Writing 101: Who Should You Trust?

Are you a good writer, or a bad one? I’m pretty sure that every single author and would-be author has asked themselves this question. If only the answer was as simple as that. But you’re still going to want to know the answer, and you’ll find yourself searching for validation everywhere. So when you want to test your own storytelling skills, who should you trust to tell you the truth?

To Tell the Truth

Should you keep on climbing that mountain, or throw in the towel? Are you good with dialogue, bad with your narrative, terrible at descriptions or sloppy in your research? You’re going to want to know all of these things at some point, and maybe you’ll want to know them more than once. So who can you turn to for the answer that’s honest? In the literary world, there are many opinions you may want to trust. Should you?

Writing 101: Being An Author Will Drive You Crazy

For some reason, a certain amount of eccentricity is tolerated in artistic people. It’s weird and gross that Vincent Van Gogh cut off his ear, but he was an artist. You know how artists are. Some authors famously did really weird things, and people just accept it. But being an author can potentially drive you crazy...as in, actually insane. After all, I’m pretty sure it’s happened before…

The Crazy Ones
If you believe that you must be mad in order to be a genius, there are some authors who were most certainly geniuses. Were they mad to begin with, or did being authors drive them insane?

Writing 101 Redux: Putting Your Book in Print

The whole world is reading ebooks these days, but plenty of people still love the feel of a print book. It's really easy to turn your self-published books into ebooks, and this week's TBT Writing 101 tip will tell you exactly how to do it...for free. 

Putting your book in print is a bit of a procedure, but it's not difficult. Once you're in print, you can open yourself up to a lot more readers (and convince your family members that yes, you did write a book). Get yourself at least one copy of your own book, and put it on a shelf where you can show it off. Maybe one day, you'll fill the shelf with books.

Writing 101: Writing an Accent

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but I’m from the south. We talk a little bit slower here, because there’s no rush. Maybe we forget a g, every now and then. People in the south speak with an accent, but so do people from Boston -- whom I cannot understand even when I really try. Writing an accent is really an art form, and it’s really easy to do badly.

Like the Way She Talks

“Ow, eez, ye-ooa san, is e? Wal. fewd dan y' d-ooty bawmz a mather should, eed now bettern to spawl a pore gel's flahrzn than ran awy athaht pyin. Will ye-oo py me f'them?”

No, I didn’t just accidentally sit on my keyboard to create that mess. That’s actual text from an actual book. It’s an accent. Cockney, to be specific. Can you tell what it says? Because I can.

Writing 101: Fake Memoirs

One of the best books I ever read was a total lie. I didn't know that for many years. It was called "Go Ask Alice," and it was a diary. The book was full of powerful imagery, and frankly talked about stuff that was really relevant to me: dating boys, worrying about skin care, coming up with new ways to style one’s hair. But mainly, it was a book about drug use. When I first read it, I didn't know there was such a thing as fake memoirs. But there is, and this can be a powerful form of storytelling.

Go Ask a Writer

There is no Alice, at least not as far as this particular book is concerned. It was published anonymously, which always made it even more intriguing, and the actual first name of the diarist is never revealed. Most believe, however, that it was written by Beatrice Sparks. She is the sole copyright holder, and she wrote several other so-called diaries that were supposedly penned by teens. But no matter who wrote it, the book is still good. I still really like it, and I've recommended it to others who liked it. People write fake memoirs because fake memoirs work. It might work for you, too.

To Live Deliberately

If I told you I was leaving everything behind to go live alone in the woods, you might think I have gone insane. And maybe Henry David Thoreau's family and friends thought he was crazy, too, when he went off to the woods. He told the world that he did it so he could live deliberately. ...What do you think that means?

The Mad Writer

Henry David Thoreau decided to step outside the real world, the everyday world that the rest of us are forced to contend with, so he could go live in the woods. But he didn't just live in the woods, he wrote a book about it. And when "Walden Pond" was published, the world understood. Henry David  Thoreau wasn't crazy when he went into the woods. He was doing research.

Writing 101 Redux: Paragraph Indents

Do you use the tab button when you're writing a book? After you read today's TBT Writing 101 post, you won't do that anymore.

In today's Throwback Thursday writing tip, I'm going to explain why the tab space is the Devil's own invention.

Writing 101: Fear of Commitment

It isn’t easy to devote yourself to one story, just one story, when there are so many stories that want to be told. On Monday, you may get an amazing idea for a story that’s been brewing in your mind for a while. But on Thursday, you may figure out the answer to some nagging plot question on that novel you’ve been working on since January. When you find yourself writing a bunch of different projects at the same time and finishing none of them, you need to ask yourself a question: do you have a fear of commitment? 

Sticking it Out

I’ve worked on three different books in as many months, and when I look back at my progress for each one I’m always surprised by how little there is. I work on one story, start thinking about another and switch to it. It’s a good way to get all my ideas down when I’m having them. It’s a terrible way to write a book. Sometimes, authors need to commit to just one project. Otherwise, you might not get any of them finished.