Questions

When writing romance, put aside any cynical thoughts and focus instead on innocent dreams and memories from your youth because capturing that all important innocent essence is vital when trying to portray that spark of attraction between two of your characters. Writing romance can add sparkle to a scene or indeed, depth to a character and as it can encompass different layers for your characters, it provides glimpses of the person you are trying to create. Writing romance scenes can be fun for the writer too and it can help the story or novel to sell, because romantic fiction is hugely popular in these stricken financial times.

We all like escapism. Readers may want a story which has a semblance of gritty realism but they also want stories of hope, laughter and romance. Fiction needs to have aspects of true life so that readers can relate to it and interlacing romantic moments can produce feel - good factors throughout. When writing romance just remember that it does not all have to be hearts and flowers and over the top romantic gestures to make it work, in fact, depending on the type of fiction that you are planning to write, it can have variations of romance which either carry or support the story as it unfolds.

Romance can also add much needed obstacles to the story and these add weight to any storyline and draw the reader in. Obstacles work in a variety of ways because they add depth to the characters and to the storyline but they also take the reader on a voyage of discovery and leaves them wanting to know whether the obstacles were finally overcome. Using obstacles to prevent the romantic liaisons from progressing also works incredibly well and the actions of the characters involved then start to reveal a great deal about their personalities going forward.

Of course, if writing a short story, word count is going to be limited greatly and so the writer must know exactly what the story is about and also how much romantic content it will contain. Finding the relevant starting point is also important and writing a compelling opening paragraph essential. All readers secretly want a happy ending in some shape or form, it doesn’t have to be that the romance works as long as there is some hope that it has worked out for the best or perhaps within those final paragraphs, there are hints of a better alternative as the story closes. Sometimes leaving out some information and avoiding finalising the story down to the very last detail can have the reader’s imagination soaring as they being to perceive those characters as three dimensional entities and start to think about the plot, how it progresses and ultimately ends.

Romantic interludes work well. The writer does not need to write intense or heavily erotic scenes if they feel uncomfortable with that, instead they can suggest a positive intensity between their characters by well-crafted dialogue and descriptive scenes. When writing romance, it is essential to provide dark and light elements to vital scenes and allow the reader to convey the subtle influences within the text.


- Annette Young

It’s past mid month…who started and gave up? Anyone still in it? What’s your word count? Anyone want to share their novel link? Mine is “Dragon’s Lineage” located at my Myspace blog http://blog.myspace.com/cathie111

I post almost everyday! Word count currently: 22,594
- cathy_cmr

Writing short stories is a genre in its own right and varies a lot from the other styles of writing. Many ***?ople have taken to writing short stories online to express themselves and explore their creativity. Like each specific style of writing, short stories have certain features that need to be kept in mind. Let’s look at these requirements in this article.

While a word count is essential when you write your story online, don’t focus too much on it. It may stunt the story and your natural style of writing. Consider the word count only when you’ve finished the first draft and you are starting to edit it.

When you write short stories online, have only a few characters. Include only those characters that are most relevant to the story. That way, you will be able to do more justice to their characterization. Also, avoid giving too much background information on these characters. Only provide information that is crucial to the development of the story.

When you write your own stories online, you do not have the luxury of using too many descriptive words. What may start ***? a short story may well end up ***? a novella if you are not careful about the amount of description and embellishment that goes into the story.

When you write your story online, you have very little room to deviate from the main plot of the story. Your short story should be crisp and ***?st paced. The events that follow through the course of the story should only include ones that are essential to the progress of the story.

Get straight to the point. Don’t spend too much ***?me to build up the story. That would be a waste of ***?me and words. Since there is a word limit, you need to get rid of the fluff. If you put too many words into the introduction and you have only a few left for the ****?max, it could ruin the effect of the story.


- Mikal Jhonson

I usually write juggernaut novels, so I honestly don’t know…

How long is the average short story? Word count? Page count?
- cadetskydome

I started doing National Novel Writing Month, and I’m desperately behind on my word count I have just over 1500 words in 4 DAYS. How ****?rible is that?? Does anyone have any ****?d ways to hit 50k in a month??
- Jesus Freak 25

If you must have to advertise and write articles on the net you have to do it right. The art of persuasion is by and large carrying out a win-win situation. It is presenting an instance that visitors find favorable to agree with. It is making them an offer they can hardly refuse. Article marketing which can spawn higher tick through rates and lower cost per tick.

1) As in anything there are techniques that can make your job easier and your case more convincing. Although there are exactly no hard and fast rules there are strategies that are used commonly because they simply work.

2) Before anything else, know your audience. It is significant that you have targeted the right audience. Know their knowledge level because people who are able to understand what you are driving at can easily adapt your ideas.

3) Choose a topic that you feel comfortable with. It can be a topic or article which feels good when it can help others that may have struggled with the same problem.

4) Be repetitive. It is essential in creative writing. Repetition gives emphasis. This way a reader can easily understand what you are trying to say. Be repetitive in a good way. It could either be through an example, using a story, or quoting a famous person.

5) The figures of speech like metaphors, similes and analogies can be a writer’s best friends. Comparisons can make it easier for the readers to recognize the picture you are painting. It is like being in common grounds. There is nothing strange or something the readers are not familiar with.

6) Use power words that agitate and stir opinions. Your words have to be emotion-ridden. But at the same time they give solution as an answer that things will be better. These are words that eventually provoke response. But you have to make sure that the specific phrase has something to do with your business. Make every word count.

7) Consistency in ideas shows integrity and rational actions. Being consistent would make it difficult for the reader not to agree with you. It has been established in sociology books that consistency in our thoughts and actions is a valid social trait.

Connect to the future. Provide your readers with a glimpse of what is to come. Try to extrapolate recent events into probable future results. Here is where your credibility stands. If you are able to back up with remarkable credentials and obvious understanding of the subject matter, this will become a powerful technique of persuasion.

9) Never bother with commercials in your article. Your readers are humans who have al the right to benefit from your article. With the use of the resource box don’t fill it with commercials. This will establish your credibility as an expert author on your chosen topic.

10) As much as possible make your article short. Let your ideas flow naturally in clear and short article. Write an attention-grabbing title and give it away for free. Make an alliance with others and encourage them to give your e-book as bonus for their paid products.


- irinaM

There’s this short story competition that I enter every year but this year I have really bad writers block. I cannot think up any ideas/plots for a short story. I have ideas for novels, but nothing that could fit into a short. Also, I am currently writing two novels and was going well but have become stuck on what to write next. I feel I am just padding out the story with rubbish to meet the word count and cannot think of anything interesting/entertaining or don’t know how to put the few goods ideas into words to make them sound good.
I should’ve mentioned I have had writers block for about 2 weeks. I have never had it for this long before and usually leave writing for a day or two and I’m fine.
- Diane

your query letter is your first step to getting your novel published. A good query letter catches the agent’s attention and is the first step in how to get a novel published. What should be included in your query letter?

The first paragraph should be a brief synopsis of your novel. No more than 100 words, perhaps 150 words. This synopsis is written in the present tense. You want to hook the agent’s curiosity to read more. It’s a challenge to condense a 100,000 novel down to 150 words, but important you do. Think of the synopsis as a back cover blurb. It gives just enough information to create excitement about the novel. If you need some examples go to the bookstore and look at the back cover blurbs of books in the same genre as yours.

The second paragraph describes the market for your novel and includes the genre. Are you aiming for romance readers, cozy mystery readers or is your book a young adult novel? You can compare your book to other similar books, saying something like “readers of Sandra Brown will enjoy TITLE OF YOUR BOOK. Mention the word count and that the novel is completed.

The third paragraph includes your background as a writer and a brief bio. If you have writing credits make sure you mention them. Many agents don’t consider a vanity/subsidy book or self-published book as a writing credit. If you include the title they will look it up on amazon.com to see who the publisher is.

The third paragraph is where you can describe any special experience you have that could become a publicity hook or gives you an insight other writers might not have. For example if you are a pastry chef and your heroine is also a pastry chef that would be relevant.

End the letter by thanking the agent for their time and consideration and asking if they would like to see the first few chapters or a completed manuscript. The purpose of the query letter is to motivate the agent to ask for the manuscript.

The query letter should be no more than one page single spaced. You could also include a 2 or 3 page synopsis of your novel, but don’t include the first chapter or the entire manuscript.

A great query letter is the first step in “how to get a novel published.”


- Dee Power

I can’t figure it out. I don’t have any page called “My Novel”, as far as I can see, and that’s what I read that I should do on google. Help!
- abigillygal

If so, what’s your word count?
I’ve barely breached 1,000.. and it’s the second week!

What’s your novel about? Share if you’d like!
- Delvala