Constructing Paragraphs in Fiction

May 1, 2017May 8, 2017 Diane Tibert Editing Tips, Lessons in Writing characters, comprehension, constructing paragraphs in fiction, constructing paragraphs in nonfiction, digesting the idea in a paragraph, editing tip, paragraph construction, Revelation Stones., Scattered Stones, the written word., writing fiction, writing tips

Last week, I discussed writing nonfiction paragraphs. Many of the rules that apply to this type of paragraph also apply to fiction paragraphs. Descriptive paragraphs within fiction can often be written in the same style as nonfiction paragraphs.

Usually, writing factual or descriptive paragraphs is not a problem for most writers. However, the same cannot be said for writing fiction paragraphs involving characters. Although the same rules apply, they are slightly different.

A Few Rules for Writing Fiction Paragraphs

They should contain only one idea.
Each time a different character speaks, acts or thinks, a new paragraph must be started.
They should be no longer than 1/3 of the page and preferably shorter.

Regarding Rule #2, if a new paragraph is not started when a different character speaks, acts or thinks, readers will be confused and not know who is doing or saying what. Here’s an example of what could happen if this rule was not followed.

Wilma was one day away from retirement and walked with a spring in her step towards the bus stop. When she spotted her friend Rose, she waved. “How are you this morning,” said Rose. “Happy. Excited.” She hugged her friend. “I bet you can’t wait to leave on your around-the-world trip.” “I stayed up half the night packing.” She looked to see the bus approach. “We better hurry. I don’t want to be late for my last day at work.” Rose looped her arm with hers and tugged her forward. “It would be a bad omen for your retirement.”

Writing like this confuses readers, and it wouldn’t take long before they dropped the book and went onto something else, like cleaning out the chicken coop.

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Injecting Life into Archaic Words for My Fantasy Novel

April 26, 2016 Diane Tibert Lessons in Writing archaic words, new words, Scattered Stones, vocabulary, writing

I love finding new words that describe what I’m trying to say perfectly, especially if they are not common words. I often find these words have fallen out of use and are labelled archaic.

Using them and introducing them to readers who have never before seen them is a treat. I love sprinkling these little gems throughout my story.

I’ve had a lot of fun finding new words for Scattered Stones. They are—of course—archaic because Ath-o’Lea is in the past, long ago before electricity and engines and words like trailer.

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Scattered Stones Cover Release and Proof Order

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 Diane Tibert My Indie Publishing Experience, Scattered Stones authors, book covers, book publishing, CreateSpace, epic fantasy book, fantasy, ordering proof, Scattered Stones, self-publishing, setting goals, The Castle Keepers series, writing

The novel I conceived in the second half of 2009 is now in the birthing canal.

Yesterday I placed an order for a proof copy of Scattered Stones. After I hit the CONFIRM button, I sat back and thought about the journey to give me a better perspective of what I had done.

In May 2010, I had written the last 60,000 words in a rush to reach the end. Then the manuscript went through multiple edits, being read and sporadically edited by beta readers. I edited and revised when I found time, often between stints of working outside the home. For six months in 2014, I barely had a chance to look at it because I worked six to seven days a week, putting in ten-hour days at a garden centre. This sort of schedule doesn’t leave much time to eat, sleep and say hello to the kids, let alone hours bellied-up to a computer to edit a novel.

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Reclaiming my Disclaimer to reflect my personality and the story

April 20, 2016 Diane Tibert My Indie Publishing Experience, Writing Business book disclaimer, disclaimer, epic fantasy, legal stuff, Scattered Stones, The Castle Keepers, traditional fantasy

A few months ago, I happened upon a post on The Book Designer blog regarding writing disclaimers. I have never given much thought to disclaimers; they’re as necessary for publishing as ISBNs, and just as boring.

I created the disclaimers for my novels by consulting already-published books to see the wording they used. It’s all pretty standard, and I’ve never read one that stood out. The main point was to tell everyone you didn’t write this book about a real person, so you wouldn’t be sued if someone thought they saw themselves within the story. Basically, you wanted to tell the world, “This is fiction. Nothing real to see here. Move along to the end and buy the next book in the series.”

Original Disclaimer

The disclaimer I created and used in print and eBooks came out to read as…

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Help Me Choose a Cover for my Epic Fantasy Novel

April 17, 2016April 17, 2016 Diane Tibert My Indie Publishing Experience, Scattered Stones book cover design, book covers, creating book covers, Derek Murphy, epic fantasy, Scattered Stones, The Castle Keepers, traditional fantasy, vote for book cover

Over the past few months, I’ve been toying with the cover for my next book: Scattered Stones. I’m usually not an indecisive person but with covers, I’m starting to flip flop.

A cover is vital to a book’s success. Almost everyone at some point in their life has judged a book by its cover. It doesn’t matter if the story is awesome or cruddy; the cover alone can sell a book. The goal, however, is to catch the readers’ attention long enough that they give you a second look to see if they want to buy your book.

I’ve learned a lot about how to make covers, but I know there is a large room for improvement. I also don’t have the programs designers use, so I use what I can. And I keep my ears and eyes open for tips.

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Writing a Book Acknowledgement

April 8, 2016 Diane Tibert My Indie Publishing Experience, Scattered Stones acknowledgement, adventure, Alexander McDonald, Andre Marek, Brendan Peitsch, Bronwyn, Bryan Adams, Caldwell Road School, Canadian girl, Captain America, castle, Cheryl O'Neill, Chris Evans, Cole Harbour, D&D, Dean Brody, Deborah Hale, Dungeons and Dragons, ebook, epic fantasy, fantasy, Gary Gygax, Gerard Butler, Halifax, Harrison Ford, honour, Isaac Newton, Isle of Skye, John Wayne, K-19, Kellyn Mulryan, Kenny Chesney, music, Nelson Demille, oatmeal, ocean, photographs, prisoner of war, Reckless, sailor mouth, Scattered Stones, Scottish blood, self-publishing, Shadows in the Stone, Sheila McDougall, Sidney Crosby, songs, Tam Mulryan, Terry Brooks, The Castle Keepers, The Coast of Somewhere Beautiful, The Wiazard’s Ward, The Widowmaker, Timeline, true grit, Wild Child, Wild Fire, winner

There are many sections to a book. The two important parts that need the most attention are the story and the cover (in that order). For the past several months, I have focussed on these two things; without a doubt, I want them to be as close to perfect as humanly possible.

As launch day approaches for Scattered Stones, book 2 in The Castle Keepers series, I need to start playing with the other parts that go into a printed novel, the little details that occupy the spaces between the front cover and the story, and the back cover and the story. Playing is the exact word I want to use.

This time around, I want to be less formal and allow a slither of my silly side to lighten and brighten these little details. I love fun, funny and silly. And I love putting a twist into things that readers don’t expect. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

I have never written an acknowledgement for any of my books, but I’ve seen many books that include them. In essence, it is a few words to thank the people who provided a helping hand to bring the book to life. This might be direct or indirect help.

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Update on Editing Epic Fantasy Novel Scattered Stones

April 4, 2016 Diane Tibert Editing, Lessons in Writing, Scattered Stones castles, editing, epic fantasy, fiction, Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gender Guesser, gender writing, Hacker-Factor, I write like, J. R. R. Tolkien, reading level, Scattered Stones, The Castle Keepers, writing

Late last week, I completed the first serious edit on Scattered Stones, the second book in The Castle Keepers series.

First, let me define serious. The dozen or so edits that occurred before focussed on over-all story, aligning the characters and the plots, and removing unnecessary material that would never play into future books. I edited large sections at a time, but never from start to finish, and I didn’t focus on each particular sentence. Non-serious edits are quicker. I can do a page every five minutes or so.

My serious edit focussed on each sentence individually and at times, it took an hour to do a page. It looked at every verb and weighed it to see if it was the right one, the strongest one for the situation. If there were two verbs in a sentence, I evaluated them both to see if they were necessary. The weaker one—if unneeded—was removed, shortening and tightening the sentence.

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