Historical Fiction

Historical fiction involves a heavy amount of research into the time period where you’ve chosen to set your novel. What sort of clothes were people wearing during this time period? What were the rich people wearing vs. the poor? What sort of language was being used? What sort of customs were expected? Where would they get a cup of coffee in the morning? What would they do with their free time? Readers of historical fiction are reading in large part for the historical details, so you need to put the work into research and accuracy. It’s one thing to embellish a historical event for the sake of fiction, but the novel should overall be grounded by fact-checked historically accurate details.

Science Fiction

The science fiction genre often involves researching complex scientific concepts. Unlike the fantasy genre, the science fiction genre involves a world with a set of rules that can be explained. This means that the concepts that the world deals with should be able to be explained, oftentimes scientifically. So when you’re writing about high-tech gadgets and the discovery of aliens, make sure that the concepts that exist within your world could be supported scientifically. The last thing you want is to write a virtually impossible event or object into existence into your world, only to have the sci-fi community find out by doing their research (and they will trust us).

Horror/Crime

Horror is a genre most people would be surprised requires research. When we think of horror, we think of a killer walking slowly down the darkened road with a single knife held aloft. Or we think of a serial killer and a detective who is getting a little too close to finding him. That involves a lot of suspense and action… but research?

First, the horror genre may be heavy in suspense, but it should also be heavily researched. One of the most frustrating things for a horror reader is reading a character’s death that is absolutely preposterous in its absurdity. The kind of death that, even without any research, you’re absolutely sure can’t exist in nature. This type of character death can leave the reader both heartbroken and angry, even when it happens to the antagonist if you’ve written them well.

Even though it may leave you with a very questionable search history, you should be making sure that a character being stabbed in a certain area of the body isn’t fatal. You should be researching the states of decomposition of a body over time or how the body would react to being shot in the leg. There are no stakes, and therefore no suspense, in your book if the characters don’t feel real, and part of that involves accuracy.

Additionally, the horror genre often involves creating new and grotesque ways of murder. Doing so involves research in order to both brainstorm ideas (again, sorry about your search history) and make sure that they’d be humanely (or sometimes inhumanely) possible to carry out.

Fantasy

This one probably shocks you, but fantasy novels too require research. The level of research required depends on how removed your fantasy novel is from our world. For example, take the Harry Potter world which involves a magical world that is adjacent to or hidden from our world. This means the story still involves humans in a certain time period, the 90s. Therefore, although the world involves magic, JK Rowling still had to research how the character’s human bodies would react to certain injuries and time-specific details like the technology (or lack thereof) that would be available to the students at the time.

You might instead be writing a high fantasy book, or one that involves another world and oftentimes species other than humans. Research can still be helpful in this case as it can help give the fantasy details a bit more solid ground. For example, let’s say you’re writing about a character who is an elf, researching elf lore from other series and reading up on myths can help you find the details you want to include in your world’s version of elf lore.

The post Researching Your Fiction Book appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Name:

Hometown: Shamokin, PA

Book Title: Detective Davis and the Swamp Bandits

Genre: Mystery/Adventure

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Timothy Horne (TH): It’s about a group of detectives who solve a robbery.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

TH: I had written poems in the past and thought it would be exciting to write a book.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

TH: It took me about 8 months.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

TH: All of my characters’ names are random.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?   

TH: I think about different ways the chapter can end.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

TH: I think the last chapter was my favorite part of the book because it really brought the story together.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

TH: I think I would choose Detective Davis because he is the main character.

b. One fictional character:

TH: I would pick Gibbs from NCIS.

c. One famous person (living or dead):

TH: I would choose Jesus.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

TH: I also collect coins.

DP: Do you keep a journal?

TH: No, I don’t keep a journal.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

TH: I celebrated with my family.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

TH: I think Will Estes would be a good fit for Detective Davis.

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

TH: I enjoyed getting to see my book develop.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

TH: 1) The Bible 2) The 39 Clues 3) The Chronicles of Narnia 4) Mere Christianity 5) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

TH: Never give up on your ideas if they don’t seem to be coming together right now.

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: Timothy Horne appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Name:

Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri

Book Title: A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home

Genre: Children’s/Fiction

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Mark Chartrand (MC): Life lessons wrapped up in adventure for young readers.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

MC: My dog Chilli was the reason I wrote the book. It’s a fictional story of course but, at the time I adopted him from the APA of St. Louis I was dealing with a lot of issues in my life due to some poor choices I made. The outcome of those choices landed me in prison taking me away from everyone I loved, including my dog Chilli. I had plenty of time to think about my mistakes. During that time, I thought about Chilli’s life and what he endured before he was rescued, and I brought him home. I guess you could say we rescued each other.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

MC: I wrote “A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home” in six weeks. The story came to me as I loosely based the characters Chilli encounters on situations I found myself in at different stages of my life. The most important lesson I want young readers to take away from the book is to make good choices in life. Learn how to work with others who are different from you. Try not to judge someone before you get to know them. Be confident and believe in yourself. Stand up for your friends to bullies. Be sure to think things through before you make a decision, as those decisions could dictate the kind of life you will lead.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

MC: I chose the names of my characters for this book after family, friends, characters from my favorite T.V. shows and movies as well as pets I had growing up.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?   

MC: When I get writer’s block, I write in my journal. I write about my day. I find that when I do this and distract my mind from the story it helps me get past my block.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

MC: Chapter four in the book is my favorite. It’s one of the first lessons that Chilli figures out when it comes to judging people. Chilli’s first impression of Gary’s character is that he’s a mean, grumpy old man. By the time the readers get to this part of the book with Chilli, they see that Gary isn’t a mean person. He’s just sad as he is dealing with the recent loss of a loved one. Chilli see’s the sadness in Gary’s eyes and realizes that he passed judgment on Gary before he got to know him. The line in this part of the story where Chilli talks about Gary’s laughter and how it makes you feel good to be in its presence is definitely one of my prouder moments as a writer.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

MC: The Character from my book that I would want to be stuck on an island with is Chilli. The reason why is simple: he is truly my best buddy and we would have a lot of fun!

b. One fictional character:

MC: The fictional character that I would want to be stuck on an island with would be Mickey Haller from the Michael Connelly Novel “The Lincoln Lawyer”. The reason why is, given some of my life experience, Mickey Haller being the type of Lawyer he portrays in Connelly’s novels would lead to some great conversations about the moral dilemmas of determining what is right and wrong in the eyes of the law. Then having to defend that position.

c. One famous person (living or dead):

MC: The famous person I would want to be stuck on an island with would be Paul Newman. The reason why is his character portrayals in the movies “Color of Money” and “Nobody’s Fool” reminds me of a combination of both my Grandfathers. For different reasons, but they were both important to me in my life. I miss them both very much.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

MC: Other than writing, I love St. Louis Cardinal Baseball. One of the books I wrote that will be out soon titled “Out of Play” is based on the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs rivalry. Even though he is a grown man, I love hanging out and doing things with my son Cohl. I really enjoy going to concerts or live music performances. One of my greatest memories of a live performance was seeing B.B. King on Beale Street in Memphis. I’m an avid moviegoer. I enjoy working out, camping, float trips, anything that has to do with the ocean, and of course going on rides with my best buddy, my dog Chilli!

DP: Do you keep a journal?

MC: I do keep a journal. I do that to help keep my story ideas for upcoming projects in order. I also use it for the current books I am working on when an idea for a storyline pops into my head.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

MC: I made a pizza and read my book reliving the story I created about Chilli and all his friends. Then I called my mom and all those who stood by me as I’ve been on this journey at this stage of my life to get their thoughts on the final product. I sensed a little bias, but they all said they loved it!

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

MC: If this book were made into a movie, I would like to see Ryan Reynolds play Chilli. Charlie Day play Hercules, Kevin Hart to play Lucky, Zac Efron to play Thomas, Christian Bale would play Higgins, Hugh Grant would play Elton, Joe Pesche and Robert Deniro to play the Farillo Brothers, Samuel L. Jackson would play Razor, Bradley Cooper would play Carl, Charlie Sheen would play Bandit, Vince Vaughn would play Harry, and Charlize Theron would play Rose… I’d be lying if I hadn’t given this some thought (wink, wink Hollywood)! I think this group of talented actors would make a great movie!

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

MC: What I enjoyed the most about my working with Dorrance Publishing was the encouragement I got from the beginning when I submitted my manuscript. Barb Ennis and Sandi Kruse were instrumental in helping bring this story to life. I’m very grateful for all their help and feedback during this process.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

MC: My five favorite books of all time are:

1) ” Empire Falls ” by Richard Russo

2) ” The Life We Bury ” by Allen Eskens

3) ” Paper Boats ” by Thao Lam

4) ” The Stand ” by Stephen King

5) Anything written by Author’s Michael Connelly, and David Baldacci

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

MC: The advice I would give to any writer would be “Don’t take yourself too seriously we all have a story or stories to tell, so just write about them!”

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

A Dog Named Chilli: My New Home

The post Author Spotlight: Mark Chartrand appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Name:

Hometown: Dexter, NY

Book Title: Written in the Stars

Genre: Fictional Romance

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less.

Lorie O’Brien (LO): A story about love and loss.

DP: What made you want to write your book?

LO: I have always dreamed of being a writer. As I got older, I would come up with characters and ideas and write things in a journal. In September 2018, a dear friend of mine passed away unexpectedly at the age of 47. His passing made me realize how short life was and that I needed to make my dream come true.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

LO: It took about six months to write the book. If I had been able to write full-time I would’ve been able to finish it sooner.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

LO: A few of the names of the characters in Written in the Stars are actually the names of several people I went to high school with.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

LO: I am an avid runner. I love it because it helps me to leave everything behind and clear my mind. It’s great for writer’s block. I’ve gotten some of my best ideas worked out while running.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

I think my favorite part was Part 2 with some of the twists that were thrown into the story. The ending was fun to write as well.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one person from each category with you, who would they be and why:

a. One character from your book:

LO: I would definitely pick Mac. Although he wasn’t one of the main characters from the book, to me he was the sweetest and most caring of them all.

b. One fictional character:

LO: Honestly, probably Marley from Marley and Me because I love dogs more than people!

c. One famous person (living or dead):

LO: I would probably want to spend my time on an island with Matthew McConaughey because I love the sound of his voice and his accent.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests?

LO: I’m an avid runner, and I just ran my first half marathon in September 2019.

DP: Do you keep a journal?

LO: Sometimes I do, but mostly I’m so busy on the road with my job that I just send myself voice emails throughout the day when I have things I need to remember.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

LO: My husband and I went out to dinner with our two daughters.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters?

Mac… Adam Gregory
Lindsey… Analeigh Tipton
Dylan… Luke Benward
Michael… James Maslow
Melissa… Eleanor Tomlinson

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

LO: Dorrance gave me the freedom to pretty much make the book what I wanted it to be without much tweaking on their end.

DP: Five favorite books of all time?

1. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult
2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4. Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline
5. The Pact by Jodi Piccoult

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers:

The best advice I could give is to be patient and let the story come at its own pace, don’t force it.

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: Lorie O’Brien appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Hometown: Stuart, FL

Book: Wish

Genre: Fiction

Dorrance Publishing (DP): Describe your book in 10 words or less. 

C. Dow Moore (CDM): Wish is the story of a man and the adventures he has to become the father his son deserves.

DP: What made you want to write your book? 

CDM: My son encouraged me to write the book after hearing countless stories of my childhood growing up in Florida.

DP: How long did it take you to write your book?

CDM: The book itself took me eight months to write, from outline to final edit. However, my story had been forming over the course of ten years.

DP: How do you choose the names of your characters?

CDM: I created the names of the characters using variations of my friends and family. One day I was cut off in traffic and the license plate said, “CRAZY YAZ.” So, he’s in there, too.

DP: What do you do when you have writer’s block?

CDM: When I have writer’s block, I go out on a run or long walk.

DP: What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why?

CDM: The last chapter was my favorite to write because it wraps up the whole story.

DP: If you were stuck on an island and had to have one character from your book, one fictional character, and one famous person with you, who would they be and why? 

CDM: One character from my book: Mr. Lucas. Because of his background, he would have endless stories to tell.

One fictional character: Yoda because, hey, he knows the Force!

One famous person: Robin Williams because he would always keep me laughing and I love to laugh.

DP: Besides writing, what are your other interests? 

CDM: My interests include songwriting and playing music.

DP: Do you keep a journal? 

CDM: I do not keep a journal.

DP: How did you celebrate the publishing of your book?

CDM: I threw a book release/Christmas party at my house with co-workers from my job.

DP: If your book was made into a movie, who would play the main characters? 

CDM: Colin Hanks would play the main character, Scott Cooper.

DP: What did you enjoy most about working with Dorrance Publishing?

CDM: The best part of my experience with Dorrance was working with my Project Coordinator, Sheila.

DP: Five favorite books of all time? 

CDM: Skin Tight, Tourist Season, Cat’s Cradle, Weaveworld, and Age and Guile

DP: One sentence of advice for other writers?

CDM: Stay true to yourself.

Are you ready to publish your book? Contact us today!

The post Author Spotlight: C. Dow Moore appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

1) What is a frame narrative?

A frame narrative, to put it briefly, is like a story within a story- story-inception! There are a few different versions of a frame narrative or frame story. First, it could involve a narrator or main character of a story relaying various smaller stories over the course of a book like in the novel The Book of the One Thousand and One Nights. On the other hand, it could be a specific character from a story selected to relay the events of the novel as opposed to simply telling the story objectively. In this second option, it may be a specific character that has a connection to another character or characters. An example of this would be Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, where the story is told from the perspective of Robert Walton as the information was relayed to him by Doctor Frankenstein. On the other hand, the framing could simply be that the story is told from the protagonist’s perspective, but after the events of the story have already taken place. Using this perspective allows the protagonist to relay information with insight as (s)he is an older and wiser version of him/herself.

2) Determine the purpose

When used well, a frame narrative creates an incredibly fascinating and multifaceted tale with many perspectives to delve into. If used incorrectly, however, this can create a confusing and continuity-impaired story. Therefore, a writer should employ this technique only if it will truly benefit the story to do so. Before you go any further, ask yourself honestly, how will a frame narrative better my story? The main benefit of a frame narrative is to tell a story (whether it be the entirety of the book or individual stories throughout) using the voice of a specific character who exists outside the confines of the story. Whether that’s a future version of your own protagonist or a side character who would give good insight to the story’s events, ask yourself, how would this structure strengthen the events or themes of my story?

3) Choose a narrator

As stated previously, the main purpose of the frame narrative is to use a specific character’s voice to convey the events of the story as opposed to using an impartial narrator or first person present perspective. Once you’ve decided to use the frame narrative structure, you must first choose who will be telling your story (or stories). Think about what your goal of using the technique is and who will be the best voice to accomplish that goal. Possibly the most popular version of this structure is using a future version of the protagonist to tell the story of what they’ve gone through. One of the major setbacks of employing this technique, however, is that it completely does away with a lot of the suspense created in a story. When your reader is hearing a story from someone years in the future, it lets them know right away that your protagonist survived the events of the story. However, remaining aloof about the protagonist’s present circumstances can allow a certain amount of suspense to remain.

If you choose a narrator who isn’t your protagonist, you must ask yourself what connection this character has to the events of the story. What unique perspective will they be able to provide that no other character can? For example, in William Goldman’s The Princess Bride, William uses himself as a frame narrator, but a fictionalized version of himself who is simply editing a pre-existing story that another author, S. Morgenstern, already wrote. This creates a unique reading experience because you’re reading this swashbuckling tale and suddenly you get a little note from Goldman telling you ‘this part was too long, so I cut it,’ or ‘this was always my favorite part.’ It creates a strange line between the editing and writing process but also allows you to feel like you’re reading the story along with its biggest fan.

4) Get organized

As we’re sure you can imagine, creating a story employing this technique can be extremely confusing. Since the story will be told using one person’s perspective as opposed to an omniscient narrator who can jump perspectives, you have to make sure each character’s arc is thoroughly plotted before you even begin the writing process. If done correctly, the stories will likely intercept with one another, so make sure you know where in each person’s timeline each interaction takes place.

Once you have all of this thoroughly organized, the next step is to make sure your narrator is believably privy to all of this information. He/she has to be the piece of the puzzle that fits all of this together. Is the story being told this because the narrator happened to be there to witness all of this as it unfolds? If it’s not believable for the character that you chose to be in every single scene you’ve mapped out (and it likely won’t be), how will they be getting this information in order to relay it to the reader? Did they receive a letter, text, or phone call from someone who relayed the information to them?

5) Allow your narrator to interject and have opinions 

One of the most important and advantageous aspects of writing from a frame narrative is the character’s voice. When using this technique, allow your narrator to interject on the events as they occur. Allow them to reflect on them, have opinions, and be angry or happy or annoyed. Use them to foreshadow the climax of the story or have them give their opinions on the nature of certain characters. This is where you create intrigue. Imagine you’re using a future version of your protagonist to tell the story. The future version shows a lot of animosity towards the current protagonist’s best friend, and this allows the reader to wonder, what did that character do? thus creating suspense that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

Another aspect that you may want to consider playing around with is the reliability of your narrator. Perhaps the narrator of your story clearly hates a certain character (maybe even the protagonist), but as the story unfolds, you start to see that the character is actually really kind and harmless. Or maybe the narrator is really down on him or herself, but as the story continues, the audience can see that they’re actually just being too hard on themselves. Or perhaps the narrator doesn’t remember how a certain event took place, and instead just gives the reader the gist of it. This creates another added layer to the story and allows the reader to form opinions and judgments of the narrator and their role in the story as a whole.

The post How to Write a Frame Narrative appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Imagine you’re walking around a bookstore looking for something new to read. Usually, you pick up a book when you’re intrigued by a cover that looks like it’s from a genre you’re interested in reading. As an author, that means if you choose a cover that differentiates from the genre of your book, the wrong readers will be picking up (most likely putting back down) your book.

So how do you know what kind of book cover would match your book? Obviously, you should do your own research by looking up other books in your genre and imagine similar covers for your book. But we’ve compiled some suggestions for you as well:

1) Contemporary

Typically, contemporary covers are rather simple. Many have little cartoonish illustrations of one or two of the characters or an object that’s significant or symbolic in the book. Others will have actual photographs, whether stock photo images or perhaps the author hires models to pose as their characters. Another common contemporary cover would be a photo of a landscape. Figure out what is most relevant to your content and highlight it keeping these ideas in mind.

2) Fantasy

This is a more imaginative genre and your cover should reflect that while still remaining relevant to the content of your book. A tell-tale indication that it’s a fantasy book is if the cover has one of the following: a crown, a sword, a helmet, a throne, or a dragon (Oh and don’t just stick with dragons–illustrations of animals like lions or phoenixes are also popular for fantasy books).  Another common choice is to have an artist hand-draw characters or a relevant scene from your book. This choice is very popular, especially for adult fantasy books…just make sure it relates to your content.

3) Science Fiction

The majority of science fiction works are dystopian and many have dark overtones. Typically, the covers reflect this. It’s also common for a science fiction book cover to depict some of the technology that a reader should expect to find within the book. Whether that’s a hand-drawn illustration of a spaceship, a space gun, a spacesuit, or even a circuit board. If your book takes place another planet, it’s common to depict that on the cover. You may even design the entire city landscape on the cover. Just remember that, while contemporary novels may be light and romantic, your city would need a darker overtone and the illustration would need to clearly show a technological difference between this city and one we’d be able to find in our world today. If none of this appeals to you, check out some old science fiction covers like Dune or The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and create a cover with a similar vintage feel. This is an especially good design route to take if you think your book would appeal to similar readers.

4) Romance

Obviously, these covers vary, but if you want readers to know right away that they’re picking up a romance novel, the easy solution is having a couple on the cover. There are various ways you can do this, whether it’s with an illustration or a photograph, so do your research and figure out what works best for your book. Another common choice is a girl in a beautiful, flowing dress (often running). Finally, a third good indicator of a romance novel is to have something either stereotypically romantic or relevant to the couple within your book. This could mean a picture of flowers, a butterfly, or (if your book involves letters) perhaps a set of letters. Think about what items are important to the couple in your story to help you draw some inspiration.

5) Nonfiction

When it comes to nonfiction book covers, less is more. A lot of covers depict simply the title and author in a nice font. They may play around with the actual color of the cover and font, but they will often not include an image or, if they do, it is very small. Any image or photograph that you include in the cover should be directly and clearly significant to the content. Whereas with fiction books these items can be elusive, with nonfiction they need to very clearly deal with the content. So, if the book is about the history of a city, having a photograph of the city as the cover would work. Or, if the book is about how to play the guitar, include a small photo or illustration of a guitar. You can play around with how modern or vintage it looks, but make sure the images are relevant. This isn’t the time to be imaginative. Just be simple, clear, and concise. Otherwise, you’ll have fiction readers picking up your book instead.

6) Suspense/Mystery

This genre’s cover is relatively easy. All you need is a bold font choice that takes up almost the entire cover and perhaps a backdrop of an item or place that relates in some way to the plot or title of the book. If your book involves someone drowning in a lake, throw in a photo or drawing of an eerie lake. Or, if your book involves a pocket watch, include one in the center between the title and author name. Keep in mind, though, not to accidentally give away a clue through the item you choose. For example, if the pocket watch is going to end up being the key to the mystery, choose a different item. Whatever is on the cover, astute readers will be on the lookout for it. Make sure you choose an item or location that’s relevant without being the key to solving your mystery.

The post Choosing the Right Book Cover appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Be expected, but not boring

When writing a back cover blurb, you want it to set you apart from other books in your genre. To set yourself apart is good, to be too different from the rest is not. For example, if you’ve written a non-fiction self-help book and the back blurb reads more like a thriller novel, that’s going to leave readers more confused than engaged. Be engaging, but if your prose is leading you too far out of the ordinary…slam on the breaks.

It’s a blurb, not a summary

Remember, there’s a big difference between a book summary and a book blurb. The summary goes over all the plot points and the main character arc–that’s not what you want for the back of your book. Your back blurb should merely tease the readers on the plot points or knowledge they’ll find within. The back blurb should promise to entertain or help the reader without giving away anything major.

Choose your opener tactic

Now, your tactic will largely depend on your genre. Some tactics work for different genres, but others may only work for one. Regardless of your genre, the first few opening lines of your blurb are crucial. If readers aren’t grabbed right away, they may just move on to the next without much consideration. Here are a few different tactics to try:

a) Start with a quote

If you’ve written a fiction book (fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary, etc.), we highly recommend using this tactic. It shows off a bit of your writing style, which will keep the readers intrigued enough to read the rest of your blurb. Find a line or section that you’re particularly proud of, italicize it, and plug it into the beginning of your blurb. Ideally, this line should be something to do with the main action of the story, but not something with spoilers. Regardless of how you feel about the novel Twilight, the blurb is a great example of an engaging blurb quote:

“About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him – and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be – that thirsted for my blood.
Third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

b) Ask a Question:

Example: “Despite constant efforts to declutter your home, do papers still accumulate like snowdrifts and clothes pile up like a tangled mess of noodles?” (Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.)

c) Set a scene:

Example: “At first sight, Ove is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet, a curmudgeon with staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People think him bitter, and he thinks himself surrounded by idiots.” (Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove.)

d) Make a promise:

“Fitness, money and wisdom – here are the tools.” (Tim Ferriss, Tools of Titans.)

Genre Breakdown

The formula for writing out your back ad is different between fiction and nonfiction genres. Once you have your opening line(s) down, consult this breakdown to help you with the rest.

1) Fiction:

If you’re writing a Fiction back cover blurb, Beth Bacon (award-winning author and marketer) suggests this formula:

a) Situation: Briefly describe the circumstances of the story
b) Problem: Next, write about the situation or conflict that makes change inevitable.
c) Hopeful Possibility: Provide the hope of overcoming this crisis. This would be either an interesting character or long-shot possibility that gives hope that this difficult problem may be overcome.
d) Mood: Describe the emotional state the readers will have while reading your story. A few example phrases are: “dark, dystopian tragedy” or “romantic and humorous chick lit”.

2) Nonfiction:

Nonfiction Author Kelly Exeter suggests this simple formula for nonfiction back blurbs:

a) Introduce the problem
b) Outline how you propose to solve it (ideally using bullet points)
c) Tell the reader how their lives will be better after reading your book

Ultimately, your blurb is your pitch to the readers.  Potential readers take a few moments to make the decision between spending hours reading your work and putting it down to find something else. We can’t stress enough how important it is to take your time really perfecting your blurb. If done properly, after reading your back cover, there will be no going back (or putting back on the shelf, for that matter).

The post Writing Your Back Cover Blurb appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Whose story is it?

A short story is all about creating a satisfying and believable character arc within a finite number of pages. So the last thing you want to do is go back and forth between two POV’s or try to give two characters an arc (trust us, it’s hard enough to do one). Even if you want two characters to be within the central action of the story–even if you want the events of the story to change multiple people in some way–the story should only belong to one character. And that should be the character who is going to be most drastically affected by the events that unfold. Ultimately, if a reader reads your story and can’t answer the question, “Whose story is this?” by the end, you’re doing something wrong.

Why now? Why today?

As we said before, the biggest challenge of a short story is that you basically have to do what a book does in terms of character arc within a short number of pages. Because of this, it’s crucial that you ask yourself- why is this story happening today? When attempting to write a short story, a lot of writers make the mistake of focusing solely on forming an interesting and engaging character and failing to focus on why this day specifically is important to the character’s life as a whole. Character drives plot so of course, it’s important to have an engaging character to carry the story, but the story needs to be happening on an extremely important day in their life.

When reading about this, a lot of writers then make the mistake of thinking that means that a huge event needs to happen in this character’s life. They’ll assume their parents have to get divorced or they need to be involved in a school shooting for the story to be purposeful enough. However, it doesn’t have to be a huge monumental event on the grand scale of things, it simply needs to be a huge monumental event to this specific character.

For example, perhaps the story starts with a character in his fifties and his wife tells him the doctor called to set up a checkup. A reader may assume its something dire, but perhaps this man just has refused to go to the doctor’s for the last thirty years, insisting that they’re wackjobs while secretly just being afraid of finding out something is wrong. Perhaps this is a fight he and his wife have been having annually all of this time. And, by the end of the story, he decides to finally go. To most people an annual check-up with a doctor isn’t life or death- but if it is to the character, then you have a good story.

What does the protagonist want? What is keeping him/her from getting it?

Another core aspect of a short story is character desire. While in a book-length manuscript we say that character drives the plot, in a short story it’s more specifically character desire that drives it. It needs to be made clear right from the beginning what the protagonist of the story wants and they need to want it badly. It’s not engaging to write a wishy-washy character that sort of wants something or might want it, because then the story has nothing at stake. The character has nothing to gain or lose over the course of the events that take place. And to be clear, they can have a negative desire as well. For example, in the above scenario, our main character desperately wants to avoid the doctor–that’s his core desire that drives the plot. In addition, the conflict comes in through whatever forces are keeping the protagonist from getting what they want. For example, in the above scenario, the conflicting force is obvious–the conflict is his wife insisting he go to the doctors.

Choice

Ultimately, the climax of a short story should always be a choice that the protagonist faces. In books, a climax can be a long battle scene or something with a lot of action, but in a short story when the conflict comes to a boiling point it must lead to the character making a choice. And the events of the story up until that point should make it clear what the cost of the choice will be.

The choice can’t be black and white, right or wrong kind of choice, either. It should present two options or paths to the protagonist and we should see that they will gain and lose something no matter what they choose. So let’s take our previous example for instance. Let’s say the story leads to the couple fighting and the wife making it clear that their marriage hangs on the balance of whether he goes to the doctor. In this choice, our protagonist either loses his wife or loses his sense of safety. And he either gains another year of peaceful denial or he gains a wife who feels happy in her marriage.

The post Genre Spotlight: Short Story appeared first on Dorrance Publishing Company.

Do Sweat the Small Stuff

Possibly the most important and complicated aspect of writing historical fiction is accuracy. You’re writing is set in a time that is tangible to us through history books and research. This means, unlike other forms of fiction where you have the freedom to improvise, you have to really stick to the facts. While there is still some room to be creative, when it comes to things like setting, clothing, items in use, etc.- you need to be incredibly accurate. In this genre, nothing will make a reader lose confidence in you quicker than if they spot historical inaccuracies.

Obviously, avoiding these mistakes involves conducting an immense amount of research- arguably more so than any other form of fiction. You want your readers to be able to see, smell, taste, hear and touch a time that has actually existed for us. You want to convey not only what that time looked like, but what the people were like, what they did for fun, and what their opinions were. We recommend not only conducting thorough research on your own but also working with experts on the topic you’re writing about. They may be able to pick up on some inaccuracies you may have missed so you can avoid potential reader backlash post-publication.

Don’t Go Overboard

While it’s important that you avoid inaccuracies and do the necessary research…don’t go overboard. Historical fiction writers tend to make the mistake of going too far in the opposite direction, including minute details on household items and wallpaper. Though you should always do your research, the last thing you want to do is bore your readers with a bunch of specific details just for the sake of showing your research skills. Include details- yes. But make sure you don’t focus too much on details that don’t pertain to your story. It’s a balancing act.

Stay True to Historical Figures

Often historical fiction or western novels will include characters based on real-life historical figures. If that is the case for you, make sure you’re staying true to the historical figures they’re based on. Historical fiction writers tend to make the mistake of pushing their own political or moral thoughts onto these people. You must remember that the figure you’re writing about is a person from that time- not ours. Allow them to be bigoted or politically backward or wrong. Don’t attempt to change them or have them make amends or make them forward thinking if they weren’t. Even great figures are allowed to be flawed and your readers will thank you for writing them with accuracy.

Pace Yourself Properly

This goes along with what we said earlier about not including too much detail. Historical fiction writers often make the mistake of getting too bogged down with exposition at the beginning of the novel. Your reader doesn’t need to understand everything about the era and your character’s place in the world right away. Pepper your relevant exposition throughout your novel as the information becomes relevant to your character and how they’re operating in the world.

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