Don't be Boring Just to Make Word Count

A few years ago, I had a great Skype session with my almost-13-year-old granddaughter, who was an avid reader and a great help to me with my Young Adult WIP, Tattoo, The Awakening.

Anyway, she asked what the next few scenes would be and I mentioned that my main character would be taking a trip to another state. She nodded, then leaned forward so I could see her expression on the screen.

"Well, okay, but leave out the boring stuff."

This caught me off guard. What would a young teen find boring about a trip? So I asked her, and she didn't hesitate at all.

"You know, sitting in the plane, taking off, all that stuff. If you use the plane trip, make it exciting. Like, if the plane crashes and she's the only survivor!"

Okay, I can see that this child will not be fooled by filler. And if she isn't, then neither will the thousands of other young readers we hope to woo with our tales.

So, back to boring. In the early stages of my fiction-writing career, I attended a workshop given by a successful writer in which she outlined the parts of a novel and their importance. She focused on the "sagging middle" because that's where many authors have problems. She talked about breaking up the story into mostly equal word counts to achieve the final goal, and how to dole out the story points through the whole thing.

Could I keep my mouth shut? Nope. During Q&A, I mentioned that my story was finished, but I only had 65,000 words and the required count was 85,000. How could I fix it? Without missing a beat, she said, "Come up with more story." It was the right answer, but what she didn't include was HOW to do that. I had to learn that on my own.

A story arc has three "acts" made up of scenes. Each scene should tell the reader something new and move the story forward smoothly. A story outline can give the author a map to follow and, like a road trip, should include some scenery and attractions along the way. Building the story world is one way to expand word count, but add too much and you'll have readers skipping through the narrative. Extensive character description can also expand word count, but most readers prefer to visualize a character themselves rather than read about the mundane physical details. Dialogue is one of the best writing techniques for carrying a story, but make every word golden. Lots of dialogue is good and provides plenty of white space on the page that gives one the feeling of reading quickly. But dialogue that tracks every reply and grunt and "Hi" and "Yeah" and "Fine, how are you?" is boring! We write stories not about real life as it boringly is, but real life as it is interesting. Conflict is the foundation of every story, so use it to the fullest. 

Know ahead of time what your genre expects for word count and include it in your initial story plan. I recently found this great explanation of word counts; it will make life much easier for me in the future and I hope for you too.

To figure out how to achieve your desired word count, look at each scene or plot point and ask yourself, "What else can happen to make this more interesting?" This is how you "come up with more story."

Now, about that plane crash...

The Value of Book Reviews and Dealing with the Trolls

by Toni Leland

Recently, a successful writing colleague of mine commented that she’d received a truly nasty Amazon review of her newest release. I really sympathized with her—been there, felt that. And as I’ve wondered so many times in the past, my thought was: why do readers feel the need to vent their opinions so viciously? Or at all? If they didn’t like the book, is it necessary to say hurtful things to someone they don’t even know? Have they ever tried to write a book? Do they have any clue to what goes into crafting a story? Never mind getting it published!

I visited the title in question and, sure enough, amid several excellent reviews was a one-liner: the book was garbage, don’t waste your money, don’t read this author’s work. As I’ve done in the past with a couple of less-than-stellar Amazon reviews of my own books, I clicked through to see this reader’s “other reviews.” There were none. Perhaps this person is a beginning reader. Sometimes, the “reviewer” will have their own agenda, be involved personally with another title or author, or simply have nothing better to do with their time. We’ll never know the real story. But be assured that these nay-sayers wouldn't trash a book if they came face-to-face with the authors; the anonymity of the Internet gives some people the courage to be unkind.

So—

Don’t confuse a reader’s “opinion” with a book review. Comments like the one above belong in a forum where bashing is the norm. Book reviews are a whole different breed.

A “real” book review is comprised of many parts:

• Why or how the book relates to the reader’s interest;
• The reader’s perception of how well the author used his or her craft, vis a vis language, characters, plot, etc.;
• What audience would enjoy the book;
• A brief description of the plot, without giving away key points (spoilers) or the ending;
• Why the reader did or did not enjoy the book.

Where's the Value?

On Amazon, one poor opinion in the midst of many good ones tells us that someone might just be marching to a different drummer (such as an avid horror fan trying to “review” a romance). But many bad opinions that echo each other tell us that perhaps the book really is a stinker. But a poor review is not always a bad thing, if it was given in the spirit of constructive criticism. We can learn from our readers’ honest comments just as much as we can glow from the praise. If there are dozens of 1's and 2's, look at the recurring theme of the comments. There is a valuable message there, a clue to what might make the book a better read.

Look at the overall average of the reviews; ideally, there should be a balance between the five-stars and the 3- and 4-stars. As with poor reviews, there will be a similarity of comment that can give an author insight into what he or she could change in future work. I recently struggled with a New York Times "best seller", wading through the first third of the book before giving up. I could not get into the story and felt disappointed. Later, on reading the reviews of this title, I heaved a sigh of relief; dozens of readers had voiced their disappointment with the lack-lustre characters, the slow pace of the book, and the fact that they "couldn't get into the story." A valuable message for the author.

Reviews and Sales

Do reviewer comments affect the sales of our books? I believe that today’s average reader has the ability to make a decision based on the synopsis and description of the book, the author’s track record, and the positive comments left by others.

So, authors—keeping working on developing lizard skin. Difficult, but our mental health and creative juices depend on it. Try not to let negative reviews sidetrack your love of the craft and determination to make each story a better one.

Planning to Self Publish? Is Your Book Ready?

by Toni Leland

Writers have wonderful opportunities available these days. The age of print-on-demand (POD) and e-books has made it possible for anyone to see their work published. Not only possible, but easy. Almost too easy.

I recently went to a major online bookseller and checked on a title I’d heard about. On the first page, first paragraph, third line was the biggest typo you could imagine. I skimmed the sample and discovered that the writing was filled with more errors. I felt really bad for the author who, I’m sure, was thrilled to see the work in print. But over and over, I see new work that has been rushed to market. This is the biggest drawback to publishing your own book. There’s no guardian to keep you on track, no benchmark to which you can compare. There’s just that intoxicating knowledge that you can put your book out there for the world to see. But, is it really ready?

The following two steps can help you make the work the best it can be.

PROOF-READ! Yes, I know this is a pain, and you think you’ve read it enough times to know if it’s right. The problem is this: our brain “knows” what we wrote and our eyes “see” it correctly. You can look at a typo without seeing, or fail to notice a word that was dropped; it happens to all of us.

Solution? Don’t proof on the screen. Print the manuscript and, taking your time, read it out loud. You’ll be amazed at how many things you’ll find that are either wrong or you simply want to change. Once you’ve read the entire thing out loud, make the corrections or changes, then find something else to do for a couple of weeks. Again–don’t be in a hurry.

At the end of that time–especially if you think the piece is exactly as you want it–change the font to something different, then read the story again. Changing the typeface makes your brain pay closer attention. This time, you might see a few things to change, or edits that didn’t happen quite right, but you should get a good feel for whether the story is ready for publication.

Use this most recent proof-reading to check for things like possible copyright infringements, Fair Use issues (such as music lyrics or quotes), adding trademark symbols where needed, and checking citations for anything you’ve “borrowed.”

BETA READERS. The biggest favor you can do yourself is to cultivate a group of advance readers to help you fine-tune the work. Not only will beta readers be able to tell you if the story has plot or character discrepancies or pacing problems, they’ll see typos and other errors that you might miss in your own proofing. It’s so much better to hear these comments before the book is printed than to discover them embedded in an online customer review!

Publishing a book is hard work and whether you do it yourself or seek professional representation and a traditional publishing house, the work you do ahead of time will be the reason you succeed.