If you’re not into any kind of writing, then this is highly likely to not be the blog for you.
Ya think???
How and Why Does Writing Speak to Us?
The written word is something that we have in common with the ancient Egyptians, with people on the other side of the planet, and with celebrities who we will never meet.
Fiction writing, in particular, bridges gaps in the world, and through time. Have you ever read something written by an author who is long dead?
Whether it’s Jane Eyre or The Art of War, we can hear the author’s voice as we read (and yes, I am well aware that The Art of War isn’t fiction. I’m kind of tired, okay?).
But I digress.
Independent Writers Do It All
When we do it well, and we do it right, the indie author wears many hats. Researcher. Editor. Planner. Marketer. Cover artist (or at least hirer of the cover artist). Bookkeeper. Advertiser. Tax Preparer.
Indy writing is a small business. So, like it or not, you’ve got to know these things, or be able to hire someone who does.
Past, Present, and Future Authoring
One of the best things about authoring is the concept of eternity. Now, I don’t honestly expect anything I write to end up being studied in college or becoming movie fodder. But it is still there, and it can be there forever if you can (and are willing to) preserve it.
This is why I encourage publishing, by the way, even if you never make a dime.
Ah, Easter eggs. Those fun little nuggets of connection between stories.
What and how do utterly unrelated items have in common? And how does a sly wink at the reader keep the sense of disbelief from crashing down?
Well, it doesn’t always.
Easter Eggs: A Fun Nod to the Reader
This is the way I have always looked at these.
If I can have a little fun, then I hope that you can as well.
And the best part is, this not something I came up with on my own. These have a proud and long tradition in writing. So, I am far from being the first ever person to do this.
What They Are
For me, the concept behind Easter eggs is to add a little dash of something which is in hiding and hard for some to know.
I see it as almost like, if you have been paying attention, then you will see this and this, here and here.
What They Aren’t
Except for the linking between the various trilogies in the Obolonk universe, these are just meant to be a bit of fun. As such, I do not mean for everyone named Shapiro to be related to everyone else. They aren’t.
Also, not every reference to Boston is right next door to any of the other references. And not every hint actually, well, goes anywhere.
In addition, a matching genre does not constitute one of these. After all, both Stranger in a Strange Land and any Star Trek tie-in novels are all under the science fiction umbrella. But that does not mean they tie together with each other.
And so in the same way, consider that the numerous Boston or Shapiro references do not always signify a connection.
It’s more that I like to throw them in and then see if the reader gets it.
And you, dear reader, I am quite sure that you do.
I Really Should Call Them Afikomens
I am, after all, Jewish. Eh, you know what I’m talking about. I suppose either can and will do.
Easter Eggs (or afikomen) are just my way of saying “hi” to the reader. So, hi!
Even if you aren’t a litigious sort of person, you will still do well to concern yourself with writer website copyright. Just because you, personally, don’t go searching for plagiarism and copyright violations, doesn’t mean that they won’t find you.
Writer Website Copyright: The Basics
If any of this looks familiar, it’s because I have other posts on copyright. And, let’s face it. It really hasn’t changed that much. But it does bear repeating all the same.
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S.Code) to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Per Section 106 of the Copyright Act of 1967, a copyright holder can:
† reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords
• prepare derivative works based upon the work
† distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
• perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works
† display the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• perform the work publicly (in the case of sound recordings) by means of a digital audio transmission
Hence copyright holders have any number of rights in their own works. Can they allow others to use them? You betcha! We call that a license.
In general, for works created on or after January 1, 1978, the term of copyright is the life of the author plus seventy years after the author’s death. If the work is a joint work with multiple authors, the term lasts for seventy years after the last surviving author’s death.
I won’t go into works created before January 1, 1978 (you can check out the pamphlet for that). Since it’s a good 45 years ago, many currently living authors don’t have anything that old.
Er, What?
What does this mean? Well, the short answer is that you generally do better to publish your work! After all, you can’t expect anyone to guard against copying it if they don’t know it exists.
The other important takeaway: you don’t need to assert copyright or mail it yourself or anything like that. Does it help to register your work? Absolutely! And you’ll need it to defend a lawsuit. But mailing it to yourself is silly. Seriously.
Infringement and Writer Website Copyright
We are artists and that means we are copyright holders, even if we never assert our rights and never file with the copyright office. According to American copyright law, you own it if you made it. You don’t have to mail it yourself.
Here, however, I will only talk about American law. If you assert copyright in another country, the law will most likely differ. Furthermore, if you have any questions, ask me in the comments section. I will try to research and answer you in a timely fashion.
But don’t expect me to do the huge amount of research a hired lawyer would. Nope. I am not doing that much free work for you, sorry, not sorry.
Or ask a copyright attorney. This area, like many areas of the law, has nuances and there can be changes. This blog is no substitute for good advice from an experienced lawyer. If you think you need to protect your rights, then do so properly. And that means hiring an attorney.
Yes, you will need to actually pay that person.
Details
The American Bar Association explains it better. It publishes a Young Lawyers series to help newly minted lawyers understand the nuances of complex sections of practice. So, the ABA explains:
An action for copyright infringement may arise where a third party violates one or more of the exclusive rights granted to copyright owners. To establish infringement, the plaintiff must prove: “(1) ownership of a valid copyright, and (2) copying of constituent elements of the work that are original.”
Ownership of a valid copyright consists of: “(1) originality in the author; (2) copyrightability of the subject matter; (3) a national point of attachment of the work, such as to permit a claim of copyright; (4) compliance with applicable statutory formalities; and (5) (if the plaintiff is not the author) a transfer of rights or other relationship between the author and the plaintiff so as to constitute the plaintiff as the valid copyright claimant.” A copyright registration certificate from the Copyright Office serves as prima facie evidence of elements (1) through (4). If the defendant rebuts the plaintiff’s prima facie evidence, then the above elements of valid copyright ownership become essential to the plaintiff’s case.
What Does that all Mean?
So what is the ABA is saying? Registration with the US Copyright office is necessary to successfully bring an infringement claim. If you think your work might be infringed upon, if you feel it is a danger and you are concerned about it, then get some peace of mind and register it with the US Copyright Office.
Are There Any Writer Website Copyright Exceptions? Or Any Copyright Exceptions?
I am so glad you asked.
Purdue University offers a terrific and very readable summary of the main known exceptions to copyright infringement claims.
Fair Use
For the fair use defense, Purdue outlines four basic factors:
Purpose and Character
Some specific use cases favor fair use. These include nonprofit, educational, and personal uses. Plus there are those which represent a potential tipping point.
These include teaching, research, scholarship, criticism, commentary, and news reporting. And there are those which favor needing permission. These include commercial, entertainment, and for-profit uses.
Hence, a nonprofit’s research is more likely to be fair use than a for-profit enterprise’s commercial use. Hence the for-profit business should seek the copyright holder’s permission.
Nature of Work
To favor fair use, it should be a fact and/or published. But to favor needing permission, it should be a fiction and/or unpublished.
E. g. It’s more likely to be fair use if you repeat a published fact about dinosaurs. Whereas you more likely need permission for an unpublished novel about vampires.
Amount
Small and insignificant bits of copying are more likely to be fair use than large ones representing a work’s heart. As a result, those are more likely to require permission.
Hence, if I copy the character of Millicent Bulstrode, then the character is minor and small. But this does not necessarily mean JK Rowling won’t sue me. Still, copying Hermione Granger is another matter entirely.
Market Effect
You’re more likely to be in the fair use realm if:
† Licensing/permissions are unavailable or there is no major impact,
• There is limited/restricted access to the work, or
† The user or institution owns a legal copy.
But it’s different if there is a major impact, or licensing/permissions are readily available. Or the work has worldwide availability, or there is repeated or long-term use. Then the scale slides to requiring permission.
Profit and sales are not an element to this cause of action. Although selling the copied article, particularly multiple instances of it, can place the act into the ‘requires permission’ camp.
Face to Face Instruction
According to Purdue,
The traditional classroom or face-to-face instruction is when the instructor and the students of a nonprofit educational institution are in a place devoted to instruction and the teaching and learning take place at the same time. In this setting all performances and displays of a work are allowed.
Requirements:
• All materials must be legally acquired.
† Teaching activities must take place in a classroom or a similar place devoted to instruction.
Exceptions: Virtual Instruction
Like face-to-face instruction allowance, virtual instruction generally gets a pass, per Purdue University. However, there are some specifics. For example, the class must be a regular offering in the curriculum.
What About Parody and Writer Website Copyright?
The American Bar Association notes the United States Supreme Court treats parody and satire separately. But the ABA feels it’s a distinction without much of a difference. Both are mockery. But satire is often more like commentary than outright mimicry.
For the ABA, and particularly when a work has both elements, the difference matters less. Although copyright holders might be more likely to license satire rather than parody. This is because parody is pretty much a knockoff by definition.
Commentary generally falls under fair use. That commentary can be amusing or not, satirical or not. Copying generally isn’t fair use. But amusement and exaggeration blurs that line.
The best advice I can give you is: don’t make your work into a copyright test case.
In other words: be original!
Writer Website Copyright: Takeaways
Beyond protecting your own work and trying not to get into your own copyright hot water, there is the matter of someone out and out pirating your stuff. This happens with annoying regularity. DMCA takedown notices can be semi-effective, but determined thieves likely will not care about your rights.
A few ways to protect yourself include using PDFs for review copies or beta reader copies, and not Word docs or Google docs. With those, copying is still possible, although you need software to do it.
If you are published through a publisher (traditional or hybrid), talk to their legal department about what they do, and how you can potentially help them. But if it’s just you, you may want to resign yourself to the fact that it can turn into just so much Whack-a-Mole.
Give pirates and infringers no quarter. But at the same time, don’t let them run your life so much that you have no time to write.
Want More of Writer Website Development?
If my post on website copyright resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other blog posts about how to create a writer website.
It’s the first question pretty much any writer would normally ask anyway, and it concerns what to write about.
Do You Know What to Write About?
Let us start with one thing, and make it perfectly clear. Your writer website is (spoiler alert!) not your personal blog. Rather, it is a marketing tool.
Oh, and by the way, your Twitter stream (er, X stream), your author Facebook page and/or group, and BookTok? Guess what? They’re marketing tools as well!
This is not to say that you can never, ever be sociable. Actually, you should.
But there’s a line between sociable and confessional. For the most part (albeit not necessarily always), you do not want to cross it.
Consider What to Write About as You Consider Where that Writing is Actually Going
Wait, what?
What happens to your blog once you publish it? Well, you probably share it on social media. At least, if you want it to go to anyone, you sure as hell do.
In fact, Jetpack has a setting to get your writing out to social media. It’s pretty easy to set up and then it’s done.
This is not everything you should be tweeting, etc. You should be doing more than the barest of bare minima. But at least your stellar prose is going somewhere.
A Writer Newsletter — the World’s Greatest Landing Strip
Keep in mind, as I write this, I do not even have a writer newsletter yet! But I follow the newsletter my employer puts out. And I also follow the newsletters of some other writers, like Trinity Blacio. I look at what they say, and what they do not say. And, I check out how often they put out their newsletters.
And here’s what I have learned.
1. Newsletters that come out irregularly are probably not going to get you new readers. But they may appeal to your current fans. Still, you want to expand your base. Being consistent with your release schedule helps!
2. No one seems to know what to put in a writer newsletter, beyond a link to a free download and/or future appearance info. Why not reprint a part of some blog posts? And then link to the remainder!
3. Confessional newsletters should be few and far between. So, an irregularly published one might be able to get away with this. But if it’s a constant? Nope. A weekly newsletter, and maybe even a monthly one will get tiring very quickly if it’s only about how you’ve got writer’s block.
So, consider some of your landing strips when you write.
What do Your Readers Want to Read?
Beyond your fiction (or nonfiction), what do they want to know? Do they want to see anything about your process? Maybe they want to understand your characters better. Or maybe they want to get an idea of what’s coming out next.
But when considering what to write about, you also want to get inside the heads of this next group of folks.
What do Your Prospective Readers Want to Read?
Love it or hate it, if you’re an indie writer and you don’t just want to leave your writing in a drawer or on a hard drive somewhere, guess what? Congratulations, you are now a small business person.
What does that mean? It means that you should be trying to convert prospects.
I am not talking about clickbait here (although a little copywriting is probably fine if it’s not too aggressive). It is, rather, about trying to add some readers.
Here’s a Fer-Instance
Any number of die-hard Trekkies were appalled and clutched their pearls when a new timeline and new actors were introduced in the 2009 film. However, that film did something amazing. It attracted and hooked a new generation of viewers.
And when Paramount+ (it was CBS All Access at the time) added new series which were different from TOS, what happened? Oh, those same fanboys and fangirls clutched their pearls and sighed and screamed it wasn’t “real” Star Trek.
Yet Discovery and the other new series have also reeled in a new generation.
Resting on your laurels is comfortable and nice. But it also makes you irrelevant very, very quickly.
Back to You for What to Write About
I know how hard it is for so many indie writers to market. Believe me, I know! Why the heck do you think I got a Masters in Communication to begin with? It was, in part, because I wanted to learn how to market my own creations.
Still, consider it this way.
You’re a writer. Setting words to paper or pixels is in your DNA.
And you should also be an inventor and an experimenter.
So, throw some of that writing jello against the wall. Document it and measure it.
Who knows? Maybe some of it’ll even stick.
Happy writing!
Want More of Writer Website Development?
If my post on website speed resonates with you, then be sure to check out my other articles about how to create a writer website.
Do you want to start a writer website? Or have you heard that maybe you should? Then check out this post on getting going.
How Did I Start a Writer Website?
Me, personally? This blog and this site will not look or behave as perfectly as I think a writing website actually should. But that’s okay, because my site has had other purposes.
It’s been about social media, my Master’s degree, and even various job searches. So, there is older stuff in here. And there is nothing wrong with that.
Plus, I hope you’ll realize this means you can convert an older blog/website into one for writing. You do not have to throw out your older posts and the like. However, if they are too far off-topic, you may want to consider a new domain, or shunting your older blog to one. Or maybe just pulling your older posts and creating redirects for them.
A blog on handcrafting most likely won’t lend itself to such a conversion. But a site or blog on SEO, social media, or education is probably fine. You make the call, sports fans.
What’s Missing?
Oh, and make no mistake about it. I will be writing about things I have not done yet! For the most part, that has been due to budget—either of my money or time or both (and mental bandwidth!). This is the reality of being an independent writer. When you get it in your head to start a writer website, you may find your reach exceeds your grasp.
But you can (and should!) start a writer website anyway. Why? Because guess where you’re going to build your brand? It’s right here, folks.
Start a Writer Website by Actually Starting a Website
God lord, what the heck does that mean?
It means that just having a Facebook page or group is not going to cut it. BookTok is lovely, but it is not enough. Neither is a Twitter stream. Er, X stream, I suppose. Those things are absolutely helpful and they may even be vital.
But they are not an actual website.
Plus, not for nothing, but you should own your spot. Why? Because we used to think MySpace would last forever.
Own your stuff. And own your space. At the absolute minimum, keep copies of everything. Behave as if you could lose it all tomorrow. Because you just might.
Owning Your Space
This inevitably means hosting. You can buy hosting from providers like GoDaddy or HostGator, etc. Shop around and ask friends if you don’t have a provider for some other site. If you’re an utter novice, then ask around at work.
What if you are on an absolute budget of, like, $0? That makes this harder but not impossible. Because you can try a few things.
Medium
Medium is popular, and that can make it hard to break through the noise. But some people do. Since you wouldn’t own the space, keep copies of everything. And, keep in mind, you will likely lose all comments if you transfer your work elsewhere.
If you do not break into Medium and do at all well, then you may or may not be able to improve the findability of your page. You are also beholden to their rules. Writers of erotica will probably find it too constricting.
Wix or Weebly
Don’t get me started.
Both offer freebie hosting and ways to start a writer website (or any other type of site, for that matter) easily.
However, your URL (for their free hosting) will be something like yoursite.weebly.com (which is long for business cards and bookmarks). Search might not be the greatest.
Plus, you are beholden, at least in part, to their designs and templates. If those are good enough for you, then have at it. And keep in mind, anything that’s really pretty or functional might not be free.
You can, eventually, have Weebly or Wix host your domain and you would pay for that. And then others would probably never have to know.
But for serious flexibility, these are probably not going to be it.
Github
If you don’t need a lot of instruction, this could work in a pinch. But it’s really just going to allow for hosting a static page. A blog, for example, will change too much.
Wattpad
A decent place for hosting writing you aren’t planning on publishing for money, Wattpad is not a place for blogging. Also, anything too commercial will be pulled by the moderating staff. So much for selling stuff.
Want to Start a Writer Website? WordPress to the Rescue!
What is it, 48% of all websites are on WordPress? Their functionality is hard to beat. They have an enormous number of plugins and apps, both free and paid for.
Support varies and is mainly tied to app and plugin developers. If a developer provides good support, then awesome! But if not, then either get a different plugin or head to YouTube and pray for good tutorials.
If your budget is truly $0, you can even put a blog (and probably just a blog) onto their freebie pages. But those are numerous and with less support and functionality. But they will help you to get used to using the platform.
Still, eventually, you’re going to have to cash in your empties and spend something or other.
The Planning You’ll Need to Start a Writer Website
Welp, I originally just threw this one together.
And then I realized I wanted it to not look terrible. This was even before I was using it to tout writing, or even social media.
Really, really far back (as in over 20 years ago), I really just wanted a place to plonk some photos. Geocities was it.
As a result, this website and its accompanying blog have grown organically and not always intelligently.
Head some of my mistakes off at the pass and do some preplanning. To wit.
Decide on a Basic Design Sensibility
You don’t need to be a designer (God knows I’m not!) but you do want something that looks attractive and, at the same time, feels put together.
If, like me, your design sensibilities resemble those a semi-sapient sponge, then I suggest talking to someone you know who does have design chops. They don’t have to be a professional.
This person could have maybe taken it in school. Or their living space always looks ‘just so’, or their look in clothing is always well-put together. At the barest minimum, it should be someone you know who does art of some sort, even for fun.
And if you really and truly know no one like this, then you’ve probably got a high school near you, yes? Talk to the art teachers there.
Here’s what you want to know.
Ask Your Designer Friend the Following
A designer friend makes them sound like they come with a logo, but I digress.
I Love These Colors. Do They Go Together Well?
You can also check out any color wheel online, but if your monitor skews toward green (for example), you won’t get a true result.
If You Were Working With These Colors, Which Would You Use as Primary? Which Would be the Accents?
You may love neon pink, but it’s probably a bit much for a main color for a website.
I Normally Write in the ___ Genre. Which Colors Speak to You When You Think of That Genre? They Don’t Have to be Any of the Colors I’ve Chosen
Now, you should also look at covers (seriously). But what I am getting at here is what’s called Color Theory.
For example, what does yellow make you think of? Pretty standard responses will probably include the sun, sunflowers, butter, egg yolks, Post-it notes, bananas, and canaries.
Does it remind you or your designer pal of any genre, though?
It’s okay if it’s not an oh my God perfect match. But there is a reason why a horror writer might have a website with darker colors and a Halloween feel to it regardless of the time of year.
And there’s a reason a romance writer might start a writer website with pastels and mainly use a scroll-like font.
Given My Main Genre, What Would You Suggest as Ideas for a Logo or Other Predominant Image?
I really, really hope you won’t use a stick of butter for your logo, even if you write cookbooks. But if you love yellow, and your genre is dystopian science fiction, you might consider an image of something burning.
My Own Design (Er, Maybe)
I made this logo (and a couple of others, which I’ll show in other posts) and I own the image!!
And that is important all by itself.
Do I love this logo? It’s … okay.
The idea of books with different colors appeals to me because what I write is kind of eclectic. But the books are all monochrome, almost looking like photo albums or research texts.
I don’t like that the font ended up washed out. But I do like a font like this. It dovetails well with what I generally write, which is science fiction.
I know I can do better, and will probably play around with this some more another day. Again, mental bandwidth!
To Start a Writer Website — We’ve Barely Scratched the Surface, Folks!
Yes, I will write more about this topic. But the main takeaways I am giving you today are:
1. Own your space if you can afford it.
2. Use WordPress! You won’t regret it, I swear.
3. Get an idea of visual design before you get started, to keep a unified look.
See you ’round.
Want More of Writer Website Development?
If my post on website speed resonates with you, then please be sure to check out my other articles about how to create a writer website.
And Finally, it’s Time to Review Time Addicts: Everything is Up For Grabs
So what, exactly, do I mean by ‘everything is up for grabs’? Because as the timelines get ever more confusing, what isn’t on the table?
So, this trilogy of terms came to me after I had been writing the first book for a few weeks. But it snapped it all into sharp focus with these terms. With this, the final book in the trilogy, it seems as if everything is unraveling for Josie and co.
But in a society where you can change time on a whim, how could anything ever be permanent? Also, just as importantly, are there any anchors in life? Or are we all simply destined to be buffeted around by time forever?
With this, the final book in the sub-trilogy, the anchors feel as loose and ephemeral as a sack of feathers. But the bad guys, of course, offer a way to again achieve stability and equilibrium.
If she wants to go that route.
Background
Josie thinks she has seen the most drastic of the timeline changes already. But now they are getting focused, and the bad guys, calling themselves the Yester Gang, are tired of playing around.
Now, their focus is no longer split and they are going after nothing short of all-out genocide of the Obolonk race.
Plot
As the Yester Gang focuses more, Josie receives more mysterious messages which seem to be telling her that she has to act—but how?
The support beams in her life are being kicked out from under her, and Josie has no idea who she can trust. Maybe the best answer is, no one.
Characters
For this piece, the characters are Josie James, Dalton Farouk, Keisha Darnell, Bobby Brodie, Tad Lewis, Cyndi Mendez, Dr. Carmen D’Angelo, and Tommy 2000. Plus there’s also Josie’s enormous family, who flit in and out of the storyline.
Bad guy characters include Marty Quinlan and also his two nonbinary employees/lovers – Velvet Monroe and Daisy Dukes. There’s also Elston Young and Corwin Zachary.
Memorable Quotes from Time Addicts: Everything is Up For Grabs {Josie is talking to her Wingbot. The time change? All the time zones have been changed}
She waved her left hand over her right wrist and a display came up, also in midair. Into it, she said, “Time. Date. Temperature.”
Downstairs, with background noise of gentle wingbeats, came the answer from her Wingbot, 42753, “December the fourth, twenty-five twenty-seven. The time is six AM Eastern-Atlantic time. The temperature is one point sixty-six seven degrees Celsius.”
“Wait, what?”
“It is December the fourth…”
Josie scrunched up her face. Something felt off. “No, not that, Wing. The other part.”
“The temperature?” asked the Wingbot. There was a slight sound of small mechanical feet landing on the kitchen counter.
“No, wait a second.” She rubbed her forehead. Regular early morning nausea—for more than a decade of her life—made morning coffee a nice idea in theory but a terrible one in practice. Fully waking up would have to wait until she got to work, which was on another continent. “The time, Wing.”
“Six oh three.”
“You didn’t say that before.” Absently, she pulled a blue towel from the rack and started to dry her auburn hair.
“Well, the time has changed.”
Josie fought to not become angry with the small, semi-sapient robot, that was only doing its job. “I get that part. You mentioned the time zone?”
“Oh, do you like that? I recently received new instructions from Central Programming, to include a time zone whenever time is requested. If it is bothersome, I can remove it from that subroutine.”
“No, that’s fine.” Albeit weird.
Rating for Everything is Up For Grabs
The story has a K+ rating.
Upshot
I think I ended this middle trilogy well. But I know that the third book didn’t really get cooking until maybe Chapter 21 or so. Also, it’s over 167,000 words long! But at the time of writing this blog post, I had not yet started to edit it.
The second book is short and the first is kind of in the middle. I would rather not append the first 20 or so chapters to the end of the second book and call it a day.
Rather, I need to edit this beast with a chainsaw.
Wish me luck.
When everything is up for grabs, do timelines have any meaning at all? #amwriting
Want More About The Time Addicts Trilogy?
If this article resonates with you, then check out my other articles about this sub-trilogy that’s all about time travel and how it can go more than a little bit, shall we say, ca ca.
It’s Time to Review Time Addicts: Nothing is Permanent
So, what, exactly, do I mean by ‘nothing is permanent’?
A certain trilogy of terms came to me after I had been writing the first book for a few weeks. But it snapped it all into sharp focus with these terms. I loved the terms so much that they are the subtitles of each of these three books.
So, in a society where you can change time on a whim, how could anything ever be permanent? And, just as importantly, are there any anchors in life?
As the timelines start to really melt and change, Josie’s life turns upside-down.
Background
After receiving the aforesaid message, Josie realizes she’s feeling physically worse and, at the same time, getting more confused about the shifting timelines. They are still relatively coherent. At least, for a while.
Plot
As the timelines continue to shift, Josie witnesses odder and odder changes. Many of them seem to be almost pleasant. Could the other side be, perhaps, trying to change time in order to please her?
The idea is intriguing. Because, could it be that she’s somehow, and in some way, being recruited?
Nothing is Permanent But the Characters
The characters are Josie James, Dalton Farouk, Keisha Darnell, Jerry Brodie, Tad Lewis, Cyndi Mendez, Dr. Carmen D’Angelo, and Tommy 2000.
Plus there’s also Josie’s family, who flit in and out of the storyline. And, there are the bad guys, namely Marty Quinlan and his two nonbinary employees, who go by the names Velvet Monroe and Daisy Dukes.
Memorable Quotes from Time Addicts: Nothing is Permanent {Josie and Bobby are entering the office at the New Howard Theater, where there are puzzles and barriers to entry to OIA HQ}
But it turned out that she didn’t need the umbrella, as she did not arrive alone. “Hi, Bob.”
“Heyas.” He was carrying a fairly large bakery box from Ashmont Annie’s.
“You’re here early,” she said, as she started the process of getting through the first barrier to entry.
“What are you talking about, Josie? I’m always bright and early.”
“No, you aren’t.”
“Yes, I am.”
“No, really, I have never, ever seen you early. Your habit is not to be early.”
“I am always bright and early. C’mon,” he said, voice taking on an edge of frustration.
“I, no, I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone in the Department of Temporal Narcotics has ever seen you come in early. You just aren’t an early kind of a guy.”
“For fuck’s sake, Josie, I am.”
She backed off.
No, you aren’t. You have never, ever been early in all the time I’ve known you, Bobby Brodie.
“Sorry.”
“No problem; we’ll all under stress. Can you hold these so I can get the wheel on the ceiling?”
“Sure thing.” She peeked inside the box. It was a dozen assorted doughnuts, including her absolute favorite, Boston Cream.
“Who’re all these doughnuts for?” she asked as he turned the wheel and a door slid open to yet another antechamber.
“The team, silly.”
“Really? Since when do you bring in doughnuts for everybody?”
“Since when do I not?”
“Since ever.”
“Wrong again, Josie. Y’know, if you piss me off enough, I will stop bringing in Boston Creams for you.”
“You buy those just for me?”
“Yeah. And I get blueberry for Tad, sour cream – I have no idea why she likes it – for Carmen, you know.”
No, I don’t know.
Rating
The story has a K+ rating.
Upshot
So, one thing about middle books, for me, is they tend to be more romance-centric. Also, they tend to be the shortest books. And while I do not amp up the romance, it is still the shortest of the three books, clocking in at under 70,000 words before editing.
I don’t feel the need to increase this one. Rather, I still want to cut it and the first and the first 40% of the third book. So, while I won’t go until 50,000 words, I will still, I hope, get this one to under 60,000.
When nothing is permanent, where are your temporal anchors? #amwriting
Want More About The Time Addicts Trilogy?
If this article resonates with you, then check out my other articles about this sub-trilogy that’s all about time travel and how it can go more than a little bit, shall we say, ca ca.
The trilogy of terms came to me after I had been writing this, the first book, for a few weeks. But then it snapped it all into sharp focus.
So, the premise was, to me, irresistible. What would happen if you could travel in time via the application of drugs? And with the idea of drugs came the idea of addicts.
So, what if people were addicted to time travel?
Background
Josie James is an ordinary cop in the Boston Meg, about 500 years from the present time. But then she gets a semi-mysterious invitation to a large, group job interview.
She’s not dissatisfied, but she is intrigued, as the invitation comes from the OIA—the Orb Intelligence Agency. The OIA is the successor agency to the CIA. The money is off-the-charts excellent. And it looks interesting. But there are a few… irregularities.
Plot
A group is brought together to handle a problem with temporal addiction and the illegal manufacture of time travel drugs. But all is not as it seems, for the illegal acts are organized and may even have an overall purpose.
Plus, we see Kevin O’Connor and his spouse, Addie.
Memorable Quotes from Time Addicts: No One is Safe {Chapter 13; Dalton and Josie are talking; he speaks first}
“Even though. So, tell me, outlaw Josie James, you said plural brothers and sisters. Just how many are we talking about? And more importantly, how many of them can beat me up?”
“You’ll laugh.”
“No, I won’t.” He crossed his heart. “Nonexistent scout’s honor.”
“Okay, you asked for it. I am the youngest of ten.”
He nearly spit his drink. “Holy crap. You already had your own squad the day you were born.”
“Pretty much. As for the beating up part, I’m thinking the only ones who might, maybe, be able to do that are Deb and Em. And they’re twins, so you’d get tag teamed.”
“I see. Why them?”
“They got bit by the farming bug but so did Aaron. But he’s a few years from sixty so I’m thinking his beating up days are over unless it’s a viewer remote when the Pintos lose.”
“Big baseball fan then. So, wait, he’s twentysomething years older than you?”
“Yep. And before you ask, he’s not the outlier; I am. He’s twenty-three years older than me and is the oldest. Going on down to Ian, the ninth in our merry little band, who’s nine years older than me. Aaron’s first born is older than I am by a few months.”
“Whoa. See, me, I’m the eldest. It’s just me and Maryam. She raises schnauzers and shows them. I think our mom’s getting tired of showing, so she and Dad are grooming Maryam to pass the torch and stuff. I’m the Black Sheep of the family, the only one on the force. Or rather I was. What do your folks do?”
She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a swig of coffee before answering. “They died when I was eleven. Skimmer accident over Nereid.”
No One is Safe (from a) Rating
The story has a K+ rating.
Upshot
I loved kicking off this series although I can see places to cut this one. When I ended NaNoWriMo, it was just under 97k words long, and it is should probably go down to the upper 80s or so.
Which timeline is right, when no one is safe? #amwriting
Want More About The Time Addicts Trilogy?
If this article resonates with you, then check out my other articles about this sub-trilogy that’s all about time travel and how it can go more than a little bit, shall we say, ca ca.
Time Addicts Characters:
• Josie James
† Carmen D’Angelo, MD
• Dalton Farouk
† Tad Lewis
• Cyndi Mendez
† Bobby Brodie
• Keisha Darnell
† Vera Travers
Josie’s Family:
• Aaron James
† Avalon (Loni) James
• Bryan James-Rosen
† Harvey James-Rosen
• Chasten James-Rosen
† Ellen James-Rosen
• Matthew James-Rosen
† Connie James
• Deborah James Vinson
† Tyrell Vinson
• Nichelle Vinson
† Troy Vinson
• Emily James
† Frances James Walsh
• Gina Walsh
† Gregory James
• Mercedes Perez James
† Hailey James Shapiro
• Dov Shapiro
† Dinah Shapiro
• Saddik Shapiro
† Ian James
Descriptions are a must. You need them for any type of writing beyond the barest drabbles. Involve the reader in the piece. And that means pulling descriptive prose out of your head. You must commit it to paper or pixels.
But there is a balancing act that comes along with this. Too much describing turns it all into a boatload of exposition. While you do need some exposition, too much will grind your storyline to a screeching halt.
Scenes
Scene setting is covered elsewhere in this blog. However, that’s closely related to your descriptive abilities. Consider what is important. And try not to turn it into a tour of a city or country (or planet’s) greatest hits.
People
Describe human beings as soon as you can. Unless the character’s appearance is some sort of spoiler, you should get their basics down quickly. Otherwise, your readers will picture one thing and, when they are told something different about the character, it will feel jarring to them.
If I think your Mary character is Asian, and then you later (finally!) tell me she’s a blonde, that has the potential to take me right out of the story.
I will blog about describing people of color elsewhere. For now, just concentrate on basic descriptors. Those are, generally: gender, age range, height, body size and shape, hair color (or baldness), facial hair if appropriate, and eye color. Furthermore, add any unique identifiers. These are a disability or tattoos or the like.
Think about what is normally considered in a standard police lineup. For example, police officers can’t conduct an overly suggestive American police lineup. And it might even be unconstitutional. That is, if the witness claims the suspect is male, then the lineup is no good if it consists of four females (not transmen) and one male.
More Natural Exposition and Descriptions
You don’t have to dump a garbage can full of expository data in the first sentence. A female pronoun or name can give away gender. A nickname might indicate age, such as Junior or Grandma. Maybe you can comment on agility or speed or fatigue in order to get physical condition across.
And height can come up fairly naturally if your character has to reach something on a high shelf, or look up or down at another character. Or maybe they have to determine if they’re tall enough to get onto an amusement park ride.
Any of these is better than a list of vital statistics. Those don’t really come up naturally unless you’re writing about medicine or, maybe, a beauty pageant or a sporting competition.
Aliens
Describe aliens very quickly. The basics should still be your guide. However, you might need to cover other issues, such as whether they can speak or hear, or whether they can breathe our air.
Descriptions: Takeaways
Give your readers as much of the picture as is necessary. Don’t describe the corners of the room unless you need to. But at least tell them there’s a room.
First of all, exposition basically means a literary device intended to describe a character’s background, or “our story so far”. It can be done elegantly, with flashbacks or dialogue or even a character finding something or other.
It can be clunky, like when characters say, “As you know, …” and then proceed to clue in the reader but then tell the other characters everything they should, logically, already know. For example, one doctor telling another one how chemotherapy works would denote really clunky exposition.
Clunkiness was rather memorably skewered by the Basil Exposition character in Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery. However, you and I don’t want that to happen with our works. So we’ve got to try to be a lot more eloquent. Hence we’ve got to figure out how to clue in our readers in a more natural fashion. So consider your setting.
Using Settings for Exposition
What do I mean by this? Your story’s circumstances and your characters’ specifics might be places to sneak in some background. Are they spies? Spies get briefings. Are they museum goers? Museums have docents (specialized guides) and tours, and they also have guidebooks and even identification for paintings or artifacts. Hikers use trails. Motorists use maps (or GPS, if the time period is right).
There is nothing wrong with a character reading a street sign, either out loud or to themselves.
Here Now the News
Love or hate it, but a character reading a newspaper or listening to radio news or watching it on television can provide a level of exposition to your story which can be seamless and even elegant.
Chapter Titles
When your chapter title is Sunday, August 6, 2017, 11 AM, San Francisco Chinatown, you get across a ton of information in a very short space. And you do so without interrupting the flow of the story unnecessarily.
Character Names and Occupations
These are more subtle, but if your characters have names like Maria, Vito, Anna, Guido, and Antonio, your reader will think Italy or at least an Italian family. If your characters have occupations such as blacksmith, miller, alchemist, and barber surgeon, your reader will think of medieval times.
The New Guy
There is a damned fine reason why a lot of televisionpilots involve someone coming to a new city or starting a new job. This is because explaining the story and the plot and characters to the new kid in town is perfectly natural.
“Excuse me, but where’s the spaceship parking bay?”
“Oh, it’s next to the mess hall. I’m Dave; I do the regular run to Venus every Thursday.”
It’s natural, it flows, and it doesn’t bog down the story.
Interweaving Exposition
Yet another method is to weave the exposition into the story or the dialog.
“You have great eyes. I love that color blue.”
“My mom always said they looked like the ocean. But I grew up in Kansas and I confess I didn’t see the ocean until I was thirty.”
Or
“You look like hell.” She nodded toward the wound on his arm.
“Oh, you should see the other guy.”
Get it?
Exposition, Scenes, and Character Descriptions
While not 100% the same as character descriptions, your standard bit of exposition is really just another flavor of describing … something. And while it’s a problem if the only time you describe people is when they aren’t white, it’s less of an issue when you don’t go into detail about something we should already know.
A modern day city is likely to have streets with traffic, perhaps outdoor vendors, maybe office buildings, and definitely crowds of people. Mainly, you may need to separate Philadelphia from Mumbai, or the like. For God’s sake, read some maps (and make sure they are for the correct year!) before describing a city you don’t know.
Hell, do that even for a city that you do know. And let me make one thing perfectly clear. Try not to turn it into a travelogue. I can practically guarantee to you that, unless they work there or are showing a tourist around, New Yorkers do not go waltzing into the Empire State Building all the time.
Takeaways
Exposition is truly vital in writing but you need to get it across without a dump of information. Read back your exposition. If it reads like a text book, or it goes on for too long, see about changing it but also about breaking it up. A bit of exposition here and there, even if it’s the same amount as in your big info dump, will stick out a lot less.
What is a Character Questionnaire, and Why Might You Want One?
At its essence, a character questionnaire is a set of questions about a character. Seems obvious, right? Master Class has a good one.
A character questionnaire is not strictly necessary when putting together characters. But it can be very helpful. This is particularly the case if you are early in the process and still getting to know a character.
Some questionnaires seem to be overly complex. Or the questions address one area of a character’s personality in depth but not others.
Hence you will want to add some depth but probably some randomness as well. So, let’s look at the whole thing in pieces.
Here are some questions which might help.
Background
Of course you want to know some basics about the character. What is their name, and how old are they during the story? Gender is often important. But sexuality may or may not be. Educational level is probably also something you want to know.
• Name
† Date of birth
• Gender assigned at birth/current gender if different
† Sexuality
• Height (consider if you need English or metric measurements for this and weight)
† Weight
• Educational level
† Siblings, if any
• Place in the birth order (if applicable)
† Whether parents or other close relatives are still alive
• Socio-economic background
Details for Your Own Personal Character Questionnaire
There’s more to a name than just … the name. Was your character named after someone? Are they a junior, a senior, a seventeenth? Are they, perhaps, named for someone in popular culture (either a fictional character or an actor)?
Beyond going into horoscopes, a date of birth can inform a few things, not just whether someone is the eldest in a group.
After all, if like me your character was born in early September, then if they’re in the modern world, school probably started right about the time of their birthdays.
Gender, gender roles, and gender changes all matter. If a person has body dimorphism, that is far different from if they just don’t like being (for example) female and upset that society keeps them from making more money.
Height is more than just a yardstick. It’s also whether your character can reach stuff on high shelves or needs to duck through doorways. It’s whether they work as a jockey or gymnast or ballerina, or they end up pitching in baseball games or on the basketball team.
And height can often play a role in job opportunities, leadership roles, and relationships.
Weight? These days, you can be rather quickly and unfairly judged about your weight. People will also often judge a person’s class, educational background, and income based on their weight. Is it fair? Of course not. But it’s realistic and it should find a place in your writing.
More Details
Educational level will inform how a character speaks, and perhaps also what you have them read, assuming they’re literate, that is. Are they quick on the uptake? Do they solve the puzzle first—or should they?
Siblings and place in birth order can give you an idea of whether a character feels overly responsible, or seems horribly spoiled, or doesn’t feel like they belong anywhere.
Parents—living or dead—will loom large. Is your character estranged from their parents? Orphaned? Is Mom or Dad in jail? Did the character kill one of them? Was one of them deadbeat, never known by your character? Or is your character adopted?
Socio-economic background can inform your character’s opportunities in life. It can also define if their growth was stunted, if they hoard food, or if they waste money and are used to servants catering to their every whim.
Relationship Queries
Even if a piece is not a romance, understanding a character’s relationship history can prove fruitful. Here are a few details to consider.
† First serious relationship
• Also, consider the first serious relationship after coming out, if applicable
† Marital status
• Have they ever been in love?
† Are they ace/aero (asexual or aromantic)?
• Do they let anyone get close to them?
† Do they have any kinks?
Details
Beyond the parental and sibling relationships listed above, how does your character relate to anyone they’re interested in romantically? How serious did they get, and how soon? Are they a virgin? If not, when did they lose their virginity? Are they happy with that?
Is their sexuality set or fluid? Or is it repressed or so closeted that they don’t even realize they’re closeted?
Have they ever been married? Divorced, separated, or widowed? If so, what was the wedding like? Was the marriage happy? Functional? Abusive?
Have they ever loved anyone? Was it romantic? Chaste? From afar? Unrequited? Or was it some borderline stalking?
Has anyone ever gotten close to them? Also, are they vanilla, or are they in a dom/sub situation, or something else?
Work and School
Again, even if you never show work or education, it will help to inform the piece. So, consider details such as the following:
• Highest level of education attained
† Age when classes ended (that is, were they a dropout, or did they graduate?)
• Current employment
† Industry
• Basic tasks/duties
† If a supervisor/manager, number of direct and indirect reports
Details for This Part of Your Character Questionnaire
So, can you call your character doctor or professor? Or are they even literate? Did they drop out to help the family or because they were failing?
Where do they work, or are they unemployed? If they’re currently not working, are they trying to get a job, or not? Also, do they even need to work? Are they perhaps an unpaid caregiver of some sort?
If they work outside the home (so, keep in mind that this is not necessarily literally for work from home and hybrid jobs), what’s the industry? Is it creative? Caregiving? Scientific? Something in business? Do they work with their hands?
When the working day ends, how tired are they? Are they injured? Or are they so stressed out they can barely see straight? How does the commute (if any) treat them?
Can anyone call your character boss? Also, what kind of a boss are they? Do they rule with an iron fist, or are they empathetic? Sexist? Absent? Strictly by the book? Someone with a huge HR file on them?
Favorites
So, after you’re about the age of eight or so, people stop asking you what your favorite dinosaur is. It’s as if they don’t even care! But you can always ask your characters!
Their faves can also include:
• Person
† Food
• Place
† Workout or place to walk
• Season
† Subject in school
And so on and on. Musicians can have a favorite guitar or glockenspiel. Carpenters can have a preferred hammer. The sky is literally the limit here.
Personality
Rather than listing various personality traits, it makes more sense to instead ask questions. Pretend as if you’re interviewing your character for some reason or another. Maybe it’s for a newspaper article, or a job. Whatever the pretense is, ask about things like:
• So, are you a morning or an evening person?
† In a group, do you lead, follow, check out, or something else?
• If you found a wallet full of money in the street, what would you do?
† Do you believe in God? Also, do you follow any religion?
• Who has been the most influential person in your life so far?
† What’s the most daring thing you have ever done? And would you ever do it again?
• How’s your mental health?
† If you could meet anyone from history, living or dead, who would you like to meet, and why?
Takeaways
So the truth is, the more you treat your characters like people, the more your readers will see them as people. Adding depth will also help you write them, and know when you’re having them say or do something out of character.
If you don’t know your characters, who else could possibly know them? So, ask!
Oh, and another thing. This kind of a questionnaire can even help you with getting story ideas. No lie!
A character questionnaire can help. Just don’t treat it like gospel.
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