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    Writers on Writing Vol.3: Writers on Writing, #3
    Writers on Writing Vol.3: Writers on Writing, #3
    Writers on Writing Vol.3: Writers on Writing, #3
    Ebook106 pages5 hours

    Writers on Writing Vol.3: Writers on Writing, #3

    By Jonathan Janz, Nerine Dorman, Kealan Patrick Burke and

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    About this ebook

    Learn the craft of writing from those who know it best.

    This is Writers On Writing – An Author's Guide, where your favorite authors share their secrets in the ultimate guide to becoming – and being – an author. 

    In this third volume you'll find in-depth essays from authors such as Jonathan Janz, Kealan Patrick Burke, Nerine Dorman, Hal Bodner, Ben Eads, and James Everington. Edited by Joe Mynhardt. 

    "Creating Effective Characters" by Hal Bodner 
    "Fictional Emotions; Emotional Fictions" by James Everington
    "Home Sweet Home" by Ben Eads
    "You" by Kealan Patrick Burke
    "How about them free books, eh? (the art of becoming a book reviewer)" by Nerine Dorman
    "Treating Fiction like a Relationship" by Jonathan Janz

    Writers On Writing is an ongoing series of 15,000 to 20,000 word eBooks, with original 'On Writing' essays by writing professionals. A new edition will be launched every few months. 

    Writers On Writing give young authors the guidance they need, but has advice for all authors, from the interested newbie to the seasoned veteran (sounds delicious, right?). This ongoing series of essays on the craft of writing will include all topics related to writing fiction, including: 
    The Basics 
    Plot & Structure 
    Voice 
    Theme 
    POV 
    Characterization 
    Dialogue 
    Narrative 
    Creating a bond with your reader 
    Pacing 
    Advanced writing and plotting techniques 
    Writer's block 
    Marketing 
    Branding 
    Publishing 
    Self-publishing 
    Healthy habits 
    Bad habits 
    The Writer's Life 
    eBook formatting 
    Paperback formatting 
    Amazon keywords 
    Writing blurbs and descriptions 
    Cover design & layout 
    Productivity 
    The Classics 
    Short stories 
    Poetry 
    The Writing Process 
    Show don't Tell 
    Self-editing 
    Proofreading 
    Building a solid career 
    Targeting a specific genre 
    Genre Fiction 
    Literary Fiction 
    Sharpening your writing skills 
    Making every word count 
    Deadlines 
    Putting together an Anthology 
    Working with other artists 
    Collaborating 
    Grammar 
    Punctuation 
    Writing for a career 
    Treating it as a business 
    Running a small press 
    Financing your career 
    Keeping track of your royalties 
    Staying motivated 
    Writing movies 
    Writing comics 
    Writing games 
    Building a fan-base 
    Online presence 
    Newsletters 
    Podcasting 
    Author interviews 
    Media appearances 
    Websites 
    Blogging 
    And so much more… 

    Are you ready to unleash the author in you? 

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrystal Lake Publishing
    Release dateOct 7, 2016
    ISBN9781944782054
    Writers on Writing Vol.3: Writers on Writing, #3

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      Book preview

      Writers on Writing Vol.3 - Jonathan Janz

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      CREATING EFFECTIVE CHARACTERS

      Hal Bodner

      FICTIONAL EMOTIONS; EMOTIONAL FICTIONS

      James Everington

      HOME, SWEET HOME

      Ben Eads

      YOU

      Kealan Patrick Burke

      HOW ABOUT THEM FREE BOOKS, EH?

      (Or, rather, the art of becoming a book reviewer)

      Nerine Dorman

      TREATING FICTION LIKE A RELATIONSHIP

      The Importance of Vulnerability

      Jonathan Janz

      THE END?

      BIOGRAPHIES

      INTRODUCTION

      Thanks to you, the dedicated authors and fans of Crystal Lake Publishing, we are able to continue doing what we love most: guide new and up-and-coming authors, pay our contributing authors what they deserve, and entertain our readers. Every step we take truly is a step forward for everyone involved.

      We have big plans for Crystal Lake and authors such as yourself, those willing to keep learning from their peers. I hope you’ll continue on this journey with us.

      Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or on our website and newsletter for updates on upcoming projects, open submission periods, non-fiction and fiction books, Kickstarter events, and an Indie Support program we’ll be launching through Patreon later this year.

      The Writers on Writing series embodies everything we stand for: a support system for authors and readers who value fiction as a vital part of their lives.

      This is Writers on Writing!

      Joe Mynhardt

      Publisher & Editor

      Crystal Lake Publishing

      CREATING EFFECTIVE CHARACTERS

      Hal Bodner

      When it comes to creating effective, realistic characters, much of the advice given to new authors winds up being completely useless to them. Whether the technique is one espoused by a New York Times best-selling novelist or by a college professor during a Creative Writing course, the challenges inherent in the advice are often identical. The eager freshman novelist or struggling short story writer is given nothing more than a metaphoric painting of a house which then purports to guide him in constructing the building in real life

      There’s no actual blueprint, no primer course in electrical wiring or on how to install the plumbing. Worse, the puzzled author has no clue what the final house is supposed to look like. No one stands by to tell him it might not be a good idea to hang the toilets from the ceiling, or to caution him against building the stair cases upside down.

      It’s no wonder that new authors are frequently puzzled and frustrated. Listen to your characters, they’re told. They’ll speak to you and tell you about themselves. How on Earth is anyone supposed to work with that? It’s not an example of good literary advice; it’s an invitation to psychosis. Trust me, if you ever hear any of your characters murmuring at you from your keyboard, my suggestion is to increase your dosage immediately.

      Joking aside, there actually is something valuable to be learned from this advice, but it doesn’t help at all with the creation of characters; instead, it is a technique for more fully fleshing them out. There’s more to be said about that, and we’ll get to it later. For now, I’ll say merely that my sympathies are with those poor new authors to whom these kinds of non-specific comments must evoke a sort of mysticism that hinders, rather than helps, the creative process.

      They don’t provide the writer with the kind of blueprint for creating a character that many inexperienced authors long to have. And, of course, there’s a reason for this. There is no step-by-step method; creating fictional characters is not like baking a cake where so much sugar and so much flour, if mixed in the right proportions, yields a specific result. Traditional How To instruction is rarely helpful. Instead, the teacher needs to provide examples and hope that one or more of them resonates with the student. In the best relationships between literary mentors and hopeful authors, the more experienced writer has the opportunity to use the student’s own work as a foundation for teaching, much in the same way that a master sculptor might physically guide the hands of an apprentice while teaching him how to sculpt clay.

      That doesn’t mean that there’s no hope of learning other than by sitting at the feet of a modern day Shakespeare. There are tons of specific techniques and tricks that can help. But creating characters—as I will undoubtedly repeat many times before the end of this essay—is as much of a craft as it is an art. But, we’ll get back to that distinction in a little while.

      In the meantime, I’d like to share with you a little anecdote about how I was asked to write the article that you are currently reading. If I may be permitted to digress, I promise it’ll be worthwhile time in the end.

      I was initially shanghaied into writing this essay because of an old friend I’ll call Sally.

      Sally is a brilliant, multiple award winning author of thrillers. Not too long ago, it seems that someone from the Los Angeles Chapter of the Horror Writers Association (whom I will call Jason in order to protect him from Sally’s wrath—which is a volatile and terrible thing!) was volunteering as the Guest Coordinator at a literary convention. As most readers probably know already, this is a thankless job as it mostly involves wrangling all of the invited guests and making sure they get to where they’re supposed to be on time. Sally was one of the guests of honor and due to speak at a panel. Forty-five minutes before the panel was scheduled to begin, Jason went to her hotel room to collect her. But Sally was nowhere to be found.

      If any of you have ever been to one of these things, you’ll recall that the most interesting events usually take place in the hotel bar. Fortunately, Jason is a pretty smart cookie, and Sally’s reputation had preceded her. So, with the panel about to shortly convene, he headed immediately to where the spirits were being served and . . . viola! There was Sally, regaling a handsome young bartender with stories of how she won her first two Edgars,

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