Covers - A Picture is worth a Thousand Headaches

I'm in the process of choosing a cover for A Ghost of Water, book 2 of my series of Paranormal Thrillers. And to say that it's causing me some frustration is putting it lightly.

Let's get something out of the way, shall we? "Don't judge a Book by its Cover."

Nonsense. Sheer and utter drivel is all that is...or at least when it comes to actual books.

In a book store the average person spends 8 seconds looking at the front cover and about 15 seconds reading the back cover. And, for the most part, decisions to buy books are made on the book cover alone. I know, I know, there are people who actually crack a book open and flip through a table of contents and may even sample a bit of the writing itself. Weirdos.

I like to do it myself.

But I have to admit that if the cover doesn't draw me I won't open it to give it a chance, unless it's from an author I already enjoy and/or respect. And odds are that if it's an author I already like it's because once upon a time I saw one of their book covers in a store or on Amazon and I was drawn to it.

Covers matter.

Hence my ordeal.

So I've generated several options using CreateSpace's (that's Amazon's Self-Publishing company...it's great!) cover generator. Some of them have been good, some...well...not so much.

The trick for me (and countless other Self-Published Authors) is to make our covers look professional, and not like they're "Self-Published."

Here are some tips:

1.) Make sure the finished cover will reproduce well in Grayscale. The rational for this is if you ever want the book reviewed in some kind of periodical that only prints grayscale images (a newspaper, let's say) then a clean, grayscale version of your cover image will go a long way to helping you sell copies.

2.) Don't Clutter the Cover. Don't make the cover image too busy because it's a turn-off for buyers. Simple is best. The fewer words/images the better. Always. This goes especially for the back cover copy (the words on the Back Cover that tell people what your book is about). Back Cover copy should hover around or under 80 words. You've already written the book once, don't make us read the whole thing on the cover.

3.) Blurbs & Testamonials. If you can find someone else who is an expert in the area about which you're writing and you can coax them to first read your book (or a sample) and then give you an endoresement, this is a good thing.

4.) Colors Matter. Here's a quick one. Red sells. Why? Who cares, it just does. Just don't go overboard with it.

That's about all I have for you today. I'll leave you with one of the potential cover images. The photo credit for the image goes to my good friend, Leslie, who took the shot while recently in Mexico.

Peace.

Interests of Conflict

Conflict is the engine of “story.”

Without forces of antagonism to oppose him/her, a story’s protagonist (main character) has no reason whatsoever to populate the pages we read and more importantly the ones we write.

If the life of your main character is even and balanced the whole way through the story you’re writing, then you’ve done something wrong because there is no worthwhile quest for him or her to participate in. If I crack open a book and the character just sort of floats through the tale unhindered in any way I begin to wonder why I bothered opening the book in the first place.

There are a number of reasons for this, so I’ll share a few of them here.

1.) A character that faces no conflict will display no depth. If we only know what the character is like at rest and cannot see what he/she is like under pressure we intuitively know that we haven’t gotten to know that character. We don’t understand them, haven’t become close to them, and consequently we can’t care about them. I have nothing invested in a character I haven’t gotten to know and therefore why would I bother to hang around and see what happens to them at the end of the story? Conflict is what will make your character multi-dimensional and fully realized on the page and in the reader’s heart and mind.

2.) Nothing moves forward in a story except through conflict. Things may happen but they are not proper story events without negatively charged forces behind them.

Frank went out and bought an ice cream cone from the corner store. He ate it. Then he walked home. The End.

Things happened in that story. Frank did things. There was a beginning, a middle, and an end. But nobody cares about this story because it doesn’t matter. Why? There’s no conflict. Nothing opposes him from getting what he wants, he obtains the object of his desire, and then he goes back to where he started leaving the reader to say, “So what?”

Now, imagine reading a book that has a lot of this kind of thing going on in it. How long are you going to stick with that book before getting fed up with it and dropping it off at the Goodwill? Not long.

The events of your story need to alternate between positive and negative charges. The only way to accomplish this is through the introduction of conflict. Conflict (negative) gives your character something to overcome it (positive).

3.) Conflict is the only way to bring about “absolute, irreversible change,” which, according to Robert McKee (“Story” seminar & book) and countless others is an essential aspect of the end of every story. If things are exactly the same at the beginning as at the end then the reader isn’t going to say, “Wow, what a great story.” They’re going to say, “Eh, whatever.” Restoring balance to life is one thing; making life better at the end than it is at the beginning is another.

Both “Good” and “Bad” things need to be lost along the way and replaced by better things. Both “Good” and “Bad” are the enemies of the “Great.” These thing which need to be lost over the course of the story can be anything (friends, lives, beliefs, objects, etc.) but they need to be lost as part of the story’s conflict.

The principle is this: Put your character(s) through hell. Take them through to the other side of it. Show us how they are better for having done so.

Hope that’s helpful.

"A Ghost of Water" Proofs

This is more of a geeky-joyful announcement than it is an actual blog post. Though I should have one of those coming soon. I just wanted to say how glad I am that my editing/proof copies for "A Ghost of Water" have arrived! Now I just need to farm them out to my readers/editors to get the ball rooling on getting it finished.

It's always such a good feeling to hold that first copy in your hand, to see the fruit of your labors. So, let this be an encouragement and a reminder for all you writers out there: Don't give up. The journey is totally worth it.

Also, as a bit of side-news: The Ebook for "A Ghost of Fire" is now available on the ibookstore for all you ipad/iphone users. $2.99.

Peace out and enjoy the pic below.

Basic Structure issues in Writing

This past Tuesday I taught lesson two of my "Novel Writing Class" for Leslie's Tutoring in Port Orchard. We had a blast as usual but the wierd thing is that the topic is sometimes considereed a boring one: "Structure." The discussion can be a bit technical, I admit, but as with anything a person can be passionate about it doesn't have to be boring.

Anyway I say all that to say this: Here's a few additional bits I'd like to say about "Act" structure. Yes, every story should have 3 basic Acts. But what should characterize each of those Acts?

Act 1: The Set Up.
Your first Act is mainly about introduction. You're introducing characters, setting, and the plot (or basic direction of the story.) Action is appropriate here but it shouldn't be as prominent as it will be in Acts 2 & 3. With your "Set Up" you need to have Your Act 2 action and Act 3 climax in mind.

Act 2: The Action.
This is where the main bulk of story "happenings" take place. If your story is a Mystery, the mystery should have been introduced in Act 1 and essentially unravelled across Act 2. Most of the doing and thinking about the body of the story should come here. In Act 2 your story should really be building up a serious head of steam.

Act 3: The Resolution.
Here you should be prepared to tie up loose ends and bring resolution to the story's conflict. All of the "Set Up" and "Action" from the first two Acts comes to a head here and climaxes. Here you take all of the story you've built through set up and action and you bring them to a satisfying conclusion by addressing them and answering them with absolute irreversible change.

There you go. Hope that helps in your writing.

Novel Writing Class

For all of you in my Novel Writing Class (and those of you who just WISH you were in my class...I understand, it's gonna be okay) let's make a few thing clear:

1.) Writing is first and foremost about you and what you have to say. You are your first audience member. Before you ask if anyone else is going to be happy with your writing, make sure you are.

2.) Writing is fun. Well, at least I think it should be. I know you're going to run into hard stuff like writer's block, sticky plot points, characters not doing the stuff you want them to. Those are small potatos compared to the joy of making something fun, cool, and worthwhile.

3.) Writing is meaningful. We don't do this for no good reason. We write because it matters to us. It's important enough to spend hours in front of blank screens pecking away at keyboards so that what we have rattling around between our ears will finally be exorcised, will get out of our heads and go have a life elsewhere. If someone else enjoys it, so be it. But a story untold may be undiscovered gold. What good is it?

This should at least be a start.

Peace.
Sam.

Novel Writing Class?

After a conversation with my friend Leslie (The proprietor of Leslie's Tutoring in Port Orchard, WA) I'm strongly considering teaching a Novel-Writing class for her. I have to admit I'm very excited about the possibility. At the same time I'm a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the task.

I love writing and I love teaching so it would seem to be a natural fit. And I had a very good time and great response from the Literary Analysis class I taught for Leslie's Tutoring last year. But there is just so much to writing a novel or non-fiction book that I do reflexively. A lot of the time it just sort of happens. Yet intention is a major player as well.

Additionally there's a lot of different philosophies out there on that emphasize very different aspects of the craft. I just re-read Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft last month and I'm really glad I did. It's brilliant and very "man-on-the-street" in it's ideas. There's a lot to draw from there. But Robert McKee's Story has some exceptional, but VERY different ideas. Plus, I have a lot of other resources I'll probably use, though they don't all say the same kinds of things. Getting this down to a manageable effort may be abit like herding cats. I don't expect to come away unscathed.

Regardless, I'm very excited and hope I get to do it. If I do, I'll probably end up using this blog with for supplimentary lessons and writing ideas and exercizes.

Peace out.

Rhythm & Writing

If you write (or create anything at all - painting, sculpting...whatever), it can be helpful to establish rhythms which can facilitate more productive and focused times of creativity. There are, of course, countless ways to do this. You can, for example, establish routines and/or disciplines to your work.

When I write, I, for instance, like to get out at least 1,000 words a day if I can. (As I write this, I just finished such a session - I wrote 1,096 words in my next book, A Ghost of Water, the sequel to A Ghost of Fire.) Sometimes I do way better than this sometimes, not so much. But there are other things we can do which feed our spirits and ennable further creativity.

One thing which helps me is the intake of other people's creativity. It's a common piece of wisdom which suggests that writers should first be readers and muscians should first be listeners to great musicians and actors should first be members of the audience.

Here's what I've been doing for some time now: When I write I like to listen to music at the same time. I love to read, for sure, but I find music really gets me going and itching to create. I'm a mediocre musician myself, but I'm fairly good at writing and so that's whereI like to channel my creativity. Plus, it's sort of hard to read a book and write a book at the same moment.

When I was writing A Ghost of Fire  listened to U2's album, No Line on the Horizon over and over and over. Now that I'm working on A Ghost of Water I'm constantly cycling through Lindsey Buckingham's new album, Seeds We Sow (which is really fantastic and indie, if you're into that).

I let the rhythm of the music get me going.

The point is, before you try to prepare a meal for other people with your creativity, it's important that you get fed yourself first.

Warning: be careful when doing this. In one respect you might find your work too strongly taking on a flavor of whatever is "inspiring" you at the moment. In his fantastic book, Story, Robert McKee, a guru on story, plot and pacing, says that the screenwriter must be careful of this because sitting on the top of your brain is every movie you've ever seen, so it's very easy to steal someone else's work, even without really realizing it. The same is true for writers nd artists of every type.

But don't let that stop you. Allow it to challenge you to dig deeper to the themes and veins of resource buried deep in that strange, complex little head of yours.

Go, listen, watch, pay attention, eat it, soak in it, digest and process it.

Then go and make something.