In this category I share some of the research that I find interesting or was helpful on my journey to become a better writer and storyteller. I hope you find this information useful as well.
By Paula Perron
What is the magic of three?
Superstition or factual, let me see
In football, a field goal’s points are three
In Baseball, you are out at strike three
A turkey in bowling is strikes of three
In math, the triangle has edges of three
The circus has rings of three
The Holy Trinity is three
Jesus rose on day number three
Bad luck always comes in three
Superstition or factual- the answer I see
I love you, is the greatest magic of three
By Paula Perron
I SEE THE LIGHT
Today is a very special day—for most of us, it is Easter Sunday, or Passover, and we are faced with the most destructive contagion seen in a hundred years.
Remember, in this country, when we are faced with a pandemic, we keep on going, never to stop in defeat. In the past, we have never given up—always fighting for freedom and justice, and we will, once again, overcome this latest setback.
I see the light and it is bright. DO YOU?
Every great writer has mastered the art of rhythm and flow in creating every sentence of their novel by using the right words.
You can find more on this subject, using the Dictionary; Grammarly; Thesaurus, Google, and the Web. However, this should give you a good place to begin.
There are more interesting tips coming. If you are registered on my web site, you will be notified every time a new one is posted. If not registered: what are you waiting for. Sign up Now!.
REMEMBER: A few simple tips can make all the difference in your reader’s understanding of the mood and meaning you are conveying.
Have a great day, Paula
The editing, re-writing, and more editing, and re-writing is finally completed. Now, are you searching for an agent/publisher, or considering self-publishing? Many up-and-coming authors have found success by self-publishing through one of several companies. However, before you decide, I suggest you research first as there are good and bad features with both.
The Good Features: Self-publishing service is usually fast. Distribution covers the United States, as well as many other countries. Royalties offered may be higher than Traditional publishing. On Demand printing is offered by some, thereby increasing sales. Some offer a free ISBN number, (required) and some may offer your book for sale on its’ Website. One offers free printing but requires it be the distributor.
The Not So Good Features: You, as author, are responsible for the entire expense of printing. Cover design, editing, formatting, converting to an e-format and changes to your manuscript will cost extra. You may also be responsible for copyright, an ISBN number, marketing and distribution. You may be required to grant exclusive publishing rights for years.
Considering Traditional Publishing?
Begin with researching to find an agent and/or publisher. Writer’s Market, and Writers Digest, generally publishes agents looking for new authors. Send a Query letter, indicating the category, a synopsis of your novel, the market audience your book is meant for, and a description of yourself. If accepted, publisher pays all costs for editing, printing, and distribution. It may take months before you see it in print. Agent receives commission out of your proceeds. Your royalties may not be as high. No need to copyright your book prior to publication. Publisher handles that on behalf of the author.
For more information” Check the booklets available online, giving you the pros and cons of Self-Publishing vs. Traditional publishing.
NOTE: Won’t you share your experience and help other writers make a tough decision?
Paula
Why use a Tagline for your latest Novel? Because it gives your reader more information about you and about your book. It is different from the short synopsis you place on the back cover. The tagline is a great way to hook the interest of readers who have little time, and the online surfers, who usually allow ten seconds to read it, become interested and buy it. Authors use Taglines for their books—Advertisers use Taglines for marketing products, and Movies have had Taglines since the early 1900’s.
These marketing slogans have proven their worth by lasting years and years, without change. Here are a few advertising Taglines still in use: “KFC’s “Finger Lickin’ Good”, Wheaties, “Breakfast of Champions, and the one for the Army: “Be all you can be”.
The first movie released with a tagline was a Poster designed by Jules Cheret, a Frenchman, promoting a short film in 1890. In 1895, they depicted an actual Train Scene from the film “Arrival of a train”. In 1910, the studios produced their own, with special border art, titles, Studio logos, and “slogans” or Taglines. Did you know the Number One Tagline from all Movies is 1979’s “ALIEN”—“In space, no one can hear you scream.”
To continue,—you need a Tagline for your novel. Let us assume your novel is a love story. Here are a few thoughts that will make a tagline effective.
What is the conflict or basis of the story (love or career)—what is the meaning of your story (can she do both?)—Emphasize an important quality of your character (Determined, stubborn)—Highlight something distinctive about the novel (does love win?)—Inspire the reader’s curiosity, by not telling all, but just enough to interest them—the genre of the novel? (Romance, Young Adult).
Start each word with the same letter: Example, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
Rhyming: Love came to her in a dream…but was it all a scheme? The tagline tells you it is a love story, with a mysterious character, and it may not turn out well.
Try a short, dynamic tagline like: “Love hurts.” Sometimes the shorter the tagline, the more interest in your book, and the urge to buy it.
If you quote something in the novel, maybe what your character says, use it as a Tagline. Your fans will recognize it and the result will be an increased enthusiasm for your book.
Because of the importance of your Tagline, you may want to enlist the help of someone.
However, whatever you do, keep trying new combinations until the right one is found.
Here’s to a successful TAGLINE, Paula
Want to Leave your Readers Hungry for your Next Novel?
The final chapter, of your novel is written and you believe it will be satisfying to your readers, with no loose ends and unanswered questions. But, are your readers hungry for your next novel? If there is any doubt in your mind, below are some useful suggestions before you begin the Final Chapter..
1.Leave room: for your readers’ imaginations and allow them to picture what happens next, without being told: “They lived happily ever after.”
2.Foreshadow: Plant seeds in advance—small clues that will make the end seem natural.
3.Build-up Mystery: A good mystery needs a build-up toward the climax with lots of twists and turns during the telling of the story.
4.Pace: To create a mystery, write shorter scenes, sentences and chapters to increase the momentum. Save the largest scene for your last Chapter.
5.Reveal: Show how your characters changed in the story.
6.Romance: For romances, the above are still important. If a romantic mystery, use the same pace as #4.. All romances need a build-up- but without many complications, either between the lovers, or the events that get in the way of a happy union.
7. Similar Book endings: Check other books similar to your story, and review how the author ended the final chapter. Try several options—put them aside—then read again, later, and see which one makes the most sense for your story.
In my opinion, one of the best storytellers of mystery and suspense was the late Alfred Hitchcock. His television series always had an unexpected ending—one I never anticipated, and although it was not always a happy ending; but always satisfying. Each of his stories is a lesson for mystery writers. His movies, too, are well worth seeing. ( Shocking, Frightening, and deliciously, wickedly Amazing.)
Happy Ending,Paula
In preparing my new book for publication I ran into a dilemma when asked: What Genre is it?
I thought it could be a Young Adult contemporary romance, or maybe a paranormal romance. It has the content of a paranormal romance in that it is an unusual story. It is set in the modern world, with the protagonist a Twenty-Two year old female college student, with issues focusing on leaving home; developing as a woman; becoming independent; considering different career choices, and could be classified as “ New Adult” for aged 18-25.
I asked Google, and found that there is much on this subject.
In Molly Wetta’s Newsletter, she says New Adult was first marketed by St. Martin’s Press in 2009, after asking for submissions similar to young adult but focusing on the 18-25 or 30, group still discovering who they are and what they want. Some believe it is the step between young adult and adult books. Some like it. Others think it is a foolish and absurd category.
Blogspot.com also addressed this subject. They say the YA target audience is teenagers. The NA target is older and living in the present, trying to be independent after leaving home for the first time. They are juggling new adult experiences and attempting to handle life in the present, and at the same time deciding how they fit into the adult world.
Goodreads lists New Adult fiction as focusing on the period in life where you are becoming an adult. The contents are more mature in that they may face a serious relationship and heartbreak.
However, there is a need for books about characters aged 18-25 . Many of the new novels are fast-paced, focusing on experiences in life beyond the teenage years, and the publishing world reports that more and more titles are being marketed as New Adult. A reason could be because they found that NA fiction is reader-driven, and popular with readers who prefer e-books.
This is such an interesting topic— you may want to read more. As previously stated, there are many opinions on this subject and I could not cover all the information I found. Listed below are the internet addresses of those I referred to.
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com
Blogspot: http://avajae.blogspot.com
Ebscohost.com: MollyWetta:https://www.ebscohost.com/novelist/novelist-special/what-is-new-adult-fiction-anyway
Happy Writing, Paula
”The course of true love never did run smooth”—-SHAKESPEAR
On Valentine’s day everyone thinks of Love and Romance. Whether young or old, the day invokes memories.
If you are a Romance Writer, you are always interested in learning more about how to move your readers from a first kiss, to a breakup and finding a new love. As an author, you try to find a new approach to an old story. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy gets girl back and they live happily ever after—End of story. Or is it?
Most books, regardless of genre have an attraction somewhere on the pages, even if it is a sub-plot. As a writer, it is your job to make your readers care about your characters, their lives, and their relationships with others. Only in fairy tales do the characters live happily ever after.
Boy meets girl. She is beautiful, smart, and well endowed. He is handsome, brilliant, and successful. Perfect!—Right? NO! Everyone has faults, problems, and dreams. So must your main characters. Give her some quirky habits. Allow him to have secrets.
There are subtle techniques to keep your readers interested. Special words help your readers turn the page (She heard his footsteps advance toward her and her heart jumped with excitement) Or, whisper into your reader’s ears to trigger a memory.(He heard a familiar voice and a pit formed in his stomach).
But, let’s talk about writing an actual romance. We can convey love without saying a word. That is where the “show, don’t’ tell” comes in. A touch, a look, the memory of a shared experience, can say a lot. There is no need to say the magical three words. Writing about Love is difficult. You have to work harder to convey it without saying it.
Another question: How to create suspense through flirtations? To be a good writer, one must learn to be both a seducer and a lover. Begin with flirtations, luring the reader into your world. Is she a teaser, promising much but giving little? Is he not what he seems? Learn to master the art of dangling a carrot before your reader. Plant the idea and your reader will crave the answer. There should be tension, and anxiety between both characters. Without it, your reader will not experience any pleasure at the end of your story.
This is a condensed version of a wonderful issue of Writer’s Digest, for February, 2018. If you do not already have a subscription, you are missing a great magazine.
Happy Writing, Paula
DEFINITION OF ALGORITHM: A logical step-by-step computer program —a flow chart— a system—a set of rules…
An article written by Joel Shurkin awakened me to such a possibility. Scientists at Stony Brook University, in New York, think a computer program might predict successful books and recently, using the computer Algorithm, found that the program had about 84 per cent accuracy when applied to published books.
In a paper published by the Association of Computational Linguistics, “the writing style of books was correlated with the success of the book”. They used a process called statistical stylometry, a statistical analysis of the literary styles of several genres of books and identified characteristic stylistic elements common in successful books.
Some of the early finds by the scientists amaze me because they found journalists tend to use more nouns, pronouns and prepositions than other writers and in doing so, are more successful. ——– Both Hemingway and Charles Dickens began their careers as Journalists. To further excite me, a computer scientist at Israel’s University developed a program that tells whether the author is male or female 80 percent of the time.
Is it possible, Editors will now use an algorithm program to determine a books success or failure before they print? Wow!
There are more findings and observations in Mr. Shurkin’s article—too much to elaborate here, so give it a read. I think you will find it as interesting as I did.
For reading, go to “American Institute of Physics”
Happy Algorithms,
Paula
