I know, I know, there is no such thing as a “perfect partner” unless of course you exist in the written pages of all those books we devour like popcorn. And let’s be honest, if we did live in those pages, we’d all have curves to die for, a kick-ass attitude that would make men swoon at our feet, or for those male readers out there—a chiseled chest to cradle all those females falling under our Alpha-with-a-soft-spot spell.
Does the word “goal” send you into a panic? It does me. A man whose blog I follow religiously told of a motto hung above the door of his gym. It read, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit keeps you going.” I believe Jim Ryan was attributed with saying that. Great thought, don’t you think?
Many books, whatever their genre or literary bent, include a love story. Whether thriller, mystery, science fiction, or even Western, many stories that are not written primarily as romances include a love story in which the complications of the lovers match, complement, or escalate the complications of the primary plot. Think of Robert B. Parker’s Westerns, John Sandford’s thrillers, and many others.
Author Entrepreneur / Author Interviews / Q&A / Writing Tips
by Beth Barany · Published June 17, 2015 · Last modified June 26, 2015
Please welcome Andrea Buginsky to our occasional Author Entrepreneur Q&A series at Writer’s Fun Zone. *** One of our focuses at Writer’s Fun Zone is to help creative writers with their author marketing and book marketing efforts and help them...
I heard a great phrase a couple of years ago that has stayed with me. The speaker said, “We live in a pierce & ding age. You pierce the top of a frozen meal, a few minutes in the microwave; and DING; it’s ready.” The point she was making was about how fast things happen now, and how we’ve gotten used to it. People look for instant responses to emails, we don’t like to wait for webpages to load, and we pay to see the preview episode of our favourite box set; because we just can’t wait.
From wanting to know if James Patterson uses a special pen to wondering what kind of perfect program Jon Green has loaded into his computer, we think that if only the specific talisman for good writing is identified, then purchased, possession will make us instantly famous. Except no matter what kind of special pen you own, you still must use it.
Writing a 90k word novel can be a daunting task for any writer-new or established, but thinking about the work in progress in smaller pieces/stages can often help eliminate some anxiety and provide a loose outline to work with. I like to think of my stories as a three-part play-The Problem, The Middle Action, and The Resolution.
You imagine your favorite (or least favorite) literary characters in your mind’s eye, which is part of the magic of reading. Have you ever been disappointed by the casting when they made the book into a movie because then that character didn’t fit the image you had in your mind?
Missy Kirtley, born in Marin, California, is a life-long resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. She is married with two young daughters. For four years running, Missy has won NaNoWriMo. The Royals, Volume 1: Eddie was published in June of 2014. The Royals, Volume 2: Lance, was published in August, 2014. Both are available on Amazon.com. The first chapter of Under, a Portal Fantasy novel in progress, placed in the 2015 San Mateo County Fair’s Literary contest, Genre Novelist First Chapter division. Missy currently resides in Castro Valley, California. She works diligently on a plethora of writing projects.
Many small business owners and entrepreneurs may think that blogging is just one more chore to add to their marketing list. But actually blogging for your business can be fun and create results, as long as you know what you want from your blog and how to go about getting that.
Where to get started? You believe you can write; you know you can write; maybe you’ve been published already? But now you’re stuck. Where do you turn to for that flash of inspiration, that idea that will let loose the torrent of words that you know is ready to flow from you?
As a college student, I was asked to interview someone in a career I am interested in for my College Success class. My career interests include becoming a book editor/writer, and the first person I thought of to interview was Beth. I had previously worked with Beth on my dark urban fantasy novel and was greatly impressed with Beth’s experience, level of professionalism, and passion for writing. I knew she would be the perfect person to interview for my assignment.
When great writers give advice to “read more,” it is good advice but incomplete. If you read the same types of stories, by similar writers who write on similar levels, you will not learn as much as you will if you read diversely. Reading across culture, race, style, and techniques, you will gain many skills that you can later add to your writing.
How many of us have said, “I want to be a writer?” Great goal. A little vague, but a worthy goal. If we write notes, holiday cards, or a grocery list, we’re writers. How can we narrow that aspiration down or beef it up? “I want to write the next great American Novel.” Better. At least you now know what you’re aiming at as a writer. Still a tad unrealistic.
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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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