Writer and Reader Comfort: tools to make writing and reading time easier. #amwriting #writinglife #reader #booklover

I was at a writer’s retreat where we spent a little time one evening sharing the tools we found to make our writing and reading time easier. People enthusiastically took pictures and made notes so they could grab these items – most under $40 – when they got home. I decided others might appreciate learning about some of these tools. I’ve also added a couple more of my own favorites. 

Writer and Reader Comfort 

This Adjustable Laptop Table inspired the whole conversation. The adjustable legs mean you can use it over your lap on the couch or you can turn a table into a standing desk. I ordered one immediately after coming home. (This one isn't currently available, but you can find a lot of other options if you prefer certain materials or styles, but note that some of them have a flat base rather than legs that can straddle a lap. Also, the width of the legs might not work for every lap size.)  

Next up, I got this Pillow Foam Stand Holder as a gift a couple of years ago and I love it. My mom loves hers too. It holds an e-reader, iPad or tablet at a nice angle for reading, so you don’t have to hold it in your hands and you don’t strain your neck as much as you would with it down in your lap. I keep mine on a pile of pillows on the couch to keep it at eye height. I like this royal blue color, but scroll down and you’ll see lots of options for different styles and designs, including some fun animal heads “for children” (but I won’t judge if you need a sloth, unicorn, or monster book holder for yourself)! 

If you prefer print books, you’ll be better off with a stand that has built-in clips to hold the pages flat when the book is open. I haven’t tried this LUXURISM Adjustable Book Stand, but it says it’s a cookbook holder, so it should work for most books and magazines. 

And if you do want to try an e-reader, I have the Amazon Fire HD 10 inch tablet. The battery lasts for many hours if it’s on airplane mode, I can take dozens of books with me when I travel, and I can adjust the font size to make it easier on my aging eyes. In addition, it’s often cheaper to buy e-books than print books, and you can get books from the library and have them delivered to your Kindle – no need to stop in to pick up your holds! 

Finally, this Electric Kettle might not seem like a “writing tool” but writers and readers who like a nice cup of tea will appreciate the speed and temperature accuracy of an electric kettle. They’re so inexpensive and really handy. This one comes in fun colors, but there are others that give you different temperature options, which might be best if you drink green, white, and oolong teas that should brew at different temperatures.

I hope you find something fabulous here that makes your life easier. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. See the other posts on Writer and Reader Comfort.

Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get a short story preview, or find the books at all E-book retailers.

Kris has over 100 books for children published under the names Chris Eboch and M. M. Eboch. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; and The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy. Jesse Owens: Young Record Breaker and Milton Hershey: Young Chocolatier are inspiring biographies focused on them as children and young men. Learn more here. 

Authors and influencers won't want to miss the $39 Depositphotos deal! #Marketing #indieauthors #selfpublishing #ContentCreator

 

There's still time to grab the Depositphotos deal! Only $39 for 100 photo/vector downloads from Depositphotos (this never expires). Choose from 270 million+ royalty-free images

Get the deal here (I believe it runs until May 31.)

I've used this for self published book covers as well as social media posts. I find it has a good selection and is much more safe and reliable (in terms of proper licensing) than the completely free places. 

Image from DP

It has both photos and illustrations, and you can search for photos with no people or a certain number of people, and identify the gender, age range, and ethnicity. It also has flat lays – images shot from above with carefully arranged objects like flowers or holiday items, with space in the middle to add your book cover or text.

Now it's added an AI generator, which may or may not be a good thing depending on your current views, but obviously you don't have to use it. I asked if it was possible to exclude AI generated images from the search and got this response: "We do not accept AI-generated images from our authors. So you can feel free to browse the collection. If you have any doubts about any image, you may provide its ID so we can check it with the content team to be 100% sure."

Cover and flat lay images from Depositphotos

This is by far one of the best deals out there for authors or anyone producing a lot of social media! You can even stack it to double or triple the number of images you get and make sure you have enough for years.

Get the deal here.

Bios Made Easy: Tips for writing the perfect author bio for each purpose #amwriting #writing #writetip #writelife #author

Writers need bios, for query letters, on websites, for conference brochures. If we are writers surely we can write about ourselves. Yet while coordinating writing conferences, I discovered that even published authors often write poor bios, whether through modesty, carelessness, or overwriting. Many bios are entertaining, but don’t do their job.

The job is selling yourself and your books. Keep that focus in mind and the rest will follow.

Content: List the genre you write and perhaps name a couple of your publications. If you have many published books, you can mention the number but only go into detail with two or three – perhaps the most recent or popular. Specify the genre, as titles aren’t always clear by themselves. If you don’t have published books, mention your other credentials – “Cub Newshound’s articles appear in Slate,” for example.

Don’t get carried away listing awards. If each book has four or five minor awards, the reader bogs down in dull details. List the most prestigious, or combine them – “Ms. Inkslinger’s books have received five Readers’ Choice Awards from various states.”

Relevancy: If someone is considering buying your book or signing up to hear you speak, they want to know your success as a writer or speaker, not the names of your pets. Put your professional information first. Don’t start with your hobbies or childhood, unless something directly relates to your book. (For example, you’re a nurse and you wrote a hospital drama or you have seven cats and you write mysteries featuring cats.) Don’t thank your family for their support. Save that for your book dedications.

There’s another reason to put the key information up front. If you are submitting news to a media site or a quick bio to a conference coordinator, the editor may cut to save space. Make it easy for them to keep the first couple of sentences and cut the rest.

Style: You may need different bios for different uses – playful on a book flap; professional for a newspaper article; focused on teaching experience for a conference catalog; praising your popularity with readers for a book signing. Regardless, focus on information. Humor and lively writing are fine, but don’t get too wrapped up in sounding “literary.”

In a large conference brochure, the designer probably wants consistent style. A touch of formality may be appropriate – you’re trying to portray yourself as a professional. Pretend you’re someone else writing about you in the third person. “Bard Wordsmith is an award-winning author….” For a query letter, use first person. A website could go either way, but be consistent.

Length: Keep it short and to the point. If your bio will stand alone, on an individual brochure or flyer, try 100-200 words. If your bio will appear along with others, 50-100 words is plenty (or whatever they request). Many people will skim anyway. Include your website for more information.

I keep several versions and cut and paste as needed. A longer bio may have a sentence or two about each of my series. A shorter one may focus on a single series or provide general info on the kind of books I write. If I’m promoting my critiquing/editing business, I would focus on my experience as a teacher and workshop leader, noting that people can get recommendations and rates on my website. The details depend on what I’m trying to sell.

For example:

Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. (Seven words)

Sweet romance bio under 150 words:

Kris Bock writes romance, mystery, and suspense. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery. Who wouldn't want to be a billionaire? Turns out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie.

Get a free 10,000-word story set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café when you sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter. Learn more at www.krisbock.com. (142 words)

Mystery Bio under 100 words:

Kris Bock has lived in ten states and one foreign country but is now firmly planted in the Southwest, where many of her books are set. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s romantic suspense novels feature outdoor adventures and Southwestern landscapes. Readers have called these novels "Smart romance with an Indiana Jones feel." Learn more at www.krisbock.com or sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective story and more. (88 words)

If I’m promoting my children’s books, I have a different set of bios for that name. I can also include the following with my Kris Bock bio if I’m targeting writers:

Kris writes for children under the name Chris Eboch. She is the author of two books on the craft of writing, Advanced Plotting and You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. Learn more at chriseboch.com. Check out her self-paced writing classes or The Ten-Minute Writer series on YouTube. (58 words)

In some circumstances, I might mention that I live in New Mexico and enjoy hiking, or that my husband and I keep ferrets. Those are nice personal tidbits, but they don’t prove I’m writing books people want to read.

Any of these options keep the bio to under 200 words. I want to make sure I’m including links to learn more if it’s going somewhere online, and beat simplest version of my website URL if it’s in print.

For a digital site, I might give readers the direct links to Amazon in the United States and Amazon in the United Kingdom, plus a “genius” link that will take people to their local site. That means fewer clicks before someone has a chance to buy my books.

So what about you?

To get started, make a list of the facts that you want to share. Then write a simple, straightforward paragraph that includes them. Next, decide if it’s appropriate to dress it up, but as in all good writing, communication comes first.

Earn Money with Educational Publishing: A free #WritingWorkshop to get you started! #amwriting #writing #teachers

Earn Money with Educational Publishing

Nov 19, 2023, 8 AM PST, 11 AM EST, 4 PM GMT: Online event sponsored by SCBWI International Central.

FREE to SCBWI premium members. A recording will be made available to registered participants.

Do you want to make money from writing? Are you willing and able to write on assignment if given a topic, word count, grade level, and deadline? Then you may be perfect for educational work for hire!  

Chris Eboch, author of over 100 books for children, will provide an overview of Educational Publishing: What is it? Why would you do it? What are the pros and cons? What makes a good work-for-hire writer?

Find out if this work is a good fit for you, and how to get started in the field. Register here.

A goal is a wish turned into action: advice on plotting #amwriting #writing #Writetip

I've been doing some manuscript critiques lately. (See my rates and recommendations here). 

I often wind up discussing plot in terms of Goal – Motivation – Conflict.

Goal-Motivation-Conflict:

·         What do they want to achieve? (Goal)

·         Why is it important? (Motivation)

·         Why is it difficult? (Conflict) It should be very difficult (as appropriate for the age of characters and readers)!

The motivation determines the stakes. Stakes don’t need to be physical; good stakes may be the risk of losing friends, family, love, dignity, reputation, livelihood… but you need a penalty for failure! To keep the plot active and dramatic, make sure all three parts (Goal-Motivation-Conflict) are clear in every scene. The reader knows what the character wants, why it's important to them, and why it will be difficult to get.

And goals are not wishes.

A wish may be passive. “I hope this thing happens.” A goal is a wish turned into action. “I will do this thing to try to get this result.” I hope I will make new friends is a wish. I will do X in order to make new friends is a goal.

Remember, its Goal-Motivation-Conflict, not Wish-Motivation-Conflict.

I delve into this and much more in my online, self-paced Advanced Plotting course.

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning: Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plot dynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full, maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the story forward. Learn more here.

You can also sign up for:

Educational Publishing: Make Money Writing for the Educational Market: Do you want to make money from writing? Are you willing and able to write on assignment if given a topic, word count, grade level, and deadline? Then you may be perfect for educational work for hire! Get it here.

You Can Write for Children: Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Learn more here.

Chris Eboch is the author of over 100 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure used in many schools; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Felony Melanie series featuring the characters from the movie Sweet Home Alabama as teenagers. 

Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting. Learn more at chriseboch.com or her Amazon page.

Chris writes mystery, romance, and romantic suspense novels for adults as Kris Bock. Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. 

Kris’s Furrever Friends cat cafe sweet romance series. features the employees and customers at a cat café. 

In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get a short story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

How to Turn an Idea into a Great Story: Making Muscular Action! #writing #amwriting #NaNoWriMo

Are you doing planning to write a novel National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)? You may wonder how you can possibly develop your novel enough to get 50,000 words. Start planning now! Learn how to expand a story by increasing the action for a strong middle.

“I love it,” the editor said. “I want to buy it.”

Words every writer wants to hear. But such joy does not come without a price. In this case, the editor followed those lovely phrases with “It needs to be twice as long.”

But I already had a plot that worked, and a nice fast pace! All in ... uh ... just over 80 pages. So yeah, that was short, even for a children’s novel. And since I was pitching The Ghost on the Stairs as the first in a series, it had to match Aladdin’s series guidelines for ages 9 to 12. So I had to add 70 pages, while keeping the story fast and active.

Some of you are going, “Yeah, right—I always need to cut, not expand.” That’s a common problem for many, but filling out a story with exciting, dramatic material can cause challenges as well—especially in the middle, where plots can sag and slow. I also see a lot of beginning children’s writers with manuscript in the 5000- to 20,000-word range, a tough sell unless you are doing leveled readers—which often have a very specific word count for each age level. Adult novelists may wind up with novellas, where a full-length novel would have better market opportunities.

So how do you build a bigger manuscript, while keeping it lean and muscular, not padded with fat descriptions or flabby repetition? I studied books on plotting, including Elements of Fiction Writing - Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Nancy Kress, Writers Digest Books) and came up with the several literary “protein shakes” to feed my novel. 

Add More Plot

In my Haunted series, siblings Jon and Tania travel with their mother and stepfather’s ghost hunter TV show, and discover Tania can see ghosts. In each book, they have to figure out what’s keeping the ghost here, then try to help her or him move on. In the version of The Ghost on the Stairs I sent to the editor, people already knew the ghost’s name and why she’s stuck here grieving. To expand the manuscript, I made the ghost story more vague. Jon and Tania have to do detective work to discover her name and background.

Exercise: Make a plot outline of your manuscript, with a sentence or two describing what happens in each scene. How easily does your main character solve his problems? Can you make it more difficult, by requiring more steps or adding complications? Can you add complications to your complications, turning small steps into big challenges?

Example: In Haunted Book 2: The Riverboat Phantom, a ghost grabs Jon.

    I felt the cold first on my arms, like icy vice grips squeezing my biceps. Then waves of cold flowed down to my hands, up to my shoulders, all through my body.

    I tried to breathe, but my chest felt too tight.

    My vision blurred, darkened. The last thing I saw was Tania’s horrified face.

    And I fell.

That’s dramatic enough for a chapter ending. So what’s next? It would be easiest—for Jon and the writer—if Tania is still the only one there when he recovers, and no one else notices his collapse. But if everyone notices, and Jon has to convince his worried mother that he’s not sick, you get complications.

See the "plotting" label to the right for more advice.

Hire Chris for a developmental edit or take a self-paced online class:

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning

Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plot dynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full, maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the story forward.

Take this online course at your own pace. It includes six videos plus handouts with notes and more resources. Get Advanced Plotting here.

Please note: If you are new to EzyCourse, you will need to sign up and get a password first. Then return to the course page to enroll and pay. You will not have access to the course until you "Complete Purchase." 

You Can Write for Children

Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Watch this three-session video course at your own pace. Get You Can Write for Children here.

Chris Eboch is the author of  Advanced Plotting. Get Advanced Plotting from Amazon. 

Children's writers will get a great overview of writing books for kids in You Can Write for Children: A Guide to Writing Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. It is available in Kindle, in paperback, or in Large Print paperback. Get You Can Write for Children.

Chris Eboch is the author of over 100 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. 

Learn more at her website or her Amazon page.

Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock. She writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get a short story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Learn more at her website or visit her Amazon page.

You Can Write Strong Stories: The Best Ways to Raise the Stakes for your #NaNoWriMo Novel - #amwriting #Writing

When writing a novel, it's common to hit a slump somewhere in the middle. What happens next? How can you keep the story going strong? 

Let’s talk about the stakes – and how to raise them.

Look at your main story problem. What are the stakes? Do you have positive stakes (what the main character will get if he succeeds), negative stakes (what the MC will suffer if he fails), or both? Could the penalty for failure be worse? Your MC should not be able to walk away without penalty. Otherwise the problem was obviously not that important or difficult. The penalty can be anything from personal humiliation to losing the love interest to the destruction of the world – depending on the length of story and audience age – so long as you have set up how important that is for your MC.

Are things worse
at page 200?

Note that those complications should also be both Difficult and Important. Say you have a character who needs to get somewhere by a specific time, and you want to increase tension by causing delays. If she simply runs into a series of chatty neighbors, it’s quickly going to get boring (unless you can push it to the point of comedy). 

Instead, find delays that are dramatic and important to the main character. Her dog slips out of the house while she’s distracted, and she’s worried that he’ll get hit by a car if she doesn’t get him back inside... Her best friend shows up and insists that they talk about something important NOW or she won’t be friends anymore.... 

Ideally, these complications also relate to the main problem or a subplot. The best friend’s delay will have more impact if it’s tied into a subplot involving tension between the two friends rather than coming out nowhere.

Here’s another important point -- you must keep raising the stakes, making each encounter different and more dramatic. You move the story forward by moving the main character farther back from her goal, according to Jack M. Bickham in his writing instruction book Scene and Structure:

        “Well-planned scenes end with disasters that tighten the noose around the lead character’s neck; they make things worse, not better; they eliminate hoped-for avenues of progress; they increase the lead character’s worry, sense of possible failure, and desperation – so that in all these ways the main character in a novel of 400 pages will be in far worse shape by page 200 than he seemed to be at the outset.” 

If the tension is always high, but at the same height, you still have a flat line. Instead, think of your plot as going in waves. Each scene is a mini-story, building to its own climax -- the peak of the wave. You may have a breather, a calmer moment, after that climax. But each scene should lead to the next, and drive the story forward, so all scenes connect and ultimately drive toward the final story climax.

Example: In the Haunted books, the kids have a time limit for helping the ghosts, because their parents’ ghost hunter TV show is only shooting for a few days. But the stakes also rise as the kids get more involved with the ghosts, and understand their tragic plights. Complications come from human meddlers – the fake psychic who wants to take credit, the mean assistant who thinks kids are troublemakers, and Mom, who worries and wants to keep the kids away from anything dangerous.

Exercise: take one of your story ideas. Outline a plot that escalates the problem.

Hire Chris for a developmental edit  or take a self-paced online class:

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning

Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plot dynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full, maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the story forward.

Take this online course at your own pace. It includes six videos plus handouts with notes and more resources. Get Advanced Plotting here.

Please note: If you are new to EzyCourse, you will need to sign up and get a password first. Then return to the course page to enroll and pay. You will not have access to the course until you "Complete Purchase." 

You Can Write for Children

Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Watch this three-session video course at your own pace. Get You Can Write for Children here.

Chris Eboch is the author of  Advanced Plotting. Get Advanced Plotting from Amazon. Children's writers will get a great overview of writing books for kids in You Can Write for Children: A Guide to Writing Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. It is available in Kindle, in paperback, or in Large Print paperback. Get You Can Write for Children.

Chris has published over 100 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting.

Learn more at her website or her Amazon page.

Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock. Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Learn more at her website or visit her Amazon page.

"Conflict comes from the interaction between character and plot." Learn more, with Plot/Character Exercises: #Writing Advice #amwriting #writingworkshop

(From the "Most Viewed" files...)

Conflict comes from the interaction between character and plot. Let's look more closely at character.

Six basic human needs influence character:
Growth (working toward a personal goal)
Contribution (feeling needed, worthwhile)
Security (knowing the future)
Change (desire for variety, excitement)
Connection (feeling part of a group)
Independence (personal identity and freedom)

Which of these are most important to your main character? Create conflict by setting up situations which oppose that person’s needs.

Who are the best characters
for ghost hunting?

Exercise—Write a story, starting with plot.

Come up with a challenge – a difficult situation for someone. This can be anything from facing the first day of school to wanting to make a sports team to solving a crime to fighting zombies.

Then ask, What kind of person would have the most trouble in that situation? Plan or write a story about that character in that situation.

Exercise—Write a story, starting with character.

Write a brief character sketch, covering basics such as gender, age, personality characteristics – introvert/ extrovert, optimist/ pessimist, etc. – with a few likes and dislikes. You can base this on someone you know.

How would they define or describe themselves? (“I always…I never…I’m the kind of person who….”)

What happens when a shy,
sheltered girl goes on a quest?

•    If these statements are true, a situation that challenges the belief will create conflict. For example, if you have a character who is honest, put him in a situation where there is a good reason to lie.
•    If these statements are false, a situation that exposes the delusion will create conflict.  For example, if someone sees himself as courageous, but isn't really, a situation that requires courage will be especially painful because it shakes up his view of himself.

So, what situation will most challenge this character? Summarize or write a story about that character in that situation.

You know you need both an interesting character and a strong plot to make a good story. As you develop an idea, think about how your character and plot interact, and design your character for your plot. As you write the story, work back and forth between plot and character.

One more exercise:

Look at your work in progress. What is the problem? Why is it important? Why is it difficult? 

Given those answers, is your character the right character for that situation? Could you give your character different needs or desires, to make the situation more difficult for him or her?

Hire Chris for a developmental edit or take a self-paced online class:

Advanced Plotting—Keep Those Pages Turning

Learn advanced techniques that will make a decent plot dynamic. Start with a “grab you by the throat” opening, pack the plot full, maximize your pacing, and use cliffhanger chapter endings to drive the story forward.

Take this online course at your own pace. It includes six videos plus handouts with notes and more resources. Get Advanced Plotting here.

Please note: If you are new to EzyCourse, you will need to sign up and get a password first. Then return to the course page to enroll and pay. You will not have access to the course until you "Complete Purchase." 

You Can Write for Children

Learn about children’s publishing—opportunities and challenges, genres, age ranges, book and magazine markets, and resources to keep you going. Watch this three-session video course at your own pace. Get You Can Write for Children here.

Chris Eboch is the author of  Advanced Plotting. Get Advanced Plotting from Amazon. Children's writers will get a great overview of writing books for kids in You Can Write for Children: A Guide to Writing Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers. It is available in Kindle, in paperback, or in Large Print paperback. Get You Can Write for Children.

Chris has published over 100 books for children, including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. Her writing craft books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting.

Learn more at https://chriseboch.com/ or her Amazon page.

Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock. Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. Kris’s Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series, a Texas ranching family wins a fortune in the lottery, which causes as many problems as it solves. 

Sign up for the Kris Bock Mystery and Romance newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story and bonus material, a free 30-page sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café, and a printable copy of the recipes mentioned in the cat café novels.

Learn more at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page.