Where Normal Need Not Apply
I’ve spoken many times about our learning curve as writers. Not only can it seem endless, but we can also be skilled at one aspect and unskilled in another. So at what point can we stop thinking of ourselves as beginning writers? When will we be “qualified” for the advanced stuff?
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For every aspect of our story, we have to find the right balance. One element many writers struggle with is description: too little leaves our readers floating without an anchor, and too much drags our story’s pacing. So how do we find the right amount and know whether we need more or need to cut?
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We’ve been discussing when we might be willing to be paid in “exposure.” There are valid reasons for deciding that more exposure will be good for our long-term plans. However, we’d want to make sure that exposure actually materializes in a helpful way and works hard for us.
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Kristen Lamb wrote last week about how the “culture of free” is killing creatives. Too often, we’re expected to work “for exposure.” At the same time, I recently posted about how we can use free content as a pricing strategy. So which is it? Should we work for free or not?
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If we’ve ever had a friend ramble or go off on tangents when describing a movie, we understand how story structure can help make stories more enjoyable. In other words, good story structure is an important element of good storytelling. Here’s how we can learn to analyze the structure of stories…
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As writers, we’re so close to our stories it’s impossible to know how readers will interpret our words. That’s just one reason why we often need beta readers.
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As writers and as readers, we’ve probably noticed the many ebooks offered for free and wondered why anyone would do all that work for nothing in return. My monthly guest post at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University explores the benefits and risks of freebies.
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Writing is an art form, and yet I don’t usually think of myself as an artist. But all types of artistic endeavors have the concept of a muse or a gut feel for when something is working—or not—so we might be able to use that general “artistic muse” concept to help us with our writing, especially when we suffer from writer’s block.
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Some sales pitches play on our fears, and others play on our self-doubt. These sales messages are usually worded like, “If We’re Serious about Writing, We’ll…” Unfortunately, messages like this aren’t limited to sales pitches.
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Unfortunately, some writers believe that paying for a workshop, class, or conference is necessary to succeed, and some sales pitches play to our fears by implying they can teach us the “secret” to success. But while these resources can help us as writers, they’re not required to succeed.
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