Trailer Trash

A book trailer can be a great way to promote your upcoming novel in a flashy, mini preview. Think of it as a query letter with pictures and music. And like a good query letter, your book trailer should answer the three C's; character, conflict, and crisis. However, I've noticed a lot of trailers are full of gorgeous imagery and music, but leave me scratching my head as to what the story is about.

If you're thinking about making a book trailer, consider the following advice.

1. Whatever makes your story/character unique should be showcased. Avoid ambiguous statements like, "a true love so strong she'd die for him." This tells me nothing. It should be SPECIFIC. You need to make your book stand out from the other, "a-true-love-so-strong-she'd-die-for-him" stories. 

2. Make sure the music compliments the storyline. If you wrote a contemporary, coming of age novel, the theme from Halloween probably isn't the best match.

3. SPELL CHECK. I'm not kidding. And the only reason this is here is because someone didn't SPELL CHECK before they posted their trailer.

4. Keep it simple and concise. The most enjoyable trailers are less than two minutes.

5. End with the title in bold so it's the last thing the viewer sees, and remembers.

Check out the the two trailers below. They were so AWESOME, I bought the books the next day.

What are some of your favorite trailers?

Cheers!

Kiss And Tell

Kiss And Tell November 14, 2011

Princess Bride
photo credit greedoandhanblogspot.com

In honor of my first blog, I decided to write about that scene all YA writers and readers look forward to—that moment when the MC and the love interest have their first kiss.

The best written scenes are those when the reader has an emotional connection to the story and wants the kiss to happen just as much as the characters. But it should also be relevant to the plot. 

Does the kiss signal the turning point for the MC like Cassia in Ally Condie's Matched. Or are there consequences from the kiss that drives to story forward. A good example is Bianca laying one on Wesley in The Duff by Kody Keplinger.

Even though both scenes were written completely different, they were both effective and relevant to the story. Sometimes as writers we get caught up in the choreography of the moment; reaching hands, moving lips, probing tongues...hold on who is holding what? Three paragraphs later you realise it's too much.

An excellent example of an effective kissing scene with hardly any description is Betsy Wickwire's Dirty Secret by Vicki Grant. She leads us into the moment, slowly creating a tender atmosphere. The dialogue is simple and sweet, but authentic. 

The guy is 6'8 and he sits down on the bench, taking her into his lap. "You'll hurt your neck," he says. She takes off his glasses and he nods to his shirt pocket. Then with a brush of his hand through her hair, he asks, "Ready?"

YES! I certainly was.

Don't get me wrong I like the details as well. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins should win an award for 'kiss most felt while reading'. It's frantic, full of description and has HUGE consequences.

So, what can you do as a writer do to improve your kissing scenes? All of the above novels have three things in common.

1. Emotion (What is your MC feeling? What is at stake?)

2. Senses (Touch isn't the only thing being experienced by your characters. Don't forget about noise, smell, and taste.)

3. Set-up (Excellent dialogue leading up to the moment.)

A kissing scene is just that—a scene between your characters. Therefore, follows the rule for every scene ie: it should move the plot FORWARD.

Do you have any favorite kissing scenes?