Writers Go For The Gusto!

I often wonder why I sometimes hesitate when it comes to writing. I want to jump right in and go for the gold, but there is this little thing that creeps up inside me and screams HALT! I get jittery because I am not sure that I am ready even though I am achieving so many wonderful writing goals. So what is it? Are we waiting for a pat on the back or perhaps someones permission to dive into the writing pool? Well, maybe. I came across and article from Cathy Stucker that helped me feel uplifted and ready to jump right in and go for the gusto! Enjoy!

Stop Waiting for Permission

March 17th, 2011

How do successful people become successful? They do things. Instead of sitting around waiting for the Permission Fairy to whack them upside the head with her magic wand, they just go out and do what they need to do.

I get a lot of questions from clients, students and others about how to do various things. Sometimes these questions are about the technical details of how to do something, but often the question is about how they go about getting permission to publish a book, become a consultant, create a course, etc. They want to know what course they need to complete, what group they need to join or who needs to give them a title before they can do what they want to do. While that is necessary if you want to be a doctor, in the world of entrepreneurs you do not need a license to succeed.

When someone is waiting for permission it is often because they do not have confidence in their ability to do something. The way to get that confidence is not to look to someone else. The way to get confidence in your ability to do something is to do it.

In the corporate world there are people who hand out titles and job duties. As an entrepreneur, you are the one who decides what your title is (if any) and what responsibilities you have. Want to be a published author? Write a book and get it published. Want to be a professional speaker? Get to the front of the room and start talking. Want to be a consultant? Start lining up clients you can help. It’s up to you.

There are people and educational resources to help with the things you do not know how to do or that you do not want to do on your own. However, there is no one who can give you permission. No one but you. Read more here.

Author Exposed: Jeffery L. Schatzer

I love sharing advice from published authors. It’s always a good idea to gather information to see how other writers are getting things done. Author Jeffery L. Schatzer writes picture books and middle grade novels that are educational and fun. His Professor Tuesday adventures have excellent characters that kids can relate to.  I had the opportunity to review his book “Professor Tuesday’s Awesome Adventures In History: Book Three The Underground Railroad.”  Feel free to stop by Kristi’s Book Nook to learn more about the author and his books.

Mr. Schatzer has some great advice on how to get published.  His website has lots of interesting information and reviews of his works.

As you might suspect, many people have the same question of me. “How do I get a book published?”

My advice is simple. First, you have to love writing. Write for the sake of your own enjoyment. If your book or story is published, it is icing on the cake. Persistence is also important. After all, it only took 34 years to get my first book published. Though the route I took to get noticed by publishers was through self-publishing, that route isn’t for the timid. It is a tremendous amount of work. Plus, it isn’t cheap.

Being an author requires a good deal of discipline and focus, especially if you are going to write ‘The Great American Novel.’ If you write a great book, you also have to spend a lot of time promoting and selling it. That means traveling to bookstores and places that carry your books. If you like meeting people and sharing your love of ideas, it’s wonderful. If you enjoy the solitude of your own company and don’t care to mix with people, you may want to reconsider that whole author thing altogether.  Read more here.

Writing Credentials: Do You Have Any?

Writing (Photo credit: jjpacres)

I follow C. Hope Clark. She is the brains behind the newsletter Funds For Writers. She has been a helpful entity in regards to me learning more about the world of writing. Recently I read a post that actually made me chuckle out loud. It made me realize how far I have come in the writing process. This post talks about writers and what types of credible writing they have done. It also mentions that publishers and agents need to hear from writers who are actively pursuing a writing career. What made me chuckle was that I (years ago) never thought of mentioning when I submitted a manuscript that I am a technical writer. I did’t think that applied because I wanted to be a children’s author. So, I guess if you’ve written anything, published an article, won a contest, that qualifies as experience in writing. Check out the article. It’s short, sweet and to the point.

How would you reply if asked this question? Indignant? After all, everybody has to start somewhere, plus you’ve been writing various pieces for years.

Everybody has to write the first manuscript. But few of them need to publish that first manuscript.

If you went to the doctor, needing an operation, you might ask, “Have you done this sort of operation before?” What if the reply is, “No, but I’ve been studying how to do it.” You’d move on to another doctor, because no matter how long he’s read the books and tested on cadavers, he hasn’t proven himself. Read more here.

The Opening Scene: Tips for Writers

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What’s one of the toughest challenges for writers? Is it deciding what the cover should look like? How about  the marketing process? How about the outline for your project? If you answered yes to any of these perhaps some or all of these are tough for writers. But what will the reader think? That’s what you should be asking yourself. Can I, the writer, hook  you the reader at the very beginning?

C.S. Lakin has some tips that will get you thinking about your action packed opening scene.

The Crucial Question You Must Ask in Your Opening Scene

The True Definition of a Scene

One of the main points discussed in previous posts involved picking just the right starting place to begin your book. This means the story starts in present action, in the middle of something happening, with your POV character right in the situation and revealing her (or his) fears, dreams, needs, or goals and the obstacle that is in the way and presenting a problem. I like the way Jordan Rosenfeld in the book Make a Scene defines what a scene is: “Scenes are capsules in which compelling characters undertake significant actions in a vivid and memorable ay that allows the events to feel as though they are happening in real time.” I talked before about eliminating back story and starting right in with your protagonist and hinting at her visible goal.

Mind Your MDQs

You’ve now learned why the visible “goal” of your protagonist needs to be revealed in some measure in the first few pages, and what we’ll explore today is the need to establish both the plot question and the spiritual question your book is raising. For the plot question is tied up in the visible goal (they are pretty much the same thing), but the spiritual question is a little different but just as crucial, if not more.

You may not have a deeply themed book, but there must be some reason you are writing this story. We talked about this in an earlier post. What is your story about? If you were asked, “Why did you write this book?” (and spend months, maybe years of your life doing so!) how would you answer? Hopefully, there is a specific thing you want to say to your readers. It doesn’t have to be a “message” or sermon on life, but every story deals with themes on one level or another, and your views as a writer will come through the story, sometimes whether you intend it or not. Better to begin a book with intention—intending to say something and leave your readers with that “take-home” thought when they read the last line and close the book.

This ties in with your MDQ or major dramatic query (or question). I think the most important, mind-blowing material I learned in recent years that helped me in my writing craft was to learn about the MDQ. And I hope after you read this you will feel similarly. Now, with every novel I write, I begin with this. And don’t worry, you can learn about MDQ PDQ (pretty darn quickly). Read more here.

Related articles

• On Writing (bonniedottoewsdotcom.wordpress.com)
• How Do You Create Your Characters? (sallyjenkins.wordpress.com)

The Hook

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In February, I shared a post by K.M. Weiland in regards to story structure. She has recently posted part two. As always, Ms. Weiland provides writers with tips on hooking readers, as well as, examples of how other writers have achieved this goal. Drawing in readers at the beginning of your book is very important, but also very difficult. If hooking your reader is giving you a headache, feel free to visit her blog for help.

The Secrets of Story Structure, Pt. 2: The Hook

By K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland

Readers are like fish. Smart fish. Fish who know authors are out to get them, reel them in, and capture them for the rest of their seagoing lives. But, like any self-respecting fish, readers aren’t caught easily. They aren’t about to surrender themselves to the lure of your story unless you’ve presented them with an irresistible hook.

Our discussion of story structure very naturally begins at the beginning—and the beginning of any good story is its hook. Unless you hook readers into your story from the very first chapter, they won’t swim in deep enough to experience the rest of your rousing adventure, no matter excellent it is.

What is a hook?

The hook comes in many forms, but stripped down to its lowest common denominator, the hook is nothing more or less than a question. If we can pique our readers’ curiosity, we’ve got ‘em. Simple as that. The beginning of every story should present character, setting, and conflict. But, in themselves, none of these represent a hook. We’ve created a hook only when we’ve convinced readers to ask the general question, “What’s going to happen?” because we’ve also convinced them to ask a more specific question, such as “What scary reptilian monster killed the worker?” (Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton) or “How does a city hunt?” (Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve).

Where does the hook belong?

Because your ability to convince the reader to keep reading is dependent on your hook, it must be present as early as possible in your first scene. In fact, if you can get it into your first line, so much the better. However, the hook must be organic. Teasing readers with a killer opening line (“Mimi was dying again”) only to reveal all is not as seems (turns out Mimi is an actress performing her 187^th death scene) not only negates the power of your hook, it also betrays readers’ trust. And readers don’t like to be betrayed. Not one little bit. Read more here.

Related articles

• Hooking Your Reader Workshop I (madgeniusclub.com)
• Your agreement: Hooking the audience for the whole story (storybodyguard.com)