Writing 101: How Do You Know You're Obsessed?

The minute I started thinking of one of my books as "my masterpiece," I should have known I was in serious trouble. Not just because it's arrogant, which clearly it is, but because it's the start of an unhealthy obsession. It's something that happens to lots of artists and storytellers, and I'm here to warn you that it could happen to you.

Obsession

As an artist, it's very easy to become obsessed. So easy, in fact, you may not even realize that it's happening to you. There's a way to find out.Obsessed artists generally have a single trait in common. If you have it, too, then you might be obsessed.

Writing 101: Rewrite it Already

If you can't make the history work, if things feel off, if the timeline you envisioned just isn't working out, quit trying to make it work and rewrite it already. If it isn't working right now, it isn't going to start working five chapters from now. And I should know. I found this out the hard way.

Writing, Again

Rewrites are really the worst. No freelance writer wants to rewrite something they already wrote, and no author ever wants to go back and change a story that's already down on paper. But sometimes, what you've written just isn't working with the rest of what you still need to write. Stories can be tricky like that. And before they trick you into writing 100 pages too many, go back and rewrite.

Writing 101 Redux: Using Pen Names

Many writers are using pen names to develop a dedicated author personality and presence online. But how careful are you being about the name you're selecting?

Read my Writing 101 post for more info about using pen names this Throwback Thursday, and remember why it's so important to choose a great one.

Writing 101: Stand By Your Guns

Being a writer means making a lot of decisions, hard ones. You're going to have kill people, traumatize others. Someone is going to have to lose. You're going to write things that people don't like, sometimes. When it comes to making decisions as a writer, you have to be firm. You have to stand by your guns. 

Ready, Aim, Fire

I like to make all my decisions right at the beginning of a book. This is why I create an outline. Once you decide who's going to die and who's going to fail and which heart is going to get broken, you need to stick with those decisions. It gets harder to do that if you're writing a series and you begin to develop attachments to the characters. It gets more difficult as readers form attachments to those characters. But as a writer, you stick to your guns.

Writing 101: Going it Alone

I didn't tell a single member of my family, nor any of my friends, that I was writing a book. I didn't say a word about it to anyone, in fact, until it was published. Now I self-publish, and I still find it difficult to talk about my current projects. I'm used to going it alone, but I've learned that it's the absolute worst way to go about writing.

Unsupported

Writing anything is difficult. Writing a book is an exercise in self-torture. And writing a good book takes more than what you currently have inside of you. If you're going to write something great, you're going to need other people in your life to help you get through it. At the very lest, you're going to need someone who can remind you to eat something every once in a while.

Writing 101: Writing About Writing

Here's how you know you're watching a movie that was adapted from a Stephen King book: a) something weird is going on; b) the people in the story don't know that weirdness is going on; and c) --and this is most important-- one of the characters, probably the main one, is a writer. Stephen King writes about writers all the time, because that's what he knows. But here's what I learned in my time of writing about writers: mostly, it's only writers who are interested. Writing about writing is all well and good, but it's even better if you don't do that at all. I'll tell you why. 

On Writing...

People are always interested when they find out that I'm a writer...at first. Once they understand that writing is me sitting on my couch and staring at my screen, they realize that writing is actually pretty boring. It is tedious, hard work. And it isn't interesting. This is why you shouldn't write about writing.

Singing of Jade's 'Song'

"It's a tale of mermen, selkies, and adolescent youth trying to determine their place in this newly discovered strange world."

"Varden puts together this beautifully colorful and vividly imaginative world that immediately draws you in. I was entranced from the first chapter and enjoyed every twist and turn."

"Song of the Sea" has been reviewed by Ann Livi Andrews at her blog. Go check it out to learn which underwater species I would rather be, what you can expect in the next installment of the Saltwater Secrets trilogy, and who my favorite author is!

After you read the review, get your copy of Song of the Sea.

Writing 101 Redux: Naming Characters

Today's Throwback Thursday covers a fundamental storytelling tool that all writers need to know: how to name a character.

Get all the tricks for naming characters, and find out where to go to make it easier, in this TBT Writing 101.