Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

 

 

 

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Imagine a setting or situation in which you would be an outsider. Say it’s your first day learning karate and the rest of your class are black belts. Or perhaps you find yourself smack dab in the middle of an NRA conference and you adamantly oppose firearms. How would you react? How would you feel? Being an outsider can often provide the perfect springboard into your character’s mentalities as well as an objective viewpoint that can be used to describe settings more naturally. (2/4/11)

When it comes to writing, seeing isn’t always believing. Next time you find yourself in front of your keyboard about to begin another piece, try closing your eyes and typing. Imagine the setting, characters, thoughts and emotions you’re trying to capture and start writing without opening your eyes. Just the look of a sentence can often disrupt your flow or rhythm, and rereading what you’ve already written will not only slow you down, but upset your train of thought as well. (2/4/11)

Remember, not all stories have resolutions. Think about a conflict that’s online, where the characters simply exist within the tension. Perhaps an archeological search for some relic, or maybe a neighborly feud that gone on for years. Now, write a story or poem that attempts to capture this conflict, without reaching for a clean, fair or ironic resolution.

Read the reviews. See how readers and critics think. Don’t fall into the same juvenile traps the books with bad reviews often do. Learn from their mistakes and shape your manuscript into a publication worthy of rave reviews.