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Brainstorming a Storyline – Pt 2 – The Next Four Questions to Answer

Brainstorming a Storyline - Part 2

Where Do We Begin?

In the last blog entry and video, I covered a list of six initial questions that should be asked in order to raise up an initial storyline.  In my experience, within a story with multiple suspects or a mystery that needs to slowly unravel, the suspects, motivations and clues need to connect first to create what I call a crime spine or a mystery spine.

Once you have all of these story parts connected, this is the easiest time to take the characters from stick figures into two-dimensional characters.  The characters will be transformed into their final three-dimensional states during the actual book-writing process, so the goal in this brainstorming process is to sculpt two-dimensional characters.

So the next set of questions is designed to take your story idea from this crime/mystery spine to a second dimensional level.  This is the point where you can add realistic character traits and motivations that will fit inside the plotline.   I assure you, there won't be any more trying to fit a fully-fleshed out round character into a square plotline.  This process will avoid that.

So let's get into the second set of questions which cover the main characters, the suspects, the antagonist, and the motivations.

THE SUSPECT LIST - WHO ARE THE SUSPECTS AND/OR THE ANTAGONIST?

In a crime or murder mystery, pick two to four suspects and assign them each a motivation.  If you are writing a different type of story, you will need at least one antagonist.  Name the antagonist and/or suspects and choose their motivation.  Do this for each suspect or antagonist.

Here is an example:  A man is murdered in his house during a birthday party and there are four people at the party, all of whom can be a suspect:  One of the guests is the man's child who is at odds with the father for some reason, and the child has recently been threatened with being cut out of his/her inheritance.  The second suspect is the long-suffering wife who has just found out her husband is cheating again, after promising never to be unfaithful again.  The third suspect could be the mistress who is not happy that her lover now wants to save his marriage and has ended their affair and cut off her mistress pay.  And of course, there could be an old college buddy who is in attendance at the party, looking all innocent, but inside he is being eaten alive by a desire for revenge because of something that happened in their past.  Knowing all of these characters and their motivations ahead of time will make sculpting the main character, the detective or amateur sleuth, much easier.

When I was new and watching writing video after writing video, the advice was the opposite.  It was suggested over and over again to start by fleshing out a main character and plotting a story around him or her.  What I found was that a fully-fleshed out character is not very flexible.  You can't place a fully-fleshed out character into any storyline.  For example, a quirky detective like Monk would be out of place playing James Bond.  He would also not fit into any gothic story about family secrets.    Nor would James Bond fit into a small-town mystery novel.  A Columbo character would be out of place in a James Bond script as well.  I'm sure you get the point.

QUESTIONS FOR ANTAGONISTS OR SUSPECTS:

Go down the list or diagram of all the suspects you have chosen in your story.  Ask yourself the following questions about each suspect.  These questions also work in a story with only an antagonist.

  1. What would be their motivation for the crime, mystery or story conflict be?
  2. Is this suspect the most likely suspect?  What is the first clue that will point to them?
  3. Will this suspect appear at the scene of the crime? And are there witnesses to that appearance?
  4. What is the relationship between this suspect and the victim?
  5. Will this suspect hide background information or tell some other lie to hide the truth and for what reason?
  6. If this suspect is lying or hiding something, how will said lie or secret be exposed in the story?
  7. Who or what fingers this suspect?
  8. Which of your suspects will be the actual culprit?  How will you hide this throughout ¾ of the story?

Once you have answered each of these questions about each suspect or antagonist, you will have enough clay to now sculpt an interesting and riveting main character and storyline.

SEVENTH QUESTION: The Protagonist

Unless you are writing in a series where the main character is already fully developed, it's best to wait until after choosing the antagonist, suspects, and motivations for each of them to infuse the main protagonist with human traits.  Why?  Because the protagonist will need to have a character arc and this will need to be developed over the action of the story and in relation to all of the different suspects.

The action of the story will be triggered by the victim, what happened, what the investigation needs to solve the mystery or crime, and the main character will need certain skills and traits to make all of this happen.

For example:  If you come up with a business entrepreneur as a main character first, and give him a family, a certain job, etc., how will he have the skill set to uncover all the clues that are already in the plotline?  It's easiest to look at the completed crime spine and realize that you will need a bold computer wizard who is motivated by justice more than a lucky or wealthy  businessman.

 Once you know who, what, when, where and how the story will proceed, now you can choose the type of protagonist needed to solve the mysteries.  Now it is time to sketch in more character traits and details.  This process will take your stick figure and raise it to a level of a two-dimensional character.

The Protagonist List of Questions:

There are many questions to ask about the protagonist, aka the hero or good guy in the story.  Below I have posted many of them to get your creative mind going.

Why is the protagonist in a position to solve the mystery?  Who brings them into the story?  Are they a professional detective and just get hired?  If he or she is an amateur sleuth, what circumstance leads them into the scene of the crime or mystery?  If it's a psychological story, how do they find themselves inside this psychological drama in the first place?  Who and/or why are they now staying in a scary house or on an estate with age old secrets?

Here is a tip for Newbie writers:  There are hundreds of videos suggesting you start with the main character, and this does work in very simple storylines or in simple romance stories.  It doe work.  But once the plotline has any number of antagonists or suspects, and there will need to be some kind of search or investigation, revealing one clue after another, it's best to know what particular steps the main character will need to go through before you breathe life into him.

In other words, if online research is needed, your MC has to have technical skills or an assistant who does.  If the MC will be examining documents in old archives, he needs to have some expertise in this field and that will need to be part of his character back story.  If he will be running around and jumping from one building to another or hanging off helicopters like Tom Cruise likes to do, he will need a back story about why he is in that kind of shape.

Newbie writers often get attached to characters they dream up out of thin air and then run into big problems trying to build a working story around this fully-fleshed out character.  This can cause a bigger problem.  It can lead to a bad case of writer's block, even a fatal case of writer's block.  If you find this describes you, set aside that darling character you love and begin to brainstorm following these chronological suggestions and you may find yourself developing an equally riveting character that, with a different job or a tweaked backstory, can make a great storyline work.  Remember:  If you created one character that you love, it proves you can create loving characters.  Just create another one.

THE EIGHTH QUESTION:  HOW WILL MY MAIN CHARACTER ARC OVER THE MYSTERY DRAMA OR STORYLINE?

What fears or human frailty will the sleuth need to overcome in solving the crime?  This is what drives a character arc.  What will the main character ultimately learn?  Does he have a fear of heights?  Is she normally timid and now has to be courageous?  What inner fears will be challenged when going about solving the crime and/or mystery?

Where and how can you fit the revelation of these traits into the character backstory?

Is the protagonist isolated or alone in their struggle?  If they lack support or are actively opposed by others, how can you show them overcoming this lack of support and calling on their inner resources?



NINTH QUESTION  – WHAT ARE THE STAKES?

What will the main character need to risk achieving his/her goal?  Has the detective been told he will be fired if he doesn't drop the case?  Has the neighbor of a man who is gaslighting his wife been threatened with an expensive lawsuit?  What is at stake and what change will be needed to get through the setbacks in the storyline?  How will this change in character change the life of a main character?  How can you show that final change in character in the ending of the book?

Knowing who the antagonist is, and knowing all of the suspects and their motivations will make it easier to come up with a customized main character flaw that will fit perfectly into the storyline.

Again, it's easier to create a character after you already know what he/she will be required to do physically, what skills they will need, and what human flaw can make this challenging.  It's easier than forming a main character that you like and then trying to fit him or her into a storyline that already has a life of its own.

It would be hard to fit a character like the father on Married with Children into a James Bond film and vice versa.  Think of the skeletal plotline as an obstacle course.  Once you know what physical stamina, hurdles, level of intelligence, investigative experience, and technical skills a main character will need to run the ball all the way down the field, it is easy to sketch up a character based on that obstacle course.   You can easily add any quirky or funny bits to their personality later on.

Another consideration is how the hero's success or failure will affect others around him?   Are innocent lives at risk?  Is the fate of a community, a nation, or even the world hanging in the balance until the hero saves the day?  The wider the impact, the higher the stakes.

Are his or her loved ones in danger?  If the protagonist's family, friends, or romantic partner are threatened, the stakes become deeply personal and emotional.  This raises the stakes too.

Is there a moral dimension to the conflict that raise the stakes? Does the protagonist's decision have far-reaching ethical implications?  Is he/she fighting for justice, truth, or a greater good? Moral dilemmas add weight and complexity to the stakes.

Looking down at your brainstorming outline, ask yourself:  How can I add a little pressure into this plotline?  What happens if he doesn’t solve the case?  Who will be let down if he fails?  What effect will failure to solve the mystery have on his world or our world?

As the suspects respond to questioning, will one or more of them throw in an outright lie or a lie of omission -- that only the reader will know -- that will send the main character down the wrong path?  This will cause the reader to worry about the  main character.  What clue will ultimately uncover this red herring or subterfuge?

IS TIME PRESSING DOWN, ADDING TENSION AND HEIGHTENING THE STAKES?

checking time scheduleIs there a ticking clock in your storyline?  Is there a deadline to solve the crime?  Is there a rapidly-approaching event that can significantly heighten the stakes?  The faster the clock ticks, the more intense the pressure, the higher the stakes.  This added time pressure can turn a mystery into a thriller.

If you haven't figured a time element into the storyline yet, think about how you can use time in a way to add tension into the plotline.

TENTH QUESTION:  UNEXPECTED TWISTS AND TURNS:

Most readers like a surprise twist or unexpected turn.  What twist or turn can you add into the mix to heighten the stakes and keep readers guessing?

Is there a sense of uncertainty or ambiguity about the clues?  If the outcome is uncertain and the protagonist is forced to make difficult choices with limited information, this too can add tension and heighten the stakes.

If you can't think of an unexpected twist and turn at this point, it's okay.  My experience has been that whatever doesn't come in the brainwashing session will come in the next layer of writing which is outlining the scenes.

CONCLUSION:

Before I begin a new novel, I brainstorm a minimum of four potential storylines.  I go through these questions in this order and come up with an actual storyline.  Then I pick the best one, the one I know calls to me to be written.  So I know this brainstorming strategy works.

It took me one full year to come up with my first storyline and I thought about it everyday.  But I didn't know where to start or how to proceed.  My goal in this two part blog and video series is to help the newbies get over that first initial hump of getting a workable storyline.  I hope this will work for some of you.

Below is the video that was done on this material:

https://youtu.be/0jvM7DWqUmo

 

 



Brainstorming a Storyline Pt 1 – The First Six Questions to Answer

BRAINSTORMING A STORYLINE - TWO SETS OF QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

When Brainstorming a Novel Storyline, what questions do you need to ask and answer?  After having written 14 novels, I believe this technique that I'm about to tell you about will help anyone brainstorm a working plotline.

For simplicity, I've broken it down into two phases of questions because in order to answer the second set of questions, it's easiest to know the answers to the first set of questions.

IMHO, if you just start asking random questions that pop into your head without some order, it can lead to more confusion or chaos.  It can even frustrate the story engineer into thinking it's not a working storyline, even though it can be.

The first set of questions will guide you through brainstorming a broad-stroke storyline into existence.  It will end with stick figures.  The characters will be stick figures.  The locations and motivations will be stick figures, so to speak.  Knowing this ahead of time, you will know you are making progress if the stick figures all have the potential to interact and connect with each other without an issue.

The second set of questions, which I will get into in the next installment, will help you turn the brainstorming questions into a workable storyline that will begin to lift off the paper and become two dimensional.

THE FIRST SET OF QUESTIONS

FIRST QUESTION:  WHAT WILL THE MYSTERY OR CRIME BE?

What will the mystery or crime in the novel be?  Will it be a psychological thriller and mind control is the crime?  Will it be a murder mystery?  If so, what is the cause of death?  If it's a science fiction plotline, what mystery will hook the reader and thread through the entire story only to be revealed at the end?

Any experienced author will tell you that any book, regardless of genre, needs at least a string of mystery or suspense running through it.  This is what will keep the reader reading.  What will the mystery, crime or element of suspense be in your storyline?  The answer to this question will begin the workable plotline.

Be specific in your answer to this question:  What specific crime or mystery will drive the plot?  Is it a murder, a theft, a missing person, a haunted house, psychological event that changes a family forever, or something more unique?  What are the simple circumstances that surround this mystery?  Think broad strokes, just a list of three general details.

The type of crime or mystery will dictate the investigation methods and details.  It will also dictate what clues will be needed in order to slowly reveal the mystery throughout the four-part plot structure.

The answer to this question may also reveal the complexity of the story.  For example, a financial crime is more complex than a murder mystery.  The choice of crime may also determine the book genre:  if it's a grizzly murder, it may default into a noir crime.  If it entails mind games or gaslighting, it may default into a psychological mystery.  If it's a small town and there won't be any bloody details or romantic spice at all, it can be either a clean mystery crime novel or even a cozy mystery.

This question will also determine the core of your story, and may also determine not only a certain genre but a book category or two as well.  Will it be a gritty murder mystery or a whimsical cozy mystery?  Will it be a A Missing Person's novel that is all about the revelation of one secret after another?   Will it be an amateur sleuth murder with a satirical edge?

If it will be a murder mystery, you will need to choose a cause of death.  If it's a police procedural, you may need to cover fingerprints and DNA evidence.  If it's a fraud crime, you may need to weave in a computer tech wizard to find the clues.  If it's a private investigator novel, you may need to weave in surveillance, and neighbor interviews.  Think about what avenues you as an author you will need to go down in order to tell the story.

A little tip for newbies:  My first novel series was with a private investigator because it didn't require knowing police law or the intricacies of police training, etc.  Taking on a police procedural, or an FBI agent plotline will require much more research and may not be the fodder for a first time author.


SECOND QUESTION:  Who is the Protagonist or Hero of the story?

Is he/she a private detective, an amateur sleuth, a police officer, or maybe just a weekend visitor who is inadvertently led into solving a mystery?

Another tip is this:  At this early stage in brainstorming, don't  choose a background, or a motivation, or any personal traits or challenges for the protagonist.  It's too early.  You will need to coordinate and connect all the characters, the crime or mystery, and all the suspects and their motivations before you can weave any story around any of them.

In this phase of brainstorming, you are really choosing only what hat your main character will wear.  But at the same time, you may be choosing the book genre and the ultimate marketing categories for the finished book --  which is a good thing.

THIRD QUESTION:  Who is the Victim?

Determine the identity, background, and significance of the victim.  This decision can affect the motive, the suspects, and the overall narrative story arc.  The victim's characteristics can also influence how the crime impacts other characters or the community at large.  Before figuring out who the suspects are, you need to know who the victim is and why they were murdered or wronged in some way.  If it's not a crime story but just a mystery or thriller, you will still need a victim.  They may not die in the story, but there will be at least an injustice done to them.  What is that injustice and who is the victim of it?

The victim's background, their relationships, and their secrets are all vital.  Were they likeable?  Did they have known enemies?  A compelling victim, even if flawed, gives the reader someone to care about and root for.  Even if the victim hasn't been killed or murdered, who is being bullied or targeted as the victim and why?

 



Fourth Question:  Where will the story take place?

Where will the story play out?  Most stories will have multiple stages, but where will most of the action take place?  Will it be a haunted estate house?  A corrupt business office?  Will it be on the streets in a cityscape?  How does the setting influence the mood and the unfolding of the mystery?  For example:  If it's a gothic novel, you will want a large estate house or a monastery, a place that has secret rooms, tunnels, or has a long history with lots of secrets.  If it's a urban thriller, you will need several stages in a city scape.  If it's a psychological thriller, it may need at least a mental institution.  Think of yourself as a location scout for a movie:  What interesting places can most of the drama take place?

Choose a location that not only serves as a backdrop or a stage for the events to take place but which can become its own character.  What secrets does the location harbor?  Who lived in the historic mansion in another era?  Will you need a remote island somewhere to have a closed-door mystery?  In a city scape, the backdrop may be about about the certain era, or just a gritty story, or a surreal story.  In a mystery drama, what happened in the main family that started all the secrecy?  What sin has been passed down through the generations?  What corporate setting do you need to show back-door deals or money laundering?   What setting can you choose that will enhance the story?

If it's a cozy mystery, what quirky town or setting will give the story a whimsical feel?  The setting can range from a small, isolated town where everyone knows each other, to a bustling city with numerous hideaways, each providing different challenges and atmospheres for the mystery or suspense

Fifth Question:  How Does the Mystery, Crime, or Injustice Happen?

The next question is How?  How does the crime happen?  How will the ultimate culprit have secret access to the victim?  What evidence will there be at the scene of the crime that will begin the formal or informal investigation?  And who will those initial clues point to?

If it's not a crime novel, how did the underlying mystery come to be?  Is it a generational sin that transferred through generations to a child or grandchild?  Is the estate house not at rest because of a secret that it and the family are keeping?  How does that play out?  How does the story dilemma or conflict come to be?

How the crime happens will be only known to you as the author.  The real motivation, suspect and last revealing clue will need to remain hidden until Part 4 of the Story Structure.  But knowing how the mystery happens, who is ultimately responsible and how that last clue will be discovered will give you a destination in the storyline.  This will be the secret pathway you are following when writing the entire story.

SIXTH QUESTION:  WHEN DOES THE MYSTERY OR CRIME HAPPEN?

Will the story be set in a specific time period?  Will it be a general contemporary book that won't reference any specific time period at all?  Or will it be specifically cast in an era or time period that will require research?

Is the time period of when the story occurs relevant?  Is your emerging storyline a historical novel?  Will the timeframe of the story determine how the case is solved?  In other words, will it be before the internet?  Or before cellphones?  And if so, how relevant is the timing or era to the story?

Will the time period affect what ultimate genre your book will be placed in?  Will it qualify it as a historical novel?  Is it possible to set the crime novel back in time in order to market the book as a crime story and a historical novel?  It makes things easier if you can decide on this in the brainstorming period.

These initial questions will allow you to sketch in a storyline with very broad strokes.  The victim, protagonist, suspects, setting and time era are named and sketched in only as stick figures or location suggestions only.

Don't be discouraged if everything seems bland or one dimensional.  Working from this one dimension until you lay in a mystery or crime spine of the story will ultimately make fleshing out the story so much easier.

Be sure to check out Part 2 of this series to find out the next set of questions.

Below is a video I made from this material:



2nd Edition or Relaunch – What Happened in Scrivener

COPYING INTO SCRIVENER

I watched a video on YouTube teaching how to import a Word document into Scrivener.  It suggested that you could use a symbol like the pound sign (#) to indicate the end of a chapter.  It sounded so easy, but it didn't work.  At least for me, it didn't work.

LEAD Technologies Inc. V1.01

So I just copy and pasted each chapter into a new document.  By breaking up the novel back into separate chapters and having the tools inside Scrivener to keep an overview of things, it made the whole process seem a lot easier.

CHANGES I MADE:

I decided not to change the actual plotline of the story because I still liked it.  I chose to polish up my prose and add some additional foreshadowing.

When I originally wrote the book, I wasn't sure there would be a second book.  I wound up writing 5 books in the series.  There wasn't much foreshadowing in the book, and the characters had developed over the series, so I was able to beef up the characters in the first book and add some foreshadowing now knowing how the series would end.  I decided that these changes would bring Book 1 to a place I would be happy to then let go of the series.

checking time scheduleNow, this decision was made in real time.  In other words, until I hit a stride in about the fourth chapter, I was still unsure if I would even continue on with the rewrite.  But by the fifth chapter, I realized that the changes I was making, even though it wasn't changing the actual plotline, were good and well worth the effort.

The advice I would pass on to anyone who is considering a 2nd edition and you're not sure of it, try to be okay with proceeding one step at a time with some general doubt.  Let that be okay.  This is the advice I would have given myself on the day I started in Scrivener.

WHAT I LEARNED FROM THE PROCESS AND WHAT I WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME:

Now that I have been through the entire 2nd Edition process once already, I realize that there are continual doubts along the way that I needed to just push through.

The one change I would make to how I did things is this:  I would make a separate copy of my final manuscript and go into Word first.  If I decided to change the actual plotline, then I would bring the book into Scrivener as I would need to use the outline mode to keep track of everything.  However, since I only added foreshadowing and improved he prose, I would have done the work in Word.

The only reason for proceeding in Word only is because compiling the book from Scrivener to Word does mess up the styles and the formatting a bit.  This gives rise to a need to re-read the book again before handing it off to an editor.

TIME OUT FOR A LITTLE ADVICE ON EDITING:

I had the book edited originally, but I just changed every other sentence, so it had to be re-edited.  I knew that going into this, so it was okay.  Now, I like to edit the book myself and I have an elaborate multi-layer stage of proofreading that I go through so that when I pass the book to an editor, his or her time is not eaten up with correcting silly typos and adding forgotten commas.

By doing a thorough proofread, and with a suggestion that my weakness is verb tense and reading over my own typos, the editor can focus on the things I need the most help with.

THE NEXT DECISION TO MAKE:

The rewrite with prose improvement and foreshadowing added turned out to be MUCH easier than I anticipated.  So after passing off the first book, Darius - A Vampire Story, to my editor, I decided to do an upgrade on the second book too.  I just passed that one off to the editor yesterday.



SHOULD I MAKDE A NEW BOOK COVER?

I wish I could say this was an easier decision to make, but it wasn't.  I really like the present book cover on my first book, but I changed the artwork a little bit for one reason:

I wanted to tweak my marketing strategy when I get the second book done so I wanted the book cover to look like a cross between a cozy mystery and a low-fantasy paranormal romance.   My book has a ribbon of Catholic morality running through it, as well as a satirical commentary, so readers who are used to vampire hunters, or dark despair-saturated books like those of Anne Rice, or teenage books like Twilight would be disappointed in my book.

So as I move forward, I'm still experimenting.  I decided to go with the new cover, but I'm planning a marketing relaunch when this 2nd book comes back from the editor and then I will watch to see if the new cover or even the 2nd edition makes any difference in sales or reviews.  If it doesn't make a difference, then I may go back to my original book cover and then let go of it entirely.

So even now, I'm still proceeding one step at a time.  I'm still waiting to see what happens.  All I do know for sure is that once this last change is done, I will be ready to let go and let the series be what it is.



The Long Saga of My 2nd Edition of Darius – A Vampire Story

THIS IS NOT THE 'HOW-TO' BLOG POST

Before I get to how to do a 2nd edition of your book, the preliminary questions you need to answer are:

    1. Should you do a 2nd edition of one book or the entire series?
    2. Why should you do it?
    3. Is it worth it?
    4. Should you just accept the earlier book as not your best and move on?
    5. What will I get out of it?
    6. Isn't it easier to just move on and write a better book or book series?

The reason I'm sharing my experience in publishing a second edition of Darius - A Vampire Story is because it seemed overwhelming when I was thinking about doing it.  It turned out to be one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my writing career, and I had doubts the entire way through the process.

However, in looking back, the decision itself -- answering all the above questions and deciding to move forward with it -- was the hardest part.  I assumed reworking the book would have been the hardest part, but it wasn't.  But in the end, it was much easier than I thought.

SHOULD I DO A 2ND EDITION OR NOT?

Although I decided to move forward with doing the 2nd edition, I was unclear even as I went about it.

I read Chris Fox's book Relaunch Your Novel and he had great advice.  He got my wheels turning and he asked the right questions about why you would want to relaunch your novel.

These questions were what triggered the process.  There are lots of reasons why you would want to relaunch a book.  It's important to know what your particular reasons are because although it is not hard, there are a lot of steps to it, some costs, and you will need a sense of mission to spur you on in the process.

THE BIGGEST TEMPTATION:

The biggest temptation along the way was to take the attitude that everyone's early books aren't that great, so let go and just move on.  This would have certainly given me a quick fix.  But in my case, I just couldn't leave the book alone knowing that I could probably polish it up a bit before moving on.  So for me, even though it was tempting to just let go and move on, I decided I want to fix the book -- and maybe even the entire series -- but I wasn't sure whether I just wanted to do a re-edit or to change the storyline, etc.

ONE STEP AT A TIME:

I decided that I wanted to just fix the first book in the series because it had the lowest ratings.  The second reason I wanted to make the effort with fixing the book is that I have now finished the series with the 5th book, and now that I know how the story ends, I wanted to put a little foreshadowing into the book while I was buffing it up.

I let go of the idea of redoing the entire series because I knew I could be happy to just fix the one book, so that's one reason I proceeded forward.

 



WHAT WILL I GET OUT OF IT?

This was the one question that led me down the road of choosing to write a 2nd edition:  What will I get out of it?   The answer was and is:  I knew if I fixed Book 1 that then I would be able to let go of the entire series and move on.  I still like the stories and the series itself.  It's not my most popular book series, but I still like it.  So fixing the first book was important to me in terms of 'my body of work'.  I knew I had more experience and I could improve the book, even if it was just adding some foreshadowing or improving on the prose.

scrivener-iconThe first decision I made was to pull the novel into Scrivener, divide it up into chapters and read through it.  The next question I had to answer was:  Do you want to change the plotline?  Or do you want to add some foreshadowing and just improve the prose?

To be honest:  I wasn't sure but I knew reading the book chapter by chapter would lead me to the answer.  So I pulled the manuscript into Scrivener.  The first question I needed to answer was:  What do you want to change?  Will this just be a normal update or will it be an actual second edition.

In the next installment of this blog series, I will go into what happened when I went into Scrivener and began the read through.



Converting a Word Docx to an ePub for KDP

IS THIS CONVERSION NECESSARY?

If you only sell on Amazon and don't give your books away, you may not need to convert your docx at all.  You can successfully upload a Word docx document and the converter behind the scenes at Amazon KDP will convert it usually without a problem.

HOWEVER, I would caution you that you should do all of your styling using the style gallery.  I have a few videos on my YouTube Channel that will show you how to format and how important using the style gallery is.

That being said, if you use the style gallery, don't give your books away and only sell on Amazon, you are good to go with only a Word document.

EBOOK GIVEAWAYS - THAT'S ANOTHER STORY:

Bookfunnel-and-siteorigin-logosIf you, however, are self-publishing and are planning to do your own marketing, giving away your book, especially when you are just breaking in as an author is crucial.  Once you decide to give away your books, you will need a PDF document and an ePub document.

convertio-iconAs I'm sure you already know, you can create a PDF inside Word, so that's not a problem.  However, you will need a conversion program to create the ePub.  I use the program called Convertio.co.  This is a paid plan, and it comes to $9.00 a month at the time of this blog.  If you only have one book, you can sign up for one month and then stop the service -- but check to make sure that's an option before you do that.

Otherwise, you can take a trip over to Fiverr.com and search convert DOCX to ePub and see who comes up.  One word of caution:  I tried this and Fiverr is now defaulting to a slightly higher price on almost all services, so look for the drop down that lets you put in your budget.  I was able to find someone who was willing to do it for $10.00.

However, if Convertio.co allows you to quit after one month, you may be able to use it a few times.  I offer this suggestion because I remember when I was brand new, I had to do things multiple times -- I'm not even sure why.  So be aware that you may want to do more than one per month.

Another example is that I am presently preparing an ARC copy of the document and will need to add several pages for the final manuscript when it's back from the Final Edit.  So, I will need two conversions at least on this one book.  So be aware of this type of thing.



TO SIGIL OR NOT TO SIGIL:

Sigil is a program for making or polishing up ePubs after conversion.  I always had to get rid of a lot of crazy codes in the ePub so that's why I used Sigil throughout the years.

However, what I noticed with this last time I used it, and this is because I have disciplined myself to use only the Style Gallery in Word and not use individual changes, I had very little clean up in Sigil.  I could have even skipped the Sigil step all together.

If you are intimidated by computer code -- and it can be a little tricky -- then you may want to clean up your formatting in Word by using only the Style Gallery.

I have a video below where I go into a little detail as to why you have to be so careful with sigil and computer code.  I wish I had known about the importance of the style gallery when I first started, but at least I know now and I'm passing on the knowledge to you!

WHERE TO GET THE TOOLS:

Here is a link to go to Convertio.co   This is a service you use online.  There is no download or anything.  You simply upload the Docx file and then download the epub.

Here is a link to go to Sigil to download it.   This is an actual free program that will download and put an icon on your desktop.  When you want to open it, you will double-click the icon and it will open a blank document.  Then you will click on File > Open and bring in your converted epub.

IT HELPS TO SEE IT IN REAL LIFE:

Below is a short video I made going through the process starting from pulling the document into Convertio and then taking it through the rest of the process to checking it on KDP.  I hope this helps you if you are struggling in any way or if you are new and just need information.

https://youtu.be/QVi1XSiQSRs



Advanced Reader Campaign – The Recipe

THE RECIPE FOR AN ARC CAMPAIGN?

Yes, the recipe.  I just finished planning a Private Advanced Reader Campaign and although it's not hard, it does require several steps and knowing what order you need to do each step is important.  If you do them in the proper order, it will be an easy process.

I've made this list for myself and decided to share it on this blog because knowing the order can remove a lot of the stress and having to go back and forth between the book, the forms, the website, etc.

INGREDIENTS - AN OVERVIEW:

You will need an eBook and a book cover.

For any Advanced Reader Campaign, I would suggest you add a disclaimer that it is an advanced copy, a watermark, and a link to fill out a questionnaire about what the reader thought about the book.

You will need to produce the eBook in a pdf and ePub format, which will require you to convert it from a Word file to an ePub.  The ePub may need to be cleaned up a bit in a free program called Sigil.  Then you will need to test the ePub with the KDP viewer.  This step may or may not be necessary.

You will need to create the questionnaire for the readers to fill out.  Now, if you don't have a website where you can create a form, you can use a google forms or you can ask the readers to send an email with feedback  about the book to your email.   I have found the forms get more interaction.

Also if you don't have a website, you will have to upload the ePub and PDF onto Google Drive and record the share link in order to include them in an email to send to your ARC readers.

I also need a form for readers to sign up to become an ARC reader, with an auto-responder that will send them the book.

And lastly, you will need graphics to post on your website or social media.

Now that I have given you an overview of everything that is needed in the whole campaign, I'll post below the order you need to create them in.



THE ARC CAMPAIGN RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

  1.  Finish your eBook and have it edited.  When the editor has your manuscript, you at least two weeks to prepare the ARC campaign, which is enough time.
  2. Create the eBook cover.  If you don't have your final cover, you can create a temporary cover for the ARC campaign, if necessary.
  3. Create a questionnaire form for your readers to fill out when they are done.  I find asking about 10 or 15 short questions, most with yes or no answers that it makes it easy for the readers to give me the specific feedback I'm looking for.  This should be done right after the cover because you will need to put the link to this questionnaire into the back of the book so the readers can click on it.
  4. Create a sign-up form to become an ARC Reader.  I use a form from my WordPress website using a plugin called Contact Form 7.  This allows me to get the names and emails of the ARC readers.  I keep a running list on my work diary so that I can then send them an email when the book is published asking for a review.
  5. Create a page on your website, or whatever social media platform you use,  that has a graphic of the final book cover, with a short summary of what the book is about.  Add the form to sign up to this page.  I also put a notice that I am looking for ARC readers on the homepage of my website.
  6. Make social media graphics (1000 px x 1000 px for most platforms and a 1000 px x 1500 px for Pinterest) so you have them when you launch the book.  If you have the time, skills or budget, create several graphics:  ARC Campaign Sign Up, Coming Soon, New Release by AUTHOR NAME, Release Date, and a seasonal graphic based on what season you are releasing in.
  7. The above steps can be done with the manuscript in the editor's hands.
  8. Once the editor returns the book, make the corrections and add a request to fill out the questionnaire and add the link to your form.
  9. Add a watermark that this is an early release.  This allows you to change the book or tweak the book based on feedback.
  10. Once the manuscript is finalized, save is as a docx and PDF.
  11. Then convert the book from a docx file to an ePub using a conversion tool.  I use Convertio.co which is $9.00 a month.  Check their website and see if you can cancel at any time and you can create your ePub once or twice (after your feedback if you change anything) and then cancel the membershipAnother strategy for conversion is to go to Fiverr.com and search convert docx to epub and make sure you select a budget because they default to showing you people who charge $25.00 to start.  I found someone that would have done it for $10.00.
  12. Once you have the epub file, upload it to KDP -- as a draft -- and check it using their previewer.  Check every single page!  If there are no errors and everything looks good, you will then be good to go.
  13. If you have some formatting issues, you may want to watch my video on using the style gallery for best ePub results (which I'm planning to do at this time).
  14. Once you have a PDF and ePub, you are ready to launch the ARC campaign.  You can use whatever service you use for your newsletter to create an auto-reponder form or you can answer each sign up by sending them an email with both documents attached, the epub and the PDF.
  15. The campaign is now set to go.  Post it to your newsletter, social media and on your website!


Why Have a Private ARC Campaign

WHY HAVE A PRIVATE ARC CAMPAIGN?

private-gatheringThe one main reason I have right now is that I want to avoid offering this to the general public because I am not sure if the book, even though it is edited, is in its final form.

I normally will offer the ARC copy knowing that people want free copies, but this book I’m unsure about.  I want to at least start with my newsletter readers who I can ask to help me with feedback and fill out a questionnaire about the book.

I’m not sure I will go with this exact ending.  So this is not set for pre-order and although it has been edited, I may change the book based on feedback and then it will need to be re-edited.  So I don’t want a lot of copies of this book floating around.

By limiting the number, I can make sure I send a free copy to the ones who read it for me and I can tell them where and why I changed the text.

THE STEPS I WILL BE PASSING THROUGH:

checkline and outlineIn order to offer a limited ARC copy, I will use my newsletter list, which is really my reader list, and my website.  I will limit the invitations to these two places.

Here is a list of the steps I will need to go through.  I will be making short videos and/or blog posts to share what I did in each of these phases.  Nothing is hard, but it all takes time.

  1.  Finalize the ARC copy of the manuscript in Word docx file.  Add a watermark indicating this is an ARC copy.  Make sure this copy has a link to the ARC Questionnaire where readers can share their feedback with you.
  2. Convert the docx file into an ePub.  I use convertio.co, which is a paid site.  It costs $9.00 a month.  I used it more than the old plan used to give you as a free trial.  However, I believe it is all paid now.  So you can go to Fiverr and search convert docx to epub and choose the budget of $5 or $10 — because it now defaults to people who charge $25.Once the document is converted, download it onto your hard drive.
  3. I usually bring these epubs into Sigil, a program to create and/or edit ePubs in order to make some global changes and/or clean up the extra codes it may bring inside.  I will have a video on this one.Create a PDF from your docx file.  Once you have the epub and PDF, you are ready to upload to KDP and test it.  I will cover this in one of the videos.Upload the PDF and the ePub up to google drive and copy the links; you will need them later.
  4. Author-Website-with-signup-formThe next steps are done with my website.  They have to do with pages and forms.  So if you don’t have a website, then you can use google forms or whatever system you presently use to get signups.  I use Mailerlite and could have set this up through them, but I want to receive the emails and names myself so I can keep a list of who the ARC readers are so I can ask them for a review when the book is ultimately published.

I need a page with graphics introducing the book.
I need a graphic and link for the front page of my website.
I need a Contact Form 7 with an auto-reponder where I put the two links from Google Drive to download either the PDF or the ePub.  I need to check the form to make sure it works.
I need to create a form for my feedback questions and post it on a separate page on the website.
Then I need to create a list to keep track of who my ARC readers are and their emails.

So that is the process I am now going through.  In the next blog posts and videos, I will be addressing these very creations and/or changes.

 

 

 

 

Writing Short Stories with Downloadable Worksheet

SHARING MY ANALYSIS:

In my quest to improve my marketing in 2005, I decided I needed a couple of short stories to offer as giveaways.  Although I’ve written 14 novels, I’ve never written a short story.

I went on a quest and read several classic short stories and below are my findings.  I’m not an authority on this, of course, but I’m just offering my observations and what I learned to far.

STORY CONTAINMENT:

Woman-writer-containmentThe first thing I noticed is that the story needs to be contained or confined to a shorter version than a novel.  This means that you won’t have the same space to build the characters.

The other thing I noticed is that the storyline is about one event or one meeting of some kind.  For example:  A weekend visit, or a train ride, or a meeting on the street that leads to something happening.

Keeping this need for containment in mind I believe will prevent us, as writers, from setting out to write a short story and somehow writing a novelette or even a novel.

SENTENCES PACKED WITH INFORMATION:

The next thing I noticed was that the sentences in many of the short stories were longer than in novels, as they contained so much added information.  In other words, you need to pack the background and characterization inside the action of the story.  Every word counts and the writers wrote succinctly and every word served the story.

Knowing the need for this, I believe it will help with story containment.

DOWNLOAD THE WORKSHEET:

short-mystery-story-templateThere are templates all over the internet for story crafting, but they all seem to follow the hero’s journey, which I find doesn’t work for mystery books.  At least I was never able to make them work for me.

So I have created a template for a Short Story Mystery Template that asks all the who, what, where, when questions that you will need to set up the bones of the short story.

If you’re interested in downloading the form, click below to access the form.

Writing a Novel in 8 Layers – Work Flow Demonstration

HOW TO VS. WORK FLOW DEMONSTRATION:

writing a novel work flowThere are many blog posts and videos on the internet about how to write a novel.  Much of the advice is general in nature and only broad-stroke tips.  This video seeks to go one step further and open my last book, which is still being proofread in Layer 8, and show a work-flow demonstration.

WRITING TIPS AS AN APPLIED SCIENCE:

Many of the tips that I came upon when I first started writing were great but I didn't know how to apply them.  Many techniques require a second phase of 'how to apply this advice'.  This is most times missing from the how-to blogs and videos.

THIS IS THE VIDEO I WISH I HAD WHEN I STARTED WRITING:

I am not holding myself out as an authority on writing or even writing techniques.  The purpose of this video is to show one work flow that other newbie writers can see that will hopefully help them see the theories in these how-to videos and blog posts in action.  That's my purpose here.

WRITING IN 8 LAYERS:

writing-in-layers-short-listI am in the process of finishing my 14th novel.  I started out like many of you as a self-taught author who took in unorganized, uncurricularized information and had to make sense of it all.  I devised this 8 Layer system to try to write a novel as efficiently as was possible.  I offer it to you for whatever weight you wish to give it.

 

VIDEO 1 - Layers 1 to 6

In Video 1, I go into the process of coming up with a broad-stroke storyline that you know you can use as a story spine.  Presently I use FreeMind.com software; it's free and it's easy to use.  I go into a little detail about this, but I have other blog posts and videos on my YouTube Channel where I go into more depth about how I do this.

Then I go into Scrivener for Layer 2 through Layer 6.  I demonstration what happens in each layer and I try to give beginner tips in each layer to further help the newbie.

VIDEO 2 - Layers 7 & 8 - in Microsoft Word

In the second video, I go into Microsoft Word and complete Layers 7 and 8.   I believe by seeing this behind-the-scenes look at a real novel, it will encourage newbies who may be struggling with the actual work flow of writing a novel.   I hope you enjoy it.

Be sure to join my newsletter for book promotions, free books, movie reviews from a writer's perspective and some other goodies I will share along the way.



Writing a Novel in 8 Layers – Explanation and Time-Saving Tips

LAYER 1 - Putting Together the Skeleton of the Mystery or Crime

In a mystery, crime novel, or thriller, the clues and their revelations need to be planned so the story clues can remain disjointed in the beginning, but then slowly come together like a jigsaw puzzle. This keeps the reader guessing -- which is part of the mystery readers' enjoyment.

Layer 1 requires the skill of story engineer, not so much an author. In my humble opinion, trying to write around this initial phase of story scaffolding is is one reason why novels can take authors years to finish. Scaffolding-panel.png

So the first layer is to storyboard only the crime or the mystery of your novel. This layer can look like a long list of crimes and clue elements,
or it can look like a mind map sketched in pencil on the back of a large piece of wrapping paper, or it can be done in a mind-mapping software.
But there will need to be initial planning of where the mystery begins, where it leads, and how it ends. That's what goes on in this layer.

WHAT TO FOCUS ON IN LAYER 1:

An example for a Layer 1 crime mystery would be the following:

1. Lay out the chronology of the crime.
2. Who is or are the Victims?
3. What is a list of clues that could lead to the solving of this mystery?
4. Determine what the final clue will be that reveals the true culprit and think about how you can hide this clue in plain sight. This will be the clue that solves the mystery.
5. Determine what the first three or four clues will be that will bring in multiple suspects. Give each suspect a motive for the crime and decide how and when you will reveal this motive
6. Choose an unlikely suspect and give this person a good cover story.
7. Even at this early stage, figure out how the mystery or story will end. This can be changed during the creative process, but knowing where your story will end, will give you a writing destination. This will prevent you from winding up writing yourself into a corner somewhere or writing yourself into a tangent that will have to be nixed anyway.

WHAT ABOUT OTHER GENRES?

Now, sometimes you will be writing a story that has a mystery ribboning through it but it's not as organized or as detailed as an actual crime mystery. Your outline will be shorter but will contain a skeleton of all the action. Below are two examples of writing a ghost story and writing a Gothic scary-house story.

LAYER 1 IN A GHOST STORY:

1. Who is the Ghost? Why has the Ghost arisen? Why is the Person not Resting in Peace? What is the Ghost's purpose for appearing? This is the backstory that will be dropped like breadcrumbs throughout the storyline. (Ghost-Story.png)
2. How can the Ghost first appear that will raise the question that maybe the viewer is just crazy? Or maybe the viewer is just paranoid? Give them a reason for this paranoia.
3. How will the Ghost appear and what clues will the ghost drop in order to trigger more of the mystery behind the Ghost's restlessness to play out?
4. Choose how the story will end and if the Ghost will achieve its goal and whether the ghost will now rest in peace or will the Ghost be back for another book in the series?

LAYER 1 IN A SCARY-HOUSE STORY:

1. What is it about the house that's creepy?
2. What is the House hiding? Is there a secret room? Is there a hidden person?
3. What happened in the house to make the house haunted or unsettled?
4. How will the mystery of the house play out? What is the chronology of the clues about the history of the house and why it is haunted? These are the breadcrumbs in this kind of a storyline.
5. Choose how the story will end and if the house is destroyed or if the house destroys someone, etc.

FORMAT OF LAYER 1:

Layer one can be done in a list format or with a mind-mapping software, or even with a pencil drawing your own game board or storyboard on the back of a large piece of wrapping paper. Choose whatever format helps you the most. If you're new, try each one. Finding the right tools for the right job is very helpful.

If your Level 1 looks like any of these, you get A+ Layer 1.



LAYER 2 - Break up the Story into a four-part structure or 3-act structure.

Open up a fresh manuscript document and split the clues and events into a four-part novel structure or a 3-act-story structure, whichever one you prefer.  So this layer is easy and takes about five minutes.

LAYER 3 - Writing the Scene Outlines (Scaffolding & Storyboarding)

In Layer 3, you will refer to the Skeleton of the crime outline you already created. Following the chronology of the crime and the clue drops, write an outline of each scene. This is nothing more than another list of what needs to happen in each scene. You are not the writer yet. You are still the story engineer or the storyboard creator. This is the second phase of scaffolding that is setting the story up for when the writer comes in. The list should be concise, more like a list than big paragraph chunks.

Below is a Scene Template I use. I don't worry about the Point of View in this layer because you can wait to choose it.  I wait to see who "steals the scene" when I'm actually writing.  But I include it in a Scene Template.

POV:
TIME/LOCATION:
PURPOSE/CLUES:

CHOOSE A TIME AND LOCATION:

Choose a time and location, but don't describe any locations or characters yet.  Purpose and Clues is a reminder that everything written has to have a purpose and every scene in a mystery should have some clues or a crime.

In the video on this subject matter below, I go into a few extra tips on using the scene template to help you in other ways.

LAYER 4: DOWN-AND-DIRTY FIRST DRAFT  - NOW YOU'RE THE WRITER!

In Layer 4, you are finally the writer. The scaffolding is in place and now it's time to start writing the story. The first draft is the hardest layer of writing.

It may help to think of yourself as more of a Town Crier.

Your job in this layer is to blurt out the entire story. Just get it down in paper. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, descriptions of people. Like the cops say -- Just the facts. Write out the story and don't look back. Don't re-read anything. Don't get lost in verb tenses. Write and don't look back. Only look at your scene outline to make sure you have covered everything. That's the only concern.

THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE FIRST DRAFT:
Choose a location for the scene and a time. (Nothing is written in cement)
Make sure all of the clues and anything else from your scene outline gets into the scenes.

THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER IN THE FIRST DRAFT:
Spelling, grammar, sentence structure, too many adverbs, scene or character descriptions, foreshadowing, cliffhangers, quote marks, etc.
Just write what happens in each scene with whatever dialogue comes to you.

In the video below, I go into some detail about why this is important and how it can save you time in the end.



LAYER 5: 1st Proofread (The Read-through)

I call this the first proofread but it's really the first readthrough. Run a grammar and spell check in the beginning. This will clean up some of the down and dirty mistakes.

Begin to read through the novel as a writer. This is the layer that you will put in the descriptions of your main characters and the scene descriptions. You are not line-editing in this layer.  You are reading for context and to make sure that your sentences flow one to the other and that the chapters flow from one to the other.

LAYER 5 CHECKLIST:

1. Are there any descriptions you need to add to this scene?
2. Is there any surprise in this scene? If so, can you rewrite it to make the surprise be a cliffhanger at the end of the chapter?
3. Has the POV been established?
4. Check on head-hopping.

SCRIVENER TIPS FOR LAYER 5:

Using Scrivener Find and Replace feature, set things up where you will automatically focus on your weak points.  For example: I make all "ing" endings capitalized.  I also capitalize the words BEGIN and BEGAN as well as the phrase IN ORDER TO.  This way, I can't just scan over them without noticing them. It forces me to check whether I can change the format of the verbs or the sentence structures to past tense, etc.

Then I proofread the entire novel and focus on these changes.  Here is a checklist for the scenes in this layer:

LAYER 6: The 2nd PROOFREAD

This is the layer you start polishing your prose in. Spellcheck and grammar check again before you begin. Then read through the entire novel for context and this time look at your sentence structure and verb choice.

SCRIVENER TIP: USING KEYWORDS FOR A CONTEXT CHECK:

Layer 6 is where I add the keywords in Scrivener.  By using keywords, you can isolate certain scenes and then see them isolated from the rest of the novel.  This is a great way to check on certain things in any story.  Examples:  Romantic Subplot, wedding talk, vampire events, interviews, clues dropped, etc.

 



Layer 7  - The Hardcore Proofread

Below is a list of things I do in Layer 7:
1. List Troublesome words - Just, like, adverbs. Compile a list of your favorites.  I have compiled a long list of words that trip me up and I go over them in this layer.
2. Check your chapters in Grammerly for grammar verb tense.
3. Then I compile from Scrivener to a Word .docs file and paste it into an  eBook template and save it as a Manuscript.  I file it in a folder called Pre-Publication. Then I open it in Word and run Word's spell check and grammar check on it again.
4. Then I read it as a final proofread (even though it's not the final proofread!)
5. Check all Chapter Names are in Heading 1's for the Table of Contents
6. Fill in the Other pages: Title Page, Other Books By Page, Title and Author Page, Copyright, Table of Contents, Note to Reader, Acknowledgements, About the Author, Other Books By Page)
6. Find and check all quotes to make sure your quotes are in sets.

LEVEL 8:  - FINAL PROOFREAD AND NARRATION

1. Using the read aloud feature in Microsoft Word, I read the book aloud as I read along with it. This gives you an idea of how the book will sound in the reader's mind.
2. I make any final corrections in this last proofread.
3. From here the manuscript goes to an Editor.
4. Then I forward it to myself as an ePub and while it's being edited, I read it again on my Kindle to see how it looks and feels from the reader's perspective.

VIDEO ON WRITING IN 8 LAYERS IS BELOW: