Tuesday 13 September 2016

9 Easy Ways To Create Conflict In Your Story




Stories need conflict otherwise your readers will have nothing to cheer for, nothing to be worried about, and no mystery to figure out. Conflict drives a story and keeps the plot moving forward. And most importantly, the conflict provides the catalyst for the growth of your characters.

Here are few sure fire tips you can start using today to get your character into hot water and keep your readers invested.

1. Let every stroke of good luck change the plot so that your character's path to their goal is now littered with new and potentially worse obstacles.

2. Get emotional! Show your characters' motivation in each scene. Pack it with resistance. Everyone can't be going for the same goal.

3. Your character should have a major flaw that prevents them from reaching their goal.

4. Give your protagonist two motives. They must sacrifice one goal in order to achieve the other.

5. Let the action be created by the character's decisions and not because of coincidence. This is especially effective if they make the wrong decision for the right reason.

6. When faced with choices, there should be positive and negative consequences. But your character must use motivation that makes sense for the situation.

7. Make sure that any solution they come up with to solve a problem actually makes things worse until they get it right.

8. Make one character passionately opinionated, always ready for an argument.

9. Take away your main character's greatest source of support at the most critical time.

I hope this was helpful. Happy writing!


Monday 5 September 2016

A Second Chance






This past July the second book in the Nefertari Hughes Mystery series, DIADEM OF DEATH, was due to be launched. I was extremely excited about this book and head over heels in love with the cover. Unfortunately, Fierce Ink Books closed shop just shy of the publication date.




Based out of Halifax and dedicated to publishing quality young adult novels by Canadians, the staff behind Fierce worked tirelessly and passionately for four years, but ultimately they were not able to continue in the competitive field of publishing. I will always be appreciative for the experience with Fierce Ink and how they brought Asp of Ascension and its characters into the world.

Although it was a sticky situation to start shopping around a sequel, I didn't have to wait for long to find a home for the series. I'm thrilled to announce that Blue Moon Publishers has taken on the series and will be releasing Asp of Ascension and Diadem of Death in the Spring of 2017.

I'm not sure how the new covers will look, but I know Terry and Maude and the rest of the gang are in very capable hands. As of today, I'm busy writing the third book in the series and outlining ideas for a fourth.

Again, I'm grateful for what Fierce did for my writing career and I wish the team the best of luck in the future. They're all very talented and I'll be championing their future endeavors.

If you want to purchase the original Asp of Ascension, it's still available, but only for limited time.

iTunes
Amazon (Canada)
Amazon (US)
Chapters/Indigo
BarnesandNoble







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