sister being selected to fight in the Hunger Games, the reader can’t help but wonder where the story can go from here. The fact that the Hunger Games are so terrible that Katniss is willing to take her sister’s place, but she trembles with complete fear as she volunteers as tribute, absolutely tugs at the readers heart strings and forces them to keep reading to see how it all plays out.

However, it might not evoke such a strong emotional reaction had the story started say, in the months or weeks leading up to the Reaping because the story’s pacing would have been too slow to keep the reader invested. Likewise, it could have turned the reader away out of confusion if it had started right with the Reaping or the Hunger Games instead, because there isn’t enough information on the characters or their situation to make the reader care.

Example a of lackluster opening scene from my writing

In this excerpt from a short story I am working on, I have a pretty solid start to an opening scene. It has compelling characters, introduces immediate conflict while also providing backstory to the characters and their struggles. However, this story opening lacks stakes and it happens too quickly. While this is a work in progress, I can already tell that I am going to have to add more to make it more convincing and interesting to the reader.

1

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, PRESENT DAY

My knuckles are snow-white, clasped around the small paper cup of airport coffee in my hands, as I strive for some sense of warmth and normalcy. I hold it together until the last person passes through the airport terminal and break down only once I’m in the relative privacy of the car park.  I slump onto the cold, steel bench, set my coffee beside me, and drop my head into my hands, sobbing.

I’ve just been through something so crazy that I’m still shaken up over it, three days and a flight later. I lost someone I cared about deeply, all because of my own emotions getting the best of me, and by lost, I mean literally.

My name is Stephanie Powers, and no, the irony of my last name is not lost on me -we’ll come back to that later. I’m twenty-four years old, brunette and blue-eyed, and I’ve just landed my first real job after graduating with my Bachelor’s in Mass Communication a year ago. Sounds normal, right? Well, my new normal is going to make this look boring.

 ***

The alarm clock blares for the fifth time and I’m about ready to throw it out the window when switch it off for good this time. I’ve been up for an hour now- I woke up on time and somehow, I’m still running late, and obnoxious alarm clocks aren’t making me get ready any faster. I shimmy into a pair of matchstick jeans and grab my sweater from the pile of clean clothes growing in the chair. I’m walking out the door when I realize I’m missing shoes, which I run back into my room to find. At this point, my room is looking like a tornado came through and showed mercy on absolutely nothing- clothes everywhere, makeup and hair products strewn about on any and every previously open surface available, and on the floor, there’s a graveyard of empty water bottles that unfortunately didn’t make it into the trash bin. I catalogue the damage and make a mental note to tidy up later, but it’s unimportant now. After finding my shoes, I grab my sweater and bag and race out the door, smacking into him.

“Fox!” I shriek, stumbling backwards through the doorway, almost landing on my rear. Fox catches me, with that familiar, yet sinister smile on his face, and pulls me to my feet.

“What are you doing here?” I say.

“Good to see you too, Steph.” Fox says sarcastically.

I pluck a rogue strand of hair from my lip gloss and stand up straighter.

“Good to see you too,” I say, “Not to be rude, but I’m running a bit late.”

“For?” he asks.

An impatient sigh escapes my mouth before I can stop it.

“It’s my first day at the paper, and I want to make a good impression.”

He looks me up and down briefly then smiles wider. “You’ve made a good impression on me, so far.”

“Yeah? Falling on my ass, does it for you?” I say.

He rubs his chin as if considering this. “Yeah, your ass does it for me.” He said, then winked. Actually winked.

Fox Wilder has been my neighbor and childhood friend for as long as I can remember. He’s a whole head taller than me, with blonde shaggy hair and a tan that reminds me of a stereotypical surfer dude. Throw in a shell necklace and the look is complete. Growing up, he lived three doors down from me and we went to all the same schools together, including Washington State University. 

I move to check my watch and realize I’m not wearing it, so I pull my sleeve up over my wrist and tuck my hair behind my ear.

“I have to go.” I say looking around him to my 98’ Volkswagen Jetta, parked in the driveway. His Avalanche was boxing it in. Taking the hint, he fished his keys out of his pocket and went to move his car. I shouldered my bag and climbed into my own, then turned the keys in the ignition. The engine sputtered several times before dying. I tried again, to no avail.

“Great, just great,” I say, “as if I needed any more bad luck already.”

Fox raps on my window and I roll it down manually.

“Car problems again?” he asks, knowingly.

I sigh. “Yeah. At this rate, I’ll never make it to work. Impression: not good.”

“I can take you.” he offers with a smile.

“Really?” I say, almost too enthusiastically.

His smile widened. “Yeah, hop in.” He gestures to his car and a wave of relief washed over me. I might make it to work on time after all. He backs the Avalanche out of the drive and makes for the highway.

Of course, I was grateful, but I couldn’t help thinking, Fox saves the day, yet again. Adding to my mental to-do list, I vow to take my car into the shop after work. I’d get a ride with Fox for the next few days if I could and then be back behind the wheel in no time.

— Payton Hayes, “Stockholm Heroes, a Work in Progress” 😂

Glad we’re done with that part, whew! But do you see what I mean? The short scene at the beginning launches readers into the action with a very fly-by type of introduction to the main character. This scene is really more of an info dump, something which you should really avoid during the exposition. Readers can smell them from a mile away and they absolutely kill pacing. The second scene is where some magic happens. Readers learn about the characters, their immediate struggles, and the setting. However, once again, its too short. Everything happens so fast, and then is over with the snap of a finger. While this scene is so visually appealing and relatable, it might not make sense to start in either of these parts in the story’s timeline. Instead, I should pick one or the other to start with and spend more time fleshing it out.

Go with your gut

It all comes down to your story and the plot that you’re working with. There’s truly no one-size-fits-all approach to writing an opening to a novel, but if you go with your gut and think about your story and what kind of pacing you’ll need to deliver it best, you can come up with a fantastic opening scene at just the right time. Think about slice-of-life scenes that you can use to introduce your characters and think about the events leading up to the inciting incident so you can select the best time to drop the reader into the story. Develop a scene that shows off character, setting, conflict, and stakes. Consider different ways to achieve this without massive info dumps and inorganic dialogue.

There is of course, always exceptions to the rules, but this is how I go about writing opening scenes in my novels. It’s certainly not a hard-and-fast—rules approach but these are just a few guidelines for creating an organic and enthralling opening scene that will keep your reader turning pages. I hope this blog post helped you and I’d appreciate it if you’d leave a comment with your thoughts below! At the bottom of this post, helpful/related blog posts are linked for your convenience.

Related Topics:

• Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)

• Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With Them

• Book Writing 101 - How To Chose The Right POV For Your Novel

• Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing

• Book Writing 101: How To Name Your Book Characters

• Book Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent Characters

• Book Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About Dialogue

• Story Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)

• Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.

• 25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel Ideas

• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick on Amazon

• Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

See all posts in Freelancing. See all posts in Book Writing 101.

—Payton