Tag: Blog

Naming Your Book

by NotMyLoginName, posted in Author Newsletter, Blogging, Book Marketing, Book Title, Dystopian, dystopian and post apocalyptic, Fiction, Marketing, Marketing Advice, naming a book, Publishing, Tips, Writing Advice, Writing Tips
man in white dress shirt sitting and smoking

Your book is the calling card of the professional writer. You’ve spent years polishing the sentences and ridding each page of typos. Perhaps you’ve hired the quintessential artist to create the cover but remain unsure if the chosen title wins the hearts of readers. Have you aligned the title with the genre and the central theme? Is the subtitle absolutely necessary?


Some writers decide upon the name at the beginning of their first draft. Others have their finger hovering over the publish- button and still wonder if another title would cut it better.

Table of contents

Do Google

My best advice for any novelist is this: Google the titles you have in mind. If another author has published with the same title, what consequences can follow? I’m sure you’ve heard about the CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE controversy? Tomi Adeyemi and Nora Roberts used the same name for their books which ignited a fury on social media.


“Regardless, you can’t copyright a title. And titles, like broad ideas, just float around in the creative clouds. It’s what’s inside that counts.” —Nora Roberts
For more information:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelkramerbussel/2018/12/01/nora-roberts-tomi-adeyemi-title-plagiarism-accusation/#6ab566414f51

A small deviation from a popular title looks like a solution.


For example, the word “Lycan” returns thousands of books on Google, and so does “Vampire.” Depending on how you handle your SEO (search engine optimization), you can drop to search result page 1001 or earn the first headlines. If Amazon has several other books by the same name as your brainchild, readers get mixed up, and the social media marketing (which you worked your butt off to create) loses a percentage of its impact.

Go for Lycan if werewolf heroes fill your plot, but a surprising point of view makes all the difference. Work with your title and invent a fresh twist: The Lycan Queen, Path to The Lycan Zone, The Lycan Plague… twist and turn, add the setting and spiritual question… and Google if someone has already used that.


Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid a namesake, with between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published every year in the US alone, depending on which stats you believe. And that’s fine.


There might be movies and videogames, and comic books by the same title and their themes differ from yours. If you write about religion, do you want the search result to include a game which features demonic assassins? Again this depends on your audience and genre.

Title Worksheet

Use my Worksheet on Book Titles to turn your book’s name around. (Download files from the Internet at your own risk.)


Before I named my post-apocalyptic spy thriller, I went through a hundred options. I considered the MC, the theme, and setting, but you can add your own angles.

The Subtitle

Be specific and bold if you need to add something through a subtitle. Sell your product to the masses, but your caption must follow the Amazon rules:

  • No claims of a bestseller, or rank or anything of the sort
  • No claim of deals, discounts or reduced price
  • You can’t reference other books or any other trademarks
  • No reference to other authors
  • No advertisements

“Subtitles are where an author can hone in and pack a punch with an artful turn-of-phrase. The subtitle has a distinct role apart from the primary title. While your book title clearly tells readers what the book is about, the job of the multi-faceted subtitle is to speak to the precise benefits readers will receive from your book.”


Source and more information: https://kindlepreneur.com/how-to-select-a-subtitle-that-sells/

Keep it Simple

The Internet houses an abundance of quizzes and statistics to find out the best book titles of the 21st century or the top-notch of entire human history. Agatha Christie and Philip K. Dick were the masterminds of name creation, but remember that fashions change.


More information: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/276.Best_Book_Titles

Although some of the most memorable books carry complicated and quirky names, it doesn’t mean you must use the same method. You’re not a classic writer who belongs to the reading program of each college, are you? If you want your customers to remember the name of your book as they open their laptop and start browsing, don’t over-complicate things.

Hooking The Customer

I look at the cover and the title in conjunction: to find out what the book offers for me. The process of naming a book reminds cover design. You feel compelled to add each detail which interests you as the author, but what hooks your potential customer while he or she browses your product (title, front cover, blurb, info about the author, etc. ) to asses if it’s worth the price? Will your book stand out, intrigue people if they have thousands of other books to choose from?


“Titles are essentially short hooks that advertise your book using the fewest words possible. It’s also what readers look for first when they discover new books, and can take less than 5 seconds to make a decision.”

Source: https://self-publishingschool.com/book-title-ideas-choose-perfect-title-book/
Form a mental image of your reader: who is the one browsing your book in the bookstore? What would catch his attention?


Elements of Title Generation:

  • Genre: General Fiction, Western, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Non-Fiction. Even if your style is a hybrid, you should be able to elevator pitch it. Explore genres: https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/genre
  • Important location of the story.
  • The theme: the underlying message, or ‘big idea.’ What critical belief about life do you convey? This idea must transcend cultural barriers and should be universal in nature.
  • What is the oppositional force in the story? The antagonist/a force of nature/ the evil within? Some book covers and movie posters feature the antagonist, and the title can do the same.
  • What’s at stake in the story? The fate of the world or the survival of a revolution? A warrior’s honor? A doctor’s career amidst a foreign war?
  • Where does the conflict stem from? Your book features a perpetual struggle which dates from time immemorial or your MC faces a threat from outer space?
  • Occupation of the protagonist?
  • Main characters goal? Can the customer see the intention from the cover or read it from the title?
  • Positive traits of the protagonist: a man on a mission, a woman of courage.
  • The negative trait of the main character: does his weakness pose a challenge, what will she sacrifice to win, can something threaten the MC’s goal? Self-doubt, fear… and so on.
  • Symbolism: paint a colorful scene or include the familiar spirit of the MC. A metaphor allows readers to visualize complex or challenging subjects. For example, Harry Potter’s scar is symbolic of his bravery, a badge of honor.
  • The sidekick or the mentor: if you’ve written a killer sidekick or a significant part of the plot depends on if the MC heeds the wizard’s advice. You have a colorful posse of YA heroes who combat an authoritarian ruler, and the close-knit group could feature in your title.

Book Title Generators

If you cant think of anything, turn to title generators. They direct you around a different corner even if the generated result isn’t exactly what you looked for.

https://blog.reedsy.com/book-title-generator/
https://www.listchallenges.com/the-greatest-book-titles
http://www.adazing.com/titles/use.php

My advice is to write the whole first draft and rethink about the name. Nothing stops you from writing down versions of your best choice each time inspiration strikes. And there’s nothing wrong in learning from others. Gather fifty titles and choose the best.

Using Scene Trackers and Plot Points to Plan Your Story

by NotMyLoginName, posted in Fiction, plot arc, Plotting, Tips, Writing, Writing Advice, Writing Tips
Beautiful woman in the magic forest

You might wonder what to insert into my Scene Tracker Template or Plot Point Graph. If you’re a pantser, you know your story by heart and use the tools of plot-weaving instinctively as you go. You might strip needless elements and refine your story as you reach the editing phase. But if you’re serious about being a professional writer, you must study your beloved craft and recognize plot points, character arcs, and other tools of drama.

Table of contents

Here are my methods of outlining:

Scene tracker model (Microsoft Office Excel).

PowerPoint Plot Graph Template (Microsoft Office PowerPoint).

Download files from the Internet at your own risk.

The files make it easy to analyze the dramatic arc and structure of your story.  If you don’t want to plan your draft one meticulously, use my templates as a refresher of your memory before you start revising your second draft. You don’t have to include all the crucial plot points, and your arch can curve up and down several times to surprise your readers.

Think of each significant event in your story as a sequence which consists of:

  • setup
  • complication
  • crisis
  • resolution

Your book is one instance of continual transformation which composes of smaller events (acts), which in turn comprise of chapters and scenes. I like to know my word count, and that’s why I included it in the Scene Tracker. I also keep track of days and months which pass in my book, just to stay level with continuity issues.

Keeping Track of Scenes

Scene= “a part of a play or film in which the action stays in one place for a continuous period of time.”

A scene means a small section of your novel where your characters engage in action or dialogue. They are mini-stories with a beginning, middle, and end. A chapter contains one or many scenes. Usually, the scenes within a chapter are related to one another. If you change location, or the clock of your manuscript moves forward, give the reader a pause in the form of moving into the next scene or chapter.  Scenes are like pearls in a string. Each story consists of these pearls, some small and ordinary, and others big, shining ones which surprise the reader.

Both templates let you add cells/boxes for your key scenes and plot weaving mechanisms.

Great scene beginnings include:

  • Put unusual events in motion
  • Tone-building scene setting
  • Intriguing backstory
  • New, interesting viewpoint
  • Introduce uncertain factors

More information: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/writing-scene-beginnings-grab-attention/

Great Scene endings:

  • Cliffhanger – place your protagonist’s life is at risk or produce some other threat which forces the reader to turn the page and begin a new scene/chapter
  • Revelation –something changes the course of the story
  • Setback– one of your characters should be frustrated about the latest event
  • Reveal a secret–a full secret or part of it to keep the mystery going
  • Question left hanging –teasing the reader
  • Unexpected plot twist –keep the reader guessing.

Character Arcs and the Three Acts

“A character arc is the transformation or inner journey of a character throughout a story. If a story has a character arc, the character begins as one sort of person and gradually transforms into a different kind of person in response to changing developments in the story. “

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_arc

Your protagonists and antagonists evolve through character arcs. An excellent way to build conflict is to make the main character unable to overcome an opposing force at the beginning of the story because he/she lacks skills or resources. The main character must change through learning or achieving new capabilities. Let the MC interact with the environment or produce a threat or a charismatic mentor. At the heart of your story lie conflict and change.

Plotting a Novel in Three Acts

“Aristotle plotted in three acts, and almost every story comes with a beginning, middle, and ending. Act One makes up 25% of a storyline, with Act Two taking up 50% and Act Three, the final 25%. The story is divided in half as well, with the midpoint squarely in the middle of Act Two. The first half of a story involves introducing characters, themes, motivations, settings, conflicts, and important elements. In the second half of a story, all its threads untangle.”

Read more about The Six Key Scenes of Aristotle’s Incline and source of the above snippet: http://livewritebreathe.com/how-to-plot-a-novel-in-three-acts/

Plot Points

A plot point is an incident which impacts what happens next. A plot point:

  • Moves the story in a different direction
  • Impacts character development
  • Closes a door behind a character, forcing them forward

Plot points form a whole, each piece informing the event before it and after it.

Seven-point

Image source: https://blog.reedsy.com/plot-point/

Examples of plot points:

Hook: A story must start off strong to keep the reader reading. The Hook is the point that pushes a novel into motion and sets it apart from others.

First Pinch Point: The middle of the story consists of the character reacting to the Big Event and its respective consequences. Pinch Points put the character under pressure.

Midpoint: Perhaps the most crucial plot point occurs near the middle of a story. The midpoint is a critical turning point that forces the protagonist to stop reacting and start acting.

Final Pinch Point: For the second half of the middle, the protagonist experiments with the agency, taking different approaches to overcome the conflict. The protagonist reacts to or acts on pressure and conflict, with middling success.

Final Plot Point: Going into the third act (or the beginning of the end) there is one Final Plot Point. This shows the protagonist at their lowest, having taken a profound misstep among their newfound actions, which drives them directly into the Climax and Resolution.

Resolution: A great story will end on a Climax, Realization, and Resolution, a series of events that bring the story and character arc in full circle. Usually, these revolve around a choice presented to the protagonist.

Source and more information: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/what-is-a-plot-point/

How to Design Plot Points

  • Draw them from your central idea or theme
  • Show desires, motivations, and setbacks
  • Place plot points at crucial structural junctures
  • Create points of no return
  • Create and arrange summaries of each plot point

Tension

Tension is a product of uncertainty and the resulting suspense we feel.

“To take the analogy of watching a tightrope walker, we know they are moving from an A to B of safe ground. Yet between these two points, how things turn out depends on many variables. Their balance, focus, and how they place their feet. And how swiftly they correct any stumble.”

Source and read more: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/writing-a-scene-that-engages/

The Warrior Mindset – How to Write Compelling Action

by NotMyLoginName, posted in Author, Blog, Books By Rebecka Jäger, books to read, dystopia, Dystopian, dystopian and post apocalyptic, dystopian world, Fiction, free books, margaret atwood, postapocalyptic, Science Fiction, Stephen King The Stand, Tips, Writing Advice, Writing Tips
Futuristic warrior

Have you ever fired a gun? Oh, you have- good for you. If you haven’t, find a shooting range near you or ask the local hunting club to let you tag along. Just smelling gunpowder and hearing the blast noises (through quality headphones that protect your hearing) will give you a sense of the real thing. The rest is up to your imagination…

If you are writing about military action like me, you face a tougher challenge to get the facts right. The army uses unique terminology, and the warriors have a certain mindset forged through endless drills and hard work. The NATO and European armies have slightly different rank systems.

Add in The Russian Federation, and you’re officially in the same grievous trap where I found myself when writing The Unholy Warrior. I decided to take things methodologically: I researched until my butt hurt from sitting and my fingers were raw from tapping on my keyboard.

Join a writer’s site like The Write Practice where you publish one piece a week and get critique from other writers in exchange for you doing the same for them:  www.thewritepractice.com

You can also ask some of your beta-readers to point out flaws and factual errors. There’s always someone who knows specific things because he has a military background or just because he is interested in such stuff.

facts- Get Them Right

You can also keep a memo on things which bother you and tackle the mistakes one by one. That way you can continue writing but know your weak spots need tending to.

When you’re wicked famous like John LeCarre, you can create your own terms and expect the spy professionals to start using them. LeCarre devised terms like “babysitters” and “lamplighters” to describe different guilds of the spy profession.

Gun Caliber

Writing about guns and ammo is so much easier if you have some first-hand experience. Organizations such as the NRA and various hunting magazines offer advice on shooting positions, the common aiming errors and using the best ammo to kill big game. They have some excellent info graphs online.

On shooting positions, visit: https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/hunter-education/online-course/shooting-skills/rifle-positions

Do you know what a large- caliber rifle recoil feels like? If not, chances are that a relative of yours is a passionate hunter. Go along. You might be a pest to begin with, but the odds are that he loves to ramble about duck or moose hunting forever. You’ll learn something as you sit by the campfire and drink soot pan coffee. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you shoot under his supervision. I fired my first load of shotgun pellets towards a pinetree when I was fourteen years old.

The lighter caliber .22 is the best one to start target practice with. .22 LR is found in pistol and rifle ammo.

Read about different caliber ammo and what they are used for. The numbering isn’t linear or very informative. A bigger number doesn’t automatically mean a bigger bullet! Using the wrong caliber will jam the weapon and you risk serious injury or death. In addition to numbering, the ammunition manufacturer uses a short code. For example .Win means Winchester. Your rifle carries a carved text to signify the type of correct ammunition. Perhaps “win .308” like my Tikka T1 Tactical from Sako, a Finnish company which belongs to the Beretta conglomerate.

Hunting

Three-hundred thousand people are registered hunters in Finland, and ours is a small population with six million citizens. The government demands that each hunter undergoes a series of lectures and passes the final examination before gaining a hunting license. Gun laws are strict in the European Union and especially in Finland. Yet, commercial shooting ranges offer you a chance to shoot pistols and revolvers in the heart of Helsinki, our capital. In the countryside, almost every considerable village has a shooting range nearby for rifle training. People do hunt and are passionate about it.

Hunting

“Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or merely kick) is the backward movement of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil momentum acquired by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gases (ejecta), according to Newton’s third law, known as conservation of momentum. In hand-held small arms, the recoil momentum is transferred to the ground through the body of the shooter; while in heavier guns such as mounted machine guns or cannons, recoil momentum is transferred to the ground through the mount.”

Source: Wikipedia.

Basically, the energy of ignited gunpowder has to go somewhere. It propels the bullet out of the barrel but an equal amount of energy kicks back towards the shooter. A heavy rifle absorbs some of the energy just lessening the force which hits the shooter. That’s why sniper rifles are usually bulky. They need to be accurate. Hunting rifles, which you drag around in the forest all day through the f***ng foliage and bush, are light and thus kick you harder during firing.

In Hollywood movies, we see a pistol bullet traveling far and hitting the opponent. In real life, it’s almost impossible to hit a moving target which is running zig-zag hundred-and-sixty feet away from you. Movie heroines hardly ever flinch at explosions. In real life, the sound of a .9 causes ear-splitting pain. Not flinching (as in shutting one’s eyes tight and grimacing not so sexy-looking) takes some heavy-duty training, not to mention a possible hearing loss.

As a writer, you can decide how much reality you want to embed. If you write fantasy, just come up with impossible things. Your readers will love them. If you’re writing a spy thriller which happens in the 21st century, do some serious research.

Close Combat

Have you received a blow to the head delivered by a powerful opponent?

You don’t have to tackle a man, or a woman, with a black belt. You can gain a lot of information by taking some newbie-sissy-level classes in self-defense arts like Defendo, Karate of Krav Maga. Ask your instructor to teach you what happens if you drop your defenses. One (gentle) blow to the head, and you’ll never forget that lesson.

It amazes me how short real-life fights are. Just a few seconds and a severe injury with long-time consequences has been inflicted. The winner and looser are found out in a blink of an eye.

Writing near combat scenes usually demands some bending of reality. We writers cannot disappoint our readers by a few lines, and that’s that. No, we must write different phases, evasion moves, near escapes and grabbing makeshift things like rocks to be used as weapons.

Attending writer’s festivals and happenings can link you with your thriller writer idols:

http://thrillerfest.com/

You can always learn from the best!

Other tips: