GUEST POST: DOMINION by Lissa Bryan

Release Date: December 3rd 2016Published by: The Writers Coffee ShopGenre: Fiction, Dystopian

~~Guest Post~~



Ten Habits to Make You a Better Writer.

Ironically, I’m writing this article late, which makes my advice on discipline seem somewhat hypocritical, but stay with me, because I promise it’s stuff that will help you in your writing career.
1)      Yeah, here’s the discipline part, because it really is important. There are going to be many days when you don’t feel like writing, when you have no inspiration and every word is like pulling teeth. But you have to power through it. Write even if you don’t know what you want to write at the moment. Write some character’s backstory. Write a letter to a dead president. Write a scene in which your characters all slay one another in a terrible Shakespearean drama. Just write something. It’s important to exercise those muscles even if you don’t feel like doing it. Remember, every word you write is practice. You’re learning tighter phrasing, better descriptions, more fluid pace, and better grammar with every word you type.
2)      Taking criticism with grace. It’s harder for some to learn than others, because some of us have this heated instinct to defend our beautiful “babies” from anyone who would dare pick on them. But criticism is valuable. You can learn from it, as hard as it may be. Whenever you get a critical comment you have to examine it for what you can learn from it. Some complaints are just about personal preference, of course, but others — such as pointing out plot holes or technical errors in our writing — can help us improve our next work.
3)      Learning to “kill your darlings.” In my first novel, I had a long scene that my editors suggested should be cut. I argued for keeping it because I really liked the scene, and thought it added a lot of important historical detail. But when I sat down and really thought about it, I had to admit that the scene had no real purpose. I could get the same point across in one sentence of dialogue. All it did was slow down the action. Which gets me to my next point…
4)      Remember your primary “job.” As a writer, your job is to keep the pace of the story moving briskly, to get the reader from one plot point to another. That’s why seasoned authors say that every scene in your book, every line, has to have a specific reason for being there.  Anything that can be trimmed without changing the plot of the story or losing an important detail about the characters should be deleted. This can be so very painful.
5)      If you’re in this for money or fame, you’ve chosen the wrong career. Yes, lightning does strike, and you can point to a dozen or so authors who have achieved fame and fortune. But for every J.K. Rowling, there are ten thousand authors quietly struggling to afford paper to print their manuscript. Everyone thinks their book is awesome and if people would just realize that, it would be a huge success. (Nothing wrong with that. You’re supposedto be in love with your own work.) I’ll put it bluntly: you have to love writing, because success in this gig is incredibly rare. The joy of creating something has to be enough to get you through, or you’re going to be a very unhappy camper.
6)      A comfortable writing chair is worth its weight in gold. ‘Nuff said.
7)      Sharing your work can be one of the most difficult steps, but you’ll be glad you did it. I’d been writing stories in my head all my life, but it wasn’t until I was thirty-five that I was finally brave enough to type one out and share it with the world. I was scared to death that people would be cruel. (I had my exit strategy already planned in case that happened.) But what I found was an extremely supportive environment for new writers. There are so many groups out there who nurture “fledgling” writers. They’ll help you through every step of the process.
8)      Editing, editing, editing. I cannot emphasize enough how important professional editing is.  I you’re content just sharing your work with friends and family, sure, don’t worry about editing. But if you want anyone else to read it and enjoy it, you have to do it, and you have to get a professional. No, your friend who’s good with English won’t do. (If you had a broken tooth, would you go to your neighbor? No, you’d want a professional!)I’ll tell you a story: I’d been doing my own editing in my stories, and I fancied myself quite good at it. When I submitted my first manuscript to the publisher, I felt confident she might catch a couple of typos, but the job would be minor. I was SHOCKED when I got it back! It looked like it had been attacked by an army of red worms. A bit humbling, yes, but an important lesson.
9)      Take care of yourself! When you’re wrapped up in writing, it can be easy to forget that you’re a biological creature that needs fed and to have an occasional bathroom break. Set a timer if need be, but you have to get up from your desk every couple of hours and stretch your legs.

10)   Above all, enjoy the ride. Take joy in the little things. A well-crafted sentence. A note or kind review from a reader. Your first autograph. Most of all, simply sharing your work and knowing that your characters are living in someone else’s head for a while. The awesomeness of that idea still makes me smile. 
Available from: Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Powells, AbeBooks and TWCS PH~~GIVEAWAY~~a Rafflecopter giveaway ~~SUMMARY~~A generation has passed since the pandemic known only as the Infection ended the world as we know it. In a little town in the Appalachian Mountains, Taylor has known only a harsh and brutal struggle for survival in a land littered with the rusted-out remnants of a lost world. By day, she labors in a coal mine. In the evenings, she tends a secret collection of beehives, and uses the honey to pay for lessons in survival skills, such as hunting, fishing and collecting herbs. Her home is a single room in a crumbling old motel, and her only companion is a pet box tortoise named Go she’s had since she was a child.When her town is destroyed by a vicious gang of raiders known as the Nine, Taylor escapes with Dylan, the son of the mayor. Their only plan is to head south and escape the Nine’s vast territory, avoiding areas contaminated by meltdowns and industrial pollution where mysterious illnesses plague the residents.Dylan has never known hunger or hardship and struggles to learn survival skills. He’s never known a woman like Taylor either. He tries to pay her back by teaching her to read and telling her the stories passed down from the world of Before.They certainly didn’t plan on falling in love. Taylor fights it every step of the way, because in her world, any emotional attachment is dangerous. She’s been taught since childhood that love slows you down, makes you weak. But the feelings growing between them cannot be denied.Taylor finds herself slowly breaking every one of her hard-learned rules of survival. She discovers that perhaps some of those things she’s always fought to avoid are the very things that make life worth living.. . . And death shall have no dominion . . .” Goodreads *  Add to Want To Read List ~~ABOUT THE AUTHOR~~ Lissa Bryan is an astronaut, renowned Kabuki actress, Olympic pole vault gold medalist, Iron Chef champion, and scientist who recently discovered the cure for athlete's foot . . . though only in her head. Real life isn't so interesting, which is why she spends most of her time writing.She is the author of five other novels, Ghostwriter, The End of All Things, its sequels, The Land of the Shadows and Shadows Have Gone, and Under These Restless Skies. ~~CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR~~Facebook * Website * TwitterPraise for The End of All Things SeriesHope, love, and the strength of the human spirit are the backbone of this surprisingly uplifting offering from Lissa Bryan. ~ CBL Book ReviewsThe End of All Things is more about hope and second chances, and I very much enjoyed the tale .... highly recommended for all fans of apocalyptic fiction. It's a well-written book with excellent pace, plot, and best, it has real soul. ~ Jade Kerrion, Goodreads