Stand Alone vs. Series

What is better: a stand alone novel or a series?  I used to have a strong opinion about one or the other, but now it doesn't matter.  I'll tell you why.  The reasons we love a book are these: we are drawn to the characters and we like the plot.  Those are the basic reasons anyone enjoys a book.  No one says, "I loved the language, but I didn't care about the characters and the plot was unbelievable and boring.  But the way the author wrote it was worth the read..."  It doesn't matter how you tell your story so much as what you have to tell.

So regardless of whether it is a ten book series or an 80,000 word novel, the most important elements of your story are character development and plot.

I already spoke about character development when I posted about character sketches.  Knowing a character's motive and ultimate goal is the first step to great character development.  You then know how that character is going to react, regardless of the situation that occurs.  It also draws the reader to your character because the character is constant and knowable.  A character sketch will be the single greatest tool for you to develop your characters.

As for the plot, that stems from character development.  Once we understand the motives of all the major characters, even the minor characters, we can see how some characters goals will contradict other characters, which gives us plot elements and twists.  Along with Hannah's last post, there is opportunity to weave strategy and twists into the plot.  There are connections to make between characters, plot points, and action sequences.  And that all comes once you know your character.

So instead of including plot, let's just say that character development is the most important thing you can do to write a great story.

At least that's been my experience.  If you've had a different experience, let me know and tell me how it has worked for you.

Difficult character? Try all of them!

For the last few weeks Jayne, Hannah, and Leesa have posted on difficult characters and/or how to deal with them. I'll admit, I've thought of what to post since I learned what the theme o' the month was, but nothing has really struck me as "the post."

In my blog post last month, one of my suggestions was to write about the character that is motivating you the most at the time. But what if there are different characters from different books screaming at you inside your head? Well, then you'll be where I have been for the last few years. My most difficult is all of my characters.

That might sound like a joke, but I'm not kidding. It's hard to weed through the chaos going on inside my head and distinguish one voice from the others, to learn that person/demon/whatever inside and out, while keeping the other alpha's at bay.

The last few days I've been off-grid, enjoying some time surrounded by pine trees and quakies, deer, bears, and mountain lions (thank God I didn't see the latter two), and that's why I'm getting this post in so late. If my characters could speak to you without my knowing it, well for one, I'd be schizophrenic. For another, some of them would tell you that I was a big old meanie-head (not in those words of course. My big, burly demons probably wouldn't say it quite like that...). I opened two WIPs (works in progress) this weekend. The two that were the loudest. And I'm so glad I did. At first, I figured I'd be bouncing back and forth between the two books, adding in paragraphs or entire scenes as my men demanded, but what happened was that once I started typing in one book, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

So this month, my advice is nothing more simple than: Just write. You'll get farther than if you don't.

You can write

As I think back over the last few years, I realize that a lot has changed, and a lot hasn't. I may have a few more books under my belt now, but I'm just as unsure of myself as the day I did my first pitch to an agent. Today, I'd like to talk about our fears as authors.

Self-Doubt
I'm not good enough. Seriously. It doesn't matter what I've written or the epic stories that are currently  whirring around inside my brain, waiting to be typed up... I'm just not good enough. Now, I know, I know, some of my friends that are reading this right now are getting ready to give me that kick in the pants they're so awesome at doing, but I just have to say that it's true. I think this just comes with the territory. I don't know a single author who doesn't fret over what they've written. The key is to just try and believe in yourself.

What If's will kill you
I, for one, am a worry wart. I'm a nutcase - never being able to make decisions and always wondering "what if?". Should I write so-and-so's story now, or someone else's? Should I write my story in first or third person - or both? Should I have long chapters or short? I can't tell you how many times I've written entire chapters in two different ways so that I could figure out what felt right. There really isn't a fix I can give you for those of us who just can't seem to decide what to do. All I can say is: just let your characters roll with it. It's your job to write what they give you. If a certain character is motivating you today, write about him/her. If a different character is pushing you tomorrow, give that one the spotlight. Very rarely will you get anywhere by trying to force a story out of someone who isn't ready to tell it.

Your story will never EVER be perfect
This is true. You will finish your book and go through X number of edits before you might feel like it's ready to submit to a publisher (or self-publish if that's your route). You'll probably have read the words "The End" at least five times, and you might even hate your story by the time you're ready for that next step. I've been there. I've done that. And then I've sent off my query letter, synopsis, and (in some cases), the full  manuscript. As soon as you hit that send button, those doubts fill you and you think, "Crap, did I change this? And did I ever change that his eyes were blue instead of green? Or, did I write enough detail, or did I head hop, or did I..."
You get my point.

My suggestion is to make notes as you think of those problems. If you've already sent off that full manuscript, at least you'll have a chance to make those changes during the editing process. If you've only sent off your query and synopsis, then I'd sleep on it (again, take notes as you think of fixes) and go back in after at least a day to make those changes. You might hate your book by the time it's published, and you might feel like everyone will hate it as much as you do at the moment (we authors can have a love/hate relationship with our book sometimes). Don't worry though, it'll turn into full-on love again after you've gotten a break from it.

Full of What If's, self doubt, and a story that may or may not suck? Here are my notes:

• As I just mentioned, make notes. Whether it's tweaks you need to make to the story line or to details within the story, or maybe it's mistakes you make over and over again, make a "BEFORE YOU SUBMIT" list, and follow it every time. Spell check, double spaces, formatting, etc.
• Ever heard of the phrase: Two sets of eyes are better than one? Yeah, there's a reason that's a saying. Find someone you can trust to read and critique your work. Chances are, you're like me, and your brain auto-corrects words/sentences, so you could have really jacked up somewhere. A critique partner will help you catch those. 
• Read it out loud. I know, that sounds weird, and it can feel uncomfortable. If you can find some alone time, read your book out loud. This can help you improve flow, and sometimes you'll even catch those pesky mistypes I just mentioned. Chances are, if it reads well when you speak it, then you've nailed it.
• Don't write for someone else. Write for your characters. Write for you. Some people will like your book, some will hate it. Don't focus on those haters. For one, some people thrive by making others feel bad (aka: bullies). For another, you shouldn't waste a single breath on them because there are other, more important people to focus on: the people who love your book, those whose lives were changed by merely losing themselves in the story you brought to life.

And finally...
You can write. Your characters chose you, because you rock that much. Anyone who tells you otherwise can bite you.

First Time

I often have people tell me that they wish they could write a book. This always makes me laugh because I never thought that I'd be able to. That got me thinking about the first time I decided to sit down and write. I was sitting in my car listening to music and I got the strange feeling that I was being watched. I looked around and no one was there, but that got me thinking. Who would be watching me? Why would they be watching me? How would they go about watching me? When and where would they watch me?

I started piecing together a story in my head by asking the most essential questions (who, what, why, where, when, and how) and making up my own answers, or so I thought. One thing I've learned in my adventures with my characters is that they are very, very selfish. They desperately want to have their story told and as long as you are willing to listen and let them tell it they will give you all the details. It wasn't me coming up with the answers, I was just listening patiently and taking the time to write down what they told me.

So, I have a question and some advice. My question is, what was your experience the first time you started writing? My advice is very simple. If you want to write, shut up and listen!

Lucky Curse

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a multi-tasker. I keep pretty busy at work everyday, but I'm also constantly thinking about my books. Some days, I feel lucky that I can do that; other days, it feels like a curse. Because of this lucky curse, my mind doesn't know how to shut down. Like I said earlier, I keep really busy at work, and even though I'm working on reports or trying to troubleshoot a system issue, my mind constantly plays out the stories that I need to write (or parts I've already written). I have the same problem at night when I'm trying to sleep. I'll lay in bed, close my eyes and try to drift off, but instead scenes will start playing in my head. And sometimes those scenes just keep on going, its like my own personal  movie that I can't type fast enough to keep up. Many scenes are from future books that I haven't even started writing yet, my characters are just getting impatient and want me to get with the program.

And that's not even the worst part!

My Paranormal Romance series is the main one that I'm trying to write - let's face it, they characters in that series are the loudest - but, I have two other series that I started writing months ago. They're both YA, and they only randomly pop into my head. Well, now they're pushing really hard, and I'm afraid that being pushed in three different directions, by oh, so many characters might just make my brain go on strike. Here's to hoping that I don't go crazy. Why aren't there more hours in the day?