One sad bit of news I came across recently is the idea that publishers are not always going to offer a print run for books they acquire. While I understand their perspective (a print run is much more expensive than just making a book available digitally, as a writer, it feels like cheating. The book you can hold in your hand and display on your shelf is the symbol of success for most aspiring authors.
Read more about the situation here: For Major Publishers, Will Print No Longer Be the Norm?
There are a lot of mistakes that a writer can make and sometimes even the best and most experienced writers fall into these traps.
For example, as I read the entire Sword of Truth series, I noticed a major distraction that only seemed to grow as the series continued: it felt like the author had started preaching his theme rather than incorporating it. I slogged through the books thinking “I get it, people must take control of their future. No need to beat me over the head with it.” The author, Terry Goodkind, had written over a dozen books, but despite many NY Times Bestsellers, he still made this mistake, which turned off a number of readers and distracted from the otherwise great story.
Here are 5 Story Mistakes Even Good Writers Make.
Anyone who has ever watched a Pixar film knows that they are fantastic. They should be–the studio has a general policy of only doing a movie if they truly believe in the story they have come up with (none of that “it will make money just because it is a sequel” nonsense). Here are some rules of storytelling from Pixar:
Writing science fiction and fantasy are particularly difficult because you need to create an believable, realistic new world. Here are some thoughts on the basics:
This a great article by Janice Hardy about when to use adjectives in your writing. As Janice points out, adjectives can really add to your story or hurt it, depending on how you use it. Check out the post here:
Let’s Talk About Adjectives
When it comes to writing the strength of the heroes and villains in books, there is a lot to think about. This post brings up some good points to keep readers invested:
http://www.aimeelsalter.com/2012/01/mighty-heroes-require-mighty-villains.html
The opening chapter is the most important part of your novel. It is as important to think about what not to do as it is to think about what to you should do. Some things not to do:
Is your book getting rejections? Don’t get discouraged. Some bestsellers have gotten numerous rejections before finding the right home:
Fourteen Best Selling Books Repeatedly Rejected By Publishers
With the seven books behind us, there is much we can take away about writing from JK Rowling and Harry Potter. Here is a list of some of the lessons to take away:
“We’re all made of stories. When they finally put us underground, the stories are what will go on. Not forever, perhaps, but for a time. It’s a kind of immortality, I suppose, bounded by limits, it’s true, but then so’s everything.”
— Charles de Lint
“There’s stories and then there’s stories. The ones with any worth change your life forever, perhaps only in a small way, but once you’ve heard them, they are forever a part of you. You nurture them and pass them on, and the giving only makes you feel better. The others are just words on a page.”
— Charles de Lint
“There is no friend as loyal as a book.”
— Ernest Hemingway
“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened.”
— Ernest Hemingway
“After writing a story I was always empty and both sad and happy, as though I made love.”
— Ernest Hemingway
What Did You Learn? 