Too improbable? A Writing Tip from Arline Chase

Fall Wedding by Arline ChaseQuestion: You always advised your students to join writers’ groups as if they could give no other good advice they would, at least, ask “What have you written this week?” But I’m starting to think I ought to search for a new group. They all agree that my work is, “Too hard to believe” and all my plot twists are either “impossible” or “improbable.” Okay, my stuff “pushes the envelope.” But I have avidly read books with weirder plots than mine…any ideas?

Answer: Thinking back to my own writer’s group days (with many thanks to the critique sessions at IWWG) my best guess is that it’s either a lack of foreshadowing, or a failure to write the action convincingly. Knowing your work from your student days, my guess is foreshadowing.

It is important to foreshadow and many writers fear to do it, in case they give too much away. FORESHADOWING is a technique that leads the reader smoothly along, hinting at what is coming next. Foreshadowing makes future action more believable. Most of us don’t notice it, but when it’s not there, crises seem too precipitate, changes too sudden, surprises are — well, too much of a shock not to overcome some readers’ “Willing suspension of disbelief.” Continue reading “Too improbable? A Writing Tip from Arline Chase”

Suggestion Box

The universe of Indie authors is a diverse one. We at Indies Unlimited do our best to provide quality content and convenient site features to our ever-growing reader base. Sometimes we get praise for these efforts. Sometimes we get helpful suggestions. Some few times we get a little mean-spirited criticism.

I’m a big, tough Evil Mastermind, so the detractors can’t really raise a welt on me, but there are times when it seems to me that people do get frustrated when we fail to act immediately on the great idea they suggested lo, these many hours ago.

I can understand that people may not know what goes on backstage at this multi-megawatt nuclear-powered deathstar of a blog, so I thought I’d offer you a peek behind the curtain. Continue reading “Suggestion Box”

So what’s your House Style?

Author Chris James

[Author’s Note: we recommend reading this post only after having imbibed at least a triple-strength portion of your preferred caffeine-based beverage and propping each of your eyelids open with a matchstick.]

Self-publishing is power. The power to sidestep agents and traditional publishers. The power to it your way. But with power comes responsibility. You’re going to publish without a traditional publisher, so without all of the behind-the-scenes support that publishers employ before a product comes to market. In that case, there’s one thing you need to get yourself, apart from a reliable supply of happy pills. It costs nothing but your time and a small ability to make decisions. It can help your writing, your editing, and your proof-reading, so leaving your angst and self-torture to roam free over characterisation, plot and exposition. It’s called a House Style.

Each traditional publisher, whether of books, magazines or journalism, has a House Style, a document which states how certain words and phrases are always used in its publications. The main purpose is so that all writers, editors and proof-readers who work for it adhere to the same rules, and thus its readers come to expect and appreciate the same quality content. Fortunately you as the self-publishing writer do not have to contend with a small army of writing subordinates who all think they know how to write better than you. But by having your own House Style, by deciding how you’re going to use certain language items, you can ease your writing journey a little, and be more confident of bringing a good quality product to market.

Here are a few points I’ve found helpful to decide beforehand, rather than suddenly realising that I must make a decision about them just as I’m agonising over some other vital story problem. Decide these either when you begin writing or as a separate editing objective. What follows is by no means exhaustive; any proper House Style document will run to several thousand words, but I hope these results of my experiences may give you an idea of a few of the concomitant editorial issues that face every self-publisher. Continue reading “So what’s your House Style?”

Vote for Book Trailer of the Week (June 9th)

Three different video book trailers were featured this week on Indies Unlimited. Now it is your turn to vote for the one you felt was best. No money—no prizes—all for the glory.

This week’s entrants are:

1. The Power of Powers by Lon Dee

2. Do not Force it, TAP THE GOOD by Jacent M Mpalyenkana 

3. The Zul Enigma by JM Leitch

 

Vote for your favorite video book trailer featured this week on Indies Unlimited (6/9)

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