BY ADAM COPLAND

I recently had my indie published novel, Midnight in Silverton: American Gothic, turned into an audiobook using ACX. The idea being, of course, that converting your work into an audiobook is part of an overall strategy to promote the book: The more formats you have for potential readers (paperback, eBook, audiobook, puppet show, etc), the better off you are.
 
With ACX, I opted for royalty share with my narrator who did a fantastic job, truly bringing my humble book to a new level. And theoretically, your narrator should be promoting just as much as you are.
 
Once completed it was time to promote it, drawing as much attention to it, as well as my other works and myself as an author in the process.
 
ACX offers several helpful features to help promote. These include free promotion codes for the US and UK which you can hand out to friends, family, and promotion sites (more on that below). You also get a link (with QR code) that links directly to the book on the Audible website. When first time Audible users sign up through the link, you get a “bounty” which you share with your narrator, which is in the neighborhood of $50.
 
So, with my limited time and resources, here is a quick rundown of my activities when I was ready to promote:
 

• Prior to the release of the audiobook, I mentioned its imminent arrival during a podcast interview.
• Once I had the QR code and link in hand, I shared it on all my social media outlets which included my personal Facebook page, my author Facebook page, NIWA Friends & Fans Facebook page, NIWA Members Only Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
• I directly emailed individuals I knew would be interested or had been waiting for the audiobook to be ready.
• I followed up the general announcement with two short videos made from Wavve (https://app.wavve.co) that featured a still image of the book cover or interior art overlayed with a wave form that moved with sound clips from the audiobook. Subtitles accompanied the images, making it possible for people watching them on their phone to see the narration even when their phone was on silent.
• After eager friends and family and other well-wishers had obtained their audiobooks, I made another announcement incentivizing with free promo codes and asking people to contact me directly for the codes.
• By now, a handful of sales had occurred, and I received praise from those whom I knew personally who had listened to it.
• I paid audiobookreviewer.com $35 (and a free promo code) for an expedited review.
• I paid audiobookwormpromotions.com $125 for an advertisement on their site (which resulted in the single largest bump in sales…but still only about 10 downloads).
• 8/8/22: I paid freeaudiobookcodes.com $12 to post half of my remaining free promo codes. Within a week they were all grabbed up (about 30).
• 8/9/22: Two 5-star reviews appeared, one comparing me to James Joyce, another to Edgar Alan Poe. I made graphics of the quotes and shared the heck out of them on social media.
• 8/9/22: I inquired about advertising with audiobookradio.net. I got an almost instant response from their contact form asking for a five-minute audio sample clip. I sent it.
• Reached out to other audiobook promotions sites, but either they did not respond, or they wanted waaaay too much money.
• I read and watched the free material ACX has on their audio community for suggestions to promote.
• 8/31/22: I paid onlinebookclub.org $148 for a review (which normally has a three-month turnaround time).
• I tried to upload one of my Wavve videos to my Amazon product page, as that is an option, but for some reason I couldn’t get it to happen. Contacted Amazon, but they never responded. I’ve actually forgotten about it until recently.
• 9/9/22: London-based audiobookradio.net finally got back to me. They asked, rather than advertising, would I be willing to be interviewed, donating to their nonprofit in lieu of paying an advertising fee? After perusing their website (which is very extensive and reminded me of NPR) I was happy to agree. I paid $150.
• 10/14/22: After several hiccups and technical issues, I had an hour long Zoom interview with audiobookradio.net. Half the time was devoted to discussion about me and my writing craft, and the other half featured sample clips of my audiobook. It’s scheduled to air the following month. About this time, my 17th audiobook sold (yes, that is how few books my efforts so far had gotten me).
• 10/22/22: Review from onlinebookclub.org drops with a 4/4 rating. Their process has this cool feature where the reviewer (a volunteer member of the site) is required to provide you with detailed notes proving that they listened to the story. My reviewer had a lot of positive things to say and latched onto plot-points that most readers had missed. She also provided three grammatical and spelling errors which had escaped everyone. I’ve since gone back and fixed them. I also made a graphic of key quotes from her review and shared on social media. Views of my review on onlinebookclub.org’s site reach 84 when I first visit it.
• 10/28/22: Another audiobook sells, my 18th to date. 
• 10/30/22: 215 views of my review on onlinebookclub.org.
• I get confirmation as to when my audiobookradio interview will air. It will broadcast just like a radio show, so the opportunity to listen to it is limited. I do my best to communicate this to my community with a graphic with all the pertinent air times (three times over a 24-hour period).
• 11/11/22: The interview with audiobookradio.net airs.
• I’m told the interview will air again in another week. I make another graphic to promote, this time with Wavve to include an audio clip of the first interview.
• 11/17/22: Audiobookradio interview airs a second time.
• 11/20/22: Oddly, all sales across all formats drop to near zero.
• 11/30/22: Audible, the host website for my audiobook, starts to promote my book on their own along with other similar genre books. I frequently see it in ads while on Facebook and Instagram.
• 12/3/22: Views of my review on onlinebookclub.org reach 305.
• 1/28/23: Sales across all formats (and all titles, not just Midnight), and KENP read, have been zero for two solid months.

 
You can imagine my frustration. I just had the most successful run of promotions ever and the exact opposite happens. I went from some sales prior to my promotions, to a few more, to none. In six months, I’ve sold 18 audiobooks, received three positive reviews (all of them high ranking), received no bounty payouts, and only 11 promo codes have been used (apparently, all those people at freeaudiobookcodes.com like to collect codes, but not use them).
 
Now, Midnight in Silverton: American Gothic may not be the best story in the whole-wide-world, but it’s by no means terrible. I’m a decent writer, who wrote a decent story that has a quality, eye-grabbing cover that promises the adventures of a modern-day pulp thriller. If nothing else, the few reviews and comments from this process actually back this up.
 
So, I don’t know what the deal is. Naturally, I can always do better promoting. But given what I have done? Zero? Really?
 
I’d like to think my experience is the exception, not the rule, so don’t let it dissuade you from your own promotions. Many of the sites and tools I used are valid and worth using. I especially have high praise for Wavve, which is particularly useful if you’re a podcaster.
​
Best of luck to you. You certainly can’t do any worse than me, so there’s that.

Video Promotions

Review Bubbles

As an author, at some time or another you may be called on to do an interview. For many it's a heart-stopping prospect but it doesn't have to be. There are some things you can do ahead of time that will help make it enjoyable.

The following are a few practical tips on how to give a great interview.

1) Accept that it's going to be all about YOU.
Many of us are uncomfortable being in the spotlight. We would much rather be in front of a computer, lost in our creative world. However, part of marketing your new novel is putting yourself out there, in front of people, be it at an event booth or doing an interview. Remember, even famous people and authors have to do this. You are in good company.

Something to keep in mind: people will buy your book if they can make a personal connection with YOU first. Be yourself. They aren't looking for some spectacular superhero, they are looking for a real person. So, take a deep breath and relax. 

2) Practice speaking out loud.
Why is this important? Many people hate the way they sound in a recording because they don't sound the way they hear themselves speaking. Therefore, they tend to turn down the volume on their voice. Additionally, when we are nervous, our voice tends to go up an octave and our breathing becomes shallow. Practice taking deep breaths, sit up straight (don't slouch), and practice answering questions out loud. If possible, have someone practice with you by asking you random questions.

3) Avoid one-word answers.
This is important even if you are asked a yes or no question. You can always add an explanation. 

4) That brings us to the next tip: Don't be long-winded.
It's okay to ask your interviewer for a list the questions before hand, the worst they can do is say no. If they give you the list, use it to prepare a brief 30 second to 1 minute response to each question. Practice answering these out loud, so you sound natural and not stiff. Remember, you want the audience to buy your book, so don't give the story away.

5) Don't be afraid to let your personality come through. 
Relax, relax, relax. If something is funny, laugh. Make eye contact with your interviewer from time to time. If there is an audience present, look at them, too. Don't be tied to notes or a script. 

Generally, you only have a few minutes to let people know who you are and what your book is about. With preparation ahead of time, you can have a successful interview. 

As indie authors, we all strive to make our writing appear and sound professional. In today’s world there are many words and phrases that have become accepted and may even have found their way into the dictionary; however, their use in print will scream amateur to an avid reader. Therefore, we want to avoid them and make sure we use the proper word(s) and phrase(s).
 
Here are a few examples:
 
1) “Irregardless” vs “regardless”
          This is a case of a mispronounced form of a word being added to the dictionary and though
            it may be generally accepted, a professional editor will call you out each time you use it.

          Why?

          Because the prefix “ir” means not. The word “regardless” means having or showing no regard
          for someone or something. When you put the two together you form a double negative, and
          as in arithmetic two negatives equal a positive. So, in essence when you say “irregardless”
          you are saying you are “not showing no regard,” so you are showing regard.

          Avoid this mistake and use the proper word “regardless,” regardless of what other people say.

2) “Anyways” vs “anyway”
         Here is one that came up in my email today. The email was an ad trying to get me to use this
         person's editing service. Half way through her spiel she typed, "Anyways, . . ."  I stopped
          reading and hit the delete button.  
          "Anyways" is another example of a misspoken word being added to the dictionary out of
          popular use verses correctness.
​
          “Anyway” is the proper word and has the meaning of be that as it may, nevertheless, and however.
          There is no plural form for this word.
          For your manuscript to come off as professional, drop the “s” and use “anyway.”
 
3) “Towards” vs “toward”
          While still on the subject, I cannot let this one pass without mentioning it. I know, I have
           been told to lighten up on this one but the little English teacher in my head won’t let me.
          In the same vein as “anyways,” “towards” has found its way not only into conversations
           but also onto the printed page. Does that mean it is proper?
          ​My little English teacher is screaming emphatically, NO!
          Toward means in the direction of. For example: you run toward something.
           There is no plural form of the word
          ​“toward” or its meaning.
          A professional editor should call you out every time you pluralize the word toward.
 
4) “Should of” vs “should have”
          Here’s one I’ve seen recently. This mistake is born from the contraction should’ve.
           When spoken, “should’ve” sounds a lot like “should of.” Don’t let the wrong phrase
           end up in your manuscript or it will scream amateur.
 
5) “I could care less” vs “I couldn’t care less”
          Here’s an expression people stumble over every day.
          The expression “I could care less” conveys the meaning that I actually care to some
            extent. Whereas,
          “I couldn’t care less” means emphatically, I don’t care at all.
          Be sure to use the proper phrase with the meaning you are trying to express. Otherwise,
          you will be saying the opposite.
  
6) “Amused” vs “bemused”
          This one may arise in fantasy writing because some may mistakenly think “bemused”
           is just a medieval
          form of “amused.” The truth is these two words have completely different meanings. 
          Amused means you are enjoying something.
          Bemused means you are bewildered or confused.
          So, don’t be bemused when it comes to using amused.
  
7) “Try and” vs “try to”
          I’m sure we’ve all heard someone say “try and stop me...” or something similar.
           What they are really wanting to say is “try to stop me”.
          When you “try to” do something, it means you are actively working toward whatever
          ​you’re doing. 
          Whereas, if you “try and” do..., it means you are trying on top of doing something else.
          ​To appear professional, “try to” use to the proper phrase.

I know there are many other words and phrases that will pop into your head. Please feel free to add yours in the comments. 

Are you are thinking about having an audio book made of your novel? There are some things you need to know. Unless you are famous, your sales will be scanty. Audio books, while they are fun, are not a huge money maker.

So, still interested?

Before you begin, you need to ask yourself, what do I want? Are you looking for a physical CD of your book that you can sell at events? Or will a digital version satisfy your needs? How much are you able to spend on this project? Narrators can charge anywhere from $30-$145 per hour or more to record your book.

If a digital version works for you, there are two sites you might want to check out:

Audible (ACX.com)

This site produces a digital-only version of your book. You will not get a CD and nor can you download the files to create your own.

The pluses for Audible are:

1. For the budget conscious person, Audible offers a royalty share option*. The narrator and the author split the royalty. *This option locks you into a 7-year contract agreement with Audible.
2. Audible has a wide variety of narrators from which to choose.
3. Audible posts the finished product on Amazon.com and Audible.com.

Another site that produces digital versions of your book is:
Find A Way Voices (findawayvoices.com)

This site produces a digital-only version of your book.

The pluses for Find A Way are:

1. For the budget conscious person, they offer a Voices Share option. The narrator cuts their fee in half and takes 20% of the author royalty in exchange. So, as an example: if it was going to cost $1000 to record your 50k word novel, it would cost $500 upfront.
2. There are a number of narrators from which to choose.
3. Your audio book will be posted on 40+ websites.

 
Aside from these two options, there is also the DIY option. You can hire a narrator to make a digital copy of your book. Then you can produce a CD yourself, and distribute digital versions across the internet via findaway.com.

You can find freelance narrators at: upwork.com. Their hourly rates can vary from $30 per hour on up to over $145 per hour. But once your book is finished, you own your book's recording.

With all of these options, YOU will still need to market your product via social media, your website, newsletters, mailers, podcasts, etc. Your success will depend a lot on you and the time you invest.

Why is it important?
 
For the indie author of any genre, an author bio is crucial. Readers want to connect with the author, and in today’s world, your bio is the one way they can do that. Just as the blurb is your book’s first impression, your bio is your introduction to the potential reader. However, in order to make the right impression, you need to know what makes up a memorable bio.
 
In researching this topic, I have complied the following information. However, before you begin, here are a few tips:

• Keep it short and concise.  Your bio should be under 300 words. People want a glimpse of who you are.
• Professional bios are written in 3rd person. A true sign of an amateur is to write your bio in 1st person.
• Keep your bio updated.

 
 
What, then, are the components of a memorable bio?
 
I will list four.
 
1) Begin with a byline.  This is a one-sentence summary of you.
 
            for example: John Smith is a retired English professor and author of. . .
                               
 
2) Next you need to state the theme of your work. Simply put, tell people what you write about: fiction/non-fiction, sci-fi, fantasy, murder mysteries etc. Also mention your area of expertise and if you have published other works.
 
            for example: As a retired medical examiner, John has seen and is keenly aware of the various
                                 causes of death and he uses this knowledge to add realism to his debut thriller, 
                                 The Graveyard Shift.
 
 
3) You can also mention your credentials and awards, but a word of caution, readers don’t want to read a list of every diploma or award you have received. Mention only those things that are directly related to the book in hand. If your book is sci-fi, there’s no need to mention your award for romance novels. Keep it relevant.
 
            for example: John is a decorated Vietnam Vet and has lived and breathed the same air as his
                                 characters.
                                 or:    Mary, winner of the Newberry Award for Young Adult Fiction, is . . .
             
 
You may also want to include accolades from a famous personality that are pertinent to the genre of your book.  
 
4) Finally, give your bio a personal touch. Readers who feel a connection with YOU are more apt to buy your book, so mention a personal tidbit about yourself.  But remember, it’s not necessary to go into a detailed autobiography. A first-time reader glancing at your bio doesn’t want to hear about your first pet or a list of authors who inspired you to start writing. Give them glimpses of who you are that are applicable to your book.
 
            for example: If your book is a young reader novel set in a boarding school you could say:
                                 John spent his teenage years in a boarding school and is keenly aware of the
                                 struggles of living away from home for the first time.
  
 
Or you could give them a glimpse of your life subtly in your byline.
 
            for example: John, a psychologist, works from his home in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens in
                                 Washington State.
 
The main thing to remember is to let your personality show through.
 
 
Finally, what do you do with your bio once it’s written?
 
Your bio is a marketing tool.

• Add it to your website, in the back of your books under “About the Author,” and on your Amazon author page, to name a few.
• If your book is part of a series, use your bio to encourage readers to buy the other books in the series.
• Advertise your website – for example: For more about John Smith and his thrilling books, visit his website: johnsmith.com.
• Encourage readers to leave reviews – if you enjoyed this book, let the author know by leaving a review.

 
In conclusion, your author bio is extremely important. Give it the attention and thoughtful care it deserves. Your memorable bio could make the difference in your book becoming your next best seller.  

Submitted by James M. McCracken, current President of NIWA and author of the five book, young reader series, A Charlie MacCready Mystery, available at Amazon.com and on my website,
jamesmmccracken.com.

Although I was married for many years, I'm not sure my mother ever believed I actually had sex. In fact, I had to wait until after she died to write bedroom scenes. Which brings me to a truth about fiction authors: we often grapple with subjects that are usually kept secret.
 
A novelist has to be capable of diving deep within her characters if they are to be more than stick figures. This means telling it like it is. Maybe the protagonist is a nymphomaniac. Maybe she is a terrorist. Maybe he has incredibly bad flossing habits.
 
Of course, some unknown buttinsky came along and perpetrated the belief that you should only write what you know. Consequently, a certain amount of readers think if you write it, you've also done it. You've committed a murder or burgled a bank or omitted shaving your legs. This is nonsense: just because the character carries out a startling act, doesn't mean the author has done the same.
 
Nonetheless, it is true that a fiction writer needs to tackle the tough stuff. Some can do it through keeping a journal or writing a diary where they reveal their deepest and darkest. I learned to do it by blogging. Dozens of people were reading my words, and I had to make those words worth sharing if I wanted them to matter to anyone, most especially myself.
 
So, I blogged about sex. And fear of fatness. And being a widow. And bankruptcy. And cancer. Personal stuff like that. I got better at it with practice. Writing about things that hurt became a way to heal the wounds.
 
Then the epiphany happened. If I could do it for myself, surely, I could make up characters who could do it for others! I'd learned to let loose and share my feelings all the way to the bottom of the well. It was time to create fictional protagonists who could help real readers through the murky days of their own journeys.
 
It has taken time to develop the ability not to flinch. But over the years, I have written scenes about the desolation of missing persons, the fury of rape, terror of abuse, grief of a nursing home, rejection by your family. All my novels are about keeping hope through dark times, and doing it with a certain amount of humor intact.
 
Along the way, I have learned something from my fiction that has been rather startling in my real life: letting go feels great!
 
We all keep too many secrets, I think, weighing ourselves down with needless baggage, being dishonest with ourselves. Turns out candor is not such a bad thing. Imagine learning such a life lesson from writing stories that aren't even true! 
_________________________________________________________________________________________

​Linda B. Myers is a founding member of Olympic Peninsula Authors and author of the new historical novel Fog Coast Runaway, available on Amazon.com, at lindabmyers.com, or at local retailers. Contact her at [email protected]  

If we are writing fiction, we need to be able to think critically and see a character’s thought processes from all sides. If we have tunnel vision in our writing, we only write what is directly in front of us.
 
This makes our narrative one dimensional, boring. There is no surprise at the end because we saw it coming all along, and no effort was made to counter it.
 
So how do we take that one-dimensional idea and make the reader believe we have (figuratively) plucked them from their comfortable existence and placed them in a real, three-dimensional world?
 
We do it layer by layer. Some layers are more abstract than others, but they add so much to a story.
 
Take the unexpected.
 
When you add something unexpected into the mix, the reader becomes interested in finding out more. They keep turning the pages.
 
One way to introduce the unexpected is to employ a literary device called Dramatic Irony. Employed deftly, irony inserted into the ordinary adds the element of surprise and a moment of “ah-hah!” to a scene. The ordinary becomes extraordinary.
 
Let’s consider Romeo and Juliet. When we examine the way William Shakespeare wrote the play, we see layer after layer of irony, applied heavily.
 
First, the prologue announces that the Capulets are at war with the Montagues and tells us that what happens to the star-crossed lovers at the end will bring about peace between the warring families. That the audience is aware of the situation from the outset, but the characters are not is one layer of irony. That “we know, but you don’t” factor was extraordinarily daring in its day and was one of the things Elizabethans loved most about the play.
 
Now, the next layer is one that resonates with modern audiences: The second layer of irony is laid on when Romeo falls in love with his nemesis—the daughter of his family’s arch-enemy.
 
Again, the audience sees the irony there, but (third layer) Romeo pushes onward, trying to convince Juliet that her family won’t harm him, that her love will protect him.
 
Alas, the ironic blindness of teenaged infatuation.
 
And at this point, despite the blatant warning, the prologue gives us at the outset, we are still hoping for a happy ending, even though we’ve had 400 years of “we know how this will end, and it isn’t good.”
 
Mercutio and Benvolio discuss Romeo’s love-stricken behavior, assuming he is still pining for Rosalind (fourth layer of irony). The audience says, “We know something you don’t!”
 
Alas poor Romeo! he is already dead;
stabbed with a white wench’s black eye;
shot through the ear with a love-song;
 
“Shot through the ear with a love-song” is brilliant, ironic prose in any era.
 
All through the play, from Tybalt’s murder to the suicides, the audience knows what is going on, but the characters don’t. That is dramatic irony taken to an extreme and was a contributing factor in the play’s success back in 1594-1595 when it first opened.
 
But tastes have changed over the 400+ years since that play was written.
 
I would suggest that nowadays it’s a bad idea to write a prologue explaining the end of the book. That’s the sort of thing that will encourage readers to put the book back on the shelf and purchase one where the outcome is more of a mystery.
 
But we can still inject irony into our work without being quite so heavy-handed in our writing.
 
Perhaps we open the story with a scene involving a committee’s conversation about what to do with a plot of land. Should they let it be developed commercially or make it a playground?
 
In itself, the topic might not be terribly interesting to the reader. However, if we add the fact that the meeting is closed to the public despite the fact that emotions are running high about the outcome, we imply that something shady may be going on. In that scene, we have many opportunities to inject irony in small ways, by committee member names and blatantly ignorant comments they naively (or arrogantly) make.
 
But what happens if, in the opening paragraph, a woman enters the empty conference room ahead of the meeting and places a backpack under the table? The reader watches as she makes an adjustment to its contents, sets the timer to go off at 14:25 (2:25 pm), and then leaves, being careful to leave no fingerprints.
 
Now every second that the conversation drags on ratchets up the tension. Each time a committee member gets up to get a glass of water, or make a phone call, and the clock on the wall ticks toward 2:25, you wonder: will they be the one to escape death?
 
Irony should be a metaphorical backpack lurking under the table, waiting to surprise the reader.
 
Irony, as an undercurrent, is done exceptionally well in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury uses irony to convey information.
 
Bradbury challenges us by introducing “firemen” not as those brave people who put out house fires, but as men charged with starting fires and burning all books. The naming of that job title is subtle. The author never resorts to explaining the irony, but it packs a punch when you first read it.
 
So, in the case of that book, we have “situational irony” delivering information we need, in a way that packs a wallop and promises more to come.
 
In the 1948 short story, The Lottery, Shirley Jackson wrote about something we typically think of as good. After all, winning the lottery usually means we’ve won money or a wonderful prize. But in Jackson’s story, it’s not about what is won, but what is lost. The irony is that stoning someone to death yearly purges the town of the bad and makes way for the good. ‘Winning’ is not something you want to do in that town.
 
Dramatic irony adds depth to a story. It works best when done in such a way that the reader understands it but hasn’t been told what to think. Readers like to think for themselves.
 
“Depth” consists of a multitude of layers we add to a scene. When we talk about adding depth to a scene, we are talking about many things.
 
Dramatic Irony is a tool we can use to good effect if we are mindful of how we apply it.
 
                                                          >>><<<                       >>><<<                       >>><<<
 
Credits and Attributions:
 
Connie J. Jasperson is a published poet and the author of nine fantasy novels. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies. A founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group, she can be found blogging regularly on both the craft of writing and art history at Life in the Realm of Fantasy.
 
Quote from Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare, 1594 - 1595 PD|100.
Portions of this post previously appeared on 26 June 2019 on Life in the Realm of Fantasy, in the article Dramatic Irony: Adding Depth, Connie J. Jasperson, copyright 2019, all rights reserved.

The revision process involves a close examination of many different aspects of the story. One that must be consistently portrayed is point of view.
 
Point of view doesn’t have to be solely that of one character, but it should only be shown from one character at a time.
 
Each of the major players has a story and a point of view. Some authors use the aftermath of an action scene as an opportunity to advance the antagonist’s story line. That is a good strategy, as we need to show why the enemy is the enemy.
 
Transitions and point of view are crucial to the story. A well-paced narrative has a kind of rhythm.
 

• processing the action,
• action again,
• another connecting/regrouping scene

 
The regrouping scenes are transitions, places where we move the plot forward through conversation or introspection. This allows the reader to process what just happened through one of the characters’ eyes, or their point of view.
 
We justify the events that just occurred, making them believable. Transitions are also opportunities to ratchet up the tension.
 
But these are also places where it is easy to accidentally shift to a  different point of view character, so the revision process involves paying attention to who is talking and giving them the entire scene.
 
One kind of transition is introspection:
 

• Introspection offers an opportunity for new information important to the story to emerge.
• It opens a window for the reader to see who the characters are and that they are self-aware.

 
Keep the scenes of introspection brief and go easy on them if you are given to using italics to set them off. A wall of italics is hard to read, so don’t “think” too much if you are using those.
 

• Characters’ thoughts must serve to illuminate their motives at a particular moment in time.
• In a conversation between two characters, introspection must offer information not previously discussed.
• Internal monologues should not make our characters too wise. Humanize them, show them as a bit clueless about their flaws, strengths, or even their deepest fears and goals.

 
Conversations: Each character must speak uniquely, sounding like themselves. Don’t dump conversations into a blender and pour out a string of commentary that makes them all sound alike.
 
I also suggest you don’t get fancy with speech tags/attributions. It’s best for me as a reader when the author avoids words that take me out of the narrative. Some words are eye-stoppers. I recommend you stick with said, replied, answered—common and ordinary tags that don’t leap out at the reader like ejaculated, disgorged, spewed, and so on.
 
Occasionally, you can get away with more forceful tags, but keep them to a minimum. You can also do away with speech tags for brief exchanges if the scene contains only two characters.
 
Make the characters' actions and words show the force of their emotions, rather than relying on exclamation points to convey excitement. Keep the overuse of exclamation points down so the dialogue doesn’t become breathless.
 
Fade-to-black and hard scene breaks: I’m in two minds about using fade-to-black scene breaks as transitions. Why not just start a new chapter?
 
One of my favorite authors sometimes has chapters of only five or six-hundred words, which keeps each character thread truly separate and flows well.
 
In a short story, a hard scene break is sometimes required, as you don’t have the option to do chapters. Editors with open calls will often ask that you insert an asterisk or hashtag between scenes.
 
We want to create a sense of intimacy, of being in the character’s head. One way to do that is to use stream of consciousness, a narrative mode that offers a first-person perspective by showing the thought processes of the narrative character, along with their actions and conversations.
 
This device incorporates interior monologues and inner desires or motivations, as well as pieces of incomplete thoughts that are expressed to the audience but not necessarily to other characters. Consider this passage from James Joyce’s Ulysses, as Bloom attends a funeral for an acquaintance and is unable to avoid the painful memory of his son’s death.
 
The carriage climbed more slowly the hill of Rutland square. Rattle his bones. Over the stones. Only a pauper. Nobody owns.
 
In this narrative mode, we see the POV character’s rambling thoughts, as well as witness their conversations and actions. This is a difficult device to do well, and the only time I have used it was in a writing class.
 
Many authors employ the first-person point of view to convey intimacy. With the first-person point of view, a story is revealed through the thoughts and actions of the protagonist within his or her own story.
 
And then I was alone in the dark silence of the empty street, with the rising mist as my only companion.
 
I have used first-person point of view mostly in short stories and find it easy to write.
 
However, I write my longer work in an omniscient voice. The story is told from an outside, overarching point of view. The narrator sees and knows everything that happens within the world of the story, including what each of the characters is thinking and feeling.
 
A way to convey intimacy when writing in third person omniscient is to use the third-person subjective. This mode is also referred to as close 3rd person.
 
I like this mode and frequently use it. At its narrowest and most subjective, the story reads as though the viewpoint character were narrating it. This is comparable to the first person in that it allows an in-depth revelation of the protagonist's personality but differs as it always uses third-person grammar.
 
It is easy for me as a reader to form a deep attachment to the protagonist when a story is written in this mode. This is also a good way to avoid the first draft curse known as “head hopping.”
 
When an author switches point of view characters within a single scene or even a paragraph, you have head hopping. First, you’re in her head, then you’re in his head—it becomes difficult to follow who thought what.
 
Head-hopping occurs in the first draft because the thoughts of every character are clear to the author, who writes them as she “hears” them.
 
For the reader, it’s like watching a “he thought, she thought” tennis match.  It is critical from a reader’s perspective that authors avoid head-hopping. The best way to do that is to begin a new chapter each time you change the point-of-view character.
 
And as a note, head-hopping happens most frequently when using a third-person omniscient narrative—the god-like narrator who sees all and knows all.
 
In the revision process, we want to have smooth transitions between scenes. We work to ensure consistency in our narrative mode, especially in regard to point of view. Making good revisions is a challenging project and can take longer to complete than writing the first draft did.
 
But the reward is well worth the effort.
 
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Credits and Attributions:
 
Connie J. Jasperson is a published poet and the author of nine fantasy novels. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies. A founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group, she can be found blogging regularly on both the craft of writing and art history at Life in the Realm of Fantasy.
Wikipedia contributors, "Narration," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narration&oldid=777375141 (accessed Dec. 30, 2019).
Quote from Ulysses, by James Joyce, published 1922 by Sylvia Beach
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In our last post, Making Effective Revisions: Timid Phrasing (Series, Post 2), we discussed why words must be carefully chosen to have their greatest effect. If you are writing a first draft, this post contains good information, but get that story written before you begin fine-tuning it. I strongly suggest you don’t agonize over word choices until you are in the revision process.
 
In the English language, words that begin with hard consonants sound tougher and therefore carry more power.
 
Verbs are power/action words. How we use them makes our work active and immediate, or passive and makes the reader an observer rather than a participant.
 

• Placement of verbs in the sentence
  1. Moving the verbs to the beginning of the sentence makes it stronger.
  2. Nouns followed by verbs make active prose.
     1. I ran toward danger, never away.

 
VERBALIZE by Damon Suede is an excellent resource for authors who want to understand the many nuances of verbs and their importance. He is a writing craft educator as well as a best-selling Romance author.
 
We may not know how Suede will come out in the current hyperdramatic RWA kerfuffle, but one thing Suede understands is how to write active prose. VERBALIZE is jammed with hard-hitting, rapid-fire information, just like his seminars.
 
The one problem I have with this book is the barrage of information. There is a lot going on visually as well as informationally. I find it easiest to absorb the book in small doses, which allows me to think about what he is saying.
 
I read a bit, think a bit, and write a lot.
 
If you learn nothing else from reading his book or attending one of his seminars, verb placement is crucial. What Suede has to say about verbs, their importance in character development, and how best to place them in the sentence is well worth the cost of the book.
 
We all know verbs are action words. That means they are all forceful, right?
 
Not exactly. Some verb forms weaken the narrative.
 
An infinitive verb is a verb with the word “to” in front of it:
 

• to be
• to have
• to hold
• to walk
• to dream
• to sleep

 
Without the word “to,” each of the above words is just a base verb. They are finite, limited. They are the action, end of story.
 
When you add the word “to” in front of the action, it is no longer finite—it becomes unlimited, or infinite: an infinitive.
 
This lack of boundaries creates a passive voice when telling a story.
 
For some, more literary narratives, occasionally injecting the passive voice into prose is appropriate. It can make a passage feel poetic if that is the author’s intent.
 
However, for genre fiction, we want our work to have an active voice. To that end, we avoid the overuse of infinitives.
 
When we first begin sharing our work in writers’ groups, we are shown instances where our use of infinitives creates a passive narrative, separating the reader from the action.
 
A less experienced author might try to combat that by changing some verbs into what they think is a more active form: the gerund. By doing this, they are actually changing verbs into a form that is derived from a verb but functions as a noun. In English, gerunds are verbs ending in -ing.
 
There are no exceptions. Example: asking, as in do you mind my asking you?
 
A side bit of trivia: in modern speech, expressions such as “can’t stand,” “couldn’t help,” and “it’s no use” are frequently followed by gerunds:
 

• I can’t stand running in place.
• It’s no use harping at me; I won’t change my mind.

 
SO: a gerund is a form of a verb used as a noun. But what about the present participle? A participle is a form of verb used as an adjective or as a verb in conjunction with an auxiliary verb.
 
In English, the present participle has the same form as the gerund, in that it is a verb ending in -ing. The difference is in how they are used.
 
Consider the verb walk, as in to step forward. When used with an auxiliary verb (is walking), it serves as a verb and is the present participle.
 
When used as an adjective, such as in a walking contradiction, it is also a participle. However, when used as a noun (walking is difficult when going uphill), it is a gerund.
 
Phrasal Verbs: We use phrasal verbs all the time in our daily speech and in our writing. Phrasal verbs are  two or three words (an action word + modifiers) forming what can be considered a separate verb-unit with a specific meaning. In other words, they use more words than are needed to express a thought:
 

• Who is looking (action word) after (modifier) (phrasal verb unit) the kids? Could be made active: Who is watching the kids?
• They brought (action word) that up (modifier) (phrasal verb unit) twice. Could be made active:  They mentioned it twice.
• Who can put (action word) up (modifier) with (modifier) (phrasal verb unit) that? Could be made active:  Who can endure that?

 
We use these phrasings because they sound natural to us. It’s the way people in your area might speak. But when used too frequently in a written piece, phrasal verbs junk up the narrative. They subtly contribute to what we call “purple prose” because the overuse of them separates the reader from the story.
 
For that reason, we should look for simpler ways to phrase our thoughts when writing. The exception would be when we write conversations spoken in the local vernacular.
 
Choosing which bits of backstory are important to convey and binding them into small packets inserted only when the reader needs to know is critical. Impart that information by using verbs and words beginning with consonants to evoke powerful feelings.
 
Use power words in conversations to distribute packets of exposition (backstory). In this way, you can give both the reader and the characters necessary information without resorting to a blatant info dump.
 
All words—verbs or nouns or adverbs or adjectives--all words have their place in our writing process. The way you choose and combine them is your voice, your style. However, if we are writing science fiction or fantasy, or mystery, or a thriller—using an active voice is the key to conveying a sense of immediacy and emotion.
 
Place your verbs toward the beginning of most of your sentences and make minimal use of gerunds and phrasal verbs. Front-loading your sentences with the action makes the prose more active. Active prose draws the reader into the action and creates an emotional bond with the characters and their situation.
 
Readers remember books that involved and moved them emotionally. They insist their friends must read them.
 
Authors want to be remembered for having written a story that so moved a reader emotionally that they had to talk about it and share the book with a friend.
 
To me, there is no higher praise.
 
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Credits and Attributions:
 
Connie J. Jasperson is a published poet and the author of nine fantasy novels. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies. A founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group, she can be found blogging regularly on both the craft of writing and art history at Life in the Realm of Fantasy.
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