Short Story Writing: Don’t Waste Your Words on Wasted Words!

The short story market often demands tight word counts from the writer. Here are some tips on how to keep that word count under control! Short stories written specifically for inclusion in weekly or monthly magazines are a lucrative source of income for any writer. The pay rate per word is often high and the returns are good for the length of time devoted to any one story. Yet this market has its own disciplines and one cardinal rule that aspiring writers must obey is the word count. This is the... Read more »

Fiction Writing: 3 Crucial Points For Your Main Character

The main or lead character in any story is a lynchpin and has very definite qualities. Miss one of these and your story may well grind to a halt! This article takes a look at three crucial aspects of the main character. The main character in any work of fiction is the one around which the entire story revolves. He or she must possess certain values or abilities if your story is to work, yet many aspiring writers miss one or more of these vital points and become frustrated when their story fails to... Read more »

Is There A Book In You? Ten Points That Will Help You Decide

The desire to have a book with your name on the cover seems universal - yet how many would-be writers really know if they have what it takes to succeed? Here are ten points that every beginner should consider. Writing a book - and getting it published - is an ambition that is not hard to understand. Breaking into the ranks of published writers means that others, experts in the business, have decided that your talent is worth investing in. A book is a permanent thing: years from now you can take it... Read more »

Novel Writing - It’s All In The Preparation!

Despite all the competition, most new and aspiring authors want to write a novel. This article take s a quick look at some points to consider before you put pen to paper! In the past I have written a good many articles extolling the virtues of writing that time-honoured writing form - the short story. Yet it seems that virtually everyone who has ever entertained the slightest yearning to be a writer wants to write a book - otherwise known as a novel. Novel writing is for some writers the snow on... Read more »

Why Write A Novel? Here Are Three Good Reasons Not To!

For many aspiring writers, the novel is the chosen path to publication. Yet with so few achieving this goal, why not consider some other pathways to success? This article lists three reasons why not to write a novel and gives some alternatives! 1. Novels take a long time to write. On average, a novelist will spend a year on researching and writing their novel. Don’t forget that this is full-time work too! Any novel is a major undertaking in writing terms and for a new writer it can be a monumental... Read more »

The Backstory, Or: Just Where The Heck Does It All Start?

If you have decided to write a novel, the story that exists within it extends way beyond the book itself. This ‘backstory’ is what helps give your book depth: here are a few points to keep in mind about the ‘past’ of the book you’re writing. A novel may encompass any period of time, from an hour or two to many centuries. Yet this span of time, no matter how great, is finite; it has a beginning and an end that coincide with the start and finish of your book. Yet we all... Read more »

Three Key Points To Consider Before You Write That Book!

According to recent surveys, over 70% of people questioned said they would like to write a book. This article touches on three key points that just might help them - and you - do just that! First key point: willpower. Although 70% of people questioned may well have said they would like to write a book, figures aren’t available for the number who actually did anything about it. It’s an unfortunate truth that wanting to do something and actually doing it are very often a long way apart... Read more »

If Failure Is A Dirty Word - It Pays To Know How To Clean It Up!

The flip side of the success coin is failure. In our culture, failure has almost become a taboo subject - and yet failure simply means lack of success. Learning from failure to gain the success you want isn’t magic - it’s called planning. In writing this is crucial, so let’s have a look at some pointers. Planning is the key to success in many walks of life and in most careers and writing is no exception. If you are planning who to write for, have the correct target market, write... Read more »

Novel Writing: Five Secrets Of Success

Have you ever wondered, as you sit at your keyboard, if there are any secrets to successful novel writing? Well there are - and here are five of them. Remember these secrets and your novel writing will improve overnight! To call the points below ’secrets’ is perhaps to invest them with too great an air of mystery, yet it seems that so many words of advice are looked on as ’secrets’ nowadays that I thought ‘what the heck? Go with the flow - call them secrets. Why not?’ I’ll... Read more »

Taking the Next Step: Becoming a Published Book Writer

The crazy world of publishing can be a scary and confusing place for a new book writer, and it can be nice to get a little bit of guidance on how to navigate around things like writer guidelines, publishing houses,literary agents, and such. While most first time book writers think the hard work was done once they typed the end at the bottom of the last page, it turns out that there is still a whole lot left to do. For those who want to see their words in print, this article will help offer some... Read more »