#writingtips – Page 60 – Jean's Writing

Do you know which questions you need to ask?

Published on April 24, 2016April 24, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Today’s A-Z Challenge letter is Q

Q= Question

Why? But why?

The whine of a toddler is like nails on a chalkboard after hearing that one word for the thousandth time. But Mom’s will take a deep breath and answer as best they can.

Why do we put up with the constant questions?

Because questions are important.

Teachers encourage children, telling them there are no dumb questions. Curiosity is not what kills the cat, it is what builds worlds, cures diseases and invents the internet.

Questions lead us down the path of discovery. One question leads to another and another and like bread crumbs to new kingdoms.

Questions can prod you when stumped and breathe new life into your character or situation.

And if you’re lucky, questions and answers will piece together and make a great story. Or at least a good one.

So what questions need answers?

What is the story about?
What is the point of the story?
Who are the characters?
What are they doing?
Where are they going?
What do the characters want?
What do the characters feel?
Are the characters believable?
Where does the story happen?
Where does it end?

And the all important question…

What if?

Over and over a wide-eyed toddler stares up at their mom demanding to know why about everything in their ever-expanding world.

If you do the same of you story and characters , you might find the world you’re writing ever-expanding too.

If you’d like to read questions that successful writers ask when they write, I’ve added some links at the bottom of the page.

What questions do you ask when writing?

Do you map out certain questions to answer before you start?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

25 QUESTIONS TO ASK AS YOU WRITE by Chuck Wendig

7 Questions to Ask Yourself as You Write Your Novel by Christine Barcellona

5 Key Questions to Ask as You Write Your Novel by CS Lakin

KISS, And the Writing is Easy

Published on April 13, 2016April 12, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell11 Comments

Today’s letter in the A-Z Challenge K.

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K= KISS

Keep It Super Simple

Fooled you didn’t I?

We’ve all heard the acronym KISS but have you thought about applying it to your writing?

“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” ~ Richard Price

Here is a challenge.

Take a piece you’ve written and cut every third sentence. Or cut the word count by one-third. Can you do it and keep what is truly important?

“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a genius to make it simple.”~Woody Guthrie

So, just what have y’all taught me this past year about writing short and sweet?

When a reader can’t understand or follow the story, they stop reading. KISS
Life is complicated but good writing doesn’t have to be. KISS
Writing tight and concise produces a better product. KISS
Simple words and simple sentence structures don’t mean stupid. KISS
Knowing your subject is important. Communicating that knowledge to your readers is equally important. KISS
Conveying a message in easy bite-size, succinct, and easily digestible pieces take talent. KISS
Using ten-dollar words can come across as pretentious and lazy. KISS
It takes work to know and write for your audience. KISS
Write small, simple and get to the point. Your readers will thank you. KISS

Do you make writing harder and more complicated than it needs to be?

Have you mastered the knack of KISS in your writing?

Talk to me, the lights on and comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdelland Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

Want to know more about KISS? Click the links below.

K.I.S.S. by Rob Parnell

New Book Excerpt: Keep It Simple, But Not Simplistic by ANN HANDLEY

Keep It Super Simple By Kayla Skarbakka

KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid! How to write about a complex subject in a simple way by Devyani Borade

Is it time to cleanup your writing style?

Published on April 4, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell25 Comments

C = Cleanup

Southerners have a propensity for talk. Ask them how they’re doing and you’ll get a vivid description of their last gallbladder attack. They then segue into Aunt Martha’s bad hip because even God can’t keep that woman off of a ladder. Before you can say, “Okay.” You will know more than you ever wanted about this lovely person, their family, their dog and be invited to stay for dinner. When all along you were expecting a simple, “Fine, thank you.”

Yeah, I like to talk. This can show up in my writing and blog. Which brings me back to the letter C and the A-Z Challange and what I’ve learned over the past year from an amazing Web of Writing Bloggers.

“Cleanup this mess.”

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As a child, this was one of my mom’s constant phrases. You’d think I’d atomically apply the concept to everything in my life especially my writing.

But, I didn’t. Not until I began to listen and learn from a Web of amazing Writers. Did I mention I hate housework?

Here are the things you guys taught me about cleaning up my blog and my writing style.

Use headings.
Keep paragraphs and sentences short and concise.
Use clean, crisp phrases. No extraneous adverbs or unnecessary descriptions. In other words, don’t waste the reader’s time.
Avoid dark, bright or garish colors. It distracts from your message and exhausts the reader.
Keep widgets, pictures to a minimum. Readers glance first read second.
Optimize website and book for mobile devices. Funky text, or images that blur when converted to eBooks or mobile devices will have a negative impact.
Remove unnecessary ads. If you use ads on your web, make sure they are related to your brand.
Don’t clutter up your sidebar with award badges. These are cool and a fun way to connect with other writers but put them on a separate page.
White space is your friend. Don’t crowd too much together on your website or in your book.
Watch out for Dead Links, these are frustrating to your readers.
Above the fold. When writing a story or post remember this newspaper term. If the first paragraph doesn’t grab, no one keeps reading.
Produce a friendly, easy to use (or read), and professional product.
Formating is important. Text should be formatted for easy scanning. This is true in eBooks as well as on blogs.

What do you think?

Could your website, eBook or story use a little sprucing up?

Talk to me, comments are now open.

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.

If you would like more tips on cleaning up chick out the links below.

Write Clearly and Concisely – IEEE Professional Communication Society

Writing Clear, Concise Sentences by Writer’s Handbook

Blog Design: Keep It Clutter-Free and User-Friendly by Jessica Knapp

Spring clean your blog. By Kristie Hill

11 Things to Remove from Your Website (Declutter Your Blog) By Gina Alyse

Good or bad, your book is judged by its cover

Published on April 2, 2016April 1, 2016 by Jean M. Cogdell26 Comments

B = Book Cover & Design

Unlike what we learned in kindergarten, books are judged by their covers.

Yes, the first impression of your book cover influences the reader.

Some people are natural at putting forward that just stepped off the runway look, even at the grocery store. And there’s me in the produce aisle in my fluffy slippers. Hey, they’re warm!

I’m not homeless, just a little absent-minded. The lady shopping next to me, in four-inch Jimmy Choo’s, might be a model or she might be a femme fatale. Hmm, I feel a plot coming on.

But, back to the A-Z Challange and what I’ve learned over the past year from an amazing Web of Writing Bloggers.

Backward Six (see #10 below)

If you want someone to pickup, or click on your book, the cover and design better grab. The book cover needs to pull at them, make them want to look inside or at the least, flip it over and read the back.

So although we are taught at a young age not to judge people by their looks, readers do judge a book by how it is presented.

12 things I learned from you guys about book cover and design:

Looks are important. Forget what your mama told you about the inside being the most important part. If no one is drawn to open the book, they won’t read the story.
A book cover must look good as a billboard or thumbnail and everything in-between.
Artwork doesn’t have to be expensive to be good.
Clean and eye-catching is better than cluttered.
Not artistically inclined there is usually someone who can help. The world is as close as my keyboard.
Research other book covers that are similar. Which ones worked and which ones didn’t.
Art, image, and photo software need not be expensive. There are some that are free.
A trendy book cover can work. (This I’m gonna need to remember in the future.)
The book cover should go for an emotional response, then the reader will react.
The eye reads a book cover from top left to bottom right, and across to the left again. (Backward 6.)
The book cover is mine, even if I hire a pro, it presents my hard work to the world so I better make sure I’m happy with the end results.
And last, but not least, I learned that I’m not going to get it right on the first, second or maybe even the third try. But that’s okay.

DIY: How to Design an Indie Book Cover By Alex Palmer

Let me know what you think about book and cover design.

Are you a DIY, or did you hire a pro, or do you fall somewhere in-between?

You can find me on Twitter @jeancogdell, Facebook at jean.cogdell and Amazon.com, stop by and say hey! Please remember to click and share this post with your Twitter peeps and Facebook fans.