Category Archives: General

Writing Perspective – Day 25 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 25 – Avoid Shortcuts

Welcome to day 25 of writing tips for any kind of writing – novel, short story, poetry, blog.

I’ve discussed many different areas important to writing. Looking through the material I received from a recent UntitledTown conference, I find another gem.

Shortcuts. Don’t take them. The idea is to be creative, not a duplicate of someone else’s writing. As I’ve seen on the blog site I blog on, many occasions people get inspiration from posts and ideas come forth and become new posts. Some are answers to questions in posts, some go off in a completely different direction from what the person wrote. We have many people who inspire us to write further on a topic or create a spinoff on the same topic.

In the same way, novelists can use or leverage what others have written to create something new and vital, breathing life into what might have been a dead subject.

You can glean ideas from a myriad of places, not only in books you’ve read but in news stories, conversations you have with friends, or people in general. Ideas are everywhere. Ideas lead to creativity, and creativity leads to a finished story.

As you’re expounding on what others have written, don’t take shortcuts. Don’t plagiarize. Make it your own. We all have opinions on what we read or hear. Great conversations come about from a single thought or idea. The same is true in writing. Opinions matter.

Don’t take shortcuts by making what someone else wrote a template for your writing. Make the story new and genuine. You know what a template is. It’s a basic form that follows a pattern. Romance books are good examples of template writing. The template is the same for every book. The only difference is the names of the characters and their locations. There’s no imagination in that kind of writing, and very little research either for that matter. Throw the template away!

Don’t take shortcuts with your writing. You have an idea, so find out everything you can about your idea. Don’t expect that someone else’s legwork, research, is the unvarnished truth in the matter. Search it out yourself.

In a book I’ve written and am currently working on, I relied on a movie I saw as total truth with the information provided in the movie. That is, until I did my own research and found out the animal in the movie for that location wasn’t native to that location and isn’t found there.

No shortcuts. Do your own legwork and be creative. That’s what writing is all about. When you do the work, and you know you’ve done it well, you can sit back satisfied your reader will appreciate the work you did when he or she reads it and then recommends it to others. You might even find good reviews of your work. When you do, you know you’ve passed the test and your reader will look for more of your books because they trust the one you wrote.

Have you read books that look like the author took a shortcut, used a template, and fell short of your expectations on the topic? Or have you read books where you know the author did their best to create a good story and got all their facts right? Have you recommended books, given reviews on books, or passed those books to other readers? If you have, the author did a good job with the subject.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Beginnings

Writing Perspective – Day 28 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 28 – Conflict

Looking through Story Structure Architect, I found an obvious one I forgot – Conflict.

Conflict is important to any story. You need conflict or you don’t have a story.

It doesn’t matter what genre you’re working in. Your conflict takes up the middle of your book. It’s what needs resolving. You can have a simple conflict with a simple solution. Those are usually your less than 300-page books. Or you can have your complicated conflicts with more than one issue. You can also have one compounded issue. When you think you’re getting close to the answer, something else happens and throws you off track and in another direction.

Personally, I like complicated and compounded. It makes for a better read.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Time Management

Writing Perspective – Day 20 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 20 – Magic

I hope some of you look forward to these tips and I’m glad I can help. I’m not an expert. This is what I’ve gleaned in my time as a writer and now author.

I’m still going through the world-building points. There are six of them. This one is the fifth—magic.

Magic is a broad field. It can come from any direction. Through science, through the supernatural, through technology.

Consider what you know today and where you are technologically. Now place this same knowledge in a different by-gone era and people would accuse you of witchcraft. We know the supernatural exists. All religions have some basis in the supernatural. It isn’t a far stretch of the imagination to tap into the supernatural.

You also don’t need to use the supernatural or magic in science fiction alone. Consider the best-selling book of all time, the Bible. God presents His people with signs and wonders throughout the Old Testament with the plagues of Egypt, and Elijah calling down fire from heaven and going to heaven in the whirlwind. In the New Testament, you have Jesus’ resurrection, and signs and wonders done by the apostles. These are factual representations of a mighty God.

As a Christian author, I showed God’s mighty power with the supernatural in two of my published books, Manifest Destiny and Freedom’s Cry. Magic can be presented in different ways. Consider JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Not everyone had magic and not all magic was good, some were bad.

How you present magic will bring your reader into your world or leave him or her standing at the door. It must be done in such a way that it’s natural to the story.

Is magic something your characters dabble in and learn, fearful that anything will happen and what happens when something does? Is magic a way of life for the people of your world and everyone has magic, some more than others? Is magic a magicians’ conjuring trick? Admit it, you enjoy a good magician’s trick. You’ve even tried it yourself.

When considering magic as the main topic of your story, you need to present it at the beginning. Even if your main character is unaware of his or her ability with magic, it must be shown at the onset of your story. Then your audience will be waiting for it to manifest in your character or will wonder how he or she will use their magic.

You can also use magic as a surprise element for your character. Again, it must be a natural outcome for the character, even if it is a surprising one. Once presented, your audience will wonder what’s going to happen next. Don’t disappoint them.

There’s also magic in the world around you. Watch nature and see how it fits together. It’s an amazing world we live in. Use it in your writing to help develop your characters. You never know where you’ll find a bit of magic.

Have you tried using magic in your writing?

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Culture

Writing Perspective – Day 18 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 18: World History

Welcome to today’s writing tips. I’m still on world-building as there is so much to it that can also apply to other genres, not only science fiction.

One of the things you need to concern yourself with in your world is the history of the world your characters live in. What took place to put them in the position they’re in? Is it the result of peace, or is there a war going on?

History is important to every genre. To learn the history of what you’re writing you need to do research. In science fiction, you’re making up the history of your planet or world. What will your characters face? Will they be accepted or not? Was there war? How was peace achieved? Is it an uneasy peace in which war could break out again with little provocation?

Aside from wars, how did the planet come to exist? Was it part of creative design? Was a god responsible for the planet or the solar system? What kind of technology does the world have or not have? What about different societies or classes of people?

No matter what genre you write, you need to consider all the factors that make up your story. In science fiction, you can set your creative imagination free to roam. What obstacles do you face in your writing? Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Religions

Writing Perspective – Day 15 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 15: Secondary Characters

Yesterday I wrote on character development. I’m going to continue with that thread as there is a lot more to write about than I focused on yesterday.

Another part of character development deals with the number of characters in your story. Too many and you overwhelm the reader, too few and your story could lack interest. Though I have heard of a two-person story.

Your secondary characters help your main character by supporting them in various ways. In Scarred, Jo-Ann has a moment of doubt and despair, despite her strong faith. Too much has gone against them, when Emalei reminds her that God is everywhere and encourages her. It’s not the only time she finds encouragement.

In order to have good character development in your secondary characters, you need to know them as well as you know your main characters. Don’t shortchange them. Balance your secondary characters with your main characters and you will have a strong story.

When it comes to the characters in your book, it isn’t good to give several characters names starting with the same letter. It can bring about much confusion when it comes to who’s speaking. You don’t want to confuse your reader. I hope these tips are helping you as a writer. Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Environments

Please…Take A Bow

By Dorothy Seehausen

I read an article this morning about how we writers trash talk our work, as if we can’t think of enough negative adjectives like dismal or crappy to evaluate our ideas.

The article was written by an English teacher with one rule for all his students: each time you hand me your work, tell me this is your very best.

It made me think of an ESL (English as a Second Language) class I taught a few years back to five enthusiastic and eager Japanese students, three young men and two women.

What I was most impressed with in the six weeks we had together was the manner in which they handed me their homework. With a slight bow, they would extend both upturned hands, the assignment proudly resting on top.

I found myself bowing slightly in return as they revently placed these pieces of themselves in my care. I learned the Japanese word for thank you…domo arigatou (doh-moh ah-ree-gah-toh). I became their hero, and they called me Dorothy instead of “teacher.”

They invited me to tea the day before they left. I received a lovely thank you card. “Dearest Dorothy…I will never forget you”… “It’s my pleasure that I learned with you” …”If I have a chance, I will visit St. You”…”Please don’t change and don’t forget me” … “I’ll miss you…”

The complexity of learning a second language is fraught with concepts that don’t translate literally. Trying to write them down is a nightmare.

My Japanese students knew this. They knew what they produced was not as important as honoring the manner in which it materialized.  

I’m happy to use their wisdom to hone an attitude of gratitude toward myself as a writer. It sure beats dismal or crappy.

Writing Perspective – Day 14 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 14: Character Development

One of the essential elements of writing your story is character development. You can’t just put any name on a page and expect it to fit in your story.

Think about all the characters you know from your favorite books or classics. Would A Christmas Carol be the same if Ebenezer Scrooge had a different name? Maybe, but doubtful. And what about Atticus Finch? Would To Kill a Mockingbird be the same with a different name?

Speak those names or many others and you immediately have an idea about the character, who he or she is and what kind of personality they have.

Names are important. You need to consider what kind of book you’re writing. Is it contemporary, western, mystery, science fiction, romance?

Once you have your character, you need to dress him or her. Who are they? What is their catchphrase? If I said, fiddle-dee-dee, do you know who said it? An idea of war, scoundrels, and cads might come to mind. Love, family, regrets, determination, might also come to mind. Put that fiddle-dee-dee alongside “As God is my witness, I will never be hungry again,” and you know exactly which character it belongs to.

What kind of person will fill the hero and heroine roles in your stories? To find out what kind of person he or she is, you need to communicate with them.

One method of communication is to have your character write you a letter about what they want to do or not do. Let them tell you what they fear the most and what they love the most and have your character be angry at you for stifling who they want to become. Get to know your character.

Once you know your character, you will know how he or she will act in any given situation. You know if she will flee the hospital when the doctor asks her help to amputate a soldier, and you will know if she has the guts to kill a man whose intent was to steal whatever he could.

Getting to know your character takes time. You won’t know everything about your character when you finish your first draft. You’ll have an idea about him or her. As you edit and revise your story, you give your characters the personality you started to develop in the rough draft.

It’s time to find out exactly who they are and if your audience will like them or hate them. You need to give them a purpose. Survival is a common purpose. Turning people from hating a person because of the color of their skin to fighting for them, is common. Fighting for what you believe in is also a common purpose.

How you develop your characters to bring about the outcome you want will show how well you develop the characters in your stories. Who are your favorite characters? Tell me why they’re your favorite.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Secondary Characters

Writing Perspective – Day 10 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day 10: Plotting

Today, I will discuss plotting your novel, short story, article, or poem. What is the main theme of your work? Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? Is your work mainstream or sweet? Mainstream is what most people read, filled with every kind of vulgarity and or sexual content the author can dream up. Sweet being the opposite and often spiritually based. Even poetry needs a plot when you consider the many ballads written by those famous authors – Shakespeare for instance.

When plotting your novel, you need to know the basic elements—setting/location; historical, present, future; characters, your main characters, hero, and heroine plus your secondary characters. How many characters will you have? What is your genre? There are many genres to choose from—romance, historical romance, contemporary romance, historical, mystery, science fiction, western, chiller/horror and the list goes on interminably.

With the new series I’m working on, I started plotting my story in Excel to keep it organized. Which also brings up another plot point—will it be a single novel or a series?

Plotting takes place before you start work on your novel. If it’s a non-fiction work, you also need to outline and know how many chapters it will be. The chapters define the essence of the book. For instance, you can have several parts to your non-fiction book, and within each part several chapters to explain each section.

If you’re a pantser, as I mentioned on day one, plotting doesn’t always work well. You are either a plotter or pantser. Most authors or writers can’t be both. I don’t know any who are.

Once you have your plot, it’s time to start writing. If you’re a plotter, tell me how you plot your work. Thanks for reading.

Tomorrow’s Perspective: Pantser

Writing Perspective – Day 2 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day Two – Ideas

Today, I’m going to focus on ideas. One of the most frequently asked questions is how do I get my ideas? I’d like to say I think a long time about what to write. I don’t. Thoughts are always there and spawn ideas I can write about.

You can get ideas from news stories, books, movies or something that happens. The way it happened brings forth a great idea for a book.

Talking to people and something they say, or how it’s said, can be a good plot for a story.

There are so many places you can find stories, they’re endless. Even dreams can evolve into a book. For non-fiction books, there might be something that happened–such as a mystery–that hasn’t been solved or a memoir from your childhood could make a good book. History is full of people who did something other people would want to know about.

Think about every book you’ve ever read. Which was your favorite and why? That book started as an idea in the author’s imagination. They took that idea and made a story from it, and that story became the book you read. It might have been a best-seller and it might not. However, you read it, reviewed it and others have done the same.

Jerry B. Jenkins, author of the Left Behind series was on a plane and had the idea to write about the tribulation from the viewpoint of an airline pilot. The series became a reality, which he co-authored with Tim LaHaye. One book led to twelve and then four prequels.

Don’t discount the ideas you have. They all lead somewhere, whether it’s a blog post or a best-selling novel.

You might wonder how a person can take an idea from a book. I read an article once that said, there are no new stories, and someone will always come along and write the story better than you did. Find a nugget in a book and you have an idea, a seed, and a new story comes forth. What are your ideas? Let them germinate the seed for a story.

It’s time to write.

Tomorrow’s perspective: Join a Writer’s Group.

Writing Perspective – Day 1 of 31

By Valerie Routhieaux

Day One – Just Write

Write. Don’t edit. Don’t worry about your grammar and punctuation.

Write. When you start a new project, the idea is to get the story down. This is your rough draft, and believe me, it’s rough. I guarantee you probably broke every rule of good writing. You’ll have typos and even words that don’t look like typos called homophones. Those are the trickiest typos of all. You’ll also have punctuation and grammatical errors.

Leave your editing for the finished project.

When the story is finished, it’s time to start polishing it. Everyone writes differently. Some people use index cards and map out their book from beginning to end. Some use a storyboard. Some outline. And some just write.

There are two kinds of writers. Plotters and Pantsers. The plotters are the ones who use the index cards, storyboard, and outline. Pantsers are those who plant themselves in the chair and write.

I’m a pantser. I don’t know what my characters are going to do until I put fingers to keyboard.

If this is day one for you, decide what kind of writer you are and get started. The book won’t write itself, though some days you will feel like it is, especially if you’re a pantser, like me.

What kind of writing do you do? If you’re an author, what genre do you write in? If you haven’t published yet, what are your interests when you sit down to write? If you’re thinking about writing, what genre interests you? Is it fiction or non-fiction?

Write!

Tomorrow’s perspective: Ideas