Hi Sally,

I don’t.

…

No, I’m actually not even kidding about that. I am a total scatter brain with between 5-10 different processes going through my mind at any given moment. Believe it or not, the first two chapters of Drakin were written while I was finishing up Soul Siphon.

If you’re finding it hard to focus, forcing yourself to won’t solve anything. Unless you have some kind of major deadline coming up, I’d highly recommend against it. Whenever I’m writing and I find my mind going off in a different direction… either there’s a topic I want to blog about or a new story that’s just too good to pass up, I stop what I’m currently working on and spend a few minutes here and there working on that. Does it slow down production of my books? Maybe a little… but not nearly as much as it would if I tried to force my mind to focus and it’s slowed down because the juices have been diverted to other topics.

You can’t always control when your mind is going to get the creative juices flowing. It’s a reality that we all have to live with. There really is no point in fighting it. Make sure you keep yourself on a schedule and try to put some time into your current project every day, but don’t stifle the creative juices. This was a hard-learned lesson for me when I was working on Divinity. I ignored the creative juices to focus on what I was working on and the result was a bad case of writer’s block.

Some may say that this is bad advice, but from my perspective, I believe that it is better than the alternative. Stifling your creative juices will not get your story written any faster. However, keep in mind, this is just how I approach the problem. You may be different and creating a schedule and a place to hide away from outside stimulus so that you have to focus on what you were working on, may benefit you. Try various methods and see what works.

Hope this helps. Readers, how do you focus? Do you have any advice for Sally? Let me know in the comments.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Dear Jim,

Hi there, so I was hoping you could give me some advice. My book has done pretty well after being published. However, some of my audience wasn’t happy with the sequel. I actually killed off a main character that everyone liked and now I’m trying to find a way to bring them back. I kind of regret killing them because it really was a good character. The problem is that my novel is mostly about spies and mystery. There aren’t really any fantasy elements in the book. So I’m not sure about putting in some weird object that they discover during one of their cases that allows the group to bring him back. What do you think, do you have any other recommendations?

Thanks,

Mick

Hi Mick,

Yes, leave the character alone! Leave them dead! I’m not kidding. I understand having a connection with a character, but once they’re gone, they’re gone unless you want to do a lot of flashbacks or a prequel. Trust me, as much as killing the character off, bringing them back and taking all the wind and permanancy out of death will do far more damage in the long run. The death of a main character should be profound, not watered down. If you open the door to resurrecting characters, all the fear that one could die will be gone, because what’s stopping you from bringing them back?

Okay… now that we’ve gotten that out of the way… I pride myself on always trying to help everyone who asks. I would absolutely NOT use a fantasy element in a book where no such magic or devices exist. That would break the immersion, which is a cardinal sin in literature. You have other options. For starters, since we’re talking about a spy/mystery novel, why not a fake out death, like the character feigned death, but was wearing a bullet-proof vest or something? That would be the best way to do this, though I strongly recommend you don’t.

If you really miss that character so much, write another one that is similar. Perhaps write his brother, sister, or even an older son. Sky is the limit. Trust me, it’s a far cry better than either breaking immersion or taking all the wind out of death.

In any case, I hope this helps somewhat. Avoid using a fantasy element in a non-fantasy piece of fiction at all costs.

Thanks friend! Hope you do well!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Hi there,

Oh boy, that’s a tough one. My sympathies on the negative reviews, they’re always tough to get through. Fortunately for you, it seems like most of them are genuinely trying to help by providing you constructive criticism instead of your run-of-the-mill “This Sucks!” or “The Author Needs To Stop!” and so on.

At the same time though, the reviews with constructive and legitimate criticism are next to impossible to ignore, and I wouldn’t recommend ignoring them either. It’s a bit of a balancing act that you have to perform. On one side, write how YOU want to write. You don’t owe your audience anything on characters and stories you created. On the other hand, you have to remember that audiences vote with their wallets. So if you’re hoping to actually be able to sell the book, you do need to at least reflect on said criticisms.

For starters, I would read through them, find some recurrent themes. What are the major complaints about the story that people didn’t like? Did you do something that didn’t make sense? Is there a major plothole, or did the story simply take a direction that the audiences didn’t like?

When you figure out what the pattern of negativity is, you can go from there. Write down the primary complaints, keep them in your mind and then go back over your thought processes, experiences, and feelings when you were writing that book. Try to pinpoint what made you take the directions you did and where your inspiration came from.

Then you have to decide where to go next;

1. You can invalidate the previous book. To do this, you need to retcon what happened in the previous book, but then have your characters find a way to undo whatever happened (time travel is usually a pretty good way of handling this), or you can do what Roseanne did and make the previous story a figment of someone’s imagination or something like that. There are some creative ways of doing this… but I don’t recommend it. This is a pretty shallow way of handling the problem and it’s something audiences can see right through.
2. Stay the course. If you think you’ve got a solid story and that bad novel was pretty much just a way to bridge two good stories, then you have the option of weathering the criticism and pressing forward. I’d recommend a press release in this case. Actually tell your audience. A few simple words for example:
   “Okay everyone, I wanted to address the negative feedback I’ve been getting. I know a lot of you are concerned… look, all I ask is that you give the next book a chance. I promise that this whole thing is going somewhere and hopefully you’ll like where we end up. That’s all I can ask.”
3. Change direction. Look at the criticism, see where things went off the rails for your audience and turn it around. Find ways to restore certain characters who were altered or end plot points that people didn’t like.

I wouldn’t worry about audiences not buying the book. The thing about readers is that they tend to be very forgiving, especially if everything ends well. In the end, you’re the only one who can decide which way to take the story. It’s your story and it’s entirely up to you.
If you think about it the right way, this could actually work out pretty well for you. Your story took a beating, crashed and burned, it disappointed your audiences and crashed and burned. Now imagine if it rises from the ashes and surprises everyone by being awesome? You play with their emotions and their lack of expectations make them love the story even more. I call it the Phoenix Effect. Your story went from being good, to crashing and burning, yet out of the ashes it is reborn more radiant than it started.

Anyway, I hope this helps you in some way. Hopefully you have a little perspective on where to take your story next.

Readers, do you have any advice? Let us know in the comments!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Hi Wil,

You’re absolutely right, most of these stories have a moral/political message/social commentary, etc. Admittedly, it’s next to impossible to avoid in stories. Even if you don’t intend for your story to have any sort of message like that, one could be drawn from it.

When I first published my YA series Magnifica , I started getting emails from people who wanted to comment on my ‘handling of racial discrimination and bigotry’. I actually got a lot of positive feedback on how Lia’na was treated in modern society, which I was surprised about.
All this time, I’m sitting there scratching my head like, “That… wasn’t really the intention. Elves have traditionally been bashed, badmouthed, and mistreated by other species around them. I just put a modern slant on it.”
However, that’s what my audience drew from it.

So let me address your specific criticisms. You are absolutely correct on all counts that each of those mediums have inserted social commentary or political message into their writing. That being said, I invite you to pick up a copy of something like Mockingbird, or some of the newer X-Men and compare them to the original… even just go back to the early 80s during the Chris Claremont age.

Do you see a difference? The key to putting a message into your story is to do it in a way where the story doesn’t take a back seat to the message. If you write just for the sake of delivering a political message, nine times out of ten, you’re going to either bore or disenfranchise your audience. Yes, there are some writers that have successfully pulled this off, but a broken clock is right twice a day. That’s the exception, not the rule.

The difference we see is that when Claremont or Lee wrote their stories, they were aware of the message that they wanted to convey, but they also respected their audience’s intelligence. Not only did they show their perspective, but they demonstrated an understanding of the other perspectives as well. In the case of the X-Men, you saw how hatred and segregation affected mutants, you understood not only Professor Xavier’s position, but also Magneto’s. You understand both their philosophies, and it’s honestly sometimes to take a side.

On the other side of the coin, you’re also presented with understanding of why people fear mutants. You can sympathize with, understand, and even make the case for why they feel the way they do, even if you don’t agree with it. What’s more, when we start seeing projections of the future and the seemingly unavoidable wars that break out, the writers almost make the case that Professor X’s beliefs and goals may be little more than a pipe dream. In other words, the writers acknowledge the flaws in their own beliefs.

Now take that and compare it to what we see these days. Writers for movies, comics, and normal literature have decided in many cases that hammering in a political narrative is more important than telling a good story. They’ve done everything from breaking the fourth wall, to stopping stories just to have a character get on a soap box, to insulting the intelligence of their audience, to flat out drawing a line and saying that anyone who doesn’t agree with their… increasingly narrow view is the spawn of Satan (literally in a few cases).

This is not how you attract an audience, it’s not how you keep an audience, and it’s certainly not an advisable way to get your name in print. I cancelled my subscription to some of these comics because, while I agree with some (emphasis here) of the messages they’re trying to deliver, I felt like I was being talked down to and condescended. You can really sense the cynicism in some of their writings.

So Wil, I hope I answered your question. I’m not against having a moral or political agenda in a story or medium. I am, however, very much so against the way people are going about it. We’ve seen a lot of comic writers come out and bash fans saying that they don’t work for us… and yes, that’s true… you’re free to write whatever you want… but being disrespectful, condescending, and showing little understanding or tolerance of those who disagree with you, is a good way of insuring your unemployment or solidifying your status as a ‘starving artist’ for the foreseeable future.

Readers, what do you think? Leave your comments below!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Okay, so it looks like I’m still getting a lot of publishing questions. These are recurrent questions I get on a regular basis, and while I want to try to respond to everyone who reaches out to me, I don’t want my blog becoming redundant. So I think I’m going to repost this on a weekly basis from now on to help people navigate the publishing world. I don’t really see another way around it.

So if you have questions regarding publishing, PLEASE check below to see if any of this helps you before reaching out. I’m always happy to help, but I may have already answered your question.

Publishing is a tough road to navigate. Please check out the links below. These are previous posts I’ve made about the ins and outs of publishing. They should be of assistance in your journey:

Am I Ready To Publish? This is a must read BEFORE even considering starting the process. I can’t tell you how many authors burned bridges by not being ready.

Editing… There is a Cost That Must be Paid… or is There? You can skip this one if you’ve already had your writing edited (by someone other than you!). However, I’d still recommend reading.

Getting Published… the basics… In this post, we explore traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. Here you’ll get the pros on cons of each and the steps you need to go through in order to be successful in either.

Finally…

Copyrighting my Writing. Am I Protected? This isn’t required reading… however, if you’re concerned about plagiarism, or in the future may need to file a copyright claim, I recommend giving it a read.

Feeling overwhelmed yet? I’d be surprised if you didn’t. The only sage advice I can offer you other than the documents above is simple…

1. Do not give up. A million “No’s” suddenly become irrelevant if you get that one “yes”.
2. People will tell you that everyone and their mother wants to publish a book. You’re up against insurmountable odds and a flooded market. This is false. You’re not up against everyone and their mother. Permit me the luxury and I’ll prove this mathematically: First of all, take the entire group of people who want to get published. Now take that number and reduce it by roughly 60%. You just eliminated all the people who want to get something published, but don’t have the time, ability, drive, or inspiration to write. Next, eliminate another 20%. You’ve now taken down all the people who can put pen to paper but can’t afford the time/money to put the work into advertising and getting published. Eliminate another 10% who can’t take criticism and thus aren’t going to be able to get their writing properly edited. Now eliminate another 5% either don’t have the patience for or get discouraged by receiving a series of “No’s” from publishers.
   Now take that last 5% and eliminate all of them, except you. Why? Because they’re irrelevant. You have your writing and they have there’s. Whether or not you get published and how successful you are isn’t about other people’s writing. Yes, in the end, it’s you against one person, you. Whether or not I’ll ever get to buy your book off the shelf depends on you; how much time, effort, and funds you’re willing to put into your writing. So make it good!

Let’s open it up to the floor. Readers, do you have any publishing advice for our friend here? Let her know in the comments!

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Hi Ty,

Glad you liked Soul Siphon. Thanks for your support. So character creation is always a tricky subject. How do you create new and interesting characters that are relatable.

Personally, for a while I just created blank slate characters and just have them grow as they react to different situations. This… worked for a little while, but honestly the characters were quickly coming out all with similar personalities. It became apparent that I had to try something else.

So in a few cases, I started creating characters that were similar to people I’ve encountered in my life. I tried to emulate people I liked in certain roles and people I didn’t in others. That worked for a while, but you have to be very careful. You don’t want to make it too obvious who you’re writing about… especially if you plan on killing off the character.

When I write about people from history like Mary Kelly, I do as much research as I can into their historical persona and build a personality for them based on their documented decisions and behaviors. This is actually really fun. Researching history is something I’ve always found incredibly rewarding. The result with Mary Kelly was a very dynamic character with over 100 years of bitterness and righteous anger to her name.

After a while, I decided to start creating characters with generic backstories and save them for future use. Jagger (Drakin), Vlad (Soul Siphon), Raiya (Drakin), and Andrea (Drakin), were all generic characters that I added more in depth back stories to and had them react to the situations as they came up. The story then began to grow around how these characters reacted to their situations.

So in the end… I really haven’t created new characters in a while. I have a whole library of generic characters saved and ready to go in whatever I start writing next. It’s not a bad way to go about writing.

I hope this helps. Readers, how do you create characters in your stories? Do you have any advice for Ty? Let them know in the comments.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Hi Lisa,

Let me first congratulate you. What an amazing accomplishment! Publishing your first book is no easy task. You’ve overcome so many hurdles and will soon join the ranks of many master storytellers who came before you! It’s both a rewarding and ominous feeling, putting your first book out there. I wish you nothing but the best from it.

Okay… now onto your specific question.

Lacking context, I can’t say that the editor is necessarily wrong. He may have thought it was a little too sad or dark? Perhaps his issue isn’t with the fact that it is sad, but maybe too sad for his liking?

I honestly can’t say as I don’t know him and I don’t know your story. So my advice is going to be somewhat generic. I think you should write what you want to write. I don’t know what your relationship is with your editor, but in most cases, you’re not required to take their advice. If he is the gateway to you getting published, then you may need to take a closer look at what he’s asking.

That being said, in my opinion, I don’t think you should rewrite your book with a happy ending. If your book was meant to have a sad ending and you’re satisfied with that, then you shouldn’t now change that. I honestly think fans reacting negatively to a sad ending is really a non-issue. Some of the best stories ever written ended on downers.

A good ending can make or break a story and the best endings aren’t always the happy ending. In the past, I’ve had the same problem. Think about it, which ending is more powerful…

1. A character that has made all the wrong decisions throughout their life, finally, at the end, realizes the error of their ways, and makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the people he cares about.
2. A character that has made all the wrong decisions throughout their life, finally makes a good one, and get’s to live out the rest of their lives in peace.

I would say honestly, the first one has a lot more weight and power to it. The reason for this is because of the sense of permanence pertaining to the sacrifice that character made. It’s also the importance of what the character did in this case.

These are very important factors to consider because an ending can make or break your story. You can have a happy ending that gives people a sense of satisfaction and leaves them with a good warm feeling, but then you can also have one that feels fairly like a run-of-the-mill ‘happily ever after’ tale.

On the other side of the coin, you can have a story that plays with your audience’s expectations. Imagine the emotional roller coaster if they aren’t expecting a character to die or for the story to end on a low note. If you do it right, that could easily be the most memorable thing you could do for your story. However you can also run the risk of upsetting audiences that are invested in the characters. It’s a big risk, but one that’s worth taking in my mind.

When I write my endings, I always remember one rule; make it memorable. It doesn’t matter if it’s happy or sad, it just has to be something that leaves an impact. Whenever I write, if I think my ending is turning into a generic ‘happily ever after’ one, I tear it up and start over.

So in the end, mind what your editor says, look at what he’s talking about, and consider his words. However, write what you want. If you think your sad ending is going to leave the most impact, then keep it as it is. Audiences are rarely turned off by an ending that is sad, as long as it’s a good ending.

So that’s my advice, but I’m going to turn it over to my readers. What does everyone else think? Do you have advice for Lisa here? Let her know in the comments.

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

Readers,

Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me.

jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com

I’ll use those comments to select my next blog post.

I have been writing for several years, have 4 published works, experience with publishing and independent work, so I can hopefully be of assistance.

Please note, I only do one of these a day and will do my best to respond to everyone, but it may take some time.

Also, feel free to check out my works of Fantasy and Historical Fiction, Available on Amazon and where ever books are sold. See the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/James-Harrington/e/B00P7FBXTU

Note:
If you have read my books, PLEASE log into Amazon and post a review. I really love to hear everyone’s thoughts and constructive criticisms. Reviews help get my book attention and word of mouth is everything in this business!

Thanks friends!

Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim