The ABCs of Book Writing: T is for TITLE . . .

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. . . to capture your THEME.

"What's in a name?" asks William Shakespeare's Juliet. "That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet." Compelling though this sentiment is, what might apply to floral names does not typically work for book titles. In fact, an apt title enhances both the artistry and marketability of a book, while a poorly chosen title can subvert a book's intention and meaning, and adversely affect its reception. This is true of both fiction and nonfiction.

If an author has a conventional book contract, the publishers will often step in and insist on renaming the work. This can be a mixed blessing, as the publisher's title will often be catchier and more marketable than the author's but will not necessarily reflect the book's content with strict faithfulness. Publishers typically have the power to override the author's title preference but will usually concede the author's right to give input. My advice to any author faced with a publisher's title is to listen to your own instinct. If the new title sounds good to you, then run with it and everyone is happy. But if you strongly dislike the publisher's title, then risk being considered difficult and advocate for your own title. You might not win this battle but at least you will have the satisfaction of having stood up for your own creation.

Some writers appear to have a natural feel for a good title and are quick to devise one or more concise and compelling options for naming their manuscripts. Many others, myself among them, struggle with titles and never quite feel that we've chosen wisely. I know of no easy way out of this dilemma. But at least the possibilities for titles are numerous, and awareness of how others have successfully titled their books may set you thinking in some new direction that will eventually lead to a title that works for you and your manuscript.

Here, for both fiction and nonfiction, are some title categories and examples of each:

Novels

Humor/whimsy/irony/satire

- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- MASH
- Catch-22

Concepts

- Pride and Prejudice
- Sense and Sensibility
- Magnificent Obsession

Metaphors

- Gone with the Wind
- To Kill a Mockingbird

Literary references

- For Whom the Bell Tolls
- The Sound and the Fury
- Brave New World

Biblical references

- East of Eden
- Song of Solomon
- A Time to Kill
- The Tower of Babel

Character names

- Moll Flanders
- Fanny Hill
- Joseph Andrews
- Jane Eyre
- David Copperfield
- Oliver Twist
- The Great Gatsby
- Rebecca
- Cross
- I, Alex Cross

Setting or place names

- Wuthering Heights
- A Room with a View
- Hawaii

Single words 

The thriller writer Jonathan Kellerman is a notable contemporary master of the one-word title—

- Rage
- Gone
- Compulsion
- Deception
- Victims
- Motive

—to cite just a few.

Creative nonfiction

Also known as narrative nonfiction, creative nonfiction, includes such genres as history, true crime, biography and memoirs, and uses many novelistic techniques. This alliance of fiction and nonfiction is reflected in the many creative nonfiction titles that derive from sources similar to those that have inspired the naming of novels. Here are a few examples:

- My Family and Other Animals (humor/whimsy)
- The Russian Album (metaphor)
- The Pebbled Shore (literary reference)
- All Creatures Great and Small (hymn reference)
- All Things Bright and Beautiful (hymn reference)
- Angela's Ashes (subject's name)
- Dietrich (subject's name)
- Liverpool Miss (place name)
- Lime Street at Two (place name)

Expository nonfiction

Expository nonfiction, such as self-help, how-to, and motivational books, tends to look less to outside inspiration for its titles and more to capturing the main content of a book. This imperative typically, though not always, requires the use of a title-subtitle combination. In today's world of Internet marketing, another consideration for titles is the need to provide meaningful keywords for online searches. Here are some representative examples of expository nonfiction titles and subtitles:

- Stand-alone title: The Seat of the Soul
- One-word title + explanatory subtitle: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
- Short title + concise subtitle: The Wealthy Barber: Everyone's Commonsense Guide to Becoming Financially Independent; Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ
- Short title + long subtitle: Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow
-Title + shorter subtitle: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Brainstorming titles

Not inspired by the examples listed above? Then try brainstorming a range of words and concepts, and combining and recombining them until some potentially viable titles emerge. Just Google "book title generators" and you will discover a number of websites that generate titles either randomly or by your choice of genre and words relating to your book's content. To my mind, many such titles have an awkward or contrived feel, but title generators might nonetheless stimulate your thoughts and spark that just-right title for your book.

Book titles matter

As Google results and the sampling of titles given here show, when it comes to naming your book there are many sources and kinds of titles, as well as variations on the basic title-subtitle combination. This embarrassment of riches may or may not be helpful to you, the author, as you try to nail the perfect title for your work. Frustrating though the endeavor can be for some, even the most title-challenged writer can at least take comfort in knowing that the effort is worthwhile. As much as the content of the pages—sometimes even more so—the title is crucial both to representing the intent of your book, and to maximizing its appeal to readers.

Up next . . . "U is for UNITY"

The ABCs of Book Writing: S is for SCENES . . .

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. . . and SHOWING them clearly.

Breaking up long or medium-length chapters into shorter scenes is a sure way to add drama to your fiction and flair to your nonfiction—not to mention enhanced readability to whatever you write.

Scenes and physical structure

All but the shortest chapters can benefit from being divided into scenes. Here's why:

Scenes look good.

At the most basic visual level, breaking up chapters into scenes creates white space and makes manuscript or book pages look more attractive and inviting. Physically indicate a new scene by entering extra line spacing or, preferably for greatest effect, by adding a simple textual divider or small graphic to most clearly show the end of one scene and the beginning of another.

Examples of textual dividers 

Three-em dash: ———

Five or six underlines: ______

Three asterisks: ***

Section character: §

Hash character: #  Don’t use three hash characters (###), as this is reserved for the end of the book.

Examples of graphic dividers

Graphic dividers are often botanical shapes, landscape or architectural icons, small scrolls or flourishes, and various symbols.

Some graphic dividers to indicate scenes within book chapters.

Scenes add to readability and impact.

Divide chapters into scenes for any or all of
readability, drama, suspense, emphasis, and clarity.

In today's busy world of time constraints and demands on our attention, not every reader has the leisure or inclination to read several chapters or even just a single chapter at one sitting. Scenes provide convenient stopping points for readers, whereas undivided chapters may necessitate their leaving the story in mid-episode. Scenes thus enhance the reading experience, especially for the busiest of readers.

For all readers, the space between scenes is a physical representation on the page of a pregnant pause or deep breath or long moment of tension, any of which can elevate the drama and suspense of episodes within chapters.

Scenes in novels and creative nonfiction

Beyond their positive effect on the appearance and readability of a novel or work of creative nonfiction (memoir, biography, or other true story), scenes play crucial roles in the narrative structure. Every novel is a world unto itself, and while chapters are the main territories within that world, scenes within chapters are the signposts that keep readers oriented and engaged.

Scenes help readers navigate the unfamiliar landscape of each new novel or true story they read.

Within chapters, make a new scene to signal one or a combination of the following:

- Shift in point of view (POV): rule of thumb—one POV per scene.

- Major change of locale: for example—different city or country, across town, shift to another character’s home or workplace; generally, a character walking from one room to another or other minor changes of locale do not necessarily call for a new scene.

- Significant passage of time: this might mean years or a shorter duration—days or even hours. Plot requirements and writer's instinct determine what is significant and merits a new scene.

Sections in expository nonfiction

In expository nonfiction, dividing chapters into sections (the equivalent of scenes in fiction) not only aids readability but can add emphasis and impact to your content in self-help, motivational, how-to, and other informational books.

Make a new section to show the following:

- Major turn of thought.

- New topic.

- Sidelight or elaboration on the current thought or topic.

In expository nonfiction a new section can be signaled by using textual or graphic dividers such as those shown above. Usually, though, it is most effective to use subheads to indicate new sections and the particular topic or subtopic to be covered in each.

Cultivate scene sense

Like paragraphing, deciding exactly when, where, and why to end one scene or section, and to begin another, has an element of subjective judgement call involved. Seasoned authors develop a keen feel for the scene or section. It can therefore be helpful to revisit your favorite authors and study their handling of scenes or sections. This technique and your own good judgement add up to the common sense of scenes and, ultimately, to the creation of functional, marketable, and memorable books.

Up next . . . "T is for TITLE"

The ABCs of Book Writing: N is for NEW . . .

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. . . and, er, NOTHING NEW.

Back in the day when I was a full-time book author, my New York agent enjoyed regaling me with her book-trade "street smarts." Among her favorite and most often repeated aphorisms was this one: There's nothing new under the sun. At the time I regarded this notion with a good deal of skepticism. Personally, I was full of bright ideas that I was pretty sure were brand-new. Certainly I had thought them up on my own without knowingly copying anyone else. But as my years in the book trade mounted, and came to include editing and consulting as well as writing, I began to see what my agent had meant.

What's "new" in nonfiction

In expository nonfiction, a bright idea newly conceived might shed fresh light on related ideas that came before. This can certainly be original and creative but not necessarily brand-new. Forms of creative nonfiction—memoir, biography, popular history, and other kinds of true narrative—have a long history and relative uniformity of structure. Such works are typically organized chronologically, thematically, or by a combination of chronology and theme. Any newness comes from the author's distinctive style and possibly subject matter that is little known or explored from a fresh perspective.

What's "new" in fiction

In fiction, three main kinds of conflict—separately or in combination—drive all stories:

1. Character vs. self (as in, for example, identity confusion, obsession, self-deception, and destructive goals or behaviors)

2. Character vs. character(s) (as evidenced in, for example, jealousy, betrayals, and rivalries of all kinds from office politics to threats of bodily harm to fights to the death)

3. Character vs. major force(s) (for example nature, technology, or apocalypse)

Given that conflict must be present in any functional story, and that there are only three basic kinds of conflict in fiction, it stands to reason that entirely original plots are accordingly limited. Writers, critics, and scholars of literature have long argued about exactly how many distinct plots constitute the entire history of fiction. Widely defended numbers are three, six, seven, twenty, and thirty-six. For more information see, among many other such discussions, the Guardian article ". . . how many basic plots are there in all stories ever written?"

A plausible case can be made for any of the commonly proposed numbers of plots. What this boils down to is that the much-hailed "stunningly original" blockbuster and "creative tour de force" are not completely new but, rather, offer new twists on old plots.

The creative challenge of nothing new

Way back in history, when the literary world was young, entirely new ideas must have been more readily conceivable than they are in our time. If indeed my agent was right, and there is now little or nothing that is truly, totally new, then writers must contend with a notable irony: in this age of sound bites, short attention spans, and constant information flow, a taste for the new is arguably more widely prevalent and insatiable than ever before.

Today's creative challenge is constantly to reinvent what was once brand new, and which must appear to be new all over again. Strategies for recreating the new include the following:

—developing fresh perspectives
—cultivating stylistic distinctiveness
—discovering underexplored subject matter
—concocting new plot twists
—devising compelling hooks

As literary history continues to unfold, new rarely, if at all, means brand-new. The imperative now is ongoing reinvention in writing, and innovation in the marketing of books.

Up next . . . "O is for OW . . . OVERWRITING, that is"

The ABCs of Book Writing: INTERMISSION

The series "The ABCs of Book Writing" is half done, with A to M completed last week. The series will resume in July as "Book Writing ABCs, with "N is for NEW." During this intermission period, go to https://www.facebook.com/HelpingYouGetPublished.FreelanceEditing/ for announcements and other posts on book writing and publishing.

For an overview of infographics and other visuals illustrating book writing from A to M, go to:
https://www.pinterest.com/helpingyougetpublished/the-abcs-of-book-writing-a-m/

The ABCs of Book Writing: M is for MOMENTUM . . .

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. . . and MOVING the story forward.

Every book needs sustained forward momentum. Like a radio or TV show that suddenly has dead air, a book in which momentum halts sends a clear signal: something is wrong.

Momentum in fiction and creative nonfiction

To hold the reader’s interest, all novels must create and maintain a sense of the plot going forward. In a thriller, this momentum is typically very fast. In other kinds of novels the pace may be slower, more like real life. But the forward momentum must be there nonetheless, or the reader feels no need to read on. Creative nonfiction must similarly establish and maintain momentum in order to attract and keep the reader's attention.

Sustaining momentum in fiction and creative nonfiction

For novels, novellas, and stories:

—Cultivate conflict and problems. Stories are propelled by the conflicts and problems that characters encounter and resolve. Remove all conflict and you have no plot; fail to sustain conflict and you get a plot that stops and starts. Instead, constantly thrust the character into scenes where the character must confront conflicts, take action, and solve problems—thus changing, growing, furthering the plot, and always moving the story forward.

—Keep explanatory description of settings, people's physical appearance, and emotions to a necessary minimum. Never lecture. Show, don't tell.

—Avoid long flashbacks. Integrate flashback information bit by bit into the main action of the story.

—Avoid detailed backstory. As with flashbacks, integrate the necessary background information into the main action.

For memoirs, biographies, popular histories, and true crime:

Use any or all of the strategies noted above to ensure that your readers stay engaged. Creative nonfiction typically employs many, if not all, of the narrative techniques of fiction. What I have said with respect to fiction writing therefore applies to your work of creative nonfiction. While you may be able to take greater liberties with description, flashbacks, and backstory than you would with fiction writing, the need to sustain forward momentum always remains.

Momentum in expository nonfiction

Expository nonfiction does not have a story in the same way as fiction or creative nonfiction. But books specifically designed to explain and instruct must still convey to the reader a sense of forward thrust, of constantly moving toward any or all of the following:

-conclusion of an argument
-solution to a problem
-benefit for the reader
-specific action the reader can take
-fresh insight
-new skill or knowledge

If the nonfiction book appears to lack such momentum and direction, readers will disengage in the same way that they would from a novel that grinds to a halt.

Sustaining momentum in expository nonfiction

For how-to, self-help, and motivational books; textbooks; and academic and technical works:

Making a habit of putting reader understanding before a
display of your own knowledge will automatically help
sustain forward momentum.

—Stay focused on the book's ultimate objective. Avoid digressing.

—Be concise. Avoid lecturing.

—Be clear. Don't obfuscate by writing in circles around the subject.

—Remember the reader. Always prioritize reader understanding over showing off your own expertise or erudition.

Keep moving, keep readers

Daisy, the Helping You Get Published mascot, demonstrates
forward momentum and reader engagement.

All readers know the power of those books that compel us to keep turning the pages to find out what comes next. Momentum is the source of this power. Without sustained momentum, you not only lose writing power but you lose readers. Forward momentum is at the heart of reader engagement. Successful writing is that simple—and that challenging.

INTERMISSION: The ABCs of Book Writing will resume in October
with “N is for NEW.” Announcements at: https://www.facebook.com/HelpingYouGetPublished.FreelanceEditing/

The ABCs of Book Writing: L is for LECTURING . . .

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. . . and avoiding it—a LITTLE goes a LONG way.

What do you mean by lecturing when writing a book?

By lecturing, I mean dumping large quantities of dry facts or long-winded background information into your fiction or nonfiction with little regard for engaging the reader. The adverse effects of lecturing include:

- detracting from the interest of the main points or argument in nonfiction;
- halting the forward action of fiction; and, in all cases,
- boring or confusing the reader.

Is lecturing in a book ever OK?

Certainly—if you're a professor writing a guide called something like 25 Winning Lectures, then lecturing is not only OK, but a positive must. For most other kinds of books, instead of lapsing into lecture mode, try to find briefer and more readable ways to convey information.

Avoiding lecturing in nonfiction writing

In the writing of both creative and expository nonfiction, there are times when explanations or background information are necessary in order for the reader to understand what is going on. It is up to you as the author to ensure that your readers are suitably oriented and informed. But lecturing is by no means the only or most engaging way to do your job.

Tips for conveying information in nonfiction

 
—Be concise.

—Moderate your tone; don't harangue.

—Focus on the main points; don't digress.

—Don't quote at length from other books. This is boring and may violate fair use guidelines.

—Convey information through anecdotes, colorful examples, vignettes, or even recalled or imagined conversation.

—Keep paragraphs short: five or six sentences on average, interspersed with one- or two-sentence paragraphs for variety and emphasis.

—Where appropriate, introduce numbered or bulleted points.

—Use subheadings to break up lengthy topics into readable sections.

 Avoiding lecturing in fiction writing

Effective fiction is all about story and character. A novel or shorter fiction should never be a platform for the author to show off his or her erudition, voice opinions, or dish out copious amounts of explanations and background—however relevant such information might seem. Similarly, do not let your characters lecture either—whether they're expressing your views or their own.

Tips for writing fiction without lecturing the reader

—Do not overuse the omniscient author point of view—in other words, do not intrude yourself into the story. Develop strong character viewpoints and stay with them.

—Write character dialogue, not monologue.

—Keep all dialogue speech brief; do not let characters ramble on for two or more paragraphs.

—If conveying a lot of information through dialogue is necessary, then break up each speech into short, digestible chunks. Use "beats"—gestures, facial expressions, or short passages of action—to make the dialogue seem natural and to keep the story going forward.

—Resist the urge to explain. Let necessary information come out bit by bit as the story moves forward; reveal what the reader needs to know through the characters' actions and understanding.

The need to explain in fiction and nonfiction

Shakespeare was to the point on brevity: watch

the video below . . .

There is a difference between the need to explain and the urge. More often than not, you may feel the latter, because explaining is less creatively taxing than devising more engaging ways to get your point across. In certain instances, however, a no-frills explanation may be the only option. This is the need to explain.

In both fiction and nonfiction, the need to explain something does not call for a full-blown lecture. Use your own feelings as a barometer. If you're boring yourself as you write, then the odds are that you're lecturing—and boring the reader too. Explain what and when you must, but never fail to practice lecture avoidance:

Be clear about the point you need to make. Get straight to it. Be brief.

Coming next week . . . "M is for MOMENTUM"

The ABCs of Book Writing: K is for KNOWING what you don't know . . .

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. . . and KNOWING to look it up.

Writers of expository nonfiction such as how-to and advice books generally do their research and get their facts straight. It is every bit as important for authors of creative nonfiction and fiction to look up what they cannot remember or imagine. Whatever you write, even if you are 99.9 percent certain that you know something, leave no room for doubt or error.

Look it up.

The importance of factual accuracy in expository writing, creative nonfiction, and fiction

It stands to reason that authors of textbooks, how-to guides, and advice books must aim for absolute factual accuracy, or their books would be worthless. A similar commitment to accuracy is also essential for writers of creative nonfiction and fiction. While most fiction readers appreciate an imaginative plot, many are also sticklers for correctness when it comes to the portrayal of real-life events, dates, geographic locations, professions, and specialized knowledge. If these readers find errors, they might be put off your writing for good.

For example, memoir writers need to verify the dates of their personal memories as well as events occurring in the world around them. Your memories are your own but they exist against a backdrop of personal chronology and historical events that must be accurately represented in order for your memoir to be engaging and convincing. Similarly, when writing fiction, you will disengage your readers if you don't ground your leaps of imagination in factual reality. If you are writing a police procedural mystery, for instance, you need to accurately represent how law enforcement really works. Even if you are writing an out-there futuristic techno-thriller, your story will have greatest impact if it takes off from a foundation of actual science and technology.

Why authors should research and fact-check

There are four strong reasons for authors of all kinds to do their utmost to write with factual accuracy:

—Meticulous research and concern for accuracy enhances your credibility.

—Avoidable errors can be off-putting to many readers; on the other hand, a reputation for accuracy can contribute to your reader retention. You want to attract readers, keep them, and avoid doing anything that might be a potential turnoff.

—Writing can be hard enough without your having to wrestle with a niggling feeling that you are not going the distance. Doing your research and fact-checking is a matter of professional pride.

—Research and fact-checking can be a source of new ideas or directions for either your current or future projects. Creativity and imagination may originate from within you, but both can be measurably enriched by research.

Doing your research: Sources of information for book authors

Internet

Today the first go-to source of information for most people is the Internet. Most users are aware that the reliability of sites and their information varies. For complex subjects, I therefore tend to use books by established authors rather than websites or blogs. But for basic information and fact-checking, nothing can beat the speed and convenience of the Internet.

To ensure that I am getting correct information or fact verification, I pick reliable sites such as Wikipedia and, where they exist, online versions of standard encyclopedias or dictionaries. When dealing with sites of lesser authority, I check at least three sources for the facts I am verifying. If they all agree, then I generally feel confident that the information is accurate. In case of discrepancies, I keep looking until a consensus emerges and I can eliminate the information that seems doubtful.

Personal library

Once upon a time, not so long ago actually, there was no Internet, and authors were largely dependent on libraries for research and fact-checking. In my case, I would make notes about facts that needed checking and bibliographic citations that I was missing. Then, every once in a while, I would take a break from writing and spend a day running up and down stairs in the university library stacks, filling in all the gaps in my information. This would generally take a whole day and was often exhausting.

To avoid these time-consuming and tiring excursions, like many authors, I found it useful to amass a personal library of reference works relating to the subjects I was writing about. Even today, despite the convenience of the Internet, I still value my personal library. Often, rather than going online, I find it is just as quick to pull a book off my own shelf and look up something in a source of proven reliability. My personal collection includes assorted dictionaries and style manuals, Oxford and Cambridge reference works on literature, book trade directories, and books on writing.

If you have the space and budget, you might explore the possibility of starting your own personalized at-home library. This can be a practical and satisfying complement to your writing activities.

Even in today's digital world, public libraries and
librarians remain among the best sources of information
and tips on effective research.

Public library

Most people have ready access to some sort of public library, whether municipal or university. These days many library holdings can be accessed online. Online library resources are a tremendous aid to research, as they provide the reliability of traditional information plus the convenience of the Internet.

Even if you have extensive access to online library holdings, don't entirely neglect paying the occasional in-person visit to a physical library. Librarians know how to find information with maximum efficiency and, often in minutes, can unearth facts and resources that you might take days to discover or altogether overlook.

The imperative of the authoritative author

Whether you rely on the Internet, compile your own book collection, or use public libraries and consult librarians, you owe it to your readers and yourself to be an author whose accuracy can be trusted. Know what you don't know. Get it right. Look it up.

Coming next week . . . "L is for LECTURING"

The ABCs of Book Writing: J is for JUST write . . .

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. . . and JUST why you should.

In the real world of professional authorship, the bottom line is: writers write. Over the course of a career some authors will produce dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of books, articles, and reviews. Others may produce only a handful and build a career by combining writing with speaking, teaching, or consulting. How prolific you are depends on a number of personal and professional factors—for example: whether or not you have a day job, your health and energy, your family and domestic obligations, and the type of writing you do. Regardless of your individual situation, what you don't want to be is a one-book author.

Why writers must keep writing

There are four basic reasons why there is no downside to your being as prolific a writer as you can manage to be:

1. Writers must keep writing for the obvious reason that this is the only way to produce a sufficient amount of work to reach others. The more you produce, the more likely you are to find markets and draw readers.

2. Writing continuously is the only way to significantly grow as a writer. In the course of producing one book, you may gather momentum and hone some skills. But without continuing to write, it is hard to imagine maintaining your craft, let alone improving on it.

3. The more you write, the more likely you are to be successfully published. It is difficult to break into the market as a first-time book author with absolutely no credentials. Agents, publishers, and readers will be swayed in your favor if you have some writing credentials, such as book reviews, journal or magazine articles, or anthology contributions. Now that publishing credentials can be obtained through both print and digital sources, it's hard to justify wanting to be a book author while remaining totally unpublished.

4. To keep on writing is to be a professional. Even if you have just finished a magnum opus, you have no excuse to hang up the quill pen or power down your computer. If you work hard at your manuscript and persevere with querying agents and publishers, or with marketing your self-published book, your work will eventually attract someone who can take you to the next level. But odds are, that someone will not only value prior writing credentials but will also want you at least to have a second book in progress.

Strategies to keep you writing

Ideally, while you are working on one book—presumably your main project—you should be writing something else as while. If this is absolutely not possible for you, then once the main project is completed, immediately begin the next book or some other writing project, preferably one related to your newly completed book.

Strategies that will keep you writing can be as many and as varied as writers themselves. Here are a few for you to try and to adapt to suit yourself and your situation:

—While writing one book, research, plan, make notes on, and write snippets of the next book.

—Seek out book reviewing opportunities. Start but don't stop with Amazon, Smashwords, and Goodreads.

—While writing one book, work on another in a different but related genre, to keep you fresh in both. Examples of possible pairings: science fiction/popular science; contemporary romance/romantic suspense; detective fiction/true crime; popular history/historical fiction; cozy mystery/period mystery.

—Write articles or short stories related to your current book in progress; write and send out queries for these.

—Start, and work hard at, a blog related to your book.

—Look for related blogs to contribute to as a guest.

—If your book is part of a series, make notes on, or write drafts of, later books in the series.

—Just for fun, write fan fiction. It could grow your author platform.

—If all else fails, write journal or diary entries. These will not likely be publication ready anytime soon, but maybe someday . . .

Just keep writing

However you choose to do it, stay continuously involved in the writing process. Some of us must devote time and energy to day jobs, and we all need downtime. But succeeding as a book author means never entirely walking away from writing, whether it's a book you're working on or something—anything—else that qualifies as potentially publishable written work.

Writers write.

Coming next week . . . "K is for KNOWING what you don't know"

The ABCs of Book Writing: H is for HACKNEYED writing . . .

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. . . and HOW to break its HABITS.

Hackneyed writing can afflict most writers from time to time. The challenge of effective writing is to become aware of the habits associated with hackneyed writing, and to do what is necessary to break them. The more you succumb to the lure of hackneyed writing, the more likely you are to create a tedious and unsaleable manuscript.

What is hackneyed writing?

Hackneyed writing is the repeated falling back on words, phrases, or narrative techniques that were once fresh but have now suffered from decades, or even centuries, of use, reuse, and overuse. The reason that hackneyed writing persists is because it comes easily to us. When we are writing, and our heads are full of points of argument, plot twists, lines of dialogue, and all the other ideas and images that we feel urgency to express, what often come first to mind are the clichés and familiar narrative techniques of hackneyed writing.

Hackneyed writing habits

The following are common habits associated with hackneyed writing:

1. Making outworn comparisons

busy as a bee, fat as a pig, hot as hell, light as a feather, easy as pie . . .

Break the habit by creating original similes, metaphors, or other images: She launched herself into a flurry of activity. His belt buckle was almost obscured by his stomach.

2. Relying on tired turns of phrase*

-that said/that having been said/having said that (try but, however, or even so)
-sooner rather than later (try immediate/immediately, prompt/promptly, without delay, or plain old soon)
-few and far between (try rare)
-in this day and age (try these days, now, nowadays, today)
-by leaps and bounds (specify the quantity: improved by 20 percent, tripled, grew by eight times the rate of last year)
-a good time was had by all (saying almost anything would be better than this; or just record the events and leave it to the reader to conclude whether it was enjoyable or otherwise)
-risked life and limb (risked his/her life)
-for all intents and purposes (can be deleted in most contexts)
-at the end of the day (ditto)
-it goes without saying/needless to say (delete these phrases; any point they introduced should be deleted or rewritten: If it goes without saying, why say it at all?)

Break the habit by deleting or using substitutes, as in the parenthetical suggestions above.

3. Overusing -ly adverbs, especially in dialogue sentences

 "I hate studying," Joe said angrily.

4. Expressing speakers' feelings with animal noises

"Stop that," he snarled. "I'd like that," she cooed. "Get away from me," she hissed. "I hate studying," Joe growled.

Break these two habits by choosing precise, expressive nouns and verbs to show feelings and create images around the dialogue: "I'd like that," she said, moving so close that he could smell the citrus scent of her shampoo. "I hate studying," Joe said and slammed the textbook shut.

5. Constantly reversing the construction of dialogue sentences 

"I hate studying," said Joe.
"Me too," agreed Mary. "Such a bore," said she.

Break the habit by routinely choosing the subject-verb construction in dialogue sentences:
"I hate studying," Joe said.
"Me too," Mary agreed. "Such a bore," she said.

While the subject-verb construction is the best choice for most dialogue sentences, there are some contexts in which the reverse construction is not only acceptable, but preferable. For example: "Such a bore," said Mary, who drove home the point with an elaborate roll of her eyes. (Rather than: "Such a bore," Mary, who drove home the point with an elaborate roll of her eyes, said.)

Outworn language and narrative style bore the reader.

6. Using too many substitutes for said

"Mary," he remarked, "I didn't know you were still here."
"I came back to rest for a few minutes," she replied.
"Can I get you anything?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she insisted.

Break the habit by using said or nothing at all:

"Mary," he said, "I didn't know you were still here."
"I came back to rest for a few minutes."
"Can I get you anything?"
She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."


7. Being an intrusive author

If you are writing a how-to or self-help book, it is appropriate to address the reader directly and possibly to include illustrative examples based on your own experience, perceptions, or expertise. Fiction, however, is another matter, and readers will not welcome the overbearing, omniscient author who indulges in the following kinds of intrusion:

As Mary enters the dark pathway you might think you know what happens next but, in fact, you are in for a surprise. Little did she know that her life was about to be changed forever. She was so worried that she did not feel the first drops of rain on her head and failed to see the murderer lurking behind a tree. She had no idea that disaster awaited her.

Break the habit by never stopping the story to address the reader directly. And do not tell readers what the character does not know or feel. Stay in the background and unfold the story through one or more strong character viewpoints:

As she entered the dark pathway, Mary's unease took control. Why do I feel like my life is about to change forever? she thought.

Sudden cold drops of rain on her head startled her into awareness of her surroundings. She glimpsed what looked like a shadowy figure trying to hide behind a tree, but dismissed this as a figment of her overactive imagination. Still, she could not deny that her fear was now as real and as cold as the falling rain.

Earning your cliché

Is there ever a time to give in to the habits of hackneyed writing? Some stylists argue that you can earn your clichés. That is, after a long passage of writing in your own unique voice, you might be able to make a point or create drama by deploying a cliché. Sometimes clichés can become ironic or otherwise effective in a new, well-conceived context.

If, however, you have any doubt about whether you’ve earned your cliché, bypass it and reach for a fresh turn of phrase or up-to-date narrative technique. Odds are, this effort will serve you better than even the most judicious falling back on the stock figures of speech and bygone narrative tropes of hackneyed writing. Whenever you can, turn the outdated into the original.

*The list of tired phrases includes examples from Judy Birnberg, WordThoughts (blog), March 14, 2017, https://writejudi.wordpress.com/tag/list-of-trite-expressions/; and Mark Evans, Grumpmeister (blog), January 14 and August 7, 2012, https://grumpmeister.wordpress.com/category/hackneyed-phrases/. For additional examples, see Brian A. Klems, The Writer's Dig (blog), August 15, 2012, http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/12-cliches-all-writers-should-avoid.

Coming next week . . . "I is for INTERTEXTUALITY"

The ABCs of Book Writing: E is for EMAIL . . .

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. . . and ERRORS in writing.

Email, a relative newcomer to the world of written communication, is now deeply embedded into our daily lives. And why not? It's mostly quick and easy, and it doesn't demand the time-consuming formalities of old fashioned letter writing.

The problem is that what is acceptable in email writing style, even colorful or amusing, can be downright annoying in a book manuscript—annoying to the point of being a deal breaker. Agents and publishers will take one look at a manuscript riddled with the typical errors of email writing and think: "Too much editing required." In today's competitive book trade, that's all you need for a rejection. If you are self-publishing, your editing costs will soar if you do not self-edit the email style out of  your book manuscript. If you choose to bypass editing, some readers might not mind your cool, free-wheeling style, but plenty of others hold book authors to a higher standard. Can you afford to lose these potential readers?

Email Writing Syndrome.

Watch the video below . . .

A few years ago, I noticed the extent to which email writing mannerisms and errors were infecting book writing and coined a tongue-in-cheek term for this contemporary malady: "email writing syndrome." You can read all about the symptoms and find out my suggested cures here. Alternatively, watch the video version at the end of this blog post.

How to recognize email writing style

The main signs of email writing style are:

Inattention to paragraphing. Paragraphs run on despite topic changes; alternatively, there are too many one-sentence paragraphs, creating a choppy effect.

Use of hyphens instead of conventional punctuation. Hyphens have specific uses, for example in compound words and in some prefixes and suffixes. They are not sentence punctuation.

Overuse of sentence fragments. Incomplete thoughts presented as sentences have their place and can create drama or emphasis. But too many sentence fragments lead to disjointedness and impaired readability.

Run-on sentences. Connecting several complete sentences or thoughts together, separated only by commas, has its uses in dialogue, as it shows how people often talk. This dialogue technique has made its way into the chatty style of email but needs to be used with restraint in other forms of writing.

Ellipsis gone wild. She paused..............................then tried again, without success, to tell her story............................................

Use of capitalization for emphasis. This KIND of EMPHASIS is acceptable in design, advertising, and some headlines but generally NOT appropriate in book writing.

Overuse of exclamation marks. Need I say more?!!!!!

Self-editing email style

Here are the basics for editing email style out of your book manuscript, and replacing it with a dash of elegance:

Break long paragraphs into shorter ones. Use no more than twelve sentences per paragraph in most kinds of writing. Use occasional one- or two-sentence paragraphs for dramatic effect or extra emphasis.

Use hyphens for compound words and some prefixes and suffixes. Examples include kilowatt-hour, mass-produced, co-op, anti-inflammatory, university-wide, and so on. Consult Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary for authoritative help. In sentence constructions, replace hyphens with commas, semicolons, periods, or em dashes (—), which are sometimes typed as two hyphens--as shown here.

Use sentence fragments sparingly. The fragment is a device to add compelling, not distracting, effect to your writing. A device—not a complete writing strategy.

Break up run-on sentences. Insert periods to make shorter sentences, or use conjunctions and semicolons to separate thoughts within a sentence. Wrong: The dog was black, the cat was white. Right: The dog was black. The cat was white. / The dog was black and the cat was white. / The dog was black; the cat was white.

Use ellipsis properly. Ellipsis is signified by three points, with a space between each, used with or without added punctuation. Ellipsis can indicate speech trailing off in dialogue:  "What . . . ?" "I don't . . ."  It also indicates time elapsed and/or repetitive action: They walked and walked. . . . In advertising and design it can be an attractive substitute for a colon or em dash.

Avoid using capitals for emphasis and keep exclamation marks to a minimum. Create emphasis through language and imagery, punctuation, cadence, and occasional use of italics.

With email style eliminated or reduced, your true authorial voice has a chance to be heard.

Coming next week . . . "F is for FORMATTING"

The ABCs of Book Writing: D is for DISCIPLINE . . .

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. . . and DEVELOPING it now.

"Apply seat of pants to seat of chair." Today, the old tried and true formula for disciplined writing might be extended to include: "Park feet in front of standing desk"; or: "Tap finger on touch screen"; or: "Direct voice to speech-recognition software." The trouble is that all such admonitions are more easily uttered than acted upon.

However you choose to write, finding the time and discipline to do so is a challenge. Life—in particular, the day job—tends to get in the way of your best-laid plans to establish a writing regimen. Apart from the imperative to work and pay bills, buy groceries, and keep a roof over your head, even writers need to spend time with friends and family, get some exercise and fresh air, sleep a few hours, and just chill out.

So when do you write? 

Choosing a time of day to write

Your choice of a time, or times, to write will depend on a number of variables: for example, whether you are a morning person or a night owl, the quiet or chaos in your household, and the demands of your employment. Most writers that I know either get up early and write before going to work, or they write in the evening after dinner. A few energetic types manage to write both early and late in the day. Those whose "day jobs" are at night, or who work changing shifts, have to create their own versions of the before-work and/or before-bed writing sessions. Some particularly motivated multitaskers may also manage to get in some extra writing time during lulls in the workplace, coffee breaks, and lunch hours.

The writing session 

How long should each writing session be?

For significant progress, plan for sessions of at least an hour each; more ideally, two to three hours.  On a good day, you can produce a reasonable quota in an hour. On other occasions, the words do not come so readily and you will need two or three hours to grind out what might not even amount to a minimum daily quota. Don't worry unduly about the less productive sessions. Over time, the good and not-so-good days average out, and the slow sessions, while frustrating, are nonetheless part of an overall forward progression.

How often should you write?

Obviously, the more days per week that you can manage to write, the better. But if you're working at your employment twenty to forty or more hours a week, you are unlikely to be able to write daily or even every other day. The good news is that you don't have to write that often. In fact, to produce a book-length manuscript in reasonable time, you really only have to write one to three hours three times a week, or some equivalent of that. Here's why:

Word count: The mathematics of writing a book

All you need to write at each session is a comparatively modest 550 words—approximately two double-spaced pages. On a good day, you will do this in an hour or less. On those other days, you might well need a two- to three-hour session. Either way, if you produce just 550 words three times a week, that's a weekly total of 1650 words. Multiply that by the 52 weeks in a year—and there you have it: a finished draft of 85,800 words. This is an acceptable length for all but a few specialty subgenres (some of which may even require fewer words)—and you can congratulate yourself on having written a book in a year.

Typically, as writing progresses, momentum grows, and you could increasingly surpass your session quota. If so, then you would in fact produce an entire book manuscript in a matter of months. When you get the hang of it, disciplined writing doesn't require as much discipline as you once might have thought!

Coming next week . . . "E is for EMAIL"

The ABCs of Book Writing: C is for CHAPTERS . . .

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. . . and CREATING a book structure.

The most common and important unit of division in most kinds of books is the chapter. Books may be divided solely by chapters; or they may be divided by chapters that are further divided into sections or scenes. In many books, chapters are also grouped in parts or even in books within the main book. For artistic or informational reasons, a few books consist only of sections or parts or some other divisions that may or may not function as, or resemble, chapters. I will refer mainly to chapters in this discussion, but what is said will in most cases apply equally to books structured by other kinds of divisions.

Designating chapters 

Nonfiction works typically use numbers and titles to designate chapters. Novelists these days usually opt for numbers without titles or numbers each prefaced by the word chapter. Some authors of fiction have reinstated an earlier practice of both numbering and naming chapters. Some works of fiction and nonfiction may have chapter titles without numbers. Before writing, you may wish to come up with working titles (which can be changed as needed in the course of writing) or simply think of your chapters as numbered units.

Creating a working book structure 

Start with a basic concept of the ordering of your book's chapters (or groups of chapters or episodes within chapters). Then you sort your notes and thoughts accordingly. You may accumulate and conceive these in any order, which tends to be how the creative process works. But then you organize them according to your planned book structure.

I use a combination of physical file folders and computer folders to put my ideas in, with each folder labelled by chapter number and working title. Very short chapters may be grouped into parts, similarly labelled by number and/or by working title or main theme. For note taking and idea jotting, small-sized notepaper, recipe-type cards, and short computer documents/texts are the best choices for easy sorting and reference. Give each note or related group of notes a title or label so you know at a glance what it is about. If you go in for too-lengthy notes without clear labels, you will find yourself in the predicament that I described in "B is for BLOCK"—overwhelmed and blocked by too much text as you struggle to find the idea or information that you need in order to keep writing. Your chapter file folders, each containing individual notes and ideas, constitute your book's working structure. When I come to write a specific chapter, I pull the file with my labelled notes and ideas, sort them into what seems to be a sensible order—by theme, chronology or plot—and write away.

Your chapter files and working book structure keep you oriented as you write and defend against writer's block. Your organizational system allows you to add thoughts quickly, file them without getting confused, bogged down, and then blocked. You can even write out of numerical chapter order to stay fresh and productive when you perhaps are struggling or bored with one chapter. Leave it for a while and start another, and then go back and forth, if you wish. Write the whole book out of order if that pleases you. You are free to do so because, with the aid of your organizational system, you carry the whole book structure in your head, with each chapter's specific notes, ideas, plot twists, episodes, character sketches, research, sources, and quotes organized for reference whenever you need them.

To outline, or not . . .

Your ideas may be monumental,

but they are not cast in metal or

carved in stone. The same should 

be true of your organizational

system and book structure.

You might think of your organizational system as a kind of outline. There remains the question of a more formalized outline—that is: Do you need a written-out, detailed book outline in addition to your organizational system? Seasoned writers are divided on the value of such an outline.

I personally work from my sense of the overall structure in conjunction with my files and have not found a need to spend creative energy devising an additional outline. If you, however, feel that you need a detailed outline for writing confidence or memory jogging, then so be it. But don't allow the outline to constrain you and limit the introduction of spur-of-the-moment ideas that could make a crucial difference to your book and its success. Think of your outline not as cast in bronze or chiseled in granite. Think of it instead as something changeable and fluid—like the weather, or a river with many streams that might bear exploring.

Flexible book structure and chapter organization

It is also advisable to remember that your working book structure is just that—a work in progress, and subject to rethinking and reordering. You can have a reasonable working structure from the outset, but be prepared for some surprises as the writing progresses. For instance, you might discover that what you thought would be a great chapter 4 is too short to stand alone and should in fact be a section of chapter 3. On the other hand, your imagined, perfect chapter 10 is now going on and on, and really needs to be divided into two, or even three, chapters. It all becomes clear as you write, create, and re-create.

The point to remember is that planning and organizing to write, and actually writing, are related but different activities. A good working structure will ease your writing and go a long way toward eliminating block. But this structure must be flexible enough to shift as your ideas shift. Like creativity and writing, planning and organizing should be dynamic processes that have constant potential for change and improvement. Otherwise, your organizational system is not worth the price of file folders.

Organization creates structure, enhances clarity, and sustains focus. A flexible structure promotes ongoing inspiration.

Coming next week . . . "D is for DISCIPLINE"

The ABCs of Book Writing: B is for BLOCK, writer's . . .

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 . . . and BEATING it.

Writer's block is the fear of almost every writer and, from time to time, the all-too-real predicament of many. When you find yourself paralyzed by a block, it is arguably one of the most miserable of psychological states that any creative person can encounter. It might be some consolation to hear that such prolific writers as Joseph Conrad, Charles Dickens, Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway, Leo Tolstoy, and Virginia Woolf also, on occasion, suffered from writer's block (though they might not have used those exact words to describe the affliction). But knowing that your pain is hardly unique does nothing to relieve your immediate discomfort.

Writing is in many ways a highly individualized act of creativity. At the same time, there can be commonalities that we all share. Here, then, is what I know, and have experienced firsthand, when it comes to writer's block and how to beat it. My solutions may not be the complete or ultimate ones for you, but I promise that they will help and give you enough relief that the block won't beat you and pummel your writing career into the ground.

I have found that there are two main kinds of writer's block:

1. Basic writer's block

This kind of block has two variations. The first is a scenario something like this: You have been writing, it has been going well, and with some number of words or scenes or even chapters now written, you feel pretty good and decide to take a break. But not just any break—your plan is to reread all or some of what you have written, in order to pat yourself on the back for a job well done and fuel your fire to keep on writing. That's when the unforeseen happens: You hate what you've written. The thoughts might be fine but the wording is terrible. This isn't your annoying inner critic speaking but your actual professional instincts signalling the truth. This writing will not play in Peoria, let alone engage readers or publishers.

So you dig in and start some revision work, but this does not produce the desired result—the words are flopping like dying fish on the page or screen. So you try again . . . and again . . . until you are blocked.

There are three typical ways to resolve this unhappy situation:

• Walk away for a while; have lunch; vacuum something; go outside and rake leaves; or, if it's getting late at night, go to bed. As the biographer Elizabeth Longford observed in her memoir, The Pebbled Shore, "Writing . . . problems that have appeared insoluble at midnight have a way of smoothly solving themselves at midday."


• Leave the problem passage as is, carry on with the book, and fix the trouble spots during later revisions. When you have a first draft completed, you will benefit from a broader perspective on the whole book than what you had earlier. Now that it is time for revisions, you will usually find that fixing once-recalcitrant writing is straightforward. What was all the fuss about? you now wonder.


• Hire an editor. A good editor can work wonders of clarity and rewording. But consider this a last resort—you will be a better writer if you master self-editing.

For some other ideas on addressing the basic block, see http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/7-ways-to-overcome-writers-block.

A variation on this sort of block is one that I have often experienced, and it typically involves short passages, such as a sentence or two, or at most an entire paragraph. It happens like this: You're writing; it's going well; and now you have reached a point where you know exactly what sentence or paragraph you need to write next. You write it and it either seems not to make sense or just sounds bad. So you tinker a bit and it's still not working. Following Einstein's theory of insanity, you keep fiddling—for hours, maybe the rest of the day and on into the next . . .

Occasionally, after much obsessive rewriting, I have gotten such a passage right, but here's what I have found to be true nine times out of ten: If it's that hard to write, it doesn't need to be there. Throw it out! You'll find yourself able to carry on without headaches or harm to your overall story or argument. If you can't bear to delete such misfit passages, then save them in a separate computer file, just in case you find a place for them later. You probably won't, but whatever makes you feel better . . .

2. Big, bad writer's block

This truly worst kind of block typically happens when you start writing your book or when you are not far into it. Occasionally, it might also occur after you have written a significant amount but have, for some reason, been away from the project for a lengthy period of time.

You are at your desk or whatever is your preferred writing space. You have made time to write. The world is quiet around you. Your pen is poised over paper, or your fingers over keyboard. And then you can't write—you simply don't know what to write. You thought you did but now, at the moment of truth, words fail. You get up and pace, get a glass of water, and sit back down to try again. Same result. Z is for ZERO.

If you are writing nonfiction, this kind of block is sometimes due to a lack of information about some part of your subject. The usual solution is to do a little more research, or even merely to look something up in a reference book or online source, and with the gap in your knowledge filled, you are now able to write. In fiction writing, the comparable problem can be the result of a previously unrecognized missing piece, or wrong turn, in your plot. The best solution is to stop and think it through, discover the missing piece, or find a new turn in this part of your story line.

Writer's block is often the result of too much, rather than

too little—so many notes and ideas that when it's

time to write, you're overwhelmed and get blocked.

In my experience working with new authors, the more common cause of the big, bad block is not a shortage of ideas, but too many of them. In fact, your head is spinning with ideas but not a one wants to spin into anything resembling a coherent sentence. Fortunately, this kind of block only happened once to me, and I learned a lot from it.

I was about to start writing my master's thesis. I had already published shorter pieces, such as journal and magazine articles. But this had to be longer—at least fifty pages divided into five or six chapters, and it had to coherently present a lot of complex research. I kept trying to write and, except for a few words and sentence fragments, was getting nowhere. After some painful hours, I had one epiphany. A vague idea formed and I realized that if I started in one particular way, this might lead on to writing more. With that, I wrote some semblance of an opening sentence. And I now knew generally what I had to say next, but I just needed to consult some of my research notes in order to be accurate. I pulled out my three notebooks, where I had recorded research, sources, and ideas.

My three fat, full notebooks. With notes, sources, and ideas following the chronology of my research—a chronology that had nothing to do with the ordering of the thesis.

Hours later, I found what I needed in order to write the first page or two. Exhausted, I finally knew what I had to do. I cut the notebooks into scraps, one or two points per scrap, and sorted these by main themes and related topics. The result was several piles of ragged scraps. When I rearranged these piles into a logical order of presentation and argument, there it was: the structure of my thesis. I wrote it in a couple of weeks.

From this I learned two big lessons:

• Know where to start.


• Be aware that ideas do not necessarily come in the order in which they must be written.

The upshot of these lessons was the rather pedestrian, but crucial, realization that writing a thesis, book, or other lengthy project depends as much on a filing system as it does on creative thinking. I never had writer's block again. For every subsequent project of any length—major essays, PhD dissertation, and books—I avoided notebooks and used something physically or digitally movable and sortable: small-sized notepaper, index cards, file folders, and/or computer files so that I could always organize—and, as needed, reorganize—my information and ideas according to the ordering of the book rather than to my personal history of getting bright ideas.

Don't confuse chaos with creativity

There are a few strategies that will let your creative ideas flow freely while, at the same time, preserving, or creating, your book's structure. These will help you beat the big, bad block if you find yourself facing it. To maximize your chances of avoiding it altogether, follow these tips before you start writing:

• Define your scope and purpose.


• Develop a clear working idea about where to start: an opening hook, quote, question, anecdote, example, character problem, or seemingly unsolvable conflict.


• Narrow your nonfiction topic.


• Know where your novel is going; figure out the ending (or possible endings) before you begin; if you have already begun, stop now and figure out where and how to end.


• Concentrate on main themes and events; don't bog down in trivial detail.


• Devise a filing system in order to sort notes, ideas, etc., by any or all of book chronology, theme, event, section/scene, or chapter. I favor organizing and filing by chapters and will be saying more about this in my next blog.

For now, suffice it to say that focus and filing beat block.

Coming next week . . . "C is for CHAPTERS"