What genre should I write in?

What genre should I write in?

This is one of the most frequent questions I get asked from aspiring authors. New authors feel unsure of where their writing belongs. For some authors it seems to be a real concern, almost to the point of stopping and starting their writing as they work out how their writer’s shirt will fit.

It isn’t until you start writing and finding your voice that you begin to understand where you might fit in the writing arena. So take your time to read in a few genres. ‘I don’t have that much time,’ you say.

Okay, let’s start with what you love to read. When you go into a book store, what section do you head for: romance, science fiction, crime, thriller or somewhere else? Perhaps nonfiction?

If you like crime fiction, this is the place to start your writing career. You will soon know if it’s right for you. The words, the plot and the characters will come fairly easily and you are always keen to get started on your writing every day. If the writing in that genre is jarring, move on to another genre.

I suggest start writing in the genre you love to read. Again, let’s assume its crime. You are used to the format in which the book is written. You understand the plot, you know the characters may not always tell the truth and you know there is a good guy and there is a villain.

Knowing these elements of the genre, enables you to study the work of your favorite authors in greater detail so that you understand the genre. When you have read a lot of novels in your preferred genre, your writing you can feel as though it is enveloping you like a cloak, or you might be feeling secure as if you are in a cocoon.

Suddenly, you are enjoying the story and the characters and how your story is unfolding and there is a knowing, as the writing is sitting comfortably in your heart. This is what I call, having your writer’s shirt on and feeling it fits well. Every time you sit down to write you slip into an alignment of your mind and heart that sets you up for a writing session.

Once you have chosen your genre, there are a couple of other points to note. If you are hoping to be published by a traditional publisher, it’s important to take note of the style of the book that the publisher has published. Every publisher comes at their different genres in their own unique way. So study books published in your genre by different publishers.

Study the style of writing, the type of characters in the story, even down to their behavior. Does the protagonist have a side-kick or is he working alone? What is the length of the manuscript a publisher wants? When are you given your first clue that a particular character is the villain?

Generally publishers will have a ‘formula’. Publishers know what they can sell. This doesn’t mean copying one of their author’s work. It means writing something fresh and new that fits the publishing guidelines of that publishing house.

This can take a bit of research, but if you are reading in your chosen genre, this won’t feel like work. In fact, it is great fun. For every book you read, your subconscious stores a little more information for you about how writing in that genre affects your reader, and what that particular publisher expects for their specialist imprint.

Time spent reading is time well-spent. Make use of this valuable step in your writing career and you will be more informed of the market you want to write for.

The most important thing you can do is read widely in all genres and see which one impacts you the most. This is probably the genre you will be most tuned to for your writing.

Good luck! And most importantly, have fun! I’d love to hear what genre you write in. Leave a comment below.

Writing a novel

Writing a novel can be one of the most rewarding experiences you can have. Many people want to write a novel. They sit down with great intentions of writing the work to finish it, hoping to get it published. What beginning writers don’t know is that writing a novel is a time consuming task. It is not something they are going to finish in a week or two. It takes, time, dedication and determination to write 50,000 plus words. The writing can take an unexpected turn because the characters have a mind of their own and want to take charge of the story.

It is at this point that you can become discouraged and throw the project in. Usually, the discouragement for me comes from not understanding my characters and their motives, or I can get lost in where the story is taking me. Here are four steps I follow to resolve this issue:

1. I stop writing and take a long hard look at what I’ve already written. Sometimes I’ll find a scene hasn’t quite done its job to hold up the plot to keep the story moving forward. I review the scene to see why it’s not doing the job I wanted it to do. I check the structure of the scene and ask what is the purpose of this scene? I re-write until I get it just the way I want it. Sometimes this process can take many drafts, so I keep calm by taking a few deep breaths, I go for a walk to clear my head, and most of all I’ve learnt to be patient. All that re-writing is worth it.

2. I don’t know my characters as real people. Sometimes I haven’t gone into my character’s personality to understand them at a deep level. This means knowing how they will react with various situations. Do I know how they are going to react when they meet a homeless person in the street? Is my character going to be repulsed because the homeless person is looking unkempt? Will my character be open and friendly? Or will my character ignore that person and walk right past because of private prejudices? It’s important to know how your character will react in this situation. Your character’s reaction will determine where the story goes. When you let your character take charge of the story, i.e. character driven story, you will find the story will write itself. When the writing flows and you are racing behind them writing as fast as you can to keep up, is knowing your character at a very deep level.

3. Are you being congruent with the theme of the story? Perhaps your character has shown themselves as wanting something that is outside the theme of your story. You may need to ‘interview’ your character to find out why they are acting in that way. Sometimes, especially if the motivation is well outside your original theme, you may need to rewrite a lot of your work to be consistent with the theme of your book, or worse, change the theme. This may require many, many hours of extra work, but trust your instinct and do the work.

4. Sometimes I can be impatient, wanting to get the words done quickly. While I’m writing I have a niggly feeling I’m putting words down for the sake of getting my daily word quota done. This is where I push my keyboard away, take up a pen and paper and write by hand. The physical writing by pen and paper slows me down physically and mentally; slowing my breathing slows my mind. This process helps me to re-align with my heart and the love for my characters. It’s amazing how this slowing down creates more space for my thoughts as my heart and mind begin to listen to, and hear each other.

A gentle reminder: writing a novel is not easy, there will be starts and stops and starts, as you get to know your characters and the interactions they have with each other. This is the fun part of writing a novel. Enjoy the process and reward yourself when the work is done.

Pomodoro Technique ... no excuses for not writing

Life has changed during the last few months, and each of us is sifting through the information about Covid-19, and practising social distancing which seems to be the popular weapon used in fighting Covid-19. This has been proven by those nations who have embraced social distancing and have had fewer cases than those who have chosen other ways of fighting the disease. Is one way better than the other? I’m not sure, I’m not a scientist. I’m trusting our leaders to use their expertise in eradicating this disease.

Meanwhile, that leaves me with more time to write. More time to knuckle down and get words written on current projects. But is that the case? Am I producing more words than I usually do? I wish! The distractions are still there, only different. Before Covid-19 I met with friends for coffee or dinner, to beat the isolation that comes with being a writer. Now the distractions come from within and around the home. What renovations do I still need to do? How are my vegetables growing? I’ll catch up with a friend on a Zoom meeting. Now that I have a new oven, I’ll bake a cake, or three. All those calories and I’ve gained 2 kilos! That means I need to get out and exercise.

The distractions never stop. So how can we stop the distractions and get on with the writing? Here are five tips to get you focused:

1. Decide on what time you want to write, and for how long. Note your writing time as a regular appointment in your diary and stick to it. If this time was an appointment to see the doctor, or a meeting with a friend, you wouldn’t miss it. Your writing appointment is just as important as your other appointments. An added bonus for keeping your writing appointment, is that you won’t feel so alone and missing catching up with friends. Your mind is focused and your productivity will increase.

2. Use your last writing session to set up for your next. At the end of each writing session, take time to write a few notes about what you want to write about in your next writing session. Your subconscious will work on those ideas while you are away from your computer, and when you return to write, those points you wrote down will be at the forefront of your mind, waiting to be used. I believe in, and love the power of my subconscious. It keeps working away even though I have finished for the day. I love that it works all night and then in the morning when I am ready to start work, it has the words ready for me to write.

3. Write in short bursts. If you haven’t heard of the Pomodoro Technique, it’s time. This is a method of time keeping that enables you to write for a short period of time, take a short break, and return to your writing for another short period. This continues until you have worked a few hours and then you take a longer break. When I am feeling distracted and not tuned in to my writing, I use this method. By the time the third period for writing comes along, I am focused on the writing. Knowing that I’m writing for a short time encourages me to focus with some urgency: “I am going to get a lot done before that buzzer goes off”. Here is a link to an article from Francesco Cirillo, the man who invented it while he was in university as a necessity to be more productive. Here’s the link: https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

4. Give yourself a reward. There is nothing like giving yourself a reward after a writing session. You feel good knowing that you have achieved another writing goal. Rewards may be meeting up with a friend for coffee or a walk; reading more pages of your favourite author’s book; if it’s the end of the day a glass of your favourite drink or a plate of your favourite food. Write the reward on a sticky note and place it on your monitor.

5. Remind yourself what you love about writing. Think back to a time when your writing was flowing through your fingers, so fast you couldn’t keep up with the rush. Lean into that memory and anchor it into your mind and your heart with all the feeling you can muster. Go on, live and re-live that moment until it envelops you with the love and excitement you had for your writing when you first started. Allow it be so all consuming that you are overwhelmed with emotion. Now step away from those thoughts and think about the great time you had on your last holiday, but don’t linger there too long. Go back to that memory of of that fantastic session in writing. Lean in and feel the emotion. While you are there start writing and allow yourself to be carried away with the emotions and the words that you are so passionate about.

I use these exercises at different times, but the one I use the most is number 5. Try each of them for yourself and let me know which one works the best for you in the comments below. Or perhaps you have your own way of keeping focused. I’d love to hear about that, too.

COVID-19, Moving House and Writing

Gold Coast, Australia

Welcome back!

A lot has happened in the world with COVID-19, and in my own personal life since I posted on January 31 2020. My goodness is it really two months ago! My sincere apologies if you have been waiting for further posts.

My life has been busy with moving and all the challenges that come along with that. I am now back on the Gold Coast after being away for three years, meeting new people, doing research for my next book and also learning to paint with water colours for my future projects. The painting is going to take some time to perfect. Just like writing, it takes practice and it takes time. I have never been one to let a challenge go by.

So here I am back on the Gold Coast, settling back to my writing projects and adjusting to life with the COVID-19 restrictions. I love art work, so my paintings are in position on the floor ready to hang. That’s my job this weekend. The veggie patch has been turned and sown with broad bean seeds, and tomato seedlings, with rocket and peas to follow in the next couple of days. I am grateful for the sunny position of my garden beds that promote photo-synthesis for healthy plant growth. Let’s hope I get a bumper crop so that I can share with my neighbours.

So back to writing and regular posts from now on to encourage you to write and express yourself in the way that you want to. I want to re-cap on my last post. How did you go with the exercises? Please leave any comments below. I really want to hear from you what problems you may be having with your writing. I am here to help.

1. Do you like words, and are you up to speed with your grammar? Have you found a good book that will help you in this area. A good place to start is “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk Jr. and E.B White. This is a small book containing an index that is really helpful for finding what you are looking for quickly. For all of you who love working with online technology you might like to try Grammarly. You can have this app turned on while you are working or you can post text into the program to check for any grammatical errors. Please be aware that you don’t have to follow all the ‘rules’. Sometimes it comes down to your personal writing style and any art you want to put into your writing. More about that in future posts. Let’s not get too hung up on grammar at this stage. Let’s get the project written before you start revising your writing and developing your style. Take a few minutes a day to study a point in grammar to fine-tune your skills.

2. How many books have you read in the two months since I posted? Have you begun reading every day? What are you reading? I am reading “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself” by Dr. Joe Dispenza. This book has some interesting information about how our brain works. I read in all genres: fiction and nonfiction. Reading helps you understand other writers’ styles and help you to develop your own.

3. How is your writing practice coming along? Are you managing to find at least ten minutes every day? I hope you are finding those ten minutes are extending into half-hours and then into hours as you get in the zone. New habits can form from regular practice over twenty-eight days. Is writing a regular practice for you now?

4. You may be a writer who likes to revise as you go. While I don’t encourage revising until the first draft of your project is done, I have heard some writers like to revise as they go. Having tried both ways, I have found it is more beneficial for me to complete the project before I go back to revise. Revising during the first draft slows me down considerably and I lose the momentum of the writing. Some writers revise the work they did the previous day before they start the present day’s work. They say reviewing helps to get them in the zone more quickly. The first few months or years of your writing career is to find what works for you, so try different ways and work with what comes naturally for you, and be open to change as you become more experienced.

I encourage you to keep writing, even though it can be slow going sometimes. Perseverance is the name of the game. Until next week, happy writing!

How do I become a writer?

How do I become a writer?

When I talk with people, I get a lot of questions about writing. The most common one is someone wants to become a writer and they ask me, ‘How do I become a writer?’ The quick and short answer is to sit down with a pen and paper, or at a computer and keyboard, throw in a good dose of self-discipline and get started. You know that already and during the next few weeks I am going to give you tips on how to write so that you will make time in your busy schedule to get down to the business of writing, and produce a piece of writing. I will always be expanding on the basics below in future connections with you.

Since you are starting, I am starting with the letters that make up the word Writer and some tips on how to improve your writing:

W — Words. This is the number one tool for writing. Without them you can’t make a story. Words are powerful. Depending on the words you choose, they can change the tone of your writing, you can use simple or complex words and create atmosphere and a world for your characters to live the lives that you have created for them.

Exercise for today: Learn to understand grammar and the difference between a verb, a noun, an adjective, an adverb and a pronoun.

R — Reading. It is through reading you will discover how to arrange words to get meaning. You will learn how other writers use words to get their meaning across. You will learn a whole heap of stuff about a whole lot of subjects you didn’t know existed. Reading expands your knowledge and adds tools to your writing craft. Read books about writing.

Exercise for today: Allocate at least an hour per day to reading. This will help with developing your own voice. Join the library and start borrowing books if you don’t have the means to build your own library.

I — Intention. Set your intention to write every day. All professional writers write every day. Some writers hold down day jobs far removed from writing. Your intention may be to write a number of words each day or to write for a number of hours. It’s up to you, whatever you can fit into your daily routine, so long as you carve out the time to meet your writing goals.

Exercise for today: Make the decision you want to write and set aside ten minutes to get started.

T — Time. To write, you need time. Writing doesn’t happen without the commitment to putting time into the activity. If you have a dream to write a novel, then you must write regularly. This is linked to your intention above. Set aside the hours you want to write, or a number of words you want to achieve at each writing session, and do it. Writing a novel takes hundreds of hours of dedication and commitment. To succeed, you must allocate a period of time every day. Allocating an hour of your day gives you 365 hours in the year. That’s enough time to write at least the first draft of your novel, including some revision time. And it gives you a day off when there is a leap year, like 2020, or you may choose to write that day, too.

Exercise for today: Now that you have written for your first ten minutes, work though how many hours you can set aside each day for your writing. Start off small and then increase until you are comfortable with the amount of time you want to set aside.

E — Edit. Every writer’s work needs editing. Even the professionals who have been writing for years still have their work edited. You can edit your own work to a point. You become so familiar with the work it is easy to overlook obvious errors. Pay a good editor to review your work before it goes up online or to a trade publishing house.

Exercise for today: There is no editing exercise. Wait until you have written your book or story to be the best you can make it, then send it to an editor. If you are writing a novel, this step will happen in 2021.

R — Revise. Revising must be done by you the author before the editing stage. Your writing will never be the way you want it to be for your first draft. This is where crafting your words is important to ensure they convey the correct meaning. It means rewriting until you get it right. I know of authors who revise some of their scenes and chapters up to forty times plus.

Exercise for today: There is no revising exercise. Wait until you have at least three chapters of your novel’s first draft finished or the full first draft. Get the words down first then go back to revise.

I hope you have found this post helpful. My next post is about choosing the genre, or what field of writing you want to work in.

If you have any questions, write them below.

Please subscribe to my email so that you never miss a post.

Happy writing!