Write for a Reason

Hello again, writer friends! Since writing last week’s post about names (Did you check out the link? You can read the post again here), I’ve been thinking. One of the most important reasons for choosing the right name for your character, is that the name will be memorable.

You need your readers to ‘see’ your characters in their mind’s eye every time they read their names. (This is especially important if you don’t have pictures.) If readers can’t put the right ‘face’ to the right name, you’re in trouble.

Have you ever read a book and got confused as to who was who? I know I have! Sometimes this can happen when the author has introduced too many characters. Sometimes this can occur when the names are not memorable enough. Picking a name that will suit the character, and is memorable, will help. If you have three friends, don’t give them names that are too similar. Don’t call them Rachel, Ruth and Rebecca. We will never remember who is who!

Could you suggest some alternatives? Persephone, Harper and Ruth-Anne, perhaps? What do you think? What would you call these three friends? 🙂 Come on over to our facebook page, find this post, and share your thoughts with us!

Look forward to hearing from you,

Janet

P.S. I still need a few more people to help me with the Write for a Reason Membership Programme. In the past, the programme has consisted of teaching alone: next year I want to set up a more interactive programme, but need to know what writers want and need the most. So I’m going to be trialling a few different things, and need some guinea pigs who don’t mind having a go and giving feedback. Could this be you? We will be going in-depth with one topic to do with writing every month, e.g. dialogue, humour, looking at target audience and so on. I’ve now set up a closed facebook group so members can interact, support and encourage each other (and perhaps be beta readers for each other?), a members area on the website, where I will post all the month’s teaching, and will set an assignment every month on the topic, so there will be something for you to do to put the teaching into practice. Oh, and I’m going to attempt webinars, too, gulp! If you’d like further information about any of this, please take a look at our website, or send me an email. Always love to hear from you, anyway! 🙂

Hello everyone, and welcome to this week’s creative writing tip! Actually, less of a ‘tip’ this week, more of a ‘help’, I hope!

According to the most recent statistics, Harper was the girls’ name in the top 100 with the biggest rise in popularity over the previous 10 years, whilst for boys it was Jaxon. (England and Wales official statistics). At the top spot, Olivia and Oliver were the most popular names for girls and boys respectively. Fascinating, isn’t it?

Do you need a good name for your character? Want a name that’s currentlty popular right now? Or if your main character is a teenager, would it be helpful to browse the most popular names in the year he/she would have been born?

Try out this link!

It will take you to the official statistics for baby names in England and Wales. If you live in a different part of the world, or your book is set somewhere else, see if you can find something for your area – it’s all good fun!

You might not want the most popular name, though! If you want your book to appeal for another ten years, you might like to choose a classic name, or one that is on the rise in popularity. Or you might want to find something totally unique… there are plenty of names to browse.

It’s up to you! What have you called your characters, and why? Love to hear from you!

Janet

P.S. You may have heard that I’m setting up a new Membership Programme, and need some guinea pigs to help with feedback as I get various benefits underway. I want to set something up that will be useful for writers-for-a-reason. Would you like to help? I need a dozen or so people who write for young people and who would be happy to get involved. Love to have you! You can read more about it here.

We all love surprises… well, maybe only if they are nice surprises!

Here are five sudden surprises that are easy to get right in novels… two good, three not so good, but with tips so you can get them all right!

Good surprise 1: A twist in the tale. We like these!

Good surprise 2: An ending exceeding readers’ expectations. Big tick!

Not such good surprise 1: A character you didn’t think was in a scene suddenly speaks. Oh! How to get it right: Make sure readers know who is in a scene and who isn’t.

Not such good surprise 2: A piano suddenly appears near the end of the story. If you are going to have a piano, (or any other item of furniture/equipment we would have seen/known about if we’d been there) make sure it gets a mention when we would have first seen it.

Not such good surprise 3: Several chapters in, we discover the protagonist has long blonde hair… in our minds they were dark. How to get it right: Make sure you give us any descriptions early in the story!

I’m sure you get the gist of what I’m trying to say here. Sometimes we are so close to the story, it’s difficult for us to spot little anomalies like these, so do give your work to someone else to read, who can keep an eye out.

And if you were thinking of self-publishing, have your manuscript professionally edited; editors will see things that you won’t, and an untrained eye might not, either. It’s worth every penny!

Have you read something recently which surprised you, good or bad? Let us know!

And have a great week. Summer is here at last!

Every blessing to you all,

Janet

Occasionally you will come across a story for young people where you think a glossary of some sort would have been be helpful. I remember one book I used to read over and over as a child, where most of the action was set in India. The word “sweetmeat” was used, and I had no idea if it meant something “sweet” or something “meat”! (I wish I could remember the name of that book, I’d love to read it again!)

In a glossary, specialised vocabulary can be explained, but away from the text, which means it doesn’t slow the actual story down. You don’t have to dumb the language down though, which is great for readers.

One of our Dernier Publishing books, A Pennyworth of Peppermints, is set in Dorset in the First World War. The author has added a glossary. Zeppelins, farthings, regiments and anything else young readers might not understand are all there.

I have just read a book for younger children (7+) set in the Wild West 150 years ago, and was pleased to find a glossary at the back. There are only nine entries, but every one explains a word that today’s seven-year-olds may not be familiar with, such as “pioneer” and “tinderbox”. And did you know a jackrabbit is a long-eared American hare? You see how useful a glossary can be!

You could also use a glossary if your story is set in the future and you have words or ideas that need an explanation; or if your novel uses scientific terms, latin names, or foreign words.

Could your story use a glossary? It’s a great way to stretch your readers’ vocabulary and add interest, too. 🙂

Let me know what you think of the idea of using a glossary. Always love to hear from you. 🙂

Every blessing,

Janet

P.S. I need a few guinea pigs to trial a new membership programme. Would you like to take part? More info here.

Hello again, writer friends!

Today’s creative writing tip is one we all need to heed. If one or more of our characters are not like us, are they authentic?

Our characters may not be like us in several ways, such as:

• Race
• Gender
• Age
• Background
• Life experience

… and you may be able to think of some more.

Here’s an exaggerated example: If you are a retired black middle-class female from South Africa, with English as your mother tongue, and your main character is an Asian teenage lad from Hong Kong who speaks Cantonese, are you sure your readers are going to see him as a real person?

I’m not saying don’t write that story with that character, but if you do, make sure that you do some excellent research.

If your character is a fourteen-year-old, spend time, if you can, with young people that age. You need to soak up their culture: the way they speak to each other, the way they relate to their parents and authority figures, what they like and dislike, what they fear and dream about.

Does your character have divorced parents? If you’re not in that situation yourself, find someone who is. Don’t guess how it makes them feel.

If your characters are from a different ethnic background, make sure you find out as much as you can about their culture before you begin writing. The last thing you want to do is offend, but it’s easily done if you haven’t checked. Did you know that white is the colour of mourning in China, and is used at funerals? If you’re not familiar with the culture you can so easily go wrong.

So… don’t assume anything! Visit people, ask questions, research online, get a beta reader from the age group/culture. And if you’re not sure, write a bit closer to home. 🙂

Trust that helps! Is the main character in your latest story like you, or very different? Let us know – always lovely to hear from you!

Every blessing in your writing,

Janet

Hello, Christian writer friends. I hope you are well and enjoying the spring weather (or whatever it is with you if you’re not in the UK – do you say “autumn” or “fall” in South Africa/Australia?:-)).

Quick tip this week on varying sentence lengths. You may not have thought about it, but varying the length of your sentences (and paragraphs, incidentally) will give a lovely flow to your work.

If all your sentences are long, or all your sentences are short, you just won’t get that rhythm. And I am talking about stories, not poetry!

It’s amazing what a difference it makes. Why don’t you have a look at your work in progress and see if you have a group of sentences/paragraphs all the same length. What if you made some shorter, some longer? Does it flow better? Try it and see!

Trust that helps you with your current work in progress, or give you an idea for your next story. 🙂

Love to you all,

Janet

P.S. Come over to our facebook page and send us your “befores” and “afters”. Love to see what a difference you have made!

Hello again! Is it really possible that another week has passed since the last writing tip? :-)Today we’re going to think about characters, because they are essential to the success of our stories.

“Character is king” is an oft-quoted phrase, but it really is true.

However gripping the plot, however exciting the setting, your characters are the key to the success of your novel. Your characters need to be people your readers care so deeply about, they want to keep turning the pages to see what happens to them.

Think of a novel you read recently that you enjoyed, or a movie you watched. Was it not the relationship you built up with the characters which compelled you to keep watching the movie/turning the pages? Did you feel deeply for them?

In the next few days, see if you can’t come up with a main character your readers will feel for, understand and engage with. Plot and setting will follow. In fact, your characters might take you to extraordinary places, once you set them free! Even if you never get round to writing the story, at least it will have been good practice. 🙂

Hope that’s useful. If it is, please don’t hesitate to share with your writer friends!

Many thanks,

Janet

P.S. If you would like to look further into characters for books for young people, why not consider doing the Write for a Reason course? We go into a lot more detail than we have space for here. Love to have you!