Plot-holey

Happy Wednesday, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! That felt weird to say... This isn't radio, it's a blog. Oh, whatever.

Hi! It's good to see you :) Thanks for reading my blog. I appreciate it, really.


This week we're back to talking about short stories, and a few of the reasons why I keep going back to writing them, especially between big novel ventures.

No Plotholes Allowed

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking you can't have any plotholes ever in either short stories or novels. But you'd be wrong. A few plotholes can be acceptable in novels, expansive pieces of work that have wiggle room for things like that (I'll explain why next week, don't worry), but in short stories, it's an all-out no-no.

It's a good thing, because it helps authors to keep ourselves on track, to know what we're doing, how we're writing, and what's going on in the story.

But why is it important not to have any holes? 

1. Smaller

See, short stories are short. Obvious, right? But because they're so short, they don't have the wiggle room that novels do for little plot holes that open doors for new ideas. Short stories, as we've discussed before, are very self-contained. Everything about the story fits into that one single story, basically put through a magnifying glass, and your readers will find every single plot hole that gets left in there.

We don't want that.

Readers want to trust us, to see that we know what we're doing and that we can craft lovely stories and won't break their delicate trust. Leave a plot hole in, and they might never come back.

2. Necessary

Because short stories are so short, every single word is important. This is another reason why we have to watch for holes, because they're taking up valuable words that we could use elsewhere. We need those words for character development, for crucial plot details and information that our readers actually need in order to better understand the story.

Editing out the plot holes, removing anything that might relate to another story, means we'll be better able to tell this story, to get this story off the ground and get it published.

Ignore the plot holes, and some editors will simply ignore you, I'm sorry to say.


What do you guys think? Have you ever found a plothole in a short story?

I have, many a time...

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Dear introverts,

Happy Monday to you! And it is a very happy Monday, because in case you didn't see, the new release date of Cedwig has been announced!

Come April 5th, you can all have copies of my book in your hands!

...And also copies of the new edition of Mavguard, which also contains one of my short stories, Rat Pack.

I'm sooo excited to get to share this book with you, and THRILLED that it's not too far behind schedule! Check back in for more updates, as I'll keep releasing them as the date gets closer!


But for today, I've a letter for all the introverts out there...

Dear Introverted Writers,

I know what it's like to be one of you. I've been one of you, for the better part of my life. I haven't liked the spotlight, haven't liked for people to crowd around me or speak to me for long periods of time, and been utterly drained at even the idea of going out on a Friday night.

I've struggled to promote myself, because I don't like to be pushy.

I've had issues presenting my work to strangers, because I don't want to seem off-putting.

I've slid into the background at many an event, hoping not to be seen.

I've come home at the end of a long day and refused to even write, because that would mean being with the people in my head, and I've already been around too many people today.

But you know what? I've taught myself to grow out of those things. I've pushed myself to be better at promoting my books, to present my work to people I've never met before, to be in the spotlight at events and spend as much free time as I can working on my novels.

And you know how I did it?

I acknowledged the fact that I am introverted, or tend to have introverted tendencies, and that I needed to be an extrovert if I was going to get anywhere with promoting myself.

Extroverts push people, they excite people, they get them interested.

Introverts relax people, dull the moment, and calm people down.

Both qualities are necessary to be a good writer, an author who can promote themselves and write amazing work, and both qualities are attainable — even for you.

I know it's hard, I know sometimes you just want to sit down and cry, and you know what? That's okay. It's okay to let out a good cry after a long and exhausting event. It's all right to avoid people after you've been out all day promoting your book. Take some you time, after you've done what needs to be done for your work.

You deserve it. You've got this.

I believe in you.

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Bigger

Happy Friday, everyone!

You know what else I like about novels?

They have...

Bigger Characters

Remember last week, we talked about characters in short stories, and how small they tend to be? Short story characters only have a little bit that they want to do, only a limited number of things they'll let you, the writer, do with them.

That's not so with novels.

1. All. The. Things.

While short story characters only have a little bit that they want to do, novel characters have so much to do that it often doesn't all make it into the book. We get to build them into bigger people, into fully fleshed out beings that really feel alive — and we get to make a lot of them.

Unlike short stories, these characters generally have an expansive goal to reach. They're not just taking on one simple task or revealing one tiny part of their lives. They're living on the page, carrying on their lives and struggling to reach the ultimate goal. They battle against their enemies, they fight for what's right, and they're raw and real on the page.

In my experience, there's just no way to fully get there with the characters in short stories. We can get close, but it's not the same. 

2. Count it.

Aside from the mass of things they want to do, there's also a lot of them — and I do mean a lot.

Novels, due to their size, can contain a far greater number of characters. We have main characters, protagonists and antagonists, minor characters, supporting characters, and background characters. All of them have their own lives, and though some of them are the tiniest things to our stories, they're all still there and they're all still very much alive to us.

For me, that's part of the fun of novels. I get to create as many people as I wish, even if they're only going to be "on stage" for a five second role, and we get to know each other.

Maybe that sounds weird, but you know how they are. Our characters are the voices in our heads, and sometimes they're all fighting to get out.


Don't heed them all the time. Sometimes it's better to take some time off.

[love]

{Rani Divine}


P.S. I'm finishing book #13 today. 

Expanse

Hello, my lovely readers! Aren't you looking wonderful this beautiful Wednesday afternoon?

As you well know, last week we discussed some of the pros of short stories for our novels vs. short stories series. Well, this week, if you hadn't already surmised, is about the novel side of things.

As per usual, these will be things that not everyone will think of as good, but some of the reasons why I so greatly enjoy writing novels.

Expansive

See? Not everyone would agree that that's a good thing. I know a lot of writers who hate writing novels, simply because of their expansiveness. But we're not here to focus on that — we're here to talk about the pros of that very same expanse.

1. Go places

The expansive nature of novels means that there's a lot more we can do with them. We're not confined to one simple plot and a few little characters. The length alone allows us to do so much more than that. We have freedom to add minor characters, subplots and subterfuge, all to draw the reader in and keep them more engaged than they would be with a short story.

Personally, this is why I so enjoy writing novels.

I like to come along for the ride while my characters go on their great adventures, while they seek the answers to their questions and find out the meaning of the universe around them. To me, that's the fun part. It's more enjoyable than simply writing a short story, because in writing a novel I really get to know what's going on and the depths of everything and everyone.

But like I said, not everyone would count that as a fun and enjoyable thing.

2. Do things

In case you hadn't noticed, I like sequels. The majority of books I've written are, in fact, sequels. Which makes sense, when you notice that I've written three separate series' and thirteen novels (well, almost thirteen, but I'm only a couple chapters away, so I'm counting it!).

With novels, there's freedom to expand. Writers have the option to explore outside the realm of this one simple story, into a whole new world of possibilities. And that's honestly my favorite part of writing novels. I get to be with my characters a while longer, to explore their world through their eyes and watch while it expands around them, while they come into new things and meet new people.

Short stories simply don't have that capability, even when you do a short story series. I've tried that. Novels are better.


[love]

{Rani Divine}

Dear Grammar Nazis,

A note to all the grammar Nazis,

I see you, out there. I’ve even been one of you, for a time. And yes, I know what it feels like to see a blatantly obvious typographical error on your computer screen. But I’ve also learned that there are things more worth my time than stressing over grammar and shouting at people to correct their typos.

See, I also know that you have typos too. I know this because everyone has them. It is impossible to have never made a typographical error in all your typing days. Literally impossible. And I mean literally in the literal sense, not in the figurative.

The thing is, we all do it. We all have typos. We all have those days where we didn’t properly proofread and we ended up with a typo in our Facebook or Twitter post.

So what’s the point in pointing it out? Are you just trying to be rude, or are you honestly trying to help people learn better English? For most of you, it’s the former. I’ve seen the way you post about typographical errors, and I’ve felt the sting of your remarks against my own work. I’ve shouted those same words at other people, and I’ve felt pangs of guilt in my heart, because I know how it feels to receive them.

But maybe you’ve heard all these arguments before, and you still don’t care. Maybe English is the only thing you have, and it really bothers you when other people post errors online or publish them in books or magazines.

I’m here to tell you, once again, that no one is perfect. Yes, there are typos in my books. I’ve found them and facepalmed. But I have never gone on a rampage when I found a typo in someone else’s book. In fact, I’ve simply chuckled quietly and moved on.

Because, you know what? The story is more important than the words. The person is more important than the typo. The accomplishment is more important than the error.

So really, I’m here to ask you one simple question:

If it were you, if you published something, posted something online, that had an error, how would you want people to point it out?

Would you have someone hurl the correct answer in your face, and shame you as though you were a child who is only now learning English? Or would you have them come to you quietly and say, “Hey, I noticed you have a typo here. It’s this. I just wanted to let you know”?

I think we all know the answer.

I’m not here to be mean to you, or to rage at you for raging at other people. I’m here, writing this, to ask you to stop. Please. What you’re doing is not helpful, but hurtful. If you wouldn’t want people to shout at you, then perhaps you shouldn’t be shouting at them.

But that’s just my two cents.

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Don’t be a Nazi. That word has never meant anything good.

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Little

Well, the weekend has almost arrived. Hang in one more day, and you'll be good to go. I promise.


But for today, we have another element of short stories to discuss.

Smaller Characters

Again, it's something that not everyone would think of as a pro, but I have to admit that it is, in some cases. As you know, I'm both novelist and short story writer, so I know how it is to write either one.

1. Smaller in Number

This is one of the biggest things, one of the things I like best about short stories. There are only ever a few characters, because it's impossible to fit a plethora of characters into so small a number of pages. But it's something that's very nice with short stories, because it means that there's less work for us to do with them. We only have to make a small number of character profiles, only have to determine a limited number of backstories, and only have to fill our heads with a few instead of a great many new minds.

2. Smaller in Story

Of course, this is also a large reason why I enjoy short stories. The characters are small in story, or rather, they only have a small amount that they want to do. Characters in novels never seem to grow tired of doing things, of having things that they want to seek out and perform. But short story characters only really want to do a few things, and the vast majority of those things will be carried out within the short story.

That means we, the writers, have a great deal less to focus on and sort through when it comes to writing them. It's not often that I have to fight with the characters of a short story, because I already know what they want to do and I'm only here to help them do it.


What do you guys think? What are some of your favorite things about short stories?

[love]

{Rani Divine}

Contained

So it's Wednesday, and it marks the start of a new series... A series on the differences between short stories and novels, and the pros and cons between them.

This week, we'll be focusing on two of the pros of short stories, starting with:

Self-Contained

Many people might tell you that it's not a pro, and those people would be novelists. But I'm both a novelist and a short story writer, so I'm here to tell you it's a pro.

Why, you ask?

1. Easier on the brain

Because they're so self-contained, because there's not much of a universe beyond the single story and very little chance of a sequel, short stories are great when you don't want to do a mass of thinking. You see, both when you're just starting out and when you've been too focused on novels for too long, sometimes the brain needs a bit of a break, but we don't want to stop writing.

That's where short stories come in. They're so small that we're bound to complete them in a short amount of time, and they require less effort to get going and get all the way to the end.

They're also a good way to get your mind back into the swing of things, if you've been on hiatus for a while.

2. Simpler to begin

Because the short story is, well, short, it doesn't require a lot of backstory. Of course, it will need some, but because you'll be dealing with a smaller timeframe, a limited number of characters, and a simpler plot, it's a lot easier to get all the backstory out of the way and get down to the nitty-gritty of actually writing the story.

Realistically, this is the reason why I so frequently come back to short stories, especially after writing a novel or two. It's nice to take a breather, to focus on something that doesn't need quite as much attention and doesn't contain so much plot and detail.


And that's just one of the pros to short stories! Friday we'll talk about another, and next week we'll switch to novels for a bit.

See you soon, my lovely writers!

[love]

{Rani Divine}