Most writers wait until they’ve completed their manuscript before starting to prepare their query and synopsis. A manuscript will take many shapes before it’s ready to pitch, so it’s not efficient to start prepping the pitch too early.  Writers also have enough to juggle while writing their manuscript without worrying about how they’re going to satisfy the pitch requirements and make their submission stand out. Then there’s all the emotions that a writer inevitably expects will surface while getting ready to share their work with agents – when things will feel real. So, it makes sense that many writers think it’s better to kick the pitch down the road as long as possible.

But I believe waiting until a manuscript is written to begin thinking about the pitch is too late, and it’s highly likely prepping the pitch will highlight holes and roadblocks a writer missed in the drafting process. While sometimes these misses are minor potholes that only require minimal revisions to what the writer believes is their final manuscript draft, other times these can be sinkholes large enough to keep the writer from preparing a strong pitch package without first completing a major overhaul of their manuscript.

This installment of the Book Coach Corner series discusses how brainstorming your pitch while planning your novel can help you build a stronger manuscript and pitch while also saving you time and energy in the long run. 

Pitch Preview

When preparing the query and synopsis, many writers think that once they pull together the laundry list of required items for each, poof, they have a pitch package. But the magic of these two documents is how they strategically present the most important aspects of a writer’s manuscript in three double-spaced pages (one for the query and two for the synopsis). That means a writer has roughly 750 words to summarize their entire story in a way that hooks the agent quick enough that they will want to request the first few chapters of the manuscript.

Advantages to Brainstorming the Pitch Early

Drafting a strong pitch package requires more than just including the component parts of the query and synopsis. Instead, it requires a higher level of analysis to present the building blocks needed to paint a powerful picture for the agent. A writer is not just rattling off a description of the characters, plot, and a timeline of events. Rather, the writer is describing how the main character transforms between the opening and closing pages, why this transformation is important, and why the reader should care. Writers who identify these targets before they begin writing (or while they’re still writing), instead of waiting until their manuscript is written and must be backed into, create advantages for themselves.

Stronger Foundation

Brainstorming the pitch early gives a writer greater clarity, so they can build a stronger foundation for their story idea and structure. This allows them to focus better, streamline their ideas, and write smarter. This is likely to save them time and minimize their frustration during the revision phase, as well as reduce the chances of writing a first draft that’s not salvageable in revision.

Emotional Bandwidth

There’s also the important (but harder to quantify) advantage of freeing up emotional bandwidth because the writer won’t have the unknown of the pitch process and the dreaded impostor syndrome feelings hanging over their head while they write their story.

Three Pitch Points to Strategize

You too can benefit from the advantages above by focusing on the pitch during your planning stage, but it’s important to focus on substance over form. The intention of this planning exercise is not to prepare a usable query and synopsis at this point. Rather, it’s to focus early on a few key points of the pitch process that create guidelines to help you mold your manuscript in a way that keeps your story design and manuscript writing on track. 

Three pitch points I recommend strategizing early include your story’s genre, point, and structure.

Genre

It can be easy to take for granted what genre you’re writing in. We’re often superfan readers of our story’s genre, so we believe we know what we need to know. But this is not always the case. Take the time to know your game rules before you start playing the game, so you don’t get disqualified before you reach the finish line.

Action: Research your story’s genre to: 

• Validate your genre, 

• Identify the genre characteristics your book is expected to follow, and 

• Determine the genre’s typical word count range. 

Agents will assess your pitch to determine how your story aligns with your genre’s market and the likelihood they can attract a publisher who will want to buy your book. So, although you may choose to defy genre conventions when you write your manuscript, knowing the rules will help you make an educated decision before you intentionally (or unintentionally) break one.

Point

It is not uncommon for writers to write an entire first draft (or more) before they figure out their story’s point. But starting with a target in mind and then refining it as your story unfolds is preferable to backing into it after you write your story. It’s easier to focus on what will change for your protagonist, how it will happen, and whose help they need to get there when you know what you’re trying to prove to your reader. 

Think of your story’s point like the bullseye in a game of darts – you need to know where you’re aiming the dart to have any chance of winning the game. So, being clear on your story’s message at the start will help you more efficiently make story design decisions both before and while you write, which should increase your odds of proving your point and limit the revisions you need to make later. 

Action: Write down your point if you already know it. If you don’t, brainstorm some ideas, write them down, and circle the one you like best. Does your point make sense with your story’s genre? If not, brainstorm some more until you end up with a point that both makes sense and resonates with you. Use this one as your starting point.

Structure

You will need to describe your story and everything you want an agent to know in your target 750 words. If you compare that to an average word count of 80,000 for a manuscript in many genres, you quickly realize how strategic – and stingy – you must be with your descriptions. 

Action: 

• First, break down your protagonist’s journey into 4 sentences: where they’re starting, where they’re ending, what’s their biggest struggle or roadblock, and how do they overcome this obstacle or learn the lesson that proves the point. 

• Then, identify the 1-2 most important supporting characters that will aid your protagonist in overcoming their obstacle. Identify what their role is in the protagonist’s story. Knowing this helps you avoid including extra characters or scenes needlessly.

• Finally, brainstorm how you would describe the story’s arc and the characters involved using the information above from a big picture perspective. Note your thoughts in bullet form – do not write long-form descriptions. The goal here is to think about what’s going to be the most important information to include in the pitch. Then review your bullets and think about what’s missing. What else must your pitch and/or your story include to convince the agent (and eventually the reader) that both your protagonist changed, and you proved your point? 

This analysis can help you streamline your story design and characters and identify possible structure and/or plot holes you might run into later if you don’t stop to develop those ideas and characters now.

Next Steps

Planning with your pitch in mind can provide you the high value benefits described above for a low-cost entry. This framework is not time intensive, so you can see results in as little as 1-2 hours. This tool is also a great way to assess where you are (especially if you aren’t sure what your next steps should be), and whether you’re ready to start (or keep) writing or would benefit from additional brainstorming and planning time first. 

Once you complete the analysis, you’ll have a barometer that identifies initial areas you can focus on and a gauge of whether you would benefit from additional resources, such as writing craft books and classes or a book coach’s support.

Regardless of whether you’ve started drafting your manuscript or not, I hope you’ll open your calendar now and block out one hour to begin implementing the action steps above; so, you can gain more clarity on your story and next steps.

Tell us in the comments: Have you ever considered the pitch in your story planning?

Richelle Lyn is a writer and an Author Accelerator certified book coach. Her Mind Your Gap Trip Book Coaching focuses on women writing their first book after 40 because she believes it’s never too late to start. Her favorite fiction reads involve leading ladies who push boundaries and conquer their fears while preferably digging for secrets, learning magic, and/or saving the World. She’s also a fan of non-fiction reads focused on personal growth and transformation. She loves her tea hot and her coffee iced. She calls South Florida home, but her favorite place to be is on a trip. 

You can check her out on www.MindYourGapTrip.com, Instagram, or Twitter.

The post Book Coach Corner: Plan Your Novel with the Pitch in Mind appeared first on DIY MFA.

Have you gotten the DIY MFA Starter Kit yet? This is a two week email series full of worksheets to help you DIY your MFA. You’ll learn more about how to write with focus, read with purpose, and build your community. You’ll also start getting Writer Fuel, our newsletter full of words of wisdom and resources to help you keep the momentum going in your writing. And you’ll be the first to hear about other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! You can sign up with your email at diymfa.com/join.

In this episode Lori and I discuss:

• Using method writing to get inside your characters’ heads.
• How to create balanced scenes using the TADA! method.
• The different types of voice and how to use each.

Plus, our #1 reading recommendation on compelling characters.

Link to Episode 464

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Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

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Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 464: Craft Jam: Create Compelling Characters appeared first on DIY MFA.

Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for March is Voice and Narration, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode Patricia Leavy and Lori discuss:

• The neuroscience behind reader engagement.
• How her sociology background influences the way she develops characters.
• Exploring the beauty of writing by muscle memory as opposed to convention.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Patricia Leavy

Patricia Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College. She has published more than forty books; her work has been translated into many languages, and she has received more than forty book honors. She has also received career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.”

You can find her on her website and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

Hollyland

What happens when a seemingly ordinary woman with a passion for the arts falls in love with a Hollywood star known for his bachelor status and quick temper with the paparazzi? Something extraordinary.

Dee Schwartz is a writer and arts researcher. Ryder Field is a famous actor descended from Hollywood royalty. On the night they meet outside a bar, their connection is palpable. Ryder’s mother—legendary actress Rebecca Field, half of Hollywood’s golden couple when she died—was kidnapped and murdered by a crazed fan in a shocking event that forever tarnished Tinseltown. Dee’s mother, too, died when she was young. Bonded by this loss, the two embark on a love story that explores their search for magic—or “gold dust”—in their lives. Everything changes, however, when Dee mysteriously disappears after an awards ceremony. Is history repeating itself? Can there truly be a happily ever after in Hollywood?

Set against the backdrop of contemporary Los Angeles, Hollyland is a poignant novel that moves fluidly between romance, humor, suspense, and joy.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link where, if you choose to purchase via the link, DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 455

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If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 455: The Magic and Science of Writing – Interview with Patricia Leavy appeared first on DIY MFA.

Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for March is Voice and Narration, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

Correction: During the interview, the author mistakenly identifies butter chicken or murgh makhni as a British dish invented in the UK by Indian immigrants. He later clarified that butter chicken was in fact invented in New Delhi. Chicken tikka masala is actually the British dish.

In this episode Jinwoo Chong and Lori discuss:

• Immigration as synthesis.
• What it means to blend speculative fiction and neo-noir genres
• How the immigrant experience helped to shape his book.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Jinwoo Chong

Jinwoo Chong is the author of the novel Flux, coming March 21, 2023 from Melville House. His work has appeared in The Southern Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, The Florida Review, CRAFT, and Salamander.

He received the Oran Robert Perry Burke Award for Fiction from The Southern Review and a special mention in the 2022 Pushcart Prize anthology, as well as recognition from The Sewanee Review, Tin House and Zoetrope: All-Story.

He received an MFA from Columbia University and is an editorial assistant at One Story.

You can find him on his website or follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Flux

A blazingly original and stylish debut novel about a young man whose reality unravels when he suspects his employers have inadvertently discovered time travel and are covering up a string of violent crimes.

Four days before Christmas, 8-year-old Bo loses his mother in a tragic accident, 28-year-old Brandon loses his job after a hostile takeover of his big-media employer, and 48-year-old Blue, a key witness in a criminal trial against an infamous now-defunct tech startup, struggles to reconnect with his family.

So begins Jinwoo Chong’s dazzling, time-bending and surreal literary debut that blends elements of neo-noir and speculative fiction as the lives of the lives of Bo, Brandon and Blue begin to intersect, uncovering a vast network of secrets and an experimental technology that threatens to upend life itself. Intertwined with them is the saga of an iconic 80s detective show, Raider, whose star actor has imploded spectacularly after revelations of long-term, concealed abuse.

Flux is a haunting and sometimes shocking exploration of the cyclical nature of grief, of moving past trauma, and of the pervasive nature of whiteness within the development of Asian identity in America.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link where, if you choose to purchase via the link, DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 454

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 454: Exploring Themes of Grief and Loneliness in a Neo-Noir Speculative Novel – Interview with Jinwoo Chong appeared first on DIY MFA.

In case you feel me, I am not going to let you go through that weird slump. Together we are going to look at ways that can make writing the middle of the novel more interesting. After all, if you tear through the pages writing your story, chances are, readers are going to tear through them too.

But first things first, what is Act II or the Second Act? Well, if you follow the Three Act Story Structure, this is the middle of your story. The part where your character is going to get into all sorts of shenanigans. They will be put to the test, the action will rise, and readers will get to see their character arc going. Feeling excited yet?

What I love about the second act is the plot twist or the radical change in the direction of the expected plot. Always keep in mind this should not come off as making no sense to your readers. In fact, somehow your readers should be able to anticipate it. No one likes to be played for a fool. If you are looking for some plot twist ideas, that’s exactly what we are exploring today:

The Makings of a Plot Twist:

Old Acquaintances

This is going to be perhaps the easiest and the most difficult plot twist to pull off. Make an old acquaintance from your character’s life re-emerge. Depending on how you want to take the story ahead, this person is either going to be of help to your character or cause some drama in their life. Make sure they are not just a wallflower or the readers are going to be put off by it. Which also makes the hard part. 

This plot twist must be delivered in a way that does not make your readers feel cheated. To have a speculative take on this plot twist, have this old acquaintance be the key to some major event. Or they could be holding back a supernatural secret. Feel free to weave it your own way.

The Lie

Have something or someone your character desperately needs turn out to be a lie. Not only is this going to throw off their entire course of action, but it can help uncover a side to your character that has never been seen before. After all, humans behave uncharacteristically when under too much stress. Readers will want to tear through the pages as they try to figure out what is your character doing next. This plot twist blends perfectly well with speculative fiction tales which are related to quests of some sort, but give your unique touch to it, as always.

Divine Intervention

Life does not always go the way we want it to go. Something or the other is bound to happen that is out of our control or totally unexpected. Then why should it not happen to your character? In speculative fiction, this can be a literal divine intervention. A lighter take would be to have the character’s path blocked somehow. Anyhow, make sure that it does not hit the readers out of the blue. The entire idea is to have the readers scream at the end of the plot “I knew this was going to happen!” and yet leave them with a sense of satisfaction and anticipation.

Vanish Without A Trace

Someone disappears. Did they leave of their own accord? Was this character kidnapped? What are the clues pointing at? Bear in mind, this plot twist should not take away from the original plot of the story. Plot twists must always aid or cause trouble in your character’s journey, not throw them off course. That is to say, your royal romance novel should not suddenly turn into a murder mystery. Especially if there was nothing hinting at it since the beginning. This plot twist is likely to build up the tension. Readers would love to find out what your character is going to do in the wake of this new event. If they have been too focused on their goal, is this going to make them pause?

What plot twist is going to be your pick? Or did these spark a new idea in your head? Comment down below and let me know. Until next time!

Disha Walia is a lifelong storyteller and an enthusiastic writer and editor in love with the idea of exploring the creative world of words. While making her space in the world of non-fiction and fiction alike, Disha loves to spend even her free time daydreaming about what next to write. Connect with her on www.quillinary.com. You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

The post Four Plot Twist Ideas to Get Your Act II Going appeared first on DIY MFA.

If there is such a thing as a golden rule in the writing of fiction, it is that you must keep the reader engaged. A “likable” main character or at the very least a relatable one? Story beats? Genre tropes and conventions or the clever subversion of them? Exposition to help the reader understand and navigate the rules of the world before launching into the central conflict or none at all? All that is window dressing if your reader becomes bored and puts down the book.

To be clear, I am not saying you should toss out all the guidelines, craft notes, and plotting advice you have collected up to this point. What I am saying is that it is okay if your draft doesn’t fit neatly into a three or five-act structure, Save the Cat beat sheet, or other recognized model. It is okay to break a rule or two to serve your story. But the last thing you want to do is waste your reader’s time. You need to keep them engaged.

A Caveat on Subjectivity and “Rules”

With rule-breaking in mind, please take the advice that follows with a grain of salt. I am, after all, just one individual with a particular, sometimes arbitrary set of tastes that will likely change and evolve over time. 

Consider and adopt whichever recommendations work for you, and try not to worry about the rest.

Keep Your Reader Engaged

So if the only rule is to engage the reader, how do you accomplish it? If I’m working on a story that, despite my best efforts, refuses to position itself neatly into a recognizable story shape, I use the following three goals to frame my writing and rewriting process.

1. Be Brief. 
2. Be Specific. 
3. Be Gorgeous.

Brevity

If you are reading this, you probably already recognize the value of brevity in writing. We are counseled by peers, mentors, and editors to ensure each word or sentence serves a purpose and justifies its inclusion in the final draft. There is no surer way to tire your reader than to clutter your manuscript with pages of unnecessary information or passages overburdened with unintentionally pedantic prose.

Do I always love the ruthless cutting and paring involved in the writing process? No, but in doing so, I almost always improve a piece. The pressure of a shorter word limit often forces me to tighten a story’s pacing, momentum, and escalation, clarify its through-line, and craft a stronger ending.

As you revise your next manuscript, I encourage you to ask these questions. Does each line/paragraph/scene move the action forward? Does it add new or key information? Does the piece function or have the same effect without it?

Specificity

For me, specificity is the key to believable, memorable characters who readers care enough about to follow to the last word of a piece. Tell me your main character works in a restaurant, and I might be interested enough to keep reading. Give me the ache in her knees and lower back at hour five of her shift, the flutter of panic in her chest at the start of the lunch rush, the smell of drip coffee hissing on the burner, how her hands move as she anxiously checks and re-checks that her apron ties are smoothed flat against her waist, and I will begin to see her as real. I might even begin to understand her perspective of the world, and I will definitely be engaged enough to keep reading.

It can be tempting, especially when wrestling with a big question or timely message in your work, to widen the scope of a piece. Specificity can keep such work from verging on the strictly didactic and keep your reader engaged throughout. Ground your work in the precise, intimate, partial, flawed, and ultimately human experience of a character and you allow the reader to enter the story, to feel the consequences of larger events on a deeply personal level.

Gorgeous Prose

This final aim to be gorgeous, comes from the sublime Ursula K. Le Guin and an exercise in her influential work Steering the Craft. 

There are times I become so preoccupied with addressing technical or plot-related aspects of a piece that I lose sight of the primary reason I write. And what am I here for, if not in part for the sheer joy of working with language? The truth is too that readers respond to beautifully crafted work that evokes emotion. There’s a reason most of us don’t read technical manuals cover to cover for entertainment.

So write with flair and for pleasure. Manipulate rhythm, repetition, and the musicality of language. Delight in the sound of your sentences. Be beautiful and irresistible, constructing sentences that make apathy impossible for your readers. Write the great, true, gorgeous sentences that speak to both your writer’s and reader’s heart.

A Final Prompt

Write a short but complete story in which some sort of secret is revealed. This secret can be anything from the quotidian (an extra box of holiday chocolate hidden from the children in the back of a cupboard) to the surreal (an intergalactic conspiracy to conceal the formula of a serum that grants immortality).

Aim for between 500 and 1200 words. Be brief, but specific, and of course, gorgeous.

The elder daughter of Korean-Canadian and Austrian immigrants, F.E. Choe currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina. When she is not at her desk trying to craft true and beautiful sentences or piecing together her latest short story, you will find her feeding the dog scraps under the table, reading, or training her backyard flock of hens to walk backwards. Follow her on Instagram @f.e.choe.

The post Be Brief. Be Specific. Be Gorgeous. appeared first on DIY MFA.

Maybe you’re writing a novel—a modern Jane Austen story, let’s say, or a lost-in-the-woods thriller or a starting-over tale. But you’re also itching to write about something that’s so important to you, something that others find hard to understand, even if they are empathetic. It could be anything from stuttering to racism, from alcoholism to the loss of species.

Literary novels give us a great platform to enlighten readers without straying from the genre we love. Not only do we get to share our thoughts or experiences about a societal issue not directly related to our storylines, we can actually enhance and humanize our lead characters and write a better novel. Here are five ways to do it.

1. Reveal it in the secondary characters.

You have a great story line planned, with a strong plot that will keep your readers turning the pages. It’s not a book about transgender issues, but you are a transgender man, or your brother is, and you have something to say about that too. And yet, you don’t especially want to tell your own story in this book. So you let your protagonist do it for you by reacting to a friend or a sibling or a nemesis who shows up in the primary storyline.

In The Life We Bury, for example, the main story has a college student named Joe solving a thirty-year-old murder. But he also has a brother with autism. As Joe reluctantly digs into the murder, we get a first-person look at life in a family with serious challenges. Allen Eskens has written a strong mystery, but the narrator’s concurrent family story makes him more real and endears us to more characters, and readers get a little insight into autism along the way.

2. Put it in flashbacks or a subplot.

This is a great way to tell your own story while keeping it fictional; you can disguise it as much as you want.

Jason Mott handles this so well in Hell of a Book (spoiler alert if you haven’t read it, and I highly recommend reading it). The understory about Soot never quite overwhelms the main story of an author on a book tour whose race is never mentioned. The little kid called Soot is clearly Black. Gradually the reader realizes that Soot is imaginary, and eventually you figure it all out on your own.

Flashbacks do need a little special handling to avoid confusing the reader. Using present tense for the main story and past tense for the flashbacks is a straightforward way to do this, if you are used to writing fiction in present tense. But there are many good ways to handle flashbacks in the more common style where the main story is in past tense.

3. Write a surprise ending.

That awesome main character that you’ve made every reader love and identify with? Let it out at the end that she practices Islam, or is recovering from addiction, or has a felony conviction.  Just be sure the rest of the story doesn’t make this plot twist impossible or even improbable. And you’ll annoy the reader if you reveal a whole surprising history in the last few pages. You just want the quick punch that is totally believable, but shakes up the reader’s initial assumption about your protagonist.

This technique can thrill readers who didn’t see it coming, and it can make the ending truly memorable, as all endings should be—as long as you didn’t mislead them for the sake of the twist.

4. Hit it full on

It’s fine to make your heartfelt issue the big story, even the only story. Just keep the whole story engaging.

Alison McGhee’s Never Coming Back is all about a woman with Alzheimer’s. But the woman’s daughter has a fascinating job, quirky friends, and a potential romantic involvement that keeps the reader turning the pages and reading every word. Readers get a lot of insight into one person’s journey through Alzheimer’s, but sadness is balanced with amusement in the secondary plot lines.

5. Look for a different point of view.

Let’s say you have something to say about bullying. Often, the bully is portrayed as a secondary character shown from the protagonist’s point of view. An alternative way to shed light on this issue might be to get inside the head of the bully and show the reader what makes this bully tick and what defuses the bullying. The bully could be the main character but could also be a very effective secondary character watching and/or intersecting the main story line.

One effective technique for creating two points of view is to write alternate chapters from different points of view. This can be tricky though, and it can annoy readers if it’s not perfectly clear. Writing with distinct voices is key, and it also helps to title the chapter with the character’s name and include it in the page headings.

Conclusion

You can write your usual genre, in your usual style, and even in a series that’s already under way and still take on topics that are close to your heart. You don’t even need to change up your usual characters. You have lots of options for working on important issues, as strongly or as subtly as you like. Get the reader engaged with the overall story and then work on the social issue in a way that enhances your novel.

One last word of advice: If your story takes you outside of your own experience, consider paying for a sensitivity read. Feeling strongly about LGBTQ rights is very different from writing a story about a lesbian couple if you are not lesbian yourself. A sensitivity reader can save you from an honest mistake and also help you enhance the message you are trying to convey and improve the story overall.

Ellen Barker grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and had a front-row seat to the demographic shifts, the hope, and the turmoil of the civil rights era of the 1960s. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Washington University in Saint Louis, where she developed a passion for how cities work, and don’t. She began her career as an urban planner in Saint Louis and then spent many years working for large consulting firms specializing in urban infrastructure, first as a tech writer-editor and later managing large data systems. She now lives in Northern California with her husband and their dog Boris, who is the inspiration for the German Shepherd in East of Troost. You can find her on her website.

The post #5onFri: Five Ways to use Literary Fiction to Write about the Pressing Topics of Today appeared first on DIY MFA.

Over the next year and a half, I agonized and swore and sweated over minor revisions to this piece. I fretted over the same eight to ten sentence-level edits, afraid that if I did anything more significant, if I dared touch it too much, I would ruin the piece. 

Y’all, I spent a year and a half on one story. If a writer’s journey to mastery is like building a boat, I accomplished what amounts to sweeping a small corner of the mess deck. What I didn’t accomplish over that year and a half of hand-wringing was real progress, a better understanding of craft, or a new set of skills and techniques I could apply to other projects.

So just how can a writer combat this sort of stasis? Here is what I have learned so far.

Write, write, write. Then, write some more.

Daunting advice, to be sure. Especially when you are just starting out, writing can feel like a monumental effort that yields a meager handful of good prose. It is no wonder each word at that stage seems irreplaceable. And when a stunner of a sentence happens to drop perfectly formed into your head? It feels like maybe a once-in-a-lifetime favor from the literary heavens.

In my experience, spectacular writing, even when it feels spontaneous, is generally the cumulative result of previous work, discipline, and persistence. Moments of brilliance that cede truly exquisite prose are much more likely to happen after I have drafted and stubbornly rejected less sparkly, less sexy, perhaps even underwhelming and unsatisfactory prose first. 

You must write (and write regularly) to open yourself up to flashes of inspiration. You have to be there, ready and waiting, when your muse deigns to grace you with her presence.

So get writing! The more you write—both for sheer enjoyment as well as towards the goal of mastering the skill—the better at it you will become. At the same time, as you complete project after project, the individual sentences or paragraphs required to get there will feel less and less precious or unsurpassable.

Rewrite

If the process of drafting is daunting to the newbie author, rewriting can feel even more terrifying. I certainly used to approach major revisions with a combination of dread, loathing, and fear.

But the fact is, most of my work is truly forged during the revision process. My first drafts tend to be rather shapeless (though earnest and well-intentioned) beings. Rarely though are they actual stories. 

Drafting is a bit like trying to sketch a moving object. The process of rewriting is what brings that object into focus, sharpens its lines, and makes the object recognizable and perceptible. What started as a flat scribble or a blur of visual noise slowly transforms, through progressive drafts, into what you and I can identify as an apple, a sleeping bear, or a house on a hill.

In Elements of Fiction, Walter Mosley states this perfectly, “Writing is rewriting, and rewriting will bring you home.”

During your initial passes of a first draft, look for any recurring thematic elements, evocative imagery, and surprising but telling behavior or bits of dialogue from your characters. What do they seem to reveal about the story’s message, theme, or central question? Let this information guide your rewriting and reshaping of the next draft.

Learn How to Receive and Apply Feedback

How do you tell a stunning scene from a stinker? A deliciously explosive sentence from a dud? It can be hard for a writer to make these distinctions on their own. And sometimes an author can be too close to a project to be their own best critic.

Enter writing groups, your secret weapon when it comes to feedback, information, and encouragement. A good writing group can serve as a more analytical proxy for first-time readers, offer varying interpretations of your work’s central question or symbols, identify plot holes or contradictions, and of course, motivate you to keep working.

Seen from a different perspective, that line of dialogue you couldn’t bear to delete last month might no longer be so darling. Fellow writers can also offer concrete, actionable advice, which can make it that much easier to start rewrites. While you won’t (and shouldn’t) necessarily apply every change they suggest, if each member of your critique group unanimously agrees that your precious piece is simply too full of purple prose, it is worth serious consideration.

It is significantly easier to let go of less than stellar prose when you have a team of other writers cheering you on and affirming your potential. And if you need help with my first bit of advice to write as much as possible? Use some of your time with them responding to freewriting prompts or other generative exercises.

Set it Aside, and Revisit Later

Sometimes the best thing to do, when you are stuck on a piece, is to set it aside for a bit. Start another writing project with which to play, experiment, and rediscover the sheer joy of creating new sentences. Distance yourself just long enough to be able to evaluate the piece more objectively the next time you look at it.

You might also benefit from a short break from writing. Are there other stressors in your life that are contributing to this inability to further develop your own work? Yes, you are a writer, but you are also a human being with other needs, interests, and responsibilities.

With self-care in mind, I also urge you to embrace the non-writing activities that tether you to the real world and make you grow as both a person and a writer. Go on adventures, travel if you can, care and be fully present for your family, read as many books as you can. Then, come back to your writing with more experience and wisdom, a mind that has absorbed more gorgeous, brilliant prose than it had before, and higher standards for your own work.

Keep a Scrapbook of Sorts

Finally, if you just cannot bear the thought of entire sentences or scenes disappearing with discarded drafts, create a scrapbook or “graveyard” of sorts. Paste all the cuts of your most precious prose into a separate document or file that you can revisit at a whim.

I support whatever works for you to take your original manuscript from “good enough” to great.

Now, a Prompt

Draft a short but complete story between 600 and 1200 words that involves an apple, a sleeping bear, and a house on a hill. 

Then, cut at least a third of what you have written. Be ruthless and courageous. Wield your red pen like a devastating scythe. 

Do the cuts change your story? How? What have they done to the central question of the piece? Does anything surprise you? 

Rewrite and flesh out your story from there.

The elder daughter of Korean-Canadian and Austrian immigrants, F.E. Choe currently lives in Columbia, South Carolina. When she is not at her desk trying to craft true and beautiful sentences or piecing together her latest short story, you will find her feeding the dog scraps under the table, reading, or training her backyard flock of hens to walk backwards. Follow her on Instagram @f.e.choe.

The post Overcoming the Preciousness of Your Prose appeared first on DIY MFA.

Adult readers want topics that produce a strong emotive response. They want to know they are not alone in their struggles. They want to relate to characters who share their own painful journeys. Self-help books and memoirs often tackle these issues, but fiction readers also want stories that give voice to tough topics.

In particular, women’s fiction deals with themes that are part of our national dialogue. My debut novel A Week of Warm Weather explores sensitive subjects such as abandonment, addiction, and both physical and emotional abuse. Having experienced these issues—either myself or with people close to me—it was important to me to portray these experiences with empathy and authenticity for my readers.

Here are five tips for writing about sensitive subjects in fiction:

1. Don’t Sugarcoat

Sure, fiction is supposed to be entertaining, but unless you write fantasy or sci-fi, it should also be real. When writing about tough topics, don’t be afraid to be raw and put it all out there. Sensitive subjects resonate with readers when they are written realistically, not glossed over.

In A Week of Warm Weather, my protagonist Tessa was abandoned by her biological mother as a child. This affects her profoundly and informs every subsequent choice and behavior. Because she’s internalized her feelings and not worked through them, she feels inadequate and damaged. She is a people-pleaser to the point that she sacrifices her own emotional well-being. 

Most of all, she is terrified of further rejection and abandonment. This causes her to put up with abuse from her husband that will have readers screaming out loud at her. To sugarcoat such a trauma would be to minimize the severity of it and may alienate readers who have endured a similar experience.

Writing authentically about difficult topics results in a powerful novel that resonates with readers.

2. Draw on Your Own Experiences Whenever Possible

As the author, if you’ve experienced the sensitive issue(s) yourself—as I have—understand that you will be exposing a part of yourself. Don’t be afraid of that—it’s a good thing. 

My own experience gave life to Tessa’s emotions and actions. As an adult, I’ve worked through my trauma; therefore, I was able to draw on not only my memories of going through it as a child, but also how it affected all my later thoughts and actions.

I channeled that energy into creating Tessa. Though it was hard to dredge up painful memories, it was cathartic to embark on the journey through my character. 

My hope is that, while no two people who experience trauma react in exactly the same way, my book’s themes will resonate with readers and initiate a dialogue that helps them find ways to work through their own difficulties. 

Writing about a subject that matters to me helped me to treat it with the weight it deserves.

3. Do Your Research/Ask the Pros

When writing about sensitive subjects that you have not personally experienced, speak to people who have. They will ensure you portray characters authentically including how they talk, dress, and behave. 

Also, recruit beta readers who are members of the marginalized community or have lived through the experiences in your book. There is no better authority to determine if any part of your writing comes across as not believable. They will help you avoid stereotypes or “token characters” that add nothing to the story’s arc and are a sure way to alienate readers.

For my book, though I have personal experience with abandonment, addiction, and abuse, I sought the expertise of others with similar experiences and also professionals who have helped people through them. 

I attended AA and Al-Anon meetings where I spoke to people (after disclosing that I was writing a book) whose lives have been affected, and some destroyed, by addiction. I spoke to counselors who know firsthand the behaviors and responses of real people dealing with all forms of abuse. 

Even if you have experience with the difficult topics in your writing, research them thoroughly.

4. Have a Purpose

Even in fiction, readers want to know why you are writing about a topic, especially a sensitive one. It’s offensive to readers if a delicate subject is “thrown in” or does not advance the story. 

If you set out to write about a sensitive topic, commit to it. Learn everything you can about the topic so you can give it the authenticity it deserves. Don’t incorporate “buzz words” or “hot topics” to attempt to show you are in tune with what’s going on in the world today. 

Readers are smart. They will know immediately you are seeking attention, not deeply exploring an important subject to begin a dialogue or enact change. Don’t try to tackle multiple issues or characters that “tick a box.” This will result in your readers tossing aside your book in favor of one that deeply explores a topic that matters to them.

After reading my book, I hope people who have gone through similar experiences—either personally or relating to someone they know—will realize that secrets make us sick. Only through acknowledgement and dialogue can change occur. 

Decades ago, people did not openly discuss how it felt to be an adult who was abandoned by a parent. They were ashamed to admit they or someone they love was an addict. They hid abuse, especially emotional abuse, for fear of not being believed. 

Today, largely due to the impact of social media as a platform for discussion and debate, these issues are part of our nation’s ongoing dialogue. Make sure readers know your writing is part of that important conversation.

5. Bring Closure

In the end, we are all hopeful that better days are ahead. Try to give readers hope that they can overcome difficulties. That’s not to say you should patronize readers or pretend that every problem has an easy—or any—solution. 

When I write women’s fiction, I am mindful that although I am not writing a traditional self-help book, my readers are real people with real challenges. They are the sum total of their experiences, and within the pages of my book, they are likely to see a bit of themselves or someone they know. They want to be part of a community of people with shared experiences, even if those people are characters in a novel.

My book explores the effects of abandonment with the hope that readers know it is possible to break the cycle of generational trauma. It explores addiction with the hope that readers recognize and break free from codependent behaviors. It explores abuse with the hope that readers will shed their denial and shame. Mostly, I wrote my book to inspire readers to start a dialogue that helps everyone going through challenges.

If you have an idea for a novel that contains sensitive subjects or controversial issues, these tips should help your writing to resonate with readers. Hopefully by using these suggestions, you will compose a meaningful story that will affirm to readers that others share their struggles. 

Though my protagonist’s problems are not all solved by the end of the book, she finds her voice. Shouldn’t that be our wish for our readers?

Tell us in the comments: What tips are you going to use the next time you write about sensitive subjects?

Born and raised in a large family in eastern Pennsylvania, Lee Bukowski has always had an interest in reading, writing, and storytelling. She holds a BA in English and Secondary Education from Millersville University and taught seventh grade English and writing for fifteen years. In 2017, she obtained an MFA in English and Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. Currently, she teaches writing at the college level and freelances as a proofreader and editor. When she’s not teaching or writing, she loves reading and traveling, especially visiting her grown daughters in Boston and Fort Lauderdale. A Week of Warm Weather is her debut novel. Lee lives with her husband in Reading, PA.

You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post #5onFri: Five Tips on Writing about Sensitive Subjects in Fiction appeared first on DIY MFA.

How trends can help you as an author 

1. A Great Place to Start

Let’s face it: when you have to get down to putting words on the pages, even the little speck of dust on the table looks more interesting. There are just so many details that it feels like it will take years to organize everything and get started. 

And where do you even get the idea from? Well, if you’ve ever hopped onto a TikTok or Instagram trend, you know it is a great place to get ideas from. I am guilty of taking a trend going around on Instagram and giving it my personal touch. Are you?

2. Better Forecasts

Understand a trend and you will be able to surf through the challenges of the writing process, early warnings, and even get some ideas on marketing! 

In short, trends help you understand what to do and what to avoid.

3. Personal SWOT Analysis

I wish writing was as easy as many people make it sound. Trying out a trend can help you understand what you must improve in your writing, querying, publishing, and/or marketing based on what’s going around.

Trends in Speculative Fiction

Without further ado, today on Worldly Wise, let’s find out what’s hot in the genre of Speculative Fiction and what’s not!

WHAT’S HOT

1. Gender-focused fiction

Here’s a thought. Take your amazing speculative fiction idea and blend it with the concept of gender as a central theme. 

We’re past the age where characters are to be confined to their traditional gender roles. This is my absolutely favorite trend because I enjoy nothing more than bending the gender roles with my characters.

The oh-so-popular “Grumpy and Sunshine” trope? Well, I’ve turned it into “She’s only soft for him” with one of my stories. And guess what? My audience is in love with the strong and complex female protagonist. Also, I think at this point, my male characters are just as much in touch with their femininity as my female characters are in touch with their masculinity.

Besides, do you know what people are really into these days? LGBTQ+ books. Readers don’t want a token representation. They want to devour characters that identify as LGBTQ+. If you can keep gender as a focus in your story, don’t be scared to experiment.

2. Climate Fiction

The good ol’ global warming. While these books might not necessarily be speculative in nature, since let’s be real, the threat is staring us right in the faces, there are some really interesting speculative takes on this trend.

Of course, dystopia, utopia, and sci-fi are the go-to ways for approaching this trend. You can always sit back and think of new ways to approach what is affectionately known as “Cli-Fi.” The main idea that is almost always the backbone of these stories is that we must understand the climate crisis that is forever going to shape our lives. Got any fun ideas?

3. Thriller

The dark, high-stakes, on-the-edge-of-your-seat fiction is definitely gaining popularity. Now, speculative fiction is all about the “what if” questions, but by adding the essence of thriller, that is, the “ticking clock,” we can take our story to a whole new level.

People are really into fast-paced, “great heroes going against even better villains” kind of stories. Why? The adrenaline that flows through the readers with every twist and turn makes the readers feel euphoric. And that feeling is very addictive. Yes, you can literally get your readers addicted to your story!

WHAT’S NOT

1. Kingdom Fantasy

Raise your hands if you’ve heard of a fantasy novel set in some kingdom. Something like A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. With every trend, there comes a point when said trend becomes oversaturated. Sadly, it seems the trend of Kingdom Fantasy is coming to its saturation point, if it is not already there.

I’m not saying don’t write Kingdom Fantasy. That’s just ridiculous. However, your work as an author increases if you are going for Kingdom Fantasy. You have to find an angle that hasn’t been approached yet. Readers are more than willing to read multiple novels in the same genre, which is why tropes are so famous. Why? Because execution matters!

If you can execute Kingdom Fantasy in your own interesting way, go for it. Just remember, this section of speculative fiction has a lot of competition. So, fasten your seatbelts. The ride might be long, but it will be worth it.

2. Pandemic Theme

The Pandemic theme is when It is either mentioned or the entire plot is based around it. Tell me I’m not the only one who has found books, TV shows, and movies that somehow include it. 

At first, I did not mind. But as I’ve said earlier, with every trend there comes a tipping point, where the said trend starts becoming oversaturated. Unfortunately, that tipping point for the Pandemic Theme is fast approaching.

However, just like with Kingdom Fantasy, you only need to tread with caution. As long as your execution is unique, your work will find its audience.

3. Over-saturated Mythical Creatures

Vampires, werewolves, and all those popular mythical creatures have been doing rounds for centuries now. Let them rest. 

Instead, let us find lesser-known mythical creatures and work with them. That way, your work will not be lost amongst other vampire/werewolves novels out there. And it will still enjoy the perks that come with writing supernatural fiction! Isn’t that cool?

Next time we meet on Worldly Wise, let me quickly drop in some writing prompts to help begin your writing journey! Until then!

Tell us in the comments: Do you enjoy hopping onto a trend and making it yours or are you all about paving your own way? 

Disha Walia is a lifelong storyteller and an enthusiastic writer and editor in love with the idea of exploring the creative world of words. While making her space in the world of non-fiction and fiction alike, Disha loves to spend even her free time daydreaming about what next to write. Connect with her on www.quillinary.com. You can also follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

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