You wanna mess up a writer tell them to write something original. See how long it takes them to freeze up and then fall to bits. What many beginning writers fail to realize to their detriment is that purposely trying to come up with wholly original stuff is folly and only results in one thing:…
Urban fantasy, a realm where magic, supernatural beings, and gritty cityscapes collide, has captivated audiences for decades. While often celebrated as a literary genre, urban fantasy has also found a home on our television screens, weaving mesmerizing tales that keep us on the edge of our seats. The roots of urban fantasy in TV can…
Where would a writer be without their subconscious? What chance would a story have to be written without the help of the subconscious to tell it? Writers kid themselves into thinking that they are the sole architects of their creations, when really, they aren’t. Sure, a writer does most of the leg work, puts in…
I hesitated to use the name Urban Fantasy in this article, mainly because these days it is often too closely associated with Paranormal Romance, which does nothing to describe the kind of books that I write. To me, Urban Fantasy describes a type of fiction that features supernatural characters in a realistic setting, which can…
Sometimes being a writer is the easiest thing in the world. Those times when ideas are clear and words seem to flow without effort—when the act of writing itself is pure joy—those times are awesome and they make you glad you chose to be a writer.
Other times being a writer is the hardest thing in the world. Those times when ideas are few and far between and what ideas you do have are woefully inadequate. Those times when the words refuse to come, when it appears you are suffering from a mental block that stifles your creativity.
While I can’t comment on which one of these scenarios you most find yourself in, it’s a pretty sure bet that all writers find themselves in the latter scenario more times than they care to mention.
But what causes this negative downturn? How do things go from good to bad seemingly overnight without any logical cause?
The answer to that lies in writer’s doubt.
In any creative endeavor, productivity matters. You can be as creative as you like, but that won’t matter if you don’t finish anything or get your work out there for all to see.
As a writer, if all you do is write and don’t publish anything, or worse, don’t finish anything, how is that being productive?
In my book, that’s about as unproductive as you can get.
But what is the main cause of being unproductive?
In a word: perfectionism.
It’s a curse that helps no one.
If you want to know how to beat it, read on.
Finishing the first draft of a novel for the very first time is for a writer akin to finally learning to swim.
You’ll have spent so much time struggling to complete a finished draft—floundering in a sea of confusion, frustration and procrastination—that when you finally finish it can seem like you’ve been saved from drowning.
You have learned to swim and you are now free to take yourself in any direction you want to go. Suddenly, it’s not about keeping yourself from drowning, but about staying afloat and swimming towards the goal of a fully completed novel.
The choppy seas have calmed somewhat, making it easier for you swim.
Once you know you are capable of finishing the first draft of a novel, things change. A mental shift occurs and suddenly you have the confidence to feel like a real writer.
You now have what it takes to write novels.
There’s no going back after that.
You’ve done it, you know you can do it and you will keep doing it.
It’s a milestone that every novelist has to cross in order to find success, which is why it is so important that you do all you can to insure that first draft gets completed.
If you still struggle to finish the first draft of a novel, don’t despair, all is not lost. It’s not as hard as you think and there are things you can do to make reaching that goal even easier.
It’s no great secret that people who have excelled in one discipline will often excel in another when they turn their attention to it.
Why?
They have learned the art of mastery.
The previously mastered discipline is not important.
What are important are the lessons to be learned from it.
For the purpose of this article, we are going to be looking at some of the lessons to be learned from mastering a particular discipline, then we are going to apply those lessons to writing.
Mastery is the same across all disciplines, whether in sports, the arts, science or whatever.
To master your discipline—in this case writing—there are certain things you must do in order to make that possible.
If writing means more to you than superficial success—and if you want to master writing and being a writer—learn and apply the following lessons.
When it comes to writing for an audience, either through books or blogging, one of the biggest mistakes writers often make is that they try to write for too wide an audience.
Of course we all want as many people as possible to read our stuff, but in trying to please too many people at once you will weaken your writing and reduce the chances of your work connecting with people.
If you want your writing to have more of an impact, one of the best things you can do is to narrow the audience you are writing for.
By impact, I mean that your writing will be truly useful and valuable to a select group of people, the people that your content is targeted towards. These people already want what you have to offer, you just have to find them first.
Having little or no impact comes from people reading your work who don’t care about it, simply because they have no need for what you are offering.
It makes sense to target people who will give a shit, not those who won’t. The best way to reach those people is to define who they are first.