Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 48

What Makes Writing Engaging?

We all know that unless we can hook our readers and ensure that they engage with our writing, we won't get very far. But writing in an engaging fashion isn't always as easy as it seems. No matter how passionate or excited we are about our topic, translating this in a way that resonates with our target audience can be tricky. We need to put ourselves in our reader's shoes and see things from their perspective to help us get there.

Having an in-depth understanding of what it is about some writing that makes it so engaging is the first step. If we can unpick why some pieces leave us hanging onto every word, and others leave us bored and disinterested, we can learn what we need to include in our own work to ensure our readers remain focused and interested throughout.

So what is it that makes writing engaging? 

Enthusiasm

Your natural enthusiasm and passion for your topic should shine through in your writing. If you are enthusiastic about it, your audience is far more likely to be too. Now we know that some topics are dry, and it can be hard to write about these engagingly. However, if you can strive to find an unusual angle, or write about them in a lively way, you'll find your audience is eager to learn more. 

Suitability

You need to write in a way that's suitable for your intended audience. Reader research is crucial, and if you understand what your audience wants, you'll be able to write in a way that provides them with valuable content. 

Clarity

Writing with clarity is also an easy way to make sure that your writing hits the mark. Use simple language and keep sentences short. Make sure there is plenty of white space so that your piece doesn't look too visually overwhelming. 

Accessibility

If you want your writing to be successful, you need to make sure that it is accessible. This means eliminating jargon and explaining complicated points or using metaphors to help readers understand what you are trying to convey. 

Tone

Engaging writing tends to have a lively and warm tone. You want to be conversational without becoming too informal, humorous without turning your content into a comedy sketch. Make sure your tone is consistent throughout and that it's suitable for the type of content you are writing. 

Storytelling

Telling stories is the number one way to engage your audience and draw them in. People love to hear stories, and using this technique in your writing is a fantastic way to keep them hooked and keen to find out more.

Meaning

Your content won't seem engaging if it has no meaning to those who read it. So with every piece of content you write, you need to consider your end goal and what you want your audience to take away from it at the end. 

If you can include all the above in your writing, you are sure to find your readers will remain engaged throughout. So next time you are working on a piece of content, use the above to guide you, and your readers will thank you for it!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Inject Energy Into Your Writing

If you want your readers to engage with your writing, inject some energy into it. Writing that has none falls flat and will leave your readers disinterested and disengaged.

Successful writing is powerful; it makes an impact and leaves readers sitting up a little taller, ears pricked, and paying attention. 

How do you make sure that your writing is full of energy and delivers its best impact to your reader? Here are some useful tips.

Make your readers think

The most potent writing works because it makes readers think differently. It doesn’t just present facts or make a statement, but engages the reader, tells a story and makes them think about things from a different perspective, or changes their way of thinking, so they feel motivated to act.

Present a powerful idea

A powerful idea will deliver a significant impact, and the best writing will always engage readers with such a notion. Your concept should inspire them, solve a problem for them, spark their imaginations, provide a different path. Be bold and creative when presenting your idea, and your readers won’t be able to help but get excited about the possibilities you are offering to them.

Believe in what you are saying

Energetic writing is full of confidence. You’ve got to believe in what you are saying if you want others to feel in it too. If you are passionate about your work, this will shine through. You also need to make sure that you are authentic, bold, and that your work is error-free, so you don’t undermine your authority and put your reader off. 

Use varied language, and watch your pacing

Using the same kind of language, repetitive words, and similar sentence lengths can make for a dull read. Try to keep readers engaged by varying your language, using rich descriptive words and vivid imagery. Make sure that you pay attention to pacing to ensure your writing flows from one sentence to another and doesn’t feel slow or labored at any point.

Use bullet points

Bullet points can help make your message more powerful and deliver short, sharp, essential pieces of information, drawing your reader’s eye to them and making them easy to digest. Using bullet points can help keep the energy high.

Break up text with pictures

Pictures and other visuals can help energize your writing, so make sure that you take the time to find some high-quality, relevant images to include with your piece. 

By following the above, you can ensure that your writing is bursting with energy - energy that bounces off the page and leaves readers engaged, motivated, and excited to know more! So next time you write something, use the above to help you make your piece even more useful and engaging than before. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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Characters Every Book Should Have

Your characters are crucial to ensuring your story is a success. The plot is essential, and the setting is critical; the theme is central, and the point of view is necessary. However, no part of your story is more important than the characters. 

Characters drive your story forwards; they carry the plot, they experience your fictional world, and interact with the environment around them. They reveal your theme, and without lifelike, engaging, inspiring characters for the reader to engage with, you won't have much of a story at all. 

Deciding on the types of characters to include in your story is crucial. What's important is to ensure that your characters are all individual and unique and that they all play an essential part in driving your plot forward.

So what characters does every story need? Let's take a look:

The protagonist

Your protagonist is your main character. The story is about him and will unravel from his point of view. The protagonist must be flawed but engaging, and they must make mistakes. It is possible to choose more than one protagonist for your story.

They are important because their responses will define what happens in the story, and the circumstances they endure will affect how they change, what they desire, and how they learn and grow. Your readers need to care about your protagonist and what happens to them. 

The antagonist

The antagonist is the person who 'antagonizes' your protagonist. They are there to make life difficult for them, to get in the way, to create obstacles. In a more traditional story, they would be considered the 'bad guy.' But just as your protagonist is flawed, your antagonist can be layered and complicated too. In fact, being purely evil might make him difficult to relate to, and the focus should instead be on the role he plays in your protagonist's story, he moves against him. The question of whether your protagonist will find a way to overcome him is what has readers gripped to the very end of the story. 

The sidekick

The sidekick is the character who moves alongside the protagonist. They are supportive, but also allow the story to be seen from a different perspective, a new angle. They should be loyal and act as someone to question the protagonists' decisions when they might make the wrong move. 

The mentor

The mentor is someone that the protagonist turns to for advice, they are experienced, wise, and willing to help - though not always without cost. They are essential because they act as a guide leading the protagonist in the right direction; they teach the protagonist how to make good choices and will be influential in how they change. 

The skeptic

The skeptic will be the one who creates problems for the protagonist because they don't support what the protagonist wants to do. They might think the journey is too risky and too dangerous, they'll point out what's at stake and who might get hurt. They add depth and dimension to the story; they are the voice of reason and help to heighten emotion and drama. 

These five characters should appear in every story and bring variety, depth, and excitement to the plot. Make sure that each of these characters has a purpose, has a unique identity, and follows a character arc. Remember, a compelling plot can only serve you so well, and it is the characters above that will resonate with your readers and stay with them long after they've finished your book. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Characters Every Book Should Have appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Keep Writing When You Work Long Hours

Having a full time, demanding job means that you have very little spare time to spend on other projects. If you have a book that you know you need to write but have no time to do it, see if the below suggestions can help you.

Explore reduced working options

This isn't going to be possible for everyone, but for some, it might be possible to take a small cut in hours to free up some writing time. Alternatively, you could approach your boss and see if you could condense your working week, for example, working four long days instead of five, or working from home one day. This could mean you don't have to commute to work on the fifth day to have a clear chunk of time each week to write.

Manage your social commitments

We all have social commitments, and these can be a healthy and necessary way to achieve some downtime after a busy working week. However, if you are dedicated to your writing, take a moment to go through your social commitments and see where you could save some time. It might be hard to say no to seeing friends or going to the movies, but writing a book is rarely without sacrifice!

Get help with chores and outside work responsibilities

Do you have anyone who could take on some of your other chores such as cleaning and cooking or picking up the kids? Perhaps a partner or friend could help you, even for a small amount of time each week, so that you have some spare time freed up to get your writing done?

Write for short sharp bursts

If you aren't able to give up any time, then one method is to write quickly whenever you have a few minutes spare. You might be able to write for five minutes at the end of a lunch break, or on the journey home. Might you be able to get up ten minutes earlier each day to write? Even writing for ten minutes a day means you could progress quickly and soon have something concrete to show.

Binge write when you do have time

Alternatively, you could try to find a slot every week where you can binge write. This might mean getting up ridiculously early or going to bed much later than you'd like to one day a week. But if you can write for an hour or two and get 1,000/ 2,000 words a week out, you should be well on your way to completing your first draft within a year -and that's no bad going by anyone's standards.

Learn how to write as efficiently as possible

Efficiently writing will mean that you write more quickly and produce better quality content, therefore when you do have time, you'll be making the most of it. To write more efficiently, you could:

turn off distractions
tell others not to disturb you
listen to music that helps you focus
plan before you write

Cut yourself some slack and don't compare yourself to others

The fact that you are reading this proves that you are committed to finding time to write. So you are already halfway there. Remember, the worst thing any writer can do is compare themselves to others. You are on your own writing journey, and if you are passionate about it and committed to finishing - you will do so.

By following the above advice, you will be able to write consistently and effectively, and you will see your work progress. You might not be able to finish that novel as quickly as you'd like but keep persisting and you will get there, and it will all be worth it in the end.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Keep Writing When You Work Long Hours appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Article Editing Tips

When it comes to editing our work, many writers can quickly become overwhelmed. Writing passionately and creatively about a topic is one thing, but polishing it to the point where it's ready to be published and shared is quite another.

So what are thing things that you can do during the editing process to ensure that every piece you write goes out in the best possible shape?
Here are some useful tips:

Put yourself in your reader's shoes

Hopefully, before you started writing your article, you did some research and gave some thought to who the intended reader might be. Now that it's written, you need to read it through their eyes and try to establish whether it conveys the right message and the valuable information that they crave. Ask yourself whether your reader would be interested in your piece? Would they understand it? Would they find it valuable? Would they be inspired to act upon it? These are all crucial points that can help ensure your message is spot on.

Read it aloud

Reading your work aloud before you publish or submit it is one of the most helpful things you can do. Reading aloud allows you to spot errors more quickly and get a proper feel for the tone and flow of your piece.

Kill those darlings

You have to accept that with almost every piece of writing you create, you'll need to cut about ten percent to make it clear, sharp, and as informative as possible. Creative people, unfortunately, find this rather painful. However, your writing will be leaner, smarter, and more effective because of it, so start cutting pronto!

Don't let your ego get in the way

If you are struggling to find things to change, it's probably your writer's ego rearing its ugly head. It can be challenging to shift your perspective to see how your piece will best serve your reader, but until you can do that, you won't do your work justice - and surely, that's the most important part?

Shorten everything

Shorten your sentences. Shorten your paragraphs. Simplify without dumbing down. Eliminate waffle and be precise. Your readers will thank you for it in the long run, promise.

Eliminate jargon

Jargon is the enemy of all writers. Unless you are creating a specific piece for a very specific audience, it's best to become eagle-eyed when it comes to jargon spotting. Make sure you explain complicated ideas, give context, and use everyday words or come up with a different phrase, so your points don't get lost in translation.

By following the above, you can feel confident that your article will impress your readers. Next time you are about to publish a piece, go through these points to ensure yours is the very best it can be.

Bethany Cadman - www.bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Article Editing Tips appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How You Know That You’re Ready To Publish

Parting with your work can be an extremely tough and scary decision for any writer. We spend so long drafting, writing, nurturing, and perfecting our stories, sharing them with others can feel daunting.

However, sending your book off to publishers is also an exciting step, and could be the beginning of a whole new chapter in your writing journey.

Getting the timing right is, therefore, imperative.

You don't want to send your manuscript off before it is ready. At the same time, holding onto it for too long could be equally damaging. 

So how do you know if you are ready to publish? You'll be ready if…

You've hired an editor

Hiring an editor can make or break your novel. You need your editor to do more than just weed out typos; they should be able to offer you critical feedback that helps elevate your book to another level. While these services are more costly, hiring someone professional to help polish and perfect your work could make all the difference when it comes to finding representation. 

You've researched the publishing industry

In-depth knowledge of the publishing industry will be superbly beneficial in helping you to create a fantastic pitch and query letter, write your synopsis, and generally manage your expectations of what will happen over the next few months. Do your research, be prepared, and you'll find it so much easier to understand what's going on in the trade and how this could affect your book being published. 

You don't want to be famous

If you've still got lofty ideas of becoming a bestselling multimillionaire author, you might want to hold onto your manuscript for a little longer. If you can face the cold hard truth that your book will probably get rejected, and even if it does find representation, you may not make enough to earn a decent living from the proceeds, this will stand you in good stead for what's to come. You have to prepare yourself for disappointment and have a contingency plan if you don't succeed in this route. 

You've researched your genre

Knowing your genre is crucial. Not only will this have influenced the way you write, but also how to present your book to publishers. If you can confidently prove that there is an appetite out there for the kind of book you have written, you will be much more appealing to potential publishers, and the fact that you've done your research also makes you more professional sounding too.

You've already started marketing, and you have a marketing plan

If you haven't already started marketing your book, you need to begin before you start sending it off. Start your marketing early, and you'll be in a much better position to convince publishers of your worth. Gather reviews, make some noise, do a giveaway, get some press. Do whatever you can to make your book stand out. You should also already have a solid marketing plan in place that you can continue to roll out over the coming months, sending this to a publisher to show them that you've got ideas and are willing to self-promote can also give you an added edge. 

So if you've done all the above, it sounds like it is a great time to start sending your book off to publishers. Don't delay; you've done the work, now it's time to see what happens next! Good luck!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How You Know That You’re Ready To Publish appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Take Rejections Like A Pro

Book rejections aren't fun for any writer, but learning from them is essential. Here are some helpful tips to help you take rejections like a pro.

Understand why your book was rejected

There are several reasons why an agent might reject your book:

It's not good enough

This is, by far, the most common problem. To find out if this is the reason why you can try to be realistic with yourself, go back and re-read your work to decide where perhaps you have let yourself down. Alternatively, get feedback from honest friends or turn to professionals to gain a real perspective.

It's not commercial enough

Agents and publishers need to believe a book will sell. To take it on, they invest thousands of dollars, so they need to be sure they will recoup all that and make a profit on your book to be worthwhile for them to represent it. To find out if your book isn't commercial enough, take a look at the current marketplace to understand the kinds of popular stories and be honest about whether your idea is really that unique. 

This is not the right agent or publisher

Sometimes, no matter how great your book or perfect you pitch, you've simply sent it to the wrong person. If this is the case, you were never going to get the 'yes' you've hoped for. This is actually the most favorable type of rejection, as all you need to do is conduct better research next time. 

Now it's time to move forward

Moving forward depends on discovering why your book what rejected in the first place. If it was not good enough, you need to rework it, get professional help, or go back to the drawing board altogether. If it's not commercial enough, you might have to wait until interests change or start with a new idea or self-publish. If it's because you have sent it to the wrong agent, it's time to do your research and pitch to another one. 

Create a shortlist of agents that specifically desire the kind of genre your book is written in. Then spend some serious time perfecting your pitch. Fine-tuning your book proposal can help give you a better chance of success, so it is worth spending the time it takes to make it the very best possible standard. 

Having your book rejected is an undoubtedly difficult and often painful experience. However, take heart that all published writers will experience rejection at some point in their careers. Even well established and successful authors have their new ideas rejected - it really is just part and parcel of this kind of work. 

If your book has been rejected, try to find out why, do an honest assessment of your book, readjust your publishing goals, and remember to take your time. Learn from every rejection you receive, and you'll know for sure that you'll have a better chance of success next time you try. 

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Be A More Efficient Writer

If you want to be a more efficient writer, you need to learn how to work productively and quickly without compromising your work quality. In short, the faster you can generate good quality content, the more money you can make. However, doing so takes practice and skill.

So what are some useful tips to help you become more efficient as a writer? Let’s take a look:

Learn how to do one thing at a time

While there are many other areas of life where multitasking can make you more productive, writing is not one of them. The vast majority of writers will find that by compartmentalizing the process of writing and working on one task through to completion at a time, they can fit much more into their day. To write a good piece, you need to be fully immersed in it, and all your focus and energy needs to be directed toward it. If you keep starting and stopping and trying to do other things alongside it, your writing will likely be weaker, more disjointed, and ultimately less compelling to the reader. Don’t keep switching context, instead create a task list for the day and work through it methodically. 

Gather data and for your research

Before you start writing your article, you need to do your research. By doing all your research first, you will have more information and knowledge already stored in your head, and this will make the process of writing much more streamlined. You will have all the information necessary and at hand to write your piece, and this can help make sure that your train of thought isn’t interrupted when you begin.

Outline before you begin

An article outline is imperative. This will help you map out your structure and main points. It will ensure your article has legs and will make the words flow much more natural than if you are trying to write ‘as you go.’ Be as thorough as possible with your outline - the more detailed you are, the faster you will write your piece. 

Draft as quickly as possible

The first draft of your article should be about getting the words on the page. Don’t worry too much about being perfect or error-free - this can come with editing. Instead, aim for a decent first draft, and then you can go back and reshape later. If you spend too long painstakingly pouring over every word at this point, you won’t achieve anything very quickly.

Edit like a pro

When it comes to editing your piece, practice makes perfect. Writing and editing require completely different mental scripts, so save your editing until your first draft is complete. Editing requires precision and discipline, where writing requires creativity and flow. 

By following the above, you can write and edit your articles quickly and efficiently. Do you have any more tips for writing efficiency? Share them with us here!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Escape Into Your Writing

One of the great pleasures of reading a book is the fact that we can escape for a while; we can lose ourselves in the story and detach ourselves from our lives and the real world endlessly turning around us. 

As writers, achieving that effect of escapism is something we should all aim for, and the very act of writing a novel can provide a place for writers to escape to too - just one of the many benefits of the job!

So how do you escape into your writing?

Create a different world

Using your imagination to build your world can be a fascinating and magical journey. By creating another world, separate from the one you live in, you are forming almost another existence. Every time you sit down to write, you can enter that world, and continue to build and expand it as you see fit. 

Become someone else

Writers also have the opportunity to become someone else through their characters. Everything that we want to be, we can build into a complex and engaging hero. Everything that we dislike about ourselves, we can pour into a sinister villain. Creating these characters is a way to safely explore and project all sides of ourselves onto the page, and this can feel extremely satisfying indeed.

Anything is possible

When you write creatively, there are no boundaries or real-world rules that you have to follow. Your imagination is the container, and you can make anything you like happen. You are God, you are omnipotent and have the ultimate power to make choices and decisions as you see fit, and the consequences of those to be whatever you want them to be too!

Live out your fears, hopes, and dreams

Through your writing, you also get to live out all the things you are afraid of in a safe environment, as well as explore hopes and dreams through your characters - and that can feel quite cathartic. You can find a resolution to problems, give your character's courage to pursue their goals, and explore what scares you as well as what makes your heart sing. 

Writing can be an excellent way to escape into another world, and the more you immerse yourself in your world and the characters you have created, the more exciting and engaging your story will be!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Escape Into Your Writing appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

The Best Maya Angelou Quotes For Writers

The revered Maya Angelou certainly had a lot to say about writers, and her advice has helped many of us find inspiration, courage and motivation when times are tough. Here are some of her best quotes for writers:

“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” 

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

“I don’t know about lying for novelists. I look at some of the great novelists, and I think the reason they are great is that they’re telling the truth. The fact is they’re using made-up names, made-up people, made-up places, and made-up times, but they’re telling the truth about the human being — what we are capable of, what makes us lose, laugh, weep, fall down, and gnash our teeth and wring our hands and kill each other and love each other.”

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

“I believe that the most important single thing, beyond discipline and creativity is daring to dare.”

“Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.”

“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”

“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.”

“When I am writing, I am trying to find out who I am, who we are, what we’re capable of, how we feel, how we lose and stand up, and go on from darkness into darkness. I’m trying for that. But I’m also trying for the language. I’m trying to see how it can really sound. I really love language. I love it for what it does for us, how it allows us to explain the pain and the glory, the nuances and delicacies of our existence. And then it allows us to laugh, allows us to show wit. Real wit is shown in language. We need language.”

“The idea is to write it so that people hear it and it slides through the brain and goes straight to the heart.”

“Each time I write a book, every time I face that yellow pad, the challenge is so great. I have written eleven books, but each time I think, ‘Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody and they’re going to find me out.”

“I make writing as much a part of my life as I do eating or listening to music.”

“Making a decision to write was a lot like deciding to jump into a frozen lake.”

These words of wisdom from one of the most celebrated writers of our time are certainly ones that every writer should take to heart. So the next time you are in the need for some encouragement, inspiration and advice, use the above to give you guidance, to help you reignite your passion for writing once more. 

Bethany Cadman

bethanycadmancreates.co.uk

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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