Leon’s Comments (group member since Aug 12, 2014)

Leon’s comments from the Authors' Helpline group.

I've mentioned 'On Writing' in a previous post, and I'm going to mention it again. This time, I'm going to urge all writers new to the craft to read this book, it is fantastic. The first half of the book is about the man himself, his autobiography, so to speak.
Then the master does something great. He shares his ideas about writing. He gives out tips, left right and center. He doesn't fool around, he gives it to you straight.
Have you ever thought about going on a two hundred dollar writing course? Forget it, get this book, and get insights from a man who have spent many years teaching. I'm not even finished reading the book yet, but every time I read five pages I jump up and take a run at my computer, determined to put the newest ideas I've learned from him to good use in my writing.

Hi Janine, welcome.
Phew, trying to catch up on my work, so haven't been posting much, but weekend is approaching :)

Seeing as sales and marketing is so important to any writer, I have decided to start this section so that we can share ideas on the subject.
This section is where you can share your experiences with sales and marketing, and hopefully we can all learn from each other.

Welcome N
Sorry for not welcoming you earlier, I was on a batting outing (Yes I study bats) and thus in deep dark Africa out of cell range.

I am currently reading a very good book, written by Stephen King. It is called ‘On Writing’. The first part of the book is about his life, how he grew up and some of the things he got up to. It’s a fantastic read, and kept me spell-bound for a couple of days, I was reading every spare minute I had.
The next part of the book is about writing. Here is one of the great masters of the art giving his advice in an easy to understand way, simple English that I can understand. However, I quickly ran into a problem with one of the things that King insists upon, something that made me think that maybe the holy gospel is not always the holy gospel.
My problem is with King’s feeling that the adverb is a creature that must at all times be avoided.
To quote him: “The adverb is not your friend.”
“They’re the ones that usually en in –ly.
He goes on to say that speech specifically should never be followed by adverbs.
According to him, the sentence “’Put it down’ she shouted.” Is good enough. He calls the next sentence a ‘dubious revision’.
“’Put it down!’ she shouted menacingly.”
Right, so hopefully you now understand what his problem with the adverb is. If you have a copy of his book, you can check it up for yourself, in my (beaten, badgered, second hand) copy it is on page 95.
So why would I say that the King of writing might be wrong? Simply put, two of my favourite writers, Terry Pratchett and JK Rowling both make use of adverbs in abundance. They colour the speech of their characters with it, they use an adverb on almost every page.
Although I am a huge King fan and have read a lot of his books, I have read many more PTerry books, and I’ve read the Potter series at least three times. I’m going to read the Potter series again next year, as soon as it’s faded out of my memory enough that I cannot remember what is coming next. And I’m going to love reading it, with all those adverbs.
So what I’m trying to tell you is this, be careful of the advice you get from different people about what or not to use in your writing, but use what you like reading. That way, you will like reading your own stuff, and that matters.

I read a quote last week, can’t remember now by whom the quote was, but I’d like to share it here. It went something in the line of ‘For every small business you see, someone took a huge risk.’
That quote can just as easily be applied to every book you see. For every book, someone took a risk, the risk of failure. Yet every one of those books is a success. The challenge I give you today, if you haven’t started on your book yet, is to face that risk, and challenge yourself to come out on top!
Remember, there can be no success story without risk. Imagine if Susan Boyle had never taken the chance to partake in a talent show? What if Stephen King never wrote a story and submitted it, or even worse, if he got despondent about all the rejection slips hanging on that nail in his room that he wrote about in his memoirs?
Remember, writing a book is only partly to please the audience, but it’s also about the fun and enjoyment of writing a book. Forget about fear of failure, and write because of your love of writing!

Once you tell people that you are writing a book, you will get many people asking you what the book is about. At this stage, I prefer not to tell people what the book is about. The reason is that most people will, once they know what you are up to, start making suggestions about things that should happen in your book, or things you should mention. That will only get in your way, confuse you and ultimately may cause you to stop writing that book, or any book.
Keep your idea a secret, they can have it once you are done with it. This will keep other people from interfering, and make it easier for you to finish your work.

When you have finished the book, when it’s available on the Internet, or even, if you are so lucky (no, not lucky, talented!), on the shelves of a bookstore, then when people ask you what your new book is about, you give them exactly what you’ve got on the back page blurb, and make them go out and buy the book.
By then, of course, you will be busy with your second or third book, and of course they are going to ask you what your next book is about. And now of course you know what to tell them…

If you haven’t starting writing your first book yet, you should ask yourself why not.
One of the greatest reasons people don’t do things is because of fear of failure. This, unfortunately, comes from school . In school, we were punished when we failed, and therefore we have that residual fear of failing, fear that we will be ridiculed. That is a fear that you will have to get over. Face it right at the beginning, realise that there are thousands, no hundreds of thousands, of people who have failed, and they have stood up and tried again. So firstly, get over your fear of failure.
What is failure in the writing world? With Indie publishing, it is almost non-existent. As long as your book is at least well edited and proof read, it doesn’t matter how bad the story it, you can still get published. And then, when nobody is watching, you can write your next book, which might be a best seller.
Another reason is being distracted. That is why I wrote the piece on finding a space where you can work. Make sure you get away from the family, the phone and the dog, so that you can concentrate.
Once you have settled into your working space, you’ve got that clean piece of paper in front of you, (just joking, I know you’re looking at a computer screen!), and you sit there looking at the screen with not a thought of what the first sentence in your book is going to be, it’s going to be time to deal with the plot. Maybe you have one, maybe not. It doesn’t matter. If you cannot think of how to start the book, then start by not writing the book. Instead, write down the plot, create the characters, write down where the story will take place. While doing all of this, the story will start forming in your mind, and pretty soon you will find yourself thinking up things that happen in your book. THEN start writing those scenes down, and later you can form them into a book.
Don’t procrastinate. Don’t put it off until tomorrow. That is the surest way to make sure your book never gets written. Do it NOW!
The last thing I want to write about today is dealing with competition. That is where you say to yourself “I will never be as good as SK”.
Well, so what? If everybody stopped doing what they were doing right now, at this moment, because they were not the best at what they were doing, the world would come to a standstill. You’re not the best driver, but you still drive a car. You’re not the best cook in the world, but you still put food on the table for the family. You’re not the best gardener, your garden has never won an award, yet you love pottering around on a Saturday. Well, you may not be the best writer, but you can enjoy writing as much as anybody else, as much as you love cooking and gardening.
What I’m trying to say here, is that you must deal with your fears, and don’t let them get the better of you. Now stop using this blog as a reason to procrastinate, close your web browser, open your word processor and start writing!

Welcome Pallas.
Great to have you here.

One of the biggest hurdles prospective writers face is that they always repeat the mantra ‘One day, I am going to write a book.’
Of course, for most people, that day never comes. The reason is that life gets in the way, and there is always something to do. So today’s lesson in writing is a very simple one.

To start writing your first novel, set a time of the day that you are going to spend writing. Be it one hour, or two or three depending on the amount of free time you have, set aside that time.
Explain to your family what it is that you are going to do, make them understand that they are not allowed to bother you during that time. If you are married, get your spouse to look after the children during that time, give your spouse your cell-phone, and lock yourself in your hidey-hole with a cup of coffee, or even the whole coffee making machine.
And that brings me to my next point. Find a place to write.
If you are lucky, you might have a study where you can hide away in, otherwise a laptop on top of your bed might have to do. It doesn’t really matter, because once you start writing, the world around you will fall away, the four walls will disappear and you will be in fantasy land, a land of your own creation. For the amount of time you have set aside, you will be away from home, so make sure that the family understands that.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten or abandoned my new group. If you've been following my blog, you'll know that I've had a computer crash.
The posts will be up and running again soon!.
:)

Tell your readers about the weather.
It is amazing how much a bit of sunshine can lighten up your scene, or how a good thunderstorm can dramatize an event. A dull and grey sky is just the right ambiance for your poor depressed character, while wild and tearing winds adds adventure to the boat-ride.
When you are painting a scene in words, there are few things that can bring a story to life more than weather. Learn how to express it and how to use it to bring your story to life.

Welcome to the Authors’ Helpline

I have been trying to join a good authors’ group for a long time, and with Goodreads Groups I have eventually found a perfect place to start my own group on the subject.

Goodreads is littered with authors, many of whom I hope to see here, and also with readers, many of whom might have wished that they too could write that perfect novel. In the coming years, I would like to make this group the industry accepted place where authors will come to share their knowledge, and also the group where new authors will come to learn how to write, and even a group where experienced authors can come to learn how to write better.

Enjoy the group, and good luck on all the new novels that are waiting to be written!

Leon