From the Editor's Desk
Hi and
welcome once again to Fiction Factor! And, as always,
welcome to our new subscribers.
It's been yet another hectic month, so I'll keep it short
for this issue and get right into the writing stuff!
This issue Steve Dempster looks at five secrets of
success. Dawn Arkin discusses a checklist for any
blossoming romance writer and Kristy Taylor looks at
creating just the right title for your short story.
It's time now to grab a beverage of choice, sit back, and
enjoy this issue of Fiction Factor!
Lee Masterson
Editor-in-Chief
http://www.fictionfactor.com
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Novel Writing: Five Secrets Of Success
by Steve Dempster
Have you ever wondered, as you sit at your
keyboard, if there are any secrets to successful novel
writing? Well there are - and here are five of them.
Remember these secrets and your novel writing will
improve overnight!
To call the points below 'secrets' is perhaps to invest
them with too great an air of mystery, yet it seems that
so many words of advice are looked on as 'secrets'
nowadays that I thought 'what the heck? Go with the flow
- call them secrets. Why not?'
I'll tell you why not. Because it isn't fair. The
'secrets' I'm about to tell you aren't secrets at all -
just good, solid advice that's been proven on the writing
mill time after time. So, when next you read some sales
blurb offering to tell you 'secrets' that will absolutely
guarantee your success and turn you into an A-list writer
- remember me. Remember these five points. Remember that
the writer's road is a hard and rocky one. And especially
remember that that road is the best road ever made!
Point One: Adopt a professional attitude towards
your work.
Does this seem obvious? Of course it does - and yet you
would be amazed at how many people write 'when they can'
or 'when the mood takes them'. If you are one of these
people, you need to change this mental attitude right now
- and I do mean right now. Unless you are another
Hemingway or Joyce you will not succeed with such an
approach. Set aside a regular time to work - then stick
to it. Period.
Point Two: Identify your target market.
Who will you write for? By this I mean what section of
the reading public. A good thing to keep in mind is that
you are more likely to be successful writing books on the
subject your read yourself - romance or sci-fi for
example - than forcing yourself to write in a genre
unknown to you just because it seems to sell well.
Point Three: Self-belief.
This is one thing that - unfortunately - no-one can teach
you, yet it is one of the most important things that any
writer can possess. Indeed, without self-belief it is
highly unlikely that you will ever really 'make it' as a
writer. Why? Simply because writing is a tough game and
only the strong survive. A writer's strength lies in
mental, rather than physical, toughness but it's
toughness just the same. Cultivate this strength at every
opportunity.
Point Four: Support.
I've said this before in other articles and make no
apology for saying it here - having the support of your
family is of huge importance. If they understand that you
are treating this writing business seriously and that you
need to have set times in which to work then this will be
of immense help to you. If they then go the extra mile
and root for you at all times, well, you're halfway
there!
Point Five: Rejection.
This is perhaps the most dreaded aspect of writing for
many would-be authors - the awful 'pink slip' of the
rejection letter. What you must realise is that rejection
is not a personal slight. Publishing is a business and
all that rejection means is that your story or book
doesn't fit with what that editor wants at that moment.
Many writers in fact have a 'rejection selection' that
they keep to one side and resubmit at regular intervals.
After all, times change - and so do editors!
So - five short 'secrets' that, if you keep them in mind
and more importantly act upon them, will always help you
along the way to being a published writer. No guarantees,
though - anyone who offers you those is someone you
really shouldn't listen to!
© Coypright Steve Dempster
Steve Dempster writes articles for the web and works of
fiction. If you would like to get the know-how a novelist
needs to write professionally, take a look at this: http://www.howtobeawriter.co.uk/page11.html
You can read the
online version of this article here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests/secrets.html
 Create-A-Character
Clinic
Can you create a great character that editors
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A New Romance Writer's Novel Checklist
By Dawn Arkin
Most new writers think writing a romance novel is the
easiest way to break into the publishing world. All they
have to do is write about a couple falling in love. How
hard can that be?
Pretty hard at times. There are so many different aspects
to a romance novel that at times it might seem like the
couple will never get together. That's romance writing,
pure and simple.
But how do you know if you got all of those aspects into
your romance novel? There are some questions you can ask
yourself before, during, and after you start writing that
will help you determine if you have the things romance
publishers are looking for when they read submissions.
Characters
The single most important part of a romance, the hero and
heroine, are the driving force in any romantic tale.
Before you lay pen to paper, you need to be sure your
characters are the right ones for your story.
- Do you love your hero and heroine?
- Are their reactions to events correct?
- Does the hero or heroine seem too wimpy?
- Do they have flaws as well as strengths?
- Does the hero and heroine act with integrity?
- Are they consistent?
- Are their motivations, good and bad, valid?
- Do they have specific goals to achieve?
- Are your secondary characters interesting without
taking over the plot?
- Have you made the secondary characters three
dimensional, instead of just using stereotypical
characters?
You want realistic characters who behave as much like
real people as possible. They should be likable, strong,
and consistent.
Pacing
Romance novels have changed a lot in the last 15 years.
Gone is the 200K-plus bodice rippers of yesterday. Most
publishers are looking for novels between 80K and 100K in
length. Which means a novel's pacing is even more
important to an editor. To check your novel's pace, ask
yourself the following questions.
- Did your story start off with a bang?
- Does your opening hook the reader?
- Have you given the reader enough information without
overloading her?
- Do you have more dialog than narration?
- Are your sentence lengths varied?
- Does your plot have dangers and risks for the hero and
heroine?
- Are there slow spots so the characters (and reader) can
relax?
- Is your story primarily a romance, even if it is a
cross-genre story?
A novel that moves too slow, or too fast, will bore an
editor. You want exciting without leaving the reader
feeling like they ran a triathlon.
Conflict
If every hero and heroine met, fell in love, and walked
off into the sunset in chapter one, romances would be
pretty boring. Readers want to see conflict. They want
your characters to have to go to the edge, and beyond,
for their love. Check your conflict with these
questions...
You can see
the rest of this article here: http://romance.fictionfactor.com/articles/checklist.html
(this link will take you to Romance Factor)
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Title Your Short Story Right
by Kristy Taylor
No matter how fantastic the short story you have written
may be, without a catchy title the chances are good that
an editor will not read it. The title is the most
important part of the story as this is what first
captures the reader's attention.
A good title should grab the reader and make them wonder
what the story is about. A bad title will probably cause
the reader to skip the story altogether. This holds true
when submitting your stories for publication. Editors are
busy people and will pass on the story, often without
reading the first sentence, if your title doesn't capture
their interest.
The title of your story will tell the editor a lot about
your creativity. If your title is strong, an editor will
be more likely to look at your story with a positive
attitude.
So how do you come up with a good title? Below is a small
list of tips to help you come up with an attention
grabbing title.
1. Keep it short, no
more than four or five words. Even two or three word
titles are generally more than enough. If you can come up
with a single word that conveys something about your
story, even better.
2. Avoid boring
titles. Don't name your story something like 'The
Monster' or 'The Sea' as these are dull and boring, and
too generalized. Instead, try for something that evokes
emotion. 'Under the Bed' would be a good title for a
scary story and 'High Tides' works better for a story
based on the ocean.
3. Make sure your
title fits your genre. Don't name a whodunit with a title
that could be confused with a romance story.
4. Make your title
easy to remember. This is another reason to keep the
title short. Use your creativity to come up with
something catchy that relates to the theme, the action,
or the characters of the story. A memorable title allows
your readers to recommend your story to others.
5. Research the title
you come up with. Although titles are not copyrighted,
you don't want your story confused with another story of
the same name. They can be similar without being exact.
So how do you spark your creativity to come up with the
perfect title for your story? The following are a handful
of ways to awaken your muse.
You can see more tips for creating the right
title here: http://short.fictionfactor.com/articles/title.html
(this
link will take you to Short-Fiction Factor)
 Did
you know
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a 92% higher chance of having a novel accepted by
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 Create A Plot
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Writer's Announcements
If you have any writing news or
announcements about your successes with writing, we'd
love to hear about it! Post your publishing announcements
on our forum and we'll get them in the newsletter for
everyone to see!
You can add your Woo-Hoo to our Announcement Forum Board
here:
Writer's
Announcements - http://fictionfactor.1.forumer.com/index.php?showforum=6
This week's news:
Brenton
Tomlinson of Musings Of An
Aussie Writer writes: "Antipodean SF has released their
10th anniversary edition which has my piece "Wake-Up Call" included. This was
originally written as something cute for my little girl
to read. At the time she was only seven so it had to be
simple and comical. I hope you get a little giggle too.
Terry
W. Ervin II of www.ervin-author.com writes: MindFlights today released my speculative
fiction short story "Vegetable
Matters".
It's available online in two versions: "Vegetable
Matters" HTML format , "Vegetable
Matters" PDF Format It will be released in print as part of MindFlight's
first quarterly publication. If you've got the time,
click on over and give it a read. It was fun and
interesting to write. Hope you enjoy it.
Congratulations everyone! Keep the great news coming!
~ "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used
by mankind." -- Rudyard Kipling ~
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Romance Writing Course
Increase your chances of writing a great romance
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career!
http://romance.fictionfactor.com/course.html - (this link will take you to Romance Factor)
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 How
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Learn how to connect to your Muse and
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more pesky Inner Critic. Jut the pure creativity
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Paying Market Listings
You can find the complete
Market Index here: http://www.fictionfactor.com/markets.html
Happy Market Hunting!
(Disclaimer: Mention of a market/ contest in Fiction
Factor is not necessarily an endorsement. Check all
guidelines in full before submitting)
Romance
and Beyond Magazine
http://members.aol.com/rbeyond/romance.html
Seeking fantasy, science fiction, paranormal, and other
speculative fiction (up to 10,000 words) in which a
romantic relationship develops between the hero and
heroine. We pay ½ (one-half) cent per word, two free
copies of the magazine in which your work appears, and a
discount on future orders.
** Currently altering format to annual anthology
collection. Please see site for more deatails.
Submission Guidelines: http://members.aol.com/RBeyond/Guidelines.html
CONE ZERO: Scriptus Innominatus (Nemonymous 8)
http://weirdmonger.blog-city.com/cone_zero_guidelines.htm
Seeking themed short fiction between 2,500 and 12,000
words. Your story should reflect 'Cone Zero'. Keep in
mind that 'Cone Zero' means what it means to you. Payment
is £65 (UK pounds). Deadline is 31 March 2008.
Heliotrope
http://www.heliotropemag.com
Heliotrope Magazine is looking for exceptional fiction
that does not exceed 5,000 words. We are most interested
in Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery and Horror. If your
story is somewhere in between or is something you
can’t label – we are interested in that as
well. We pay 10 cents a word for fiction. Payment will be
made upon publication and in U.S. currency.
Submission Guidelines: http://www.heliotropemag.com/node/2
Brio
Magazine
http://www.briomag.com/
Seeking
short fiction up to 2,000 words to suit teenaged girls.
Romance stories, sibling rivalry and situations faced
daily by teen girls are especially welcomed. Brio’s
target audience is teenaged girls from 12-15 and Brio
& Beyond’s target audience is older teenaged
girls from 16-19.
Both Brio and Brio & Beyond pay between 15 and 35
cents per word on acceptance.
Submission Guidelines: (downloadable) http://www.family.org/sharedassets/correspondence/pdfs/GeneralInformation/Brio_Writers_Guidelines.pdf
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