Betty's Tips-Summer 2020

This summer, all my great vacation plans were canceled—as I'm sure yours were as well. But I've tried to keep a smile on my face and hope in my heart that we all survive this year and go on to prosper.

One thing I'm doing this summer is spending long hours communing with the plants in my garden. No sneaky viruses lurking there among the rudbeckia and penstimon, and the bright yellows and oranges and purples buoy my spirit.

The other thing I can do while (mostly) staying home is to get some writing done. These strange times make me think of stories that feature odd happenings—in other words, stories with a paranormal theme.

To get acquainted with this genre, I turned to Literary Hub and found a recommended list of paranormal books to get me started. The list included The Black Spider by Jeremias Gotthelf, The King in Yellow by Robert Chambers, and Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler.

The books gave me a good grounding in what I was tackling, but I needed more advice. I found it in an interview on The Write Practice. Sarah Gribble spoke with author M. MacKinnon in the post How to Write Paranormal Fiction.

Another source was The Writer's Digest, which offered Who Ya Gonna Call? Writing Paranormal and Supernatural Phenomena Realistically and Authentically. This was an interview with Christopher Chacon, who apparently is one of the world's top investigators of paranormal phenomena. One important recommendation I learned: Whatever form of paranormal you use in your writing, make sure it's consistent throughout the story. You don't want the vampire forgetting that he can't go out in the daytime.

Still on the search for guidance, how could I pass up Jacqui Murray's 6 Tips for Paranormal Writers? One take-away from Jacqui was that the genre doesn't require the main character to have a supernatural ability. But I kind of like the idea of giving my protagonist some special talent, even if they don't realize it at first.

Now that I'd decided on a genre, I discovered that I needed to figure out the exact genre. A post on Innovative Editing said that When Writing Paranormal Fiction, You'd Better Know How to Classify It. I should know if my work was going to be just paranormal, or paranormal romance, or would it slip into horror or fantasy? So many decisions!

If I settle on a paranormal urban fantasy, I'll be covered with Maureen O'Leary's post on 7 Things to Do before setting out in that genre. Among her tips: Read widely, watch TV, and know your science. Will do!

I'll probably find some kindred spirits at the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. For those who join, they offer a newsletter, an online critique group, and an online forum.

To help my story meet the mark, I'll keep in mind Nicola's Thoughts on Fantasy post: 10 Common Mistakes I See in Paranormal Romance and YA Fantasy Writing. She advises steering away from cliqued language and cliched themes such as the new hot boy at school, and aiming for a plot that's not predictable or simplistic.

And finally, to set the creative gears in motion, I can navigate to a page on Pintrest that's full of paranormal/fantasy writing prompts.

Now that I'm ready to start, I just want to make sure I don't write late at night, when the odd bump or creak in my house may conjure up some spookiness I'm not prepared for.