Author: Writing your first novel-Some things you should know

What Is a Platform?

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This was actually the first post I wrote ten years ago. Minus the grammatical and structural errors 🙂 and with a few updates. One of the things I have always tried to do is offer information I hoped would be helpful and prevent you, my reader, from making the same mistakes I did.

So as one writer to another, I would like to ask, “How’s your platform coming along? Do you have one? Do you know what it is?” Let me explain.

A writer’s platform is a digital, public-facing, and strategic hub where a writer builds their visibility and connects with an audience to foster a loyal readership. It could include a personal website, blog, newsletter or social media profile. Great manuscripts of first-time authors get pushed to the side every day because the aspiring author doesn’t have a solid platform.

I was recently rejected by a literary agent because of my lack of a solid platform. I spent the last few years editing and rewriting major portions of my manuscript to address numerous grammatical, structural, and POV issues to name a few.  I was confident with my work and looked forward to a request for the complete story. Well, what I got wasn’t a request but a rejection.  The reason had nothing to do with my novel. I had focused so much on preparing it for publication that I failed to do one of the most important things: build an audience of potential customers. Is it necessary? Unfortunately, yes, especially for first-time authors. The literary agent who rejected me apologized for not giving me better news but said it was really hard to place new authors, especially those without a solid platform. While she recommended that I send it to other agents, she also emphasized the importance of building a platform.

The good news is that, with technology, it is much easier than you might think.  Google ‘Building a platform’ and you’ll find all kinds of information.  I would personally recommend looking into Michael Hyatt. He is an author, blogger, speaker, and a former chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, so he knows a little bit about what we are trying to accomplish here. I would also recommend his book ‘PLATFORM GET NOTICED IN A NOISY WORLD’. He provides all the information you need to get started, including websites that help you build your online presence.

Something else to work on and think about.

-Jan R

What Is a Platform?

Overwriting?

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Overwriting is a result of our own effort to figure out what’s happening in any given scene. Only after we have discovered that core truth can we know what truly belongs and what doesn’t, based on a clearer knowledge of what we’re trying to say and what the scene requires. – David Corbett

So why do we overwrite? Insecurity? Annie Dillard describes one type of insecurity as “the old one-two.” You write your thoughts, feel like you have to explain yourself, and repeat what you just said using different words. Remember, you want to say it once, say it well, and move on.

Another reason for overwriting is the anxiety of feeling you didn’t give your reader a clear, concise picture of what’s going on. I’ll raise my hand here 🙂 The reader needs to know, right? Give your reader some credit. Maybe they already know what’s going on based on everything they’ve read so far, or maybe they don’t need to know everything. Leave a little mystery and give yourself fodder for upcoming chapters.

The good news is that overwriting is one of the best problems to have. You just have to find that sweet spot where you give your readers just enough to let their imagination take over. Take out the scissors, or hedge trimmers, depending on how much you have to trim 🙂

Don’t bog your reader down with needless words. Keep them engaged and moving forward with the thrill of finding out what lies just around the corner.

Something to think about.

-Jan R

Overwriting?

What’s Deep POV

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If you’ve been writing for a while, you probably know what POV is. You also know what head-hopping is. Something I did regularly when I first started writing. I’ll give you a brief summary anyway. Bear with me. There may be newbies reading this blog.

POV (Point of view) is the perspective from which a story is told. You have three choices.

First Person – From the “I” perspective. I enjoy this POV, but it limits the information you get, since the entire novel is from one person’s perspective. It is actually narrated by a character within the story using “I” or “we”.

Second Person – From the “You” perspective. The narrator is speaking directly to the reader, using pronouns such as “you” and “your”. This point of view is less common. I must admit, I’ve never read a novel from this perspective, so I can’t comment on its effectiveness.

Third Person – From the he/she/they perspective. My preferred and easiest to manage, at least from my point of view:-) This one can be broken down further to limited or omniscient. I choose to work with limited. This perspective focuses on one character’s perspective at a time. It will jump back and forth between characters throughout the story. Just remember you can be in only one head per scene. If you start jumping back and forth in the same scene, you’re head hopping, a sure sign that you are a beginner and have no idea what you’re doing. I’m guilty of this one 🙂

Now that we’re caught up, let’s look at Deep POV. Why? Because I recently got dinged for my POV, and I’m having to do a little research to understand what I can do to get even deeper into my character’s head.

Editor’s comment to me-

“You’re a talented writer, and you’ve created a strong connection between the reader and Ariel. When you learn and employ the elements of Deep POV. This is a real winner.’

For Deep POV, you want the reader to experience each situation through the character’s POV, not just read about them, but take every step, see every object or obstacle, feel every emotion, smell every flower.

Key Techniques to remember to stay in Deep POV:

Eliminate Filter Words: Remove words that distance the reader from the character’s experience. Saw, heard, felt, thought, believed, knew.

Show Don’t Tell: Present the character’s physical reactions and internal monologue.

Use Character Voice and Language: You are creating this character, and you know them better than anyone. Just remember to stay within your creation’s specific vocabulary, slang, opinions, and worldview.

Interact with the Setting: Have the character engage with their environment rather than just describe it objectively.

Balance internal and external responses: While focusing inward, you still have to show your character reacting to external events and people.

Hope this helped you with the Deep POV. I got most of my information from Writer and YouTuber Brandon McNutty: How to Use Deep POV in Your Writing. If you’re having the same problems I am, you may want to check him out.

Thanks for stopping by.

-Jan R

What’s Deep POV

Are You Saying What You Think You’re Saying?

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If you find yourself reading a sentence more than once, or adding information for clarification, that’s a red flag.

Your reader has less information than you. If you are confused by your work, you can only imagine what your reader is going through. I love a great mystery, but my writing shouldn’t be one.

It’s not the reader’s job to interpret your work. You should be clear and concise.  If your writing causes a pause something isn’t working.

I have to admit I love dangling modifiers though. They are some of my favorite mess-ups. I even wrote a blog entitled ‘just for laughs’. They are funny, but not in the middle of a serious scene. You don’t have to try to hard to imagine how quickly they can pull your reader out of their suspension of disbelief.

Dangling modifiers occur when the modifier has no clear referent and twist the meaning of your sentence in an unintended fashion.

  • I saw a tree walking down the street. Who knew a tree could walk? 🙂
  • I fed the children sandwiches in Ziplock bags. How did those children get in the bags?:-)

Misplaced modifiers are similar but not nearly as fun to read. As with dangling modifiers, there is no clear referent, which can lead to a clumsy and confusing sentence.

  • Lucy carefully studied the situation.                                                                                                   Lucy studied the situation carefully.

Another mistake new writers make that isn’t always as obvious but makes for a clumsy sentence that will cause a pause is comma splicing.

Comma splicing is when two sentences are linked by a comma, but they don’t really work because they’re two separate ideas.

  • John saw the rabid fox and ran to the house to get his gun, and he forgot to eat lunch and his tummy rumbled.

What about ambiguous sentences? The sentence is grammatically and structurally sound, but the reader has no idea what you are talking about.

  • My older students know I’m extremely careful with my language. Is the teacher referring to age or length of time the students have been in his/her class?

Be clear and concise! Say What You Mean!

Something else to think about.

-Jan R

Are You Saying What You Think You’re Saying?