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The Top 10 Obstacles to Finishing a Novel

PEEK BEHIND THE NOVEL

I'm in the weeds!

scrivener-peek-behind-the-novelI am knee-deep in Level 4 of writing the next book in the Jack Nolan Detective Series.  I thought this would be a good time for me to take a break and reflect on what happens when I'm 'in the weeds' writing a novel.

Even though all writers have a different writing routine, I would venture a guess that most of us feel some of the same fears and face some of the same obstacles.

STARTING A NOVEL IS EASY:

DP-drawing-woman-and-computerWhen you first sit down to write a novel, everyone is filled with enthusiasm and creative energy.  It's exciting.  It's new.  But as the manuscript begins to grow, before it feels finished -- or even ready to be polished, it feels cumbersome, heavy, and overwhelming.  At least for me it does.

FEAR OF FAILURE:

Even though the story and plotline felt great at the beginning, there comes a point where a fear of failure sets in.  Am I going to be able to finish this?  Does this plotline even make sense?  What happens if this storyline is not that great?  Maybe this mystery isn't enough.  Maybe the dots are not going to all connect.

woman-fearfulIt's possible to get paralyzed by a fear of failure at any point during the writing of a novel.  It's not a one-and-done operation.  No one sits down, starts writing, finishes writing and ta-da, there's a book.   Writing a novel doesn't work that way.  It's a long process.  It's a multi-layer process.

When these fears pop up, and they will, it's important to remember that many writers feel these doubts and fears.  It's important to remember that everyone of us fails at something at some point in our lives.  The good news is any novel can be redone, re-written, revamped, added to, or massaged in any number to go from mediocre to great.  It's a work of art in progress until it's handed over to the publisher.  Knowing this is empowering.



WRITERS BLOCK:

DP-writers-block-womanWriters block is another common problem among authors.  This often sets in after that initial period of excitement about the novel wears off.  At some point the writing of the novel shifts into a project requiring some heavy lifting.  There's always a phase or two where the author has to tough it out.  We have to keep at it.

It's important to know ahead of time that writer's block may set in at any time while you're writing.  I find that deciding to just sit down and go over what I've written 'to get my place' or to 'get into the flow of it' is enough to get over any writer's block.  Just by sitting down and starting to read through it, the project recaptures me.  Even on days I feel I have nothing in me, I can suddenly be pulled into writing before I even know it's happening.  If you can commit to look at your project for fifteen minutes, this can be enough to recapture your enthusiasm.

LACK OF TIME:

Many wannabe authors have busy lives and don't have a lot of time to devote to writing.  There are certain years -- especially in a parents' lives --where raising kids is more than a full-time job.  But where there is a will, there is a way.

There are ways to steal away an hour or two in any given day.  It does, however, always require some level of planning.  Don't be afraid to plan writing time into your day and give it a higher priority than 'the back burner'.   Even if you are a parent or a caretaker, pursuing your own dreams is important.  It keeps you engaged in life.  It makes you a better parent.  It can even make you a better day worker.  Think of your writing as your own personal mission in life.

PERFECTIONISM:

Perfectionism can be another stumbling block for authors.  Everyone wants to write a masterpiece.  But at some point, you need to also know that nothing in life is perfect.  Don't let your ideas of perfect get all wired into your ideas of excellence.  They are two different things..  If you looked close enough, you could find a few imperfect brush strokes in the Mona Lisa.  If you read Harry Potter enough times, you may catch a plot hole or two.  It's important to know the difference between excellence and perfection.  One is doable and one is not doable by human beings.

FEAR OF REJECTION:

tension in story graphicWill my readers like the book?  Will the book be good enough to get a literary agent?  What happens if my book gets bad reviews?  There are any number of fears of rejection that can cause us to stop writing.  Decide ahead of time you won't allow these fears to stop you.  Like I said earlier, think of your writing as a mission God has given you.   This is your life's work, along with your other worldly responsibilities.  Your writing could be an opportunity to pass on things you have come to learn in your life.  That's a purpose.  Or maybe writing is a way for you to share the gift of storytelling that you know you were born with.  That's a God-given purpose.  Whatever the reason, it's important to not allow fear of rejection to get in the way.



SELF-DOUBT:

Self-doubt is a tool of the devil.  It's easy for any human to start thinking they aren't perfect, so maybe they aren't good enough to pull off writing a novel.  And the reason I call it a tool of the devil is because it can start with just a tiny little insignificant thought of self-doubt.  But it can snowball and get bigger and bigger and bigger.

During these times when I feel self-doubt, I think of my writing as therapeutic for myself.  It's something I'm doing for me, not for anyone else.  Any fear of rejection that occurs, thinking I'm doing it for myself, it takes away any sting self-doubt may have.  It removes any power it has over me.  It turns the tables on this.

DISTRACTIONS:

woman-multitasking-distractionsDistractions are one of the biggest obstacles to completing a novel.  One reason is because life does serve up constant small and big emergencies that have to take first priorities in our lives.  So an emergency distraction can throw a whole well-planned writing schedule up into the air in a heartbeat.

One of the weapons against distractions is get clear on what a real emergency is verses a situation that can take its place in your daily routine.  You don't always have to sacrifice your writing time just because someone else doesn't have to wait or suffer a small inconvenience.  Always ask yourself whether you have the right to protect your free time or whether you are dealing with a true emergency, a situation that requires you to replan in that moment.

Parents with kids can fall into a trap of giving up all their free time based on a constant stream of kid demands.  Giving in to every child whim is not the definition of a good parent.  Protecting your free time and expecting your child to work within your schedule is not bad parenting.  It's the sign of someone who is good at balancing their lives.

I learned a long time ago that I have to protect my free time as there are armies of people in the world who would harness me as a free resource in their lives.  They would demand and expect that I do all the things they don't want to do if I allowed it.  We're responsible to set our own boundaries with people, and that includes kids.

RESEARCH:

too-much-researchMost novels require at least some research.   The internet can be a blessing with research but it can also be a curse.  It's a blessing because the days of having to travel to a public library are over.  It can be a curse because the research can suck you in and you can use up all your valuable writing time doing too much research.

The tip I would pass on to any new writer would be to not do the research until you have already laid down your plotline.  This will avoid research for things that wind up on the editing floor, so to speak.  Subjects or issues you you think may come up in the story may get cut as you firm up a plotline to fit within the space of a novel.  There's nothing more frustrating than looking back and seeing hours and hours of wasted research time.

Too much research can also lead to another problem and that is 'information dumping'.  That means that many authors can't resist the opportunity to write into the story things they learned from their research that are not really relevant to the plotline.  This may be fascinating to us as authors but it's boring to readers if it doesn't move the story line along.

EDITING THE BOOK TO DEATH:

editing-a-novel-to-deathAnother trap to finishing a novel is to get caught up in a never-ending edit of the book.  This usually hooks in with perfectionism problem in some way.

I break up my editing into stages so that each time I go through the book, I focus on only one thing.  For example:  The first edit is to check to make sure I have put my descriptions of locations and people in.  The second time I go through it, I look at sentence structure and make sure the chapters flow without any time gaps.  The third time I pass through, I look for verb tenses.  The next level is looking for the words I like to use too much like okay and just.

By having a solo focus, it prevents you as the author from getting caught in changing everything all at once.  This prevents you from being able to focus on anything.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAP OF FINISHING THE NOVEL:

finishing-a-novelOnce you complete a novel, there is a little sadness that sets in.  This book is no longer your baby.  It's no longer your little pet project.  Once you hand it off to an editor, it becomes a shared work, so to speak.

Very often, authors who have abandonment issues or fears of depression, they don't like to end anything and that includes writing a book.  When I hear people saying they took seven or ten years to finish a book, I'm astounded at what could have taken them so long.  They kept the book as their little baby for an entire childhood.

My Peek Behind the Novel series is about writing in layers.  I feel that writing in layers is a way filled with techniques that keep me writing, keep me on track, keep me on schedule, and allow me to complete the novel, no matter how much research it requires.

These are just a few of the obstacles that we, as writers, face when undertaking the writing and completion of a novel.  If your goal is to write a novel, don't give up on your dream.  Keep writing, keep pushing yourself, and eventually you will complete your novel.



Creating a Book Cover – The Technical Stuff

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:

amazon-subcategories-3In my last blog post, I went over how to find the right genre for your ebook.  I also suggested you choose one or two book cover 'templates' from the ebooks you see during this journey.  That's our starting point for this blog post.  Now that you know where you want to go, it's time to learn about the technicalities:  the sizes, resolutions, etc.  It's all here on one page.

CHECK OUT SOME FONTS TOO:

You may want to explore some fonts as well.  Three popular free font websites are:   fonts.google.com, dafont.com and even fontspace.com

If you are planning to work with a designer, it is best if you are in control of most things about your cover.  Not knowing what font the designer will use could be a problem if you want to change the font down the road or add a second book to a series.  Unfortunately, I'm speaking from experience.  So be sure to choose everything about your book cover even if you will be working with a  designer.

WILL YOU NEED A COLOR SCHEME?

Often the ultimate colors of your cover will come from the pictures you choose.  But there are  techniques to wash a scene in a very subtle color in order to cast a certain mood into an image.  You may want to take a look at a website or two where you can find some great colors.  Here are two:

This site is for complimentary colors
This one is for a color picker.



THE eBOOK COVER TECHNICAL STUFF:

IMAGE SIZE:   The best and recommended size for the ebook cover is 2560px by 1600px.  This number comes from KDP itself.  This is the size for the eBook cover.

RESOLUTION SIZE:  Create the cover using 300dpi, which is high resolution.  Don't compress the size, as Amazon compresses the sizes a bit itself.

COLOR PROFILE:  RGB - If you don't know what this is, don't worry about it.  It just means we will be using RGB which is the color for the web as opposed to CMYK which is color for printers.

RULE FOR WHITE COVERS:  If your cover will have a white background,  you will need to add a narrow 3 to 4 pixel border in a medium gray to define the background.

THE TECHNICAL INFO ON PAPERBACK COVERS:

The more versions of your book offered, the more Amazon will want to offer them for sale.  So having an eBook and a Paperback is a minimum.  Many authors are offering audio versions of their books and now hardcovers now too.

The paperback template is based upon how many pages your book will be when finished.  The size of the cover will depend upon what size paperback you choose to produce as well.   You can find the calculator below at this link.

KDP-Paperback-calculator

Once you click through to the paperback template calculator shown to the left, fill in the following information based upon your own choices.  Once you put in your particular page count, click on Calculate Dimensions.

At that point, it will throw up a template with measurements.  Unless you are an actual graphic designer, the dimensions will mean nothing to you.  You will work from the template.

Download the template and save it onto your desktop -- or somewhere else you will be able to find it later.  If it downloads into a zip file, right click on the folder and choose "Extract all".  It will allow you to extract the files and save them into a folder that will default to the same name.

Binding Type:  Hardcover or Paperback
Interior Type:  Black and White or Standard
Paper type:  White or Cream
Page Turn Direction:  Left to right
Measurement Units:  Inches
Choose a size:  (I use 5.06 x 7.81) - You can see what dimensions the other authors in your main category use.  I would go with the crowd on this choice.
Fill in the page number and click "Calculate dimensions".

It will throw up a template like the one below:

SS-Amazon-Paperback-Template

Click on the button that says 'Download Template".



WHAT DO I DO WITH THE TEMPLATE?

If you plan to have a graphic designer create the cover for you, then pass  on the png file to them.   Tell them you want the artwork produced in 300dpi and you want it delivered in a png file -- not a pdf.  Be firm about this.  Tell them you won't pay for a PDF.  A PDF is useless if you decide you want to tweak the artwork.  If you can get them to give it to you in a xcf file (gimp) or a psd file (photoshop), even better.  That is the best of all worlds.  Not all artists will agree to that, but give it a try.

If you plan to design your own book cover, you can right click on the png file and select 'open with' and then select the Gimp program.   I'll pick up in my next blog post with creating only the eBook cover in Gimp.  We'll start there.

SHORTCUT TO CREATING THE PAPERBACK COVER:

When you create the eBook front cover, you can design the back cover at the same time.  I suggest this because when your manuscript goes out to the editor, there will be about a month of 'free time' and if you want to get a jump on getting your back cover done, this is a good time but it is before you will know the exact page count.

Then once you have your page count, the only thing that will really change is the spine of the book.  As long as you are using a one color background or a unifying blend of colors, you can easily create a spine to unify the front and back covers and it will fit perfectly into the template.

This is also a good way to keep your spines consistent.  I wish I had known this when I first started out!



Keeping track of your book files as you move towards publication

ONE DRAFT MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT IS EASY!

man reading news in parkWhen writing your book, especially if you are writing in a management system like Scrivener, it's easy enough to keep track of your manuscript.

However, once you compile the manuscript and pass it onto a beta reader, or an advance copy reader, or even an editor, suddenly, there are now 'multiple copies' of the same manuscript.

PRE-MARKETING DOCUMENTS AND GRAPHICS:

Then once your manuscript leaves, you should shift over into marketing mode.  You will start creating graphics to use in marketing your book, or you will be working on the ebook cover or even the paperback cover.

You'll have original royalty free pictures, and then you'll have various copies of those oncoe you remove a background or two -- you get the picture.

Pretty soon, you have 25 files, some graphics, some blurb files, etc.

Below is a list of the documents you may accumulate just starting after you pass your manuscript on:

  • royalty free graphics (for cover)
  • templates from kdp (for cover)
  • descriptions (written by you)
  • blurbs for different websites (written by you)
  • graphics or documents by Fiverr
  • newsletter graphics
  • ebook sale graphics
  • ebook release notices
  • ebook promotions at bookfunnel

This is just a sampling of how many documents you will begin to accumulate.

The only document that is precious and that needs to be tracked like a hawk is your "present final manuscript".



WHAT IS A PRESENT FINAL MANUSCRIPT?

A present final manuscript is just that.  It's the last true final manuscript as of today.  You will make changes after you hear back from advance readers and you may make other changes after you hear back from your editor.

My biggest tip is to use a date on final manuscripts.  So if you are fearful of throwing out previous final manuscripts -- as most writers are -- you can be sure that a new final with a later date is a more recent final.

GIVE THE FINAL MANUSCRIPT ITS OWN FOLDER

I also put the actual final manuscript that I upload to KDP in it's own folder called FINAL MANUSCRIPT UPLOADED TO KDP.  Then I also date the final manuscript inside that folder.

This is an added safeguard so you don't wind up making new changes to an already older manuscript.  Trust me, I'm speaking from experience unfortunately.

USE A CONSISTENT FILE NAMING CONVENTION:

I'll share below my naming conventions with a few explanations below:

Most of the above files are self-explanatory with the exception of two or three.  The reference to Bookfunnel and SiteOrigin are two websites that I use as a self-published author to market my books.  I give away free copies of my new book the six to 8 weeks before publication.  I often have a giveaway in them for taking the time to fill out a questionnaire about how they enjoyed it.  So that's a different "final manuscript".

The other file that may need some explanation is "TOBEDeleted".  I am paranoid about deleting anything before publication.  So the old final manuscripts or anything else that I know I don't want or need, I put into the TOBEDeleted file.  Once my book is safely published, I then delete everything at that time.



Self-Publishing – Creating a Book Cover – Two Routes

EVERY MANUSCRIPT NEEDS A COVER:

At some point your manuscript will get closer to publication.  At that time, you will need to start thinking about dressing it up for publication.  The book cover.  You can find any number of places, including KDP itself where you can create your own cover for free.  Not recommended, but it's possible.

If you are writing a non-fiction book, you can probably get away with using the KDP cover creator as the non-fiction books are more 'content related' than fiction.

Every new author begins to have visions of scenes they want etched onto the front of their book while writing it.  I personally did the same thing.  The book cover doesn't have to reflect any scenes from the book.  The book cover is more sales pitch than any type of a summary or hint at what the book is about.



amazon subcategories
amazon subcategories
amazon subcategories

SO WHAT SHOULD DETERMINE THE BOOK COVER?

Answer:  Genre and mood.  Genre or theme.  That's what should guide your choice in a book cover.  The best practice for a newbie self-publisher is this:  Find your genre and then see if there is a sub-genre where your book fits.  Above you will see some of the subgenres under romance and some under mystery, thrillers.  Finding your exact niche is what you want to target before you set your heart on any design.

What does this mean?  Let me explain for the ultra newbies.  It means that romance is a large genre by itself.  However, Amazon has created all kinds of subgenres under romance like billionaire romances, cowboy romances, small town romances, etc.  With all the analytics in the world, Amazon knows that people tend to like the same types of books, and by having these subgenres, it's now easy for people to find exactly what they want.  As a new self-publisher, you need to make this work for you.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE OF CHOOSING THE WRONG GENRE:

I wrote a vampire series that was really best suited as a paranormal romance.  I never heard of paranormal romance.  I didn't even know they had a paranormal romance genre.  I was operating on the antique system where all vampire books were in the horror section.  WRONG!

Not knowing all this, I originally designed a cover for "gothic vampire".  Big mistake.  I'll go into that experience a little more as I explain how to work with fiverr and still maintain control over your design.  My point here is that I found out too late how important these sub-genres were.  I had already paid for a fantasy gothic cover.  Then when I went to change it, the fiverr designer who charged only $50 a cover now wanted $250 a cover.  I had four books in my series!  More on that in another blog post.

The way this became a problem for me was that my book covered looked like a high fantasy horror, but there wasn't enough blood in my story for that genre.  My vampire series is more of a paranormal romance, a modern family drama.  So it just was on the wrong shelf, so to speak.  The cover was the main problem.  It said gothic and it wasn't projecting the right "genre" or the right mood.

I have since fixed it, but it was an expensive lesson I learned the hard way.  Anyway, I think you get the drift that knowing what book shelf, so to speak, you are designing for is very important.

TO SUM UP:  Find your genre first and see if you also belong in a sub genre.  Then search out this sub-genre best seller list on Amazon and look at all the covers there.  Pick two of your favorites.  They will be your inspiration covers.

NOW WHAT?  HOW DO I GO FROM FINDING A BOOK COVER I LIKE TO CREATING MY OWN?

The answer to this question is determined by your budget.  In the world of self-publishing, there are dozens of companies and freelancers that serve the self-publishing community.  They do everything from ghost writing, editing, book covers, marketing, social media and more.  You can spend a small or even a large fortune on these services -- and you may be in a position to do that.  If you are, good for you.  If I had all the money in the world and had it all to do over again, I would get a publishing coach who could hold my hand and direct me on the path the entire way.  I would make sure this consultant was an editor first and consultant secondly.  This is probably the least stressful way to self-publish.

One Word of Caution:  Be careful as you choose services to help you as there are good companies and some shady companies.

However, if you are publishing on a shoestring, then you've come to the right place.  Keep reading as there are two different routes you can take, each will be determined by how much of a shoestring you are operating on.

amazon subcategories

TWO ROUTES TO THE SAME SELF-PUBLISHING END:

If I had to make one recommendation to new self-publishers, I would tell them to spend their money on a good line-editor and learn to do the other services yourself.  It is possible to find an excellent freelance editor for four to five hundred dollars.  If this is the main expense of publishing a book, that's still considered a reasonable budget.

Don't worry if you are a single mom or supporting a family and you don't have a spare four hundred.  If there are kids in your house, I can only imagine how fast they can eat money!  I operated on less than $400 in the beginning.  I've got you covered below.

THE FREE ROUTE TO A GREAT BOOK COVER:

Word-free-in-explosion-shapeWith Gimp (free graphic design program) and www.pixabay.com, you can teach yourself how to create a great cover.  It's not necessary for authors to learn every single tool in the Gimp program to produce a great cover.  You merely need to learn how to remove a background, blend pictures together and a few other easy-enough techniques.

I'm producing a Gimp for Authors Series to teach only enough to make a cover.  This reduces the learning curve drastically.   Look for my Gimp for Author videos on YouTube.

THE LOW COST ROUTE TO A GREAT EBOOK COVER:

Word-low-cost-in-explosion-shapeNow another paid but affordable route to making your own book cover is to work alongside someone at Fiverr.com.  There are lots of people who will create a nice book cover for $25 or $50.   This may be worth it for some of you who are busy and don't have the time to learn Gimp.  It always comes down to money vs. time.

name-square-fiverrJoin www.fiverr.com.  Search for book cover design.  Each graphic designer will have a portfolio of some kind.  They all also have a rating based on past jobs.  Fiverr is the go-between.  You pay this person through the website.  Fiverr protects both people in the deal.  They make sure you pay when the work is delivered and they make sure the person who has offered to do the work has done it as agreed.  So it's very safe.

MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR USING FIVERR

Words-money-saving-tipIf you can, reduce what you need to have done down to a single task.  For example:  If you ask them to create an entire book cover, they will own and control the entire design. You will have no idea what they did to create it, how many components they used, what font they chose, etc.  If you want to tweak it down the road, it's impossible to do on your own.

However, if you learn enough graphic design in Gimp to create the components used in your cover, know EXACTLY what font you want, then you can  only pay for one or two tasks:  Can you remove the boring sky from this picture and add this nice one?  Can you turn this picture of guy into a silhouette and put him on a transparent background for me?  That is much cheaper work than:  Can you make me an original book cover?

As long as you can arrange your graphic components onto an eBook template in Gimp (beginner level task), then you can control your expenses and keep them very, very low.

LET ME SHOW YOU HOW:

Below is a video where I jump into Amazon.com and show you how to find the subcategories.  It's not that easy anymore!  This will help you, as a self-publishing author, find your niche category.  That's Point A.  From there, it's easy to find a template book cover from one of the many you will see.  With that template, you are less than 10 Gimp techniques away from creating your own cover.

 



10 Best Tips on Writing a Good First Draft

 

groomed for marriage ebookWhen I wrote my first novel, I worried about grammar, spelling, sentence structure in the first draft.  I didn't even know what a draft was.  I sat down and started writing 'a manuscript'.

I kept looking back and trying to fix things as I wrote.  Big mistake!  I learned the long and hard way that first drafts are their own animal.  They are really more about getting the story down on paper.

Now that I'm writing my 12th novel, I offer some tips for other beginners:

  1. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Your first draft is not supposed to be perfect. It's only a rough draft.  You're only 'blurting out the story' on paper.  Spelling, grammar, punctuation or sentence structure don't count yet.
  2. Just keep writing. Don't stop to edit or revise in the first draft.  It's a complete waste of time.  You will make changes all throughout the draft, so polishing up writing that may be tossed is fruitless.  You can fix the draft after you know you have the story down on paper.
  3. Don't worry about deepening the plot or the depth of your characters. Just focus on getting your story down on paper. You can massage the plot in second drafts and add to your characters on your second go-round.
  4. Write in a way that feels comfortable for you. Some people like to outline their stories before they start writing. Others like to just sit down and start writing without any planning. Find what works best for you and go with it.
  5. Set aside some time each day to write. Even if it's just for 30 minutes, make sure you set aside some time each day to write. This will help you to stay on track and to make progress on your story.
  6. Leave Notes to Yourself.   Make notes to yourself wherever you stop writing in a session that will help you 'find your place' the next time you sit down.  Write down what you're thinking and where your mind is at during this last writing session.
  7. Find a quiet place to write. Unless you are one of these lucky people who can shut out all noise and action around you, you will need to find a place where you won't be interrupted so that you can focus on your writing.
  8. Take breaks. Don't try to write for hours on end. Take breaks every 20-30 minutes to get up and move around, or to do something else that will help you to clear your head.  It's even good to do some stretching exercises as sitting for long stretches can make us stiff!
  9. Don't get discouraged. If your story is a good one, there is no such thing as a bad draft.  You're not the writer during the first draft.  You are still the story crafter.  So don't get discouraged if nothing seems like a novel.  Like I said earlier, you are just blurting out the story, recording it in broad strokes onto paper.  As you begin to work with the first draft, that's when it will come to life and shape up.
  10. Have fun! Writing should be enjoyable. If you're not having fun, it will show in your writing. So relax, have fun, and let your creativity flow.

I hope these tips help you to write a great first draft!

CHECK OUT MY PEEK BEHIND THE NOVEL VIDEO SERIES

A Peek Behind the Novel Series on YouTube

 



5 Best Tips on Writing Subplots

FIRST THINGS FIRST:

First Things First To Do ListFirst there's the mystery outline of a novel.  It's important to know where the mystery begins, the names of all suspects, everyone's motivation for murder or kidnapping, theft, etc.  But once you have your crime and mystery outline, what then?

Then it's time to turn to the subplots.  Below are the five best tips to come up with subplots that fit the story.

Make sure your subplots support the main plot.

main plot should support subplotThe subplots should not detract from the main plot, but should instead enhance it. They should add depth and complexity to the story, and they should help to drive the main plot forward.  In a mystery, it's easy to mirror a main character's personality trait in a witness and create some inner dialogue.  This ties it in nicely.

character arc graphic

Give your subplots a narrative arc.

Each main character should have their own arc, even if it's a short arc for this one book in a series.  There should be an arc of growth for the main characters.  But just like the main plot, your subplots should have a beginning, middle, and end. They should have a clear goal or objective, and they should build to a satisfying resolution.



Write character-driven subplots.

The best subplots are those that are driven by the characters and the drama from their personal lives. The characters should have their own goals and motivations, and they should be actively working to achieve those goals throughout all four segments of the story.  Even in a series, there should be a distinct growth on some level from the beginning of the novel to the end.

Try a new POV.

If you're writing a first-person novel, try using a different POV for your subplots. This can help to add variety to your story and to give readers a different perspective on the events.  This is not a technique that I would suggest to beginner novelists, but for authors who are more seasoned, yes, this is a way to shake things up a bit.

 

Figure out how to connect the subplot and the main plot.

The subplots should be connected to the main plot in some way.  This could be through a character, or a job, a family connection or a neighborhood.  The connection should be clear to the reader, and it should help to make the story more cohesive, more realistic.

Ramp up the tension with a subplot.

tension in story graphicSubplots can be used to ramp up the tension in your story. It's a great way to add a little more pressure onto your main character or characters!  Not only do they have to catch the bad guy, but their landlord is threatening them, or their wife is threatening to leave them, etc.  If the main mystery plot is getting a little slow as you drip in clues, you can spice up the subplot that will add some excitement and suspense.

Use subplots to explore themes.

Subplots can be used to explore themes in your story. For example, if your main character has a goal of having her own family, you could have a  subplot about how the character is struggling to find their place in their family or with their in-laws.

Keep your subplots short and sweet.

short subplotsSubplots need to be interesting, yes, but it's easy to go overboard with them too.  So the arc needs to be short but concise.  They should be short and sweet, so to speak.   They should be short enough to keep the reader's interest, but not so short that they feel underdeveloped.

Don't be afraid to kill off characters in subplots.

And the last tip, and this is mostly to beginners, don't be afraid to kill off characters in subplots.  This can add a sense of realism to your story, and it can also help to raise the stakes for the main characters.  It can also be a shocking event that heightens the tension or adds a twist in the plot.

CHECK OUT MY PEEK BEHIND THE NOVEL VIDEO SERIES

A Peek Behind the Novel Series on YouTube



WRITERS DIARY – Writing a Novel – First Draft Doubts

THERE ARE ALWAYS FIRST DRAFT DOUBTS:

self-doubts-pictureI'm assuming all writers have doubts as they are writing the first draft.  I know I do.  Something happens between the feeling of knowing I have a good plotline and writing out the first draft.

After analyzing it for a while, I believe what happens is that I cannot 'envision' the whole story coming together as I am just blurting out the first half of the first draft.

When writing a first draft, I'm in the nitty gritty now.  It's no longer 'thinking about the plotline'.  I'm now committing it to paper.  A feeling of insecurity arises as I realize that I'm halfway through my scenes and I don't get a feeling of any suspense or mystery.   It has absolutely no personality yet.  It's dry.  The characters are a bit like sticks yet.

THIS IS WHY I START WITH FOUR DIFFERENT PLOTLINES:

Battling against these doubts is one reason I started working on four separate plotlines before choosing the best one.  This way, I know I picked the best of four before I even started.

Then I remind myself that a first draft has no details.   I'm really more or less linking the scenes where the biggest clues are dropped to one another.  In the book I'm writing now, I'm even skipping over most of the subplots until I can get a read on how much "space" I'll have to write them.

What does that mean?  It means that as a newer author, I can't go over 80,000 to 100,000 words.  So I try to create a first draft with about 45,000 to 60,000.  This way, I have room to beef up my subplots, add the descriptions and any theme commentary, etc.

THE DOUBTS ARE MORE ABOUT LACK OF VISION:

The doubts seem to be a combination of an inability to see the final novel and being halfway through the first layer of a first draft.  It's hard not to feel that this story is not "good enough".  It's not good enough.  It's not meant to be good enough.  A good enough story needs 8 or 9 layers of writing.

JUST KEEP WRITING:

just keep writingSo the antidote to self-doubt is to keep writing.  Trust your plotline.  Know too that you can always add clues, rearrange some scenes, add a bit more intrigue into your subplots.  Eight layers of writing leaves a lot of room for beefing up a story, deepening a story and polishing a story.

REMIND MYSELF THAT THIS IS ONLY LAYER 3 OF A 7 TO 8 LAYER PROCESS:

I also remind myself that a first draft just has to be gotten through.  It's the hardest layer to write because you are writing on faith alone really.  You are trusting yourself as a storyteller.

 



Peek Behind the Novel – Layer 2 – How to Break the Crime Skeleton into Four Acts or Parts

FITTING THE CRIME SKELETON OUTLINE INTO THE FOUR ACT STRUCTURE:

For anyone who is new here, I use a Four Act Structure as opposed to the more-popular three-act structure.  I find that middle section in the three-act structure too confusing.  Over the writing of 12 novels, I gravitated to a four-part structure as it is more symmetrical and makes more sense to me.  I also believe, for whatever it's worth to anyone, that this three-act structure is responsible for the 'lagging' that often occurs in the middle of a story.

If you are following my A Peek Behind the Novel Series, you have learned about creating the crime or mystery skeleton outline in past blog posts and videos.  I won't go over those again here.

This is the point where you will break the crime/mystery skeleton into the four parts.  I'll enumerate below the items that should be in each part.  I hope this is helpful to newbies.  I'm not an expert on any of this, by the way, but my purpose here is to provide help that I wish I had when I was first starting out.

Part One:

The inciting incident.  In a murder, crime or police procedural story, this will be the crime itself and how the detectives show up in it.  When the detectives are pushed into going on a quest to solve it, that's the inciting incident.  This begins the journey of the story.

Also in Section 1, I drop some information about where my characters arcs will begin.  Because I write in series, the question I ask myself is:  What do my characters want at this time of their lives?   What do they want to happen right now?  I determine in this initial phase where the character arcs will begin, and where they will end.

Now, in the creative process, the character arcs get deeper and more elaborate, so don't worry if you don't have a clear idea of exactly how they will change.  I make sure Part 1 contains information about where their arc begins.

Also in Part 1 will be a slow drip of background information.  When I was new, I tended to do these big info drops in the beginning, but thankfully, editors and advance readers were good enough to point this out to me.  The readers don't need to know everything about the background of the main characters within the first five pages.  This information is best 'slowly dripped', just like the clues.



PART TWO:

Part Two is where I introduce all the suspects and their possible motivations -- as the detectives are quite often guessing at this early stage of an investigation.  The motivation of each of the suspects will be uncovered in some way later in Part two or even in Part 3.

Part Two is about following clues and uncovering suspects, evidence and motivation.  The readers are collecting information and they are doing their own thinking and speculating too.  This is where their enjoyment comes from, hearing about the clues and trying to out think the detectives and the suspects -- and even the author!

Section two is also where the subplots begin to move forward.  Whether the subplot is a specific conflict that gets worse or a general stubbornness that is exhibited, I begin to move the subplots along in part two.

The end of Part Two usually marks the midpoint of the book.  I like to end this section with a .big reveal of some kind.  Or maybe a clue that turns the investigation into another direction.  There could even be a new murder, or the surfacing of an unusual suspect, or someone gets caught in a big lie that changes the direction of the investigation.

If you are using time or some other way to apply pressure to solve the crime, you also want to take it up one or two notches in Part 2.

Part Three:

Now the investigation gets a little stressful.  The detectives may not agree on who the guilty party is, or maybe they know who it is but can't find the legal evidence to prove it.  Maybe they are operating only on gut feeling and speculation at this point.  They are rushing against the clock or against other forces working against them to solve it, catch the guilty party or find compelling and irrefutable evidence.

Part 3 is where the suspects' lies and half-truths are exposed and this all sheds light on the actual crime or mystery.  The title of "most likely suspect" may also go back and forth between one or two of the suspects in Part 3.

The subplots need to also move along into their stage 3.  They may need to be set up for a final resolution of the subplot, which is often very different than the main story.



Part Four:

Part four is broken down into two parts.  In the first half of Section 4, the crime or mystery is solved.  There will be whatever drama you want to add about the solving of this crime.  Whether your detectives are battling physically with someone, bullets are being fired back and forth, or entrapping the guilty party, or just uncovering that last piece of evidence that will legally prove guilt, this is where this is revealed.

I personally also like to do a very quick sum up of the entire theory of the mystery.  In my opinion, readers are very busy and sometimes they are reading carefully, but other times, they are reading with one eye open right before they fall asleep for the night.  So I like to do a quick sum up just in case they missed anything.  But I do it very quickly because there are the avid readers who never miss anything and you don't want to bore them!

The second half of Part 4 is the 'wrap up'.  This is where you will show the new normal, everyone's life 'in resolution'.  This is where you will also explain the full growth of your characters.  Many author's don't do this, but I don't like to read books where things end where the reader is left to decide what it all means.  I may have my own opinions, but I like to know what the author meant by the story.  So I make sure I explain, again very quickly, how things are ending in a narrator voice.

If You Are Writing in a Series:

If you are writing a series, it's important to also let the reader know the back story continues.  I always include a link to a signup list for readers to be notified of any new books that I am releasing.

Check Out My Video Below:

I have a video on this crime mystery technique below.  For your convenience, I have the timestamps below if you want to jump to a specific section:

00:15 - Snapshot from a Crime Scene Clues List from another storyline
00:45 - Part 1 - Elements needed
01:29 - Part 1 - Dripping background information
01:45 - Part 2 - Adding additional suspects and motivations
02:24 - Part 2 - The Midpoint of the Story
03:00 - Part 3 - The Plot thickens - Secrets and revelations
03:30 - Part 3 - The Dark Night of the Soul
03:52 - Part 4 - First section is the big reveal
04:23 - Part 4 - Second half - Wrap up of the crime or mystery, show the growth of the characters and the new normal.
04:53 - Part 4 - Series clue that the story continues with a new adventure

Here is the Actual Video:



Peek Behind the Novel – Writing Scene Outlines

WHERE WE ARE BEGINNING IN THIS BLOG POST:

I left off writing about how I divide the crime skeleton, after adding in the subplots, into the Four-Part Structure.  I am now entering the third layer of writing.  This blog post and video below are about sketching in the plot outlines.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

Most new writers want to get to the writing already.  But in this layer of writing, all plot holes or inconsistencies will show up.  Any clues that won't work when adding more suspects and motivations will show up in this layer.

So this layer is like an insurance policy that you won't be writing for the trash can.

USING THE SHORT TEMPLATE:

My template is short but it keeps me on track.  I'll break it down below.  This small template I use keeps my writing on point and tight.  It prevents me from meandering, dawdling, going off on an irrelevant tangent or writing myself into a corner.

POINT OF VIEW

n order to prevent head-hopping, which is very common among new writers, you need to be constantly reminded that each scene is in one perspective.  Some writers write in first person and that's easy.

However, I write in third person - one persons perspective.  This prevents the reader hopping from head to head.  It's too confusing for a reader to do that.

However, I don't choose my point of view this early on in the process.  I wait until I am actually writing the scene before I choose.  In my experience, as you write the scene, the first draft, one character will sort of 'claim the scene as their own'.  That's when I choose the point of view and then make sure the entire scene is in that persons perspective.

Now, I must confess, since I write in third person narrator style, I do allow myself one tiny head-hop at the end of a scene if I think it serves the plot well.  I think any reader can handle one tiny head hop.

I'm a self-published author at this time, and one of the benefits of self-publishing is you can do what you want.  The professional publishers may be horrified by allowing one head hop at the end of a scene, but as a self-publisher, I can do what I want.  (Hee hee)

KEEPING TRACK OF TIME

I don't know whether I am an author who is obsessed with time, or whether I use time as an element to put pressure to solve on my characters, but I have always tracked time.  I find this helps me balance the story and make the story more realistic.

What I mean by that is often times there is so much that is happening in a book on one particular day, that it becomes unrealistic that all of this could happen in one day.  Maybe it's just me.

Keeping track of time allows me to also know when the workday is over and the subplots can enter the scene as most subplots happen at least in part in a character's off time.

CHOOSING A SCENE LOCATION:

Location is important for two reasons.  One reason is casts the scene in cement.  You have chosen a stage for the scene to take place.  I don't write any scene or location descriptions in this layer of writing.  But I can write the action of the scene in context of a location.

Secondly, adding the location in this layer allow me to go off and find photographs that I can use in the layers down the road where I will add descriptions into the story.

PURPOSE - MOVING THE STORY ALONG

Every experienced author who I listened to when I was first writing fiction said the same thing:  Everything in the manuscript is there to move the story along.  If it doesn't move the story, it doesn't belong there.    So this Purpose in my template helps me keep my writing tight and on point.



CLUES - KEEP TRACK OF CLUES

vector magnifying glass

This one is self-evident.  A crime novel, murder mystery or police procedural is about solving a crime or mystery.  So uncovering clues, following them to the next clue is the vehicle for the story.  So it's important to keep track of clues.

In the first stage of writing, it's easy to remember if you put clues into the story.  In the first draft, it's easy to rely on your memory.  But after you've read through the story a bit and begin to add more to it, you won't be able to remember whether you saw that clue in the last chapter or the last time you read through the entire layer.

So it's important to keep track of clues.

DIVIDING AND CONQUERING THE MANUSCRIPT:

By dividing the story into four parts, and then writing scene outlines, you can divide a huge manuscript down into bite-size pieces.  It is less overwhelming and easier to organize, write and keep track of.

HOW SCENE OUTLINING WORKS IN SCRIVENER:

You can watch the video below for a full explanation, but each scene begins with the template.  I leave the POV blank for now.  I choose the time and location.  And then under Purpose/Clues, I add everything I want to happen in this scene.  I am thinking about the main plot, the dripping of background info, the dripping of clues, and the subplots.

I use numbers but using bullet points would probably be best as I have to change the numbers a lot.  Although when I show you the rest of my technique, you will see that the number themselves don't matter.

ABOUT THE VIDEO:

In this video, I talk about and lay out how to use a simple template and write the individual scene outlines. By sketching in the individual novel scenes, I can be sure that the clues and mystery scenarios will all work before I waste any time writing any scenes. I go into my strategy and work flow in this video and the benefits of outlining the scenes first. Once you have a scene outline, the actual writing of the scenes becomes only creative and fun.

Time Stamps of this video:
00:01 - Laying out the plotline into scenes
00:58 - The benefits of writing scene outlines
02:46 - The scene template
03:03 - Summary of the process up to this point. Showing a scrolling outline.
04:22 - The template in action - an example of how the template works 04:45 - Point of View
05:26 - Keeping track of time in the manuscript
06:26 - The importance of Locations
07:10 - Purpose - Moving the story along
08:20 - Keeping track of clues
09:20 - Dividing and conquering the manuscript
10:05 - Live in Scrivener with present novel - How the scene outlines work. 11:45 - Sneak Peek of the Synopsis
12:05 - Looking at Scrivener Binders a new one vs. a fully written book
13:13 - Knowing the story through the outline



Peek Behind the Novel – Writing the First Draft – Layer 4

LAYER 4 - WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT

PBN-SM-Layer4-Scivener

  • Use the Scene outlines to write the individual scenes.
  • Split Scrivener Binder into Four Parts representing the Four Part Structure.
  • I copy each scene outline into one document under the Part it belongs in.
  • I set up all of my scene documents in the proper sections.  I don't worry if certain parts are 'heavy'.  The clues are recorded but the rest of the drama of the story is not.

THE MIND IS ALWAYS WORKING:

  • This process will give you a bird's eye view of the scenes.
  • I usually decide to move a scene or two closer to the mid-section of the story.   Because it's only an outline, it's easy-peasy.
  • By seeing the scenes with the timings and a one to three word prompt, I start to see the story from above.

I DON'T FORGET MY LANDMARKS - PART 1

  • The Hook (Which we haven't talked about yet)
  • The crime scene or the acknowledgement of the mystery
  • The Inciting Incident - When the detectives start off to solve the crime.
  • By the end of Part 1, I want there to be at least 2 suspects or even 3.
  • By the end of Part 1, more than one person looks guilty.

LANDMARKS OF PART 2:

  • Interviews begin - they point to different people
  • Clues begin to trickle in - they may seem to clear one or another
  • One of two secrets are exposed in Part 2.
  • The end of Part 2 is the midway point.  There could be a big surprise or shock

LANDMARKS OF PART 3:

  • More interviews
  • More clues
  • Even the rise of another suspect, an unusual suspect.
  • This rise of an unusual suspect can twist the story into another direction.
  • This midway point could also be a Dark Night of the Soul where it may seem that the culprit may get away with it or it won't be solved or solved in time.

LANDMARKS OF PART 4:

  • The first part of this section will be a big reveal.
  • The crime will be solved between the start of Part 4 up to 2/3 of the part.
  • There needs to be time to wrap up the crime and show how it affects everyone involved.
  • The last part of the story is for the 'wrap up' where you tie up all the loose ends.

ABOUT WRITING THE WRAP UP:

  • Reveal the guilty party and solve the mystery.
  • Reveal why the red herring couldn't be guilty.
  • Do a quick review of the whole crime to confirm for the readers
  • Show a 'new normal' for the main characters, showing their character arcs completing.
  • In a series, you need to drop a clue that this crime is finished but their story continues.


TIPS ON WRITING A FIRST DRAFT:

  • Write forward only.  Don't look back.
  • Don't worry about spelling, grammar, verb tense, too many over-used words.
  • The goal of the first draft is to get it down on paper and make sure you put everything into the story from your scene outlines.
  • Think of it as 'blurting out the story'.

I'LL BE BUSY OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WRITING:

  • I've reached Layer 4 in my present novel.  This layer takes time to get it all down on paper.
  • By not worrying about prose or grammar, I'm free to just be creative about the story and whatever dialogue pops into my head.
  • The first draft will be just that -- a first draft.
  • Rest assured that the first draft is important, but by the time I get all the way to Layer 8, it will be polished and not look anything like it looks in the first draft.

I HOPE THIS SPURS SHARING

  • I hope my revelations of my writing techniques will prompt other authors to reveal their process.
  • I love to learn new techniques and when I was brand new, learning from experienced authors was so very helpful.
  • Be sure to sign up at ReadFirstChapter.com to get on my mailing list.  I send book promotions once a week and notices of new books and notices of when my books go "free" on Amazon.

Here is the YouTube video that goes along with this blog post.  I have the timestamps below in case you want to watch a certain part over or just skip to the relevant part.

00:01 - How I set up Scrivener into the Four Part Story Structure 01:15 - This process gives you a bird's eye view of the entire story
02:00 - Showing in Scrivener how I set up the Binder, the documents, the Title and Synopsis sections and how I can use the Outline view to see a bird's eye view of the entire manuscript as it comes together.
03:00 - Tracking case time and personal time in order to weave in the subplots
03:36 - How I use the screen outlines, moving the scene outline into the Notes section to keep it safe
04:25 - The Corkboard vs. Outline View 06:10 - Keeping the writing landmarks of Part 1 in mind: The hook, inciting incident, etc.
07:15 - Landmarks of Part 2, how the evidence trickles in - middle of the book
08:20 - Landmarks of Part 3 - Names the suspects and a dark night of the soul.
09:20 - First half of Part 4 - The big reveal and the wrap up of the mystery. 11:03 - Tying up all loose ends and the subplots. Showing the new normal. Ending the character arcs for this story.
12:00 - Writing series and letting the reader know the crime has been solved but their personal lives continue.
12:37 - Five tips to Beginner Writers 13:30 - The story crafter vs. the story author.