Kotharian Lightning

What follows is a collection of tips that helped me complete my epic fantasy novel: Within a Hidden Sun. This guide should be helpful to newer writers, most of whom will have faced similar questions. Note that this guide is not specific to APA, CMS, or MLA guidelines. It is generally compatible with them, but potential divergences may occur in some sections.

A follow-up guide to formatting books can be found here:

https://atomic-temporary-196631146.wpcomstaging.com/2021/12/06/tips-on-formatting-books/

Contents

• Basic Grammar
• Capitalization
• Perspective
• Eliminating Unnecessary words
• Sentence Structure
• Show Don’t Tell
• Discovery Writers, Outliners, and Hybrids

Basic Grammar

Commonly Confused Adjectives and Contractions

It’s vs Its

It’s – The contraction of it is or it has.

Its – An adjective that modifies a noun, indicating the possession of some characteristic.

Whose vs. Who’s

Whose – An adjective indicating association with a noun.

Who’s – The contraction of who is or who has.

Your vs. You’re

Your – An adjective indicating association.

You’re- The contraction of you are.

Their/There/They’re

The dreaded trio. Once you get used to using them, they are actually quite simple.

Their – An adjective indicating association.

There – An adverb typically used in reference to a place or the state of an entity. There has a wider use case than their and they’re.

They’re – The contraction of they are.

Ones vs. One’s

Ones – Plural form of the noun one.

One’s – Pronoun used to indicate belonging.

Each Others’ or Each Other’s?

Because Each Other describes a plural situation, it is correct to place the apostrophe after others.

Everybody’s or Everybodies?

Everybody’s is the correct contraction of Everybody is. While Everybodies is sometimes used in common language (for example: Everybodies favorite game is X), Everyone’s is the correct word to use.

Than and Then

Than – A conjunction used to compare two quantities or measurements.

Then – An adverb used to indicate time.

Then is used alongside a comma in statements with the formula o if X, then Y, whether then is used or merely implied.

Commas are not used when comparisons are made using than.

Less than vs. Fewer than

Less than – Compares measurements within defined entities.

Fewer than –Compares the amount of defined entities, regardless of what is contained within them.

Writing Numbers and Dates

When you are writing numbers in a novel you typically use names rather than numerical symbols. If referring to the actual time on a clock or the date, then you can use the numbers. Remember also that named days, weeks, and holidays are capitalized.

Commas and Time

Some examples of how to use time in a sentence.

Commas and Semicolons

Commas are used to join dependent and independent clauses, while semicolons are exclusively used to join independent clauses that lack linking words (such as and). For reference, an independent clause is has a subject and a verb, while a dependent clause is reliant on another clause.

Literally vs. Figuratively

Literally refers to an accurate statement. For example, if you say, ‘it is literally raining cats and dogs,’ then cats and dogs are falling from the sky. If a glass has fallen to the floor and shattered, you can say that the glass is, ‘literally in pieces’.

The phrase, ‘it is raining cats and dogs,’ is not used as an accurate statement, but as a way of expressing how hard the rain is falling. Thus, the phrase is used figuratively rather than literally. Note that most similes and metaphors are figurative expressions, but that the word figuratively is rarely used in conversation. This is likely why the general confusion exists between the two.

Similes vs. Metaphors

Similes are figures of speech that use the linking words like or as to compare two unlike entities. Metaphors declare that an entity is another unlike entity, without using linking words.

Had had…

It is rare that one would see this awkward double word because it is usually concealed. He’d had, She’d had, and I’d had are all examples of phrases that use this form. It is correct to use had had in a sentence, but you’ll only want to do so if you absolutely cannot use contractions.

Capitalization

Addressing People

Ethnic groups, nations, countries, and continents are always capitalized, but the names of races and species are not (except if they appear at the start of a sentence).

When dealing with fantasy or alien races it is up to the author to decide how they wish to handle them. The most important part is to be consistent. Either all race names should be capitalized, or none should be.

Examples:

Many are the dealings of humans,, fairies, dwarves, and centaurs.

Many are the dealings of Humans, Faeries, Dwarves, and Centaurs.

People and Occupational Titles

The names of people, occupational titles used with names, and occupational titles that directly stand in for names are capitalized.

Singular Titles

What follows is a case where literary guidelines differ. When referring to someone by a generic title that is not attached to a name, you do not capitalize it. For example, when you talk about a policeman you use the officer rather than The Officer or the Officer. The Officer implies that there is a single person who holds the title of Officer rather than many. That leaves the question of how to handle titles that are held by a single person. For example, there is only ever one seated pope in the world. Thus, if you say the Pope, then everyone knows who you are talking about. As a regional example, if you refer to the Queen in the UK, everyone knows who you are talking about. These titles were typically capitalized historically in most cases. However, a number of modern guidelines prefer to leave these titles uncapitalized, making them more similar to generic titles. Unless one needs to conform to a specific guideline, the choice is left to the judgment of the author.

My

When my is used before a name or title, that name or title is always lowercase.

Terms of Endearment

There is no consensus on what should be done with terms of endearment such as “Darling”, etc. It is generally preferred to keep them lowercase, but this is left to the choice of the author. As with capitalizing the names of fantasy races, the most important thing is to be consistent.

Nicknames

Nicknames held by individual people are capitalized. If the name is held by multiple members of a group, it should not be capitalized.

Grey Areas of Address

Borderline cases occur when directly addressing someone without using a name or a title. Generally speaking, it is recommended to capitalize words as appropriate, and to make them lower case when it fits the context better. Here are some examples of the choices I would make:

Locations

The names of places, countries, and geographical locations are always capitalized. When words like town or mountain are used in conjunction with a place name, they are also capitalized.

Types of Perspective

Perspective describes the lens through which the narrator of a book views the world. Depending on the type of perspective, the narrator can be anything from the main character to an omnipotent observer. Novels are stronger when they have a solid grasp on what narrative perspective they use. Some experimental novels mix perspectives, however this is an advanced technique and most works are better served by using a single perspective.

First Person

In this perspective the world is viewed through the eyes of the main character and narrated in their voice. They are the center of focus in every chapter, are the only one whose thoughts are recorded (unless they form some sort of magical/technological mind link with someone else), and it is their perspective which colors the world. The pronoun I is used frequently, as well as personal adjectives such as my.

There are two different types of first person perspective. One is omnipotent first person where the perspective character is aware of the reader and can address them. This frequently occurs when the story is told through the memoir of a character, or relayed to someone else. In particular, autobiographies frequently use this perspective. The second is limited first person where the perspective character is not aware of the reader. They should thus be written as though only they have access to their thoughts. Generally speaking, limited first person is more common in novels.

Example Books: The Great Gatsby, The Hunger Games, Moby Dick

Second Person

In second person the reader is addressed as though they are the perspective character. Similar to first person perspective, only the perspective character’s thoughts are known. This perspective is primarily used for role playing games and video games where the player is assigned to act out a part. The player/reader can either be a nameless blank slate (as in many role playing games), or they can be a named character (as is popular in video games). If the player is not given a distinct character, the writing has to take all the potential variations of their invented character into account. While some novels have used second person perspective, it is difficult to pull off and is considered an experimental technique. The pronouns you and yours are favored, as well as the adjective your.

Example Book: Role playing modules, Choose Your Own Adventure, Visual Novels

Third Person

In these perspectives the world is viewed through the lens of an outside observer who acts as the narrator, such as omnipotent narrators who know everyone’s thoughts, narrators that cannot hear anyone’s thoughts, and narrators who are closely attached to a single character in a scene. The pronouns he, it, she, and they are used, along with adjectives such as her, his, its, their, etc. Because third person has more possibilities than first person and second person, it is usually divided into three or four sub types, omniscient, limited omniscient, limited, and cinematic.

Third Person Omniscient

In this perspective the narrator has intricate knowledge of the setting and all its characters. They can access the thoughts of any character, know their motivations, and understand everything that is happening. Not everything about a character or setting has to be revealed to the reader, but the narrator has the potential to reveal anything. Reality is described in an impartial way as the narrator presents things as they are, not as individual characters might perceive them. If desired, the narrator can directly address the reader. Until the mid 20^th century this was the most common form of perspective. In the second half of the 20^th century third person limited became more popular.

Example Books: The Count of Monte Cristo, Dune, The Lord of the Rings, Paradise Lost

Third Person Limited

The narrator is attached to a single character in a scene. Each part of the world is colored by their perspective and the narrator is only able to hear their thoughts. This perspective serves as a combination of the personal nature of first person with the greater versatility of third person.

While there are some similarities to first person, it is easy to switch perspective character between chapters and section of the book, and the narrator is somewhat less personal than first person. This means that the scene can be described through ways other than the eyes of the character. For example, if someone was sneaking up behind the perspective character undetected, a first person perspective should not note that. By contrast, a third person limited perspective can note that sort of activity.

Because third person limited allows a scene to be colored by the perspective of a specific character, while also allowing the author to switch between characters, it has become the most popular perspective in modern fiction.

Example Books: Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Mistborn

Third Person Cinematic

In this perspective the narrator is not a character in the story and views the scenes as an observer. The narrator has knowledge of the world, but does not have access to the internal thoughts of characters. This perspective commits to complete and total objectivity, as though the narrator was a camera looking at a scene with actors (hence why it is called cinematic perspective). In general, this perspective is less common than other variants of third person perspective.

Book Examples: Some works of Ernest Hemingway, select graphic novels.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Each Perspective

First Person

Advantages

• Creates a close sense of intimacy between the reader and the perspective character
• Easier to follow than other perspectives.
• Provides the best exploration of a single character’s perspective.

Disadvantages

• Forces the writer to stick to a single perspective and character through the novel.
• Only a single character gets a true voice, leading to less objectivity.
• The main character must be present in all scenes and the scenes must end when they leave.

Verdict

If you want to write about a single character and their experiences, then first person is a good choice. This is especially true if you want a truly intimate feeling between your perspective character and the reader. If you are writing an epic story, or determine that you need more than one perspective character, you should use a variant of third person instead.

Second Person

Advantages

• Good for role playing games, video games, and visual novels.
• Potentially provides the most imaginative perspective for the reader since you force them to imagine themselves as a part of the setting.

Disadvantages

• Novels with this perspective are experimental and uncommon, appealing only to a small percentage of readers.
• While the reader can imagine what is is like to be in the position of a character, it is hard to imagine literally being that character. There is less psychological disconnect when playing a game compared to reading a book. The disconnect specifically involves player agency. When acting out a part, the player decides what they want to do in a specific situation. In a second person novel, the author is telling the reader what they are doing at any time, what decisions they make, and the consequences of them. If the reader has no agency in the story, then it is difficult to understand why this perspective would be used.
• Requires the reader to identify as a character. This is either achieved by either naming the character or leaving them almost entirely undefined. Placing the reader in the role of a named character with per-defined characteristics will limit to how many people can identify as that character. For example, if you create a second person novel about a female character, few men will be able to identify as that character. The more defined a character is, the greater the disconnect. Conversely, if you make the character a blank slate, then they won’t be interesting to read about. At best you will be left with an interesting setting and an extremely bland protagonist.

Verdict

Use this perspective for multiple choice books, role playing games, visual novels, and video games. Novels in second person are generally too peculiar to be popular, and this perspective doesn’t truly offer any unique benefits if one takes away the aspect of choice. I recommend first person omniscient if you want an especially intimate perspective between the reader and the character.

Third Person Omniscient

Advantages

• It is easy to provide narrative exposition. This includes information that the characters in the novel might not know.
• Since the narrator knows everything, any information that you want can be revealed to the reader, or hidden as you desire.
• The narrator can be wherever you choose and follow whoever you want, allowing maximum versatility when crafting scenes. For example, you can have characters enter and leave as you desire while also retaining access to their thoughts. You never have to make compromises with this perspective.
• The thoughts of all characters can be heard and focused upon as desired. One can easily show multiple perspectives in the same scene. As an example, think of accessing the thoughts of two chess masters as they are playing the game.
• While third person limited has become the most popular perspective, general readers still enter novels with the expectation of reading a third person omniscient perspective. If any perspective could be considered the most prominent, it is third person omniscient.
• You can present an objective narration that stands apart from the biases of characters.

Disadvantages

• Depending on the number of characters who are closely followed in a scene it can be harder to follow.
• Characters are less personal than the third person limited and first person perspectives.
• Because there is less direct connection to character than in first person or third person it can be harder to build a sense of mystery or fear.
• The narration is objective and uncolored by the perspective of the characters. If a character feels a certain way about their surroundings or situation, the narrator has to draw attention to those feelings in the thoughts of a character.
• There is more variation to how the narrator can act, so you have to be careful about consistency, lest the reader become confused.

Verdict

Third person omniscient is the most versatile perspective. It is especially good for epic novels and stories that have a large number of characters and detailed worlds. However, if your story relies on more personal introspection and feelings, it might be better to choose first person or third person limited. Some of the complexities also tend to make this perspective better for older readers (teenage and up).

Third Person Limited

Advantages

• The perspectives of multiple characters can be explored, strengthening the idea of who they are, how they interact with the world, and what they truly think of other characters and situations.
• Perspective characters can be changed, allowing scenes to be viewed through the eyes of the most interesting character at the time.
• The narrator is around the perspective character, keeping a close feeling, but is not limited to their eyes as in first person, maintaining a degree of separation.

Disadvantages:

• If the perspective character leaves a scene, you either have to end the scene or change to a different character. Similarly, if you wish to follow another character out of a scene, then you will have to create a break in the narrative. In either case, a brief disconnect results. To avoid such disconnects, you may have to use a less desired character for your perspective point.
• Readers may sometimes confuse the thoughts of a perspective character with those of the author. This can be awkward in cases where the perspective character has some… spicier than usual ideas. The potential confusion goes back to the idea that most readers tend to approach books as though they were written in a third person omniscient perspective.
• The author has to be careful about how they introduce perspective characters in each section. Specifically, a general audience needs to quickly grasp which character is being used as the perspective character in a chapter.

Verdict

Third person limited is a versatile perspective that can be used in any sort of novel, from light novels to epic novels. It is especially suited to novels that follow multiple perspective characters.

Third Person Cinematic

Advantages

• Offers an entirely objective and unemotional view of a scene from a non-character narrator.
• There is an unparalleled opportunity to keep known characters mysterious since their internal thoughts are never explored.

Disadvantages

• By intention, third person cinematic is very abstract and depersonalized. This can make it difficult for readers to connect with characters.
• Complex to write, but it is debatable whether it provides a superior alternative to third person omniscient.
• Emotions and inner feelings have to be expressed with actions, body language, and dialogue.
• Less versatile than other perspectives.
• This perspective is uncommon and unusual. Readers might find it difficult to adapt to.

Verdict

Frankly, third person cinematic seems better suited to graphic novels than novels. Writing in this style takes a lot of effort, but doesn’t seem to produce superior results to third person omniscient, and it limits you a great deal.

Dialogue

Eliminating unnecessary words

A major problem that new writers run into is the use of unnecessary words. To achieve the best flow of a book one should keep avoid unnecessarily long sentences. Here are some common examples of words and phrases that can easily be eliminated.

I thought to myself, she thought to herself, he thought to himself, etc.

Who else besides the character can hear their thoughts? All of these statements can be shorted to I thought, she thought, he thought, etc.

I nodded my head.

When a character nods it should be assumed that they are nodded their own head. There is no need to add a qualifier, unless the character is nodding someone else’s head.

Sentence Structure

When addressing one or more people in a sentence, use commas to separate the addressed person(s) from the rest of the sentence.

Dialogue tags vs. Standalone Sentences

Dialogue tags are transitive verbs that require a direct object to form a sentence. For example, I asked, she shouted, he cried out, etc. are not valid sentences. When a quote ends with an exclamation mark or a question mark, any sentence fragment that follows with a transitive verb should start uncapitalized (unless a proper noun, of course).

Common examples of transitive verbs include: announced, asked, began, continued, cried (in the sense of cried out), exclaimed, explained, proclaimed, replied, said, shouted, and yelled.

By contrast, intransitive verbs such as laughed or frowned do not require a direct object to form a sentence. Thus, ‘I chuckled,’ is a complete sentence.

Common intransitive verbs include: chuckled, cried (in the sense of wept), frowned, groaned, grinned, growled, grumbled, laughed, looked, muttered, roared, sang, scoffed, screamed, sighed, snarled, sneered, wept, yelled.

How many Dialogue Tags do you need?

A dialogue tag is any word or phrase that indicates who is speaking (such as she said, he said, etc.) New authors tend to use too many dialogue tags. This flows from the misconception that every sentence should indicate who is speaking, despite the fact that this is unnecessary.

Actions imply who is speaking

Generally speaking, you don’t have to include dialogue tags when a character performs an action before, after, or while speaking. The exception is when you want to draw attention to an action and dialogue occurring at the same time.

Internal quotations.

If a character quotes someone else, that is indicated within the double quotations by a pair of single quotations. Similarly, if they quote another character, who is in turn quoting someone else, then they use a second pair of double quotations. If you use a pair of single quotations at the start or end of a sentence, place a space between them and the double quotations.

Long Speeches

If a character’s speech runs over multiple paragraphs, then only the last paragraph receives a second double quote. The other paragraphs only receive a double quote at the start of the paragraph.

Albert sighed. “I told her my plans, twice! But that wasn’t good enough for her. So what did she do? Well, Thomas, what do think she did?

“Answer, she ran off to the boss. And while she’s with the boss, I’m getting slandered without being able to utter a word in my defense. With that sort of work environment, can you blame me for quitting?”

Show Don’t Tell

Show don’t tell is the principle that it is better to show an action, concept, or relationship than to explain it to the reader. For example, instead of telling the reader how kind someone is, you can show that with an action. Don’t take this to mean that explanations should be discarded. Both have their proper place and time. For example, both of the following examples are valid, one of which shows kindness by an action, while the other tells you about kindness with a short and direct statement.

Gregory stooped down and offered some crumbs to the hungry sparrow.

“I had always found Gregory to be a kind man.”

There are times when this principle can be taken too far. Sometimes it is necessary to tell the reader about specific details of the story. Extended exposition can be an important tool, especially in settings that require large amounts of worldbuilding.

Similarly, when describing action scenes and fights it is not always necessary or desirable to describe every beat of action. Sometimes being thorough helps set the atmosphere, but at other times the action can be described in general terms, whilst perhaps drawing attention to the most important parts.

Discovery Writers, Outliners, and Hybrids

So you’ve got an idea for a book. What is the first step to beginning a story? Well, just as there are many stories that are told, so too are there many ways of working on a story.

Discovery Writers

Discovery writers prefer to go into a story with a minimalist outline, sometimes even merely an idea and a few characters, and then discover their story as they write. This has the advantage of being highly adaptive by allowing on the fly innovation, and the author can craft the flow as they desire. However, works written in this manner may lack the logical cohesion of highly outlined works. Additionally, should the author get “stuck” at a point they may have to resort to less than logical means to progress the story.

Outliners

Outliners prefer to go into a story with carefully planned out chapters and characters with a cohesive beginning, middle, and end. This has the advantage of each part of the story being logically crafted and cohesive. With a proper outline a writer will rarely run into the issue of getting stuck in a point. However, following an outline can lead to problems when parts of the outline do not work as well as expected, or come across as uninspired and dull.

Hybrid

Truth be told, many writers begin a story with an outline, but end up finding that part of the story is discovered while writing it. I would deem this the hybrid method, or the soft outline method. Naturally, this leads to a writing style which embraces revisions, even while maintaining a general outline.