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The Proof is in the Pudding

October 12, 2011 by laurenwaters

Front Cover (eek!)

Back Cover

Spine

First Page

Chapter 1

Random Page

I can’t believe it. This day has come. I saw the small book-sized package on my front step and I couldn’t remember what book I’d ordered. Upon opening it I could hardly breathe…

my proof had arrived!

It was such a strange surreal moment. As if something you had only imagined had materialized right before your eyes by some white magic. As if you wanted something so badly that it wished its way into the world.

Now, that’s not obviously what happened since I have been toiling away trying to bring this book to life –revising, beta-ing, work-shopping, editing, copyediting, formatting, and uploading, but it suddenly felt like it just appeared out of no-where on my front step.

I’d heard on other self-published writer’s blogs that you shouldn’t expect a bookstore quality version in print, that they have bleeds, pages askew, smudges, shiny thin covers and poorer quality paper, but I was incredibly impressed.

The 5.5″ x 8.5″ size feels wonderful with its hearty 280 pages. Yes, the cover’s shiny, but I thought it looks like many of the shiny covered Grisham/Patterson novels in my bookshelf. The cream paper is a perfect thickness and all of the print was smudge-less and straight. My mother was with me when I opened it and both of our jaws dropped with how professional it looked and felt. It was only when my husband saw it that he pointed out one flaw — the cut was slightly narrower at the top than at the bottom. Of course, now it’s all I can see, but if that’s the only thing that’s not perfect than I can live with that since it doesn’t interfere with reading. I don’t think it’s something I can tell Create Space to correct, but I’m going to get another proof to see if the same thing happens.

All in all, this little bound book made the biggest smile spread across my face. Everything looked fantastic inside, the formatter and cover artist did a terrific job. I passed it proudly around to my large family and they all couldn’t believe how great it looked. Watching them all thumbing through it, inspecting it, and smirking (many of them doubted that I would see this through) was priceless.

I realized that this is a huge milestone. I’ve already achieved something that not many people do. Whatever happens after this won’t take away from the fact that I set out to bring this story to life and I’ve done it –through countless distractions, agent rejections, self-teaching, and self-doubt –I’ve accomplished a life’s goal and that’s a pretty amazing feeling.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

Getting Cold Feet…

October 10, 2011 by laurenwaters

With a little more than a month away from my book launch and my first proof ordered for review it’s starting to actually sink in that

I am going to put my book out.

When I thought about this day months ago I was brimming with excitement and the thought of seeing my novel up for sale on Amazon made me giggle in anticipation, but now…

Now when I see the publish button at the bottom on the Smashwords page or the email I received after requesting a proof telling me how to approve the proof for publishing,

I just feel sick.

Yeah, I’ve been so gung-ho ever since I decided to do this on my own –trying not to look down as I climbed the slippery cliffs of self-publishing. Problem is now that I’m so close to the top…I’ve looked down.

Looking down, I began to suddenly worry that maybe my book isn’t what I think it is and maybe I’m not a good writer after all. Maybe the most important thing an agent and publishing house can give you is the validation that you are a good writer and you’ve written something that others want to read.

What if I publish this novel and no one likes it? What if I only receive scathing reviews? I feel like I’m approaching the edge of dream I’ve always had and very soon I’ll find out if this dream becomes real or will just fizzle away to the dark corner of regret where lost dreams go. Is it better to just keep the dream?

But then I sent an email venting some of these worries to my amazing crit partner (Bethany Yeager) and in only a few fantastic lines completely grounded me again to why I was doing this in the first place:

“And Lauren, let me just tell you: your book is good. It’s solid. It’s fun. The premise is fantastic, the execution is fascinating. If you doubt yourself, give yourself a little shake and know this: ultimately, the point of stories is to entertain. There is beautiful prose out there, gorgeous dialogue, pretty covers, but that means nothing if people are bored. And your story is NOT boring. It’s wonderful. And what’s even better? It’s got some pretty gorgeous prose/dialogue/cover as well. 🙂 And if it doesn’t do well at first, then just write the next one. You’ll get there with perseverance. :)”

Okay, you see why I’m so lucky to have her and why she is such a great writer!

(I wish I could use this blurb on the front cover of my book!)

Anyway, it’s exactly what I needed and has completely calmed my launching fears. I’ve turned my head back up to the summit and reached for another hand hold.

Thank you, Bethany.

Posted in self-publishing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments »

My Book is Formatted!

October 3, 2011 by laurenwaters

Ahhhhhh! I nice big mug of hot chocolate to wake me up from my night of two-hour interruptions and some time to write my blog. I think it’s time to update everyone on my self-publishing progress.

I really didn’t know much about book formatting. I even searched for online articles on how to work with a book formatter and what I needed to know but couldn’t find any. All I found was articles on formatting your own book. Luckily, I asked the amazing David Gaughran (my self-publishing guru) who he recommended and he gave me two names: one he said had a few months backlog and another who didn’t.

So I contacted the formatter without the backlog and I honestly didn’t even know what to say. I started by asking if now was a good time to have my book formatted and that I was looking for all the ebook files (epub, mobi, and smashwords) and a print version. He said that the ebook files are very similar but a print version was a whole other beast. I asked him for quotes for both and was happily surprised when I saw that it was only going to cost me $300 for all the files. Create Space starts at $295 for book formatting services and I’m sure I would get much better service and results from this highly recommended formatter. I’ve also found quotes for over $600 for the same services online.

After I jumped at this fantastic deal I was expecting much more hand-holding throughout the process. I’m sure this book formatter is used to working with seasoned self-publishers and I expected him to walk me through all the choices he was making and thought he’d ask me style questions but he just went right to work after asking me the size of the book and keywords I wanted to use. He got back to me after a few days with a problem. Since my book is incredibly complex with the same characters reincarnating into many lives I felt that a graph that kept track of each character’s past was needed. Unfortunately it seems that charts and graphs do not transfer well into epub and mobi formats. He said he’d try to fix it the best he could but wished I would just remove them. I told him to try and I’m sure he struggled with this for at least a week.

I received the epub file and the mobi file and had no idea how to open them. I’m sure he’s never gotten a reply asking for instructions on how I can view the files, but he sent me a few links on how to download the necessary readers. Well, I’d love to say I figured this out immediately, but it actually took me a whole day to figure out how to install these applications (I am grammatically and technologically challenged). Anyway after struggling to view these a huge smile came over my face as I opened my book. I couldn’t believe how real it looked and I went through it page by page to check whatever I could. I found a few things to change (lone sentences and issues with the graph). He explained to me that you couldn’t control the flow of the ebooks so that lone sentences could not be corrected but he said he would work on the graph again.

I was interested in using a chapter vignette (the little graphic an author uses at the beginning of each chapter). I had no idea how I got one though. I searched for one online but there were no sites that sold chapter vignettes so I figured I would have to ask my graphic designer to come up with one. She never made one before but she would give it a try for me and working with her delayed my formatter even more since he needed to wait on this before completing the ebooks.

Once I had the vignette the formatter requested it be done a certain size and I sent it off only to hear I sent the wrong one. So I sent the right file and a week or two went by, I had the baby, and still no news from the formatter. Finally after a week I decided to send a reminder email to him and he wrote back that he sent off the files weeks ago, even sent a follow-up email, and to check my spam since it might have gone there. Sure enough, it was sitting in my spam folder and I felt like there was no end to the miscommunication that was occurring between us. Once I opened up the files the vignettes looked great, the overall book was professional, and even though the graphs were not exactly how I wanted, it was good enough for the reader to understand. I only had a few small fixes like the Acknowledgements page was not on its own and the vignettes were on a separate page instead of right above the chapters. He made the changes and sent it off and began working on the smashwords file. He returned that by the end of the night and then he finished the print version by the next day. I thought everything looked great and he caught that I went from Chapter 5 to Chapter 7, completely skipping Chapter 6. I would have definitely missed that and he saved me much embarrassment.

He let me know that the smashwords file may not upload since they usually wanted font size 18 or smaller but he preferred to use some font 24. If I could sneak it by the overall product would look better and he would fix it for later if it didn’t upload.

Happy with my files, I sent off his paypal invoice and I’m now looking into all I’ll need to complete publishing with Create Space, Smashwords, Nook, and others. Oh I hope they are basic enough for me to figure out on my own. Now I’m off to give my graphic designer the page number of the print version so she can create my printed cover. I can’t wait until I can send for my proof!

All in all, this did take about a month to finish but I have a feeling this usually takes him a few days. He did say that I contacted him at a super busy time (I think he was releasing his own book at the moment) and I definitely delayed it myself by not knowing how to view the files, insisting on using the graphs, waiting on the vignettes, and not checking my spam folder. I do highly recommend this formatter though, he really knows how to deliver an extremely professional product and is familiar with the ins and outs of the self-publishing world. If you’re looking for a fantastic formatter email me privately and I will give you his name and if you learn from all my delays he will most likely have your files back to you within days.

Posted in self-publishing | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

I Wish There Were More Fairytales

September 30, 2011 by laurenwaters

See if you can guess which movie I’m going to gush about by these quotes:

  • As you wish.
  • Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
  • You are sure nobody’s follow’ us?
     As I told you, it would be absolutely, totally, and in all other ways inconceivable. No one in Guilder knows what we’ve done, and no one in Florin could have gotten here so fast. – Out of curiosity, why do you ask?
    No reason. It’s only… I just happened to look behind us and something is there.
  • HE DIDN’T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

 

  •  Hear this now: I will always come for you.
    But how can you be sure? 

            This is true love – you think this happens every day?

  • You rush a miracle man, you get rotten miracles.
  • I told you I would always come for you. Why didn’t you wait for me?
    Well… you were dead.
    Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.
    I will never doubt again.
    There will never be a need.
  • Why won’t my arms move?
    You’ve been mostly-dead all day.
  • You truly love each other and so you might have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the story books say. And so I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you will.
  • We are men of action, lies do not become us.
  • Offer me money.
    Yes!
    Power, too, promise me that.
    [He slashes his other cheek]
    All that I have and more. Please…
    Offer me anything I ask for.
     Anything you want…
    [Rugen knocks Inigo’s sword aside and lunges. But Inigo traps his arm and aims his sword at Rugen’s stomach]
    I want my father back, you son of a bitch! 
  • Can you move at all?
    Move? You’re alive. If you want I can fly.

You guessed it~

Okay I still haven’t read this book even though it is on the top of my list but I’ve watched it countless times (especially when I had such a thing for Wesley in high school). It was on today and since all I do is hold and feed Annabelle all day I’m always happy when such a classic is replayed. As I was watching this time, (instead of figuring out what I love so much about Cary Elwes) I studied this masterpiece to find out why so many people love this story. This is what I came up with:

*It’s told in a fairytale format and aren’t we all suckers for a fairytale?

*It’s a fantasy but set in a very realistic and recognizable world. The author plays with some fantasy elements such as the R.O.U.S, the screeching eels, and the magic to bring Wesley back from death, but the rest of the story feels like could have occurred in some far away kingdom long ago.

*It appeals to both men and women, young and old. The mix of romance with adventure keeps everyone entertained.

*It has fantastic comedic elements. The Princess Bride as some of the best comedic one-liners of all time. If you even start to quote them anyone can finish them. Both the heroes and villains are hysterical. It is extremely difficult to walk to serious line of a romance adventure with such humor woven throughout.

*The characters, good and bad, are so well-developed and fleshed out. The characters are so unique and immediately engage you. These are all characters you will never see again or ever forget.

*The romance is not heavy-handed. It is a simple romance but so true and sweet. The whole movie begins with this romance and it’s established within the first few minutes. It’s unusual in that the romance itself is established immediately when most books take the whole novel to build the relationship. The love between Wesley and Buttercup is never questioned and it never has to be in doubt to be compelling. It is simply true love conquers all and that is wonderful.

Maybe if I keep watching this it will seep in somewhere in my subconscious and come out in my writing. I wish there were more stories/movies like Princess Bride and if anyone knows of any with all these components I would love to know about them!

Posted in writing in general | 1 Comment »

Thinking of Self-Publishing? Join These Forums!

September 28, 2011 by laurenwaters

If you’re considering self-publishing it’s critical that you look into all of these forums: Kindle Boards, Absolute Write, Nathan Bransford, Self-Publishing Review, Goodreads, and Library Thing. You should join each one for a different reason and the earlier you learn how to navigate these forums the better it will be for you in the long run.

Kindle Boards – A fantastic, extremely self-publishing friendly forum filled with people with extensive self-publishing knowledge where you can ask any question you have on your mind. Especially helpful with promotional ideas. (If you join only one forum join this one!)

Absolute Write – If you’re shopping for an agent or query writing this forum is wonderful but I find it’s a little less supportive of self-publishing even though they do have a whole posting area for self-publishing. I still find this forum extremely helpful for testing a book description, approving a cover, and for promotional opportunities.

Nathan Bransford– This forum has much less traffic but is still good place to get some feedback on book description, cover approval, and as a promotional tool. His blog is also very entertaining and he’s discussing more about the benefits of self-publishing lately and on Fridays he gives a run-down on the latest news in publishing and in the blogging world.

Goodreads – A great forum for advertising your book once you publish. A wonderful place to connect to your readers.

Library Thing – This is a website geared toward readers. They seem to frown on promotional attempts but if you join and connect to readers legitimately through your love of books you might attract readers subtly towards your book. Once you publish though there is a section for book giveaways that can be very useful for collecting reviews.

Self-Publishing Review – A forum for self-publishers only where you can receive great information and exposure if you decide to post.

And even though this is technically not a forum, I strongly recommend to follow David Gaughran’s blog. He is not only very helpful and super informative but he wrote a wonderful guide to self-publishing that will save you tons of time. His posts keep you updated on all the latest self-publishing news and he exudes such a positive and contagious outlook on self-publishing. If you have any questions he is extremely knowledgable and warm.

In conclusion, these forums are essential for information you can’t find in the self-publishing how-tos and as a promotional tool but I find the most important thing these forums provide is the support that someone going out on their own needs. It must be terrific to get an agent who tells you your novel is fantastic and who tucks you under their wings telling you they’ll take it from there but for those of us who only have a handful of beta readers giving us the thumbs up you need to have people out there who have been through the self-publishing trenches and emerged satisfied and proud. You will need their success stories, their support, and their inspiration to press forward and produce your novel. Reach out to these people and ask any question no matter how basic you think it is. The only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

Are there any others I forgot?

Posted in self-publishing | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments »

Through the Eyes of a Child

September 26, 2011 by laurenwaters

Okay now back to our regularly scheduled programing. Still up most of the night, but I will forgo daytime naps and laundry to make sure to post again. Not sure about the quality of these posts due to the lack of sleep, but I will give it my best.

Before I was sleep deprived (which seems like months ago) I was in the process of revising and having my crit partner chip away at the sequel. Without giving too much away, the second book has a POV from a young boy in one reincarnation. I tried to keep that in mind as I wrote it but my terrific crit partner found a few instances where the thought or dialog seemed too mature for the child’s age. This got me thinking about how limited a character’s voice is by age. The writer is constrained by vocab, awareness, and innocence when using a younger character. In order to keep the reader engaged the writer must be extremely aware of what a certain age is conscious of. This requires a major walk down memory lane, trying to place yourself inside your younger self in order to see the imagined world through younger eyes.

For example, my crit partner (have I told you how amazing she is?) highlighted this (twelve-year-old POV):

“He put out his hands to help her down to the entrance and I can’t believe the change that’s come over him. How he seems to lose his childish ways overnight.“

So I’ve changed it to this more age appropriate thought:

“He put out his hands to help her down to the entrance and I can’t believe the change that’s come over him—growing up overnight.“

Another example (Andres is ten):

“Andres pulls away from his grasp. ‘I’m proud of my little belly, it’s been concave for months!'”

Changed to this:

“Andres pulls away from his grasp. ‘I’m proud of my little belly, it’s been sunken for months!'”

Yes, you are limited in some ways when choosing the POV of a young character, but there are also some benefits. I decided to use a younger character in this life for three important reasons:

#1) The reader will have immediate sympathy for a young character in trouble

#2) Since this life is centered around a historic event filled with complex battle details I can explain things more to the reader if there is a young person POV. The reader can learn along with the child.

#3) I’m no nautical battle expert so I can play a passive role where the child observes adults carrying out tasks without having a deep and skilled understanding.

It is critical though when you have a young character observing a complex historic event that you must have older characters that explain things to the younger character.

The other benefit the writer has when using a young POV is that even though you must be careful to maintain a child’s view of the world, sometimes children can see or phrase things in ways that adults can’t. Children can possess a sagacious wisdom that only comes from the innocence and the magic of childhood,  unobscured from cynicism and corruption. The writer can take advantage of this and utilize simple understandings touched with poetic observations only a child can convey.

So when deciding the age of your POV character keep these points in mind in order to make the best choice for your story.

I also want to let everyone know about my awesome crit partner’s blog contest going on until Friday. She’s celebrating her 150th follower–go Bethany! She’s giving away a couple of awesome prizes and her blog is fantastic if you aren’t already following her.

Posted in Blogging, writing in general | 1 Comment »

Why I haven’t posted…

September 20, 2011 by laurenwaters

So sorry for the delay everyone. I’ve been in baby heaven this whole week! I had a fantastic and virtually pain-free delivery and I’m over-the-moon with this little cutie:

My sweet little Annabelle

I might have to delay a few more posts until I can bear to put her down for the computer, but I will be back in action and working toward my launch once again soon I promise!

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Are Fantasy/Sci-fi/Paranormal Writers Fantasy Prone?

September 12, 2011 by laurenwaters

Psychologists Sheryl C. Wilson and Theodore X. Barber are credited with identifying Fantasy Prone Personality by testing for fourteen traits.

Here are the criteria:

(1) being an excellent hypnotic subject, (2) having imaginary playmates as a child, (3) fantasizing frequently as a child, (4) adopting a fantasy identity, (5) experiencing imagined sensations as real, (6) having vivid sensory perceptions, (7) reliving past experiences, (8) claiming psychic powers, (9) having out-of-body or floating experiences, (10) receiving poems, messages, etc., from spirits, higher intelligences, and the like, (11) being involved in “healing,” (12) encountering apparitions, (13) experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations (waking dreams), and (14) seeing classical hypnagogic imagery (such as spirits or monsters from outer space).

Wilson and Barber considered having six or more traits worthy of the designation of fantasy prone. Let’s see how I rate:

(1) being an excellent hypnotic subject= Not sure, I’ve never been hypnotized but I have trouble meditating so I doubt that I would make a good subject

(2) having imaginary playmates as a child= No (thank god, those really creep me out)

(3) fantasizing frequently as a child= Yes, I was an extremely imaginative child

(4) adopting a fantasy identity= No, not sure what this means but I’m guessing you imagine yourself as some sort of character or alter ego.

(5) experiencing imagined sensations as real=  I don’t think I’ve done this yet but would you be able to discern this if you had imagined sensations as real? On the occasions I’ve seen unusual things I’ve had another witness to back it up, so I’m going to say no.

(6) having vivid sensory perceptions= Yes, again this is hard to understand, but I do feel like I have a high sensory awareness (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, intuition)

(7) reliving past experiences- Yes, again not sure if I’m understanding this right but I have very vivid recall. I can even remember little details as young as three or four years old. I also tend to live in the past more than most people.

(8) claiming psychic powers= Yes, I do think I have slight psychic sensitivities.

(9) having out-of-body or floating experiences= No, I’ve never had this experience

(10) receiving poems, messages, etc., from spirits, higher intelligences, and the like= Yes, this has happened to me before.

(11) being involved in “healing,”= No, I’ve never been involved with a healing before

(12) encountering apparitions= Yes, but I think growing up in pre-revolutionary houses contributed to this

(13) experiencing hypnagogic hallucinations (waking dreams)= No, I’ve never experienced this half-dream state.

(14) seeing classical hypnagogic imagery (such as spirits or monsters from outer space)= Now, this I had to take apart and define in order to understand what they meant by this. Classical =well-known.  Hypnagogic = of, relating to, or occurring in the state of intermediate consciousness preceding sleep. So I understood this to mean a stereotyped hallucination preceding deep sleep and I’ve never experienced this.

I do have six of these traits so I’m apparently fantasy-prone. Does this explain my draw to creating worlds and stories in my novels? Does a writer benefit from being fantasy prone in order to create the world building and immersion needed for the reader? I wonder if the higher the degree of fantasy-proness the better the creativity?

Well, this study seems to correlate the two (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3746620?dopt=Abstract). “Fantasizers were found to outscore subjects in both comparison groups on all of the measures of fantasy, imagination, and creativity…”

Now I feel compelled to see if I’d make a good hypnosis subject.

So all my fantasy or sci-fi blog followers, how do you rate? Are you fantasy prone as well?

Posted in writing in general | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

9/11: Ten Years Gone By

September 9, 2011 by laurenwaters

With so many things in life there seems to be a strange confliction in how much time has passed. When I think of where and who I was ten years ago, it seems like just yesterday and an eternity has gone by. So much has changed since then–so much in my life and so much in the world.

I was in my last year at college, living off-campus in the middle of rural Pennsylvania. That morning I was already cleaning out cages at the wildlife rehabilitation center where I interned. I was sent back to the work shed to get another wheelbarrow and heard on the radio, that was left on all day regardless of an audience, that a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. I heard it just as I was walking back to the bear cages and it seemed like the newscasters where doubting the information and many thought if it was anything it was only a small wayward private plane crash.

I told the owners of the center what happened and they shrugged their shoulders and we continued to clean and feed the animals. I jumped into my jeep wrangler and headed home on the country road, listening to John Denver, and passing beautiful Amish farms. The crisp sunny autumn weather made me yearn for an apple cider candle. I decided to stop at a candle store and found the shop eerily empty. I located the two cashiers in the back of the store with hands over their mouths watching two buildings burning on the small TV. They didn’t even turn at my presence and I realized something was horribly wrong. I rushed out the store and turned on my radio as I speed home. On the way the first tower collapsed and I ran into my little house to see what they described on the TV. It was such a gut twisting sight, to see that tower cave in. I remember feeling that it all must not really be happening. That this was such a profound event that it couldn’t possibly be true. Strange how shock interferes with reality.

I called my mother first and tried to think of everyone I knew and if they worked in the area. My mind even raced to figure out if anyone I knew was flying on a plane that day. I had a sister that had flown out only days before from the same airport they hijacked the planes from and a sister who normally worked in NYC was vacationing in France. Thankfully everyone I knew was safe that day. The boyfriend I was with at the time worked in Paramus, NJ directly across from the Towers and his building had bomb threats right after the attacks. He could see the World Trade Center towers smoking and saw the whole area consumed by the dust cloud. It took him all day to get to my house with the bridges being closed due to terror threats. Classes were canceled and I stayed glued to the TV for the next few days. I drove home the following weekend and cried when every bridge I passed had our stars and stripes hanging from it. Houses all flew their flags as well as passing cars. I will never forget that incredible feeling of patriotism surrounding me.

So now it’s ten years later. The anniversary ground zero readings all seem to blur to a single rainy, tear-filled day. I’ve graduated, said goodbye to that boyfriend, found a job completely unrelated to the animal behavior major in NYC, got married, had my first child, and now I’m about to have my second. It’s quite possible that he or she might be born on that day and I’m not so sure how I feel about that. Obviously what’s meant to be is meant to be but it’s day filled with so much emotion, I wonder if it has room for any more?

All of us who were alive on that day can relive each detail this Sunday. It’s a day etched and fortified in our memories…the day that can never be lost.

How are you feeling on this day? Does it really feel like ten years have passed? How have these ten years changed you?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

Plausibility

September 7, 2011 by laurenwaters

The Free Dictionary by Farlex defines plausible as :
1. Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible: a plausible excuse.
2. Giving a deceptive impression of truth or reliability.

Plausibility is critical in order to keep your reader engaged in a novel. The moment someone pauses and says “this couldn’t happen” the spell is broken and they’ll shut the book. Some think plausibility is only important with conspiracy theories, thrillers, suspense, crime, and sci-fi novels but really every genre, no matter how simple, needs to have plausible elements to allow someone to fully submerge into the text.

But plausibility can be a very strange thing when writing fiction. I remember a session at a writer’s workshop where many in the group brought up that the order of events seemed implausible in another’s piece. The author protested that she based it on an actual event that happened to her. The teacher stepped in to explain that as fiction writers we must write for the greatest acceptance of our reader and to ultimately write the best story possible. Sometimes real life doesn’t seem believable and if someone tells you something doesn’t seem possible it will affect their investment in your story.

This seemed so ironic to me that you would have to change a story that actually happened to something different for those to believe it. But then I reread the definition of plausibility and that it’s not necessarily what is true but more what others will deem as credible or likely.

So how do test your draft for plausibility?

Critique partners and beta readers!

Yes, listen to these incredibly helpful (and valuable) self-less people who will let you know where you lost them or when something a character does doesn’t fly. Listen! If they say something doesn’t seem realistic (even if it happened) you must change it so that they can accept it better. Beta read widely and early in your drafts since you may have to change major elements.

Plausibility crops up its ugly head many times for me since I love to include little-known and odd details of past cultures. I don’t like the normal facts and well-known history, but my eyes widen and my pulse races at the bizarre and seedy secrets buried deep inside dusty research books. Well, this makes an interesting story but I hear so many times–“did this really happen?”

I can’t site these amazing details since I’m not writing non-fiction. I know that some historical fiction authors may throw one or two footnotes here and there to back up a true event but I would have one on every other page. Plus I’ve found that many detest these notations in fiction. So what did I decide to do?

Remove these details…

Heck no! My creativity thrives on these crazy real-life events. I didn’t want to write about the ancient Egypt that everyone knows from 9th grade history text-book or the Spartan society depicted in the movie 300. I wanted to surprise people! I want to take the reader deeper into a past that will even expand a historian’s knowledge.

So I decided to listen to my betas and tried to make the details as credible as possible. But I thought it would be best if I created a whole page on my website that will discuss these incredible facts and suggest further reading for those who are interested. I will post this background information upon my novel’s launch.

What about you? Do you ever struggle with plausibility in your novels or have heard those horrible words from a beta reader?

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