SPA Girls Podcast – EP30 – Self Publishing Resources
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This week we talk about our favourite self publishing resources to help make your writing life just a bit easier. From writing tools like Scrivener and writeordie.com to editing support with grammarly.com or the best courses on Udemy and CreativeLive.com, we’ve packed this episode full of information for self publishers!
If you want to know the best resources for self publishing authors (or at least our opinion on that…!) then listen in to this episode!
Our Resources – we have our individual favourites, but often use the same ones.
Cheryl
KDROI – Sends your book out to free platforms – growing all the time. Be aware of the day of promotion and make sure your book is free. Small one off cost.
UDEMY – Site for courses. Wait for specials. There are so many you need to pick a topic and browse them. Check reviews and you can often get a sample. Often there are step by step and screen shots to make it incredibly easy to learn what you need to. A range of prices but around $25.
KDSPY – A great research tools. Lets you check out your favourite genres and authors. Highlights keywords, best-selling niches that at used. How many books were sold in particular categories. Check availability as its not in all countries right now. Small one off cost.
Shar
Writeordie – An app that keeps you writing in spurts. 15 minutes is a good prompt. Has several levels, including Kamakazee which deletes your work if you don’t write quick enough. None of us use this level!
Creativelive – More expensive than Udemy. If you’re interested in upskilling, then you will be in for a lot of well-worth it video training. They rebroadcast free so you can see what they have on offer at any given time.
MarieForce yahoo e-mail group – self publishing e-mail swap, and also a facebook for authors. Authors swapping ideas and offering information with Marie popping up with gems of wisdom and putting things in to perspective in an honest way.
Wendy
Grammarly – an automated program that allows you to check your work for grammar, spelling etc. Will have an explanation why something is wrong. Free trail.
Natural Reader – Will show up your mistakes by reading your work back to you. Punctuation, flow, grammer etc. There is a free down load option as a trial which you can use on your PC or MAC to start with, and purchase the full program later should it prove valuable to you. You can stop and start the reading, so you can follow and make notes. Free.
Jutoh – A formatting software for all platforms. Eg Mobi, epub etc. There is an accompanying tutorial but we have found that u-tube offers some great tutorials which are more step by step with a lot of screen shots. Jutoh will save you money as you will be formatting your books all the time when you are adding links or changing covers etc. A one off cost – very reasonable.
Trudi
Pomodoro – working in sets of approx. 25 minutes or whatever works for you. You can compete with yourself or others to encourage output. Ticks like a clock.
Scrivener – A program that you write in to or you can download a file. Novels or documents are broken down in to sections and/or chapters, the headings of which will be lined up on the side of your work. You can write notes and it also has a virtual corkboard. It is very visual, making it easy to follow and see gaps in your plot etc. One off cost.
Podcasts – An endless resource for writers. Covers most of the industry in a personal way. Some are visual as well, unlike ours, and can be interactive. Free. Some are listed here:
Marie Force Author support group https://www.facebook.com/groups/AuthorSupportNetwork/
MarieForce yahoo group https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/selfpublish/info
Joanna Penn https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-creative-penn/id309426367
The Self publishing podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/self-publishing-podcast-writing/id522665152 David Wright, Johnny B truant, Sean Platt
http://www.storygrid.com/ Sean Coyne
http://sellmorebooksshow.com/ Jim Kukral and Bryan Cohen
Lindsay Beroker – sci-fi and fantasy http://www.lindsayburoker.com/
Mark Dawson http://www.selfpublishingformula.com/
Gretchen Reubens – happier podcast – 25 mins focusing on positive habits. https://gretchenrubin.com/podcast/
Other links
Write or die http://oldandbusted.writeordie.com/
Utube – you can find a how to video on just about anything. Check dates for the most current.
Pomodoro – http://pomodorotechnique.com/
Scrivener – https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php
http://www.naturalreaders.com/index.html
SPA Girls Podcast – EP29 – The Ingredients For a Delicious Novel
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This week we went with a baking theme, and talked about the ingredients that we think are most important when ‘cooking’ a novel. This wasn’t an exhaustive list, just a few of the things we think you should work on first, to make sure your novel is going to be the best it can be. We know most about, and are most focused on, the romance genre, so it’s a multi-layered Black Forest chocolate gateau cake. Just saying. But for anyone who’s interested in a little bit of help with writing craft, listen in to our discussion of the most important ingredients… 🙂
Ingredients for a great story (according to the SPA Girls)
The Hook
This is what lures the reader into the story, like hooking the fish. It needs to grab the reader from the start of the story, or blurb. Don’t ramble get the reader into the story straight away.
- Start with a question. Ask your readers to think about where this book is heading.
- Use descriptive words. Creating a picture in the reader’s mind can make them want to keep turning the page.
- Intrigue them.
Characters
- Interview your characters and get to know them. Work out what they look like in your head.
- Give them values, pain and fear. What motivates them and makes them vulnerable
- Make them likeable, even if they start out mean. They must be empathetic.
- Conflict is important. Let us see why your characters are behaving the way they are.
- Make sure your characters have substance.
- You may know your characters but your readers do not, it is your job to fill them in.
- Your characters need to be relatable.
- If you are stuck with a character, interview them. It’s great fun and you’ll be surprised what you learn!
Conflict
The two types of conflict are internal and external. With internal conflict, it is personal to the person involved. This type of conflict takes place within the person. It can surface when a person’s values or morals are tested or otherwise compromised.
External conflict is conflict that occurs outside of the person. This can be conflict that is observed in others or outside forces that are causing conflict for the person in obtaining what they want.
- Conflict is not necessarily arguing, it is the conflict of opposing goals. If you have an antagonist and protagonist, then the antagonist has to want the opposite of what the protagonist wants.
- Conflict needs to drive each scene, until they reach the ultimate goal. Often the goals will change, but it is resolving the problem to get to the goal.
- Conflict helps the journey to fulfillment.
- Don’t solve a conflict in a way that is out of character and unbelievable.
- Conflicts should and will make your characters stronger.
Saggy Middle
The sagging middle occurs when the writing between the opening and climax of your book looses the readers interest. This is one of the most common issues a writer falls into.
- Plotting can help this, because often a sagging middle is from a weak structure.
- Remember that each scene should move the story forward, if it doesn’t then cut it, no matter how good you believe it is.
- See links for plotting books.
Show don’t tell
A well written chapter can draw an image in the reader’s mind instead of telling the reader what to think or believe, and this is what you want to achieve.
For example her is a sentence that tells:
Miss Simple was a skinny, angry old woman.
Instead of:
Miss Simple slid her slight, stooped frame through the narrow opening. She glared at the children who dared to enter her orchard, making each one quiver with fear.
Remember, create a vision in the readers mind.
Info Dump
This is when you put a lot of information into the book in one place and jar the reader out of the story. We know you need to tell some of the back-story, and describe your characters and setting etc, but you need to weave it into the story not dump it. This can also be showing instead of telling.
Ending
In a romance the reader expectations are that there is a HEA (happy ever after) or HFN (happy for now) ending.
Links
Goal, motivation and conflict Debra Dixon – http://www.debradixon.com/books/gmc.html
James Scott Bell – http://jamesscottbell.com/styled-7/
Shawyn Coyne – http://www.storygrid.com/
SPA Girls Podcast – EP28 – Where Do Ideas Come From?
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This week we thought we’d take a quick detour into ideas-land to answer the most common question that writers get – where do your ideas come from? If you’re feeling lost or lacking in inspiration, just pinch a few of our ideas for gathering new stories and get going!
This week we thought we’d take a quick detour into ideas-land to answer the most common question that writers get – where do your ideas come from? If you’re feeling lost or lacking in inspiration, just pinch a few of our ideas for gathering new stories and get going! Ideas
Trudi believes in the idea fairy, the rest of us are not convinced. So, where do they come from?
Here’s where we find inspiration to find the nugget of an idea to weave a story around:
People watching (not to be confused with stalking)
People around you can be fascinating. Why? Just take a look at a couple in a café/mall/at a party/your family/friends – what are they talking/arguing about. How do they look when they talk, or don’t talk? (body language). What about the airport? Do you feel the raw emotion in the air in the arrivals or departure gates? Imagine if that were you, or even better a character you’ve invented.
What you can hear (not to be confused with eavesdropping)
A phone conversation that you can only hear one side of. Imagine what the other person is saying to garner the reactions you’re witnessing. Listen to the tone or the language used. Are they angry, sad, happy, puzzled or asking questions?
Pay attention to what’s around you
Travel is a great source of ideas. Different cultures often have different gestures and ways of thinking. Seasons change and make the world look different. Each look can have its own story or push a story forward. How does your part of the world look? Or a part that you know something about.
Research your favorite topics
Trudi looks behind the scenes of the circus for her series. Cheryl finds hers in family. Wendy doesn’t need any. (just kidding – she has so many ideas we have to hold her back sometimes!) Shar loves researching and is a quick study of just about anything.
From books you like to read or news stories/magazines. Truth is stranger than fiction.
Movies and television – trends. Vampires, Zombies,
Fan fiction – following plot points or specific characters to lead you into a new realm.
Theatre/Musicals/Music
Mash-up one idea with another from different times and see if they work together.
Push yourself outside your comfort zone, but don’t forget to look after yourself so that the creative muse is fit and healthy
Creativity prompts and reflections: http://books.simonandschuster.com/Make-Your-Creative-Dreams-Real/SARK/9781439103548
Brain FM – for concentration and creativity. https://brain.fm/
Headspace – creativity/sleep. A gym for the mind. https://www.headspace.com/
Remember to eat right and exercise.
