 Kalayna
read all posts by Kalayna(Originally posted on Kalayna.com)
“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
The king’s advice to the white rabbit in the above quote seems too easy, too self-explanatory to be of any use to a writer. And yet, how to begin or end a story is an issue I see discussed and bemoaned on craft loops on a regular basis. More emphasis seems to go into the beginning of a book, as that is what agents, editors, and eventually, readers will see first. But how you leave a reader is as important as hooking them in the beginning. I blogged on beginnings last week, so I thought I’d take a look a endings today.
“Go on till you come to the end. Then stop.” Seems easy enough, right? But I bet we’ve all read [...]
Continue reading On Writing: Endings
Kalayna
read all posts by Kalayna[originally posted at kalayna.com]
Some would argue that the only line in a book more important than the first is the very last line. I’m not sure I would go that far, but as a reader, I know I’ve been sold by an opening line in the past.
When I’m in a bookstore, browsing, the very first thing that draws me to a book is the cover. They always say not to judge a book by its cover, but marketers aren’t stupid so different genres tend to have their own ‘look’. By designing covers which look ‘the same but different’ within a genre, the marketing people have conditioned readers to gravitate to books that display certain visual elements. Once the cover has done its job and urged me to pick up the book, I flip it over and scan the back blurb. Now, you must understand I don’t actually read the [...]
Continue reading on opening lines and hooking the reader
Kalayna
read all posts by KalaynaHey all. I totally and completely forgot it was my day to post. I’m in the middle of a first draft of one book and working on AAs for another, and as I didn’t prepare a topic, now I’m completely drawing a blank. Which means I’m opening the floor up to you. What would you like to talk about? Have a writing question you’ve been wanting to ask but haven’t found the right time? Well, this is that time!
This is an open forum, so let’s get a conversation going.
Kalayna
read all posts by KalaynaDid some of you cringe at the title of this post? Social media is something that seems to come naturally to some people and sends others running in the other direction. Most of you probably know what I mean when I say social media, but if you don’t, this is a group all term for blogging, twitter, websites, facebook, myspace (well, maybe not anymore–lol), google+, youtube, flicker, etc. Basically anything that puts you out there on the internet for other people to find. You might have noticed, that was a big long list. Let’s face it, we can’t do all of it–keeping up with every possible (and ever changing) social media outlet on the web would be a full time job.
So as novelists, which of these do we really need and how can we use them to our best advantage? **As always, the common disclaimer here–this is just my [...]
Continue reading Social Media: Some tips on the when, why, and how
Kalayna
read all posts by KalaynaI’ve spoken before on the fact that writing is a skill, and as a skill it needs to be used to be kept sharp and to improve. The only way to do that is write (or revise). Sitting down and working is one of the most instructive and important ways one improves their writing skill. But there are other things that should supplement your writing. No, I don’t mean going out and getting your MFA in creative writing or reading every craft book you can get your hands on (not that there is anything with either option). What I mean is that you should read, a lot, and not just in the genre you’re writing.
What can reading novels possibly teach you about writing? Well, for starters, the more you write the more you’ll find yourself to be a critical reader (which can be a blessing and a curse.) You’ll [...]
Continue reading Learning to write: Reading
Kalayna
read all posts by KalaynaHey everyone. Today I’m pleased to welcome to Magical Words a guest star and good friend of mine, Rachel Aaron. I had a clever little introduction planned for her, but then she sent me her post and I discovered she took care of introducing herself. (Very efficient, that Rachel) So without further ado, I’ll turn this post over to her.
My name is Rachel Aaron, and I’m the author of The Legend of Eli Monpress, an adventure fantasy series about a charming wizard thief and the trouble he gets himself into, published by Orbit Books. You might also know me as that lady who took her writing from 2,000 words a day to 10,000 words a day. This month, my first first three books are being re-released in a lovely (and fantastically priced) omnibus edition, so I begged Kalayna to let me come over here and make a [...]
Continue reading Guest Post: Rachel Aaron on Creating Better Flaming Trees
Kalayna
read all posts by KalaynaI’ve been thinking about covers a lot recently. There are two main reasons for this: one, I just received permission to unveil the covers for my July release (they’re pretty, you can check them out HERE) and two, I received a kindle touch for Christmas and discovered that it only lists books without showing covers.
As authors, covers are a source of excitement and/or stress, largely because we have little or no say in them and yet covers are the first thing people see. A good cover conveys to the reader the genre of the book (and so what to expect and if it’s something that reader is looking for) while still standing out from other covers in that genre. Not a simple task, but the marketing and art departments are pretty good at what they do and most covers hit their intended target audience. But not all. That’s where [...]
Continue reading Covers in the Age of Change
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