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Category: Writing Tips

Here I provide insight of my general writing process and tips.

Finishing a Series Is Hard in More Ways Than One

Published by Tabby on March 7, 2024

A little over a week ago, I finally finished the first draft of the fifth and final book of The Warriors of Bhrea. The good news is that the final book, The Empire of Damnation, will be out in the next few months! The bad news is…I’m sad. 🙁

The Celebration

Do you know how long I’ve been working on this series? Do you?? I started really writing it in 2018, but the ideas–the world, many of the characters–had been in my head for much longer, since childhood. To see the series complete (though some edits are still needed) is just. Crazy. But, crazy in a good way.

Seeing my story grow and develop over these past several years is a privilege I hope all writers can enjoy. There is nothing like being able to write the pay offs you’ve been building up for years. It is an incredible feeling to see your characters ending up where you think is most fitting. It is like attending a loved one’s graduation–you’ve been watching someone grow up from something small to something big, even helping them on their journey. And now, you get to watch them go out on their own into the great wide world. It inspires a huge sense of accomplishment and gratitude, to be able to witness it and be the architect of the whole affair.

Lastly, it’s a huge relief. It is a relief to finally have a complete idea down, a story from start to finish. It’s a relief to be able to sit back and take a break, to know that a big job is done. Especially since my son was born almost a year and a half ago, I’ve felt a lot of pressure from myself to just get! It! Done! So the final part of the series would not just fall to the wayside in the flurry of learning to be a mom. While I have many more writing projects planned, getting this one under my belt is a huge milestone, and I want to take some time to kick back and relax for a bit.

So, for those reasons, it is a cause for celebration! I’ve finished a series–and a five-part series at that! It’s not easy to write a pentology, but somehow I did it.

The Grief

But with that celebration, sense of accomplishment, relief, and happiness, there is also some grief.

The flipside of watching your loved one at their graduation, while a joyous event, can also be a sad one. It’s a time of letting go, which can be hard to do. You see, when you cultivate a set of characters in your head, you eventually develop an attachment to them, and when their journey is complete, that means it’s time to say goodbye. The characters have “grown up,” and it’s their time to go out into the world and entertain people with no further input from their creator.

The silver lining of this is that it’s not truly the end for these characters, for I have side stories, prequels, and even a sequel series in mind. But, the imaginative journey I began as a kid has completed it’s first (and largest) leg. It’s like hiking a long trail to the top of the mountain, turning around, and realizing you’ve made it halfway up . There’s relief, but there’s also a bit of sadness that the journey is already partly over. After a while, it will be all over.

The Takeaway

I won’t subject you to what is essentially a diary entry for this whole post. I have some takeaways, some things I’ve learned on this incredible ride!

First, take your time. I can’t repeat it enough. Don’t rush through something just to get it done. You will enjoy yourself, and your project, a lot more if you allow yourself to enjoy the process rather than obsess over the product.

Second, don’t procrastinate and overanalyze. Does this contradict what I just said above? No. Too many times I’ve seen writers get hung up on revising to the point of perfection, at the cost of never putting their work out there. I’m happy to break it to you–your story will never be perfect. It is impossible to reach perfection, so let that be permission to let others enjoy your story even if it doesn’t reach your perfectionistic standards.

Lastly, when you do finish your project (and you will, because you’re awesome), allow yourself to feel all the feelings–the good and the bad. It’s your story, you’re the boss, it’s your party, and you can cry if you want to!

How Do I Choose Book Titles?

Published by Tabby on November 30, 2020

If you’re like me, you might feel as though there are some titles that just “come” to you, and others you might painstakingly mull over for months before finally conceding to one that will just do. That is certainly how my brain has worked in this process!

“Wouldn’t a book title generator make this all easier?” you ask? NO. I mean, no. Perhaps book title generators could get you started with finding good keywords, but there is a lot more thought that should go into book titles. The book title, besides the cover, is going to be the first thing a reader sees. Readers do judge a book by its cover, and titles generated by an AI will likely not appeal as much as one carefully crafted by the author.

There are a few ways to at least get you started. These are important factors for helping you when looking for book title ideas:

1. Genre

What kind of genre does The Warriors of Bhrea make you think of? “Warrior” might invoke images of epic battles or swords or armor, and “Bhrea” is an entirely made up word that might ignite the imagination, making the reader wonder “What is that? I want to find out more!” All put together, it is meant to invoke an epic fantasy feel.

Your title should be in line with other books of the genre. Lair of Terror would not be a good title for a light-hearted romance novel. …On second thought, that actually sounds pretty awesome. 😎 I’d read it at least.

2. Length

There is a happy medium between one-worded, generic titles and what seems like an entire novel being on the title page.

Think of it like your desired reader. What will they remember? That is the most important factor. It may be longer or shorter, but as long as it is memorable, your reader will be able to find it or find themselves drawn to it.

Adding a subtitle creates a little lee-way as well—for instance, my overall series is named The Warriors of Bhrea, but each separate book has its own unique subtitle that sets the tone for that individual book.

3. Complexity

Keep it simple. You are drawing readers in—the more complex details can be in the description. You don’t need a thesaurus to come up with a good title.

When deciding my title, my goal was that the key words, “warriors” and “Bhrea” would make the potential reader wonder: “What is Bhrea? What does it mean to be a warrior of Bhrea?” While “Bhrea” is an unusual word, it is also not a complex word. It doesn’t overwhelm the reader with crazy symbols and accent marks to turn off their interest.

Now that we’ve got the basics, how do you actually choose a title?

My personal favorite way to go about deciding a title is to choose something from your book that is not necessarily in the forefront of the action, but is still central to the story. What is driving your story? What will introduce a little mystery as to what your book is about, and as readers go through it, they say “Aha! That’s what this is really about!”

If you’ve read The Lost King, you might have noticed that the titular character was not the main character and did not have a huge role, but he in a way drove the story. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, well you better get yourself over to Amazon and find out!

The same is the case for The Master of Night. This character is not the main role, but she drives the plot.

Now, you don’t have to do it this way. This is just my personal favorite. By all means, make your main character the titular character. The title could also refer to a place, an event, an object, anything that somehow drives the story! All in all, I say find something that drives the story but doesn’t spell out the plot for your reader.

I hope this helps you get started on deciding a title. The title is important—so give it some thought! But also, don’t fret about it too much. When it doubt, test some titles with your friends, colleagues, and other potential readers. Their input will give you a lot of good information on what could work and what wouldn’t.