Readers want something that’s real. They want to live in your novel. They want to become your characters, and feel every joy and heartache right along with them. They want to see, smell, hear, feel, taste. Our struggle as the writer is to deliver to them what they want. Our careers and our very lives depend on how the readers feel. No pressure, right?
Sometimes, the readers you think you have actually turn out to be someone else. Knowing who they really are can be pivotal…not just in your writing, but in your marketing as well.
You want to write, but the words don’t come.
You want to write, but you’re utterly blocked.
Writer’s block can occur because you let self-criticism obstruct the easy flow of thoughts from your brain to your writing fingers. It’s akin to hardening of the arteries.
Looking for a way to achieve an edge that will raise your writing to the top of an agent’s or editor’s inbox? Dreaming that your pitches, cover letters, query letters, and actual prose will stand out and be noticed? Just want to be taken more seriously as a writer?
It’s a lot easier than you think.
For a year and a half, I studied as a creative writing major at a tight-knit private university. I wrote poetry under the guidance of a published poet, learned how to develop a narrative arc, and attended readings by local authors.
Now, I’m a professional freelance writer and English major at a different school. But as I look back on my creative writing studies, I see many mistakes that I made (and that other students made, too).