Jerry B. Jenkins's Blog, page 24

How to Survive When Discouragement Slaps You in the Face

If you’re like I was at the beginning of my career, you have huge dreams.

Maybe you secretly—or not so secretly—want to:

Write a book and see it published
Make a living doing what you love
Communicate your worldview to the widest audience you can

Sadly, the bigger the dream, the greater your frustration when day after day passes without success.

Know what I mean?

How long have you put off your dream?

You can blame it on a lack of time or you can blame it on writer’s block.

But when it comes down to it, you know those aren’t real reasons.

They’re just excuses. And they don’t hold water.

Because you always find the time to do what you really want to do, don’t you?

You don’t miss your favorite TV shows and movies.

You go out with your friends.

You make it to that concert or party.

But when it comes time to sit at the keyboard and accomplish your real dream, fear, discouragement, and insecurity all too often creep in.

Each leads to procrastination, which keeps you from succeeding.

And when you do finally plant yourself in front of the computer monitor, that blankety-blank cursor just sits there daring you to put something, anything on the screen. In staccato time with its exasperating blink, it taunts, “You’re no good, you’re no good, you’re no good, baby, you’re no good. I’m gonna say it again…”

That’s when you say, “No, you don’t have to say it again,” and you quit.

But if you don’t find a way to soldier on, you’re going to have to live with something much more painful:

Wondering what might have been.

There has come a time during the writing of every one of my more than 185 published books—usually while slogging through the marathon of the middle—when I wanted nothing more than to quit.

But I’d never have forgiven myself.

So I’m not letting you quit either.

 

6 Alternatives to Giving Up
1—Tell your inner critic to take a hike.

You have no idea how good or bad your writing is until you find an expert who’ll tell you the truth. Then force yourself to listen, and don’t be defensive. You’re likely to be bad before you become good, as is true with any new skill.

 

2—Keep writing.

Yes, writing is a skill. The more time you put into it, the better you’ll get. Study the craft, hone your editorial eye, read great writing to learn what makes it great. Then write! The best remedy for discouragement is action.

 

3—Avoid being so desperate to be discovered that you’re resistant to input.

For every story you read about an overnight success, there are 100,000 writers who earn their chops the old-fashioned way.

 

4—Develop a thick skin.

Every piece of published writing is a duet between an editor and a writer, not a solo. No one likes to be edited, but every writer enjoys being published. Lick your wounds in private, then make the changes the editor suggests and watch your sales grow. You don’t have to agree with every change, but you do have to learn to work together.

 

5—Recognize tightening as an opportunity, not a handicap.

So an editor has chopped your manuscript from 300 pages to 145. Rather than lamenting the loss, welcome the opportunity to write more tight scenes to make it even richer.

 

6—Keep your eye on the prize.

There’s a reason writing appeals to you. Don’t give up just because you’ve discovered it takes more time and effort than you expected. If it were easy, anyone could do it. The rewards are worth it.

When discouragement attacks, remember your purpose. Remember your passion. Remember the future you’ve dreamed of.

Welcome to the road less traveled.

Will you join me on the journey? Tell me what step you’ll take toward your dream this week.

The post How to Survive When Discouragement Slaps You in the Face appeared first on Jerry Jenkins | Write Your Book.

How to Handle Criticism from an Editor

I can predict fairly quickly whether or not you’re going to succeed as a writer.

All I have to see is how you respond to criticism.

Every writer on the planet gets criticized. I do, and I’ve been at this for more than half a century.

If you think that makes it easy for me, you’re wrong. Sure, maybe the suggestions I get are minor compared to those an amateur or a beginner would get. But no one likes negative input.

The veterans, myself included, will counsel you to not take it personally.

We’ll say the editor is trying to help (and they are).

We’ll say they’re on your side (and they are).

We’ll say they want you to succeed (and they do), want the best end product (and they do).

The choicest gem? That they’re not criticizing you—they’re criticizing the writing.

Which is true, but even we know how ridiculous that sounds—and is—as soon as it comes out of our mouths.

Because at the same time we’re telling you to spill your guts onto every page. To write with passion. To write what you care about and bleed for.

It is you—and me—on that page. So, criticize my writing and you’re criticizing me!

But Here’s the Rub

We’re not nine years old anymore. We don’t get to stomp and yell and let the tears roll when we don’t get the praise we want.

There are two ways to handle criticism. One is unhealthy and will end your career before it starts.

The other can keep you sane and in the game.

The Two Ways to Handle Criticism
1. Respond defensively.

Writers present a page or two to me, assuring me they want my “honest opinion. Give me both barrels. I mean it. I can take it.”

But I can see in their eyes that what they really want—let’s face it, what we all want when we start—is to be discovered. We want someone on the inside, someone we respect, someone with connections, to discover us.

We want someone to say, “Where have you been? You’re good! This is good! Let me introduce you to my agent. See you on The Tonight Show.”

I’m honest with people about their writing. I’ve learned over the years that there’s no value in sugarcoating things. I’m not mean. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t take the Simon Cowell/Piers Morgan approach.

I merely point out what I think works and what needs to be changed.

As soon as I offer anything other than praise, the defensive writer freezes. They try to hide it, but their body language says it all. The more I say, the less they move.

Despite their assurances that they wanted the unvarnished truth, this was clearly not what they wanted to hear, and they are no longer listening.

Loved ones told them their writing was great, and now the person they pinned their hopes on is telling them there’s more work ahead.

They weren’t seeking input or instruction, and certainly not criticism. They were seeking validation.

2. Devour feedback.

Writers sincerely eager to learn and grow and succeed (the ones likely to get published) are not afraid of criticism. Sure, it stings, but they’re leaning in, nodding, taking notes, asking questions.

Writers like that don’t even have to agree with everything. They ask for clarification. And often they say, “That makes sense. Yes, that didn’t feel right to me, so I wondered how to make that work. Oh, now I see it…”

I’d have to be naïve to think they aren’t disappointed that I wasn’t more thrilled with their work. But I always compliment them on their teachability and attitude, assuring them that this is what will carry them through the early stage of their career.

Syndicated radio talk show host Chris Fabry (Chris Fabry Live) is the epitome of a writer who began with the right attitude. He asked if I would teach him to write.

Sensing he was serious, I warned him it would be painful and that I would pull no punches. I would edit and rewrite his stuff until it started to make sense to him.

He convinced me he was serious and now admits it was painful. But anything worth doing is worth doing right and suffering for.

Chris wound up writing 34 of the Left Behind Kids books with me, 15 Red Rock Mysteries, and 5 Wormling Series books. He has since gone on to become an award-winning novelist in his own right.

Your Choice Should Be Obvious

Yes, it’s hard to get your writing back with marks all over it. If you must let your inner nine-year-old vent, give him 24 hours and no access to email.

In other words, resist the temptation to lash out at the editor. Fume and fuss and stomp and do whatever makes you feel better—in private.

And when you calm down, remind yourself that your editor has given you what you need to make your writing better.

Look at the fixes with a fresh eye the next morning and make the changes—even if you still disagree with them. Just see how the piece looks now.

Criticism can be your greatest ally. But defensiveness can end your career.

What will you do to improve your ability to take criticism? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post How to Handle Criticism from an Editor appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

Story Writing 101: The 3 Essentials of a Page-Turner

Story writing is hard.

Budding authors ask me all the time how it’s done. Is there a trick, they want to know—a formula?

I wish there were. Beware writing coaches who promise shortcuts.

If you’ve spent much time on this site, you’ve read this before: If story writing were easy, anyone could do it. You’re here, I hope, because, though you know it’s hard, you still dream of doing it, and doing it right.

Not Easy, But Simple

I’m happy to say, however, that there is a handy and memorable way to look at crafting a story.

Picture your finished product as a car—any model you want. Make it as sleek and flashy or as solid and efficient as you wish.

All you really need are three essentials for this model:

An engine
A driver
Fuel

And since this dream car is a metaphor for what you want to write, here are the parts your story needs:

Concept—Your Story’s Engine

Simply put, you need a great idea. Tell a story that would keep your interest, keep you turning the pages.

If it accomplishes that, you can be sure there’ll be plenty of readers out there like you.

Just as your dream car goes nowhere without an engine, your story fails without a compelling idea that grips your reader from the get-go.

“Judith’s mother remarried two years after her father died…” is an anecdote.

“Judith hated her mother’s new husband…” is a story.

Character—Your Story’s Driver

Readers care about, fall in love with, and remember characters.

Good story writing means infusing your characters with sass and attitude and voice. They must be decisive and proactive, not ambivalent and reactive.

A memorable character learns and grows and rises to meet challenges. That’s who you want behind the wheel of your story.

Conflict—Your Story’s Fuel

What’s the point of owning a dream car—or writing the story you’ve always wanted to—and forgetting to fill its tank?

You’ve opted for a great concept as your engine, and a dynamic character serves as your heavy-footed driver.

So for fuel, you need conflict to keep your reader flipping those pages.

To keep every scene crackling, inject it with conflict. One character will counter another—argue, blame, criticize, fight.

Or a problem, challenge, danger, or life-and-death quest must present itself.

Conflict supercharges your engine when your driver floors the accelerator.

Story Writing Isn’t That Complicated 

Remind yourself to view your story as a car, and make sure you equip it with the best engine, driver, and fuel.

You’ll soon find yourself writing the stories you’ve always wanted to write.

And maybe soon we’ll see your name on the bestseller lists. 

Tell me in the Comments below how you’ll outfit your next story to run as smoothly as a new car.

The post Story Writing 101: The 3 Essentials of a Page-Turner appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

Why I Never Aim for the Bestseller List (and You Shouldn’t Either)

It seems everybody wants to pen the next bestseller.

Of course, just about any book can be labeled one these days. Publishers and marketers can almost guarantee placement on some bestseller list with a strategic release date and a carefully planned launch.

A book might sell only several hundred copies the week of its release and still claim that coveted status.

That’s not what I’m talking about.

I’m talking about those books we don’t have to Google.

To Kill a Mockingbird

Left Behind

The Purpose-Driven Life

Harry Potter

I know some even outsold those. But as these serve my point, and I wrote one of them, I’ll leave it at that.

What is it about these?

They are message books. Big concept books. They’re what agent Donald Maass calls “breakout” books.

The question is: Were they intended to be? Were they written that way? Did the authors know they were onto something massive, colossal, global?

Mockingbird was a debut novel set in a small southern town that dealt with a sea change in racism. The author says she had no idea the book would ever see the light of day, let alone become a classic.
Left Behind was a fictionalized account of a popular view of prophecy. My co-author and I thought it would be encouraging to the faithful. We hoped for a bestseller, sure, maybe something as astronomical as 200,000 copies (certainly not 60-plus million).
Purpose-Driven was a self-help book by a pastor. It grew out of a church growth book he had written, and he has said he is still overwhelmed by its success.
Harry was written on a lark by an unknown British woman who was having fun with her imagination and hoped kids might like it. She now enjoys a net worth in excess of $1 billion.

 

What Bestselling Authors Think While Writing

One privilege of having a series reach what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as “the tipping point” in sales was getting to meet other authors of wildly successful books.

Each told me that not only were they as surprised as anyone at the success of their books, but also that such success was the last thing on their minds as they were writing.

So what was on their minds?

The work. The message. The mission.

They cared about what they were writing. They cared about their readers. They cared about communicating.

That was not only first and foremost. It was, in fact, all.

This proves true in successful businesses as well.

Consultants will tell you that wildly successful businesses are rarely fashioned on spreadsheets. They result from people passionate about serving others.

Someone lives for sharing with the world something they love. What results is resounding success. When and if they fail, it’s because someone loses sight of the original goal and changes the focus to the bottom line.

If you set out to become famous, write a bestseller, get great reviews, or get rich, it’s highly likely you’ll fail.

Believe in your message and care about your readers enough to give yourself wholly to learning your craft and honing your skills.

Don’t even think about bestseller lists.

Write with passion.

Believe me, it will show in your work.

And the rest will take care of itself.

What is your mission as a writer? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post Why I Never Aim for the Bestseller List (and You Shouldn’t Either) appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

Why 9 Out of 10 Writers Quit (And How to Be the 1 Who Finishes)

Nobody goes into writing intending to quit. Certainly not you.

It’s probably the last thing on your mind—at first. You don’t want to give up your dream. You have ideas, ambition, a vision of your future as a published author.

The idea of abandoning that for any reason makes you sick.

But nine of ten would-be writers don’t even get close (and that’s being generous—in truth it’s closer to nine and one-half).

In fact, they don’t even get as far as having their work evaluated, let alone rejected.

They quit before they finish a thing.

What to Avoid at All Costs

How does it happen? Why do so many who start out with such enthusiasm—surely as much as you—seem to give up so easily, and in droves?

Here are 6 common denominators I see in wannabes destined to become won’t-bes:

1. They ‘took their own counsel’

That’s a quaint way of saying they thought they knew best. They wanted to become an author in such a bad way that they convinced themselves they were experts on publishing. And that led to more mistakes…

2. They went rogue

Rather than displaying humility, doing their homework, getting counsel from editors, publishers, agents, veteran writers, people in the know, they plunged ahead. Their decision had been made.

They had an idea and were ready to write, and so they made another rookie mistake…

3. They followed a trend

It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Books on a certain subject were selling well, maybe even phenomenally. Why not get in on the action?

The mistake? Writers like that don’t know the business and don’t realize that books in the market now were written and edited more than a year before. By the time their book gets released, the trend is likely to be long over.

Publishers know this. They are not buying books on that subject anymore.

4. They believed in overnight success

Notice how this fits with all the above. Too many beginners read a story or two of first-timers who strike gold, and they believe that will happen for them too.

They don’t realize it’s a one-in-a-million shot and that the stars have to be aligned just so. When their proposal or synopsis doesn’t create buzz, let alone enthusiasm, they quit in disappointment.

5. They started their career with a book

If this mistake surprises you, beware. A book is not where you start, it’s where you finish. You have skills to learn and hone and polish and a quarter-million cliches to get out of your system.

You accomplish that by writing and selling short stories and articles as you develop as a writer.

6. They were imitative

One of the most common traits of destined quitters is that they tend to imitate famous writers. That’s a hard road to navigate, and when you realize you can’t keep it up, you quickly grow discouraged and quit.

 

How to Be a 10-Percenter

Simple. Not easy, but simple.

If you want to avoid being part of the 90%, do the opposite of the above.

1. Seek counsel

Get proven advice from writers’ groups, online forums, and author blogs. These days, you can find all the answers online if you just look. Sorry, but the Internet took away all your excuses.

2. Welcome community

Join a writers’ group. Find a mentor. Be open to criticism.

Trust me: You can’t do this alone. Lean on those who have gone before you.

3. Stay on the cutting edge

Don’t become just a student of writing—become a student of the writing markets. Productive writers know what’s selling right now, but they don’t bank on trends.

You want your book to be relevant long-term, not embarrassed by its high school pictures.

4. Recognize that success takes time

Yes, my Left Behind series has sold over 60 million copies. But that came 20 years and 125 titles into my career.

Ask me again about becoming an overnight success.

5. Pay your dues

Before attempting that book, why not try selling your first article or short story? And maybe your second, third, and fortieth while you’re at it?

Spend time developing your skills in the minors before you throw a pitch in the major leagues. You’ll thank yourself later.

6. Be yourself

If you try to be Ann Voskamp, you’re depriving the world of your voice. Besides, there’s also only one Ann Voskamp, and it’s not you. (Unless it is you. In that case, sorry, Ann, and hi!)

Real writers invest the time it takes to hone their true writing voice. And when you’re able to write what you love in your own voice, your confidence soars.

Confident writers don’t quit.

How determined are you to not be a quitter? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post Why 9 Out of 10 Writers Quit (And How to Be the 1 Who Finishes) appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Finish a Book: 3 Qualities of Writers Who Finally Get ‘er Done

If there’s anything harder than starting your book, it’s finishing, right?

You want to. You mean to. You have the best intentions when you sit before that keyboard.

But then comes that accusatory voice, criticizing every sentence, telling you you’re not good enough.

You’ve wasted too much time already.

You’ll never publish at this rate.

Soon the mental strain is too much. It’s easier to play mindless computer games or check your email or Facebook or click on some trail of photos guaranteed to blow your mind.

Before you know it, the day is gone and the cycle begins again tomorrow.

It’s time to break out and actually finish.

Would you believe I face the same pain and self-doubt every time I sit at the keyboard?

It’s true, despite decades of bestsellers and the fact that I write only under contract now.

Shouldn’t that give me confidence and the motivation to stay at the task, no matter what?

Yes, it should. But at some point in the grueling process of finishing, I battle the same accusatory voice and the lure of distractions that seem to multiply daily.

The Secret to Finishing Your Book

It’s as simple as seeing yourself as a success rather than a failure.

Now, stay with me. I’m a realist—not some weird visualization guru.

I’m talking about the kind of imagining we did when we were engaged and considered what our marriage might look like in a few years.

Or what our baby or toddler might become as a high schooler or college student or adult.

Now turn that imagination on yourself.

Imagine yourself having finished that book.

You’re still visiting this website, looking for tips and insight. But rather than desperately searching for something to get you over the hump, you’re nodding knowingly, feeling more like a colleague than a student.

You’re on a first-name basis with editors at real publishing houses.

Your shelf has your book—maybe more than one—proudly displayed.

You’ve had an autograph party, a public reading, been reviewed in print, received endorsements from writers you admire.

People know you as not only a friend and colleague, but also as a writer. And they introduce you that way.

You’re a legitimately published author, as you’ve always dreamed.

So What Will Get You There, Across That Finish Line?

Here are the three most important qualities I see in writers who finish:

1.  They treat their first draft like a hunk of meat.

Successful writers know something others don’t:

First drafts are supposed to be bad. I view mine as a hunk of meat to be carved.

I spend zero time, during the writing, trying to make it right. In fact, I make it a point to turn off my internal editor.

I don’t worry about spelling, punctuation, redundancies, clichés, or even logic.

So give yourself permission to write a bad first draft.

If you don’t get words onto the page, you have nothing to work with.

My first drafts are always terrible, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I begin my next work session with a heavy edit and rewrite (in essence carving that hunk of meat I produced the day before), which catapults me into that day’s writing.

That’s when I turn off my internal editor again and start producing another hunk of meat to carve the next day.

2.  They’re crystal clear on their target reader.

Let me keep this simple for you. It doesn’t have to be complicated.

The most common rookie mistake is to say—and believe—that your book is for everyone: men and women and boys and girls.

If it is, it’s ill-conceived. You’ll have a tough time writing it and an even tougher time placing it with a publisher.

Just as it’s important to be able to summarize the gist of your book in one sentence, it’s crucial to know specifically who you’re writing to.

That doesn’t mean a love story with a woman protagonist can’t be enjoyed by men, or that if it is an adult story it can’t be enjoyed by readers as young as teens.

But you should be writing it to a representative reader—yes, just one. For the sake of this example, picture in your mind a middle-aged woman.

She should be as real to you as your characters. If a picture from a magazine represents her, put it where you can see her as you work.

Then write to her and only her.

Often I write to myself.

Why?

Because my mantra is reader-first. I want to be certain I’m writing only what will keep my reader entertained, engaged, turning pages—and most importantly, never, ever bored.

I certainly don’t have to wonder whether my target reader is losing interest if that reader is me.

Know your reader. It will focus your writing more than ever before. And that will go a long way toward getting you to the finish line.

3.  They always work before they play.

When you put off work, it has a habit of not getting done.

Word games and Internet surfing aren’t as much fun with work hanging over your head, are they? But work isn’t so bad when you’ve promised yourself the reward of a little fun for finishing.

We writers, too, need to work before we play, but we must make time for play. I never feel more stress than when I’m on the home stretch of a manuscript and can no longer schedule some down time.

I motivate myself to get my writing done by looking forward to the payoff: time with my wife, having dinner with her, maybe going to a movie or watching a favorite TV show.

Psychologists say a sign of good mental health is the ability to delay gratification.

We are born wanting what we want when we want it. We scream for milk, we scream for attention, we scream for toys, we scream to be changed. When we get that bottle, we empty it right away, and if it’s not enough, we scream for more.

Preschoolers with cupcakes lick that tasty frosting right off the top and then lose interest in the dry cake.

It’s only as we mature that we learn the value of delaying gratification.

I use the Anti-Social app to turn off my email and social media while I’m writing, delaying the gratification of whatever fun that can be had for when I’ve earned it by getting my work done.

Some games and other trivial computer diversions I have actually removed from the computer I write on. I have those installed only on the laptop I use in the house.

That keeps me focused, because I think it’s important to work before I play.

Why?

Because, like you, above all I want to finish my book.

What will be the best thing about finally finishing your book? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post How to Finish a Book: 3 Qualities of Writers Who Finally Get ‘er Done appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

Why Readers Are Skipping Crucial Parts of Your Story

I want to make you glad you stopped here today. So I’m going to let you in on a secret.

It’s something I’ve learned over a lot of years in the writing business. You want to know this, need to know it. But your readers won’t tell you.

Frankly, I don’t know why they tell me. Maybe I just have one of those faces.

Lean in close. They don’t want it said aloud.

Readers Skim Over Your Description

Yes, even well-written passages.

Yet novice writers, and even many old pros, go on laboring over page after page of it and wonder why their stuff doesn’t sell.

Here’s an example—and I’ll tell you upfront, there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the writing itself. The passage is evocative and even has a bit of music to it. You wouldn’t be wrong to like it and wonder what’s wrong with it.

The cottage sat on a bluff overlooking the ocean, where waves pounded the shore and the wind whipped the bare-limbed trees…

Here’s the Issue

Unless you’re a master craftsman, like novelist Charles Frazier (Cold Mountain) or nonfiction maestro Rick Bragg (All Over but the Shoutin’), you must make description serve two purposes.

I’ve written nearly 190 books, two-thirds of them novels, and as hard as I work at it, I don’t dare ask a paragraph of description to stand on its own like that.

That’s begging for criticism, like an author saying, “Here I am, setting the scene, describing the location of the action. How’m I doing?”

Meanwhile, readers’ eyes are glazing over. It’s a sin to bore readers, yet how many ways are there to describe a setting?

So What’s the Solution?

Obviously, it’s your job to set the scene. You need to evoke the setting, yet you want to ensure your readers aren’t skimming over your description—or worse, skipping it altogether.

So what do you do?

Make Description Part of the Action

Assuming you have gotten your characters to the cottage, perhaps driving narrow, treacherous roads, you can then describe the rest of the setting while telling the story.

Like this:

Randall wanted only David to know his scheme, so he pulled him away from the others and onto the deck where he had to raise his voice over the pounding waves. He hunched his shoulders against the whipping wind and wished he’d thought to grab a jacket, knowing they wouldn’t be able to stand it out there long…

Your reader wants action, but that doesn’t mean violence and mayhem at every turn. It simply means the story must keep moving.

Most interesting in the story above is Randall’s scheme, so get to it and stick with it. Enfold images of where the characters are while the plot pulls the reader along, rather than stalling to paint a picture of the setting.

That engages the theater of your reader’s mind, evoking as many sensory details as you need for her to feel as if she’s there with Randall and David. She might even hear the mournful cry of the sea gulls.

And while Randall desperately whispers his nefarious plans, your faithful reader is skipping nothing.

Tell me in the Comments section below how you’ll weave description into your story to keep readers engaged.

The post Why Readers Are Skipping Crucial Parts of Your Story appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How Procrastination Has Helped Me Write (and Sell) More Than 185 Books

I’ve got a goal, and I’ve got a problem.

My goal is to persuade you and everyone like you that I can teach you to do what I do.

Yes, be widely and successfully published.

My problem is that the more I do it, the harder it is for you to believe that you can do it too.

Are You Making any of These Excuses?

I’ve been a published author since 1974, writing several books every year since—188 now with 21 New York Times bestsellers and 70 million copies sold. For decades I’ve also been teaching writing and how to get published, all the while facing every excuse and objection imaginable.

“It’s easier for you,” students say, “because:

“You’re well-known.”
“You write faster than I do.”
“You’re obviously more disciplined than I am.”
“You can’t be a procrastinator like I am.”

Time to put on your big kid pants and face the truth.

If you want it badly enough, you can do what I do. And here are the facts about those excuses and objections:

I was once unpublished and as unknown as anyone else. Learn the craft, hone your skills, pay your dues, and you can be published too.
Writing speed is a learned skill. There’s no secret to it. It comes from learning the tricks of the trade and building your writing muscles.
No question, it takes discipline to accomplish any goal. No one has a monopoly on discipline. Again, it comes down to how badly you want to achieve your dream.
I must not be a procrastinator? Pull up a chair. We need to talk.
The Embarrassing Truth about Me

Procrastination is the most common offense I hear confessed.

Everywhere I teach, all over the world, budding writers admit this to me as if it’s killed their dream before it was even born.

And when I tell them they’re talking to the king of procrastinators, their looks alone call me a liar.

But it’s true—I am a procrastinator.

In fact, I’m the worst.

And it once paralyzed me.

Believe me, I’ve seen this monster try to morph into writer’s block, that most terrifying of all boogeymen.

How Bad Was I?

I should ask, How bad am I? Because the truth is, I have not rid myself of the curse.

I have merely learned to manage it.

And you can too. Really.

But back to how bad I am.

I read the backs of all my wife’s cereal boxes before I can even consider getting started on my writing. (And I don’t eat cereal anymore. I’m an eggs and bacon guy.)
My writing cave must be pristine—yet I would not entertain a guest while writing on deadline for any
I cannot allow even one unanswered email in my inbox, not even from an elderly relative persuaded that this conspiracy is real and was foretold prior to recorded history, verified by codes only recently discovered in ancient texts deciphered by a toddler guru.
And is it my fault if the list of the 10 worst movie ideas of the 1990s leads to 20 of the worst plastic surgery fails of all time?
Why, yes I would also be interested in seeing pictures of 15 undersea creatures I wouldn’t believe actually exist.
My two dozen pencils must be sharpened to points that could impale faeries that weigh less than a gram. (And I haven’t used a pencil since the sixth grade—who has? It would be impolite to ask when in the early ’60s I was in the sixth grade.)

But now it’s noon, and that’s too late to start writing. So I’ll change the number of pages I need to write tomorrow.

But tomorrow proves to be more of the same, and I—you—start to spiral.

That’s when I despair, turn over a new leaf, resolve to start again.

I try everything to keep from falling further and further behind.

I change locations, eliminate distractions, and still find myself stalling, delaying, changing those numbers of pages per day on my calendar, committed to make my deadline.

But before I found the answer, I had trouble sleeping, despite my dogged determination to really, finally get started the next day.

Naturally, that led to only more frustration. For even if I somehow found the spark—or whatever I needed—I would be too exhausted to write.

A person of faith, of course I had been praying throughout the ordeal—every time, all the time. So it shouldn’t have surprised me that an answer came.

To my shame, I didn’t immediately recognize it as divine cause and effect. As I too often do, I merely accepted it as my good fortune.

I had been procrastinating…         

…by researching procrastination. That may be what you’re doing now.

And I stumbled upon something useful and freeing.

Now so have you.

The Secret to Overcoming Procrastination

Don’t stop procrastinating.

You read that right.

Don’t try to beat it or avoid it.

Rather, expect it, plan for it, schedule it. And believe—know—that while you’re procrastinating, your subconscious is working on your book.

Then you’ll be able to rest, even to sleep.

The #1 Requirement that Ensures Your Success

Keep your deadline sacred—even if it’s self- rather than publisher-imposed.

No matter how long you delay, stall, procrastinate, and increase the number of pages per day you must write to make your deadline, there absolutely has to be a limit.

You cannot let things get to the point where there are too many pages per day for you to write.

Trust me, that’s how you can learn to live at peace with procrastination.

Do What I Did

Now, when I have a deadline, I:

Dutifully schedule my daily writing plan
Know full well I’ll stall and delay and go through my ridiculous rituals, unable to get started when I know I should
Relax and sleep well anyway, knowing my subconscious is working on my book
Keep a careful eye on the calendar so I don’t let the days get out of hand
Keep my deadline sacred
Finally start when I really have to and enjoy discovering the surprises my subconscious reveals

 

Has this helped you? How will it affect you the next time procrastination threatens? Tell me in the Comments below.

The post How Procrastination Has Helped Me Write (and Sell) More Than 185 Books appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Create Unforgettable Characters

Are you worried your readers aren’t going to connect with your hero?

It’s a great character that makes the difference between a bestselling novel and a dud.

That’s why, as you’re planning your story, you should take the time to study what made you connect with your favorite characters in the novels you most enjoyed reading. You’ll likely see  patterns if you look carefully.

I have learned a ton about rendering characters over decades of novel writing. Here are  three crucial guidelines for making them memorable.

1.  Make your characters believable

Oddly, memorable doesn’t mean unreal.

Strange as it may seem, the definitions of fiction and nonfiction have flip-flopped these days.

The highest compliment that can be paid a novel is that it’s believable.

Conversely, bestselling nonfiction is now what? Unbelievable. Like stories of people dying, going to heaven, then returning to tell about it.

Try to sell that as fiction, and it would be rejected as unrealistic!

So if you want memorable characters, they have to be not only heroic, but also believable.

To accomplish this, make readers care about your characters by making them feel both real and knowable.

2.  Trigger the Theater of the Mind

Making characters real and knowable doesn’t mean overwhelming the reader with description. You can’t compete with the reader’s imagination anyway, and what’s the harm if a thousand readers have a thousand different versions of what your main character looks like?

Sure, all readers need to know your hero’s gender, general size, maybe hair and eye color, perhaps even the timbre of their voice.

It should also emerge whether your lead is athletic or strong or nimble enough to accomplish some difficult task your plot requires.

But the day of describing hair and eyelash length, curve of lip, shade of complexion as if it came from a color chart, and breadth of hands and fingers is long past. Leave some of the fun to the reader’s imagination.

3.  Add pet-the-dog moments

Put your heroes in situations where their character emerges. Do they know service people by name? Greet them? Ask about their families? What does that say about them? Imagine what it subtly communicates to readers.

Would your hero or heroine notice if they were undercharged for breakfast? Would they make it right? Are they generous tippers?

Would they stop—even if they were late—and help a homeless person whose basket full of earthly possessions has tipped over?

These are called pet-the-dog moments, where an otherwise bigger-than-life personality does something out of character—something that might be considered beneath him.

Readers remember such poignant episodes, and they make the key moments even more dramatic.

It was George Bailey’s sacrificing his travel-the-world dreams to take over the lowly savings and loan that made his standing up to the villainous Mr. Potter so heroic in the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life.

Want to turn your Jimmy Stewart into a George Bailey?

Make him real.

Give him a pet-the-dog moment.

Make him a hero.

And you’ll make him unforgettable.

In the Comments below, introduce me to the main character in your latest story, and tell me how you’ll make him or her memorable.

The post How to Create Unforgettable Characters appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.

How to Outline a Novel (Even If You’re Not an Outliner)

I know what you’re thinking:

How does the author of nearly 190 books, two-thirds of them novels, get off telling me “How to Outline a Novel” when he’s on record as a non-outliner himself?

Hey, not only that, but we non-outliners have a name! We call ourselves Pantsers.

Okay, so it’s not that creative. It just means we write by the seat of our pants. We could just as easily be known as No-Netters, like high wire walkers or trapeze artists who work without safety nets.

And it’s not like we’re some crazy offshoot, like the cousins you never talk about. We make up about half of all novelists, and there are some famous mega-bestselling types among us. Does the name Stephen King strike a familiar tone?

Why couldn’t we just be known as members of the Stephen King School of Fiction Writing?

Which Are You—Outliner or Pantser?

It’s a good thing to determine early, you know. You’ll save yourself a lot of agony, starts and stops, frustration. There’s enough of that in novel writing already. No sense adding more when you don’t have to.

Now, trust me, whichever you are—Outliner or Pantser—you’re often going to wish you were the other. It’s just like people with curly or straight hair. The curlies are always trying to straighten theirs, and the straights are always trying to curl theirs. Human nature, I guess.

When I hit the wall at the halfway to three-quarter mark for just about every novel, I yearn for a tidy outline that tells me where to go next.

But down deep I know better. Outlines just don’t work for me. Somehow, when I plot the story out in advance, things get predictable.

Plus, the organic nature of a story always has its way with me and the characters wind up taking over. They’re cantankerous sorts and never let me put words in their mouths or take the fork in the road I think they ought to.

Go Where the Process Takes You

The aforementioned Mr. King says, “Try to put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.”

How fun is that? I live for it. It’s writing by process of discovery, and for me—and any Pantser—it’s the only way that works.

I grew up on television. Maybe that’s why I’m an intuitive plotter, and my stories tend to have beginnings, middles, and ends.

It doesn’t always feel that way while it’s happening, and sometimes I wonder why things are happening the way they are, but things always seem to come together and work out.

Be What You Are

Now, if you’re an Outliner and you try writing by the seat of your pants, you’ll soon know you’ve made a mistake. If you’re not an intuitive plotter, your story will be all over the place, your rabbit trails will take you to parts of the forest you have no business in, and you’ll never find your way back.

You’re one or the other, so decide and stake your claim. Neither is better, neither is right or wrong—unless you choose the opposite of what you are. Then you’re not going to be happy till you switch.

The Ultimate Outliner

If you’re an Outliner and want to jump in with both feet or dive in headfirst or whatever cliché you choose to apply, you can’t do better than to tap into the very strange and wonderful mind of my friend, Dr. Randy Ingermanson.

Who’s he, you ask?

Only the Sheldon Cooper of novelists. Literally (and I use that term literally).

On The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon has a master’s degree and two doctoral degrees.

Randy got his M.A. and Ph.D. in physics, specializing in elementary particle theory. He also did two years of post-graduate work on superstring theory.

Somehow he now applies his intellect to the science of novel writing and teaching novel writing, and he is the consummate Outliner.

If you’re an Outliner, go to his site and check out his Snowflake Method of outlining your novel, and also invest in his Writing Fiction for Dummies.

But You Said…

I know! I was going to tell you how to outline your novel even you’re not an outliner.

If you’re not an outliner, you need to stay at least 100 yards from Randy Ingermanson. He’d tell you that himself. He doesn’t even want my business!

Randy agrees that Outliners are Outliners and Pantsers and Pantsers, and never the twain shall meet.

If you’re a Pantser, don’t try to be an Outliner.

Then How Am I Supposed to…

Okay, here’s how.

No one’s saying that just because you’re not an Outliner you should simply sit at the keyboard and wait till magic happens.

It doesn’t go that way. At least it never has for me—although some critics may disagree.

Though you may not have an outline per se, obviously you must have an idea or you have no business in that chair.

I repeat: don’t go to the keyboard with nothing to say.

Come with an idea! Be able to state it in one sentence. Tell me what your story is about.

My first novel was about a judge who tried a man for a murder that the judge had committed.

I had to have at least that much or I would have sat there all day twiddling my thumbs.

Now, if you’re an Outliner, Randy Ingermanson will have you inventing characters with names and backgrounds and virtually blueprinting your story before you keyboard “Chapter 1.”

As a Pantser, my thought was, come up with a couple of character names, put ‘em on stage, and start telling the story of that judge. Let’s see what happens. It sure won’t be predictable to the reader, because I don’t even know what’s coming.

And if a reader writes to demand why I killed off some favorite character, I can say, “Hey, I write by process of discovery. I didn’t kill them off, I found ‘em dead.”

Then What Did You Mean by ‘Outlining’?

That there is a basic story structure that works whether you have a formal outline or you’re writing by the seat of your pants, and it looks like this, according to bestseller Dean Koontz:

1—Plunge your main character into terrible trouble as soon as possible. (That trouble will mean something different depending on your genre. For a thriller it might be life-threatening. For a romance it might mean choosing between two suitors.)

2—Everything your character does to try to get out of the trouble makes it only worse.

3—Eventually things appear hopeless.

4—Finally, everything your character has learned through all that trouble gives him what he needs to personally conquer the opposition.

That’s a structure that will keep you—and your reader—engaged and insured against boredom.

And that’s how to outline a novel, whether you’re an Outliner or a Pantser.

So, which are you, an Outliner or a Pantser, and what will you do next?

The post How to Outline a Novel (Even If You’re Not an Outliner) appeared first on Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild.