Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Writing A Novel You Hate: 3 Tips To Help You To Keep Writing

Writing a novel: it’s not a bad novel just because you feel uncomfortable

Please be aware that every novelist hates his novel sometimes while he’s writing. Chances are the novel’s fine. Occasionally, the novel is more than fine.

One of the authors in our writing group told us a story about a novel she almost trashed three years ago. Someone talked her down, and the novel was published. To date, it’s her most popular and best selling novel.

via peneloperedmont.com

New Author? 3 Tips To Help You To Outline Your Novel

The most common new author pitfall: nothing happens

Here’s your challenge, if you’re a new author.

You must make something happen. Preferably on every page. Moreover, that “something” must be relevant — integral to your story.

Does that sound easy? It is. However, when you’re a new author, you’re all about the pretty words. Experienced authors don’t care about the words — they care about the story.

An experienced author knows that you can fix your word choices, scene construction and grammar, but if nothing happens in your novel, then you’ve just wasted all the time you spent writing.

via www.justwriteabook.com

Writing Fiction And Editors: You Wrote It, So Fight For It

Writing fiction: own it — and fight for your words

I’m a member of several Facebook groups, and over the past year or two, I’ve noticed that “authors need editors” has become a thing. Some authors take huge pride in “their editor.”

Far be it from me to tell anyone how to run their career, but the following quote is totally apposite, and it made me laugh.

Don’t be too proud of “your editor.”

From Business Musings: Editorial Encroachment:

Your fancy New York editor ain’t as fancy as you think.

Totally true, as I know to my cost in time and patience.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

Book Journaling Tips: Make Writing Easier And More Fun

Book journaling tips: 4 ways your book journals help you to write and publish

Before I started journaling each book, I had problems finishing what I’d started. Usually I got somewhere around chapter three — and stopped. The plot had become boring. The characters were irritating.

Then I read an article about Sue Grafton, who said:

“I write a journal for each of the novels. I usually keep the journals about 50 pages long, and create as many as I need.”

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My Top 6 Tips For Self-Publishing Fiction In 2018

In brief: if you’re inspired to write fiction — go ahead. Even if you never sell a novel or short story (unlikely), writing fiction will improve ALL your writing.

So here are my top seven tips for self-publishing fiction in 2018.

1. Focus on short stories: you’ll sell more, build more visibility, AND improve your fiction writing skills

Here’s the thing about self-publishing: your ebooks can be as long, or as short as you please. Strictly from a money angle, if you can get $2.99 for a 10,000 word short story, OR a 60,000 word novel, it makes sense to write more short stories.

When you write short stories, not only do you build your visibility, you also improve your fiction writing skills.

Of course, you need to be writing novels, too. Look on your short stories as introductions to you and your books.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

Write a Book: Your 5-Minute Plan

1. Choose a topic you know and love.

What will you write about? I’m sure you’ve got endless topics about which you could write, because writers tend to be interested in many things.

Grab a sticky note, and write your topic on it. (Don’t skip this step.)

Next, hop over to Amazon’s Kindle Store, and see whether there are any bestsellers on the topic. If yes, go to the next step. If no, choose another topic, and repeat, until you find a salable topic YOU can write.

via www.justwriteabook.com

Plot Fiction: 5 Questions To Ask Before You Start Writing

Plot fiction: how much time do you need to invest in plotting?

Today, writing novels can seem like a job. We’re all encouraged to write more. Whether we have one loyal fan, or thousands, they want to know how the book’s coming along, and when it will be published. After someone asks you for the third time, saying “I’m working on the plot” can sound as if you’re wasting time.

So how do you know when you just need to knuckle down, and work on the first draft of your novel?

via peneloperedmont.com

You hate plotting. Does this mean that you're doomed, and will never write a wonderful novel? No -- just ask questions.

Write Fiction: 3 Tips To Kickstart Your Bestselling Novel Today

OK. Let’s start writing your novel.

Write:

• About a movie you saw. Think about someone in the movie, and write a description of them. Let your mind wander… and imagine something horrible happening to that person. Write your imaginings down.
• A list of words. Any words you like. Just write them down the page — aim for 20. Choose any five words from your list, and use them in a paragraph. Close your eyes, and daydream. Keep writing.
• A description of an acquaintance — someone at work, or a neighbor. Write about this person’s biggest secret. It’s a huge secret, a secret that they would literally kill to keep.

See what you did there? You were writing.

via www.justwriteabook.com

The Professional Writer: 3 Tips To Improve Your Writing

Let’s look at three tips to improve your writing.

1. Know why, and for whom, you’re writing

With “you can’t please everyone” in mind, choose your audience. Get a clear idea of your audience before you start writing, then write for your ideal reader, in that audience.

You must know for whom you’re writing. You’ll use an informal, conversation style often, but not always. Suit your style to your audience as well as you can.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

Fiction Writing Goals: Goals For You, And For Your Characters

Your fiction writing goals: map your journey to inspire your writing

A goal gives you a destination, and a way to get there. Goals stop you floundering.

Simple goals you can set for your fiction writing include:

• A short-term goal — a goal for this week, or this month;
• A couple of medium-term goals, for the next six months, or year;
• Long-term goals, for where you hope to be in five or more years.

Start by setting a long-term goal. Where you do want your fiction writing to be in five years?

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The Disorganized Novelist: Getting Things Done Anyway

The big benefit of Airtable is that it syncs with every device you own in real time — and it integrates with Evernote, Slack, Box, and hundreds of other apps. This means that it’s easy to browse my book journal notes in my lunch hour, and when I’m relaxing watching a DVD with my family.

Even though I’m a complete Airtable novice, here are a couple of tips I’ve found to get up to speed with it — Airtable’s helping me in getting things done already.

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Meeting Deadlines: 3 Writing Tips To Help

A digression: if you’re in the first couple of years of a writing career, relax. You’re learning. Among many other things, you’re learning:

• How you prefer to work;
• What’s involved in projects (everything always takes longer than you think);
• How to get along with people — clients, editors, contractors like graphic designers, etc…

Be patient with yourself always, but especially when you’re learning something new, and when you’re making the switch from one kind of writing to another.

Switching from nonfiction to fiction, and back again, is especially challenging.

OK, end digression.

Let’s look at the tips.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

3 Hot Writing Tips For Writing Romance Fiction

The argument starts something like this…

“My romance doesn’t have a happy ending,” an author tells me.

“A happy ending — Happy Ever After (HEA) or at least Happy For Now (HFN) is essential for the romance genres,” I respond.

“Yes, but…”

“Sorry… but if you don’t have a happy ending, you’re writing women’s fiction, not romance.”

Unfortunately, the arguments never end when it comes to commercial romance fiction. Let’s look at our tips.

via www.justwriteabook.com

Short Stories: 10 Powerful Ways To Use Them

My theory on why professional writers avoid writing short stories is because the world of writing has changed so quickly. Even just a few years back, people wrote short fiction for literary magazines — for prestige, in other words.

You never expected to make money from them; perish the thought. But you privately hoped that a new York Literary agent might approach you asking whether you were working on a novel.

Of course you were, and when that novel was eventually published, it had a small print run and was remaindered toute de suite. Your consolation prize was the knowledge that you were “published” and had an entrée into academia.

Today, the world of writing’s different, and it can be challenging to keep up. So let’s look at powerful ways in which you can use short stories.

Experiment with your short stories; what works for others may not work for you. Equally, what goes gangbusters for you may be a total bust for someone else.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com

Fiction Writing Kickstart For New Authors: Write Short Stories

Let’s look at some benefits of writing short stories.

They include:

• Boost your novels (just add an excerpt to the novel you want to boost at the end of your story);
• Testing genres. I’m a ghostwriter, and love it, but there’s always a client who asks “can you write — (whatever, a genre new to me)”. If I’ve never written in that genre before, I’ll spend a few hours writing a short story in the genre before taking his money;
• Eliminating procrastination. If you’ve been wanting to write a novel for the past five years, why not write a short story first? Writing short stories helps to fix procrastination whether you’re having trouble getting started or are stuck in the middle of a novel.

via www.fabfreelancewriting.com