I wrote last time about the evolving process of creating my first two graphic novels, and how I plan to break this next one down even more into manageable bites that don’t feel so overwhelming. Now I’m considering breaking the story into three parts: a triptych as it were.
Walter Isaacson uses it. NY Times journalist David Carr uses it. Author Emily Gould, Journalist Ben Smith, and Entrepreneur Elon Musk use it too. What is it?
artist entrepreneur / Author Entrepreneur / Writer Wellness
by Beth Barany · Published February 5, 2015
I am not normal. I am unconventional. I have always been unconventional, but I didn’t always appreciate or understand myself in the scope of the range of human personalities. As a child I knew...
When you’re a fledging writer you will probably receive two kinds of input. The first is constructive criticism and the second is unconstructive criticism or as I like to call it = Bull$h!t
Remember learning to walk? Of course you don’t, or if you do, you’re among the very few. That “not remembering” might be why, as a writer, we leap, hit the wall, and fall down a lot. We need to take baby steps.
Plotting is hard for many people. Sage advice says to start with characters, and when you know those people well enough, their behavior alone will launch the conflict. But you have to get to know them, and to do that, you need to start somewhere.
On top of holiday madness, we relocated from Ireland to the UK. So for a while, the only writing I was doing was putting numbers on labels and sticking them to boxes. Not very creative, but I’ll be glad I did it when I’m finally reunited with my belongings. 🙂
“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents — except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford (1830)
Enjoy this teleseminar discussion I had on the writing process and the strategies that professional authors use to write captivating content. I was graciously interviewed by Stephanie Chandler, president and founder of the Nonfiction...
One creative way to get publicity for your book is to tie it to a holiday or special event. You’ll be able to reach out to the media who often need a ‘reason’ to showcase your book right now. Furthermore you may be able to reach your audience on a more personal level by promoting your book alongside a national holiday, theme month, or cause. There are thousands of holidays that celebrate various concepts as well as traditional holidays that can be used to market your book; you just have to find them.
What inspired me to write the Isles of Olympus series? Originally I thought I would only create one book out of this tale, but it grew to be so much more, and so a trilogy was made. I had toiled with this story idea for about three years before actually sitting down and committing myself to writing it, I wanted something that my children would read, and something that I would enjoy as well as I was finding it hard to find books to capture my interests.
Book trailers are visual depictions of a book’s storyline, sometimes made by fans, which are a great way to get readers enthused. But have you ever considered making a book commercial?
In the spirit of NaNo past I wanted to focus this month’s article on “how to take it with you.” For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writer’s Month where the challenge is to write 50,000 words in the month of November. If you haven’t done it before I suggest you do!
In Jane Austen’s timeless classic, Pride and Prejudice, we all detest the dashingly handsome, but stuck up, Mr. Darcy in the beginning. After a poorly-contrived declaration of love at Rosings Park and a secret act of kindness, we all realize we’ve misjudged Mr. Darcy and fall madly in love with the sensitive, lovestruck gentleman. This is what I affectionately call The Darcy Arc. It has worked in The Twilight Saga with Edward and Bella, The Hunger Games with Peeta and Katniss, and even Sex in the City with Mr. Big and Carrie.
A successful Darcy Arc can be accomplished in seven steps.
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Beth Barany helps authors get their books completed and out into the world, into the hands of their readers.
Creativity Coach for Writers, NLP Master Practitioner, and Master Teacher, Beth Barany has been there and knows how hard it can be to take your idea and turn it into a real book, that people will actually be interested, and even yearning, to read.
She walks the talk, as her clients like to say. She is the author of the 2012 award-winning young adult fantasy novel Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, as well as the author of the bestselling nonfiction books for authors and aspiring authors.
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