• Savvy Authors Den Blog

    Why Your Character Needs a Secret Identity by Lynn Johnston 

        Published: June 19th, 2013  Views: 8 
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    Secret identities—they're not just for superheroes anymore.

    The secret identities we're familiar with from comic books represent extreme contrasts of personality. Wonder Woman conceals her wild Amazon powers in the buttoned-up persona of Diana Prince. Batman shrouds his vigilante anger in the glib playboy personality of Bruce Wayne. Superman hides his alien invincibility behind the role of mild-mannered, bespectacled Clark Kent.

    (Although I never quite bought that last one…a pair of heavy-framed glasses do not a clever disguise make.)


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    2. Workshops
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    Plotting the Romance Series – To Theme or Not to Theme by Misty Evans 

        Published: June 16th, 2013  Views: 178 
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    Many writers never consider themes in their work. In fact, for some, theme is dirty word. It’s confusing and elusive – an intangible element in fiction derived from the characters, plot, and setting.

    But when plotting a series, theme is crucial. Deciding up front what the overall theme will be will help you plot individual stories while staying true to the series.

    What does ‘staying true to the series’ mean? From the very first book, even from the series title, you make a promise to readers about what the stories will involve: characters, genre, and in romance, the promise of a happy ending. Each book needs to keep that promise or you’ll lose your readers.

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    Write Fast, Write True by Mary O’Gara 

        Published: June 16th, 2013  Views: 84 
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    When you write about feelings, write fast. Your mind won’t be able to keep up.

    I’m in the company of poets, attending the annual conference of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. For weeks my mind has been focused on story structure, scenes, plots, all the things that go into a novel. For these three days, I’m again among gentle people who love words and know how to use them to change the world.

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    Book Covers And Blunders by Jacqueline Diamond 

        Published: June 14th, 2013  Views: 213 
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    An important piece of advice issued to anyone self-publishing a book is, “You need a professional cover.”

    True enough. But not as simple as it sounds.

    A couple of years ago, after regaining rights to about a third of my more than 90 published novels, I began updating them to issue as ebooks. Since I didn’t own the rights to the print covers, I needed new ones.


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    Crafting Effective Scenes by Winnie Griggs 

        Published: June 12th, 2013  Views: 164 
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    Let’s start by defining just what a scene is. My favorite definition is one that comes from author Holly Lisle.

    She states that A scene is the smallest bit of fiction that contains the essential elements of story.

    You see, the workhorse of a story is not words, or sentences or even paragraphs - but it is the scene. Because it is in a scene that we see the key element of any good story - namely relevant change.

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    Embracing the Poop Sandwich by Adrienne Giordano 

        Published: June 11th, 2013  Views: 186 
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    I might be a sick puppy, but I love a good round of content/developmental edits.

    That being said, I don’t know that I always loved edits. In fact, I remember (quite vividly) receiving my first revision letter. I’d just sold my book and had that initial flurry of emails with my new editor. I was filled with debut author glee. All the rejections (and there were a lot!) were behind me and I was giddy with relief. All I could think about was what my first cover would look like and how fulfilling it would be to see my name splashed across it.

    The thing I wasn’t so excited about was the revision letter I knew would be coming. My editor had already told me how much she adored the hero and I grasped that nugget while I sweated the arrival of the revision letter. Then the moment came. I took a deep breath before opening the file and then...four pages. Single spaced. Holy cow.

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    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    The Author's 'Dreadful Disease' by Allison Knight 

        Published: June 10th, 2013  Views: 212 
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    A 'dreadful disease' that affects authors? You've never heard of it? I call it a disease and I'll tell you what it is and why.

    I'm going to call it a disease, because, for as long as I've read about or communicated with authors, it's struck every novelist I know in one way or another. Even from my discussions with non-fiction writers and journalists, I found that they too will sometimes suffer from this affection.

    So what is it and why do I call it a disease?
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    Creativity Plus Discipline by Emma Lane 

        Published: June 9th, 2013  Views: 159 
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    My daughter could tie beautiful bows at an early age. It totally amazed me because try as I would, my attempts came out amateur and drooping. How did she learn to do that? It was a fascinating mystery to me. This little creature born to me was not a carbon copy. She possessed many talents that were completely her own. Certainly it was not a genetic gift from her mother, however, I noticed that her father has the same sort of talent. He was not into ribbons, but he could make wonderful knots with ropes. Neither are interested in writing books, and they think my type of creativity is a strange thing. I do not argue the point.

    Talents are inborn. However they can lay unexpressed without discipline to turn those strange urges into something useable, discernible. We learned our grammar rules as children in school, that is, everyone is required to learn the rules. Not everyone will grow up to write books, become authors. Without talent, knowledge is only a discipline, a mechanical display.

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    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    The Challenge of Creating a Believable World: Part 1 by Dina von Lowenkraft 

        Published: June 8th, 2013  Views: 367 
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    Part 1: Building Your Foundation in the Physical Realm

    The purpose of world building is to create a setting for your story. It is
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    2. Worldbuilding
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    10 Lessons for Writing a Series by Laura Kaye 

        Published: June 7th, 2013  Views: 581 
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    It’s great to be back at Savvy Authors again, this time to celebrate the release of my tenth novel, South of Surrender. This book is the third book in my Greek-mythology-inspired Hearts of the Anemoi series—one of four series I’m currently writing.

    From writing all these simultaneous series—two paranormal and two contemporary—I’ve learned a number of lessons about how to plan a series, how to organize the writing of a series, and how to write a series, so I thought I’d share them here today. These are lessons I figured out as I’ve worked through my four series, and hopefully they’ll be useful to you, too.

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    Music Your Characters Can Dance To: Creating a Playlist by Nancy Gideon 

        Published: June 7th, 2013  Views: 279 
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    Content, content, content. Publishers and agents want to see it. Websites, blogs and social media venues demand it. Readers crave something that catches their eye, something that gives them an intimate link to the book they’re reading – your book. Everyone wants more, and they want to be dazzled by that ‘more.’ Having done the bookmarks, the trading cards, the excerpt booklets, the blogging, the book trailers, I discovered a content extra I really love, mainly because it was something I already DID! Playlists.

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    Writing True Emotions…Laugh, Cry And Sigh As You Write by Anne Seaton 

        Published: June 6th, 2013  Views: 507 
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    The cover quote from a well known author on my latest book said that “the love affair would make you laugh, cry and sigh.”

    One of the most challenging tasks for a writer of romance, and indeed any genre, is to engage the reader’s emotions. How do you enable the reader to immerse themselves in the lives of the characters, and to experience the full gamut of emotions that the character experiences throughout the development of the story?

    For me as a writer, one of the most satisfying comments is to hear that the reader didn’t want to finish the book and leave the characters behind. How many times have you finished a book with a warm glow in your chest, and think about the characters and their experiences for a few days after you put the book down?
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    How To Write When You Have A Life by Sarah Perry 

        Published: June 5th, 2013  Views: 252 
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    You’ve read the numerous articles that say writers write. Or that one must write everyday if they expect to succeed. That busy author’s wake up at sunrise, before the rest of their family awakens, to spend some quiet time writing.

    Whenever I saw another of those articles, my heart would sink a little. I couldn’t measure up to those standards. I am a wife, mother of two young children; I work part-time outside of the home and have a house to take care of. I am not now, nor do I ever anticipate being a morning person. So how do the rest of us get any writing done?

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    2. Writing Life
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    Have You Considered Writing Teaching Material? By Terri Forehand 

        Published: June 4th, 2013  Views: 191 
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    Writing for children may be in your heart but many struggling writers may not realize that being a writer also means wearing the hat of a teacher, marketing expert, financial guru, and the hat of a variety of other self-promoting roles that make that byline possible. Those tasks frighten some keeping them writing alone and never putting their work out there for others to see.

    Writing for children and young teens offers the author avenues for using all of these hats to produce a written product that not only can educate and entertain but adds a level of marketing and financial reward to the pot.

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    Hell Week by Willa Blair 

        Published: June 3rd, 2013  Views: 105 
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    You sold your book! Condolences. Hell Week is about to start.

    What do I mean? Promotion, social media, public appearances, blogging, guest-blogging, blog commenting, posting on Facebook, tweeting, posting pictures on Pinterest, obsessing over Amazon rankings, cringing at all but the most effusively great reviews, etc., etc. Oh, and it doesn’t just last a week. It goes on indefinitely.
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    2. Marketing and Promo
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    A Writer’s Life - Really? By Sandra S. Kerns 

        Published: June 2nd, 2013  Views: 130 
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    So you want to be a writer. No, an author. You want to be an author. Are you sure? Do you know what it really means?

    Okay, don’t go off the deep end. It really isn’t that bad. In fact, it really isn’t that different from what your life is currently like. Oops, that probably doesn’t sound too encouraging does it? Let me put it into perspective by taking a look at my life. Don’t worry, not my entire life that would drive you off the deep end.

    Categories:
    1. Craft
    2. Writing Life
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    The importance of Cover Design by Janet Miller 

        Published: June 1st, 2013  Views: 110 
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    Recently a number of my books from 2002 and up have had their contracts expire, which means I’ve now got the rights back just in time to take advantage of the new publishing possibilities. These are books where I’ve already worked with an editor to make the story robust so there isn’t much of a need to change them. Instead it is more a matter of repackaging the stories to make them enticing for a current audience.

    There are a number of factors to consider when updating books. For one thing, most of my titles were written before the smart phone and there are a lot of situations where having instant access to the internet, email, or even just being able to call someone when they are in the middle of the woods would make a difference to a story line. This leaves a problem for the author of contemporary novels, whether or not to address current technology in their books.

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    Savvy Romance Writing Dialogue by Jean Joachim 

        Published: May 31st, 2013  Views: 66 
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    One of the toughest hurdles to climb in writing romance is writing good dialogue. I remember tearing out my hair and deleting conversation after conversation I’d written. I was worried I’d never learn to write dialogue that moved fast and sounded real, until I read a piece in Writer’s Digest, the 7 Tools of Dialogue. This article got me started on the right path.

    First, it made me aware that we don’t speak the way we write. People rarely speak in full sentences and grammatically correct spoken sentences are even more scarce. The article got me to spend time on the buses and trains listening to people talk. I thought back to the ways my sons spoke to each other and to me as well. All of this helped.


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    Blurbs: Formula to Fabulous by Holley Trent 

        Published: May 30th, 2013  Views: 434 
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    Poll any professional fiction writer, and they’ll probably tell you the things they hate most about the business end of publishing are writing query letters, synopses, and blurbs. I flail about with the first two things, but blurbs? I dislike writing them, but I’ve kinda got them down to a science.

    I had written several books and completed a lot of marketing forms before I had a revelation: I have to think like a book shopper when I’m writing my back cover copy, and not a writer.

    When I browse books—especially those belonging to authors I haven’t read the work of before—I look for certain information in the blurb. Not only do I want to learn what the story is about, but I want a sense of the style and what makes the book different than others featuring the exact same tropes.


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    2. Marketing and Promo
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    Getting “in the mood”: Meditation and Affirmations for Authors by Erin Moore 

        Published: May 29th, 2013  Views: 215 
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    You’ve heard it before. Meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, and helps with focus. I’m going to go a step further, though, and tell you the secret of the sages: meditation works miracles, in both writing and “real life.” And, when used in conjunction with its cousin – the affirmation – meditation can literally change your life.

    Many successful people meditate and use affirmations, including Oprah and the late Steve Jobs. These marvelous “tricks” provide us with a time to clear the mind, turn our focus to our inner selves, and, for authors, to recharge the creative process.

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