In writing, we always want the stakes to increase over the course of a story. The problems get bigger, the risks get bigger, and the reasons the characters need to succeed get bigger.

The same concept can apply to real life. When we first start a blog, it doesn’t matter if we fall flat on our face because no one is watching. Who’s going to know? The problem comes if we artificially try to keep the stakes low, even as time goes on, or when higher stakes make us afraid of taking new risks.

For example, some authors try to minimize the stakes when they publish their stories, even though publication should be a time of raising the stakes. I’ve seen authors slide their book onto Amazon and slink away with barely an announcement. Anonymity can feel safe. They’d rather reduce their chance of success than risk a public failure.

Success and stakes and risk all work together. And sometimes we might not like that.

Success Creates New Fears

Last time, we talked about the fear and self-doubt that causes us to think that bad news is deserved and good news must be a fluke. Any success added to the mix raises the stakes.

The more blog readers we have, the more people there are to be disappointed when we write a “dud.” The more readers of our books, the more witnesses to that bad review. The more good reviews, the higher the expectations for future readers.

I know this fear quite well. Every blog post that people praise in the comments makes me wonder how I can possibly meet expectations the next time. (And the time after that, and the time after that…)

Successful authors speak of this fear as well. After a string of well-received books, rather than feel good, they instead worry about having that many more readers to disappoint. The higher we rise, the further we have to fall.

Succumbing to Fear Freezes Us in Place

Many of us are people-pleasers in some way. If people have expectations, we want to meet them. Fear of disappointing others can be a powerful force.

We might not want to experiment on our blogs or in our stories. Authors sick of a series or genre might feel stuck. Once we have success in one area, it can be a risk to “throw away” what brought us that success.

I suspect this fear leads some bestselling authors to take less risks with their writing over the years. Were they simply experimenting to find a formula that works, and now that they did, they’re happy to repeat themselves? Or do they not want to risk the livelihood of their family, their assistant’s family, their agent’s family, and their editor’s family by trying something new and different?

We Shouldn’t Fear Risk

We can’t let fear keep us from trying. Just as I still write new blog posts week after week, we need to push ourselves and our writing.

Sure, some blog posts or stories might resonate stronger than others, but the vast majority of the time, people forgive us for occasional “duds.” Readers tend to remove authors from their auto-buy lists only after several duds in a row.

This type of risk isn’t about jumping out of airplanes or swimming with sharks. This risk doesn’t have the inherent potential to kill us. *grin*

Writing Isn’t about Being Comfortable

Stories are at their most powerful when we delve into those dark corners of our minds to find the nugget of truth. Poking around in our insecurities and fears isn’t comfortable. It’s not supposed to be.

I’ve seen the advice from many writers that we’re not doing our job with a story unless something about it makes us uncomfortable. That’s true for life in general. Oodles of sayings about “not resting on our laurels” and “pushing the envelope” make that clear.

So while we might dream simply of being successful enough with our writing to be “comfortable,” we shouldn’t get too comfortable with our actual writing. We’ll be better able to write stories about risk and fear and stakes if we’re confronting those issues head on in our real life too. If we embrace the higher stakes that come with success, we might even be able to write our way to our happy ending. *smile*

Have you experienced success that raised the stakes? How did you react? Have you ever been afraid of change because of success? What other ways can this fear hold us back? Do you agree that writing isn’t about being comfortable?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: How Success Raises the Stakes…in Our Life

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Being a writer can often feel like living on a rollercoaster, with huge hills and dips around every curve. Writer’s block, rejections, low sales figures, pirated books, and other bad news can make us feel heavier than gravity itself. We might wish we could sink through the floor and disappear.

On the other hand, good news—plot breakthroughs, contest wins, publishing contracts, great reviews—can make us feel like we’re going to float right out of our body. We live for days like that.

Or do we?

Note to Self: Good News Doesn’t Cause Bad News

I’ve stated before that I’m a Pollyanna kind of person by nature. I don’t focus on the bad stuff. Instead, I tend to look for the good in every situation.

But when good news—and I mean really good news—comes my way, the self-doubt kicks in. I wait for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. I wait for the bad news that will “even out” the good. What goes up must come down, right?

This worry frustrates me because it keeps me from really enjoying my good news. Too often, when my initial shock at the news wears off, my mood skips the happy, giddy phase and goes straight into the little voice of “it won’t last.”

I wish I could just enjoy good news for what it is. It is good news, not a promise that it will last forever. And yes, there will be bad news at some point in my future. Duh. But one doesn’t cause the other, so I should enjoy the good news while I can—for however long I can.

Self-Doubt Can Prevent Us from Enjoying Good News

I suspect I’m not the only person with this problem. Given the typical self-doubt among writers, there are probably plenty of us who think any good news is a fluke and not to put too much stock into it. That self-doubt can even make us think that bad news is deserved and good news is luck and luck alone.

But bringing ourselves down accomplishes nothing except robbing us of our good mood. It doesn’t “inoculate” us against bad news. It doesn’t make bad news any less bad or less painful to take. Bad news still sucks and always will.

So we shouldn’t not enjoy our good news. Most of us know this already, but logic and emotions aren’t always on speaking terms.

We can’t erase the past for when we stole our good mood away before its time. But maybe we can revive some of those happy vibes by sharing our good news in the comments. Whether you figured out how to fix a sticky plot hole last week or received a great review last month, think about what deserves more recognition in your happiness meter.

My Good News (Note to Self: It’s Not a Fluke)

Here’s the good news that started me on this worry: This past Saturday, I first received word that Treasured Claim finaled in its 6th contest, the Laurie. Yay! Finals are good, right?

A couple of hours later, I received word that one of those six finals turned into a First Place win in the Winter Rose contest. Double yay!

Then an hour after that, I received the score sheets from that final in the Laurie. Three judges. Three perfect scores. *jaw drops and head explodes*

Perfect scores just don’t happen that often in writing contests. Before then, I’d received one perfect score last fall and a second one last month (in that Winter Rose contest I later won).

Now to receive three perfect scores? From all three judges? I must have double-checked those score sheets at least four times to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. I wasn’t. Those scores were real.

And that much good news in one day was more than my writer brain could handle. Cue the entrance of my denial and self-protection mode.

We Need to Believe in Ourselves and Not Fear Good News

My self-doubt didn’t want to believe what those scores meant. It was easier to think it was a fluke. My self-doubt would rather punish me by taking away my good mood. I even tweeted: “I want to push the pause button before any bad news comes in.” Sure, there was an LOL after that, but the fear was real.

We need to beat back that fear. We need to shut up that self-doubt long enough to enjoy our good news. We need to believe that good news comes not just through luck that will randomly abandon us, but through hard work. And we can hope that hard work will result in more ups than downs on the rollercoaster of our life.

In short, we need to believe in ourselves, our skills, and our ability to make our own luck. Good news isn’t a fluke if we’ve worked for it.

As a side note, I’m calling myself done with entering contests for unpublished authors. I’m still waiting to hear back from a couple of contests I entered last month, but after that, there’s nothing else “contesting” can do for me. I need to get over my self-doubt and accept that this story deserves to be published, some how, some way. *smile*

Has good news ever made you worry? Do you fear that bad news is deserved and good news is simply luck? (And if you’ve overcome this problem, share your advice. *grin*) What’s something good that’s happened to you lately? What can you do to hang on to that happiness or celebrate?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Does Good News Make You Worry?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

A few weeks ago, author David Mamet announced he’ll be self-publishing his next book through his literary agency. Some think this is big news, some don’t, and some wouldn’t call David’s plan self-publishing at all.

Regardless, this news means we’re seeing the second wave of self-published authors. While the first wave was comprised of early-adopting, independent authors with an entrepreneurial spirit, this second wave is a mainstream movement where the authors are used to being part of traditional publishing team.

Understandably, they’d like some help, some hand-holding, some “I don’t have a clue what I’m doing—someone just tell me what to do!” direction. Many early self-publishers are stepping in to provide that help with how-to books and workshops.

Unfortunately, so are others…

A New Breed of Scammers?

In the old days of traditional publishing, scammers in the industry were easy to spot. Newbies heard the advice: “Money always flows to the author. If they want you to pay out-of-pocket, run.” That advice worked to protect newbies from unscrupulous agents attempting to charge a “reading fee,” as well as from vanity publishers charging authors for everything imaginable.

In fact, that advice stuck so well that many traditionally published authors initially looked down on self-publishing for no other reason than because they couldn’t understand how self-publishing was different from vanity publishing. Most now understand that self-publishing is an entrepreneurial undertaking and thus incurs upfront costs: editing, cover design, etc.

But the increasing numbers of self-published authors have also led to increasing numbers of companies claiming to want to help these budding entrepreneurs. And that’s where things get complicated. *smile*

Opportunism at Its Worst?

Companies are rushing to tell those nervous traditionally published authors, “Don’t worry. We know you liked the support of a team in the traditional publishing environment, and that doesn’t have to go away. We can be your team now.”

These companies offer to help authors format their ebooks, upload their files to the different retailers, provide assistance with cover design and editing, and sometimes even handle social media.

In short, they can look like a godsend to overwhelmed and intimidated newbies. But as I’ve written before, we need to watch out for many (if not most) of these epublishing service companies.

David Gaughran exposed how many agents are starting their own “self-publishing arms” with similar offerings. (His list of agencies using a questionable epublishing service company is like a round-up of many of the biggest names in the business!) He then went on to expose how many traditional publishers are doing the same with various extensions of Author Solutions, long known for their vanity publishing scams.

Are ePublishing Service Companies the New Vanity Publishers?

I think we first have to specify what made the old-style vanity publishers “bad.” To be blunt, they were scammers that took advantage of authors, often while selling the idea that authors needed these expensive options because they and their book were oh-so-special. They overcharged, under-delivered, and in some cases, locked up rights.

In these new cases, we have the Argo Navis company of David Gaughran’s post taking a permanent cut of 30% for simply uploading ebook files. No formatting, editing, or cover design. Just uploading to retailers like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Thirty percent. Ongoing.

Uploading files is arguably one of the easiest aspects of self-publishing, or if necessary, could be outsourced to someone for a flat fee. So I’d call that ongoing 30% “overcharging.”

The publishers’ approach isn’t any better, as Penguin now owns the biggest vanity press around and plans to expand its reach. Their Author Solutions subsidiary is made up of a dozen different logos and brands for each of the traditional publishers looking to offer their own self-publishing arm.

Author Solutions is known for such poor editing that they create more errors than they fix, and they’re currently being sued for breach of contract (such as for failing to pay out royalties). I’d call that “under-delivering.”

Or let’s take a random epublishing service company called easyepublish (I’m not linking to them on purpose—feel free to Google). They format and upload the ebook files to retailers. But that means they own the files (and don’t share with the author), and they own the ISBN (which means the author must start over with rankings and reviews if they don’t want to use (or pay) the company anymore).

Are the authors who sign up with companies like these even self-publishers? The authors are, to some extent, locked in and dependent on them for passing on the income from sales, less their ongoing 15% (or more) cut.

The Line between Self-Publishing and Vanity Publishing

The lines between self-publishing and vanity publishing have gotten blurred and wavy over the years. (After all, Amazon’s print-on-demand CreateSpace lists itself as publisher and uses their ISBN for extended distribution.) That makes it harder for us to know whether a service provider is friend or foe.

However, we might have uncovered a scammer if…

• their name is listed as the publisher
• they own the ISBN
• they own copies of the book above and beyond what’s authorized by the author
• they can sell or distribute the book in a place or time against the author’s wishes
• they set the price of the book
• any rights to the book transfer away from the author
• they want to dictate any aspect of the editing, formatting, design, distribution, or sales process
• they demand any kind of exclusive
• they require the author to sign on for a minimum period, or the author isn’t free to cancel at any time
• they charge by ongoing percentage of sales rather than by flat fee
• they provide their list of charges and services only in a nebulous, easily changed TOS (terms of service) statement instead of in a contract
• they receive the revenue from retailers and pass on the money only after their cut
• sales figures from retailers go to the service company and not the author

As noted above, Amazon’s CreateSpace fails on the top two bullets, so this isn’t a smoking-gun list. Instead, it’s a list of what should make us look more closely at the situation. What’s being offered, what’s being required, and what’s in it for us? And especially, what are they doing for the money that we couldn’t do ourselves or pay someone to do for a cheaper/flat fee?

Some authors might decide an epublishing service company is perfect for them. And as long as they fully understood all the pros and cons going into the situation, I wouldn’t necessarily say they were being scammed.

But I’m afraid too many authors don’t fully understand and/or are intimidated by the self-publishing process and thus too eagerly accept help without doing their due diligence. Self-doubt can hurt us.

Even if a wanna-be self-published author finds a “good” service company, they might find that using those services erases many of the benefits of self-publishing. Self-published authors usually enjoy the ability to make changes to the content, ebook files, metadata, and pricing of their work. Depending on another company can slow down updates or make them unworkable due to additional fees.

That said, I’ve never been one to say that one publishing method is “better” than another. We all have our own goals, and that means we can have different paths. My hope is that we continue to share information so we have the right knowledge to figure out what’s best for us. *smile*

Do you think epublishing service companies are the new breed of vanity publishers? Where do you see the line between vanity publishing and self-publishing? Can you think of other red flags to watch out for? Do you consider those who use epublishing service companies self-published or not? Do you have any experience with these types of companies?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Is This the New Breed of Vanity Publishers?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Every once in a while, I come across an article about figuring out our goals as an author. Heck, I’ve written posts along those lines. As we learn more about the industry and grow as authors, our goals might change, so it’s smart to revisit the question occasionally.

But there’s a Step Two to that self-analyzing process that we don’t talk about as often: Will the path we’re on lead to those goals?

If our goal is to see our book on a bookshelf, we need different criteria for the “is this a good publisher” question than if our priority is top-notch editing. If our goal is to build up a backlist quickly, we can research whether certain publishing paths would slow us down too much.

Lately, I’ve been questioning my own goals and path because the publishing industry is changing so quickly. Things that weren’t possible months ago are now easy. As a result, I’m tempted to mentally bulldoze my plans and start from scratch based on this new publishing world.

Question Everything

When we question everything, situations might not look the way we thought. Back when I first started pursuing a writing career in 2008, there was only one path (self-publishing was still something that “real” authors didn’t do). Likewise, there was—for the most part (especially in the U.S.)—only one dream:

Authors dreamed of becoming a bestselling author
and being interviewed on Oprah.

But just as the Oprah show is not the same anymore, so too is the publishing industry a shadow of its former self.

Before, no one dreamed of becoming a mid-list author because most of them were lucky if they made enough money to pay a few bills. Making enough to quit the day job? That required bestseller status.

Thanks to industry changes, more authors than ever before are making enough money, even as mid-listers. Neither Oprah or the Big however-many-traditional-publishers-are-left-this-week are gatekeepers to success anymore.

How Do You Define Success?

All those different paths mean that we have to decide what success means to us. Is it the book in a bookstore? Number of readers? Income? Reviews? Buzz? Name recognition?

There’s a big gap between the goals of “wanting to touch someone with our writing” and “being famous.” Both goals are legitimate, but the path that will lead to one goal will be different from the paths toward other goals.

So we have to know our goal and we have to identify the path that will take us there. However, nailing down such specific goals and paths can be difficult.

Do You Know What You Want—and What You Don’t?

Sometimes it’s easier to define what we don’t want than what we do. I know I don’t want to be famous. Never have.

I stated as much a year ago when all the E.L. James and Fifty Shades of Grey hoopla hit my blog. Some of her supporters accused me of bringing up the serious ethical issues in the situation simply because I was jealous of her success. When I pointed out that ethical concerns and jealousy weren’t related in my case because I had no desire to be famous, they assumed I must be lying.

But the honest-to-God truth is that I’m much too private of a person to want to be famous. I’m not only introverted, but can also be horribly self-conscious. Kristen Lamb and the WANA crowd at last year’s RWA conference can vouch for the fact that I’m not comfortable as the center of attention. Being famous would be a nightmare for me.

Will Your Path Lead to Your Goals?

The question of whether my path and my goals match hit home when I saw an article about how some fans of the Sookie Stackhouse books are reacting to author Charlaine Harris’s announcement to end the series (the basis of the True Blood TV show). My jaw literally dropped in horror.

This 61-year-old grandmother is now the subject of online taunts and threats from fans that they’ll commit suicide. For the first time in years, she’s not doing a book tour because she feels the need to avoid her “fans.” She’s even received death threats. Yikes!

That article resonated with scattered thoughts in my head. Like, maybe the default dream that used to apply to virtually every author—the bestselling, Oprah interviewee—never applied me at all. And I’ve been wondering if I’m on the right path for my goals.

Am I tempted to change because of a fear of success? (“I don’t want to be famous.”) A fear of failure? (“I’m sick of querying.”) Or because of a legitimate acknowledgement of the changes in the industry? (“We’re not stuck to a single path anymore.”)

I don’t know. I’m at a loss for how to tell if these feelings are an attack of the all-too-common writer self-doubts or a logical and reasoned question about whether my path really matches my goals. Yes, I’m probably over-thinking this, but uncertainty about decisions drives me crazy. *smile*

Do you want to be a famous author? Do you know what your goals are? Are you on the right path for those goals? How do you know? Do you ever struggle with decisions like this? Any advice for me? *grin*

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Do You Want to Be a Famous Author?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Last time, we talked about how good storytelling can salvage even a poorly written book. As I mentioned in that post, storytelling skill is different from writing skill.

Many people have a hard time defining what makes good storytelling—and that makes it difficult for us to improve. Yet I’d argue that storytelling ability isn’t as squishy of a concept as voice, and that means good storytelling can be learned.

Writing skill often refers to the micro-elements that go into a book: grammar, characterization, settings, description, dialogue, sentence structure, etc. In contrast, storytelling skill refers to the macro-elements: the big picture of story arcs and themes and how all the other elements pull together to create a “page turner.”

If we focus on those macro-elements, we start to see the skills we need to become a good storyteller.

Tip #1: Good Storytelling Has a Purpose

If we’re faced with several story ideas, part of our decision on which story seed or premise to develop should be which one we feel most passionately about. Which one speaks to us. Which one has something to say to others.

When we feel that way about the story, we hope our readers will feel the same. We want our readers to be passionate about our story because it speaks to them too.

On some level, we fail if our readers can’t tell by the end of the story why we chose this idea. They shouldn’t feel like they wasted their time on something meaningless.

Stories can gain a sense of purpose in many ways:

• A strong theme or message
• Characters that readers care about
• Plot, stakes, or conflicts that readers care about

We can think about the Climax of the story—where all the themes, characters, and plot events come together—and understand why we’re really writing the story. If we can’t figure out why it’s worth writing, why would readers find it worthwhile to read?

Tip #2: Good Storytelling Believes in the Story

Going along with an external sense of purpose, good stories also have an internal sense of purpose. The characters believe that what happens in the story matters. That attitude makes the story matter to the reader too.

• Characters’ goals must be important and not contrived.
• Conflicts must have consequences.
• Stakes must involve risk.

Clear and honest goals gives readers a reason to root for the characters (which encourages readers to care about them). Then we need to keep the chain of consequences intact to make characters vulnerable and add risk to the stakes. Readers won’t care about characters or stakes if it doesn’t seem like there’s any risk of failure.

To create those consequences, we must pay attention to cause and effect. If plot event A would logically lead to plot event B, then B should happen. We can’t skip plot event B just because it’s inconvenient for us to write or because we wrote ourselves into a corner. If we don’t like plot event B, we should tweak A to lead somewhere different.

If we use plot event Z instead, that would mean that there was no point to A, because it didn’t affect the rest of the story. Plot events without consequences for later events (or for the characters) are meaningless (not to mention a sign of sloppy writing).

A strong narrative chain of action and reaction, cause and effect, is what pulls readers along and keeps them turning pages.

Tip #3: Good Storytelling Focuses on Change

Complaints about stories where “nothing happens” often refer to the problem of nothing changing. Stories should be all about change.

I’ll save you from my pathetic attempt to draw an arc, but picture one for a moment. Arcs are how we talk about change in reference to stories.

• Story arcs give an overall sense of how the premise plays out.
• Plot arcs show how plot events work together for pacing and increasing tension and stakes.
• Character arcs demonstrate how characters learn and overcome their flaws to reach their goals (or not, if the story is a tragedy).

In the comments of the last post, I pointed out how beat sheets can help with this aspect. Beat sheets force us to examine the cause and effects that make events meaningful, ensure that rising action corresponds with higher stakes and tension, and evaluate how change is shown. Check out my full collection of beat sheets here.

My favorite worksheets (keep in mind that I write by the seat of my pants, so I tend to use these more for revision) are the Larry Brooks’ Story Engineering beat sheet for plot arcs, Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure for character arcs, and my own Romance beat sheet for developing romances.

The Secret to Good Storytelling

After all that, it might seem that good storytelling is too confusing to learn. However if we step back, we see the macro-elements we need to learn come down to:

• story structure (beats, plot events, and all kinds of arcs)
• clear cause and effect (consequences, risk, and story flow)
• purpose (Why should the reader care?)

I’m a story structure fan (despite my pantsing ways), and I’ve been working on the cause and effect aspects. For me, the trickiest thing is making the reader care.

I’ve suffered from unlikable characters in the past, and my themes often aren’t completely developed until I’m deep in revisions. On the other hand, I think my unique premises help people care at least about the plot. I just want more, and now I have a better idea about how to tackle the issue. *smile*

Do you agree with these tips? Do you have other tips to share? Do you think storytelling can be learned? Do you struggle with one aspect more than the others?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Three Tips for Better Storytelling

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

What makes some poorly written books fall flat on their face while others succeed despite their flaws? One common answer is “storytelling ability.”

But what is storytelling? The concept can seem vague and immeasurable—rather like “voice.” A recent experience with two poorly written books gave me insight into how a deeply flawed story can still hold our interest and be enjoyable.

For the first time, I’m judging a couple of published books for a contest. Most contests for unpublished work are judged on a portion of the full story, often the first so-many words or pages.

In contrast, this contest requires judges to read the entire story, and I’m learning that seeing the whole story makes me focus more on the big picture. In other words, that vague “storytelling ability” we hear about becomes more important.

A Narrow View Forces Us to Focus on the Superficial

When we read a partial, whether as a contest judge, critique partner, or beta reader, we see only a small bit of the story. We see a portion of the character arc (usually the beginning) but not the full arc to understand how the characters change. We see hints of the story question but don’t get the full schematic of intersecting plots and subplots.  We see some stakes but not how they escalate over the course of the plot.

That narrow vision of the story limits our ability to score or give feedback. The score sheets of unpublished contests tend to focus on mechanics (grammar rules), characters seeming believable, clear settings, smooth flow, realistic dialogue, etc.

All of those elements—mechanics, description, dialogue—are important to the quality of writing. Yet they can also be somewhat superficial aspects. They don’t get to the heart of storytelling.

Good Writing Doesn’t Equal Good Storytelling—and Vice Versa

As writers, we’re trained to see writing mistakes: too much telling, bad grammar, cheesy dialogue, etc. It can be hard to see past those to understand how storytelling ability could make those mistakes less important—or in some cases, completely irrelevant.

In a sample, we can’t see how themes develop. We can’t see whether there’s a successful resolution to issues. We can’t know if tension is held and increased throughout the story. With full stories, we can, and that lends a greater depth to our impression of the story.

Unlike a partial, full stories allow character arcs to show change, subplots to make plots more interesting, and escalating stakes to up the tension. All of those elements are ingredients of “good storytelling.”

The Tale of Two Stories

Two stories I read for this contest were poorly written. They both lacked voice, were too telling, had no subtlety or subtext, and had one-dimensional characters.

Yet I enjoyed one, regardless, and not the other. Why?

The differences—as minimal as they were—add up to storytelling ability. The story I enjoyed felt “bigger.”

Characters:

• The characters seemed slightly more dimensional (one-and-a-half dimensions?) by being vulnerable (such as the stakes having real consequences for them), and therefore more likable and relatable.
• Stronger connections to the likable/relatable characters made me care more.
• The characters learned and grew (barely, but just enough).
• Changes to the characters, due to their (tiny) arc, provided a framework for a vague theme.

Plotting:

• The story structure was sound; turning points, Black Moment, and Climax were evident (that is, the story always felt like it was going somewhere).
• Subplots enriched the main plot rather than distracted from it.
• The plot was filled with real conflict rather than contrivances and conveniences.
• The premise was more unique.

Conflict and Stakes:

• Conflict organically flowed with the story rather than seeming disjointed and episodic.
• Goals mattered to the story and characters (and thus to the reader), giving strong motivations.
• The plot arc ramped up the tension with bigger conflicts and stakes as the story progressed.
• Conflict needed real solutions rather than solving with coincidences.

So What Is Storytelling Ability?

The unsuccessful story’s conflicts and subplots seemed disconnected, never adding up to a bigger story or an interesting premise. The characters never grew, and the hero and heroine didn’t “complete” each other (as is typical in romance stories).

The lack of any growth prevented a sense of a theme. Themes require change. What a character learns over the course of the story is at the heart of a story’s theme. If a character doesn’t learn anything, neither can a reader. (Unless the character not learning is the point of the story.)

At the end of this story, I was left with no sense of why the author wanted to tell this story other than to make money. The formulaic story had nothing to say to readers. It had no purpose.

The more successful story had characters that grew and that I cared about and had arcs that made each conflict and subplot part of a bigger whole in a unique premise. In short…

The story’s arcs and themes made it feel like it had a purpose.

What Difference Does Storytelling Make?

Because I had to read both of these stories in full for the contest, I can tell you how I would rate them on Amazon or Goodreads. (I won’t actually review them in either location, as judges have to remain anonymous.)

The story I didn’t enjoy would end up around 1.5 or 2 stars. The grammar mechanics weren’t bad, or else I’d give it a solid 1 star.

The story I did enjoy would end up around 3.5 stars. Yes, the characters were all Mary Sue/Gary Stu’s and the voiceless writing style was too telling and head-hopping, but the story itself— how the characters, plot, conflicts, goals, motivations, obstacles, and themes worked together to create a unique, purposeful premise—was quite good. This story had something to say.

The storytelling added two stars to my rating. Fix the writing issues, and I’d probably have given it a 4.5 star review.

As writers, we have to learn and focus on many things. However, we shouldn’t let the skill of writing overpower the art of writing. Write stories you’re passionate about because they have something to say, and readers will be more likely to listen. *smile*

Have you ever enjoyed a story despite its writing faults? What made the story enjoyable for you? What do you think goes into storytelling ability? How would you define “storytelling”?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Why Is Storytelling Ability So Important?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

A couple of weeks ago, someone (I won’t name who because I don’t want to embarrass her) asked me what score I’d received in a writing contest. I didn’t want to answer at first. I worried about making her feel bad or seeming like I was bragging.

Yet I could understand her question. She’d noticed I was a finalist in a contest that she’d also entered (the Winter Rose contest, sponsored by the Yellow Rose RWA chapter), and she wanted to know what kind of scores were needed to reach finalist level.

That’s a great question. When we’re first starting out, it’s natural to want a goal to aim for. I’ve found it gratifying to use contests as a tangible measure of the improvement in my writing.

What’s Your Goal When You Enter a Writing Contest?

Writers have many reasons for entering contests. Years ago, I shared several of the reasons I had for entering contests.

Then, like now, there are more contests in existence than would make sense to enter. Every RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter seems to have at least one contest. Just adding up those would probably mean entering a contest a week. Um, my wallet and my sanity say no to that idea. *smile*

In that old post, I listed the various things I looked for when deciding which contests to enter:

• Receiving Feedback: Contests that encourage their judges to give feedback with their scores.
• Final Judge: Contests with a final judge (agent or editor) I’d like to have look at my work.
• Prestige: Contests I’d heard of, or “name brand” sponsors.
• Category Breakdown: Contests with categories that matched my story.
• Ease of Entry: Contests with electronic entry.

Back then, one of my main goals was receiving feedback. I can remember when my scores ranged from 78-87%. Not horrible, but nowhere good enough to final. Contests were a way to get more insight into where I needed to improve.

However, just as my writing has evolved over the years, so have my reasons for entering contests. I no longer look for feedback from contest judges. Now, my top determining factors are the final judge (anything to avoid my dreaded query letter *smile*) and the prestige of the contest.

For either of those goals to have a chance, I first have to final. Any encouraging feedback from the first round judges is nice, but the agent or editor final judge will never see my writing unless I make it to the final round. So while I always hoped to final before, I’m now at the level of “final or bust.” No pressure. *grin*

What Does It Take to Final?

I’m still not sure I want to answer that question. Some writers might feel discouraged by seeing the gap between their contest scores and the scores at the finalist level. Other writers might like the challenge, or do what I did—take satisfaction from seeing their scores improve over the years.

Knowing the kind of scores we need to final might help us temper our expectations (and head off disappointments) until our scores are in the right ballpark. So even though I hate the thought of doing anything that could seem like bragging (I don’t think I even announced my last couple of finals), I thought I’d share my experiences.

Please keep in mind that the scores necessary to final can be very dependent on the contest. Some contests might be known for having harder judges, so all the finalists would simply be the best of the lower scores. Also, every contest I entered was sponsored by RWA or an RWA chapter, and other genres and organizations could have completely different ranges.

In addition, contests with a low number of entries can be “easier” to final in than those with high numbers.The number of entries in my category probably ranged from 15 to 200 (educated guess), depending on the contest.

My Contest Finaling Experience

Over the past 12 months, I’ve entered Treasured Claim into 10 contests. I haven’t heard back from one of those contests yet, so I’ll limit my analysis to just the remaining nine. (I’ll also take a guess at the number of entries based on the prestige of the contest.) (Note that I don’t have scores back for one of the contests yet, so I know only the result.)

1. Guess at # of Entries: High
   Score: 92%
   Result: No Final (I missed finaling by one point out of 200.)
   
2. Guess at # of Entries: Medium
   Score: 94.2%
   Result: Finalist
3. Guess at # of Entries: Medium-High
   Score: 98.46%
   Result: Finalist
4. Guess at # of Entries: Medium-High
   Score: 96.5%
   Result: Finalist
5. Guess at # of Entries: High
   Score: 95.45%
   Result: No Final
6. Guess at # of Entries: High
   Score: 96.5%
   Result: No Final
7. Guess at # of Entries: Very High
   Score: Unknown
   Result: No Final
8. Guess at # of Entries: Medium-High
   Score: 98%
   Result: Finalist
9. Guess at # of Entries: Medium
   Score: 97.5%
   Result: Finalist

What Can We Learn from These Numbers?

Unless there’s a low number of entries, our scores would need to be in the 90+% range to have even a chance at finaling. As you can see, my scores were all in the 92-98.5% range and I still didn’t final every time. (That’s not a complaint. I’ll take five finals out of nine contests. *smile*)

The contests I didn’t final in were at 92%, 95.45%, and 96.5%. Yet in other contests, I finaled with a 94.2% and a 96.5%, so like I mentioned above, a great deal depends on the contest.

In other words, if our writing tends to score below that 90+% range, we’ll only hurt ourselves and waste our money if our one-and-only goal is to final. Instead, our priority should probably be on contests that are known for giving feedback. A final could always come as an unexpected bonus, but we shouldn’t focus on it.

If I were just starting out contesting now and didn’t know what my scores might be, I’d first look for contests that used more first-round judges. Some RWA contests use only two first-round judges, while others use three first-round judges and drop the lowest score. More judges equals more feedback.

Once we see our scores rise to that 90+% level, we can adjust our goals. At a certain writing level, the feedback of random people can lose its usefulness. Their suggestions about writing “mistakes” are too often inappropriate. Like I mentioned in my post with tips for being a better beta reader, readers I haven’t picked for their high-quality feedback are more likely to fall into that “only 10% usable comments” category.

At that point, it makes sense for our priority to shift toward finaling. So our goal would be to either get our work in front of the final judge or to be able to say that we were a finalist of X prestigious contest.

When I was first starting out, I would have loved to know at what point I should start hoping for a final. I could have saved myself a lot of disappointment by realizing when I was nowhere close yet. I hope others find inspiration by knowing where the bar is for finaling. *smile*

Why do you enter writing contests? Can you think of additional reasons for entering contests? Do you disagree with my take on how our priorities should depend on our skill level and scores? Does knowing where the bar is for finaling make you feel despair, challenged, or encouraged? If you’ve finaled in a contest, feel free to share your percentage score so we can see if my experience is unusual.

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Why Do You Enter Writing Contests?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

I don’t watch soap operas, but a bizarre conversation tangent (in other words, a perfectly normal conversation for me) triggered my thoughts comparing soap operas to novels. On the surface, they seem very similar. They both have characters, tension, and conflict.

However, the more I thought about it, the more I saw differences. And those differences illustrated a problem many of us have with our stories.

This tangent all started with me trying to explain daytime soap operas to someone who had no idea what they were. “Well, there’s a big cast of characters and they’re all in conflict with each other. There’s no beginning or end because their little conflicts overlap. While one mini-storyline is ending, several others are in the middle.”

That led to an explanation of the slow death of the daytime soap opera in the U.S. From the 50s through the early 70s, the shows enjoyed large audiences. But other than a few years in the 80s around the time of Luke and Laura’s wedding on General Hospital, the percentage of households watching the top show was dropping even though fewer soap operas were vying for viewers. Today, only four daytime soap operas remain in the U.S. (down from a high of 19 shows).

It would be easy to say that women entering the workforce killed the daytime soap. No housewives at home, no viewers.

However, the 80s also brought the VCR and now we have the DVR for recording and time-shifting TV shows. So why didn’t viewership recover with those technologies?

Soap Operas: The Bad Kind of In Media Res

In media res means “into the middle of things.” Common writing advice says we should start our stories in media res, meaning that we start mid-scene rather than with loads of backstory and description. However, we often struggle to create interesting conflict and not simply cause confusion.

The never-beginning-never-ending nature of daytime soap operas leads to confusion among new or occasional viewers. Each episode constantly places viewers in the middle of things. New viewers have no idea who these characters are, what they want, why they’re arguing, etc.

Newcomers to a soap opera would have to watch the show every day for several weeks before they knew the characters, how they related to the other characters, and knew all the storylines. How many people are likely to stick around long enough to “get hooked”? Probably none.

In other words, the bad kind of in media res is to blame for soap operas’ ongoing doom. The structure of soap operas doesn’t encourage new viewers to join in the story, especially not when other entertainment options are more welcoming to newbies.

Novels (and Series) Can Suffer from the Bad Kind of In Media Res Too

We see this problem in novels as well. Have you ever been lost when starting in the middle of a series? Or have you chosen not to read a book simply because it’s in the middle of a series?

Coming into the middle of a group of characters who have fascinating stories we’re not privy to can feel like being the odd man out at a cocktail party of close friends. They share inside jokes or hint at old grudges without explaining what’s so funny or annoying. Readers need some amount of explanation to avoid confusion (not to mention irritation).

Similarly, at the beginning of a story, an action scene with a character we don’t know or care about yet isn’t going to have emotional resonance—no matter how harrowing—unless the author gives us opportunities to relate to the character.

A character—a random stranger to us—can be held over the edge of a cliff, and yet we don’t care at all. For all we know, that character is a bad guy and we want them to die. There’s no tension in the scene because there’s no context.

Don’t Imitate Soap Operas—Give Context

Novels can use techniques to bring readers up to speed that soap operas can’t. Internalization, narrative, character tags, etc. can all be used to ensure the beginning of our story isn’t confusing or causing a “meh” reaction in readers.

• Characters can (briefly) think about why they’re doing what they’re doing and why it’s important to them. (Please let Jim pick her for this promotion. She’d eaten enough Ramen noodles this past month to last a lifetime.) This lets us relate to them and helps us care about their goals and stakes.
• The narrative can slip in clues about problems. (Bruises stood out on his pale skin.) This raises tension and creates the good kind of story questions.
• Character tags let us know how characters are related to each other. (She looked at her best friend. “Now what?”) This tells us about their relationship and encourages our understanding of dialogue and events between them.

So while we want to start in media res with our stories, we need to ground the reader with enough setting and situational information to prevent confusion. A wide gulf exists between the “zero context” problem of soap operas and the backstory information dump we should all avoid.

We can give hints and clues. We can even explain if we keep it brief (a sentence or two). We should give just enough information to ground the reader and avoid confusion. That means no paragraphs slowing down the pace. Sometimes “just enough” will take only a word. *smile*

Were you ever a soap opera watcher? If you stopped, why haven’t you picked it back up? Have you ever been lost in a book series (or avoided a series)? Do you have tips for other techniques to give context? How do you determine that “just enough” balance?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: What Soap Operas Can Teach Us about Writing

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

My two WordPress workshops are next week, so this is the last time I’ll mention them here on my blog. Try to contain your disappointment. *grin*

Today, I’m summarizing the questions and answers from the Facebook chat about WordPress I did last week with Lisa Hall-Wilson. Facebook makes looking through old posts a hassle, so I wanted to capture this information for others.

If you’re thinking of implementing WordPress but you’re not sure when, you might want to check out my workshops anyway, as I’m not planning on offering them again this year. Everyone who signs up can play with a self-hosted WordPress.org site for one month—at no additional cost—thanks to my Tech Guy at my hosting company.

Thank you to everyone who came to the chat and asked such great questions!

(If you’re tuning in late, check out my previous posts with background information about WordPress.com versus WordPress.org and hosting companies.)

Can I Switch from WordPress.com to WordPress.org If I Change My Mind Later?

The transfer from .com to .org can be easy and painless if we upgrade to our own domain right away. Our internet address—the URL—would need to be http://mydomainname.com and not http://mydomainname.wordpress.com.

If you have your own domain and all links and posts are connected to that domain, the entire database can be exported and imported seamlessly. Otherwise, all internal and incoming links will be messed up with the transfer.

WordPress.com Puts Ads on Our Site? Why Haven’t I Seen Them?

WordPress.com shows advertising only to those not logged in to WordPress, so a site owner would never see the ads. It’s a tricky way to get the site owner to forget the ads are there if you ask me. *smile*

What If I Like the Control of WordPress.org, But Want the Security of WordPress.com?

The main reason WordPress.com is secure is because they limit the themes that can be used and don’t allow plugins. However, nothing is perfectly secure, as the latest massive attack on all WordPress sites, including WordPress.com, attests.

The key to security isn’t in going with .com instead of .org. The key is having a great hosting company, whether that company is WordPress.com for their free sites or an independent company for self-hosted .org sites. Know what they’re doing to actively prevent problems and how prepared they are in the event of a security problem.

I’m Ready to Go with WordPress.org, What’s the First Step ?

Do research and get recommendations for a good hosting company. Some hosting companies can help you with everything else: getting a domain name, exporting/importing from an old blog, doing the WordPress installation, giving suggestions for plugins, etc. There’s often no need to struggle through things alone.

How Is Creating a Site on WordPress.org Different from WordPress.com?

Many things are exactly the same. Most people transitioning from .com to .org will find the biggest change is the ability to use plugins and having more choices for themes. Writing CSS and HTML isn’t necessary unless someone is picky (like me *smile*).

What If I Don’t Have Enough Money for Both a Website and a Blog?

The main difference between a website and a blog is that a website has static (unchanging) pages such as Home, Books, About, Contact, Blog, etc. (like I have on my site), while blogs have a single changing page that updates with blog posts. WordPress can support both a website and a blog, and many website designers use the WordPress platform.

I’d suggest using the single platform to do both. As a bonus, blogs get better ranking on search engines, so an integrated blog helps our website’s traffic and ranking too. Just create a static home page (which will make it look like a website) and add all the pages you want for the website stuff while leaving the blog on its own page within our site.

WordPress.org Allows Plugins, But What Are They?

Plugins are additional pieces of code that customize our website or blog. They can do everything from add widgets to our sidebar (popular posts, Twitter feeds, run a slide show, etc.) to run an analysis of our statistics. Search “top WordPress plugins” or “best WordPress plugins” to get an idea of their potential.

There’s a danger in using plugins as well. They can make our site less secure or load slower, so we need to use our freedom responsibly. My Tech Guy can set up a temporary test site for anyone who would like to experiment with the possibilities.

What Plugins Do You Recommend?

• Akismet for spam control
• Broken Link Checker for cleaning up bad links
• Contact Form (I use Fast Secure Contact Form)
• Statistics (JetPack, Google Analytics, etc.)
• Newsletter Signup (I use Wysija, but many like MailChimp as well)
• Social Media Sharing Buttons (I use Shareaholic, but there are many)
• SEO (search engine optimization) if your theme doesn’t include this

Other possibilities include plugins for related or popular posts, a mobile switcher, event calendar, other commenting systems, caching, etc. I’m keeping an eye on the new MyBookTable plugin (it’s not out yet) for making our sites a hub for selling books.

How Do We Get Our Bio to Show Up at the Bottom of Every Post?

An Author Box plugin will insert that for you. Those have gotten very popular because of the new Google Authorship concept. But they’re more important for group blogs or places like HuffPo where it’s not a single-author blog. For our personal site, it’s just a cool-looking thing.

What Themes Do You Recommend?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer for that. Everyone wants different things from their theme. Some are more concerned with appearance and others are more concerned with functionality or customization.

I’ve used the same premium theme (Thesis) since the beginning, so I haven’t experimented with others. My theme recently updated and I don’t like the update, so I don’t necessarily recommend them in their current form (I’m sticking with their old version for now).

Those on WordPress.org (or on a test site from my Tech Guy) can check at Dashboard—>Appearance—>Install Themes—>Search and look for specific features. Mantra looks to be a free theme with many customizing options similar to my site, but I haven’t used it. Google search for “best free WordPress themes” to see what might work for you.

One premium (not free) theme I’ve heard good things about is Genesis. Check their list of features for an idea of which ones you’d deem important, and then search for “best premium WordPress themes” to research your options.

What Essential Features Should We Look for in a Theme?

Everything depends on your goals. Some themes focus on format stuff (drop down menus, etc.), some prioritize exceptional SEO, some limit the number of plugins or pages. It’s hard to find a one-all-be-all theme that will meet everyone’s needs.

Many themes limit color or font type or size. So if you want to change specific settings and you can’t figure out how to do so, they’re probably determined by the theme.

Personally, I wouldn’t want one that limited my number of pages, didn’t allow for a static home page, or didn’t work with most (all) plugins, etc. Lisa Hall-Wilson also pointed out the importance of verifying the credibility of the theme-maker, as her site got hacked through a theme.

What Can a Custom (Premium) Theme Do that Normal Themes Can’t?

Custom themes (which are typically premium, meaning not free) allow us to change more of the behind-the-scenes look and function of our sites. Custom themes typically have better SEO functionality to improve our ranking in search engines, but there are SEO plugins too, so this isn’t a critical reason to go with a custom theme. It comes down more to looks, layout, and functions.

We usually take the .org route because we want customization, so limiting ourselves by going with a theme that doesn’t customize well defeats the point. The wide choice of free themes gives us plenty of opportunities to make our site the way we want. But if we need even more customization, premium themes will often allow us to change details without needing to dig into the code.

*whew* Yes, my fingers were tired by the end of the chat. *smile* Thank you again to everyone who came by the chat! And thanks to Jay Donovan for stopping by and adding his technical expertise!

Registration closes soon for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Did you learn something new with these questions and answers? Are there plugins you’d recommend? What about themes? What’s important to you in a theme? Last call for any other WordPress questions…

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Ask Jami: WordPress Questions and Answers

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Last time, we talked about using our characters’ strengths to develop their flaws. But I didn’t get a chance to talk about how we could figure out the matching flaw for a character strength.

Many of you are probably familiar with the Myers Briggs test, a well-known test that labels people with a four-letter abbreviation for their personality traits. You might have seen the INTJ and ESFP type labels or taken the test yourself.

A similar personality analysis is called the Enneagram system. The Enneagram focuses on nine basic personality types. (I like this test the best if you’d like to try it yourself.)

Obviously, we can take these tests from the perspective of our characters and gain insight in their personality. But even if we don’t go through the tests for our characters, we can look up their personality traits and learn more about their strengths—and their flaws.

A Look at the Myers Briggs Types for Character Flaws

This high-level description of the sixteen Myers Briggs personality types gives a short summary of each four-letter label. We can glance through these summaries to find a description that sounds like our character.

Each label then has a link to a more detailed description. The detailed description explains what drives the character, what they value, and what they need, as well as how their personality will express itself in their life. Keep reading and you’ll start to see their flaws.

For example, the ESFJ type is “The Caregiver.” Their summary makes them sound like a saint: “Warm-hearted, popular, and conscientious. Tend to put the needs of others over their own needs. Feel strong sense of responsibility and duty. … Interested in serving others…”

But read further into the details and flaws emerge. “ESFJs…may develop very questionable values. … They’re usually quite popular and good with people, and good at manipulating them. … An ESFJ…may be prone to being quite insecure… He or she might also be very controlling  or overly sensitive, imagining bad intentions when there weren’t any.”

A Look at the Enneagram Types for Character Flaws

Similarly, this high-level description of the nine Enneagram types provides a few keywords for each style. On this Enneagram summary page, we even see the start of some flaws.

For example, Type 2 is “The Helper.” This type is somewhat similar to the ESFJ Caregiver described above, so I’ll pick on them again to give us a direct comparison between these two personality type systems.

Their summary: “The Caring, Interpersonal Type: Demonstrative, Generous, People-Pleasing, and Possessive.” Ooo, possessive. That’s a sneak peek at a potential flaw.

Their detail page reveals what a Type 2 Helper would be like at their best, their basic desire, their key motivations, and the biggest obstacles hindering their inner development. The basic fear of the Type 2 Helper is “being unwanted, unworthy of being loved.”

Going back to our exercise last time of turning character strengths into flaws (or vice versa), the best part of these pages is at the bottom of each detail description. The description gives us three examples of how each personality would normally be, three examples of a good expression, and three examples of a bad expression of their traits.

For example, Type 2 Helpers at Average Levels can be people-pleasing, control in the name of love, or can become a “martyr” for others. Those at Unhealthy Levels manipulate, feel entitled, or are bitterly resentful. Those at Healthy Levels are deeply unselfish, compassionate, or able to see the good in others.

How to Apply These Flaws to Our Story

Every personality trait is a continuum, with a good and healthy expression of the trait on one side and a bad and unhealthy expression on the other. Our characters (just like ourselves) might fall on different places along that line depending on the situation, who else is involved (does the other character push the main character’s buttons?), stress level, etc. Maybe we give readers insight into how stressed the characters are by showing them reacting more unhealthily than usual.

As we discussed last time, a character’s arc could start with their personality leaning more toward the negative and they grow toward the positive by the end of the story. If we go back to our earlier examples, our Caregiver/Helper character might turn their “people-pleasing out of neediness for approval” into “genuine caring for others.”

Or we can echo the hero and villain by showing the differences in their extremes. The hero’s flaw can be on the Average Level (overbearing or patronizing) while the villain’s flaw is on the Unhealthy Level (domineering and coercive).

The One-Two Plot Development Punch: Use Personality Traits with Michael Hauge’s Teachings

Whether the personality descriptions in these systems work for us as individuals is less important than how they can help us understand characters who might be very different from ourselves. Insight into what motivates them and what they fear is invaluable.

Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure can help us tie this information into the plot. Michael Hauge focuses on understanding a character’s longing/need, wound, belief, fear, the identity they hide behind due to their fear, and the essence of who they can become. All of these elements are touched on in the details of each personality type.

We can take characters’ fears and think about what backstory wound might have triggered its importance in their lives. Their Identity might encompass how they’re living in the Average Levels of expressing their trait. Their Essence is how they could live in the Healthy Levels of their personality type.

Together with Michael Hauge’s teachings, these personality analyses can play together with our plot quite beautifully. I encourage you to explore the Myers Briggs types and the Enneagram types along with my Michael Hauge posts and Janice Hardy’s post. Maybe while we’re analyzing our characters, we’ll learn something about ourselves too. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Have you used the Myers Briggs test in relation to your characters, and if so, how? Have you heard of the Enneagram system before? Have you used it for your characters? Can you think of other ways to use Myers Briggs or Enneagram with our characters? What about other ways to integrate those personality insights with Michael Hauge’s teachings?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: How to Use Character Flaws to Develop a Plot

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Last time I asked you to share your superpower, that trait—useful or not—that makes you unique. Everyone shared some great stories, although none of us had skills that would land us on Cracked.com’s “Real People with Mind-Blowing Mutant Superpowers” list. *eyes the superpowers that made the list* Maybe that’s a good thing.

At the end of that post, I mentioned that our characters should have unique strengths and flaws as well, but I didn’t get a chance to fully dig into that idea. Serena Yung brought up a “superpower” in the comments that reminded me of a character development trick along those lines. Serena said:

“I’m able to get extremely, heads-over-heels obsessed with something, e.g. writing, or pokemon, or psychology, that I can keep talking about this same topic for a VERY long time. … Maybe this is more of a (super) weakness than a superpower though, because these obsessions can get me “stuck in a rut”…”

Hmm… “Maybe this is more of a (super) weakness than a superpower…” Serena touched on an interesting truth: Character traits can be both a strength and a weakness.

Develop Character Flaws through Their Strengths

Strengths and flaws are often two sides of the same coin. Interference is often the “bad” side of helpfulness, control can be the bad side of protectiveness, obsession can result from love, etc. The intentions and motivations for both sides can be identical.

This fact gives us another method for developing our characters. Often when we talk about the change a character goes through during a story arc, we think about an actual change from trait “a” to trait “b.” A character goes from distrusting to trusting, insecure to secure, and so forth.

However, if we’re having trouble thinking up a flaw for a character, we can look at their strengths. Maybe one of those strengths can start at the “bad” end and work its way to being good.

In that case, their character arc would be less about a change from one trait to another and more about a different perspective on the same behavior or attitude. Instead of changing from “a” to “b,” they’d change from trait “a” to trait “A” with a capital letter.

Echo the Hero and Villain with Extremism

We can use a similar technique to echo the character traits of the hero and the villain. Stories where the hero and villain have only one degree of separation can be very powerful and carry deep themes of the line between good and bad.

For these stories, we’d look at a strength (which could also be the beginning flaw) of the hero. We’d then take that strength and carry it to its extreme negative end to create the villain.

Every good intention can go bad if carried to the extreme. The line between a little bit extreme and a lot extreme can be the difference between a hero and a villain.

I have one story where the heroine is a pawn between two powerful people. They both have the ability to control her, but one restrains his controlling nature and the other embraces it. Guess which is the hero and which is the villain? *smile*

Stories like that allow us to examine how the trait or ability itself isn’t “bad.” As with so many things in life, it all comes down to how that aspect is used—or abused.

Another fun approach is to have heroes and villains with the same goal. The difference lies in how they plan to achieve that goal and how far they’re willing to go, believing that the end justifies the means.

As many of my own stories attest, I have a fondness for books that explore these nuances. Those are the kind of “shades of gray” I like. *grin*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Also, a reminder that I’ll be holding a one-hour live Q&A session about all things WordPress today, Thursday, April 11th, at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the WANA International Facebook page. Come pick my brain! *smile*

Have you used the technique of turning a strength into a flaw before? What about echoing the hero and the villain through the level of their extremism? Do your heroes and villains ever have the same goal? Can you think of other ways to use strengths and flaws for character development?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: The Thin Line between Character Strengths and Flaws

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter might have heard the news about my recent broken bone. *sigh* Again.

I have a special talent, it seems, for breaking my middle toe. That’s right. Not the big toe or any other appendage that sticks out. Nope. I have to be different and break that middle toe tucked between the others.

Note that I’ve never broken any other bones. (Yet.) Just this same toe—three times. Calculate the odds of that.

I broke it the first time two-and-a-half years ago, and it took over 6 months for it to heal because I kept re-breaking it before it was fully mended. (“Oh, I’m tall. I can reach that upper cabinet, no problem.” *stands on tiptoes* Crunch.)

The second time, I broke that same toe one year later, nearly to the same day. I think I rebroke it only once or twice that time before it healed.

About a month ago, a year-and-a-half after that last incident, I broke that same toe again. I’ve already rebroken it once, and this time I was just standing around, not doing anything. It’s enough to make me feel like I can’t win.

(Why yes, I do stub my toes a lot. There’s a reason I have the Klutz Queen crown. *smile*)

We Each Have Unique Skills

My point is that bad stuff happens to everyone, and it’s easy to let those setbacks bring us down. Each time I re-break this toe, the clock of six-to-eight weeks of healing resets and the pain comes back even stronger. But I think we all have special talents of the good kind as well.

I believe everyone can do something that hardly anyone else can do. Maybe that skill is useful. (I could sure use the superpower of writing perfect queries. *grin*) Or maybe it’s useless, or silly, or bizarre. But that talent is ours and ours alone.

That “superpower” makes us unique in the world. No matter how worthless that skill might be, it still makes us special and that’s something to celebrate.

Celebrate What Makes You Unique—No Matter How Bizarre

The sense of belonging to a group is nice, whether it’s as part of our family, our job, our hobbies, or something else. But it’s nice to remind ourselves that we’re one in a billion too.

We’re the only ones who can do what we do. That uniqueness means we have a way of looking at the world no one else does. No one else can be the kind of parent or employee or friend we can. We should celebrate that fact as well.

It’s easy to observe all the things we can’t do. Every once in a while, we need to remind ourselves of the things we can do and take for granted.

Maybe we give the perfect hug to a child in pain. Maybe our bright smile is the highlight of a grocery cashier’s day. Maybe our goofy klutziness brings a belly laugh to someone who’s down. We each have something to contribute to the world that no one else can.

Story Characters Should Be Unique Too

As writers, we can apply this lesson to our characters as well. They should bring a unique talent, skill, or way of looking at the world to the story. Ditto for them having unique flaws too.

Yes, character strengths and flaws often fall into broad categories: he’s arrogant, she’s forgiving, etc. But the way those traits manifest and affect the story should reflect the characters as individuals.

More importantly, we can think about how those strengths and flaws play out over the story’s arc. Do they recognize their superpower at the beginning of the story? What about at the end?

My Superpower Is…

My superpower? I can peel Clementines (like mandarin oranges) in a single S-shape 99% of the time. Useless, silly, and bizarre, but kids look at me in awe, so it’s all good. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Also, a reminder that I’ll be holding a one-hour live Q&A session about all things WordPress this Thursday, April 11th, at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the WANA International Facebook page. Come pick my brain! *smile*

What’s your superpower? Have you ever impressed anyone with it? Do any of your characters have unusual abilities? What makes their strengths and flaws unique? Do their traits tie into the story arc?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: What’s Your Superpower?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

The Golden Rule of “treat others how you’d like to be treated” applies to most aspects of our lives—including our author life. One of the best things we can do to find beta readers for our work (at least among our network of author friends) is to offer to beta read for others.

Inside the beta reading relationship, the Golden Rule applies to the feedback exchanged as well. As someone who has been fortunate enough to have had many beta readers over the years, I know that not all feedback is created equal.

We might implement 80% of the suggestions from one reader and only 10% of the suggestions from another. How likely are we to reuse that 10% reader again? Not very. Unless that 10% is brilliant, it’s not going to be worth our time to reciprocate and continue to beta read for them.

That question can be reversed too. When we read for others, are we closer to being a 10% reader or an 80% reader? If we provide poor feedback, the recipient is less likely to encourage an ongoing “beta buddy” arrangement, just as we’d do in their place.

So to maintain a group of willing beta readers, it’s in our best interest to ensure our feedback is truly helpful. Like the story of Goldilocks, we have to find a middle ground where we’re not too harsh or mean, not too soft or timid—but just right.

Even more importantly, we have to provide feedback that helps the author improve their story, not the story we’d write. Here are three tips for how to increase the helpfulness of our feedback and become a better beta reader.

Tip #1: Focus on Making Their Story Better

The right kind of feedback makes us invaluable to other writers. They’ll be excited to read our work in exchange. Some of my readers’ feedback is so good that I not only instantly see the problem they point out, but it also makes me eager to dive into revisions. That’s good. *smile*

So what makes feedback “good”?

My number one tip is that we must work toward making their story better. We shouldn’t focus our comments on how we’d do it.

How we’d do it is irrelevant. Our voice is not their voice, our goals are not their goals, our themes and worldviews are not their themes and worldviews.

The only exception to this rule is when something about their writing isn’t working for us. Maybe the writing is passive, maybe the characters lack motivations, etc. Then—and only then—can we provide an example and say, “This doesn’t work for me because of xyz. Maybe something like abc would be stronger.”

Tip #2: Suggest Changes Only When the Writing Doesn’t “Work” in Some Way

Just because the writing is different from how we’d do it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. For all we know, the impression we’re left with is the impression they wanted.

Once, a reader of mine made tons of word choice suggestions to my manuscript because they assumed I didn’t intend the impression I’d created. However, I’d used those specific words for subtextual foreshadowing of a major plot point later in the story, and now I felt bad the reader had spent all that time on irrelevant suggestions. They could have saved a lot of time by giving one comment along the lines of, “Words like a, b, and c are creating an impression of z, and I’m not sure that’s what you wanted.”

If the writing works, suggested changes like word choice or sentence structure aren’t helpful. Unless the writer asked us for line-by-line, copy-editing-level feedback, we’re more likely to mess with their voice than to provide useful information.

If the writing doesn’t work, we should focus on why it doesn’t work for us. Separating our thoughts on whether a section doesn’t work or if it’s just not how we’d word it can be tricky sometimes. So we should ask ourselves why we want to change the writing.

• Does the current wording take us out of the story (confusing wording, voice/characterization seems off, too repetitive, slow pacing, no conflict/tension, etc.)?
• Are the stakes, goals, motivations, etc. unclear or weak?
• Do we not like or care about the characters?

If we can’t come up with a reason, we should leave it alone.

Tip #3: Always Give a Reason for Suggested Changes

The only time I make a change and don’t give a reason is when I find a missing word. Those are fairly self-explanatory. *smile*

Every other suggested change has my explanation of why. With that reason, the author can judge whether my suggestion comes from me not getting their voice, misinterpreting something, being confused, etc.

If we don’t give a reason, crossing out their writing and replacing it with our own is disrespectful. On the other hand, if we have a real reason, even nitpicky things like suggestions about word choices and sentence structures are helpful.

Leaving a comment like “I’d use x word instead of y word” isn’t a reason. Again, we must respect their voice.

In contrast, “I don’t think the character would use x word (would they even know that word?). Y seems more like their voice” is a real reason. The author now has enough information to decide whether to make the change or not.

We know what qualifies as a “real” reason. We’d want to know if the wording is confusing or caused others to stumble. We’d want to know if a section is too wordy or slow. We’d want to know when a character is too whiny or harsh. In short, we should give the type of feedback we know to be more helpful.

Give the kind of feedback we’d like to receive. There’s that Golden Rule again. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Do you have other tips for giving good feedback? What feedback have you found most helpful? What feedback isn’t helpful to you? How much does the quality of feedback you receive affect whether you reuse a reader? How would you rate yourself as a reader?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Three Tips for Being a Better Beta Reader

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shared several posts about websites and blogging. I promise I’m almost done with all that. On Thursday, I’ll resume my usual balance of craft, author entrepreneurship, publishing industry, and writing life posts.

(Believe me, I get as sick of ruts as you all do. However, I hope this series has shared useful information—like how to welcome disabled readers and make our site secure—that you haven’t seen before.)

But first, today’s the post that some of you have been waiting for before registering in one of my two workshops. Today I’m sharing insight into whether we should go with a free WordPress.com site or a self-hosted WordPress.org site.

Like last Thursday’s post, this is another two-parter. The first section is over at Kristen Lamb’s blog, where I explain the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and list tips on how to figure out which path will meet our needs and goals. I’ll wait while you check out that post. *twiddles thumbs*

The second section is right here, where I’m sharing additional links for more information on those differences. I’ll also give my parting thoughts about why I chose the route I did.

Don’t Let Fear Dictate Your Choice—WordPress.org Is Not Necessarily More Complicated

Let’s start with a bit of background. WordPress—the software—was first developed by a team that later grew into a company called Automattic. WordPress.com is run by Automattic, and Automattic also contributes to the open-source version of the software used for WordPress.org sites. In other words, the two versions of the software (.com and .org) are very similar.

Some people say that WordPress.org is complicated and difficult compared to WordPress.com. Not necessarily true.

It can be more confusing to initially set up a WordPress.org site, but once it’s up and running, the two software versions are nearly identical. Before sites reach that point though, WordPress.org sites do require software to be installed and domain names to be set up and registered.

If we’re trying to do all that on our own, the set up will be more complex. However, if we pick a good hosting company, they’ll often help us through that process—or even do it all for us. Yay!

How Others Have Explained the Differences between the Two Versions of WordPress

Straight from the folks at Automattic, here’s what the software developers state about the differences. Note that almost all the WordPress.org “cons” they list are irrelevant if you pick a good hosting company.

(My hosting company takes care of installation, backups, traffic spikes, and can even handle upgrades. And Automattic’s own Akismet spam prevention plugin is the best available, so spam comments aren’t an issue on either platform.)

WPBeginner has a great infographic on their post comparing WordPress.org and WordPress.com. They point out that WordPress.com offers many upgrades to emulate the freedom of WordPress.org sites. But those upgrades can cost far more than the price of paying a hosting company to run the fully customizable WordPress.org version. (Want to use plugins on a WordPress.com site? It can cost hundreds of dollars—a month.)

(This is why the only upgrade I recommend for WordPress.com users is purchasing a custom domain, which removes the word “wordpress” from our site’s internet address. If we want more customization than that, it’s often more cost effective to go with a self-hosted WordPress.org installation.)

Author Roz Morris’s two-part blog post also explores the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and is a great resource for seeing how other authors make the decision. Roz shares why she loves being on WordPress.com, and she interviews author Joanna Penn and editor Jane Friedman on why they chose WordPress.org.

Why I Chose WordPress.org

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a control freak. *smile* I wanted to customize my site my way. I also wanted to own my site.

Free things always come with strings. As my Tech Guy says, when the service is free, you’re the product and not the customer.

I didn’t want to build my website and blog on a platform I didn’t have control over. Just in the time that I’ve been blogging, I’ve had to deal with Google Friend Connect and Feedburner no longer playing nicely with all their users.

I seriously doubt Automattic will ever shutter WordPress.com (it’s their core business after all). However, would they sell out to another company who could shut them down? Unlikely, but possible.

Call me paranoid, but stranger things have happened. Twitter bought the Posterous blogging platform, which has 15 million bloggers, and then decided to shut it down. Google Reader is the largest RSS feed reader by far and rather than figure out how to monetize it, Google is shutting it down.

Sure, our hosting company could go out of business, but moving from one hosting company to another doesn’t destroy our site or data. We’d export from the old, import to the new, and have our domain name point to the new location. Nothing lost. No need to start from scratch. Not the end of the world.

Yet I still wouldn’t say there’s only one right answer on this issue. My personal decision is just that—personal. Others have different goals or priorities for limited funds. Or maybe they don’t want to mess with plugins or any of those customization options I mentioned at Kristen’s blog. We each have to make the decision that’s best for our needs and situation.

If after reviewing these links and my guest post at Kristen’s blog you’re still not sure which path is right for you, I’ll be doing a one-hour live Q&A session on WANA International’s Facebook page on Thursday, April 11th at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Come join me and pick my brain. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Do you disagree with my opinion? If you have a blog or website, how did you decide which route to take? Do you wish you’d made a different choice (or are you considering moving)? What factors are most important for your decision?

Image Credit for WordPress Logo

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: When Should We Upgrade to a Paid Site?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

When we first create a blog or website, all the decisions we need to make can quickly overwhelm us. Do we really need a website and a blog? Should we go with Blogger or WordPress? Do we want to go the free route or pay for a self-hosted site we’ll own?

That last question encompasses many complicated issues I’ll dive into next week. But if we decide to go the self-hosted WordPress.org route, we then also have to choose a hosting company.

What’s a hosting company, you ask? Today’s post is actually the second of two articles about hosting companies. Part One is over at the Writers In The Storm blog, where I cover what a hosting company is and why they’re important. Vitally important to those of us who choose to have a self-hosted site.

So that means we have to know how to pick a good hosting company. How are we supposed to do that? We’re writers, not tech people.

In Part One, I cover some of the things to look for in a hosting company. I’ll wait while you check out that post. *hums Jeopardy theme* Back now? As I mentioned in that post, one critical responsibility of a hosting company is keeping their servers secure because if their servers are hacked, our websites become vulnerable or even go offline.

Today in Part Two, my tech guy will give us the inside scoop on what a hosting company can (and probably should) do to keep their servers secure. Please welcome Jay Donovan!

*****

Tech Talk: Website and Blog Security

Thanks, Jami, for letting me out of the server room for a few moments to talk about how a good hosting provider can help keep your site running safely. *notices a window* Hey, is that sunlight? *squints* Ow, it burns my people.

By my definition, a “good” hosting company views themselves as your partner in achieving your goals rather than one who simply provides a service. That sounds like a trope, but unless you’re planning on acquiring a “tech geek” badge, you’re going to have questions and occasionally need some hand-holding. The providers competing to be the lowest priced host can’t afford to spend much time on support or ensuring that their servers are delivering pages to your site’s visitors lightning fast.

Today we’ll discuss how a web hosting company can help keep your site running securely. Or sometimes, not keep your site running securely. For the sake of simplicity and to keep the author in the back row from nodding off, I’ll limit the conversation to WordPress.org sites and the core software required to run it.

A Quick Technology Primer

To understand what can go wrong, let’s briefly explore the technologies needed to run a WordPress powered site:

1. The typical webhosting server runs the Linux operating system. Linux is a competitor to Microsoft Windows and Apple’s OS X. It runs on everything from supercomputers to smart phones. (If you have an Android phone, you’re using a variant of Linux.)
2. Apache is web server software. It’s the software that talks to your web browser. It can directly answer requests for images and simple web files (HTML & CSS). WordPress uses both, but it has more complex needs. Luckily, Apache knows to ask for help when it doesn’t know what to do.
3. WordPress’s posts, comments, page information, and settings are stored in a MySQL database.
4. And the final core piece is the PHP programming language. WordPress is written in PHP.

This ends the jaunt into the tech. *hands out paper “Tech Geek” hats to those still awake* If you know a tech geek, call them to say how you’re currently reading up on securing a “LAMP application.” LAMP = Linux + Apache + MySQL + PHP

Or you can think of Linux as the Buffyverse (Sunnydale and Slayers / Vampire lore), Apache as Buffy, MySQL as Giles, and PHP as the Scooby gang. Everything happens in the Buffyverse but without Buffy, no slaying occurs. (Robot Buffy doesn’t count.) Giles manages all the information and lore. And the Scooby gang does the boring/dirty work but causes almost as much trouble as they prevent.

Why WordPress.com and Some Hosting Companies Limit You

With the tech basics covered, we can move on to how a good hosting company can help you minimize security risks to your web site. Security risks include hackers/malfeasance, hard drive failures, and human error.

My phrasing choice of “minimize risks” is deliberate. With all the complexity involved in each of those components, it’s impossible to guarantee your site will never be hacked. This is especially true if you aren’t diligent about updates and the plugins and themes you choose to install. For this reason, many web hosting companies (including WordPress.com) will limit available add-ons, even at their premium service tiers.

A good webhosting company will have a few roles in helping to keep your site safe.

A Good Webhosting Company Will Take Care of the Stuff They Control

Regular updates of all LAMP and other server software.

Both PHP and WordPress have a somewhat deserved reputation for being insecure. They have greatly improved over the past few years, but you and your host need to be very attentive to security updates. Your host is responsible for PHP and you are responsible for WordPress and plugin updates.

Backups! Backups! Backups!

• How and how often do they perform backups?
• Are restores tested regularly?
• Are any backups saved to a different location?
• Do different tiers of service have different policies?
• Do they have a Disaster Recovery plan?

All critical servers are monitored.

• Are they monitored from multiple locations?
• Do they watch for and actively block hacker attacks?

A Good Webhosting Company Is Communicative

• Do they actively post about security risks?
• Do they warn about significant upgrades & site changes?
• Are they available for a quick question?
• Is their advice good and info correct?
• Will they admit a problem or cover it up?

A Good Webhosting Company Provides Security Related Extras

• Will they perform WordPress and plugin updates for you? If so what do they charge?
• Can they remotely help with a computer virus?

A Good Webhosting Company Won’t Do Something Bad for You Because It’s Easier for Them

I recently helped with two cases where the hosting company failed their client.

In the first case, an author’s site was hacked multiple times before he came to me for help. In my investigation, I observed that the author wasn’t a typical hacker target. There weren’t any bad plugins, and everything was up to date. He spent hours on the phone with his hosting company and they denied anything was wrong on their end. Turns out the host’s Linux server his site was on had been hacked.

All the other sites running on that server were also hacked, and all of them had been labeled as malicious sites by Google. Even after being cleaned, some anti-virus/firewall software still blocks access to his site.

The second case is about a different type of security, a site owner being secure in the knowledge that their hosting company won’t break them. A very popular site advocating self-publishing disappeared from the net. It was offline for more than a day. Turns out the hosting company cut them off for being too popular.

Yes, seriously!?! The hosting company knocked them offline—no differently than a hacker attack could. Eventually the site owners were able to bring their site back online, except the hosting company forced them onto a VPS (Virtual Private Sever). So now the site owners have to either learn how to manage/update Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP or live with the default settings. My gasteds were beyond flabbered.

So how does TechSurgeons stack up to this list? Pretty good. There’s always room for improvement.

Stuff We Can Control:

• Updates: We do extremely critical updates within 48 hours, critical updates within a week, and less important ones monthly. Our goal is to balance expediency with caution. Sometimes those rushed updates have problems of their own so waiting a day or so allows us to avoid the pitfalls.
• Backups and Hard Drives: All servers have mirrored hard drives, so if one fails, the second keeps going. Each LAMP server is completely backed up at 11PM. At 2AM, all sites are backed up to a different server and then those backups are copied to a server at our office. Restores are tested at least weekly, and we’re alerted when backups fail and need to be rerun.
• Monitoring: All servers are monitored locally and from a remote server in Seattle. Hacking attempts are logged, hackers are blocked, and email alerts are sent to us. Excessive login attempts on WordPress sites are not yet logged and blocked—there’s a plugin we want to test which might work really well.

Communicative:

Probably overly so. We use the @techsurgeons Twitter account and often our personal accounts to mention problems, maintenance, and when you should run updates. We’re starting to use our Facebook page and will now post the same messages there. We love it when you ask us questions on social media—it’s fun being helpful. And yes, we admit when we break stuff. It happens—I caused 9 minutes of downtime so far this year.

Security Extras:

Of course. Our rates are on the website. And we’re allergic to nickel & diming so rarely charge for small stuff.

Any hosting company you’re considering should be able to answer these questions for you. I’ll hang out in comments if you have questions about the tech stuff or other hosting issues.

*****

Jay Donovan has been a geek since before geeks were cool.  He’s done it all, from remotely debugging the Internet connection for a US aircraft carrier deployed to *REDACTED*, to being responsible for the servers and networks for one of the largest Internet sites in the world, and the most challenging job of them all—parenthood.

He’s trained as a Certified Ethical Hacker (yes, really!) and always uses his geeky powers for good. When he’s not neck deep in wires and computer parts, you’ll find him hanging out on Twitter as @jaytechdad or at TechSurgeons.

*****

Wow! Thanks, Jay! *still giggling over the Buffy analogy* I think I might have understood all that. Maybe.

Too many “hosting companies” don’t have the tech background to build the redundant networks and servers that can handle hardware crashes and high traffic, much less hacking attempts. As of a year ago, my site was the target of 150-200 hacking attempts per day. My site has been linked to from HuffPo and MediaBistro and didn’t go down.

I’m happy to leave my site in the hands of a professional who lives and breathes this stuff (except for when we briefly let him out to glimpse sunlight *smile*). And now we all know the questions to ask of any hosting company we’re considering. Let’s give Jay a big hand for filling us in on hosting companies!

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Did that explanation make sense to you or do you need clarification? Does knowing all the ways a poor hosting company can screw things up—and knowing the right questions now to judge if a hosting company is good or poor—make you more or less likely to go the self-hosted route? If you’re self-hosted, do you know what your hosting company does to keep your site secure? Do you have any questions for Jay?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Is Your Site Secure? Tips from a Tech Guy

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

I wanted to give us a break from the all-website-all-the-time posts I’ve had here lately, but then an idea hit me that was too good to ignore. More accurately, Linda Adams left a comment on my post from two weeks ago that struck me as something we don’t talk about enough: accommodating disabled readers in an online world.

The internet—email, blogs, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, you-name-it—exists on a primarily visual medium. And computer monitors can’t fabricate braille.

Yet vision-impaired readers—and writers—want to participate online just as much as we all do. A member of my local writing group is blind, and she’s in our Yahoo group and I’ve exchanged email messages with her. Her disability shouldn’t hold her back from being an active member of the writing community.

Linda’s comment helped me recognize that we can make vision-impaired readers and writers welcome at our online homes with just a few minor tweaks to our sites and our behavior. So I asked her to share her tips.

In this post, we’re focusing primarily on those with vision difficulties (something that many of us might encounter eventually with all the time we spend on our computers *smile*), but some of these tips will help readers with other disabilities as well. Please welcome Linda Adams!

*****

Accessibility for Writing Websites and Why It Helps You as a Writer

When I was growing up, it was common for my father to ask me to check the color of the bands on a resistor.  He was colorblind and couldn’t tell what the colors were.  I always think of my father when I work on my writing site, and now I also think about a writer in my critique group who is blind.  I’m not an expert in accessibility, but I have built sites with accessibility in mind.  Frankly, my first thought was “Why not?” and my second thought was, “Why exclude potential readers?”

I went to four science fiction conventions last year.  There are a lot of disabled fans attending—blind, in wheelchairs, with breathing equipment.  And that doesn’t include the disabilities that we can’t see, like a person who is hearing-impaired.

Web designers often don’t build with accessibility because it does take longer, and there are some cool design elements that are not going to play well with it.  Besides, they don’t have any problems seeing the site, so why bother?  Then I think of my father, who was invited to visit a website—only to discover that he couldn’t read the content because of color choices.

All of the tips below are common sense to make a site accessible, and you don’t need to know anything about web design to do them.

• Fonts: Make sure your fonts are a readable size.  If it’s too small, it will create problems for people will low vision.  But font size also presents a challenge for anyone over forty who uses reading glasses.  Think about that a moment.  Not everyone has low vision.  But everyone hits forty and eventually needs reading glasses.
  See what the world looks like for people with low vision.
• Color:  Make sure your color contrasts so it can be read.  This seems obvious, but I’ve run into a site with a white background and yellow text.  Even someone with perfect vision will have trouble reading that.  Also avoid requiring the color to be an essential part of understanding what the content is.  Colorblind people won’t be able to tell the difference, and people with low vision may also have difficulties.
  See how colorblind people view the world.
• Photos:  We all like to put photos in our blog posts because they add to our writing.  But to a person who can’t see, that message gets lost.  Take a few minutes when you upload your photo to add a description of what a photo looks like into the Alt Text field.  The Alt Text field tells a screen reading device what’s in the photo.  While you’re at it, add a caption in the post.  This helps people with low vision who aren’t using a screen reader and can be used as a fun tool to enhance your blog for all readers.
  Check out how images can cause problems for people who can’t see them.
• Captchas:  Captchas are an attempt to stop spammers, but to combat improving technology, they’ve become increasing difficult to read.  I often have to make four attempts to post a comment on a blog, and sometimes I give up in frustration.  So imagine what it’s like for the visually disabled who have the rely on poor audio to tell them what’s in those captchas.  If you’re getting so much spam that you need captchas, maybe it’s a good idea to start looking for a different blogging host.

This is just a small sampling of all the information available on accessibility.  Here are a few links to read more about it:

• Web Accessibility Initiative: Stories of how people with disabilities use the web
• American Federation for the Blind: How to make your blog accessible to blind readers
• University of Berkley: Top ten tips for making your website accessible

If anyone has had problems with accessing websites—disabilities or not, please tell us your stories!

*****

Linda Adams is a travel administrator by day and an action-adventure writer by night.  She has a short story published in the anthology A Princess, A Boatman, and A Lizard and is working on a contemporary fantasy/action-adventure novel.

She is also a former soldier and served during the first Persian Gulf War, when it was still strange and new for women to be at war.  You can visit her blog “Soldier, Storyteller” at http://garridon.wordpress.com/.

 *****

Thank you, Linda! I encourage everyone to check out the links Linda shared. The links at each bullet point build our understanding for how important these little tweaks can be to some of our readers. The links she listed at the end contain more great tips. In her original comment, Linda also shared this post with even more tips to make our site accessible to disabled users. (Edited to add: Melinda Primrose also added some “inside scoop” tips in the comments.)

Many tips focus on our links. Are they underlined and another color to make them clear they’re a link? Do they have descriptive words or a vague “click here”? Do they rely on color, “click the red button”?

If we use videos or audio podcasts, do we include a summary or transcript? My audio processing is terrible, so summaries and transcripts appeal to those like me as well.

And we’ve all shuddered through those sites with red text on a black background. Guess what that red looks like to people with some forms of colorblindness? More black.

In other words, designing our sites to be disabled-friendly is often related to being reader friendly in general. *smile* Thanks again to Linda for bringing up this subject!

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

Do you or others you know have disabilities that make internet activities difficult? What adaptations have helped? Do you have other tips to share? Have you already incorporated some of these tips into your site? Do you have questions about how to implement any of these tips? And Linda wants to know if you’ve encountered problems with accessing websites—disabilities or not?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Does Your Site Welcome Disabled Readers? — Guest: Linda Adams

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Some writers—understandably—don’t want to blog. Blogging can take away from our writing time. Thinking of post topics can be difficult. And if we don’t gain a readership (or our blog readership doesn’t cross over into the target audience for our books), it can feel like a waste of time and effort.

However as I mentioned last week, if an author doesn’t want to blog, that’s no excuse not to have a website. Websites can be just as free as blogs, require less maintenance, and most importantly, act as our online home.

When we think of author websites, we might think of the fancy, flash-based, custom-designed sites of our favorite bestselling authors. Kudos to those who can justify that cost.

Personally, I use the WordPress platform because it can handle the static pages of websites just as easily as the changing posts of blogs. We can choose the free (WordPress.com) or low-cost (WordPress.org) option that works for us and create a basic website with or without the hassle of a blog.

Whichever way we choose, creating website pages is easier than we might assume. Next month, I’ll be teaching two workshops on WordPress for beginners to help writers build that online home. Now, let’s talk about what we should include on those website pages.

Who Are You?

A visitor to our site should be able to discover who we are.

• At the very least, include an “About” page for our author bio.
• State what we write (fiction, non-fiction, both?) and our genre(s).
• Additional pages can include FAQs, links to interviews or guest posts we’ve done, lists of our favorite things/songs/other authors, etc.

In short, visitors should feel a connection to us. Whether we write fiction or non-fiction, they want to know we can tell a story. (Even non-fiction without any voice is boring.)

It’s up to us and our brand to decide how we want to create that connection. Do we have a great “this is how I got published” story? Do we have interesting pets or hobbies? Or do we have the perfect background and experience for writing our book?

What Do You Do?

A visitor to our site should be able to find what projects we’re working on or have completed.

• At the very least, include a “Books” or “Works in Progress” page.
• Published books should have buy links and back cover blurbs.
• An “Extras” section can include pictures that inspired us, soundtracks, deleted scenes, book trailers, etc.
• The more information we include, the more important it becomes to include a search function on our site.

This is our opportunity to create a deeper connection between visitors and our work. Our focus in this section should be to make the information as easy to find as possible, such as by providing book lists (with series books in order).

Even websites need some maintenance, and this section should be kept up to date. A website that hasn’t been touched to include our latest news is next to worthless. Do we have updates about our publishing journey? Have we started a new book? Do we have a new release?

How Do You Connect?

This broad question covers everything else. Essentially, we should give our visitors a “call to action” or some homework. *smile*

• At the very least, offer a newsletter sign up for future news.
• At a close second, provide a Contact Page with an email and/or snail mail address or a contact form.
• Link to our social media accounts.
• If we have a blog, include a tab for the blog page or for a link to a separate blog.
• For sites with blogs, include ways to follow new posts, like an email sign up and RSS.
• For sites with blogs, a search function is a must.

The number one thing we can do to encourage visitors to connect with us is to promise and provide good content. And as I mentioned in the What Do You Do section, we have to make it easy for visitors to access that content.

I’m constantly surprised by how many blogs are missing a search function. All that great content doesn’t do any good if it’s lost once it’s been buried under new posts.

But Wait—There’s More…Website Tips!

My friend Roni Loren has a great post with lots of ideas about how to make our websites “sticky.” She lists suggestions for the extras that can be included in each of the sections above. The Writers In The Storm blog has a post about how to keep our website professional.

For branding and technical reasons, I also recommend using your name as the domain name (yourname.com and not yourname.wordpress.com). This is an upgrade on the free WordPress.com platform and is the only upgrade I recommend for the WordPress.com version. If you want more customization, you’re probably better off going the self-hosted WordPress.org route.

The Cheap Way to Have a Website

Yes, a blog is better in the short term for gaining traffic and making a name for ourselves, but in the long run, especially for fiction authors, a website is far more important. Most readers will never follow the blog of a fiction author, but they might check our websites for book lists and extras. And for unpublished authors, websites give a quick summary of our work and our experience for any visiting agents or publishers.

None of the suggestions here requires a fancy, custom-designed website. The WordPress platform can handle every bullet item in this post. We might discover we have more freedom to implement some ideas if we pay for a self-hosted WordPress installation (WordPress.org) rather than stick with the free WordPress.com option, but many of those limitations depend on which theme (i.e., template) we choose for our site.

No matter which direction we choose, websites don’t have to be as expensive as we fear. They can also be easy and straightforward to set up. Those of us on WordPress already can simply add Pages to create those “About” and “Books” sections above. And if we have a theme that allows a static (unchanging) home page, we can create a welcome or landing page for the website separate from our blog.

Ta-da! A static home page with other static pages? That’s a website. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

(Note: I don’t want to be a workshop presenter who occasionally fits in time to write, so unless I have tons of requests to run them again, this might be the only time this year I present these workshops. Plan accordingly. *smile*)

Do you agree with my “at the very least” must haves? Can you think of other “must haves” for our websites? Which suggestions above do you think are most or least important? If you have only a blog so far, what’s holding you back from adding static pages?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: What Should an Author Website Include?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Last week, I announced my two workshops on WordPress for beginners. One workshop is geared toward those ready to invest in a paid website/blog, and one workshop sticks to free resources.

Some might wonder why that second workshop focuses only on WordPress. After all, Blogger (also known as Blogspot) is free too. Does it really make a difference which free blogging platform we use?

Years ago, I didn’t know enough about either platform to understand why my tech guy recommended WordPress. Since then, I’ve seen first hand why WordPress is better from a technical perspective:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO—that behind-the-scenes magic that determines where our site shows up in a Google search—is better on WordPress, especially with an SEO-friendly theme. (Yes, even though Google bought Blogger a while back.) WordPress blogs get more spam comments than Blogger blogs because they are so much easier to find, and if the spammers can find us, so can the real readers we want. *smile*

• Spam Comments

Lucky for us, WordPress comes with Akismet, which virtually eliminates the posting of spam comments. In contrast, most Blogger blogs are stuck with the universally hated Captchas to keep out spam comments. Gee, a Captcha that discourages people from commenting? Or a plugin that handles spam invisibly? Which sounds better?

• Comment Linking

Comments on WordPress blogs link back to whatever web address the commenter wants: their website, blog, or other social media profile. Comments on Blogger blogs usually link back to the commenters’ Blogger profiles. That extra step between their site and their comment gives people less incentive to leave comments.

I could probably think of several more technical reasons, but since I’ve never used Blogger, I didn’t know about the differences in usability. Maybe Blogger came with a magic wand that made all those issues irrelevant. *grin*

My friend Natalie C. Markey recently made the switch from Blogger to WordPress, so I’ve asked her to share her knowledge about how the two platforms are different. Please welcome Natalie!

*****

My Journey to WordPress

Why do you want a blog? For me, I wanted a casual and easy outlet to be able to reach potential readers and clients with bi-weekly or more posts. Being a working-from-home mom juggling multiple freelance contracts, publishing a non-fiction dog book line, and writing middle grade and young adult fiction, I needed my blog to be easy.

I looked into blog sites and chose to go with Blogger. Like WordPress, it was free, but something about it seemed less intimidating.

My first month of blogging I wanted to pull my hair out! I’m happy my daughter was not yet at that “impressionable age” because she would have been repeating some not too nice words from me. I struggled with formatting and no matter what I did, my blog seemed to take on a “cartooney” look. It looked like I spent little time on my Blogger account but in truth I spent hours working on it. Hours I should have been spending on actual writing.

I knew something had to change. Your website has four seconds to make an impression and I didn’t like the impression I was making.

I started looking at other blogs. Every blog site I liked was a WordPress site. Then one day I was on my personal Facebook page and saw a friend of mine include a link to her family blog in her status. I looked at it and oh my goodness it was a Blogger account!

The more I looked into it, I found that Blogger is often used for personal use when WordPress appears to be mostly businesses or professionals. Now, I thought WordPress seemed scary, but at this point I was willing to try anything that could give me back some of my writing time while giving me the professional image I wanted.

My switch to WordPress was easy. I quickly was won over by its ease and clean look. My days of fighting format issues were over. I finally found a professional, non-cartooney look that allowed me to blog without throwing my time away.

I delayed the switch for months because I thought it would be difficult to get my readers to follow my change. Let me tell you, switching helped my blogging experience in every way.

No matter which blog account you use, the number one thing about blogging is great content. Blogger and WordPress give you an avenue to express that content. From Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come.” It’s up to you to provide quality material for your readers but the blog site can help you in its presentation.

I find that WordPress is easier to work with and more appealing to the reader. In summary, I switched to WordPress for:

• More professional themes
• More user friendly
• It’s where my professional idols are at
• With ease, comes less of a time commitment
• No formatting issues

Blogging shouldn’t be hard. It’s like a relationship. It takes work but if you are constantly working really hard at it, then maybe you are not a good fit with your current situation. Don’t be afraid to change. Do your homework before diving in.

If you are reading this, then hopefully you have committed to taking one of Jami Gold’s website classes, which will walk you through creating a WordPress account. See how easy this can be? Where was this class when I needed it? Also, I highly recommend Kristen Lamb’s books, The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer.

Lots of things in this business are hard and then many of us add secondary jobs, kids and countless other obligations to the mix. Make your blog easy. Make it work for you.

*****

Natalie writes non-fiction and fiction. She is the author of Caring for Your Special Needs Dog by Cool Gus Publishing. Markey is a ten-year veteran freelance journalist and holds numerous International contracts including the popular “Mortal Instruments Examiner” column. She teaches busy writers and writing parents valuable time management techniques through WANA International.

Markey’s a proud Texan but lives in Saudi Arabia with her wonderfully supportive husband, lively two-year-old daughter, an eighty-pound dog and two rescue cottontail bunnies. Life is never dull in her “sandbox.” Follow her adventures at her blog and/or Twitter.

*****

Thank you, Natalie! I hadn’t thought about the “soft” differences between WordPress and Blogger before. Themes (the templates for how our blog looks) are important for not just technical reasons like SEO, but also for branding reasons. And while WordPress might seem more intimidating at first, some of those differences give us the ability to make things look the way we want.

As I mentioned last time, we all have to decide on our goals. Those who want a blog for personal reasons might be happy with a Blogger blog, as they don’t care about making a professional impression. But those who want a blog to build name recognition for their author names might be better off with a WordPress blog and integrated website pages. Know your goals and find the right blogging platform for you. *smile*

Registration is currently open for my two workshops designed for those with no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. Interested? Sign up for only one of the workshops: For a free website/blog: “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)”; or to set up a website/blog you own: “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website.” (Blog readers: Use Promo Code “jamisave” to save $5 on registration.)

If you’ve used both Blogger and WordPress, how do you think they compare? Do you have a different experience? What other technical or soft differences should we keep in mind when making our decision? Have you thought of switching blogging platforms? Do you have questions for Natalie? (Note: Natalie lives in Saudi Arabia so she might not get to questions right away, but please ask in the comments and check back tomorrow.)

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Switching from Blogger to WordPress — Guest: Natalie C. Markey

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Today I’m opening two workshops to help beginners set up websites and blogs. With that in mind, I want to go back to “step one” and review why authors might need a website and blog.

Years ago, authors could get away with pounding on their typewriter in seclusion and never interacting with the public. Now the expectations that go along with 24/7 connectivity mean we don’t get that choice. Our choice instead is: How much interaction do we want to have?

Do we want to keep it to a minimum, or do we want to build an online network? Do we just want to play with other writers and soak up the atmosphere? Or do we want to connect with others who can help our writing become a business that provides income?

As with many things, there’s no “one right answer” to how far we should emerge from our writing caves. The best choice for us will depend on our goals.

Are We Serious about Our Writing Career?

If we’re serious about our writing career, especially about making it a business, there’s one answer that’s close to a requirement. We at least need a website.

Yes, I’m making a statement and saying that as soon as we’re serious about becoming a career-focused writer, we should make two decisions:

• We should decide what name we’re going to use for our writing (so all our blog comments, social media accounts, etc. match with our author name).
• We should decide how we want to create an online presence (so our author name shows up in a Google search).

It’s okay if we each put that “I’m serious about writing” line somewhere different. Some of us will know we’re serious as soon as we obsess over a story idea. Some of us won’t know until much later.

But by the time we’ve completed a manuscript that we’re submitting to agents or editors, we should have an online presence and be Google-able. Of all the different ways to create a Google listing, only a website makes us Google-able and gives us an online home with minimal maintenance.

Whether we take that website one step further and add a blog depends on our goals once again. Either way, using our author name (pen name, if applicable) in the URL (the http://ourname.com web address) will help people find us.

Goal of a Website: Make Our Author Name Google-able

Being Google-able is one of the most important goals for writers who treat their career as a business. Published authors use a website to be Google-able so their readers can find more stories to read. Unpublished authors use a website to be Google-able to other writers—and to agents and editors.

Wait…Agents and editors might Google our name, even when we’re a “nobody” unpublished writer? Absolutely, especially once we’ve completed and started submitting a full manuscript. They might search on our name to see if we’re professional, understand the industry, or have other stories they find interesting.

Goal of a Blog: Make Our Author Name Show up in Related Searches

The main difference between a website and a blog is that a website has several “static” (rarely changing) pages and a blog has a single page with the most recent post on top. If we simply want to be Google-able in case someone searches for our author name, a website is enough. If we want potential readers to find us when they search for things related to us, a blog will show up in wider search results.

The best way to make our website—and thus our author name—show up higher in search results is to attach a blog to our website. Like the proverbial squeaky wheel, Google pays attention to sites that change more frequently, such as those updated with regular blog posts.

If You’re Going to Blog, Do It Right

Some writers want to blog for personal reasons, like an online journal. Personal blogs that aren’t about building up their author name can be run as the author sees fit (to a point). But if we blog to help spread our author name and/or improve our Google-ability, we have to learn which techniques will produce the best results.

For example, some authors have blogs on Blogger or another platform and a website somewhere else. That set-up doesn’t help their ranking in Google as it would if their website and blog were integrated.

The stand-alone blog’s traffic, no matter how high, won’t help the unrelated website rise in the search results. In many cases, visitors to the blog won’t know the author even has a website, so they won’t be tempted to click around and discover what the author has to offer. My website and blog are an example of how they can be connected, giving readers more to explore.

Another issue to watch out for is that a bad blog—unused/abandoned or unprofessional—can be worse than no blog. Google likes seeing regular updates (new blog posts), and agents and editors like seeing a writer who won’t be difficult to work with.

So if someone with no experience decides they want a website and blog, where do they start?

No Experience with Websites or Blogs? No Problem

Last summer I presented the workshop “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)” at the National Conference of Romance Writers of America. At the request of Kristen Lamb, I’m bringing that workshop, along with a twin workshop, “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website,” to WANA International for two separate live webinars.

These two workshops are designed for people who have no knowledge of WordPress, websites, or blogs. People should sign up for only one of the workshops:

• Those who want to “test this website stuff out” with a free website and blog can learn everything they need to know to get started with my “Develop a Free Author Website in 60 Minutes (or Less!)“ workshop.
• Those ready to invest in a website and blog they’ll own can learn everything they need to get started with my “A Newbie’s Guide to Building a Self-Hosted Blog or Website“ workshop.

Readers of my blog can get $5 off by using the promo code: Jamisave. (*psst* My newsletter subscribers will receive a special code for twice the savings.)

In future posts, I’ll share more information to help the undecideds figure out whether they want to take the path of a free website or a paid website. As I said at the top of the post, it all depends on your goals. *grin*

Those of us online tend to forget that a huge percentage of writers aren’t online. Many local writing groups are filled with writers who don’t have a clue. People who attended my workshop at RWA last summer thanked me for making the information clear and non-intimidating. With your assistance in spreading the word, I hope to help more writers embrace their online potential. Thank you!

Do you have a website or blog? If you have one and not the other, what made you decide on that approach? What goals do you have for being online? Are your website and blog connected? Do you know writers who would benefit from a beginner’s level workshop like this?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Do Authors Need a Website and Blog?

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.

Whatever genre we write, we often have to write scenes that make us uncomfortable. High on that discomfort scale for many authors are romantic scenes between characters.

Whether we write romance or another genre with love interests, or whether the characters merely kiss or have sex with the door open to the reader, many of us must find a way to overcome our embarrassment or squeamishness to write the necessary words. And let’s not even think about others reading those words.

The stereotypes some people have about romance authors can lead to the assumption that writing sex scenes must be easy for us. However, the truth is often very different. I’ll share a secret with you: I never expected I’d become a romance writer.

I didn’t have a “sex positive” history, so when I first started down this writing path, I didn’t think I’d ever write one of those scenes. I didn’t think I could. I probably even stated oh-so-knowingly that if my characters made love, I’d “close the door” and not share details.

My muse laughed.

To me, love is the most powerful force in the world, so every story I’ve written includes a romance of some kind. (Even the Harry Potter fan fiction I wrote years ago had strong romantic elements.) But the first couple of stories I wrote were of the “romantic elements” variety, so a few kisses were enough. Imagine me thinking: *whew* I can do this.

My muse laughed harder.

Then I started getting ideas for paranormal romance stories. Okay, I could still “close the door,” right? Wrong.

I’m a firm believer in listening to my characters as I write. And the honest fact is that the first time we’re intimate with someone, we often feel lots of emotions—some good, some bad, and some a mix of we-don’t-even-know.

Emotions are the essence of our storytelling. Emotional turning points drive the characters from one plot event to the next. The bigger the turning point, the deeper the scene triggering that turning point needs to be.

So “closing the door”—pretending that no realizations about about love or lust or trust happen during the characters’ first intimate encounter—felt like a cheat to my characters, my story, and my readers. That meant I had to learn how to write those scenes or end up with a blank page. *smile*

5 Tips for Overcoming the Dread of Writing Sexy Scenes

• Treat the Scene like Any Other Scene

Just as with any other type of scene, know why this scene exists. What changes? What are the turning points? What’s being revealed about the plot or characters? The scene must contain goals, motivations, and conflicts.

If we throw in a sexy scene that doesn’t need to be there—it has no purpose for the overall story or character arc—it will feel gratuitious. Our subconscious can pick up on that and dread writing the scene even more than usual.

That’s why my stories have different “heat” levels. Some stories have only kissing and some go further than I would be comfortable with if I were in my character’s place. I go where the story needs me to go, but no further. Trying to force an unnecessary sex scene isn’t any less of a cheat than trying to ignore the turning points that should happen between the characters.

Ensuring the scene needs to be there can also help reduce the embarrassment we feel when others read our words. We can be less defensive or feel less need to justify the scene if its purpose is self-evident.

• Read Romance Stories at a Heat Level Equal to What We Need to Write

For me, reading romance pushed me past the shyness inherent in my embarrassment. The romance genre focuses on showing positive relationships, so romance stories help us see that there’s nothing wrong with those desires and emotions, that they are, in fact, healthy.

Reading stories at the heat level of what we need to write (to do justice to the story and the characters) demonstrates how it can be done. We learn what words to use—and which ones not to use. We also learn the appropriate balance of physical, emotional, and mental description.

What are heat levels? All About Romance (AAR) has great descriptions of the different heat levels of romance (including example authors and publisher imprints at each level):

• Kisses only
• Subtle (closed door or allusions)
• Warm (open doors, sensual, some physical descriptions)
• Hot (very sensual, explicit descriptions of desire, graphic physical descriptions)
• Burning (explicit everything, strong focus on sexual feelings and desires, may include kink)

The first two categories are often called “Sweet” romances. Mainstream romance ranges from AAR’s Subtle to Hot (and includes some Burning, depending on the focus of sex versus romance and the type of kink). Erotic romance is AAR’s Burning. (Note: Erotica is a separate genre, as it doesn’t focus on the romance or the happy ending.)

• Read Romance Stories One Heat Level beyond What We Need to Write

Desensitization is a real psychological phenomena, and here we can use it for our benefit. If we read one heat level beyond what we need to write, suddenly the details and descriptions we need to use won’t seem as bad. *grin*

• Use the Opposite Gender’s Point of View to Distance Ourselves

Sometimes what’s holding us back from being able to comfortably explore our characters’ lives is that we’re inserting ourselves and our own experiences into the story too much. We’re uncomfortable and therefore we think they should be uncomfortable. That disconnect can make it near-impossible to write the scene.

I wrote my first sex scene from the hero’s perspective. That opposite gender point-of-view (POV) created distance between my experiences and the story. I was able to listen to my hero’s thoughts and feelings without interjecting what I thought they should be.

If we take this opposite POV approach the first time we need to write beyond our comfort level, we might be able to break through those barriers more easily. We don’t have to leave the scene in that POV or even keep it at all, but if nothing else, the scene can be a valuable writing exercise.

• Avoid External Distractions

Getting into the right frame of mind can be hard for the most straightforward of scenes, much less for sexy scenes. Kids arguing behind us, family reading over our shoulder, bills sitting on our desk, and us, sitting there in our less-than-sexy writing clothes, can all add up to making it difficult to get “in the mood.”

Some authors set a better mood by lighting candles or listening to sexy music. Some wait until the family has gone to bed. Some take the laptop out to the car for privacy.

With practice, we can gain familiarity and confidence in our ability to write what our characters and the story demands. I now don’t mind writing sexy scenes at all, whether they’re at the kisses-only level or the hot-to-burning level. If the scene is needed, I can write it.

However we work past our dread, we essentially have to do the same thing we do for every scene: get into our characters’ heads. If we can do that in a mental environment that feels “safe,” we’ll have better luck getting those sexy-times emotions down on the page. And if we’re feeling our character’s emotions, so will our readers, and that’s the real goal of any scene. *smile*

(Special thanks to a commenter (who’ll go unnamed due to the subject matter) for triggering the idea for this post.)

Do you struggle with writing sexy scenes? Has your comfort level changed over time? Have you tried any of these tips before? What methods work for you? Do you have other tips to share?

Have something to say? To comment or check out this post online, click on the link: Dread Writing Sexy Scenes? 5 Tips for Success

Tweet This

Share on Facebook

©2013 Jami Gold, Paranormal Author. All Rights Reserved.