Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Friday, April 26, 2019
Giveaways, Excerpts, Free Audiobooks and Pretzels!!!
Good morning!
How is your Friday shaping up? So I've been totally neglecting my blog for the past...um...few years? I'm going to start trying to post on it some more. I used to post mostly for writers, and I'd like to continue that somewhat. But I'll probably only do articles for writers once or twice a month. The rest will be more like book news for my books and fun things for my readers.
First, let’s not neglect our National Pretzel Day! That's right! Today, the nation celebrates pretzels, lol. Now, being paleo, I can't eat regular pretzels, but this worked out really well because, even before going paleo, my favorite kinds of pretzels were the soft variety.
And guess what? I just happen to have a great recipe for keto soft pretzels. I'd been planning to make these for dinner one night this week anyway. So I guess tonight's the night. Wish me luck! What's your favorite kind of pretzel?
Book news:
Historical Romance:
I’m giving away two copies of Citadels of Fire on Amazon. So if you haven’t yet, click HERE to enter. The winners will be chosen today (giveaway ends at midnight) and announced in the next newsletter.
If you don’t win, no worries. I will be doing another promotion on this book in the next month or so and you’ll have another chance to get a copy. But why not try for one of these two in the mean time?
Also, if you’re a big historical romance fan, join THIS FACEBOOK GROUP! It's called the "Loving Historical Romance: Readers Group."
Lots of historical romance authors post in there, and they do tons of giveaways and promos. Might be a great place to win more free books! And it’s just lots of fun in general!
Crime Fiction:
So I FINALLY got The Botanist audiobook out. You can see it HERE. The narrator, Larry Oblander, is super great!
Remember, if you don’t have an audible account, you can get this book for free. For any new account, they give you a free book. So you can open an account with a new email address and then get the Botanist for free.
If you already have an audible account, I do need some reviews, specifically on Audible for the audiobook. (They’re separate from Amazon reviews on the ebook). So if you’re interested in getting a free copy of The Botanist audiobook, put your information in HERE. I have a handful of free codes to give out. Keep in mind, the codes will be first come, first served. I only have a limited number to give away, so get yours now!
Dystopian:
Still working hard on Event Horizon (Interchron #4). I’m looking at 4-6 weeks for the new release date. Stay tuned. But today, I have a funny transcription story for you from Event Horizon.
Most of you know I used Dragon Software to dictate my writing. I find I can write faster using this software. I basically just speak my chapters into a recorder and then the software transcribes it for me. Though this method is faster for me, it comes with its own challenges. Often the software doesn’t pick up what you say correctly, so you definitely have to go through and edit the transcription even before you edit the writing. I’ve had some seriously hysterical transcription errors. I wanted to share this one with you.
The line was meant to say:
“This spying method is new to all of us.”
The software transcribed it as:
“This spanking method is new to all of us.”
I swear I didn’t say that into the recorder. (That would be a completely different kind of dystopian novel, now wouldn’t it? 😉)
Story/Writing Tip:
I don’t know if you’ll all find this interesting, but I suppose you could say it goes to my process for writing stories.
I’ve had some interesting experiences lately involving a member of my family. For the sake of privacy protection, we’ll call him Bob and call him a “good friend.” He and his girlfriend—we’ll call her Julie—had a very tempestuous relationship and after hearing a few of their fights (not the most fun thing to listen to) I started to overanalyze their relationship and interactions with each other. (I’m a writer. I do that.)
By analyzing their behavior, I drew some interesting conclusions. Julie had stronger feelings for Bob than he had for her. How could I possibly know this from outside observation, you as? By analyzing their outside behavior.
- Bob always seemed angry when Julie was around, and especially if she showed up without calling. He seemed reserved and tense around her. When she wasn’t around, he was much more laid back and casual.
- He often treated her badly—just got angry and had mean words for her. That told me that he didn’t truly like spending time with her and didn’t really want her around.
- She kept coming back, despite the negative treatment, and despite others around her admonishing her that she didn’t need to put up with that type of treatment.
- Anytime they were alone together, they were almost instantly fighting, screaming, swearing at one another. I’m sure they didn’t do that in the presence of others in order to not make a scene in front of others, but it really shouldn’t b that way. Anyone in a healthy relationship knows that time alone should be the best of the relationship. Sure, everyone argues sometimes, but it shouldn’t be a screaming fight EVERY time it’s just the two of you.
- Bob started to engage in destructive behavior that had nothing to do with the relationship. Things like spending time with friends and not letting Julie know, not holding down a job, drinking more, etc. The conclusion I drew from this was that he was trying to drive her away. I couldn’t be sure until the relationship ended, but I felt like he wanted her to leave so he kept doing things he knew she wouldn’t like. I got some validation on this point when the relationship ended (and not particularly well) and suddenly Bob held down a job with no problem, drank less, and became a born-again responsible dude.
I suppose you could say that by people-watching and people-analyzing, I learn a lot about human behavior and incorporate it into my writing.
Excerpt:
(From my WIP, Dragon Magic)
Following Zendu down the staircase, she wondered if he meant to walk through the water below. He didn’t. A sharp right turn through a doorway at the base of the stairs led them into a second garden room, this one much smaller than the first. Tamilla doubted more than twenty people could fit comfortably here, and not more than one small dragon.
Here, water did not cover the floor. Rather, black soil reached all the way into the corners, with a variety of plants and shrubs shooting out of it and reaching for the ceiling. From the doorway where Tamilla and Zendu entered, a stone path, made of lovely round flagstones, all with dragons carved into them, wound through the soil and plants in a zig-zagging pattern.
On the far side of the room lay a strip of stone floor where nothing grew. It led to a larger stone staircase than the one Tamilla descended to reach this room. At its top sat a pair of heavy-looking, wooden double doors.
“May I ask where that leads, Master Zendu?” Tamilla asked pointing to the double doors.
“To the Dragon Council Chamber, where the Dragon Council conducts all their official business.”
Tamilla frowned. She saw wide double doors leading to that chamber when she first arrived. How did this lead to the same place?
Seeing her expression, Zendu smiled. “This is a back entrance. The bigger entrance is needed mostly for when the Companions wish to be present for the meetings.”
As though his words were a summons, the sound of a door opening reached Tamilla’s ears. She turned toward the sound but saw nothing other than a thick wall of green foliage. If a door lay behind it, she could not discern where.
Three men appeared on the stone path leading to the Dragon Council chamber. The first wore the armor of the Dragon Vigil guard. Tamilla recognized Sir Heatherhart, whom she met and spoke with her first night in the Roost. He kept his eyes straight ahead now, not appearing to notice her or Master Zendu.
The third man wore the same armor, obviously another guard. The man between them, whom they seemed to be escorting, had white hair and wore dusty, travel-stained clothes. He looked short—not more than a hand taller than Tamilla—and so much dust covered his shirt, britches, and cloak, he might have recently ridden through a dust storm.
A small bald spot adorned the apex of his head. His leather boots reached to above his knee and his shirt strained across his slightly rounded belly. Deep lines covered his face and he walked slowly, as though exhausted.
Tamilla wondered who he was.
The three of them reached the base of the staircase leading up to the Dragon Council chamber before the short, white-haired man froze. Frowning, he turned slowly to survey the room.
His eyes struck her as strange, though she didn’t know why. Wisdom and knowledge stared out from his face, though, heightening her curiosity. His gaze quickly fell on Zendu and Tamilla, and he scrutinized her. Not Zendu. Only her. He frowned as if studying some oddity on the road.
Tamilla dropped her eyes, and shifted her weight from one foot to another, uncomfortable being the object of such focused scrutiny.
Sir Heatherhart stomped up three of the stone steps before seeming to realize his charge no longer followed. He turned to stare down at the older man, then followed his gaze to where Zendu and Tamilla stood. When his eyes focused on Tamilla, they widened in recognition and surprise.
Without a word, the white-haired man turned and ascended the stairs. When he moved up them, Heatherhart turned and continued as well, casting one more curious glance in Tamilla’s direction. The three of them disappeared through the door and into the Dragon Chamber without a word.
Feeling distinctly unsettled, Tamilla glanced at Zendu, who frowned after the three men as well. "Odd," he murmured.
Tamilla didn’t know whether to feel better or worse, given Zendu’s reaction. If he thought it strange too, she wasn’t crazy. Then again, why did the man stare that way? Why did all these strange things keep occurring?
“Who was he, Master Zendu?” she asked meekly.
“Rider Hanley,” Zendu answered. “A dragon rider of legend. He’s traveled in the Order’s name since he was few years younger than you. Since he first bonded with his Companion. In his old age, he keeps mostly to the headquarters of the Dragon Vigil in the city. I wonder what he’s doing here.”
Zendu’s voice trailed off and she recognized genuine curiosity in it.
Zendu shook himself a moment later and turned to her. "Well, no matter. Let's begin, shall we?”
Time for the test. Time to prove herself. Tamilla’s butterflies returned with a vengeance, along with the thoughts from this morning.
“What’s the point of all this? You aren’t good for anything else.” She tried to squash them.
"I will first show you what to do and you will try to replicate it,” Zendu said. “Very simple."
Zendu walked to a nearby shrub and picked two small leaves off it. Returning to where Tamilla stood, he knelt on the ground in the dark brown soil and motioned for her to do the same.
Using his index and middle fingers, he dug a hole. Though only the size of a small coin, Zendu made it nearly a hand deep. He dropped one leaf into it—placing the other on the ground beside him, as if in reserve for a later time—and covered the first with soil.
Placing his palms, one on top of the other, atop the soil, he closed his eyes.
"One gifted with the Dragon Spark for Gardening helps the plants grow and nurtures life within the Garden,” he said, eyes still closed. "You must simply will the seedling to grow.”
“Forgive me, Master Zendu,” Tamilla ventured, feeling confused. “But it isn’t a seedling, or even a full cutting. It’s only a leaf.”
Zendue opened his eyes with a smile. “Ah, but that’s the point. It would be difficult to get such a thing to flower by conventional methods. If you can use the Spark of Gardening to do so, then you’re fated to spend your life in this garden.” He closed his eyes again. “Send your love, your positive thoughts, your nurturing, and call to it in your mind and your heart. Simply say to it, ‘grow for me.’" He opened his eyes with a smile and lifted his palms from the ground.
Tamilla, concentrating on his face and words, took a few seconds to look down. She gasped. Sprouting from the ground where Zendu’s hands rested a moment before stood a tiny green sapling. Its thin, green arm reached up from the soil perhaps three fingers in height. Tamilla even identified offshoots where it would form leaves.
"You see?" Zendu said. "Very simple."
"Simple and miraculous," Tamilla muttered, feeling awed.
Zendu smiled warmly at her. "Very true."
"So," Tamilla ventured. “If it doesn’t grow, I fail the test?"
Zendu nodded his approval. "Yes. Anything planted in the rich soil of this garden will grow anyway, in a more conventional time frame. If you have the Spark, it will respond to your call. If it does not, you simply do not have the Spark for Gardening."
Tamilla nodded. "Must I shut my eyes?"
Zendu nodded. "I recommend it, yes. Those who become master Gardeners do not do so. Eventually, you hone your magic until small tricks like this are unnecessary. I recommend it for those taking the test because it will help you to focus, feel the magic of the Garden and interact with it without visual distractions."
Zendu picked up the second leaf from the ground by his knee and handed it to her. Tamilla took it gingerly in her hand. Doing exactly as she’d seen him do, she dug a small, yet deep hole and dropped the leaf in, covering it with soil afterward. Then she placed her palms gently onto the soil.
Zendu sat back on his knees and folded his hands in his lap. Obviously, he didn’t plan to walk away from Tamilla as Brinave did during the Coin test. Tamilla supposed she needed to wander for that test, which she didn’t for this one.
"You may begin," Zendu said.
Taking a deep, calming breath, Tamilla closed her eyes.
The sound of another door opening reached her ears, followed by slow, heavy steps making their way down the stone staircase.
When she opened her eyes, Zendu frowned at something above and behind her. Tamilla turned to follow his gaze.
The old man—Rider Hanley—made his way slowly down the staircase, this time without either of his guards.
"Master Zendu,” the old man’s voice sounded gravelly, but not overly deep. “Might I observe the administration of this test?"
Tamilla looked askance at Zendu.
He frowned in confusion. "Of course, Rider Hanley. May I ask why you wish to?"
Hanley made it to the bottom of the stairs and stepped off the pathway and into the soil. “I'm visiting from the Order's headquarters to speak with the Council. They aren't ready for me yet. Spending some time in the Garden will do me good, and it’s been some time since I watched this test be administered.”
Zendu turned to Tamilla. "You're the one being tested. If you are uncomfortable, you can say no. What do you think?”
Tamilla studied Rider Hanley. A grandfather of a man, his eyes held wisdom and gentleness. If someone told her this morning a Dragon Rider would watch her take the test, Tamilla might have collapsed in a bundle of nerves. Now, staring into Hanley's eyes, she found he did not make her nervous in the least. She didn’t know why not.
"He may observe. I don't mind."
She sent all the love and nurture and positivity she could muster into the leaf hiding beneath the soil.
Grow for me. Please grow for me. I want to see you. I want you to pop up and show your lovely green face. Please grow for me.
What if this didn’t work? What if she failed this test too? Tamilla struggled to force thoughts of inadequacy from her head. They clawed their way back in. With them came Petryn’s stinging words.
“What’s the point of all this? You aren’t good for anything else."
Petryn came after Randall. She’d thought him a potential future-husband as well. Their relationship lasted less than one turn of the moon. Far shorter than her relationship with Randall. It ended abruptly the night he kissed her under the poplar tree. It was their first kiss, but he immediately wanted more, running his hands over her hips and reaching for the ties on her skirt.
At first, when she pushed him away, he laughed and simply tried to cajole her. When she rebuked him more sternly, saying she wouldn't do that until they were married, he grew angry. Putting his hands on her shoulders, he shoved her backward into the trunk of the tree. Bruises sprouted on her hands and arms the next day. "If you won’t give up your maidenhood, what's the point of any of this? You’re not good for anything else,” he’d grated.
“I…” she sputtered. “I know how to thatch roofs.” Even to her, it sounded silly.
Petryn’s laugh dripped with scorn. “The Thatchers have other children to do that. Boys with large hands. You’re too pretty to have any skill with your hands. Die an old maid, for all I care.”
He left her in the moonlight and she slid down the tree’s trunk, sobbing.
No! The entire point of coming here was to change her world, which included her thoughts. Petryn didn’t bother to address—or probably even consider—the power of Tamilla’s mind, which still angered her.
Unpleasant though the experience had been, it proved a large part of what brought her to this moment. There must be a reason life led her here.
She refocused on the leaf beneath her palms. Please, grow for me. I want to see your face. Please grow for me. Push your way up here and see the sun.
The energy of the Garden abruptly changed. Rather, it grew more intense, almost as though a wind blew through the Garden, yet it didn’t.
A soft whisper reached Tamilla’s ears. It sounded faraway and faint. Tamilla strained to hear what the whisper said. The more she strained, the louder the whispers became, as though she called them closer by sheer force of will.
She is one of them, one whisper said.
One of them is in the Garden, another exclaimed, sounding shocked.
Tamilla wondered who or what they meant.
Can she hear us? asked a third, slightly higher pitched whisper.
I don’t know. She thought that came from the second voice again.
"Tamilla."
Her eyes snapped open. Zendu’s hand rested on her shoulder. Both he and Hanley watched her closely. Tamilla peeked down at her hands, which still rested on the soil. She didn't feel anything different, but she'd been completely absorbed in listening to those voices. Surely the voices she heard proved she harbored the Gardening Spark. Looking down expectantly at her hands, she drew them away.
Nothing.
No green sapling sprouted from the brown soil. Tamilla’s heart fell.
Zendu gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, my child. It seems you do not have the Gardening Spark."
Tamilla's shoulders slumped.
"Oh, do not be so discouraged," he smiled encouragingly. “You have three more tests to take. I'm sure you'll do better on one of them."
Tamilla nodded, noting he’d used the same phrasing Brinave did. Perhaps they always said it to candidates who didn’t pass.
"Come,” Zendu said gently. “I will take you back to Bertome. He will escort you to your quarters."
Feeling bitterly disappointed, Tamilla rose to her feet and followed Zendu as he led her toward the door to the larger garden room.
"Curious," Hanley said from behind her.
Tamilla and Zendu turned together.
"What is it, Rider Hanley?" Zendu asked.
Hanley’s palm rested on the ground where Tamilla's had been a minute before.
"The ground is frozen."
Tamilla frowned. “How?" she asked. The fleeting thought ran through her that perhaps he referred to something beyond her control and they’d allow her to retake the test.
"I don't know," Hanley admitted. "It must have been something you did."
Tamilla realized her hopes of being allowed to retake the test made her overlook something obvious. At the start of her test, she dug into the soil to bury the leaf. The ground hadn't been frozen then. So why did it freeze by the end?
Both Hanley and Zendu studied her speculatively, much the way Brinave did several days before. Tamilla became self-conscious.
“I shall think on it,” Hanley finally said. He looked at Tamilla. “For now, you may go.”
Zendu shrugged and turned to lead Tamilla out. Tamilla followed him. As they reached the staircase and turned, she cast a glance back at Hanley. He still knelt on the ground, watching her go.
Featured Review: (on Dark Remnants)
That’s it for today. Make sure to get your free Botanist Audiobook to review, join the Historical Romance Readers Facebook group if you feel so inclined, join the Citadels of Fire giveaway, and check out the free book links below. (I know that's a lot for one email. Sorry. 😉)
Also, can you let me know if you enjoyed this Story/Writing Tip section? Would you like to see more snippets like this…or not so much? Hit reply and feel free to be honest! Have a great weekend!
Monday, February 19, 2018
Want to See Your Name in One of My Books?
Hello Lovely Readers!
So I'm going to get right to the point today. I've started a Crowd Fund Campaign to fund my next book launch, which should take place in April. Basically I'm accepting donations to help with this fund.
There are actually many award levels, some geared toward readers and some toward authors. Click HERE to see them all.
But the most important thing you should know right now is that anyone who donates will automatically be included in the acknowledgements of that book. (It's book 3 of the Interchron series, btw. ;D)
So do me a favor and check out the campaign. All donations, no matter how big or small, are gratefully accepted and will be acknowledged in the book.
Also, if you can't afford to donate (I completely understand) can you do me a favor and share this post? The best way to have a successful campaign is to get it in front of the eyes of those who can afford to donate.
So check out the campaign below, and thanks for reading. Have a great Monday! ;D
So I'm going to get right to the point today. I've started a Crowd Fund Campaign to fund my next book launch, which should take place in April. Basically I'm accepting donations to help with this fund.
There are actually many award levels, some geared toward readers and some toward authors. Click HERE to see them all.
But the most important thing you should know right now is that anyone who donates will automatically be included in the acknowledgements of that book. (It's book 3 of the Interchron series, btw. ;D)
So do me a favor and check out the campaign. All donations, no matter how big or small, are gratefully accepted and will be acknowledged in the book.
Also, if you can't afford to donate (I completely understand) can you do me a favor and share this post? The best way to have a successful campaign is to get it in front of the eyes of those who can afford to donate.
So check out the campaign below, and thanks for reading. Have a great Monday! ;D
Monday, January 15, 2018
Ax Those Crutch Words: BUT
Picture Source
Good morning, lovely readers! Welcome to my series on crutch words and passive voice, as I know this is something we all struggle with.
If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
Today's offender: BUT
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Good morning, lovely readers! Welcome to my series on crutch words and passive voice, as I know this is something we all struggle with.
"She wanted to help, but didn't know how."
I use this format in my writing a lot. I compare two things and separate the clauses with the word
"but." It's certainly not a bad thing. Especially if you don't do it
and need a way to change up your sentence structure, try it. But (hehe) I do it
too much. I also start too many
sentences with the word "But."
So for this, I go through and read each "but." If
I can separate the two clauses into two sentences without changing the meaning,
I do. If the "but" must be there, and I can't find any other way to say what I
want, then I leave it. Again, I find I can always get rid of most instances of
this without changing the story at all. At least, I can easily get down to the
1% rule.
Example 1: It felt cowardly, but confronting him would have
to wait.
The Fix: It felt cowardly. Yet
confronting him would have to wait.
Example 2: He needed to
get in line, but tied his shoe first.
The Fix: He needed to
get in line. He tied his shoe first.
(Of course, you should change up your sentence structure
here as well, so it doesn’t feel so repetitive. You get my drift, though.)
Last Resort Synonyms:
1. And - "But" should
only be used if differentiating something. Showing how something is different
than what you said in the first clause. Often it's interchangeable with
"and."
Example 1: He went to
the store but couldn't find what he needed.
The Fix: He went to the
store and couldn't find what he needed.
2. Except - This works in a case where
"but" is being used to show a remnant of something.
Example 2: He took all
the cookies but one.
The Fix: He took all the
cookies except one.
Again, these are "last resort" because you're
substituting one filler word for another, even if the one you swap for isn't a
crutch for you. Use with caution.
Check out Ax Those Crutch Words: Part 1: Was and Part 2: Had.
Also, check out my other books at: www.authorlkhill.com.
How about you? Is HAD a culprit in your writing?
Friday, January 5, 2018
Writing Advice NOT to Heed: Strong Female Characters
Lately I've been thinking about all the advice newbie writers are given. Some of it is good. Other pieces are great. But as is the case when learning any craft or industry, you end up getting a lot of advice that simply isn't worth heeding. Of course you often don't know it until years later.
When I was shopping around my first book, Citadels of Fire, to traditional publishers, what I heard over and over again was that I needed a strong female character and to sell the book, I needed to capitalize on her strengths in the description.
The problem with that is that my female character, Inga, isn't what most people would consider traditionally strong. In fact, I sort of wrote her to be weak in the beginning so the audience could see the dynamic change in her over the course of the trilogy. Even though I thought she was a compelling character, I couldn't think of any particular strengths she had that I could capitalize on, so I had a hard time selling the story to traditional publishers and agents.
Part of the problem was being so new and not understanding how to frame my story in a way that readers and others in the industry can latch on to. That's a skill that comes over time
But my point is that if you listened to traditional publishing advice, it starts to sound like every story must contain a tough-as-nails, leather-wearing, Laura-Croft-type kickass character or the story won't sell.
That's simply not true.
I'd venture to guess that any character you write will have strengths. They just may not be the traditionally "strong" female characters that the industry likes to rave about. Anything can be a strength. Even things that are low key. Look at Jane Eyre. On the surface, she appeared quite plain and boring to most people, but she's one of the most beloved female characters of all time. Decide what your character's strengths are and play them up. A lot. Just don't assume they have to fit into any particular mould.
And don't get me wrong: kickass characters are great and they do tend to be fan favorites. But there are other fish in the sea. And there's a lot to be said for starting your character off in a place of weakness and letting your audience watch her/him grow. My audience has connected with Inga in a way that has pleased me immensely. They love her because they can see her growing stronger from one book to the next.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here (sarcasm) and say that it's less important for your character, male or female, to be "strong" (what's the definition on that anyway; it's a total umbrella term) than to be relatable. It's the characters unique traits that will connect your audience to them.
Let's take a look at a couple of character examples who tend to be fan favorites: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
Hermione definitely kicked butt with her spells various times over the series, but she wasn't exactly a leather-wearing martial arts expert. Her strength was in her goodness and her academic smarts. She wasn't strong in a physical or conventional sense, but because everyone either knew a girl like her, or WAS a girl like her during their school days, she's very relatable.
And how about Ron? He doesn't have any tangible qualities to point to. He's your average every-boy. His strengths are in the non-tangible: humility, kindness, and loyalty to his friends and family. But because he's just so human and boyish, he's someone every single one of us can relate to.
See what I mean? So pick your characters' major traits (the less like other characters, the better, in my opinion) and just bring them across in a strong way.
Ignore the hype that suggests every successful story must have a strong female character, a vampire or werewolf, an exotic setting and a pornographic love scene. Because if that's all we had to read, well...that would be awful. ;D
How do YOU bring across strength in your characters?
The problem with that is that my female character, Inga, isn't what most people would consider traditionally strong. In fact, I sort of wrote her to be weak in the beginning so the audience could see the dynamic change in her over the course of the trilogy. Even though I thought she was a compelling character, I couldn't think of any particular strengths she had that I could capitalize on, so I had a hard time selling the story to traditional publishers and agents.
Part of the problem was being so new and not understanding how to frame my story in a way that readers and others in the industry can latch on to. That's a skill that comes over time
But my point is that if you listened to traditional publishing advice, it starts to sound like every story must contain a tough-as-nails, leather-wearing, Laura-Croft-type kickass character or the story won't sell.
That's simply not true.
I'd venture to guess that any character you write will have strengths. They just may not be the traditionally "strong" female characters that the industry likes to rave about. Anything can be a strength. Even things that are low key. Look at Jane Eyre. On the surface, she appeared quite plain and boring to most people, but she's one of the most beloved female characters of all time. Decide what your character's strengths are and play them up. A lot. Just don't assume they have to fit into any particular mould.
And don't get me wrong: kickass characters are great and they do tend to be fan favorites. But there are other fish in the sea. And there's a lot to be said for starting your character off in a place of weakness and letting your audience watch her/him grow. My audience has connected with Inga in a way that has pleased me immensely. They love her because they can see her growing stronger from one book to the next.
I'm gonna go out on a limb here (sarcasm) and say that it's less important for your character, male or female, to be "strong" (what's the definition on that anyway; it's a total umbrella term) than to be relatable. It's the characters unique traits that will connect your audience to them.
Let's take a look at a couple of character examples who tend to be fan favorites: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley.
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Hermione definitely kicked butt with her spells various times over the series, but she wasn't exactly a leather-wearing martial arts expert. Her strength was in her goodness and her academic smarts. She wasn't strong in a physical or conventional sense, but because everyone either knew a girl like her, or WAS a girl like her during their school days, she's very relatable.
And how about Ron? He doesn't have any tangible qualities to point to. He's your average every-boy. His strengths are in the non-tangible: humility, kindness, and loyalty to his friends and family. But because he's just so human and boyish, he's someone every single one of us can relate to.
See what I mean? So pick your characters' major traits (the less like other characters, the better, in my opinion) and just bring them across in a strong way.
Ignore the hype that suggests every successful story must have a strong female character, a vampire or werewolf, an exotic setting and a pornographic love scene. Because if that's all we had to read, well...that would be awful. ;D
How do YOU bring across strength in your characters?
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Ax Those Crutch Words: HAD
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| Source |
If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
Today's offender: HAD
1. Get rid of multiple past tense instances. "Had" shows up the most when you're
writing in past tense. "She had gone downstairs to find her shoes."
The thing is, you only need one instance of "had" to show you're
talking about something from the past. After the first instance, you can use
regular past tense. Observe the difference:
"She had
gone downstairs to look for her shoes. She had
gone into the bathroom. They weren't there. She had
then gone into her room, and had searched
every nook and cranny. Not finding them, she had
gone back upstairs to search the living room."
See how many "hads" there are? It becomes a
headache. Now let's take out those crutch words, leaving in only the first
instance to establish past tense.
"She had gone downstairs to look for her shoes. She
searched in the bathroom. They weren't there. She went into her room, searching
every nook and cranny. Not finding them, she went back upstairs to search the
living room."
See the difference?
2. Cut Filler. If
it makes sense without the "had," get rid of it. If the sentence only
makes sense with the had, then obviously keep it. I find that 50% of my hads
are filler and can be cut without affecting the sentence in the least.
Example 1: “Who’s Gabe?”
Jane had
demanded.
The Fix: “Who’s Gabe?”
Jane demanded.
Example 2: The phone
screen had
shown the number clearly.
The Fix: The phone
screen showed the number clearly.
Example 3: She had not
gotten any groceries.
The Fix: She didn't get
any groceries.
Example 4: He had come
to see the game.
The Fix: He came to see
the game.
Example 5: They had to
be mistaken.
The Fix: They must be
mistaken.
Example 6: She'd had to
learn the spell.
The Fix: She'd learned
the spell.
Check out my other books at: www.authorlkhill.com.
How about you? Is HAD a culprit in your writing?
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
For Authors: Promos That Work
Good morning! How was everyone's weekend?
***So I just found this in my blog drafts. It was meant to post back in October, but for some reason...didn't. *smacks forehead with palm* So here it is now. ;D***
I promised some time ago that as I started to do more promos and marketing, I'd share my results. Yeah, I've been kinda remiss on that, but I'm going to try and do better going forward.
So this post is for authors. If you don't have books to sell, or aren't interested in ebook promo, this post may put you to sleep. You've been warned. 😉
So a couple of weeks ago, I realized my stand alone crime fiction, The Botanist, really wasn't doing so hot. It was sad and lonely and felt bad because it was getting picked last on Amazon. 😥
Of course that was my fault because I hadn't paid it any promo attention in months. So I decided it was the perfect time to experiment.
Because it's not part of a series, I didn't really want to do a free promo. Sure, free promos will get it into the hands of MANY readers, but it won't net me any cash. Obviously. Best to do free promos for the first book of a series, because many people will buy through. Stand-alones, not so much. Don't get me wrong, you can totally use a stand-alone for your book magnet, but I'm not ready to do that for The Botanist yet. I want Alex and Cody to get a little more love first.
So, I set up a promo using BargainBooksy, which is the sister site to FreeBooksy. I did a $0.99 promo for The Botanist. (I had to change the price to that on Amazon for a set period.)
The promo appeared on Bargain Booksy's site on a Saturday. I paid $55.00 for said promo.
I read about other authors who'd used this same promo, and they reported roughly 100 downloads. That's almost exactly what I got. 103, to be exact.
On the up side, since I'd only moved 2 copies of this book in the past six months, 100 downloads is great! I was super-stoked.
On the down side, at $0.99, you're only making about $0.35 per copy, which means the promo doesn't quite pay for itself. At least, not in downloads.
But...wait for it...
If your book is in KU (which The Botanist is) promos like these can still make you more money than what you made on downloads.
See, lots of people who see the promo have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. So they hop over to check and see if your book is there.
If it's not, SOME of them will probably download it. If they're interested enough and, let's face it, it's only $0.99, they may. I have no idea what the statistic on that would be. It probably just depends on the person, how much book money they have to spend this week and how alluring your book/cover/blurb is.
But many KU subscribers won't download a book even if it's not in KU because they're trying to avoid paying anything extra on top of their subscription.
But back to my experience. I noticed a definite upswing in page reads from KU. The promo ran on Oct. 7th. So you can see that before that there was no KU activity at all. (I'd actually only put this one in KU about a week before the promo, so that's a lot of why. The weekend of the promo, as you can see, there's a small blip. Each of those 4 little stumps represent between 100 and 200 pages. (Not much, but better than nothing, and remember you get paid for KU pages.)
But look at the rest of the month. Suddenly I was getting more like 500-1000 pages read a day. Often more than that.
Overall, the promo did pay for itself over about 60 days' time. I didn't make a huge amount of profit, but I broke event, made a small chunk of change over my expenses, and got my book in the hands of somewhere between 100 and 200 new readers. Small potatoes, but that's what promos should, right? Not bad for a stand alone.
Don't know what KU is?
KU stands for Kindle Unlimited. Think of it like Netflix, but for books. Subscribers pay a monthly fee that allows them to read any book in KU for free. As many books as they want, as many times as they want. Like Netflix, KU doesn't have every book Amazon offers. The author has to put it in there and there are criteria, like Amazon exclusivity, but it's a great way for newbie authors to get noticed and get paid. More details HERE.
Have you used Bargain or Free Booksy before? What were your results? Let us know in the comments! (And have a fantastic day!)
***So I just found this in my blog drafts. It was meant to post back in October, but for some reason...didn't. *smacks forehead with palm* So here it is now. ;D***
I promised some time ago that as I started to do more promos and marketing, I'd share my results. Yeah, I've been kinda remiss on that, but I'm going to try and do better going forward.
So this post is for authors. If you don't have books to sell, or aren't interested in ebook promo, this post may put you to sleep. You've been warned. 😉
Of course that was my fault because I hadn't paid it any promo attention in months. So I decided it was the perfect time to experiment.
Because it's not part of a series, I didn't really want to do a free promo. Sure, free promos will get it into the hands of MANY readers, but it won't net me any cash. Obviously. Best to do free promos for the first book of a series, because many people will buy through. Stand-alones, not so much. Don't get me wrong, you can totally use a stand-alone for your book magnet, but I'm not ready to do that for The Botanist yet. I want Alex and Cody to get a little more love first.
So, I set up a promo using BargainBooksy, which is the sister site to FreeBooksy. I did a $0.99 promo for The Botanist. (I had to change the price to that on Amazon for a set period.)
The promo appeared on Bargain Booksy's site on a Saturday. I paid $55.00 for said promo.
I read about other authors who'd used this same promo, and they reported roughly 100 downloads. That's almost exactly what I got. 103, to be exact.
On the up side, since I'd only moved 2 copies of this book in the past six months, 100 downloads is great! I was super-stoked.
On the down side, at $0.99, you're only making about $0.35 per copy, which means the promo doesn't quite pay for itself. At least, not in downloads.
But...wait for it...
If your book is in KU (which The Botanist is) promos like these can still make you more money than what you made on downloads.
See, lots of people who see the promo have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. So they hop over to check and see if your book is there.
If it's not, SOME of them will probably download it. If they're interested enough and, let's face it, it's only $0.99, they may. I have no idea what the statistic on that would be. It probably just depends on the person, how much book money they have to spend this week and how alluring your book/cover/blurb is.
But many KU subscribers won't download a book even if it's not in KU because they're trying to avoid paying anything extra on top of their subscription.
But back to my experience. I noticed a definite upswing in page reads from KU. The promo ran on Oct. 7th. So you can see that before that there was no KU activity at all. (I'd actually only put this one in KU about a week before the promo, so that's a lot of why. The weekend of the promo, as you can see, there's a small blip. Each of those 4 little stumps represent between 100 and 200 pages. (Not much, but better than nothing, and remember you get paid for KU pages.)
But look at the rest of the month. Suddenly I was getting more like 500-1000 pages read a day. Often more than that.
Overall, the promo did pay for itself over about 60 days' time. I didn't make a huge amount of profit, but I broke event, made a small chunk of change over my expenses, and got my book in the hands of somewhere between 100 and 200 new readers. Small potatoes, but that's what promos should, right? Not bad for a stand alone.
Don't know what KU is?
KU stands for Kindle Unlimited. Think of it like Netflix, but for books. Subscribers pay a monthly fee that allows them to read any book in KU for free. As many books as they want, as many times as they want. Like Netflix, KU doesn't have every book Amazon offers. The author has to put it in there and there are criteria, like Amazon exclusivity, but it's a great way for newbie authors to get noticed and get paid. More details HERE.
Have you used Bargain or Free Booksy before? What were your results? Let us know in the comments! (And have a fantastic day!)
Monday, December 18, 2017
Ax Those Crutchwords! The Worst Offender: Was
 |
| Source |
If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
We'll start with what I consider the worst offender of them all: WAS
Was is a word that is an integral part of the English language. You can't write a book without using the word was a few hundred times. It would be impossible.
There are many sentences in which the word is absolutely necessary, and that's fine. But this pesky little 3-letter word often makes its way into sentences where it doesn't belong, and serves absolutely no purpose, except perhaps to remove the reader a bit from the action, and that's never good.
Because was is such a huge problem in our writing, it can be used wrong in MANY ways. Below are some fixes for the most common over-uses I've found:
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