Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #subtips
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It’s #subtips time! Here’s an editor plot tip challenge that may significantly tighten your plot, stakes, & pacing.
Make your main character the antagonist of your antagonist.
Make your main character the antagonist of your antagonist.
So many genre novels I work on tend to have MCs with strong internal goals but soggy, abstract external goal. Discovering something, figuring something out, dealing with a family dynamic, making it through something. #subtips
But the antagonist’s goal the author really nailed—it’s specific, measurable, concrete, unique. Get revenge by doing X. Build power by siphoning magic from Y. Present a deadly puzzle to trap Z. #subtips
It's #subtips time! 3 golden rules of the first page, from an editor:
1) Give us a burning question. What will happen? Are we right about our dangerous suspicion? What is this incredibly intriguing situation? Why are they doing this very odd thing? We will read to get the answer.
1) Give us a burning question. What will happen? Are we right about our dangerous suspicion? What is this incredibly intriguing situation? Why are they doing this very odd thing? We will read to get the answer.
This question should hang in the reader's mind as the early conflict/tension. It should be fresh-- why is this toast so important? Why the hell is she sitting in a hole in the back yard? It should be important and not TOO big. "Will they live?" is much too big for pg 1 #subtips
Double down on this question on page 2-- add a layer, give a detail that prompts a deeper question. Slowly peel the onion-- only tell us things that will make us have MORE questions or will make the original question even more important. That re-sets the hook! #subtips
hey why not resurrect my #subtips?
As an editor, one of the most frequent notes I give on MSs is "move the current climax to the midpoint. See what it does for the story."
As an editor, one of the most frequent notes I give on MSs is "move the current climax to the midpoint. See what it does for the story."
What if you moved the big bang of the story to the middle? What if it went so badly or so well that it changed everything? What does that do for your characters, your pacing, the action of the plot, your theme?
If that sparks anything for you, pause to think about it #subtips
If that sparks anything for you, pause to think about it #subtips
This is such a great tool for taking your story from a 5 to a 10. As writers we're so scared to dream big with our characters and what we allow them to go through.
So here's a question: What would happen if you let all the shit hit the fan at 50%, rather than the end? #subtips
So here's a question: What would happen if you let all the shit hit the fan at 50%, rather than the end? #subtips
Some quick Monday morning #subtips on author branding! In an age of so much information and access, a solid brand becomes a goldmine for authors.
What is a brand? It's the core elements that readers can expect from you-- it lets them know what to expect before they buy.
What is a brand? It's the core elements that readers can expect from you-- it lets them know what to expect before they buy.
Your brand is made up of who you are + what you write. You + your books = your brand. #subtips
But of course it's not THAT easy, right?
But of course it's not THAT easy, right?
Your brand is not a logo, a business card, your website, your colors. Those are all products or expressions of your brand. Your brand guides them. Before you jump into branding with hundreds or thousands of dollars in purchases, hang on a second. #subtips
Whaaat is it really #subtips time again? It is! I'm going to yell about what makes a standout, bestselling, award-winning, reader-grabbing first line in a novel. WITH EXAMPLES.
First to note-- not every book that wins awards or becomes a bestseller or that readers love like their own child has a striking first line. BUT why not use every power you have to hook your reader and set their expectation? #subtips
There's a magical joy in picking up a book that's new to you & reading a first line that just stabs you in the heart, or makes you laugh out loud in the bookstore, or mesmerizes you so intensely you forget that you're a person making a decision & simply enter the story #subtips
Time for more #subtips! More on emotional engagement and emotional dimension! To review here's my thread from last time:
Your character can go through hell but if the reader isn't impacted emotionally, none of it matters. Breakout books move the reader. #subtips
I am specifically talking about mainstream fiction straddling the literary-commercial divide, and how to boost that breakout potential. Though these tools apply to a lot of books! #subtips
