Write Better Dialogue

I've had stories come to me (via Musefire-like inspiration) in two ways.

1) A really cool situation and/or plot twist comes to mind
2) A really cool character comes to mind

If the character comes first, usually it'll be in dialogue form. Lines of dialogue form in my brain like I'm having a thought about what I want to eat for lunch.

But if I start with a premise, it's harder to develop characters that are real. And dialogue is part of that.

So of course, I did some digging.

10 Creative Techniques for Creating Character-Specific Dialogue come from Emlyn Chand and compiles a list of ways to personalize a character's dialogue, from specific vocabulary choices to catch phrases.

Have you ever read over your work and said something like My Dialogue Sucks? The Creative Penn comes to the rescue by reminding us of the Functions of Dialogue and showing us how to keep the reader from getting bored or distracted.

How to Write Effective Dialogue in Your Novel talks about the ever-important beats: small units that have an action and a reaction. I personally found it was easier to craft good beats while writing longhand. But that's another post.

Need a Story Idea? You Need a Creative Boost.

Getting good story ideas can be hard. Sometimes all you need is a creative boost. For me personally, I get my story ideas when the "creative well" is full AND I'm doing something boring (like trying to fall asleep, doing dishes, folding laundry, or waiting in line). So I have to make sure my creative well is always full to take advantage of the boring parts of my life.

Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner always gives good advice. She has a list of things you can do (when you're not writing) that will feed your book-writing later in her post: How to Become a Better Writer.

Routines for Writers is a great resource for any writer. Shonna Slayton has multiple posts on boosting creativity, including this one on Daydreaming. She gives a few methods to get the creative side warmed up.

Have you ever heard of the Rule of Twenty? Upstart Crow writes that your first 5 or 10 ideas may not be gold, but keeping trying.Creative riches lie ahead!

How to Write a Book (And Stay Sane)

I'm a writer, so naturally, I'm a little crazy. I spend countless hours playing with imaginary things, trying to visualize things that aren't there, and then find the EXACT words to describe it. (You know those times when you're looking for the perfect word to describe a crazed, mentally-ill, soulless dying-to-rip-your-throat-out animal? The magic word is: rabid.)

The writing life is riddled with insecurity, which can also make you crazy. You spend hours upon hours (upon hours) writing a book (a BOOK for cryin' out loud!) and then you spend more hours revising it, usually more hours than it took to write the first draft. And then you wonder if it's good enough. And you worry about what you may have done wrong. And then you send it to agents and you find out that it's not good enough, or maybe it is and then you have a slew of other things to worry about (but I wouldn't know about such worries. Yet.).

Yes, being a writer is insane.

Here's how I cling to the scraps of sanity that I still have:
1) Take breaks. It doesn't matter how frequent or how long, I just take a break when my eyes start to glaze over. Usually, my head feels like it's full of mush. That's a good time to take a break. I get water, eat some fruit, close my eyes for a few minutes, or stare into space. (That's really fun to do in a public place, if you like to write in book stores or coffee shops. You get some great reactions.)

2) Accept your best for what it is. Do what you can and move on. I edited the pudding out of Shadow Bound. I learned a lot about revising and the last draft was ten times better than the one before it, but it still didn't sell. It was too far gone. The premise was good, but the characters weren't just flat, they were stick figures. The voices were... wanting. If I really wanted to, I could spend 6 or more months rewriting every word, but what's the point? I can write a better book from scratch.

3) Keep at it. This is similar to "get back on the horse". Just keep writing. Don't even think about it, just keep writing. It doesn't matter what you work on, but as soon as you stop, it gets difficult to start again. Every time I take a break from writing (like, you know, to have kids or something) it's so hard to start up again. And what do I think about during my off-time? My failures, usually. I think about how my last book didn't work out, it was weak, it was... Trust me. Move on and write something else.

4) Reach out. You may recall, Writers feed other writers, like vampires in a blood bank. If you don't believe me, go to a writer's conference. If you can't go to a writer's conference, check out the #amwriting tag on Twitter. Writers are so supportive. Part of it is because we're going through the same insecurities, the same frustrations. Another part is that we have the same goals. Yes, we all want to sell books, but more than that, we want to build a community of readers. And to do that, we all have to write the best stuff we can.

How to you maintain sanity (or at least the illusion or sanity)?

Finding What Works for You: Writing Longhand

Today, most writers use a computer to work. Why wouldn't you? It's faster and easier to edit.

At least, that's what your brain tells you.

I've been writing new scenes out by hand. (Crazy, I know.) It's been really helpful. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe my brain just has more time to throw out the junk words and cliches before my hand can write them out. Maybe I'm using a different part of the brain. Maybe my muse just likes writing by hand, so she throws out the good stuff when I cooperate. Who knows?

What I do know is that my writing is much richer. The settings come to life, the voice comes naturally, and the conflict is everywhere. (I also haven't gotten writer's block yet, knock on wood.) I hardly feel like I can take credit for it. It's like something takes over and gives better words to my pen.

After I get a few chapters down, I type up what I've written. I do a little editing in the process. Mostly, I make sure the rhythm is right and the descriptions aren't too long. Sometimes I catch a place where my character notices things she shouldn't (like when she's injured--why would she have the presence of mind to count the windows?) or where the villain gives too much information. (He likes to hold back a little. It makes him feel in control.) So this method works in more than one way.

It doesn't take as much time as I thought it would. I can type 4,000 words in one day without too much trouble. That's a crazy number of words if you're weaving a story from scratch.

I'd highly recommend it. Just to try. :)

Building Your Brand with CJ Lyons Part 1

Bestselling Thriller Author CJ Lyons had some fantastic seminars at the Pennwriters Conference. She was kind enough to let me share her handout from her Branding Workshop. You can find her (absolutely fabulous) writing resources at her website No Rules, Just Write! 
If the ideas in the handout are helpful, there's more on this in her Break Free from the Slushpile e-book.

How to become a Bestseller and Preserve your Sanity


CJ Lyons
There are tons of places debut authors can find information on building a brand or platform--so many that it's often overwhelming. It's easy to feel like all you want to do is hide in your hermit cave and write the next book.

No worries--even I feel like that most of the time!!! You see, I'm an Introvert and my strength comes from my ability to sit alone and focus, get the job done.

I can put on a "party face" when needed, but it takes work and a lot of psychic energy--so much so that often for days after a convention I can't write.

Now, Extroverts--they usually don't need any help with promotion, they're walking/talking promotional powerhouses. Which can be a good thing as long as they learn to channel that energy and focus on the real work: writing the next book.

Because here's what I'm going to tell you that is different from all the other how-to-promote advice for debut authors:

Number one thing a debut author should do to promote their work and build their career? WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!

Number two thing? WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!

Number three? Repeat after me….WRITE THE NEXT BOOK!

Okay, you guys got that. Now, what else should you be focused on while preparing for your debut?

Most how-to posts will give you a checklist. In fact, I have a pretty good one that I wrote a few years ago called Birth of a Book: What to Do While You're Expecting. It's a pdf and you can download it here http://cjlyons.net/extras/for-writers/

But I'm not going to give you a checklist here. Instead, I'm going to tell you to ask yourself three questions.
Here we go!

1. Why did you write this book?



2. Who did you write this book for?



3. What are you willing to do for this book?



Dig deep with your answers! Why? Because the answers will frame your entire marketing strategy--and make it a custom fit tailored to you and your readers!


(I'll post Part 2 tomorrow, where CJ tells you how to use the answers to these questions.)

Writing Pointers from Pennwriters -- Dialogue

A few little things I learned about dialogue and point of view.

• It's okay to zoom in and out of your character/change POV as long as it's for a good reason. (To show a character's thoughts, for example.) Your english teacher would tell you it's not technically correct, but this is fiction.
• Cut junk talk like "Okay", "Fine", or "Yes"
• Avoid having a character answer a question directly. It's a great way to increase tension.
• Read it ALOUD!
• Try to make your characters sound unique. You should be able to take a random line of dialogue out and know who the speaker is without dialogue tags.

Writing Pointers from Pennwriters -- The Query

Here are a few tidbits I picked up about querying:

• Make it personal. Agents want to know why you chose to query them, specifically.
• Your blurb needs to have voice and style (the same voice and style that's in your book).
• Be polite!
• Remember contact info!
• May is a good time to query. Fall is also good. Summer is a busy time for agents, so don't expect a quick reply. (I personally don't think you should sit on a book just because it's summer, though.)
• Send your query to yourself first to make sure it translates correctly. You don't want weird characters and formatting going out to every agent you query!
• Be specific. Too many times, the inner conflict is described as "his demons" or "inner struggles". What does that even mean? Give details to show why this character's struggles are specific to him and your story.
• More is less. One paragraph, maybe two. You're not writing a full synopsis. What you want to do is hook the agent by giving a few specific details about the conflicts. Show just how impossible your character's situation is.
• Remove all the telling. Don't tell me the book is exciting. Show it in the blurb.
• Agents say they want you to compare your book to other authors, but they really don't. Nine times out of ten, it'll hurt you more than help you. (Either you'll come off as overconfident or unclear, or you'll show the agent that you really don't know much about the current market.)

Mommy-Writers Have a Tough Gig

Being a writer and a mom at the same time is a challenge and it's been on my mind a lot lately. I've posted on writing while living your life before, but things are changing. My little girl doesn't take naps any more. And then there's the whole pregnancy thing. I wonder how long I'll have to take off before I feel human enough to set and reach writing goals again.

As it becomes more difficult to find time to write, I've come to some conclusions:

1. I need to be well-rested. Trying to write or revise or concentrate on anything in any way while I'm exhausted is frustrating and a waste of time. Unfortunately, I'm pregnant and therefore tired all the time. One thing that's helped me is to wake up earlier than I normally would, get the basic morning routine done, and then take a power nap once everything is settled. I get the same amount of sleep, but for some reason, it feels so much better.
2. Write when you can. I used to write during my little girl's naps, but now that those are non-existent, I've had to readjust. (It took me a couple of days to find something that worked.) I write at night. I'll give up tv to make it happen, even though it helps me unwind at night. (By the way, I noticed that writing also helps me unwind so this is an epic discovery for me.) (Oh, and giving up tv is much easier now that Lost and 24 are over. Just sayin'.)
3. Beg, steal, and bargain for writing time whenever you can. I give DH shoulder rubs, he takes the kid for a few hours on Saturday. It's totally awesome.
4. Set goals (or you'll fall into a pathetic slump). Complacency is the enemy of the self-motivated writer. I give myself ambitious deadlines and use spreadsheets to track my progress.
5. Take breaks. Between projects and during. I know this sounds contradictory to #4, but I'd be a useless glob of bio-matter if I didn't take Sundays off.

If you want to hear a more experienced voice on the subject, Galleycat offers some help for those writing with children, including helpful links and advice from Clive Young, Maggie Stiefvater and Adrienne Maria Vrettos.

And straight from S.A. Larsen (hi!) at the Writers' Alley, come 10 Ways to be a Mom and a Writer.