All Write Already: Year Of Your Book

by Gena Showalter

  Before anything else, let’s take steps to ensure you’re ready to begin writing.

  First, we recommend reading the passages of All Write Already—in order—and completing each accompanying assignment. It might seem tempting to jump around, but there’s a method to our sequence.

  Next, we suggest you begin each project with a new notebook, even if you plan to type your story. You’ll keep notes, ideas, lists and reminders in the notebook. You can even paste pictures of your characters inside it, or sketch a map of your world, or create a decision tree—more on that later.

  Are you ready to get started? There’s a task you can complete right now. Grab a piece of paper and a pen and jot down three reasons you want to write a book and what you hope to gain with its publication. Simply the joy of holding the finished work in your hands? Money? Career? There are no wrong answers.

  GENA: My reasons are pretty consistent from book to book.

  1. I have a story idea I must see come to life.

  2. I’m ready to fall in love with new characters.

  And 3. I want to be paid. As much as I love writing, it is my job, and like everyone else on the planet, I want to be paid for my work.

  JILL: My reasons mirror Gena (see why we’re friends?). I get obsessed with a story idea, working it out in my mind as I walk my dog, drive my car, cook dinner, etc..

  1. I MUST get that story out of my head.

  2. The thrill of seeing my book cover for the very first time.

  3. I, too, love to get paid for my hard work.

  Once you’ve finished your own list, keep it close and refer to it as often as possible throughout the year. We believe the more you focus on a specific goal, the more power it will gain in your life. When feeling discouraged, remind yourself of the reasons Future You would be disappointed if you quit. Let why you started be your inspiration for the day.

  Your assignment: Take another look at your list. Then, in a brand new notebook or digital document, expand on each of your reasons for wanting to write a book. Get down to the nitty-gritty details.

  Example: I want to make money

  Buy a new house

  Pay for daughter’s college

  Afford...life

  Focus. Magnify. Accomplish. Triumph!

  Happy writing!

  Gena and Jill

  Day 2

  The Art of Meshing Ideas

  A lot of new authors have an idea for a novel but no characters or plot points. Or, they have a couple vague ideas, but aren’t sure how they can coexist within the same story. Whether your novel is a blank slate or a fully fleshed idea in your mind, our Combination Method could help you take it to the next level.

  The formula looks like this:

  Ordinary Idea + Ordinary Idea = Extraordinary Concept

  Now, let’s see the formula in action.

  Vampires + Finishing School = House of Night series by PC and Kristin Cast

  Pandora’s Box + Demon Possessed Immortals = Lords of the Underworld by Gena Showalter

  Russian Mafia Man Who Doesn’t Like to be Touched + Woman on the Run in Desperate Need of Cash = The Master by Kresley Cole

  You don’t have to write about something the world has never seen before. Readers like relatability and good storytelling above out of the box surrealism. When you combine two familiar things, you can create one incredible idea!

  Your assignment: Take out your notebook or open your digital document. Set a timer for five minutes and begin brainstorming a list of ideas that appeal to you. Don’t censor yourself, just let the concepts and dreams flow.

  Your list may look something like this:

  Vampire

  Small town

  Archeology

  Sandwich maker

  Slow burn romance

  Tattoo artist

  Professional poker player

  Nice clowns

  Real paper dolls

  Queen’s soul

  Alien father returns

  Evil clowns

  Balloons

  Subway reunion

  Cursed toy

  Time stands still

  Child prodigy grows up

  Jury duty

  Perfect guy has a tail

  Now, begin pairing those ideas.

  Slow burn romance + sandwich maker = Hallmark movie in the making?

  Tattoo artist + real paper dolls = tattoos come to life?

  Balloons + subway reunion = a party turns into a massacre?

  Balloons + cursed toy = Seed of Chucky meets It?

  Circle the ideas that excite you most. Think of ways you can expand the two ideas. Could your hero be a tattoo artist with a tail? Is your heroine a nice clown who can bring balloon animals to life? Did the villain just inherit a cursed toy that accidentally makes time stand still? Ask yourself what if, what if, what if? During this stage, “what if” is your best friend.

  Day 3

  Identify Your Voice

  Every writer possesses a voice or style unique to them. This encompasses the words they use, sentence structures, choice of tense, character details, and plot, as well as the focus of narration, action and setting. Some writers are more descriptive than others. Some have a poetic slant. Others leave out any extraneous details.

  Just remember: What you mention, readers will notice. Focus = magnify. Using precious page time to name, introduce and build a character who has one line and never shows up again can feel like a dropped thread.

  It might help to think of your “author voice” as a fingerprint. Fingerprints do not develop on the surface, but from the very bottom layer of the skin. As that foundation tier grows, it tugs and bends the other layers. Your fingerprints represent the outcome of your conflicts, experiences, and growing pains. The same is true for your voice as a writer. No one else has lived your life, or has the same background, so there’s not another voice like yours. But, like everyone else’s, your writing style will come with strengths and weaknesses, and those can change as you do. The way you tell a story can even shift between projects. Your voice doesn’t have to be the same throughout your writing career, but it does have to remain consistent throughout one project.

  Today, let’s focus on finding out your strengths and weaknesses in terms of “voice.”

  Your assignment: Think of a scene you’d like to have in your book. If you don’t have a scene in mind, consider a childhood memory that might serve as backstory for one of your characters. Then, write it out, letting the words flow freely and unedited.

  Note: Your internal editor might say: Why can’t you write more like X? Or: People will think this is stupid. Learn when to ignore your internal editor. Fear is not your friend; it can derail your goals.

  When you’re done writing your scene, give it a read and ask yourself some questions. What tense did you use—past or present? Are you lacking any details? Does your passage elicit or show any emotion? Did you describe the setting? If there is dialogue, does it move the scene forward? Where can you improve? What are your strengths?

  Day 4

  Genre and Subgenre

  You probably know a genre is a category of artistic composition characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter while a subgenre is a subcategory within a particular genre. But did you know readers of certain genres can have specific expectations for your story?

  Examples of genre expectations:

  In romance novels, a happy ending or happily-for-now is key.

  In murder mysteries, multiple characters have distracting secrets that add an element of suspicion.

  Readers of sweet, closed-door romances do not want graphic love scenes in their books.

  Readers of erotica do not want a sexless romance.

  A sci-fi novel will offer some kind of advanced technology or futuristic concept.

  Those expectations are the reason you need to know your book’s genre and subgenre.

  What genre and subgenre are you writing in? Ask yourself: What makes my book this genre
? Do I know what aspect readers expect from this particular genre?

  A few different genres:

  Romance

  Fantasy

  Science Fiction

  Western

  Mystery

  Young Adult

  Historical

  Thriller

  Literary

  A few sub-genres within romance:

  Contemporary (example: Fun & Games by Jill Monroe)

  Historical (example: An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole)

  Category (example: The Captain’s Baby Bargain by Merline Lovelace)

  Paranormal (example: The Darkest King by Gena Showalter)

  A fairy tale retelling (example: The Glass Queen by Gena Showalter)

  Dystopian (example: Poison Princess by Kresley Cole)

  Fantasy (example: Moon Chosen by PC Cast)

  Side note: Throughout All Write Already, we will share more about the art of writing a romance novel than any other genre. This isn’t only because we are romance writers. No matter the genre you choose to write, your characters will have relationships with other characters throughout the story. Romance is all about relationships.

  Think about some of your favorite movies. Chances are good there’s some kind of romance in it, whether that romance involves two lovers, two family members reconciling, or even a hero coming to understand an enemy.

  GENA: My novel, The Evil Queen, is a young adult novel. As a retelling of Little Snow White—from the evil queen’s point of view—it falls within the fantasy/fairy tale retelling subgenre. Going in, I knew readers would expect my story to follow the same general timeline as Little Snow White, and that I would have to bring the most iconic aspects of the fairytale into my story: The evil stepmother and her two different types of magic (scrying in mirrors and casting illusions of old ladies) as well as the poisonous apple, the seven dwarfs and a glass coffin.

  JILL: As an example, my book At the Heart of Christmas is a sweet contemporary romance that falls into the holiday romance subgenre. The title lets the reader know the book centers around Christmastime—a very popular subgenre readers enjoy more and more as December approaches. Since this book was published by Hallmark Publishing, it matched the sensuality levels seen in their popular movies. Sweet romances have little to no heat between the main characters.

  Your assignment: Identify and write down the genre(s) and sub-genre(s) you’ll be writing in. A book can be part of multiple genres and subgenres at the same time, and it helps to identify them. Each genre and subgenre could have certain expectations from your readers, and even if you’re not married to a genre yet, this is a good way to brainstorm possible plot points.

  Day 5

  T is for Tropes

  Tropes are common plot conventions, elements or themes that help drive your plot and/or characters forward throughout the book. Tropes are common and easy to spot, and that’s a good thing! And yes, tropes can be cliches, but moreso, they are a way of expressing parts of life that can relate to the majority of others. Almost all stories have a trope of some kind, because tropes make characters seem more sympathetic and relatable, and can also be a foundation on which you can build your story.

  You might recognize most, if not all of the tropes from this list.

  Enemies to lovers

  A race against the clock

  Redemption arc

  Girl/Boy next door

  The one–the savior of something

  Second chances

  Monsters among us: vampires/aliens/clones

  Monster hunting: werwolves/dragons/robots

  Family beating the odds

  A battle against technology

  Adventure awaits: space pirates/wormholes/time travel

  Deathbed confession

  Mysterious dead body

  Conspiracy to unravel

  Secret Society to infiltrate

  Mad Genius

  Mistaken identity

  GENA: The Glass Queen is an enemies-to-lovers story at heart, as well as a second chance for my characters to right past wrongs. I made sure to craft character backstories around the “enemies” part—why are they enemies? how does their past interactions shape their goals and desires?—and used the “second chance” as fuel for the present, putting both characters in the midst of a savage gladiator-like tournament to keep them close, force them to work together, and showcase their individual skills.

  JILL: Lord of Rage is a retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears with a redemption arc along with a ticking clock. I had so much fun crafting Osborn, the male lead. First, I got to make him a berserker and consumed by rage, but also, he must raise his two younger brothers. To support them all, he becomes a killer for hire, while also protecting and preventing his brothers from succumbing to the berserker rage as they approach adulthood. It was a blast crafting a complex character taking on seemingly opposing life roles. He battles this unique anger his entire life, but finds redemption when he learns to channel his fury as the tool it was always meant to be.

  Your assignment: Write down the tropes you plan to use in your manuscript and explain why they are important to the story. Add this to your brainstormed ideas list. (If you are struggling to list your tropes, you might benefit from reading a more extensive list of examples online.)

  Bonus assignment: Think about your favorite book. What tropes did the author use? How did those tropes work within the story? Why did those tropes work within the story?

  Day 6

  Theme Me Up, Scotty

  The theme of your book is the underlying message you wish to convey to your readers. In other words, the theme is the big idea that is unveiled as your story progresses.

  Theme examples:

  Love conquers all

  There’s more than one type of strength

  Family and everything that comes with it (love, bloodlines, reconciliation, coming of age)

  God is good

  Self care is necessary

  What has a beginning has an end

  The difference between good and evil

  Hate isn’t the answer

  Money doesn’t buy happiness

  Power corrupts

  Survival matters most

  It’s us versus them

  If you know the theme of your book—the foundation upon which your scenes will stand—you can ensure one scene builds upon another, creating a seamless journey with a cohesive message and unifying vision.

  JILL: In At the Heart of Christmas, I utilized a love triumphs over fear theme as well as reckoning with the past to have a future.

  GENA: In The Evil Queen, I wanted to show the evil queen’s descent into darkness, delving into what actually makes someone evil to others. So, as the theme of my book unfolded, it became “every hero is a villain, and every villain is a hero, it just depends on who you ask.” To showcase this theme, I had to show my characters doing truly awful things for the best reasons and truly good things for the worst reasons.

  Your assignment: Brainstorm a list of themes that might fit your book. What message are you trying to convey to your readers? What resonates with you?

  Having trouble? Think of a favorite movie or book that draws you in over and over again. Why does it draw you in? Does the answer reveal a theme you’re excited to explore?

  Day 7

  Patchwork Quilt: Putting It All Together

  Now that we’ve gone through the first week of lessons, it’s time to put it all together.

  Let’s say we have the grain of an idea for a suspense novel. A woman walking down an abandoned dirt road, alone, dirty with no memory. To expand the idea, we can list any ideas that come to mind and fit within the confines of this story:

  Forced amnesia—Magic? Medical? Foreign?

  Baking when stressed

  Suddenly heals from any injury in seconds

  Has needy sister

  Small town gossip

  Assassins on her trail

  Mystery savior

  How c
an we combine those ideas? Let’s start playing around.

  She has amnesia + healing super fast = must find out what was done to her. That can act as a catalyst to spur her into motion and get the story flowing.

  Small town gossip abounds + baking when stressed = a house full of pies so people are always coming over to eat and ask prying questions. Bonus: for a little comedic levity, she can daydream about a visit from her favorite fictional character Dean Winchester from Supernatural. He would know what to do!

  Healing super fast + visits doctor = assassin shows up and attacks.

  Mysterious savior enters the picture + he has questionable motives = who can she trust?

  You can even twist your tropes!

  Finds out she has been invaded by an alien + she’s no longer fully human = a parasite is overtaking her slowly but surely, changing her personality.

  Then, we take those ideas and find possible tropes hidden within them:

  Is evil born or made?

  Small town where they take justice into their own hands

  Good versus Evil