What I really want is to be able to finish all of the series' of books that I have planned. I have three rather lengthy series' mapped out in my head and haphazardly on my computer that all take place within the same universe. I will have to write three books a year if I want to accomplish this goal by retirement age. It wouldn't be too difficult if I were able to write full time; however, my bills dictate that I must have a day job as well. But this story in my head is aching to be told in it's entirety and I don't want to be lying on my death bed crushed by the fact that I didn't tell it.
Ebooks and Kindle have made possible the rise of self-publishing which, in my opinion, changed how readers respond to the beginning of a story. If you read older books, they tend to start off slowly and are sometimes, unfortunately, hard to get into. However, if you stick with it, you're often rewarded with some brilliant storytelling. And people did stick with it, because they didn't have as many choices.
But now, due to the ease of self-publishing, the book market is saturated with indie authors. Of course, being one myself, I see this as a good thing. There are a lot of amazing novels that never would have gotten published otherwise. However, it has made the industry much more competitive and, as an author, you are faced with a lot of pressure to make your book stand out. The constant advice is that you have to 'grab the reader and never let them go' from the cover of your book right through to the final page. Therefore, that first chapter, or even the first sentence, better be exciting. This has really changed the structure of opening chapters, with many of them being tailored to begin with an action sequence, something that you didn't often see with older novels. It makes writing more challenging for the author, but, it does force us to bring more to the table for the reader.
I love reading dystopian and science fiction novels, so if I were to move outside of fantasy it would probably with one of those genres. They both have the same potential for extensive worldbuilding that I really enjoy. I do, in fact, have plans to include some dystopian and science fiction aspects to my my current series, while still keeping the basic elements of the story a fantasy.
I would have enjoyed my youth more! Life goes by a lot faster than you think it will, so I would have travelled more and taken advantage of my freedom while I could. That being said, since the years do fly by, I would also have been more serious about my life decisions and my career path.
When I was in grade 12, I dropped out of school and just kind of bummed around for a lot of years. I didn't graduate and go to university until I was 30. I didn't start seriously writing until I was almost 40, publishing my first novel at the age of 41. By this time I was neck-deep into motherhood and didn't have as much time to dedicate to writing as I would have liked.
If I could do it all over again, I would have finished school when I was supposed to and started writing right away. If I had written throughout my youth, I would have had a large catalogue of novels ready for self-publishing as soon as it was offered by Amazon. There was a lot less competition back then and much more potential for success as an indie author.
Honestly, it's usually all over the place as I try to squeeze in housework, taking care of my kids, as well as a few hours of actual paid work. Unfortunately, I have a lot to do and my organizational skills could use some help! But I do try to write one or two thousand words in the morning after my kids go to school, and then take an hour or two in the afternoon to do some editing on a previously written manuscript. When I have extra time, I try to watch videos and take courses to improve my writing and book marketing skills, as well as doing all the other random tasks that come with self-publishing. Unfortunately, this extra time doesn't seem to come around too often, which is why I haven't updated my social media accounts in.....well, I'm not sure how long!
Yes! In fact, my current series is based around something that has been prevalent in my real life. I am a lifelong sufferer of migraine headaches—with pain that usually affects the left side of my head—and I wondered one day, while in the throes of agony, “wouldn’t it be interesting if my suffering was caused by something that was missing inside of me, as if one part of my head was crying out in pain because it had lost its other half.†From this idea, the concept of ‘half a soul’ was born and my protagonist, Emerin, along with her intense headaches and search for her other "half," came to life as a character.
I can't tell you how many times I've clicked on a book's thumbnail just because I thought the cover looked cool! And how many times I've read a blurb because I thought the title was interesting and wondered what the book could be about. A book cover and title are the first things a potential reader sees and what you, as an author, present to them is the deciding factor as to whether they want to read more.
It is also important for a cover and title to be genre specific; a reader should know what kind of story they will be getting just by looking at the cover. Otherwise, they buy the book thinking they're getting something that they're not and that's a good recipe for a bad review!
I often experience writer's block when I get to a scene that includes a problem that I can't find a solution for, or has elements in it that I know nothing about (such as battle strategies, archery, weapons, armor, prison breaks, etc). My usual response to this is to leave that scene until last, but eventually the rest of the book is finished, and I'm still left with that one unbearable scene.
Sometimes, doing a lot of research helps, if the problem is just lack of knowledge on a particular topic. Finding solutions for a problem, however, is much more difficult, and generally what I do in these instances is just force myself to start writing. I write down everything I can think of that could possibly be included in the scene and anything that could possibly happen no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Eventually, through sheer volume of words and ideas, I can come upon a solution that fits the scene. And then, I can only hope that none of my readers notice any problems or inconsistencies with it.
I do read my reviews; I know some writers advise not to, but I can't help myself. Besides, I think there are a lot of good takeaways to be had from reviews, good and bad. Good reviews are amazing for boosting confidence; there is nothing more motivating as a writer than to know that someone out there enjoyed something you have written.
Bad reviews, even though they might sting, are also good for learning where you might need improvement. I'm not saying that every bad review is relevant, and some need to be taken with a grain of salt, since there are people that are biased, have an agenda, or simply don't know what they're talking about! There are also those readers that just don't enjoy your particular style of writing, even though it's perfectly fine, and other readers might love it. But if you get several negative reviews that are saying the same or similar things, it is worth investigating if there's any truth to their claims. Even though it doesn't seem like it, learning your books flaws is a positive thing that will make you a better writer.
It seems like a lot of writers don't feel this way, but I find the most difficult part is the writing itself! I've always enjoyed worldbuilding and crafting plots, and I have so many ideas for books scattered throughout my computer. I have almost all of my future series' plotted out, even chapter-by-chapter breakdowns for some of them.
When it comes to actually writing, however, I almost always try to put it off until I can't anymore. Then when I do write, I can only do it for a limited amount of time (maybe hour-long spurts or so), until my brain freezes up and I feel so mentally drained that I need to take a break. I feel way more tired after an hour of writing than I do after my zumba class!
But I do love how I feel afterword, though! When I read over what I've just written, the sense of accomplishment is fantastic, and the editing process is fun. If the words are already down in the document, I find reading and revising to make sentences and paragraphs flow better quite enjoyable. Unfortunately, to get to that point, I have to write them first!
Literary success, to me, would be to be able to live off of my writing alone. Then I would also be free to concentrate on it almost 100% and ultimately, be more productive.
But no matter how much money I am able to make, I don't think I'll feel truly successful if I don't finish all of the books that I have planned and see my series to completion in its entirety. There is a story that I want to tell, but if I don't tell the whole back story or side stories, the reader will never know. However, I will always know that there was more to it ,and having more tales within its universe would have made it that much more epic.
I've been writing for as long as I can remember, since before I could even physically write. I have stories from when I was so young that they are in my mom's handwriting, because I could only dictate them to her. When I was in high school, I would write silly stories in study hall to make my friend laugh when I would pass them to her. I don't think the teacher liked us very much for that! Unfortunately, in my younger years, I was too scattered and unmotivated to take on anything as intense as a novel, and I will always regret that I didn't start writing seriously at an earlier age.
My inspiration to start writing, I believe, came from pure boredom. I was lonely kid with no siblings, busy parents, and an unfortunate geographic location (my friends all lived far away and there was no public transportation in our small town). Back in pre-internet days, if you didn't have cable TV, there was nothing left to do but read, especially if half your year was cold and blanketed in snow. Eventually, I had read all of my books once, twice, three times, and then there was nothing left to do but write my own.
I'm not sure whether this question means good writing or good storytelling, because I believe the two things are slightly different, but I'll answer both.
The most important elements of good writing, in my opinion, are showing instead of telling, not using info-dumping, producing believable dialogue, and having overall good sentence structure and word usage--as in low repetition and low use of crutch words (my favourite crutch word is apparently "only;" it has shown up hundreds of times in my manuscripts). You also have to be willing to write and rewrite, reread and rewrite again, so you can make it better and better each time.
Good writing is very important, but even at it's best, it cannot save a bad story. Good storytelling includes a plot that has all the necessary elements (conflict, rising action, climax, a satisfying conclusion), believable and interesting characters arcs and development, and a likeable protagonist that the reader can relate to in some way.
Haha, people don't recognize me in public...I'm not quite there yet! I feel like even famous authors are less likely to get recognized than other, more visible celebrities, just due to the nature of their work. However, if that did happen, I would be elated, provided they said good things, of course. Although, even if they didn't like my work, I would still be excited that they recognized me; it would mean I was popular in some capacity. I absolutely enjoy talking to any reader really.
Though I have never been stopped on the street, I have had readers contact me through email and direct messages to tell me that they like my books. Let me tell you, every time that has happened, it's put a smile on my face for the rest of the day, possibly the rest of the week! Some people might believe that they're bothering an author by talking to them or asking questions, but I believe that most of us are thrilled to hear from readers and appreciate the recognition. There are a few authors out there that make a lot of money, but most of us are slogging away for pennies, just hoping for a big break, and reader appreciation goes a long way in making us feel like there's a purpose to what we do.
