@RJ_Blain Says Your Writing Style is Important to Your Craft #AmWriting #WriteTip #Fantasy

Finding your voice or style is an important part of the writing craft. But, what most people often don’t realize is that this voice or style is almost always in a state of flux. Your voice is something directly tied with how you communicate and present words. It changes as you improve and strengthen your writing. It develops along with your skills.

Your voice or style changing is not a bad thing. It’s a natural sign of progression. So, don’t sweat it when someone tells you that your voice or style will probably change, or makes recommendations on how to improve it. Any time you change how you write, your voice or style changes as a result. This isn’t a bad thing. Embrace improvement, and don’t sweat it when your voice changes. Let it grow with you.

That said, if you are the type of writer who likes writing stories in different perspectives, be it third person or first person, you need to be especially aware of your voice and style and how it changes depending on the POV type you are working with.

Most authors have significantly different writing styles when working in first or third person.

The First Person Perspective 

First person is considered to be the most intimate of perspectives. Throughout a first-person novel, readers go on a direct journey with the POV character. Voice and style of first person stories should change with each novel; it needs to match the personality of the character being written about. So, if an author has one style with a character from a series, their style will likely change if they write in first person with a character from a different series.

While the basic way the author uses words may not change significantly, there will be a lot of nuances specific to the character they are writing about. I think this is something important for readers and writers to recognize.

And, this is where the distinction between voice and style can be truly made. Voice is tied to the character. Style is tied to how the writer ties words together to make sentences. Voice should change – it should fluctuate with the characters. Voice is how the characters speak.

Style is how the author writes, within the constraints of the character’s voice.

The Third Person Perspective 

To stick some sticks through the spokes, first person and third person aren’t that much different in terms of style and voice choices. In a way, third person can be a little more forgiving in terms of character voice in a specific novel. However, it is less forgiving in terms of style. I think a common perception is that there is a certain amount of flexibility when writing in first person because the writing should be a direct reflection of the POV character.

In third person, this reflection is often less. Third person characters are often considered to be held more at arm’s length compared to the personal nature of first person.

That said, I think there is a lot of room for third person characters to have their own voice while the author still applies their general style to their novel.

Understanding and Identifying your Style

Before you can truly develop a character’s voice, which is essentially a variation of your style suited to match a specific individual in your story, you need to understand style. In order to understand your style, you need to understand language.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation are the basics of a writing style. Dialect, regional quirks, and writing and reading background significantly impact your writing style.

If you want to learn how to improve your style, study the language you write in. Understand it and the people who speak it. Once you do this, look at what makes you unique compared to other authors.

Mistakes aren’t a style. They’re mistakes. The rule about breaking the rules when writing only applies once you know the rules and you’re doing them intentionally, not due to ignorance or lack of education. Only then can you turn purposeful ‘mistakes’ into a style – but at that point, they’re not really mistakes, are they?

When Allison is asked to play Cinderella-turned-Fianceé at a Halloween ball, the last thing she expected was to be accused of murder on the same night. She has to find the killer or she’ll be put to death for the crimes she didn’t commit. To make matters worse, the victims are all werewolves. 

On the short list of potential victims, Allison has to act fast, or the killer will have one more body to add to his little black book of corpses. 

There’s only one problem: One of the deaths has struck too close to home, and Allison’s desire for self-preservation may transform into a quest for vengeance…

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Genre - Urban, Paranormal Fantasy

Rating – PG

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RJ Blain's Tips for What to Look for in an Agent #WriteTip #AmWriting #SelfPub

Most authors start their publication journey by trying to find an agent. With far more writers than agents available, this is an uphill battle, pitting you against thousands of others looking for representation from the same individual.

It isn’t easy.

It isn’t uncommon for an author to resort to taking someone who wasn’t their first agent just because they have an offer of representation. That begs one important question: Is having any agent better than having no agent at all?

That’s up to you to decide.

The Role of an Agent

An agent’s role in the marketplace is gradually shifting from contract negotiator and securer of traditional publishing houses to more of a career manager. With so many self-publishing options open, and more and more authors joining the publication fray each and every year, the jobs of agents have also shifted.

An agent is more than someone who can put your manuscript in front of someone at a publishing house. They’re your cheerleader, your career coach, and often, your mentor in the publishing world.

What to Look for in an Agent 

Because the roles of agents are shifting, you need to know what you’re looking for in an agent before you start your search. This will help you limit the number of agents you query, but will also ensure that you have the highest chance of forming a solid business relationship that will last for years to come.

Remember, just as an agent wants to cultivate a business relationship with someone who is a good bet for them, you want to cultivate a relationship with someone who will work for you. Agents aren’t the only ones who get to decide how a partnership works. You need the agent working for you as much as the agent needs you working for them.

Interests

You and your agent need to have similar interests. If you write Science Fiction, a Romance agent isn’t going to be a good fit for you. While you both share the same publication goal, the Romance agent wants to bring new, exciting Romance novels to the market.

One of the top reasons agents reject authors is due to the clash of interests. Agents who work in the Romance field do not have contacts in the Science Fiction editorial departments of publishing houses. This won’t help you sell your book.

Goals

You and your future agent need to have similar goals. If you enter in a relationship with an agent who is only interested in their share of the commission and you’re a new writer, chances are you’ll be dropped as a client in short order because you won’t be selling like the agent wants. For a new author who is interested in building a long-term career writing books, you need an agent who can take the time to help you grow and find you a contract that offers you the maximum chance of breaking into traditional publishing and forming a career.

If you’re interested in self-publishing novels that you can’t find an agent for, you also need to work with an agent who is willing to release those novels to you for that purpose. Agents often have a first right to claim a project in their contracts with you. You need to be aware of what freedoms you have with your agent. After all, whenever you self-publish a novel on your own, that’s a part of the pie he or she is missing out on.

Mutually Beneficial Relationship

Whenever you work with someone in the long term, it is important that you have the sense of having a mutually beneficial relationship with your business partner. Your agent is your partner. Not your superior, not an overlord, not someone hired beneath you. You have to work together, possibly for years.

When you pick your agent, don’t just pick them because they’re willing to work with you. You need – and deserve – someone who wants to work with you as much as you want to work with them. It’s hard work to find an agent.

It’s even harder work to find an agent who is ideal for you. Don’t worry if you don’t get lucky or find the perfect fit right away. Keeping working at your writing and your query until you get the perfect agent for you.

Kalen’s throne is his saddle, his crown is the dirt on his brow, and his right to rule is sealed in the blood that stains his hand. Few know the truth about the one-armed Rift King, and he prefers it that way. When people get too close to him, they either betray him or die. The Rift he rules cares nothing for the weak. More often than not, even the strong fail to survive.

When he’s abducted, his disappearance threatens to destroy his home, his people, and start a hopeless and bloody war. There are many who desire his death, and few who hope for his survival. With peace in the Six Kingdoms quickly crumbling, it falls on him to try to stop the conflict swiftly taking the entire continent by storm.

But something even more terrifying than the machinations of men has returned to the lands: The skreed. They haven’t been seen for a thousand years, and even the true power of the Rift King might not be enough to save his people — and the world — from destruction.

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Genre - Fantasy

Rating – PG - 13

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