Discover Top Posts Tagged with #writer warnings

1. False clues! Layer in false clues in alongside clues that lead to the truth of your plot twists.

2. Misdirect! Don't withhold from your readers, but give them a clue and then immediately follow that clue by a misdirecting clue.

3. Means, motive, and opportunity! Give your characters means, motive, and opportunity that will all lead to the twist.

4. True/False Clues! Weave in false clues alongside truthful clues early on and then sprinkle them in from there on. However, characters shouldn't be handed clues; they should be earned.

5. Lastly! Establish both red herrings and the antagonist's real guilt simultaneously.

Hope this is helpful to those writers who are trying to catch readers by surprise! 🤎

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✨HOW TO WRITE ANTAGONISTS✨

1. Backstory! Not all antagonists have to be born evil. Some can be made through a painful backstory. Antagonists can act out of emotional pain so great that their humanity is stripped from them.

2. Antagonist/Protagonist! Make sure your antagonist fits with your protagonist. Make their battles exciting! They should somehow balance each other out.

3. Want/Why! Be clear about what your antagonist wants and why they want it. If you cannot answer this, it's time to do some soul-searching for your bad guy.

4. Redeemable? Having a diabolical antagonist is important, but it is also important to establish whether or not the antagonist is redeemable or not. Establishing this is important for the direction of the book.

5. Hero of Their Own Story! Your antagonist should believe they are the hero of their own story. What they want and why they want it will play a factor into this. Get deep!

Hope this is helpful to those writers who are struggling with your antagonist! 🤎

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1. Unique POV! A side character should provide a unique point-of-view (POV) and perspective to the story.

2. Purpose! As a result of your side character's unique perspective, what will they teach the main character? What will come of their unique qualities and POV?

3. Growth/Arc! Side characters shouldn't be as well-rounded as your main character, but they should have a small arc or reflect some type of growth throughout the story.

4. Backstory! When it comes to side characters, you should be asking yourself why they are with the main character and how they got there. Putting this on the page will help give them backstory.

5. Subplots! Just like the main character, a side character should have subplots. Subplots can overlap with the main plot if they are still with the main character. Take a look at The Lord of the Rings, for example.

6. Impact! Side characters should have an impact on both the plot and the main character. The side character has to mean something to the main character. Without these elements on the page, why include the side character in the first place?

7. Unique Quality! What is unique about your side character? Why did you include them? What do they bring to the story, plot, main character, and overall events? Have them bring something unique to the story, even if it's just a specific element of their personality.

8. Not all side characters should be memorable! Have some fade in and out.

Hope this is helpful to those writers struggling with bringing side characters to life on the page! 🤎

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1. Hide the answer in plain sight. The sooner you foreshadow your plot twist, the better. Hiding your plot twist in plain sight will make readers accept the breadcrumbs you leave behind and will be more accepting of the plot twist. The less "out of nowhere" your plot twist comes, the more believable it will be.

2. Use your foreshadowing carefully by weaving it into your story. Drop clues relating to your plot twist, but not excessively and not too obviously. Don't shove the foreshadowing into the readers' face or it won't be a plot twist anymore. They will see the plot twist from a mile away, which will not be a plot twist.

3. Being careful with your foreshadowing will lead to build-up and help your plot twist be a plot twist rather than a random event that comes out of nowhere. Such a random event can lead readers to setting aside your book.

4. Try to misdirect your readers (red herrings). This can be an effective way to throw readers off from the true plot twist. Send readers in the wrong direction, give them hints that lead them to assume the wrong event is about to occur.

5. Get feedback from critique partners, beta readers, and alpha readers to see how effective your plot twist is. From there, adjust accordingly. If your plot twist works for most, maybe don't tweak it too much. But if the plot twist doesn't work for most, it's time to consider rewriting some things.

Hope this is helpful to those writers who are trying to catch readers by surprise! 🤎

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Welcome to another #WriterWarnings! It’s time someone told you that perfectionism will hold you back 🙃

As you write, don’t try to make your book absolutely perfect. First drafts are meant to be messy, and you cannot revise and revise and revise without a completed manuscript to allow you the big-picture view of your book.

Rewrites and revisions are necessary, but a completed manuscript is necessary to help you understand where and what needs fixing.

For example, if you spend your time revising/rewriting your first chapter, you will never get around to writing the second chapter. Or the third.

Wanting perfection from yourself and your manuscript will get you nowhere. Doing such a thing is like trying to run somewhere but on a treadmill. Accept the messy and move forward.

Whenever you feel an itch to perfect, remind yourself that you can better fix your mistakes once the book is written 🖌📖☕

Here are a few things you should avoid in your first chapter!

• Slow opening. This gets the reader nowhere and won’t want to encourage them to keep reading.

• Cliché opening. Please don’t have your main character (MC) stand in front of a mirror and describe themselves from head to toe…

• Info-dumping. Reading every detail about the world you’ve created or even about a character isn’t exciting. Don’t toss readers every bit of information. Instead, sprinkle it in.

• No clear POV character. Don’t confuse readers by not establishing the narrator/who they’re reading from.

At Earley Editing, we offer a First Chapter Critique service and this list consists of many of the openings we initially read. It’s one of our favorite services, though, because we get to help writers improve their first chapters for agents and those query trenches!

✅ DO Use a conventional letter format when writing your query letter. Improperly writing a letter can tell a literary agent that you are unprofessional and possibly give off an "I don't care" attitude. So ALWAYS follow this rule to look professional, serious, and to reflect that you did your research.

✅ DO List your qualifications and publication history. If you don't have any publication history, that is fine, but be sure to hone in on your qualifications. Did you major in creative writing or English in college? Did you win a writing contest at some point? Do you have a Facebook Group dedicated to writing with x-amount of members? Mention anything you can and be professional rather than braggy.

❌ DON'T Writing more than one page can be a death sentence. Address the agent by name, hook them with the summary of your book, provide the genre and word count of your book, list your qualifications and publication history in a short bio, and then list your contact information—ALL WITHIN ONE PAGE. More than this will waste an agent's time and might cause them moving on.

❌ DON'T Do not send a query letter that isn't proofread. Read over your query letter, have a friend look over your query letter, and then have another person read over your query letter. Do this and ask for the other eyes on your query letter to catch any mistakes you might have made. Sending a query letter containing errors is a huge mistake.

Hope this is helpful to those writers who are in the query trenches! 🤎

✅ DO Include the important details of your book. Yes, the summary/blurb of your book is important for your query, but there are other essential elements. Include your book title, genre, and approximate word count. You can even include comparison titles! Comparison titles can help you describe the vibe of your story.

✅ DO Be sure to keep the summary part of your query to the necessary facts. Reference blurbs of already published books to get ideas on how to write one for your query. Avoid overloading your summary with description. Keep the summary to the more impactful elements.

❌ DON'T Saying your book is for everyone is a flat lie. Not everyone is going to love your book, even those readers who gobble up books in your genre. Some people are going to love it, some will like it, some will tolerate it, and some will hate it. Thus, do not pitch that your book will be universally liked.

❌ DON'T Do not ask for an NDA or be paranoid about a literary agent or editor stealing your work. Industry professionals don't steal ideas. To assume a professional would steal your work is a ridiculous notion. Do not be unprofessional or disrespect the agent/editor in your query email.