I thought this article by editor Lara Willard would be helpful for those of you still trying to decide which publishing way best suits you.
Character building and setting
I’ve been going over my second novel (provisional title: Through Stranger Eyes) and in particular trying to make sure I have created a fully fledged main character. In doing so, I came across C. S. Lakin‘s post on Live Write Thrive where she suggests we ask our characters twelve questions related to the setting to present and create them in the most realistic way. As she says in the beginning of her post, “When choosing settings for your scenes, you want to think about the kinds of places that will allow the emotions, needs, dreams, and fears of your characters to come out.”
In my second novel, the setting is an important element of the story and goes hand in hand with the plot for a reason. In cyberpunk worlds (such as in Through Stranger Eyes), the fall of moral and social values alongside the disproportionate rise of technology that makes life easier for very few, could easily have its roots in the socio-economic structure of today. In that case, the setting can (and in my mind, should) be something not only to set up tone and mood for a story, but to also create awareness in the subtlest way possible.
Of course, no one expects a fiction writer to go that deep into sociology and philosophy just to tell a good story. But we are expected to create well-rounded characters, with their hopes, fears, and memories, and at the same time flesh out worlds for them that could easily be real, regardless of the genre. Hopefully, these questions will help all of you in this pursuit.
Inspirational prompt 28
Tom blew smoke from the edge of his mouth and eyed me askance through the haze. “Back again? You going for a record or something? How did it happen this time? No, wait. Lemme guess. Bullet, right? Angry husband.”
I sat on the chair facing him – more like collapsed, to be precise. ‘Re-establishment,’ as I liked to call the procedure back then, was – and still is – a pain in the ass. Drained all my strength for a whole day. I barely had enough energy in me to reach out and snatch his cigarette. “Nah. Not how I died this time, man.”
Foreshadowing
We all want to use it effectively, we all think we use it effectively, but do we? Here‘s a helpful article about foreshadowing and how to use it. There’s a very helpful infographic at the end of the article that you can print and keep it somewhere handy.
Original post from Now Novel
As for me, I’ve used it to a new short story I’ve been struggling to draft for a couple of weeks now (unsuccessfully so far). Number 2 and pairs in general, play an important role in the story, so every few paragraphs I’ve made sure to mention that number. Hopefully, at the end of the story (if I ever manage to finish it), the reader will have an “Aha!” moment.
Tools for writers
A while back, Publication Coach posted a list of some no-cost tools for us writers, so I figured I shared it with you in case you didn’t read it. You can find the original article here.
The suggestions range from time management apps (and most of us have suffer in that area) to tech tools, but also editing tools to make your life easier and improve your writing. I’ve tried some of the suggested tools myself in the past and found them quite interesting and helpful.
In addition, you can also try Grammarly and ProWritingAid, though the latter works best if you use the paid version.
