In which the Bards address several quick questions from Twitter:

* how much should I consider genre when coming up with a book idea?

* how to write humor without letting your characters become one-dimensional joke machines?

* should you get an agent first or try to sell directly to publishers, then get an agent?

* what are the pros and cons of taking a pen name and how do you choose?

* should you pitch a finished book or a partial/idea?

We continue our SUPER SPECIAL BONUS BOOK PLOTTING SEGMENT in which we start from nothing to build out a book idea to show you how pro authors flesh out the bones of a story. Last week we chose a genre, protagonist, and two secondary characters. This week we discuss naming conventions for the book and create three more secondary characters together, taking into account how to deal with tropes and how to outfit a functional adventuring party. Next week we’ll work on the antagonist and plot!

And, as always, we cover Things That Will Blow Your Mind.

Got a question on writing, publishing, books, comics, or the best kind of cocktail or gluten free goodies to power your creativity? Ask us on Twitter with hashtag #askthebards!