Where Normal Need Not Apply
Some writers can find themselves paralyzed by the thought of needing to get their first draft “right.” That’s crazy-making, however. A draft—a first draft especially—is a tool to help us discover the story we want to tell, the characters we want to meet, and the themes we want to explore. That’s it.
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A writing career often doesn’t pay well, so many of us have day jobs or transitioned to writing after doing something else. To my mind, that’s a good thing. The non-writing experiences we have will enrich our writing and can provide benefits to our writing career as well.
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On social media, people regularly break the “rule” to avoid discussing religion or politics. Does it no longer apply? The answer depends on who we are and what our goals are. Our brand could be either quiet or loud, and the style of our interactions might affect or inform many aspects of our marketing efforts.
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Ever heard the advice: “If you can stop writing, you should stop writing”? I’m here to say *pfft* to that. I gave up writing for years, yet I’m now a multi-published author. Choices we made about writing yesterday don’t determine today.
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I talked last time about the strengths of an alpha heroine. Does that mean betas are the opposite and therefore weak? Nope, I would never say that betas are weak, so what traits do beta characters have? What would a character without strengths look like?
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When we first start writing our story, we’re filled with passion for the idea. But at some point, we might dread working on our story. Is that a warning sign? Or should we plow forward anyway?
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There’s no “one right way” in publishing. We can probably all think of ways that don’t work, but there are often several paths that do lead to success. The same applies to encouragement advice. We often see two kinds of encouragement in the writing world: pushy and sympathetic. Either way can work, depending on who we are at this moment in time.
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When we’re ready for professional editing, we want to make sure our editor is good, especially if we’re opening our wallet. Here are some tips, questions, and processes that will help us evaluate editors for our needs.
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What type of editors are most important for our success? Let’s take a closer look at the types of editing and when we might (or might not) need that type of editing.
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One truism in writing that’s often repeated is “write what you know.” But that advice can be harmful—at least for fiction writing. I much prefer the advice: Write what you want to learn about. Being open to learning new things for our writing can enrich our lives—and be fun!
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