Rae Elliott

How to Get Unique, Original Story Ideas Anytime, Anywhere

by Rae Elliott | Sep 12, 2018 | Blog

“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

by Rae Elliott | Sep 5, 2018 | Blog

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!

by Rae Elliott | Jul 24, 2018 | Blog

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

by Rae Elliott | Jul 4, 2018 | Blog

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)

by Rae Elliott | Jun 27, 2018 | Blog

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...