Dear O'Abby: Can I write reviews if I'm an aspiring author?

Dear O’Abby,

I’ve been getting conflicting advice about whether or not to review books as an aspiring author. Some people tell me I shouldn’t do it because if I give a bad review to a book represented by a publisher or agent I might wish to query, they may have already put a black mark by my name. Others say I should write reviews because it helps to identify things wrong with stories and writing that I can then apply to my own work.

Do you have an opinion on this?

Best,

Confused


Dear Confused,

I’ve heard that story about why writers shouldn’t write reviews too, but I’ve never taken it too seriously. Agents and publishers should be mature enough to understand that not every book is going to appeal to every reader and that well-written reviews can be valuable to the author even if they aren’t 100% positive.

As a writer, it’s important to read critically and reviewing books is one way to force yourself to do so. If you like a book, reviewing it will help you figure out why you enjoyed it. Was it the story? The characters? The way the words are strung together?

And if you didn’t like the book, what was it you didn’t like? Did you feel the characters acted inconsistently? Was the writing pedestrian? Did the plot fall flat?

By identifying what you do and don’t like about the books you read, you will find yourself growing more critical of your own writing and you may save yourself a lot of grief by fixing issues long before you send the manuscript off to agents or publishers.

If being blacklisted by agents or publishers for writing negative reviews is a real concern, there are a number of ways you can get around it.

Firstly, only publish reviews of things you like. Write the negative ones because they’re often more helpful to you as a writer than the positive ones, but don’t publish them. I did this for a while, calling the review section on my blog ‘books I’ve loved’ and only reviewing things I really liked. I ended up stopping this though, because there just weren’t enough books I loved to write a positive review every week.

Another way to get around it is to review under a pseudonym or write under a pen name so your reviews aren’t linked to your author name.

The key thing to remember when writing reviews is to be constructive. Don’t just pile on with a negative rant. Nothing is 100% bad, so even a negative review can mention a few positives to balance out the negativity. Personally, I like to start with something I liked and finish with another thing I liked with all the critique in the middle. Always read what you have written before you publish and think about how it would make you feel if this review was for your own book.

I would also suggest you don’t tag the author when you publish the review. Not all writers like to read their reviews and if they accidentally click onto a link in a tweet or something and find themselves confronted with a negative review, it could be very upsetting for them.

So that’s my opinion on whether writers should write reviews. I know other people have different opinions, but if you want to write reviews and if you find the process helps your own writing, why not?

If you want more information about this topic, Operation Awesome's J Lenni  Dorner has written a very helpful book, Writing Book Reviews As An Author which gives much more in-depth guidance about how to effectively review books as an author. Some of the advice in there may contradict my own, but it's still a valuable resource, even if you are not a writer and want to write reviews.

Happy reviewing!

X O’Abby

Selectively Keeping My Mouth Shut about My Writing

As I’m sure you all know, since I’m all you think about, I’m participating in Preptober to get ready for next month’s NaNoWriMo. The other day, I was reading the book I’m using to guide my prep work and these lines stuck out to me: 

Don’t talk about your story to others. Talking about it dissipates the urgency to write it…Carry your story with you like a delicious secret.

I couldn’t stop thinking about this. At first, I thought, “That’s BS. I should be able to talk to people about my writing all I want, and I do!” But then I realized that I’m incredibly tight-lipped about what’s going on in Writer Brain. I consider myself part of the writing community on Twitter, where I’ve been talking sporadically about my NaNoWriMo project. Last year, when I wrote GIRLS BREAK THINGS, I also commented occasionally about it on Twitter. To some extent, I LOVE talking about what I’m writing – I like to throw little ideas out there into the Twitterverse and see what kind of response they get. But for the most part, those comments are few and far between.


Most of the time, I don’t like to talk to people about what I’m working on. It’s not because it diminishes the “urgency” to write, it’s because I’m afraid of letting people down. I don’t want to tell someone, “In this manuscript, the princess rescues herself” and then they get all excited about it, and then they ask me about it later and I have to tell them “yeeaaahhhh that didn’t work out for plot reasons, now she gets rescued by a horse…” It’s a silly example, but it’s one of my top five fears. I've been let down by books too many times to not be afraid.


But in those little in-between moments, there are some people I always talk to about my writing. There are the cheerleaders, writing friends who always prop me up and tell me I’m doing great, even when I have to delete seven chapters. They’re the ones who remind me that all is not lost and the core idea is a good one. There are my critiquers, who of course have to know what’s going on so they can give me good feedback. And then there’s my bouncers, so named because I like to bounce ideas off them. They alone really know what’s going on behind the scenes as I scramble to make the cheerleaders and critiquers happy.

Deep down inside, though, I like to keep some things hidden. I like to keep a select few delicious secrets. I hardly talk about works in progress because there's a point where I want everyone to be surprised. I want those secrets to have their time to shine - and if that time is when people have the final physical book in their hands, then so be it.

What about you? Do you like to talk to readers or other writers about your work? Or do you like to keep things secret?

Using Power Words

As I was formatting the last round of Pass Or Pages posts, one comment in particular caught my eye. Agent Tricia Skinner noted on one of our entries that writers weren't ending their sentences with "power words." To see the example, check out this entry, comment TS2. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Well, as I was working on that post, I was mulling this idea over and over in my head. How could I use power words to my advantage?

Then I finished the post, and moved over to Scrivener to work on my WIP. As I was reading over the work I'd done the previous night, I realized that there was a perfect example (of what not to do!) right in my own writing! And because of Tricia's advice, I was able to fix the sentence to end on the power word. This is a great example, by the way, of how Pass Or Pages can help writers whether they write in the the featured category/genre or not. Let me show you how it helped me:

In my WIP, the main character hunts ghosts with her two friends. This brings her into the path of a boy she used to be best friends with, and the more she hunts ghosts, the more she sees him. Her friends encourage her to talk to him, so she finally works up the courage to send him a message. The night before this little scene, the MC and her friends tried contacting a ghost through a Ouija board, and the ghost laughed at them (in a scary way, not a cute way). That's all you need to know to understand this sentence:

I'm trying to emphasize that even though she hunts ghosts, talking to a boy she likes is way scarier for this character. This sentence ends with the qualifier "the night before." Is when the ghost laughed at her the important part? No, of course not. So I tweaked this sentence to end on the word that gives the sentence the most power:

It's such a little thing, but it makes a big difference. Using power words correctly to help your individual sentences have greater impact is definitely an advanced writing craft tool, but you can learn it and use it to your advantage. It just takes practice.

Do you have any examples of how you've edited to use a power word? I'd love to see them in the comments!

Books on Writing

I really love books about writing. Whether they are straight-up "how-to" craft books or more inspirational books, they are my jam. Last year I finally got around to On Writing, by Stephen King, which I enjoyed immensely. (You can read the OA discussion of the book here.) The year before that I discovered Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder, which has helped me think about plot in different ways.

This year I'm reading The Breakout Novelist, by Donald Maass. I've heard good thing about his other books, and this one is supposed to be a sort of compilation of them, so I'm looking forward to getting into it and using it to examine my WIP.

What writing book should I read next? Let me know in the comments!

Backloading --Tricks of the Trade -- PK Hrezo

Are you familiar with the technique of backloading? Before I took a deep editing course with Margie Lawson, I'd never heard of it, but since I was introduced to it, I try more and more to use it. It's smart, and can have just the right after-effect.

But it's not as easy as you may think.

Backloading is taking the most powerful word in your sentence, paragraph, or scene and placing it at the very end. This packs a punch, and it will propel the reader on to the next sentence ... or if it's the end of your chapter, it'll send your reader on to the next chapter, without them even realizing what's happened.

Cool, right?

Mind you, this isn't something to do with every sentence or paragraph. The art is finding the appropriate time to pack your punch. Often, the end of a chapter is the excellent choice, but let's not limit ourselves. This technique can be used anywhere it will fit, as long as it's not overdone.

How about an example ...

Lucy couldn't breathe. She knew the intruder was in the room, but only because she sensed his presence. He was silent, the carpet absorbing his footsteps, the darkness consuming his silhouette. How close he was, Lucy couldn't tell, but she knew better than to flinch. Concentration on what her next move would be gave her stability, controlled her nerves. If she let it, the situation would have her chest swelling with horror. 

That paragraph is meant to be tense. Very tense. And by backloading it with the word horror, it creates the very feeling of horror in the reader. If this were the end of the chapter, the reader would be left with that same sense of dread as Lucy, and most likely would feel compelled to turn the page.

This technique is best used after your first draft is written and during your edits. Try picking out a few pages of your current work in progress and see if you can't backload a few different places. Is your sentence better? More powerful?

Try it out and see how you like it. I love using this technique. As always, practice makes perfect. :)

How about you? Ever tried backloading before? Is this a new word for you? Please share ...

Method Writing

Are you familiar with method acting? Ever applied this vein of thought to your character development while writing?

It's the use of sensory techniques to get into character. Things like drawing on personal emotions and memories, and what's called affective memory. Emotional recall and sense memory use the act of recalling physical sensations surrounding events to apply it to your character's reaction and make your scene real and character believable.

I don't know about you, but since I began actively learning craft, I also began taking mental note of body reactions and facial expressions during certain high intensity moments so that I can use them later while writing. As for the sense memory, friends and family have probably wondered why I stare at them as though I'm studying their every move while in the middle of an emotional conversation. I want to remember how someone looked, sounded, felt, etc. when tension is high.

All for the writer's toolbox.

There's another method I use to stay in character while writing, and this I use mainly when writing first person. I have to be that character while narrating. Think like them, act like them, breathe like them. It's no secret around my house that my lingo changes depending on the story I'm telling. So does what I listen to, what I watch, etc.

Much like method acting, I import the character into my very being so that I can stay in that character's frame of mind while telling the story. If I don't believe I'm the character while writing, then why would my readers believe the narrator is the character and not the author?

Think about it.

How about you? Do you believe in method writing? Do you have any tricks of the trade to stay in character or help develop them in order to tell their story? How do you think writing in third person is different?  

A Writer's Garden Party

Hi there! Today is my first official post and I just wanted to tell you how stoked I am to be here! I love that OA focuses on writing because over the past six years that's been my focus too. Which means I have TONS to share with you.

I knew you'd be dancing in your seat about that.

Quick intro -- I have two novels and one novella published, all part of an upper YA / New Adult time travel series. I'm also working on two non-fiction projects--one a memoir for the mom of a survivor, and the other a series of how-to books with another author. You may know me from around the blogosphere as I've been blogging for four years over at PK Hrezo - Fearless Fiction. You can now find me here every other Tuesday.

So what the heck is a "writer's garden party," right??

Allow me to elucidate ... There's an old song called Garden Party by Ricky Nelson. You can watch it on YouTube HERE if you're not familiar with it.

Over the years, this song has become more and more of a mantra for me. Even more so now that I'm a published author. Here are the chorus lyrics repeated over and over throughout the song:

"Well, it's all right now. I've learned my lesson well. You see, you can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself." 

Right? Don't you love that?? And the melody and mood of the song are so mellow and easy, it adds a contented acceptance to the lyrics. No anger. No bluesy melodrama. Just matter of fact and c'est la vie. 

Writing is like that. When we first start out we have so much to learn. We do our time in the trenches of critique purgatory and beta reading boot camp. We grit our teeth and forage through the growing pains because we know it'll make us excellent writers on the other side. We study craft books, attend workshops, sometimes endure a public flogging of our work, all so we can become better.

So others will read and love our stories.

And then there comes a time after all of that when we've earned a writer's garden party. We throw one for ourselves and toss aside all regrets and inhibitions. Because you can't please everyone so ...

                                             PHOTO CREDIT: pottery barn kids

... you've got to please yourself.

Case in point: With my most recent release, Induction Day, I knew there would be some readers who felt the first part was slow. But I also knew that for my story to work, the characters needed to grow a bit more together. My series is character driven. The story is about them, not the other way around. I deliberated over whether or not to cut some of the first part because I was afraid of losing readers. I had one critique partner tell me I should.

I had another critique partner tell me they thought the whole story was fast paced and how much they enjoyed the romance in the beginning.

Has this happened to you before? Conflicting feedback? Most likely yes. It's happened to me plenty of times, and it can be debilitating as a writer. So what did I do?

Threw a writer's garden party because I couldn't please everyone. I did what I wanted to do, which is follow my characters' lead. This felt right to me. I'm pleased with how my story turned out. But I knew when I published it that not everyone else would be.

Case in point number two: On my recent blog tour, one reviewer said the first part of the story didn't hold their attention as much as the second part when the plot really intensified. Another reviewer on the same tour said the exact opposite--that they preferred the beginning of the story when they learned so much more about how the characters intertwine and are bound to one another.

Same book. Different opinions.

This will always be the case with any book, movie, TV show, etc. With any story. Part of becoming an experienced and mature writer/author is learning to trust your instinct despite the naysayers. In the end, it's YOUR story, and only you knows what's best.

Don't get me wrong, I totally believe in getting as much feedback as possible and accepting constructive criticism so that our skills will grow. Chances are, if more than one critique partner or beta reader is telling us the same thing, then we need to listen and heed the advice. But if we're getting conflicting feedback, or if our gut is telling us one thing, and a CP another, then that's grounds for a writer's garden party.

                                          PHOTO CREDIT: animationoptions.com


Go on ahead and throw yourself one. It's fresh and calm and relaxing in there.

"Well, it's all right now. I've learned my lesson well. You see, you can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself." 

So tell me, have you ever received conflicting feedback on your story? How did you handle it? Do you think trusting your gut can be wrong sometimes? Ever thrown yourself a writer's garden party?
Please share ...

Editing 101: Easy fixes #1 - The Dialogue Tag

I've been editing longer than I've been writing fiction, so my roots are really sunk deep in the firm foundations of irritating everyone I know about proper punctuation, spelling and usage. But as I've been working in the fiction world, I've learned lots of new editing tricks to tighten up a story, and I thought this would be a perfect forum for those (all new folks to irritate!)

Despite my joking tone, I do take this stuff pretty seriously. There are plenty of books on craft, and most writers have read any number of them. But sometimes it's hard to make the jump from reading a book to tightening up your own writing. So I thought I'd tackle a few easy fixes. And the first is the dialogue tag.

When I edit for others, this is one of the things I try to smooth out up front. We all use them, and a lot of us overuse them.

Not sure what I'm talking about? Try this on for size:

"I'm dying to go out with him," Michelle said, twirling her hair.
"He is really cute," agreed Margot.
"I know," Michelle said. "And his hair is so shiny and purple."
"I love boys with purple hair," Margot said, tripping over a rock as she skipped along.
"Be careful!" Michelle cautioned. "This road is covered in rocks."

You get the (painful) idea.

So let's tighten that up by removing some of the unnecessary tags. (It won't make the faux story any better, though, I fear!)

"I'm dying to go out with him." Michelle twirled her hair around her finger as she talked.
"He is really cute." Margot nodded.
"I know. And his hair is so shiny and purple."
"I love boys with purple hair." Margo tripped over a rock as she skipped along.
"Be careful!" Michelle pointed at the road. "This road is covered with rocks."

This is a terrible -- really, truly terrible -- example. But the point here is that adding "he said" or "she said" -- or worse: "he moaned/whined/smiled" after every line of dialogue feels stilted. Instead, the tags can often be replaced by something else, something that SHOWS the action in the scene. (Isn't it funny how every piece on craft eventually drops that 'show, don't tell' thing?)

When you have only two people talking, it's easy to eliminate tags. Hopefully your characters have distinct voices, so the reader can tell who's speaking without being told. A tag here and there never hurts to clear up any confusion, but we definitely don't need them for every line.

In a piece with more than two speakers, tags become more needed, but again -- use them sparingly and try to replace them with a shot of action instead.

This is pretty basic, but I find that sometimes the most basic things are the rules I need to review now and then. Happy writing!

Using Cues From Everyday Life to Improve Your Writing

I've been struggling lately with a sweet scene in a Young Adult Contemporary I'm writing. It's the female MC's first time to connect with a boy and begin to fall in love. I'd rewritten the scene a total of five times, yet with every stroke of the keyboard, I still knew the emotional intensity of the scene was off.


After getting very frustrated, I decided to let the scene sit for a while until I could get my bearings. I'd put it totally out of my head until I was at a swim meet last week. I was busy watching swimmers get ready for the next event when a young couple climbed the bleachers and plopped down a row in front of me.


Their conversation came in spurts with several pauses of uncomfortable silence until they found something to talk about again. They side-eyed each other every few minutes trying to catch the other one staring. After several deep breaths (and a few failed attempts) the boy slid his hand over and clenched the girl's fingers. Her cheeks went red, and when she got the courage to meet his gaze, the look in her eyes was unmistakable: it was pure joy.


It was like the writing gods looked down at me in that moment and said "here you go" an example for you to replicate in living color. Without looking too much like a creeper, I continued to watch them committing all the little details of their interaction to memory.


Once I was home later that day, I went to my computer and tried to remember everything about that sweet moment. When the scene was finally written, I felt like I had finally captured the true essence of that connection. It was that small snapshot from everyday life that helped to inspire a scene that I'd been struggling with for so long.


Now when I'm out and about I pay more attention to the little nuances of humanity. How the mother gazes at her two boys with pure contentment as they play tag in the park. Or how the cute older couple at the grocery store bickers over whether or not the cantaloupe is ripe. And when they ultimately agree on the right one, how he tilts his head and gives her a little wink of approval.


There are a lot of ways we can improve our writing. We can read craft books and use great tools like The Emotion Thesaurus to help spur on our novels. Yet if I was forced to pick one thing that helps inspire me now, it would be taking cues from everyday life. Those scenes, in my opinion, are what help make our writing real and connect us to readers.


Have you witnessed a scene from everyday life that has inspired your writing? If so, I would love to hear about it in the comments!

To Blog Or Not To Blog

Over on my personal blog, Chasing The Crazies, I'm celebrating my two year blogaversary today! It's a bit overwhelming for me because when I first started blogging I thought there was no way anyone besides my family would actually read what I wrote. And honestly, that was okay. I approached my blog as more of a personal journal, rather than a format to spread my thoughts on writing and publishing as a whole.


But then a crazy thing happened. One day I got a new reader. And then a week later a few more. Slowly over the years my following reached a respectable number. And today, I'm eternally grateful to all those people who think enough of me to read my words three times a week.


I've had a lot of people ask me about blogging, and what do I personally get out of it?


Today, I want to share the triumphs and tragedies of actually having a blog. Hopefully, this information will help you consider whether or not you want to start a blog of your own.


1) Pick a topic. Any topic.


In order for your blog to be successful, in my opinion, it needs to have focus. If you're a writer, talk about craft. If you're a reader, perhaps share reviews. Whatever your passion is, use that as a source for your posts. Readers will follow you if you have a specific topic you focus on each and every week.




2) Commit


If you're going to have a blog, you have to commit to posting at least once a week. If someone is going to invest their time in following you, then they are going to want to see original content. If you're not going to do that, be honest about it on your blog. Tell the readers when you plan to post and let them decide if they want to follow.




3)  Respond


If a reader takes the time to ask a question, or leave a comment, respond in a timely manner. If that person has invested time in reading your post, you need to acknowledge that and thank them for reaching out. This simple act of courtesy will get them to return to your blog time and time again.




4) Always, Always, Always, Be Professional


A week ago on Twitter I saw a very high-caliber literary agent post that she wants to see social media contact info in query letters. This tells me that agents are starting to research what authors do and say, not only on Twitter, but on their personal websites and blogs. So remember even though you may want to unload on an agent who sent you a form rejection on a full, or curse out an author who wrote a book you didn't like - DON'T do it. Use your blog to showcase your personality and writing - not your bias.


Blogging is a huge time commitment, but I have made many contacts and grown as a writer because of it. Really think through if it is something you want to commit your time to. If you do, I say go for it! There are many people out their just itching to read something new and interesting from an aspiring writer!


Have questions about blogging? Share them with me in the comments!

The Power of Music in Writing

 

I have a confession...I hate writing love/romance/kissing scenes. Well, let me rephrase, it's not that I hate them, it's just that I'm not really any good at them. 

Believe me, I wish it wasn't this way. I read Rachel Harris, Simone Elkeles and Katie McGarry all with total awe, and wonder why can't I do that? Why can't I just create heat in the blink of an eye without struggling with where the guy should place his hand? Or where the girl should move her lips?

This is all a big problem for me because right now I'm editing my YA Historical...wait for it...Romance.

Yes, I am a glutton for punishment. When I wrote this book, I skipped over much of the romance by just putting in "write something smexy here." And when I finished the book (except for those scenes) I worried that I wouldn't be able to pull the romance part off.

But then I was driving in the car one day and Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me" came on the radio. In an instant, I was in the scene with my characters. The lyrics to the song had me actually visualizing how my characters' first kiss would be. I stopped what I was doing, turned around, and drove home. I raced in the door, downloaded the song, and played it full blast, over and over, while I wrote a love scene I never knew I had in me.

Music is a crazy thing. It gets us pumped up or makes us melancholy. A single note can force us to remember heartbreak or pure unadulterated love. Above all things, it makes us FEEL.

As a writer, I've found many things give me inspiration, but nothing is as powerful as music.

What about you? Does music make you a better writer? Is there a song that has inspired a scene in your manuscript or even helped you come up with a new idea? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.