Category Archives: The elements of writing a book

A blog about the topics of writing, The elements of writing a book

Responding to Bad Reviews: Should Authors Engage?

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What do you feel when you see that you have received a one or two-star review? It can range from disbelief to unhappiness and anger. And in my case, the need for me to respond to what they wrote.

I thought about it a lot, I wrote my reply, but couldn’t hit send. What could ensue could be bitter and for all the world to see. Is this what I wanted for my book and my brand?

And not only that, if I saw an author going back and forth with a reviewer. What would my reaction be to that? It is easy to reply, but very hard not reply.

Not everyone will like your books. There will always be trolls waiting to put someone down for a few reasons. Sometimes it falls under being mean.

Reaching out to others, a small few said to reply, the vast majority said to hold off, to something I had mentally decided to do. I was concerned the review would be seen.

Would people read and review my books once they saw that? A concern I had was that people would see it and would not read or review my work. I have left very few one or two-star reviews. I tend to reach out to the author to explain my thoughts on the book. They have been grateful that I would go this route instead of leaving a low-ranking review.

I would never, and have never, leave a nasty one; that isn’t my way. I even had someone tell me that having a bad review could be a good thing. People could be curious to know why the review was written and end up reading the book. I am not confident that has happened, but I got the logic of it.

Receiving a low review sometimes comes with no text. The way ebooks are now, you can leave a review by just giving it a star without explaining why. It is too easy now to bring a person’s ranking with no fanfare. I have no control over that. What I can control is not to reply to a nasty review. And I am okay with that now.

A blog about the topics of writing, The elements of writing a book, Uncategorized

Invest in the characters of your book

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Learning how to make our characters strong, believable, lovable, loathed, and focused is something we all should strive for as writers. I want to fall in love with my character or hate them so badly I want to see how the book ends. I follow through with the liking of a character. There are some books, but by the time it ends, I wish the one I fell for would go away, as my alliance has shifted to the villain who is suddenly incredible.

If we stick to the physical aspect of what our characters look like, while we may describe the description, one can only go so far with looks. So invest in your characters, go to the root of what makes them who they are, what they are, and why I should, as a reader, get so invested in this one person. Chances are the book will not be read to the end if you don’t.

How strong are the characters in our book? Do they make the reader invested in them relatively soon, or does it drag on? The format is simple: Who? Where? What? How? When? Why?

Simple enough, but then break it down even further. Who did what and where, and how was it done and why? Or you can say how it happens to this other character in the book. The possibilities are endless, depending on how big your cast is in the book.

Also, talk about your character’s weaknesses. For example shows us what they like, fears, hopes, goals, strengths, and more. By doing that, you give your person the best chance of working, whether to be loved or hated. As a reader, the book, no matter how well written, will be either read and honestly reviewed or not read at all.

Invest in your characters, and they will do wonders for your book.

The elements of writing a book, Writing a book is easy?

It’s so easy to write and publish a book: I’ve been told

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I have heard over the years how easy it is to write. It is not that simple or easy. It be great if it was. So I pulled up some notes on things that authors need to remember and include from a character development class I took.

Do you have your setting correct? It tells you where and when a story line is occurring. It has to be believable for it gives you the opportunity to deliver a backdrop for your book. For example if you are in the tundra or jungle odds are the book is an adventure. If the dust bowl in the Midwest is where you are at the character might experience tough times in the story line.

One can’t forget that the mood and setting can change through the book. Location and weather also hints where the reader will find themselves. The setting gives us the physical boundaries and develops the plot and characters. If we can’t wrap our minds around it you will lose us.

You can’t forget the good guy who is the central figure that readers can identify with but they must go through changes through the book or else they will fall flat and be one dimension. You want your characters to be well-rounded. They should have positive features and still be flawed making them dynamic as they change with the experiences they encounter. We develop characters directly or indirectly. Directly we state what the character looks like, what they say, do or feel. Indirectly we let the readers draw the conclusions by the words written.

But hey let’s not forget about the plot which is an arrangement of consequence of the story including conflict and obstacles. And even then there is still more to think on and perfect. One has to include the conflict and the resolution.  And still that is not the end.

There is so much more that goes on in writing a book and making it published ready. To tell someone writing is easy has never picked up a pen and tried.