In fact, how does a writer train himself? Hemingway trained himself by listening to his memory and rearranging it by tinting it, thus many of his writings seemed to come from first-hand experience. 

You can create fiction from secondary sources by alertly watching what happens around you. You listen when people talk. You discern the smells around you. You understand, never judging, because you are everything―being the Maker―when you write. 

The following five tips for writing fiction are subjective—every writer must have his own rules of writing. However, we all learn from one another and writing tips, therefore, contribute to such growth.

1. On Building Short Story Collections

Writers who have in their repertoire published and/or unpublished short stories would fret about how they fit together in a collection. Should the stories share a common thread, a theme? Can they be unrelated to one another and yet stand on their own merit?

Either approach works. However, the building of a story collection might benefit by strategically placing stories with reciprocal settings and moods in such a logical way they help the stories flow better. 

Then each structure, as a cohesive unit, must impress either as a whole or by the strength of each individual story. Pleasure reading is that which seeks enjoyment. Whatever structure a story collection is built with must please readers in the end.

2. On Writing Routines

So you want to start writing fiction. Do you have a writing routine? I know no one’s routine is like another’s. I wrote every day. Each day, faithfully, by sticking to some basic rules:

• Find discipline in solitude so you can meet your characters. It’s like a rendezvous with ghosts. Then make that meeting every day or every night with no excuses.
• Write each scene as if it were the only thing in your universe—it must command all your attention.
• Write one scene well and let that scene breed the next scene.
• Leave room for readers to participate. Remember: Less is more.
• Stop where you still have something to say so the next day you won’t face a dry well.
• Read each day to keep your mind off your own writing.
• Don’t believe in anybody’s rules except yours.

Somewhere I remember Toni Morrison once said, “I wrote my first novel because I wanted to read it.” 

3. On Revising

You finished a short story or a novel’s chapter.

Now go back and fine-tune it—add, delete—what needs to go in, be taken out. Repair the characters. Do it when your mind is still fresh with the scenes and the characters of that story or chapter. 

However, you must be unbiased (which is hard toward what you’ve just written) and detached (which is harder from what you’ve just built), so you can see your own creative flaws.

Or it will be challenging much later to go back to fix the flaws either on your own courage, or at an editor’s request.

4. On Characterization

Unlike an actor who plays just his role, an author plays all his characters’ roles, like a man who plays chess against himself.

You can imagine characters. Yet until you write them out, you haven’t known them. Let them interact with one another. It’s then that you begin to explore your characters’ depths. 

If you ask me what’s the hardest part in writing a novel, I’ll tell you: characterization. That’s what separates a literary novel from a potboiler. 

Characters shape a story line, not the other way around. You can’t think up a plot and shoehorn your characters into it. If you do, you are writing a potboiler. 

In fact, well-developed characters create a more convincing story line, even shaping it or altering it against your original vision.

5. On Hard Scenes

Writing fiction is just like any normal part of our daily life. It ebbs and flows. The worst thing to a writer isn’t writer’s block but illness that can really affect his writing. Other than that, as Hemingway once said, there will be days when you have to drill rock and then blast it out with charges. When that happens, just take a break, do something else and let your battery be recharged.

There are no hard scenes to write. Really. Those so-called difficult scenes are what writers make them out to be with their paranoia. So before they can write such scenes, their anxiety has already killed their creativity to write them.

What is your best advice on writing fiction?

Khanh Ha is the author of Flesh and The Demon Who Peddled Longing. He is a seven-time Pushcart nominee, finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize, Many Voices Project, Prairie Schooner Book Prize, and The University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. He is the recipient of the Sand Hills Prize for Best Fiction, the Robert Watson Literary Prize in Fiction, The Orison Anthology Award for Fiction, and The C&R Press Fiction Prize. His new novel, Mrs. Rossi’s Dream, was named Best New Book by Booklist and a 2019 Foreword Reviews INDIES Silver Winner and Bronze Winner. You can find him on his website, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Of course, there is a lot of variety in how authors tackle a dual timeline novel, but if you want to explore that option, here are some questions you might want to ask yourself.

1. Is a dual timeline novel for me?

Give this one careful thought. There are definitely some complications inherent in writing this type of work. Don’t think that it will help fill a possible hole in your story line. A dual timeline is not a substitute for plot. Indeed, in a sense there are two plots, which must work in tandem to create a cohesive whole. It is crucial to remember that each timeline must be engaging on its own. You will lose your reader if one period is only a crutch for the other.

This can be a satisfying structure, though, if you find that connecting the story to another time period, and thus to other characters, will enhance the narrative, adding depth to each storyline as it is viewed from the perspective of the other.

2. How will I structure my novel?

There are some works which feature the same people in two different time periods, offering a back and forth of how events in the past shaped the current actions and circumstances in the present. However, it is much more common to feature different characters set apart by decades or even centuries. In this case, the later time period is usually relatively contemporary.

Most dual timeline novels switch back and forth between past and present, although some start with a significant section in the past, and only then begin to reveal the relevance to the present. This might also be done in reverse. However you do it, remember that it must always be immediately clear in which timeline the narrative is happening, or the reader will become disoriented and lose interest. Often time period changes will happen in new chapters, so a chapter title effectively alerts the reader.

3. What is the path into a dual timeline?

There must be something that ties the two timelines together. How does the modern figure know about the past, and how much does she know? Has she found some piece of writing—a diary, a letter, a document? Has she found a picture or an object that will lead to speculation? How will the contemporary character proceed? In dual timeline novels there is almost always a mystery to be solved.

4. How much will the contemporary character, and the reader, know about what happens in the earlier time period?  

Once the initial discovery has taken place, the present-day protagonist does some digging, slowly revealing more of the past. In some novels, the reader will only know about what is thus uncovered, and no more.

In some cases, though, the reader knows more about the historical character than does the present-day one. There are scenes from the former period that only the reader is privy to. In this way the reader can become more invested and root for the contemporary counterpart in the quest to find the truth. It can even be that the reader knows things that the more recent character will never learn, and this can add a certain poignance, a reminder that one can never fully understand the past.

5. How will I keep my reader engaged in a dual timeline?

There must be some conflict, something the protagonist needs, in both the past and the present. The historical character must have some obstacle to deal with, and whether or not they succeed in this will be left to the contemporary person to unearth. The modern figure may be motivated by mere curiosity to begin with, but the urgency to find an answer should build as the novel proceeds. 

The revelation about the past can range from the unveiling of a family secret to the disclosure of a previously unknown or misunderstood fact. Whatever that discovery is, it must have been something that had significance in the past, and some emotional repercussion in the present.

If you decide that you do want to write a dual timeline novel, think about incorporating some of the ways mentioned here to connect the two periods and characters. You don’t want your beta readers or your developmental editor to come back to you and say that you have halves of two different novels!

Rebecca D’Harlingue’s award-winning debut novel, The Lines Between Us, is about a young woman who flees 1661 Madrid, and a woman in 1992 St. Louis who uncovers her diary among her mother’s things. Currently Rebecca is doing research for her next novel, which will take place in 1660s Amsterdam.  Rebecca is a member of the Paper Lantern Writers author collective. You can find out more about her and about the novel on her website. Follow her on Instagram, and check out Facebook for more information on her book.

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Oftentimes, we writers don’t make enough time to read, especially from the genres we write for. What we don’t realize is how much that hurts our writing progress. Here are my top five reasons you should start keeping a reading journal today.

1. You’re learning from the pros

When you read, whether you realize it or not, you are analyzing the words on the page, and your brain makes mental notes of things that resonate with you and things that don’t. I’m sure we’ve all read books that struck a chord with us, and I’m even more sure we’ve all read books we loathed (high school required reading, anyone?). If I love a book enough, I’ll even go back and reread it, sometimes several times. Now, imagine reading or rereading a book you love, figuring out why you love it, and recreating that in your own writing! 

As you read and start making notes about it in your journal, ask yourself: What is it about this book that makes me love it so much? Is it the action, the character development, the world? How does the author build these elements in his or her book? I know this might feel like a homework assignment, but hear me out, this can be fun. This is an excuse for you to look at the pros, those already published, and glean personalized writing lessons for free (or the cost of the book if you aren’t utilizing your local library). Take advantage of these masters’ works and get journaling. 

2. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery

When I was in middle school, I was fascinated with drawing manga characters. I know: I’m such a geek. I would spend hours copying my favorite drawings, trying to mimic every painstakingly complex detail. I got pretty good at it. You can use this concept in writing too. 

In my reading journal, I like to copy down the bare bones structure of powerful scenes and then recreate them in my story. For example, there is a children’s series I love where characters often go through training sequences. In my own novel, I wanted to create a training sequence but didn’t feel confident in how I would accomplish this until I was reading my favorite series and realized that I could build my training sequence action in the same way! 

In your journal, imitate your favorite scenes using your characters. Change the setting, characters, etc., and see if you can spark some inspiration for your own story. Disclaimer: do not, however, plagiarize another author’s story.

3. It’s going to make writing a query letter a lot easier

When you write a query letter for your book, you will need to identify your book to the agent in question. In your query, including similar, recently released titles to your book can work to your advantage. Why? Think of it this way, the agent doesn’t know your book like you do. However, they are probably very familiar with what books are circulating the market in your specific genre, especially those that are doing well. If you aren’t reading and studying what came out recently, how will you ever be able to draw an effective comparison to your own novel and create a successful query letter? Odds are, you will struggle a bit and might end up doing a quick Google search and choosing the wrong books. Here’s where your journal comes in. 

Use your journal to practice writing blurbs about the book you are reading. You will need to give a strong blurb in your query letter, so it never hurts to have lots of practice. Then, make special note of books that are similar to yours. Is it the fantasy elements? Are the character’s challenges similar? 

Not ready to query? That’s fine! You don’t need to wait until you have a finished manuscript to practice your query skills. In fact, I recommend starting now.

4. You learn to write what you love to read

I will preface this point by saying that not everything I enjoy reading is what I write. While I do love writing in different genres, my wheelhouse writing genre is children’s lit. It’s also the genre I read the most from. Why? A creative writing professor of mine once told us how he tried to write fiction for adults, and he never had much success. Several years later, he realized that to him writing for adults sucked. He moved to writing children’s books, and last year, I bought his debut book from Barnes & Noble. 

Write what you love to read. Why? Because, my fellow writers, you already have so much knowledge of the genre. Put that genre knowledge to paper in your journal and keep building on it.

5. Journaling keeps your wheels a spinin’

It’s so easy to burn out when writing a book. Sometimes I’m a writing inferno, cracking out thousands of words, and other times, I am the slowest sloth in South America. However, the worst thing that can happen to us as writers is to stop writing altogether. Enter your reading journal. 

At DIY MFA, all the content is focused around three basic principles: Write with focus, read with purpose, and build your community. Keeping a reading journal helps you accomplish both writing with focus and reading with purpose, so even if you need to step back from your novel for a while, you can still gain valuable writing practice that will ultimately benefit your bigger project.

Not every book you read and journal about has to directly relate to your manuscript, and honestly, there is a lot of flexibility in what you can put in your reading journal. Whatever you decide to put in your journal, just start today.

Olivia Fisher is a writer and editor who loves to read and write middle grade fiction. When she isn’t imagining living in a treehouse or chasing down her two young boys, she enjoys curling up with a book, writing her next epic adventure, or fighting off the ghosts of the Bermuda Triangle while hauling up the untold treasures and hidden histories of the civilizations deep within its secretive waters. While only some of that is true, she does love animals, babies, and trying to live in the state of child-like wonder that we all secretly, or not so secretly, miss. Follow along with her adventures at https://twitter.com/Livy_Fisher, or hire her for your next writing escapade at https://www.fiverr.com/oliviafisher956?public_mode=true

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But getting past the writer’s block hurdle isn’t impossible. Let’s look at five ways you can beat writer’s block and get back to being the most productive version of yourself. 

1) Read More

Sometimes, the best way to start writing is to start reading. I’m talking about reading books in the genres you love–not books on craft.

When you enjoy reading, you rekindle your love for books and writing in general. And you might find that ideas come to you while reading other books. This can help you overcome obstacles in your own writing. 

That said, it’s important not to take too many notes here or focus too much on what the author is doing right or wrong. Just try to completely immerse yourself in a good book and make the enjoyment of the story your main focus. 

Beating writer’s block isn’t so much about pressuring yourself to write more, but about remembering what you love about reading and writing in the first place. 

2) Research 

Research is a great way to get inspired. After you’ve spent time reading and relaxing, you might want to seek inspiration to get yourself writing again. Understanding what other authors have done right is a great way to go about this. Once again, it’s not about pressuring yourself, but researching what works and what doesn’t and how you can improve. 

For instance, if you were writing serial killer thrillers, you’d find a great selection of bestselling books in the genre that you could use as research starting points. You can read them or just check out their covers and book descriptions for more inspiration. Write down common themes and even the similarity between their covers. This information might just spark a new idea or breathe life into an old one. 

You can also take an online class about structure or plotting to give yourself a clearer direction for your book. 

3) Free Write

This is meant to be no pressure writing that helps you unblock the parts of you that are stuck on your current work-in-progress. Just to be clear, you won’t actually be writing anything you plan on publishing. You can free write using prompts or just about your day-to-day life. Anything that gets you putting fingers to keys or pen to pad again. 

Here are a couple free-writing ideas you might use: 

1. Write a letter to your future self. Be positive! 
2. Write a poem about an event. 
3. Have a conversation with yourself. 
4. Scribble down your feelings. 
5. Write a journal page documenting your feelings. 
6. Write a private review of the books you’ve been reading. 

Remember, though, that this is no pressure writing. Nothing has to come of it, so don’t worry about it being perfect or editing it or re-writing anything. Just sit down and scribble! 

4) Interact With Other Authors 

Humans are social and it’s important to relate to others who might have the same issues as you do. If you’re unable to meet with authors in person–especially since most of us are practicing social distancing–social media is a great way to connect with writers who have the same issues with you. 

Head over to Facebook and search for groups of like-minded authors. There are plenty of support groups and author groups that will allow you to share your thoughts and feelings and sympathize with the problems other authors are having as well. 

Also, seeing how other authors handle their issues will help you solve yours too. 

5) Listen to Music 

This is all about getting in the zone to write and getting inspired. When you’re free-writing or when you’re ready to sit down and get to work on your novel again, creating a playlist that encourages you might help you overcome your fears. These songs can also be inspired by a particular character, setting, or scene you’ve envisioned in your outline. 

Also, you can find a few playlists on Spotify created by writers for writers. Here are a few you can check out: 

1. The Writer’s Playlist
2. Pensive Tunes to Break Your Writer’s Block 
3. Write Your Way Out 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, these tips will put you on the road to mental recovery and get you in front of that keyboard again. Remember to take it slow and not to place too much pressure on yourself when writing. Have fun! 

Cheers! 

Dave Chesson is a book marketing obsessive who has consulted for various NYT Bestselling authors. He shares his latest ideas at Kindlepreneur.com, such as his recent guide to book writing software, and also hosts The Book Marketing Show podcast.

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1) It’s all About the Impact 

Stories are told through the eyes of your protagonist or narrator. Nothing should happen in your story without your protagonist coming into contact with an object, event, or problem etc. When that interaction happens, a writer usually describes the ‘what’ of the event, character or object encountered. While that’s interesting, it’s not what makes a reader connect with the protagonist or plot.

What makes a reader connect is the emotion in the story. So how do you convey emotion when the protagonist is walking in a street, or meeting a new character, or discovering a sword?

Instead of describing the physical ‘what’ of what the interaction is, describe the impact it has on your protagonist. Here’s an example:

He smiled and thrust his palm out, shaking everyone’s hand in turn. When he gets to me, I hesitate. I swear a sneer passes over his mouth but it’s so fast I can’t be sure. I reach out and shake. He feels icy, like the blue in his eyes. The rest of the village might be taken with the new mayor, but I’ve seen under his skin, there’s something dark there, something cold and I won’t be fooled by his silky words.

Here, the mayor’s impact on every other character is a positive one. But he unnerves the protagonist and makes her wary. While the blue of his eyes is described, it’s the impact that creates the effect. They’re icy, like his hands. This shows how the protagonist feels about the character she’s meeting. 

2) Focus on Character Quirks

When introducing characters to your story, there’s a few tricks you can use to ensure your characters stand out to your reader. While you do need to describe their physical appearance, what makes a character more memorable are their quirky features.

For example, if I say Sherlock Holmes, I bet one of the first things that comes to you isn’t his hair colour or eye colour, but the fact he’s a pipe smoking genius. Or maybe you pictured his striking Deerstalker hat? Whatever came to mind, I doubt it was the minutiae of hair and eye colour, though that’s what most writers describe first.

For each of your characters, create your normal physical description, but make sure you add one or two quirks. In Sherlock’s example, he has: a pipe, Deerstalker hats, tweed, and a magnifying glass.

Keep these details in a list or table with all your other characters so you can avoid duplication. Then when you introduce your characters, instead of focusing on the normal details, mention those in passing and have your protagonist notice the unusual quirks your new character has. It makes them much more memorable. 

3) Cut the Filter Words

Filtering is when you, the author, add in unnecessary narration, causing the reader to be removed one step from the character, for example:

•   I heard

•   I saw

•   I felt

•   I thought

While there’s nothing wrong with these words, you want the reader to see your story from the eyes of your protagonist. That way they witness the action first hand as if they actually are the protagonist. However, when you filter instead of the reader looking through the eyes of the protagonist, they look at the protagonist observing the scene, for example:

With Filtering:

I heard an owl hooting in the trees and a moment later I saw the canopy leaves rustle as if replying.

The reader doesn’t need to read the word “heard” or “saw” because it’s implied in the description of the sound.

Without Filtering:

An owl hooted in the trees and a moment later the canopy leaves rustled as if replying.

4) Specificity is King

Generalities make your prose bland, and bland is boring. The more specific you are, the clearer the image you create. Choosing the level of detail you use is a stylistic tactic for creating a specific effect.

Giving a lot of specific detail means your reader will spend more time with that concept in your story. Detail—and I mean specific detail—slows the pace of your story. It’s a valid technique, if you want to create a distraction or red herring, but also it’s important to remember it does affect your story pace. In characterization terms, when something is important to your protagonist, they should spend longer describing that ‘thing’.

Let’s put this into practice.

She put her glass on the floor and walked out.

Simple enough. Doesn’t give much of an image in your mind’s eye though. Let’s try again. 

She threw the glass on the floor and marched out.

Better, a little more image because we’ve used stronger verbs. But I think we can improve it again.

She threw the glass on the floor. It shattered; crystal shards skittered over the tiles. She glared at me and marched out, sharp splinters crunching under her heels.

This creates far sharper imagery, but it’s also longer—three sentences instead of one. If you used this level of specific imagery all the time, your novel would be a thousand pages long. There’s a time and a place, which leads me nicely into the final tip. 

5) Showing and Telling

“Show, don’t tell” is one of the original debates in story history. But over time it turned into a cardinal rule, and it really isn’t. It’s a great piece of general guidance to err on the side of showing when trying to evoke imagery, but sometimes you just need to tell. So let’s clear this up.

In technical terms, telling is a second-hand report where the characters report the facts to the reader. The reason this is so often deemed as a negative is because it’s disengaging.

Showing on the other hand, means creating sentences that draw the reader in and make them feel like they’re experiencing the action for themselves. But when should you show and when should you tell?

Telling is most commonly acceptable:

•   In action scenes

•   Where there’s a need for pace

•   When shifting scenes

•   With younger protagonists

•   When it’s in character

•   When you’re doing complex worldbuilding

•   To avoid narrative repetition

When Should You Show?

•   Emotional scenes

•   Important pivotal scenes

•   Areas you want to draw your readers’ attention to

•   To slow down the pace

•   For characterization

•   For worldbuilding

•   To foreshadowing

I hope these tips give you a sound starting point for brushing up your descriptions. Ultimately, it’s about balance, a sprinkling of tell, a lashing of show, describing the impact the world and characters have on your protagonist, and keeping the prose immediate by removing filter words. If you’d like more tips on polishing your descriptions, I’ve recently released The Anatomy of Prose: 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences which is crammed full of tricks and methods like these.

Sacha Black is an author, rebel podcaster, developmental editor and speaker. She has five obsessions: words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son. Visit her website, Listen to The Rebel Author Podcast, Join the Rebel Author Community and connect with her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter

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An incredible amount of work goes into writing a book: the research, the writing, the editing and various publishing tasks. These can take months or even years. So as easy as it may be to exhale and think your work is done when you’ve wrapped up the manuscript, the reality is, you’re just getting started!

While there are many factors involved in growing an audience, one of the most dynamic, proven and timeless ways of becoming known is by making media appearances. And while the mediums and platforms seem to be ever-changing, the importance of media remains the same. In fact, it could be greater than ever, as it’s also the single fastest way to grow your social media presence. But, before you book a trip to New York to grace the sets of Fox News or the Today Show, there are a few things you need to do. 

The first? Start locally.

Your local market is not only where you’re best known; it’s also where you’re most relevant. The chances of you landing local media are exponentially higher than landing a coveted spot on one of the major networks, cable outlets, or national radio programs. Besides, before you appear before a national audience, you’ll want to have honed your skills before a smaller and friendlier crowd—and local media can help you do that. These appearances can sell books and gain you the momentum, confidence, and energy you need to continue. They can also be a key factor in obtaining bigger media opportunities later. National media is much more likely to take you seriously when a local outlet or affiliate has vetted you and seen you perform admirably.

And what do you need to do before pitching yourself to local media?

1) Get your house in order

The first thing producers do to verify the legitimacy of a potential guest is to check their website, blog and other social media sites. Make sure these platforms are current with recent photos (preferably something professionally done), biographical and contact information. They will check these sites and feeds to be sure you are, at the very least, who you say you are. If they see anything there that’s offensive, you’ve struck out. However, if what they see strengthens your case as a qualified, credentialed expert/guest/thought leader, you’ve greatly strengthened your chances.

So, keep it clean. Websites should be easy to navigate with the information you want people to see being the first thing they see. Don’t make them search for it, because they won’t. You have to assume that not only will the media check out your site and feeds, but that you’re going to get that interview and that thousands of people will click over to your site/feeds. You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, so make sure when they come, they find what they came for. You wouldn’t invite hundreds of guests to dinner without cleaning up your house, would you? 

2) Get flexible

Don’t clear your entire calendar, but, you’ve got to build in some flexibility and be ready at a moment’s notice. What will you do to get away from work? Or with the kids? It’s all about timing and you may not get a second opportunity.  Most local radio shows are going to prefer to have you in the studio, if possible, so a 20-minute radio interview could take an entire morning, if it means driving across town. A television opportunity could take all day, if you take the time you probably should getting yourself ready to appear on television — and by that, I mean in terms of both your physical appearance (haircuts, dry cleaning, etc.) and other preparation, i.e., going back over your talking points, writing thank you notes to take along, etc. Finally, interviews are cancelled and rescheduled all of the time. It’s the nature of the beast. The news cycle rules the day. Don’t take it personally. A willingness to accommodate the producer and host is a must. The truth is, you’re at their beck and call. When they can have you, you need to be there.

3) Stock up

Producers often ask for review copies of a book/product before they extend an invitation. So, it’s vital that you have inventory and can get it to them quickly. Be willing to do what it takes to get it there. A PDF version of your book can be sent to a producer via email in a pinch, but most still prefer a hard copy. Also, be sure to have two to three additional copies available to offer for on-air giveaways. Be sure, too, that whoever is selling your book is ready to accommodate orders. You also need to take inventory of a few other things — digital assets, endorsements and statistics, among them. It’s not at all unusual for a producer to ask you to email them files such as book cover images and headshots. If you’re unknown to them, they may ask for any endorsements you have from local influencers or known commodities, if you will. It’s also wise to enter into a conversation armed with statistics, research, etc. that can, if necessary, support your message. Sources are important — particularly to journalists. 

4) Take a bite

Always make sure to have prepared a single sound bite — a ‘money quote’, if you will. Particularly for TV. If it’s not live, a two-minute interview can/will quickly be edited down to a 5-10 second sound bite and you want to make sure it’s the right one. So, instead of depending on a 24-year old editor in the newsroom to decide where to make just the right cut and determine what the audience hears from you, make it easy for them. That said, it’s wise to prepare talking points you’ll want to cover in both short and long conversations. I.e., know what you want to say and become comfortable working it in conversationally. 

5) Make it easy

Lastly, producers and hosts want the important information in as few words as possible. A good press kit makes it easy for them to see your availability, areas of expertise, credentials, relevance in relation to current events, biographical and contact information. Links to previous media appearances are fantastic, if you have them handy and did well the last time you were on the air. Knowing they’re getting an experienced guest goes a long way. All told, keep it to two pages or less, and always send it as a PDF to make it easy to download and view. Remember that the show wants to interview a person, not a book, so your press kit should reflect that. It’s always a good idea, too, to keep color schemes and designs similar to any others you have used across digital platforms, making your content cohesive, memorable, and recognizable. You won’t have time to compile this after you pitch. Do it first.

A longtime literary publicist and agent, Jason Jones is the founder of Jones Literary, LLC and Local PR Toolkit.  He is also the host of The Book Publicist Podcast and the author of ‘Landing Local Media: An Actionable Guide to Help Self-Published Authors Book Local Press’.

The post #5onFri: Five Tips for Getting Your Book on Local Media appeared first on DIY MFA.

Yet, we will inevitably get to the end—or what feels like it could be the end—of our novel-writing process. And when that happens, the question of what to do next comes up.

One logical next step after finishing your manuscript is to reach out for the help of a professional editor. There are various types of editing support available. A developmental editor will take a big-picture look at the structural and narrative features of your work, a line editor will focus on refining your language and flow, and a copy editor will zoom in even closer to make suggestions that ensure consistency, clarity, and correctness. 

For details about the different types of editors, I like these definitions of editorial skills from Editors Canada. 

Essentially, an editor will help you take your manuscript to the next stage of its journey, whether that is self-publishing or querying for traditional publication.

When you’ve narrowed down what type of editing you need and want, the next question to ask yourself is whether or not you are ready to work with an editor. As an editor myself, I often meet clients on both ends of the spectrum: those who aren’t quite ready to work with me, as well as those who I wish had reached out years ago but have been stalling on their writing journey. 

But, if you’ve never worked with a professional editor before, how are you to know if you’re ready?

1) Your manuscript is not a first draft

 As tempting as it may be to fire off your manuscript to someone who can help, be sure to edit your own work for glaring errors and inconsistencies before you hire an editor. Run a spell check and fix discrepancies in characters’ names, major plot holes, and typos at the very least. When your editor sits down to dive into your manuscript, you want them to be focused on the essential work that requires a professional, not correcting endless typos or querying to ask if your main character is Abbie or Abby. 

Naturally there will be errors, but do the grunt work yourself so your editor can do the detailed work you’ve hired them to do, like referencing the appropriate style manuals, perfecting dialogue, and ensuring professional, publication- or submission-ready formatting. 

2) Your manuscript is actually a fifth draft

Or even a fourth, sixth, seventh, or eleventh draft. Sometimes when we find ourselves writing and rewriting the same piece over and over, it means it’s time to get some professional support from someone who hasn’t been living in the pages of the manuscript for months or years.

A developmental edit or a manuscript critique can help you see where things may be falling flat, and will give you detailed recommendations from someone who is both knowledgeable and objective. 

3) You’ve shared your work with an alpha reader, beta reader, and/or a critique partner 

In other words, you’ve shared your work with someone you trust who can give you feedback from the perspective of a reader. This type of feedback can be given by friends or family, or can be found for free in online or local writing groups. Because it’s free, sharing your story with a writing pal before you fork out for a professional edit makes sense. This will help you address issues with elements such as character, plot, and pacing before hiring a professional. Whenever I work with a client who has already shared their manuscript with a beta reader, I know that this author has a solid understanding of their ideal reader, important information to have as you move toward publication.

4) You feel open to constructive criticism and inviting someone you trust along on your writing journey

This is not to say you want your work to be ripped to shreds. No author wants (or should have to go through!) a demoralizing and mean critique process. Working with the right editor will feel like a collaboration with a kindred spirit who really gets your work. Your editor should respect and preserve your unique voice and style, but it’s important that you’re open to suggestions and feedback, or the entire process is kind of a moot point.

 5) You’re ready to take yourself seriously as an author

That’s right: I said author. Not aspiring author, or even just writer. When you finish a manuscript, you need to pat yourself on the back for a (difficult) job well done, and assume your deserved title as an author. With this newfound confidence, the decision to invest in an editor, if doing so is right for you, will be easy. 

When you can picture your book on a shelf, and somewhere deep in your limbic system, beneath the self-doubt and worries, you know that you’re ready to go the long haul with this work in progress, you’re ready. Your dream editor is out there, and she can’t wait to meet you.

If you have a manuscript that feels ready, go ahead and take the leap! Do your research, and find the editor who is right for you. A good editor will cheer you on, hold you accountable, and show you the light at the end of the tunnel on your darkest writing days, all while polishing your writing to make you the best writer you can be.

Sarah Fraser is an editor and writer, as well as an alternate education teacher living in Vancouver, Canada. She helps new authors tell their stories through kind, but honest, editing and writer mentoring services. When Sarah isn’t editing, she can be found exploring the Pacific Northwest, wrangling teenagers in the classroom, or working on her latest WIP with a steaming cup of Orange Pekoe tea and her cat by her side. Connect with Sarah on Instagram or on her website.

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How you manage your time will be a deciding factor on how successful you are as an author. Some authors might waste countless hours checking emails and updating the color scheme of their website, where others will find the time to get their most important tasks done.

In this article, we’ll go over five things every writer can do to increase their productivity. 

1) Create an Outline for Your Books

The first one seems obvious to those who do it, but a lot of writers don’t properly outline their books. I know that outlining a book is difficult, but it’s a great way to stay on track when writing.The better your plan is, the more effective your writing time will be. 

Not needing to sit and think about what you’re going to write or where your story is headed will save you ample time every day. Instead, you can sit down and start writing, immediately. It’s like when you buy furniture from Ikea. Sure, you can try putting it together without the instructions, but it’ll take three times as long without those guidelines. 

I’m not saying you have to have an outline. Even a rough write-up of what you want to happen in each scene or chapter will help you get words down faster in your writing blocks each day. 

2) Get Advice from Other Self-Publishers

As self-publishers, we are in a fortunate position where we can learn from other successful authors for free. It may sound counterintuitive, but spending time away from your work and learning from others can help inspire you to become more productive–especially if the advice they’re offering is about productivity. 

You can pick up a range of different tips on productivity and workflow management including:

• Blogs: Many successful self-publishing authors have their own blogs where they discuss the writing process. 
• Podcasts and YouTube: If you’re time-poor and can’t read blogs, then you can get a lot of great advice from YouTuber channels or podcasts for authors. What I love about these mediums is the accessibility. I can listen to a podcast or the audio from a YouTube video while doing something else.
• Mastermind Groups: Masterminds are great. They’re a set time to chat with other authors in a similar situation to you. You work together to help solve one another’s problems and grow.
• Discussions With Other Authors: If you can’t commit to a set time, then make sure you have friends in the industry who you can bounce ideas off. Many other authors are in the same spot as you and would love someone to connect with. 

Just remember, we are trying to be more productive here… so don’t get stuck down the rabbit hole reading blogs for hours. Actively search for information that will help you be more productive. 

3) Exercise Regularly

A healthy writer is a productive writer. You won’t be surprised to know that being a self-published author isn’t exactly the healthiest job out there. It turns out sitting in front of a computer all day isn’t great for you.

In her book, The Healthy Writer, Joanna Penn discusses health and being an author, mentioning some common health problems that writers face and how to better look after yourself in this line of work. 

So, being a writer, it’s incredibly important to focus on your health. That means you need to get active. Daily exercise can improve your mood, along with helping your focus and memory–all very important if you want to stay productive throughout your work day. 

Don’t worry though, daily exercise doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous at the start. In only thirty minutes of daily exercise, you can do a lot of good. If you’re not at the stage where you can do that, start with five or ten minutes of workout. Every little bit helps.

4) Try the Pomodoro Method to Help Yourself Focus  

Have you ever spent a day writing, but ended without much to show for it? With all the available distractions, it can be difficult to get words down on the page. 

Instead, try blocking off specific periods of time to tackle specific parts of your book. Try to keep blocks of time down to around 25-minutes, as this follows a timekeeping strategy called the Pomodoro Method. 

Basically, the Pomodoro Method comprises a 25-minute productivity sprint followed by a five-minute rest. Now, when I say a productivity sprint, I mean it–your sole focus for that 25-minute block is to write, write, write! 

That means you don’t answer phone calls, check emails, make coffee or head to the bathroom– that’s what your break is for. Every four or so cycles, or when you feel your productivity level dropping, have a longer break of thirty minutes. As a general rule of thumb, take a longer break every hour. 

There are plenty of great tools you can use to keep track of your time, many of which are specifically adjusted for Pomodoro timing. I don’t like to keep my phone next to me as I work because it can be a distraction, so I keep TomatoTimer open in the background. 

By blocking out your writing time into Pomodoro-sized blocks, you’ll be able to work less and get more done. Start slowly though–you don’t want to burn out! 

5) Create a Writing Routine

We all get the same 24-hours every day, it’s up to us on how we spend it. We all have various commitments and things that take time out of our day. Family, friends, hobbies, work and other commitments all take time away from writing, so you need to use your time wisely. 

If you want to achieve as much as possible in your days, plan ahead. It is wise to plan your day the night before. Each night before you go to sleep, write a quick summary of what your day will look like tomorrow. You can do it in a notebook, diary, or even the calendar on your phone–you need to get your day planned so you wake up with a set routine. 

If you don’t already plan your day, it’ll shock you how much more you’ll get done.. And sure, a lot of the time you won’t be able to completely follow your plan, but having a plan and changing it is a lot better than not having one at all. 

Final Thoughts

Productivity is vital for being a successful author, now more than ever. Use these five strategies to get the most out of your day, and stay hopeful and healthy! Have fun with your writing and get those words down. 

Dave Chesson is a book marketing obsessive who has consulted for various NYT Bestselling authors. He shares his latest ideas at Kindlepreneur.com, such as his recent guide to book writing software, and also hosts The Book Marketing Show podcast.

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If you find that you’re nodding your head in agreement, here are five simple tips to help put your mind at ease and infuse your work process with tranquility as you sit down to compose and edit your work each day.

1) Don’t Start Off Stressed

It’s easy to feel that stress and anxiety creeping in as you prepare for your workday. Deadlines, complicated projects, and unfinished manuscripts can call your name, beckoning you to proactively fret and worry about the work that lies ahead.

In order to combat this tendency to start off on the wrong foot, take some time at the beginning of each workday to slow down and think. Try any or all of the following activities to set the tone for your day:

Practice mindfulness: Take some time to consider what you’re thankful for and why it’s a positive thing that you get to write each day.

Find a good morning routine: Whether it’s making a bulletproof coffee, taking a shower, or sitting and listening to some good music (or all of the above), try to find a calming routine to help you shift into gear each day.

Engage in meditation and prayer: If you make an effort to slow down, meditate, and pray you’ll be able to consciously clear out those negative thoughts and focus on a “cup half full” mentality.

Organize your schedule: While you may feel the urgency to dive into a writing project first thing, try to slow yourself down and come up with an organized list of your daily tasks before you start writing. Sort your list by priority and make sure that you’re tackling them in the right order.

If you can start your day off in the right mindset, you’ll be better able to stay focused and stress-free as you go.

2) Consider What Matters

When looking for ways to decrease the stress in your writing, it’s important to ask yourself the question “what matters to you?” This is helpful for finding workplace satisfaction in all fields, from nursing to coal mining, marketing, sales … and writing.

If you approach your work with a “what matters here?” mentality, you’ll be able to better align yourself with the most important aspects of your labor. For instance, if you find yourself writing marketing text to make a living, you may feel tempted to focus on the negative aspects of the “sales-y” writing that you have to compose on a regular basis. 

However, if what truly matters to you is the ability to create written content, regardless of the subject matter, focusing on that objective can help you find peace, tranquility, and contentment as you go about your work each day.

3) Fuel Yourself

While the mental battle is important, it’s also crucial to focus on your physical state. As you work throughout the day, take time to properly hydrate, eat healthy food, and get up and stretch and exercise on a regular basis.

If your struggle with anxiety is more profound, you can also try something like CBD oil or even seek professional help to find a medication that aids you in calming your mind.

4) Use The Pomodoro Technique

Another excellent way to help keep yourself focused and calm is to utilize the Pomodoro Technique. This productivity booster has you focus intensely for 25 to 40-minute intervals after which you take a five-minute break.

These breaks provide good opportunities for basic self-care needs (such as going to the bathroom, drinking water, or eating something) and can also allow your brain to rest and refocus.

5) Set Up Your Environment for Tranquility

Finally, make sure to create a writing environment that is optimized for peace. If you plop yourself down in an uncomfortable chair and begin typing away on a small screen in a cramped space, you’re not likely to feel relaxed or peaceful as you work. Instead, try some of the following:

• Get a good chair with lumbar support.
• Make sure your screen is big enough to see clearly.
• Use eye drops to keep your eyes from drying out.
• Set up a diffuser and some essential oils in your workspace.
• Have a workspace that is separate from your living space.
• Light candles to invite a creative atmosphere.
• Occasionally seek out a coffee shop or library to change your setting and boost your creativity.

If you take the time to set up an ideal work environment, it will help to keep you calm and settle your emotions as you work.

Maintaining Tranquility in a Work Atmosphere

One in 10 Americans struggle with work addiction, and the results lead to anxiety, stress, and a lack of productivity. However, if you take the time to observe the above steps and aim for an anxiety-free workday you’ll be able to better focus, increase your productivity, and feel confident enough to finish your work at a reasonable time every day.

Indiana Lee is a writer and journalist from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for covering workplace issues, social justice, environmental protection, and more. In her off time she enjoys hiking with her two dogs. You can follow her on twitter @indianalee3, or reach her at indianaleewrites@gmail.com

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Thanks to my literary education and my journalistic professional background, I’ve done a great deal of digging into the origins of the words we use to describe fictional structure, characters, and the craft of writing. 

In many cases, understanding the origins of different literary terms can even help you remember their meanings better. I know I wasn’t the only one who had trouble remembering the difference between anastrophe (the inversion of the usual order of words or clauses, Greek for “a turning back”) and anaphora (the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, Greek for “reference, or literally “a carrying back”).

Nearly half of all words in the English language have Latin origins, and about half of those Latin-derived words came to English via Old French during the Norman Conquest, when the Norman French invaded England and mingled with the Anglo-Saxons. However, you’ll notice that literary terms are primarily adopted from Ancient Greek. 

Only about 5% of English words come directly from Greek (though many Latin words that influenced English were borrowed or adapted from Greek). However, Greek has a tendency to show up in English in the form of academic, technical, scientific, and medical terms—words invented or co-opted by Western academics and researchers well after the rise and fall of Ancient Greece and Rome. The same is true of most literary terms, which largely arose in English during the late Renaissance and early Enlightenment periods as literacy (and the study thereof) spread across Europe.

Here are a few of the most interesting etymological sources of literary terms. 

1) Protagonist & Antagonist

As most writers are well aware, your protagonist is the major player, hero(ine), or primary actor in your story—the one around whom the narrative revolves and whose journey readers are following. Think of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice or Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island. The word “protagonist” was originally a theatrical term, from the Greek protagonistes, a word for the main actor in a play. It is made up of the words protos, meaning “first,” and agonistes, meaning “actor” or “competitor.” Swap protos with the prefix ant-, meaning “against” or “opposed to,” and you get your antagonist, or villain—the character acting against your primary actor. Ant- is a variation on anti-, which you find in words like antibiotic and anticlimactic.

Perhaps unexpectedly, “antagonist” is older than “protagonist,” at least in English. While “antagonist” was adopted in the late 1500s as a word meaning “one who contends with another” in any sort of sport or contest—so potentially a real person—a “protagonist” was always a performer or a fictional player in a story. Similarly, in Greek, antagonistes was a word for any sort of rival or competitor, while protagonistes was a word for a stage actor. The Greek base word of both, agon, meant “a struggle” or “a contest,” and also forms the base of the word “agony.”

2) Climax

The climax is the part of a story when the action, emotion, or tension reaches its most intense and dramatic peak. The climax of Flannery O’Connor’s story “Good Country People,” for example, is when the salesman Manley Pointer steals Hulga’s prosthetic leg. Because it is the height of the action or tension story, the word “climax” comes from the Greek word klimax, which literally means “ladder.”

3) Dialogue, Monologue, and Soliloquy

Dialogue can refer to a conversation in a story, a play, or between two people talking in real life. We’re all familiar with the concept of dialogue in novels (though choosing the right dialogue tags can be tricky). It’s formed of the Greek components dia, meaning “across” or “between,” and legein, meaning “to speak.” A monologue, then—with the prefix monos, or “alone”—would imply “to speak alone.” 

Shakespeare’s characters, both comedic and tragic, are famed for their monologues, from Marc Antony’s “Friends, Romans, countrymen…” speech to Hamlet’s “To be or not to be…” While both of these speeches are monologues, the latter of these two is also a soliloquy because Hamlet is not addressing anyone except himself and the audience, while Antony is addressing listeners who exist within the play. Soliloquy means “speaking to oneself,” from the Latin solus, “alone,” and loqui, “to speak.”

4) Hyperbole

Hyperbole refers to an extreme exaggeration. For example, in his poem “As I Walked Out One Evening,” W.H. Auden writes, 

“I’ll love you, dear, I’ll love you till China and Africa meet,

And the river jumps over the mountain

And the salmon sing in the street,

I’ll love you till the ocean

Is folded and hung up to dry

And the seven stars go squawking

Like geese about the sky.”

First adopted into English in the 15th century from Latin, hyperbole is originally formed of the Greek hyper-, meaning “beyond,” and bole, meaning “a throwing” or “a casting.” Bole is the nominative stem of ballein, meaning “to throw,” from a very early proto-root meaning “to throw,” or “to reach,” which also influences words such as “ballistic,” “ballet,” “metabolism,” “parable” and “symbol.” So together, the literal meaning of “hyperbole” is “a throwing beyond.” 

The English pronunciation of hyperbole (high-PER-boh-lee) comes from the Greek pronunciation (ὑπερβολή). The Greek letter eta (ή) does not correspond directly to any English vowels, so it’s usually written as an ‘e’, which results in borrowed Greek words that diverge from typical English pronunciations—think of the pronunciation of name endings like Hercules (HER-kyoo-leez) spelled Ηρακλής).

5) Metaphor and Simile

A metaphor is a direct comparison between two things, without the use of “like” or “as.” For example, in The Storm, Kate Chopin writes, “Her mouth was a fountain of delight.” And in The Call of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft writes, “We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity. 

The word “metaphor” as adopted into English in the late 15th century from the Middle French metaphore, which in turn came from the Latin metaphora. Its original source, however is the Greek metaphora, meaning “a transfer,” or literally “a carrying across,” from meta-, “over, across,” and pherein, “to carry.” The comparison “carries” the definition across, allowing the reader to understand the intended meaning of the words rather than the literal meaning. 

A simile is a comparison that does use “like” or “as.” For example, in East of Eden, John Steinbeck writes, “Kate inched over her own thoughts like a measuring worm.” And from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind: “The very mystery of him excited her curiosity like a door that had neither lock nor key.” The word “simile” arose in the early 15th century, from the Latin similis, meaning “like” or “resembling.” Predictably, it is related to the word “similar.”

A Bonus Etymology fact:

Unlike the majority of literary terms, plot is not derived from Greek or Latin. Instead, it comes from the Old English word plot, which first meant (and still means) a small piece of land. Its origins beyond that are unknown, but its meaning extended from “small piece of land” to a plan for building or growing on a plot of land, which led into the notion of “mapping” or “charting” something—first a physical area of land or water in the 1550s, and then in the 1640s, the storyline of a book.

Jess Zafarris is the author of Once Upon a Word: A Word-Origin Dictionary for Kids. She is also an award-winning innovator of digital content and marketing solutions and a prolific online and print journalist, having served as the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for Gotham Ghostwriters. Before that, she served as Digital Content Director and Content Strategist for Writer’s Digest and Script, and she still occasionally writes for WD. Her nine years of experience in digital and print content direction and marketing include such roles as editor-in-chief of HOW magazine and online content director of HOW and PRINT magazines, as well as writing for the The Hot Sheet, the Denver Business Journal, ABC News, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She has a bachelors in English Literature (with minors in Arabic and Anthropology) from DePaul University and a masters in Journalism & Mass Communications from the University of Colorado Boulder. She spends much of her spare time researching curious word histories and writing about them at UselessEtymology.com. Follow her at @jesszafarris or @uselessety on Twitter, or on Instagram at @uselessetymology.

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