The worst part of being a fiction author

Every fiction writer is different. Each of us has our own complaints.

Of course we shouldn't be complaining. We sit on our butts and make up stuff for a living, which is far easier and more fun than most of the working world gets to experience on a daily basis.

But still, we complain. It must be something to do with us being human.

Some fiction authors complain about their editors. Others complain about readers. Some will complain about the writing process itself, or the editing process, or having to do self promotions. It's becoming more common for fiction writers to complain about one another, especially in the seemingly never-ending indie publishing vs. traditional publishing debate.

I think writers just like to complain.

And as a fiction writer, I have my own complaints, of course.

When is it toughest for me as a fiction writer?

When a project comes to an end.

I hate that time period, especially if it's a long project that has kept me occupied for a few months.

It's not so much that I'm in love with my last project (though I usually am to some extent), or that I'm completely tied to it. My feelings are more like a lost traveler looking ahead at a blank desert that seemingly has no end. There's this empty canvas before me, and I'm not sure what direction to take. It's not that I have absolutely no direction. No, not at all. It's more like there are too many directions I could go.

For instance, just a couple of days ago I finished the first draft a 16,000-word young adult dark fantasy novelette. That's a bit long for most magazine and anthology publishers, and much too short for book publishers, but I'll spend the next year or three sending this story out to the handful of publishers I know who take stories of that length. My guess would be in the end I'll have to self publish this story, simply because there is not much of a professional market (or any kind of market, for that matter) for novelettes.

But I finished this story. It had taken up my time for a couple of weeks. Now I'm floundering.

I'm keeping busy, of course. I've set aside that novelette for the time being, but I'll get to it again in a month or so after I've given it a little breathing space; then I'll come back to it with fresh eyes and give it a couple of edits. I've spent the last couple of days doing a little editing work on one of my novels for my print publisher, and I've got an article finished for a heroic fantasy website that should be available in about a week.

Still ... that vast desert stretches before me. What project do I start next? Where do I go from here?
That is the part I hate most about being a fiction writer. The unknown of knowing what project to proceed to.

In hopes of reaching a decision, I sat down last night and updated a computer file of potential projects. I have ideas for a dozen or so short stories in that file, and for about 50 or so novels or novellas.

My ongoing epic fantasy series will eventually be about 40 novels, if I live long enough to finish it. But I'm not sure I'm in the mood to get back into that universe at the moment.

Then there are a handful of horror ideas I've been contemplating, but I'm not really in the mood for that either.

I might be in the mood to pen a more literary tale, a mood that hits me from time to time, but in my experience these novels just don't sell. Not that sales have to be the only reason to write, but they do help to give one a nice push.

I've also recently found a fondness for novellas, works in the 15,000 to 40,000 word range. That's my own definition of a novella. Other writers and editors and publishers have their own definitions, but most are somewhere in the ballpark of my own numbers. I like writing novellas. They don't take as much time to write as a novella, and they are longer so the writer still has room to explore a little.

So what do I do? Write a novel? Or a novella? Or a short story?

Do I get back to work on my epic fantasy series? Or do I start on a stand-alone tale? Horror? Literary? Even science fiction?

I'm not seeking a real answer, of course. Eventually I'll make a decision. Sometimes that decision comes easy; I'll wake some morning and be in the mood for a particular project, and I'll start it. Other times the decision comes with much difficulty, with me having several small starts on various projects before finally settling on one.

Yes, this is the part I hate most about writing fiction. The unknown. That blank slate. The empty page. Worlds unexplored.

Gosh, it sucks to do this for a living. ;-)


Related links
What do you need to publish your e-book for Kindle?
100 Days of Fantasy: Day 1, The Hobbit
Horror and fantasy author's blog

Yes, you can make a living as a fiction author

The other day I was reading a blog about fiction writing and authors. The blogger was bemoaning the fact that it's tough for fiction writers to find a paying market today. There are fewer and fewer paying magazines and online e-zines that pay anything. The economy and current changes in technology are forcing book publishers, and even literary agents, to pass on many books and authors.

I say all that is hogwash.

It's the best time ever to be a fiction writer.

What makes me say this? Several factors.

For one, that changing technology I mentioned above is mainly the recent arrival of easy digital publishing. Anyone, even a writer who has never been professionally published, can now upload their files onto Amazon at its DTP service and at Barnes and Noble's Pubit service, which makes those books available for sale to the general e-book reading public.

Also, there are several content publishing websites such as Triond where one can self publish their fiction.

Yes, yes, we all know the stories about how awful self-published stories and books are. But that's changing. Sure, there is still plenty of drek out there, but more and more self-published authors are hiring professional editors to edit their work, and some are hiring professional artists and designers to do the covers for their books and e-books. The self-publishing world is changing, too, and many self-published books are better than they would have been just a few years ago, despite the stigma that sometimes goes along with self-published books.

Best yet, these self-published authors can actually make money through their digital e-books. Can one make a living at it? Yes. But there are four things a self-published author must have to succeed:

Quality

As mentioned above, a self-published author must have quality material. They must learn their craft and know it well. For some this is easy. For others, it might takes years of study and writing and reading before they are ready to publish. Most professionals attend college for several years and/or have an apprenticeship period that can last as long as a couple of years, so why shouldn't writers also give themselves at least that much time to become good at their craft? Also, it helps to know how to editor your own work and how to design book covers, though you can hire out that work or ask accomplished acquaintances to help in this regard. Remember, you want your material to be professional, because that will bring more readers and bring back readers.

Marketing

Some writers are bored with marketing. Others absolutely hate it. But if you want to make a living as a writer, it's something you're going to have to do. What's the secret? There really isn't one. Different tactics work for different writers. Some writers find success with blogging, others use social networking, some by advertisements or post on others' blogs. There are tons of different ways to market yourself and your writing, many of them for little or no cost. Just keep in mind that marketing is important because you need to get your name and your books' names out there to potential readers, but always keep in mind you don't want to antagonize possible customers by spamming and being annoying online.

Patience

For many writers, this is the hardest part. The waiting. In the old, pre-digital, days, writers had to have oodles of patience. Sometimes they'd have to wait months or years just to hear back from a publisher or literary agent. Today, if you decide to go the traditional print publishing route, you still have to face all that waiting. But there is another option, and that's digitally self publishing your work. Still, you have to have patience. Once you've written your book, edited it and uploaded to online sites, and done tons of marketing, you still have to wait. Readers aren't going to just come rolling in by the hundreds. It takes time. You're going to have to keep marketing, blogging, writing more, doing whatever it takes each and every day to make sure potential readers know about your work. And guess what, eventually people will start to notice. It might take a few months, maybe even a year or so, but if you have quality material, readers will eventually take note and your sales will start coming through.

Quantity

Yes, you want quality. That's most important, and it should come first. But you also want quantity. What does this mean? Basically, the more books or short stories you have online making money for you, the better chance you have of being able to make a living as a fiction author. How many e-books will it take for you to making a living writing? Who knows? It all depends upon how large an audience will come flocking to read your books. For some lucky authors, one or two books will bring in enough readers and money, but for most authors it's going to take several books. So, again, remember to be patient and to keep working at it.


Related links
New for epic fantasy fans, The Kobalos Trilogy
There's nothing wrong with writing for money
Logical Misanthropy, horror and fantasy author's blog

10 Writing Lessons From Spaghetti Westerns

"In this world there's two types of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig." - Blondie (Clint Eastwood) in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
What could this quote possibly have to do with writing? A lot. A whole lot. If you are a writer, you have to be willing to be the type of person who digs. You have to be the type of person who gets things done. Procrastination is your enemy. If you are trying to be a writer, yet you can't find yourself completing a task, perhaps you should look for another line of work. Writing is about accomplishing. If you can never complete a project, an article or short story or novel or whatever, you're not a professional writer. You're a hobbyist, at best. And the people with loaded guns? Those are your editors and publishers, and often the readers, too, who want and need you to get down in the dirt and dig, dig, dig.

"Two hundred thousand dollars is a lot of money. We're gonna have to earn it." - Blondie (Clint Eastwood) in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
For most people, two hundred thousand dollars actually is quite a bit of money. But regardless of the actual dollar amount, if you are trying to be a professional writer, sooner or later you're going to have to write for money. Some people balk at that. Some seem to think any artist who is doing their craft for money is a sell-out. That's not true. Any artist doing their craft for money is a professional. And that money has to be earned.

"People with ropes around their necks don't always hang." - Angel Eyes (Lee Van Cleef), in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Fiction writers need to keep readers on a hook, to keep them hanging, at least until the end of a tale. This is done through building suspense, regardless of the genre of tale, through doling out certain amounts of information, usually about plot or character, but not too much information.

"The question isn't indiscreet, but the answer could be." - Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), in For a Few Dollars More
This is related to the hanging quote above. The writer doesn't want to alienate readers by cheating them, by leaving out obvious, important facts early in a tale, but can keep the reader's interest high by revealing just a little, then a little more, and a little more, and so on until the story is complete and the reader knows all the information. Just remember, don't cheat the reader.

"Every gun makes its own tune." - Blondie (Clint Eastwood) in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Every writer is different. If you read Tolstoy's War and Peace backwards and forwards for years, possibly even had it memorized, then sat down to write your own version of the tale, your version would be unique. There's a saying that there are only so many plots. That might be true, but no one has seen a plot through your eyes and through your writing style until you've got it out there for others to see. Early on in your writing, don't worry so much about being original. When you're a beginner, you need to focus on getting things done. Later on, after you've some experience, then is the time to truly focus on your own voice. Just remember, each writer is different.

"When a man with a .45 meets a man with a rifle, the man with the pistol will be a dead man." - Ramon Rojo (Gian Maria Volonte), in A Fistful of Dollars
Actually, despite how the story played out in the movie, this quote is generally true. You don't bring a handgun to a rifle match, because the guy with the handgun will be outgunned. The guy with the rifle will have better range, quite often will have more ammunition immediately available, and usually will have a more powerful weapon. Of course, there are always exceptions, but not often. What does any of this have to do with fiction writing? Know your stuff. If you're writing about weapons, whether modern or historic or firearms or blades, make sure you know what you're talking about. You don't have to be an expert marksman or sword fighter, but you should at least know enough about weapons so your readers (many of whom will know about weapons) won't laugh at you. Because those readers might not be back for your next story or book, and they won't be shy about telling their other reader friends about how much of a doofus you are. And even if you don't write about weapons, you're going to be writing about something. So, to repeat, know your stuff,


"After a meal, there's nothing like a good cigar." - Blondie (Clint Eastwood) in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Actually, I find this one quite true. I love a good cheroot after a meal. But I digress. This quote relates to writing in this manner: After the climax of your story has come to fruition, that doesn't mean the entire tale has come to an end. Hopefully your climax lead to the main resolution of the story, but there still might be some lesser things needing said, or at least worth being said. Maybe it's a short examination of the resolution's effect about a character. Whatever it may be, this denouement helps to tie up any lose ends for the story and the characters. A denouement is not always necessary, but quite often it is. One key to a solid denouement is to keep it short; readers have already got the gist of the tale, and they're ready to wrap things up. And don't cheat the readers by leaving something out.

"When two hunters go after the same prey, they usually end up shooting each other in the back." - Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), in For a Few Dollars More
This one basically means, "don't worry about what other writers are doing." Or, don't worry so much about following trends. Sure, vampire novels are really hot right now, but they might not be in a year or two. Another example would be young adult novels; those are popular right now, but will they be in six months? Maybe, maybe not. But you as a writer shouldn't worry about that, about trying to follow what's hot. Why? Because if you do so, you're likely to miss whatever window of popularity is still available for such literature. Unless you are an extremely fast writer and can have a novel done in a couple of weeks (which isn't impossible), then it's going to take you a while to write that novel. By the time the editing is finished and you've gone through a publisher or self-published, trends will likely have changed. That young adult vampire novel you wrote will possibly be considered trite or hackneyed by the time you can get it out to readers. That doesn't mean you shouldn't write such a novel, if that's what you feel inclined to do, but that you should write what you feel impelled to write, whatever it may be.

"Sometimes the dead can be more useful than the living." - Joe (Clint Eastwood), in A Fistful of Dollars
Learn from the classical masters of literature. Sure, their writing styles are outdated and will seem boring to many modern readers, but they can still teach a lot about plotting and characterization. Literary masterpieces are often also quite strong at helping to teach writers how to emotional involve readers, which is always important. You want those readers to like your writing, right? Then make them become emotionally involved with your characters, and those readers will love you and will be back for your next book or story.

"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk." - Tuco (Eli Wallach), in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Talking about writing isn't writing. Reading isn't writing. Only writing is writing. If you want to be a professional writer, you have to write. Don't forget that. Getting the writing done is half the job. The rest is editing and promotions and all kinds of other stuff. But remember, you have to have the writing part done before you can move ahead with the rest.

Money should flow to the writer, but always?

Among fiction writers there is an old saying that "money should always flow to the writer." Basically, this means fiction writers should be paid by publishers, and should not pay their own money to be published.

It's become a cliche.

However, most times it is true.

That old saying is basically an attack against vanity publishing, in which a publisher charges the writer to be published. By many fiction writers, this is considered a scam, and they're not necessarily wrong. If a writer is paying to be published, the publisher is making their money from writers, not from the readers, and that's not really publishing, at least not traditional publishing.

Until recently, most self-publishing ventures were some form or other of vanity publishing, and have long been looked down upon by more traditional writers and publishers.

But technology has changed much in the book publishing world in the last few years. Digital books are exploding, becoming more and more popular by the day. With digital publishing of e-books, writers can now publish their own works online at sites such as Smashwords or for e-reader devices such as the Kindle by Amazon without having to lay down any cash because these companies make their money through percentages of sales of the writers' e-books.


The writer doesn't have to shell out any money, the companies distributing the e-books make money, and everyone's happy. Right?

No, not really. Technically, this new wave of digital publishing is still self publishing, though it's no longer vanity publishing because the writer doesn't have to pay to be published. Unfortunately, self publishing raises the hackles of a lot of people, many of them working within the traditional print publishing field.

But not everyone. Some writers and even editors and publishers are joining in this wave of digital publishing.

The arguments on blogs, boards and forums become quite heated at times, but the truth of the matter is that the technology is here to stay. Currently there is nothing to stop a writer from digitally self-publishing their own work, despite a number of people frowning upon it.

It's also generally looked down upon for writers to spend any of their own money to promote their own work. The publisher is traditionally supposed to take care of that.

But does that thinking hold with today's technology?

Not entirely.

Yes, money should flow to the writer, and yes, writers should not pay to be published.

But guess what? Once a writer begins publishing their own works, they are no longer just a writer. They are also a publisher.

Which means, maybe there's nothing wrong with a writer spending his or her own money for promotions, marketing, etc.

Please don't get me wrong. I don't believe writers should go out and spend tons of money to get published or to purchase advertising or anything like that. But I also feel writers shouldn't limit themselves because of some stigma of spending their own money to promote their business.

Because a self-published writer is indeed endeavoring upon a business. In the U.S., if you make more than $600 a year from your writing, that's a business. If you make less than $600, that's a hobby.

One secret successful writers have learned is that the writing is the easy part (and often the most fun part). It's the promotions that's the real hard work. Promoting one's own writing, especially in an appropriate manner that is not spamming potential readers, takes a lot of time and effort. In fact, it can take more time to promote a book than it can to write the book!

Again, I'm not advocating writers spending a bunch of money. But I am suggesting writers consider doing some research into promotions, then possibly spending wisely. Remember another old saying, "if it's too good to be true, it probably is." So beware of all the scams trying to take your money, because plenty of them are out there.

Related links
New for epic fantasy fans, The Kobalos Trilogy
Writing for a Living, a blog for online writers
Logical Misanthropy, horror and fantasy author's blog

What Does It Take to Write a Novel?

Time
This is a big one for many would-be novelists. Time. There never seems to be enough of it, does there? It takes time to write a novel, sometimes a lot of time. And you don't have any. Well, you're going to have to find it if you ever want to finish writing a novel. Keep in mind that novel writing is not a sprint, but more of an endurance race. With the exception of some experienced and self-trained professional writers, the simple act of typing out a novel can take months or even years, and that's not including time spent plotting, coming up with characters, etc.

But you can find the time. Even if it's only five minutes a day, you can write a novel. It might take you a year, but so what? At the end of the year you will have your novel.

Try to set yourself a reasonable goal. If you're starting out, I'd suggest begin by trying to write for only 15 minutes a day. Or perhaps set yourself a length goal by trying to write just 500 words a day. If you can keep this up day in an day out, eventually you will have finished your novel. If you can manage to write 1,000 words a day, in a few months you will have a decent length for a novel, and in a year you would have a really long novel.

It can be done. Work at finding the time. Everyone can find a free ten minutes in their day.

Focus
Along with time, you also need focus and patience to write a novel. That book isn't going to be written over night. For some writers, focus is easy to maintain because they have a natural love for their topic that is strong enough to see them through. Other writers, while still loving their topic, are sometimes distracted by other ideas for stories, real life and a thousand other things.

The key here is to work at remaining focused. That's one reason I suggest beginning novelists should try to write every single day. It helps to keep that focus. The repetition builds familiarity, and soon you will sit down to right every day without even thinking, "Hey, do I have time to write today?" You'll naturally make the time.

Perseverance
You also need perseverance to finish a novel. I consider this separate from focus because you can remain focused for short periods of time, but perseverance is the key to longer projects, such as writing a novel.

How do you achieve this? A big part of it can be that repetition I mentioned above. Write every day, no matter what. Also, keep the excitement alive. How do you do this? Force out thoughts of other writing ideas. Join a writing critique group. Talk with some close friends about your big project. Just don't let talking become all you do. Make sure to write.

The basics
Here I'm talking about things like spelling and grammar and punctuation. If you don't know these, learn. That might sound a little harsh, but it's also the truth. You don't have to be the next Shakespeare, but you should at least have the basics down pretty good.

One reason to write is to be read. No one is going to finish reading your stuff if they can't ... well, if they can't read it. All those language rules you learned in school might seem silly, but they are important for writers because they allow the writer to share a common vision with potential readers.

And once you become an expert? Then you can break the rules, mainly because you'll know when and how. But wait until you're an expert.

Forgiveness
Sounds like something out of religion, right? It is. But I'm not talking about forgiving others (though that can be important, too). I'm talking about forgiving yourself. For what? For making those spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes.

If that sounds hypocritical of me after I mentioned those things above, it's not meant to. You need to know those basics. But you also shouldn't be a perfectionist when it comes to writing.

Yes, you want your writing to be perfect. That's what editing and proofreading are for, things you need to be doing once you've finished the writing part of your novel (you didn't think that was all there was to it, did you?). Don't worry so much about your mistakes while you're doing the actual writing part. Just remember to catch those mistakes later.

After you've written a fair amount, perhaps once you've finished your first novel, you'll naturally pick up a system for editing that works best for you. But in the early days, I'm suggesting you take it easy on yourself. But also keep in mind you have that editing work to do. Don't think for second you can shrug that work off onto someone else.

Writing, not publishing
In this article, I was strictly taking about writing a novel. Getting a novel published, whether professionally or if you become a self-publisher, takes a lot more work. Maybe I'll write about that another time.

Good luck with your novel!

Speculative Fiction Writers Must Set Ground Rules for Their Stories

The old saying is "truth is stranger than fiction," and there is truth to that. Even though fiction, especially speculative fiction, isn't about real things, it must seem so for the reader. Otherwise, the reader will lose interest and will go on to read something else. Writers don't want that. They need to keep their readers.

But how does a writer make things like wizards and ghosts and spaceships seem real? By setting some ground rules for the story the author is writing, and knowing and sticking to those rules.

For example, let's say you are writing a horror story. Our hero locked in a house is being chased by a big, bad monster with gigantic teeth and fur running down it's back. Your monster seems unbeatable. The hero has stabbed the monster, shot it, shoved it down some stairs, beat it over the head with a shovel, all kinds of things. But the monster keeps coming. Eventually, tedium will set in for the reader if this goes on too long. There hasto be a way to defeat this monster. And the hero of our story has to figure out how to do so, but only after many trials and tribulations for building tension and reader sympathy for the character. Finally, the hero figures out the monster chasing him is a werewolf. Oh, where is that gun the hero used earlier? Down in the basement. The hero runs down, grabs the gun and loads it with the only silver bullet he has, a family heirloom left by his great-great-great grandfather who was a Civil War general and had the bullet molded as a memento to mark the end of the war. The hero slams the bullet into the gun, then pops up our monster and BANG! Monster is dead. Totally impossible, you think. Couldn't happen in rule life. But the reader's mind wants to believe this could happen; in fact, the reader's mind needs to find this acceptable to be fully entertained. And how is the reader's mind convinced this story could be real? Because of the rules set down by the author. What rules? Well, rule one is that werewolves can only be killed by silver bullets. In fact, that's probably the most important rule in our little story. But there are plenty of other rules here, too. Where did the silver bullet come from and why does our hero have it? The plausibility of this has to sound rational.

Speculative writers shouldn't have antagonists who are too powerful and seemingly invincible. This is even more important for protagonists. Where's the fun reading about a monster the reader knows can't be defeated no matter what? Where's the fun in reading about a protagonist who passes his or her trials far too easily? It's unrealistic and it's boring. On the flip side, you don't want a hero who fails all the time and a villain who is incompetent all the time.

Striking a balance is what can help your fiction. You can have a bad guy who seems invincible, but somehow the protagonist has to figure out a way to save the day. You want that balance between the good guy and the bad guy of your story. Even if you're writing a tragedy, a tale of woe where the hero fails, there at least has to be the impression that the good guy could have won. Otherwise, the reader won't be interested, and you as a writer won't have an audience for very long.

Knowing the rules of the universes you create can help strike that balance, and draw and keep readers.

10 Web Sites for Horror Writers

Horror Writers Association
The Horror Writers Association is mainly for members, but the group's Web site has plenty of information for those who don't qualify for membership. Of course the site has plenty of information about the association and how to become a member, but there are also market listings for writers, tips for writers and more. Another nice thing is the HWA site is home of the Bram Stoker Awards, annual awards for outstanding horror writing.

Horror Find
Horror Find is a search engines just for things horror and Halloween related. If you need it, you can probably find it here, at least as long as it's something gruesome. There are even classifieds at Horror Find, in case you're looking for something that's difficult to get your hands on.

Horror World
Horror World's site offers plenty for fans and writers, but it's probably best known for its active forum community. Plenty of professional authors, beginning writers and fans come to Horror World just to chat and catch up on things, and all the thousand other reasons people hang out in online forums and chat rooms. There are also interviews and reviews to be found here, and much, much more.

Masters of Horror
This is another Web site with an excellent online community and plenty to keep you busy. There are also a good number of groups to join, if you are interested. This is also an excellent site for beginning writers to post about their works in progress.

Horror Web
Horror Web is a great place for keeping up with horror-related news. If you need to know about a new movie or book or game, this is the site to head to first. The site also has contests and giveaways from time to time, so you have a chance of winning something horrific. And there's plenty of news on Horror Web about the latest horror conventions.

Asian Horror Encyclopedia
This Web site is a little out of date and not the best known out there, but it definitely offers a different perspective for horror writers and fans of horror literature. Movies aren't the focus here, so this isn't necessarily the place for fans of that medium. Still, there's tons and tons here from folklore, mythology and history related to horror and Asia. Definitely worth spending some time checking out.

Buried.com
The Buried.com Web site has a little side headline that reads "Everything That is Horror ..." and this is pretty much true. Movies. Novels. Reviews. Interviews. Information on conventions. Links. All kinds of stuff, and I've just touched on the tip of the iceberg. Really, if you like horror, you could find yourself spending hours and hours on this site. If you become a site member, you can even post your short stories here for others to see.

Dark Markets
Writers are always looking for places to submit and sell their stories, so Dark Markets is a good place to start that search. Here you'll find all kinds of listings for magazines, book publishers and contests where you can submit your work for publication (and hopefully a little money, too, right?).

Really Scary
Where do you go for your horror news? You could do worse than Really Scary, believe me. Updated every month or two, this Web site offers news mostly about horror movies, though every once in a while there's news about the dark literature. Here you can also find a good number of links to other Web sites featuring horror-related material.

World Horror Convention
Didn't know there was a World Horror Convention? Well, now you do. The WHC is an annual gathering of mostly professionals within the horror field, though plenty of fans often make it, too. The convention moves around every year and is in Brighton, England, for 2010 and Austin, Texas, for 2011. This would be a great convention for writers to attend because it gives plenty of opportunities to make connections in the horror field.

Five Novelists' Web Sites That Offer Great Writing Advice

JA Konrath
Konrath is a mystery and horror novelist, but his writing advice goes far beyond those genres. One of the best things about his advice is he's not afraid to tell the truth about the harsh realities of getting published, and the things every writer needs to know to work at getting published. He will tell you exactly how things are, or at least how he sees them, and not be all nicey nice and beat around the bush. He's not only a writer, but a businessman. He has a downloadable pdf, that can be found here, that offers tons of solid advice to beginning writers who want to be novelist. But you've been warned. Joe Konrath pulls no punches. Make sure to check out his ongoing blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, and all the free pdf books he has to offer. And just so you know, Konrath also writes under the name Jack Kilborn.

Jennifer Blake
For you fans of romance fiction, Jennifer Blake is just right for you. She has been writing romance novels for more than thirty years. And her Web site offers more than simply advice for writers. She has recipes, reviews and more.

Nicholas Sparks
Sparks is likely best known for his debut novel, The Notebook, but he's written plenty of novels since then, nearly all bestsellers. He's not exactly a romance writer, or at least not a traditional romance writer, though his stories do tend to be about love and hope and family. His Web site offers a writer's corner with plenty of free information about the practice and business of writing. Sparks is also a prolific reader, and he keeps tabs of what he's reading on his site. Check out his forums to talk with his fans.

Holly Lisle
Fantasy novelist Holly Lisle has had 32 of her novels published, and she's working on the next one. Her online site has tons and tons of advice for beginning writers. She covers everything from techniques to submitting to publishers to tax and money and much, much more. She also has a writing diary, a blog of sorts, so you can keep tabs on her latest projects.

Ursula K. Le Guin
Le Guin is best known as a fantasy author, specially her Earthsea series of books, but she has written much outside the fantasy genre, too. Her Web site is another with plenty of advice for writers. She even goes so far as to include a harsh rejection letter she received from a book editor back in 1968 when her writing career was beginning; the letter is meant to give hope to writers today who have to face rejection letters.

Where Do Fiction Writers Get Their Ideas?

Often upon hearing such a question, a fiction writer will think "Where don't you get story ideas from?" The reason for this is there are story ideas all over the place, often right in front of you.

Newspapers, magazines, books, television, the Internet, any medium can offer thousands upon thousands of ideas for a story. And it doesn't matter what genre you're writing in. The ideas are out there.

The truth is professional writers will often come upon the kernel of a story and not have a clue what to do with it, not at first. Then they'll mentally ask "What if?" And sometimes it's just a matter of putting two separate thoughts together to come up with an idea.

For example, say you're at the doctor's office in the waiting room. You're perusing a magazine and come upon a story about great places to fish. Okay, no big whoop. Where's the story idea there? Well, what if several of those great places to fish also happened to be near industrial plants? Hmm. Think. Think. What can you come up with? Monster fish! Okay. Stretch it a little further. Monster fish that are seeking revenge against the fishermen! And there you've got a story. Sounds like horror, but maybe you could turn it into something else, science fiction or fantasy.

Need another idea? Okay, you're online looking around at Wikipedia. You randomly pick a couple of articles. Up pops the first article. It's about the Voynich manuscript, an undeciphered book of what appears to be words and drawings, that was first discovered in about the 15th century in Europe. No one to this day has been able to figure out what this manuscript is about because it seems to be in some kind of secret language. Okay, you randomly seek another Wikipedia article. Up pops a page about the Gearing class destroyers, battle ships first used by the U.S. Navy toward the end of World War II. So, try to make up something that connects the Voynich manuscript with one of the Gearing class destroyers. Sounds difficult? Nah! There's a hundred ways to do it. Maybe some Nazi spies have stolen the Voynich manuscript and believe it is an ancient treatise on some kind of an unknown energy, something like a super laser, and one of the Gearing ships is chasing down the Nazis in order to save the world. Or maybe a seaman aboard one of the ships goes to an island near Japan and discovers a codex similar to the Voynich manuscript; the mystery ensues because the two manuscripts are so similar but were found hundreds of years and thousands of miles apart.

See? It's really that easy. Ask yourself "What if?"

What if someone could throw a baseball all the way to the moon? What if a knight from the Middle Ages fell in love with a Muslim princess during the Crusades? What if a car suddenly sprouted wings and could fly like a giant insect?