Alexia's Writing Space

Much like my TBR, my week quickly got out of hand. Thank goodness for Saturdays!  

This week we’re sharing our writing workspaces and current TBR (to be read) lists. The one is easy, the other is nigh impossible. 

I have TBR stacks all over my home. Sometimes I have to hunt for a specific book, but what’s actually in stacks (or on my kindle) is nothing to my ever growing list I keep on Goodreads. But, as a mood reader, I like to keep plenty of options handy. 

As for my writing workspace, this desk is where the majority of my magic happens. When I’m in drafting or editing mode, this sunburst inlay desk is my go-to spot. When I sit here my brain knows what I expect of it. Granted, there are mental days where I’m empty. And that’s okay, but when the words are cooperating, it happens here. 

I have different spots that are better for plotting and researching. My favorite/most productive place is when I am waiting for a vehicle’s oil change or safety recall. There’s something about a room full of people minding their own business while eagerly waiting for their name to be called that works for me! Or maybe it’s the endless coffee and the knowledge that the moment I sit the clock starts ticking down. 

That’s what my workspace looks like. How about yours? Do you have multiple places you like to write? Do you plot and edit in different locations too? 

An Author's Bane: Writing a Query & Synopsis

 

This week we’re talking about a common bane to all authors…writing queries and synopsis. 

The topic actually asks if these are a bane, benefit, or both—but if you’re a writer, and if you’re honest with yourself, they’re both stressful and challenging. Writing a query or synopsis does not use the same mind-tools as writing a novel, you need to switch gears and view your book from a marketing standpoint and how best to leverage its saleability. Thus, bane! 

If you’re scratching your head right now, I’ll give you some background:

Query: a query is roughly one page in length and its purpose is to entice an agent or editor to want to read your work. 

If a writer desires to work with an agent there’s a high chance they will contact them with a query letter. And if an author has an agent or wants to sell their book to a smaller press they will need to present a query—which equates to a proposal if your agent is sending it—and synopsis. 

the Guts of a Query:

• a hook, one sentence that summarizes your book
• title in all caps
• genre and word count
• comp titles (list a few books that are comparable to yours)
• one to two paragraphs describing your plot/characters
• writing credentials, if you don’t have these, don’t make any up
• thank you, the most important thing to remember is be respectful
• complete within 300-400 words

Please do not blanket copy your query letter. You are sending it to different people, right? Does everyone like the same kind of pizza? Nope, and they’re definitely not going to be hooked by the exact same query. Personalize, at the very least address it with the correct name, and stick to their listed requirements. If you do not have any stated requirements, go with your gut, but be respectful. 

Are your palms sweaty and your stomach cramping? It happens because: stressful writing here! If you’re struggling with writing a hook check out Publishers Marketplace, they list book deals with their one sentence hook, or peruse Goodreads, sometimes the blurb starts out with a one sentence hook. 

I honestly can’t recall anyone ever saying they enjoy writing a query, but I’m sure there is someone out there that loves it! Though I have heard a few authors say they like writing the synopsis. 

What’s a synopsis?

Synopsis: an overview of a book from beginning to end that reveals the entire plot. 

Include in a Synopsis:

• present tense third person narrative
• capitalize your characters’ names the first time you introduce them
• only use Main Characters’ names
• emotions!
• simple writing—don’t get wordy, you don’t have enough room
• pages: 1 (short) to 2 (2-4 is considered long)

Yes, you must include your entire plot and the ending. Twists and all. Agents and editors read the synopsis to ensure your story has structure and is free of plot holes. And they need to know how everything comes together at the end. Why? Well, you don’t want to be pitching a romance that ends in one of the characters dying or a sci-fi that wraps up with an out-of-the-blue, magical miracle.

#WritingTip: write a short and long synopsis because, like pizza, 

different people will require different lengths and you don’t want to be unprepared.

The thing is, love them or hate them, suck at it or excel, there’s pressure when you write a query or synopsis. Work at it and perfect it. It’s worth the time because you get one shot to hook someone. So, writers. Embrace the bane and go sharpen those hooks.

All Hail the Rebels

 

Sometimes, the rule of the land is meant to keep the powerless powerless. All hail the rebels who mean to change that.

~ Raina Bloodgood, The Witch Collector

Politics. Not my favorite topic. I do enjoy reading about politics in world history, as well as the causes of ancient and even more contemporary wars, but I am not one to sit and watch the news. It depresses me, every time. That being said, politics still plays into my fiction. I'm not the best at the governmental aspects of worldbuilding, I admit, probably because of my aversion to stupid people being in positions of power.

But! In The Witch Collector for instance, political tensions are a huge part of the backdrop and drive the external conflict. Since this is book one in a triology, however, and thus act one in the story arc, I narrow my lens and focus mostly on the relationship of the hero and heroine, my rebels.

Book one follows Raina Bloodgood and Alexus Thibault as they navigate the initial story problems that will later propel them from their normal worlds into a world they've either avoided (Alexus) or never seen (Raina). They live on what's called the Northland Break, a small piece of the broken empire of Tiressia, a supercontinent that experienced a tectonic shift millions of years before, and was once under the rule of a succession of human kings, each of whom answered to the gods.

But then the gods came down and took their own rule, one in the Northlands, one in the Eastland Territories, one in the Summerlands, and another in what's known as the Western Drifts. Much of the conflict that developed is of a godly nature, meaning greed, insatiable appetites for all sorts of pleasure, and complete adoration was paramount in their focus. They wanted what they wanted when they wanted it, regardless of the humans, halflings, witches, magi, and sorcerers they had to step on or destroy to sate their desires. 

As tensions rose, bad things happened and two of the gods, Asha and Neri, were condemed and buried in the Summerlands. The City of Ruin is where their bones rest, at a place called the Grove of the Gods on Mount Ulra. Another god, Urdin of the Western Drifts, the best of the deities, died battling the Eastland god, Thamaos. Both were also buried at the grove.

Part of the conflict that led to all four gods' destruction was two simple human lovers. The fallout of that romance was not only a catalyst to the gods' demise, but left the Tiressian world with two immortal rulers, a Frost King and a Fire Queen, cast north and south of one another, who would never again be able to survive the other's presence. 

In this story, greed and revenge reign, and even gods can rise again, unless a witch and a Witch Collector can become allies and prevent worldwide calamity.

So. Yes, I use politics in my fiction. It won't show as much in book one as the next two books, because the MC has to learn the hidden history of the world she's occupied for twenty-four years and correct the thinking that three centuries of false lore have impressed upon the Northland people. This is a story of a young woman who lives a very sheltered existence and doesn't even realize it. She thinks she understands her world, and that it's the immortal king of the North who's ruining her life. Little does she know at the onset how protected she's been, and that sometimes, the world we don't see is absoutely stunning and beautiful and can open our minds to different cultures, but it can also be a rude awakening. Sometimes, the lives we think are so terrible are nothing in comparison to the trials many people live through day in and day out. My goal is to show that through Raina, to show her understanding of the complexities of Tiressia, and how those complexities affect her as an individual, deepening with every page.

If The Witch Collector sounds like a book you might like to read, I would love it if you added it to your Goodreads. If you'd like to pre-order the e-book, it's available on several platforms now. Print will be available in September!!

XOXO,

Just Keep Reading

I recently had a call with someone who is starting out on their first novel. It was incredibly exciting to listen to them talk about their love of reading and their eagerness to dive into writing their first book.

One of the knowledge bits I shared was the importance of continuing to read. Writers start out as readers and when we can’t get enough books, or can’t find ourselves in enough stories, we turn into writers. But then you get busy drafting, editing, submitting, formatting—and on and on. It’s easy to get so busy that we end up not reading!

I’ve seen authors that proudly claim they don’t read. I’ve read their books. And I still say it’s important for an author to read and to read outside your genre! Why? Because a great book has more than one genre element in it. A SONG OF WRAITHS AND RUIN by Roseanne A. Brown is fantasy with a little mystery. THE LAST ASTRONAUT by David Wellington is science fiction blended with thriller and horror. Pick up your recent read and see how many elements you can pull out. 

But where do you find books when you’re busy wiring your own novel or promoting your newest release? Check out my fellow SFF Seveners’ posts from this week, there’s some gems in there. And if you need some more ideas, here you go:

1: Your local library. I love my library! They’ve always got a surprise read or two facing out on the shelves, and I’m such a sucker for a good book cover. 

thank you Dakota County Library!

2: #writingcommunity I spend my social media time on Instagram and follow this hashtag because it’s filled with authors in all stages and they’re either sharing their release news, posting book birthdays, or shouting about whatever great read they just finished! It’s fantastic! (if you’re on Twitter you’ll find writers using the same hashtag)

3: Blogs! Yes, I still follow a handful of blogs that have proven time and again that their book tastes run similar to mine and undoubtedly sway me into trying reads I wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. 

Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell

The Fantasy Inn

SFF  World

Reading Between the Wines

4: follow me on Goodreads. Kidding, but not kidding. Goodreads is a never-ending supply of book choices and if you follow people with similar tastes, or maybe completely different, you'll see what they're reading and reviewing and find some books to add to your own TBR (to be read) list! 

Alexia's 2021 Goodreads shelf as of Jan 21st, 2021

I hope the information I shared with the aspiring writer was helpful, at least I know it helped me when I was starting out. And I hope one day, when he’s further along in his writing career, he lends a hand back to someone else that’s on their way up. Because I believe that’s how things should work, by receiving and giving, giving and receiving. And reading! 

Now, go find some great new reads this weekend! 

TBR

TBR (noun): to be read. 

The entity that is the TBR comes in various forms. There’s the TBR list; which some keep in spreadsheets, some use Goodreads, and others *gasp* keep a list in their mind. There’s also the TBR pile. Piles really, because honestly, where there’s one there’s certainly more. You can also toss in the TBR stack, TBR shelf, and TBR cart.

Currently, I have 1,278 books on my Goodreads TBR list, 57 in my physical TBR stacks around the house, 6 waiting in my Kindle’s TBR queue, and 1 in my TBR-carry-along, aka my purse.

Clearly, I have a book hoarding problem. But that’s not the topic of the week, this week it’s all about reading. 

Reading’s an escape, a hobby, a pastime, a chore. It’s a hundred other things that can change by the moment and is also a necessity if you’re an author. Yet, I see many writers posting comments that they don’t read. 

A writer who doesn’t read is like a movie producer who doesn’t watch TV or motion pictures, like a chef who never eats out. A writer who doesn’t read is like a marketer who never studies another’s successful launch, like a product engineer who never uses or tests another company’s items. A writer who doesn’t read will never be as great as they could be.

“If you don’t have time to read, 

you don’t have the time or the tools to write. 

Simple as that.” 

~Stephen King, On Writing

I’m addicted to reading, always have been. And when there's been too much time since cracking open a book I start to crave the escape. Yes, as a writer there are times you have to buckle down, editing cave anyone, and reading takes a backseat.  

Editing Cave (noun): a place where time and space are suspended. 

When one enters, they are unable to leave until such a time when they can produce a finished product. Warning; food and beverages that pass into the editing cave never return.

But after a time of famine you have to refill the well, as we’ve blogged about before, which you can read here, and binge on reading. Reading will stimulate the imagination. Reading will draw you down new paths you didn’t know you needed in your own writing. Reading will give you the mental break you crave after a trip to the editing cave.

I have a book hoarding problem, but I don’t merely collect them. I read them. One or five at a time, I read them, and sometimes re-read and re-read them. 

A romance gives melts my heart and makes me more cuddly. A fantasy leads me to the woods and lets me dream. A sci-fi takes my imagination places I’d never believed I’d find. A thriller makes my heart pound. A mystery makes my mind question and seek answers. And all of these allow me to see people through their eyes, to feel the agony of their lives, to understand what drives them and is important to them. 

Tell me, what have you been reading? Have you recently read something that gave you an ah-ha moment? Or maybe a book that took you away from your daily stress?