“Rewriting Wellness” is written by RN and freelance health writer Lisa M. Bonaquisti. She is an advocate for healthy lifestyles regardless of occupation or hobbies.

Writers are no strangers to sitting. The enveloping comfort of a mesh-backed marshmallow cushion seated chair lures a writer to sit when producing remarkable creatives. Sitting is frequently coupled with snacking, sugary beverages, and uninvited girth expansion. This combination of sitting, snacking, and sipping sugary drinks can interfere with your health and creativity and ultimately impact your writing. Let’s face it: the world needs writers, so the time has come to rewrite your wellness. Adding simple, healthy lifestyle edits to your daily routine may improve mental clarity and increase overall energy. Both of these benefits are imperative to producing invoiceable written works.

Headlines publicize sitting as the new smoking, but what does that really mean? Diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are all potential consequences of smoking and, yes, you guessed it – prolonged sitting. You just stood up and started marching in place, right? But wait, there’s more. Depression, weight gain, cognitive dysfunction (aka trouble thinking), and musculoskeletal disorders are also on the impact list. Now that your entire body has been targeted due to physical inactivity let’s address what you eat as you sit.

Your brain requires fuel as you eloquently transcribe words into another bestseller or “must-read” post. To your left and right are plates, bowls, or napkins filled with easily grasped goodies that keep you glued to your writing objective. Maybe the sugar rush or the crunch keeps you engaged, but at what cost to your health? Healthy snacks keep your body’s fuel tank full and your creativity flowing.

Rewriting wellness is not a complex algorithm that will require hours of your day or wipe out your bank account. Healthy lifestyle edits can be accomplished in the comfort of your writing environment and are essentially free. The only cost incurred will be 20–30 minutes of your day and your inner desire to stay out of your doctor’s office or local emergency room. Once established, these healthy habits will become effortless.

4 Healthy Lifestyle Edits

#1 Have a Plan

Writers are accustomed to developing outlines and plans to meet deadlines. Plans enable writers to maintain focus and complete publishable works. Rewriting wellness into your daily routine requires a plan. This plan will be one of your easiest and most rewarding yet non-invoiceable accomplishments.

Rewriting wellness requires you to put your plan in writing. You can manually or electronically plan your wellness edits, but making your daily goals visible is a must. Recording your daily physical activity, water intake, and nutrition goals is essential. Crossing off accomplished goals after a brain-draining day of writing can be mentally satisfying. So, set 45 seconds aside each day to write manageable goals.

#2 Activity Intervals

Sitting is commonly associated with writing activities. This position of comfort for prolonged periods of time can be detrimental to the success of a writer’s health and efficiency. Frequent position changes enhance blood circulation throughout your body. A well-oxygenated body and brain will function more efficiently and contribute to your stellar works of art. You may wonder how often, how much, and what activity intervals will contribute to rewriting wellness.

When you arise from your chair, do you feel the need to yell out “oil me?” What you really need is to move. When you are in the thick of a writing assignment, moving every 45–50 minutes is reasonable. The idea is not to interrupt your train of thought but rather to clear your mind and get you moving. Set your timer, and when you hear, DING, sitting time is up.

Let’s explore a few fun and simple life edits that will add needed movement to your day. Set your timer for 5–10 minutes and try some or some combination of the following; when the timer chimes, resume writing:

• walking (inside or outside or up/downstairs)
• marching in place with arm circles/swings
• riding a stationary bike
• mimicking jumping rope/jumping jacks, even with slight jumping movements

Another option is to play two favorite tunes and shake your booty until the music stops.

Your goal is to feel refreshed, not short of breath after moving. If you have the appropriate amenities, you can vary your times of sitting or standing as you write, but remember to incorporate activity intervals throughout your day. Too much of any one position is not recommended.

#3 Choose Water

Wasted calories on beverages is a common practice. Although the satisfying taste of a cola product or a bougie café purchase is undeniably delicious, the extra sugar is unnecessary, and the nutritional value is zero. One 12-oz cola product contains an average of 39 grams of sugar, and your favorite pumpkin spiced latte can contain 50–55 grams of sugar. Your daily recommended sugar intake is 25–36 grams, yikes! Sure, there are beverages touting no sugar or calories, but they forget to mention added harmful artificial sweeteners and no nutritional value for your hard-working brain.

You are clearly searching for a good comeback to escape the daily regime of consuming H2O, right? Here is a little assistance: water does not have nutritional value either. Water has immense health benefits; with a little twist, the taste can surpass your sugary favorites. Adding a slice of lemon (0.2 grams of sugar) or a ¼ cup of pineapple (4 grams of sugar) to your 32 oz reusable water bottle will ignite your taste buds. Water will also disperse essential nutrients throughout your body while maintaining major organ functions. Clearer skin, less abdominal bloating, and improved sleep are a few reported outcomes of regular water consumption. So whine as you may about consuming water throughout the day, but cutting out sugary nutrition-lacking beverages may be your perfect twist to rewriting wellness.

#4 Healthy Snacks

Food is fuel for your body. A fully powered brain will undoubtedly contribute to stellar writing. Food quality is equally important as the quantity of activity intervals. While rewriting wellness, snack choices should be plant-based when possible. If your choices have you pouring from a bag, fewer ingredients are best, and adhering to the serving size is a must.

Your favorite fruits and vegetables are perfect choices, and a few nuts sprinkled in are nice too. Frozen grapes and blueberries are candy-like delights for your taste buds. Raw vegetables are a good fiber source, promoting a feeling of fullness and decreasing over-eating. Pairing a smidge of dip with these choices may please your palate and convince you to forego the boxed or bagged snacks. To improve your likelihood of eating healthy snacks, cut up fruits and veggies at the beginning of the week. Then, create your own refrigerated grab-and-go snack bowl for efficiency.

An occasional treat is perfectly acceptable when you follow a couple of key tips. First, stick to the serving size; five crackers means five or a ¼ cup of nuts is what you get. Savor each morsel as if it is a novelty. Second, if you can properly pronounce and define all snack ingredients without consulting a dictionary, then rock on and enjoy your snack. The second tip is a serious consideration, as many of those indecipherable letter collections (aka words) are as natural as AI would have been writing this post.

Conclusion

Rewriting wellness entails simple, healthy edits that can improve your well-being without leaving you out of breath or gnawing on your fist. Following a self-created plan will undoubtedly lead you down the path of success. Your phone timer is a trusted resource and reminder of your need to engage in physical activity throughout the day. A decorative reusable water bottle (or bottles, as often occurs) will become your new BFF with health benefits. Soon, your enticing snack bowls may serve as a social media topic or image for your next post. The possibilities are endless, and the rewards will be noticeable in your health and, more importantly, in your writing. Stick to your plan!

Sample Written Plan* (when starting out)

Goal for today:

• 4x: 50 minutes writing, 5-minute walk outside (tip: set timer for 2.5 minutes, start walking when it goes off return home)
• 16 oz water with extra ice and lemon slice
• Sitting Snacks: ½ cucumber (sliced), two tablespoons of hummus, ¼ cup of almonds, 1 cup of strawberries

Sample Written Plan (as you advance)

Goal for an 8-hour day:

• 4x 50 minutes writing, 5 minutes jacks, no jumping (move 1 foot at a time), five wall push-ups, 50 marching steps in place
• 2x 50 minutes writing, 5 minutes moving to music
• 2x 50 minutes writing, 10-minute walk outside
• 18-24 oz of water with orange slice
• Sitting Snacks: ½ red pepper (sliced), cucumber (sliced), carrot (sticks), 1 cup of blueberries with homemade fruit dip, ¼ cup of walnuts

*Engaging in physical activity may require a physician’s approval. (but do not use this as an excuse). If you have a medical condition that limits your water intake, please follow your restrictions as medically advised. Do not consume any food products for which you have a known or suspected allergy.

Bio:

Lisa M. Bonacquisti is an RN, freelance health content writer, and health enthusiast. Lisa’s writing content is driven by years of personal and professional experience and research. In her 30 years of nursing, she has seen the impact poor lifestyle choices have on one’s quality of life. Her writings are purposed to inspire and encourage healthy living, while her actions portray healthy living. She does occasionally enjoy sitting, but usually on a beach!

The post Rewriting Wellness: 4 Simplistic Healthy Lifestyle Edits for Writers appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

We have a story in our heads or on our hearts. We want to write it, and yet we don’t. We don’t always know what’s stopping us. There is some invisible force that keeps us from realizing our dreams. It may masquerade as a lack of time or lack of a quiet space or even the right time in our lives. But, perhaps, all we lack is the courage to write.

As we’ve heard before, courage isn’t the lack of fear. It’s moving forward, step after step, despite the fear and uncertainty staring us in the face. With swirling winds and deep fog, we move from the comfort of the known into the darkness of the unknown. Can we finish? Will it be any good? What will people think? And finally, what will they say about me and the story I poured onto the page?

That’s a lot of fear pushing full-on against our hopes about what this story could be—about what we could be. And, it stops us like a dam holding back a raging river.

Recently, I spoke to a would-be writer at an event. He had a story he started but couldn’t seem to find the motivation to finish. I asked about the book, and he returned with excitement about the story. But as I asked more about it, it became apparent that “what’s next” weighed on him.

I asked why he was writing it. He reads lots of books and thought it would be fun to write one of his own. Then, the questions about publishing and marketing surfaced. How will he tell people about it with no social media, no email list, no website, and no real knowledge of the marketing landscape? He wanted to know if the time and money would be “worth it.” He jumped right from the joy of creativity to the uncertainty beyond.

We often worry so much about the future that we forget to cherish the moment we have right now. We’ll discount our current creative project for fear of not being good enough to see it through to some utopian end.

If you are writing or hoping to write a book, your decision is just whether or not you should write it. That’s it.

Once you are done writing it, your decision becomes whether to publish it. In your final days, will you regret publishing it or not publishing it? Your decision will be part of your legacy either way.

Once you’re done publishing it, you can decide whether to market it a little or a lot. You can run one ad for a week or build a healthy book launch team, invest your time in social media, build an email list, start a podcast, and write books for a living, or land somewhere in between. But you don’t have to decide that now.

When I asked the writer if he was hoping to make writing his career, he said no, even though he might consider writing another one or two books.

Finally, I asked if he NEEDED to market it. At first, he just looked at me. After a moment, his face changed. It hadn’t occurred to him that he could write and publish his book and call it a miraculous success. He didn’t need to choose between being a bestseller or being a failure. For him, writing and publishing was enough. It was like Atlas had lifted a boulder from his back. And now, all he had to carry was his proverbial pen.

You have no obligation to do any of it—the writing, publishing, or marketing. But if something nags at you, the pull to embark on an amazing journey, you just need to start. Start with the courage to write.

The post The Courage to Write appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

Writing a novel sounds like a daunting task, a feat you may only imagine other people accomplishing. But despite the challenge, writing the first draft can, surprisingly, be easier than you think! If you keep these tips in mind while writing, it can be the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the journey. It’s when you can ignore that editing voice in your head, discover your characters’ unique personalities, dreams, strengths, and weaknesses, create a new world, dive into new and exciting plotlines…

Writing the first draft is like standing on the edge of a cliff and finally gaining the courage to jump into the unknown, only you find yourself flying instead of falling. Because this is the stage where you can do ANYTHING.

So get your pen (or keyboard) in front of you and get ready to embark on a journey into your creative world where anything is possible. And don’t forget to give yourself a pat on the back for deciding to take this leap of faith and believing in yourself to do something incredible!

Getting Started

Staring at a blank page? Trying to concoct the most beautiful, distinctive, and intriguing first sentence to start your novel? Stop right now. I repeat: Stop. Right. Now. This is not the most important part of your novel; nobody is going to quit reading your story on the first sentence. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a good hook, but don’t overthink it, especially when writing the first draft. For now, treat this sentence like any other sentence and just start writing.

Another mistake you don’t want to make when starting your novel is waiting for the “perfect moment” to start. There is no perfect moment. Just like any good story, life is unpredictable. If you are waiting for a time when you have no obligations, nothing to take up your time, and no stressors, just remember that this rarely happens—not ideal for a writer, I know. So don’t think “after” or “until” when determining when to start writing. Now—RIGHT NOW—is the best time to start, before you can talk yourself out of it or lose your creative momentum. Don’t miss out on telling the story that you were meant to tell.

Letting Yourself Write Badly

Editing. You either love it or hate it. Either way, many of us writers can’t stop ourselves from doing it; it’s that compulsion to make our sentences perfect, that voice in our head telling us not to continue until we have the best words possible on the page. But when writing the first draft, the best thing you can do for yourself is to silence that inner critic. The first draft is not about perfection; it’s about progress. It’s about getting your story on the page no matter how messy it sounds because right now, you are in discovery mode. You are discovering your story for the first time, and the last thing it needs is criticism, especially from you as the writer. So whether you love or hate editing, save it for when your draft is finished. For now, the aim is to get the story down, not to create a masterpiece on the first try.

Keeping Your Story Simple

Even if you are writing a high fantasy novel meant to be 1,000 pages long with six different perspectives and countless subplots, keep the story relatively simple when writing your first draft. Focus on the main plot of the story and the main character(s) and flesh these aspects out as much as you can on the first go. By all means, write interesting side characters and subplots if you have the inspiration, but if you only have the big picture and the main message of your story in mind when you start, don’t get too caught up in these other elements for now; you can flesh these out when you revise. Remember, the main plot and characters are the heart and brain of your story, while all the other elements are the organs you and your story can live without while you need to focus on its main function.

Conflict and Characters

Any story in its rawest form comes down to its conflict and characters. Without these two crucial elements, you don’t have a story at all, or at least certainly not a compelling one. If you are going to painstakingly focus your attention on anything when writing the first draft, it’s conflict and characters.

If you’ve already decided to write a novel, you likely already have either a conflict, characters, or both in mind. Now is the time to flesh your characters out. Give them distinctive traits, backstories, and unique appearances. Get to know them as if they are real people to you—they may just feel like that once you start writing. Strong characters will make the process of writing the first draft not only easier but more enjoyable, too!

Once you have your characters down, make sure you’re putting them in an interesting albeit realistic conflict with stakes appropriate for the genre you are writing in. For example, if it’s fantasy, the end of the world may be at stake, but for romance, it may be the survival of your characters’ relationship. If you’re having trouble coming up with the perfect conflict to afflict your characters with, you can reference common types of conflict to help. When you’ve settled on a conflict, be sure to have this conflict drive the story forward throughout your draft, and you may be surprised by how compelling your story turns out to be while you watch it unfold on the paper (or screen).

Plotting Versus Pantsing

You may have heard of the plotting versus pantsing debate—crafting a coherent outline of your novel before you start writing or “flying by the seat of your pants.” Either of these strategies is an efficient way of writing your first draft.

If you have a good idea of what you plan on writing when you sit down to start, plotting out the structure of your novel may be beneficial for you. It can help you envision your story chronologically, determine which scenes fit where, and provide a sort of guide for you along the way that will make the writing process easier. This means that if you choose this method, much of your creative work will happen before you write, which may help you write faster. Though depending on the type of writer you discover yourself to be, this is not always the case.

This is where pantsing—also known as discovery writing—can come in handy. Many of us sit down to write a novel without a very solid idea of what exactly is going to happen; maybe you just know the basic message you want your story to tell, or you have a really interesting character you know you want to follow. If this is you, then pantsing may be the better option. You can discover your story as you write, untethered by an outline you feel the need to stick to. If you choose to use this strategy, most of your creative work will happen as you are writing your novel and may speed up your writing process if you allow your creative juices to flow freely. Indeed, many people say they let the character tell the story to them as they write.

Both plotting and pantsing are viable options—there have been many successful novels written in both ways. But whichever option you choose, don’t feel that you must stick to it throughout the writing process. For instance, if you have plotted out your novel but are struck with a sudden inspiration halfway through, don’t feel pressured to stick to your original idea if another one is calling your name! Your first idea doesn’t always have to be your best idea, so don’t be afraid to see where your story takes you as you write.

On the other hand, if you are pantsing but have finally discovered the direction you want your story to go, it may be helpful to create an outline, however loose you want it to be, for the rest of your novel. Allow yourself to envision all the amazing scenes ahead!

The point is, you may find yourself switching between plotting and pantsing—a strategy known as plantsing—and that’s perfectly okay. Let your creative mind craft your story however it feels is best!

When Should I Write?

Life is busy. But instead of letting this stop you from making the time to write, allow all of those time-and-energy-consuming obligations to encourage you. It may sound strange—the first time I heard this advice, I didn’t believe it—but you may be surprised to find that being busy is actually good for the writing process. If you are already bogged down with tasks, then writing a novel becomes just another task to complete, and even an escape from your daily hustle. But if you try writing your novel only when you have nothing on your to-do list, you may find yourself unmotivated: “I’m finally getting a break, maybe I’ll take a break from writing too!” Believe me, it’s much more tempting to put your draft on pause when other things in your life are on pause, too. In other words, write even and especially when you are busy.

You may be asking, “If I’m writing while I’m busy, when can I find the time to put words on the page?” The answer depends on each writer. Are you a morning person? If so, you may want to wake up early to get some writing done before you start your day (or skip that morning television session and write instead!). Or perhaps you are a night owl, and you’d prefer to write when the rest of the world can’t disturb you.

Morning person or night owl, you can always find time in your daily schedule when you are, well, wasting said time. This may sound negative, but it’s not. Because congratulations, you’ve just found time for writing your novel! Determine what those usual time-wasters are in your schedule and replace them with writing sessions instead.

It may also be helpful to have a set time to write each day. Indeed, adding writing time into your calendar each week can make you more likely to stick to your writing goals. Whether it’s in fifteen-minute or hour-long increments, it is important to remain consistent. Too much time spent not writing is the Achilles’ heel of creativity and inspiration. So whether you write in the morning, at night, during your lunch break, or during sporadic moments whenever you find time to spare, BE CONSISTENT. Even if you’re at a loss for where your story is going to go, it’s always best to write something to keep your creative juices flowing. And who knows? You may just get the inspiration for your best plot twist!

Where Should I Write?

When preparing to start writing the first draft of your story, where you write is typically not the first question that comes to mind. But the importance of where you write may become clear as you get started. Where you sit down to get those words on the page can determine how productive each writing session is.

Here’s what I mean. Suppose you sit down for a cozy night of writing in your room. You’re a bit tired after a long day, but you think writing will distract you enough to stay awake and get your words in for the day. Then you suppose you might as well get comfortable in your bed with its fluffy pillows and warm comforter—comfort while writing is important, after all. But now that you’re in bed, you’re feeling drowsier and drowsier… Finally, you suppose that writing can wait for tomorrow. The lesson: don’t write within sight of your bed! It may even be best not to write while wearing your most comfortable pajamas; anything that reminds you of sleep is the enemy of a productive writing session. Not that I’m speaking from personal experience, of course…

The best places to write are up to you, but it’s essential that you scope them out. Coffee shops and cafes can provide a comfortable place to write—coffee and tea are amazing writing companions, after all! You could even try your local library; what better place to feel inspired than a place where you’re surrounded by books? Wherever you choose, writing in a public place may automatically make you feel more productive than writing at home. You’ve gotten dressed and made the walk or drive all so that you can write your draft. Now, you are much less likely to disappoint yourself by not actually writing or become distracted by the comforts—or bustle—of your home.

Of course, the best places to write will be different for everyone. Some people prefer absolute silence, while others prefer the background noise and activity that comes with writing in a public place like a coffee shop. Additionally, some people might like having multiple places to write in order to incite their creativity while others rely on being in the same place each time to trigger their writing reflexes. Whichever preferences may apply to you, it is important to determine what these are and find places to write accordingly.

The Secret Key to Success

You may expect the key to successfully writing your first draft to be something technical, like how interesting your main character is. Or maybe you think it’s your compelling main conflict, witty dialogue, or the immersive world you built. But what if I told it’s none of the above. What if I told you that the secret key to success is actually within you as the writer?

Of course, the elements of your story are important and can determine the quality and entertainment factor of your draft, but even if you manage to nail all of these while writing (which, because you are writing the first draft, you shouldn’t strive for), you will likely still suffer from a lack of motivation to keep going, an unfortunate side effect of the writing process for many of us writers. As a result, your story may lose its creative flare, and you may never reach the ending, the last and most exciting act. Don’t let this happen, because your story IS worth being told. And the key to unlocking this motivation…

Just have fun! It’s that simple. Shocking, right? Yet it’s less counterintuitive than it sounds. Even if you have the most wonderful ideas and all the time in the world to write (lucky you), if you’re not enjoying yourself while you are writing, then there is nothing to keep you going. So let your characters do whatever they tell you they want to do, allow yourself to build that wacky world, and follow those plotlines that seem absurd in the moment. You’ll be surprised at how letting loose while writing can improve your first draft.

Having fun while writing is the power that turns the gears of your creative mind—keep these gears in motion, and you can achieve anything in the wonderful world of writing. So what are you waiting for? Now that you know what the secret key to success is, grab that pen or keyboard and get started on that story that deserves to be told. Happy writing!

The post A How-To Guide to Writing the First Draft of Your Novel appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

It’s natural to observe someone accomplishing something, and then wanting to do it yourself. This can include getting a degree, choosing a career, training in a sport, or, just as commonly, deciding to write a novel. However, many jump in headfirst, without taking the crucial time necessary to research this task. The best way to get started is to know where it can go wrong. Here are some common fiction writing mistakes every author makes, and how you can fix them to be successful!

Cliches

Of course, the easiest way to begin the creative process is to strengthen your knowledge of the genre by consulting what you have read in the past. While this can provide ideas and structure, it also creates an easy opportunity in which you may end up rewriting your favorite book. This refers to the idea that any reader experienced in the genre you are writing in will be able to predict your plot and subsequently lose interest.

You want your work to be interesting, new, and engaging. A novel full of overused cliches is the opposite of this. When you begin to write, first think about the basics of your story. Are most aspects of it something you’ve read before? Not everything can be brand new, but your readers will thank you if you attempt to limit the amount of reused popular plotlines or character designs in your novel. Writer’s Digest provides a few examples of how to put a twist on expectations, where “instead of writing a scene where [their] love interests finally kiss for the first time, [they] might instead write a scene they decide to rob a bank together,” or their “main character kisses someone else.” These deviations can even lead to new plotlines and will provide your opportunity to be unique.

Pacing

It can be difficult to establish where and when things should happen in your story. Overloading all the excitement in the beginning leads to readers feeling either overwhelmed as they try to keep up, or bored once the action dies down and the story plateaus. If you save the intensity for the very last chapter, you might lose some readers before they get to it.

It’s important to find a balance between dramatic scenes and the space in between them. The best way to do so is to master the use of scenes, summary, or exposition. Amber Lea Starfire defines a scene as “action occurring in a specific place and time,” summary as a period of time condensed into a short passage, and exposition as “when the narrator tells us what they think or feel about what is happening,” or to provide context. To keep your readers engaged, ensure that you include some summary and exposition to explain previous events or facts, and then focus on using scenes with vivid sensory details to provide the current action. If writing about a family camping trip, your summary and exposition would include telling readers about where they are staying, why, and perhaps information about the family. Then, a scene would occur during a moment in time when the family is arguing, unpacking, or cracking jokes.

Lack of Conflict

Every story needs a challenge that must be overcome by the main character. This conflict is where the excitement and true emotions derive, and, without proper tension, your novel will feel dull and flat. Conflicts can come in a variety of types: they can occur between two characters, a character and the environment, or even within a character’s own mind. Whatever it may be, these obstacles are necessary to keep your readers engaged and add an element of risk to the story.

A plot map can be a great tool for reviewing and creating your outline. These act as a graphical representation of the story and allow the author to visualize key elements by filling in different categories, from internal obstacles to dark moments. Using a plot map, such as the ones provided by The Novel Factory, will help guide your story to ensure it involves the crucial aspects of fiction, including conflict. You can further break it down by studying the goals or missions of each character. Does the character with an objective obtain it easily, or do they struggle? Including an insurmountable conflict to act against them will keep your readers worried and unsure of the ending. You will also benefit from incorporating small problems that arise throughout to keep your readers on their guard and distract them from the bigger issues. Perhaps your characters begin to argue on their journey, and it results in them splitting up. Or, a massive snowstorm traps your characters inside before they must make an important meeting. These minor issues can impact your entire story, and often for the better.

 Minimal Research vs. Excessive Research

Creating content is most enjoyable when you are well-educated in the craft. If you are writing a story about a place you’ve never visited, readers will notice when you mention cuisine that isn’t local or locations that don’t exist. Writing about an arrest or investigating a crime with Law and Order as your source of knowledge may not cut it with your readers. Overloading each paragraph with stories of history or facts that don’t connect to the story, though, is also not ideal because it can lead to unnecessary clutter and distraction in your novel.

Before you begin, consider your setting, time period, and other details of the story. Then, prepare yourself by researching such crucial aspects. When writing, weave in small details that prove you know the basics. If your story is set in 1950s London, the local drink enjoyed by your character would be tea. If set in current times, coffee has become more popular, so this would be a natural choice. Subtle details such as this prove to your reader that you are knowledgeable, and thus enhance your credibility as a writer. Keep these points short and interesting, however. Readers will not enjoy entire paragraphs about irrelevant history or the origin of the cobblestones on the street, which may distract from your writing.

 Telling vs. Showing

When caught up in the moment of a writing frenzy, it’s natural to give up on lengthy descriptions and intricate word choice to ensure all your ideas make the page. However, this often leads to explicitly stating what is occurring, rather than allowing your readers to make their own assumptions and interpretations about your story as it naturally unfolds. Comparatively, showing what is occurring creates an immersive experience for the reader, as they get to feel your vivid imagery and deeper meanings that ultimately produce a work of higher quality.

As FemFounder recommends, try to “paint a vibrant picture with your words.” However, there is a balance that needs to be established between “getting carried away with unnecessary descriptions and excessive, over-the-top words,” versus blatantly stating what is occurring. Make sure each sentence has a purpose that engages the reader. Can they picture what is occurring based on your sentences, or are you telling them exactly? Are you telling them that your character is angry, or having them throw a coffee mug across the room? Do you state that they are frustrated, or do they begin an argument with their partner who isn’t listening to them? Evaluate the effectiveness of how you plan to convey feelings, places, and events.

Not Knowing Your Characters

To stimulate the plot, a common fiction writing mistake for new writers is having a character act out in a manner completely unlike them. This can happen in real life, but when done in a novel, it often has the effect of startling or confusing the reader, who then feels as though the entire development of the character has been discarded. New writers may also demonstrate unfamiliarity with their characters when they mix up their details or backgrounds, or when these aspects are misaligned with how the character behaves.

Essentially, the characters are the main elements of the novel. They run the show, and to do so, need to be fully evolved and realistic. Ensure that your characters each play a role that they can stick to in the novel, even if that role develops over time. A person cannot gain ten years of experience about anything overnight or learn a new difficult skill in an hour. Focus on what they are familiar with, where they have lived, what their motivations are, and why they are in the story to ensure that you feel as connected with them as your readers do.

To begin developing these details, try interviewing your characters and providing thorough answers. You can refer to this when you have opportunities to share details about them, such as their favorite ice cream flavor or saddest childhood memory—your character may hate vanilla ice cream because they were eating it when they found out their mother passed away. 

Now What?

You’ve probably finished this article and are now thinking, wow, this sounds more intimidating than I expected. However, just by committing to the idea of writing your own novel, you have surpassed the general population in ambition. This alone demonstrates your determination and the fact that you can do this!

Now that you know these fiction writing mistakes, you can keep an eye on your story. Learning and practicing the craft before and during any task will leave you feeling more confident and reassured. It takes time to become the best version of yourself before you can put out the best version of your work. Hopefully, referencing these while you write can help you avoid such common fiction writing mistakes and result in a work that you can be proud of!

Focus on embracing a growth mindset. With each new draft, you will improve and expand your skills to create results you never thought possible. This growth is what will eventually produce your fantastic novel, so appreciate every step of the way, and stay dedicated! Keep this, and what you have now learned, in mind, and you will find the courage to write! 

The post 6 Common Fiction Writing Mistakes and How to Fix Them appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

Commas in Lists:

Example: I need to buy apples, oranges, bananas, and grapes.
In lists of three or more items, commas help separate each element, ensuring a clear and organized presentation. The final comma before “and” is known as the Oxford comma and is used to prevent ambiguity.

Commas in Compound Sentences:

Commas after Introductory Elements:

Commas with Appositives:

Example: My friend, a talented artist, painted a breathtaking mural.
Appositives, which rename or explain a noun, are set off by commas. They provide additional information about the noun they modify, enhancing the reader’s understanding.

Commas to Separate Adjectives:

Commas with Nonessential Elements:

Commas in Addresses:

Commas with Direct Quotations:

Conclusion:

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Think back to your favorite fantasy story. Were you entranced by the magical lands, the extravagant livelihoods, creative names of places and people, and fulfilling storyline? If so, then you would be familiar with the significance of designing a fantasy world. In writing your own fantasy novel, you must create such a world for your own fascinating characters. This article will present details and advice to consider while doing so!

What Does a Fantasy Setting Consist Of?

Before developing a fantasy world, writers must be familiar with the real world. In your own life, how large of a role do your surroundings play? Perhaps you work in fashion because you live in New York, or you go to the beach in the mornings because it’s ten minutes from your home. These factors that influence your choices and will all play the same part in your novel, so it is important to consider the logistics when creating a world for your characters.

Realistically: Time, Place, and Mood

Time, place, and mood are crucial in building a realistic setting. Before establishing any other details, deciding when the characters exist is paramount. Does your story exist one hundred years in the past, yesterday, or three decades in the future? If you have chosen a time period in the past, research trends, phrases, food, and other features of life that exist in that era and incorporate them into your writing. Your readers will notice when you incorporate accurate details, and it will build your credibility and confidence even when writing in the future.

It should also be clarified that setting and location act differently in writing. The Content Authority defines setting as “the physical location, time period, and social context in which the events occur,” or “the overall environment or atmosphere of a story.” Location is “a more concrete and specific aspect of the setting, focusing on the physical environment and geography of the story.” For example, writing your characters into a tranquil beach setting for a romantic scene is an example of setting, while placing their apartment in an urban town for easy access to city life is utilizing location.

Another vital aspect is the mood, which can be conveyed through the atmosphere you devise. Consider how your characters are feeling in each moment, and how you can use their surroundings to supplement it. Daisie specifies that “the gloom of a rainy day can underscore a character’s sadness, while the cheer of a sunny park can amplify their joy.” Using setting in this manner can aid in boosting the impact of your scene.

Daisie reminds readers that setting “is a character in its own right, one that interacts with your characters” and propels their development forward. Don’t think of it as an untouchable backdrop—use it as a tool for your plot.

Fictionally: 4 Elements to Focus On

Now that you are conscious of setting’s influence in both real life and fiction, you are prepared to begin making your own! When writing fantasy, you can organize the rules any way you want. However, there are some details specific to this type of world building that you must keep in mind. These include focusing on geography, society, history, and magic to ensure that they are not only fully developed and thoroughly explained, but also that they work together to provide the necessary backbone for designing a fantasy world.

Geography: Make a World Map

The first step in designing a fantasy world is making the physical world that it exists in. Taking the time to illustrate how different land masses connect or where the mountains and rivers are located will help both your planning and your writing. A story is most believable when it is built on a detailed foundation!

There are two ways to tackle this step. The first involves taking a piece of paper and drawing a map by hand. With this strategy, you have complete control over the shapes, sizes, and dimensions of each characteristic, and if you are armed with an eraser, can make as many changes as you would like. Taking the time to draw will also fuel your connection and passion for your world, as you must be thorough and careful in deciding how it will look.

If this method feels tedious, it can also be completed digitally. Many free world-building generators exist online, such as Azgaar’s Fantasy Map Generator. This website allows you to edit the map name, cultures, towns, religions, dimensions, and even the year and era. Playing around with tools such as these will make you the expert on your world, as you will have a hand in designing every characteristic of it.

Geography: Build it Physically

Now that you have a map, it is time to narrow in and add the details of how life exists within it. This will involve considering the climate, flora and fauna, terrain, and resources that your characters experience or will have access to.

To first establish the terrain, look at your own surroundings. Think of deserts, woodlands, valleys, or ice fields, and how they are characterized. Will your characters engage with natural barriers such as rivers, mountains, deserts, or chasms? How will their surroundings impact their journey? If your characters must cross an endless desert to find civilization, use the setting as part of the challenge.

Within the terrain will be flora and fauna, as well as natural resources. In your world, what life other than humans exists? Are animals friends or foe, hunted or hunters? Do they risk being poisoned by plants consumed in the wild, or are the green leaves safely edible? What resources does the land provide? Can your characters access fresh water, or timber, and use it?

Another influential aspect of your world is the climate. This is especially out of their control, and it is your choice to decide if it will be a hindrance, helpful, or both. If your characters travel to a region filled with dangerous storms, then they would struggle spending the night outdoors. Are there seasons? If so, what are they called, and how does the weather differ between them?

Society: Write the Rules

Another important element to consider when designing a fantasy world is your society. As Master Class says, “the inhabitants who live in this world you’ve created will have their own independent existence.” The laws and fundamentals for how society operates are entirely in your control, so use this power wisely. Ask yourself questions about these features within our world, and how your story may benefit from changes or similarities. How are the people governed? What jobs exist? What do people go to prison for? Is there a prison at all? As you write, thinking of these details can lead you to new ideas that will make your fantasy world more believable.

History: Who Lives There?

The rules you will write, as previously explored, all must originate from some events or choices made. Consider how such governing systems, populations, or ways of life came to be. Was there a massive war fifteen years ago during which the monarchy took over the peaceful people with a democracy? Were farmers from one land forced to migrate into a land driven by factories last month due to a natural disaster? Build your people and their culture so that they have firm backstories and reasons for the way they live whether that is recently, decades, or thousands of years ago.

Magic: Where’s the Magic?

Making your fantasy world magical is arguably one of the most enjoyable parts of creating it. However, it is also easy to overlook the attention this step requires. Torshie Torto from explains three steps to write magic successfully, in which the author must “choose your magic wisely, set rules and abide by them religiously,” and “weave the magic into the plot seamlessly.”

Begin by asking questions about the magic itself. Where does it come from, how is it used, what form does it take, and where did it originate from? Perhaps ancient warriors once walked your planet and discovered a magical tree that produced sap with powers. This backstory not only explains where the magic originated, but also prevents an opportunity for a challenge, such as  tree being cut down by enemies, or the sap running out.

Once such details are considered, rules must be set to establish order and meaning within your world. Does only your main character harness special abilities, or is it commonplace? Are displays of magic illegal, and a cause for arrest? Outside of society, also ensure that the use of magic makes sense. Do their powers have limits? Do they need objects such as wands or staffs to operate, or does the ability come from within? Creating these rules will also help dissipate any confusion over your plans for your world.

Perhaps the most important step to focus on in adding magic to your world is establishing its purpose and weaving it into the plot. Torto tells writers to think “of magic as another one of your main characters that shapes the very fabric of your story,” similarly to setting. These aspects within your world shouldn’t exist because they must, but because they play an important and interesting role.

Connect It to Your Story

Designing a fantasy world is your chance to be creative, ridiculous, and imaginative. While designing a fantasy world with as much detail and evolution as possible is vital, it is also important to keep your story and purpose in mind. Write your setting so that it contributes to and works along with your plot, rather than taking it over. For instance, if you drop your characters in a world with no fresh water accessible, make it their mission to find some before everyone perishes of thirst.

Ultimately, these elements should work together to guide you towards a magnificent piece of fantasy writing, so let them! Practice and exposure are the most valuable methods of preparation. Reread your favorite fantasy stories and pay special attention to the techniques used by authors. Experiment with your ideas, whether in drawing different maps, testing how names of people and places sound, and drafting laws or rules. Only you will know when all these aspects have finally come together in a way that satisfies your imagination while making sense to the readers, so take the time to figure it out and be confident in your plans!

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“Creating Your Believable Fantasy World” is written by Lauren Ullman, a junior Honors English student at the University of Delaware. She has written two novels of her own and hopes to pursue a career in writing, editing, and/or publishing.

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You have probably interacted with a mystery story at some point. It might have been during your childhood, with lighthearted kid sleuthing books, or throughout your school years as assigned readings. You probably sought such tales for their exciting puzzles and challenging plots. The mystery genre has evolved rapidly, providing readers with various timeless stories. 

Let’s  explore the vital characters, intriguing plotlines, and skillful authors who craft intricate plots and enigmatic mysteries to establish this widely-read and thriving genre. 

The Development of The Mystery Genre 

Throughout the years, the mystery genre has taken on different forms. At its core, the story typically revolves around  a protagonist, whether an amateur or experienced detective, investigating unusual circumstances ranging from theft to murder. They try to solve the mystery by collecting evidence, talking to suspects, and drawing conclusions. Regardless of the format, the story generally takes the reader through twists and turns, often involving a deeper puzzle than what was initially presented. 

Early Detective Stories 

The first piece of literature considered a mystery story was Edgar Allan Poe’s short 1841 piece titled, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Poe’s detective, C. Auguste Dupin, who employed distinct techniques such as evidence collection and witness interrogation, became an example to guide other authors for centuries. 

The Golden Age

Following Poe’s lead, stories in the mystery genre evolved into what was known as the Golden Age. This era was filled with primarily British authors who introduced specific patterns such as “a cast of questionable characters”, or “a cozy country home” as a setting. They also introduced “locked rooms” and “red herrings,” according to Novel Suspects.

This Age also introduced the widely popular whodunnit subgenre, which “offers up a mystery like a puzzle that is complicated to solve but not impossible.” Readers are equally involved in the mystery as they are presented with all the clues and challenged to solve them before the detective. Star authors of this genre include Dorothy L. Sayers and Agatha Christie, who gave us famous and timeless characters such as Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple. 

The Hard-Boiled Detective 

In the 1930s and 1950s these stories began to include dire societal implications, shifting from solvable, light-hearted mysteries to dark, dangerous crimes. Mystery & Suspense Magazine categorizes this era as “crime fiction featuring hard-boiled cynical characters and bleak sleazy settings.” 

Crime solvers in this genre were generally rash private detectives, unafraid to bend the limitations of the law throughout the case. The heavy violence and questionable, immoral endings engaged and surprised readers who desired stories that more closely mirrored true crime in society. Authors who pioneered this new genre include Dashiell Hammett, James M. McCain, and Raymond Chandler. 

The Modern Thriller 

Despite the popularity of brutal crime in the Hard-Boiled era, interest in such tales eventually faded, making way for the Modern Thriller. Crime Reads explains this genre as using “elements of the traditional detective story to explore more complex, psychological mysteries.”, Authors expanded the mystery genre structure by creating characters forced to solve “both an actual mystery and a related personal trauma whose clues are buried in their unconscious.” 

Readers are challenged to follow along with the crime committed and its connections to the detective on the case. These efforts are rewarded as they watch the character finally begin to heal following the closure of the case. Dan Brown, James Patterson, and John Grisham have mastered the complexity required for this version of storytelling. 

Subgenres 

The mystery genre has since grown to welcome over 60 subgenres. Writers and readers can find  spy, supernatural, political, romantic, medical, military, juvenile, nautical, religious thrillers, and more stories. This list highlights just a few examples within the wide range of subgenres to emphasize the most popular or most widely used outlines by authors.  

Private Detective 

This subgenre accentuates the efforts of the professional investigator. Rather than the amateur detective, who stumbles into the plot, the private detective is often hired under questionable circumstances. The rugged, experienced, and intelligent individual solidified with the Philip Marlowe character, created by Raymond Chandler. Other authors in the genre include Donald E. Westlake, Laura Lippman, and Sue Grafton. 

Police Procedural 

According to Novel Suspects, a police procedural “focuses on the investigation process of a police officer or officers” rather than on a private detective or amateur investigator. This subgenre satisfies those more interested in the workings of real, employed crime investigators while providing insight into “forensics, autopsies, gathering evidence” and “obtaining warrants.” Experts in this subgenre include James Patterson, Ian Rankin, and Patricia Cornwall.  

Paranormal Mystery 

Celadon Books categorizes a paranormal mystery as investigating “the appearance of ghosts, UFOs, or other unexplainable mysteries.” These stories tend to breach the realm of reality, featuring magic, superpowers, portals, or non-human enemies. Stephen King, Juliet Blackwell, and Victoria Laurie explore this subgenre, taking readers to new dimensions with their baffling plots. 

Cozy Mystery 

This subgenre often handles the gruesomeness of villainy less intensely and dangerously  than its counterparts. A crime typically occurs off the page in a small, close-knit community, which is later solved by the efforts of an amateur sleuth simply attempting to uncover the truth. Cozy mysteries feature less violence and closely mirror the stories told during the Golden Age. New  authors in this subgenre include Donna Andrews, Jenn McKinlay, and Dianne Mott Davidson. 

Mystery Thriller 

The Mystery Thriller amplifies the intensity of the mystery genre, being “more plot-driven, action-packed, and full of heart-stopping moments,” according to Celadon Books. This subgenre breaks down into categories, from psychological to legal thrillers, including dramatic plot points and gruesome crimes. David Baldacci, Alex Michaelides, and Gillian Flynn contribute to the mystery thriller by taking their readers down twisted rabbit holes. 

Historical Mystery

MysteryFry defines the plot of a historical mystery as a “combination of historical episodes (and persons) and fictional events” while capturing the “details of the period as accurately as possible for authenticity, including social norms, manners, customs, and traditions.” Writing in this genre requires significant research and dedication to accuracy. Conveying a new story that occurs during a time that has passed is a challenge, but many readers appreciate and value such adaptations. Boris Akunin, Jacqueline Winspear, and Michael Jecks are just a few authors who have mastered this subgenre. 

Mystery Genre: Invaluable and Intriguing 

Ultimately, the mystery genre has grown and welcomed new authors at an increasingly impressive rate, with stories ranging from cozy and familiar tales to brutal, intense scenes of violence. Beyond the stories told on paper, this genre has adapted and satisfied readers for generations. It explores trauma and tension, questions society and decisions, and presents a powerful structure for storytelling. 

Most readers can identify with aspects of the detective’s story. This could be an  insatiable thirst for answers, a desire to help those in need or a yearning for true justice. The puzzles introduced are solved through remarkable twists and turns that fulfill society’s quest for entertainment and challenge. The mystery genre features some of the most unique and engaging stories and authors who will continue to stock bookshelves for centuries to come. 

For writers, that mean there are readers waiting for you around every dark corner, regardless of the subgenre you choose. Publishing a series of books in a single genre allows you to capture the curiosity of mystery readers and not let them go until the last mystery unfolds.

“Exploring the History of the Mystery Genre” written by Lauren Ullman, a junior Honors English student at the University of Delaware. She has written two novels of her own and hopes to pursue a career in writing, editing, and/or publishing.

The post Exploring the History of the Mystery Genre appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

Ask yourself why your favorite fiction novel is your favorite, and you may come up with a plethora of reasons to rave about the novel you’re thinking of. But it is very likely that one of the features that made you fall in love with the story is the characters themselves. Interesting characters are often a hallmark of a great story and can make your reading experience incredibly delightful and immersive.

Writing your own characters can be even more enjoyable than reading about even your most favorite heroes and heroines. Reading about the adventures of characters can certainly make you feel as if you are living multiple lives, but there is something about writing your own that runs even deeper. Instead of simply reading about their exploits, you are crafting your own from scratch, creating your own companions to join you on your adventure of writing a novel.

Character development can undoubtably be one of the most enjoyable parts of the novel-writing process. This is the part of writing when you can dive deep into humanity, walk in the shoes of whoever you choose, and create compelling characters whose paths in your story only YOU can determine. No matter how relatable, quirky, heroic, or even villainous you design your characters to be, you will likely feel as close to your characters as if they are real people in your life. Indeed, they are the friends you will visit time and time again when you enter your story’s all-too-real-feeling world.

So what are you waiting for? Allow your characters to introduce themselves!

Why Character Development is Important

Before we dive into my three cornerstones of character development, it may be helpful to first consider why character development is important in the first place.

When writing a novel, there are many important aspects of your story to consider, but crafting well-developed characters is easily one of the most crucial parts of the novel-writing process. This is because your characters are the agents of your novel, the medium through which your readers will experience your story, and the constructs who will navigate your plotlines and both determine and be affected by your novel’s outcome. Without well-developed characters, your plot will have little to move it forward.

With some exceptions, it’s important not to simply rely on your plot and setting to make your novel engaging to readers, or indeed, to you as the writer. Having something to root for, an element of your story that drives readers to keep reading, is essential if you want your audience to not only read, but feel your story. In other words, your characters are the soul of your novel.

If you want to nail this element to improve the quality of your story, read on to discover what my three cornerstones of character development are to bring your characters to life!

#1: What are Your Characters Like?

Depending on the type of writer you are, it is up to you if you want to get to know your characters before you sit down to write or while your novel is unfolding. If you are plotting your novel out before you write, it may be in your best interest for you to create at least some kind of profile for your characters, no matter how in-depth or surface-level. Meanwhile, if you are diving right into the writing process and letting your novel unfold as you go, you might prefer to get to know your characters as you figure out your story so that they can properly fit into the roles your story will require. Even still, maybe you want to develop your characters first and then see how the story unfolds around them. Each way of getting you to know your characters is viable, and it is completely up to you to determine which method works best for you and your story.

If you do choose to get to know your characters before you begin writing, an enjoyable and constructive way of doing this is to spend time with your characters. You may invite your characters to a coffee shop or a picnic, or maybe want to go on a walk or a drive with them… Yes, you read that right! When I was first told to do this, I thought it was a silly idea, but once I let loose and gave it a try, I found it to be both fun and enlightening! You can even interview your character and take notes on what they tell you and how they behave. What are they wearing? How do they speak—lots of hand gestures, monotonously, intelligently? If you are having food, what are they eating? Simply have fun and see what you learn!

It may even help to keep them with you all day and ask yourself how they would behave in the situations you find yourself in. Would they balk at the clothes you’ve chosen for the day? Relate to a strange hobby or habit you have? Complain about how long your commute to work is? Even if your characters won’t be engaging in all of these mundane daily tasks, it will give you insight into what their behavior will be like in your story. It may even give you an idea for a lovable quirk your character could have or generate a fun scene for your novel!

In the same way people are complicated in real life, your characters should also be complex if you want them to be more realistic. To achieve this, there are many considerations you can think about that will bring your characters to life and make them memorable to readers. Read on to see for yourself!

Character Backstories

You don’t have to be a psychologist to know that many of your traits, motivations, and decisions are affected by where you came from and what you’ve been through. This should apply to your characters too if you want them to be realistic and memorable to readers.

Of course, you don’t need to know every detail of your character’s life from birth to the time your story begins, but you should have some idea of what their life was like before the events of your story unfold so that they will behave accordingly throughout the story. Did they have a good relationship with their parents? Did they grow up with siblings? How much money did they have? What kind of student were they? How did they envision their future? These kinds of fundamental questions are important to know the answers to because they will directly impact your characters’ actions—and therefore your plot—in your novel.

For instance, a character who was betrayed by a close friend growing up might have trouble trusting the other characters they meet in your story, while a character who grew up in a warm home with a loving family might have a naïve or sheltered view of the world. Whatever you choose to focus on for your character’s backstory, the idea is to know enough that you can portray an accurate sense of how their background affects their actions and decisions in your novel.

Traits, Habits, and Quirks

Just like people in the real world, characters are the most easily identifiable by their traits, habits, and quirks. The traits you assign to your characters will be their most defining features to readers and should make sense according to their backstories, as discussed above. Their traits should also tie in with their actions—a shy character will likely not go to many parties, just as an honest character will likely not lie often.

No matter which traits your characters end up having, you have the option to make these traits as subtle or pronounced as you want. But be sure not to exaggerate a character’s traits too much unless you are intending to make a caricature of them; just because a character is smart does not mean they should be seen reading or studying in every scene they appear in.

Habits are a great way to make your characters’ traits more apparent to readers. A character who makes their bed every morning and is never late for work might be conscientious while a character who gets together with a different friend each weekend might be extraverted. You can work such habits into your novel to paint a clear picture of your characters’ lives for your readers.

You can even give your characters quirks to make them more realistic. This isn’t to say that everyone is quirky in real life, but many of us have distinct mannerisms that are unique to us and even amusing to others. Maybe your character always walks like they have a purpose, only eats food in small portions, or tilts their head to the side every time they ask a question. These may seem like small details, but they can go a long way in making your characters more authentic and relatable to readers.

If you’re stuck coming up with specific habits or traits, you can use people in the real world for inspiration. We all have those, uh, quirky relatives we could pull a thing or two from…

Strengths and Weaknesses

“Nobody’s perfect.” You’ve probably heard this phrase time and time again, but it’s true. Therefore, you should apply it to your characters by not only giving them strengths but making sure to give them weaknesses as well. A combination of both positive and negative features will make your characters more well-rounded and complex and, by extension, much more interesting to read (and write) about.

It may sound strange, but their weaknesses can make them likable, too. Without them, readers would have a hard time relating to the characters on the page, which might make it more difficult to root for or care about them. It may even make your characters seem inauthentic, therefore making your story feel less real and compelling. Don’t let your lack of character weaknesses become your weakness as the writer!

Goals and Motivations

Just like your goal of successfully writing a novel is motivated by your love of good stories, your characters should also have clear motivations for the goals they are trying to achieve. Without such motivations, your plot may suffer from underdevelopment, or your characters may feel bland to your readers. The drives behind a character’s actions are as important as the actions themselves and will give your story much more depth.

Always keep in mind that the plot should not simply happen to the characters. For a more engaging read, your characters should affect the plot just as much as the plot affects them. Knowing your characters’ goals and motivations can help ensure you don’t make this mistake by turning your characters into active agents rather than passive means of experiencing your story.

It’s also important to remember that a character’s goals are not set in stone; much like real people, what we want in our lives tends to change as we experience new things. A character’s realization that their goal has changed after the events leading up to this transformation can be a great way to give your character depth. Indeed, giving your character a character arc can be an effective way of tying their motivations into your story’s message or theme.

Physical Appearance

While character development typically brings things that have to do with a character’s inner experience to mind, is important not to forget what they look like on the outside as well. Providing physical descriptions of your characters can contribute to their personality and make them easier for readers to imagine. Some physical attributes can even become hallmarks of your character—everyone recognizes Harry Potter’s lightning-shaped scar and round glass, for example. Giving your characters unique physical qualities can make them instantly more memorable and unique.

#2: What is Your Character’s Role?

The second cornerstone of character development is the role your characters play in your story. It’s one thing to know what your characters are like, but it is also crucial to consider what your characters do for your novel. Keeping in mind the role they play as you write will help your plot feel more organic to both you and your reader.

Character Archetypes

The kind of person each character is can help you determine what their role should be in your story. If you’re having trouble assessing exactly how your characters will impact your story, character archetypes can come in handy and can act as a guide to determine which role each of your characters fits into the most.

An archetype is a character who embodies a specific set of universally recognizable traits and behaviors. We all know The Lord of the Rings’s Gandalf as the sage, the wise wizard who acts as a mentor to the main character, and The Hunger Games’s Katniss Everdeen as the rebel, the one who acts to overthrow a corrupted system and fight for what is right. You can reference more common archetypes here if you want to use this method for determining your character’s role in your story. Just try put a unique spin on any archetypes you use so that you avoid cliches… no one wants to read about the same character over and over again with nothing to new to offer.

Once you have determined which archetype your character falls into, you can plot out their actions in your novel accordingly. This can help your character have a greater impact in your story and help ensure that your plot and characters merge well together. 

Is Your Character the Right Character to Follow?

So you’ve determined what each character’s role is in your story. Now is the time to assess if your main character(s) is indeed the right character to take center stage. If you find that your plot could benefit more from another character’s role, then you may want to either rethink the purpose of your plot or who you are deeming your main character.

If you do decide that the spotlight should shine on another character, this doesn’t mean you should omit your original main character from your novel. You can simply allow them to impact your story from the backseat, just like any great side character does. The Harry Potter series wouldn’t be the same without Ron and Hermione, would it?

#3: How do Your Readers View Your Characters?

How your readers view your characters is an important question to ask yourself when it comes to character development. If you are writing with the intention of making your main character likable, how can you best convey this conception to your readers?

Of course, not everyone who reads your novel will have the same opinion on every character featured, but there are ways you can maximize your characters’ intended effect on your audience, especially when it comes to the likability of your characters. If you keep these tips in mind while crafting your characters, it may be easier than you think!

Making Your Characters Likeable

Despite the multitude of traits you could give your characters, one of the most important things to focus on is whether or not your character is likable. Even if you’re giving your character positive traits such as kindness and patience, this may not be enough on its own to put them in your reader’s top tier; it’s possible your reader can appreciate their traits yet find them bland or forgettable anyway.

You can follow these tips to make your characters more likable:

• Give them more actions and decisions that affect the plot. A passive character typically doesn’t get much praise from readers.
• Give them more flaws. As previously mentioned, a character who is too perfect will seem unrelatable to your audience. You can even turn one of their traits into both a strength and a weakness: perhaps your character’s kindness makes them too trusting and they don’t realize until the end that the antagonist had been in their inner circle all along!
• Have them grow throughout the story. Experiencing a character’s personal growth alongside them can make them seem instantly more dynamic. It also makes it easier to sympathize with them if they learn from their mistakes and make a comeback from a defeat.
• Show positive relationships with other characters. If you want your reader to like your character, an easy way to do this is to show that other characters like your character, too. It’s also beneficial to show this character caring about others; a parent caring about their child, for example, will certainly make them easier to root for. Positive interactions are key.
• Make them unique. If your character doesn’t stand out or have anything new to offer to your story, it might not matter how kind they are, how much they grow, or how great a friend they are. Giving them an interesting feature, whether it be in appearance or personality, can go a long way.

I know we’re all writers here, but you can think of it as an equation: positive traits plus substance (imperfections, agency, relationships, etc) equals likable characters. Easy math, right? Thank goodness.

Making Your Characters Unlikable

What if you want to make a character unlikable on purpose? It can be especially interesting to follow an unconventional protagonist who is, say, snarky, arrogant, and deceitful. Sometimes, the characters we love to hate can be the most enjoyable to follow!

Developing an unlikable character can be tricky, but following these suggestions can make it easier:

• Give them clear unlikable traits. This may sound obvious, but if you are aiming for a downright unlikable character (as opposed to a morally gray character), it is usually best for their distasteful personality to be clear rather than ambiguous, at least by the end of your novel.
• Show how much other characters in your novel despise them. If other characters don’t like this character, it will make your readers more likely to dislike them, too. Negative interactions can be highly impactful.
• Make them complex. Like any character, you should get to know this character as if they were a real person (refer to the first cornerstone of character development for help). Without complexities, you might end up with a two-dimensional character that is only unlikable for their lack of realism. Don’t make this mistake.
• Give readers a reason to sympathize with them. This seems unintuitive, but it is an effective way to make your character more realistic even if they are unlikable. If they don’t feel like a believable person to readers, they aren’t nearly as satisfying to hate!

In essence, the key is to make your readers dislike them as a person, but love them as a character.

Conclusion

You may be feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of things to consider when it comes to crafting your characters, but it’s important to recognize that this creative process may come more naturally than you think! After all, your characters are extensions of the human condition and may even surprise you when they seem to have minds of their own. Just keep these three cornerstones of character development in mind to help you create the most engaging characters for your story, and they might just be the most enthralling part of your novel!

Now that you’re ready to embark on one of the most imaginative parts of the writing journey, it’s time to get started! Go meet your characters!

The post 3 Cornerstones of Character Development appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

Subplots may not be what immediately comes to mind when you come up with an idea for a novel, but as you get deeper into the writing process, it will become clear why they are such an important piece of storytelling. No matter how compelling your main plot is, it may lack substance without any subplots to enhance the story and will leave your readers feeling underwhelmed if you provide them with nothing else to pique their interest.

Let’s be honest—writing subplots can be a challenge for both new and seasoned writers. But there’s good news: you are NOT alone! So many writers find it difficult to weave their subplots into their story organically or even struggle to determine exactly what their subplots are doing for their story overall. And it’s easy to see why. After all, subplots are a type of plot—who ever claimed balancing multiple plotlines was easy?

But here’s where the best news comes in: despite the challenge, managing subplots is, well, manageable! Read on for a deeper exploration of subplots and tips on writing subplots into your novel! Because you CAN do this.

What is a Subplot?

First thing first: a subplot is a secondary plot that supports your main plot. In other words, a subplot is a smaller plotline, or secondary conflict, within your novel that will have an effect on the main story taking place.

Regardless of the scope and length of your story, it is important to include at least one or two subplots to make your novel more engaging to readers. You don’t want them feeling burned out by your main plot with nothing else to interest them.

Luckily for you, while they can be challenging to get right on the first try, they can be great tools for exploring your characters or world on a deeper level and can even be one of the most enjoyable parts of the writing process.

Types of Subplots

So, what kinds of subplots can you incorporate into your story? Think of your favorite novels, and you’ll be pleased to see that subplots come in a wide variety of types. That leaves you a ton of room to get creative when determining which types of subplots will work best in your novel!

The most common types of subplots are centered around friendship, romance, family, mentorship, sibling rivalry, career or financial struggles, or mysteries that connect to the main plot. As you can see, you have lots of options to choose from!

But how do you choose? Sometimes, it’s best to start writing your novel first with just your main plot in mind and then notice where you start writing subplots into the story naturally. This can help determine which types of subplots are best for your story. Or maybe it would work best for you to craft your subplots before you get too deep into the writing process and keep them in mind as you go. Either way, don’t worry if you find that your main plot is changing as you write in your subplots—that’s what subplots are supposed to do! While your main plot shouldn’t necessarily be unrecognizable by the time you’ve considered your subplots, slight deviations or enhancements are actually a good thing because it means your subplots are indeed having an effect on your novel’s outcome.

Positive and Negative Subplots

Apart from which type of subplots you end up weaving into your story, it is also important to be aware of whether these subplots are positive or negative. Any type of subplot can be positive or negative; it just depends on how it affects your characters or your main plot. Positive subplots bring your character closer to solving the main conflict, while negative subplots bring your character farther away from solving the main conflict.

Let’s take the romantic subplot, for example. Say your main character’s love interest helps her to understand what it is she really needs and because of this, she is able to realign and achieve her goals. As you can see, this would help advance the main plot (which is typically centered around the main character’s goals and motivations) through the two characters’ relationship. Thus, this is a positive subplot.

On the other hand, let’s say the main character’s love interest enables your character to focus on what she wants instead of what she needs, diverting her attention from her true mission. Naturally, this would get in the way of her goals and regress the main plot; therefore, this is a negative subplot. Keep in mind that in order for your negative subplots to properly explore your characters or theme, it is important that your main character gets back on track before the final act of your story. For example, maybe she realizes that her love interest is distracting her from what it is she needs to accomplish and ends the relationship so that she can resume focusing on achieving her true goal.

The point to remember: Whether your subplots are positive or negative, it’s important that they affect the plot in a meaningful way.

How Can Subplots Enhance Your Story?

Subplots aren’t merely secondary plots that add more content to your novel; they’re secondary plots that enhance your story, whether that’s by exploring your characters, theme, or world more deeply. Below are the most common ways that subplots can enhance your story.

Character Depth

Fleshing out your characters is important when it comes to making your story interesting and realistic to your audience, but most of the time, it’s impossible for just one plotline—your main plotline—to capture your main character’s full personality. But if you don’t want to cut from your story all the traits and quirks you’ve given them to make them unique and likable, subplots provide the opportunity to give your readers the chance to get to know your characters as well as you do!

Subplots are a great tool for exploring aspects of your main character that aren’t on display when it comes to the main plot. Say your story is a fantasy story, and your character is saving his world: naturally, his heroic side will be the focus of the bulk of your story. But if you want your character to be more well-rounded, you can introduce, say, a friendship subplot in which this friend brings out his caring and playful side. This way, you’ve given your main character more layers to their personality, making your readers care more, and introduced a side character whose relationship with the main character can affect the main plot.

 Relationships

So you’ve created a cast of characters you love. But what if you realize while writing that some of these characters don’t fit into the main plot? You love their connections to your main character, but you don’t want their role in your story to seem forced… You don’t want to cut them from your novel, either. What should you do? Introduce a subplot!

Exploring your main character’s relationships with other characters in your novel via subplots will give your characters more depth and your story more substance. It can also be a great way to tie in side characters to your main plot and create momentum in your central conflict.

Here’s what I mean: let’s say the genre of your story is romance. Of course, the main plot will center around your main character and their love interest as they overcome obstacles that are getting in the way of their romance. But if you love the family dynamic you’ve created for your main character, you can still include, for example, his sister and parents in a family subplot. Just make sure they have some type of connection to the main plot (maybe his family doesn’t approve of his love interest at first, etc.) so that they don’t come across as excess content that serves no purpose in your story. Remember, your subplots are there to support your main plot.

 Realism

If you are writing a fantasy or science fiction novel, not everything in your story is going to be realistic. That’s okay, of course, but this means you’ll want to give your readers something to connect with. This is where subplots can be a great asset. As we already discussed, subplots can explore your characters and their relationships with each other, which will provide a sense of realism to your novel: add a sibling rivalry or friendship subplot into a story about werewolves, and it suddenly becomes more real because it’s something your readers can relate to. As you may know, having some sense of realism is an important aspect in works of fiction because it enables your audience to better connect with the story. So use your subplots with intention since they give you the opportunity to ground your novel in reality!

A Deeper Meaning

Every good story has a message or theme. What message are you trying to convey to your audience? If you consider this question while writing subplots into your story, you can craft your subplots to center around your theme accordingly and use them to really drive it home. Let’s say you’re trying to convey a coming-of-age theme. Your subplots could evoke this message as well. Maybe your main character’s relationship with his mother becomes strained as he starts to pull away from parental needs, and by the end of the novel, his mother comes to accept that her son is growing up. Thus, your subplot reinforces your novel’s theme and helps provoke a deeper meaning for your readers.

Tips for Writing Subplots

So now you have a better understanding of subplots: you know what they are and how they can enhance your story. But what about actually writing subplots into your novel? I mentioned before that this can be a challenging task, but now that you have a better understanding of subplots, hopefully, you feel more confident about your ability. Use these tips below to make writing subplots easier!

Tip #1: Connect Subplots to the Main Plot

We’ve already covered this in other sections, but it is perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind when writing subplots. Subplots are meant to add to your main plot; they are not merely excess content in your novel. Readers should never feel like subplots are only in your story to reach a higher page count or give background information to make your story seem more fleshed out.

Furthermore, subplots should never be used for you, as the author, to go on a tangent. If you find yourself more drawn to an aspect of your story that is not the main plot, consider switching gears and writing about what you’re more drawn to instead. Subplots should NOT be the main hook.

There’s a simple way to test if your subplots do indeed connect to your main plot. Just imagine your story without them! If nothing in your story changes after you’ve removed your subplots, then you know you’ve messed up (oops—time to try again!). This isn’t to say that taking out your subplots would necessarily change the entire trajectory of your novel, but there should generally be some kind of noticeable difference if you were to omit them.

Tip #2: Have A Limit

Don’t overdo it. I know you’re really excited about writing subplots after having read all about them (you better be!), but seriously, there’s a limit in every novel. A few subplots are perfectly okay, but if your story has fifteen plotlines to follow, it’s going to get confusing both to you as the author and to your readers. You don’t want to leave your audience feeling overwhelmed with the amount of content you’re trying to have them process.

For example, if you’re writing a mystery novel, it may be best to leave the detective’s relationship with her son, well, a mystery. See what I mean? Try to keep your subplots relevant to your main plot and it’ll be a lot easier to avoid littering your novel with too much unnecessary information. Basically, if it doesn’t have any relation to your main plot, don’t try to make an entire subplot out of it. You can briefly mention that the detective cares for her only son—such details are indeed important when it comes to characterization—but your readers will be too busy wondering about the mystery at hand to care about how she planned her son’s eighth birthday party.

 Tip #3 Resolve Your Subplots

This may sound silly to say, but it can sometimes be easy not to give our subplots proper resolutions when we’re preoccupied with trying to nail our main plot’s final act. Of course, resolving your main plot is highly important, but if you don’t resolve your subplots, too, it’ll look like you abandoned or forgot about them while writing… yikes. So don’t do that! Whether you resolve your subplots in the middle or the end of your story, it’s important to wrap up all plotlines, no matter how minor they seem, so that you have no loose threads that your readers will be left wondering about after they’ve finished the book. This way, everything will seem properly concluded, and the end of your story will be much neater.

The exception to this is if you’re planning for your novel to have a sequel or be the start of a series. In this case, because the overarching plot of your series isn’t finished, it’s not necessary that subplots get entirely wrapped up in each book. It can be super entertaining watching a conflict between two siblings unfold over the course of multiple novels or watching a romance slowly blossom so that by the end of the series, the moment when they reveal their feelings for one another pays off extra well!

Tip #4: Let the Narrative Flow

There’s no doubt that subplots can be great tools for taking breaks from a story’s main plot. But while this does help ensure that your audience won’t get burned out from only reading about your main plot, it’s important that you’re not spacing subplot-focused scenes solely with this in mind. Sure, this can be a good strategy sometimes, but it will become a noticeable pattern if you do this too much. Besides, your subplots aren’t merely supposed to be filler content in between main-plot-based scenes.

The best way to avoid this mistake is to simply let the narrative flow naturally. Don’t force a pattern when it comes to writing subplots; instead, allow your scenes to unfold in a sequence that makes the most sense for the story you are trying to tell. When plotting out your novel, it may seem appealing to have a sequence such as:

Main plot  Subplot 1  Main plot  Subplot 2  Main plot  Subplot 1  Main plot  Subplot 2

As much as this may seem to make sense while plotting, it may not actually make sense narratively, so you don’t want to force such a pattern. If you do this, your sequencing may feel formulaic, and your readers will be able to predict what kind of scene they are getting next. Where’s the suspense in that?

There’s nothing wrong with having some downtime in your novel to focus on your subplots or having lots of uninterrupted action of the main plot happen for a few chapters. Indeed, your narrative sequence may resemble something more like this:

Main plot  Subplot 2  Subplot 1  Main plot  Main plot  Subplot 1  Main plot  Subplot 2

Allowing your story to veer from a set pattern will allow your story to flow more naturally and will provide more suspense for your readers!

Conclusion

Now that you’ve developed a deeper understanding of subplots, how they can enhance your story, and how to work them into your novel, I hope you have more confidence in your novel-writing journey! Writing subplots isn’t always easy, but with the right knowledge, it becomes a much more attainable—and enjoyable—task. So get your pen (or keyboard) in front of you and put your new knowledge to the test! Happy writing!

The post Writing Subplots: What, Why, and How appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.

You’ve been writing your book for months, maybe years, and are deep into the publishing process. With your book launch date approaching, you are doing everything you can to market it—you’ve ensured the quality of your book, set up your website, are on social media, and are building your email list. Now, it’s time to mobilize your followers and design your book launch email strategy.

If you’re at the beginning of the book marketing journey with no email list yet or a small one, never fear. Start from where you are.

[Grab your free Book Marketing Checklist here to point you in the right direction.]

Email Marketing Basics

Building your list

Because building your email list can take time, it’s important to start your email strategy early. Once you discover who your ideal reader is, you’ll explore where they hang out (like on social media) and what they value. For many fiction readers, that’s a new thing to read. For nonfiction readers, it might be a checklist, template, or list of valuable tips.

Once you know where to connect with your readers, you’ll create social media posts, and you might pay for ads to drive traffic to a landing page so that readers will sign up for your email list in exchange for your freebie.

Sending emails

When creating an email strategy, in general, it’s important to understand the basics first. Your goal is to email your subscribers consistently and with intention.

Consistency ensures that you stay at the top of your readers’ minds and allows you to build a relationship with them. Once you build a relationship with valuable content, they are more likely to open and engage with your emails.

Sending your emails with intention ensures every email you send will do one or more of these things: inform/educate your subscribers so they find value in reading it, entertain your subscribers, build community or your relationship with them, sell them something, or bring them closer to saying yes to buying your book or the next book in the series.

Learn more about email marketing here.

Create the pre-launch emails

Now that you’ve got your email set up, it’s time to mobilize. In the weeks leading up to your book launch, your email strategy is to build excitement for your book and talk about your progress with your growing list of email subscribers. In addition to other email banter, here are some ideas you might consider sharing:

• If you’ve sent it off to an editor, received the draft manuscript design, or have a cover to reveal,  email progress reports generate interest and excitement.
• If you’ve already written other books in the series, encourage them to start reading by offering book one for free.
• If you didn’t give away your first three chapters for free to get readers on your list, offer it to them now. In the long term, it’s easiest to set up a landing page for this purpose, but you can simply ask who wants the freebie and manually send a PDF to each person.
• If you’ve written fiction, interview your main character or describe the setting.
• If you’ve written nonfiction, ask your readers questions to find out what they are experiencing and how your book might help.
• Share how you came to write the book.
• Share a pre-publication review.
• If publication is imminent, share your excitement and get your readers on the edge of their seats with anticipation also.

By starting your email strategy early, you sell anticipation. You sell excitement. Selling your book is easier once readers have already convinced themselves they want it.

To fuel that desire, hold a contest for a free signed copy of your paperback. By entering the contest pre-launch, readers signify to their brains that they want what you’re offering. Announce the winner just before your book’s release date so those who didn’t win will be compelled to buy. Post your contest on social media and nurture readers via email.

Launch week emails

Once you’ve primed the pump, so to speak, bring it home with your book launch week email series. Although you may have been sending weekly or monthly emails prior to your launch, focus on sending emails every day or every other day during launch week. Not all of your subscribers will open or react to them every day.

With all that’s going on, it’s helpful to write the email series in advance. Once written, you can fill in the blanks as you go without having to create the email from scratch each day. You can also schedule the emails to be delivered on a certain day and at a certain time, so you can set it and forget it!

What to say

Launch Day:

• Share your excitement about the book release.
• Share your goals, like being number one in your category. Ask for their help in getting there. Approach it with gratitude.
• Give them links to buy your book.
• Share one review.
• Include the book cover and a description.

Day 2:

• Share the whirlwind of a day. Show gratitude for the show of support.
• Share any notable progress in the Amazon charts.
• Note any upcoming podcast interviews and share the link.
• Share a picture of yourself with the book showing excitement or exhaustion.

Day 3:

• Share a review
• Provide a link to encourage readers to post an Amazon and/or Goodreads review.
• Share a goal with the number of reviews you hope to get by the end of the launch week, like 25 or 50, and encourage readers to help.

Day 4:

• Encourage readers to post a picture of themselves with your book and provide a hashtag, like #[your book title].
• You can run another contest to win a signed copy of your book or something else, entering all who participate.

Day 5:

• Share stats on how and where people are purchasing the book. See your KDP and IngramSpark dashboards if that is accessible to you.
• Share your preferences for reading (paperback, ebook, audiobook) and purchasing (local, Amazon, Bookshop.org) and why.
• Ask readers if they prefer ebooks or paperbacks or about their go-to place to buy books.

Day 6:

• If you are doing a live reading or virtual book launch on social media, share the link.
• Also, you can record yourself reading an excerpt and include it in the email.
• Encourage readers to share the email with their friends to help spread the word.

Day 7:

• Thank readers for an amazing week.
• Show gratitude to your launch team, readers, and reviewers.
• Let subscribers know that it’s not too late to purchase a book or leave a review.
• Tell them what you are working on next.
• Share how to stay in touch with you, like social media platforms.
• Let them know what to expect from your emails going forward.

Depending on your book, here are some additional things to sprinkle into your launch week emails.

If fiction:

• Provide a map of a fantasy world.
• Give some background on the setting, like childhood adventures on Cape Cod, or background information about characters, like flaws or situations they experience.
• Discuss any research you did to write the book, like riding along with a police officer or traveling to a remote location.
• Encourage fan fiction or fan art. Fan fiction is when readers write books based on your characters or world.

If functional nonfiction:

• Highlight pain points plaguing your readers.
• Share aspirational solutions for the reader.
• Share your struggle or experience that compelled you to write the book.
• Create a top 3, 5, or 7 list of the takeaways from the book.

If memoir or biography:

• Share information about the time period or location.
• Share the relevant political or social climate of the time.
• Include a photo of yourself or the subject of the biography.
• Include a photo or video of the setting during that time period.

Most of all, your email strategy should include sharing a piece of yourself. Regardless of your genre or topic, bring your humanity to the launch. Readers have the choice to buy a lot of different books. You’ll have the edge if your tone resonates with them as well.

What to Expect

Of course, we know not everyone on your list will buy your book. The reasons are many:

• They already have a book they are reading.
• The book isn’t what they want to read.
• They don’t want to spend the money (for every reason people don’t).
• They only “read” audiobooks.
• They are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber and only choose books listed.
• They don’t like the cover.
• They aren’t sure why/how they got on your email list.
• They don’t open your emails, or they go to their spam folder.
• Among other reasons . . .

When you look at the list, you understand that there are some things you can control and some things you can’t. You can control the cover, but you can’t control them opening your emails.

For other reasons, like they already have a book, it may be “not now” and not “no.” For that reason, one email won’t do. We know readers finish one book and pick up another. Your job is to be there when that need arises.

Of course, it’s a delicate balance between spamming email subscribers and offering your book. That’s why it’s important to offer helpful, entertaining, or inspiring messages in advance of turning on the launch week sales faucet. Start your email strategy early to build a relationship with your readers so they keep opening and reading your emails over and over.

The post Designing Your Book Launch Email Strategy appeared first on Happy Self-Publisher.