Writing and Publishing: Behind the Scenes, Part 1

Welcome to BTS, part one, the first segment where I'll take you behind the curtain to see what goes into inventing, writing, editing, and publishing a novel. Keep in mind: you haven't read Berinfell Prophecies Book 1: Curse of the Spider King, and this series of blog posts will delve into the creation of Book 2. Therefore, I'll have to leave many details concerning plot elements extremely vague. It's the process we're after, not spoilers, right?

Christopher Hopper is the CoAuthor of this series, and we are quite literally right at the beginning of the book. Today, it was all about inventing. We left several key threads dangling at the end of Spider King, so we began with those. What you see below is an iChat window. We began our session of brainstorming and outlining with iChat, but quickly realized we needed speed.

So, we used iChat's phone feature. That way, we could talk and hear each other while we worked. The window you see below is the speak function of iChat. So what'd we talk about? Chapter one.



Whenever I give advice to young writers and aspiring authors, I tell them to work exhaustively on chapter one. It may be the only chapter an agent or publisher looks at, so make it good. You really have to hook the reader. Action, Drama, Intense Emotion, Mystery, Danger--all good for opening chapters. Dialogue is good if it really gets us into a character or in the midst of a relationship between characters.

What to avoid:

1. Lots of narration
2. Lots of description
3. Dream sequences
4. Alarm clocks
5. Too many characters

Christopher and I left book 1 with several main characters making a journey...an important journey. However, as much as we'd like to spend pages describing the cool sights of this amazing fantasy world we're creating--they journeyed here, saw that, journeyed there, saw that--we knew that it's a snoozer of an opening. We ended up deciding on fast-forwarding to a battle scene, and not only that, but an ambush. Nothing says lovin' like a sneak attack! lol

The opening chapter decided on, we decided to "Begin with the end in mind." We had some thoughts of how Book 2 would end, so we brainstormed and fleshed that out a little. And it was here that we came to a bit of a road block. Our publisher has contracted with us for two books in the series, but we feel like it could go to a 3rd book, maybe 4. So the question became: How do we give a satisfying ending that still leaves some threads open for future books? Good question. First, we tackled the satisfying ending part. This means that any promises you made to readers need to be fulfilled. For example: If you hint that the treasure-greedy pirate will be betrayed by his own greed, then you'd better have it happen or readers will be peeved. Christopher and I are big fans of foreshadowing. We've dropped some very interesting breadcrumbs in book one that will become HUGELY important in book 2. So, we had to think of ways for these loose ends to connect to something very fun and interesting. In the end, we decided that we could end the climactic battle with the appearance of a new threat, one whose very nature would render him/her/it more perilous than anything readers have seen.

Now, we had the beginning and the end and lots of questions in between. What you see above is the file menu of Scrivener, our favorite all-powerful writing software. It absolutely rocks. Take a look at the way we set up our files. Under "draft" you see the outline in progress...just working chapter titles for now. Beneath that are our resource files. This is a whole fantasy world we're working on, so we've got Language Files, Bestiary, Geography, even a file for scenes that are so cool they have to be in the book....but uhm, we're not sure where yet. lol

After outlining for several hours, Christopher and I chose scenes. That is, there were several segments we each felt visually attached to. Christopher really wanted to tackle the opening battle scene. I, however, wanted to hit the relationships and a mounting internal conflict that needs to arise a bit later in the story. You might be thinking, but how can you do that? You don't know exactly what the other person is writing! That's somewhat true. I have an idea of what Christopher will put into the segment he's doing. But I don't need to be too concerned. It's kind of like connect the dots. My latter chapters might be a bit far away from Christopher's earlier chapters. But that's okay. The differences between them will suggest where we go on the chapters that fall in between.

That's a good tip for those of you who struggle with Writer's Block. Sometimes you just get stuck somewhere around chapter 8. Now, you've got a killer idea for chapter 17, but you don't go after it because you figure, you've got to go in order. NO. You don't. Write whatever scene is hot in your mind. Sometimes that latter scene will unblock the issue earlier on. And no matter what, the chapter that feels like fun will be better than the chapter that feels like a chore.

More to come in the following weeks. Stay tuned.

New Blog Series: Writing and Publishing a Novel--Behind the Scenes

When I was little, the first three Star Wars movies came out and blew everyone away. The special effects of Lucas' ILM took us places we never thought possible. And whenever one of those "The Making of..." programs came on, I was one of those geeked-out fans who watched with rapt attention. I can still remember watching how they filmed the X-Wing Fighter chase through the Death Star channel. COOL.

Even now, I absolutely love watching all the extra material on DVD's. I count The Lord of the Rings Extended Version Bonus DVDs among my most cherished treasures. lol. So I got to thinking that so many visitors to Enter the Door Within have tons of questions about writing and publishing. What if I take you behind the scenes?

Christopher Hopper and I have finished Curse of the Spider King. We're getting ready to hit the sequel now. So for the next series of posts, I will literally show you the nuts and bolts of how a novel comes together. From invention to editing, polishing to publishing--you'll see how it gets done. So tune in! You might even get a few sneak peeks at the new book. ;-)

Unimaginable Creative Boost: 3D Art Made Easy

I love to draw. Ever since I was a little kid with a pack of crayons…I just couldn't get enough. Whether it was sketching space battles on looseleaf paper in 5th grade, complete with laser blast sound effects (I'm so sorry, Mrs. Sugars!) or doing pen and ink work for my high school's yearbook cover...I was hooked on art.

Creating is just too much fun, eh? Well, somewhere in the 90's, I found a program called Bryce 3D. It's a realistic landscape program that I've been using ever since to craft the settings of my books. And seriously, the limits are that of your imagination. It is ALL doable.

For a while, Bryce 3D disappeared. You couldn't find it anymore. Then Daz Studios came along, bought it up and made it better than ever. And more than that, Daz is practically giving it away. I've put an ad for Daz Studios in my sidebar. If you have any desire to draw with 3D art, you need to check out the Daz site. I use Bryce 3D, Daz Studio, and Carerra Pro (just learning this one). And I have to tell you, anyone can use these programs to make impressive art. Bryce is easy. Daz is not too hard. Carerra...mmm, not sure yet. But the results are staggeringly cool.

Check it out. Oh, I should mention for my younger blog visitors, get your parents' permission first. Sometimes, esp. with human modeling programs, the artwork can end up being revealing, so just know that ahead of time.

Happy drawing!

PS: The image you see above is a first render of a scene from my new book: Curse of the Spider King.

Last Chance to Vote! Banner Contest!

The Banner Contest is over. 33 entries were submitted. I've posted them all below. First, I cannot thank enough those of you who entered. I know a bit about design work. It's very exacting and very time consuming. And now, I'm left with the choice of which one wins the contest and becomes the official Banner of Enter the Door Within. And...

I can't make up my mind! Please see the poll in the sidebard and vote for the design you like best. It I get a majority, that will help me make the decision. Thanks!

I've not included the artists names at this time, so just refer to each header by it's design number. If you would like to review the rules and regs, click HERE!

Design 1.


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These just added as of March 21st:

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Book News!

Book News for Fantasy Readers:

Eric Reinhold's new book: Shield of Faith, sequel to his amazing debut, Ryann Waters and the King's Sword, has just released! Eric has a passion for the Lord and a passion for a tale well-told, so if you're in the market for something new, check it out. If you're a parent or a teacher, I can tell you this is exactly the type of story you want for your kids: Male and Female Protagonists, Multicultural Heroes, Danger and Adventure without Gore and over-the-top violence, and a message that can't be beat. See the sidebar for Amazon links to both books! Go get'em! Check out the back cover below.

Like a few pictures in your books? Check out
a sample of the amazing artwork that you'll
find in Shield of Faith!

In other news: TitleTrakk.com has just kicked of their Hype-Machine for Christopher Hopper and my book: Berinfell Prophecies Book 1: Curse of the Spider King. Check out the article by clicking this link!

Also, we've opened the official Berinfell Prophecies Website. Big things to come there in the future. For now, it's just a landing page, but check it out and let us know what you think.

http://www.heedtheprophecies.com/

Also, we've moved the release date for Spider King to Oct. 4th! A month ahead of schedule. Woot!

Little Bunny Foo Foo…Goes Cruisin'

Who is little Bunny Foo Foo? Aside from the old song some of you remember with great disgust, Foo Foo is my daughter Rachel's favorite little stuffed animal. Amazing since I think it came out of a Happy Meal. Nonetheless, Rachel loves to play with it, creating little adventures and homes and even feeding it. {Future novelist perhaps?}

Long story short, Rachel saw the commercial where "Daddy Businessman" went cross country on a trip and took his little girl's stuffed monkey {?} along. He sent back pictures of the little primate from all over the country.

So, Foo Foo went with my wife and I on a 7 Day/Night cruise of the Caribbean. I begin the narrative tonight and will add more photos and captions as the days go by. Enjoy the adventures of Foo Foo the Bunny...in the Caribbean.

This is Bunny Foo Foo in my laptop case. This was his mode of travel while on the airplane and in transit. Foo Foo claimed it was comfortable but did not allow enough space to read.

This is little Bunny Foo Foo at our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. As you can see, he staked out a primo spot on the bed. My wife and I were a little miffed about having to sleep on the floor.

Gaining a measure of revenge, my wife and I sneaked out to the pool while Foo Foo was sleeping. Makes you wonder who took this picture, doesn't it?


Mary Lu and I brought Little Bunny Foo Foo onto our cruise ship, The Norwegian Dawn. This almost proved disastrous as Foo Foo underestimated the trade winds in the Port of Miami and nearly flew off the railing of our balcony. My wife was all set to yell, "Foo Overboard!" but my catlike reflexes saved the day.


While my wife and I were out to dinner the night before our first island visit, Little Bunny Foo Foo discovered a talent for making strange animals out of bath towels. This, of course, is the dragon Smaug from The Hobbit.

Speaking of strange creatures, my friend Dave and I rented snorkel gear on the beautiful peninsula of Samana in the Dominican Republic. There we found all sorts of cool sea critters: clownfish, knifefish, anemones, sea urchins, and HUGE starfish. As you can see, this one was pretty large (big as my hand). Later we found one as big as a dinner plate, but Little Bunny Foo Foo was afraid to get near that one.


Little Bunny Foo Foo continues to impress the ladies with is remarkable skill of sculpting with white bath towels. This, of course, is the old TV show character Alf. Needless to say, this beautiful young lady succumbed to Foo Foo's charms. (My wife in the pic, btw). ;-)


Still stinging a little that Foo Foo went dancing with my wife, I decided to take the little guy for a snorkeling trip off the island of Saint Thomas. It was an amazing experience. We saw tropic fish, stingrays, starfish, and sea turtles. Oh, and I must not forget about the sea urchins. Little Bunny Foo Foo had a --little-- trouble with the snorkel fin and got to meet a sea urchin up close and personal.

From Saint Thomas, it was on to the British Virgin Island called Tortola. Stunning island. The two wives were a bit tired of the sun, so they stayed on board the ship (see upper right). We were told that one thing we just couldn't miss on Tortola was the Caribbean's oldest rum factory. 300 years old or some such and quite a sight to see. So Dave and I took Little Bunny Foo Foo, grabbed a cab and were off. We had no idea what we were in for.

Foo Foo Concludes...



So Dave and I (and Foo) were headed to the ancient rum factory on the other side of Tortola. We expected this gigantic, old monastery kind of place with huge wooden doors, vast chambers, and windows casting streams of light in the age old dust.
Uh, not so much.

What you see above is Foo resting on some kind of old wheel. In the distance behind Foo, you see a huge banana orchard. Not sure if bananas are for the rum, but it was cool nonetheless. Anyway, back to the factory.

Turns out, the rum factory was this itty bitty shack in the woods. Seriously, it was about as big as my basement. Inside was still kind of cool: old beams, large glass jars, and tons of barrels. Above you see Foo attempting to hide from a horsefly that was bigger than he is.










Above you see Foo Foo seated atop one of the many barrels. You see the date on the barrel? that means the rum inside has been aging since 2002. Some of the barrels were much older. As I'm sure you know, the Caribbean islands produce a ton of rum. (Official Disclaimer: Neither Mr. Batson nor Foo Foo advocate the drinking of alcohol. Very dangerous! Beware!)






After that adventure which included a harrowing ride through the twisting mountain roads of Tortola in a van driven by the craziest cabbie in the islands, we returned to the cruise ship. As you can see, Foo built up quite an appetite. So did I. Mmmm, can you say, "Monster Cheeseburger?"
Yum.








Next, Foo Foo settled down to read some cool epic fantasy by the poolside. In this case, Foo was reading Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Trilogy. Cool stuff if you're a patient reader.










Our next stop was a little island called Great Stirrup Cay. It's owned by the Norwegian Cruise Company. Actually, not so impressive. But Foo Foo really liked the palm trees.
Can you see Little Bunny Foo Foo in the tree?










Foo Foo and everyone else were exhausted from the excusions and ready to hit the hay.
G'nite, Foo Foo!

Looking for Something to Read?

Don't worry, the adventures of FOO FOO will continue. But recently, I've been getting a ton of requests for book recommendations. I guess I write to slowly, and readers buzz through my five books like a brush fire. What's the matter with you people? Don't you know it took years to write those? What? You don't care? You need more books? Well, I guess I can help. See, part of the coolness of being an author is meeting other authors and finding out all the cool books out there. So, for those dying for something new to read, check my sidebar. I've listed a ton of Amazon links to books I personally recommend.

What about you? You know the kind of stuff my readers like. What other books do you recommend? I'll try to put Amazon links for them as well.


Never alone!

Caribbean Cruise

Hi, all! My lovely wife and I (along with our very close friends, Dave and Heather) are on a Caribbean Cruise. So I won't be doing my usual blogging. But, stay tuned. Shortly after the cruise, we will have a special series: The Adventures of Little Bunny Foo Foo. ;-)

Interview with Author JA Konrath: Suspense, Pacing, and Giving Back

If you like Serial Killer Mysteries along the lines of James Patterson but with laughs and introspection in the vein of Robert Crais, JA Konrath could be a writer you'd enjoy. No mistake, these are not kids books. These are grab-you-by-the-throat, scary, white-knuckling chillers, oh yeah…with a side of hearty laughs.

I first met JA through the pages of Writer's Digest. He wrote an hour by hour account of how he became a published author. It was very inspiring and so funny I think I hurt something. At the time I read it, I was just a wanna be. Something about JA's selfdeprecating style just made feel like, wow, maybe it could happen to me. His M.O. is work hard and never give up, and you will get published.

So I visited JA's website: A Newbies Guide to Publishing, and found loads of information about the business of publishing--insider tips on everything from impressing editors to negotiating royalty rates. And JA just made the info available FREE. No sign up fee. No email address. Just here's the treasure, come and plunder.

By the way, JA has recently compiled most of his Publishing/Writing/Promoting into one resource that you can download, again FREE. Download the Newbies Guide to Publishing HERE.

JA, being the marketing genius that he is went on a special kind of booktour. He literally drove cross country and visited over 600 bookstores. He went in, met the staff, managers, etc. shook hands, gave stuff away, and thanked all the sellers for getting his books and helping the public get a hold of them. JA and I hooked up on the Maryland leg and visited a gazillion stores. As you can see from the picture above, this was JA and me AFTER the day's touring. We were exhausted. But it was great fun getting to know him.

JA continues to work as hard as ever, and his books continue to do well. He's generously agreed to show up here for an interview. Enjoy a visit from JA:


WTB: How important is suspense in terms of selling books? How do you build suspense?

JA: Suspense is what keeps a reader reading. It's all about revealing and withholding information.

The goal as a writer is to present unresolved situations; in other words, to make a big mess. The point of the narrative is to resolve the situation and clean up the mess.

In the case of thrillers, the suspense often comes from characters in trouble, and villains getting their just desserts.

To create suspense, write a situation where the reader is forced to ask questions, the main one being, "What happens next?" This is done through conflict, and the promise of conflict.

Happiness, while wonderful in real life, is boring in fiction. Compelling fiction heaps problems onto characters. If these problems are meted out at a pace that makes the reader want to read faster, you've achieved suspense.

In short, suspense is the action that happens in between the question and the answer.


WTB: One of the things I love about your Jack Daniels Mysteries is the pulse-pounding pacing. Your books just never drag. Do you create pacing as a conscious choice? If so, how can aspiring writers improve their pacing?

JA: I appreciate the compliment. Whether we like it or not, we live in a fast food, MTV, web-surfing world, and people's attention spans have gotten shorter. As writers, we need to hold their attention, and pace is a smart way to do that. James Patterson has the right idea, writing books that are 300 pages long that have 120 chapters.

To create a fast pace, first focus on action scenes--these are the scenes where things are happening. The scenes with the conflict.

Next, make sure things get worse for your protagonist before they get better. Escalation is essential.

Short chapters, short paragraphs, show don't tell. Dialog is better than internal monologue. A fast paced book has a lot of white space on the page.

Finally, make sure you cut scenes that aren't needed. Backstory and lengthy description tend to weigh stories down.


WTB: Having read your articles in Writer's Digest as well as on your blog: Newbies Guide, I think it's awfully generous of you to give so much information away, esp. on getting published. Why do you do it?

JA: Because the chicks dig it.

Seriously? Because no one helped me. I spent a lot of years, struggling and depressed, trying to figure out this business. It was like scaling a wall with no end in sight. I vowed that if I ever made it, I'd help other writers so they wouldn't have to go through that.

The Internet is a perfect vehicle for sharing information. For the first time in the history of fiction writing, writers can instantly access one another. What a wonderful group resource we have, and I'm happy to contribute to the knowledge pool. I've made a lot of mistakes. I've tried a lot of different things. I've learned quite a bit. What good is all of that if I don't share it with others?

For example, I'm currently on a blog tour, visiting as many blogs as I can during the month of March, in anticipation of my horror novel, AFRAID (written under my pen name, Jack Kilborn) coming out March 31. I had no idea if this tour would be a worthwhile endeavor.

But my Google hits have gone up about twenty percent. My Amazon.com numbers have spiked higher. I'm getting more email than usual, and higher traffic on my website and blog. Best of all, this blog tour didn't cost me a thing. I'll post more detailed results on my blog in April, but I think this tour was a smart thing to do.

Contrast that to mailing 7000 letters to libraries, which I did a few years ago. That took a very long time, cost a lot of money, but overall wasn't a worthwhile investment.

Live and learn. But the only good knowledge is knowledge that is passed on. Or else everyone has to reinvent the wheel.

Then there's the trickle down effect. If you help others, they may link to you, increasing your brand awareness and name-recognition. Some may become fans. Some fans may become book buyers.

There's really no downside to generosity. Which is why I encourage everyone reading this to be generous and buy all of my books. Except AFRAID. That one is probably too scary...

Joe

I'll second what JA said about "AFRAID." Again, since I know so many kids check out this site, remember these are adult books. I'm talking Silence of the Lambs kind of scary. You've been warned.

Coming Soon!

Over the next couple of months, I am honored to welcome not one but two very cool guests. Of course, I won't tell you exactly who, but I will say, one of them will rock your world. The other might scare you half to death. Oh, and there are two more clues below.

What is this a picture of?

If you think this is just a picture of author Christopher Hopper and I via iChat, you're only half right. Search around my blog home page and see if you can figure out what this picture is really about?

On another note: The visitor counter in my sidebar is growing closer to the 100K mark. I wonder who will be the 100,000th visitor to Enter the Door Within? Stay tuned.

Description: Immerse, Don't Drown

If you're a little late to the party, allow me to explain what you're seeing in the image above. This is a piece, the 3rd so far, of the cover design for my next book: Curse of the Spider King. The first book of an epic fantasy series coauthored with Christopher Hopper, Spider King takes the traditional "portal fantasy" and turns it on its head. Rather than just sending a few kids into a fantasy world, we ask, "What would happen if the fantasy world came to us?"

A lot of writers, editors, and publishers will tell you that, if you don't "feel it" when you're writing a story, you're readers won't "feel it" when they read the story. I can honestly say, Christopher and I were "feeling it" as we wrote Spider King. It is the MOST fun I've ever had writing, and possibly the most "creeped out" I've ever been writing. There's one scene that Christopher penned that is every child's worst nightmare come true. It reminds me of a recurring dream I used to have, one that completely freaked me out.

Also, just a reminder that we have a contest going on. Design a HEADER for this blog and win a signed copy of any book I've written, including Spider King! See the earlier posts for details.

and now for something completely different...The Larch, er…just kidding.

The Art of Description

I. When to Describe:

The first thing to consider about description is that it generally slows down the pace of the story. So, if you're working on an action scene, you may not want to hit the brakes with a bucket of description. Imagine a car chase: frantic, treacherous action…but then, the author takes half a page to describe the nearby skyscraper. Good idea? Uhm…not so much.

Here are some times when you probably want to describe:
A. When we first meet a character: readers need to see who they are dealing with.
B. When you bring the reader to a new setting: see the picture above. This is the scene in Fellowship of the Rings when Aragorn brings the team to Lothlorien. It is the reader's first glimpse of the place. Tolkien spent pages describing it. Good idea? Absolutely.
C. When you are foreshadowing: dropping clues early on in the story can lead to supercharged scenes later. Sometimes, a clue is a little too obscure. Give it a little extra description, so it will stand out just a bit. The reader will wonder, and that's a good thing.

II. What to Describe:

Let's say you've identified a place you want to describe. Your hero has just wandered into the forest above. Now what? What do you actually want to describe? Rule #1: Do not attempt to describe everything. This goes for characters and settings alike. I can't tell you how many young writers introduce a character by giving a page of head to foot description. YIPE. If there's anything that screams: NOVICE, that's got to be it. Describe just a few things, but particularly something your reader can use to tag the character or place. Harry Potter had a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Gandalf had bristling white eyebrows that stuck out past the brim of his hat. Robert Crais character Pike always where's aviator sunglasses. Those are quirky descriptive tags that allow a reader to file the character away. Every time the character appears thereafter, the reader says, "Oh, that's the kid with the scar."

Look back at the picture above. Sorry, I couldn't find a larger version of it. It's a cool picture of a creepy forest. So what do you describe? Give it the glance test. Glance at it. Look away. What do you remember?

I remember that it was misty. The trees were very dark. And, they seemed to be leaning in. It feels kind of suffocating, doesn't it? Cool! Describe that element. Don't mention that a little white moth flew by. Who cares?! Again, give the reader some meat for his/her imagination. The rule is: Immerse, don't drown. You want the reader to go there, but not to get sick of being there.

III. How to Describe:

Everyone knows you describe with adjectives and adverbs, right? Sure. But what about verbs? You might ask, uh, but those are those action words, right? They don't describe anything. In fact, that's why we have adverbs...to describe verbs. Right?

Wrong. Verbs are action words, but put another way, verbs are words that SHOW action. Sound familiar? How many times have you heard: "Show don't tell"??? It's too true. And verbs are the perfect thing to show the readers what's going on. The key is to use specific verbs. Why say "He ran quickly." When you can say, "He sprinted" --OR-- "He charged."??? Find the right verbs for the scene. Be precise with your verbs and watch your story come to life.

A word about mood: When getting ready to describe something, consider the scene's mood. What do you want the reader to feel. If it's sad, don't describe the cheery elements in the scene. And don't use cheery words to describe things. Pick the bleakest elements of the scene and describe them in bleak terms.

Christopher Hopper does a cool drill with students. He has them look out of a window and describe what they see. First, a happy scene. Then a sad scene. The results are amazing. For the happy scene, kids described the warm sunlight, the light breeze, the bright green leaves, the bunny shading beneath a full pine. For the sad scene, the kids described the veil of clouds that obscured the sun, the breeze that did nothing to soften the brutal heat, the dead leaves, sagging branches, wilting plants, etc. Try it yourself and enjoy the difference.

The Plot Thickens, The Contest Continues...

Well, well, it seems many of you solved the mystery of the previous post. {Ahem, how many of you peeked?} The picture clips you see are indeed pieces of the cover of my new book "Curse of the Spider King," the first of a new fantasy series coAuthored with my good friend Christopher Hopper. The cover is so unspeakably cool that I can't post it all at once. ;-) So, you'll need to settle for a slowwwwwww, drawn out process.

PreOrder Alert!
You may not have noticed, but Curse of the Spider King is now available for Preorder on Amazon. Click on this link here, or use the link on my sidebar if you'd like to get your copy reserved now.

Meanwhile the Header Contest Continues. This blog needs a new Header. Using my books' cover art, desktop art from the sidebar, your own original art, Photoshop, and /or any other cool graphic/titling software, create a header according to the following specs:

1. Header must include text: Enter the Door Within.
2. Header must be the following dimensions: 660 x 105 pixels.
3. Header must be created in jpeg format.
4. Header must be emailed to me by May 1st. (see sidebar for email addy)

The Winning Artist will receive a signed copy of any of my books!

The Plot Thickens

We've talked a lot about how to create the opening of a novel that will HOOK your reader. Click here, if you missed that series of posts. But now that you've hooked a reader, editor, or publisher, how do you keep them reading?

Here are some tried and true techniques to thicken your plot:

1. Develop Your Characters: Readers like to get to know characters, love them, hate them, fear for them, etc. But no matter what, your readers must want to follow these characters through the novel.

• So, get out a scrap sheet of paper, or open a new Scrivener file. (See sidebar for the most fantastic and affordable writing software on the market). Answer these questions: What does she/he look like? Why does he/she dress like that? What are his/her goals? What are his/her motives? Does he/she have any physical quirks--ie things that stand out: a scar, a tattoo, crook in the nose, thin lips, walk with a limp, slurs his "S" sounds, etc?

2. Complicate the Path: Now that you know who your main characters are, ie: you know your good guy's goals and your bad guy goals, it's time to start throwing things in their path that complicate the matter. What can you throw in their way that will keep them from reaching their goals? Good guy is trying to get a job? Make him late for the interview. A watermelon truck turns over on the Interstate. Oops, good luck main character. Good Swordmaiden needs to prove she is queen? Let someone else show up claiming to be queen with evidence to prove it. Keep in mind, these events are not called Rising Actions for nothing. You must up the ante.

3. Multiply the Plotlines: This won't work for all stories, but some authors have driven us crazy with technique. You have multiple main characters. Instead of following one main character through his/her linear (straight forward) path, leave one plotline, preferably with a cliffhanger, and switch to another character. JRR Tolkien, Stephen King, Tad Williams, Tom Clancy...are just a few of the authors who do this to spectacular effect. What happens? You're dying to find out what will befall main character one, but you know you have to read through character two to find out. YAAAAHHHHH!!! {SCREAMS pulls out hair}. The readers will race through your pages. Imagine what happens when you leave character 2 on a cliffhanger as well? Heh, heh, heh! {Cue fiendish laugh}

Beware: this technique can be overdone. If you leave one character's plotline TOO long, you risk losing the reader. Patience can only be stretched so far.

Beware 2: Careful when you switch POV (narrator's point of view). If you're telling the first character's story in first person (I did this. I said...etc), then you should probably tell the other characters' stories in first person from their points of view. I prefer to use 3rd person omniscient, as I can go anywhere and into any character's minds.

4. Offer Intriguing Clues, but Don't Give Away the Farm: If you wrote a good hook in the story's exposition (introductory scenes), you have probably tempted your reader with a mystery of some kind: Who's sending those threatening letters? Why was the sun an eerie greenish color? Who is the killer? The reader wants to know the answers. So, give them a few clues, some text details that lead the reader closer to the answer, without giving the answer away. Devious and evil, I know. But readers love it.

I hope that helps you thicken your plot. Post a comment and let us know how you're using the techniques!

A Mystery and a Contest

First, the Mystery: Take a look at the image above.
What is it? Any guesses?
Post a comment, saying what you think it is.
Then, if you cannot stand to wait, use your mouse
and highlight the blank space below to find out.

This is a piece of the cover design for Curse of the Spider King,
Book One of the Berinfell Prophecies Series by me and
Christopher Hopper.


I will post more pieces in the coming days. See how many pieces it takes you to guess correctly. That is, if you haven't already peeked. ;-)

And now for the contest. I'm getting tired of looking at the plain header
for my blog. I know some of you have got to be amazingly good with
Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. So, design a header for this blog. The
best Header will win a signed copy of any of my books.

Here are the requirements:

1. Must say: "Enter the Door Within"
2. max width is 660 pixels wide. (I can't figure out the height)
3. Image must be in jpeg format and emailed to me (see sidebar for email)
4. All entries must be submitted by May 1st.
That's it! Now get designing, you creative people you!