#first-time author

[legibler-world]

Let the Reviews Begin

Let the Reviews Begin

When I decided at the beginning of this year to take back up the mantle of becoming a writer, I quickly found that there was more information out in the great wide world than I knew what to do with. I started to break everything up into more manageable pieces – starting with ordering books on self-publishing. Before I delve too far into the first book review – as promised – let me stop for a…

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[ballyhootoronto]

African Canadian First time Author A G Elliott Writes Trilogy Mona's Secret Diaries Shadows of the Past Book.

Book One The Chronicle is now available on Amazon.

Order your autographed copy today by ordering directly through Angelita. Hurry-up, only 7 copies left. For more information please email [email protected].

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#AfricanCanadianAuthor #booklaunch #author

[once-upon-a-january]

For any of my followers who care...

This December, I’ll be publishing and releasing my very first book! I need to sell at least 100 copies/raise $4000 to reach my goal, so I’d really appreciate it if any of you could purchase a copy, or at least share the link with anyone you know who might be interested in the topic or likes to support first-time authors. Thank you!

https://igg.me/at/indie-chasingpassion/x/22138213#/

[culturetechhq]

Spotlight: Subverting Boundaries

An Interview with Acclaimed Performance Artist and Author, Anya Liftig Anya Liftig (Photo Credit: Steven Dennett) Performance art defies a singular definition; it refuses to be pinned down, yet it is perhaps the most visible, impactful, and relevant art form today. It can be celebratory, political, satirical, and mournful. In short, the flexibility and adaptability of performance fuel its…

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[tearsofrefugees]

First-time author wins Christopher Award for book on two refugee women

Not many first-time book authors win prizes for their initial work. But Jessica Goudeau is one of them.

After the Last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America.

[jgjbooks]

What I have learned this year...

What I have learned this year…

Last night, I went to my writing group which is made up of teachers from across the region. It is run by a former lecturer/tutor on the course, who is undeniably passionate about writing and in particular, writing for pleasure.

One of the exercises that we did was to reflect on this past academic year (with being a group of teachers, this was our last session). She asked us to consider what we…

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[jgjbooks]

Down the Rabbit Hole: Stone Age Research

Over the last week, I have been down the rabbit hole! I started properly writing last week. I am now at 2 complete chapters. This may not seem much, but my feelings of accomplishment are enhanced by the amount of research and “setting” I have been able to do. When approaching a story about the Stone Age or any prehistory, you must first work out which epoch you are going to look at? The simplest…

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[blueinkandhighlights-blog]

Basic Writing 101: Dialogues (Part 2)

Adverbs. One of the most common issues that editors frown on when reading a manuscript is the overuse of adverbs--especially in dialogue tags. 

Example: Given that prior to this scene, it was already established that Belinda  lived a life on her own, was always keeping things to herself, and her relationship with her mom was on the rocks. The narrator, Sydney, was Belinda's sister and she barely knew what was the reason behind her sister and her mom's cold war. I took the seat in front of her. "Are you coming to Mom's wedding?" I asked hesitantly.

"Why? Did you see my name on the guests' list?" Belinda said sarcastically.

"Why are you making things hard for her? Can you not let her be happy even just this once?" I answered miserably.

"You never knew what happened, Syd. You'll never understand," she said calmly.

"But--"

"Shut up and leave!" she said angrily.

"She really wants you to come," I said sincerely. The example above is, of course, an exaggeration--but that happens to quite a number of first-time (and sometimes published) authors. Why is this not good? Readers will try to picture out how  the characters said those lines because you're telling them that this is how Character A is saying it. This slows them down, and it doesn't give your reader a part in your story by coming up with their own version of the scene. Don't bore the reader with adverbs. 

This will go back to the epic show, don't tell that experienced authors, editors, and writing camps are always preaching about. It's fine to use adverbs, but don't sprinkle your writing with it like gold dust. Use it when there's no other way to show how the action should be done to suggest what you want to come across.  There are a lot of ways to remove the adverbs and improve the scene above. This is a sample revision. 

I took the seat in front of her, swallowing hard. "Are you, uhm, coming to Mom's wedding?" [hesitancy]

"Why? Did you see my name on the guests' list?" Belinda said. [Going back to the background of the story, this line is sufficient to come across as sarcastic.]

I sighed. "Why are you making things hard for her? Can you not let her be happy even just this once?" [She already sounded miserable, and we can completely remove the tag since it's clear who's talking. Sighing before saying this can also add effect.]

"You never knew what happened, Syd." She sucked her almost-done cigarette and looked up at the ceiling. Smoke ringlets formed in the air. "You'll never understand," she said, stubbing the cigarette butt on the ashtray. [calm]

"But--"

"Shut up and leave!" [The exclamation mark is enough.]

I stood up and walked to the door. "She really wants you to come," I said before closing the door behind me. [sincerity] Another concern of using a lot of adverbs in dialogue tags is readers will notice it. On average, forty to fifty percent of a book are dialogues. It's impossible readers will not notice the style of writing--and this is the last thing we (writers and editors) want, since we know that being engrossed in a story is not noticing how it was written.