How to get started

So this week's subject is how to get started on yiur next novel. What do you have reeady to go before hyouremready to go as it were.

Wel, that's an interestintg question, especially since Im a pantser. I basically just sit down ad start. I don't have a list of prepared character names. I don'tnusually do outlines. I have never even once filled out charcter cards, though the idea always sounds interesting to e. No 3x5 index xards, no tree of possibe scenes. It just isn't my thing.

I have nothing, ecept a vague notion of what I want to see when it's all said and done. I MIGHT have a few vague ideas for scenes in my head, but the closest comparison I cn give is a few stepping stones to help e across the river as I start my walk.

Here's the thing: for me, half the fun is the mystery. I know that I'll need a town before it's all said and done. I often prefer small town settings, because there' a certain level of intimacy to them that is washed away in big city settings. I know I'll ned a few character, but I like to learn about them the same way that readere learn about them. That is to say I like to learn abot them as I move throgh the story. It is eceedingly rare for me to have a well deeloped notion of what a chaaracter will become as the story progresses, because I DO think chaarcters should change as they move through a tale. Like all of us, they shouod be shped by their surroundings by their past, and by what happens to them in every day events.

Let me put thT in a slightoy different way. When I strted writing I was a very different peron than I am now. My beliefs were different, my lifestyle was certainoy different, and I promise you the me from 25 years ago would have never expected the me that lives in my skin now. I have eveolved as a result of life events, changes in my environment, and incidents that reshaped me in commpketeoy unexpected ways. I bet if you look back even a decade, you can say the same and if I am wrong, yu are very much an exception to the rules.

Oh, some things haven't changed much. I still love Halloween and I think Stephen King is about he best writer out there these days. I think my writing has evolved immensely, and I know that my opinions arent what they were half a lifetime ago. I have, in some ways, become jaded. I have, in other way, remained remarkaboy the same.

But what has n9t changed is my preference to go into a story with onoy a seed of an idea. I find the mysteries that unfod as I write are haof the fun. I can look back at my very first novel, UNDER THE OVERTREE, and I can remember how surprised I was by some of the charctes. Lisa Scarabeeli comes to mind. I made her to be a throaway. She was supposed to die horribly in the story, but she surprised me No matter what I hit her with, and I hit her ith a LOT, she simply would not die. If I had outlined the novel as thoroughy as some writer I know, that wouodnt have happenede She'd have asted two scenes and then she wouod have been gone I would have lost tht element of surprise. A writer I knew for a long time. Rick Hautala, once had a long debate with me about that Rick outlined everything meticulousy, effectively writing so detiled an outline for himself that it wouod tke 20,000 words to finish the outline he wouod then flesh out that that outline and have a finished novel. I toold him then, and I still hold to it, tht for me, the element of surprise is removed by having a detailed outline. I can no longer surprise myself, so how can I expect to surprise the reader?

He never quite got that. That's okay, I couod never quite work my wy through his form of outlining, either.

The thing to remember is that there is nio right ot wrong in writing. There is only what is right or wrong for YOU.

Do you need an outliune? Maybe you do. All I need are my aforementioned stepping stones Brief snippets of scenes thT might or might not actually take place in my stories. I had one scene in y head when I started writing that first novel. It was a scene tht wouod not leave me alone and I wrote un til I had that scene fleshed out properly, which was roughoy fifteen thousand words in three days. By the time I had finished writing that scene, I knew what the next few importaant beats in the story wouod be and that was how I kept writing. 178,000 or so words later, I had finished my first novel's first draft.And I was happy with it, and I still am. Oh donpt get me wroing, I'd have written a very different story than what I wrote then if I were to start with the same seed as I did back in the day. I am, as I have already sid, a very different person than I was back then. Different aspects of the sme tle woulde ahve been moe important to me if I wrote the book today instead of in the pst.

Here's what I really need to get strted i need an idea. I need at least one scene that I a desperately eage to write, and I need to hav4 a vague notion of what I want to have hapening somwhere near the end of the book. That's it. everything else isw done spur of the moment. i do not have a list of nakes, when I start. I make them up as I go. Those names will be added to a one or two page leicon as I go along. Especially in a fantasy settting where the names are markedly different than the common names I find in my world. That lexicon will include the naes of characters, often with a one sentence description to help me remembr imortant things about them. Tyler wilso-smart ass-nerd-very near sighted, wears glasses. Mark Howell--overwight, dremer, holds a grudge. cassie Monroe, athletic, jogs every day, is adrift emotionally. Thaat's three chrcters and as fleshed out as they were when I started.

I do the same with locations: Summitvikle, small town, near a big lake, xenophobic atmsphere.

How much mire do you need?I want enough to fire my neurons and remind me of the peron/place. That's all. I don;t outline.I ask myself questions. I don't answer them diretly. I answer them in the story. I might add in the name of good friends or family member as I go. Cindy Howell, Narks mom, was fifteen when she had her son. Blonde hair.

The rest is details, The notes are the clay I'm sculpting from as it were. I don't want more than tht I want the shpe and teture nd design to suprise me as I go along.

Probaboy thtt isnpt a helpful pile of inforation I know most of the writers I deal with hve very different processes than I do. I collaborte with riters with fair regularity and most of them outline much more than I do, The exception is my friend Chrles rutledge, with whom I regularly collaboraate. Charles is as weird s me, and whoile we ahve written several novels and novellas together, the closest we've ever come to an outline is about three sentences worth of story idea, followed by a luch meeting ot two when we were halfway through a book. But as I have waid before, I'm not normal and neither is Charles.The first novel we worked on together, BLIND SHADOWS, took us three weeks to write. The second novel we worked on together, CONGREGATIONS OF THE DEAD took us two weeks. The third, A HELL WITHIN, was about five months, The thing is we had three books and a novella come out of bout hree sengtences. We should do a story with the local cop and a detective who run across a monster when they're just going abiut their normal days. Mayne set it in the mountains. Do it sa a crime story, but there's also this supernaatural thing going on, too.

That was enough. We had a blast firing chptes back and forth on each and every tale.

I say again, and with feeling, tee is no right or wrong way, theres onoy the way that works for you.

Queries, Synopses, and Taglines, Oh My

If the question is are queries and synopses bane, benefit, or both, my answer is yes. All the things. I have a decidedly love/hate relationship with them. 

I've spent months (possibly years, to my dismay) thinking in terms of broad strokes, long arcs, interwoven threads, and the details that build a complete sensory world in a book. It took me way too many words to do so. Now you want me to boil it down into a single page synopsis? This is bane. It's bane because of the cognitive shift that has to happen from writer to marketeer - a shift that apparently comes at emotional cost for a lot of authors, including me. 

However, synopses done well are absolutely a benefit. They really do force you to distill the main conflict, emotion, and themes. From that synopses, a query can be born. From that synopses, pithy one liners about the story and the characters can be used as teasers across social media and ads if you're so inclined. If you'd asked me what was good about a synopses a few years ago, I'd have said, 'when they're over'. But somewhere along the way, a critique partner relayed a message from her editor at a large house - learn to love synopses because it's how the big trad houses sell you and your story. Did you think anyone other than your editor read your book? Doesn't happen. The cover art skims the synopsis. Marketing skims the synopsis. If that synopsis is a toss off, it shows. Love that impossible quest to write a synopsis. It's what gets you where you want to go. 

I'm aware of a couple of schools of thought on synopses. One is that synopses are nothing more than a point by point logical flow through the plot. The second says that synopses are a story in and of themselves that should reflect the voice and feel of the book. My synopses tend to fall into that second category. I want the feeling in the synopsis. I want all that character angst sitting on some marketing person's chest, staring into their eyes. That means I select for melodrama when I undertake a synopsis.

Don't think there aren't several false starts, hair tearing, and wails of 'why is this so hard'? I usually end up with a couple of half done versions full of stilted phrases around what happens in the book. Then I get mad, say 'melodrama, stupid' and go for a paragraph describing the heroine and her goal, one for the hero and his goal, and then the rest is how those goals collide and how everyone's gonna die if the two of them can't get it together. It's not a patented formula or anything, but it does seem to work well. 

I also only speak in terms of the synopsis because for me, the query is the teaser for the synopsis and is derived from it. Some authors start with a tagline and then build longer and longer focused content until they hit synopsis length. I go the other direction. Long form that boils down farther and farther until I have a single tagline. But by the time I'm done, I have a query, a synopsis, and a back cover blurb all ready to go in a media kit that I can pull from easily. 

But ye gods, I still dislike having to stare at a blank page and a flashing cursor after having written 'The End' on something else.

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.

Syns and Queries: If You Can't Write Them, Your Story Isn't Ready Yet

Queries & Synopses: Boon, Bane, Both?

Both. Mostly boon, though, because--as Jeffe mentioned on Sunday--both types of summaries force you to crystalize the essence of your book. If you can't do it, there's a really strong chance your plot isn't as clear nor as tight as it should be. You may have written 90k of what felt like a compelling story, but if you can't distill it down to 250(ish) words, then open a blank page and chapter-by-chapter write a one-sentence summary for what happens in that chapter. You should be able to condense those 30(ish) sentences into a shorter summary that still tells a story. The continual refining of your "short story" is akin to zooming out, just keep mentally hitting the Ctrl- keys until you've hit the requested length. If you can't craft a flowing story from the chapter summaries, then you might have embraced an author's nemesis--the tangent. Fun to write, but nothing that advances the plot or the character development. Thar be edits in your future, matey. Better to know that before you send your "completed" mss into public. 

I consider synopses and the meat of queries to be a critical "is my book ready for submission/public" check. 

Also, as James said, you've got to be able to write your own marketing copy. From your back-cover blurb to the hook on your website to your social media promos. Regardless of which publishing path you've taken, those super short BUY ME statements are necessary. Here are examples for my Immortal Spy UF Series.

Side tip: When you're promoting your book on social media, in addition to the short hook, use your genre hashtags, include a Call To Action (Pre-Order! Buy Now!) with the corresponding link, an image that includes the cover art and book title. Use the title in promo the text too. Make it easy for a total stranger to ONE click-to-buy and ONE click-to-share. 

Example:

#NewRelease: THE EXPOSED SPY #UrbanFantasy. Whistleblowers found a fatal flaw in the Mid World defense system. Can Bix & the Berserkers save them and the project before the government kills them all?

Amazon: https://t.co/rtcbsQN5kA
Other Retailers: https://t.co/3ZsMPfS2kI pic.twitter.com/ZsAXq52Y1t

— K. A. Krantz (@KAKrantz) October 13, 2020

It breaks my heart when I see book promos that are little more than "I have a new book out today!" Without the supporting info mentioned previously, you're disinviting potential new readers to discover your work. It's like saying, "If you don't know the details without me telling you, then you're clearly not cool enough to hang with me." Eeep. That's like, anti-marketing. The un-sale notice. Don't, don't do that.

Selling the Sizzle

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "Queries & Synopses: Bane, Benefit, or Both?"

I hate querie. I hate synopsis. To be perfectly honest about it Id w=rather be writing the book, but they ar ncessary evils. Yu cannot sell a book without them, or rther, it's a damned sight harder.

in a perfect world i could sit with an editor over a cup of my preferred beverage and make a sale. It doesnt work that way very often however. Seems that most editors have to show their pitches to a committee who talks about whether or not a project is going to fit with what the publisher has planned. So, yeah, learn to amke a good pitch, and that includes a synpopsis and like as ot a few query letters.

That said, there are endles books out there on this subject and I'll not try to counter the wisdom of those fine authors.

I willl suggest tat you know the following things:

the long pitch: quite literally a full synopsis of your novel. The Medium Pitch: A one page su=ynopsis of your novel. More like what you'd see on the back cover text for your work, it's hitting the high notes and trying to get the editor's attention. This shouod e something you couod say about the work in a conversation. It does not have to ahve great detail, but you better know the story well enough to expaand.

and then there'the Elevator pitch. You have fifteen seconds. Wow the editor enough to have them wanting to continue this cov=nversation. Can you do that? So tell me about your novel in one sentence. Under The Overtree: It's about puberty and monsters and whether or not there is a difference.

Serenity Falls: A town falls victim to a 300 year old curse.

Fireworks: A UFO crashes, and the f=government movesin to make sure what crashed is kept safe from prying eyes.

It isn't always easy, but all three of those pitches worked to sell novels.

Selling your books is part of the process. The synopsis has to be able to sell your work. It's that simple. The rub? Make them interesting and make people care in a much smaller amount of space.

It's October! What are your Halloween plans?

Synopses - the Pain Never Ends

Our topic at the SFF Seven this week is "Queries & Synopses: Bane, Benefit, or Both?"

Besides all of us immediately screeching BANE – because all sane human beings hate writing synopses – I’m here to tell you to learn to, if not love, then at least bear with them. Being able to write a decent synopsis is a critical skill for a writer, even indies. Same with queries.

Also, the need for them never goes away. If you want to be a career author, you’ll be pitching/querying your books and writing synopses for the rest of your life.

Did I scare you? It IS October, after all!

I totally sympathize, by the way. When I was a newbie writer, I was fond of saying that if I could synopsize my novel, either in an elevator pitch or a couple of pages, then I wouldn’t have had to write the whole book. Which is true in a way, but also precious.

People rightfully rolled their eyes at me.

I sucked it up and took a class on writing synopses.

The main thing I learned from the class was not necessarily how to write a synopsis, though I kind of did, but that condensing a story concept to 10 pages, 5 pages, 2 pages, 1 paragraph, 288 or 144 characters, or 1 line helped crystallize the essentials of the tale. And I had to face the very uncomfortable truth that, despite my newbie arrogance about having written this entire novel to tell the story, the main reason I couldn’t write a synopsis or come up with an effective short pitch was that I didn’t have a clear focus on that story. I didn’t KNOW what the essentials were.

That’s why I say that even indies – who may never need to write a synopsis, but will certainly need to write a blurb – will benefit from developing this skill, too.

And if you’re going for trad at all… Well, let’s just say that a synopsis is hovering in my near future. I’m not looking forward to the painful process of writing it, but I know that, in the end, I’ll understand much more about the story.

Which is always a positive.

The Witch Collector Goodreads Giveaway

This week's topic here at the SFF Seven is writer fashion. Since I'm terribly boring with my yoga pants and t-shirts, I decided to share something bookish instead.

The Witch Collector release is a month away! In preparation, there's a Goodreads Giveaway the entire month of October. 15 signed paperbacks are up for grabs :)

Here's a little book info!

Advanced Praise

“The Witch Collector is a finely woven tapestry of everything one could desire of fantasy—compelling characters, intricate world-building, gripping action, and burning romance. The threads of this story sing in Weaks' skilled and passionate hands." — Annette Taylor, Bookstagrammer and Early Reviewer

"The Witch Collector is a magical, enchanting, fantasy romance whose pages are filled with threads of love, loss, and healing....Highly, highly recommended for anyone who loves fantasy romance, fantasy with strong female leads, unique magic systems, and beautiful writing." — Alexia Chantel/AC Anderson Author

"The Witch Collector has everything you want in a fantasy story - characters with depth, cool magic, political intrigue, ancient gods, a sinister villain, and exquisite romantic tension building. Up there with the best!" — Emily Rainsford, Bookstagrammer @coffeebooksandmagic

About the Book

Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.

Today is that day—Collecting Day.

But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for twenty-four years he has passed me by.

His mistake.

Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.

Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector in saving the Frost King or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who’s stealing her heart?

The Witch Collector is book one in a thrilling romantic fantasy trilogy, perfect for fans of Naomi Novik, Sarah J. Maas, and Jennifer L. Armentrout.

If you enter, good luck!

Fashion Victim

Writer. Fashion.

Isn't that an oxymoron? I mean, at conferences maybe some of us could be viewed as semi-fashionable. I am not among that number. I'm far more fashion victim than fashion maven. Used to be you could count on me to dress up for conferences and events - to the point that it was clear I was trying too hard. But not now. A day job and very limited time to write makes my writing uniform pretty flexible. It's boat clothes, y'all. Boat clothes. Even if there isn't a boat at the moment. I'm still out here in cut off shorts, men's tee shirts and wearing men's Keens. I've found my gender-neutral happy place, and regardless of whether I'm out on the lanai writing or walking at the treadmill desk, this less than fashionable outfit stays relatively cool and dry. I never imagined I'd need to plan for fungal diseases like jungle rot (not a joke - my grandfather had it and never got rid of it) but staying cool and dry is a thing here. So every last goth bit of me has been packed away in a box for that time in the future when wearing black won't be a death-by-heat-stroke sentence.

The only thing that might change is whether or not I'm wearing the blue-light blocker migraine glasses. Or the Cefaly. Distinctly not fashionable, but so worth using to keep migraine at bay. 

I'm afraid if there are author beauty contests, I'm going to have to let the cats stand in.