Books to Movies
There are four major platforms for taking a fictional story big. You can launch it as a book (either traditional or comic), or film (either movies or television), or as a videogame. But in the last couple of years, we’ve also seen toy franchises breaking out as platforms for movies with things like Transformers, Battleship, […]
Happy Holidays! Workshop Sale
From now until Monday, November 30th, you can get 25% off any or all live and online workshops at MyStoryDoctor.com when you use code “Holidays”. Treat yourself to a workshop or get it as a holiday gift for a writer you care about. Check out the online workshops here. Check out the live workshops here.
Becoming a Writing Junkie
Writing is fun, so fun, that some people think that it’s addictive. Like exercise or alcohol, you can come to crave it. Years ago, a writer named Charlie Brown wrote dozens of novels. One day he realized that he wasn’t making a lot of money at it, and yet he loved writing, so he started […]
Taking it Slow
A couple of years ago, I read that over a quarter of a million people participate in NaNoWriMo each year, yet it seems to me that the program has a questionable record. How many good novels come out of it? The answer I think is, “Far fewer than there should be.” Don’t get me wrong. […]
Standing Out
A writer who has just begun brainstorming a novel wrote to me today. He had an idea for a book, but while doing some research discovered that it had already been written. What should he do? Write it anyway, or look for a new idea? This is a complex question. I have another friend who […]
Ownership and Control
Very often I have new writers come to me who have been approached by agents, editors, publishers, or producers who want to take control of their work. Sometimes, that’s a bad idea. Think of it this way. Suppose that you’ve spent a long hard year tending and watering your garden. At the end of the […]
The 2015 NaNoWriMo Writing Tools Bundle
by Kevin J. Anderson National Novel Writing Month is coming up! November, when the air turns colder, winter looms, time to stay inside and write a novel. After all, you’ve got the whole month. Last year, over 300,000 official participants joined in the fun (and work). I’m a prolific writer myself and for me it’s […]
How to Get in Your Reader’s Way
When the movie Avatar came out, I went to see it on opening day at a theater that was nearly empty. I predicted in my kick for that day that the movie would be a blockbuster and possibly become the bestselling science fiction movie of all time. Why? Because the acting was superb? Because the […]
Hit the Gas
When your work begins to pay off, don’t spend your time in celebration or take a vacation. It’s time to “hit the gas.” In the last few weeks, I’ve been hearing a lot of good news from writing friends. They’re selling books and short stories, winning awards, and so on. But often in the past, […]
Achieving Maximum Velocity
Several times a week I will hear from writers who say, “I’m putting my book online today. I just want to put it up and see what happens.” I’ll let you in on a secret: Nothing will “just” happen. This year an estimated one million people will put books up online, and if you don’t […]