by Jeff Elkins |
If you want to succeed as a writer, you need a stress-free time to work and think. Writing sessions during the holidays can be hard for us. With all the added parties and present buying and family events, it can be easy to feel stuck and unable to work on your latest writing project.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find time for writing.
In this article, you can learn three tricks to keeping your holiday spirit, and also working on your writing skills.
Let this holiday season be one you enjoy, while also working in those meaningful writing sessions.
by Jeff Elkins |
When new writers ask, “How do I succeed as an author?” the advice they most often receive is, “Write to market.”Popularized by Chris Fox’s 2016 book, Write to Market: Deliver a Book that Sells, the strategy requires authors to pick a genre to write in, study the tropes of that genre of books that are currently selling, and then write a book in that genre that fits all the existing tropes. While many authors struggle to embrace this concept, by changing our perspective on it, we will find it empowering rather than limiting.
by Jeff Elkins |
In the movies, inspiration strikes the writer, and then a montage of the writer banging away on his or her chosen instrument flashes by, ending with a completed masterpiece that shares the writer’s soul with the world. Sadly, the reality is not like the movies. Sometimes the stories rip through your fingers like your hands are possessed; but more often, putting a story into words feels like yanking your teeth out of your head. It’s all too easy to get stuck in writer’s block.
When that happens, there’s nothing more we want to do than give up on the story and start over. But we can’t. We have to push through and finish it.
by Jeff Elkins |
When I tackled writing my first mystery two years ago, I was shocked at how different the process was from writing a general thriller. Even though I’d already published six novels, I was surprised at how much preparation and planning writing a detective story took.
If you’re thinking of writing a mystery, here are six things I had to learn I wish someone had told me.
by Jeff Elkins |
As writers, we create new realities, which demands we use our experiences to inform our work. A stroll with a friend in a park or a dance in a fountain will translate into chapters.
We don’t just have to grab the good times. We can do this with illness as well. When we are sick, we should try and take a step back and learn about how our characters will feel when they are struck with a disease.
