35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 26: Keeping track of detail in series writing

Style sheet: Keeper of the Dragon Sword

There is a handy little tool used by editors and copy editors that I found to be useful for series writing: it is called a style sheet. While editors will use it to keep track of unique words, facts they have to check, spelling of characters' names (especially the weird ones I sometimes use) and so on. The editor does not know your story the way you do, so by making notes they keep track of things they have to check to make the editing of your story the best it can be.

As a fantasy and science fiction author, I sometimes have to invent words. I often come up with unusual names for my characters, for instance Alu''Adr'Erinia is the Guardian of the Future, whom you will meet in Michael's Mystery. Not only do I need to keep track of multiple characters as the series evolves, I have to keep track of the spelling of their names too. Those apostrophes - what was I thinking?

It is not only the names that I need to keep track off, but also the setting. The stories of the Nations of Peace take place on several planets, but my characters also travel from one to another. The means of travel depends on the reason for their journey. In Géra's Gift, T'ara, Ta'an and Géra were on space ships involved in a war with the planet Simi.

In book 4, Waiting for Adrian (coming in 2016) there is another war, so keeping track of the technology of the war machine is important.

Also important is knowing (and keeping it straight) which characters have what abilities. Who can space jump for instance. And who can dimension jump. There is a difference between the two modes of travel, and remembering who can do what can become a nightmare without using some kind of tool to help out.

Whether your series is simpler or more complicated as this one of mine, keeping a record of things and people featuring in multiple stories, is essential.

I found using style sheets to be an easy and quick way to do it, but whatever means you choose, keeping your facts straight across several books can be challenge if you are not prepared for it from the start.

Pop around tomorrow for a special post about blogging and author promotions on the Broomstick.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Book Feature: Frontier Preacher: Ill Repute by David A Millican III

Synopsis
Hollis feared the loneliness would swallow him whole. He had arrived in Wyoming to fulfill his uncle’s dying wish – that he save the people of Gillette – but his education and faith had not prepared him for the bitter cold and hardened hearts of the west. A dark secret in his new home threatens to destroy his very soul. Will Hollis be strong enough to stand against the tide of evil? Can he overcome where stronger men failed, before the west claims another victim?

Vote for Frontier Preacher @

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/173UELIOQE04T

and get a free copy after publication!

Watch the trailer @

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8v8yVLnleA

Excerpt
Cold bit his hand when he gripped the rail as he exited the train. James had been right; this was a wholly different cold than Tennessee. The snow had seemed the same out the window during the trip, though the land was flat and featureless. The cabin was cold during the trip, cold enough to see his breath, but not cold enough to reach his bones. He had wrongly assumed it would be the same outside. The clear sky had only a few traces of clouds and a bright sun, which had lent its warmth to the window in the cabin.
As he stepped down onto the crunching frozen snow of Cheyenne, the sun might as well have been a ball of bright ice. The wind ripped at his face with cold that burned and it tore through his clothes like they were tattered curtains. James had said to be prepared, and Hollis had thought he was but now he knew it was impossible to prepare for this. The lining of his nostrils froze and his scalp felt like it was being pierced with a thousand little needles. The air in his lungs was so cold that he began to cough like a backroom painted woman after too many years in the sheets.

About the Author
A storyteller from a young age David was born and raised in Wyoming. His twenties were spent traveling and experiencing the world. He now spends his time in McKeesport Pennsylvania with his wife Emily. He has been writing since he was a child, enjoying success in the young authors program, local literary magazines, and blogging.

Follow David online:

Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/davidmillicanauthor

Website @ https://www.davidamillicaniii.com

Twitter @ www.twitter.com/@davidamillican3

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 25: Infographics for Authors

Obsession by Linzé Brandon

You have probably seen these cute and compact graphic images all over the internet and social media websites. They contain useful information, but it is not represented as dry facts and figures. Instead the information is relayed in graphical format: compact and colourful; informational as well as entertaining. Not so long I was looking of these infographics (I cannot recall the subject matter) but it gave me an idea: use it for my books.

So far I have made three: the first was for Obsession, published in June this year and the second was for Michael's Mystery. The first I shared with all and sundry, but the second will live on my computer until the book is ready. I made a third infographic, and it is displayed on my office wall at home. This last infographic is a visual plan that I have to achieve my own goals.

Despite on how complex the graphics might appear, they are not that difficult to construct. You can get professional graphic designer, or use an online app (I use Piktochart) or even use software for making slideshows (such as Keynote for Apple) to create your own infographics.

To design the infographic for Obsession, I used the book cover as the primary image. Since it is black and white to fit in with the rest of the series, I added red accents to liven up the colour scheme. The book title, its relation to the other books in the series, and some cryptic info on the main character was added.

You can add as much or as little detail as you want, and use any colour scheme that compliments the colours of your book cover.

It is one image with details about your book that you can share in one place. Add the link to where the book can be purchased then you have supplied a picture worth a thousand words to a reader - all in one go.

Very handy book marketing tools, these infographics. Try them for yourself, they are super easy to make.

Pop around tomorrow to see how I keep track of details when writing a series.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 24: How Pinterest helped me with my Third Novel

I have always said that Pinterest is more useful than just a website filled with pretty pictures. When I start a new book, I create a new board with the name of the story as a work in progress (WIP). Then I spent some time - hours most of the time - searching for images that embodies the story as I visualise it.

I also find photographs of people. Often because of their physical characteristics that are the same as my characters'. But it doesn't end there. While I was searching for images about the desert and desert people I noticed something that I hadn't thought about: their clothing. People living in a desert do not dress the same way as people living in an urban or even a rural environment. Their environment is plagued by intense heat, blindingly bright sunshine and dust. Their clothing reflects their environment, and as such I had to rethink the way my characters would live and dress.

In Michael's Mystery, Michael learned that desert people have one major concern: conservation of their water resources. He also learned how people looked out for each other when confronted with dehydration and being caught in a sandstorm. These are the realities of desert living and I became more aware of this as I found images on Pinterest to add to my board for Michael's Mystery.

Even the desert itself presented a few challenges while I was writing. Would people still be travelling by camel train? Why not? The skill to navigate a desert is not one learned overnight and Michael experienced that firsthand when he went with Andesine to see the first people that he had to interview. He also had to travel by camel when they visited a remote village.

Images and photographs I found on Pinterest made the ideas I had about Michael's Mystery, its characters and setting come alive in my mind. It had been one of the most exciting storyboards I had put together and I hope that when you read the story (it is planned for release on 31 October 2015) you will see the elements in the story as I selected them for the storyboard for Michael's Mystery.

Pop around tomorrow for my view on the use of infographics for books.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 23: Internal vs External Conflict - a report on the #ROSACon2015 presentation by Romy Sommer

Romy dealt with the one subject that differentiates a narrative from a story, the dull from the exciting - conflict. Without conflict in a story, there is no motivation for the reader to finish the story. The reader will not be rooting for the hero (and heroine) and will soon be bored since there will be nothing that drives the story to its conclusion. Does the hero overcome his biggest obstacle? Do the hero and heroine finally overcome their past prejudices, fears, histories, problems and let their hearts embrace the love waiting for them?

Even in romance fiction external conflict needs to assist in the internal conflict that drives the story forward. The main plot is the development of the relationship, and the focus must remain on the romance even in romantic sub-genres.

Romy addressed both the aspects of internal conflict and external conflict in category romance fiction with clear examples and focus on the genre's expectations.

Romance stories are primarily stories about relationships, and the motivation (or lack thereof) that the main characters experience to get to their happily ever after.

All other story structures need to support this concept and Romy addressed this with clarity in her talk. She also went on to explain want conflict is not, as these situations are often confused with what does constitute the conflict in the scene.

Overall a talk well worth listening to, even for published authors as we sometimes need a reminder of the essential elements of the stories that we write.

~Romy Sommer is the President and one of the founding members of ROSA.

~Linzé Brandon is a member of ROSA and the administrator of the official Twitter account @SARomance

Pop around tomorrow for my view on the usefulness of Pinterest.

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 22: Time for Some Strategic Planning

It doesn't matter if you are published or not, traditionally published or self- published, there is one thing that stands above every other thing in a writer's life: marketing. You have to get your name out there and establish your unique brand. You have to get people excited about your writing, your books and you.

It is also the one thing that both planners and pantsers have in common: a marketing strategy. Even if you are the world's best writer, if people don't know about you, they won't buy your books. Period.

You need a strategy and a plan to make this happen, and it doesn't have to wait until your first book is published. In fact it is better to start the process long before your book is published.

The strategy is what you want to achieve, and the plan is how you are going to do it, with dates, details and budgets - the works.

Start by setting yourself a goal. State the date by when you want to achieve it, and what you have to do to get it done. Get three hundred more followers on Facebook? Do ten guest posts on other people's blogs?

Everything should be measurable. Three hundred more followers than you have right now. You can measure that. Ten guest posts? You can measure that. A plan needs specifics so that you can see if it is working.

See you tomorrow!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 21: Wattpad

Wattpad is the one platform where authors can find their feet. It allows you to post stories, or chapters of stories for readers to enjoy. All uploads are free and will remain that way. Many authors post their chapters here to get a feel for what their readers do and don't like.

This is not a bad approach as long as you remember a few things:

• Wattpad is a showcase of your writing, not a scratchpad for ideas still to go somewhere. Make sure your story or chapter is finished, edited and edited again before uploading or make visible for your readers. Bad spelling or grammar or stupid plot mistakes are not the way to convince your readers, your followers, that you are a writer.
• With every new story you upload, you have to add a cover image. Since this website is not a website for publication or distribution of books, the cover image does not have to be very big. But beware of low resolution or pixelated images. Do the design as if for a real book and your readers will feel the respect you are putting towards them with a professional product.
• Your profile needs to be professional and creative. Just because it is not a publication website, doesn't mean you can treat it with disdain. Take yourself seriously as a writer, and your readers will do the same.

From a personal perspective: I use Wattpad to upload flash fiction or short stories that I have usually written for competitions. Flash fiction is an ideal way to showcase your writing. For competitions, you are restricted in word count and often you have to tell a whole story with a beginning, middle and ending in less than 1000 words. This style has to be tight and does not allow for wasted words, and yet a story cannot exist without the elements of characterization, conflict and some kind of resolution. Challenging writing at its best. And a great way to show your skills and storytelling abilities.

I don't like the idea of posting one or chapters of a book and then my readers have to go somewhere else to buy the rest of the book if they like it. Some people do, but that is a personal choice.
As an author platform, Wattpad is under utilised in many aspects. If blogging about 'topics' does not appeal to you, or you prefer to write stories for your blog instead, why not also use Wattpad as well? Start a new series of flash fiction stories. They take mere minutes to read, which will appeal to a wide professional audience constantly pressed for time, and build your fan base from there.
If people like your stories, they will find your books at the booksellers' websites.

See you tomorrow!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and share their posts on your favourite platform?