Writing Tips

The article How to Write Faster: A Series on How to Finish a First Draft in 6 Weeks appeared first on The Write Practice. Do you get nervous starting a book? Does it take you forever to write that book, and because of this, you eventually end up giving it up? Learning how to write faster will not only boost your writing productivity, but teach you ways to be a better writer that finishes projects in the process. Writing the first draft for any book is hard work, but it is also manageable. In fact, it’s even possible to learn how to write faster and complete your book in six weeks! That’s my goal for my upcoming blog series, to teach you what I’ve learned about writing faster, and not only that, but show you why writer faster will make you a better writer as well. The article How to Write Faster: A Series on How to Finish a First […]

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Revising a novel is a lot of work, but if every word is a struggle, there might be a problem you’re missing. In theory, novel revisions should be easy. You’ve already written the story, you know where it goes and how it all unfolds, and now it’s just a matter of making the novel better. In practice, it takes work. The first draft is more brain dump than workable manuscript, and there are always details to work out, characters to develop, and plot holes to fill. Revisions are a part of writing, and as much as we wish they’d go smoothly, they don’t always work out like we planned. Some manuscripts fight us more than usual and nothing we do makes them into the glorious novels we know they could be. When we run into such a troublesome beast, it helps to step back and figure out the problem before […]

Novelists focus heavily on plot, and rightly they should. Your novel needs a well-crafted and believable plot. A good story will have one. A great story will have many plot layers. You could call them subplots, but I find it helps to think of them as layers because of the way they work in your The post How Novelists Can Go Deep and Wide with Plot first appeared on Live Write Thrive.

Let’s face it — 2020 was a disaster for most people. In addition to the tremendous health impact the pandemic had on our country, there was also a significant economic toll. Tens of millions of Americans lost their jobs due to the pandemic, leaving so many people struggling to find work and make ends meet…. Read more » The post Report: Writers on Textbroker, Upwork Earning Signficantly Less Than Those Working Outside Content Mills appeared first on Make a Living Writing.

Critique by Janice Hardy, @Janice_HardyWIP Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and we diagnose it on the site. It’s part critique, part example, and designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem. If you’re interested in submitting to WIP Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines. Submissions currently in the queue: TwoPlease Note: As of today, critique slots are booked through May 15. This week’s question:1. Does this opening work?Market/Genre: Young AdultOn to the diagnosis…Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The article 7 Words to Avoid in Writing to Be a Better Writer appeared first on The Write Practice. If you’re reading this, then you want to be a better writer. However, becoming a better writer is elusive, isn’t it? It’s more art than science. There are hundreds of writing rules, thousands of words to know, and millions of possible ways you could write even a simple message. How do you become a better writer when writing itself is so complicated? The article 7 Words to Avoid in Writing to Be a Better Writer appeared first on The Write Practice. The Write Practice – The Online Writing Workbook

By Rachelle ShawPart of the Focus on Short Fiction SeriesJH: Short stories have little time to make readers care about the protagonist and their problem. Rachelle Shaw shares tips on how point of view and stakes can pull readers into your story.Individually, POV and stakes both play an important role in developing a story that compels readers to keep going. For short works of fiction, the biggest challenge usually comes with choosing which POV is right and what kind of stakes works best for the chosen narrative.In a previous post on this site, I mentioned how short stories should cover a single event that shapes the main character’s journey in their overall arc. Even though only a snippet of that larger arc is covered, the backstory leading up to that point serves as motivation for the choices your character will make during […]

By Spencer Ellsworth, @spencimusPart of The How They Do It SeriesJH: A deus ex machina ending usually kills a novel, but a little “god manipulation” is common in some genres—and readers are fine with that. Spencer Ellsworth share thoughts on how much readers will accept when it comes to the “unexplained win.”Spencer Ellsworth is the author of The Great Faerie Strike from Broken Eye Books and the Starfire space opera trilogy from Tor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife and three children, and would really like a war mammoth if you know a guy.Website | Twitter | GoodreadsTake it away Spencer…Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The article How to Edit a Novel: The Foolproof 9-Step Book Editing Process appeared first on The Write Practice. Are you the kind of writer that loves writing a first draft but has no idea what to do once you’re done with it? Do you worry that you don’t know how to edit a novel, and freeze up because of this? Editing is hard, but luckily there are strategies you can take when editing your first draft (and others), or even if it’s your first time. In this article, I’ll teach you the process I’ve learned after years of struggling to edit. But first, there’s one thing we have to get out of the way: The article How to Edit a Novel: The Foolproof 9-Step Book Editing Process appeared first on The Write Practice. The Write Practice – The Online Writing Workbook

Have you ever wondered if there is a content mill out there somewhere that’s better than all the rest? I get this question a lot, from writers hoping that if they can just find the right content mill, they will finally be able to easily earn a living from their craft. Maybe there’s one where… Read more » The post The Reality of Writing for Content Mills — 12 Writers’ True Stories appeared first on Make a Living Writing.

The article What is Suspense? Why and How It Makes Better Books appeared first on The Write Practice. Year after year, mysteries, thrillers, and suspense stories dominate at the box office, bookstores, and streaming services. We love suspense. We demand it in our entertainment. But what (exactly) is suspense in a story? And why does suspense matter so much in a good plot? Is it possible to examine what constitutes suspense, to understand The article What is Suspense? Why and How It Makes Better Books appeared first on The Write Practice. The Write Practice – The Online Writing Workbook

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy Your narrator has a bigger impact on the novel than you think. Every story has a narrator–some narrators are the protagonist, others tell the tale as a group, and some lurk in the shadows or hover above the story like an all-seeing-eye. Sometimes we’re in someone’s head like an imaginary friend, other times we’re a fly on the wall. Whichever point-of-view style a writer chooses, it’s pointing at someone. In grand terms, that someone is the reader, but it can be more subtle than that. Some novels break the fourth wall and address the reader directly, while others have their characters exist in a world that feels as if we’re watching it on closed-circuit TV. Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

Time is a slippery thing. And because of that, it poses an intriguing challenge for fiction writers. We need to control the pacing in our stories, and one great way to do that is to manipulate time. There are various techniques writers use to do this when it comes to “speed.” We can create beats The post Controlling the Element of Time in Your Novel first appeared on Live Write Thrive.

Finding freelance writing gigs online can be frustrating. But of all the types of social media out there you can use to promote your freelance writing, I think LinkedIn is one of the most useful. It’s a powerful way to find freelance jobs so you can make money writing. In working with writers in my… Read more » The post 7 Ways Writers Can Find Freelance Jobs on LinkedIn appeared first on Make a Living Writing.

Critique by Maria D’Marco WIP Diagnostics is a weekly column that studies a snippet of a work in progress for specific issues. Readers are encouraged to send in work with questions, and we diagnose it on the site. It’s part critique, part example, and designed to help the submitter as well as anyone else having a similar problem. If you’re interested in submitting to WIP Diagnostics, please check out these guidelines. Submissions currently in the queue: NonePlease Note: As of today, critique slots are open. This week’s questions:1. Does this opening work? 2. Would you turn the page?Market/Genre: Psychological Fiction On to the diagnosis…Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com

The article Word Count: How Many Words In a Novel? appeared first on The Write Practice. If you want to get published, you need to be aware that major New York publishers are looking for a specific word count, depending on your genre. Your fantasy novel word count needs to be different than your YA Fiction book, which has a different word count from other books. How many words are in a novel? Or at least one in which publishers might be interested? In this post, we’re going to explain word count and how it affects your chances of publishing success. Ready to write your novel? Check out our definitive guide, How To Write Write a Novel: The Complete Guide, here. How long is the average book? And how long should your book be? Here’s a quick summary: The article Word Count: How Many Words In a Novel? appeared first on The Write […]

The article How to Write Better Stories by Knowing Your Story Grid Genre appeared first on The Write Practice. Why do some books “work,” while others don’t? Why do readers ravenously consume one book, while they put down another and forget about it entirely? If you want to write books that readers love, you’d be wise to find answers to these questions and apply those answers to your work. Thankfully, there’s a resource available to you that provides an insider’s look at what readers want: The Story Grid! The article How to Write Better Stories by Knowing Your Story Grid Genre appeared first on The Write Practice. The Write Practice – The Online Writing Workbook

By Royaline Sing, @RoyalineSing Part of The Writer’s Life Series JH: Sometimes, writers can be their own worst enemy. Royaline Sing shares her story of self-rejection, and how she overcame it to achieve her dream of publication. Royaline’s first fiction work was a notebook length movie script, featuring her favorite stars. She was probably ten. It hasn’t seen the light of the day (And it won’t). But storytelling lingered. Now, she writes through the noise of lovely two kids, a very supportive (but sweetly clueless) husband and a bank job where numbers rule. Born and brought up in India, she’s a huge fan of Bollywood romantic movies and likes all things Marvel. She loves to travel and has so many destinations on her bucket list: Scotland, London, Agra, you get the picture. She writes Historical Romances, with heroines […]

By Rochelle Melander, @WriteNowCoachPart of The Writer’s Life SeriesJH: Most authors would rather write than market, but social media is a useful way to connect with readers. Rochelle Melander shares tips on creating a social media plan you can live with–and maybe even enjoy.Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is an author, certified professional coach, and teaching artist. She is the author of twelve books, including Level Up: Quests to Master Mindset, Overcome Procrastination and Increase Productivity; A Guide for Writers, Entrepreneurs, and Creatives. Through her writing and coaching, Rochelle Melander has helped thousands of people overcome writer’s block, design a writing life, turn their ideas into books, navigate the publishing world, and connect with readers through social media. Her debut book for children Mightier […]

Let’s be honest — not every part of running a freelancing business is fun.  There are some tedious, headache-inducing tasks that come with running a business that are simply unavoidable…like bookkeeping. Keeping track of all business-related income and expenses can be tricky while balancing all of the other responsibilities of maintaining a freelance career, but… Read more » The post Best Accounting Software for Freelancers: Freshbooks vs Quickbooks vs Wave (& More) appeared first on Make a Living Writing.