Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 134

The Do’s & Don’t’s Of Writing Romance

If you are writing a romance novel, there are several things you need to do to ensure that your audience stays engaged throughout, as well as caring deeply about whether your characters romance will survive whatever comes their way.

Romance is a tricky genre as trying to come up with a unique premise, an unusual way of looking at love and relationships, and three-dimensional characters who, while still fitting in with the typical romance genre, are intriguing and exciting enough to want to get to know.

So what are the do’s and don’ts of writing romance? Take a look below to find out!

Do work hard on your characters. Most ordinary people experience love and romance at some point in their lives – so make your characters relatable. They should be likeable and ordinary.

However, as the novel unfolds, the challenges they face, and their reactions to these challenges – their bravery, strength, and compassion – this is what will make them extraordinary and therefore exciting enough to capture your reader’s imaginations and hearts.

Don’t forget about the action. A romance novel needs to be centred around love and the relationships between your characters. However your can’t focus on this alone. Don’t forget to include just as much action as your would in any other piece of fiction to keep your readers turning those pages.

Do make it emotional, and tough. We want to see a whole range of emotions in the novel, joy, happiness, contentment, anger, passion, loneliness, fear, and pain. Don’t make it easy – readers ultimately want to see the relationships work out against all the odds, but if it happens right away, or there is no fight for it, they’ll quickly lose interest.

Don’t wimp out. If you are writing a love story, make it the greatest darn love story of all time! Don’t be scared. Think big, be courageous and creative. Love is incredibly powerful, and can take us to far away places and force us to make bizarre choices or massive, life-changing decisions. Make sure you treat love with the respect it deserves, and go all out.

Do give your characters flaws. No-one can relate to an impossibly beautiful and perfect woman – both on the inside and out, and no one wants to read about her either. Try to steer clear of stereotypes – the beautiful lonely girl who has always dreamed of falling in love, the dark brooding stranger who falls into her life and needs to be tamed. You know the story. We all do, and we don’t need to read it again.

Don’t be afraid to write an unhappy ending. Just because you are writing a romance novel, you don’t have to give your readers the ending they want. If you have written a successful story your readers will be desperate for the characters to get together in the end, but you don’t have to grant them that wish. Sometimes sad or bittersweet endings can be even more perfect than happy ones.

Do include a villain or two. A real villain creates a striking contrast to your romantic characters and is hugely fun to write as well. Make sure your villain is complex and intriguing too -no one-dimensional pantomime villains, please!

Don’t go over the top with the sex scenes. Unless you are writing the next Fifty Shades of Grey (and trust me, many people have already pipped you to the post), you need to think carefully about how to introduce sex into the novel, as it will have a huge effect on the kind of audience you are targeting. Romance novels have mass appeal, but if you go too graphic or include lots of profanity you are narrowing your audience – so make sure you understand the risks before getting too carried away!

Writing romance can be hugely rewarding and lots of fun. As with any genre, it has its rules and its common pitfalls – so try to remember to follow and avoid these to make sure your romance novel stands the best chance of success!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post The Do’s & Don’t’s Of Writing Romance appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

What Makes A Successful Self-Published Author?

Every self-published author has different goals, expectations and hopes for what they want to achieve when it comes to book sales and popularity. Some may be over the moon if their book sells into the hundreds, others would see this as a dismal failure.

Consequently, determining what makes a successful self-published author is difficult.

Someone who wants to finish their first 5k does not have the same expectations as someone who wants to run a marathon. Nor do they have to put in the same amount of time and effort when it comes to training. Much the same could be said of the self-publishing world.

Often it is the authors who have the most drive and determination and who have put the most effort and care into the self-publishing process that end up selling the most books.

Most authors, however, do have a common dream, and that is to be able to quit their day jobs and write full-time. So if we are judging the success of a self-published book on whether or not it enables us to do so, it is fair to say that we need to put in a lot of work to achieve that level of sales and popularity.

So really, the question is, how can you make it happen for you?

As with many things in life, you get what you pay for, and this is particularly true of publishers set up to help self-publishers get their book in the best possible condition to sell.

These publishers offer a range of services from editing and proof-reading to designing your book cover to helping you to market the finished product. While these services are almost always necessary to give your book the best chance of success, they do not come cheap. If they do, it is because they are probably not going to do the job well. Do your research and if you come across a publisher that offers an unbelievably good deal then trust your instincts – it is probably too good to be true.

Market like crazy

There are so many things you can do to market your book. Do all of them. Gathering emails, writing a blog, doing a book tour, gathering testimonials, entering book contests, building a social media following – the list is endless. One way in particular, however, is sure to boost your book sales like no other – and that’s getting press attention.

Pitching to the media can feel tedious as 99% of the time they may well ignore you. However, that 1% that don’t – they could be the difference between selling a handful of books and tens of thousands.

Great self-published authors make sure that all their bases are covered and do everything in their power to succeed. Being an author is just like any other career, sure there are those lucky few that seem to effortlessly get what they want right away, but for most of us it’s a tough old slog, and only consistent hard work and determination will see us reap the rewards.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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Brilliant Apps To help Your Write Your Book

We all need a little help from time to time, and when it comes to writing a novel most authors would agree that anything to make the process easier would be gratefully received!

Always procrastinating? Perpetually disorganised? Always rushing from one task to the next? If this sounds like you, then we may well have a solution!

While many of us may prefer keeping things simple, and don’t like using many gismos or gadgets which may overly complicate things, there are some incredibly handy apps out there that can help keep us organised and free up time to focus on what we love to do best!

Here are some fantastic apps which every writer needs:

MindNode

This super handy app makes mind mapping a breeze. Being able to brainstorm ideas and then work out how to link them all together is all part of the writing process. Mind maps lets you capture all of your thoughts and ideas and then organise them in an intuitive and logical way so you can see how it will all pan out.

You can use MindNode however you want but starting with your central idea and working out from there creates a beautiful, visual, and cleverly organised mind map which helps you to see things more clearly. You can highlight, colour code and customise the branches too.

The Brainstormer

Every suffered from writer’s block? Well, you will never have to again if you download and use the Brainstormer app!

OK so this isn’t technically a guarantee, but what it does do is help you to tap back into your creative side and get those brain cogs turning once more. You log different ideas, plot points, subjects and settings and then the Brainstormer wheel will turn and randomly generate a new scenario for you! It helps you think outside the box and look at your writing from a fresh perspective.

Story Tracker

Ever sent your novel off to a tonne of publishers at once and then realised you have no way of keeping track of who has responded, who you need to chase, and so on?

We have all been there, and that’s where Story Tracker can be a real lifesaver. Any piece of writing that you submit can be logged via this app, any income earned, deadlines, responses and so on can also be noted, so you can easily keep track of all your work in one central place.

WordBook

OK so as writers you’d think we have a pretty firm grasp on the English language. Still, we have all fallen into the trap of over using a certain word or phrase in our writing. WordBook offers etymological information, a fantastic spell checker which will helpfully suggest the word it this you are trying to spell, and an extensive thesaurus too.

Goodreader

The Holy Grail of writing apps, Goodreader is your personal editing app which means you can tackle the editing of your manuscript on the go. With features such as sticky notes, highlighting and pasting in new text, Goodreader makes editing your book (almost) fun.

Lists for Writers

This super cool app is great if you need a little writing inspiration. If you are stuck on a character name, what their profession should be, need some clever plot lines, or even just action verbs then List for Writers can help!

Writing apps might not be for everyone, but these six are certainly well worth checking out if you feel like you could do with a helping hand, so why not give them a try?

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Brilliant Apps To help Your Write Your Book appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Take The Plunge And Become A Full-time Freelance Writer

Have you been toying with the idea of packing in your current job and going freelance full-time?

If so then congratulations! While it is not an easy decision to make, and is certainly not for the faint-hearted, taking charge of your freelance writing career can be so rewarding.

If you are willing to put the time and effort in it could end up being a very lucrative career choice, and probably the best decision you have ever made!

So if you are ready to take the plunge and become a full-time freelance writer, what should you expect? Here are some useful home truths to prepare you for what you need to do and what you can expect from this new journey!

You’ll have to make sacrifices

Particularly when you start off, making sacrifices and giving up things you used to have time for is all par for the course.

Every successful person will tell you that you have to work hard for what you want, and always give it your all. You can’t get something for nothing, and the more you are willing to put in the more potential your freelance writing business will have.

Nothing worthwhile comes for free so be prepared to say goodbye to some of your hobbies or social activities that you used to take for granted.

Go all in

Don’t um and ahh about your decision, don’t keep one toe dipped in a different pool. If you actually want to make a success of yourself as a freelance writer, you have got to just go for it.

When people ask you what you do, tell them you are a writer, and tell them proudly. Believe it yourself. Having this confidence and changing your perspective so you view yourself as a writer and nothing else will help you put those dreams into action.

Expect rejection

Not everyone will love your work, or think your ideas are unique and inspiring. Be prepared for this. You might be faced with many rejections when you start, or, worse still, just plain silence where you don’t even get a response!

This happens to all writers, and it is perseverance that separates those who go onto greatness and those who slink back to their 9-5 office jobs. Don’t let people get you down, rework your ideas and pitch them elsewhere, persist.

Stop procrastinating and just get on with it

Writers are incredible at coming up with excuses for not doing what they love.

It’s scary, we get that, but eventually you need to take the plunge.

If you hear yourself saying ‘well I just need to finish my website,’ or ‘ I just want to build up my blog,’ or ‘I just want to read this insanely massive book on how to write’ before I start’ then you are probably just getting cold feet.

No writer knows everything, or ever feels completely organised and self-assured. The best way to improve you writing skills? Write! So just get on with it and you’ll learn so much faster.

Push yourself, but know your limits

Taking on too much work, comparing yourself to other writers who seem to be able to bang out 15 articles a day, worrying about your work so much that you end up pulling it to pieces and having to start over – these are all common traits of the newbie freelance writer.

You can’t spend your time worrying about all the other established writers out there, or comparing yourself to those who have been in the game for years, and taking on an insane amount of work will only leave you struggling to produce any content of value whatsoever and quickly feeling disheartened.

Push yourself by all means, and work as hard as you possibly can – but only you know your limits and if you burn yourself out too quickly, you’ll regret it.

So many writers are afraid to take the plunge and become full-time freelance writers. It’s not for everyone. However, if you do feel like it, it could be the job for you so don’t let fear stop you, end those excuses now and just make it happen!

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Want To Boost Your Writing Productivity? Here’s How

Being a writer requires lots of hard work, determination, and more often than not, a little bit of luck too!

However, one thing that many writers don’t expect when they start dedicating more time to their craft is how organised and disciplined they have to be as well. Unfortunately, organisation and discipline don’t necessarily come naturally to us creative types. I certainly find myself rushing around late for everything, always writing and rewriting lists of things I need to get done (but inevitably giving myself an unrealistic amount to do and never completing them)! I also find myself wondering where I filed receipts and invoices (if at all), staring hopelessly at my screen clicking between two versions of my book and trying to figure out which one is the most recent one, and putting off important jobs that I don’t want to do – the list goes on!

Getting organised is critical if you want to become a productive writer. Essentially, by having all your affairs in order and creating streamlined processes for other tasks such as accounting, research, idea pitching, chapter structuring, marketing, blogging, social media and so on, you are freeing up more time to do what you love i.e. write.

So how can you finally get your act together and boost your writing productivity?

Here as some tips:

Get through your list, or kill it

You know those tasks that keep being transferred from one list to another, the ones you never get round to doing? Well either do them or take them off altogether. Some tasks are too vague or too complicated to put on a list, for example ‘learn about Photoshop’ ‘understand how social media works’ – these tasks take up huge amounts of time, and the actual goal is not quantifiable.

Having unrealistic expectations of yourself will only leave you feeling disheartened and embarking on a half-hearted attempt to tackle them when you have a spare half hour – and inevitably getting nowhere. If you like to have lists to structure your day make them short, and make the tasks specific and achievable.

Spend less time organising and more time doing

Often the problem is that we ‘over organise’ ourselves and this takes up far too much of our precious time.

Do you find yourself spending an hour each day re arranging then colour coordinating your schedule to make sure it is as slick as it can be? Let’s face it, most of the time we know what we want to get through in a day to feel satisfied and on top of things  -so use your time wisely and just get on with it.

Prioritise wisely

You may have a number of deadlines to juggle, and these will play a part in how your organise your day/week/month, but also make sure that you aren’t avoiding those pesky tasks that you secretly just don’t want to do.

Often by starting your day doing the things you enjoy the least you’ll find it so much easier to work and get everything done.

Many writers also love to procrastinate, they find themselves doing their tax return three months early because they can’t face sitting down and pushing themselves to be creative. If this sounds like you then make writing your priority – do it before anything else and you’ll feel so much better about yourself.

Know what you are capable of

If you continuously compare yourself to other writers or give yourself an impossible amount of work to do you are going to feel stressed out, never get on top of your workload and inevitably feel like a failure.

Comparing yourself to others is a waste of time, and sometimes you might have an ‘off’ day and not get as much done as you had hoped – that’s OK. Go easy on yourself, and be realistic about what you can do.

Being a productive writer is achievable, and using these tips to get organised will help you get there. How do you stay organised and productive as a writer? Let us know!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Want To Boost Your Writing Productivity? Here’s How appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Avoid These Self-Publishing Mistakes

Self-publishing has truly changed the way that the book industry is run and has given an opportunity to millions of authors enabling them to get their book out there, to reach their target audience, and in many cases, go on to have a successful career as an author.

If you haven’t self-published a book before and are thinking of doing it, then there are some things you should know. Getting your book in print is a beautiful thing, but you do need to consider your options carefully, and thoroughly understand how the self-publishing process works to ensure you give your book the best chance possible.

Remember once you publish your book on well-known sites such as Amazon or Google Books, there is little you can do to change it, so if you realise you have made a mistake or don’t like your book cover, you might just have to grin and bear it.

So, once you have finished your book and you are ready to self-publish, what should you do?

Take a step back

If you are still in the editing stages, why not give yourself a break for a couple of weeks? Often it can be tough to spot mistakes or inconsistencies if we read the same words over and over again. You need to get some distance between yourself and your book. Take some time to concentrate on other tasks and you’ll be able to go back to it with fresh eyes and spot errors so much easier.

Get some feedback

Find people to review your book. Having someone read it who is completely new to the material can be so helpful, and their critique will be invaluable when it comes to editing your book. They are also likely to spot errors you may have missed which will be useful – as once your book is available to readers if it is full of mistakes, they’ll make sure you know about them!

Invest in a professional proof-reader

If you are serious about making money from your book then handing your manuscript over to a professional proof-reader can make all the difference and guarantee that when it goes out into the public domain, it is error free.

Don’t make your own cover

Unless you are a professional designer then trying to create your own cover can be a complete disaster. Investing in a professional book cover will make it look smart and stand out from the crowd. People do judge books by their covers – it’s the first thing they see after all, so don’t risk putting your readers off before they have even had a chance to see what’s inside!

Devise a brilliant marketing plan

Don’t publish your book and figure out how to market it as you go along. Have a strong marketing plan ready to be implemented from day one (or even before!) think about all the different ways you can promote your book and create hype about it. Remember, however good your book may be, if no-one knows about it, they certainly aren’t going to read it!

Self-publishing can be a hugely rewarding, and in some cases, very lucrative move. If you believe in yourself, take your time and stay organised then you can rest assured you are giving your book the very best chance of success.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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Managing Your Workload As A Freelance Writer

There are many ups and downs to working as a freelance writer. Struggling to get jobs and maintain a steady income can be a huge challenge. However with the abundance of writing jobs out there today, many freelance writers find themselves with an opposite sort of problem – the job offers flooding in, and suddenly having to ensure they have enough time, flexibility and organisation to ensure they meet all those deadlines.

Managing your workload as a freelance writer can be tricky. Of course, we are used to being able to pick and choose when we work (one of the many great perks of the job), but without proper scheduling, when the bigger, more demanding, more complex projects come in, it is easy to get into a state of panic very quickly.

Many freelance writers, like me, are creative writers at heart. Natural organisation doesn’t necessarily come easily to them. What can happen easily, however, is taking on too many jobs, underestimating the length of time it is going to take your to do them and ending up juggling an impossible workload which leaves you feeling stressed and exhausted.

Here are some of the common predicaments freelance writers find themselves in

Not being able to say no to any job – you don’t know if you might lose a client, or your other work might dry up, so you say yes to everyone just in case

You don’t pay attention to how much you are being paid. You get paid completely different amounts for different jobs and don’t realise that some of them are taking you just as long but for half the paycheck.

You can’t bear the idea of outsourcing any of your jobs because you want to exceed your client’s expectations, and the only way you can do that is by managing every aspect of your freelance writing business yourself.

Sound familiar? If it does you need to take control and find a way to make your business work for you, before you become overworked, overbooked and unable to keep it up any longer.

So how do you do it?

Know your worth

Your existing clients should know by now that you deliver good quality work on time and go over and above to make sure they are satisfied. Therefore if you put your rates up, they should be happy to meet them to keep you working for them. Making yourself the cheapest of the cheap won’t work, in fact, it will put off clients who will assume they’ll get what they pay for. Don’t take on jobs that don’t pay properly; they don’t do anyone any favours, especially you.

Learn how to drop clients

Make a list of all the people you regularly work for, the hours you work for each one and how much you earn. Drop your lowest payer, or the one that takes up too much of your time. You should make room for new clients who are willing to pay more and demand less for the quality of service you provide.

Build your testimonials and get a tip top portfolio together

Getting great testimonials will prove your worth and these, plus a great portfolio means you can start to pitch for the best-paid jobs. You need to show what you can do and having the above will make that so much easier.

Get referrals

If you particularly like working with a certain client ask them if they know of anyone else you might find your services useful. Informing your clients you’d appreciate it if they referred you to others will help get the job offers rolling in.

Outsource what you don’t need to do

There are plenty of administrative tasks that come with the freelance writing role. Once you start making a decent living, why not alleviate some of that pressure and hire someone to help you manage your day to day workload. This could be anything from sending out enquiries and managing your emails to doing software updates, research, and running general errands. Go on; you’ll make your life so much easier if you do.

Structure your day

Most people work around an 8 hour day. You don’t have to do the usual 9-5, but what you should do is be aware of how much you are working. It’s fantastic to work hard and care about your career, but if you are working 70 hour weeks, have no social life and never get to hang out with your partner/kids/friends, then you need to restructure and rethink how you work. Set your business hours, let clients know and then stick to them. If you are a workaholic no doubt you will find this tough at first but clients needs to know what your boundaries are, and so do you.

Say no

Don’t take jobs you won’t enjoy or ones that pay next to nothing – remember you are worth so much more than that!

These tips will help you manage your workload and reduce it down so you are only working on quality projects you love, that pay appropriately and leave you with time to have a life too!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post Managing Your Workload As A Freelance Writer appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How Using Your Imagination Helps You To Write Great Books

If you are writing a fiction book, you are no doubt using your imagination. You are essentially making it up after all! However, some writers, despite being good at their craft, find it challenging to let their imaginations run wild.

Using your imagination and allowing yourself the freedom to think up surprising and unique ideas for your book can be harder than you think.

We live in a world where we are taught to question things, to investigate them, and we rely on our senses to tell us whether something is real or not. However, one of the great joys of reading is being able to immerse oneself in another world. A world where anything is possible, where the usual rules don’t apply.

As readers, we are so willing to believe in the stories we read, and, providing the writing in convincing, we can suspend our disbelief and be carried along on a magical journey, to places that are just as real to us as anywhere else.

In fact, readers and writers have an unspoken deal. If writers can use their imaginations and write a believable story, readers will set aside what the have been told to be true and allow themselves to believe in the impossible.

So how do you exercise your creativity and learn how to set your imagination free?

Ask questions

To write a story you need a character, so imagine a person. Who are they? Where are they? Why are they here? What do the want? As soon as you start asking questions, your imagination starts to work. Then you need to imagine the world. Where is it in the universe? What kind of landscapes does it have? What colours can you see? What kind of animals live there?

Try not to censor yourself, think big and see where it takes you. Once you have established the standard things, try to think of more unorthodox questions to ask, this way your answers too will become more intriguing and imaginative.

Go somewhere new

Stimulate your imagination by going somewhere you have never been before. Sometimes it can be difficult to get creative when you are stuck in the same old routine. If you have an adventure and try new things, your imagination will be boosted. Go somewhere new and explore it. Every time you see a building or a person make up a story about them in your mind, soon you will start to see your imagination running wild.

Read children’s stories

Reading children’s stories is an excellent way to inspire your imagination and to learn how to think more creatively.

The worlds that are created in children’s stories are almost always ones in which some sort of magic happens.The characters are other-worldly, mysterious creatures and the adventures they have are impossible, dangerous, exhilarating rollercoaster rides. Reading stories where you are asked to let go of the world you live in, and (temporarily) believe in another where anything is possible, will help you become more imaginative in your own work.

Listen to music

Music is very evocative, and it can encourage memories, desires, emotions and thoughts and allow them to come to the forefront of our minds. Make a playlist of lots of different genres and types of music and see which songs or pieces work best for you.

Setting your imagination free can bring great rewards for writers, your ideas will feel more original, your stories more exciting and adventurous and the writing process will feel more satisfying in general. So next time you sit down to write, ask yourself whether you are fully using your imagination, and if not, why not try the ideas above to see where they take you?

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

The post How Using Your Imagination Helps You To Write Great Books appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Are Writing Retreats Really Worth It?

Ahh, the writing retreat! Whenever I think of them, I imagine myself in a sunshine-dappled courtyard, probably somewhere in Tuscany, where gentle breezes ripple through the windows, and each day I sit at a beautiful oak desk with a view of rolling vineyards as far as the eye can see. At night I gather with like-minded people, all dressed in tunics, loafers and flowing bohemian dresses, we drink good wine and talk about our creative projects, swap ideas and inspire one another. By the end of the week, I have written more than I have done in the last six months, and I believe in myself – it’s good, it’s all very very good.

Now I am sure that there are some writing retreats out there, ones that really do create this kind of experience, where a beautiful, relaxing environment is all you need to suddenly free your mind and write more beautifully and more vigorously than ever before.

But are writing retreats really like this? And why do we need them to be able to write? They are notoriously expensive, and while the accommodation food and wine may be so delightful it makes your eyes water, why is sitting around somewhere luxurious going to inspire you to write any more than sitting in your own home?

If you do decide to go on a writing retreat, how do you know which one to choose? Each writer is different and will have different expectations and hopes of what they want to achieve.

The first thing to note is that a writing retreat is not the same as a writing conference. A conference is more likely to be a one or two-day event where you can attend talks and lectures, classes and workshops, and even have the opportunity to pitch your idea to potential agents and publishers. A writing retreat simply provides you with the space and the tools to write, free from distractions, but there is usually little structure, and you will still be required to motivate yourself to do the writing rather than laze in the sunshine and drink gallons of wine come nightfall.

There are a huge number of writing retreats one can choose from. Doing you research will ensure you pick the best one for you. Some require you to stay for a minimum length of time; some will help you to structure your day, insist that you socialise with the other members and help guide you in the writing process, others will leave you almost entirely to your own devices. The settings vary greatly too, from stately homes to sunny villas or more basic accommodation with simple rooms and communal bathrooms and kitchens.

Writing with other writers can be very beneficial. You can discuss your work with likeminded people, share it, and provide encouragement and support for one another. This is all possible (and likely) at a writing retreat. However, it is important to bear in mind that there are no guarantees! Writers are very individually minded and often it can be difficult to get on the same wavelength. Writing in different genres and different types of writing can all be appreciated, but it is important to remember everyone attending a writing retreat is essentially there for themselves.

You still need willpower and determination. No one can force you to write – even at a writing retreat, and you won’t get your money back if you don’t achieve as much as you had hoped! So if you do decide to go on one you need to make the most of it. If you can’t embrace it fully and use it as an opportunity to kickstart or really get some headway on your writing, then it is probably going to be a waste of time and money!

Remember you can always make your own writing retreat. Let’s face it; many writers are struggling to make ends meet as it is, so while the breezy Tuscan dream might sound fabulous, the reality is that you pay a pretty penny for the privilege. If you know other writers who might like to try a writing retreat, why not get together and see if you can find somewhere for a mini-break and try it together? There are plenty of beautiful places where you can rent out amazing houses, cottages and so on, and usually for a fraction of the price of writing retreat.

So are writing retreats worth it? I certainly think the idea of them is wonderful, and providing you did your research and found one to suit your needs then it could be a fantastic and very helpful experience. However, if you find it difficult to write you may want to address that before you go, otherwise you could end up paying out hundreds of dollars for very little in return.

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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What Readers Want

Every writer knows that if they understand what their readers want they are far more likely to sell their books.

Of course, you can write a book for yourself, but if you don’t write with your readers in mind, it will be hard to find a way of connecting with them.

So much writing advice states that by researching your audience and getting into their mindset, you will be able to see exactly what they are looking for in a story, and create yours in such a way that it has mass appeal. Perhaps this simplifies the complex writing process too much, but there is no denying that thorough research and understanding of what your readers want can only help you write a successful and popular story.

So just what do readers want? While of course, we can’t speak for every reader out there (we all have different tastes, opinions, and lifestyles which influence what we read), when it comes to fiction, there are certain things to include.

Making the impossible possible

The most beautiful thing about fiction writing that nothing must be confined to the real world. This doesn’t just apply to fantastical, magical stories; it can be applied to anything. In fiction, absolutely anything can happen, and as long as it is written in an engaging and convincing way, readers will buy into that.

If you can get your audience to believe in your story they get to take a lovely little holiday from the real world and become fully immersed in another where they are simply an observer – this is very relaxing, and why a lot of people enjoy reading!

Striking an emotional chord

Readers need to care about your characters and the position that they find themselves in. Whether you make them laugh, cry, feel angry, scared or unsettled, you need to do something that makes them react in an emotional way.

Catalysing change

If a novel changes us in some way, it motivates us to act. That might be just to see things differently, to pick up the phone to an old friend, to try to reconnect with a past lover. If a book can inspire us to be better, braver, more compassionate, then it will be remembered. Readers who feel changed after they have read a book will feel as though they have got something out of it -and  it will satisfy them

Characters we can identify with

Having strong characters is an essential ingredient in any book. While there is no need to write every character in your book in a way that readers identify with them, at least one (usually your protagonist) should be someone they are rooting for. Most human beings see themselves as a huge number of things, brave and fearful, happy and sad, calm and angry – flawed, but inherently good. Most well-loved protagonists, whoever they are, embrace all these characteristics so that readers, whoever they are, can identify and sympathise with them.

A story full of mystery, suspense, drama and action

Stories need to be good. You can have a fantastic idea, but unless you can realise that idea by telling it in an interesting way, then your story simply won’t do well. The best books are full of dramatic tension, action, struggles and conflicts – whether you are writing a romance or a gruesome horror, these are the elements that keep us turning those pages.

A good ending

Every story needs a good ending – be it happy or sad, the story needs to be resolved. So whether your reader finishes the final page and feels elated, or distraught, they need to feel something final and satisfying – they need it to end.

Understanding the key things readers look for in a book will help you stay focused on what matters when you are writing your own. What do you think your readers look for? Let us know!

Bethany Cadman -author of ‘Doctor Vanilla’s Sunflowers’

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