#Writing Wednesday - November 30th 2016

It's the last day of November. If you were doing NaNoWriMo, how did you do? Did you make it? Well, whether you did or not, what's next for you? Does your plan only go as far as wanting to write the book? Or do you have more of a plan than that? If you haven't thought beyond the writing stage, you may want to plan what's next after you write your book. Unless, of course, you were someone who just wanted to write the book and then forget about it, which would be a shame after all the work you put in to it. But, hey, it's your call, so do whichever you want to.

Also, if you didn't make it. Don't worry about it. The fact you tried is a good thing to start with, and you deserve a pat on the back just for that. Sometimes, no matter how well you do at carving out your writing time, the words just won't come. If that's what happened to you, here's what to do when the words won't come. It's too late to help you for this year's NaNoWriMo, but it's something worth considering for any time you're trying to get some writing done, regardless of when that is, so the post is still worth checking out.

Anyway...

Can social media really sell your books? Short answer: only if you use it right, and then not all by itself. Social media itself doesn't sell your books, but it can be a useful tool to help with marketing.

As you probably already know, people watching is another thing that can be useful for writers, because it helps you when it comes to creating characters. So, with that in mind, here are some useful people watching tips for writers. Plus, you may find these tips for writing real characters useful too.

Always remember that, while it's important to make sure your book gets some decent editing before you publish it, editing too much during the writing phase can hold you back. So save the editing for later... At least get the first draft written first. I hope that's something those of you who were doing NaNoWriMo were bearing in mind?

By the way, are you a children's author? If so, check out these tips on learning to write for kids by learning to read to them. Also, have you ever considered writing a thriller for children? If so, take a look at this post on writing thrillers for kids.

Whether you write for children, or write for adults, you've got to love the artistic freedom we now have! Same goes for any kind of artist, really: the kinds of artists who draw or paint, musicians, writers, whatever. With how things have changed we have more artistic freedom, and it makes me happy. Also, artistic freedom is one reason I self-publish... I want to be able to write what I want to write, not what someone else says I should be writing, and I want to be able to do it when I decide to. Obviously I hope my readers enjoy what I write, but I don't write something because it's what's popular right now, or because I think doing so will make me rich. Hey, I may be a dreamer, but I'm in touch with reality enough to know the chances of me getting rich are pretty low... Especially since I don't even play the lotto these days. *Wink*