3 SIMPLE REASONS WHY WE'RE NOT ALL WRITING BESTSELLERS
- IT REQUIRES DETERMINATION
And unfortunately, that’s a skill most of us lack, but we can learn.
We’ve all made excuses at one time or another. ‘Family life is too hectic to write’
‘I can’t get a moments peace’ or ‘I’m waiting for inspiration to come’!
Find a place, the bedroom, a home office, the dining room, any room! Even the garden will do so long as you can get the words down. Get a schedule together and inform the people you live with that you are not to be disturbed during that period unless absolutely necessary.
It has been estimated that only 8% of people who sit down to write a novel actually finish it! Simply because they lack determination.
2. ARE YOU TOO SMART? OR TRYING TO BE?
Not every novel is fated to be a bestseller and, sadly, literary worth does not always translate well into monetary worth. Flowery phrasing and symbolic meaning aren’t the way to the modern reader’s heart.
They want a good plot with maybe just a hint of romance and a not-so-shocking-twist at the end. A generic formula without doubt and if this is not your style then you have two options. Adapt or accept.
Trying to be clever can get you into hot water too. And we’ll have another article on that soon.
3. YOU CAN WRITE BUT CAN YOU READ?
You read the postal address on the publisher’s website. You know where to send your manuscript. But did you read that little bit about when to send it in, whom to address it to etc.?
Or did you skip that part in your excitement? Whoops. Somewhere there’s an agent or publisher throwing your manuscript in the bin and grumbling, “They can write, so why can’t they read?”
Some publishers only accept submissions for a few months a year. Others have stipulations like using a double quotation (“) or a single (‘). It’s important to read these footnotes, even though you’re excited to be part of that 8% who finished their novel!
Seven Things You MUST Know
Some of these tips are common sense, but it's surprising how often writers do not use their common sense when typing up a storm...
1. Short sentences are usually best, especially if you're aiming to write an edge-of-your-seat thriller. Sometimes, longer sentences just turn into waffle. Obviously you can't write a novel made entirely of short sentences. It would be jumpy and read too harshly.
The best way to keep a natural rhythm is to read your writing aloud. You should be able to identify what reads easily and flows nicely. It's not rocket science, you'll know what sounds good and what doesn't.
2. Again, if you're writing a thriller, you should note that they usually consist of short, snappy paragraphs. But regardless what kind of book you're writing, your first paragraph must always be gripping. It needs to entice the reader to continue.
3. DO NOT be afraid of the word 'said'. I know, for years we were told to be wary of over-using the word. But in reality it's practically invisible to the reader. Unless you have a good reason, just stick to 'said' when indicating dialogue. Using adjectives in your dialogue can be annoying too.
"I hate bad dialogue!" John proclaimed loudly.
"What do you mean?" questioned Anita casually.
"I hate when characters talk like robots. They are unrealistically grammatically correct." elaborated John angrily.
Now, excuse my language, but wouldn't that just piss you off?
4. Readers generally like positive writing. I don't mean positive in content (It was a warm sunny day in Happyville.), I mean positive in structure.
I'm told that the following story of sarcastic wit actually took place, but regardless of it's truth, it shows what's meant by negative or positive structure:
A teacher was telling his English class that two negatives made a positive as in,
"I cannot not get a new computer" but told them two positives can never make a negative. A voice from the back piped up, "Yeah right!"
The sentence "I cannot not get a new computer," is a very obvious case of negative phrasing and I doubt anyone would actually write that. But there are less obvious ones and sometimes we do make this mistake. Just try to make things clear and don't over-complicate the sentence.
Instead of 'the book was on the shelf when Harry found it', write 'Harry found the book on the shelf.'
Advertisements always make use of positive phrasing, i.e. "We have a 95% success rate", instead of "We only have a 5% failure rate."
5. Character description is an indulgence for the writer more so than the reader. And it's not as necessary as you'd think.
Okay, you need to give the reader some kind of description, but over doing it is just going to ruin their fun visualising the character. 64% of people give up on a novel right in the middle of yet another detailed description. Who cares whether Penelope was five foot eight inches in her bubble-gum pink high heels, with a lock of long, dark hair falling over one of her bushy brown eyebrows and had a gracefully elegantly slender neck to support her cherub like face. Blah blah blah.
The writer does, and ONLY the writer does. We want people to see our creations exactly as we do, but readers, want to picture it for themselves.
6. Keep a copy of your work on disk. Computers are wonderful tools but they can and do crash. A computer whizz may be able to retrieve the files for you, but there's nothing more stressful than when the screen suddenly dies. Locking two years of a novel away inside the little black box on a burned out hard drive. You do not want to learn this lesson the hard way. Even if you write on paper, make a copy at the end of every writing session.
7. Finally, be ruthless. Edit. You MUST edit.
