Writing: Mixing It Up with Tropes

 

Contributed by Margot Conor

I have lately been experimenting. I mostly write Science Fiction and Fantasy. But I do tend to mix tropes most of the time. Recently I have been trying a few new subgenres.

An author in a critique group told me she liked my Magical Realism style. And I had to admit I didn’t know what that was. When I searched for authors that are known for it and discovered they are some of my favorites. Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende. I suppose we are inspired by the authors we love.

After reading about what characterizes Magical Realism, I wrote a few short stories with that trope in mind. Consciously leaning into that style, I was pleased with the results.

Magical Realism combines realistic settings with fantastical or magical elements, treating the supernatural as commonplace within the narrative. Key characteristics include a realistic setting, the matter-of-fact inclusion of magical elements, a blurring of the lines between reality and fantasy, and often, a focus on everyday characters in dream-like, or unbelievable situations which are treated as normal.

While researching tropes I saw a few others I decided to experiment with.

One is something called slipstream. Which I also had never heard of. This has the distinctive quality of defying traditional genre boundaries, by mixing sci-Fi, and Fantasy with psychological or philosophical fiction. It explores deeper themes of societal or technological change, and the breakdown of paradigms. It employs strange and uncanny situations. Encourages the bending of reality with surreal settings or circumstances. It is otherwise described as “the familiar strange, or the strange familiar.

I had never written in the Steam Punk subgenre until recently either, I wrote a short story titled Magic Wants to Be Used. I love the characters and the world I created enough to possibly serialize it. This story’s main character is a teenager named Xandra who has a forbidden form of mechanical magic.

I also recently compiled a small set of nine fantasy stories featuring dragons. I’ve been writing fantasy for a while but oddly never touched the dragon lore sub-genre. I am not sure it is still as popular as it once was, but it was fun to write.

There are a few writers in one of my writers’ groups who write romantic fantasy. I know that any sort of romance genre is extremely popular now, and an easy genre to build a loyal following with. But other than inserting a few flirtations into the speculative genres I write, romance seems to be near impossible for me to write.

I seem to have found my favorites, and I’ll stick with them. I encourage writers to explore as I have been doing, just to see what might inspire you. Every now and then it is good to step outside what we usually do and explore a slightly different direction.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Margot Conor has been writing for as long as she can remember, but it wasn't until the COVID lock-down that she had enough time to dedicate to the craft and bring something to completion. Having finished her first novel, she went through the grueling two-year process of editing. Now she has jumped into the author's world with both feet. Margot's debut multiverse adventure novel, Inverse, is available on Amazon.

She's spent the last year attending many writing retreats, seminars, and writers' events. She also listened to presentations specifically on the topic of publishing and book marketing. She will be sharing what she learns with the reader. Learn more about Margot at https://margotconor.com/


 

 

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Look what Adam Cohen of WinningWriters ran today;  it’s a day I really needed a boost (I brought my husband home from the hospital today so it was a an upper at just the right time! Those of you who subscribe (see the right column to subscribe if you haven’t alrady!) know that I have used WinningWriters’ newsletter to find reliable, vetted contests for years and that I highly recommend their own #NorthStreetBookPrize for the added value they offer to those who enter.  His warmth and high standards come through in all his ads and projects.  Thank you, Adam! 

Winning Writers - best resources for poets and writers



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Letting What You Love Battle Writer’s Block




Letting What You Love Battle Writer’s Block

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson, multi award-winning author of the 
HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers

 

Writers’ Block is a malady many complain of. To cure it, writers have been known to write about it. But I think there’s a better way to tackle it. The ancient Greeks sought advice from the Oracle at Delphi but also inspiration. The Chinese did the same with the I Ching; the Egyptians the Tarot, the American Indians the Medicine Wheel, and the Scandinavians the Runes. Many today follow the Zodiac. All are more than superstition if only because we use them to better examine our own needs. When we know ourselves better, we are more creative.

 

A few Christmases ago my son and his wife gave me a book that included a set of cards—flash cards of sorts by Naomi Epel. When I use this kit I often think of my friend David Cho. He is Fung Shui Master to the Stars who coordinates people’s Chinese Zodiacs with the Chi in their homes and more. Like his clients, I found myself thinking more positively, even thinking in new directions, when he did his magic with a weird fountain made from a cattle trough and introduced it for good luck near our front door. It fits beautifully with the antique implements I use to from my polygamist great grandfather’s farm I use to decorate my front porch with. It was an exercise in learning to “own” my own past.

 

I once took the time to explore hieroglyphics, something that must have been difficult for even the Egyptians to read given the lack of punctuation and no firm left-to-right rules (or right-to-left, top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top rule, either!). There is something about the symbols that affect thinking, including the symbols you are reading in this moment.

 

I am convinced that following my inclinations made me a better writer but also inspired the first edition of my The Frugal Book Promoter, now in its third edition and the flagship book of my HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books for Writers.

 

Aside from steeping myself in any topic that intrigues me which is a magic worker like none other, I find it works better when I do it with a pen and Post-it notes at hand. I write down anything that occurs to me and plop those notes into a Wedgewood sugar bowl that once belonged to my grandmother. You’ve never heard of “found poems?” When you fill a favorite container with scrappy phrases, go back through them and you’ll always find a poem there. Sometimes it’s just a suggestion. Other times several of those notes get strung together to make a complete poem. After I’ve assembled the lines, all I have to do is go back in a few weeks for a hard look and a harder edit.

 

Here are some other aids that will help writers and others from being their most creative in all kinds of ways.

 

Write something that helps another author. Send them a blurb (praise) to use to in marketing. Or write a review and post it on Amazon. Nothing works better to slay writers’ block than gratitude. If you need a starter for that project, check out The Art of Assssment: How to Review Anything  by Magdalena Ball at her site, The Compulsive Reader. Writing about the books we are reading inspires and saves that step of having to come up with a theme or storyline. Her book will get you started reviewing books, films, movies, restaurants and other stuff. And she assumes no prior reviewing experience!

 

When I visit museums I take my copy of A Describer’s Dictionary by David Grambs. When I run across new phrases and words that curators use in their descriptions and catalogs, I jot them anywhere I can find space on the title pages, the margins, etc. of this book. I’ll soon run out of space. I’ll probably just start stuffing it with Post-its!

 

I love to use “rules” of grammar. Rules are way different from laws; they’re ready-made inspiration for writing something new and a different. My penchants for that inspired  or anything my own The Frugal Editor (now in its third edition!) as a way to break rules creatively.

 

Let me introduce a web-friend of mine, Roberta Allen. Her book never fails to make me happy. I’ve never seen it in a how-to book on curing writers’ block, but I swear happiness is the best curative! It’s the The Playful Way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen.

 

Of course there is always this classic approach to writer’s block: It’s Jenna Glatzer’s Outwitting Writers’ Block  with tips for writer’s block…er…inspiration…and it sets an example with lovely nonfiction prose.

 

Or, yeah. We can always try the “tried and true” methods of the ancients. The Greeks and Egyptians got a lot of things right; it couldn’t hurt to follow their lead.

 

MORE ABOUT THE WRITERS ON THE MOVE
AND “FIRST CHAPTER PLUS” COLUMNIST

 

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts.  Carolyn writes nonfiction for writers, poetry, and fiction and has studied writing at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom; Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia; and Charles University, Prague. She will soon celebrate two years dedication to writing for the @ReaderViews’ fun flip e-magazine First Chapter Plus edited by Suzanne Violante. Neither she nor Karen Cioffi, founder and editor of this #WritersontheMove blog have never contributed to my own very rare attacks of writers’ block by asking me to hue (on cue!) to a holiday theme or specific topic! Just knowing I have a column to do each month is the little nudge required to get inspired.

 

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Are You a Writing Imposter?


I watched an amazing webinar with Writers on the Move contributor Carolyn Howard-Johnson and her publisher Victor Volkman.

Carolyn is an award-winning author and an expert book marketer, so I listen when she has something to share.

A small part of her talk was about the imposter syndrome. Making it easier to understand, it's more like the 'I'm not good enough' syndrome.

This is something most writers deal with once in a while, me included, so I decided to look into it.

According to Wikipedia, the "imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a fraud."

So, what does this have to do with writers?

Well, once we feel we're not ‘really’ a good writer, we begin to underestimate our ability and our value.

Unfortunately, this syndrome seeps its way into new and even seasoned writers, and it can cause consequences.

The I'm not a good enough writer syndrome, or I'm a fraud, and sooner or later, everyone will know.

Have you ever felt like this?

Once a writer has these feelings, they can fester and grow, stopping her from moving forward. 

Maybe she's been thinking of seeking an agent's representation.

He may have thought of submitting to traditional publishers.

Maybe he's wanted to get articles published in magazines like Writer's Digest, The Writer, or another magazine. 

BUT …

She doesn't think she's good enough, so she doesn't even try.

There's an expression I love: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

You don't have to be the best writer on Earth.

It's not the best writer who succeeds; it's the writer who perseveres. And part of perseverance is to submit your work. 

It's about writing the book you want to write and self-publishing if that's the route you want to go.

It's about submitting your manuscript to agents and publishers.

That said, it is important to make sure you, at the very least, know how to write. 

- Read a lot.

- Read books the agent has represented if that's what you want to do.

- Read books that the publisher has published if that’s your dream.

- Read 'quality' books in the genre you want to write.

- Take the time to learn how to write if you haven't yet. There are excellent online classes that can help you with this.

Another problem is if a writer with this syndrome offers services like editing or ghostwriting. 

If you're offering writing services and don't believe you're qualified enough to provide these services, you're in trouble. 

- The first thing that will happen is you won't charge what you're worth. This thought process can cause a domino effect. 

- Your lower prices will cause some potential clients to believe you're not as good as other services charging more.

- You may let clients tell you how to write. Or, you may not be confident to explain to your client that what he has done or wants to do won't work.

- You'll second-guess almost everything you do.

If you have these feelings, it might be helpful to create a vision board.

Put a few quotes or sayings that will help you believe in yourself. Be sure to keep it where you'll see it every day!

And another good idea is to keep learning your craft.

Learning to write also goes for wannabe authors. Learn about writing by reading books in the genre you want to write in, and then go for it.

Click the link to watch Carolyn's talk - it has lots of book marketing tips: 
https://youtu.be/ykE7ITz6HUk

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 




 

 

 

 

Karen Cioffi is an award-winning children’s author, working ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach (picture and chapter books). If you need help with your story, visit Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi.


You can check out Karen’s books HERE.

https://karencioffiwritingforchildren.com/karens-books/

 

 


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Writers: Will Outlining Your Story Save Time?

Map of the imaginary town of Pine Hill
in my upcoming book, Secret in the Mist.
Illustration by artist Danika Corrall

By Linda Wilson  @LinWilsonauthor

Are you a pantser or an outliner? Pantsers, as many writers gleefully describe, don’t outline their story beforehand. They write as their stories come to them. I’ve done both and have found that both writing styles work, depending on the story. Some stories show up on the page fully written, perhaps after becoming fully formed in the mind before any writing begins. Stories like that are terrifically satisfying.

For the stories that don’t come out quite as clean, an outline, bulleted ideas, or a diagram, might be necessary. Case in point is the book I’m currently preparing for publication, Secret in the Mist, the second book in the Abi Wunder Mystery trilogy.  The book began with a detailed outline. During writing, I immediately veered away from my plan, and that’s where I think the problems began. Unfortunately, I lost track of the whole picture. For a 20,000-word chapter book that should have taken about a year to write, my pantsering wound up taking 3+ years, and counting (the book isn’t quite done yet, but very, very close!) The Mist story is nothing like it was when I first began. In retrospect, I think most of my problem was that I didn’t think the story elements through from the get-go. I just kept writing without checking the overall story structure, and including scenes that didn’t move the story forward, which I later had to slash and burn.

Now that I’m in the final stages of readying the book for publication, I would like to pass on some ideas to avoid the pitfalls I fell into. Hopefully, these will save you time and effort and get your book(s) out into the world in a reasonable time frame.

Pantser or Outliner, Decisions to Make Before Beginning to Write

Story problem: Examples: Something goes missing, as in the first Encyclopedia Brown story, Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective, “The Case of the Civil War Sword,” by Donald J. Sobol, where the sword is stolen; a secret that needs to be revealed as in Little Mouse’s Big Secret, by Eric Battut, when Little Mouse finds a delicious-looking apple and doesn’t want to share it. 

Write your pitch: In as few words as possible, write what your story is about.  Even if you have to tweak your pitch line later, writing it now could help keep you on track. Here are a few examples from the files of Chris Eboch, full-time writer and editor, https://chriseboch.com:

Before: Maddie Winters has never been in a long-term relationship.

After: Maddie Winters doesn’t do commitment.

Before: She was wrongfully convicted. The cops want her back in jail. But this stone-cold victim has her sights set on payback.

After: Framed for murder. Hunted by the law. Ready to take her revenge.

Lists to Make Before Beginning to Write

  • Characters: Make a list of your major and minor characters, describe them, their role in your story, and give each of the main characters a story arc—a beginning, middle, and end, and how they’ve grown. Please note: At a book presentation early on, I asked the children in an elementary class for comments. What did they like about the story? Dislike? One fourth-grade boy advised that I should always include animals in my children’s stories. I took his advice and include animals, described in loving and fun terms, for my readers to enjoy. Please note: Cutting pictures of how you envision your characters out of magazines and hanging them up while you write is a good step in understanding who your characters are.
  • Try starting with the ending: Beginning my next story with the ending will be a first for me. I’m challenged. Plot out the ending and work your outline, bulleted points, and/or diagram from there.
  • Make a scene list: Creating a scene list on 3x5 cards is handy because if a scene doesn’t move the story forward, discard the card(s). After you’ve thought of all the scenes, lay the cards in front of you and see if you can organize the story. Writing should hopefully be made easier.
  • Make a diagram of the plot:  I use large poster-size paper for this and begin by drawing a large arc. Plot points can be added, showing the rise of tension and suspense, and stopped with satisfying ending. I like to make my endings illustrate or circle back to the beginning. 
  • Establish the setting: Whether you choose a familiar setting, such as at school, in the neighborhood, and/or at home, or a setting in an exotic location, include details that will create intrigue. Find a map or draw a map so you can fully navigate throughout your setting.
  • Capture the details: Keep the details accurate and consistent throughout your story. 
  • Plan for follow-through: Keep track of your main character’s activities, dialogue, and thoughts so that by the end of your story, s/he has grown. I like to show growth for my other main characters as well.
  • Capture the time frame: Plot out the number of days in which the story takes place and the time of day for the characters’ activities.

In addition, keep track of everyday things, such as: 

  • The weather: Describe the weather accurately, which includes the season, the stages  of the sun and moon, the temperature, and how the characters react. Remember to include animals, birds, and insects.
  • Meals: I think kids like to read about what the characters are eating, but more important, your characters have to eat, so some mention needs to be made.
  • Follow through: Items like a locket, a key, flashlights or cell lights, and other details need to have follow-through. Make sure you’ve covered what happens with these details. One of my characters opened the door of an old, haunted farmhouse and put the key in her pocket. What happened to the key after that?
Next month: What I Learned Writing a Kid’s Mystery Story                                                
 
A creative writing instructor once told
my class that being a successful
writer does not depend so much on talent
as it does on determination. That one word of
wisdom has kept me writing all these years.
Linda's two new releases are Botas Altas, the Spanish version of Tall Boots, translated by Graciela Moreno and Adriana Botero, and Cuna en la Naturaleza, the Spanish version of Cradle in the Wild, translated by Adriana Botero. Visit Linda at https://bit.ly/3AOM98L.


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Small Steps, Big Magic: The Power of Micro-Inspired Action

 by Suzanne Lieurance


When you think about manifesting your writing dreams, it’s easy to imagine giant leaps—finishing your novel in a month, landing a book deal, quitting your day job.

But most progress comes from small, consistent steps.

Especially the ones that feel good.

 

That’s where micro-inspired action comes in.

 

A micro-inspired action is a tiny move that feels aligned, clear, and doable right now.

 

It’s not about trying harder.


It’s about listening inward and taking the step that calls you forward.


Examples of micro-inspired actions for writers:

 

• Opening your notebook and writing one sentence

• Organizing your writing space to make it feel more inviting

• Re-reading a passage you’re proud of to reconnect with your voice

• Sending one email or DM to a writing connection

• Saying “yes” to a creative idea that popped into your mind

 

These actions might not look like much on the outside—but energetically, they’re powerful.

 

They move you into motion.

 

They tell the Universe, I’m ready.

 

They build momentum that leads to more clarity, more confidence, and more flow.

 

You don’t have to know the whole path.


You just need to take the next aligned step.


The rest reveals itself.

 

So today, ask yourself: What small thing feels right to do next?


Then do it.

 

Try it!



For more writing tips delivered to your emailbox every weekday morning, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge.


Learn more about Suzanne Lieurance and all the resources she has for writers at writebythesea.com.

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