Have you ever done something crazy for your writing? Perhaps making a parody of someone you know or even doing something dangerous, just so you can make use of it on paper later on?
Write What You Feel
They say: “Write what you know”. What if your life isn’t interesting at all?
I love the way Anne Lamott described writing. She said,
“Writing is like driving at night with headlights: you can only see a little bit.”
Should you outline your novel and make sure you know everything that happens before you write, or do you take Anne Lamott’s advice and drive in the dark?
Could it be possible to do both?
As a writer, you’d probably like to be more focused, to avoid the distractions of Facebook, email, and, potentially, children more effectively. You might also like to spend more time working on building a large platform, without stealing any time away from your creative writing, of course. And you’d definitely like to get published.
Today, I’m talking to author Holly Lisle about how to avoid distraction, build and manage platforms, and handle the boons and banes of publishing. Holly Lisle is the author of more than thirty novels as well as several books about writing. You can find links to her fiction and writing instruction at hollylisle.com and follow her on Twitter (@hollylisle).
Thanks for joining us, Holly!
So, you’ve completed a first draft. Huzzah, and kudos to you! Take a bow, pat yourself on the back, do something else that indicates you’re proud of yourself.
OK, the moonwalk was a bit much. Nice moves, though.
But now, it’s revision time. Maybe you were on a hot streak at the Writing Time Casino and you’ve produced a first draft that’s almost perfect. Enjoy that moment of triumph.
As an author, you want to make your readers happy, right? You want to have outstanding writing that not only makes you feel good, but makes others feel good. You want people to read your work and say, “Hey, this person really knows how to write. I like their stuff.”
You don’t want to make your readers hate you and your work. Well, if you want your readers to like you, here are six things not to do.
