Focus Group Audio Example

Last week I posted a little background information about setting up focus groups and just how helpful they can be. Well, today, I thought I would go ahead and post an edited bit of audio from the focus group I conducted. I recorded the entire interview and discussion, which was really helpful to me personally, but I have provided a small sample here showing just how helpful it can be.

It was amazing to get feedback, and even more exciting to realize that someone could actually be interested in my writing. The whole process turned out to be incredibly motivating.

Feedback Via Focus Groups

Image by Nebraska Library Commission via Flickr

Aside from my own immediate family, aka my younger sister, my eyes have been the only set that have glanced at the pages of my novel thus far. As it turns out, this fact has proven to be both good and bad. For one, since it is my first book, I haven't had to deal with the dreaded negative feedback that so often compels writers to cease writing. One the other hand however, I haven't had a chance to hear any feedback at all. Not positive encouraging feedback, or even helpful hints that could make my novel better.

So, with an anxious mind and a heavy heart, I set out to remedy those issues by setting up a focus group. The concept of a focus group is a pretty simple one, and it really can be set up in a variety of ways. the route
I chose to take involved a round-table gathering of sorts with a small group of individuals I felt would be a part of my target market. The results, or the conversation, that evolved from this meeting will be posted a little later on this week, but I have to tell you it was extremely helpful. Not only did I find myself surrounded by a group of people who were actually interested in reading my book, but I also discovered several aspects of my story that needed just a little more explanation.

To organize your own focus group, here are a few possible ideas/ guidelines you could follow:

1. Choose a format.
Will you be present? Will you give them a copy of your manuscript in advance? Will you all meet formally or will your focus group involve a questionnaire given online? After you answer these questions you should be ready for number two.

2. Choose/Gather your participants.
At this point you should consider the type of individuals you will involve in your group, as well as how you will reach them. This can involve anything from calling local book clubs to flacing fliers in book stores and libraries. Your methods are up to you, but if you choose to utilize a lier as advertisement for your event, be sure to include contact information for yourself as well as the qualifications you've decided upon based on your target market.

3. Create your materials.
Next you will need to create or gather the materials you will need to conduct your focus group. If you plan to give each member a copy of your manuscript you will need to provide copies. Also, I highly reccommend a timeline or series of questions created in advance to help facilitate the event and keep it moving smoothly and efficiently. For my event, I planned to read portions of my manuscript  aloud and let the group discussion evolve from there. I also had a series of questions to ask participants on hand in case the discussion got off topic (as is very possible when dealing with younger individuals and even adults).

4. Set up meeting time.
After finding all of the indivduals that are willing and able to take part in your focus group, I suggest finding a common time that works for them all. This demonstrates the importance of maintaining a file of participants and their contact information. Incentives for participation may also be utilized if you are having trouble gathering participants.

5. Conduct your focus group (record the event).
This is the easy, and by far, most exhilarating part of the whole process. On the day and time you've chosen to meet, get right down to business. An introduction is definitely a good idea, but keep it short. Also allow for a short icebreaker at the beginning to get participants comfortable with one another. I also HIGHLY recommend that you record the event in some way. Options for recording include simply taking notes, or even using and audio or video recorder. No matter the method you choose, make sure you have the permission of your participants, and if the participants are minors, you need the permission of their parents.

6. Compile your data/ make adjustments to your work as you see fit.
After the event, give yourself a day or two to digest all that you've learned before making any changes to your work. After this buffer period has ended, examine your recordings or notes and highlight or take note of the pertinent responses and advice. Remember, even if you don't agree with someone's opinion, you should serioulsy consider what they've said. Afterall, this sampling of individuals is representing the greater population of individuals who will or won't choose to read your book.

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Character Development Exercise

So it's time for another activity suggestion courtesy of me! I am constantly on the look out for projects or activities that might help me improve or encourage my writing, and I thought of one a while ago, but just got a chance to try it out this week.

The concept is pretty simple and involves taking pictures  throughout your day while jotting down a few quick notes at each location. For me, it involved taking my camera on campus  and taking pictures while I traveled to and from classes. At the end of the day I uploaded my pictures and used my notes for each one to create a mini storyline. I used the character analysis I had already done  to basically re-write my day in terms of a main character. Essentially, describe your day as though a character of yours lived it instead of you.

To Recap:
1. Take pictures throughout the day.
2. Jot down notes  of what you were doing, thinking, etc. at that point.
3. Upload pictures and review your notes
4. Last, and probably most fun, re-write your day as though one of your characters lived it instead.

Good luck, and I really hope you give it a try because it was actually fun!

(I took all of these photos today, and the captions included are the portions of text from my re-write. Because I couldn't fit much else into the captions, here are a couple things you should know:
-The only building photographed is University Hall on BGSU's campus.
-The rest of the images were taken in my apartment building and the local cemetary, which happens to be right in the middle of campus.)

That being said, here's my day as if it were lived by Brina Claramund, my main character:



Having trouble seeing the full captions? The click HERE .

Idea? Check. Characters? Check. World? Check. Story?

After much work, planning, and brainstorming you’re finally ready to write your novel, right? The answer: almost. Some experienced writers say that some of their best work is the result of impulse writing or drafting without plans and allowing the characters to end up where they may. While this is definitely an admirable method of crafting a novel, for us first-timers it might prove to be a little trickier than that. Without a plan, writer’s block can set in pretty thoroughly, and for a first-time author it can be the barrier that keeps you from finishing your manuscript.

To combat what I like to call the “15,000 Word Wall,” or the point at which I had my first writing crisis: Chapter 4, Page 1, word 15,032, I suggest you at least create for yourself a brief outline based on the chapters you want to write, how long they should be, and the major plot-points  you want them to contain. You don’t have to stick to this, but it is definitely helpful to have something to go back to when you just don’t know what to say next.

A few outline basics are:

1. Number of Chapters.
This can really become a useful list of goals as you attempt to finish your novel, and telling yourself that you want to write at least 10 chapters acts as an excellent motivator.

2. Key moments.
Designating a few key moments  to happen in each of you chapters as well as making a list of back-up of events for moments of writer’s block is also a great idea.

3. Character Arcs .
You know where you want your story to end and where you characters will be when that end is reached, but you should be careful that you don’t lose some of your characters along the way just to have them reappear at their designated ending when your novel concludes. To achieve this, jot down individual storylines for each character. You should avoid introducing flat characters just to move your main character along. If they’re present, give them purpose and guidance, let them be a part of the story as it evolves.

With all of this mapped out, you really won’t ever feel lost as to what your next move should be, and avoiding that discouragement can go a long way towards seeing your novel through to the end! You should be excited about unveiling each key moment every time you sit down to write and deciding in advance what these moments will be and when they will occur can only help your progress along.

World; universe: everything that exists anywhere

Now that you have undoubtedly crafted several characters that are sure to entice and entertain your readers, it’s time to give them life. Right now your characters exist only in your mind as thinking, feeling beings and the next step to crafting your tale is to give them a place, a world, where they can share their personalities.

Based on your genre and storyline brainstorming you probably have an idea about what this world will entail, but now it’s time to examine that world from every angle and carve a niche for each of your characters to exist in.

I could go on for pages and pages about the specifics involved in this process, but because there are so many possible unique genres and individual worlds they can encompass I think it’s best to cover a couple of broad tidbits of advice. Remember, these are just a few ideas to get you started, they are in no way all-inclusive, and I urge you to take from them what you choose and add or alter them to your liking!

1. World Generation.
If you are creating a world within your writing that is completely unique, remember that readers will have millions of questions about every little detail. So, if your main characters are the Timindi people who live in the mystical world of Yrdnual that exists through the invisible portal behind every washer and dryer, you better be prepared to describe their looks, where and how they live, what they eat, what they do for fun, etc. These worlds can be incredibly fun to create, but also very taxing, so prepare for an imagination workout should you choose to undertake the generation of a new world. If this is the route you are choosing, I would create a notebook full of the ideas you wish to represent in your writing as well as questions your audience might have and your answers for them.

2. World Description.
In order for readers to become immersed in your characters’ lives, it helps for them to be able to visualize the character’s surroundings. Because of this, it is wise to give a pretty good description  somewhere early on in your writing. This is by no means something that must be done as there are several examples of novels where minimal description  is used to the readers advantage. If they are given no details, they have the opportunity to completely create the world in their minds. It all depends on the demographic your novel is catering too. The best advice I can give is to examine those novels you wish to emulate and take note of some of the methods they employ as far as description is concerned.

Forget the Legos, It’s Time for Some Character Building!

Just like those towering contraptions we used to construct out of Legos as kids, crafting a novel is very much a work in progress. The tools you have and the ideas you have come up with are those blocks to be stacked, and the glue that holds them together includes all of your characters. You can’t have a plot readers will enjoy without first having compelling characters for them to relate to in some way.

Your newest task in the novel-writing process is to get to know the characters, or the people you want living in the world you are manufacturing. I really haven’t found a sure-fire formula for doing this, but I think any reader and aspiring writer knows what works and what doesn’t. Some possible methods for achieving such characters include:

1. Establish the number of characters  your story will focus on. Keep in mind that in order to help your readers become attached to your characters they must empathize with them. If the reader can become entangled with the life of a character, feel their feelings, and genuinely worry about their fate, their enjoyment of your story will be amplified.

2. One effective way to help readers to feel for your characters is to build your character with depth. Rather than a skeleton, give readers the flesh and blood version. This can be accomplished through back-story , but the most accessible characters are those that grow with the story and allow readers to learn a little bit about themselves at every turn.

3. One idea for achieving this involves something I have already talked about: brainstorming. Divide pieces of paper into four squares and in each square write the name of a character you want to bring to life. Underneath the name list a DETAILED description. In this description, you should include: age/birthday, nicknames, favorite food, fears, desires, habits (bad or good), hobbies, skills, weaknesses, personality traits  (organized, motivated, sloppy, hot-headed, etc…), and everything else you can think of.

4. Use your descriptions to really get to know your characters, and by the time you go to write their first scene you will know without hesitation what they would do. If you develop them clearly enough, it will be as though they were standing right beside you whispering answers in your ear.

5. Lastly, don’t be afraid to make your characters flawed. Not only are flawed characters more entertaining, they are easier to write as well.

Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Brainstorm

Now that you analyzed yourself to the point of no return, you’ve hopefully come up with an general idea for what you would like to write. Let’s say you’ve decided to write a romance novel about a former zoo-keeper who must find a way to rescue her favorite monkey from captivity. You’ve found a way to combine some of your interests, and now all you need is to develop your storyline. Some Brainstorming methods I have come across that have worked for me include:

1. Free writing.
I know we’ve all been forced to use this method in some form or another since we started grade school, but there is a reason for that—it works. Just sit down, start writing and don’t stop. Even if the bulk of what you’ve written is completely nonsensical, I can guarantee that there will be some nugget of genius tucked within the gibberish that you will be able to use. It might even be the once sentence that inspires you to write an entire chapter.

2. Journal.
If you already keep a journal , look through what you’ve already written. Is there a particular passage you find funny, interesting, saddening, maddening? Is it something you can elaborate on or create a story around? It can be an amazing catharsis to write about key moments in your life and analyze them. What would happen if you’d said something different? What if you’d have been sick that day and missed the experience entirely. These real-life adventures can make for even better stories, and best of all, you can alter them any way you want to. Give your arch-enemies their comeuppances or crown yourself homecoming queen; the decisions are all yours to make!

If you don’t journal, I really suggest you start. If writing is something that interests you, journaling is an excellent way to practice. Besides, looking back at old entries can be entertaining, enlightening, and really helpful when want to flesh out a character in your novel.

3. Observe and Record.
This method really works for me, but I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I am an incurable daydreamer. Every little thing sets me off. Whether it’s a broken doorknob in a university classroom or a person with a casted leg walking down the hall, I often find myself crafting stories about them. What if a student crept in and slept overnight in the classroom with the broken knob? Would they be able to make it through the night without being discovered? Why are they there in the first place? Before I know it, I have an entire storyline floating around in my head, and if you simply teach yourself to be observant this could really work for you too!

Just as easily as I get these ideas, however, they can disappear. So, for creativities sake, I carry around a spare notebook and write these ideas down when I get the chance. Sometimes I look back at them and realize they are utterly ridiculous, but every once in a while a good one will stick.

Just remember, jotting down a funny story or scene that you’ve witnessed or summarizing a conversation you’ve overheard or were part of takes all of five minutes and can become infinitely useful in the long-run.

Go ahead! Get out there and try one or more of these out and let me know how it works for you! Also, be sure to let us know of any other methods you find useful!

So You’ve Decided to Write a Book, Now What?

Now that you have decided to sit down and write a novel, one of the most difficult parts is out of the way. Oftentimes, finding the motivation to start a project can be the hardest step, and now that you have done it things can only go up!

So you’ve decided to write a book, now what? Well the first thing you need is an idea, so ask yourself these questions:

1. What am I interested in?
Do you have a hobby  or are you passionate or knowledgeable about something in particular?

2. What do I enjoy reading?
When it comes to writing, it’s definitely important to choose a topic that you have a lot to say about. If you absolutely can’t stand sports, it’s probably a bad idea to write a novel where the main character is a professional athlete.

Look at the novels you enjoy reading. Do you enjoy diving into mysteries and solving crimes, or are you more likely to swoon over a good romance novel? The best advice for this particular area is to write what you know and, most of all, write about something you would enjoy reading yourself.

3. Is there are particular genre I would like to be a part of? (Science Fiction, Supernatural, Romance, Comedy, Mystery, etc…)
When it comes time to get your completed manuscript published, the genre  and target audience  will become incredibly important, so while you are thinking about what type of novel you would like to write, try to keep these things in mind. You might enjoy fugitive apprehension and animal grooming, but will you be able to write about these topics in a way that will be inviting and entertaining to readers? If you can, then go for it!

Next, take these answers and use them as a basic guide for developing your ideas as you BRAINSTORM, BRAINSTORM, BRAINSTORM!