3 ways to improve your dialogue

Characters say stuff. Writers have to make what they say interesting, or readers will put down their books. Each writer has strengths and weaknesses, and I know dialogue is not one of my strong suits.

What to do?

Like everything else in writing, it's time to learn. Yes, some other writers will always write more stunning dialogue than I do, but mine can be improved. Here are a couple of posts that have helped me recently.

Learn Organic Dialogue. Rob D. Young lists nine ways to make dialogue more organic. He's got things I 'knew', but seldom insert into my writing, like mishearing people, and self-interruption. I'm making note of his tips so I can watch for places to use these in my manuscript.

Know Good Dialogue. Nathan Bransford came up with the seven keys to writing good dialogue. He points out the specifics of what good dialogue should do, like build towards something (he calls this escalation).

Edit Dialogue. Stephanie Morill has come up with a great checklist for editing dialogue. She poses thirteen questions to ask when going over a manuscript. Several are aspect I wouldn't have thought about other wise, like: Do your characters use different words for the same thing, or are their phrasings too similar? I'm planning to print out the list and adding it to my editing notebook.

Which authors are gifted at dialogue in your opinion? How do you edit the dialogue you write?

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How to make your contest entry the best it can be

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With the new year still shiny, one of your goals might be entering a writing contest. Why, you say, would you subject yourself to all that potential rejection?

Feedback
Yes, you get feedback from your critique group. And your relatives stand in awe of your prose. But it's time to develop your rhino skin and hear from someone to whom you're not near and dear. Someone who will point out what could be wrong, but also what's working. What better way to re-energize yourself on a project that might make you feel weary.

Analysis
A contest entry forces you to analyze your manuscript in new ways. I once wrote about five ways a contest entry can hone your novel. And if you're having trouble with motivation, there's nothing like a deadline to get things moving. I'm planning to enter a February contest just to get myself in gear.

 Exposure
 If you make it to the final rounds, many contests use agents and editors as judges. It's not uncommon for entrants to field requests for their manuscripts from contest judges. And it's a lot quicker than the query process!

If you've decided to enter a contest, the first order of business is finding the right one for you and your genre. I've got you covered there, with six ways to find writing contests.

Then, it's time to work on your entry. I've lined up a few posts to help you make it as good as it can get.
Staging your manuscript. This post give tips on contest entries, depending on what the rules ask for.
Pimp your prose. Understand why adjusting your sample pages can lead to a contest win--and sometimes a contract.
Pimp your contest entry. A fantastic post with specific advice on how to tweak the formatting of your sample pages, while still keeping within the rules.
Six ways to win with writing contests. Advice from setting your goal, to debriefing after the contest is over.

What has your contest experience been like? Even if you didn't place, was it worth it? If you've never entered, would you consider it?

The best New Year's resolution: back up your computer

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The new year starts with all kinds of promises. This will be the year that you finish your novel. Or land that agent. Or self-publish another book. The biggest problem is just finding time to do it all, right?

But what if your computer crashed?

Do you have a back-up system in place to keep you from tearing your hair out, or holding a wake in honor of your digitally-departed novel? Here are a few ways you can ensure your peace of mind. We'll start small and move up.

Flash drive. These handy and inexpensive gadgets can hold quite a bit of information. Besides backing up your latest work in progress, they can be used to transfer a copy from one computer to another, so your novel is safe in several locations. Drawback: they can be lost or damaged.

Email. Many writers email their latest chapter to themselves, so they have a copy 'in the cloud'. Drawback: If you send multiple versions of a document, it can be hard to keep track of them all. Read how one author experienced a nightmare using email.

GoogleDrive. If you have a Google account, you've got this already (find it in your header). You can upload whole copies of novels, or group individual chapters in folders you create. There's lots of space, and the assurance that you can access your files from any computer. Drawback: it's not an automatic save. You'll have to go to the site, choose your files, and upload them.

Dropbox. This is one of my favorites so far. You download the free Dropbox application. A Dropbox folder appears on your desktop. Any files you place in the Dropbox folder gets automatically resaved in the cloud any time you make changes. I keep my Scrivener file for my novel here. As soon as I change one letter in my novel, it gets updated. Drawback: A decent amount of space is available for free. For more storage, you can invite other users, or pay for a membership.

Evernote. I'm just learning more about this organization and filing system (look for a post on Evernote soon). I think it could work well for copies of chapters. Drawback: you'll have to drag in a new copy of your file for it to be saved in the cloud.

External Hard drive. These can be purchased for less than $100, and can hold a huge amount of information (like backing up your whole computer). Most work in the background, saving your information whenever something gets changed. Drawback: as with any device, it can break down, get damaged, or stolen.

Online back-up system. These services act like the physical hard drive above, but your information is stored remotely. Most can restore your computer if it crashes. Drawback: Each charge a monthly or yearly fee. Check out this post on Five Scribes to read how several of them compare.

I'm sure there are many possibilities I haven't even touched on. The best idea, though, is to choose more than one so your words are saved in several places. That way, no natural disaster or tragedy can stand in the way of publication.

How do you back up your writing? What works the best for you--and is easy to keep up with?

Free Books from Jeff Goins

I first heard of Jeff Goins when I downloaded his book You Are a Writer (so start acting like one).Click here to view more details. I was in a place where I desperately needed a pep talk. Someone to help me understand why I sometimes sabotaged myself. Goins' book addresses fear of failure, uncertainty of the unknown, and the anxiety of success.

Anyone else feel that way sometimes?

Right now, Goins is offering two other books for free. The Writer's Manifesto is a short book, intended for reading in one sitting. The purpose of the book is to help writers fall back in love with writing. We could all use a little bit of that in the new year, especially with the fiscal cliff clouds looming! To get the book, head to Goins' site and sign up for his newsletter (it's worthwhile). If you'd rather not get another newsletter, there are links to buy the book for $0.99. While you're on his site, check out the great posts he's been writing.

Goins is giving away a second short book, this one a .pdf file. It's called Wrecked for the Ordinary: A Manifesto for Misfits. He describes this book as "a short call-to-action for people wanting more out of a life, a challenge to make a difference with the gifts you've been giving." Writing this book led to the publishing of his first 'real' book. 

Do you need a pep talk at the start of the year? Or is a fresh start enough to get your fingers moving?

WordHippo

It's nice to start the year with the resources you need for the writing you want to do. Word Hippo is one of the resources writers can turn to for all kinds of information.

A quick visit to Word Hippo will answer the following questions:

What's another word for ____?
A thesaurus is a huge help for writers. How many times have you edited a passage and found you've used the same word over and over? Though we operate in a world of words, sometimes our brain only generates the generic ones.

What's the opposite of ____?
Yes, you can say what you mean. But sometimes (oops, used that above!) occasionally it's interesting to come at an idea from the other end of the spectrum. Instead of letting your character go on about what she loves, why not have her list the things she hates?

What's the translation for ____?
I've found this to be really helpful, since my novel takes place in Croatia. I translate all kinds of words so my characters have names that have a connection to who they are or what they do.

What words start with ____?
Alliteration can be a powerful writing tool (in moderation, of course). The tool on Word Hippo is searchable in several ways. You can find words that begin with, end with, or contain a certain letter or letters. The results are customizable so users can specify how many letters long they want their results. I imagine poets (and those who write rhyming picture books) could make use of this feature.

Find sentences with the word ____?
Sometimes you think of the perfect word, but you might not feel comfortable using it in context. Use this aspect of Word Hippo to see how others have used the word around the web. It might inspire you, especially for words you're not familiar with.

Find words that rhyme with ____?
Like the alliteration feature above, this one might appeal to poets and writers of rhyme. The results are grouped by syllables.

Find the tense of ____?
This aspect takes the guesswork out of finding the plural or singular of a word. It also identifies the past or present tense. If I ever have to take my present tense novel and rewrite it in past tense, I'm sure this would be helpful.

Pronounce the word ____?
Most writers grew up as huge readers, and as a result, have quite a big vocabulary. However, one of the drawbacks is that we sometimes imagine a pronunciation that's not quite right. I've had more than a few embarrassing moments as a result! This feature will say the word out loud for you as many times as you need.

What's the meaning of the word ____?
Most of us have a dictionary function in our word processing program, but Word Hippo has a great definition feature, along with all the rest.

Do you have any reference websites you've bookmarked? Let us know in the comments.

How to find the best Beta Readers for your novel

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When your book is finished, and you need some feedback, it's time to think about beta readers. What is a beta reader? I heard someone recently describe it this way: You, the author are the first reader. The alpha. Whoever reads it next is the beta reader.

Finding the right beta readers for your novel is important. You want individuals who won't just pat you on the back, yet you don't want folks who will criticize you to the point you'll never write again.

Fortunately, my fellow Pikes Peak Writers member, Deb McLeod, has written a wonderful post explaining why you might want certain beta readers at one stage of your novel, and other readers at different stages. Definitely check out The Beta Reader Love-O-Meter on the Pikes Peak Writers blog.

Have you ever used beta readers? How has it been helpful, or not-so-helpful to your editing process?

Writing Roulette: All the Generators You'd Ever Want, Part 2

Note to readers:
I've gone through all the links and have fixed all the broken ones. If you're found some good generators that I don't have, leave a note in the comments and I'll be sure to add that in (and credit you for your efforts!). And if you find broken links, please let me know. Thank you so much!

Today is day two of generators for story ideas. If you missed part one, go check it out now. The list was so long, I had to split it into two posts. Have fun!


Setting
Terrain Generator: comes up with descriptive forests and oceans
City Generator: build your own description with nineteen different aspects.
City Map Generator: make a map of your setting with your own parameters.
Medieval Fantasy City Generator: this one has lots of options.
More City Maps: this site allows you to generate "endless maps of walled cities, complete with castles and winding waterways". 
3-D City Maps: zoom in on the buildings in the city you create.
Blank Fantasy Maps: Sedeslav has created some wonderful fantasy maps where you can insert your own names of towns, kingdoms, and rivers. Highly recommended. Map 1 | Map 2 | Map 3 | Map 4 

For Fun
Drink Generator: helpful for fantasy and sci-fi writers
Decision Generator: for you or your character, this answers the question: should you or shouldn't you?
Random Phrase Generator


More sites to check out:
The Forge: Generators for fantasy names, creatures, spells, and settings.
Serendipity: a huge amount of generators, names, characters, setting, clothing, swear words, and more.
Chaotic Shiny: another large collection, including culture, accessories, and diseases, and much more.
Seventh Sanctum: more generators, with superheroes, magic, and humor, among many others.
Where the Map Ends: more generators for language, villains, and fantasy characters.
The Generator Blog keeps up with new generators that come along.

Do you have any favorite generators to add to the list? Leave a link in the comments.

Other posts in the series:
Resources for plotting a novel
Generators, Part 1

Writing Roulette: All the Generators You'd Ever Want, Part 1

Note to readers:
I've gone through all the links and have fixed all the broken ones. If you're found some good generators that I don't have, leave a note in the comments and I'll be sure to add that in (and credit you for your efforts!). And if you find broken links, please let me know. Thank you so much!

While I'm still getting back on my feet, this week I'll post a couple of my most popular posts. The generators in this post and the following one are some of the most-searched for through Google. If you've got other generators to suggest, leave a note in the comments. Here's hoping one of these generators will give you the inspiration you need!

Continuing the series of resources from the NaNoWriMo forums, I discovered all kinds of threads with links to generators for writers. What's a generator? It's kind of like playing roulette with story ideas.

Let's say you need a name for a particular walk-on character. It's a man, who hails from Brazil. You could spend all kinds of time researching, or you can click over to a random name generator that is specific by country. Voila! Your character is no longer nameless.

You may not need all these generators, and admittedly, some are more frivolous than others. But there may be a few you want to bookmark that will come in handy in the future.

Plot
Terrible Things Generator: helpful if you can't think of more trouble for your character.
Plot Generator: a beginning, middle, and end to get you started.
Plot Scenario Generator: try these ideas on for size.
Random Story Generator: a complete plot in a paragraph.
Story Idea Generator: similar to the one above.

Titles
Random Title Generator: gives you six random titles that are actually pretty good!
Abstract Art Title Generator: uses art to come up with titles, and links to Google so you can see if that title has ever been used.

Characters
Appearance Generator: choose either a simple or detailed description.
Motive Generator: what makes your character do what they do?
Quirks Generator: Give your character an unusual twist.
Bulk Character Generator: need lots of walk-on characters? Let this generator do the heavy lifting.
Everyday Problem Generator: helps make your character feel real.
Character Generator: gives you a character flaws and weaknesses.
Assorted Generators: particularly fairy tale names

Names
Fantasy Name Generator
Steampunk Name Generator
Elf Name Generator
Fake Name Generator: includes lots of details like height, weight, occupation, and birthdate
Random Name Generator: this one includes many ethnicities to choose from, plus the name's history and meaning.
Favorite Name Generator: choose names you like, and the software comes up with new ones.

Random Establishment Name Generator: find a tavern name.

And here's a new one: a fantasy language generator. There is a paid version, but feel free to use the free version to test it out.

Come back tomorrow for generators on setting, fun stuff, and sites that have collections of even more generators.

Do you have any favorite generators to add to the list? Leave a link in the comments.

Other posts in the series:
Resources for plotting a novel.
Generators, Part 2.

Keeping me in stitches...

You may or may not have noticed how quiet it's been here. No rice boiling at all!

A week and a half ago I had surgery. What was supposed to be quick and easy turned out to be neither. And I ended up with a whole bunch of stitches in my back.

One for every letter of the alphabet.

Needless to say, it's been an interesting week. After a bad experience with a couple pain meds, I decided to forgo them altogether. I've been sleeping a lot. And my family has taken wonderful care of me.

I'm more or less back on my feet, though I don't have much stamina. Hopefully, I'll be back to regular blogging on Monday.

But in the meantime, here's a link to make you chuckle. The 42 Worst Nativity Sets. I vote for the Zombie Nativity, but it's a close tie with the Godzilla Nativity.

Which one would you vote for?