Lexicon: Steampunk

Steampunk: a subgenre of historical fiction and science fiction that takes place surrounding the industrial age (mostly the turn of 18th century to the 19th). Often it is part alternate history so a mix of technology (real and imagined) can be intermixed with real events or people from the time period.

Two primary focuses are prevalent:
- inventions and how the rise of technology effects everyday life (leans toward science fiction ideals),
- emphasis on how the main characters band together for a purpose even though they generally would not be friends (leans towards a fantasy quest).

Examples: Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina, Mainspring by Jay Lake, and The Affinity Bridge by George Mann.

Books: Writing Great Books for Young Adults

Writing Great Books for Young Adults

My Verdict: Don’t Bother

Writing Great Books for Young Adults by Regina Brooks covers the basics needed for any novel, nothing revolutionary for the Young Adult genre.

The first chapter has five decent tips for writing YA (like "don't be a phony" you should have current cred with kids today so you aren't out of date or preachy and read a lot in the genre you are writing). After that the book gets less specific to the YA genre and reads more like a thesis paper on how to write a novel (making characters, dissecting plot structure, choosing POV, how not to write dialogue, etc).

Even though the book discusses different structures and clichés it does not use a lot of examples. The ones it does mention were not necessarily YA books when they were written (but it could be argued that they were the forefathers).

It was refreshing to see “Dialog Tags” (p.95), “The verb to be” (p. 102) and “Adjectives and adverbs” (p.102-103) covered in a concise way (use “said” for everything, cut out was, -ing, and –ly words by using past tense).

As a quick, basic refresher book it does fine. More current examples from the YA field would've helped define the genre today (even though it was published in 2009).

If you are looking for another book on general writing advice you might find her concise writing style helpful.


Homework: compare your favorite YA book from your youth to a YA book that came out within the last year.

Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother

Lexicon: Editor

Editor: is usually divided into two types Content & Story Editor versus a Line Editor.

A Content & Story Editor examines each part of your story to make sure it feels complete and that it fits into a genre. These parts include, but are not limited to: audience, characters, descriptions, dialogue, genre, main story arc, minor story arcs, pacing, plot, point of view, setting, tension, and theme. It is important to use a Content and Story Editor before seeking publication in order to make sure your work is polished enough to impress Agents and Publishers.

A Line Editor focuses on grammar and punctuation. You should consider using a Line Editor before mailing out your manuscript to Agents and Publishers to avoid getting dumped in the slush pile.

What is their motivation?

Money. Out of the three sides of the editorial triangle this is the only one you usually have to pay for (unless you’ve got a friend on the inside). Yes, editors enjoy being appreciated for their hard work and seeing their clients go on to be published electronically and in brick and mortar stores, but at the end of the day editors have gone to school to learn the tricks of the trade and it is a job.

Editors are just one side of the editorial triangle (along with critique partners and beta readers). In the normal flow of events your critique partners will work with you as you write, a content and story editor will help you shape your narrative, then beta readers allow you to get a glimpse at how your audience will react. After that you’ll need a line editor, an agent, and a publisher, but try to focus on the important part first: write your novel.

After you work with each editor you'll need to revise before sending your manuscript on to agents and publishers. If you're not ready for an editor just yet remember to focus on the most important part first: write your novel.

Suggestion: Constructive Day Dreams

Do you have a boring commute to work? Are you unable to read while you exercise? Do you hate singing in the shower? Don’t worry about wasting this time any more – use it for Constructive Day Dreams.

Constructive day dreaming is when you let yourself relax while doing a repetitive chore and think of all the crazy what if’s that could be in your novel.

The key is to pick a topic before you start day dreaming:

• Filling in a character profile (back story, habits, dialogue peculiarities).
• Setting description (every setting needs at least one unique characteristic to set it apart from every other bar, house, castle, forest, field).
• Plot speed (you know from your re-reads the parts you want to skim over – think about why that is and how you might change it).
• Genre expectations (after you’ve plotted the whole novel or done your first draft, look back and ask yourself whether you have too many items expected in your genre [which might start to look cliché] or so little that your genre is undefined [publisher’s want to know what shelf to put you on]).

All of these will need constructive day dreaming time. Do not think of it as being lazy to schedule it into your plans – just make sure that it is a planned topic to think through instead of random stream of consciousness.

This differs from brainstorming in one way: constructive day dreaming is about filling in the blank rooms and undefined details – brainstorming is about figuring out if the choices you’ve made are the right ones.

In short: day dreaming is not being lazy, when you use your time constructively.

Lexicon: Show, Don't Tell

Show, Don’t Tell: is a phrase that reminds writers to give the reader evidence so that they come to the concluding thought with the protagonist of the story instead of the reader being told what to think.

Let’s look at two statements:

She was a raven haired beauty from the gods.

Her black hair curled into delicate ringlets to frame a pale face with the barest touch of eyeliner and lipstick.

First line: Telling, Second line: Showing. Why does someone not wear much makeup? Because they are beautiful enough without it.

Showing always takes longer than telling, but it gives the reader so much more to consider. Who would concentrate on curled hair and makeup to decide if someone was beautiful? 

• A man or a woman? 
• Young or old? 
• A hair stylist or an up and coming actor? 

When you know Who is thinking, you’ll know exactly What they would be thinking about.

Whatever style you’re narrating in (first or third) this will help the reader sink into the mind of the current protagonist. 

• A fashion designer will always look at clothes, 
• an art student will notice every picture during a shopping excursion,
• a perfume seller will notice the natural scents on a hike and other hikers. 

Know your character and what to show will be easy.

How do you know when to Tell vs. when to Show? Gear your brain for Showing everything that is important to the novel and you’ll find yourself telling the readers less. Yes, there will be some instances throughout the novel where telling is necessary, but make it short, and make the protagonist desperate to hear about the new information so that the reader will also be excited to finally know the answers.

Genre is definitely important – Sci-fi gets away with telling because they have to explain how different technologies work, but a romance will drag if given the same treatment. Pick up a good book you’ve already read in your genre, flip to a random page, and try to identify how much telling vs. showing is going on.  

Books: 27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them!

27 Fiction Writing Blunders
My Verdict: Own It

27 Fiction Writing Blunders - And How Not To Make Them! by James Scott Bell is a decent reminder for a leisurely afternoon.

When writing and revising a novel there are hundreds of details to consider and no timeline oriented checklist of when to make sure you haven't written a cliche (dialogue, characters, or plot). This book is a quick and easy read to remind you of the failings all writers can get trapped in when they get distracted.

Highlights of the book include:

Chapter 3: Marshmallow Dialogue
Chapter 5: Pure Evil Villains
Chapter 7: Low stakes
Chapter 10: Happy People In Happy Land
Chapter 11: Head Hopping
Chapter 14: No Push Through The Door
Chapter 19: Settling on First Ideas 

Most of the chapters deserve a thorough read, but these were especially well explained and often show up as problems in first drafts.

Six chapters specifically deal with the writers life and difficulties (after the titles I've written my log line for each in parentheses):

Chapter 1: Letting Fear Get A Foothold (I'm not good enough to be a writer)
Chapter 9: Neglected Brain (how to keep healthy and on track)
Chapter 15: Chip on the Shoulder (fine line between inflated ego and timid mouse)
Chapter 17: Letting Block Tackle You (three categories of writers block)
Chapter 18: Market Ignorance (write for an audience, but not for a market)
Chapter 25: Quitting (the only way to fail)

At the end of the book is a section on the high points of Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php).

Two pieces of great advice found in this book:

• "Act first, explain later" in order to cut out exposition. (first used halfway through chapter 2)
• "the key to keeping readers happy" is to "Bond reader to character, keep it there for a whole book, then pay off that connection at the end."(last lines to chapter 24).

Homework: identify in your novel why your reader bonds with your lead character and check to see if that scene needs to be revised for an "act first, explain later" scenario.


Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother

Lexicon: Critique Partner

Critique Partner: a fellow writer whom you trust to give constructive criticism of your novel and you return the favor for their work.

This could mean anything from meeting weekly for coffee and reading your latest chapter aloud, to sending your full novel to a friend half-way around the world for their comments. Some partners even brainstorm the plot, characters, setting, of a novel before they start writing chapters. This process enables you to get constructive criticism (they point out what’s good and what sucks) as well as encouragement to keep writing when you feel too busy to make it happen. This relationship only works between the right people and when both are interested in putting in the same amount of effort. It is most effective when your partner is in the same genre.

Instead of a relationship between two people it can be a small group (3-5), but the more members you include equals less time spent on each member.

What is their motivation?

Sure, your critique partner(s) want to help you, but they also want honest, polite, constructive criticism on their own manuscript. Each time you send more of your work and are nervous about what you will get back, remember that they feel the same way.

Make sure to nail down the details of your relationship before you start exchanging work. Details like: 

• have deadlines for turning in the manuscript and returning comments, 
• know what type of comments you want (like: don’t worry about grammar or dialogue, but make sure the setting fits), and 
• find ways to reward yourselves for reaching accomplishments (go out bowling when you both have five chapters completed).

Critique Partners are just one side to the editorial triangle (along with editors and beta readers). In the normal flow of events your critique partners will work with you as you write, a content and story editor will help you shape your narrative, then beta readers allow you to get a glimpse at how your audience will react. 

After that you’ll need a line editor, an agent, and a publisher, but try to focus on the important part first: write your novel.

Suggestion: Brainstorm

Brainstorming is a useful tool to remember in order to think outside the box. You can do it alone or with critique partners.

Pick any scene of your story that is slow paced, possibly cliché, and most likely the one readers will skim. Using your mind (or a piece of paper, or a whiteboard) remember how the scene goes without re-reading it. Try to question EVERYTHING that happens in the scene.

Things like:

• Motivation
• Setting (rooms and props)
• Dialogue
• Characters
• Plot
• Tension

Every time you pose an answer to the question think of at least three alternatives and don’t worry about it sounding silly or unlikely. At the end of your brainstorming session the right answer should be clear because you connect this dot of your story to the others without losing your reader.

For an example let’s open J.K. Rowling’s The Sorcerer’s Stone to Chapter 9 “The Midnight Duel” (p. 143 in my edition). Since this is the final draft of this chapter we have to deconstruct it to see what questions Rowling wanted to answer. In parenthesis are possible alternatives that could have come from brainstorming.

• How can we make Harry dread flying lessons? (a storm is coming, the girl he likes is in the same class, he has class with Malfoy, he hears the broom chooses the rider)
• How much does Harry hate Malfoy? (more than homework on weekends, more than Snape, more than being raised as a muggle, more than Dudley)
• How do the Gryffindor first years find out they will have flying lessons with the Slytherins? (Malfoy brags that he’ll show Harry a thing or two, McGonagall announces it at breakfast, Nearly Headless Nick wakes the boys in their bedroom and tells them to hurry or they’ll be late for their first lesson, they find a note pinned up in the Gryffindor common room)
• How will Harry convey his feelings about the news? (announces he won’t learn, throws his books on the ground, sarcastically states he wants to make a fool of himself in front of Malfoy, rips the paper off the wall)

It’s easy to see that Rowling connected the dots to the rest of the story by choosing to make Malfoy the villain in this chapter. Harry has already dealt with Malfoy before, but he is contemplating how he never thought he’d hate someone more than Dudley when he finds a note on the Gryffindor common room wall announcing flying lessons with the Slytherins. Sarcastically he states he wants to make a fool of himself on a broom in front of Malfoy. Tension, motivation, and good pacing because all of this is conveyed in the first two paragraphs of the chapter.

In brainstorming you don’t have to think in a straight line. Each question will make you question something else in the scene. Keep going with whatever question pops up and think it through until you’ve answered all possible questions.

This can be done with any aspect of your story, not just a scene.

• Try it with setting by imagining different characters walking through the set.
• If a character is the problem, imagine that character with each of the other characters in the book and feel out how they would react to different scenarios (helpful, rude, tired, rather split up the chore and do it alone).
• If a scene lacks motivation, break it down until each person has a clear desire to accomplish right now.

This differs from constructive day dreaming in one way: brainstorming is about figuring out if the choices you’ve made are the right ones - constructive day dreaming is about filling in the blank rooms and undefined details.

In short: By brainstorming you can find alternative thoughts that will help the pacing and tension throughout your story. When you consider these alternatives you’ll find inspiration.

Lexicon: Beta Reader

Beta Reader: readers who read your manuscript for fun (not profit) and give you a summary critique of your novel before it is published. What that summary is composed of completely depends on the relationship you set up with your beta reader.

This summary could be anywhere between one paragraph and five pages but does not generally include line editing. Beta readers can be friends or strangers. Just google beta readers and you’ll come up with a dozen different ways to connect with beta readers online.

What is their motivation?

Who wouldn’t want to read a novel for free?

You can have as many beta readers as you have time for, but make sure you have at least 3-5 of them so you can get varied opinions (and if you like the opinions of one of them make sure to keep in touch for your next book). If possible, at least one reader should already be very familiar with the genre you are writing in and pick one reader who has studied the writing craft.

Beta readers are just one side to the editorial triangle (along with editors and critique partners). In the normal flow of events your critique partners will work with you as you write, a content and story editor will help you shape your narrative, then beta readers allow you to get a glimpse at how your audience will react. 

After that you’ll need a line editor, an agent, and a publisher, but try to focus on the important part first: write your novel.

Books: The Fire In Fiction

The Fire In Fiction
My Verdict: Keep On Desk

The Fire In Fiction: Passion, Purpose, and Techniques To Make Your Novel Great by Donald Maass is a great well-rounded book for any genre. I classify it as a workbook because there are many opportunities to test out the theories discussed.
The nine chapters in this book cover the basics of any story: 

• Protagonists 
• Secondary Characters 
• Scenes That Can’t Be Cut 
• World Building 
• Voice 
• Believability
• Humor 
• Tension 
• Why to Keep Writing. 

This is a lot to cover in one book.

There are Practical Tools at the end of each chapter. These give you specific exercises to try right now and then has discussion questions so you can reflect on it. The tools mirror the sub chapters in each chapter, so if you enjoyed reading a particular section, I’d recommend skipping to the practical tool section it corresponds with and trying it out while it is fresh in your mind.

Many of the exercises require you to examine the opposite emotions or ideas you are trying to portray in a scene. How can you think of opposites without synonyms? It becomes a clever way of defining your original intent for a scene.

Put the fire in fiction could translate to put your truth in your fiction. Steal from your emotional experiences in order to make your characters real and original. It is the only way to make an original story, because all plots and arch types have been used before.

You would be doing yourself a disservice to read more than one chapter a day. With such thorough examples to back up his statements in each sub chapter, you need to allow your mind time to mull it over and think of examples in your genre. Then take time to brainstorm and daydream your responses at the end of each chapter. The questions take on a life of their own when held up to your work in progress.

Do you want to pick a random page of your current work and dissect it a bunch of different ways? This book will help you do it. It’s definitely a good choice to browse when you are fleshing out a book or starting to draw the connecting lines of a new plot.

It would probably take you a month of hard work to try out each of the practical tools at the end of the chapters. That is both exciting and daunting.

Your Homework (beyond the Practical Tools at the end of each chapter): Decide what fuels your passion for writing fiction and find a way to connect with that on at least a weekly basis.


Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother

Suggestion: Pen name

Don’t use a pen name.

• Be proud of your work and put your name all over it. Most people who start writing don’t finish it or don’t publish it.
• The internet means there are no secrets. Someone will eventually figure out who you are anyway.
• Branding isn’t just about branding your series – it’s about branding you as an author. You want your brand to remind people of you, not some mask you put on. When you’ve won people over with one series, why act like you don’t have more for them to read? They’ll move on to another author and forget about you if they don’t see new releases scheduled soon. You want people to find all your work.

Even if you write in different genres:

a.) most people read in more than one genre. 

b.) they might know someone who reads your other genre and suggest you.

In short: Proudly use the same name from start to finish for your career.

For the other side of the coin, try this article: http://www.writing-world.com/business/pseudonym.shtml 

And if you agree with that side follow it up with the Ten Questions listed here: http://www.writing-world.com/business/pen.shtml  

Lexicon: Science Fiction - Hard vs. Soft

Science Fiction Hard vs. Soft: all Science Fiction must have a sense of wonder, a what-if scenario, science, and the adventure of discovery. 

Hard Science Fiction: adheres firmly to the scientific method and the currently known rules of our universe. Science is about always asking questions and discarding disproven theories. This means that the science used is a true science – one that is defined by laws based on theory (if you drop an apple it falls because of gravity and you can calculate at what rate it falls by certain variables – etc).

Soft Science Fiction: Usually means that the story is not scientifically accurate. As is the right of all fiction writers the author took an idea not necessarily provable through science we have today and made it work in their world by sheer force of will. Some would also lump social sciences here. A social science is not easily defined by laws based on theory because culture and emotional mindset do not prove to always be the same.

Another way to look at it is: Hard Science Fiction focuses on the science (accuracy above all else, a glimpse of where science came from and especially where it is going). Soft Science Fiction focuses on people (how do humans usually interact with each other or other species, why do they react the same way or what causes the outcomes to be different).

Examples:

Hard Science Fiction: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, and The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clark.

Soft Science Fiction: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, and The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Books: Worlds of Wonder

Worlds of Wonder

My Verdict: Skim It

Worlds of Wonder: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by David Gerrold is a good book for those debating about writing in science fiction for the first time.

In the first 88 pages Gerrold easily describes science fiction step by step and defines where it crosses in to fantasy. You must have:

• A sense of wonder
• A what if scenario
• Adhere firmly to the scientific method and the currently known rules of our universe
• Science is about always asking questions and discarding disproven theories
• The adventure of discovery

While he refers to all science fiction, some might argue that his view leans more to Hard Science Fiction because of his focus on real technology instead of bolognium (made-up technology).

The fantasy chapters did not have clear structure to them or go in depth. Fantasy usually makes its own rules, so he cautions wisely that you understand the newly invented rules of your universe and stick to them for the whole story. He best explains this with, "The reader will suspend disbelief - he won't suspend common sense." (P29).

The other 148 pages of the book are filled with chapters on writing, such as: theme, style, first lines, last lines, simile, metric prose, dialogue and many more. The examples are all science fiction and fantasy, but mostly well known if you've been formally educated in writing.

Throughout the book he refers to and lists a large number of authors. If you are just getting into science fiction and fantasy or want to re-read some of the staples the following list is a good place to start.

Alfred Bester
Marion Zimmer Bradley
CJ Cherryh
Arthur C. Clarke
Harlan Ellison
Jack Finney
Robert A. Heinlein
Zenna Henderson
Ursula K. LeGuin
Richard Matheson
Anne McCaffrey
Judith Merrill
Larry Niven
Frederik Pohl
Ayn Rand
Spider Robinson
Joanna Russ
Theodore Sturgeon
J.R.R. Tolkien - just Fantasy
Jack Vance
A.E. Van Vogt
Kate Wilhelm
Connie Willis
Roger Zelazny

The chapters are mostly concise and for those wondering if they want to write science fiction this might be a good place to start your decision. If you're looking for fantasy - skip this book.

Your Homework: Pick the three authors in your current genre that made you want to write in the same field and read them again to confirm why they impress you.

Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own It, Read It, Skim It, Don't Bother

Lexicon: Historical Fiction

           Historical Fiction: a made-up story that includes a real setting during a specific year range. 

      It might include: real people from that time and/or real events (President Lincoln, Cleopatra, Shakespeare, Ghandi, war, the black plague, Haley’s comet, Pompeii’s volcano catastrophe, the stock market crash of 1929, etc). 

      Various sub-genres exist: 

•       Just setting: using some or all details of a specific time period with characters that are completely or mostly fictitious (most High Fantasy novels are based on medieval Europe). 
•       Specific Important People: a.) choosing a real person and following from their point of view b.) using a fictional character that glimpses the historic person(s). 
•       Alternate History: one major change has caused a difference in the events that took place (such as a time traveling character or new technology turns the tide of war).

      Examples: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, Honolulu by Alan Brennert, Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

Suggestion: Keep Planning, or Else

Everyone has a busy life, but do you know when you are avoiding writing? The only way to know includes one of the most dreaded topics in history: planning.

Don't let flashbacks of elementary school with your mother’s voice-over distract you. Stay focused. Grown-ups and successful authors do plan (yes, even those that fly by the seat of their pants).

The key to planning is setting realistic goals.

When do you want to complete your novel?
How much time each week can you dedicate your time to writing?

You'll have to live by some trial and error. Some authors are really productive in 30 minute increments, others need 3 hours so they can sink completely into their world. Either way, there is something that will help you stay on task: make a list.

With things like:

• character profile
• setting description
• plot revising
• writing the next chapter

If you find yourself making the same list each week (because the item did not get done last week) you either need to break the item into smaller parts (to be more easily managed) or you need to find out what is keeping you from your writing time.

Make sure you don't confuse writing time with author branding time.

Your author brand includes:

• maintaining a website
• keeping in touch with fans
• social media
• conversing with your agent or publisher
• looking into conferences
• contacting your editor
• reviewing comments from your critique partners and your beta readers

These are all important things that should be scheduled, but they should be separate from your writing time.

We all know what happens when you don’t plan and aren’t motivated – your book doesn’t get published. If you have been published, but have a long gap in your writing, people move on to other authors. Everyone has at least one author they think of every few years and wonder why they dropped off the map. So make sure you keep planning, or else you know where your career is going.

In short: find something that will keep you on task from week to week.

I’d recommend a Passion Planner (http://www.passionplanner.com/).

Lexicon: Young Adult (YA)

Young Adult (YA): a coming of age novel set in a fast paced world. Usually first person, leans more toward dialogue than description, and must have a relatable protagonist.

Can be read and enjoyed by adults.

Most popular genres are indigenous fantasy, romance, and realistic fiction.

Examples: Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, The Selection by Keira Cass, and 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

Books: The Comic Toolbox

The Comic Toolbox
My Verdict: Skim It

The Comic Toolbox: How To Be Funny Even If You're Not by John Vorhaus, tries to cover a very complex topic in layman's terms.

Consider this a workbook instead of just a writing theory book. In the first five chapters, exercises exist in lists of ten. After that it is mostly paragraph exercises. They are not just at the end of chapters, rather sprinkled throughout to help emphasize his theories. 

The exercises force you to lock up your internal editor by demanding ten examples each time (under the rule of thumb that nine will suck). It was a little agonizing to come up with so many ideas, but interesting to review them later with a friend - their favorite was often not the one I picked (which leads credence to "always have objective critique partners").

Brevity is the soul of wit he quotes from Shakespeare - it is also the soul of plotting exercises. Over and over he states "if you can't define a character in one sentence, I don't think you can define him at all" (P60).

Chapter 6 defines Types of Comedy in much the same way Save the Cat (STC) defined types of movies. In these definitions you will find lots of similarities to STC, but the main difference is that you can combine as many of these definitions together in order to make a more defined comedic world.

The exercises in this book were hard for me, because I tend to enjoy situational comedy. Therefore random word connotations that sound funny together, don't usually make me laugh. The tools here are necessary to build all types of comedic worlds, which makes sense once you see how they can be broken down and put together.

Whether you want to add a little bit of humor to your novel, or set out to write the next best comedic novel, this book is a good way to get your creative juices flowing and worth an invested skim.

Your Homework: Decide your baseline for humor and make sure you play to your strengths in your work.


Rating Scale: Keep On Desk, Own it, Read it, Skim it, Don't Bother