Beth Greenslade's Blog, page 68

Why Writing Hurts

Writing can be a painful experience for many reasons, here are some of them, and how you might be able to lessen the pain too!

You are bearing your soul

Writing can make us feel extremely vulnerable, and that can be scary and quite emotionally difficult too. If you are using your book to explore lots of different emotions and revisiting challenging experiences, this takes courage but can result in better writing at the end of it.

Solution: Enjoy the catharsis

Writing is creative, and imaginative, but also can be incredibly cathartic. If you are working through something by writing, or just using it to release built up emotions or finally have your say, it can be a massive release, and you’ll come out of the other side of it feeling so much better.

You are your own worst critic

Writers can be extremely cruel to themselves. We criticize and agonize over everything we do. While it’s great to be detail orientated, if you are too self-critical this can lead to self-sabotage and your writing suffers as a result.

Solution: Give yourself a break

Remember that the fact you are writing at all is a massive achievement. Try to get the words out first, free of judgment and remind yourself there is time to edit and perfect later.

It’s hard to get support

Writers can find that their family and friends aren’t quite as supportive as they had hoped they would be, and when you are tearing your hair out just trying to get them to read your book, it can feel pretty painful.

Solution: Find fellow writers

Other writers will know exactly how you feel, and you can be on another's support system instead!

You will probably get rejected

Rejection is part and parcel of any writers life, but putting so much time and effort into a piece of work only to have it rejected is tough.

Solution: Reward yourself

The fact that you have got the point where you can send your work off to be considered for publication is massive. Rejoice in this and remember to take a step back and reward yourself - regardless of the outcome, you’ve still done something you should be seriously proud of.

You need stamina

All writers need stamina and determination. Above all else, writing is a long game, and if you throw in your hand too early, you might never know where your writing journey could have taken you.

Solution: practice

The only way writers get better is by practicing, so keep dedicating yourself to learning as much as possible, and you’ll notice that you get better and better - which is excellent motivation to keep going!

We all know that writing takes a lot of dedication, and it can hurt at times. But so do many things that we care deeply about. So remember that sometimes more pain is more gain, keep your chin up, find some people to share your woes, and stay strong!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Why Writing Hurts appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Keep A Cool Head When Building Your Part-Time Writing Career

Most writers are part-time writers. That’s not because they don’t have the dedication or the desire to write full-time, it’s simply that they have a lot of other commitments that they also have to get on with, and they need to make money too - and sometimes writing full-time just isn’t the most lucrative or sensible option.

However, writing part-time cane a great compromise, and you can slowly build up your part-time writing career be that as a blogger, nonfiction author, freelance writer, novelist or anything in-between!

That’s not to say that it doesn’t take hard work, and there are no doubt times that you’ll feel frustrated that you can’t dedicate more time to your writing. However, keeping a cool head is essential, and here are some tips to help you!

Try not to compare yourself to full-timers.

Look, there is just no way that you can be as productive as a full-time writer, and while your sensible self might understand this, it is difficult not to feel jealous or annoyed because you can’t match up. Try not to set yourself up for this kind of a disappointment though as it will only get in the way of the success that is possible for you. If you feel like you need to make comparisons, why not compare yourself to…yourself. If you keep making progress and set challenging but achievable goals you’ll see massive improvements, and that’s something to be celebrated not to be ashamed of.

Focus on one area for now

If you are only able to write part-time, spreading yourself too thin can be a mistake, and you can end up getting stressed out and doing nothing well. If you experiment with too many different types of writing, or offer your services across lots of different mediums or try too many different marketing methods at once you might find you just don’t have the time, energy or resources to do any of them properly, and could end up feeling like a failure as a result. To be most effective try to build up experience and expertise in one area and you’ll make better progress. Once you feel you’ve mastered that, only then try branching out, and you can slowly build up your client list or portfolio that way.

Write at your best and find as much time as possible to write

If you want to feel like you are making progress with your part-time writing career you need to make every minute count. So try to find what time of day you work best and organize your writing time and other commitments around that if possible. Also looking at your schedule to see if there is any wriggle room to find other windows of writing time in your week can help you feel at your most productive.

Get organized

Whether you are a part-time or a full-time writer, you still need to be as organized as possible. The best way to do this is to get some good systems in place to keep you on the right track. Sending out pitches or submissions, answering your phone or emails, practicing your writing, posting updates on social media, and marketing your work all take away from your precious writing time, but are essential to the success of your career - so make sure you organize your schedule in such a way you have time to perform these tasks too.

Being a part-time writer can be extremely rewarding, so make sure you keep a cool head and follow the tips above to make sure you are the best one you can be!

Bethany Cadman

bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Keep A Cool Head When Building Your Part-Time Writing Career appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Make Readers Care About Your Romance

Including a romance in your story - whatever the genre, can be a great way of drawing your readers in and getting them to root for your protagonists. However, a romance that isn’t written in the right way, or leaves your readers feeling cold can do more harm to your story than good. So how can you create a romance between two characters that your readers will care about?

Try these helpful tips:

Create exciting characters

Arguably, the most critical part of any novel is its characters, and without dynamic, exciting characters your story won’t get very far. The same is true if you are going to create a romance. If your characters are written in a way that makes your readers want to know more about them they'll be more invested. Characters should be developed so readers feel emotionally connected to them and in a way that makes them care about their welfare and hopes and dreams. Doing this means readers will naturally rally behind these characters when romance blossoms and want everything to work out for them, despite the obstacles that may keep them apart.

Be realistic

To create a romance that your readers enjoy you need to make sure that it feels believable. That’s not to say that two unlikely characters can’t fall for one another. However, it needs to feel like it happens in a way that they end up making sense as a couple. Having chemistry, moments of tension and physical attraction should all be included in the build-up before romance blossoms so readers feel as though they haven’t been cheated or are left confused as to why those particular two characters would get together in the first place.

Create tension

There is nothing more powerful than dramatic tension in your novel to get your readers gripped and eager to know what happens next. Some typical techniques to create tension are injecting arguments and disagreements, miscommunications or a relationship moving too fast, forbidden love or anything that works against the couple and makes it harder for them to be together. Using tension to build uncertainty about whether your two characters can make it will help readers root for them even more.

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Make Readers Care About Your Romance appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Write When You Don’t Want To Write

Let’s face it, no matter how much we’d like to think we are at our most creative and imaginative all the time, and often the last thing writers want to do is, well, write.

This can be particularly problematic if you are trying to stick to your writing schedule. We are told how important it is to do so. Yet, if you sit down at your computer one day and you just do not feel like you can possibly be productive, then how can you get past this? Should you even bother, or simply accept that you can’t feel like writing all the time, and try again tomorrow?

Trying to write when you don’t feel like it can be incredibly frustrating. So is there anything that writers can do to combat this, and rather than skipping a writing session, or two, or three, can we find ways to switch on our creativity and make sure that every time we write we feel excited, productive and happy to be there?

What’s perhaps most crucial to firstly point out is that it is entirely normal to not feel like writing sometimes. Writers can often get themselves into a panic when it happens to them, for, surely if they were real writers they wouldn’t have this problem? Well, no. It happens to everyone, and you can’t expect to bring your A game every single time.

What you can do, however, is push through it, and at least try before you give up and spend the rest of the day feeling like you have skipped school or pulled a sick day at work just because it was raining and you couldn’t be bothered.

Here’s how:

Read first

Reading is a fantastic way to ignite your creativity and feel ready to tackle your own work again. Allow yourself 15 minutes before you start a writing session to read something fantastic and relevant to your work. This might be all you need to get those creative juices flowing.

Think of writing as a job not a hobby

Be strict with yourself. If you treat your writing like the job that it is, you’ll stop making excuses. You can’t just not turn up to work because you don’t feel like it. The same applies to your writing. Sometimes just getting through the first bit, just showing up is the worst part, and once you start, you’ll soon get in the flow. So don’t give up before you’ve even given it a go.

Free write

Free writing can be a great way to loosen those creative cogs and help clear your mind of clutter before you start for real. So just spend ten minutes writing whatever comes into your head - don’t block anything, this isn’t going to be Shakespeare, it’s just the warm up before you start practicing properly.

Take some exercise

Exercise can be a great boost to help clear your mind, increase your focus and release endorphins to make you feel more positive and upbeat. So if you are really stuck. Get up from your computer, take a walk, and bring your notebook with you in case inspiration strikes.

Hang out with other writers

Fellow writers can not only be great listeners but are also the perfect people to bounce ideas off, to test out new ideas and to generally get creative with. Hanging out with like-minded people will help you feel more focused, and if you have another person holding you accountable it's harder to make excuses or procrastinate.

Stop with the pressure

Remember, sometimes your writing is going to be bad, and that’s OK. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to write perfectly all the time, and the more fun you can have with it the better. Remember you can always return to your writing and cut things out and edit them. So just get the words on the page for now.

Stick with the routine

Above all else, try to stick to your writing routine. If you can you can train your mind to expect to write at certain times, and so it will get easier - we promise!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Write When You Don’t Want To Write appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Create Heroes And Villains

The heroes and villains of your stories are the most important characters. They are what help people to relate, and give them something to root for, as well as what creates obstacles, drama, and tension in your book.

Creating excellent roles for your hero and villain to play, and understanding the key elements you need to successfully build these character types is imperative.

To craft a story that engages your reader and draws them in, you need a protagonist whose journey unravels during the book. Before you start writing you have to decide whose story it is and whose perspective the story will take place form. The characters whose story we follow is the hero, and we inhabit their world until the story ends.

So what are the critical ingredients needed to create a hero?

A purpose

Every hero needs to have a goal. If we don’t understand (from pretty early on) what it is your hero wants then we can’t begin to invest in them. Whatever they want, and whatever they are trying to achieve is at the heart of your story. Without a goal, the story has no direction. So let the audience know as soon as possible what it is that your hero desires.

Likability

Your hero doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact, it’s quite appealing for them to be flawed in some way. What is important however is to make them likable. If your reader doesn’t like your hero, they will find it increasingly difficult to care what happens to them, and if they don’t care what happens then, they will find it hard to engage with the plot and may give up on your book altogether.

Believability

Your hero has got to be believable. That’s not to say they can’t have superpowers or be able to perform magic; it’s just that your reader needs to feel as though the hero of your story is real. If they are kept at a distance or written in such a way that they don’t seem so, again your reader will struggle to connect, and if they don’t care about your hero, they won’t care about your story either.

Growth and change

Every hero who sets out on their journey has to go through a significant change. Rarely are characters the same at the start of a story as when it comes to a close. Learning something, growing in some way, being able to accept their fate - these are all changes that should be reflected in a hero's character and written into your story.

The role of a villain is to get in the way of your hero’s journey and create conflict. When boiled down to the absolute basics, if your hero has a goal and is trying to achieve it, the villain has the opposite goal and is trying to stop it - who will win out in the end?

So what are the key ingredients to create a villain?

A purpose

Just as your hero has a purpose, your villain also needs one, and their mission is usually directly opposite or at odds enough with your hero's goal that they will inevitably clash. It is also vital that you think about your villain's motivation for wanting what they want. Make sure you know their reasons, they can’t just be evil ‘because they are.’

Dislike

Just as we should like the hero of your story, it is essential that we dislike the villain. Making a villain loathsome and despised is the aim. If you do not do this, your reader might not care when they are defeated which means your book will not come to a satisfying conclusion.

Believability

The same applies to villains and heroes alike - if they aren’t believable you reader will have a hard time investing in your story. Strengths and flaws and humanity can help make heroes more complex and exciting to read.

Credibility

Your villain its the provider of conflict in your novel, and so creates drama and tension which your readers will love. A villain should be credible, and not so easily defeated that your readers were never on the edge of their seat, wondering ‘what if..?’

Your héros and villains are the most important and enjoyable characters to create, use the tips above to help you and have fun with them too!

Bethany Cadman

www.bethanycadman.co.uk

The post How To Create Heroes And Villains appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

The Best Ways To Research A Novel

When you write an article or any other sort of non-fiction content, you know that you are going to have to do some research, but when it comes to fiction writing, it all depends on what your story is about.

Most authors find that regardless of how imaginative and creative their story is, they’ll come to a point where research will be helpful and is likely to add depth and believability to the plot.

There is nothing worse than reading a book and being jarred out of the story because something doesn’t sit right, so if authors aren’t sure of something - and it could be anything such as a particular location, point in history, environment, attitude or occupation - they’d do well to research it to make sure their story stands up.

However, doing proper research can feel daunting to some, so here are some helpful tips to guide you:

Let's take a look at some top tips to get you started.

Create a good system

Before you begin, it’s a good idea to get organized and be clear on precisely what it is you are trying to find out. Research involves collecting information, so you need to come up with an excellent system to categorize it. Otherwise, you’ll end up feeling overwhelmed and no better than when you started. Some things you might need are a folder or ring binder, labels, a filing system (physical and digital), access to spreadsheets and a good old notebook and pen too!

Read as much as you can

We all know that reading is imperative if you want to learn to write well, and when it comes to research reading is vital too. Books, newspapers, websites, leaflets, and libraries can be valuable sources where you can find lots of useful information to absorb.

Look at images

They say an image speaks a thousand words, and certainly when it comes to research images can help you picture in your mind's eye what something is supposed to look like, i.e. the rolling hills of Tuscan,y or the inside of a morgue! Make sure you look at lots of images and make notes about what you see and the senses that the images evoke to help you get a better idea of what you are writing about. Platforms for image gathering such as Pinterest and Instagram can be fantastic for finding lots of similar images around the same theme too.

Check out other forms of media

Videos, films, and documentaries can also be great research aids. You might need to know how to expertly pluck and carve a chicken for example - a quick YouTube search, and you’ll find plenty of how to videos on the subject matter!

Talk to relevant people

Often the best form of research is having conversations with people who are experts in the subjects you are trying to find out about. If your protagonist is a doctor in a hospital, see if you can find one to learn more about what their day to day job is like. If one of your characters suffers from depression, see if you can find someone who knows what that’s like and is willing to talk about their experiences.

See and experience it for yourself

Of course, nothing is quite as powerful as experiencing things for yourself. So if you are able to visit the places you want to include in your book, or have the experiences your character is having (gruesome murder aside perhaps!), then get out there and try to recreate these scenes as much as possible. Keep your eyes and ears open and alert so you can absorb everything you see, hear, smell and feel and can recreate the experience accurately and engagingly on the page.

Remember, while researching your novel is a great idea and demonstrates your commitment to your craft, don’t get stuck in your research or use it as an excuse to procrastinate. Not every detail of your book requires research and readers will allow a little creative license too, so remember that no matter how much research you do, your end goal remains the same, and that’s to get your book written!

Bethany Cadman www.bethanycadman.co.uk

The post The Best Ways To Research A Novel appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

Thinking About Writing A Memoir? Read This First

Writing a memoir can be a great way to share your life story with the world. If you have led a particularly exciting, adventurous or unusual life many people may love to hear your stories and could find your experiences genuinely fascinating.

However, writing a memoir isn’t easy. It doesn’t matter how much of a rollercoaster you’ve been on or how many unique journeys you’ve taken - if you can’t retell these stories well, and capture the details in a way that makes your audience engage with them, then you won’t get very far.

Unfortunately, the harsh truth is that many memoirs, if not handled in the right way, are just really dull.

To write a great memoir, the material needs to capture the reader's interest and be delivered in a way that entertains, educates or inspires them.

So if you are thinking of writing a memoir what can you do to make sure that yours doesn’t fall into the typical traps?

Make sure you have focus

Your memoir needs to have a purpose or a theme. When you pick the moments in your life that you want to talk about, make sure that they all have a point, and that these individual points tie together to make it seem like one seamless journey. If you don’t, your memoir will read like a series of random, ill-thought out scenes that will feel stilted to read. Ask yourself what your memoir is about as well as what lessons you've learned to make sure that you have a clear focus before you begin.

Make sure your focus has mass appeal.

To make sure that your book appeals to a broad audience, the themes in your novel should be universal. It doesn’t matter how unique or unusual your experiences are; you need to ensure that your readers engage and empathize. You can do this by concentrating on how you felt during your experiences so that your readers can relate, even if the journey you are describing is nothing like their own.

Don’t write about it all

You may think your life is exceptionally fascinating and that everyone will love to hear every single detail about it, but unfortunately, in reality, you might find that people aren’t as interested as you thought. You know what it’s like when you're forced to sit down and watch a home movie about a recent trip your relative went on, or look through every single of the 500 pictures they took when they last made a trip, that wasn’t even abroad. We'll a memoir can come across a bit like that if you are not careful. You need to make sure and feel confident that not only do you have a great story to tell, but that you are able to step back and realize which bits might only be interesting to just you. Remember your readers don’t know you or care about you, so you need to ensure your story is one that will make them invest their time and emotions in.

That’s not to say that there aren’t people out there that do indeed have amazing stories to tell. But by following the tips above you can ensure that your's is one that will appeal to your audience.

Are you thinking about writing a memoir? What fascinating stories do you have in your past that might make a great read? Share them with us here!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

The post Thinking About Writing A Memoir? Read This First appeared first on Writer's Life.org.

How To Wake Up Your Inner Writer

One thing that many writers struggle with is finding the motivation to write. This may seem ridiculous, how can you be a writer that finds it tough to write? However, if you do you are not alone, and it certainly doesn’t make you any less of a writer.

Being a great writer takes enormous amounts of time and effort, and you have to be genuinely dedicated to the craft, with little promise of any reward. You need to be hungry to keep learning, willing to take criticism and have the ability to take knocks, get back up and keep going regardless.

Finding yourself staring at a blank page and feeling overwhelmed is pretty typical too. Writer's block can strike at any time though more often than not this state is because of a particular problem that we need to overcome.

If our expectations are too high, if we are forcing ourselves to write something that we really don’t enjoy, if we are crippled by fear of rejection or even if we are too tired or lazy to write - these can all be issues which writers must tackle to wake up their inner writer and find inspiration once more.

The good news is, however, that there are plenty of ways to help get motivated and remain so. So if you are in a bit of a writing slump of late, what can you do to find yourself refreshed, focused and productive once more?

Write regularly

The best way to stay engaged in your writing is to do it as much as possible. It may feel slow and sluggish and a massive effort at first, but if you stick at it it will soon get more comfortable and feel much more natural. So keep your head down and get through the first, tough bit and you’ll be so glad you did.

Don’t distract yourself with editing

If you are in a writing slump, the last thing you want to do is be too hard on yourself. Don’t get distracted by picking apart everything you have just written. Get the words on the page first and worry about editing later.

Tackle the root cause

It’s always a good idea to try and figure out why you are feeling demotivated, that way you can take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again. We all get distracted, we all procrastinate, we all get scared. Find out what’s causing you to avoid writing and tackle it head-on.

Change the scenery

Sometimes we need to shake things up a little to get energized and excited about our writing once more. Go for coffee somewhere you’ve never been before, go for a bracing walk in the countryside, get an all-day bus pass, and people watch for a few hours. Changing the scenery can be so helpful and give you new ideas and inspiration too.

Find support

Finding support can be so helpful to give your confidence a boost. Friends and relatives supporting you is fantastic, but why not also join a writing group, either virtually or find a local group to meet up with? Talking about your writing, sharing your worries and meeting likeminded people can be fantastic for kickstarting your motivation once more.

By using these methods, we can wake up our inner writer and continue on our writing journeys and towards our goals. What tips do you have to stay motivated as a writer? We’d love to hear them!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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Key Scenes To Include In Your Novel

Writing a novel, in essence, is about creating lots of different scenes that link together to tell a story. If you break any good story down, you will start to notice that there are patterns. Almost all of them include the same key scenes, albeit told in very different ways, to structure their story and allow the plot to unfold naturally but with moments of tension and excitement too.

Plotting your novel is all about trying to figure out how to tell your story and what should happen when. Understanding the key scenes to include can make this easier. Start by listing as many scenes you can come up with and write them each on different cards. Then you can shuffle them about to try and find order and from there create your outline.

There are some more obvious scenes that most writers will know about. Starting your novel with an ‘inticing incident’ for example is widely known as a good way to kickstart your story. Making sure that your protagonist goes on a journey, is pursuing a goal and has obstacles to overcome are also key to your story’s success.

However, there are many more important scenes that you need to consider to help create the frame for your story structure. Let’s take a look at them.

The Setup

At the very beginning of your story you need to introduce readers to your main character(s), you should also reveal the setting, the world which they inhabit and allow them to get a sense of the time and place before you hit them with the enticing incident.

The Initial Turning Point

This is where something happens that changes the character and starts them out on their journey. Whatever happens has to be enough to change the characters ideas, desires or motivations and see them start to move in a new direction.

The opposition

You need to begin to introduce the characters or obstacles that your character must face to reach their goal. This is also an excellent time to raise the stakes, and ensure that the reader knows what the protagonist has got to lose should they fail.

The change

Something new needs to happen that helps the protagonist get back on track and focus again on their goal. This can be a compelling twist such as an enemy becoming a friend or vice versa or the discovery of new information that changes the course of the story or creates a huge obstacle. The protagonist must figure out how to deal with this.

No turning back

There should be a scene, around halfway through the novel where something happens and now there is no way life can ever be the same for the protagonist, nor can they decide to go back to normal. This scene should propel the story forward and catalyze a series of fast-paced events that lead to your conclusion.

Another twist

Towards the end of your novel, you can include a second twist. When it looks like the end goal might be in sight, something unexpected can happen that is of great importance to your characters.

The major set back

When things finally seem to be going well, and it looks as though everything is going to be OK, include major setback which causes catastrophe and spells despair for your main characters.

The Climax

The climax is a high-energy scene where either the end goal is achieved or it isn’t. This should be a huge event where the protagonist comes face to face with whatever obstacle is greatest.

The wrap-up

The aftermath of your climax should tie all your ends together and draw the story to a satisfying ending - make this short and sweet and don’t leave your readers hanging on.

These key scenes that make up a novel will help writers to understand the protagonist's journey and give the story structure. Use them to create your story outline, and then get writing!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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How To Create Great Blog Post Ideas

Whatever kind of writer you are, freelance, fiction or something else, it’s a good idea to keep an author blog to reach new readers and build up your fanbase. However, coming up with ideas for blogs over and over again can be difficult and take more effort and energy than you want it to.

So how can you keep those creative ideas coming to make sure you entice new readers to your website time and time again?

Here are some tips to help you:

Ask readers what they’d like help with

Content that solves problems is always well received, so why not reach out to a relevant audience and ask them what kinds of things they need help with? There are so many areas of writing where people struggle, so maybe sharing your experience and tips could be a great way to entice new readers.

Put yourself in their shoes

If you were a person interested in books, think about what kinds of things you would like to know. What would make you stop and want to read a blog? Would it be funny? Helpful? Insightful? Perhaps all of the above! Also, think about the kind of book you are ultimately trying to get them interested in. Are you writing a fantasy? A horror? A romance? You can use the genre of your book to come up with exciting and unique post ideas as well.

Do your research

One of the best ways to come up with ideas for your blog posts is to cheat a little! Look at other authors, particularly those that you admire or who write the same kind of books as you. What are they writing about? Which of their posts got lots of engagement? Use their work to inform your blog, but don’t just rehash the same old material - make sure you can put your unique twist on things too.

Follow trends

Another way to make your blog posts incredibly relevant is to research what sorts of hot topics are out there and find a way to incorporate these into your work. You could look at politics and world news, stories more local to your area, what's popular in niches relating to your book, such as music, dance, art and so on and then write blog posts around these topics to draw your audience in.

Interviews and reviews

One way to make your blog more popular and keep it looking professional is to interview other writers, obviously the more well-known, the better. You could also try to get interviews with influencers relating to the genre of your book. Say one of you characters loves fashion, why not interview a famous fashion blogger and intertwine themes from your book in your questions?This is a  smart way to gain a more extensive reach while remaining on topic.

Be creative, unique and fun in your blog posts and try to make your content as fresh and readable as possible. If you keep experimenting and seeing what works for you, you’ll soon find those ideas flowing and your blog becoming more popular day by day!

Bethany Cadman - bethanycadman.co.uk

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