by David Safford |
If you’re not finishing your writing, it’s because of fear. Fear is far more influential than we like to think. We like to believe that we’re not succumbing to fears because we are good at goal-setting, or perhaps we stick to a writing schedule of some kind.
Yet fear is insidious. It is subtle. It speaks with voices you can’t hear, and unless you weed those voices from your psyche, they will forever impede your writing dreams.
Here’s how to overcome your fears and finish your writing with confidence!
by David Safford |
The hardest part of writing a story might just be figuring out how to end a story. But what makes a good ending? How about a great ending? Is there a difference?
Endings are intimidating. They’re heavy-laden with all the narrative weight of your story.
And they’re so much harder to write than we imagine when they play out in our heads.
This is why so many trilogies end with a whimper, rather than a bang (Star Wars, Alien): Endings are hard.
But how do you write that rare, coveted third act that nails every beat and delivers on the audience’s hopes and dreams? How do you conclude your story, or trilogy, or series with power and poise?
Let’s dive deep into how to write a winning ending by exploring three essential questions that will keep you on track as you wrap up your next story.
by David Safford |
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!
by David Safford |
Do you crave solid feedback on your writing but rarely get it? Our maybe you’ve received feedback but you’re having trouble what to embrace and reject, or how to apply writing feedback in general.
Learning how to apply writing feedback is tricky, but knowing how and when to accept and reject suggestions can drastically change your story’s ability to touch readers. It will also teach you how to give better feedback to others, which is crucial for building your writing community.
by David Safford |
Are you looking for a writing challenge that really tests your writing skills? Something that pushes your writing process beyond national novel writing month (although trying out NaNoWriMo is a good challenge to face)?
As a writer, you’ve probably heard this question: “What’s your genre?” Or maybe you’ve been asked, “What is your book about?”
As writers, we tend to find a creative “happy place” and stay inside three boxes: medium, form, and genre. This allows us to find a consistent voice and target our work towards ideal readers.
But staying inside these boxes without any deviation can have major drawbacks that threaten the quality of your writing, and the joy of writing itself.
In order to stay sharp, writers need challenges to keep their creative juices alive and well.
And whether or not these challenges are daily writing challenges or something you find on social media without even looking for them, it’s important that, as a writing habit, we tackle them head on every once in a while.
We only become better writers when we step out of our comfort zones.
These three writing challenges will test and strengthen your writing skills.
