Word Witch Wednesday - brewing a book series

Deciding to write a series or a standalone book is tough. It's important to take your story idea and weigh the options. I'm going to assume you've already sat back and figured that out, and you want to write a series.

Book series are popular. Readers love to follow their favorite characters through all sorts of adventures. But there's nothing more disappointing than picking up the new book of one of your favorite series and finding the story fell flat. I've abandoned many series because the story faltered and the characters didn't grow.

Here are five tips to help you build a successful book series:

1) Make certain your story idea has enough juice to last through the whole series. If the plot flops after the second or third book, you're going to lose readers. Each book must have a solid story that can stand on its own and interconnect with the previous books. It helps if you're a plotter to plan the series. As a pantser, even I made certain when I was writing TOTEM, I had a solid story idea for each book before I started. Sure, those ideas were as simple as "they will search for the ____ totem in this book," but each one had a purpose in the overall plot.

2) Keep a story bible. Plotters usually have this started before they begin to write the first chapter. I keep notes as I go along. I mark down the basic plot points in each chapter and record character traits. It is also wise if you go back and read the previous books in the series before starting on the next one.

3) Don't limit your fictional world. You want to have room for growth. There will be rules and borders, of course, but a book series needs space to stretch and expand. Your characters might be trapped in a walled city, but there is a whole unknown world out there for you to continue on in if you want to do so.

4) Characters must grow. Characterization is vital to a series. Readers want the heroes they adore and the villains they loathe, but it wouldn't be realistic if the characters stayed the same throughout each book. Time has passed. A person will not be the same today as they were last year or even last month. Some internal issues we struggle with for years, but there will be little changes in attitude, a bit of wisdom gained, and possibly a fashion makeover.

5) Be able to let go. If the overall story arc comes to an end or if your individual story ideas disappear, know when to call it quits. I hate it when I read a series and it's the same plot over and over. "This love triangle has been going on for twenty books. Have the protagonist choose one already!" Sometimes it's tough to let go of characters and worlds we've come to love, but you'll fall in love again. That's one of the wonderful things about being a writer.

Have you written a book series? Do you plan to? What tips do you have to share?

RPGs & Writing - guest post by Renee Cheung

I am honoured to be guest blogging at Christine’s and to follow up on her post about RPGs and writing. She and I go back quite a bit, to the days when we used to write together on Play by Email RPGs. (If you want to find out more about what they are, read her post here) and in truth, she was one of the people that inspired me to improve on my writing at the time, and she continues today to inspire and encourage me to write.

Maybe I’ll start at the beginning. Writing was always a bit of a chore for me, until I stumble into Yahoo Groups and found people writing together, controlling characters and creating stories. I immediately fell in love with the idea and joined in with an unholy enthusiasm that concerned my parents (I was in high school at that time).  Although I was really, really bad in the beginning, (some of my posts were literally one sentence!) I got better with practice. And that practice carried me well forward today in writing, whether it’s writing stories or technical documentation for work.

I won’t bore you with details about the latter. Really, it’s quite boring. Unless you’re writing it while drunk on champagne jello. But then again, I would think quite a few boring things would be fun if you were drunk on champagne jello.

Anyhow, back to RPGs! As Christine mentioned in her past post, playing in these forums forced players to be character-focused and to be flexible in how events evolved because you never knew what other characters would do or say or react. It also gave everyone a chance to form some pretty strong friendships through the storytelling. (Exhibit A right here!)

I also wanted to touch a bit on the mechanics of writing that these RPGs have helped me develop. Because everything was through the written word and because other players depended on what each other wrote, I had to be very descriptive as a player. If my character walked into a new room, I had better describe that room well. Anything not mentioned was fair game for another player to build on and describe. And so, every post became an exercise in making me consider what to write and what to leave out, how to describe everything from the setting, to the mood and tone, to my character’s expressions and actions. On the other hand, I had to consider how to do it without overloading the posts with so much detail that it would not give other people’s characters room to breathe and act? (No one likes a control freak, especially when it comes to these RPGs.) Now when I write, I constantly ask myself the same questions. What do I want the reader to picture? What do I want to leave up to their imagination?

Christine also spoke a bit about experimenting different writing styles and characters and I wholeheartedly concur. Very often, many players including myself played more than one character. An easy trap to fall into was to have every character sound and act the same way. However, when you have them all interact in the same RPG, it becomes very obvious and I grew to learn the importance of developing distinct characters. This included everything from the way they react, their values and back stories, to their mannerisms and the way they talk. It is something I am still working on to master, but it is something that RPGs have brought to the forefront of my mind.

Another mechanic is in setting up conflict and this was especially important when I started my own RPG. Portals to World was meant to be an ultimate fanfiction crossover RPG and as the owner/moderator of the group, I was the one that set up the premise, the setting and the overarching conflicts that came in the characters’ ways. (For those that play Dungeons and Dragons, it’s the equivalent of the Dungeon Master who sets up the quests that players with their characters go on, usually via NPCs or non-player characters.) It became an exercise of how to set up situations and how to present them to the characters. Is it an in-your-face earthquake (or in my case, a random portal just opened up!) or is it a more subtle sinister creeping hint of a big bad coming that would span over multiple posts? Still, sometimes the conflict becomes a dud because it was just too easy, or sometimes it becomes a corner that gets hard to write out of and as the moderator, it was something I just had to roll with. Being the moderator of a RPG taught me to set up conflicts well and also taught me to be flexible when something doesn’t quite pan out the way I anticipated.

As I pick up writing back up again after a long hiatus, I fondly remember what I learned writing in those PBeM RPGs and I sincerely hope that there would be a chance to do it again some day. Perhaps not in that particular form, but to experiment with some sort of dynamic real-time storytelling. Have you played in any sort of storytelling games and if so, how have those affected your writing style? I’d love to hear more!

* * * * *

Find out more about Renee on her website and blog.

Renee is one of the twelve amazing authors featured in this year's IWSG anthology, Hero Lost: Mysteries of Death and Life. Her story, "Memoirs of a Forgotten Knight" is set in the Physical/Digital world. A fantastic read! The anthology will be out at the beginning of May.

Check out her fantastic new release, Tales From The Digital.

Somewhere along the way, humans found a way to anchor magic into technology, bringing about the commercialization of once-mystic energies. Little do they know that by doing so, they also created a conduit for the fae and other creatures to migrate into a whole new land...

Wicked Wednesday - romance isn't all flowers and chocolates

With Valentine's Day two days away, I've been seeing and hearing all sorts of commercials for florists, jewelers, and fancy chocolates. I shake my head and sigh. Is this what romance is built upon? Okay, I'm a chocolate lover, but they're not romantic in my eyes even if they come in a gigantic heart-shaped box. Most people I know agree that true romance is not represented by the stereotypes of Valentine's Day.

You need to consider this when writing romance. Are your characters traditional romantics? Or does something different sweep them off their feet? Find what romance is to your characters and you've discovered the core of their being.

It could be something silly she collects or tickets to a sporting game she enjoys. BUT most of the time it isn't about physical things. It's about actions, morals, and emotions. A dedication to family, the will to never break one's beliefs no matter what the enemy does to him, selfless acts, and loving someone for who she is no matter all her crazy little quirks.

For me, romance lives in the times my husband and I stay up late talking and laughing about silly things, and the moments we sit quietly in each other's company. Walks in the woods holding hands. When he stays home instead of going to do something he really wanted to do and takes care of our son so I can have a nap. A smile and a wink that still makes my stomach quiver even after 15 years.

What is romance to you?

Review for The Vanished Knight

Blurb:  

Since the death of her parents, Callan Blair has been shunted from one foster family to another, her dangerous secret forcing the move each time. Her latest foster family quickly ships her off to an exclusive boarding school in the Cumbrian countryside. While her foster-brother James makes it his mission to get Callan expelled, a nearby ancient castle holds the secret doorway to another land...

When Callan is forced through the doorway, she finds herself in the magical continent of Tardith, where she’s shocked to learn her schoolmates Gawain and Darrion are respected soldiers in service to the king of Nordaine, one of Tardith's realms. More than that, the two are potential heirs to the Black Knight—Nordaine's crown prince.

But when the Black Knight fails to return from a mysterious trip, the realm teeters on the brink of war. Darrion and Gawain set out to find him, while Callan discovers there is more to her family history than she thought. The elves are claiming she is their princess.

Now with Darrion growing ever more antagonistic and her friendship with Gawain blossoming, Callan must decide whether to stay in Nordaine—where her secret grows ever more threatening—or go to the elves and uncover the truth about her family before war sets the realms afire.

My review: 

Callan Blair's dark secret keeps her bouncing around from one foster home to another. When her newest foster parents send her to a rich boarding school, Callan finds things she didn't think possible: a friend, a link to her past, and a doorway to another world. She's dragged into this strange and beautiful medieval world. Though she makes friends and might find some answers about her parents, she knows she can never stay. The darkness in her would never make it safe. But what's more frightening: what's inside of her or the war erupting around her?

A marvelous tale that takes us from our modern world into a wonderful fantasy realm, one forgotten by the people of Earth. The world building is incredible. There's a rich history filled with unusual customs and folklore, and none of it is dumped on the reader. It's perfectly spread out through the book. This is the first book in a series, and I cannot wait to learn more about the land and its peoples.

What makes this book stand out from other YA fantasy tales is the cast of characters. Callan is a strong female protagonist. She has my sympathy as well as my admiration. And the mystery behind her dark secret is intriguing. Kaela is another great female character. She's a soldier with a powerful sense of duty and loyalty. Then there are all the charming males: Gawain, Quin, Darrion, and Ward. Not James. He wasn't charming at all!

THE VANISHED KNIGHT is a fantastic beginning to Misha Gerrick's series. I can't wait until the next one is released!

You can buy the book here: 
Amazon 

Amazon UK
Barnes & Noble 
Kobo
All Romance Reads 
Amazon France 
Amazon Germany

You can find Misha here:

Blog * Twitter * Goodreads

Review for That Fatal Kiss

Blurb:
When it comes to love, sometimes you have to cross the line...

Feared by mortals for his inexorable power, and loathed by his fellow Greek gods for the same, Hades rules the Underworld alone. A stark eternity looms before him until he discovers Persephone. Struck by the youthful goddess’ beauty, kindness, and spirit, he must have her. But Hades believes Persephone could never love him, and so he conspires with his powerful brother, Zeus, to take her by force.

Persephone too seeks a mate but her possessive mother, the goddess Demeter, frustrates her husband hunting. Then Hades abducts Persephone, tearing her away from the Upperworld she loves to reign with him in the dank depths below. Though outraged, Persephone cannot deny the desire ignited within her by the dark lord’s touch. And even as she hopes that Demeter will unearth her, Persephone aches to surrender to the heat in Hades’ immortal soul.

My review:
Hades rules the Underworld alone in the darkness. Only one light has ever attracted him. For years, he has watched Persephone and fallen in love from afar. He must have her as his wife. Conspiring with her father Zeus, Hades abducts the beautiful goddess and whisks her away the Underworld. Persephone is a creature of the light. She's goodness and compassion with a hidden wildness and streak of willfulness. She won't submit to Hades so easily even though she feels a powerful pull toward him. Hades struggles to show her how much he loves her, and she doesn't make it any easier on him. Will Persephone fall for the dark lord's charms or be one of the few to escape from the Underworld?

I'm already a fan of Greek mythology, and I love this telling of Hades and Persephone's tale. Even though I knew how it was going to end, the journey was amazing. I was sucked into the story right from the beginning and found it hard to put down my Kindle until the end.

What made this book so great is the characterization. The reader gets to see the gods as they've never been seen before. Hades isn't the cold and forbidding dark demon as some portray him. He's isolated yet yearns for companionship, demanding yet compassionate, and totally hot! I became enchanted by him. He's an Alpha male, but unlike many others in the genre. Persephone can be young and rash, but she's smart, strong, and sympathetic. The perfect complement to Hades. I especially liked her relationships with the other goddesses, particularly Hecate and Athena.

THAT FATAL KISS is a phenomenal debut for Mina Lobo. Her romance sizzles and her worlds are vivid with life. This is a love story I highly recommend.

You can purchase the book here:

Amazon * B&N * Smashwords * Paperback at CreateSpace

Stalk Mina here:

Blog * Twitter * Facebook * Tumblr * Goodreads

E-book available for purchase at:
Amazon | B & N | Smashwords
Trade Paperback: Createspace - See more at: http://www.minalobo.com/p/my-writing.html#sthash.SvjnMOGW.dpuf

E-book available for purchase at:
Amazon | B & N | Smashwords
Trade Paperback: Createspace - See more at: http://www.minalobo.com/p/my-writing.html#sthash.SvjnMOGW.dpuf

Nutschell's Wednesday Writer's Workspace and Wicked Wednesday - Critiques (part 3)

I'm so excited to be over at The Writing Nut's blog today with Nutschell for Wednesday Writer's Workspace. Please stop on by and take a peek into my office.

This is the third part of my critique series on Wicked Wednesday in preparation for the MORE THAN JUST A KISS blogfest in September. Click on the links to read part 1 and part 2 of the series.

After giving a thorough critique of the first chapter, I settle in for two more read-throughs of the manuscript.

The first one is for the details. This is the part where I make technical notes as I go along. It keeps me from reading too quickly. I'm not a professional editor, but I check spelling, grammar, and missed punctuation. If I'm not certain about something, I'll still make a note.

These are the types of details I look for:

- ones that need explaining (an observation or memory that needs clarification)

- ones that are unnecessary (a description or an added word or two that adds nothing to the sentence or plot)

- ones that are wrong (something that is anachronistic or an accent that doesn't sound right)

- ones that are missing (a more obvious clue to the mystery; if you're too subtle, the reader might miss it)

- ones that are brilliant (always point out the good things in a critique too)

The second read-through is for pacing, connection of plot points, and characterization.

- Pacing: I look for hooks and hangers with the chapters. I also keep track of the story highs and lows, making sure there are no lulls. Typically with romance, the story plot highs and lows should alternate with the romance plot highs and lows until they both come together for the climax. (Yes, I just set myself up there, didn't I?)

- Plot points: usually they follow along with the pacing. Something happens here that leads to this, the characters react and create this new something. One thing must logically lead to the other in the context of that world with those characters.

- Characterization: characters must be consistent with who they are and grow as the plot progresses. So much goes into the creation of characters, and sometimes the writer can be a bit biased. We sometimes hear the characters so clearly in our heads, we forget that others don't. The characters must be as vivid on paper as they are in our minds.

How many read-throughs do you give a first draft? Do you have a specific list you follow when doing a critique?

How To Diagnose Your Character: Using Psychology To Create An In-Depth Character

Blurb:

Think of your favorite character, the one that changed your life and made you look at people and the world differently. What did the author do in order to bring that character to life?

Creating these characters requires that writers master the principles of human behavior. We accomplish this by understanding how people react, change, and make decisions. In essence, we must learn to diagnose our characters just as psychologists diagnose people.

In this book, you will gain the knowledge (e.g. psychological studies, terms, and explanations) and valuable exercises (e.g. people watching, observing our own senses, and functional assessments) that can help create complicated and authentic characters that can withstand the scrutiny of readers and critics alike.

Buy it now on Amazon

This amazing book is currently #1 on Amazon's Writing Skills list.

Some of you may remember Josh Hoyt and his amazing blog about using psychology to create characters. He went on an extended blogging break, but he came back with his book! Congratulations to Josh.

Wicked Wednesday - exceptional abilities for exceptional characters?

Many people argue that for the main characters to be interesting in a paranormal romance, they must have fantastic supernatural abilities. Readers don't want a Doug Ramsey. (And if you knew who that was without clicking on the link, a thousand geek points to you!) They want characters with unique gifts like mind control and shape changing.

I disagree. I believe if a writer can create a character that makes the readers fall in love with them, they don't need to be hyped up on super powers. While having great abilities makes them stand out and gives them extraordinary experiences, a writer can write an amazing character with no supernatural gifts and still have a fantastic tale.

I love to read stories where the protagonist is human and must deal with paranormal events. I also love to read about characters that have lesser abilities and find some amazing uses for them. Passive abilities like empathy or third tier super powers like nauseate. It's great fun to read about the underdog.

What do you think? Do you think heroines and heroes in paranormal romances need to have exceptional abilities to make them spectacular characters?