Write Now Editing

How I Write: Jo Ann Brown

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Publishing has changed a lot in the past twenty years, and those who are willing to adapt are continuing to succeed and thrive in the new market. Jo Ann Brown has made some changes over the years, so she’s enjoyed a long, successful publishing career. Here’s how she does it:

Thank you for being here! Let’s start with what you write and how you picked your genre.

I write Amish inspirational romances. I’d been writing other types of inspirational fiction for several years, including cozy mysteries, when an editor asked me to do a story with Amish characters. Because I have lived (and now again live) near the Amish, I was excited to try. That was several years ago, and now I write exclusively Amish books for Harlequin Love Inspired and Annie’s. My next book will be the launch book for the new Love Inspired Trade line, and it will be an Amish inspirational romance.

If you’ve written multiple books, which was harder: the first book or the following books? Why?

The first book was the easiest to write and the toughest to sell. I came into the project with unbridled enthusiasm and incredible naivety. I didn’t know the “rules” so I could break them. POV, what was that? Or maybe it’s because I typed it on a standard typewriter (all 500 +pages). Seriously, when I move from one genre to another, I find it so much easier to write the first book in the new genre because all my ideas are new and there wouldn’t be any chance I’ve used them before. I’ve been known to spend hours looking through past files to see if I’ve used a phrase or a plot twist before. I didn’t have to do that with the first book. Also I’m not much more conscious of how story structure and other writing skills work, and I use them to enhance my book.

What conference do you most want to attend? Why?

Any in-person conference at this point! I love the energy that comes from being in close proximity with other writers. The shutdown hasn’t been that bad for me because I’m accustomed to working by myself. Yet, I need those times when I can be with other authors to talk business, to talk ideas, to talk life. Zoom just isn’t the same!

I hear you! I can’t wait to meet in person again.

What’s your writing day like?

I’m a night owl. I start my day (around 10 am) with writing that doesn’t have anything to do with the work-in-progress. I answer emails, check Facebook and do any other tasks. After lunch, I go to work on my current manuscript. I work for about four hours, then take a break for supper and spending the evening with my husband. I go back to work after the late news, which is my best writing time because nobody interrupts.

How do you combat writer’s block?

When I get blocked on what comes next (usually a comeback to a comment the hero or heroine have made), I just move on to another part of the book. I’ve got a structure for the book in mind, so I go to the next spot where I know what’s going to happen. I’ll always jump ahead or back when inspiration hits and I see a better way to do a scene. This way, I’m always writing a scene that I want to work on instead of slogging through one that I’m not interested in at the moment.

If you have an agent, how did you find/pick your agent? What tips do you have for others looking for an agent?

I’m currently working with my fourth agent. I’ve been with her for almost twenty years. For my first agent, in 1985, I selected six agents from a list in a guide by Writer’s Digest, three from the beginning of the list, three from the end. Fortunately one was interested in my work, and he did go on to sell my first six books. But that’s not the right way to find an agent. With my current agent, I got to know her through workshops and through conversations at writers’ conferences before I thought about changing agents. I like her market savvy and her sense of humor that fit with mine. I also liked her no-nonsense point of view on what makes a manuscript marketable. When the time came to change agents, I contacted her. We had a long conversation about what I wanted to do and what she could do for me before I hired her.

The most important tip I can give to anyone looking for an agent is to make sure the agent has read your material before offering representation. This has happened to me and other writers.  I insisted the agent read my published work and the proposals I had to market before I’d talk with him. He did, and I hired him. On the other hand, I know authors who’ve signed the agency contract without pushing for that, especially when they have an offer on the table. When things hit a bump (as they inevitably do in this business), the agent stopped returning the author’s calls. The agent had gotten the 15% commission from a quick sale, which was all the agent was interested in. You want an agent as invested in your career, both short-term and long-term, as you are. Don’t settle. A bad agent is worse than no agent.

If you’re self-published, why did you decide to go that route? If you’re traditionally published, why did you decide to go that route?

Deciding to become traditionally published wasn’t a real choice. I sold my first book in 1987 when that was the only route (other than vanity presses) to publication. As I’ve gotten the rights back on my earlier books, I’ve placed them with other publishers rather than publishing them myself. There is a whole, huge learning curve to self-publishing, and it involves a lot of self-marketing. I learned a long time ago that my talents were writing books, not promoting them, so staying with traditional publication has been the best choice for me.

How do you self-edit your manuscript?

The most vital aspect of self-editing is being able to see it in a different way, a true “re-vision.” I don’t begin editing until I’ve finished a first draft. I print out a copy of the ms, so I can see it differently than I do on the screen, and get out my red pen. As I overwrite, it’s cut and burn time. Every book, I have a word that I use over and over, so I’ve got to look out for that. Fortunately, it becomes quickly obvious. Less obvious things like pacing and POV need to be checked as well. If I start getting bored with a scene, I know readers will, too. Then I look to punch up the emotion wherever I can.

Publishers Weekly best-selling author Jo Ann Brown has created characters and stories for as long as she can remember. After college, serving as an US Army quartermaster officer, getting married, and increasing her blessings with three children, she sold her first book in 1987. Since then, she has sold over 100 titles. Romantic Times called her “a truly talented author.” She loves teaching and established the romance writing course at Brown University. She lives in Pennsylvania Dutch country with her husband of over forty years. Find out more about Jo Ann and her books at:

www.joannbrownbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100023928423266

Repetition: Your Novel’s Nemesis

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There’s something comforting about eating turkey and stuffing every Thanksgiving. Knowing what to expect brings a sense of peace to our often-hectic lives, but that’s not always the case.

Repetition and consistency will kill your novel.

A common problem for many new writers is repetition. It comes in several forms. Today we’ll look at three of the most common repetitive issues and strategies for fixing and avoiding them.

Chapter Openings. Each chapter should open in a way that fits the characters and content of that scene. Far too frequently, however, each chapter starts the same way. The most common issue I see is the info dump—each chapter starts with 1-2 (or four!) paragraphs of information. Here are the two big issues with that type of opening:

  1. It’s often a description of action that took place between chapters. Instead of telling the reader what happened between chapters, back it up and show the reader what happened.
  2. It’s unnecessary/irrelevant. Each chapter doesn’t need to start in the same place (for example, with the main character waking up). If the details aren’t necessary to character development or they don’t support the plot, they can probably be cut.

Dialogue. There are two main ways in which authors repeat in dialogue.

A. They repeat what the other person just said. Not only does the dialogue sound unnatural, but it doesn’t flow well either. Example:

“How are you, Bill?”
“I’m fine, Kathy. And how are you?”
“I’m fine too. Did you make it to the tractor pull last night?”
“I did make it to the tractor pull!”

A better option…
“How are you, Bill?”
“I’m fine, Kathy. You?”
“I’m fine. Did you make it to the tractor pull last night?”
“I did!”

B. Characters have the same conversations over and over again. Bill and Kathy talk about the tractor pull, then Bill goes and tells John the same thing, then Bill calls his dad and tells him about it. You only need to explain what happened once. Then say something like, “Bill explained everything to John before calling and telling his dad.” There’s no reason to repeat the conversation. Your reader will understand.

Review your dialogue. If characters fall into category #1, cut those unnecessary words to tighten the conversation. If they fall into category #2, only show the conversation once. Summarize it after that.

Situations. Bill and Kathy talk on the phone, then go to the school, then meet up for coffee. John and Sandy talk on the phone, then go to the park, then meet up for dinner. In this instance, all of the characters do the same things: talk, meet, eat.

Another variation on repeated situations is when one character always does the same thing. No matter who Bill is with, they end up at the hardware store. Regardless of who Kathy is meeting, they always go to the bookstore.

While it’s true that most of us live pretty uneventful lives (and we probably go to the same three places repeatedly), that doesn’t make for interesting fiction.

Go through your story scene by scene and make a list of what your characters do. Do you see any patterns? If so, change something. You might have to introduce a new character or a new plot point, but it will be worth it to prevent your readers from getting bored and tuning out.

There you have it—the three most commonly repeated issues that tank an author’s manuscript.

There you have it—the three most commonly repeated issues that tank an author’s manuscript.

Don’t let it happen to you. Take some extra time to clean up these issues so you can present a stronger, cleaner story.

For more writing tips and author interviews, sign up for my newsletter—as a ‘thanks for joining’ you’ll get “Simple Tips for Finding the Right Editor for Your Project”! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or at my website!

How I Write: Marie Watts

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Do you know which genre you’re writing in? Have you ever worked with a freelance editor? Are you a new writer looking for writing tips? Then keep reading and let Marie Watts help you out!

What do you write? How/why did you pick your genre?

I write fiction and nonfiction. In the nonfiction arena, I am the co-author of a textbook, Human Relations 4th ed. and a pictorial history of Fayette County, Texas (where I live) called La Grange. I volunteer at a historic house and am currently producing video snippets of the residents to enhance our house tours. The scripts are written and recorded; now, I’m busy trying to incorporate historical pictures.  

I use fiction as an avenue to entertain and encourage others to look at issues such as diversity, personal relationships, and individual growth. 

Unfortunately, I write and then worry about the genre. I deemed my current trilogy, Warriors for Equal Rights, as a mystery—it follows employment discrimination investigators who solve crimes and nab the bad guys. Agents, however, proclaimed it could not be a mystery because there was no dead body. Who knew?  

If you’ve written multiple books, which was harder: the first book or the following books?

To me, the first one is much harder. The first book in my Warriors trilogy is The Cause Lives.  The process took me forever because I was too timid at throwing the characters into situations where the stakes were high. The second book, Only A Pawn, flowed easier since the characters had been established.

How do you combat writer’s block?

I don’t combat it very well. Sometimes I envision a scene and write it. Then later, I go back and stick it in an appropriate place. Other times, when I’m concentrating on something else, ideas pop into my mind.

I have a friend who preaches to me to write at least ten minutes a day, and, sometimes if you just start, ideas flow. Personally, I procrastinate by working jigsaw puzzles on the computer.

How do you prepare to write your books: pantser, plotter, both, something completely different? Describe your strategy.

I admit to being a pantser for fiction. I do, however, know where the story starts and ends. Then, I fill in the middle as my imagination takes hold or as I have something happen to me which sounds good to put into the plot.

My nonfiction writing is a bit different. My recent works involve historical incidents, and the facts shape the story. The trick is to find something interesting that is relatable to people today. 

For instance, I was researching the local 1888 newspapers for other information and noticed a spate of violence. Upon closer inspection, I realized the journal bemoaned the incidents and suggested that bearing six-shooters should be curtailed. I used these reports as a springboard to explore Texas gun laws in the 1800s. The article is entitled “A Bloody Month in 1888.”  

What advice do you have for new authors?

Take writing classes and read books on writing. Also, read, read, read. Then, think about what the book did for you. Was it just entertainment? Did it make you think? What drew you to the book? 

Also, explore the plot and structure. I recently read Liane Moriatry’s Big Little Lies and was fascinated by her ability to weave a story of a murder without revealing the victim or the perpetrator until the end.   

Then, use these observations to develop your own writing style.

If you’ve ever worked with a freelance editor, how did you find that editor? How would you describe the experience?

For fiction, I have used different freelance editors, one for content and story construction and another for copy editing. The experience was very positive. The content editor helped me find weak spots in character development and speed up the story. I tend to plot like 19th century novelists in laying out the scene instead of jumping into the action.

No matter how well I think I write, the copy editor has to clean up my work!  When working with a copy editor, I suggest agreeing on what sources you will use. For instance, I use Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster Dictionary for consistency.

I attended a writer’s conference in Austin, Texas, and met the editors at that event. 

How do you self-edit your manuscript?

When I think I have perfected an article, I run it through Grammerly where I usually find I have missed commas or words. I let it sit for several days and then re-read. Personally, I do not trust myself with a book-length manuscript because I want it to be consistent and grammatically correct. To me, sloppy writing detracts from the story.

What does your revision process look like?

First off, I follow the advice of a writing teacher to “kill your little darlings.” I let the manuscript sit and then began slicing and dicing. I read it numerous times, cutting and reorganizing from there. On my last manuscript, I cut several hundred words on the last round.

Besides cutting out wordiness, I have to look for areas to add descriptions. One of my beta readers on The Cause Lives complained because I gave little or no description of anything!  Going through and looking for words and phrases I overuse is also crucial.

Marie W. Watts is a former employment discrimination investigator and human resource consultant with over twenty-five years of experience. She has trained thousands of employees to recognize one’s own biases and prejudices and avoid discriminating against others in the workplace, and she has coauthored a textbook about it: Human Relations, 4th ed. Additionally, her work has been published in the Texas Bar Journal and the Houston Business Journal, as well as featured on Issues Today, syndicated to 119 radio stations, NBC San Antonio, Texas, and TAMU-TV in College Station, Texas.

In pursuit of justice in the workplace, Marie has been in jails and corporate boardrooms seeing the good, the bad, and the ugly of humans at work. She now brings her experiences to life in her works of fiction.

She and her husband live on a ranch in central Texas. In her spare time, she supports a historic house and hangs out with her grandsons.

http://mariewatts.com
https://facebook.com/mariewattsbooks
https://twitter.com/mariewattsbooks
https://instagram.com/mariewattswriter

Omniscient or Third Person POV?

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The omniscient POV (point-of-view) is making a comeback! The thing is, I don’t think it’s intentional. And most of the time, it’s not very good. When it comes to genre fiction, especially character-driven fiction, third person is a better option because it strengthens the reader-character connection.

I edit a lot of character-driven fiction (romance and women’s fiction specifically), so I see a lot of authors who think they’re writing third person POV, but they’re actually writing a bad version of the omniscient POV (or a bad version of third person, however you want to crack that nut). There are three main indicators that you’re writing in bad omniscient/third person. First, let’s take a look at the differences, then we’ll look at the problem.

Omniscient Point-of-View

Sometimes called the “narrator,” this is an all-seeing POV, knowing the inner workings of all the characters and able to tell what’s happening in different places at the same time. This POV lets the reader see everything but from a distance.

Most of the classical literature you read in high school and college was written in omniscient, but today’s audiences want deeper connections with the main characters. You can’t get that with omniscient because it’s a shallow, superficial look at everything. For most of today’s genre fiction, the preferred POV is third.

Third Person Point-of-View

This POV lets the author show the story from the viewpoint of one or more characters. Third-person gets into the head of each scene’s POV character, showing everything as they experience it. The reader doesn’t get to see anyone else’s thoughts or emotions until there’s a scene break and the book switches to a different character’s POV.

Because third person POV gets into the head of the scene’s POV character—showing what that person sees, hears, thinks, fears, etc.—the reader can connect with the characters because she experiences the story at the same time and in the same way as the POV character.

Bad Omniscient/Bad Third Person POV

These are the three most common mistakes I see with third-person POV. Some authors try to recover by calling it omniscient, but that still doesn’t work. Let’s pretend like we’re editing a romance novel. The genre standard (and expectation) is third person POV with two POV characters: the hero and the heroine. Here’s what usually happens:

  • Head hopping. Instead of staying in the hero or heroines POV, the author show’s everyone’s reactions in one scene. We see how the friend, neighbors, and parents think and feel about the situation. That’s called head hopping—instead of staying in one character’s POV, you hop into the head of every character.
  • Same voice. Regardless of which character dominates the scene, all of the descriptions sound the same. When the barista, poet, mechanic, and insurance adjuster all marvel at the mountain’s majesty and use similar phrases and words to describe life and their setting, then the narrator’s voice has taken over and is imposing her own thoughts onto the characters.

On their own, #1 and #2 could be omniscient, but not when you add #3.

  • Focusing on specific characters. When 90% of the book focuses on the hero’s and heroine’s current story with only 10% of it hopping into the heads of other minor characters, then the book isn’t really in omniscient. It’s third-person with some errors.

Most authors I speak with or work with are actually trying for third person, but when they hop heads or create vivid descriptions that they don’t want to cut, they often think that maybe they’re writing in omniscient instead. They aren’t. They’re simply writing third person with some POV issues. Instead of trying to hide third-person POV mistakes behind a veil of bad omniscient POV, you’re better off fixing the mistakes and writing your story in strong third person (unless, of course, you really want to write in omniscient—then make sure you’re not slipping into third person).

Not sure which POV to use? Most genre fiction (romance, mystery, suspense, etc.) uses either third-person or first-person point-of-view. My recommendation: leave omniscient for literary or general fiction.

For more writing tips and author interviews, sign up for me newsletter—as a ‘thanks for joining’ you’ll get “Simple Tips for Finding the Right Editor for Your Project”! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, or at my website!

Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success by K.M. Weiland (book review)

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Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer’s arsenal. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success will:

Help you choose the right type of outline for you
Guide you in brainstorming plot ideas
Aid you in discovering your characters
Show you how to structure your scenes
Explain how to format your finished outline
Instruct you in how to use your outline
Reveal the benefits:
Ensures cohesion and balance
Prevents dead-end ideas
Provides foreshadowing
Offers assurance and motivation
Dispel misconceptions:
Requires formal formatting
Limits creativity
Robs the joy of discovery
Takes too much time

Even if you’re certain outlining isn’t for you, the book offers all kinds of important tips on plot, structure, and character. Includes exclusive interviews with Larry Brooks, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Lisa Grace, Dan L. Hays, Jody Hedlund, Carolyn Kaufman, Becky Levine, Roz Morris, John Robinson, and Aggie Villanueva, answering important questions:

Can you describe your outlining process?
What is the greatest benefit of outlining?
What is the biggest potential pitfall of outlining?
Do you recommend “pantsing” for certain situations and outlining for others?
What’s the most important contributing factor to a successful outline?

Let me start by saying I am NOT an outliner. I’ve done it before, and I found it to be a complete waste of time — I spent weeks working on it, but after the first third of the novel I had abandoned the outline to follow a better story. Since then, I’ve worked from character sketches. I spend days (weeks) getting to know my characters. I know where they’re going to start and I know where I want them to end up. Using what I know about their personalities, I throw situations at them in order to guide them to the ending I want. That technique works for me.

Because of my previous bad experience with outlining (and my success with character building), I wasn’t really excited about reading this book. I’m not an outliner. After reading this book, however, I don’t think K.M. Weiland or any of the above mentioned authors are either.

The title of this book really should be Researching Your Novel or Before You Start Writing, Do This. By Weiland’s definition of outlining (which is essentially creating pages and pages of story notes and ideas before you start writing your book), anyone who preps before they start writing could essentially be considered an outliner.

The real emphasis here isn’t to outline your book, but to take time before you write to jot down some ideas and figure out plot holes and characters first so you don’t have to go back and fix things later. For that reason, I enjoyed this book because I believe in the power of prep work.

I would recommend this book to anyone either early in their writing career or struggling to put together new story ideas. There are some great tips and suggestions in this book that will help strengthen your characters and their stories.

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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Lover of all things fiction, I also love University of Michigan football, the Detroit Lions, Tigers, and Red Wings, kayaking, gluten-free cupcakes, and my husband.

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