Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 39

How To Help Your Fellow Writers

Being a writer is tough, and if you are trying to make it as an author or writer of any kind, you'll know how difficult it can be to get your foot in the door, let alone get a big break. Giving and receiving support from your peers can make the world of difference. So if you want to help your fellow writers, here’s how:

Buy their books

Support other indie authors by making a pledge to discover new writing and buy their books. Buying a book from an unknown, self-published author a few times a year can be a great way of supporting the community. 

Follow them on social media and share their posts

Get on social media and share their posts, their blogs, their tour dates, etc to help drum up a bit of publicity for them.

Leave them reviews

If you liked their work, tell them about it. Reviews can make all the difference to an author, not only showing other potential readers that they are worth reading but also giving an often much-needed confidence boost. So take the time out of your day to leave a kind review. 

Share your wisdom

If you've got some tips and tricks to share, make sure you let other writers know. Starting an author blog can be ab ideal way to pass on your knowledge and experience as well as helping you find new fans, so it’s a win-win.

Offer to critique

Writers need people with experience to critique their work, so lend a hand and offer to have a read-through of other writer’s drafts and give your feedback.

Join a group

Joining writing groups is a great way to connect with your fellow writers and will help make it easier for you to support them, to join in conversations, to share contacts and tips, and so on. Finding writing groups to join is really easy and can provide you with invaluable insight and support too. 

Feel happy for their success

While it can be challenging to always feel happy if other writers get their big break, practicing feeling happy for them is well worth doing. All writers are on their own paths and rather than letting jealousy and frustration invade your headspace, instead try to find happiness in other's success and know that if they can do it, so can you!

By doing the above you can connect with a wide range of fellow writers and join a community of like-minded individuals who help and support one another along their writing journeys. We all know how tough it is, and supporting one another can help us all be better at our craft and enjoy it more too!

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These Things Don’t Make You A Bad Writer…

There is nothing worse than writer’s guilt. You know where you start to let negative thoughts eat away at you and these affect your work. We spend so much of our time feeling guilty, doubting ourselves, or feeling like we are doing the wrong thing. So let’s set the record straight and try to alleviate some of these negative emotions…Here are some things you might think and feel that absolutely don’t make you a bad writer.

Not being in the mood to write

Just because you really feel like you don’t want to write today, you aren’t a bad writer. We can’t wake up every day feeling inspired and enthused to write, and even the most prolific writers have days where they simply aren’t in the mood.

Hating your work

You don’t have to love your work all the time. In fact, there might be lots of times where you hate it. Not feeling like your work is going well or even thinking that it’s bad doesn’t mean you should stop writing though. Work through it and soon this will pass.

Being jealous of other writers

Being jealous of other writers, their work and their success doesn’t mean you are an awful writer or person. Writing is a tough and competitive industry and it’s OK sometimes to have a good old moan about how unfair it all is. Just don’t let feelings of jealous take over o consume you or prevent you from making progress on your own path. 

You use other writers ideas to inspire you

Other writer's work is there to be investigated, to be researched, to be used as motivation. All artists borrow from one another. If you read a really great piece or book and this gives you an idea for something you could do, that’s OK. 

Finding celebrated books rubbish

Not everyone can like everything and if you read a bestseller or booker prize winner or critically acclaimed author and don’t see what all the fuss is about, that doesn’t make you stupid or unrefined or not talented. You won’t be alone and there is room for all kinds of different work and different styles, so just do you.

Feeling overwhelmed by the publishing process

Feeling overwhelmed by getting your book in a fit state to publish, not to mention all the work that comes after is totally normal. Most writers just want to write, and it takes a lot of courage, dedication, and determination to get your head around everything else you need to do to make your book a success. Just try to keep plowing on - you’ll get there in the end.

Getting rejected

Just because you’ve been rejected you must not think you are a bad writer. Some of the most celebrated authors of all time were rejected initially so don’t take it to heart. 

So there you have it, next time you experience any of the above take comfort in that all writers go through similar things from time to time, and don’t let this stop you from feeling good about what you are doing, and certainly don’t let it stop you from writing!

The post These Things Don’t Make You A Bad Writer… appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Top Tips For Sustained Writing Success

If you want to find success as a writer, you need to master the basics. This might seem obvious, but setting yourself with a solid foundation to build upon is crucial. If you don’t understand the fundamentals of writing, you will find it difficult to progress and really work on your craft. It’s like trying to learn to run before you can walk, skip the important first steps, and you are just setting yourself up for a fall. 

So what should you do first?

Learning to write well is the most important first step for writers, and you should focus on this and only this before attempting anything else. With all the things that writers are expected to be these days it can quick;y become overwhelming and confusing if you try to do too much too soon. So forget about book marketing, planning campaigns and organising book tours and instead spend your time and energy building the necessary skills it takes to become a noteworthy writer. 

Learning to write takes time. You need to understand how to gather your thoughts and then turn them into well constructed, arresting sentences that sit next to one another, building upon one another to form your story. You need to be able to state your ideas with clarity and precision, to select the best lines of action that will entice and delight your readers. To structure and to pace your writing so you build momentum.

Good writers are also intuitive writers. Author Garry Kasparov who is a grand master chess player spoke highly of the power of intuition saying: “This is the essential element that cannot be measured by any analysis or device and I believe it’s at the heart of success in all things: the power of intuition and the ability to harness and use it like a master.”

Writing intuitively is also something that you can practice. It’s about letting something deep within your subconscious guide your decision making process, it’s about trusting your gut and your reactions and your feelings. 

Writers who ask the right questions can use their instinct to help keep them on the right track. Ask yourself - does this plot make sense? Does this dialogue exchange sound natural? Is this character driving my story forward? Is this scene necessary? Your instinctual answers are the ones your can listen to, and the more you hone into your writing instincts the easter it will be to summon them, and trust them which will help improve your writing.

Be bold and curious. if you have an unusual idea, explore it. If you writing is going in an unexpected direction, follow it with curiosity. Probe, dig deeper, ask questions, go to places that scare you a little, that you are resisting a little. Be brave. You writing shouldn’t feel forced and including shock factor for the sake of it is not the right way to go either. However, if you want to enjoy success, you do need to create something unusual and something that hasn’t already been done a million times before. 

Build your career they way you want to. Writers all have their own journeys to take and paths to follow. If you want to enjoy a long and successful career you need to create your own way, and a way that feels right and comfortable for you. If you try to force yourself in any one direction you’ll find it so much harder and less enjoyable. Work on your strengths and don’t be afraid to be guided by your happiness, what inspires you and what feels right. 

Success is something that can be available to many writers, it’s not a secret, but rather something that can be found by working on ourselves, learning about ourselves and being prepared for the writers that inevitable lie ahead. 

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Is There A Right Time To Write?

Whether you love to write when you first open your eyes in the morning, or when everyone else is tucked up in bed, understanding when you are likely to write at your best can be so helpful. However, what a lot of writers don’t realize is that being flexible with your writing schedule can be the wisest choice and that there are many different factors that are going to affect your ability to write well.

Diet, exercise, how tired you are, what kind of day you’ve had and multiple external factors are going to have an impact on how you work. On one day ideas may come easily and naturally and the words may flow out of you onto the page. You might sit down the very next day hoping for the same result and find that everything feels forced and difficult. 

Here are some ways you can optimize your writing timetable so you are able to discover when the best time to write is for you.

Investigate other writers routines

Check out what some of your contemporaries do or have done in order to fit writing into their day. Some famous writers choose to get up at the crack of dawn, work for hours, and still have the whole day for other things once they are finished. Others start by writing for an hour or so and then switch to editing to keep their mind feel active and interested. Other famous writers preferred to carve out time in the evenings where all the daily chores were out of the way, feeling as though their minds would feel more settled and less easily distracted this way. 

There is no one size fits all answer but by learning about and experimenting with how other writers do it, you will be able to come up with a routine that really works for you. 

Consider the type of writing you do

Another thing to consider is what kind of work you are creating as different types of writing might actually be better done at different times of the day. You might find that more academic writing or writing that requires a lot of brainpower is better undertaken earlier, when your mind is clear, after a good night's rest, and with a cup of coffee in hand. Editing work might be better done in the afternoon and creative writing may feel more natural to work on in the evening when it is quieter and you are less likely to be disturbed. If you are the kind of writer who has multiple projects on the go simultaneously, it might be a good idea to work out which circumstances fit the type of writing you are hoping to complete and build your work schedule around that. 

When you are first trying to shape and decide upon your schedule, make an effort to take notes when you write - record what you wrote about, how long you spent on it, how productive you were, and your attitude to your writing overall. If you do this over time you might find that some patterns emerge which will help determine the best schedule for you. 

Remember, however, that as much flexibility as possible will help to ensure that you don’t end up missing opportunities to write when you feel inspired. You never know when you might suddenly get an awesome new idea or just feel compelled to work on your book, so remembering that there is not necessarily a right time to write and snatching opportunities where you can is what will help ensure you keep progressing and writing as much as you can.

Do you have a strict schedule for your writing? Let us know is comments below!

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Creating A Book Trailer On A Budget

One of the many ways you can experiment with marketing your book is by creating a book trailer. A well-made book trailer is an enticing way to attract new readers, showcase your book, and use in your marketing and promotional campaigns.

However, many authors balk at the idea of creating a book trailer, imagining it to be a highly technical and expensive process. This article should put your mind at rest, and demonstrate that a book trailer can be made with a minimal budget and try little technical expertise. 

Sharing your trailer via your social platforms can engage potential readers by appealing to all their senses - a well-made trailer will spark interest, persuade viewers to share and click on it, and is a great way to get them to invest emotionally in your characters.

If you want to start the book trailer creating process, one of the easiest platforms to use is Adobe spark. This has a free starter plan which can see you with a fairly pro-looking trailer on your hands in less than half an hour. You can simply combine visual images, music, audio narration, and video clips to create your final trailer. You can select from the library of themes and then it’s a really intuitive process from there. Even if you don’t have your own images to use, you can browse the linked library of royalty-free images and select appropriate ones for your story. 

You could also try working with presentation software such as Apple Keynote, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Google Slides. Here you can gather your digital content together and use the templates available to begin. With access to animations, editing tools, recording software, and transitions you can create a slick trailer in no time that is sure to please your intended readership. 

Apple iMovie is another great program for beginner trailer-makers! If you are particularly uncertain when it comes to technology, Apple iMovie is the program to use as they’ve made it super easy and intuitive to create your trailer. The platform also boasts a wide range of features such as color correction that can help make your trailer look super professional without spending a penny!

If you are up for learning a little more about the process then try Blender and Unity. This program is for those who want to experiment with the dos up to date digital content creation tools and make something really beautiful that is a cut above just a simple, standard book trailer. You can build breathtaking 3D animations and there are loads of tools and tutorials to guide you through the process, so with a little concentration and patience, you can create something quite special.

When it comes to an effective book trailer, often simplicity is best. You don’t have to create something with loads of clever tricks and special effects, rather a video that allows readers to understand what your book is about and why they should purchase it. Your ultimate goal is for someone to want to buy and read your story, after all. 

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How To Tell If Your Book Is Going Well

Writing a book can be both a solitary and a daunting experience. While we start writing our novels full of excitement and motivation - this can, unfortunately. quickly diminish. This is when that old pesky writer’s doubt can start bubbling up and our inner critique stars making their voice known. When this happens we may well begin to worry that our book is no good. We may lose motivation, start to question ourselves, and wonder whether it’s really all worth the effort after all. Of course, this kind of negative thinking won’t get you very far, but it is a good idea to check in with yourself as you continue on your book writing journey and try to ascertain whether your book is going well. 

So with that in mind, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Do you love your characters?

Writers should be in love with their characters, even the awful ones. Creating a fictional character and giving them the depth and aliveness required for your readers to resonate with them is a tough job. If you are excited and inspired by your characters, you are doing something right. 

Do you find it difficult to stop writing?

If you find it hard to stop writing when you get going, this is a great sign. It means your motivation is high and that you get lost in the writing ‘zone’ immersed in your story, which is very important if you want to get to the finish line. 

Do you get good feedback?

Don’t wait until you are finished with your book to get some advice and constructive criticism - you should be showing your work to others throughout the process. If you are getting good feedback, great. If not, you know you have some things to work on - and that’s OK too.

Can you picture your world?

If you are creating a believable and immersive world you should be able to easily picture it in your mind’s eye. If you can’t, your reader probably won’t be able to either. In which case look back through your text and see how you can make your descriptions more arresting and vivid. 

Are you excited to write?

If your story is exciting, you should be excited to write it. This is not to say that you can’t have days where writing feels hard. However, in general, you should still be keen to get your story down on the page.

Your plan makes sense

Now you’ve started writing, do your plot and chapter outlines still make sense, if not, why not? Have you gone massively off on a tangent? If so, is this a good or a bad thing?

You are on schedule

If you are writing your book to schedule, give yourself a massive pat on the back. Sticking to your writing schedule will keep you motivated and mean you are far more likely to finish it!

By asking the above you can decide how well your book is going. Doing so gives you the opportunity to make some adjustments and enables you to get back on track, motivated, inspired, and excited once more!

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How To Prepare For An Author Q & A

If you are asked for an interview or are doing an author Q and A after a book reading or other event, it’s a good idea to be fully prepared so you come across as the click, confident, kickass author we know you are. So, with that in mind, here are some questions you might want to consider before your author Q & A takes place.

When did you  realize you wanted to be a writer?

Whats your inspiration? How do you get ideas?

How long does it take you to write a complete novel from start to finish?

Do you work another job while you write?

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

How do you make your characters stand out?

What happens when you’ve finished your book?

Where do you get your information for your books?

When did you write your first book?

How do you find time to write?

What do you like to do if you're not writing?

How do you keep going even when you don’t feel motivated?

What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned as a writer?

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while creating your books?

How many books have you written? Do you have a particular favourite

Do you have any suggestions to help improve my writing? If so, what are they?

What are your fans like? What’s the best and worst feedback you’ve had?

How do you build your fictional world?

Do you write from start to finish or do scenes as the come to you?

What do you think makes a good story?

As a child, did you always want to be a writer or something else?

By preparing answers to the above questions you can feel confident that you will impress your interviewer or your readers and allow them to have insight into your process and writing inspiration. A Q & A that goes well could see you sell more books and gain more fans, so it is well worth taking the time to prepare for all the typical questions you might be asked and show your audience what you are made of. While it can be never wracking, just remember this is a huge opportunity to showcase your skills as a writer, share your experiences and connect with your audience. So don’t take a ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ kind of attitude and instead, practice your answers to these questions to ensure that your interview or question and answer session goes without a hitch!

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How To Create A Novel Writing Schedule

Creating and sticking to a novel-writing schedule could mean the difference between finishing and publishing your novel, and giving up altogether. A writing schedule is one that needs to work for you, one that challenges you, but also one that you can commit to wholeheartedly and keeps you on the right track so that you finish your book within the time that you want to.

The benefits of a writing schedule are numerous and include:

Feeling organized and businesslike about your writing will give you confidence. It’s a commitment and makes things official - you’re a writer now. 

You are less likely to procrastinate - a writing schedule makes you accountable

You’ll feel more motivated - a writing schedule will help you see that your end goal is achievable and help you keep working towards that finish line. 

Being a better writer - your schedule will help you write more and faster - the more you practice, the better you’ll get!

So what are some things you should consider when setting up your writing schedule? 

What times of day work best for you

Spend some time figuring out when you are dos productive as well as when you have pockets of time that will write. If you know you are useless in the mornings - don’t make your main writing time then - figure out how to write when it will make you feel energized and excited - then you’ll enjoy your time spend writing and want to do it more. 

Setting up a writing only calendar

Have a separate calendar for your writing schedule as well as integrating it with your other day-to-day life. This was you can easily see the tasks you have to do with getting it cluttered up with your other domestic or family duties, but you can also see what other commitments you have so you can be sure when you’ve committed to writing, you’ll do it.

Prioritising different aspects of your book writing project

A writing schedule should include not just time blocked out for writing, but for all aspects of the book creating process. So consider what else you need to do to get your book across the finish line such as creating a marketing plan, doing research, finding an agent, and so on, and build these into your schedule too.

Setting a daily word count goal

A daily word count goal is a great way to create short-term aims and quick daily wins that will help keep your motivation high. Make your word count goal realistic and you are sure to keep it up!

Organising a writing space

A writing space that has everything you need to minimize distractions and stay productive will help ensure you stick to your schedule.

Joining a writing community or getting an author buddy

Be accountable for your writing schedule by joining a writing community or teaming up with a writing buddy and sharing your goals with them!

By following these tips, you can create a solid, workable writing schedule that will keep you motivated and on track from the moment you start writing your book to the very end!

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What To Consider When Choosing Your Setting

Choosing the right setting for your novel is paramount and will have a huge impact on the rest of your story. The most successful books manage to conjure a vivid visual picture in their reader’s mind's eye. The reader feels as though they are enveloped in the world, they can hear the sounds, see the sights, smell the smells - the setting is real, almost tangible to them. 

To create a setting that your readers can sink into is a skill and those books that do well ensure to pay attention to their setting, to carefully build it page by page until it becomes like a second reality.  The landscape and the plot and the characters all become intertwined, all influence one another, and the book would become impossible if one part was removed. 

So how can you ensure that you create a setting that is richly descriptive, that complements your post and that is unique? Here are some things to think about.

How time and place interact with the story. Your novel is likely to span over a period of time, it may jump between time periods and will also unravel in many different settings. Understanding how to evoke the senses and allow your readers to move seamlessly between the different settings of your novel is important. If your book is set in the ‘real’ world, it’s a good idea to pick somewhere that you know quite well. If you grew up on wild moorlands, for example, you’ll know what it sounds like when gusts of wind rush through the heathers, if you grew up in a bustling coastal town you’ll be able to describe the freshness of salty air on your skin, or what it tastes like to shove fistfuls of hot salted chips down your throat while staring out to sea. 

Of course, you can set your book anywhere, but if you haven’t experienced the setting you are trying to describe you need to do your research. Either you need to take yourself on a road trip and visit some places that are similar to where you’d like to set your book, or you need to reach for books and your laptop and start doing some research. 

If your setting is otherworldly then you have to work even hard to get the details right. You should pull together mood boards of images and words and colors, you should create a list of rules and customs that make sense of your world so you can refer back to them and keep things consistent, you should consider why you are building this particular world and how your characters will interact with it and how it will advance your story. 

Time is so important in setting. Your story will be set in a particular time, either in history, in the present, or the future. Establishing your timeframe will gain a far better understanding of how to build your setting so that it resonates with and makes sense for your reader. 

Creating rich descriptions is also essential when it comes to building a setting that your readers can connect with. If you are too stingy with your descriptive language there will be too big a gap for the readers to fill in themselves. They don’t want to have to do the hard work - so don’t make them. This doesn’t mean that you have to describe everything you see in painstaking detail, rather that you choose what your reader should pay attention to, direct them to it, and use rich, compelling language to evoke a vivid picture. 

Your setting should influence how your story unfolds. by placing your characters in a setting you are providing them with a world in which to navigate and that world can help them achieve their goals or can create obstacles to prevent them from doing so. The choices they make about where to go and what to use could make all the difference, so ensure that you use the setting to create a more interesting and multi-pronged story. 

Creating the setting can be a hugely enjoyable part of writing a book and can make a big difference to how enjoyable it is to read. So make sure that you pay attention to the different aspects of choosing a setting, and make your decisions with care!

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How To Ensure Your Plot Has Pace

A well-paced plot will ensure that your story flows well, that readers don’t lose momentum and that the action and drama are well placed to keep driving the story forwards.

Pacing is important in a novel. If you don’t pay attention to it, it can be all too easy to get it wrong. Too fast and your readers could be left feeling overwhelmed and confused, too slow and they will be underwhelmed and bored. 

So how do you get it right? Here are a few easy, quick tips to ensure that you pace your novel correctly and keep your reader hooked. 

Introduce your character right away. Don’t leave readers hanging on and waiting to meet your main characters and similarly don’t wait to start your story. Your story needs to begin from the very first page. Scene setting and backstory shouldn’t be a priority right now. Don’t confuse this with having to open your story with something insanely dramatic, however, you do need to start with action and draw your reader in.

Propose your central question and state your theme. You want your reader to be engaged right away and so make sure they want to read on and know more and find out the answer. 

Learn how to edit. The editing stages can be what makes or breaks your book and you need to learn how to kill your darlings and be disciplined when it comes to cutting unnecessary scenes in your book. If anything doesn’t add to the plot or drive the story forwards then you need to get rid of it, it’s as simple as that. Trimming the fat is important. Get rid of the waffle, cut to the chase, and make every word count. The same goes for your characters. If they aren’t necessary if they don’t affect the plot, they need to go. 

Keep up the drama and action. Your story doesn’t need to be all action, there can be some gentler, softer scenes - however, you need to ensure that drama and action are continuous throughout otherwise your reader will get bored. Long passages with no action, drama, or tension are like someone telling you a riveting story and then trailing off to tell you in painstaking detail what they are going to have for dinner.

The most important parts of keeping your plot pace up will be creating dynamic characters and paying attention to your word choices. You should also make sure your plot is airtight, compelling, and believable. Your readers need to understand why your characters make the choices they do, if your plot is too far-fetched or their actions too ridiculous own it will be challenging for your readers to take them seriously and this will slow down your pacing. Your language should be lively, arresting, unique, and full of meaning. Don’t pack it full of flowery language, overwrite or use too many metaphors or similes - sometimes simplicity works well too!

By following the above, you can hope to create a well-paced plot that leaves your readers hooked and turning those pages well past bedtime! 

Do you have any tips for keeping your readers hooked? Share them with us here!

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