Category Archives: Writing Process

Five Ways to Get Your Writing Unstuck by W. Terry Whalin

Throughout my day writers will email me for help with their writing. The words I have in my Twitter profile is one of the key reasons: I love to help writers. Let me know how I can help YOU! I include my email in my twitter profile to encourage such correspondence.

As an acquisitions editor at a New York publisher, I get a lot of email every day. Yet I make a point to answer each one of the emails from writers who are asking for help. From my 20+ years in publishing, I know it is hard to navigate the publishing world. I’ve sent my share of emails and letters into the system which have gone into a void—or so they seem because nothing came back from my careful shaping and sending them. It can be discouraging.

Recently a ministry leader wrote me about being stuck. He had started writing a book but gotten stuck at the second chapter. What actions should this leader take to move forward on his dream of writing a book?

Many times writers are stuck and unsure how to move forward. It happens with book projects because they are not simple 30 minute or an hour in length. To write a book takes a great deal of consistent effort and energy. When it comes to writing a book, one of the best tools is to first, write a book proposal. The key portion of the proposal that will keep you writing and moving ahead is the chapter-by-chapter outline. This simple outline is the structure for your book. You can even print it out then cross off the chapters as you write them.
If you are stuck in your writing, here’s five ways to get unstuck:

1. Evaluate Your Goal. Are you committed to this writing project? I’ve always found if I’ve made a commitment, then the writing will get handled. OK. I’ve committed to write a book or a magazine article or an online article or a press release. Think about the type of consistent effort will it take to accomplish your goal. For example, books are not produced overnight but will take a consistent effort.

2. Set a Goal You Can Accomplish. Be reasonable with yourself and set a writing goal that you can achieve. From my experience it is often a certain number of words such as 500 words a day or 5,000 words a day (which is a lot of intense writing to reach 5,000 words a day but it can be done).

3. Move Consistently toward Your Goal. To accomplish any goal you have to move forward. I like what one of my writers friends told me about creating a 400+ page novel, “No little elves come out at night and write my pages.” No one else can do the work for you. You have to find the time and simply do it. If it means getting up an hour or two earlier or staying up late at night or skipping some television, then you have to work at it to meet your goal.

4. Periodically Evaluate Your Goal. If you are having success, then take moments to celebrate. Each of us will celebrate differently. It is important to evaluate and celebrate if you are moving toward your goal. If you measure how you are doing with your goal and you are not making progress, then possibly it is time to readjust your goal and make it more reasonable or something that you can actually accomplish. Don’t beat yourself up that you have to readjust. Simply acknowledge it and keep moving forward.

5. Get an Accountability Partner. Yes maybe you could accomplish your goal on your own. From my experience, it is better if you have someone else asking you periodically about your goal and how you are moving toward it. This person can be someone that you speak with periodically on the phone or email or best physically see often.

I know I was only going to write five ways to get your writing unstuck. I’m throwing in a bonus sixth method. Maybe you are stuck in your writing because you have been trying to accomplish a long piece of writing such as a book or a novel or a workbook. If you have been chipping away at completing a longer work, here’s something to consider in this process:

6. Diversify Your Writing. While many people want to write a book, there are many ways to get published—outside of books. Often books take a long time to get into the market—especially if you go through a traditional publisher. Magazine articles are short and fun to write plus you can get them published a lot quicker than a book and it will reach many more people than the average book.

People like me who are in publishing want to see that you have been published. Your magazine publishing credits will help you attract the attention of a literary agent or book editor. My updated version of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams has a great deal of information about publishing to help you get unstuck.

Use these five methods to get unstuck and move forward with your writing. Take action today.

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W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $8.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Advice for Aspiring Authors by Deatri King-Bey

• Listen and verify: You’ll want several mentors with a mix and match of strengths such as writing, editing, business, marketing and networking… Realize that the publishing world is ever changing, so take lessons from others to use as a base for your own research. I’m not saying finding mentors is easy, but you must try. Attend conferences, workshops, join local groups, take online courses, network…. There are many affordable options out there. Get to know the publishing community.

• Learn the craft: Great storytellers are not always great authors or even halfway decent authors. Never stop learning the craft and improving. The moment you think you know it all and there is no room for improvement is the moment you start to lose your edge. I’ve seen many seasoned authors fall prey to losing their edge because they didn’t see room for improvement in their writing.

• Don’t abuse your muse: There are those who say you must write every day. I do not believe in that philosophy. Writing fiction is creative. If you force your creative side to write daily, you can cause writer’s block—or what I affectionately call your muse going on strike. I think you should do something related to your writing most days of the week. Besides writing, you may read, take courses, attend workshops, read articles, teach others…

• One genre at a time: Know what genre you write. I’m dumbfounded how many authors say their books don’t fit a genre. That their books have something for everyone. That all readers will love their books. Sorry, but no. Am I saying your books must fit 100% into a single genre? Nope. There are cross-genre hybrids, but you should understand the rules of the genres to know how you are creating a hybrid. Once you lock in your genre (even if it’s a cross-genre hybrid) start mastering it and building your audience. After you have a nice sized audience, then branch out to include other genres in your portfolio if you’d like.

• Get an editor: The other day, a debut author told me she didn’t need an editor because she was confident in her work. Confidence is a good thing. It’s also not the editor’s job to give you confidence. Editors help you make your manuscript the best it can be. Stop making excuses. All authors need editors. Even NYT best selling authors have editors. Is it expensive? Yes. It’s an investment in your writing career and business that you can carry into future works. With each developmental edit, you should learn more about the craft.

• Know the business: Whether you go the self and/or traditional route, you need to understand the business side of things.

• Avoid the promotion trap: Promotion and marketing are important, but the best way to grow your audience is releasing outstanding books. Be smart when promoting and marketing. Know your genre, then promote to large groups of that genre. Cross promote with other authors in the genre. Stop trying to convert romance lovers to horror. Stop wasting time running after readers. You’re an author. Writing should always be your main focus.

Deatri King-Bey

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The Power of Consistency By W. Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin

If you want to get your writing published, are you consistently working at that goal? From interviewing more than 150 bestselling author, many authors set a specific word count they want to produce in a day or a week. With this goal firmly in place, they sit in their chair and put their fingers on the keyboard and crank out words toward their goal. There is immense power in working toward a goal on a consistent basis.

If you want to write a novel, then you need to be writing ___ words a day consistently for __ days to achieve this goal.

If you want to be published in magazines, then you need to be writing query letters to editors and pitching your ideas on a regular basis. Then when an editor gives you the assignment, you consistently write excellent material and return it on their deadline.

If you want to write a nonfiction book, then you need to create a riveting proposal which captures the attention of literary agents or editors. A good proposal isn’t created in a single session but takes time and energy to craft one.

If you want to build your social media presence in the marketplace, then you need to consistently work at growing your Facebook friends or increasing your twitter followers. I’ve written about my methods to do this in the past. It is one of the reasons that in the past month I’ve gone over 100,000 twitter followers.I’ve worked at this goal on a regular basis.

Besides working to increase my numbers, I’m also delivering good content to my twitter followers and my Facebook friends and my LinkedIn connections.

At a recent writers conference, I met with a writer who thanked me for the good content that I put on my twitter feed. She had noticed that it was consistently worth reading. I appreciated this feedback. It is true that I do not spend a great deal of time on what I post on twitter—but I am consistent. It’s why I’ve tweeted over 18,000 times since the summer of 2008. There is power in consistency.

If you want to be selling your book to people and having them talk about it, then you need to be consistently working to build a larger audience and get in front of people and the media. Whatever your goal, I encourage you to follow what Jack Canfield calls The Rule of Five. In this short video (less than two minutes), Jack explains the rule and how it will help you tap into the power of consistency to accomplish your goals and dreams.

Consistency doesn’t have to take a lot of time but the results will add up for you. Eventually you will achieve your goals if you take regular and consistent action.

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________________________________________

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in Irvine, California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. To help writers, he has created 12-lesson online course called Write A Book Proposal. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com.

Writing Basics by Kisha Green

Writing is fun and if you are really good at it, it can be rather lucrative. We all have those dreams of being a best selling author who has their books made into movies.

How do you get your writing to be that great? Well in order to be a great writer one must be a great reader. You know as a reader what makes you smile and what makes you frown.

As the writer your job is the same. While writing you must feel the emotions through the paper just as your character does. The strong emotions conveyed makes for a phenomenal read.

There doesn’t have to be so much detail meaning the type of plush carpet her perfectly manicured toes stepped on as she watched some expensive brand name large flat screen tv. This is where as a writer we must fully understand show versus telling.

What is show versus telling? Well according to Writer’s Digest, in your writing, “it’s easy to “over-share” the minutiae of your story’s background and your characters’ lives when writing a novel”. To write and not have to worry if you are telling too much there is a balance of showing and telling. These are some basic tips that are very useful.

•Be brief. Make sure that all of your “telling” details are actually necessary to advance the plot, either by developing backstory, establishing the mood/tone, or describing the setting.

•Avoid the dreaded “info dump.” Don’t overwhelm your reader with information in your story’s first few pages. Focus on capturing her attention with a compelling character and an interesting situation, then fold in the details as the plot develops.

•Steer clear of cliches. Never start a story with a character waking up and starting his day—unless you want to put your reader to sleep.

Also when writing dialogue the show versus tell rule applies as well. Below is a sample courtesy of World Literary Cafe.

Showing in dialogue

Bad:“I want you to stay inside!” exclaimed Mom angrily as she walked up to her.
“No! I don’t want to,” argued Jenny sarcastically as she smiled coyly. “You can’t make me,” replied Jen calmly.

First, let’s take a look at the redundant and telling (summarizing) dialogue tags. “Exclaimed” isn’t necessary when there’s an exclamation mark. “Replied” is also redundant because it’s clear that she is replying to her. Use “said” instead. The adverbs angrily, sarcastically, and coyly just summarize instead of describing the action that could show the readers.

So if you adhere to the basic rules of writing and strive for writing perfection, it is something that is obtainable through experience. No one is born a fabulous writer. That comes with time but staying on the ball and wanting to master your craft keeps you in the know.

Happy Writing!

Kisha Green is a Author/Publisher who has a passion for writing and sharing her witty personality with many through social media. For more info about Kisha, visit her website www.divabooksinconline.com and you can also follow her on Twitter @KishaGreen

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Making Up History by Lynn Emery

I love history, real and made up. By made up I mean the author creates a rich back-story that reaches back years, even generations, to support the plot and character development. The events, settings or characters may or may not be real, but mostly you know that the author just made it up. There was no such war, town or event. But who cares when you’re deep into a page-turner? I don’t for sure.

The thing about history that hooked me at a young age is how it relates to the present. Suddenly the questions “How?” and “Why?” are answered, just from stumbling on a dusty old book or a pack of ancient letters. When you learn secrets like your Great Aunt Lucy had a scandalous affair or your grandfather had a brush with death at the hands of a lynch mob, you begin to understand things about your family.

As an author I have way too much fun creating history. I have to control myself or I’ll end up not writing the book. Although doing research is a chore for me, I’ll happily gather enough background to create a whole history of my own, sprinkling in just enough of the real to make the made up history even better.

For example, in Tell Me Something Good Lyrissa Rideau is looking for a valuable nineteenth century painting by her artist ancestor. Now this man never existed, but I did research on African-American artists in New Orleans during the time period. In that way I created what he would use as subjects for his art, what kind of paint he’d use and where he’d have shown his work. I mentioned a few real artists and art techniques prevalent at the time. But the history about Lyrissa’s family, and the artist himself? Totally made up. Imagine my delight when readers asked where they could find those paintings. Mission accomplished. I created a world that was believable. I’ve done this in just about all of my books, but another good example is my novel A Time To Love. I took oral family history heard during my childhood and went to town creating the secrets Neva uncovers about her fictional family.

In my new novel Only By Moonlight I went even further. I created a family tree that spans 200 years for psychic LaShaun Rousselle, the main character of my paranormal mystery series. I also invented a newspaper article from 1836 that relates to the plot. What fun I had! To see these “historical” documents go to http://lynnemery.com/lashaun-rousselle-series/

Naturally all of this hit me because once again we’re in Black History Month. I’ve made it my mission to spread the word that our history is way too big to be contained in only 28 days! I celebrate real history and the larger than life people who made history year round. I’ll keep making up history for my characters, but it will always be inspired by real history. After all, the true, whole story of us in America and the world is too page-turner good to do anything else.

Lynn Emery

Read more about my three LaShaun Rousselle paranormal mysteries and other novels at www.lynnemery.com
Only By Moonlight, eBook and print, is on sale now!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Mind Your Grammar by J’son M. Lee

I remember the first time I realized I could write. I was in Mrs. Vick’s high school typing class. We were given an assignment to create and type a fictitious resume. As you can imagine, this was a challenge because none of us had any previous work experience. The person with the most impressive resume would be hired by our teacher. I dug into my imaginative bank and created a resume that would impress even the most discerning employer. I was certain my resume would put me ahead of the competition for that dream position. Although the job was make-believe, I won!

Now two books and three short stories later, I find myself on the opposite end of the writing spectrum—I sling red ink for a living. As an editor, one of my goals is to ensure that a writer has put his or her best foot forward. Readers have become much more sophisticated, and for better or worse, they have an itch to judge. While grammar isn’t necessarily a reflection of your storytelling abilities, it does translate poorly if your finished product is wracked with errors.

It behooves every writer to have a firm grasp of basic grammar rules. Below are five common grammar mistakes I see routinely, not only in editing submissions, but in print. Don’t feel bad if you find the rules confusing. Although I am an editor, I continue to make these mistakes as well. I often have to refer to my trusted resource manuals for clarification. When I’m too frustrated, I let my editor figure it out. Yes, editors have editors.

Who and Whom

“Who” is a subjective pronoun, along with “he,” “she,” “it,” “we,” and “they.” It’s used when the pronoun acts as the subject of a clause. “Whom” is an objective pronoun, along with “him,” “her,” “it”, “us,” and “them.” It’s used when the pronoun acts as the object of a clause. Using “who” or “whom” depends on whether you’re referring to the subject or object of a sentence.

Still too hard to remember? Try this easy rule: Like “whom,” the pronoun “him” ends with “m.” When you’re trying to decide whether to use “who” or “whom,” ask yourself if the answer to the question would be “he” or “him.” If you can answer the question being asked with “him,” then use “whom.” EX: If you’re trying to ask, “Who (or whom) do you want to see?” The answer would be “I want to see him.” “Him” ends with an “m,” so you know to use “whom.” But if you are trying to ask, “Who (or whom) loves me more?” the answer would be “He loves me more.” There’s no “m,” so you know to use “who.”

Who’s and Whose

“Who’s” is a contraction of who is or, less commonly, who has.

EX: Who’s the author of that book?

“Whose” is the possessive of who.

EX: Whose book is this?

Still too hard to remember? Try this easy rule: If you can replace the word with who is, use “who’s.” If not, use “whose.”

Lay and Lie

This mistake is by far the most egregious. In the essence of time, let’s focus on present tense only. “Lay” requires a direct object, and “lie” does not. That said, you lie down on the sofa (no direct object), but you lay the remote down on the sofa (the remote is the direct object). Admittedly, this one is very tricky. Refer to the chart below.

Infinitive Definition Present

to lay to put or place lay(s)

to lie to rest or recline lie(s)

Getting it right, takes considerable thought. In my own writing, I usually figure out a way to avoid the word. When I can’t—and it’s use is necessary—I let my editor figure it out.

Affect and Effect

“Affect” is almost always a verb, and “effect” is almost always a noun. “Affect” means to influence or produce an impression. “Effect” is the thing produced by the affecting agent; it describes the result or outcome. There are a few exceptions. “Effect” may be used as a transitive verb, which means to bring about or make happen. EX: The eBook revolution effected a much-needed shift in the literary industry. There are similarly rare examples where “affect” can be a noun. A client, Deidra DS Green, introduced me to this use. EX: His affect made him seem bored at the book signing.

The last common mistake isn’t a grammar mistake, but a punctuation mistake I see time and time again—the use of quotation marks. I recently questioned one of my mentors, Deatri King-Bey, on the use of quotation marks. After giving me a tutorial she said, “Don’t overthink it.” So here goes:

Periods and commas always go inside the closing quotation marks. EX: “I am looking forward to the Romance Slam Jam,” Edwina said. “I can’t wait to meet Deatri.”

Question marks and exclamation points go inside the closing quotation marks if they are part of the text you are quoting. EX 1: Tanya picked up the phone and asked, “Are you coming over today?” The question mark goes inside the quotation because Tanya is being quoted as asking the question. EX 2: Have you heard the saying, “smart as a whip”? In this example, the question mark goes outside the quote because the quote is not a question.

Bottom line, an author’s job is to tell great stories. So what you can’t remember all the rules of grammar! Make a concerted effort to master as many as you can, but when you fall short, let your editor sort it out. That’s their job. Remember, every great writer has a great team of editors.

J’son M. Lee (Editor)

See you at www.sweetgeorgiapress.com

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

When A Writer Doesn’t Write by Deatri King-Bey

There are times that months go by that I don’t write one word toward a manuscript, outline, research or anything for my future titles. The first time I did this, my family became worried, talked about “writer’s block” and plotted on how to break me out of it.

I kept explaining that I didn’t have writer’s block. I just didn’t feel like writing. Shooooot, truth be told, I could use a good dose of writer’s block at times. Maybe that would make the characters in my mind be quiet. <SMILE>. Back to the family and the case of writer’s block. Three weeks in, they decided I must be depressed and that’s why I had writer’s block. I’m lucky I didn’t get locked up, y’all. I was tempted to write something for pleasure (actually pressure because they were pressuring me) to keep them from sending me to the padded room on the psych ward.

I was not under any quick approaching deadline with a publishing house. I was free and enjoying it. I could write—and I thought NOT WRITE—at my own pace. I go through phases. At times I’ll write every free second I can squeeze out of the day and create extra seconds to write some more. Other times I’m happy with the two hours I set aside a day. Then there are times when I don’t want to write at all. I may go days or even weeks without writing a word. Note to self—never Ever EVER allow family to find out you’re in the no-writing phase.

I absolutely LOVE my no-writing phase. When I’m in it, I read like nobodies business. I’m talking a book a day (and don’t forget the full time job, children, husband, pets, grandbaby who most think is my son, volunteer work…) I’m up all night and going to work sleepy, but I don’t even care.

When I write, the stories come easily for me, but all of that creativity is draining in ways that are hard to explain. The no-writing phase keeps me from experiencing creative burn-out, which will lead to writer’s block. I become a creativity vampire ready to take a bite of the next novel. My no-writing phase rejuvenates me by overfilling my creative cup.

So if you haven’t heard from me in a while, could one of you please check the psych ward for me, because my family just doesn’t get it <WINK>.

So let’s look at the other side. What if you actually do have writer’s block.

“Oh no! My characters have stopped talking to me, and I have no idea what to write next. It’s just not coming to me. I’ll never finish this book.” –Author with writer’s block.

First, do you actually have writer’s block or do you just not feel like writing? As I explained above, there is a difference. I know there are those out there who believe you must write every day, but my creative self, my muse would be very unhappy with me if I forced it to work daily without giving it a break every so often, and it doesn’t matter that my muse loves what it does. In my opinion, overworking the muse can cause it to go on strike and leave you with writer’s block.

So let’s say you actually do have writer’s block. How can you get out of it? You’ll need to see what works for you.

Take a break: Go do something enjoyable that doesn’t include writing. Some have found it helpful to take a vacation from writing with an end date they’ve set, then find themselves craving to write before the end date arrives.
Freewriting: Write or type whatever comes to your mind without form or reason. Just write. It doesn’t have to make sense, have a format, follow the rules of grammar…
Read books in the genre you are writing.
Read books in any genre except the one you are writing.
Talk the plot point out with someone, brainstorm through the issue.
Ensure you aren’t trying to FORCE the plot to places you want it to go instead of where it should logically go. The muse fights back and the next thing you know, you have writer’s block and/or a clunky plot.
Step away from your current work in progress for a day or two then begin reading it from page one.
Work on your marketing plan for the novel or some other aspect of the novel. Do some research, conduct an interview. How is the Website looking?
Stop forcing the creativity if you don’t want it to revolt.

Much Joy Peace and Love

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Point of View: Who Do You Think You’re Talking To? by J’son M Lee

Many writers struggle with point of view (POV) – the perspective through which a story is told. Choosing your point of view should be a strategic decision. As with most artists, writers often resist rules at all costs; however, a good writer must adhere to basic rules of writing in order to effectively develop characters and tell their story. Rules are made to assist writers, and if you are going to break them, you damn well better have a good reason. A reader is not interested in your “uniqueness” if it only serves to satisfy your individuality. Again, your choice should be strategic and assist in bringing the reader closer to the world you are creating.

Occasionally, writers will implore a combination of perspectives (known as alternating point of view), but we will concentrate on the three basic points of view in writing:

• first person, using “I” or “we”;

• second person, “you,” the least common point of view; and

• third person (“he,” “she,” “it”).

First Person Point of View

First person POV is the most intimate. With first person you experience the story through one person’s perception. Many writers find this limiting because it doesn’t allow the reader to be privy to any information or event that is not personally known by this character.

Example:

I hung up without allowing Tony a chance to respond. I was unsure of my future with him, but I was very sure of what I wanted at this very moment. I jumped in the shower and washed away all of the dirt and inhibitions.

Second Person Point of View

Second person is told from the perspective of “you.” This is not commonly used, except in instructional writings.

Example:

You hung up without allowing Tony a chance to respond. You were unsure of your future with him, but you were very sure of what you wanted at this very moment. You jumped in the shower and washed away all of the dirt and inhibitions.

Third Person Point of View

Though first person can be impactful, third person is actually the more versatile point of view. Third person allows you to create a more complicated storyline, and allows for multiple lead characters. This POV allows you to switch back and forth between characters and the unique way they each see things. Most writers use third person POV.

Example:

Mark hung up without allowing Tony a chance to respond. He was unsure of his future with him, but he was very sure of what he wanted at this very moment. He jumped in the shower and washed away all of the dirt and inhibitions.

Choosing your point of view is one of the most important things you will do as a writer. Imagine that you are an eagle perched high up in a tree. From that tree, you watch and listen. Your POV will dictate what you (the eagle) can and cannot see, and even whose mind you can enter. Ultimately you need to decide which POV will allow you to best tell your story. Some writers can masterfully switch POV within a manuscript, but this takes skill. One of the best pieces of advice I found came from a writer’s forum: “Don’t choose an unusual perspective to be different. Choose it because it provides something you cannot achieve as well any other way.”

Join me next time when we’ll talk about tense…

Note: For additional information on Point of View, read: Who’s Telling This Story (Point Of View) by Deatri King-Bey

For more information about the author, please visit his website at: http://www.jmccoylee.com/ or http://www.sweetgeorgiapress.com/.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

The Art of the Unexpected by Lynn Emery

Writing is hard work, and the more you write the harder it gets. Yes, you read that right. The more you write, the more you realize how much you have to juggle. Setting, dialogue, pace, suspense and plotting. Oh my! That’s a lot to create time and time again without repeating yourself! Today’s readers have seen it all, and seen it done well. So how do we keep it fresh? After writing going on seventeen books I’ve learned the value of giving readers what they don’t expect. It’s so easy to slip into the cliché by accident, the predictable turn of events, or the typical character actions or motives. How can you avoid the same old, same old? Here are some tips and exercises:

Make a character do something that is totally different from what the reader might expect. What if the murder victim’s wife laughs hysterically when told he’s dead? What if the hero is close to having the one thing he says he wants, but then he refuses it? What if the scene leads up to a hostage situation, but the person held hostage is the hit man, the strong character who terrorized everyone else, someone the reader totally doesn’t see as a “victim”?

Create a plot twist that is logical, but totally unexpected. What if the serial killer is killing serial killers for a reason other than to save their victims? What if the murderer is innocent of the murder he’s accused of, but killed someone else? What if the district attorney wants the truth to come out, and the defense attorney doesn’t?

Create a setting that contrasts with the events. Set your story in a sunny, lovely town full of nice people- with nasty secrets, but those secrets are for a very good reason. What about a dark and gloomy place that seems full of shady people, but they’re actually heroes? What if a fun treasure hunt weekend is a cover for something sinister?

Just remember, you should not rely on coincidences. Well you can, but you’ll seriously annoy readers. Any unexpected turn of events should make perfect sense because you’ve laid the groundwork properly. Know exactly why the unexpected happens and make it believable. That means you need to know why the victim’s wife is laughing, and eventually reveal it to the reader. The seemingly “weak” hostage taker who turns the tables should have the means and abilities to do so, and you should give clues along the way. See what I mean? Hard work. You have to give some thought to plot turns, character motivation and more to master the art of the unexpected.

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Talk To Me—The Author’s Secret Weapon by Deatri King-Bey

I know the secret to optimizing your creativity while satisfying that little editor who sits on your shoulder as you type your manuscript. Okay, so maybe it isn’t a “secret,” but many authors are about to have an “aha” moment.

When writing your manuscript, did you know that hand writing, dictating and typing each tap into the creativity center of your brain differently, thus giving you different results?

I’ll give you one guess what I’m about to tell you to do next. Yep, you need to do all three when writing your manuscript. I can hear it now. “She must be crazy. Who has time to do all three?” You do. Hang in there with me. I’ll tell you how in a minute, maybe less if you’re a speed reader.

Many authors type their manuscripts because it’s faster than having to transcribe something that is handwritten or dictated into a recorder. I fully understand this and have been there. But faster isn’t always better. You want your manuscript to be the best it can be. How many times have you heard that you should read your manuscripts aloud to ensure the flow and dialogue are on point? Okay, I’ll stop trying to convince you. Let me tell you about the author’s secret weapon—speech recognition software.

So here is the process I’d like you to follow for the next chapter of your book. Write it by hand. It will take you a little to get into the flow of it. Turn your internal editor to low and allow your creativity to flow. Soon you’ll be carrying a notebook with you everywhere to go to write. If you want to write more than a chapter, GREAT. Go for it.

Now it’s time for your speech recognition software. It’s not as expensive as some think. Windows 7, Windows 8 and several other operating systems come with speech recognition software. Many times it’s as simple as plugging in your headset, then going into the Accessibility area of your computer’s Control Panel and turning on the recognition program. I’ve used the Windows 7 & 8 recognition software and they worked very well. There are also vendors that sell speech recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, which is my preferred speech recognition program.

As you are dictating what you wrote, you’ll change the wording, catch items and improve the flow. There are other benefits to speech recognition software:

The software is a great speller.
If you do any type of public speaking, using speech recognition software will help you with your diction, enunciation and pacing. It makes you more aware of how you sound. Note that most of these software programs learn your speech pattern. For example, I have a character named Tex, but the software thought I was saying “text.” I could have corrected it as I went along and eventually the software would have automatically written Tex instead of text. I chose to slow down my pace of reading just a tad. I stopped acting like I was in a race and was very happy with the results. When I was a speed racer, the software kept up, but because I wasn’t speaking as clearly, it typed what it sounded like I was saying, but not what I wanted. Slow down.

Last but not least, it’s time to turn your internal editor to high and use your word processor to make updates to your manuscript. One of the downfalls of speech recognition software is homonyms such as to, too and two. Read through your chapter and make corrections and update as needed.

Will this process take more time? Maybe. Many people find they don’t have as many writer’s block issues when they write by hand or dictate. I don’t worry about time. I worry about quality. I want my novels to be the best they can be. This method usually improves your writing because you are tapping into that creativity center three different ways. Picking up benefits of each along the way. You’ll be shocked at how much your writing improves. For those of you worried about your hand writing. My hand writing was horrible, but now it’s just bad. I write my entire book, then dictate.

Now that you know the secret, optimize your writing time by incorporating all three methods of writing your manuscripts.

Deatri King-Bey

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author is used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Busting Through the Block by Lynn Emery

Some say writer’s block is a myth, a form of procrastination. Other authors insist it’s real, and they’ve suffered through it. As a therapist I’ve learned that if a person is convinced, it doesn’t matter if others say something is real or all in your mind. The bottom line is you need to work on the problem, whatever it is. Here are some tips to shock your unconscious muse back to life.

If you are blocked on what a character should do next or how they would react to a story event/plot turner go back and work on characterization. Chances are you need to flesh out more details on who she is- what are her goals, values, motivations, beliefs, etc. It might help to get to know her again. Most often hitting this kind of brick wall means you need to do more work on your character(s).

If you are blocked on what will happen next in your story (plotting), go back and review your story outline. O maybe you need to do one if you were writing by the seat of your pants. What story questions must be answered? What are the internal and external conflicts? What are the character motivations? What are the character goals? What is the dark moment when all seems lost? What is the climax (main characters must make a decision and take action)? What is the resolution? How are the main characters changed by this journey at the end?

Writing Exercises

Kick Start Your Brain

Start a scene with your protagonist arriving or leaving some place in your story setting. Describe this setting through her eyes, including emotional reactions. Describe how secondary (or other major character) view the setting and the arrival of the main character using facial expressions, body language and dialogue. How does this affect the scene where you hit a block?
Write a character’s worst moment, something that changed her or him in a basic way. Now write a scene where the effects of that event color how the character lives and now views the world in a way that affects your plot.
Write a scene in which your character is arguing her viewpoint, some subject that she feels strongly about. This could be high concept (e.g. testifying before Congress, negotiating with a hostage taker) or discussing a subject with another character (relationship problem, family problem). Either way make the stakes high, in other words something terrible will happen if she doesn’t prevail. Throw in barriers that might keep her from prevailing. How does she overcome these?

Lynn Emery ©

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or$9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Constructing A Short Story by Clive West

After an extended dalliance away from the genre, short stories are becoming increasingly popular again. With hectic personal schedules and the hurly-burly of the 21st century world, modern readers like the idea of picking up their book, tablet, Kindle, e-reader to enjoy a complete story without the hassle of having to remember numerous characters, complex plots or who is doing what to whom and why.

I’d like us now to look at the basic limiting factors of a short story in more detail and see where they lead us:

A short story by its very definition is short (!)
There must be a complete story within its pages even if it’s part of a series centered around the same characters or setting
The author must describe the location and the key protagonists in sufficient detail as to bring them to life

Some writers seem to think that a short story is merely a highly-condensed conventional novel or an extremely short novella when it’s neither. Because of the limitations imposed by the three above criteria, a short story takes a single thread and explores it to completion in the space of a few pages. There can be no complexity of plot, diverse parallel storylines, or switching from one exotic venue to another as per James Bond, Ludlum etc. If you are going to write a short story, you need to think tight, compact and bijou.

The knack to writing a short story which your customers will want to read is to concentrate on:

Creating a few simple but interesting characters
Choosing a setting which is quickly visualised by the reader and which will not overpower the characters or the storyline
Finding a story which leads the reader through
Sending the reader away with something memorable which makes them want to read more of your stories

With a short story, there is a real need to ‘hit the ground running’. You do not have the luxury of long preamble-style descriptions of the characters executed through rambling explanatory dialogue so you have to create a clear image of the protagonists very quickly and without overdoing it on the adjectival front. Likewise with the places; you will rarely have the word count for more than a cursory description giving a generic location such as ‘on the bus’, ‘at the beach’, ‘visiting the zoo’ and so on.

We’ll look at how to draw up plots, construct openings and decide upon endings for short stories in subsequent postings.

Clive West

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Clive West’s work includes a collection of short stories with twists called Hobson’s Choice, a full-length novel called ‘The Road‘ about the consequences of corruption on ordinary people and an accessible job hunting interview guide (based on his years of experience as the boss of an employment agency). He has also written a book about lymphedema. Clive now lives in a rebuilt farmhouse in the Umbrian region of Italy along with Damaris, his writer wife of 22 years and their three rescue dogs. Apart from his fictional work, Clive also writes commercial non-fiction on a variety of topics but especially relating to business and employment. He and Damaris run an indie publishers called Any Subject Books Ltd – www.anysubject.com. You can also follow Any Subject Books on Facebook – www.facebook.com/anysubject Contact details: books@anysubject.com Facebook site: www.facebook.com/anysubjectbooks

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Conquering Writer’s Block by Renee Flagler

I’ll start off by saying, “There’s no such thing as writer’s block.” Come on, say it with me, “There’s no such thing as writer’s block.” Now you’re wondering that the heck was the issue you encountered when you thought you hit a wall in that story you were working on. There are several things you can call it, but don’t call it writer’s block. It doesn’t exist! Read on and I’ll make you a believer.

You’ve been working on a story and have come to a point where you just can’t seem to move forward or you’re not sure what your character is going to do next. You put the manuscript aside and then came back to it and…still nothing! Several things can happen when you’re working on a story. You lose motivation. You get distracted. You find that a story has gone into a direction other than what you intended. You’ve decided that you want to shift gears. Whatever the problem is, it’s an indication that it’s time to exercise and expand you writing muscle. Here are few tactics that get past that thing that you think is writer’s block.

Break the Mold

It may be time to do something different. If your writing ritual is to wake up, get a cup of tea, and write for two hours every morning, then try writing at night. Perhaps writing at a different time of day will allow your experiences for that day to impact your writing. It’s possible that you could be in a different mental space depending on the time of day. Break out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself by doing something new. Change your scenery. If you write at home most of the time, try going taking your laptop to the park, the beach or your local Starbucks. Use the scenery, people, or other external influences to add a different spin to your story. Perhaps your character takes a trip to one of these places. What can happen next? Who can they run into?

Re-Enter the Room from a Different Angle

More than likely, you’ve been viewing your story from a certain perspective. When this happens, think of your story as a room. If you’ve been getting to the story through the front door, why not sneak in through the back window. For example, try a new angle. Allow your character to experience a change of perspective and see things differently for once—even if it’s temporary. Think about how their change in perspective can spark new life into the story.

External Inspiration

This is one of my favorite tactics and one that I find works very well when I conduct workshops on this subject. Cut out interesting words, headlines, and titles from newspapers, ads and magazines. Store them in a box or envelop and when you find that you’ve hit a wall or feel like you’ve run out of ideas, pull one out of these headlines to help ignite a little fire under your story. For example, you’ve clipped the words “moving sale,” perhaps it’s time for one of your characters to make a move, either literally or figuratively. In one of my sessions, an attendee used a clipping that read “house calls.” She used that to move her story along by having the antagonist show up at other character’s houses.

There are more ideas where this came from. However, for the sake of keeping this post from turning into a short story, I’ll provide those additional tactics in the next issue. In the meantime, if you find yourself dealing with the thing you call ‘writer’s block’ put some of these tactics to the test. I’d love to hear how they work out for you.

Happy writing!

Renee Daniel Flagler

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Renee Daniel Flagler is an award-winning freelance writer, marketing professional and the author of four novels, including the newly released title, Raging Blue. Connect with Renee via Twitter or Facebook, or visit her website at www.ReneeDanielFlagler.com.

Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Writer’s Block Blues by Kisha Green

You have this awesome idea for a great novel and you can see it being written, published and then the ultimate…A movie…That’s right move over Terry McMillan there is a new sheriff in town and she likes stilettos, expensive mascara and designer bags.

You sit down at your desk for a writing session that is sure to go down in history as one of the best stories ever told.

Yeah…That was what was supposed to happen. All I knew was that I wanted to write to get these stories out of my head, not factoring my head and fingers had not consulted with each to see if that is indeed the direction I should be going in.

What has happened to poor ole Kisha and her future best seller???? I will tell you, I caught the dreadful disease called Writer’s Block and unbeknownst to me it had decided to take up space in my head while I go crazy trying to bring the story to fruition.

How did I get diagnosed with this right before I was due to complete a novel? Well…It is called distraction and time management or in this case lack thereof.

Let’s examine the time management part since that is a major requirement to complete ANY task.

Time management is hard but if you can dedicate at least one hour a day you should be ok. You just have to be doing something constructive whether it is outlining or simply researching for the outline. If you are ready to write then commit to at least 350 words and before you know it you will be complete.

Give yourself a deadline and if it is ultimately important enough to you, you will make the time. This is the basics when you have a bunch of ideas floating in your head, otherwise your thought will be rambled which produces rambled writing that will lose your reader within the first chapter. So avoid this make an outline and refer to it often or you be stuck sitting in front of an open document and a blinking cursor!

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for?Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99(print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble

Description: The Season Salt of a Novel by Stacy-Deanne

Description can bring your novel out or it can kill it. It’s the season salt of a novel. In some dishes it works well and brings out the flavor. Some dishes are salty enough on their own so adding tons of season salt is not necessary.

It’s all about the particular dish. When I say dish, I mean scene. As a novelist you should look at books in terms of their scenes because it’s best to tackle things one scene at a time. You learn to do that and it helps you retain knowledge to become a more effective writer.

The biggest thing I notice with a lot of newbies is that they tend to over-season their novels. They pour on the description whether they need it or not. Every scene does not need a bunch of description. What you want to do is give enough for the audience to form the image in their minds. You don’t have to describe every single thing in a scene. Some do it because they think they have to but using description excessively produces novels full of boring filler. This only bogs down the reader scene after scene.

It’s 2012 and readers these days just don’t have the patience to sit through a slow, filler-stuffed book. Remember not only are there other entertainment options to compete with but also tons of other novels that might be more fast-paced and compelling than yours.

So don’t give a reader more of an excuse to put yours down.

Once you learn how to use description it will help you to write satisfying books of substance minus the filler.

When To:

Use description when it’s important to the particular scene.

If readers knowing Jason’s outfit is important to the scene or what he is doing, describe it. If not then leave it out. Don’t describe an entire outfit just to do it. If it’s not an important fixture then stick with conveying action and bringing out character development through Jason’s dialogue and his actions. This will give readers a much better understanding of Jason and you won’t waste time with unnecessary description.

Note: Sometimes describing a character’s style of dress can be vital if it shows the type of person they are. If Louis always wears a flannel shirt and jeans with holes in the knees then say it. This type of description helps paint a picture in the reader’s mind about Louis because we identify the way someone dresses with the type of person they might be. How? Well in the case of Louis, he might be a blue-collar man. Maybe he works in a warehouse or construction. Add vivid descriptions throughout scenes to show this. His fingernails are always dirty. His Timberland boots are so scuffed up you can’t tell how long he’s had them. This is a great way to describe a character!

In my latest mystery The Season of Sin, one of my main characters fixes cars at a junkyard. Every time I showed him I made sure to relay some type of detail about his appearance. Not only does it help people form an image of Bruce in their heads, but it also sets the tone for his scenes. I brought attention to Bruce’s dirty fingernails, his oil-stained overalls and the fact that he smelled like gasoline even when he wasn’t working on a car. Some have even said they actually could smell gasoline off the pages during Bruce’s scenes.

These tiny details that I used for Bruce allows the reader to embrace the type of person he is. Description of clothing can be useful as a device to show someone’s profession or even their personality. And don’t forget smells! Does the person wear a certain type of perfume? Are they always smelly and musty?

Describe only particular things of importance.

If your setting takes place in Miss Lonny’s old country home by all means describe it but don’t go overboard. I like to describe only a few items in a room at a time. If this is a place the audience will see many times then don’t sit there and describe her home from top to bottom in the first scene. Why? You not only bog down the reader but the reader will not remember every single thing in Lonny’s home by the next time another scene takes place there.

Don’t add too much seasoning at one time.

So what kind of things should you describe? Don’t describe walls or floors unless they matter. I mean don’t just do it to say what color they are unless the color is important to the scene or informs us about the character. Stick with things that would stick out. If in your head you see a regular living room with a crooked TV stand, describe the crooked TV stand, not the entire room. The TV stand is what will also stick in readers’ heads. It conveys more than enough because the readers’ minds will wonder on their own just with the mention of that one stand.

Stick with things that stick out.

If Lonny has black walls then mention it because it’s not normal for someone to have black walls. The first thing the audience will say is, “Black walls? Why in the world does this woman have black walls?”

What else makes Miss Lonny’s home standout? Does she have an Oriental rug by the front door even though she’s living in this little country home? That would be something that sticks into the readers’ heads because they wouldn’t expect someone living in a country home to have an Oriental rug. It would make Miss Lonny more interesting. Black walls, Oriental rug in a country home? Who would have a home like this? It’s amazing what simple details can do.

Details, people. Details!

Practice: Look at your own home. Look at your living room or den. What sticks out among other things? What’s something you think visitors might notice the first time they come to your house?

Use vivid description in sex scenes and love scenes if you intend on writing out the scene.

If you decide not to do a close-the-door thing and wanna show the characters making love, show us. Look this is not the time to fudge on details.

And I mean show. If he is licking her navel, tell us how it feels so we know how it makes her feel. How does it feel when he sucks her toe or she plants kisses down his chest? Speaking of his chest, is it hairy? Is it smooth? When she kisses him do his chest muscles ripple under her lips when he arches his back?

How do the characters smell to each other? People smell when they make love. And no I don’t mean their privates necessarily. I mean people naturally have a scent especially to the opposite sex. It’s amazing how skin smells when you’re close enough to someone. Mention this stuff!

How are the characters feeling? Are they comfortable, horny or anxious? Do they have butterflies? Is one so nervous about making love that they might be a little nauseated?

Incorporate sounds. People don’t just make love silently unless it’s not good. (Little joke there). Sounds are an important part of love scenes. They further capture the emotions for the reader. Some people talk while making love, people instruct, people moan and groan.

Incorporate this!

Now admit that those little details got something churning inside of you from curiosity didn’t they? They immediately thrust you into the scene and you feel like you’re there.

That’s what you are supposed to do. It doesn’t come down to how many words you use or how long the scene is. You can have an effective scene with description that’s only a few paragraphs long. The shorter you can get your point across, the better.

And I don’t care how long the people are making love; a love scene should never be boring. If it seems boring to you then most likely it will be to readers.

The When Not’s:

Don’t stop action just to describe something

If Max’s plane is falling to the sea and he’s fighting with the controls, this isn’t the time to remind readers what Max is wearing or the color of the knobs on the plane. You might think this goes without saying but some writers do this. Never interrupt the tension for lame description.

Don’t waste time describing secondary characters

We don’t need to know what the prostitute who witnessed the murder looks like. Who cares? Just let her say what she saw and move on. There is no point to wasting time describing a character no one will see anymore.

Don’t describe for the sake of impressing readers

Some writers think that showing how well they can describe a canister (over four pages) will impress readers or it makes them look more “writerly” and intelligent. Wrong. Less is more. Look you aren’t writing Gone with the Wind. You need to make sure someone gets through your book without being bored to tears. Focus on your plots and pacing and not on trying to show how fancy you can describe something.

Stay away from clichés

Look anything you’ve heard a million times before in terms of describing someone or something is probably something you should overlook. Be creative and come up with your own way to describe. On the flipside don’t try to be too clever. It’ll come off as pompous and arrogant if you use a million big words that seem out of place.

Stacy-Deanne

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Don’t have a copy of Become A Successful Author? What are you waiting for? Become A Successful Author will be used in the “How To Write That Novel” course at Chicago State because it covers everything from branding to writing to editing to formatting and uploading electronic and print books to marketing and so much more. Your time is money. Look at all the time, thus money, you’ll save by ending your search for answers: Purchase Become A Successful Author for only $4.99 (eBook) or $9.99 (print) from: Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), Barnes & Noble