Writing Archives - Shirley Holder Platt, author at The Write Romance

Can we have too much romance?

Can we have too much romance? I’ve had the Paul McCartney song about “silly love songs” in my head for a week, rattling around. It won’t leave me alone. My husband tells me that I have an earworm. But, really, I have to believe there are people out there that would answer the question with a yes. I feel sad for these people. In my world, romance is what makes life worth living.

Now, there is such a thing as having unreasonable expectations. And we can put the blame for that squarely on Plato. Plato? you ask. Yes, that guy way back in the golden age of Greece when all those thinkers were espousing their ideas, and in Plato’s case, ideals. He came up with the idea that there were two perfect lovers, ideal lovers if you will, who were split in two. Ever since one half is always in search of his/her other half for fulfillment. And people bought the idea. And they passed it down the generations until we have things like movies perpetuating it.

I believe in romance whole-heartedly. I don’t, however, believe there is only one person “out there” who can fulfill me, make me whole. Surely, in a world with nearly seven billion people, there’s more than one person who could make me happy. What I believe in is finding one person out of the people we meet that makes my heart happy. And then, when the sparks inevitably die down and everyday routine takes over, we hold onto them, treasure them, and keep the romance alive.

Now you may disagree with me, and that’s your right, but hear me out. Let’s say you’re a woman reading this. You found the man you thought was Mr. Perfect. He made your heart flutter, you felt lighter than air when he held you in his arms. You waited by the phone for his next call.

But that was twenty years ago. Now, you see the real person. No hiding the fact that he snores all night, doesn’t help with the dishes, or would rather watch a ball game than talk to you about your horrible day. How do you keep the romance alive in a situation like that?

You have a few choices. You can demand that he pay attention to you. You can dress up and hope he notices. Some people resort to playing games to make him jealous. (Not a good idea, by the way.) Or, you can pay attention to him. What’s changed? He’s complacent. That’s what. So how do you rekindle the fire? There are a million people with a million or more answers to that. My question to you is, what’s your part?

Do you tell him that you love him often? Do you thank him for the things he does do to help with the yard? Around the house? With the kids? Do you call him during his day to tell him you miss him? Do you watch a game with him once in a while, to show you’re interested in what he likes?

I took a Dale Carnegie course once upon a time. We were given the task of doing something with our loved one that would be unexpected and evaluate the response. We were supposed to pick an activity we normally shunned, but that our significant other either liked to do or dreaded. I chose to help detail his car. When he went outside to work on it, I suggested we do it together. He was pleasantly surprised. While we worked, I cracked a few jokes and praised his skills. He LOVED it.

The thing I want to tell you about though is the responses I got when I went back to my class to report on my activity. The men in the group sat with their mouths open while I told my story. They came up to me afterward, one at a time, saying they would be shocked if their wives or girlfriends did something like that. Shocked mind you.

What that tells me is that we can’t give up, even if he grows complacent. If we keep the spark in our hearts, there’s a much better chance that he will keep his burning. It won’t work every time. Some people aren’t compatible. I’m not saying I can solve the divorce rate AT ALL. I’m just saying, keep trying. And start before you have too much resentment built up. Maybe he’s not the perfect other-half you dreamed of, but he’s human. Most people respond to love and affection much better than upset and complaining.

If you keep your fires burning, your chances are better that he will respond accordingly. If he doesn’t and you’re done trying, well, there are lots of fishes in the sea. And sometimes we don’t need to go fishing. It can be better to be alone. Even if that’s your choice, don’t live without romance in your life. Give it to yourself if you must. Buy flowers, paint a room a romantic shade you love, read romance books, take yourself on a trip. You don’t have to wait for someone to bring romance into your life.

What do you think? Am I way off here? Do you agree? Let me know!

Am I good enough?

Am I good enough? If you are like me, you’ve asked this of yourself many times. Most of us ask it at one time or another, but creative souls seem to ask at some point during each creation. In the life of a novelist, the question often comes up right around the middle of a story. An idea comes, the first of the story flows, it practically writes itself, you know how it will end, but the middle? It wants to drag or sag. It’s been called the saggy middle by many, and when we hit it, many of us begin to doubt ourselves. We ask questions like: will I ever be able to pull out of these doldrums? How can I keep the momentum of the story going? And the inevitable, am I good enough?

If you suffer from self-doubt, please know that you are not alone. And remember that the answer is, “yes, you are good enough.” I believe that the desire to tell a story is innate in the human makeup. We learn by listening to the tales of those who’ve gone before us. A mystery enthralls us. We can’t take our eyes off a dramatic scene on the screen. The fact that you want to write means you’re probably a natural-born storyteller. If you’re feeling self-doubt, it’s normal. But it doesn’t have to rule you or stop your flow. Here are some ways to overcome those feelings of inadequacy.

1. And this is the biggest of them all – Never compare yourself to another person. We all have individual talents, processes, and timing. You’re unique. Embrace it.

2. Don’t let it stop you. Remember, we all feel this way at times. To succeed, you must feel the emotion but move through it. Either continue writing your story or take a few minutes to write in your journal. Whichever you choose, keep writing.

3. When you realize you are thinking negatively about yourself or your talent, tell yourself to stop those thoughts. Replace them with memories of times you have overcome obstacles, been successful, received compliments.

4. Keep a journal of your successes and open it anytime self-doubt creeps in.

5. Read books and listen to audio presentations that engender optimism.

6. Continue to learn your craft. Study story structure, grammar, pacing, characterization, dialogue. Read books, attend workshops, watch podcasts, or take a class. There are myriad free resources for writers online, at your public library. Take advantage of the tools at your disposal.

Beverly Sills, a woman with a world-renowned singing voice, once said, “You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.”

The world is waiting to hear your unique voice. Don’t let self-doubt paralyze you. I genuinely believe that you are good enough. If you’ve got the desire and have perseverance, you can overcome self-doubt.

If you have had success with other ways to overcome the “I’m not good enough,” voice, let me know!

Thanks, and Happy Reading – Happy Writing

Shirley Holder Platt

January 17, 2020

2020 – New Year, New Vision

It’s 2020 – new year, new vision – filled with opportunity and hope. I’m not one to make resolutions, but I do make plans. Before that, though, I take a look back at the year gone by to see what I accomplished and where I can do better. One of the things I did in 2019 was, I published another book in my Lover’s Moon series called Moon Dance. I also wrote the drafts of two more books and a novella: 1. book three in the Sandy Shores series called Return to Sandy Shores; 2. Sea-renity on Sandy Shores is a novella that will be available by the end of this month and; 3 book one in the new Hart Brothers series called Rescuing Zeke.

In 2019, I decided that I’d keep track of all the books I read. Some of you have asked what I read. The answer is, a lot in many categories/genres. My list for last year includes 200 books. I’ll not bore you with the whole list, but thought it would be fun to tell you my favorites in different categories, so here goes:

Beach Read: All Summer Long by Dorothea Benton Frank
Christian: Ninety-Nine Signs by Elizabeth Haxby
Classics: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Contemporary Romance: Moonshine Kisses by Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley
Comedy: Shove Your Mince Pie, Harry Christmas by Johnny Parker
Cowboys: Lone Star Protector by Jennie Jones
Cozy Mystery: Murder on the Road by Adriana Licio
Cozy Mystery Comedy: Jammed by Deany Ray
Dystopia: Reactance: A DiaZem Novella by Dacia M. Arnold
Fantasy: Alizarin Crimson by Erica Millard
Foodie Novel: Love Muffin and Chai Latte by Anya Wilde
Ghosts and Witches Fantasy: Cauldron Bubble by Wendy Knight
History: The Greatest Knight by Thomas Ashbridge
Horror: The Pain Colony by Shanon Hunt
Literature: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
Local Author: Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
Nonfiction: The Hooligans of Kandahar by Joe Kassabian
Poetry: Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver
Science Fiction: Nomads, Nicholas Erik
Short Story: Once Upon a Coffee by Kait Nolan
Women’s Fiction: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Zombies and Ghouls: Road to Babylon series by Sam Sisavath

I sincerely hope your 2020 will be full of love, light, and that you’ll make many happy memories to look back on in 2021.

Happy Reading!

Shirley Holder Platt

It’s all in the character arc.

Back in biblical days, as Noah closed the door and the first raindrop fell, maybe he turned to his wife and said, “It’s all in the ark.” Or maybe not, after all, we know that the unicorns got left out. But seriously, for building great characters, it is all in the arc, the character arc. The story is about the big something that changes the ordinary world and sets the main character (MC) on a new course. That change whether it be physical, mental or spiritual, is their arc. The plot is what happens. The arc is how your character is affected by those happenings.

There are several types of arcs including positive, static, and negative. At the beginning, your MC will believe he understands his world. Your job is to show him the falsehood underlying that belief. Some call this the great lie. When his eyes are opened, he will be forced to change his belief system. Think of Cinderella, she believes she’ll never get out of a life of hard labor and servitude. She has nothing at the beginning of the story to let her believe life will get better. She experiences many obstacles before becoming the co-ruler of her country. The truth she believed at the start has been exposed for the lie it always was. And the result is a changed woman.

The protagonist of most stories will have the largest character arc. When you build your story, you’ll be coming up with obstacles to put in the path of your MC. Choose obstacles that will play into the arc you want for your character. For a positive arc, you’ll have a character start out one way and end up being a changed, and for the better, person. Do you want a criminal to reform? Give him plenty of temptation and room to fall back into old ways. Would you like to see a shy young adult, (think of Cinderella) learn that she has the power within her to succeed? Push her into the limelight and let her grow before your readers’ eyes. When the tension is at its highest and your character makes a decision that would have been unheard of for her at the beginning of the story, a decision that changes her life for the better, she’s travelled the positive arc.

If you’re writing a series of books, you may have a fully developed hero who doesn’t change. You might present opportunities for growth and have him resist change. Your readers will sympathize. We’ve all got areas where we know improvement would be wise, but we can’t seem to change. That’s called a static arc. And it works, but you can have secondary characters changing around him to keep the story interesting. For example, you could have all his alcoholic friends reform, but he doesn’t.

Or maybe you start out with an innocent person, without a mean bone in his body. Life comes along and many bad things occur. The changes your character goes through turn him into a gang boss, intent upon revenge, or a wicked wizard wreaking havoc upon those who have wronged him. This is a negative arc, and it can make for a nail-biting, edge of the seat read. Think of Jack Nicolson’s character in the Shining as he descends further and further into insanity.

Whether you choose a static arc or one with significant positive or negative change ahead, use obstacles to fuel the resistance to change, anticipated growth, or descent. Your readers will not only relate, they’ll love you for it.

Five ways to make the holiday season work for you

Holiday stories make for some of the best selling books. Those authors have tapped into a goldmine. Everyone can relate to the myriad of emotions, the stress, the tug of family, the loneliness of having no one, the temptation to overindulge, the wonder in the eyes of children. We can easily get caught up in the whirlwind of activities that threaten to swamp us all. It’s an easy time to let good habits slip, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here are five ideas to help you stay on track during this busy season.

1. Find fifteen-minute breaks and write as many words as you can in that amount of time. You may find yourself surprised by how much you can get done this way. Or write during commercial breaks while watching television. The words will add up quickly.

2. Consider dictating parts of your story while running errands. I’ve been known to dictate a long text message that I never send. I simply leave the words unsent until I am somewhere that allows me to copy and paste them into the draft of a novel or short story. No special software required. No ideas forgotten.

3. Use the holiday decorating frenzy to fill your creative well. Take pictures of the great ideas you see. Some of them may serve as fodder when your muse seems to be visiting relatives in la-la land.

4. Have crazy relatives? Instead of letting them get to you, write down their antics and you’ll only have to make minor changes to have new and interesting characters for upcoming stories.

5. If you travel, take note of the changing scenery. Do the clouds look different? Describe them in words. Are there unfamiliar smells? Try to capture the essence for later recall. New foods? Describing taste is a great exercise. Feeling weary from waiting in an airport for a delayed flight? People watching will fill a journal quickly.

The gist of it is to use your time and experiences during the holidays to bolster your writing career. You will be presented with myriad opportunities. Keep your eyes and ears open for them. You may find obstacles falling away to be replaced by ideas that boost your energy level.
However you spend the time, I wish you a happy and productive holiday season.

Thanks, Shirley

Developing the Author Attitude: “Author Training Manual” – Nina Amir

The Author Training Manual by Nina Amir came out in 2014, but the material is still quite valuable to authors. Amir starts by describing the attitude an author needs to be successful in the marketplace. She says there is a difference between an author and a successful author. That difference: author attitude. An author who has come to terms with “the cold, hard facts about the publishing industry” is a person with the author attitude.

https://www.amazon.com/Author-Training-Manual-Comprehensive-Writing-ebook/dp/B00IPSCOQW

With so many books published these days, it has become increasingly difficult for readers to find the books they want to read. Amir says the dilemma many authors find themselves in, is usually because they haven’t learned to treat their writing and publications as a business. She then goes on to teach authors to change their attitude to one of a successful business person. She includes chapters to help you get a thorough understanding of what your book is about and who your audience will be. There is a chapter to help you figure out how many books you should expect to sell. She gives instructions on how to determine who your competitors are and who you are comparable to.

She teaches how to create a map and directions, which she calls the Author Training Process, which you can follow to complete a project. She takes no prisoners and sugar coats nothing. She understands that the business of publishing is a tough industry and gives practical advice to help aspiring authors become successful entrepreneurs.

She covers branding in one easy to understand chapter and encourages authors to think of themselves as more than just writers. She asks you to look at not only your book as a commodity but to consider additional products and services. Her principle of “Write More, Sell More” is something I’ve heard from virtually all publishing gurus I follow.

I’m not sure if she coined the phrase, but she asks the author to think of him/herself as an Authorpreneur. In other words, we should all take our blinders off and face the fact that writing is just one facet of our world if we want to become successful in this game. And I’m talking about success in the marketplace. The book will help you determine a business plan, develop your author bio, help you understand why you need to have a platform, and steps you through the process of preparing everything you need to pitch your book to a publisher.

Amir believes that even those who plan to self-publish should follow the steps an author would use to pitch to a traditional publisher. She says you will have clarification through the process and be able to determine if your idea is viable in the market.

I found her book to be an immense help when I was struggling with the idea of learning to advertise/market my books. I resisted the idea of being anything more than a writer. OK, so I learned to publish on Amazon, but that was all I wanted to do. Well, that was great if I only wanted my mom and sisters to read my books.

After reading Amir’s book, I decided to put on the Authorpreneur hat and stop whining. If you’re struggling with the idea of learning marketing, but you want to be a successful writer, I highly recommend reading “The Author Training Manual.” If you finish the book and still don’t want to be an Authorpreneur, at least you’ll know what it takes if and when you decide to bite that bullet.

If you have a comment or another book you’d like me to review, I’d love to hear from you. Send an email to me at splatt@thewriteromance.com

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As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

It’s Not Just a Love Story – 7 Elements for Romance

A romance novel is not just a love story. Romance readers have specific expectations. They will be looking for each of the following pieces, even if they don’t know it. You don’t want to leave any out. The readers may not know why, but they’ll know something’s missing.

Setting – Is your story a contemporary? What about the hero and heroine’s world might conspire to keep them apart? Is she an upwardly mobile executive and he’s the janitor that comes in each night while she’s working late? What scandal would ensue should they get together? Are you writing a Regency Romance? Your readers will know the world of Britain in the 1800s, so do your research. In romance novels, society tends to get in your characters’ way. You may not have to build an entire world like in fantasy or science fiction, but you will need to explore the pressures society imposes on your couple.

Cute-Meet – When your heroine meets her hero it should be obvious that these two are destined to be together. It may not be apparent to them, but your reader will know.

Something in their way – It may be obvious that these two are destined to be together, but as the writer, it’s your job to throw up obstacles that keep them apart. If girl meets boy and they immediately live happily ever after, something’s missing. It’s no fun unless they overcome barriers in their way. So build in external as well as internal obstacles. It’s OK to torture them a little, we know it’ll come out good in the end, right?

It’s no fun unless they overcome barriers in their way.

The profession of love – At some point, one or both should declare their love for the other. You can have them both be in agreement, or you can have one say the “L” word and scare the other off, but somebody has to say it. Make these scenes swoon-worthy, your readers will thank you.

Point of Doom – Near the climax, you’ll need to add a new obstacle that will seem to kill the romance. This is usually something external that convinces the two that things cannot work out.

Dawning – This is an internal awakening to the fact that, despite the horrible external circumstances, the object of your hero or heroine’s love is worth it all and truly lovable. Your story is, after all, about two people growing into better people as they grow into their love for one another. Let the blinders fall off. Reveal the strength and honor that was hidden at the point of doom. If you’ve had a “bad guy” messing with your couple’s bliss, you might want to call him out at this point. That’ll make your readers happy. Everyone likes to see justice served. Maybe your “bad guy” sees the light and turns himself around. That’ll work too.

The HEA or HFN – In the old days, romance novels always ended with a marriage proposal. These days, you might have a Happy Ever After proposal, or you might opt for a Happy For Now ending. Maybe they move in together. They may not get married, but they will make a commitment. It’s always a good idea to throw a party, right? So let your couple celebrate. It’ll make the HEA or HFN more poignant.

Photo by Filipe Almeida on Unsplash

Incorporate these points along with your basic three-act structure and you’re sure to have a winner.

If I’ve left an important element out, or if you have a comment, I’d love to hear from you. Send an email to me at splatt@thewriteromance.com

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top photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Just Keep Writing – 12 Steps for New Authors

Of the flood of information about marketing books, the best I’ve found is to just keep writing. So that’s what I’m doing. In the seven and a half months since I retired from full-time corporate work, I’ve written three novels and one book of short stories. I’ve let my friends and family know what I’ve done. I’ve built a website and started a blog for people who like to read and/or write romance stories. I’m making pins and using Pinterest to drive people to my blog. What’s the hardest part of the whole thing? It’s having patience. Here are twelves steps I’ve learned on my journey as a new author:

12 steps for new authors:

Follow the advice of others who have gone before you
Write every day
Study your craft
Read extensively
Know your genre
Let the first draft be crapola, just get the story on paper
Learn how to self-edit
Decide you like to rewrite
Pay a good editor; you can’t find everything yourself
Get a great cover
Understand keywords and metadata and categories
Just keep writing

Step 1. Follow the advice of others who have gone before you.

Think about other things you’ve learned to do in your lifetime. Riding a bike? Someone told you how to get on, get started, keep your balance. Maybe they ran along beside you on the day you rode without training wheels. You took their advice, and it helped you accomplish your goal. Do that with your writing. There are myriad podcasts, books and blog posts out there. Plug in and listen, then do what they say. When you’re established, give back. Until then, learn from the generous people out there.

Step 2. Write every day

This one is huge. You can only get better with practice. Without it, you will grow rusty, start listening to your inner critic telling you that you can’t do this, maybe give in to fear and develop a block. You can avoid all that nasty stuff if you just keep writing. Every single day. You aren’t required to write a masterpiece each day. Just write something. Maybe you’ll toss it out. It might spark something new. Perhaps it will be a masterpiece. You’ll never know what it’ll be unless you write it. So get out that pen and paper, your laptop, your favorite quill and parchment, your recorder – whatever tool you prefer – get it out and use it.

Step 3. Study your craft

If you wanted to become a brain surgeon, you’d sign on for some extensive education, right? Well, you want to be an author, so sign on for training. If you’re like me, you’ve already gathered books on the writing life. Maybe you’ve read half of some, a third of others. But did you take them to heart? Do they have exercises that you never tried? Get them out, work through the activities. On the days when you are stuck and can’t decide what to write, follow prompts available in the books or online. Understand story structure, character arcs, the three acts, pinch points, conflict, story, plot, climax, and resolution. Know these parts so well that you could teach them to someone just starting out.

Step 4. Read extensively

Wish you could write like Hemingway? Evanovich? Patterson? Austen? Roberts? Read their books. How do your favorite authors use timing? Study the way they turn a phrase or convey their sense of humor? How do they surprise you? The more you read (and the better authors you read), the more you will understand how the authors made the stories. If you’re anything like me, some of the “tricks” of the trade will become clear upon closer inspection. Your conscious mind will understand how and what to do. But I believe that some of the knowledge will soak into your subconscious mind. Don’t worry; it won’t stay there permanently. It will float up when you’re practicing. You’ll find your writing improving, and it will come from studying the masters.

Step 5. Know your genre

Your target readers know what they like to read. They know their favorite genre. You should know it too. You should know it better than them because you’ll have studied books by other authors. You’ll have taken the time to dissect the stories and put them back together again. Love the genre you chose. If you do, your passion will show through, and your readers will love your books. If you write historical romance, get your facts straight. Your readers will catch mistakes. If you know you aren’t that detail oriented, maybe you’d better stick with contemporary stories. But for heaven’s sake, don’t try to sell a steamy, sexy romance to someone looking for sweet, clean romance or vice versa.

Step 6. Let the first draft be horrible, just get the story on paper

You can dilly-dally for years trying to make your first draft perfect. Or, you can go ahead and tell the story. Use lousy grammar, forget about how you flunked out on that spelling bee in third grade, stop fretting over the perfect name for the book. Just write the story that’s in your heart. You’ve sought out mentors and followed their advice, be they in person, through books, on podcasts, youtube videos, classes, workshops, etc. You’ve studied your craft, you’ve practiced writing every day, you’ve kept up with your love of reading by devouring your favorite books, and you know the genre you love and want to write. So, go for it. Now. No more waiting.

Step 7. Learn how to self-edit

OK, you’ve taken me seriously. You’re following steps one through six. You’ve finished your first draft. Now, what do you do? Something that’s worked for me before is to set the manuscript aside and let it rest. Get a massage, ride a horse, do the housecleaning you’ve neglected. Give yourself a week to get some distance – more if you need it. Now, and not a minute before you finish your first draft, you can self-edit. Until this moment, you’ve tuned your inner critic’s voice out. Now it’s time to go through the draft and “fix” it. You can leave that inner critic’s voice off. Instead, find your internal editor. You know who I mean; the one who encourages you, the one who loves your story and only wants to make it better. Turn that voice on now and look at your manuscript. Check that your story structure is intact. Did you follow the three-act structure? If so, did you hit all the right points in all the right places? Does your protagonist have the same color eyes all the way through the book? (Don’t laugh, I’ve had a brown eyed woman’s eyes grow a deeper green when she got angry before.) After you’ve sewn up all plot holes and are satisfied that the structure will hold, you can move on to grammar and line editing. Not sure if you need a comma there? Check out Grammar Girl. Get the free version of Grammarly. Pull out the style book you stuck on your bookshelf when you graduated college. Use spell check. Get your story polished as best you can on your own. Don’t expect an editor to do all your work for you, unless you have unlimited funds, of course.

Step 8. Decide you like to rewrite

If you followed Step 7, you’ve probably already done quite a bit of rewriting. I say now is the time to choose to enjoy the rewrite. It’s part of the process all authors go through. It’s essential. It makes your book better. So, why not enjoy it? Decide to make it fun. You’re going to do it anyway.

Step 9. Pay a good editor; you can’t find everything yourself

No matter how good you are, you can not see your own story the way a new set of eyes will. The first set of eyes should be those of your editor. You don’t want your readers to find your plot holes, your dangling articles, passive voices, or grammar goofs. Find an editor that loves your genre. Find someone who will tell you what they like about your story and be honest about what can make it better. There are several kinds of editors; some will help you with structure and plotting, others are line-editors who will comb through line by line to find any typos, punctuation errors, and/or misspelled words. You might want one of each. As in any twelve-step program, if you don’t like your editor, you can let her/him go and get a new one. If you find one that works well with you and gives you the results you’re looking for, you’ve hit gold. Hang on tight!

Step 10. Get a great cover

In this busy market, people take mere seconds to peruse books on shelves or online. You want a book cover that tells the reader of your genre that they’ve found one they’ll like. You have to convey that message in seconds, so make sure you’ve studied best-selling books in your field and pay them the ultimate compliment – copy them. Don’t plagiarize, but see what they are doing and follow their lead. Use similar fonts. If you’re writing romance, use script or something with curlicues. These days, the first look a potential reader has is a thumbnail picture, so don’t get too cluttered. You can create your own, but the consensus is that it’s worth the money to pay for a book cover.

Step 11. Understand marketing terms like keywords, metadata, and categories

After you’ve written, self-edited, rewritten, given your work to an editor, rewritten, had some beta-readers provide you with feedback, revised some more. And all the while, you’ve been reading other authors, continuing to study your craft, found a great cover, and you think you’re all set. Now it’s time to self-publish. Before you hit that button, do a little research on books in your genre so that you can use keywords, metadata, and categories that will attract readers to your book.

Step 12. Just keep writing

I followed these steps to write my first novel. Then I spent hours staring at the report sections of CreateSpace and KDPSelect, willing the public to buy my books. I wasted days on wishing when I should have been writing the next book. Because, when I was writing the second novel, I wasn’t worried about the first one selling or not. I just kept writing. Then I published the second book and started writing the third one. Now, when people read one book, I have prompts in the back to lead them to my other books. It’s not easy getting attention for a new book by an unknown author. If you do finally reach an audience other than your immediate family and friends, and if they enjoy your book, they’ll search for another you’ve written. If you’ve not written another, they’ll find someone else who has. You want repeat customers, so you have to give them something new to read. It’s simple as that. Just keep writing.

Photo by Laura Kapfer on Unsplash

What have you learned on your writing journey? I’d love it if you’d leave a comment below. Or contact me by email.

I write romance stories. If you’d like a free downloadable pdf of my book “What’s Love Got to do with Free Beer? and other short stories,” subscribe to my email list. I’ll send you a message when I publish a new post and keep you updated on the publication of my new books.

9 lessons learned from writing my first novel

I learned a lot when I wrote my first novel. I thought today that I’d share nine lessons I learned. But first, a little about how I got started. I’d always written short stories. One day, I thought to myself, what if I just kept writing a lot more words? Wouldn’t I end up writing a novel? So that’s what I did. I remember telling my husband at one point, “I’ve written 10,000 words. That’s more than I’ve ever written on one story before.” And I just kept writing. When I got to about 45,000 words, I had a complete story, and I liked it. I thought other people would like it too. I gave it to a few friends, and they were kind.

At some point in this journey, I decided to take my writing seriously. I was retiring from my day job and started telling people that I was going to write a novel. Telling others that I’m going to do something is one way I motivate myself to get a job done. As long as the idea stays in my head and I don’t share it, I don’t act on it. If you have trouble getting started, try it. It may help you get off the starting block.

Lesson one: A funny thing happens when you tell people your plans. The universe starts moving things your way. I truly believe this. On one of my last days at work, a senior executive asked me what I planned to do in retirement. I thought about saying, “rock in my rocking chair,” to get out of discussing my plans. Instead, I decided to be honest. “I’m going to take my writing seriously. I want to write a novel,” I said. “I have a story written; I just need to find a good editor.”

She immediately perked up. “You know (Name), don’t you?”

“No, who is she?”

“She just ended a project with our company. She’s a scriptwriter and an editor. Would you like to meet her?”

I couldn’t very well say no. I’d just stuck my neck out and stated that I needed an editor and didn’t know where to find one. So, I said yes, I’d like to meet her.

“Shall I call her? She lives close by,” was the reply.

Lesson Two: Say yes. I said yes. That’s another thing to which the universe pays attention. When we say yes to new possibilities, it’s like the world takes us seriously and starts helping us. Within thirty minutes, I was sitting face to face with a woman who became my first editor. I hired her on the spot. We met later after I’d sent and she’d read my story.

Lesson Three. Listen to what the experts tell you. The comment that I remember the most from my first visit with an editor is, “What you have written is more like a treatment. A good novel needs to adhere to a certain structure. Most follow the three-act structure.”

Well, I’d never heard of a treatment before. I didn’t want to appear ignorant, so I shook my head in agreement and filed the comment away to look into later. What I learned later on Wikipedia was this:

A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. … Treatments read like a short story, but are told in the present tense and describe events as they happen.

Hmm. I read that and honed in on the words “first draft.” She gave me a world of information about story structure using three acts during that meeting. I went away knowing I had a lot to learn, but hopeful.

A good novel needs to adhere to a certain structure. Most follow the three-act structure.

Lesson Four: Learn your craft. I started studying story structure and looking for it in everything I read or watched. Low and behold, my editor was correct. Story structure was everywhere. It’s been around since the first Greek tragedies were written and performed. It was almost annoying. I explained what I was learning to my husband, and he was soon pointing out the different plot points. It’s like how you don’t notice blue cars on the road until you buy one. They were always there; you just weren’t paying attention.

I read every book on writing I could find. It’s funny; you’ll run across all kinds of advice in those books about outlining or writing by the seat of your pants and everything in between. I came to the conclusion that I’d never done an outline in my life, so why would I start now? In school, when outlines were required, I’d always written the paper then gone back through and outlined afterward. Now, I recommend this only if you’ve drunk from the well of structure until it has become a part of your very DNA. And if you’ve always loved outlining, then I highly recommend it as a way to start your book. We’re all different and have to find our paths. So, I learned about structure. I let the information sink deep into past my skin to my innermost being.

Lesson Five: Writing is Re-writing. Then I rewrote that first draft using the knowledge I’d learned. It surprised me. I ended up with quite a different story. It was a story that had more depth, which had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yay, I’d written a novel, but it needed more work. I combed through line by line looking for extraneous commas, misspelled words, missing indentations, and unneeded adjectives and adverbs. My editor helped me understand where my protagonist should be stronger; my conflict should be more prone to be the kind of obstacles my protagonist could grow from overcoming, my ending should give credit to the story and not end abruptly with everything tied up in a neat bow like a Christmas present.

Lesson Six: Don’t rely on your editor to find everything. Self-edit. Then I published it on Amazon as an ebook and a paperback. I felt an immense sense of accomplishment. I took pictures of myself holding that first book. I posted photos of the cover on Facebook so all my friends could see what I’d done. And then I sat down to read the paperback. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life (well other than the time I peed myself while in the third-grade spelling bee line-up.) There were all kinds of errors I’d missed before. The spelling of one character’s name kept changing; I had quotes where no one was speaking; I had a car stolen from the protagonist then she drove it somewhere. Yikes. Big lesson learned. Take proofreading seriously. It’s going to be out there for the world to see. Take a little time to fine tooth comb your book. The good thing about self-publishing these days is you can correct errors easily. The original books will still have the errors, but new ones won’t. Whew.

Lesson Seven: If they can’t find it, they can’t read it. To be honest with you, I’m still struggling with this part of the process. I’ve got a loyal following of friends and family. Some of their friends and family members are starting to find me. I haven’t paid for any advertising. I have an author page on Amazon.com. I’ve built a website and started blogging. I’m building an email list. I’m learning to better focus my blog posts to attract my “tribe.”

Lesson Eight: Patience is a virtue. I now understand that story we’ve all heard a million times about the person who worked at their craft/art for many years only to become an overnight success when the public discovered them. I’m learning patience. I’m learning to pay my dues.

Lesson Nine: Keep writing. The most important lesson I’ve learned is that practice improves my writing. I write something every day. Sometimes it’s nothing more than stream-of-consciousness nattering on the page; some days it’s golden and doesn’t even need editing because it’s that amazing. But most days, it’s just me putting words down on the page to carry my characters along on their journey. And that’s good because that’s the only thing that will get the next novel written. I can think about it all I want, but sitting down and writing is the only solution. I’ll keep writing and putting my work out there. People will find a book; maybe a friend will loan them a paperback, or tell them about an ebook they read and enjoyed. If I have more books, and people like what they read, they’ll buy my other books. And that’s all I want – for people to find my books and enjoy reading them.

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

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Thank you and as always,

Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Create Multi-dimensional Characters from your own life

As writers, we’re always looking for inspiration for our characters.

We want them to come alive for our readers the same way they do in our heads. One of my favorite tunes is “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” by Paul Simon. It’s a catchy tune. As it ran through my head today, I started to think of the many ways to find inspiration for our characters. I ended up making a Pin for my Pinterest Board on Writing Ideas. I called it 20 places to find inspiration for characters. Not as catchy as Paul Simon’s title, but then, I’m not a songwriter.

The graphic is shown, so I won’t write the 20 places here. I’ll just say that my best advice to you is this:

Before you write, study people.

Go to the grocery store and listen to people talking in the check-out line. Don’t let the people disturb you when they are behind you talking before a movie starts. Instead, use them as research. Are their voices high and screeching? Do they rumble, mumble, fumble for words? Does your chair vibrate when they talk, or do your ears hurt? You’ll never be annoyed again. The world will become your laboratory. After you notice the tone, the sound of their voices, tune in and see what they’re saying. Did Aunt Martha really have the nerve to tell Uncle Ricky off, finally? Did the dishwasher break and he can’t afford to call a repairman? Does that mean the poor guy is washing dishes every day now, or is he going out to eat every meal? You’ll be surprised to find what people will talk about in public spaces. As an added bonus, they often talk about other movies, or what they’re looking forward to getting out of this one. What do they like? What do they dislike? The same will probably ring true in what they’ll read. It’s all useful.

Are the neighbors outside with their stereo playing while they yell at each other? What are they fighting about? Are they fighting, or are they just really loud people? You need drama, why not borrow some of theirs? Just remember, when you write dialogue, leave out the uh, ahs, ahems. Cut to the chase, get to the point, and don’t be redundant. OK, that was a joke, did you get it?

While you’re gathering these tidbits, start paying attention to how these people look. Did she really wear those shoes to the dog park? How much do you think his sneakers cost? Does anyone like that facial hair? Where does that tattoo stop? Could she get any more jewelry on? Does her bracelet make a racket as she searches through her hobo bag for her credit card? This is good stuff, people. Don’t ignore it, grab your pen and notebook and write it down. You’ll never remember it later if you fail to capture it now.

You can take this further. What are these people doing? Are they constantly typing into their phone? Are they plugged in with headphones, oblivious to the world around them? Did he really just steal that parking spot from the guy sitting there with his blinker on patiently waiting for the driver to back out? (Let’s hope it wasn’t you waiting patiently.) How do all three people in this scenario react? You could get a whole scene out of this one incident.

Did it start to rain? What do people do? Run? Open umbrellas? Curse? Laugh and splash in the puddles? Huddle under an overhanging roof? Do they talk to one another?

Is it hot? What are they wearing? Does she have a thong on or no underpants at all? Wouldn’t it be better if he put a shirt on to cover that belly? Does she need a pedicure to fix that peeling polish?

Get the idea?

It’s all fodder for your creative fire. Ignore it at your peril. Notice it and be thankful for it. It’s free for the taking. Now, get your chosen form of writing material out and go to it! One of the best things about being a writer is being able to have imaginary friends. Take all these traits and throw them together to come out with new and interesting people. When you write a romance, you’re telling a love story.

Invent imaginary people you want to hang out with, that you’d fall in love with.

Give them real voices, things to say, put them into real situations. Make them come alive in the eyes of your readers. If you can create believable characters, you’re at least halfway there.

As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Did this article inspire you, give you ideas of how to start? Send me an email and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

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As always, Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

thewriteromance.com

Photo by Marina Durán on Unsplash