Making Scenes Work

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Freelance Writer

One of the best descriptions I’ve read on what a scene is comes from James Scott Bell’s blog, Kill Zone. In an article on strengthening scenes, Bell explains that “scenes are the bricks that build the fiction house. The better the bricks, the better the house.” (1)

This gives a visual of how scenes work. Building one on top of the other to create a strong story.

Masterclass describes a scene as “a section of a story that has its own unique combination of setting, character, dialogue, and sphere of activity.” (2)

This description gives more details, but I like Bell’s visual better.

The Masterclass article also explains that scenes are one of the “most valuable writing skills an author can possess.”

This makes scenes even clearer. They’re essential to a ‘good’ book. Going back to the brick house, the better (stronger) the brick, the stronger the house.

A scene has a beginning, middle, and end, just like the story.

When the location changes, another character enters the scene, or something else significant changes within the scene, that’s usually an indication that it’s the end of that scene and the beginning of the next.

An example of this is from my middle grade book, Walking Through Walls.

The protagonist, Wang is trying to walk through a wall but just can’t do it. He’s fearful of getting hurt. It takes him ten tries.

Finally, he passes through it. That’s the end of that scene.

The next scene has Wang ecstatic. He’s thrilled. He can’t contain himself.

So, how do you make scenes work?

1. The first thing a scene needs to do is achieve something.

Think of the brick. It’s solid. It’s its own entity.

Each scene has a story to tell.

The scene may be a chase scene, a fight scene, the inciting incident, a romantic scene, or a scene establishing the setting.

Using Walking Through Walls again, at the beginning of the story, Wang is seen sweating and complaining while working in the wheat fields. This scene establishes the type of work Wang is doing and also establishes his attitude toward it.

2. A scene should be the foundation for the next scene.

Scenes are like building blocks. They provide information the reader should know to move forward in the story.

Going back to Wang and his attitude toward hard work, it allows the reader to understand why he desperately wants a way out of his life.

The scene can also provide more information, such as backstory, or a look into the character’s family life, friendships, strengths, weaknesses, and so on.

It can be anything of value that helps move the story and characters forward.

3. Every scene should have a point of view.

As a children’s ghostwriter, most of the stories I write have one point of view.

But I also work on upper middle-grade where there can be two points of view and young adult where there can be multiple points of view.

When working with more than one point of view, each scene should be specific to only one; otherwise, it can get confusing and weaken the strength of that brick.

4. Each scene should contribute to the world you’re creating.

The period of Walking Through Walls is 16th century China. This meant a lot of research.

I incorporated tools of the time period, clothing, and even food within the scenes to build the world the characters lived in.

I also used dialogue to build the world. I eliminated contractions and flavored the dialogue and actions with respect, especially toward elders.

5. As your story should be shown and not told, so should your scenes.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a new writer of an experienced writer, it’s easy to fall into the ‘telling’ mode when writing.

Showing a scene means using dialogue, action, sensory details, and internal thoughts.

Using showing enables the reader to be absorbed in the story. It connects the reader to the character and brings the reader into the story.

Telling keeps the reader at arms-length. The reader won’t be able to make as strong a connection to the character or the story.  

Hope these five tips on writing a good scene help you strengthen your story’s scenes.

References:

(1) https://killzoneblog.com/2021/08/three-easy-ways-to-strengthen-a-scene.html

(2) https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-the-perfect-scene#quiz-0

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach. If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.

Karen also offers authors:

FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN ECOURSE
A guided self-study course and mentoring program.

HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK
A DIY book to help you write your own children’s book.

WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS
Self-publishing help for children’s authors.

How to Sell Your Book in Bulk

 by Suzanne Lieurance

Did you know that studies have shown that most self-published authors sell fewer than 200 copies of their book?

 

That’s probably because most of these authors sell just one copy at a time.

 

A better idea is to sell books in bulk.

 

Here are a few ways you might try:

 

Approach Service Clubs to Buy Boxes of Your Book to Donate to Schools if You Write Children's Books

 

Most public schools don’t have the funding to buy all the books they want or need for their library, not to mention books for each classroom’s library. 

 

Attend a few meetings of some service clubs in your area.

 

Try your local Rotary Club, Elks Club, Lions Club, and the Chamber of Commerce to start.

 

Get to know the members of these groups.

 

Most of these organizations have weekly or monthly coffees or luncheons. 

 

At these events, usually one of the guests or members gives a short talk about their services or products and how they help the community. 

 

Offer to give one of these talks and give information about your book(s). 

 

After your talk, suggest this organization buy a box of your books to donate to a local elementary school to promote children’s literacy, etc.  

 

Speak at several different service club events and make this same offer. 

 

You could end up selling many boxes of books and providing many different elementary schools in your area with sets of your book for every classroom in the school, plus a few copies for the school’s main library. 

 

It’s a win-win-win situation. 

 

The service club wins by making a worthwhile and much appreciated donation to a local school, the school wins by receiving books for some or all of the classrooms and the school library, and you win by selling boxes and boxes of your book! 

 

Plus, you will make some good community contacts that might result in other book sales. 

 

This Works for Books for Adults Too

 

Books for adults can be sold in bulk using this method, also.

 

If your book is a nonfiction book related to some physical or mental health issue or condition, for example, instead of service clubs, offer to speak at organizations related to the specific health issue covered in your book. 

 

If the event is a conference, the organization could buy a box of your books so they could give a copy of your book to everyone who registers for the conference. 

 

If this is a large conference, you could make hundreds of sales just from this one event.

 

The conference fees paid by attendees would cover the costs of your books, so the event planners would make back all the money they pay you for your book.

 

So again, this is a win, win, win situation.

 

The organization wins because they have something helpful to include in the packets for attendees.

 

Attendees win because they get a great book with information they want and need.

 

You win because you sell hundreds of copies of your book.

 

Make a list of all the organizations your book’s topic relates to.

 

Next, look for conferences and other events offered by these organizations.

 

Find out who the event organizer is for a special event and call to see if your book would be a good fit for inclusion in the packets each attendee receives (offer a bulk discount on your book, of course).

 

Even if the event organizer decides not to purchase your book, check to see if speaker applications are being accepted for any of this group's events.

 

If so, fill out and submit an application for any events you’d be an appropriate speaker for.

 

Be sure to notice if somewhere on the application it mentions whether or not speakers are able to sell their books at the back of the room after their presentation (this is another way to make lots of sales).

 

Have Luxury Hotels Buy Your Book for Their Special Guests

 

Imagine your book by the bedside in five-start luxury hotels and boutique hotels!

 

Your book would be placed in the hands of high-net-worth CEOs, leaders, celebrities and others who stay at these hotels.

This would allow you to build discoverability and word-of-mouth.

Can you imagine what could happen if your book was read by just one high-profile celebrity who decided to share it on social media?

The results could be amazing!

The books are provided as a complimentary amenity (no “mini-bar charges”) so guests can enjoy the books, take them home, and share them.

Now, if you’re a self-published author, start thinking about selling your books in bulk. 

You’ll probably come up with all sorts of additional ways to do it.

Try it!

For more marketing and writing tips, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge at www.morningnudge.com.

Suzanne Lieurance is an award-winning author, with over 40 published books, and a Law of Attraction coach for writers at writebythesea.com.

Only One Life

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Sometimes during my day, I will take a few minutes and watch some YouTube or Tik Tok videos. Whenever I watch, I make sure to limit it so I don’t fall down a rabbit hole and lose a lot of time. One day I stumbled on this minute and a half video where billionaire Warren Buffett was speaking to a group of students. He encourages them to imagine that he would give each of them whatever car they wanted. These students could select the make and color of the car. His gift would come with one “catch.” His gift  would be the only car the student would receive for their lifetime. Buffett knows each of us use more than one car in a lifetime but then he calls to our attention that we only get one body and one mind for a lifetime.

The British missionary to China, C.T. Studd wrote a stirring poem called Only One Life which begins, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” It’s easy when we are young to not think about self-care for our body and mind. In this article I want to encourage you to take a portion of your writing day and fit in some self-care actions.

Through the years, my wife, Christine, has watched me gain and lose weight six or seven times. As someone who loves eating candy and anything sweet, I mount a daily battle in the food area for every meal. It’s an important element in my personal self-care and I’ve learned balance is more important than a particular weight. As I’ve studied my ancestors, I learn the majority of them were known as “big” men or overweight. My simple goal is not to be big and something I work at daily.

Let’s look at several areas of self-care: physical, emotional and mental. I’ve started with physical. It’s more than eating. As writers we spend a lot of time sitting in front of our computers. Several times a week, I spend time walking around my neighborhood. Often, I’m listening to an audiobook while I take a brisk walk and I do it throughout the year. Consistent exercise is an important value. Also, physical rest or sleep is important to fit into my day.

In the emotional area, I will call a friend or two throughout the day without any agenda other than checking in on them. It is an important element in my daily activities.

For the mental area of my self-care, I regularly listen to audiobooks but also read different types of books such as nonfiction, fiction, general market, Christian, how-to, children’s books and many others. In our negative world, each day I spend time in the Bible and have been reading it cover to cover for years. Also I limit my consumption of news and social media as part of my effort to achieve balance. Yes, I have an active social media presence, but I control my own consumption in this area.

Here’s the reality: as much as the next person I fail in achieving these goals. When that happens, I make a point not to beat myself up but to dust myself off and get back on track.

Use the Compound Effect

Recently, I listened and read The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. Many of the examples in the book relate to self-care and show you don’t have to make drastic changes to improve your life. Instead, you can make small adjustments which over time will reap large results. Each of us need to take daily actions to care for ourselves and our only life.

Tweetable: 

In the rush of daily living, it’s easy to forget we only have one life. This prolific writer and editor encourages us to practice self-care. Learn the details here.  (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. Get Terry’s recent book, 10 Publishing Myths for only $10, free shipping and bonuses worth over $200. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Diversity in Your Writing Starts With Listening

 

 Contributed by Margot Conor

Everything you do in life is informed by the things you did before. That is why in some author's circles they tell you to write what you know. That has some truth in it. Even my sci-fi and fantasy stories weave in things that I learned or believe. I just put a twist on them so they happen in another setting.

Everything you do is also colored by the perspective you gained through those experiences, or from your family, community, or society at large.

There are attitudes planted in our little brains just as if we are a garden for our tribe, they nurture those seeds and cultivate a particular way of seeing the world. Now that view might be rosy or it might be dark. We only have a choice to test the limits of that perspective once we are grown, and then it is our privilege to do so.

Sadly, many do not. They are comfortable with how they’ve been molded, and these ingrained perspectives color your writing.
 
The paradigm we currently operate in is flawed, it is largely based on separation, exclusion, and intolerance. An “us” and “them” mentality. If we want to survive these times, we need to change.

Change requires that we investigate other points of view with an open mind and talk with people who are not like us, or more importantly, that we listen to them.

Listening helps add fresh perspectives to your writing.

I don’t know about you but it makes me feel bad when I am having a conversation with someone and I can tell they are not paying attention to what I say because they are either distracted with something else, or they are just waiting for me to finish, so they can share their opinion on the subject. Or they just interrupt because they feel what I’m saying isn’t valid or important.

When I have come across someone who is actually listening, patiently, looking me in the eye, and really hearing what I have to say, maybe even asking questions. Wow, it’s a powerful experience. Just to be heard. It makes me realize that it is a rare occurrence. To be given the courtesy of someone’s full attention, to be shown that kind of respect.

That is basically what this comes down to, if we show respect even to people we don’t agree with, they can feel that you care enough to try understanding their point of view.

I equate this with visiting a foreign country and trying to speak their language instead of expecting them to speak mine. They might laugh at me, (well they have, I wish I was better at languages) but they also like that I try. It shows them I’m making an effort to communicate.
You might try listening to those who have different cultures and ideas. Consider if there is anything there to inspire you. If their ideas seem radical, then investigate.

And yes, you should absolutely test those waters, use all the tools available to you in this modern age of access, and see if what they tell you is accurate. Then see how that stands up next to what you’ve been taught.  

Often that is how I get ideas for my characters. I talk to people who are raised to think differently than I was. It is important to go wide, take in new things, find the strange.

Enjoy the oddities you come across. Unravel the things that are mysterious to you. Gain a new understanding of something. You might surprise yourself and take a new perspective. Then put all of that into what you write. Or if you are not a writer, let all of that make your life richer.

Be brave, do something new or different.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 

Margot Conor has been writing for as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until the COVID lock-down that she had enough time to dedicate to the craft and bring something to completion. Having finished her first novel, she went through the grueling two-year process of editing.

Now she has jumped into the author's world with both feet. She's preparing to debut her first novel, which means learning how to promote it. The last year has been spent attending many writing retreats, seminars, and writers' events. She also listened to presentations specifically on the topic of publishing and book marketing. She will be sharing what she learns with the reader.

You can learn more about Margot and her writing at her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/margotconor/ 

(@MargotConor (Facebook) 

 

Prioritizing Personal Goals

In the constant search for work-life, writer-life, personal life balance, it's helpful to remember that personal and professional goals go hand in hand. When your personal life is going well, while it may not give you as much dramatic material, it does make your professional easier. The reverse is also true. 

On a recent GoalChatLive, I dove into the topic of Personal Goals with Erik Fisher, host and producer of Beyond the ToDo List; Nona Prather, an author and speaker booker; and Michaele Weissman, author of The Rye Bread Marriage, along with other books and articles. 

 The panel shared their takes on personal goals, what stops people from prioritizing them, tips for finding balance, and more.

What Are Personal Goals

• Erik: Checking in with yourself
• Nona: Quality of life
• Michaele: Managing work and family effectively

Goals

• Michaele: Beyond networking, find your core group of supporters. And let them know/show how much you appreciate them
• Erik: Get more and better sleep
  
• Nona: Do at least three things per day that stretch you a little

Watch Our Conversation:

Final Thoughts

• Nona: Don’t let your goals scare you. There’s never a perfect time to do the things you want to do
• Michaele: Now is the time
• Erik: Maybe now isn’t the time. But still write down the things. Soon may be the time

Even if all you do is schedule one appointment a week to prioritize your personal goals - though I hope you do more - it will certainly make a difference in keeping you productive, healthy, and happy! 

* * * 

For more inspiration and motivation, follow @TheDEBMethod on Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin! 

* * *

What are your wins for 2023? What wins are you planning for 2024? Please share in the comments. 

* * *

Debra Eckerling is the award-winning author of Your Goal Guide: A Roadmap for Setting, Planning and Achieving Your Goals and founder of the D*E*B METHOD, which is her system for goal-setting simplified. A goal-strategist, corporate consultant, and project catalyst, Debra offers personal and professional planning, event strategy, and team building for individuals, businesses, and teams. She is also the author of Write On Blogging and Purple Pencil Adventures; founder of Write On Online; host of  #GoalChatLive aka The DEB Show podcast and Taste Buds with Deb. She speaks on the subjects of writing, networking, goal-setting, and social media.

Avoiding the Dreaded Adverb in Dialogue and Everywhere Else

 

Let Tom Swift Inform Your Writing 

 

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson 

 

The last in a series of articles celebrating the release of the 3^rd edition 
of the multi award-winning The Frugal Editor

Ever heard of Tom Swifties?

 

Maybe you're too young to be familiar with the classic Tom Swift adventures for boys. Or maybe you're a girl who never read a Tom Swift book nor cares to.

 

Tom Swifties are one-line jokes lampooning the style of Victor Appleton, the author of the original Tom Swift books. People started making jokes about his overuse of adverbs and the unnecessary taglines he wrote into his dialogue. Like the Polish jokes, they were so much fun that that a whole series of them became available for pun aficionados (though they deservedly disappeared—mostly—as people started avoiding anything that smacked of cultural bias.)  The author of Appleton’s classics, of course, laughed all the way to the bank and I was never able to determine if he overused them intentionally or if his popularity survived at least in part because they seemed unintentional and that only lent another dimension to their laughability. But that's a lesson for one of my marketing seminars, not this article on writing.

 

Tom Swifties were popular and funny back then. This is now. I haven't dared to go to the new books in the series, but I assume that this outdated writing has been eliminated from them.

 

An example from one of the Swift books will suffice to let you know what to watch for. (Thank you to Roy Peter Clark for this example.)

 

"'Look!' suddenly exclaimed Ned. 'There's the agent now!…I'm going to speak to him!'” impulsively declared Ned.'"

 

Regardless of what you think of Appleton’s style choices, you will want to minimize tags when you write dialogue and adverbs in most everything you write!

 

Even authors who swear that adverbs are always very, very good things to use and are reluctant to give up their clever taglines can see how, well, …awful this is. In fact, I have to reassure clients and students the quotation is real! Some of the writing that comes to the desks of agents and editors looks almost as bad. Here's how you can make sure yours doesn't:

 

1. Use taglines only when one is necessary for the reader to know who is speaking. Learn new dialogue techniques to make that job easier from books like Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella and the third edition (only recently released) of my The Frugal Editor.

2. Almost always choose "he said" or "she said" over anything too cute, exuberant, or wordy like "declared" and "exclaimed."

3. Cut the "ly" words ruthlessly, not only in dialogue tags but everywhere.

4. Learn how to make this adverb-cutting exercise improve the images in your prose or poetry using simile or metaphor, also covered in The Frugal Editor. 

 

Until you do a little more research on the adverbs, take Nike's advice and  "Just do it!"

 

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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi award-winning author of The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't and The Frugal Editor: Do It Yourself Editing Secrets, both now in their third editions from Modern History Press. The former is the winner of USA Book News "Best Professional Book" award and the Book Publicists of Southern California's coveted Irwin Award. The Frugal Editor is both a USA Book News winner and a Reader Views Literary Award winner and won the Next Generation Marketing and the coveted Irwin awards. Learn more at www.HowToDoItFrugally.com. Thank you, #WritersontheMove, for the opportunity to wind down my marketing plan for the release of new edition of Frugal Editor with this article! Gotta make room for a couple of new books in that series coming in 2024!

 

Is It Sci-Fi or Fantasy?

 

Contributed by Karen Cioffi, Children's Writer

 I’ve always loved fantasy, so it’s a natural fit that I like writing it for children.

But what exactly is fantasy, and how does it differ from science fiction?

FANTASY

The simplest way to explain fantasy is that it doesn’t exist in the real world. Your imagination is the only limit when writing fantasy. This may be why I gravitate toward it.

If a story has supernatural or magical elements, it’s fantasy.

Fantasy allows you to delve into all sorts of topics, even difficult ones, and it comes across in a more digestible way than realistic fiction.

For example, in my chapter book,, Walking Through Walls, the main character, Wang, joins the Mystical Eternals and learns how to walk through walls.

In the sequel (still in progress), Wang has the choice to morph into a dragon at will or get another incredible ability.

Another example of fantasy is talking animals. This type of fantasy can have the protagonist going off on a journey alone or with friends. A children’s writer couldn’t have a child do this in realistic fiction as it could give the child dangerous ideas. There are lots of topics that can be introduced using talking animals.

In my picture book series, The Adventures of Planetman, the protagonist has supernatural vision and can fly. One of his friends has super speed, and the other is super strong.

These scenarios couldn’t possibly exist within the natural laws of our universe as they involve supernatural elements.

With fantasy, the writer can create new worlds and new beings. It can rain meatballs. There can be magical fairies and wizards. Science and realism are not factors.  

Think of Superman, The Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter.

SCIENCE FICTION

Science fiction is also out of the ordinary but is based on scientific principles. The elements of the story can exist within the natural laws of our universe. The scientific basis helps explain the extraordinary things that go on in the story.

These stories usually involve future scientific elements, such as space travel, aliens, time travel, and environmental catastrophes.  
 
An example of science fiction is Batman. All his abilities are from gadgets that are based on science. While some of them may be a bit far-fetched, they are in the realm of possibility.

Just think of all the gadgets and inventions created that are based on movies, books, and even articles. It’s astounding.

Driverless cars.
Holographic images.
The submarine.
The rocket.
The cellphone.
The taser.
The smartwatch.

Science fiction movies include:

World of Worlds
Contact
Altered States
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Matrix

Sci-fi books:

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Contact by Carl Sagan
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Children of Men by PD James

A MIX

A mix of fantasy and science fiction is just that, a mix.

In these stories, there are elements of sci-fi and fantasy. An example of this genre is Star Wars.

While Star Wars easily falls within the sci-fi genre, it also has elements of fantasy, such as a force field. Although, in 2015, Boeing patented the first-ever force field to protect against shockwaves.

But even with the force field coming into existence, Star Wars also has lightning bolts from fingertips and levitations. These elements are pure fantasy.

So, if you’re writing sci-fi or fantasy for children, are you sure which it is? 

This article was first published at: https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/2022/10/09/writing-for-children-is-it-fantasy-or-science-fiction/
(Sources are listed there.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, ghostwriter, editor, rewriter, and coach. If you need help with your story, click HERE.

Karen also offers authors:

FICTION WRITING FOR CHILDREN COURSE
A guided self-study course and mentoring program.


HOW TO WRITE A CHILDREN'S FICTION BOOK
A DIY book to help you write your own children’s book.

WRITERS ON THE MOVE PRESS
Self-publishing help for children’s authors.