In Writing, Little Can Be Much

by Linore Rose Burkard

This past week I took part in "National Life-Chain Sunday," during which I stood on a sidewalk with a few dozen other souls, holding a sign for passing drivers to read.

My sign had only three words: 

ABORTION HURTS WOMEN

Short. Succinct.

Sufficient.

Because little can be much.

I could have chosen a different sign, such as one bearing five words:

LIFE: THE FIRST INALIENABLE RIGHT    

This one, too, packed a big punch in few words. 

There were other signs available. But all had only a few words because they needed to be read quickly by drivers going by. As I held the sign and watched the traffic passing, I saw that we had three to five seconds, on average, in which a driver could read the message. 

In case you haven't noticed, getting attention online is not all that different.

Instead of driving past, readers surf by your carefully crafted blog headline, or email newsletter subject line, or expensive ad. Blogs, landing pages, newsletters and ads all share the need to grab attention and hook a reader--or they're gone (in three seconds or less, according to some pundits).

Copywriters know this, and make an art of crafting the perfect headlines to catch the attention of their audiences. But what if novelists practiced this? Not just creating the attention-grabbing line, but doing it with as few words as possible.  I wonder if we would become stronger writers. 

Because in many instances in writing, less is more. Little can be much.

Take description. A newer writer shared a chapter of her book with me recently in which she described a main character who had not yet entered the story in person. The description was complete, head to toe, and not badly written. The problem is that it read like a catalogue, perfectly normal, not remarkable--in a word, utterly forgettable. How much more effective had she merely singled out one characteristic of that character? He might have had a noticeable scar, or tattoo. He might have limped when he walked, or spoken with an accent; The distinct feature isn't important in itself--but ONE distinct feature would have made this character memorable, whereas a dozen did just the opposite.

Less would have been more. 

A great way to see "less is more" in action is to read effective tweets on Twitter, bumper stickers, or, my favorite, T-shirt slogans. The element of surprise, of juxtaposing an idea with an unexpected parallel, seems to work quite well here. Perhaps the principle of a startling analogy is something we can keep in mind when writing our own headlines or other copy--or even a character description. 

See how the following t-shirt slogans are short and sweet--and effective:       

• A SISTER will give you the shirt off her back....it's probably yours anyway. 
• IRONY. The opposite of wrinkly.
• Relish Today.  Ketchup Tomorrow.
• At my age I've seen it all, I've heard it all, I've done it all. I just can't remember it all.
• This IS my Sexy Lingerie.
• I'M ALWAYS LATE. My ancestors arrived on the Juneflower.

The comedic aspect of the surprising parallel needn't always be present as in the above examples. Even a serious writer can use a startling juxtaposition to make a point. 

• PAIN AND SUFFERING IS INEVITABLE.  But misery is optional. 
• There is no worse robber than a bad book. (Italian proverb)
• Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. (S.Kierkegaard)
• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...(Dickens)

Whether you feel juxtaposition (a la the startling parallel) translates to writing fiction or not, it is probably a worthwhile endeavor to learn to use the principle, at least in marketing copy.

I'd like to be purposeful about trying it, as I tend to be wordy if left unchecked. And in writing, as we've seen, less can be more.

Little can be much! 

TWEETABLES

"Because in many instances in writing, less is more. Little can be much." ~ Linore Rose Burkard (Click to Tweet)

ONE distinct feature made this character memorable, whereas a dozen did the opposite.~Linore Rose Burkard (Click to Tweet)

Linore Rose Burkard wrote a trilogy of regency romances for the Christian market before there were any regencies for the Christian market. Her books opened up the genre in the CBA. She also writes YA Suspense/Apocalyptic fiction as L.R. Burkard. Married with five children, she still home-schools her youngest daughter, preferably with coffee in one hand and an iPad in the other. Her latest book, RESILIENCE, is "spine-tingling suspense, where teens carry rifles instead of school books and where survival might mean becoming your own worst enemy."   

"INTENSE!"

It's a great time to be a fan of YA novels! L.R.Burkard is back with the next tale in her dystopian series, and the bar of excellence is raised to new heights with this top quality literary offering!

                                --Deena Peterson, Blogger, Reviewer

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Staying in Touch with Readers: Newsletters, Part Three

By Linore Rose Burkard

In Part One of this series we discussed the benefits of offering a newsletter to readers. In Part Two, the content you might include in one. 

This post deals with two additional common questions about author newsletters:

• How do I build a subscriber list? and,
• What email service should I use?

Getting Started  

Everyone has to start from scratch. Don't be discouraged if you've neglected this component of your online presence; it's never too late to begin (and rarely too early) whether you've got numerous books out there or aren't yet published. Either way, if you have no list yet, once you've decided on content (which you did by reading part two of this series, right?) the next step is choosing a service provider.

Service Providers

The good news: Nearly all  email management providers are free until your list reaches about 2,000 subscribers. That gives you time to hone your skills while growing a list without spending a dime. Some commonly used services are MailChimp, MadMimi, and ConstantContact. You can find other providers by paying attention to your inbox. You are undoubtedly on many mailing lists yourself--take a look at the bottom of the emails you like the look of, and see what other people are using. Compare prices for when your list is big enough to warrant a paid subscription. You don't want to have to switch providers later. (Yes, it can be done; but not without hiccups. In my case, when I tried to switch my providers, I discovered my current service would stop supporting the numerous images I include in my newsletters. Since I keep an archive, that was a drawback for me.)  

Building the List     

Once you choose a provider, you'll have the means of sending email to a list. So now you need people to send to. It is perfectly fine to ask friends and family to subcribe to your list to help get it started. But then you need to extend your reach. The time-honored method of doing this is to offer potential subscribers something in return for their email. You've given out your email to numerous people because they've offered you something free in return, right? Most often it is an information product, a how-to, an exclusive report, etc. Now it's your turn. Create a PDF that you can offer as a perpetual freebie for new subscribers. The key is to offer something that interests your readers, entices their curiosity, promises to solve a problem, or will help them in some way. 

But I'm Just An Author

But I'm just an author, you say, I can't solve anyone's problems or offer exclusive content. But you can! Offer an original short story, a chapter of a book you've written, or, (as I currently do) an Epilogue to a book that isn't in the book. This helps me capture emails from readers who buy my book from Amazon--readers I have no way of knowing about until they subscribe to get the epilogue.

If you have no original content at the moment, share a collection of work from the public domain, a time-saving list ("Top Ten Links to Find Free Books"), a "Best Of" list, etc. This method works beautifully for non-fiction authors; they can put together a report or "How-To" based on the content of their book. Fiction authors can find ways to do something similar. For instance, I have free PDFs that I've offered in the past based on the era of my historical fiction. 

Opportunities

If free content still seems difficult for you, try encouraging sign-ups to your list by offering a unique opportunity such as a chance to win something. People love to win things and you'll win new subscribers. This works well if you have a book to offer, but it can be someone else's book, or any other prize your readers might want. 

Now What?      

Once you decide what to offer and make it a PDF, your service provider allows you to upload it and  include a link to it in an automated message to subscribers. Your work there is done. From time to time, you may wish to change your free offer. (Some freebie offers work better than others.) You can even choose to offer more than one incentive, say, two PDFs, or a podcast, or private video. But once the offer is in place, your job switches to promoting it. A great offer is wonderful but only if people know about it. (The beauty of putting it in the back pages of a book is that it stays there for readers as long as your book is in print or available as an ebook.) 

Final Word: Don't Spam!

Whenever possible, have people subscribe via the sign up form your email service provides. You place the code for the form on your website (or other landing page) and direct people to it so they can subscribe themselves, usually via a double opt-in procedure. The service captures their IP address and thereby protects you from being charged with spamming. If you subscribe people yourself, be very sure you have their permission. 

So--now you have the wherewithal to get started. Review Part One and Two of this series, choose a service, grow a list, and soon you'll have a solid plank in that elusive author platform that agents and publishers are always looking for from writers!  

Linore Rose Burkard writes Inspirational Romance and, as L.R.Burkard, YA/Apocalyptic Suspense. If you're in or near the Dayton/Cincinnati Ohio area, join Linore  and a great line-up of authors and presenters at the WRITE ON! Christian Writers' Conference later this month. For full details and registration click HERE.

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Authentic Interrogations in Fiction

3 Ways to Make the World of an Interrogator Ring True

by Martin Ott

As a former US Army interrogator, I have explored the subject of the interrogator in numerous short stories and poems. My biggest challenge was in creating the world and the main character Norman Kross for my debut literary suspense novel TheInterrogator’s Notebook published by Story Merchant Books in February of this year.

Here are 3 tips to keep in mind if you’d like to create the character of an interrogator or an interrogation scene in one of your stories.

#1. Research Meticulously

If verisimilitude is important in fiction, it is even more important in a story about truth-telling. In the many drafts I wrote of The Interrogator’s Notebook, I made sure to keep an eye on recent news stories related to interrogation to ensure that my references and character backstory did not feel dated. I read no fewer than 20 books that I kept on a shelf by my computer and used sticky notes to mark key sections. Even after completing the novel, the research wasn’t over as my copy editor challenged me to dig even deeper to make sure that the information I provided was correct.

#2. Make Your Interrogators Real People

Whether it’s a character in TV shows such as Homeland or 24, or the protagonist in a John Le Carré novel, we are interested not just in what takes place in interrogations, but the private lives of those people under intense pressure to gather intelligence. We want to see their strengths and foibles, and the impact of having power over others. Often, a great counterbalance is to create some weakness or powerlessness in the lives of these interrogators in order to raise the conflict in the story. In The Interrogator’s Notebook, my protagonist Norman Kross was a master interrogator expert at seeing the truth, except when it came to understanding the truth about his relationships with his own family and friends.

#3 Provide an Interrogation that No One Has Seen Before

With the popularity of police dramas and military thrillers, we have all witnessed dozens, if not hundreds, of mock interrogations involving a myriad of techniques. So how do we make our scenes stand out from what has come before? In The Interrogator’s Notebook, I decided to have the antagonist George Stark, an actor, only agree to be interrogated while playing the role of another person. This was not a one-sided relationships, and the interrogations provided a game that both parties were playing with increasing stakes. Dialogue is also important— don’t forget that it needs to be realistic and relevant to the plot.

About the Author

Martin Ott is a former U.S. Army interrogator, blogger and author of the novel The Interrogator’s Notebook, Story Merchant Books, and three books of poetry.

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