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Ask the Book Doctor – Dialogue

Q: When I write dialogue, must I make all my characters

speak in contractions? My critique circle members say all

dialogue should use contractions. Aren’t we supposed to

give each character a unique voice? If so, can’t one of my

characters be so prim and proper that she doesn’t speak in

contractions?

 

A: The members of your critique group have the right idea—

natural dialogue does usually rely on contractions, but

creative writing gives a writer a great deal of leeway. You

know your characters best, and if one doesn’t use

contractions, so be it. Don’t let anyone–not even members

of your critique circle–cram a singular opinion down your

throat. Listen to the suggestions of others, thank them,

and then do whatever you want. If, however, an acquisitions

editor asks you to change something to make your piece more

marketable, that’s the time to listen and follow.

 

What’s your question for Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas? Send

it today to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com

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Ask the Book Doctor – Show n Tell

Q: We hear all the time, “Show, don’t tell.” My feeling is

the point is overused. Better might be “Telling is okay,

but it must be interesting and justified, for example,

moving the story along.” What do you say?

A: Everything in creative writing is a matter of

moderation. Back story almost always includes a little

telling, but keep the “telling” to a minimum. Make sure it

involves as many action verbs as possible, and it probably

will be fine.

What’s your question for Book Doctor Bobbie Christmas? Send

it today to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com.

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Ask the Doctor: Copyright and Book Titles

Q: A title I’m considering for my novel is [title removed]. Amazon.com says that title is already in use. Are titles copyrighted?

A: As I understand the law, titles are not eligible for copyrights the way longer works are; however, titles can be trademarked if used to cover more than one item in a series, such as a cluster of seminars based on a book of the same name.

Although you could probably legally use a title that has been used by someone else, consider it an opportunity to change the title and make it different, so people who search your title will find only your book, and not others. It’s your chance to come up with a memorable, unique title with a play on words, alliteration, or rhyme.

Bobbie Christmas, book doctor, author of Write In Style (Union Square Publishing), and owner of Zebra Communications, will answer your questions, too. Send them to Bobbie@zebraeditor.com. Read more “Ask the Book Doctor” questions and answers at www.zebraeditor.com. 

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Self-publishing: Ask the Doctor…

Kelly and I are happy to introduce a new resource to this blog – Bobby Christmas, Book Doctor. Bobby is an editor, ghostwriter, publishing consultant, and owner of Zebra Communications.

Bobby brings extensive general publishing and editing experience to the industry and offers outstanding consulting services to publishing authors. You can check out her book, Writing in Style, on Amazon. Bobby has been running Zebra (based out of Atlanta, GA) as a resource for authors since 1992. 

Bobby will begin to help with weekly posts, beginning tomorrow, from her newsletter titled Ask the Doctor, which offers general author advice in question/answer format.

– Karl

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Even More Writing on the Road to Self-Publishing

Nothing necessitates production like demand. Whether that demand is real or imaginary is irrelevant when it comes to motivation. Of course, “real” demand is certainly better in terms of promotion and readership. But “imaginary” demand also accomplishes the same goal – incentive for you to write a certain amount within a certain period of time.

We’ve discussed writing to publish (in some form) everyday, and great resources like Yahoo Groups and Google User Groups to help accomplish that. It doesn’t matter what; just the act of writing is inspiring and moving in the direction of book publication. Perhaps you even subscribed to a group or two, or at least reviewed a few to become comfortable with the new medium.

There are also a couple of additional options for writing online. These options accomplish the goal of writing publicly but add the additional incentive of “demand.” Both also create great marketing tools for promoting books, especially for those self-publishing authors when on sales in the ever growing online marketplace.

The first option is a “blog.” If you’re reading this chances are good that you’re blog experience is already there. Do you have a blog of your own?

Short for web-log, blogs are online diaries that allow you to post content quickly and conveniently for the world to see. Each blog posting is time-stamped with the date and time of your entry. Other readers can post comments to your blog if you allow them to. And you are open to comment on other interesting or related blogs.

Blogs that are updated consistently and frequently are more popular than those that languish. There’s your demand. If you want a blog with “buzz” you will find yourself motivated to add to it every day. Even if you’re only adding a paragraph with every posting – those entries add up.  Keeping ahead of your public’s expectations is a great motivator to write.

The second option is an online newsletter, or e-newsletter. If you vow to distribute an e-mail newsletter on a consistent basis (let’s say once a week), you’ll be motivated to contribute new content to each newsletter before distributing it.

 

i hope that helps. Have fun and keep writing!

Sincerely,

Karl Schroeder