Writing thoughts

 All right. Pandora is not finished with Medusa’s story yet (something about a gladiator interfering and meddling where he’s not wanted. I wasn’t about to argue.) so I’ve got some writing thoughts for you. Not enough to really be called a writing tip, but I still think it’s good information.

All right, here we go.

First of all, series. Often, fantasy writers seem to think that a series is better than a stand-alone, hands down. I actually disagree. Often, for me, anyway, I’ll read a stand-alone before a series, simply because of the time involved. I can read a 300 page book in about an hour, with no interruptions. When you have a series of ten 300 word books, that’s a time commitment of more than a normal working day. Don’t get me wrong, I like to both read and write a book series. But your reader is lending you their time and attention and expecting to enjoy that time spent in your world. If your series is getting stale, consider ending it.

Second, your characters. Too often, writers will have side characters that appear for two or three scenes, then disappear into the pit of Despair, never to be seen again. I am definitely guilty of this. Make sure that each character has a satisfactory character arc (this means the ones that have effect on the story, not necessarily the barkeep). It helps to imagine them each as the protagonist of their own story.

Here’s one that I’ve had thrown at me a few times, regarding something that really threw me before I really understood this concept. Know the difference between professional proof readers and beta readers. Both are extremely valuable, but sometimes you get advice from beta readers who are trying to act like professionals. For example, in Unidentified, one of my beta readers asked me why Katelynn was so brave. I obsessed over this relatively minor thing (though it seems major) until one of my other friends asked me why it mattered. It doesn’t, because the beta reader was taking that character trait out of context. The way the book is written means that it jumps back and forth between the past and present, and the character traits she learned in the past influence the beginning of the story. A professional proof reader would’ve read the whole story and seen that, rather than making notes as they went along, like my beta reader was doing.

Just some thoughts. Pandora might be done her story by Friday, and if she’s not, Alice mentioned having something I can post.

Thanks for reading and have a good week!