by Jeff Elkins |
Ever have a point you desperately need to make, or a rant you have to pen or you might explode, or an issue you feel is so important you must enter the battlefield of ideas and fight for your side? Whether we write fiction, poetry, or narrative essays, this is true of every writer.
At some point, a topic will come along that you cannot remain silent about. But when that time comes, will you be ready to speak out? Do you know the tools of persuasion?
by Jeff Elkins |
While finding a word processing tool you are comfortable with is crucial to writing, there are other types of book writing software that are just as important. Before I wrote my first novel, if you’d told me that an important part of my book writing software arsenal would be a good spreadsheet, I would have said you were crazy.
Now that I’ve published three novels, I realize my plots and worlds would never make sense without them.
by Jeff Elkins |
We live in an amazing time. If you have a story to tell or an idea to share, you can write a book and publish it for free, making it accessible to billions of people. This moment is unique to human history, and I think everyone who has a story to tell should take advantage of it. To help get you started, in this post I’m going to give you ten simple steps on how to write and publish a book yourself.
by Jeff Elkins |
Without the White Witch, Aslan is just a recluse lion. Without Moriarty, Sherlock is just a know-it-all in a weird hat. Without the Joker, Batman is just a rich dude with anger issues and too much time on his hands.
Our villains make our heroes. Without them, our heroes can’t shine. That’s why it’s important to give our villains scenes where they can wow us with their quirks and scare us with their ferocity.
by Jeff Elkins |
Participating in sprints like NaNoWriMo has taught me what I need to do in order to push through discouragement, how to motivate myself to sit my butt in the chair and write, and what things are most likely to distract me from the work of writing.
Having appropriate expectations when it comes to writing sprints like NaNoWriMo are equally important. Sprints can be wonderful teachers; but it’s important to understand what we should expect from them.
