Questions

National Novel Writing Month 2007. Are you ready and willing to try to write a story of at least 50,000 words in 30 days? November 1 to November 30th NaNoWriMo.org
- Barbiq

I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block for a month now. It’s driving me insane! I can’t even start a story anymore. I can’t continue on anything I’ve started. Has anyone gotten like this, and what did they do to get out? Any good cures for writer’s block? Is this normal in writers?
- ????

Have you given up on getting your book out of your heart into the hands of your readers? Don’t give up. There’s an easy way to do anything and a more difficult way. The easy way usually includes getting helpful advice from someone that’s been there and done that. Here are eight steps that will speed you on your way to getting your book out now:

1. Setup a regular writing schedule.

Think about your priorities right now. Can you fit 7-10 hours a week in? If you have to let something go that is not high on your priority list, do it. Now is your time. Later is not better. Set yourself up for a successfully written book this year by committing to a regular schedule. After it’s done, remember to reward yourself.

2. Plan a short book first.

Many aspiring writers overwhelm themselves with goals of a 365 page book first. Shorten your book to 25-90 pages the first time or divide your large book into a smaller book one and two. Though you shorten it, still fill it with useful information by using the question and answer format for each chapter. Using the same format and length for each chapter and answering all your readers’ questions will not only speed your writing process but it will result in a successful book.

3. Let your passion lead you to a topic.

Passion will not only stir your readers when your book is done but it will keep you motivated to do the work involved. Yes, I did say work. Passion will make your work easy. Passion will lead you to develop all the profit centers (seminars, articles, or consulting services) your message deserves.

4. Choose what’s interesting to you.

If you are interested in what you are writing about you will happily write all you know and research to know more about your subject. You will easily spice your writing with interesting tid-bits that will delight your readers and keep them reading until the end of your book.

5. Get to know your reader before you write.

Target your audience and your copy will be focused, interesting and compelling. As a method of writing personable copy, write and post (somewhere in your work area) your reader profile including their sex, their top interest, what they spend money on, what books they want and read. Your subject must benefit your audience to capture their interest. After all who wants to pay for a book that doesn’t help them in any way?

6. Develop a plan for each chapter before you write.

Using a format plan including headlines throughout will organize your chapters. Organized chapters become easy to write and fill in the blanks. Additionally, organized chapters are easy to read and your readers will love it and tell all their friends about it. Don’t forget to weave the questions and answers that benefit your audience into your text.

7. Design your book to market well while you write.

Incorporate the top market spots designed to sell more your book is completed. The hot spots are the title, cover, thesis, audience, benefits & features, mini sales letter written as introduction and back cover copy of each book.

8. Select your non-fiction topic first.

You may be like the author wanting to write novels. But start with the profitable book first, so you can finance your dream efforts. Write a short book first and satisfy the busy people that want useful information fast and easy. Remember answering 5 questions about one chapter topic will create a 5 page chapter.

Get your book out of your heart to paper fast. If you wait you could be this time next year with the same desire to get your book out.

Use the above eight easy steps: commit to a regular writing schedule, plan a short book first, choose a passion-led topic, pick an interesting to-you subject, get to know your reader first, develop a plan for each chapter, design your book’s top market spots, and choose your non-fiction topic first to become a successful author sooner. The world is waiting for your important message to answer their questions and help them become successful.


- Earma Brown

When you’re considering writing a new story, just where do you get your ideas from? I have met many published authors and read interviews with countless more. Most of them confirm that this is the question that they get asked more than any other.

Many aspiring writers no doubt hope that the famous author will provide them with a web address - or book title - that will mean never having to think up an idea again.

Of course, successful authors don’t have a secret place they go to find new ideas. Most writers I’ve heard can’t even tell you where they find inspiration - it just happens they say.

Coming up with the idea is only part of the battle, as giving two writers the same suggestion and they’ll provide quite different books. Give a successful author the same idea and they’ll produce a much better quality book.

So what magic ingredient separates mere mortals from the literary greats? At this point, I’ll concede that I don’t believe there is a writing course out there that can turn a poor writer into a great one. It’s an inherent talent.

Having said that, I believe that with the proper guidance, most OK writers can become published writers - although I still can’t agree on one magic ingredient. I think it’s a potion and all the aspects of writing go into that potion.

I’m going to go off at a tangent now, but I’ll get back on track on coming up with ideas before the end.

I listen to a lot of podiobooks and writing podcasts. It’s a close community. I also frequent many of the forums. In addition, I am an avid reader of ‘How to Write’ books.

One piece of advice always comes through loud and clear - in order to be a decent writer, you must read. Every source I ever reference says this.

So I was looking at an aspiring author’s blog the other day and there was a link to their Amazon® wish list. As I’m always looking for new authors to ‘discover,’ I clicked on it. I had read works by half of the writers and had heard of about a further quarter.

What struck me - and produced a genuine ‘light bulb’ moment - was that I thought to myself, “You sure can tell what types of book this author wants to write.”

It was as simple as that.

When I’ve read blogs or interviews from successful authors, they say something quite distinct. For most of them, only a fraction of the books they read are within their genre. One even said they never read the competition. Many list non-fiction as their chief source of reading, and most follow the recommended ‘good books’ and classics, regardless of the section of literature it comes from.

So now I can finish the detour and bring us back on the original path. Poor writers don’t read much. Decent writers read a lot - but tend to focus on their genre. The good writers are the ones that read widely.

Take a look at your book collection. A few will have a wide selection, but I’m guessing the majority tend to read within a much narrower range. It’s understandable.

Many aspiring writers start out as readers and wanted to add to the body of work they enjoyed reading. And most readers tend to have favourite genres rather than an eclectic taste.

So, if you want to become a better writer, start acting like a published author and read outside your chosen genre - especially non-fiction.

Which brings me back to my original point. If you only read within your genre, your stimulation for new ideas is dampened. You’ll find yourself reworking plots from the books you read and you’ll discard them as being too like this novel or that short story.

If you read more widely, you’ll pick up inspiration from plots (or factual topics) outside your genre - which in turn will allow your creative juices to ponder, ‘what if…’

Now I’m not advocating plagiarism, but instead pointing out that reading non-fiction and new genres will inspire you in a way that your tried and trusted field never can.

And it will improve your writing ability too. As a good example, many aspiring novelists will want to include romance in their book at some point, but how many have read good novels from this specific genre? I’ll not ask for a show of hands.

So try reading some books that you wouldn’t usually read. It will seem strange at first, but you do want to come up with new ideas and be published, don’t you?


- Mark Walton

There are numerous ways to improve your writing skills. Whether your final goal is to write simply for enjoyment, or to become a big-time newspaper columnist, by practicing these tips, you’ll be sure to progress.

You can start your quest to good writing by good reading. Immerse yourself in novels, plays, poems as well as articles. Pick out the differences between what you think is a great piece of writing, and identify what could use editing, or more time spent on perfecting it. Reading is a critical step in this process because not only does it give you an idea on how to write a plethora of pieces, but it also gives you a more extended vocabulary, and can give you ideas for your own writing.

Buy a notebook. Without a notebook, there’s no organized place to keep your ideas. Bring this prized possession everywhere with you, because you never know when you’ll feel inspired. It’s also a very effective way to get used to writing daily. By always having a notebook by your side, it’s not only easily accessible, but it’s always there to grab if you find an amazing story. Just make sure you don’t forget a pen!

Join a writing group, either in your community, or on the internet. By communicating with aspiring writers such as yourself, you can network with one another. Ask for advice if you’re stuck, or for tips that they use to get the ball rolling. Talking with other writers can only help you, so why not give it a try?

No matter what it’s about, or even if it doesn’t make sense, just write. If you have writers block, clear your mind, and let the words flow. Take a break from the writing, and go back to it a few hours, or even a few days later. Your writing will becomes clearer, and you’ll be able to add onto the writing after having thought about it for a while.

Make sure your thoughts are organized, and not all over the place. Keep your ideas relatable, and don’t mix them all together. The reader will get confused if you jump from topic to topic without any explanation in between. Make sure your ideas are well developed, and don’t jump around too much. If you do stray from the main topic, just be sure you can bring it back to the topic at the end. Find some reason they were put together in the first place.

Make time to write. If you’re too busy to dedicate yourself to writing, even for ten minutes a day, then you won’t improve. As they say, practice makes perfect, and without practice, your writing will become monotonous. Settle yourself down in a quiet, comfortable setting and just let the words flow. The more you write, the easier it becomes to think of attention-grabbing openings and witty endings.

Check your spelling and grammatical errors. Even though it sounds tedious, it’s imperative to make a good impression. If you were to show anyone your work, and there were mistakes throughout the entire piece, no one would be able to concentrate on the content of your writing, only the blunders. For this reason, make sure your writing is as perfected as it can be.

These tips are just a few ideas that will get you on your way to becoming a good writer. Believe in your writing, and don’t be afraid to persevere and take it to the next level. Follow these examples, and you’ll be sure to not only advance, but become more confident in your work.


- Daniel Millions