Ryan Lanz's Blog, page 6

How to Craft the Perfect Protagonist

The protagonist is THE main character of your story. They are the backbone of everything you’ve created – you’re telling their story, after all. Because of this, they deserve to be fully developed and well-rounded. A badly written protagonist will inevitably lead to an overall poorly constructed story. I’ve collected some tips I follow when […]

Picking the Right Point Of View

Every writer is different. Some writers are planners and come into the story knowing exactly what the plot is, who the main character is, where they’re coming from, and where they’re going. Others plan a little lighter, knowing a basic plot outline and the general characters. And some? Just make the whole thing up as […]

10 Things Every Nervous Writer Should Know

1. More writers are nervous about writing, querying, publishing, etc. than you think. We just don’t talk about it enough. 2. Fearing failure is normal and OK, as long as you’re also willing to face that fear. 3. Rejection isn’t the end of your journey. For many, it’s the beginning. 4. If you don’t feel […]

How to Research a Location You Haven’t Actually Been To

So far I’ve been able to visit most of the locations I’ve used in my books. My settings range from Edinburgh to the south coast of France, and they are all within easy reach for me. But sometimes it’s just not possible to get to the place you want to write about. I used to agonise about […]

Why Choose Indie Publishing?

With the release of my debut novel, Mist Falcon, I’ve been asked why I decided to indie publish.  Inherent in the undertone of this question lies a second question, perhaps more to the point: was my book not good enough to be “really” published?  Couldn’t you find a traditional publisher to work with? In truth, […]

Chapters: Are They Too Big?

It’s quite common when writing a novel to realize that your chapters have very different sizes. You may wonder: is this okay? Is there some standard length for a chapter? Not at all. Chapters are actually not as important as they might seem in the finished book. They are huge bags where you put some […]

How to Stop Judging Your Own Writing So Harshly

Have you been extra nice to yourself lately? If you’re a writer … the answer is probably: “…Mayyyybe?” Writers — creators in general — are way too hard on themselves. We like making things, we feel good doing it. But we really want to feel like we’re doing a good job. When we don’t feel […]

Books For Children: A Writing Challenge With Very Specific Rules

Would you like to write a children’s book? Most writers have their own favorite genre, and that reveals in their stories. Yet, sometimes, you want to do something different. Writing for adults and children are two distinct things and demand different skills. When you think about children’s books, you probably picture beautiful drawings, full of […]

The Rundown of Beta Reading

Definition of a beta reader: A beta reader is a non-professional reader who reads a written work, generally fiction, with the intent of looking over the material to find and improve elements such as grammar and spelling, as well as suggestions to improve the story, its characters, or its setting. Beta reading is typically done […]

What Self-Pubbing Authors Need to Know About Getting the Best Book Cover

Studies have proven again and again that humans make purchasing decisions based on emotional factors. This probably happens most frequently in the glittering online jungle known as Amazon.com. I read recently that Amazon is the only search engine people use with the mouse in one hand, and a credit card in the other. For me, […]