Audience Analysis: Part One
How to get to know your audience As a new writer, you might not have given a great deal of thought to audience analysis. I’ve known good writers who don’t seem to understand it at all. For example, one #1 New York Times Bestselling fantasy author right now insists that he doesn’t write fantasy. He […]
To Win Big, You Have to Enter the Race
Last week I got a note from a student who just had a novel accepted by a major publisher. He seemed a little surprised at how easily it had happened, as if he’d happened to enter a horse race and had just taken first place by accident. But it’s no accident. I’ve heard a lot […]
Writing the Impossible
When I fell in love with the idea of writing, it was after reading my favorite novel of all time. I thought, “I want to write stories like that,” not realizing how big my dream really was. You see, when I meet new authors, I almost always find that they hope to write great works, […]
Dream Big
You may not realize it, but as writers we are all on the same journey. We all start as “wannabes,” hoping to amaze audiences with our eloquence and powerful tales, and so we set out on a quest to become “writers.” Some of us take only a few steps along the path before we give […]
Stories and Stables
Many years ago, I heard a renowned magazine editor Gardner Dozois remark, “I don’t want just a great story in my magazine, I want a great writer in my stable.” He was talking of course about why he didn’t pick up new writers on their very first stories. He had a policy: if a new […]
How to Make a Million Dollars with Your Writing
Million Dollar Outlines A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to participate in IndieReCon, a free online writers’ conference for self-published authors. I did a Google Hangout with Ali (our first time ever, there was a steep learning curve!) and talked about my thoughts on how to write a bestselling novel that will make […]
The Author Must Say Something!
What story treasures do you have buried deep inside of you? When the author has nothing to say. Very often as a reader, I’ll come across a story that is well written in many regards: the author has written characters that have strong voices, the setting is energetically created, and the action progresses in a […]
Fixating on a Story
What Does “Fixating” Mean? Remember when you were young and your mother or father read a favorite story to you over and over? Or do you recall that one book or movie that you wanted to read or watch again and again? Most people have a few “all-time favorites.” For me, when I was a […]
Using Precise Language in Your Writing
Using Precise Language Once a quarter I read through thousands of stories for a writing contest—a job that usually takes several weeks. It would take longer, but of course I don’t always have to read an entire manuscript in order to know that it is not publishable. In looking at stories and determining just why […]
Opening Strategies
There are many ways to hook a reader who opens your book–a great cover, a catchy title, luscious descriptions on the back cover, an endearing character portrait, a captivating first line to your novel, and so on. Yet all too soon, much of how well the story grabs a reader will depend upon whether your […]