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. 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

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. 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

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." 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

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. 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?

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

I am so tired of people thinking being a bi person married to a person of another gender makes you somehow less queer. Like you’re basically straight and can live a straight life. A) it’s not being “basically straight.” Your brain and body are still bi. Your relationship is not a straight one.

B) it’s not all “I get to pass as straight.” Sometimes I pass as straight, but it’s not always that I GET to. Passing as straight sometimes SUCKS

Time for more #subtips! More on emotional engagement and emotional dimension! To review here's my thread from last time:

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Your character can go through hell but if the reader isn't impacted emotionally, none of it matters. Breakout books move the reader. #subtips