Ryan Lanz's Blog, page 3

Why Great Books Face Rejection

Fact: lots of great books once faced rejection. You might see tons of inspiring stories about famous authors who were rejected repeatedly. And no matter how much talent a writer possesses, rejection comes to everyone. But what does that mean for you as a writer? It doesn’t seem fair for amazing books and authors to […]

How Do Writers Get Their Ideas?

One of the most common questions authors get asked is “How do writers get their ideas?” As a writer, I both love and hate this question. I love it, because it means readers are interested in my creative process and want to know more. I hate it, because it implies that authors and other artists […]

That Point of View Thing

Television and the movies have had a tremendous impact on the way we perceive things. It’s rare when a TV show or film allows the viewer to see only what one character sees. And yet, such a limited viewpoint is often touted as a principal means of linking reader and character. You only see what […]

10 Ways to Meet Your Writing Goals When You Have No Time

We all have lofty goals, don’t we? But we’re all a bit tight on time, even during this pandemic #amIright? Somehow, it seems like you don’t have any time when you should have more than enough. (Social distancing, anyone?) I’m a stay-at-home mom during non-pandemic times, so I know all about distractions and feeling like […]

Archetypes and Variation Fiction

In writing, there is generally a push to be original, as there is with most art. To do something new, exciting, and fresh. To break out of the old molds and create a masterpiece. But I think most of us write a more “collective” version of fiction, where we share a theme, an archetype, a trope, or […]

World Building: How to Write a Fictional Royal Court

Lemme tell you guys… this one was a doozy to write. Several weeks ago I was doing some world building and setting development for my WIP trilogy, when it dawned on me that I hadn’t spent much time developing the secondary characters that are going to be around my main protagonist. She’s a young royal, […]

Editing Tips: How to Focus Your Story and Keep Readers Turning the Pages

In my work as a fiction editor I often give writers the same piece of advice: focus, focus, focus on your core story. There, I said ‘focus’ three times. And here’s an image of someone focusing, too. That’s how important I think it is! What do I mean by ‘focus on the story’? Well, a […]

The Many Dangers of Publishing Too Soon

This is a subject I’ve touched on before, but a recent experience has convinced me to devote an entire blog post to it. I bought an e-book, the first of a series, because it was on sale for 99 cents. This is a common marketing strategy. You have a series of books, you make the […]

What Should Writers Do With Their Bad Reviews?

A friend publishing her first book just got a negative review on Amazon, but it’s the only really bad one among about two dozen positive reviews.  And lots of those were raves. I told her it was a mistake to read bad reviews.  Ever. Years ago, way before Amazon, when I heard Philip Roth give […]

What Previously Published Means for Flash Fiction

Today’s blog post is brought to you by the Letter S for Stupid and the Number 1 for All it takes is one website to lock you out. Confused? I’ll explain. You already know I write flash fiction. Some of it’s decent; some of it gets picked up by nice editors. I pen stuff, I submit it, […]