Why your Story’s Message Matters Way More Than you Think
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Not all that glitters is gold.” So why the list of wise proverbs? These timeless sayings are just a few examples of what is found in every story since the beginning of time: a message. When a story lacks a strong message, readers can sense it. Even if they can’t put their finger on it, readers can tell when a story feels weak, when it’s meandering or lacking focus. So what is a great message for your story and why does it matter so much? Because your message is your story’s north star. So let’s dissect what that means right now, friend. What IS a Message? A story’s message is an age-old adage (wise proverb) that you prove through your hero’s journey. So for instance, “Let your conscience be your guide”, or “Love conquers all” are all good examples of age-old adages or messages that have been told over and over in fresh, awesome styles. Having a message helps you narrow in on which character(s) fully embodies this message, at what pivotal point this message is made clear in your story and what obstacles your character(s) will overcome to get there. But now what’s the difference between a message and a theme? (IS there a difference??) Message or Theme- What's the Diff? Now you might be saying “Rae, isn’t theme more important than a message?” Well, first of all, what’s the difference between theme and a message? A theme is a general, slightly unspecific idea. For instance, “The quest...
How to Come Up With a Great Title for your Work of Fiction
Your book title has the power to hook or bore your reader in precisely two seconds. Yeesh. That kind of pressure can make it mind-numbingly painful to come up with a unique book title that suits your story and wows readers. So how do you do it? How do you come up with a great title for your work of fiction? You give yourself some time, find the heart (or message) of your story, and consider what readers expect in your genre. So what does all this mean exactly? Let’s expand on each idea and get your novel a name unlike any other! Wait For It Timing Oh yes, It’s so tempting to BEGIN with the title and write our story from there like the title is a compass we’ll use to guide us through our fantastical writing journey. But here’s the thing: EVEN IF YOU’RE DEAD CERTAIN YOU LOVE THIS HERE “TITLE” you’re actually doing your story a disservice! That title will instead be like a dumb anchor keeping you down when all you want to do is sail the wide, open ocean of storytelling. So, don’t commit to a title at the start of your writing process, or even at the middle, precious petunia! Have a working title in place if you feel like a title will provide you some reassurance but DON’T by *any* means commit to a title until your work is complete. You don’t wanna settle, ya know? 😉 This tactic gives you the freedom to write your story, make room for unexpected changes, and shed old skins. At the end or...
10 Famous Authors Who Started their Writing Careers in their Teens
You’re a teen writer with dreams of becoming a published author. But maybe you think that it takes years to reach that point: to become a great author like the ones you adore. But I’m gunna let you in on a little secret: some of the most famous authors you love started their writing careers when they were just teenagers. Yep, they too started their writing careers young; filled with inspiration, glittery story ideas and a passion not so different from your own. So if you think you can’t make it as an author, just have a look-sy at these ten famous examples and know that you too can write the next fandom-worthy novel! 1. S.E. Hinton S.E Hinton was inspired at the tender age of 15 to write her famous work The Outsiders. Upset at the rival gangs that fought one another in her own town, she felt an urge to create a story that revealed what it took for teens to survive and overcome in her small town. Through it, came unforgettable characters like Ponyboy, Johnny, Sodapop, Dally and more “greasers”. S.E Hinton published The Outsiders by the time she turned eighteen in 1967. And in 1983, the book became a major motion picture. 2. Christopher Paolini Gotta love that picture of young Christopher, right?! Well, the brilliant young mind behind the Inheritance Cycle series started writing his first book Eragon at the age of 15. With his parents’ full support, he self-published Eragon in 2001 (18 yrs old at the time!) and the family toured the country promoting his book. And that amazing pic above was actually how Christopher promoted...
How to Write Everyday Despite Loads of School Work
Ahhhh, Summer. It pampered us; spoiled us. Gave us all the time in the world to write our stories. But like all stories, your summer romance with your new story had to come to an end sometime. School had to start up again and tear you two apart. And devoting less love to your novel is just the worst, isn’t it? I know I’m suffering withdrawals over here. So with school calling dibs on 8 days of your week and 25 hours of your day, how do you still make the time to write your story AND keep a regular writing routine going? You do these three things: Start small Have fun and fun only Give yourself something to look forward to Let’s find out how these three tips are sure to keep you and your story together 4ever. Start Small Yeeeesh. You’re studying for hours at a time, going through piles of homework, stacks of workbooks all while trying to see through gallons of tears. It can really pile up. And once you’re done doing the volcano for science class and that history report of Thomas Edison and a million other reports, you’re experiencing burn out. Writing more of your novel may seem intimidating, even impossible. But here’s the key: don’t start work on another huge project AFTER finishing a huge project. What do I mean by this? You’re several chapters deep into your novel. So, getting into another massive project, like your novel, after doing loads of school projects may turn you away from writing, period. So start smaller. Don’t focus on writing more of your current novel. Allow yourself...
How to Get Unique, Original Story Ideas Anytime, Anywhere
“Wow, how did you come up with that idea?” “That’s plot concept is so original!” “Man, I wish I could come up with a complex, cool story idea like that.” Have you ever said that to a fellow writer or friend? Or perhaps to your favorite author during your regular, imaginary tea time you share with them? I know I have (save some scones for me, Neil Shusterman, gosh). The thing is, you get intimidated by the fantastic ideas of others. You want to come up with story ideas so unique, so compelling, that you too get your friends oohing and ahhing at YOU. But maybe you think you aren’t capable of coming up with ideas like the big, awesome glittery ones. But you are capable, precious pepperoni. Trust me. Absolutely anyone can come up with a fabulous, original story idea. So how do you do it? How do you get fantastic story ideas from almost anywhere, at any time? You do three things: Ask, “What if?” Speculate Set no limits So what do these three things mean? Let’s dissect them more and see how you (YES YOU) are capable of coming up with genius story ideas, anytime, anywhere. 1. Ask "What if?" “You can help ideas come ‘by chance’ by simply keeping your mind working– by often filling your mind with speculation. What if?“ That’s one of my favorite quotes from Orson Scott Card, author of Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. The two words to take away from that powerful quote are: What if? This question turns any scenario into a possible story idea. For...
Why Character Inconsistencies are Actually a GOOD Thing
As readers, we connect quickly with well-written characters. A character acts a certain way for so long and we start to feel like we know that character personally. And that’s great! But… once that character acts in a way WE think isn’t natural for them, well BOOM that’s it. We call it a “character inconsistency” and hiss through the pages at the writer’s choices. But is the whole “character inconsistency” thing just dismissing a well-written character arc? The Last Jedi got overwhelming response- some negative, most actually statistically positive. One of the biggest issues fans had, though, was Luke Skywalker’s drastic change in attitude toward the Force, the fight for the rebellion, and his view of the Jedi order. The biggest concern fans focused on too was Luke’s negative response after glimpsing Ben Solo’s future. But I 100% support Rian Johnson’s decision to not only give Luke a moment of frailty but to also give him an attitude change. Why? Because although an “inconsistency in character” conjures up a whole world of bad feels for writers, I’m going to give three reasons why it ISN’T a bad thing (so calm down already) and why your characters SHOULD have inconsistencies: People change as they age Conflict should break your character Heroes, no matter how mighty, must fail. Through Luke’s example, we’ll see why character inconsistencies are getting a bad wrap. So let’s hop to it! People Change as they Age Star Wars is so precious to its fans (I’ve been a die-hard fan myself since I was 8!). We love our iconic characters and clutch onto their image. But that mental...
The Barely Hare Books Blog is OUT for the Summer!
Heyyyy writerly friends! Every year, the BHB blog takes it’s annual month and a half summer break. That means there will be no new posts or newsletters until THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 6th. That ALSO means you can take more time to review any articles you may have missed over this packed-out year! And you can focus MORE on writing your stories instead of reading more articles for now. And although it is summer break for the blog, that doesn’t mean the blog is idle! I’m in the process of vamping up the blog for its mighty return. That means come year 5 in September (can you believe it’s already been 5 years for the BHB blog?!) you can look forward to: Awesome new articles teaching teens like you how to write fandom-worthy fiction The release date of the new online course I am creating for teen writers: The Fundamentals of Fandom-Worthy Fiction Course The announcement of TWO NEW mini-courses for teens discussing the topics of: Fan-fiction and character crafting And whispers of a BARELY HARE BOOKS YOUTUBE ANIMATED SERIES based on blog articles! (WOWwwwww What?? You’ll wanna stay tuned for details on that!) And so much more! So, don’t unsubscribe. Don’t give up writing. Don’t quit your dreams! BHB still has plenty to offer you during the summer break, so take a look at the Shop page and use this free time now to boost your writing skills with what we already offer- like some of these fan faves!: And if you’re looking for a great new summer read, check out my newly edited version of my classic sci-fi/fantasy...
How to Identify your Book’s Target Audience in 3 Easy Steps
How to identify your book's target audience in 3 easy steps Click To Tweet “I’ve written a book with a capable heroine main character that my little sister would like… with a villain my crazy uncle would relate to… with a sci-fi setting my science teacher would get lost in… with a love interest my bff would ship… so who is my book actually for? Everyone? Or just one of these people??” Oh yeah. We’ve all been here. Our books- like ogres- have layers. And that means they’re beautiful, complex works of art with aspects that many different people would like. Although all those people may like your book, you can’t cast such a wide net. You need to fish with one niche lure and target that exact “perfect buyer.” So how do you do it? How do you figure out who your perfect buyer is/identify your book’s target audience? Easy, friend. You simply follow these three steps: Compare your book to similar books Create your perfect buyer avatar Be where your people are (and sell, baby!) What does all this sparkly stuff mean? Let’s find out. 1. Compare Your Book to Similar Books Now when I say “compare your book to similar books” I don’t mean the terrible thing we all do where we read an amazing book written by a best-selling author with years of experience, compare it to our own work of fiction, then immediately use our books for kindling. Nah, bruh. That’s straight up unhealthy. What I mean is, dissect your book and make connections...
How to Write an Awesome Book Blurb (Without Losing your Sanity)
What’s the scariest thing in the world to a writer? Is it… editing? Third drafts? OH! OH! I KNOW IT’S PITCHING, RIGHT?! Wrong. It’s the dreaded book blurb. Somehow we can write 50,000-word novels yet when it comes to writing a little paragraph about that novel– well let’s just say we’d rather shave our eyebrows off. So what does a GREAT book blurb look like? And, what does your blurb need in order to catch readers’ attention? Fear no more, dear writer. Because today I’m breaking down two powerhouse blurbs. And from these examples you’ll see that every great blurb needs these 4 things: A summary of your world An introduction to your main characters A brief explanation of the major conflict An intriguing cliffhanger Winning Example Book Blurbs “A world with no hunger. No disease. No war. No misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life– and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control. Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe– a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own. They learn living in a perfect world comes only with a heavy price.” -Scythe by Neal Shusterman —– “In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the virtual utopia known as...I’m Rae Elliott: Author, Blogger, Geek
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