Zara Altair's Blog, page 12

When A Review Helps Fine Tune A Story

How A Review Can Change Your Novel DetailsCareful reading of reviews can give a novelist clues about fine-tuning the novel and how to improve future stories. Thoughtful reviews can even trigger action to change.

I work hard to make my historical information as accurate as possible, down to making sure the Latin words are not too many but appropriate. In The Roman Heir  I had two spelling choices for the term for the head of the family: the original Latin pater familias and the modernized spelling paterfamilias. The bulk of my readers are in the United States so I originally chose the modernized spelling.

Although most of my readers are in the United States, I am keen to build and overseas audience. I received a review from a reader in The Netherlands 

A murder mystery set in 512 AD. In The Roman Heir, with less than hundred pages a quick read, we meet Argolicus, a former praefect of Rome, who was asked to deliver a book to Philo, the son of Pius who dwells in Ostia. Argolicus arrives just after Pius was murdered brutally, which left the seventeen old Philo as heir. Argolicus offers his help to find the murder. His straightforward manners upset the local families. Pius was the local leader in Ostia, not just another patrician from Rome with a second house in this harbor city. What is revealed in a series of interview, is shocking. Fact-finding, putting aside emotions lead to the murder, even before Pius's funeral is there. Zara Altair throws in a lot of Latin and local flavor to have the story set in ancient Roman society, except paterfamilias that's not written properly. A convincing plot that definitely should have a follow-up.

The reviewer had studied Latin for six years and took issue with the spelling. 
I knew that the reviewer fit the parameters of my readers so I took note.
It was easy for me to adjust the spelling to pater familias in Vellum with search and replace. Then I uploaded the new version to digital sellers like Amazon, ibooks, Kobo, Google and the like. Strive For The Best It Can BeI made the decision to change the text based on several factorsKnowing my best reader baseProviding accurate details, including spellingWanting the best text possible for all readersHonest reviews do help an author create the best books possible for readers. After this experience, I encourage writers to consider text changes after an honest review.

​Zara Altair

Header One Tag for Weebly

Weebly's Big Fail: Missing Header 1 TagMany authors want a simple and good looking website to post their author bio, books, blog articles, and media kit. And most authors would rather be writing than messing around with setting up a website. Free and inexpensive alternatives like wordpress.com, Wix, and Weebly offer a simple solution to be online without a lot of fuss.

Weebly offers some beautiful themes for authors and a fairly simple construction process for pages and blog articles. However, if you are an author using Weebly, the site lacks one important ranking factor for search engines: the Header 1 tag.Why is the Header 1 Tag Important?Behind the scenes search engines like Google are looking at your website. H1 tags are important because:They are the third most important ranking factorThey are usually the most visually notable content on a pageReaders notice H1 tagsHeader 1 tags are important to both readers on your page and search engines. Google looks at Header 1 tags as a signal to what your page is about. The tag assures readers that they are in the right place and have found what they wanted.
​How To Add an Tag to Your Post tags are simple HTML you can add to your post and pages on Weebly.
The Title component on Weebly is an tag which is useful to separate blocks of texts in the rest of your post. These tags are an easy way for readers to skim down the page. In addition, from a user experience (UX) standpoint, they add important white space on the page. White space makes your text easier to read by breaking up passages into chunks.
The easiest way to add your own tag is to use the embed feature. Scroll down on the left under Basic. The embed code is at the bottom. 
​Slide the embed tag over to the top of your blog (or underneath your blog image). Then open it up to insert your tag. 
​Open Edit Custom HTML. This is where you will insert your code. ​Now you will need to insert your own HTML tag into the embed editor.Create Your TagStart with this basic code and edit to match your Weebly theme. 

Header text

This is the code you will insert to Edit Custom HTML Save this header code in a text file, or a note keeping app like Evernote or Google Keep. You will use it each time you create a new post.

Go back to the embed segment in Weebly. Click on Edit Custom HTML. This is where you will place the code you have created. Just copy and paste from wherever you stored your code.

Be sure to add the title of the blog replacing the words "header text" with the title of your blog each time.


​Click on the window to embed the code. You'll see your new Header 1 tag. Congratulations! 
​The One and Only TagUse the tag only once at the beginning of your blog article. You need only one tag per page, otherwise you will confuse search engines. Rather than noticing your page more, the search engine may just rank your page lower because it doesn't know which tag is the important one.

Continue to use the Weebly Title for all your subheadings in your blog article. It is an tag and tells search engines this is a section of your article. These tags help search engines understand the subject of your blog. 

Zara Altair
Author, Argolicus Mysteries. Enter a world in ancient Italy when Roman and Ostrogoth laws made murder a private matter. In a time when murder was not a crime, Argolicus helps solve crimes for individuals when politics and murder collide.

Update on Using StoryShop

StoryShop the Creative Planner for Novels
I’ve been using StoryShop since I started as a beta tester in June 2016. I love it! I’m a big believer in planning before you write and StoryShop is a creative tool for brainstormers like me.

StoryShop allows me to capture and idea. That’s great because writers have ideas. But StoryShop lets you build, organize, and reorganize at will.

The online program was created by writers for writers so the program understands how writers create and facilitates building a story. The program is not static and users are encouraged to send suggestions for additional functionality. As a user, you can vote on suggestions to encourage the programmers to consider a suggestions.

For co-writers, collaborators, and ghost writers, the collaboration feature allows more than one writer to work on the story.

With StoryShop, you will:Create deeper, more relatable charactersBuild intricate worldsDevelop airtight plotsWrite stronger, more structured storiesKeep track of all your story’s detailsAvoid distractions and stay focused with your research in one place

The Worlds
In each StoryShop World you create your stories along with your relevant information. The Worlds feature is great for series as well because you can link Characters and Settings (Elements) throughout the series.

You can easily customize each World with visuals. The images are big and bold and serve as mind triggers to get the writer into the story.
​The World contains as many stories as you want to create within that specific world. For example in my Worlds I have two one-off books - Father Trap and Contrast Legacy - as well as the Argolicus Mysteries.

When you select a world, all of the material related to the world is in one place - Characters, Elements, and Stories. So, each story in the series is held in one big World basket.

​The Stories
The story component is made for creative planning. As you brainstorm your story you can add plot elements (scenes) and rearrange them as your story builds.

You can add sub elements of a scene - a bit a dialogue, a physical description, etc. - as they come to mind. By the end you have organized each beat and all the scenes to complete the storyline.

You can tag characters and elements (blue highlights) in the scene to make certain everyone in the scene is there. On the other hand, if you are creating the story and find you need a character you can add a new character and add them to the scene.

​ As you work through the storyline you can quickly hit Notes to add a quick note to yourself and then return to working on the storyline. This feature helps keep focus on the work at hand but allows for notes to build on the plot or scene later.

I use the Notes frequently as I am building out the storyline. For me, the notes help me fill in plot holes. I can return to the note later and work on building a missing element in the storyline.

This feature also facilitates collaboration with co-writers working on the same story.

​ CharactersThe world is your oyster when it comes to creating characters in StoryShop. The visuals help solidify your character’s features. You can add a visual background for each character. I do this for main characters but not always for secondary characters.

In the illustration, Ebrimuth, Argolicus’ Ostrogoth friend has both a character image and a background. Because he is a man of action in contrast to the thinking Argolicus, I chose an action image.

One of the bodyguards in the novel, Eboric, goes berserk when confronted. I wanted to capture that explosive element in his character image.

The images help me cement that character in my mind.

​ But it isn’t just images where StoryShop helps develop characters. You can add as much information as you want as well as links to web pages for pertinent background.
Marcus is the middle child in a family in The Vellum Scribe. The Character mode of StoryShop allows you to create relationships to other characters in the story. Character Attributes are physical attributes like hair, eyes, physical build, etc. Character DNA are questions devised by the StoryShop developers to help dig into your character’s personality and backstory.
I use Character Summary not so much as a summary but for the background and key aspects of the character that move the story.
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Elements
​Elements are pieces of the story outside of characters. They can be anything and everything that help create your story world - settings, McGuffins, armory, cultural role functions. For historical, fantasy, and science fiction writers especially elements are the building blocks of your story world.

I have the average monthly temperatures for Squillace, the vellum scribe’s book with links and images, the role of the Saio in Theodoric’s Italy, and others.

Elements allow you to keep your background research at hand while you are creating the story sequence.

​The Creative Writer’s Creative Tool
StoryShop solves many challenges of the planning stage in producing a novel. The application is flexible. Take what you like and use it. For example, if you don't want background images for every character, you can skip uploading an image. 

For series writers, your world and your individual stories are all connected as well as characters and elements. StoryShop has a tagging feature to interconnect among characters and elements. 

Later in September the writing app will be added for a streamlined writing experience from planning to producing your novel. 

Zara Altair

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in Italy under the Ostrogoth King Theodoric. Enter a world in ancient Italy when Roman and Ostrogoth laws made murder a private matter. In a time when murder was not a crime, Argolicus and his tutor Nikolaos help solve crimes when politics and murder collide in a province far from the King's court.

The Story in the Scene

The Mini-Story that Builds Your Novel
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Each scene is a building block to your story. And, each scene is a mini-story with the same components as the main story.A central characterAn obstacleA settingAn emotional arcA beginning, middle, and end
But the scene has one more function: Move the story forward
Pantser or Planner, It Doesn’t Matter
If you are a planner, you can plan out the basic storyline of the scene. As a writer, you know characters do and say unexpected things. You have a basic structure to keep them from going too far from the scene and disrupting the story plan. I’m not saying characters shouldn’t be disruptive within the story, just make sure actions are moving the story forward and not drama for drama’s sake.

Are you a pantser? Then don’t despair. You can review your scene after you write it to check that you have covered the basic scene elements. Some pantsers wait until the first edit to check each scene. Others check the scene and then go on to the next scene.

How to Check Your Scene
As you review the scene check each element to keep your story from going adrift.

Central Character
The central character of the scene doesn’t have to be the protagonist. But you write the scene from the scene’s main character point of view. If you found you have jumped characters you need to edit to keep the scene centered on that main character.

The Obstacle
The obstacle can be as physical as a fight to the death or as mental as trying to solve a problem. At the beginning of the scene the character confronts a problem. By the end of the scene, the character has either solved the problem--won the fight, figured it out--or is defeated. Every scene needs a challenge.

The Setting
The reader needs to know where the character is. Who is in the room? On the field? On the street?

The setting can contribute to the obstacle by challenging the scene’s central character physically or adding and emotion overlay to the action and dialogue.

Worldbuilders need to add the special details around the characters as they speak and act.

The Emotional Arc
As the central character interacts with others through dialogue and action his emotional position changes. Whether she overcomes the obstacle or is defeated, she’ll have an emotional response to the consequences. The emotional arc is the key to keeping readers engaged and turning the page.
The Structure - Beginning, Middle, EndIf you have your central character in a setting that adds to the story faced by a challenge, you’re on your way. By the time the character has wrestled the challenge (middle) and either won or lost (end), you walked your scene through the structure.

The Final Evaluation - Move The Story Forward
Once your scene is complete, you need to take a look at how it fits into the overall story. If it’s an info-dump about the story world you’ll need to lighten up by integrating the information into other parts of the story. If it’s a cute scene or a big fight you still need to review how the scene moves the story forward.

If the scene is the best writing you’ve ever done it still needs to move the story along. Every writer learns to put their darlings aside if not outright kill them. You can save expository information to sprinkle in other scenes. Save that adorable scene for another story or give it an impetus to move the overall story toward the conclusion. You’ll need your editor’s hat to make sure the scene is doing the job--moving the story forward.

Want to practice scene writing? What’s happening with that duck in the dark?

Zara Altair

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in Italy under the Ostrogoth King Theodoric. Enter a world in ancient Italy when Roman and Ostrogoth laws made murder a private matter. In a time when murder was not a crime, Argolicus and his tutor Nikolaos help solve crimes when politics and murder collide in a provice far from the King's court.

Live Author Interview for The Roman Heir

The Roman Heir in ConversationI'm speaking with avid reader Oleg Moskalensky about The Roman Heir on Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 3 PM Pacific Time. (Convert to Your Time).

The wonderful thing for authors is that readers come from all vocations. Oleg is an IT consultant and developer of specialized programs and apps for business. 

The story takes place in Ostia, Italy, and Oleg actually lived there when he was young. 

Since Oleg is lively and opinionated, this will be an especially fun interview for me.  Be Part of The ConversationMake this more than a talking heads conversation. Click the video link to add your comments and questions. Or join us here ​https://youtu.be/gjWEmAgG08EE.
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I'll be talking about creating a mystery, writing about another time and place, and whatever else you and Oleg throw into the mix. The Roman Heir, An Argolicus MysteryYou can pick up your copy of this Argolicus Mystery at Amazon or a version for your favorite eReader. There's still time to read before the interview.
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If you enjoy the book, please leave a review.  

I’m an indie author, and publish my books without the backing of a major publisher. That means no six-figure advances and no advertising budget. This makes it difficult to promote my novels so new readers can find them. But you can help me.


Honest reviews and genuine ‘word-of-mouth’ make all the difference. I’m not asking for one of those awful ‘book reports’ we did at school. All you have to do is leave a star rating and a couple of sentences on Amazon or Goodreads. Or a short review on your blog. Or tell your friends about it on Facebook or Twitter.


Let people know what you liked about this book, and why they might like it too. And if there was something you didn’t like, you can say that too: constructive criticism helps me write a better book next time.


But please, *no spoilers!*

​Zara

Mystery in History
After Rome, before the Middle Ages, Italy belonged to the Ostrogoths.

A naive teenager. A sister with secrets. A corrupt patrician.  Argolicus unravels the threads.

Argolicus and Nikolaos deliver a gift but arrive hours after a brutal murder. They look for an answer until they find that a man’s secrets do not go with him to the grave.
When Argolicus leaves Rome to retire to his estate in southern Italy, his powerful friend Boethius asks a small favor. Before he sets sail to the south, deliver a book to a young man in Ostia near the port at the mouth of the Tiber river.

When Argolicus arrives in the dying resort town, he finds chaos and sorrow in the villa. The young book lover’s father has been viciously murdered just hours before and the young man asks for help.

With just days to find the killer before his ship leaves port, Argolicus must probe the politics of the dying town. But with every investigation he makes, the circle of possibilities grows. Success seems out of reach and he must disappoint the family, until a ruffian accosts him and pieces fall into place.

Countdown to Publish

Pre-Publication Activities The Roman Heir is due for publication on July 22. The book went out to advance readers over two weeks ago, I’m getting feedback. That means I’m doing some editing like rewording or fixing those gosh darn typos. I’m extremely grateful to these advance readers who give me early feedback.

This is just the first round of final editing. I have two more steps before I upload the book on July 15. Aside from checking any other feedback from advance readers, I listen to the entire book read aloud. I did that chapter by chapter, but one last check. Then I read the book aloud myself to hear and feel the words as I speak them.

I’ve heard most of the story read aloud by members of my writing group as the story progressed. But, I’ve made numerous changes, especially since I presented early chapters to the group.
Spread The Author Word Two days after the book release on July 24, International Thriller Writers is publishing my article for mystery writers, “Ten Ways to Hide Clues in Your Mystery” as a guest post in their publication The Thrill Begins.  
​The World of Argolicus Event On July 22, the day The Roman Heir comes out, I’m doing a special live event on Facebook. I have slides and an overview of the historical background for the stories. The reign of Theodoric in Italy (493–526 CE) is a short time span in the vast spread of history. I’ll be zooming in on the highlights. After the presentation, I’ll answer general questions from the audience either about the background or writing or the stories.

The live event is July 22 at 9:00 AM. Use the Time Calculator to determine the time where you are. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Writing Doesn’t Stop With the work on getting the story ready for publication, I’ve not lost track of the next story, The Vellum Scribe. I’m creating character background studies and filling in plot details. I’ve even written a bit of the beginning. Of course, as I dig deeper into the story, the beginning may change.

Looking forward to seeing you at The World of Argolicus event.

Zara Altair

Enter a world in ancient Italy when Roman and Ostrogoth laws made murder a private matter. In a time when murder was not a crime, Argolicus helps solve crimes for individuals when politics and murder collide.

When Your Characters Speak

The Writing Process with Jo Nesbø
Interview with Jo Nesbø by the Pacific Northwest Writers Association detailing his beginnings in childhood as a storyteller and his writing process.

My favorite quote is the one above: You don’t really know your characters until they start speaking.
Tweet: You don’t really know your characters until they start speaking. Jo Nesbø
Know your story. Know your characters. Then write.

Zara Altair

Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. ​

Historical Mystery Research: Details Behind the Story

Gathering the Research BitsWhile The Roman Heir is in editing process, I’m scouring for ideas for the next several stories. Never forgetting setting, I’m looking at meadows and woods for The Vellum Scribe. ​

The Vellum Scribe 

A monkish scribe. A gored noble. A tantalizing daughter.
Argolicus unravels the threads.
 
When Argolicus' pious uncle arrives to complete his illustrations of Dioscorides for a wealthy patroness, he wanders the fields of southern Italy looking for perfect plant specimens. He and the tutor Nikolaos discover a gored body left to rot in the fields.
 
Argolicus immediately recognizes the body of his wealthy neighbor. When he arrives at the family estate, not one person is grieving except for the daughter.
 

Although I went to Italy for initial research, I was in the north at Ravenna, the political center and king’s seat, at the time of the Argolicus Mysteries. Except for The Roman Heir, set in Ostia at the mouth of the Tiber, the mysteries are set in the far southern province of Bruttii. Cassiodorus mentions the area frequently in his letters, where I found the venal Governor Venantius in The Used Virgin shortchanging locals and creating arbitrary punishments.
Research When You Can’t Be ThereFor a sense of place when I’m unable to travel I cruise around Google Maps to find a particular location. Then once I know the location I look at related images and videos. For the Argolicus mysteries, I’m watching videos and collecting images of southern Italy, especially around the town of Squillace. Argolicus’ estate is in the hills above the town. Here’s a modern quick tour of the town.

​And a friendly tour of the Ghetterello river which runs from the hills, down to Squillace from Massimo Castelli. This one’s in Italian but you can see the valley and surrounding hills.

​The waterfall in the Gheterello surrounded by boulders is the setting for an ambush in a future story.Books for DetailsFor a sense of time, I turn or return to books. Currently, I’m rereading The Ostrogoths from the Migration Period to the Sixth Century ed. S.J.B. Bamish, Federico Marazzi. My son bought it for me as a birthday present a year ago. The book is one of my main sources for political goings on at the time of the Argolicus mysteries. Look at this. There are at least three good stories in just this one passage.

….at least one town, Squillace, is prey to violent troubles that suggest conflicts with the special aim of seizing the episcopal see. More than one bishop there has been killed, and visitors have to be appointed. A priest, Celestinus, is complicit in the murder of his bishop and kinsman at an unnamed town which may well be Squillace. Again, in an unnamed town which may perhaps be Squillace, the bishop is murdered by a creditor to whom he has made over Church property to settle his debt. The archdeacon Asellus allows the murderer to be killed in a riot before he could reveal if he had accomplices.

The Ostrogoths from the Migration Period to the Sixth Century ed. S.J.B. Bamish, Federico Marazzi p. 192 The Transformation ProcessOne absolutely essential quality a historical fiction author   needs is the ability to transform dry text like this (I Ieft out the various footnote references) into a story with interesting characters who interact within their political, cultural, and physical setting.

Imagination makes the story.

Zara Altair
 Zara Altair combines mystery with a bit of adventure in the Argolicus mysteries. Her Argolicus Mysteries are based in southern Italy at the time of the Ostrogoth rule of Italy under Theoderic the Great. Italians (Romans) and Ostrogoths live under one king while the Roman Empire is ruled from Constantinople. At times the cultures clash, but Argolicus uses his wit, sometimes with help from his tutor Nikolaos, to provide justice in a province far from the King’s court.

 

Behind the Author: Real People, Heroes, and Imaginings

Image by  Alayna at Deviant Art  Formative Ideas Every author draws from personal history when creating characters. The main character, the protagonist, along with the antagonist derive from your experience to emerge as rich, engaging people in your story. Behind the list of characteristics, flaws and shortcomings, physical makeup, and the like, intentionally or unintentionally the author draws from personal experience. ​

Often the tiny details, some never revealed in the story, or mere hints, emerge from the author’s own life experience.

​Childhood Heroes My childhood heroes were without superpowers. The Lone Ranger, Sky King, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon on the radio. And the non-human Lassie (in books). And in newspaper comics, Brenda Starr, Reporter.
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A little later my father, an Episcopal priest, who devoured Georges Simenon with the Larousse by his side listened to  The Whistler and The Shadow as we drove each Sunday from services in Arroyo Grande to services in Atascadero, California.

As we drove along the oceanfront and then inland to rolling hills and oak trees, the mysteries and revelations of human behavior gone wrong fascinated my young imagination. The question The Shadow asked at the beginning of each episode made me wonder about every person I met:  Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?

That question was the start my lifelong pastime of making up stories about strangers I saw. As an adult, my notebooks filled with sketches of people I saw who sparked some mini-story in my head. An innocuous looking housewife who harbored a secret jealousy that ate at her heart. A hobo—now street person—who had once been (fill in the blank). Observation: The Author Skill Both detectives, The Shadow and The Whistler, watched and listened. I've been a mystery fan ever since.

I didn't find my voice as a fiction writer until I started writing mysteries with a central character who delves into moral ambiguities in a time when murder was not a crime.

All those mini-stores over the years were accumulated into flawed character background to challenge my protagonist with their secrets. A person can do good in the world and yet perform a base evil like murder.

Those observations of strangers—how they moved their hands, or walked, or stood at attention ramrod straight or with drooping shoulders—help populate stories with characters with idiosyncrasies and deep or shallow motivations.

Personal Heroine Other than Brenda, I never quite found a female heroine until around 10 years ago when I read John Julius Norwich' The Normans in Sicily. And then, Sikelgaita!​

Her’s is not a name on everyone's lips. However others have romanticized her. (See image above)

When Robert Guiscard saw her he dropped everything stunned by her presence, divorced his wife, and married her.
Key concepts:
Stunning presence
Married with children (9)
Fought at his side in full armour in battles
Loyal to the end over many years (27) until his death

I admired her because she was not a single woman with superpowers defying all odds but an embodiment of a multi-faceted woman.

​Real People, Heroes, and Imaginings
Your story begs for believable characters. Writers can borrow from real life, observations, their personal hero set, and imagination to create characters who resonate with readers. When it comes to Write What You Know even your heroes have a place in rounding out characters.


Zara Altair


Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos, are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.
She consults with a select group of writers as The Story Bodyguard.

The bulk of this article was originally posted as a response to  David Amerland’s Sunday Read: Superpowers, June 4, 2017.

When Writer Fear Strikes

You Are Not Alone Every writer goes through fear at some point. That pit-in-the-stomach, I’m-not-good-enough, my-story-sucks, no-one-will-ever-read-this fear blasts strike all writers. Creativity rides the emotional rollercoaster. Creativity is risk taking. Yes, successful, multi-book authors have the same fears.
Self-Doubt Is The Number One Writer FearBlame it on your amygdala, part of your body’s alarm system. Located at the root of your brain the amygdala does everything it can—automatically—keep you safe. If there is risk, the amygdala sends out signals to keep your body safe. Creativity is risk. Fear will happen.

You’ll get fear-lessening signals of every kind.

My writing sucks.
That just-out-of-college and read 10 books editor who rewrote everything was right. My writing sucks.
My Mom/Sister/Uncle/Spouse/Best Friend hates it. No one will like it. I should quit now.

You’re a writer. You know what the fears are. They don’t go away. So, if you are a beginning writer, know that these fears are going to pop up. The key is to recognize the fears and calm them down.

Best-selling author Caroline Leavitt says in a recent interview on The Writer,

So you can’t listen to what people say. There will always be people telling you “you can’t do this,” or “I don’t like this.” There are so many writers who have gotten 80,000 rejections and then suddenly they sell a book and it’s a huge critical and commercial success. So you never know. Just keep writing.

Self-doubt manifests as self-censorship, so one of the best ways to calm that fear is to keep writing until you find your voice. That unique voice that makes a reader love what you write.
So, keep writing. Don’t get thrown off track. Focus on your current project and your long-term writing goals.
Fear of RejectionOne major element of writer fear is rejection. Just about anyone can trigger rejection fear. You can find yourself in a shutdown of getting your work out, even for help from professionals like editors. So, you can end up not sharing your work, even bits of it, with other people.

Other writers
Readers
Editors
Agents

On the one hand, bad reactions happen. I have writer friends who have received devastating comments from editors who didn’t understand their genre and terse rejection letters from agents. They found others and published their books with success.

One of the best ways to start combating this fear, is to join a local writer’s group. To start, find a mutually supportive group with fewer than ten people and make certain they are sympatico. Avoid groups with
An overbearing “leader”
Without group guidelines
A group the doesn’t follow the stated guidelines or allows members to captivate time

Don’t hesitate to leave if the group doesn’t fit.

The people in the group are also writers with the same fears. Every writer has fears. Other writers understand your fears. You’ll discover that other writers are one of your best fear conquering connections.
So Many FearsAs if self-doubt and fear of rejection weren’t enough, writer and writing coach Jurgen Wolff has identified seven basic writer fears in his book Your Writing Coach:

Rejection
Inadequacy
Success
Exposing Yourself
Only One Book
Too Old to Write
Fear of Research

And, I’m sure you, as a writer, can add your personal list.

With so many fears lurking in your writer mind, it’s easy to succumb. Writers who succeed keep writing.
The Determination AntidoteKnow that doubts are going to creep in. They never go away. But you can work to minimize the fear. The best antidote to writer fear is determination.

Author and writing coach Joanna Penn calls working on your work the “palette cleanser.” Get the taste of those fears out and work to find your writer voice by continuing to write. She talks about The Successful Author Mindset in a recent podcast. This is a great talk to bookmark so you can listen when those fears pop up.

Non-fiction author David Amerland has found his voice several times as he writes. He’s gone from marketing, to the semantic web, to SEO for business owners. And recently, inadvertently, found the spark for his new book The Sniper Mind: Eliminate Fear, Deal with Uncertainty, and Make Better Decisions while researching something else.
If that quote spurs you to determination, he has posted an entire page of fear conquering quotes. You can bookmark this page, too, for quick fear-fighting inspiration.
Get To ItThe one action all of these successful writers recommend is to keep writing. I tell my writing clients the same thing.

Keep writing!
Zara Altair
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Zara Altair writes mysteries set in ancient Italy. Argolicus thinks he has retired, but he and his tutor, Nikolaos, are drawn into puzzles, politics, and murder.
She consults with a select group of writers as The Story Bodyguard.