Mystery of the Masked Marauder cover update

Alright everyone, we need your help!

We are so thrilled to show you some of the artwork our talented illustrator Jon Winchell has come up with for our front cover!

He has given us two final cover options to choose from. Which do YOU like better? Post here or on our Facebook page to let us know!

Mystery of the Masked Marauder: Almost there

Here's a quick update on where we are in the publishing process:

Our illustrator is putting the finishing touches on the cover, and everyone who has seen it loves how it's coming along. We'll hopefully have a cover reveal soon!

We're also almost done with the last round of edits, so once we have the cover we should be all set to go to the presses.

Here's where we need your help. There are a few things you can do:

1. Spread the word! Share our Facebook page and tell your friends about the upcoming book. Help us create buzz in anticipation of our release.

2. Give us some advice. Christmas is only 11 days away (and counting), and it's highly unlikely we'll have the book available for sale before the end of the week (at the very, very soonest). So what's your opinion? Should we rush and publish before Christmas, hoping for last-minute gift shoppers? Or should we take more time to generate buzz? Will our book get lost in the post-holiday shuffle? Comment here or on Facebook!

NaNoWriMo tips, tricks, and advice

Last week, I outlined the reasons you should try the “National Novel Writing Month” (NaNoWriMo) if you’re interested in practicing your writing, and this week I’ll give you some tips to succeed during the NaNoWriMo challenge.

These tips aren’t just for NaNoWriMo hopefuls, however. I believe there are some good lessons here for any time you’re trying to write a long-form piece.

What makes me an expert? Nothing, actually. I won't claim to be a master. But I have completed NaNoWriMo before, and I liked the finished product enough that I’m sharing it with the whole world. 

More than that, the NaNoWriMo process has actually worked so well for me that it’s now the only way I write. I finished the first draft of my latest book (86,000 words) in 29 days, all thanks to the lessons I learned in NaNoWriMo.

So what is that process? What did I learn from NaNoWriMo? What a coincidence you should ask. It just so happens that I wrote a blog post about that very subject:

1. Write something

I said this in my last post, but it can’t be overstated. How do you fight writer’s block? You write through it.

Yes, sometimes you get stuck and you aren’t sure where to go. Sometimes you need a mental health day (or two). But I argue that the best cure for writer’s block is to keep writing.

Here’s my theory: writer’s block is really the fear that our writing won’t be very good. If you know how to spell, you can write something. Writer’s block just means you don’t think it will be something worth writing.

So that’s my advice: write. Worry about whether it’s good or not after you're finished, after you let the finished product rest and you can look at it as a whole package with fresh eyes. Not now.

Some tips: take a step back. Try to figure out where you want to go. What is your goal with this story? What is your goal in this particular scene? Look at the story as a whole. If you know where you’re going, go there. If you’re not sure where you’re going... well, you can actually still begin the journey. Let the story figure itself out.

Now is the time to write. Don’t let yourself doubt, don’t let yourself stop, and don’t ever, ever tell yourself your idea isn’t good enough. Writer’s block is just another way of saying you don’t think your writing will be good enough.

Don't believe that. Just write.

2. Your NaNoWriMo novel won’t be finished

A related point, and the single most important thing to remember when setting off on this challenge: your novel won’t be done by the deadline. Yes, your goal is to have a complete story, so in a sense it will be "done." You should have a beginning, middle, and end. That’s how you “win” NaNoWriMo, after all.

But you won’t be finished. You will still have to edit your novel. That’s no reason to dread the challenge, it’s actually a reason to celebrate. As I’ve said more than once, relaxing and learning not to edit while you write are keys to writing well. So don’t worry about making the novel perfect by the end of November. Just get something down. 

It's much easier to fix something that's on paper than it is to perfect it while it's still in your head.

So let it out.

3. Keep track of your work, but don’t put yourself in a box

It’s important not to fall behind when tackling a challenge like NaNoWriMo (and it is a challenge). You can’t write 500 words per day for the first 20 days and then try to pack the last 40,000 words into 10 days. But if you get on a roll, you don’t have to stop at 1,666 words. And if you’re too busy or too tired or your creativity just won’t flow, you can take some time off.

Here’s the key: always adjust your goals. If you write 3,000 words your first day, divide the remaining 47,000 words by 29 days to find out how many more words you need to write per day. If you skip a day, make sure to recalculate. You need to know what you have to do in order to finish. Falling too far behind can convince you to give up.

It’s so exciting to see your goal getting closer and closer, getting a sense of accomplishment at how far you’ve come. Use that word count as a motivator.

So those are my three top tips whenever I write something lengthy: 1. When writer’s block strikes, write through it, 2. Remember that my novel won’t be perfect when I finish the first draft, and 3. Keep track of my progress.

What are some other tips you find useful?

Is NaNoWriMo a good idea?

Is NaNoWriMo a good idea?

For those of you who don’t know, “NaNoWriMo” is shorthand for the “National Novel Writing Month,” in which aspiring novelists attempt to write a novel of at least 50,000 words during the month of November. That’s 30 days, or 1,666.66 words per day (pro tip #1: don’t try to write exactly 1,666.66 words per day. That 0.66^th of a word is rather tricky).

So is the National Novel Writing Month a good idea? Is it worth the challenge?

First, a little more about the challenge. The website (nanowrimo.org) provides lots of tools to help writers along, including tips, workshops, and tracking and planning software. If you complete the challenge, you get discounts and deals on more workshops, printing services, and editing services. There’s also a forum for writers to chat about their progress and their goals, and some writers even set up times to meet up at a coffee shop and writer together.

So why take on this crazy challenge of writing an entire novel in one month?

1. NaNoWriMo is motivating

 

The biggest challenge for writers is setting goals and then sticking to them. How many times have you put writing a novel on your bucket list, and then said “I’m too busy right now. Maybe next year”? How many times have you started a novel, gotten frustrated, and put it aside for “later,” knowing in the back of your mind that later may never happen?

If you promise yourself you’ll finish a novel by the end of November, you finally have a deadline that you have to meet. Even if you’re accountable only to yourself, that is a huge motivator.

2. NaNoWriMo helps you relax

 

As I’ve noted in this space before, one of the first steps in learning to write is learning to relax. You need to let the words flow on their own, without worrying about the finished product during the first draft.

If you’ve committed to finishing a novel in 30 days, you don’t have time to nitpick. You don’t have time to worry. You’re only goal is chasing that elusive 1,666.66^th word of the day.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. “The Mystery of the Masked Marauder” (my upcoming debut novel) was written as part of NaNoWriMo. I started late, and had only 21 days to finish the whole thing (that’s 2,381 words per day). Instead of letting myself get stressed over this new goal, I decided I would relax. It’s no coincidence that the first time I learned to relax was the first time I produced a novel that I was actually proud of.

A lot of people ask me “How do you not get writer’s block?” My response? “I do. But then I keep on writing.”

When you’re on a tight deadline like this, you have to get something on the page. Can’t think of anything good? That’s okay. Right now, you’re trying to put something down, not something perfect.

My goal this time wasn’t to craft a perfect novel on the first try. That’s an insane amount of pressure. My goal was simply to finish something by the 30 day deadline.

And that is truly freeing.

3. NaNoWriMo is fun

NaNoWriMo isn’t just a way for you to relax about your writing. If you let it, NaNoWriMo can be a lot of fun. Instead of writing to please others, it’s a chance to write for yourself. It’s a chance to explore your own imagination, a chance to see what you’re capable of.

It's also a rush. Challenging yourself like this can be intense, but that's a big part of the fun.

Again, it’s no coincidence that my NaNoWriMo novel became the first novel I chose to publish. I had so much fun writing it that I felt other people would have fun reading it. I highly recommend you give it a shot yourself. Even if you don’t make it to the end, you will have learned a lot about yourself and your writing. It’s a chance to practice. And if you do finish, you may end up with something you’re really proud of.

So how do you do it? How do you manage to write an entire novel in under a month? In the next post, I’ll give you some pointers I’ve learned through the experience to help you tackle NaNoWriMo yourself.

How to write good mystery (like Harry Potter)

In my opinion, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is the perfect archetype for good mystery. It may be simple and straightforward, but that’s what makes J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book a perfect example. It’s easy to follow, and it does everything a good mystery should: 1. it keeps you guessing right up to the end, 2. all the pieces fall into place during the reveal, and 3. it rewards repeat readings.

To really understand what makes a good mystery, it’s helpful to compare a good mystery to a bad mystery. The television show Lost is a great example of a bad mystery. WARNING: there are spoilers up ahead, but Harry Potter is almost 20 years old, and Lost ended five years ago, so that "spoiler" warning should expire soon.

The first Harry Potter book has a simple mystery: who is trying to steal the Sorcerer’s Stone and harm Harry? The key to making this a successful mystery is that all of the clues could lead you to the correct conclusion, but the average reader doesn’t see how all the clues fit together until the very end.

All of the clues – put together properly – reveal that Professor Quirrell is the story’s villain. But all of the clues also point to Professor Snape, and that’s the key to making this mystery work: the clues make sense in context and could lead you to the correct conclusion, but the clues also point to a different culprit.

Here’s a great example: someone is using magic in an attempt to knock Harry from his broom during a Quidditch match. Harry’s friends see Professor Snape whispering an incantation, and interrupt him. On their way to stop Snape, the kids have a humorous little bit of slapstick: they accidentally knock over Professor Quirrell in the stands. In the end, it turns out Snape was whispering his incantation to protect Harry, and Quirrell was cursing Harry's broom.

Do you see how this rewards the reader? The clues are all there. An attentive reader could notice that Professor Quirrell was knocked over at the same time that Harry’s broom started working again. When Quirrell is revealed as the villain, that clue falls into place and makes sense. On a second read-through, the reader sees the story through a new lens.

Compare that to the end of Lost. All the clues throughout the series led up to . . . nothing. Readers analyzed a repeated string of numbers, hidden codes, and riddles. In the end, none of their work was rewarded. The “twist” at the conclusion did not follow from the clues, so no attentive viewer could have figured it out, and a repeat viewing has no value. Your new lens changes nothing.

Think of a good mystery as a puzzle. Once the last piece is put in place, you want your reader to see the final picture and say “of course! That’s what this was building to! Every piece fits together perfectly to create this picture!” In Lost, you spent six years painstakingly putting puzzle pieces together, only to have the puzzle ripped out from under you and a new picture put in its place. That’s not how puzzles work.

Your goal is for your readers to say “aha!” when they’ve reached the end. You don’t want to hear a “huh” or an “oh, okay.”

To accomplish this, make sure your clues point to the mystery’s solution.

Now that your clues create a solvable mystery, we run into a problem: Won’t that make it obvious?

That’s where Snape comes in. Your clues must lead to the solution, but they must also point to other possible solutions. Going back to our Quidditch match example, Harry’s friends stop Snape’s incantation at the same time they knock Quirrell over, leading the average reader to assume that Snape was the cause of Harry’s plight.

The reason this works is that Snape is not a simple “red herring.” A red herring exists in the plot for no other reason than to distract the reader from the true solution to the mystery. But Snape is not here as a simple distraction. He’s a fully-developed main character who serves as a source of antagonism to Harry and his friends completely apart from the Sorcerer’s Stone mystery. There’s no better way to tell your reader that someone is not the villain than to have him in your story for no other purpose than to look evil and be the obvious solution to the mystery.

Remember, your goal is to involve the readers in your story. Make them feel like they can solve the mystery if they work hard enough, then reward them at the end with a solution that makes sense, but that they didn’t see coming. Then sneak enough clues in throughout the story that they want to reread it and see how everything fits together.

If you want more examples of great mysteries, check out Agatha Christie’s novels, especially “And Then There Were None.”

What are some of your favorite mysteries? What mysteries ticked you off with their endings? Let us know in the comments.  

How to Write Well. Step 5: Break the rules

Here's a fun fact: the Coen Brothers don't outline their plots before they write. That should come as a big surprise to anyone who has seen their movies. They’ve written and directed complex films like “Fargo,” “No Country for Old Men,” and “The Big Lebowski”; movies with dozens of characters, interweaving plotlines, and plot twists galore. How could the Coen Brothers not outline as they write their scripts?

They don’t have to. And you don’t have to either.

When writing it’s important not to worry too much about the rules you learned in school. I’m sure you learned lots of important tips and tricks that have worked for lots of people throughout the years, but there’s a world of difference between a tip and a rule.

Before I go any further with this idea, let me add one important caveat: some rules should almost never be broken. Please don’t misspell a word unless you have a very good reason for doing so, and the rules of grammar are as close to sacred as you get in writing. If you want people to understand what you write (and communication is our goal when writing), then spelling and grammar are important.

What I’m talking about are the “rules” that can often put a creative writer into a box that stifles creativity. Rules like “always outline before you write,” “never split infinitives,” and “never start a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but.’” These aren’t hard and fast rules, they’re stylistic recommendations.

Outlines

The outline is one of the worst offenders. Many writers have a brilliant idea for a story, lifelike characters, and then - instead of letting those characters loose on a page and seeing where they go - the writer outlines the whole story ahead of time. The writer winds up putting their characters and their setting into a straightjacket, all because that’s what they’re “supposed” to do. That’s the rule.

If you like to outline, that’s fine. But you don’t have to outline. That’s the beauty of the writing process: your end product should be clear and well written, but how you get there is up to you.

How do I personally write? Usually, I come up with an idea, have some characters in mind, and then start. I like to be as surprised as my readers about where the story is going. I’ve mentioned this saying before on this blog: “If I have to think about it, it’s not worth writing.” That just means that I don’t like to over-plan. If I have an idea for later in my story, I’ll jot it down. But I try to steer clear of a hard and fast outline.

One of my goals in this blog is to help you relax about your writing. Don’t overthink, don’t stress out about all the rules, and don’t edit while you write. Just write. It really is that simple.

If your characters are developed, let them go wherever they want to. It can be the same for nonfiction. If you’re writing a news article, write a story that you’d like to read. When I write a complicated article on the town budget I’ll often write a rough outline, but for features about interesting people or events it’s often easier to just tell a story without being tied down by pre-planning. If you’re writing a term paper, outlines can be helpful, but they might be a waste of time for you. The process is your own. Figure out what works best for you.

There are lots of other “rules” you don’t have to follow. Have you ever been told not to split an infinitive? Well one of the most beloved TV shows of all time certainly got away with it. In fact, they coined a phrase that has entered our everyday speech. Star Trek split an infinitive with its famous “to boldly go where no man has gone before” line. And that’s fine. “To go boldly where no man has gone before” doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it, so they broke the “rule.”

What other “rules” do you like to break in your own writing? Or are you a rule-follower through and through? Let us know in the comments. 

p.s. For more on the Coen Brothers’ writing process, you can go to this article, which includes a great quote from them on the subject of outlines: “[It’s] a floating outline. If we’re writing scene B, we have some clear idea of what scene C might be and a slightly fuzzier idea of what D might be and a vague idea of what the ramifications of that might be – or maybe not. It just kind of falls off into darkness.”