Hi All!
So I am at the knitty gritty end of my family drama novel, with no set WIP (yes its terrible but I will need some help with this, or I was going to wait until I was actually finished to think of a name that suited the novel tone)
Having written this novel since May 2014, I have written, re-written, edited, deleted, you name it, I have made changes to this book. I foresee making more changes when I have finished the book. Being my first novel, I've decided to just jump right in and do what I love: write. I haven't taken any writing courses before, so my writing skills would definitely be raw.
I am learning as much as I can as I go along.
I am sad to have to say goodbye to my novel and end it, its been a big part of me for the best part of this year and I don't know how to end it. I had so many possibilities of what to do, but I honestly do not know what is suitable.
Whilst scouring the internet and asking people on social media for advice I have gotten some valuable and genuine advice.
The things I have taken is:
-Think calmly and coolly: You have gone through all the effort, now is not the time to jump ship and avoid finishing it off. It can be intimidating to want to start another novel if you cannot think of the ending, but you have come all this way, why give up now? Its like running a hurdles race, you are coming first in a race for your novel but are you going to just abandon that last hurdle?
-Write, write write: This might sound lame but you just have to keep doing what you love doing, which is writing! Jot down whatever ideas you have. I literally did this yesterday, and only came up with two options, but after assessing what I did manage to come up with, I was satisfied with one of the two and now I have direction.
-Re-assess your novel: If you still cannot come up with an ending, summarise what has really happened so far in your novel. Is there a plot twist or cliffhanger that needs to be addressed? Will it affect the ending? Is there something that needs to be resolved?
-How you want to position your novel: The business aspect needs to kick in. Do you want to end your novel here? Or do you intend to turn your work into a sequel? You can leave the book at a cliffhanger (don't make it too frustrating though, I hate books that leave me itching too much for the answers!) and then plan your sequel, or you can decided now that you want to end the book for good. In my case I have decided that I want to turn keep this novel a solo one.
Do you have any other suggestions or tips? I would love to hear-after all I am just an aspiring writer who peruses my time through books, Google and Twitter!
Monday, 15 December 2014
Friday, 12 December 2014
Historical Research
I'm at the pointy end of my fiction novel, towards the climatic scene where my main characters are about to reunite with an estranged family member.
I have done some research about old historical houses, set on a beautiful beach landscape, in a quiet country town.
In particular I am looking to describe a fairly haunted house, although there are residents in the house, it is supposed to give off a fairly old and aged vibe.
As a part-time author who only writes as a hobby with no training, I am really pleasantly surprised at the abundance of resources online to help you with writing for inspiration.
This particularly site I am thankful for-and no I will not copy a single word from this link, but will use it for inspiration in drawing my words.
http://www.descriptionari.com/describe/abandoned-house/
I have done some research about old historical houses, set on a beautiful beach landscape, in a quiet country town.
In particular I am looking to describe a fairly haunted house, although there are residents in the house, it is supposed to give off a fairly old and aged vibe.
As a part-time author who only writes as a hobby with no training, I am really pleasantly surprised at the abundance of resources online to help you with writing for inspiration.
This particularly site I am thankful for-and no I will not copy a single word from this link, but will use it for inspiration in drawing my words.
http://www.descriptionari.com/describe/abandoned-house/
Wednesday, 3 December 2014
Best Advice I Have Received
Hi Guys,
I've been a bit lost at how to continue with my blog and as a newbie author I would imagine this has crossed your minds several times.
Have you been confused as to how to promote your works, especially if they are in different genres?
I have that issue especially, writing both fiction and non-fiction. Because my books are all quite different in genres, I was really lost at how to get started-hence this blog is my avenue for me to post my journey, frustrations and any advice I have learnt along the way.
But I have come through a breakthrough, and have received the most helpful advice from this amazing blog that I stumbled across when I was desperate for advice, and Googled for help.
The blog is http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/ and Kim is the brains behind it all. If you are a up and coming author, please check out this site (I don't know Kim personally and I have no affiliate with her at all).
I wrote to her the other day, having been ignored by several other bloggers and marketing experts and was astounded at how promptly she responded.
My question was:
Hi Kim,
Firstly I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful
information you have posted on this site, I am so glad I found this
and its on my bookmarks!
I am a newbie writer, who writes in my spare time. I do want to take
writing seriously so I want to focus on building my platform/brand
first before releasing anything.
My question is: I am currently working on several different projects,
all in different genres. For instance I'm writing a self help book
witha friend, I've written a book about natural remedies, and I'm
working on a fiction novel. I would presume its easiest to just
promote them all on the one site, but how do I balance promoting such
different genre books?
Should I blog about their updates at different times? Do I need to
establish a prescence for one of the books before launching?
Happy Thanksgiving by the way!
Best regards,
Maggie
Her response blew me away: it was detailed yet simple and to the point and gave me direction that I was severely lacking.
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for the positive feedback! :)
Your question is a tricky one, but you're not the only writer to be wondering how to handle the promotion of multiple genres.
Creative people's creativity is hard to corral! :)
Ideally, you would want different sites for each genre, with a content, promotional and marketing strategy to fit the needs of your various target markets.
BUT, realistically, this would be very difficult for you to maintain on your own.
Therefore, option B is to create a site under your name as author (or some close variation) and organize your site based on themes, topics or genres that fit your work. (And remember to think long term; what will you be writing about over the next 2-5 years?)
So, given what you're currently writing (and assuming your next several books will fall into these areas), you could consider breaking down your site as follows:
A. Nonfiction works
a) Lifestyle
i) Self help
- Book #1
ii) Natural Remedies
- Book #1
B. Fiction works
a) Novels
i) Novel #1
OR
A. Self help
a) Book #1
B. Natural Remedies
a) Book #1
C. Novels
a) Book #1
You will also have to determine how you would like to structure your content, what topics/categories you will write about, and possibly a schedule for your post topics.
For example, Monday's could be self help related topics, Wednesday's could be natural remedy related topics, and Friday's topics will relate to your fiction.
Or, you may determine that your target audience for all your books are women, ages 25 - 45 years. Then you could focus your content on lifestyle related topics that appeal to the needs/interests of these women (which may include crossover interest in your novels).
One you've clearly determined what you have to offer, and who it is EXACTLY you're trying to reach, you can more easily determine your marketing plan from there.
If you haven't already, take a look through these posts on branding and determining your ideal reader:
http://www.yourwriterplatform.
http://www.yourwriterplatform.
As you can see, there is no one "right way" to accomplish this. The key will be to find a way to structure your site (and your marketing) to answer your reader's question: "What's in it for me?"
Warmly,
Kimberley
I don't know how to repay you other than linking her to my blog, but this has helped so much and I wanted to share this with you too.
I will now use this to update my website: I will finalise a name for my website and transfer all the content I have created so far to this new website, hopefully it will look spick and span!
Have a nice day!
I've been a bit lost at how to continue with my blog and as a newbie author I would imagine this has crossed your minds several times.
Have you been confused as to how to promote your works, especially if they are in different genres?
I have that issue especially, writing both fiction and non-fiction. Because my books are all quite different in genres, I was really lost at how to get started-hence this blog is my avenue for me to post my journey, frustrations and any advice I have learnt along the way.
But I have come through a breakthrough, and have received the most helpful advice from this amazing blog that I stumbled across when I was desperate for advice, and Googled for help.
The blog is http://www.yourwriterplatform.com/ and Kim is the brains behind it all. If you are a up and coming author, please check out this site (I don't know Kim personally and I have no affiliate with her at all).
I wrote to her the other day, having been ignored by several other bloggers and marketing experts and was astounded at how promptly she responded.
My question was:
Hi Kim,
Firstly I just wanted to say thank you for all the wonderful
information you have posted on this site, I am so glad I found this
and its on my bookmarks!
I am a newbie writer, who writes in my spare time. I do want to take
writing seriously so I want to focus on building my platform/brand
first before releasing anything.
My question is: I am currently working on several different projects,
all in different genres. For instance I'm writing a self help book
witha friend, I've written a book about natural remedies, and I'm
working on a fiction novel. I would presume its easiest to just
promote them all on the one site, but how do I balance promoting such
different genre books?
Should I blog about their updates at different times? Do I need to
establish a prescence for one of the books before launching?
Happy Thanksgiving by the way!
Best regards,
Maggie
Her response blew me away: it was detailed yet simple and to the point and gave me direction that I was severely lacking.
Hi Maggie,
Thanks for the positive feedback! :)
Your question is a tricky one, but you're not the only writer to be wondering how to handle the promotion of multiple genres.
Creative people's creativity is hard to corral! :)
Ideally, you would want different sites for each genre, with a content, promotional and marketing strategy to fit the needs of your various target markets.
BUT, realistically, this would be very difficult for you to maintain on your own.
Therefore, option B is to create a site under your name as author (or some close variation) and organize your site based on themes, topics or genres that fit your work. (And remember to think long term; what will you be writing about over the next 2-5 years?)
So, given what you're currently writing (and assuming your next several books will fall into these areas), you could consider breaking down your site as follows:
A. Nonfiction works
a) Lifestyle
i) Self help
- Book #1
ii) Natural Remedies
- Book #1
B. Fiction works
a) Novels
i) Novel #1
OR
A. Self help
a) Book #1
B. Natural Remedies
a) Book #1
C. Novels
a) Book #1
You will also have to determine how you would like to structure your content, what topics/categories you will write about, and possibly a schedule for your post topics.
For example, Monday's could be self help related topics, Wednesday's could be natural remedy related topics, and Friday's topics will relate to your fiction.
Or, you may determine that your target audience for all your books are women, ages 25 - 45 years. Then you could focus your content on lifestyle related topics that appeal to the needs/interests of these women (which may include crossover interest in your novels).
One you've clearly determined what you have to offer, and who it is EXACTLY you're trying to reach, you can more easily determine your marketing plan from there.
If you haven't already, take a look through these posts on branding and determining your ideal reader:
http://www.yourwriterplatform.
http://www.yourwriterplatform.
As you can see, there is no one "right way" to accomplish this. The key will be to find a way to structure your site (and your marketing) to answer your reader's question: "What's in it for me?"
Warmly,
Kimberley
I don't know how to repay you other than linking her to my blog, but this has helped so much and I wanted to share this with you too.
I will now use this to update my website: I will finalise a name for my website and transfer all the content I have created so far to this new website, hopefully it will look spick and span!
Have a nice day!
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