Archive for the 'Research and Resources' Category

Jul 27 2010

Which famous author do you write like?

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

I'm a former assistant editor with advice about how to write novels, comic books and graphic novels. Most of my content applies to fiction-writing in general, but I also provide articles specifically about superhero stories.

This writing analyzer is fun.  It’s totally useless for anything but amusement, though.  It claimed that a passage actually written by Hemingway most resembled the work of P.G. Wodehouse, which is a bizarre choice for a passage about a man that killed a lion.  Wodehouse mainly wrote comedies about foppish dandies more likely to use a club for golf than for anything interesting.  (In the program’s defense, alcohol does play sort of prominently in both the Hemingway passage and Wodehouse’s work).

31 responses so far

Jul 02 2010

Automatically generate a plot!

P. Mac coded this random plot generator:

Did you like this? Submit us to Stumble!

13 responses so far

Jun 30 2010

Generate your own plots!

Published by B. Mac under Comedy,Plot Generators,Plotting

Step 1: Randomly pick an inciting event, an antagonist, a protagonist and a goal.

INCITING EVENT

  • cheated on
  • kidnapped
  • impaled on a national landmark
  • thrown out of a window
  • mentally mutilated
  • disowned
  • fired
  • hired
  • drafted
  • mugged
  • kicked down the stairs
  • put in the poor house
  • brutally murdered
  • psychically ravaged
  • drop-kicked in Times Square
  • publically serenaded
  • mistaken for a felon
  • exiled
  • sent on a one-way trip to Djibouti
  • interrogated
  • sold a [adjective] pet
  • implicated
  • sold into slavery
  • deceived
  • misidentified
  • sued
  • infected
  • ruined
  • mistakenly tackled
  • swindled
  • blacklisted
  • judo-chopped through a wall
  • poisoned
  • framed
  • drunk under the table
  • thrown into a pit of carnivorous gophers
  • beaten in the World Series of Poker
  • outed as a superhero
  • humiliated
  • betrayed
  • forced to read Twilight
  • thrown into a wood-chipper
  • blackmailed
  • tricked
  • nearly decapitated
  • rear-ended
  • magically turned into a man-eating llama

Continue Reading »

12 responses so far

May 11 2010

How Long Should a Book for Children or YA be?

I already have a post about how long adult novels should be, but what if you’re writing for children or young adults? Mary Kole, a literary agent and young adult/middle grade author, suggests the following guidelines:

  • Board Book — 100 words max
  • Early Picturebook — 500 words max
  • Picturebook — 1,000 words max (Seriously. Max.)
  • Nonfiction Picturebook — 2,000 words max
  • Early Reader — This varies widely, depending on grade level. I’d say 3,500 words is an absolute max.
  • Chapterbook — 10,000 words max
  • Middle Grade — 35,000 words max for contemporary, mystery, humor, 45,000 max for fantasy/sci-fi, adventure and historical
  • YA — 70,000 words max for contemporary, humor, mystery, historical, romance, etc. 90,000 words max for fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, etc.

Did this reference help? Submit us to Stumble!

3 responses so far

Apr 28 2010

How Long Should Graphic Novels and Comic Books Be?

If you’re interested in length guidelines for graphic novels, please see this LinkedIn discussion. By the way, if you’re interested in getting published, I’d recommend getting on LinkedIn. It’s like Facebook for professionals. For example, right now I’m in discussions with other writers about how best to build up a writing platform to impress prospective publishers. I think it’s even better for comic book teams: I posted a request for feedback on a group for comic book illustrators and received feedback that was very useful and informed.

PS: Based on the graphic novels I’ve seen recently, I think anywhere between 132-200 pages would be publisher-friendly. However! Each publisher has its own preferred length, so check out what they’ve been publishing lately. If your length is significantly outside of the range of what they’ve published in the past few years, I think that bodes poorly for your chances there.

One final note: As a measure of comparison, comic books are usually 20-32 pages of content (not including ads). As always, check out what the publishers put out, but Marvel and DC usually publish at the shorter side of that and Dark Horse and Image typically do 32. Also, since each sheet of paper has a front and back side, I’d recommend accounting for an even number of pages. If your script covers 27 pages, you’re going to have a blank side that you need to fill up. For example, you might answer letters from readers or do an ask-the-cast page (like a letters page, but supposedly it’s the characters answering the questions), include another side of ads (not preferred), extend the story by a page, etc. Good luck!

4 responses so far

Mar 25 2010

What I’m reading today…

These three articles are by the editorial assistant that runs Editorial Ass.

No responses yet

Mar 22 2010

The Writing Advice I’m Reading Today

No responses yet

Mar 19 2010

How Your Novel Manuscript is Evaluated

Like many other literary agencies (and publishers, for that matter), Bookends uses reader’s reports to help agents/editors evaluate each credible proposal.  Assistants and/or interns will sift through the slush pile of unsolicited novel submissions and will pass along maybe 1% to their bosses for consideration, along with reader’s reports.

Bookends posted the guidelines for its reader’s reports, which is useful to you because it lets you know many of the criteria by which a novel proposal will be graded.

  • What was the book about?
  • Did the overall idea seem different and unique?
  • Was it a common theme, but executed in a unique way?
  • What did you think of the author’s voice?
  • Did the characters seem real and likable?
  • Was the plot seamless and did it make sense or were there a lot of holes?
  • Did the multiple plotlines blend together to create a whole book or did they seem choppy and disconnected?
  • Continue Reading »

One response so far

Mar 12 2010

A ‘zine for superhero fiction!

If you’re looking for a low-stakes way to get a short story (up to 6000 words) published, This Mutant Life might be worth looking into.  You can see its submission guidelines here.  ”Stories which deal with the everyday lives of people with unusual abilities or physical characteristics are ideal, and there will be a definite preference given to stories which present interesting and well defined characters and situations.”  The pay is extremely low, though.

UPDATE: A Thousand Faces is a quarterly journal that also specializes in superhero stories. You can see its submissions page here.

14 responses so far

Feb 09 2010

Liz Argall has some advice about how to find an artist for your comic…

Check it out here!

No responses yet

Feb 06 2010

Looking for a Publishing Job?

If you’re looking for a job with a novel publisher or nonfiction publisher, I’d highly recommend checking out BookJobs.  Right now, ~200 jobs and internships are available across the US, including a few telecommuting positions.

Unfortunately, it’s not that useful for jobs with comics publishers.  I’ll have more thoughts about how to get comic book jobs in the weeks to come, but until then I would recommend checking the job pages for Marvel, ImageDark Horse and DC regularly.  Also, if you’re interested in unpaid internships in New York City, Marvel has more than a few of them.

No responses yet

Jan 12 2010

If you like reading blogs, check out FastestFox!

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

If you’re a Firefox or Chrome user that likes to read deep through blogs, I think you’ll like FastestFox. Rather than making you hit “Previous Articles” again and again, it’ll automatically add the next set of articles below the last article. I’m doing some heavy editing work on all of the articles I wrote in 2007, and I enjoy not having to hit “Previous Articles” 25 times.

No responses yet

Dec 17 2009

What I’m Reading Today

Building Your Audience

  • Promoting Your Book, Part One and Two–some innovative and mostly free ways to promote your writing.
  • Search Engine Optimization Tips for New Bloggers– this will help you write Google-friendly content, which is helpful if you’re the sort of writer that enjoys having readers.
  • Author’s Guide to Podcasting–this will help you market your writing with online video and audio.
  • Should You Advertise on Facebook?–Therese Walsh talks about her experiences advertising her writing on Facebook. If you’re thinking about ads, I’d recommend checking this out. Personally, I’m a bit skeptical (you only make about $1 in royalties every time you sell a novel, so your advertisements would have to bring in near-guaranteed sales to justify the expense).

Beating Writer’s Block

Miscellaneous Advice on Writing Better

Miscellaneous Advice on Getting Published

  • How to Find an Agent–if you have a manuscript completed and need an agent, I’d highly recommend checking this out.
  • Completing Your Author’s Bio–whether you’re completing an “About the Author” section of your website or preparing a manuscript submission, you’ll probably provide a bio to your readers. Here are some tips.

Advice for First-Time Authors that Want to Self-Publish

  • Don’t. Seriously, that’s probably the best advice you’ll get all day.

 

Advice for Authors that Want to Self-Publish Anyway

  • Digital Book Formatting for Dummies–you’re not a dummy, but you might benefit from this guide anyway.
  • Designing Your Book–one of the biggest opportunities (or challenges, depending on how you look at it) of self-publishing is that you make your own design choices. Don’t suck.

10 responses so far

Nov 27 2009

Marvel and DC don’t read unsolicited scripts– who does?

Optimum Wound has a very useful list of comic book publishers that are accepting unsolicited submissionsMarvel and DC do not accept unsolicited scripts.  (If you’re dead-set on starting out with them anyway, I’d recommend getting a job with them in some other capacity, like editing or sales, and then moving laterally).

No responses yet

Nov 26 2009

What every novelist should know about the publishing industry

This Thanksgiving, I am very grateful for Seth Godin’s advice for authors and Mark Hurst’s secrets of publishing.  These aren’t designed with comic book writers in mind, but a lot of the information is useful for them as well.  (If you’re interested in writing comic books, please read my comment below– I picked out a few details that I think are particularly useful for the comic book industry). 

(Also, outside of the realm of publishing, I’m also very grateful for Air Force Materiel Command in particular, because logistics is never as sexy as dropping the bombs but at least as important).

One response so far

Nov 01 2009

The Surrealist Compliment Generator

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

Hilariously awkward?  An informative exercise in voice?  See for yourself

  • You are as effective as a linear geometry based upon the Maginot Line.
  • In your absence I will find other forms of praise. 
  • I do sense that your basement is made of skin and never lacks for nurses. 
  • You have been blessed with the egregious qualities of a duffle-bag in His Majesty’s Royal Navy.
  • As the bile slowly rises in my incandescent eluxulator, your mere presence has a calming effect upon my rabies.

2 responses so far

Oct 31 2009

November 1 Links

3 responses so far

Oct 23 2009

EA’s Best Advice

I find Editorial Ass to be very informative. She’s a “recovering publishing assistant.”  Heh. 

2 responses so far

Oct 18 2009

What happens when you get published?

Redlines and Deadlines describes what happens when an unpublished novelist sign the dotted line.  The work is just beginning… but, then again, so is the pay!

No responses yet

Oct 17 2009

A useful guide to plotting

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

The writing website LegendFire has a plotting guide that I found very useful.

3 responses so far

Oct 14 2009

Criminal Mindsets

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

This CNN interview with two Colombian hitmen is pretty illuminating. If you’re writing about any hardened criminals (or supervillains), I’d recommend checking it out.

5 responses so far

Oct 03 2009

Highlights from our Blogroll

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

Hello!  Here are some of my favorite posts from the bloggers on my radar screen…

The Creative Penn

Continue Reading »

No responses yet

Aug 14 2009

Only 10% of novels clear their advances?

That’s what Agent Kristin says.  Clearing the advance is the point at which a novel sells well enough that the total royalties exceed the advance.

9 responses so far

Aug 09 2009

Please help me complete a glossary of writer’s terms!

The Turkey City Lexicon is a great resource for writers that want to understand reviewing jargon.  I’d like to come up with something similar for this site, which has a slightly different jargon.  Have you read any terms here that you weren’t familiar with?  (Or that you think a typical prospective writer wouldn’t be familiar with?)  Which terms?  I’d really appreciate if you could point out any to me in a comment.

Here are some that occurred to me…

Continue Reading »

6 responses so far

May 22 2009

Useful Publishing Blogs

Published by B. Mac under Research and Resources

  • Query Shark: Condensing a 300 page novel into an intriguing page is difficult, but this site provides excellent advice about how to write queries effectively.
  • Pub Rants.  The author of this site is friendly and patient.  That’s a refreshing change of pace for the publishing industry.
  • Evil Editor.  This is maybe a bit more humorous than helpful, but it’s quite entertaining.  Written by the author of Why You Don’t Get Published.

3 responses so far

Apr 19 2009

Making the Rounds on StumbleUpon

  • Cliche Finder is an interesting resource that will help writers that rely on puns.
  • The Electronic Frontier Foundation has valuable information about fair use and copyright law here.
  • How Readers Read on the Web.  This article will help you format online content more effectively.  I agree with its conclusion that “promotional language imposes a cognitive burden on users who have to… filter out the hyperbole to get at the facts.”  However, it handles the issue of bolded text poorly.  Bolding should be used very sparingly.

5 responses so far

Mar 06 2009

Free Comic Book Scripting Software

Celtx is a free scripting program that is designed for comic books (among other types of scripts).  I find it very useful.

THE EXCELLENT

  • It produces scripts that are generally easier to read and navigate than Microsoft Word.
  • Easy to learn.  It took me 10 minutes to figure it out by trial and error.
  • It’s extremely good at converting scripts into typeset.  (You can see an example here).  A typeset separates the in-panel text (like dialogue, captions and sound effects) from the text that won’t actually appear in the panel, like your directions to the artist.  That’s useful because it helps you gauge how large the panels will have to be to accommodate the text.
  • It’s free!

THE GOOD

  • Handles comments notably better than Word.
  • It’ll help you keep your comic book documents separate from your other files.
  • If you like to fill out index cards with important details about characters or places, it can help keep those details accessible and organized.
  • Built-in spellchecker.  Not that important for a professional proofreader, but you might find it helpful.

THE BAD

  • It’s not as easy to add dialogue as new pages or panels.
  • They should add buttons for New Panel and New Page.
  • It can’t save scripts as Word files.  Everybody (like friends and editors) is comfortable with Word.  Right now, if I have a Celtx script that I want to show you, I have to also tell you how to download Celtx and pray that you figure out the software quickly.

One last note. I haven’t had a chance to test its printing capabilities yet.  Given that Celtx can’t produce Word files (as far as I know), its ability to print usable scripts is essential.

25 responses so far

Jan 16 2009

Writing a comic book script? Check this out…

This comic book artist gives writers a few suggestions about how to lay out the story.  I found it very useful.

3 responses so far

Dec 15 2008

Writing Music of the Day

Published by Cadet Davis under Music for Writing

This is a piano performance of The Corridors of Time.

No responses yet

Dec 07 2008

Common Gun-Related Errors for Authors

This article lists a few tricky points related to writing about guns. I think its list is pretty good…

Continue Reading »

6 responses so far

Dec 07 2008

How to Storyboard a Comic Book

I found this article on storyboarding comic books very useful.

UPDATE: This article describes some of the terminology in laying out comic book pages.

17 responses so far

Nov 26 2008

“How to Be Edited”

This article offers strong advice on how to use criticism effectively. To summarize:

  • Positive advice from friends and loved ones cannot be taken seriously.
  • Some reviewers will offer inane and ridiculous advice.  But if reviewers keep offering advice that sounds ridiculous, the problem may lie more with your writing than your readers.
  • When are you done editing?  Use the Ten Percent Rule:  when you change less than 10% of a manuscript from one rewrite to the next, you’re probably ready to submit.

There is one main issue that I think he kind of misses, though.  He says that “the value of critique varies widely depending on whether it is given with the same goal in mind as you had in writing it.”  That measuring stick is pretty useless.  You’ll probably never know whether the reviewer’s “goal” is the same as yours.

For example, let’s say I write a story that’s a cheap knockoff of Eragon.  If my reviewer says “this needs to be totally overhauled,” is it because he hates this specific knockoff or because he finds the entire epic-fantasy genre cliched?  Unless he specifically admits to hating epic fantasy in general, there’s no way for me to know.

A more useful measuring stick in judging a review is “does this get me closer to what I want to accomplish?” It doesn’t matter at all what goals the reviewer has, but whether his advice helps you achieve yours.

14 responses so far

Sep 11 2008

Two articles on futuristic weapons and armor that might help inspire a plot or visual

Defense Tech has an article on military exoskeletons.  We haven’t reached the level of killer androids (yet), but strength-enhancement is interesting, too.  (Also, if killer androids are in the works, exoskeletons will help programmers teach the androids how to move naturally, says one commenter).

Popular Mechanics did an article on 5 rifles in development.

They include a submachine gun that can fold into a large pocket…

Continue Reading »

4 responses so far

Aug 26 2008

Writers’ Resources: Elite Guard Dogs

If you’re interested in writing about thieves at the top of their game, you might find it interesting to know how the super-wealthy protect themselves. For example, a German shepherd from a security services firm will cost $40,000. What kind of face-ripper does that buy you? Here’s what one customer says…

Continue Reading »

No responses yet