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NaNoWriMo is the annual merry madness of Camp NaNo and the big event, November is National Novel Writing Month.

Whither NaNoWriMo

I must have first heard of it in maybe 2011 or so. And it was a great idea and an event. But at the time, I did not have anything original to write. I just had fan fiction.

Now, I could have written fan fiction. But at the time, I did not want to write something long if I would not be able to truly do anything with it. And this has been the case ever since.

It is not as if I make so much money on any of this. But it is better than absolutely nothing.

Also, I love being original and feel my writing has improved and developed enough that I can comfortably be original.

In fact, I believe that even my imagination has developed, in a way.

Practice Makes Perfect

Every time I have ever done NaNo, it unfolds something or other. It is almost as if it unlocks an advent calendar in my brain.

I has taught me how to create a plot and stick with it. And it has also taught me how to come up with a universe. I have also learned the fun and importance of serendipity.

I am not 100% a discovery writer, AKA a pantser. However, at the same time, I am also not 100% a planner. Creating only part of an outline seems to work the best for me these days.

What I have also learned is that, to get to 50,000 words, I have a tendency to front-load my work. This gets me to win the challenge, yes. But it also creates some editing issues.

These days, one of the ways I edit is simply by counting. That is, I keep track of how long certain parts of a book are. I do my best to balance them out. And, for the really juicy stuff, I want it to dominate a piece.

RIP NaNoWriMoNaNoWriMo, writing, chapter length, how do I write a book, Plotting 101, NaNoWriMo Advice, RIP NaNoWriMo

RIP NaNoWriMo

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on September 5, 2024

Dammit. So, have you heard the latest, about how NaNo has essentially shot themselves in the foot, again? This one is harder to forgive than the community management debacle. And so, I am drawing a line in the sand (finally, I suppose). Sorry, but RIP NaNoWriMo.

Why Would I Ever Say RIP NaNoWriMo? And Why Now?

I’ll start from the semi-beginning. NaNoWriMo was fun and cute and kinda wholesome. It’s how Untrustworthy was published in the first place. Then, in the last year or so, their forums moderation truly fell apart. Apparently, pedo-type content was being served to minors. Lovely, not.

And so, NaNo decided, okay, we’ll certify our volunteer moderators. But then I thought, well, it’s not great, but it’s something. And, I’ve seen plenty of places simply fall down when it came to moderation. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Facebook.

And, in retrospect, it feels like the issue with content moderation was almost inevitable. Why? Because they really didn’t have good safeguards in place, and there were minors on the site, with very little supervision.

But now, AI is the issue. So, WTF NaNoWriMo?

Why am I Saying RIP NaNoWriMo Now?

It all started on my birthday. Er, thanks, universe. NaNoWriMo put out this FAQ about AI.

In case it’s yanked later, it starts off like this:

NaNoWriMo does not explicitly support any specific approach to writing, nor does it explicitly condemn any approach, including the use of AI.

Sounds kinda promising, eh?

If they had stopped there, I could have cautiously thrown my support, albeit with some personal reservations about it.  But then, they added this:

We believe that to categorically condemn AI would be to ignore classist and ableist issues surrounding the use of the technology, and that questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege.

Wait, what?

Classism

NaNo wrote:

Not all writers have the financial ability to hire humans to help at certain phases of their writing. For some writers, the decision to use AI is a practical, not an ideological, one. The financial ability to engage a human for feedback and review assumes a level of privilege that not all community members possess.

Using AI as a spellchecker or a grammar checker is not the issue, or at least it should not be. And if people aren’t in critique groups or can’t find one or don’t like them, using AI instead is, I suppose, a decent substitute.

So far, so good. Kinda, sorta.

But I’m already uncomfortable.

Ableism

NaNo wrote:

Not all brains have same abilities and not all writers function at the same level of education or proficiency in the language in which they are writing. Some brains and ability levels require outside help or accommodations to achieve certain goals. The notion that all writers “should“ be able to perform certain functions independently or is a position that we disagree with wholeheartedly. There is a wealth of reasons why individuals can’t “see” the issues in their writing without help.

This is why editors exist. Critique partners and groups. Friends. Hell, the reviews on Amazon (assuming they’re not just from someone with an axe to grind) can help to do this.

As real-life writers who I know, who are disabled have said—we (er, they) may do it more slowly, but they can still git ‘er done. And without dragging AI into it.

General Access Issues

NaNo wrote:

All of these considerations exist within a larger system in which writers don’t always have equal access to resources along the chain. For example, underrepresented minorities are less likely to be offered traditional publishing contracts, which places some, by default, into the indie author space, which inequitably creates upfront cost burdens that authors who do not suffer from systemic discrimination may have to incur.

… and what? The fact that some writers have less financial means than others is nothing new. And the fact that a good cover is expensive? Not news, either. Is this to somehow wrap the use of AI for a cover in virtue? Well, I got some virtue-style news for NaNo.

Given that AI is trained on all sorts of stuff with no artist permissions, it is the biggest copyright infringer on the planet. So, what’s better? A lousy cover that at least you own? But you don’t sell anything? Or a sharpish AI cover which infringes and looks creepy?

Don’t they both stink, not just in terms of virtue, but in terms of feeling like you’re doing the right thing?

Or, hey, here’s an idea.

How about paying an actual artist?

But, but Costs!

Yeah, I get it. It’s not cheap. Nope, it’s not. Writing is a pretty expensive hobby/side gig.

So, try Fiverr.

Here’s another idea. Work with someone you know who’s got a decent handle on Photoshop or Adobe Indesign, and get a good photograph. How do you get a good photograph? Take one if you’re talented or pay someone you know who’s talented. Or buy one from a place that sells stock photos.

Another idea? Save your pennies. And yeah, it won’t happen immediately. Maybe your up to the minute, ripped from the headlines thriller is a rush and should be out there ASAP.

But that’s an exception, not the rule.

Here’s a Little Secret

Shh. Tell no one!

But seriously, folks. The world can wait a bit for your novel about a vampire rodeo rider from Alpha Centauri who fights crime in their spare time.

Dang, now I want to write this.

But in the meantime, I hate to say it, but I will.

I’m sorry, but it’s over. It’s not me, it’s you. So RIP NaNoWriMo. We had a good run, you and me. I loved you fiercely. But it’s over.

But What About This November and the Others, Ever Onward?

Here’s another little secret.

You don’t need them, and neither do I. We can write whenever we want to. I loved the urgency of it, and the event feeling of it. But the event feeling has been gone for a while now. And guess what? I (and you, too) can create my own urgency.

I like doing this in November, partly for nostalgic reasons but also because it’s a holiday-like event. And I like that it’s near the end of the year, but not quite.

So, I’ll be doing something similar. But I’ll call it 30Day50k.

You want to join me? It’s free. There are no forums. No police. And no counters. It’s totally the honor system. Ain’t got no prizes.

Just… write.

RIP NaNoWriMo. Long live 30Day50k.

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Writing Needs Editing Part 2

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 22, 2024

Writing and Editing Part 2

For editing part 2 let’s get past acting like your own biggest fan, like we did in Editing Part 1. Time to get out the scissors. Or the weedwhacker.

More Editing

Let’s go to editing Part 2!

So last time, we looked at some general issues surrounding editing. Although the process may seem daunting, it still must be done. For this post, I will assume you have done the tasks outlined in the first part.

If not, then this methodology will still work. But I think you’ll find you will need to do the preliminary steps anyway. Hence you might as well get them done now. Then it’s on to Editing Part 2.

Spell Check

Maybe it sounds dumb. Perhaps it’s obvious. But you still need to run a spell checker. Don’t have one? Then try a free spell checker online. But if you have a spellchecker in your application, use it.

Understand that certain typos will be a problem. If you type ‘that’ for ‘this’, it will not show up, as those are both real words. Hence your spellchecker provides only a preliminary solution. Have the program ignore names, in order to eliminate them from contention.

Find and Replace

Your find feature is a godsend; use it! Furthermore, if you use names which might have typical typos, try searching for them with ctrl-F. For example, the main character in my 2015 NaNoWriMo novel had the name of Marnie. Hence I searched for the word ‘Marine’. But I made sure to check on usage before I hit ‘replace’.

This feature also works when you change a character’s name.

Find and Count

Do you overuse some expressions? Repetitive language isn’t bad. But too much of it is dull. Consider usage, and adjust repeated sentences accordingly.

That Attack

My good friend D. R. Perry taught me this one, and I love it.  Have your program count how often you use the word ‘that’. Of course, it’s not a bad word outright. But overusing anything can be dull. By counting this particular word, you get a handle on your use of certain idiomatic phrases. E. g. ‘he thought that’, ‘she said that’, ‘they felt that that was funny’.

In all three of these instances, the word ‘that’ can be cut without losing any sense.

Synonym Sweep

This time, search for the word ‘very’. As with ‘that’, the word is perfectly fine, despite what Stephen King says. However, he is right (as was Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society) insofar as it’s a not so precise use of language. What’s better: ‘very big’ or ‘gigantic’? For a children’s book, probably the former. For any other kind of book, it may be the latter.

If you can clip the adverb and instead enhance the adjective with a better synonym, your writing will be more interesting. Stay away from obscure adjectives (e. g. ‘Brobdingnagian’). Also, your characters can use all the adverbs they like when speaking. But try to cut them in your scene setting, your transitions, and your exposition.

That’s the first half of Editing Part 2. Now onto the second half.

Fat Cutter

You’ve been doing this all along, with ‘that attack’ and ‘synonym sweep’. The idea is to excise unnecessary words. Unlike the former two methods, this one will require some reading. Up until now, everything has been done programmatically. Now you need to do some digging. But first check how long your chapters are.

There is no hard and fast rule for chapter length, but if all of your chapters are 20 – 35 pages and one is 63, then that one might have some fat you can cut. Or maybe you can just split it into two or even three chapters.

Consider descriptive text and exposition. You need it, but how long does it have to be? Familiar places in the current time period probably just need a few words: downtown Detroit, the Great Barrier Reef, etc. Or familiar places in the past need more but can still be pretty spare, such as Victorian-era London, or ancient Rome during Claudius Caesar’s reign.

Familiar places in the future need more but you can build on today: 2023 Berlin maybe has taller buildings, 3116 Istanbul might be enclosed in a geodesic dome. Unfamiliar places will need more lavish attention to detail. But metaphors and similes are your friends. The new planet might be as big as Saturn but without rings, and smell like wet dog.

Scene Shifts and Plot Changes

These are much bigger and will take up a lot more of your time. Before you do either, you might want to consider whether your story can be understood by beta readers without doing either. If so, then keep this in mind (maybe take some notes) but don’t do it. See what beta readers say. Maybe you won’t need to make such drastic changes at all.

Final Read-Through Before Betas

Give it one last read-through. Look for the right words in the wrong places (e. g. a typo which turned out to be a correctly spelled word, so spellchecker missed it). Look for sense and ease of understanding. Make sure your plot makes sense.

Then kiss your manuscript good-bye (for the time being) and send it off to beta readers.

Post-Beta Readings and Editing Part 2

After betas, Editing Part 2 should be followed by a kind of Editing Part 3. Consider your betas’ advice. You don’t need to take it all, but listen with an open mind. Do one last read-through and then send your work to a professional editor, if you can afford one.

Why should you, if you’ve done all this? Because you (or I) may have missed something. In addition, all this preliminary work was free. Your edited work will come back a lot faster and cleaner.

Then, and only then, can you consider querying.
Editing Part 2—yep, there was a part 1, as well.

Want More on Beta Reading and Editing?

If you want more on beta reading and editing, check out the following posts:

Beta Reading:

Editing:

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Writing Needs Editing Part 1Beta Readers, Editors, Beta Reading, Editing, Beta readers, Beta Reading, Reading, How to Edit a Manuscript, editing part 1, Editing Part 2, choosing, Editing Tips, Beta Reading and Editing, beta reader,

Writing Needs Editing Part 1

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on August 20, 2024

A look at editing Part 1. Writing is why we’re here. But editing is what makes it sing.

What’s this All About? Editing in a Nutshell

Check out editing part 1. If you don’t do any editing, don’t expect people to read your work.

Unless you normally write six-word horror stories, you are going to need an editor. Everybody needs this service. However, you should edit your work before handing it over to a professional. In particular, if you are just coming off NaNoWriMo, you need to trim the fat. Because we all pad in order to make word count for NaNoWriMo. Don’t be ashamed of this! And a lot of it might turn out to be the good kind of fat. In particular, if it helps you introduce a new and interesting character, or set a new scene, or transition a story line properly, it can be terrific. But you still need to go through it with a fine-toothed comb. Everybody needs to do this. And there are no exceptions.

Adding Words

Sometimes, you actually add words in order to edit a story. And that is perfectly fine. If a description was rushed, or a scene feels forced, you may need to add words. In particular, if you wrote your story with placeholders such as: fix this later or add transition here, you must address those problems!

Getting Started

Are you wondering why this post was not added in November? It’s because editing requires some ‘leave it alone’ time. Frankly, this is too early. Because I highly recommend leaving your work for a full month before tackling editing. Just, find something else to do during the month of December. Between the holidays and the end of the quarter and the end of the tax year (and up here in New England, you might get some snow to shovel), I’m sure you can think of something.

Okay, Now We’ll Really Get Started With Editing Part 1

So you’ve set your work aside for a month. Your first job is to read your manuscript through from start to finish. Want to take notes? Sure. Or not. This is your show. But read all 50,000 or 100,000 or whatever words.

You’re not a writer, and you’re not reading as the writer. Rather, you are reading like a fan.

In the next article, I’ll show you where to go from here.

Writing Needs Editing part 1 means, yes, there’s a part 2 a-comin’….!

Want More on Beta Reading and Editing?

If you want more on beta reading and editing, check out the following posts:

Beta Reading:

Editing:

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How Do I Write a Book?Promotions, Swag, Exposition, Better Dialogue, Character Sexuality, Starting, Personal Writing Process, Starburst Method, how do I write a book, Supporting Indie Authors, Snowflake, Libraries, Descriptions, Ages, Dialogue Tags, Gender Swap, Pocket conflicts, Giveaways, Plotting, mental energy, Character Creation, Scene Setting, Transitioning, Genre Treatments, Easter Eggs, Accents, Plot Creation, Complex evil characters, Bechdel test, Writer Newsletter, Wattpad gets into the Digital Publishing Game, character reviews, Universal Explorations, Libraries, Awards, Social Signals, Blog Community, Query Letter,

How Do I Write a Book?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 21, 2024

So, how do I write a book?

Aspiring authors ask this all the time. While there are any number of people who simply work off inspiration, there are others who are filled with doubt. They ask: how do I write a book?

Well, I’m here to tell you. But keep in mind: your personal writing process is valid, too. There’s no one, right way to do this.

How Do I Write a Book and Get Started?

You should start with short stories. Seriously. Much lower stakes. And write lots and lots and lots of them. Funny, sappy, scary, sad — it doesn’t matter. Fanfic is totally cool; so is nonfiction. Tropes are fine, of course. However the spirit moves you.

Write about 1500 – 2000 words per day if you can, but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day here and there or you miss word count. No biggie. Stuff happens. This is also how to win NaNoWriMo, an activity I highly recommend.

Do this for at least a year.

What Happens Once that Year is Up?

At the end of the year, if you’ve written 2000 words per day, you’ll have written 730,000 words. The vast, vast majority of them will be garbage. This is nothing personal. It is life.

Usually you need to write a good million words or so before things start to get good. By this point, you’ll be nearly 3/4 of the way there.

Time to Review

Then look back, particularly on your older stuff, and you will see how you’ve improved. You will also see how some of your work could be expanded. Maybe it could get a sequel or a prequel. Maybe you need to describe a character better. Whatever.

Edit and Expand

Do that expanding. Of course this also counts toward your million words. A million isn’t some magical number; it’s more that it’s easy to remember. And it tends to show quality because by the time you’ve written that much, you’ve gotten the garbage out of your system.

Get Inspiration

Observe the world around you. Family. Friends. Work. School. The people on the bus. Nature. Traffic. Etc. etc. etc. Write down what inspires or interests you, even if it’s just a phrase someone utters or the scarf they’re wearing. Use those observations as fodder for more of those short stories (yes, you should still be writing short stuff).

Keep Going

Another 6 months or so and yeah, you’ve hit a million written words. Again, look at what you wrote. See if you can change it, combine it, expand it, and otherwise mutate it.

How Do I Write a Book? Now’s the Time to Start Converting Your Short Scribbles into a Book

If you like organization (I personally do), then write an outline for what you think might be a decent book. Steal from your short stories for that book. They are a bank. You have made thousands of deposits. Now it’s time to make some withdrawals.

Tie it together with transitions. You really just care about characters –> conflict –> crisis (also called the climax) –> change. The scene is a particular species of character.

Get to at least 75,000 words. Send it to beta readers and listen to what they have to say (but keep in mind, they may be wrong). Edit it until it bleeds.

Reread it as if you were a fan, not the writer. Fill the plot holes. Sew up the loose ends. Edit again.

And voila, you’ve got a book.

How Do I Write a Book and Have it Go Anywhere?

So that’s the answer to ‘how do I write a book?’ For the answer to how do I get it published, read on.

How do I write a book? It’s easy. It’s hard. Yeah, it’s both.

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Is There Really a Writers’ Blog Community?Promotions, Swag, Exposition, Better Dialogue, Character Sexuality, Starting, Personal Writing Process, Starburst Method, how do I write a book, Supporting Indie Authors, Snowflake, Libraries, Descriptions, Ages, Dialogue Tags, Gender Swap, Pocket conflicts, Giveaways, Plotting, mental energy, Character Creation, Scene Setting, Transitioning, Genre Treatments, Easter Eggs, Accents, Plot Creation, Complex evil characters, Bechdel test, Writer Newsletter, Wattpad gets into the Digital Publishing Game, character reviews, Universal Explorations, Libraries, Awards, Social Signals, Blog Community, Query Letter,

Is There Really a Writers’ Blog Community?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 22, 2023

Background – Writers’ Blog Community

Do you mean to say there’s an actual writers blog community?

Well, there kind of is. People like me blog all the time. And there are other writers who blog less often but I should be including them. Even if they don’t truly keep to a blogging schedule or anything like that.

However, the real issue is, there isn’t a whole helluva lot of connection.

Islands in the Stream…♪♫

With all the apologies to Dolly Parton and the late Kenny Rogers, the truth is that any sort of a blog community for writers is horribly fractured. Hell, the term community is a bit of a misnomer in this area.

Now, it is possible to find something resembling such a community. In fact, there are a few decent communities for writers, and NaNoWriMo is one of them.

There are also offline groups, such as with MeetUp, but that doesn’t really solve the blogging issue, now, does it?

So, one of the things that has surprised me the most while doing research about this is that so few writers actually blog about writing. And I am not even so sure that they blog about anything. Which is a pity, and feels kind of weird.

There are also instructional blogs about writing. With the exception of Chuck Wendig, the links on that list are either educational or semi-promotional. And while Mr. Wendig is somewhat promotional, at least he does not make it the focus of his blogging. No one should. Because let’s face it, no one wants to read one long infomercial about your books.

Yes, even your books.

The Writer’s Journey, in Blog Form

Apart from, well, Adventures in Career Changing (that’s here, of course), I cannot seem to find something like that. You know, where the blogger covers a lot more of the journey from wannabe to frustrated writer to querying to acceptance to publication. Or maybe not to querying, but instead to going the indie route and self-publishing.

But that specific journey or at least meandering line doesn’t get coverage in the blogosphere. Or if it does, then hell if I know where it is.

It is somewhat easy to find help and I even offer some as I can. But there don’t seem to be a lot of blogs out there on the sheer process of querying. And the process of creating, for that matter.

How many bloggers look at their own stories with a critical eye? How many share their disappointments? And how many writing blogs cover connections among stories?

But you can always find blogs about outlining, or finding an agent, or setting up indie publishing.

Where Are You?

Excuse me. Where the hell are you???

Is there anybody else out there who is doing what I am doing? If you’re out there, you are making it rather difficult for someone like me to find you! Which means you just might want to rethink your SEO strategy.

Seriously.

And I swear, I want to find these folks. It’s not that I don’t want to learn even more about the writing business and self-publishing. Of course I do! But I also think that niche is covered extremely well already.  My niche is different.

I would also put Dayton Ward into the category of writer journey blogger. But only kinda, sorta, as he also writes a lot about fandom. Not to say that I never meander.

Still, I just plain cannot believe that it’s just him and me. Seriously folks? That’s crazy if it’s just … us.

I have a lot of trouble believing the entire world of writer journey bloggers can fit in the back seat of my (rather small) car.

Starting a Community

Maybe it’s up to me (or maybe Dayton and me, I dunno) to start one. And maybe it’s not meant to be. But I do not give up that easily. And, I think it could be helpful. If absolutely nothing else, then it can be Commiseration City. Population: all of us.

I cannot possibly be the only person wondering why such a thing does not, seemingly, exist.

Er, can I?

Blog Community Takeaways

I first set off looking for a community of bloggers. And I found a lot of instructions and not much else. For my fellow writers in the trenches, I hope we can start to find each other. We probably already know one another one places like Facebook or Bluesky. But what about the blogosphere? Why aren’t there more folks here?

Writing can be an extremely isolating thing to do. A voice calls out in the darkness. Is there anyone to hear it?

Maybe… you?

Maybe we could all just create a writers blog community… together. #amblogging #amwriting

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Self-Review – Time Addicts: No One is SafeTime Addicts, No One is Safe, Nothing is Permanent, Everything is Up for Grabs

Self-Review – Time Addicts: No One is Safe

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on May 11, 2023

Time to Review Time Addicts: No One is Safe

What, exactly, do I mean by ‘no one is safe’?

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.

Characters in Time Addicts: No One is Safe

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 family, who flit in and out of the storyline.

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’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

Time Addicts Books:

The Obolonk Universe

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Writing Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on December 29, 2022

Progress Report – Fourth Quarter 2022

How was fourth quarter 2022 for writing? It was a continuation of third quarter 2022, more or less.

So I spent fourth quarter 2022 preparing for and writing for NaNo, and then I was going to be editing The Real Hope of the Universe , but that has had to wait for next quarter. So there was that…

Fourth Quarter 2022 Posted Works

First of all, I worked on NaNoWriMo. Either I was preparing for it, or I was writing it. NaNo this year consisted of two prequel works. One was for the Real Hub universe (that one got very long) and the other was for the Obolonk universe, more specifically as a Time Addicts prequel. These are called The East Side of the Universe and The Dust Between Our Stars, respectively.

Then on Wattpad I posted on the WattNaNo profile and nowhere else. Also, I gave up running the Star Trek profile. I just plain do not have the time any more.

Milestones

Also, I have written over 3.4 million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). Another 120,000 in original words, and I will have finally surpassed fan fiction. Yeah, I really did write that much fan fic! The below is but the tip of that particular iceberg. So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:

• Dinosaurs – 40 reads, 9 comments
† How to NaNoWriMo – 25,946 reads, 340 comments
• My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 983 reads, 133 comments
† Revved Up – 59,435 reads, 531 comments
• Side By Side – 17 reads, 2 comments
† Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 15,812 reads, 592 comments
• The Canadian Caper – 506 reads, 37 comments
† The Dish – 250 reads, 24 comments
• There is a Road – 189 reads, 28 comments
† WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 1,967 reads, 45 comments
• WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2019 – 1,845 reads, 10 comments
† What Now? – 2,764 reads, 104 comments

More Published Works

Also, I am amassing quite the collection of published works!

Untrustworthy, which is my first published novel. So yay!

A True Believer in Skepticism, published in Mythic Magazine.

Almost Shipwrecked, a story in the January 2019 edition of Empyreome, a site which unfortunately is no more.

Canaries, a short story in the March 29, 2019, edition of Theme of Absence.

Complications, a story in the Queer Sci Fi Discovery anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds went to supporting the QSF website.

Cynthia and Wilder Bloom, stories in the Longest Night Watch II anthology.

Props, a story in the Longest Night Watch I anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to Alzheimer’s research.

Surprises, a story in Book One of the 42 and Beyond Anthology set.

The Boy in the Band, a story in the Pride Park anthology. So this is an anthology where the proceeds go to the Trevor Project.

The Interview, the featured story in the December 14, 2018 edition of Theme of Absence. So they even interviewed me!

The Last Patient, a story in the Stardust, Always anthology. This was an anthology where the proceeds go to cancer research.

The Resurrection of Ditte, a story in the Unrealpolitik anthology.

This is My Child, a short story published in the April 8, 2019 edition of Asymmetry Fiction, another site which is no more.

Three Minutes Back in Time, a short story published in Mythic Magazine.

Killing Us Softly, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

Darkness into Light, a short story published in Corner Bar Magazine.

WIP Corner

So my current WIPs are as follows:

The Obolonk Murders Trilogy – so this one is all about a tripartite society. But who’s killing the aliens?

The Enigman Cave – can we find life on another planet and not screw it up? You know, like we do everything else?

The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy – so the aliens who live among us in the 1870s and 1880s are at war. But why is that?

Mettle – so it’s all about how society goes to hell in a hand basket when the metals of the periodic table start to disappear. But then what?

Time Addicts – No One is Safe – so this one is all about what happens in the future when time travel becomes possible via narcotic.

Time Addicts – Nothing is Permanent – this is the second in this trilogy. What happens when time is tampered with and manipulated in all sorts of ways? It’s the ultimate in gaslighting, for one thing.

Time Addicts – Everything is Up For Grabs – as the timelines smack together and continue to diverge, it gets harder to tell the “real” timeline from all the newer fake ones. And what if some of the changes are for the better?

Fourth Quarter 2022 Prep Work

So currently, my intention, for 2024’s NaNoWriMo, is to write the third trilogy in the Time Addicts/Obolonks universe. But I need to iron out the plot! So a lot of this year has been spent on that. I have no name for this one yet.

For 2023 NaNoWriMo, I have decided to create a prequel for two or three more of the five main universes: Obolonks (while the Obolonks and Time Addicts are in the same universe, I just plain want to write two separate prequels!), Untrustworthy, The Enigman Cave, and Mettle.

If 2023 NaNo goes like 2022 NaNo did, then whichever one I do first will end up sticking to the script and complete relatively early, and then the second one will … meander.

If I had to choose two which would fill the bill in that fashion, it would either be Untrustworthy + Obolonks or Mettle + Enigman Cave. This is mainly because the first in each pairing are relatively well-defined, whereas the second of the pairings? Eh, not so much.

So, I anticipate a lot of fun and perhaps a little confusion. But it’s all good! And if I play my cards right, I can do the final pairing in 2024 and put off prepare the third trilogy till 2025.

Fourth Quarter 2022 Queries and Submissions

So here’s how that’s been going during fourth quarter 2022.

Reprint

Coming right out of the blue, Mythic Magazine wants to do a second Best of Mythic and chose A True Believer in Skepticism!!! Yay!!!!

In Progress

As of fourth quarter 2022, the following are still in the running for publishing:

This list is the name of the story and then the name of the potential publisher.

• I Used to Be Happy – Gemini Magazine
† Justice – Adbusters
• Mettle – RAB
† Soul Rentals ‘R’ Us – A Thousand One Stories
• Who Do We Blame for This? – Sonder Review

But the truth is, I suspect all of those are ghostings at this point. I don’t honestly have the energy to submit right now.

All Other Statuses

So be sure to see the Stats section for some details on any query statuses for fourth quarter 2022 which were not in progress.

Stats

So in 2018, my querying stats were:

68 submissions of 19 stories

† Acceptances: 4, 5.88%
• In Progress-Under Consideration: 3, 4.41% (so these don’t seem to have panned out)
† In Progress: 10, 14.71%
• Rejected-Personal: 14, 20.59%
† Rejected-Form: 24, 35.29%
• Ghosted: 13 (so these were submissions where I never found out what happened), 19.12%

So in 2019 my querying stats were:

23 submissions of 11 stories (so 6 submissions carry over from 2018)
† Acceptances: 4, 17.39%
• In Progress: 11 (so this includes 2 holdovers from 2018), 47.83%
† Rejected-Personal: 4, 17.39%
• Rejected-Form: 3, 13.04%
† Ghosted: 1 (so these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 4.35%

2020 Stats

So, in 2020 my querying stats were:

37 submissions of 12 stories (so 9 submissions carried over from 2019)

• Acceptances: 3, 8.11%
† In Progress: 7, 18.92%
• Rejected-Personal: 12, 32.43%
† Rejected-Form: 4, 10.81%
• Ghosted: 11 (so these are submissions where I never found out what happened), 29.73%

2021 Stats

So, in 2021 my querying stats were: 5 submissions of 5 stories (so 5 submissions carried over from 2020); 100% Ghosted.

2022 Stats

So, in 2022 my querying stats were:

6 submissions of 6 stories (so 5 submissions carry over from 2020 and 2021), plus 1 reprint!

† Acceptances (reprint; still waiting on it): 1,14.29%
• Rejected-Form: 1, 14.29%
† Ghosted: 5, 71.42%

It can be pretty discouraging and hard to go on when virtually nothing new comes up which is positive.

Fourth Quarter 2022—Productivity Killers

So it’s work, what else? I am working on a ton of things and then have to switch to fiction writing. And that isn’t always easy, and there’s no end in sight.

My focus right now, also, is to continue to redesign and overhaul this blog and website. So, that’s the priority, and creation will wait for it, and editing.

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Character Review — TathrelleNew Cover of Untrustworthy by JR Gershen-Siegel, New Cover of Untrustworthy, Tathrelle, Ixalla, Adger, Velexio, Untrustworthy universe

Character Review — Tathrelle

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on July 28, 2022

Consider Tathrelle, One of My Original Characters

Who is Tathrelle?

When I first started to come up with the story which turned into Untrustworthy, I needed a heroine character. My original plan was for her to be the biggest driver of the action. But as the background of the book kept changing, so did my attitude toward her. She took on a more dual heroine role with Ixalla.

Where Did Tathrelle Come From?

In essence, this character first came about because I came up with her name. I loved the idea of a very feminine name like this, which doesn’t feel like it has any sort of history or etymology. I am particularly thrilled because even now, years after I started writing Untrustworthy, you can only find her name as a part of the blurb for this book.

The Past is Prologue — Backstory for Tathrelle

Her backstory enters the book in little bits and pieces. But you only get back to what is likely the day right before the book starts. Without plunging into spoiler territory, she is just plain not what she seems.

But when we first meet her, she’s just won an election. Tathrelle is to be the representative of the common people, their sole voice in the government.

Description

When the book starts, she has brown hair and kind of reddish brown eyes. She also has fewer fingers than we do. And her genitals aren’t in the same place as ours are.

Er, why?

Because she’s not a human at all. In fact, no one in this novel is. She’s a Cabossian, a bipedal species with two genders and two separate types of existence. All that matters on Caboss is if you’re sterile or fertile.

Untrustworthy solely takes place off Earth, and the characters have no inkling that humans so much as exist.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation

Probably her strongest motivation is to tell the people the truth. As the story unfolds, the government gives her more and more required phrasing in her speeches. While they don’t actually dictate everything she has to say, they do horn in on it.

Quotes

The general who was seated to the left of Tathrelle said, “It might mean rioting. We cannot have that. Order must be maintained, at all costs, for the security of Caboss.”

“All too true,” agreed the general on the other side of Tathrelle, “We cannot tell the people the details.”

“But that’s my job,” Tathrelle protested. “They elected me for the singular purpose of telling them the truth about the government – about how it’s run, about how things are going and all of that. If we outright lose the war, it’s going to affect everyone. You cannot tell me not to tell them.”

The general across from her, looking very smug, said, “You heard it; there’ll be rioting if we tell the people. We’ve got to be subtle about this sort of thing. You cannot just blurt it out, as if you were a child telling a secret in a schoolyard.”

“Do not, no, do not tell them all of it,” Velexio cautioned. “In fact, let’s do this, Tathrelle. I’d like for you to tell them that the war is going well and that the Cavirii are in communications with us and that the government needs to concentrate on those communications, so details will not be forthcoming.”

…

Tathrelle looked aghast at Velexio. “Are you suggesting that I lie to the people?”

Relationships

She has a relationship of sorts with the other three characters with the most “screen time”, as it were. That is, Ixalla, Adger, and Velexio.

Tathrelle and Ixalla

We first meet Ixalla early in the piece. She’s married to Tathrelle, and theirs is a loving, sensual kind of marriage. They’re considerate to each other, even though their statuses are very different. Ixalla is a schoolteacher, about to go on maternity leave. But her wife has just won an election to be the people’s representative voice is a militaristic government.

But once their circumstances start to change (again, I am doing my best to avoid spoiling the book!), Tathrelle learns that her position with the government is more as a checked-off box. She’s a token ordinaryish citizen, a canary in a coalmine composed of an alien cabal/junta. But when this happens, Ixalla’s stature rises. A gifted, dedicated teacher, Ixalla complements Tathrelle and together the two are stronger than apart.

Adger

A coworker of Tathrelle’s, he quickly cultivates an obsession with her. And once he starts to get the means at his disposal to change his circumstances with reference to her, he starts to do so immediately. Ethics? Who needs ’em? Amirite? Adger would absolutely say something like that.

As the story continues on, Tathrelle’s status lowers, but Adger’s rises. Much like Tathrelle becomes closer in status to Ixalla, she also becomes closer in status to Adger. But no matter what he tries, he’ll never have the kind of easy, loving relationship with Tathrelle that she has with Ixalla.

Velexio

General Velexio is the leader of the military junta controlling the Cabossian government. Unlike the other three major characters, his status never changes and he remains Tathrelle’s boss. And all he wants to do is manipulate her.

Conflict and Turning Point

For Tathrelle, the turning point happens when she finally starts to learn the truth about what is going on around her. Life is continually changing, and it is most definitely not improving. At the climax of the story, she learns why.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

Given that this is a standalone novel and none of the characters are human, there’s very little to tie the novel to my other universes. About the only connection is the time element, which is also present in the Time Addicts inner trilogy within the Obolonk universe.

Future Plans

I honestly don’t have any for her, and I kind of can’t. About the only thing I can think of is to potentially write of her past, or maybe Ixalla’s? This is also a difficult universe for prequels. We’ll see.

Tathrelle: Takeaways

This character started off with strength but was quickly overwhelmed by the events in the plot. As a result, I wrote her meeker and more submissive. In Untrustworthy, the changes in society are also reflected by the changes in Tathrelle herself—the main character after all.

Tathrelle and her story get a much-needed expansion in the prequel! #staytuned

Want More of Tathrelle and the Rest of Untrustworthy?

If Untrustworthy resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how an alien society devolves into fascism.

Character Reviews: Untrustworthy

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Character Review — Dr. Mei-Lin QuanKeiko Kitigawa, who I see as Mei-Lin Quan

Character Review — Dr. Mei-Lin Quan

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 23, 2022

Dr. Quan, a Character Review

Where did Mei-Lin Quan come from?

I didn’t originally have much of a plan for her. She was a necessary character, because I did see Eleanor Braverman needing this kind of medical help. But unlike others such as Kitty and Mink, or Craig or Elise, Mei-Lin didn’t have too much of a voice to start.

A bit like Ixalla, I didn’t really start to understand her until I started writing her.

The Past is Prologue—Backstory for Dr. Quan

When we first see Mei-Lin, she’s packed and leaving Los Angeles, bound for Boston. One of her last acts in California is to write to her ex and tell him to quit bothering her, or else she’ll block him. But that’s most of what we (and I) know.

Characteristics

I wanted at least one character to be a bit overweight, so I essentially elected her to the task. Because the first seven or so chapters exist to foreshadow much of the rest of the story, her weight does the job admirably. For, who to better contrast with starving characters than an overweight one?

As I wrote her, I learned that she has a high voice, almost like a child’s. In addition, she gets lost easily, with virtually no sense of direction. Furthermore, her family is from Taiwan. And, at least one relative still calls that island Formosa. I also got to know that she had an ex, Chou.

And Chou wasn’t so happy with being her ex.

Purpose/Theme/Motivation: Dr. Quan at Work

There are four characters who I show at work. Five, I suppose, if you count Olga—and I suppose you should. I show Noah at the Boston Globe. And I show Elise working in the St. Botolph’s morgue. In addition, I show Craig working at NASA. And I show Olga caring for Eleanor. Now, the kids and Eleanor understandably do not have jobs.

But I show Mei-Lin at work more than anyone else but Craig. There are scenes of her getting to work, and starting and ending her day. Plus, I’ve got her seeing patients and even performing surgery. Mei-Lin Quan is, like any other orthopedic surgeon, busy.

Her motivation throughout the piece is to be a healing peacemaker. Unlike the other characters, she doesn’t toughen up much, not even at the end.

Portrayal

I came up with Japanese actress Keiko Kitigawa, and it was mainly due to the above image. But I am open to persuasion to change my mind and choose someone else. If American audiences know her at all, it’s from The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. But I think it would be better to have an actress of Chinese extraction. I don’t know. Landi Li is too young (although I do like that she was born on my birthday!).

So, if you’ve got a better idea for a portrayal, let me know in the comments section, thanks.

Quotes

The door to the sedan opened, and out staggered a woman of Asian descent with red eyes and messed up hair that looked like she had been sleeping in the sedan for days. She had her purse with her, along with a plastic bag with the logo of St. Botolph’s printed on the side, and a small gym bag. She squinted at Elise. “Do I know you?”

“St. B’s, right?” asked Elise. It was as reasonable a question as any, considering the hospital was one of the few places Elise ever went where there ever were other people.

“Yeah, Orthopedics, Mei-Lin Quan. I think I gave you a ride home a week ago? Days ago? I can’t figure out what day it is.”

“I hear that. And yeah, I remember now. Elise Jeffries. This your car?”

“No. Mine’s in the lot up there, back at St. B’s, if it still is at all.”

“You mean someone stole it?”

“No, at least, hell, I have no idea.” Mei-Lin said, putting her gym bag down and rubbing the bridge of her nose in the cold. “More like wrecked it. There was, God, it was anarchy at the hospital.”

“Anarchy?”

Relationships

I have nearly nothing on Mei-Lin and Chou, save for her family pressuring her to marry him—and her refusal. But this will come when I write the prequel.

With Craig Firenze, she’s nervous and excited. They joke around but are also serious. They’re awkward and romantic, too.

Conflict and Turning Point

On what would normally have been a hot summer solstice, there’s a nor’easter. Mei-Lin (like a lot of other people during pressure drops) feels wonky all day. But hope returns when she looks at Craig.

Continuity/Easter Eggs

There really aren’t any Easter Eggs for this character.

Future Plans

Like with the other characters in Mettle, I don’t have any future plans for Mei-Lin beyond the prequel.

Dr. Mei-Lin Quan: Takeaways

This character turned from functional to essential as I wrote her. A lot like Ixalla!

Dr. Mei-Lin Quan — a character who found herself while I found her.

Want More of Mei-Lin and the Rest of Mettle?

If Mettle resonates with you, then check out my other articles about how changes in the periodic table nearly kill us all.

Character Reviews: Mettle

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What’s the Perfect Chapter Length?NaNoWriMo, writing, chapter length, how do I write a book, Plotting 101, NaNoWriMo Advice, RIP NaNoWriMo

What’s the Perfect Chapter Length?

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on June 2, 2022

Considering Chapter Length

Ah, chapter length, the place that bogs down so many writers. “What’s an ideal chapter length?” Or they might ask, “How long should a chapter be?” Of course, asking such questions can be an avoidance mechanism so you don’t actually have to write the blasted thing. Hmmm….

So, I have often told people: the ideal chapter length is whatever you are writing. But maybe that’s not quite right?

Don’t worry. I’ll explain.

Talking About Chapters

So, the bottom line is, we need to first talk about writing chapters.

What are chapters? Wikipedia (not always the best source but this is fine) says:

A chapter (capitula in Latin; sommaires in French) is any of the main thematic divisions within a writing of relative length, such as a book of prose, poetry, or law. A chapter book may have multiple chapters that respectively comprise discrete topics or themes. In each case, chapters can be numbered, titled, or both.

Er, okay.

So, what we are talking about here is quite simply a piece of a larger work.

Often, it is a discrete bit of the story, whether it’s a scene or a day or one character’s point of view. But it doesn’t have to be perfectly, tidily wrapped up at the end. And, in fact, it should not be. I’ll explain further down.

Starting a Chapter

I have started chapters (beyond the first one, which is different) in any number of ways. So, here’s the current first paragraph of the second chapter of The Obolonk Murders:

The HQ was a large, nondescript governmental building, much in the style of governmental buildings for decades, if not centuries. It had once been Boston’s City Hall. The office was bustling but they bypassed all of that as Peri led the way to Dolan’s office. Dolan was there, in all his five hundred pounds of glory. “Ah, Detective Sergeant Martin! And you brought Detective, er, why don’t you close the door and we can talk?”

Peri is a cop in the future, and has just gotten her non-human partner. The initial purpose of this chapter is obvious from the first paragraph. It’s to get her and her new partner to headquarters. I introduce new characters (such as Dennis Dolan) and it seems pretty obvious that the characters will talk about the case.

Which they do a bit. But since the chapter has more than one scene, it also switches over to Peri’s high rise apartment. So, does a chapter have to cover more than one scene? Not necessarily.

But if you move from scene to scene, you’ll either need transitional language or a scene break. Usually three asterisks (***) works best. I’ve never liked the idea of just adding a second empty line. If you read a piece on mobile, that subtlety might not carry over. But three asterisks are pretty obvious.

So, What is the Chapter Length of That One?

Right now, it’s 3,538 words, and runs for a good 20 pages. But the line spacing is odd on that one and I need to fix it. I suspect it’s really closer to 13 – 15 pages, maybe fewer. And I know I need to edit it.

But the chapter covers some good ground. They meet Dennis and talk about the case. The computers at HQ are attacked and Peri hears from a terrorist for the first time. Then, she and her robot partner go to her apartment which they find has been ransacked.

The scenes move along at a decent clip, and I like them all together like this. But like I said, I have to edit it. Still, I like the frenetic pace. It runs from a sit-down meet and greet to eventually Peri getting angry about what’s happened to her home. Hence, within this chapter, Peri transitions from semi-overconfident to having the case personally affect her.

How Does This Chapter End?

The final paragraph is:

“Yeah,” she nodded. “C’mon, we’re going to a motel. We can get this cleaned this up later. But let me toss a few things down the laundry chute. I’ll need some clothes soon.”

Much like Peri throws her clothes down a chute, the end of this paragraph has one purpose. That purpose is to start the reader down a chute. Where’s the end of the chute? Why, it’s in the first paragraph of Chapter 3, of course.

Teasing the Next Chapter as a Part of Chapter Length

Can’t recall where I heard this, but chapters should be like teasing your annoying little brother. That is, you keep the absolute end just out of reach and don’t add it until the next one. Think of it like movie posters and book covers for romance, where the couple is just about to kiss.

Of course, this is particularly key when you are ending Book 1 and need to get the reader interested in Book 2, its sequel. If you’re not writing a standalone, you have got to make getting to the next book irresistible to the reader. This does not necessarily mean writing a cliffhanger, although that should not be utterly off the table.

In a way, it’s like a call to action when you write advertising. What’s the action you want your reader to take? It’s to be so drawn in and so curious about what happens next that they can’t wait to order (or preorder) the next book in the series

Without getting into spoiler territory, this book ends with Peri becoming overconfident again. And at the last moment, she’s knocked down several pegs. The book comes full circle, and the reader should be (I hope!) invested enough to want to get to Book 2, The Polymer Beat.

Genres and Chapter Length

When it comes to chapter length,  a chapter still should be the best length for serving the story. But there are some caveats to this.

There are genre-related numbers but they are guidelines.  Still, paying attention to that is a part of better serving your audience/market. And why do we want to better serve our readers? Because it makes them want to continue reading! And, let’s face it, buying our stellar prose.

So, think about the standard pacing within your genre. A mystery or a thriller tends to have short chapters because the pacing needs to be tight. But for fantasy, you’ve got some room to spread out. Science fiction tends to run to the longer side of things but mixes things up.

Describing a sci fi world may mean a lot of detail. Hence, a longer chapter length. But a fight scene, if it’s the only thing in a chapter, will likely have to be snappy and quick.

What Happens When Chapter Length is Too Long?

All of this gets me back to chapter endings.  Ending chapters with a little bit that isn’t said can also serve as a model for writing all of a chapter. When your chapter length is too damned long, consider the following:

Maybe you’re explaining things too much.  Maybe your characters are too slow to make decisions, and it’s bogging down the action. Or maybe you’ve got a character who you can do without.

Consider how NaNoWriMo can also affect how we write. I know it affects my own work. Wanting to make word count at all costs can mean front loading a book. It can also mean oppressive dialogue and extra characters. Meandering is great for word count. But it also adds to chapter length. And it’s often the kind of addition that isn’t necessary.

Arguments. Descriptions. Directions. Side trips. Detours. Virtually any book will be better if you cut these down. And maybe even eliminate some of them. Also, consider the fluff of normal speech. We hesitate with er, em, huh, etc. And we also say please and thank you a lot. A polite character is one thing. But you don’t need to underscore their good manners on every page.

Keep your characters and their conversations from meandering, too. You and I might cover several topics when we speak, either in person or online. Real life is rarely in such a rigidly straight line, after all.

But your characters? You can focus them. And if you think a character is now impolite, there’s no reason why you can’t use a body language attribution and have them nod their thanks. Or use the occasion of a ‘please’ or a ‘thank you’ as a moment that serves the plot.

For example, Peri Martin continually thanks robots, even though they keep telling her that it’s unnecessary. And when a robot fails to reject gratitude, it’s a sign that there’s something up. Something that is not so good at all.

What Happens When Chapter Length is Too Short?

Well, you might just be okay. But consider this. If a chapter or any other part of a book feels too short, why is that so? It could mean you’re glossing over explanations. And it could mean you’re not doing the heavy lifting of description. Do you need to describe present-day Detroit in excruciating detail? Probably not. But 2528 Callisto? You’d better believe you need to show this to your readers.

So, consider the shortening ideas above. But this time, in reverse. Do characters make decisions too quickly? Are descriptors too straightforward? Do directions and journeys always go in a perfectly straight line?

Or you could see if you’d do better to combine two chapters. Another idea is: do nothing. That’s right. Nada! And it may just turn out to be the best thing you can do.

After all, Kurt Vonnegut got away with some ridiculously short chapters in Cat’s Cradle. But then again, neither you nor I are him, alas.

Chapter Length and Serving Your Readers

And one more quick thing.  Think about how so many of us are pressed for time. A lot of people read while commuting or right before bed.  In both cases,  shorter chapters can serve the reader better—long as many of them end with a chute to push the reader to the next chapter.

Maybe your reader will stay up to read another chapter. Or they’ll be so excited that they’ll think about it all day and then start up again once they get home or the work day ends.

So, don’t get caught up quite so much on how long your chapters end up being. Readers will be a lot more forgiving than you may think, so long as the story is good. Care a lot more about how they start, how they end, and the stuff that you put into the middle.

Chapter length perfection can be fleeting…. #amwriting

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