Gabriela and I met while both speaking at Writers’ Digest Conferences. Not only are her insights stellar, but she also knows the best places for meatballs!

When Gabriela and I spoke on her podcast last fall, she asked for my top piece of advice for authors. I suggested that authors should aim for clarity of their inspiring purpose, which is part of their author brand. Inspiring purpose is simply the reason for your work. Ask yourself why you write, beyond the obvious profit and functional purposes.

Finding Your Cause

We often seek inspiring purposes to be Catchy, Aspirational, Unique, Short and Everyday understandable (spelled out as the acronym CAUSE).

Having clarity of inspiring purpose and brand provides a true north that can guide what and how you write, which opportunities you accept, and provides a meaningful connection for others to your work.

Sometimes the idea of a person being a brand can be confusing. So let’s pause for a definition. Marketers consider a Brand to be a concept that encapsulates the UNIQUE positioning, differentiation, relevance, and meaning of a person, product or service. Quite simply, it’s a PROMISE. A promise on what you’re going to deliver to your readers.

This is distinct from the look and feel of your marketing assets. That’s what we’d call Visual Identity, which is your brand promise translated into physical and digital assets. For example, your logo, typeface, website design, business cards, book covers, and ads. It’s important to note that brand and visual identity are separate topics; we’ll cover more on visual identity and design in future articles.

The Parts of an Author Brand

Let’s review the parts of an author brand. Besides your inspiring purpose, it can be helpful to think about:

·         Archetype

·         Brand Values, which can be informed by your archetype

·         Personality / tonality

·         Unique assets / visuals

First, it sometimes surprises authors when I bring up archetypes. Fiction writers might use archetypes to cast their characters, and don’t think to apply the concept to themselves. Yet, marketing often defines products by an archetype. Likewise, authors can think of their brand promise from the lens of which story best describes the benefit they provide readers.                                                                           

Character Archetypes

Carl Jung’s twelve classic archetypes are Creator, Innocent, Magician, Hero/Warrior, Sage, Jester, Explorer, Rebel, Regular Guy/Everyman, Lover, Ruler, Caregiver. Jung considered these to be the twelve universal stories that have been told throughout time. Since that time, nuances and variations on these archetypes have been developed.

There’s flexibility to choose the framework for your author brand that resonates best with you. It’s even okay to choose a mix of more than one archetype. Think about which of these appeal to you as an author, or you can google a number of online quizzes to help guide you. Here’s one I’ve used with clients.

Within the archetype(s), you can then articulate the values that your brand most believes in. Are you a Warrior who fights for honor? A Sage who values wisdom for all mankind? A Jester who believes nothing is more important than finding the humor in every situation? For those curious to read more, The Hero and the Outlaw is one classic tome on archetypes and their values.

Secondly, personality and tonality provide the nuance that makes you unique when added to the deep-seated beliefs that are represented by your archetype and values. For instance, you can be writing about social issues with a personality that’s somber, or another writer could be working in the same genre with a personality that is humorous, or one that is relatable.

Third, your assets and visuals bring these personality/tonality and brand values to life. This can include the way your author name is represented, your logo, tagline, and other elements that are used consistently. Consistency is key because people lead busy lives and require the same image or communication two to seven times for it to break through.

Finding Your How

One way to differentiate these elements is to think of your Inspiring Purpose, archetype and values as describing your personal “Why,” and your personality and assets as your “How” your work shows up in the world. 

A key tenet in crafting an author brand framework is to be honest. After all, marketing shouldn’t be artifice. My inspiring purpose, for instance, reminds me to be true to myself in its opening phrase. Here’s my inspiring purpose:

“By being my authentic self, inspire hope and empathy for people and planet.”

A few things to note…first, I typed this statement from memory. That’s the sign that it truly resonates with me and reflects what I believe. Second, my work holistically adds up to my inspiring purpose, but not every individual piece needs to deliver every aspect of the statement.

My novel Goodbye, Orchid pays homage to combat-wounded veterans. These heroes sparked a story that has been awarded for disability awareness, and “inspires hope and empathy for people.”  My public speaking as a Climate Reality Leader meets a deep-rooted desire to “inspire hope and empathy for people and planet.” These together, along with my career, and service on the Board for a special needs school, fulfill my inspiring purpose.

Here’s my brand framework altogether:

Notice how the elements ladder up to a central theme and build upon one another, each adding a layer of uniqueness without conflicting with the other.

Word nerds, we are fortunate that Gabriela has been kind enough to share DIY MFA’s brand with us! Think about all we experience in DIY MFA’s world, the knowledge we glean from her podcast, the confidence she provides through her frameworks and teaching, and the sense of community she and her team have cultivated.

See which of these you can find in her brand, and pressure test whether seeing this framework without a brand would conjure DIY MFA in your mind:

If I were to interpret YA author Marissa Meyer as a brand, here’s how I might imagine her brand framework (for illustrative purposes only):

As you’re drafting yours, you may find it helpful to solicit input from those who know your work (critique partners, agents, editors). Think of these guides as your “beta readers” for your brand framework.

Crafting an Author Brand Framework 

Ultimately, there are no hard and fast rules. Crafting a brand framework isn’t a chemistry equation, but more like poetry. A marker of a good one is whether it helps guide and inspire YOU, and those working with you to build your equity.

Now that you’ve undertaken the hard work to think about your brand, what can you do with your framework? I use my brand framework to guide creative decisions, for instance, whether my website and posts reflect my personality and visual assets. My inspiring purpose is helpful for determining what opportunities I accept and which ones I must respectfully decline.

Lastly, consistency of brand matters. Remember, brand is your promise to readers. People are increasingly looking for authenticity, and once they find a promise they resonate with, they’ll return to it again and again. Not that your brand framework has to be completely static. Even famous brands will tweak the nuances of personality/tonality and visual assets to stay contemporary. Usually, though, the brand’s core values stay fairly consistent over time.

Please let me know the ways in which these concepts helped clarify your brand thinking. I’ll look forward to chatting more next time, when we’ll dive into the world of design. Meanwhile, connect with me on any of these social media sites https://linktr.ee/cvdh and let me know what else you’d love to learn about marketing and brand strategy.

Happy writing!

CAROL VAN DEN HENDE is the award-winning author of Goodbye, Orchid, a public speaker, and MBA with 20+ years’ experience in marketing, strategy and insights.. Carol is passionate about simplifying marketing concepts into actionable steps that authors need for publishing success. Please sign up for Carol’s newsletter at https://carolvandenhende.com/contact or linktr.ee/cvdh

The post What Is Author Brand and How to Craft Yours appeared first on DIY MFA.

If you missed our previous posts on this theme, why not read those first? Start with our case study on man and the natural world if you’d like an introduction to the theme. Or check out our recommended reading list of books about man and the natural world or our five reasons for why this theme matters. Otherwise, let’s get writing!

Make the Setting Integral to the Plot

Setting is already one of your story’s central elements. So when man and the natural world is one of the themes, the setting becomes an even bigger player in the game–so big, in fact, that it can influence the plot.

Think of stories you’ve read where the plot relies on the setting. How do the unique natural elements of the setting make the story’s events possible? In Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden, for example, Mary’s transformation from sickly and selfish to healthy and caring happens as a result of her nurturing her uncle’s abandoned garden back to life. The friendships she develops with the other residents of Misselthwaite Manor contribute to this as well. But how would the story change if Mary was sent to live in a downtown orphanage that had no garden? The theme of man and the natural world would probably disappear—and the plot of this classic children’s tale would be drastically different.

So as you determine how the setting influences the plot, consider the following six keys to connecting these two building blocks of storytelling:

1. Location: Where does the story take place? Ensure you think about the macro (country, state, town / city) and micro (neighborhoods, buildings, landmarks) elements of the location.
2. Time: When does the story take place? Consider the time period, season, and (for certain scenes) the time of day. Whether it’s daytime or nighttime can significantly impact how a scene plays out.
3. Natural Elements: What are some of the unique natural elements (e.g., topography, climate, bodies of water, weather conditions, wildlife) of this location at this time?
4. Goals: What is the character’s goal in this story? What conflict is he trying to resolve?
5. Connection: How does the character’s story goal or main conflict connect with the setting? In other words, how do the setting and its unique natural elements make the story possible?
6. Impact: How do the natural elements of the setting affect or influence the character’s ability to achieve his story goal or resolve the main conflict?

If you’re unsure of how to answer the final question, stay tuned for more insights and a related exercise in the next section.

Exercise #1

Choose a setting with natural elements that could play a big role in a story, and write down your answers to the six questions listed above. (This setting can be one you’ve written about before or one that’s brand new.) Then write a scene or short story in which the character’s story-goal pursuit or the main conflict relies on this setting and its natural elements. 

How does the natural world make the character’s struggles or the scene’s events possible? How would the scene / story change—or be rendered impossible—if it occurred in a setting with different natural elements?

Also, check out the writing exercises in our post on using setting to illustrate literary themes.

“Characterize” Nature as Your Character’s Friend or Foe

No story ever goes smoothly for the protagonist. Between the beginning and the end, she’ll run into complications and setbacks as she struggles to reach her goal or resolve the main conflict. And in stories where man and the natural world is a central theme, these complications include natural obstacles that hinder the character’s progress or threaten the safety of herself and others. In this way, nature acts as one of the story’s antagonists. It may not be a human character whose motives and actions oppose the protagonist’s, but the power it holds over the protagonist through changing weather, expected seasonal conditions, and natural disasters can just as easily throw her off course. 

It’s also important to consider how the natural world can help the protagonist. Sometimes it’s more like a friend or ally and assists the character through shelter, sources of food or water, and signals of danger. Elements like these can give the protagonist a sense of hope, relief, joy, and other positive emotions that can, among other things, rekindle their commitment to their story goal. They must also be carefully chosen based on what occurs or is available in the story’s setting.

If you need some examples on how nature can antagonist or assist your character, here are two excellent ones:

• Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger: Leah Westfall rides in a covered wagon across the American plains and Rocky Mountains to reach the gold mines of California. Along the way, she braves whitewater rapids, a buffalo stampede, oppressive heat, and other natural elements that act as obstacles to her journey and overall safety. She also witnesses the beauty of natural landmarks and acknowledges her gratitude for off-road hiding spots and other ways that nature protects her.
• Andy Weir’s The Martian: After being left behind on the planet Mars, astronaut Mark Watney must find a way to survive until a rescue mission arrives. The planet’s harsh environment—marked by dust storms, frigid temperatures, dangerous terrain, and lack of oxygen—makes this the biggest challenge of his life. But thanks to his engineering ingenuity, Mark figures out how to grow a crop of potatoes inside his laboratory using technology, Martian soil, and (*ahem*) human waste, which stretches his food supply and increases his odds of living long enough to come home.

Exercise #2A

Create a two-column table on paper or in a word processing document. Label the columns “Antagonize” and “Assist.” Then, in each column, list the ways in which the story’s setting and its natural elements either antagonize or assist the protagonist as she works toward achieving her goal or resolving the main conflict. Don’t worry if you fill one column with more ideas than the other, but make sure you consider how the natural world can both hinder and help the protagonist in her efforts.

Exercise #2B

Return to the scene or short story you wrote for Exercise #1, and write two new scenes: one where the setting and its natural elements antagonize the protagonist, and one where they assist her. Or, if you’re up for a challenge, write a single scene where the natural world does both for the character. How does your character react to these events? How do they complicate or aid her progress? How does it all make her feel? Is it even possible for nature to be both friend and foe in your story? If so, what does the protagonist think about this duality?

Infuse Your Descriptions of Nature with the Character’s Mood

Stories about man and the natural world never skim the setting’s surface. The natural elements must be carefully considered and described appropriately. This doesn’t mean you need to write about every leaf, insect, or drop of water. Rather, focus first on the elements that the character would notice and that best serve the scene, and then phrase those descriptions based on how the character thinks, feels, or reacts at that moment.

Put yourself in your character’s shoes and imagine he’s in a natural setting. What kind of environment is he in? What time of day is it? What’s the weather like? What kinds of wildlife (flora, fauna, etc.) does the character notice? What other unique elements of that setting does he make note of? Then consider the character’s circumstances and emotions at that moment. What just happened or is currently happening in the story? What thoughts or emotions is the character experiencing as a result? How do the setting’s natural elements and current conditions exacerbate his situation and feelings? Or how do they make things more bearable for him?

Remember that the key here is to illustrate the character’s relationship with nature. This is why it’s crucial to frame the description according to his observations, circumstances, and attitude at that moment. Depending on what’s happening, the character might not pay much attention to the dry grass or the chirping of crickets, but he may be exhausted enough to notice the heat and lack of shade. Or maybe he’ll be so distracted by the beauty of the moon that he doesn’t realize how much the temperatures have dropped. By inhabiting your character fully in each scene, you’ll ensure your descriptions of nature are accurate, imaginative, and meaningful.

Exercise #3

Review the last scene you wrote for your story, and notice your character’s state of mind at the end. Then, imagine your character going outside immediately after this scene ends and into the closest natural environment. What is that environment like? How does that environment affect the character’s mood? Or how does the character’s mood influence what he notices about the natural setting? List various scenarios such as daytime versus nighttime, heat versus cold, rain versus sunshine, etc. and determine how the character’s reaction changes in each one. If the story’s next scene were to occur outdoors, which scenario would be most impactful? Why?

Use the Story’s Events to Demonstrate Humanity’s Impact on Nature

We’ve likely read stories where trees are cut down, animals are forced to leave their homes, and pollution dirties the water and air. These and other moments are meant to remind readers of the havoc humanity can wreak on the natural world and the potential consequences if no one takes action to stop it. This also creates the reverse scenario of Exercises #2A and #2B above. Instead of nature acting as an antagonist to a human character, this time the character is antagonizing nature.

When taking this approach to the theme, first consider why the destruction is happening. For example, if characters are razing a forest, what are their reasons for doing so? Do they want the land for farming or development for homes and businesses? Do they need wood and other natural resources for their use or consumption? Are they driving out inhabitants such as birds, animals, and people—or using them to further their goals?

Next, ponder the consequences of this devastation. How would the natural elements of this setting change forever if the antagonist’s plans are carried out to completion? Think about how the terrain, wildlife, climate, and other aspects of nature would be impacted. How would these changes affect the characters living and working there? (Food and water supply, weather conditions, options for shade or cover, and nature’s aesthetic qualities are just some of the things to consider here.) Maybe even the worst-case scenario has already become reality. Jay Kristoff’s Stormdancer is a harrowing example of characters living—and dying—in a country where deforestation and pollution due to industrialization have led to climate change, famine, and disease, among other problems. 

This angle on the theme doesn’t have to be all “gloom and doom,” though. In most cases, one of the characters—your protagonist, for instance—may be determined to fight back or counter the damage that’s been done. If so, then ask yourself why this character cares so much about the world she lives in. What is she willing to do to save what’s left of it? Most importantly, what steps will she take (perhaps with help) to achieve her goal? Once you’ve brainstormed this as well as the reasons for and consequences of the destruction of the natural setting, you’ll have in place the first puzzle pieces for an exciting and emotionally charged story.

Exercise #4

Brainstorm the ways in which the natural world of your story’s setting could be impacted by your characters. If it helps, create a table that lists different “man-made” scenarios, possible reasons for each one occurring, and its impacts on the environment and the characters. Where does your protagonist fit into the picture on any of these scenarios? Would she be assisting with the destruction? Or fighting to stop it? Make note of her motivations for engaging in either side, then write a scene or short story in which the character witnesses or participates in the devastation. What does she or other characters try to do to save the story’s setting?

How have you explored man and the natural world in your own stories? What other writing prompts or exercises would you recommend to nurture this theme?

Sara Letourneau is a freelance editor and writing coach who lives in Massachusetts. She’s also a poet whose work has appeared in Mass Poetry’s Poem of the Moment, The Aurorean, The Avocet, The Bookends Review, Golden Walkman Magazine, Soul-Lit, and other journals and anthologies. She can often be found performing her poems at local open mic nights, reading good books, roaming the shores of Cape Cod, and enjoying a cup of tea. Learn more about how Sara can help you with your writing at Heart of the Story Editorial & Coaching Services. You can also connect with her at her writer website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Instagram.

The post Writing Exercises for Exploring the Theme of Man and the Natural World appeared first on DIY MFA.

“Well,” my friend said, “what are some of the literary themes?”

My reply? “Ummmm…. Let me think about that.”

It was an embarrassing response, but an honest one, too. Theme wasn’t something I’d thought much about before then. I knew what the story was about in terms of plot and characters. But in terms of the big picture or the ideas it explored? I had no clue. In fact, I began worrying that, because I hadn’t consciously considered themes up to that point, maybe my story didn’t have any themes. (Good news: It did.)

Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing: “What point in the writing process should I start paying attention to themes? Should I nurture those ideas from the very beginning, or wait until the story’s further along?” The answer is… It’s not so much when you should start thinking about themes, but rather when it feels appropriate depending on each story’s unique process, from the moment you begin brainstorming to the changes you make with each draft.

Recognizing Themes During the Planning Stage

Sometimes you’ll recognize your story’s themes shortly after inspiration first strikes. That spark might not be a theme in itself, but as you consider the plot or characters more deeply, the heart of the story eventually becomes clearer. If you don’t recognize those themes until later in the writing process, that’s OK. However, having that early awareness can help you grasp – and remain focused on – what the story is really about.

Neil Gaiman’s Coraline is a great example of this. Gaiman wrote this novella after one of his daughters, when she was young, told him stories about girls like herself whose mothers were kidnapped by “evil witches who looked like their mothers.” He also, as indicated in this interview, had an idea of what Coraline would be about based on the journey he wanted his heroine to take. “I wanted to write a book about what being brave is,” he said. “It’s being absolutely scared and doing what you must do, despite fear and obstacles.” Thus, from a conceptual perspective, Gaiman sensed early on that courage would be one of the story’s themes.

More recently, Angie Thomas wrote her YA blockbuster The Hate U Give after the real-life police shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black man. She has also discussed how her experience of attending a mostly white, upper-class Christian college influenced another of her protagonist Starr’s struggles during the story. “There were things that I went through while I was in college that I would not share with my classmates because I was afraid that they would see me as, ‘Oh, that’s the poor black girl from the ‘hood,’” Thomas said. “[And] I think in Starr’s case, she’s afraid, too. ‘If I expose this part of myself, all of a sudden they’re going to look at me in a different light. And all of this work that I’ve put in to show them this Starr will be for nothing.’” Though Thomas doesn’t specifically name race and identity as themes in The Hate U Give, she was likely aware of those ideas because of the story’s inspiration as well as the real-life experiences she wanted to incorporate.

So, how can you recognize some of your story’s themes during the brainstorming stage? Try either (or, even better, both) of these exercises:

• Develop an objective statement. Use Neil Gaiman’s method and complete this sentence: “I want to write a book / story about [fill in the blank].” Your answer can focus on the big picture or the specifics. Either way, it will hint at some of the themes bubbling under the main conflict or the protagonist’s dilemma and then help you concentrate on the story you want to tell.
• Understand the role that the protagonist’s struggles will play in the story. In The Hate U Give, race and identity naturally emerge as themes through the main plot and through the racial discrimination and dueling identities that Starr experiences almost daily. Consider what kinds of struggles your characters might face on a consistent basis. How might those struggles influence the story’s events and shape the character’s journey? What themes might emerge from this?

Recognizing Themes During the Drafting Stage

Right now, you might be thinking, “How can I spot a story’s themes when I haven’t started writing yet?” Indeed some writers will find it challenging – even impossible – to recognize themes before beginning the first draft. This may be especially true if you’re a pantser (i.e., using your intuition rather than an outline to guide you). After all, the drafting stage is when you, the author, are experiencing the story for the first time. You’re getting to know the characters, imagining the setting, and building each scene through dialogue, action, and sensory details. Some things may change later on, but the most important elements – including themes – should gradually become less foggy.

In my own experience, the drafting stage is when I start becoming mindful of theme. This was partly a result of the conversation with my friend, and I was determined to give her a clear answer. So I read over the scenes I had written up to that point and reviewed my outline to remember where the story was heading. Through that deep study, I discovered themes such as family, revenge, and secrets in that story; and then made a conscious effort to strengthen those themes in later drafts. And now, thanks to my heightened awareness of theme, I’m already recognizing which ones are shaping the heart of my latest manuscript.

How did I discover my story’s themes? And how can you do the same if you’re currently in the middle of the first draft? Here are some suggestions:

• Deconstruct your story’s building blocks. Select a story-telling element, then analyze it in select scenes to determine the emerging themes. With dialogue, for example, you can read some of the story’s most important conversations and ask yourself, “What are the characters really talking about?” If you need some direction, check out our Developing Themes In Your Stories posts, which feature exercises that can help you with your investigation.
• Consider your main character’s choices. Theme, as stated in our working definition, is often illustrated through the character’s journey through the story. Any actions or decisions that the character makes will therefore reveal those themes and any related messages you want to convey to your readers. So, why does this character choose one option or the other? What happens as a result? Which theme(s) does his choice highlight, and how?

Recognizing Themes During the Revision Stage

Knowing your story’s themes by this point in the writing process can prove invaluable. How? Believe it or not, it can help you plan for revisions that will address how those overarching concepts are handled. For example, if you notice that certain scenes push a particular theme too forcefully, you can rewrite those scenes so the theme can emerge more subtly. Thus, recognizing and evaluating theme as part of your revisions will allow you to strengthen the story as a whole so that the plot is focused, each character serves a purpose, and nothing feels exaggerated or out of place. It can also help with the querying process (listing three or four themes will show agents that you know your story’s soul) or preparing your book’s jacket copy.

Of course, depending on the changes you make, the themes can change as well. YA author Emily X.R. Pan ran into this while working on her debut novel The Astonishing Color of After. In her Author’s Note, Pan explains that, despite the novel’s many rewrites, “[t]he only thing in common across all the drafts was how it was always a story about family and identity and the different facets of love.” However, the final version of Astonishing didn’t take shape until after Pan lost a family member to suicide. “Half a year later,” she writes, “I began rewriting this book for the umpteenth time, and the complicatedness of that grief stuck in my brain and glued itself into my words.” As a result, the novel’s themes of loss and mental health didn’t exist until late in Pan’s revision process, while the other previously mentioned themes remained.

Curious as to how you can nurture theme during the revision stage? Consider these techniques:

• Fine-tune the story-telling elements to ensure each theme is well-developed. If, as you revise your story, you discover that your handling of a particular theme could use bolstering, determine how you can strengthen that theme’s presence. What changes could be made to the dialogue, the protagonist’s arc, or certain plot points? Could a new element such as an appropriate symbol do the trick?
• Be open to new themes that fit the story. Just as Emily X.R. Pan incorporated changes into Astonishing that ushered in new themes, you can do the same if you think those changes (and the related themes) will not only improve your story, but also make sense for it. So, as you review how the revisions will impact the plot, characters, and so on, give some thought to the big picture as well. How would the new themes affect the story, including any existing themes? What other revisions could “synchronize” the new and the old while maintaining your vision for the story?
• Eliminate extraneous themes. Revisions often mean rewriting or deleting to make room for new and stronger material. So it’s possible that, during this process, you’ll have to remove themes that are no longer relevant. The first two revision exercises above can help you recognize such themes and brainstorm ways of eliminating them from the story. These solutions could range from simple edits to rewriting subplots, characters, or entire scenes – or, if they don’t serve the story, cutting them out completely.

Now Is Always the Right Time

In short, there’s no right or wrong time in the writing process to start paying attention to themes. Recognizing them early on will help you focus on the story’s most important ideas and avoid unneeded elements or conflicts. But as Emily X.R. Pan’s experience shows, revisions can lead to changes in the story’s thematic makeup. The wisest approach then is to be aware of themes throughout the process and know when and how to highlight or discard them. That way, the soul of your story will be clear to you as well as your readers – and perhaps more compelling and emotionally resonant, too.

When in the writing process do you start noticing your story’s themes? What experiences have you had with recognizing themes while planning, drafting, or revising, and/or how those themes changed with each draft?

Sara Letourneau is a speculative fiction writer and poet in Massachusetts who devours good books, loves all kinds of music, and drinks copious amounts of tea. In addition to writing for DIY MFA, she is a Resident Writing Coach at Writers Helping Writers and is hard at work on a YA magical realism novel. She also freelanced as a tea reviewer and music journalist in the past. Her poetry is forthcoming in Canary; and has previously appeared in The Curry Arts Journal, Soul-Lit, The Eunoia Review, Underground Voices, and two print anthologies. Visit Sara at her personal blog, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The post Recognizing Themes at Each Stage of the Writing Process appeared first on DIY MFA.

Whether you’ve written many romance novels, it’s been a while, or you’ve never written one before, it can be hard to think of plot points that aren’t something romance readers have read a hundred times. Romance readers are some of the most high-volume consumers of books out there. They’ve read a lot of first kisses, I love yous, and HEAs. Getting your story to be different and unique takes much more than just the nugget of inspiration.

Here are some ways to make sure your romance writing is fresh and different from what’s been written before:

1) Read. Lots.

In order to write romance, a writer has to know what’s being published in the genre, and in her particular subgenre. Once you have an idea, or an inkling of the romance subgenre you’d like to write in, find authors writing those kinds of books, or at least writing something similar. Romance is such a diverse genre. Chances are if you’ve thought of it, something has been written like it. Even if you’ve been writing romance for a while, make sure you’ve read books published in the last year to remain up to date on the genre’s changes. Romance is adapting all the time.

2) Read book descriptions

I’m a slow reader, so reading a high volume of novels isn’t easy for me. I spend a lot of time reading the cover copy of books, otherwise known as the blurb or short synopsis. I read them constantly, by the dozens, both when I’m researching a new series and when I’m trying to stay up to date on my genre. I get basic ideas about what plots and tropes are in danger of being overused. The last thing I want is to write a whole book and find out the same premise was used by five other authors last year.

3) Read reviews

Listen to what romance reviewers are saying. They are the voice of the reader. They are the people who are the real avid consumers of romance novels. Most of them read more romance novels in a year than I could, even before I started writing. They are the ones who will be passing first judgement on your book when it releases. How a book does in reviews has a big impact on its sales. What reviewers are reading right now and liking and hating is very important to be aware of while plotting a novel. I follow lots of reviewers on Twitter. They’re always talking about it.

4) Watch movies and TV

Romance readers consume a lot of tv and movies, too. They often cry out for a romance novel like their new favorite movie or tv show or current event. (Case in point, the royal wedding.) This can provide ideas for what to write, but it can also help point out what not to write. If you seek to emulate something, make sure it’s different and not the same.

Given all those sources out there, it’s time for the WHAT IF?

What if I wrote this story? How would I make it different?

Once up to date on what’s published, don’t get discouraged if someone has “already written your idea.” There are always ways to make something fresh and new. Romance readers love seeing a tried-and-true trope done in a different way. Make the thing someone else wrote your own. The way you write it is not the same as how someone else would write it, because romance readers are always hungry for more. The perfect romance recipe is a framework of the familiar and a filling of the unexpected. Give them what they already know they love in a way that surprises them.

Robin Lovett is a romance writer of erotic sci-fi and dark thrillers. She’s published with Entangled Publishing and SMP Swerve. She loves to chat on Twitter @LovettRomance and every Sunday evening you can find her with other romance writers at #RWChat. She is represented by Rachel Brooks of BookEnds Literary Agency.

The post Brainstorming Romance: How to Keep Your Ideas Fresh And Original appeared first on DIY MFA.

OK it might sound strange, but really, how different is that from collecting stamps or seashells or bottle caps or baseball cards? In fact, I would argue that collecting characters is by far the more productive hobby of the bunch… After all, you actually do something with the characters after you’ve collected them. You build a stash of imaginary people all with minds of their own, just waiting for you to write a story and let them be in it.

Every great collector of characters has a different method of storing his stash. Some lock their characters up in stories right away. Others let the characters float aimlessly in the back of their consciousness until they have a story ready. Personally, I like to squash my characters between the pages of my notebook, the way you might press flowers or autumn leaves. That way, I always know where to find them.

And where do we get these characters in the first place? Here are some of the secret places where I’ve found my best specimens.

Real Life

Basing characters on real people has some major advantages. For starters, you’ll be able to observe an actual person (or if the real life person is dead, you’ll likely be able to find some primary source material). Not only that, if you’re ever wondering what your character would think or do about something, you can just ask. That said, there are two drawbacks you’ll need to consider if you decide to base a character on a real person:

1. You could get sued. You can avoid this problem by doing one of three things. A) Avoid saying anything that could get you into trouble, which could lead to a very boring story. B) Change enough of the details so that it’s no longer obvious that you’ve based the character on a specific person. C) Base the character on someone who can’t sue you… like, say, your cat.
2. You might get so caught up on being true-to-life that you’ll kill your story. Remember, fiction is by definition fictional. It’s not about getting the facts exactly right, it’s about crafting a story that reveals a greater TRUTH about life, humanity, all that good stuff. Of course you can base certain elements of a character on a real person but in the end, you may have to replace some details that echo reality in favor of ones that will serve the story.

Situations

The places where I discover most of my own characters are in the situations themselves. I often start with a vague idea like: “What if when you die, your job becomes to introduce other newly-dead people to live beyond the grave?” Then I work on developing a character who would be the worst possible person to cope with that situation. I know this sounds counter-intuitive, after all, we’re usually taught to develop our character first then throw obstacles at him or her. But if you think about it, this method accomplishes the same thing, it just does it backwards. Instead of starting with a character and developing obstacles that will throw him or her for a loop, you think of the situation first and then develop a character who’s most likely to freak out in that scenario.

Pictures

I love looking at a picture and trying to figure out the story behind it. Some of my favorite artists for this exercise are Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent, and Edgar Degas. Photography is also a great resource–especially antique portraits or work that’s photojournalistic in style. Every time I go to a museum, I’ll get a handful of postcards that I think might spark interesting characters. These days with the interwebs at our fingertips, we can find inspiration without even leaving the comfort of our office chairs. Here’s a few examples:

Music

Choose one of the five pieces below. Don’t listen quite yet. Here’s what you will do: You will listen for at for approximately 2-3 minutes, until you get a feel for the piece. Set a timer if you need it. (Note: most of these pieces are longer than 3 minutes, so feel free to stop midway through.) Do NOT watch the videos that go with the music, just listen to the track.

While you’re listening, imagine the character the music is telling you about.

Choose one of the following links:

Fantasy: Saint-Saens – Carnival of the Animals – Aquarium
Action: Copland – Fanfare for the Common Man
Adventure: Holst – The Planets – Jupiter
Horror: Mussorgsky – Night on Bald Mountain
Romance: Beethoven – 6th Symphony – Andante Molto Moto

Now click play and listen. Then write the character that comes to mind.

Snippets of Dialogue

One of the great things about living in a big city is that people will say the craziest things in public. Seriously, it boggles my mind what some people will say while riding the subway or talking on their cell phones. I used to feel bad about eavesdropping but now I figure, if these people are talking so loud, it’s because they want me to hear what they’re saying and use it in my book. Whenever I catch a good line, I jot it down and stash it away for when I need an idea for a new story or character.

Now go out and look for interesting characters so you can start boosting your stash. Also, I’d love to hear from you. Where did you come up with the idea for the main character in your current project? Mine kept showing up in a dream. (Cheesy, I know, but still true.)

The post Collecting a Stash of Characters appeared first on DIY MFA.

Colors and Their Meanings:

Combining colors lends nuance.

Blue alone might symbolize peace and calm, but add red and yellow, and you get the primary colors which imply youth.  Replace the yellow with white and you get a patriotic color combination.  When you pair colors together, their meanings can change or acquire nuance.

Introduction to Color Theory:

Red, Yellow and Blue are the primary colors.

They are called primary colors because you cannot mix any other colors together to get these three.

Note: red, yellow and blue are primary colors for pigment.  When you’re talking about color and light, the primaries are actually red, green and blue but that gets us into the differences between the color of light and the color of pigment and that’s the subject of another post.

Orange, Green and Purple are secondary colors.

They are called secondary because you can make them by mixing only two primaries.

See the color wheel below for primary and secondary colors.  Primaries are marked with a 1 and secondaries are marked with a 2.

Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel are complementary colors.

These colors complement each other well and provide contrast.  Each of the primary colors has a secondary color as its complement.

But, what does this have to do with writing?

The post How to Use Color Theory to Boost Your Writing appeared first on DIY MFA.

I learned the benefits of this technique when I was in design school studying toy design.  “Mood boards”–where we captured the mood and overall look of a design project–were an integral part of each portfolio presentation.  In these focused collages, we learned the importance of communicating the essence of a product or brand through imagery.

How do you make a mood collage?

There are no rules.  You can clip pictures from magazines or cut out letters and words in different fonts.  You don’t even need to use concrete objects or words but can make a cool background by using printed fabrics or textured papers.  Use whatever inspires you, as long as it fits the mood of your project.

Idea: Think beyond the flat page and create a three-dimensional collage by gluing down trinkets or 3D objects.  Flat canvas not your style?  Glue your collage to the outside of a round metal canister or the inside surface of shoebox.

Once you’ve collected your materials, lay out the pieces in a way that inspires you and move things around until you’ve got a design that you like.  Finally, break out the glue-stick or glue-gun and start sticking the pieces down.

Sometimes I use Photoshop to create mood collages because it’s easy to download pictures from the web, clip them compile the images in one digital file.  A bonus of making collages digitally is that it’s easy to print them out in different sizes, email them to people or even post them on websites or blogs. Other times, though, I prefer making my collages the old-fashioned way with scissors and glue.  Whatever your preferred method, the goal is the same: to capture the mood of your work-in-progress with your collage.

Here are a few mood collages I’ve made:

Mood collage for a road trip project.

Mood collage for a project about a wedding.

Mood collage for a project about cats.

Try This: Set aside one hour to make a mood collage for your work-in-progress.

Tip: The one-hour time limit is crucial.  After all, you don’t want to invest so much time making a mood collage that you sacrifice your valuable writing time.  Force yourself to work quickly so you stay within this time limit so you avoid tinkering with the collage for too long.

Clip pictures from magazines or print images you find online and cut them up.  If you like, while you’re clipping pictures and gluing, listen to some mood music that inspires your story.  The idea with this project is to get completely immersed in the mood of your work-in-progress.

Once you’ve finished your collage, give it a place of honor in your writing space.  To those brave writers among you, scan the collage and share it on the DIY MFA Facebook page so we can all ooh and ah at your awesome project!  Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

The post Set the Mood for Your Story With a Mood Collage appeared first on DIY MFA.

I was in first grade.  It was library time and I had slipped away from the picture book area to the section with floor-to-ceiling shelves that housed the “big kid books.”  I pulled a book from the shelf (I believe it was Lloyd Alexander’s The Black Cauldron) and stumbled my way through the first sentence or two.  Sliding the book back into place, it occurred to me: I could read this book.  I looked around the room and thought: I could read all of these books.  (OK, with some of them I might have needed some help sounding out the words, but still.)

That’s when panic struck.   If I read all the books in the school library, there would be no books left to read and I’d be bored forever.  You must understand, while the library was rather small–nothing more than a large room with bookshelves–to me it was gigantic.  I thought the books in the school library were all the books in the world.

Back in the first grade classroom, our teacher Miss H must have noticed that I was out of sorts because she asked me what was wrong.  I told her.

The next day, Miss H introduced a new activity for the classroom.  It was nothing more than a metal canister full of sharpened pencils and two plastic paper trays–one filled with blank lined paper, the other empty.  Miss H explained that we were to write stories on the blank paper and draw pictures for a cover, then place them in the empty tray.  Each day she would staple the pages together to make a book (a real book!) and she would read them to the class at story time.

Immediately my fears from the day before subsided.  Whenever I ran out of books to read, I could just write my own.  And then I could read them.  I would never be bored again! (Ah, the beauty of a first-grader’s logic.)

And this, my friends, is how I became a writer.  I fell in love with writing because I loved reading, first and foremost.  It was my love of literature, of getting lost in a story that pushed me to start writing in the first place.  I suppose it’s true what they say that all writers must be readers.  In my case, I was a reader first, and the writing came later.

How did you become a writer?

Was there one particular incident, person or place that helped spark your writing?  Please share your story in the comments!

The post When Did Your Love Affair with Writing Begin? appeared first on DIY MFA.

Step 1: Generate as many ideas as you can in a short time.
Step 2: Evaluate the ideas.
Step 3: Repeat steps 1 & 2 until you zero in on the best idea.

I like to think of brainstorming as being sort of like the tropical storm in the picture at left. You start at the outside of the spiral, scattering ideas in all directions like the scattered mass of clouds. As you generate and evaluate your ideas, you start moving toward the center of the spiral until finally, you hit on that one great concept: the eye of the storm.

So, how do you actually go about this? Here are some tips I’ve found helpful.

Generating Ideas:

Get a group together.

According to Conceptual Blockbusting (by James L. Adams), group brainstorming is often more effective than working solo. The reasons for this are many: enthusiasm and energy can be contagious, and a friendly competitive spirit takes over (everyone wants to top the last idea). While you can still get many benefits from brainstorming alone, consider getting a couple of people together and doing a group session.

Set a timer.

Whether you’re working alone or with a group, it’s good to set a time limit for generating ideas. The time limit forces you to focus and you’re more likely to come up with more ideas in a short time than if you give yourself an open-ended block to work with.

Silence the critics.

If you’re working alone, we’re talking about your inner critic. Take all those judging thoughts that come up while you’re brainstorming and boot them out the door. The inner critic will have plenty of time in the limelight when you get to step two. If you’re working with a group, make sure everyone in the group is clear on the rules: no judging or arguing about ideas. The goal is to generate ideas; evaluating them comes later.

Evaluating Ideas:

Barbara Sher gives a great method for evaluating ideas in her book Wishcraft. I’ve often borrowed from her method and given it my own spin. Once you’ve generated a good number of ideas, go through them one by one and ask the following three questions. (You will need to go through all three questions for each idea.)

1) What are the strengths and opportunities afforded by this idea?
2) What are the downsides or obstacles presented by the idea?
3) How can you overcome those downsides and (if possible) make them into opportunities?

Another way to look at evaluating the ideas is by doing a SWOT Analysis for each idea on the list. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and it’s a technique used a lot in strategic planning and in business, but it can apply to writing too. I like to draw a matrix for each idea I generate in Step 1 and make a list for each box.

Strengths are positive aspects internal to the book or idea. Examples of strengths in writing: a strong hook or unique premise, a really great character or strong voice, awesome writing.

Weaknesses are negative aspects internal to the book or idea. Examples: unfamiliarity with the subject matter, weak spots in the writing or the concept, a lot of research required to make the book work, costly elements in the book (like color plates or fancy design/art).

Strengths and Weaknesses are aspects of your writing you CAN control.

Opportunities are positive aspects external to the book or idea. Examples: a book that fills a specific and underrepresented niche, a unique concept that makes smart use of changing technologies in publishing, etc.

Threats are negative aspects external to the book or idea. Examples: an over-saturated category, another book just came out that’s identical to your idea.

Opportunities and threats are things you CANNOT control.
But you CAN control how you handle and approach them.

Why a SWOT analysis?

When you know where your weaknesses and threats are, you can brainstorm ideas to turn those around into strengths and opportunities. At the very least, even if you can’t get rid of the weaknesses or threats altogether, you won’t embark on a project oblivious. You’ll know what obstacles are ahead of you and can plan accordingly.

Take-home message:

Whether you use the three-question method from Wishcraft or a SWOT analysis, the idea is to evaluate the ideas you came up with in Step 1 brainstorming and narrow them down. This is Step 2. Once you’ve narrowed your options, try generating ideas again based on the few options you did not discard (Step 3). Keep doing these steps until you’ve focused your choices down to one idea that feels strong to you.

I use brainstorming a lot, especially in coming up with new material for DIY MFA. How do you use brainstorming? What do you find most useful?

The post The DIY MFA Brainstorming Process appeared first on DIY MFA.