Writers and Authors

Showing posts with label Advice for aspiring writers. Show all posts

When you start writing, there is a bewildering number of websites and blogs giving advice about how to do it. Lists of rules and tips are particularly popular. I bet you’ve come across them already: ’10 Tips for Writing a Good Book’ (it’s usually 10; sometimes, just to be different, it’s 9 or 11), The 20 Habits of Successful Authors, 25 Insights into How to Write a Best-seller… on and on.

They’re very appealing. Writing a book is a long, hard struggle and it’s tempting to believe there’s some sort of template, some trick of the trade that successful writers know about and you don’t, and if they’re kind enough to tell you what to do it’ll be easy.

The flaw in this sort of reasoning is that planning a book and looking for how-to rules isn’t the same as planning a meal and browsing through a cookery book to find a recipe. By and large, recipes for making pastry may differ slightly but they have the same principles behind them and if you obey them it will come out right. If that was true for writing there would be no such thing as an unsuccessful author.

Rules, tips and lists have no unifying principle. Often they contradict each other, some, for instance, advise ‘Plan meticulously’, others say ‘Go with the flow.’

The aspiring writer ends up like the centipede in the little poem: ‘A centipede was happy quite/Until a frog in fun/ Said “Pray, which leg comes after which?”/ That raised her mind to such a pitch/She lay distracted in a ditch/Considering how to run.’ Read too many bits of advice and you end up going round in circles.

Somerset Maugham, one of the most successful English novelists of the early 20^th Century, said, ‘There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.’ He knew what he was talking about.

If you want to write a book, if you have a story that you absolutely must share, just sit down and write it. There’s no such thing as a shortcut.

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Aline Templeton grew up in the fishing village of Anstruther, in the East Neuk of Fife. She has worked in education and broadcasting and was a Justice of the Peace for ten years. Married, with two grown-up children and three grandchildren, she now lives in a house with a view of Edinburgh Castle. When not writing, she enjoys cooking, choral singing, and traveling the back roads of France.

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When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

A few years after earning my degree in American Studies, I signed up for a creative writing class at my community college. The first prompt we had in class was to describe an object. I pictured a lacquered wooden box with red velvet lining, something I’d never imagined. I knew then I wanted to write.

What genre do you write and why?

Short story, mostly, with a touch of the speculative here and there. I write the world the way I see it—it seems to make more sense on the page than in the world.

Tell us about your latest book.

Superman is a short story collection where single dads, super heroes, sultans, heavenly bodies, earthbound lovers, and photic physicists seek the power to kill, the power to heal; they seek wisdom, they seek love; in other words, they seek the impossible. These stories are about the dangers of wishing for what cannot be, and the hidden costs that come with getting it.

What marketing methods are you using to promote your book?

Well, this interview is a nice start! I’m actually still finalizing whether I want to self-publish or go with an outside publisher, and that decision will ultimately shape the marketing of the book.

What formats is the book available in?

So far, I’m thinking a good old fashioned three-dimensional format. But the internet does have a way of beckoning.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

I like to go to the beach. I like chess. I like to watch basketball and soccer. I like to cook. I like to write and play music.

Who are your favourite authors?

Jorge Luis Borges. Jeanette Winterson. Victor Giannini. Mike Carey. Grant Morrisson. Neil Gaiman. Sharon Olds. James Tate.

What advice do you have for other writers?

Write. Breathe.

What's your favourite quote about writing/for writers?

"Fail better" - Beckett.

What's the best thing about being a writer?

Immersing oneself in stories.

Where can people find out more about you and your writing?

My newborn website is www.bluesofnine.com

Anything else you'd like to add?

Breathe. Write.

Beginner writers are often bombarded with advice—some helpful, some not so helpful. The best advice I can give is to take all advice with a grain of salt. A lot of writers repeat “rules” they have heard elsewhere without providing any background, which leads to a kind of “writers’ Chinese Whispers” when conventions have been taken out of content or are incorrect. So, aside from being particular about whose advice you subscribe to, the most practical advice I can give to beginning writers, without delving into grammatical discourse, is:

Read. Read, read, and then read some more. Read books in your genre that you love, and then read books that you really didn’t like. Figure out why. What was it about the books you loved that resonated with you as a reader? What about the books you didn’t enjoy made you to struggle to finish them. What made certain books bestsellers? Did the bestseller have a unique or intriguing premise? Did it have amazing, realistic characters? Did it have an original authorial voice? Beautiful prose? A twist ending? A love triangle? Did it appeal to an otherwise untapped audience? Maybe it had all of these things. Make a list of writing pros and cons that apply to you as a reader and pin it up in your writing space.

Learn. Some authors insist that reading books about writing or attending writing conventions or festivals is a waste of time and money. Such writers insist that doing so will cramp your burgeoning writing style. I vehemently disagree. Everything I have learned about writing, editing, and marketing, I learned from others (and by subsequent trial and error while following those teachings). I learned from teachers, from mentors, from books and style manuals, from analysing manuscripts, from proofreading following other editors’ mark-ups, and from attending conferences and conventions to network with successful authors and publishing industry professionals. The idea that good writers are born and not made is pure nonsense. Sure, some people have a natural affinity for writing. Some have a natural sense of rhythm. Some authors seem to have unlimited original ideas. Some have a way of thinking that produces incredible metaphor or simile. But just like dancing or painting, or any other activity, writers can improve with practice and with lifelong learning.

Invest. Another truly rubbish piece of advice for beginner writers is: “All money should flow toward the writer.” I know this was designed to prevent writers from being scammed by unscrupulous service providers, but that’s not what I’m talking about. If you’re serious about writing and you want to make a business out of your writing, you’ll need some capital. You need to invest in yourself as a writer, which might mean buying programs like Scrivener or Write or Die or Antisocial to keep you writing rather than procrastinating. It might mean reading books by successful writers. If you’re a self-published author, you’ll want to invest not only in knowledge (by way of conventions or books about writing) but also in editing, cover design, advertising, promotion, and publicity. As always, be careful about which businesses you choose to spend your money with. Ask for referrals, check service providers out thoroughly, and ensure they have a good reputation for being ethical and delivering on what they promise. There are a lot of scammers out there who target writers, so make sure your investment will be a sound one. When writing is your profession, or you run a small business, you can claim these investments as tax deductions. Like any business, don’t expect to start turning a profit immediately. Expect to inject some capital into your business for the first year at least.

Grow. By grow I mean continue to live your life. Most writers draw inspiration from the world around them, so don’t forget to stop and sit in a café people-watching on occasion. Growing also means accepting change. As you change, your writing voice may change and the things you want to write about might change. Be flexible in your approach to writing. Try new things. So far, I’ve self-published Cage Life, a book of short stories; Growth, a book of poetry; two children’s picture books, Hey, Little Sister andPancakes on Sunday; and now Cruxim—a paranormal romance. Yet I have a non-fiction background, and I have literary fiction, young adult novels, and romance novels all half-finished on my hard-drive. Why? Because I write what I feel like writing.

So you’ve always written romance, but you get a feeling you’d be good at writing for young adults—give it a shot (even if you do it under a pen name in case it doesn’t work). You’re not getting any traction with your book and you’re worried it is the cover, change it up and see. Be flexible when it comes to price, too. If you want to self-publish, try it. If you want to query publishers, go for it. You can do both. There is no one single path to success. Growth and change are positives for writers, and being flexible will help you survive in a publishing world that is highly variable at present.

Harden up. Yep, that’s my final piece of practical advice for writers. Drink a cup of concrete—figuratively, that is. No matter what you write, or how you write it, there will be some people who just don’t “get” your work. It doesn’t matter if you have three hundred five-star reviews; those three one-stars are the ones that will play on your mind.

“Why did they hate ‘me’?” you ask (because we writers have a habit of making it personal). When you put your work out there, you invite criticism, constructive or otherwise. To stay happy, you’ll need to develop skin thicker than a rhinoceros’s. I’m not saying you shouldn’t learn from criticism where you can, because you most certainly should. If your critics are saying your book was full of errors, by all means, sort it out. If they’re insisting there are plot loopholes, you might want to stitch those shut. But resign yourself to the fact that no matter what you do, sometimes “haters gonna hate.” Don’t let negative feedback undermine your need to keep on writing, keep on learning, keep on growing, and keep on developing the carapace you’re going to need if you want to write for a living.

By Karin Cox

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Genre – Paranormal Romance

Rating – PG15+ (some violence & swearing. No sex)

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Connect with Karin Cox on Facebook & Twitter

Blog http://karincox.wordpress.com/

Writing in college is almost too fun. You attend classes every week where you compare stories and notes with peers who are on your level and genuinely interested in your work. You have professors who’ve devoted their life to the craft and teaching its intricacies to eager students. An entire class could be devoted on your writing alone, with many people giving you positive and influential feedback on what it takes to beef up your technique. No idea is too far-fetched, no writing style too outrageous to share with the class.

In other words, college offers young writers a rare creative oasis.

But all good things must come to an end. The college experience only lasts so long. Unless you peruse graduate school, you’ll have to enter “the real world” and try to make a crack at writing all on your own. The transition from writing in college to doing so in the real world could not be more stark and drastic. The group mentality that you cultivated among your peers as you worked together goes out the window right after graduation; suddenly you’re expected to market your meager writing experience to land a job so that you can follow your dream.

Needless to say, surviving as a writer in the real world is easier said than done. I think the phrase “starving artist” works best here, as many recently graduated writers (myself included) will find that it’s quite difficult to find a job that allows you to cultivate your skills. It’s far more likely that a writer in this economy will work a job that has little to do with their vocation just so they have enough funds to support themselves when they do find the time to write. Those mythical writing classes will seem like ages ago when you’re working a desk job, trying to figure out how you got from there to here.

But those writing classes, those experiences with your teachers and your peers, are exactly the things that you must bear in mind as you continue to hone your craft and follow your dream. The hardships of writing after college can seem overwhelming and unfair, but that golden age of writing workshops and candid advice should serve as your motivation to do great work, even in the face of adversity. Your writing classes were meant to train you as a better writer; they weren’t meant to coddle you in the fantasyland of academia.

The best thing that you can do is take your experiences in college and use them as a reference guide as you continue to work on your own material. The “real world” experiences that you’re going through right now will only strengthen your skills as a writer, giving you a deeper perspective on the hardships of life and what it takes to truly succeed.

The real world is often referred to as such because it’s the real thing: there are no grades here, nor are there many guiding voices telling you what to do. That might seem intimidating to a new writer, but the truth is that the real world offers endless opportunities, especially when it comes to juicy writing material. All you need to do is keep writing.

Guest post by Katheryn Rivas, a regular contributor to Online University. Like the name suggests, the online universities blog focuses on higher education and trends. She welcomes your comments at katherynrivas87@gmail.com.

Twenty-four writers and artists from around the globe were honored Sunday night at the 27th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards at the famed Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, in the very room the first Academy Awards was held.

The annual event celebrated the winners in the L. Ron Hubbard Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests (http://www.writersofthefuture.com) before a packed hall and thousands more who were logged on to watch the event as it streamed live. The night's keynote speaker was Dr. Pete Worden, Director of the NASA Ames Research Center, who spoke of the relationship between science fiction as the inspiration that leads to science fact. He closed by saying, "I said at the beginning that science fiction writing has helped inspire NASA. I also like to think that what we do at NASA has helped inspire you—that our new discoveries provide the tools to open your imagination."

Each writing and illustrating contest winner was presented their trophy by contest judges at the ceremony and combined cash prizes and royalties of over $30,000. The Gold Award to the author of the Story of the Year was presented by Dr. Worden and K.D. Wentworth, Editor for Writers of the Future, to Richard Johnson of Melbourne, Australia, for his story "In Apprehension, How Like a God." The Gold Award for the Illustrator of the Year was presented to Irvin Rodriguez, of Bronx, New York, by Keir Graff, senior editor for Booklist Magazine of the American Library Association, and Ron Lindahn, a multiple award winning artist and Illustrator of the Future Contest coordinating judge.

Prior to the awards ceremony, the winners were flown in from as far away as Australia and South Africa to attend a week long workshop taught by contest judges —including New York Times bestselling author Kevin J. Anderson (Dune series), World Fantasy Award winner Tim Powers ("On Stranger Tides," adapted as the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean film), multiple Hugo and Nebula award winner Robert J. Sawyer (The WWW Trilogy), Hugo and Nebula award winning author Larry Niven (the Ringworld series), and internationally acclaimed artists, Dave Dorman (Star Wars and Batman artist), Stephen Hickman (over 350 book and magazine covers), Robert Castillo (S.P.I.C. The Storyboard of my Life), and Cliff Nielsen (cover artist for Chronicles of Narnia), the cover artist for this year's anthology—each one an experienced professional in the field providing sound advice based on hard-won experience.

The Writers of the Future writing contest (http://www.writersofthefuture.com) was initiated by L. Ron Hubbard in 1983 to provide a means for aspiring writers to get that much-needed break. Due to the success of the Writing Contest, the companion Illustrators of the Future Contest was created in 1988. This year marks the Centennial anniversary (1911-2011) for Mr. Hubbard who was hailed by Publishers Weekly as "one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century."

The intensive mentoring process has proven very successful. Past winners of the Writing Contest have published over 700 novels, 3,000 short stories and winners of the Illustrating Contest have had their art published in more than 500 books and magazines, with 4,500 illustrations, 350 comics and over 1.3 million art prints.

The publishing industry is a popular career choice. Jobs in the industry can be rewarding, interesting and flexible. But they are also notoriously difficult to get. If you're looking to get your first break in publishing, read on for some inside information on how to do it.

First, think about which area of publishing you might like to work in. The publishing industry is vast, and covers books, journals, newspapers and magazines. All of these are published in print and electronically. Within each sector, there will be editorial staff, writers, production staff, researchers, marketers and a host of other niche and support jobs. Think carefully about which area you want to enter. Although there is some crossover, the skills needed for each can be very different, and it might not be possible to switch later in your career.

Regardless of the area you want to enter, publishing companies will expect you to demonstrate an ability to use the English language well and a strong interest in the area that they publish in. Most publishing jobs, even entry level administrative jobs, require a degree. This doesn't need to be in English, but it should demonstrate your ability to write well and possibly be in a subject relevant to the publisher's specialism. Some large publishing companies and media groups run graduate training schemes, although they tend to be very competitive. Taking an administrative or support role in the area you want to work in and moving up from there is an accepted route into the industry, particularly in book and journal publishing. If you're not a new graduate, but looking to change career, you could consider entering the industry through freelance work as an editor, proofreader or writer. While it will take time to build up contacts, with the right training and some hard work, you can be successful. Courses run by The Publishing Training Centre are considered to be the industry standard and will help you get your first break. The Bookseller, Publishing News, and The Guardian are key publications in which to look for jobs in publishing.

Book Publishing

Jobs in book publishing can be some of the most rewarding around. You could work in small publishing houses where you could be working with exciting new novelists or niche non-fiction publications, to large houses like Harper Collins or Penguin in London, for whom publishing is big business. You could work directly with the manuscripts and authors as an editor, work to manage and sell author's rights all over the world, co-ordinate the production process or work in book marketing.

Journals and Academic Publishing

Publishing houses such as Wiley, based on the Oxford Business Park, publish a range of journals and specialist non-fiction, and also publish online. There are also many small, highly specialist journal publishers. Opportunities are similar to those in book publishing, although there are also editorial and writing jobs in particular specialist areas (such as law or science), which require a relevant degree.

Newspapers and Magazines

From small, specialist business magazines, to national dailies: the newspaper and magazine market is huge and offers endless opportunities to work in writing, editorial, marketing or research in print or online.

Rachel is a freelance blogger on a variety of subjects, including publishing and careers.

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