What to Do After Writing a Book: The Do’s and Dont’s

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If you’ve finished writing a first draft, you’ve accomplished something huge. You’ve brought your book idea to life and should be proud of yourself! But once the celebration dies down, you might experience a moment of silence as you look at your finished manuscript. You wonder: What comes next?

Maybe you’re not sure what you should do next, or maybe you have an idea of all the things that could follow and feel disorganized and paralyzed by all the possibilities.

The fact is, a lot of budding writers don’t think beyond the “finishing the book” part of writing.

So what is next? This article teaches you what to do after writing a book. 

My FIRST First Draft

I finished my very first first draft in 2011. It was too long (about 145K) and poorly plotted (back in the days before I learned what good writing was), though not a totally pathetic attempt for a first novel.

I sat on this book for several months, then decided to send it off to a proofreader and self publish it.

Not surprisingly, it sunk like a stone into the corners of the internet, never to be heard from again.

My SECOND First Draft

My second first draft was a bit more complicated.

I had participated and completed several NaNoWriMos, during which I wrote several short novels in the 50K-60K word range. Several of them had similar themes.

After my first book didn’t go anywhere, I took out a few of these, compile them into one, slapped a title on it, and called it a book.

As you probably guessed by now, I never rewrote any of these stories. I simply dumped them together into the semblance of a book.

This book never saw the light of day. After throwing it together, I never even bothered paying for the editing and publishing that I did for the first book. This book sat on my computer for a number of years, until the computer crashed and I lost the manuscript completely.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not especially sad about it. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t up to snuff.

My THIRD First Draft

It wasn’t until my third first draft, Headspace, that I finally humbled myself enough to learn exactly how to treat a first draft. This book is the reason I went on to write my fourth, fifth, and sixth first drafts within the span of two years.

So what changed?

“

What do you do after you finish writing a book? This article shares the Do’s and Don’ts that can guide any writer.

What NOT to Do After Your First Draft

Before we go into what I learned from my third book, I want to talk about a few things not to do with your first draft.

These are lessons that I learned the hard way and hope that by sharing them, you won’t have to learn them the same way.

Do NOT think of your book as “done”

A first draft is a beginning, not an end.

If you’ve never finished a book before, you may feel like you’ve reached some kind of finish line.

The more appropriate way to think is that you’ve reached the end of your first chapter. It is certainly an accomplishment but there is still plenty of work ahead.

Do NOT be afraid of editing

I was afraid of editing.

I admit it. The thought of editing so many pages seemed incredibly scary and daunting, and this is ultimately the reason I never attempted to edit my first and second book.

Editing a book for the first time can be intimidating indeed, but as I will cover later, all you need is a method and a plan.

Do NOT publish your first draft

Maybe there are some literary geniuses out there who turn out a perfect book on their first try, but realistically, that is not the case for us commoners. The majority of first drafts are not ready for literary agents, a publishing house, or even to see the light of day.

The self-publishing process is easy and available these days with services like Kindle Direct Publishing, but the fact is, ease of access do not always produce successful authors. Publishing my first draft without going through a plot editing process was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made as a writer. A first draft is a starting point, not a finished book.

Remember, writing a book doesn’t make it good, rewriting it does.

What to Do After Your First Draft

I am all about making plans. The truth is, having a plan makes me feel a lot less anxious when I have too many options or too many things to do.

If you’re anything like I used to be, lost and confused after you finish your book, trying following the steps below:

1. Take a break (but not for too long)

You’ve probably heard the advice of walking away from your book to rest your mind. This is important, but I want to add something to that—rest with purpose.

This break should not be too long because being away from the world of your story for too long may cause you to lose the momentum needed to properly edit the book. I recommend no more than two weeks.

During this time, you will find your mind wandering back to the story periodically.

You should not actively try to solve the problems within your book during this time, but there’s no way to fully keep your mind off your newly completed novel.

If something comes up, write it down and set it aside. Let your mind drift in and out of the story world without restriction. You might be surprised at what pops up.

Your goal during this period is to try to not try too hard after staying focused for so long to write your first draft.

2. Read a book

Read a book during your break. I recommend either a book on writing that preferably pertains to something you’re trying to work on in your own story—dialogue, setting, development, something else—or a book in the same genre by someone established. You can even take this time to read up on book marketing and learn how a successful book reaches its target audience.

The first gets your mind into a fixing mode, and the later helps inspire new ideas and connections. There are plenty of resources out there for whatever brain boost you might need.

Which will help relax your brain, and find new energy to tackle your story when you return to it?

3. Perform a plot treatment

I’ve gone into detail about how to create a plot treatment on the blog before. The plot treatment is very helpful to fiction writers (and may be adapted for nonfiction as well). Essentially, it is a detailed synopsis of each chapter and what you intended to happen in it. It incorporates notes from the revision list if you kept one.

As you write the plot treatment, try to keep an open mind. Be willing to make big changes and “kill your darlings,” as some say. If you have access to a developmental editor or someone who can help with structural edit, this is a good time to consult with them.

This is a space to experiment and rearrange. Keep in mind that making changes here will be a lot easier than making changes in a later draft, and having the plot treatment as a guide will make the revision process much easier.

4. Rewrite (not tweak) you story

A major mistake I made with my very first book was that I had a fundamentally wrong idea of what “editing” meant in the early stages of writing a book. I thought I had to write the entire book then tweak and fix this book a little at a time until it was perfect.

Have you tried “tweaking” a 400 page book into perfection? It doesn’t work.

At least not after the first draft. The first draft is messy and flawed, as it should be.

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The first draft of a book is messy and flawed. The biggest favor you can do for your book is rewrite it.

The biggest favor you can do for your book is to rewrite it.

Start a new document, consult your plot treatment, and rewrite it fresh. This not only gives you far greater control over the story, but frees you from the constraints of what was written in the first draft.

What if you encounter a segment in the first draft that doesn’t need much fixing? Simple, copy it over to draft two.

I do this all the time. Between the plot treatment, the revision list, and being able to recycle parts of the first draft, you will find that your second draft is much smoother, easier, and less of a headache to write.

Take Your Time

I’m a firm believer in the speedy first draft. Get it down, get it out, as fast as you can before it runs away from you.

But the second draft is different. This is where you get to slow down and savor the story, really think about themes, details, and the philosophies, if any, you want to convey to your readers.

You have this luxury because your first draft and plot treatment have already provided you with a solid foundation for your entire story and laid out where the anchors for major events. No matter how messy your first draft is, your story is more grounded than before you started it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you should let your second draft go on forever. I previously recommended six weeks for a first draft. For the second draft, I recommend double that time—twelve weeks, or three months.

This should allow you ample time to think, play, and really enjoy the world you created. Better, it will keep you motivated to bring your book from its first and second drafts into any future drafts, until it’s ready to publish.

What do you do after writing the first draft? Let us know in the comments.

By J. D. Edwin

Source: thewritepractice.com

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Fear Thesaurus Entry: Conflict

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Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental illness, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc.

A Fear of Conflict

Notes: Disagreements happen, and while most of us don’t like confrontation, we understand we need to face these moments of friction and try to resolve them. But for some, the threat of conflict sparks such heightened anxiety a person will do anything in their power to avoid it. As you can imagine, characters who fear conflict will struggle in the story because it is something they face again and again on the path to their goal. (For a list of conflict scenarios to use in your story, go here.)

What It Looks Like
Being a people-pleaser
Holding back
Being highly agreeable
Lying when someone asks if something’s wrong (telling them it’s fine)
Not complaining
Putting up with problems rather than bother others for help addressing them
Avoiding certain topics when in a conversation
Changing the topic when things are getting heated between others
Avoiding people who are aggressive and outspoken
Being highly proactive or over-prepared (so nothing will go wrong)
Tentative questions
Finding it almost impossible to say No
Being unhappy or dissatisfied but not voicing it (not saying anything about an undercooked meal at a restaurant, for example)
Not returning things that are broken or under warranty
Putting up with annoyances rather than asking someone to stop
Always giving in
Accepting blame when it isn’t deserved
Apologizing
Letting others have their way
Letting others take the credit
Working harder to make up for another’s deficiency (laziness, a lack of knowledge, poor management skills, etc.) rather than talk to them about it
Not rocking the boat
Telling people what they want to hear
Echoing popular opinions if asked
Coming across as overly nice
Withdrawing or becoming quiet when others are upset
Being a perfectionist
Not self-advocating
Letting other people make the decisions
Being unable to lead effectively
A lump in the throat, causing visible swallowing
Feeling on the verge of tears if confronted
A shaky voice
Backing away from people who are emotionally activated
Collapsed shoulders; taking up less space when threatened

Common Internal Struggles
Wanting to escape when a confrontation happens
Worrying about whether something they are doing is annoying others
Resenting people for the things they do that make life harder instead of asking them to change
Thinking about the worst case scenario
The character putting their needs last
Self-directed anger after a confrontation for not self-advocating or standing up for what was right (sabotaging self-esteem)
Being uncertain in the moment
Struggling to manage heightened anxiety symptoms and just wanting to flee

Flaws That May Emerge
Cowardly, Defensive, Dishonest, Evasive, Gullible, Indecisive, Inhibited, Insecure, Martyr, Needy, Nervous, Oversensitive, Paranoid, Perfectionist, Resentful, Subservient, Timid, Uncommunicative, Weak-Willed, Withdrawn, Workaholic, Worrywart

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Becoming overburdened because others take advantage of their inability to say no
Being viewed as timid and weak by others
Having people in their life that they don’t really like because they can’t take steps to sever the relationship
Being taken advantage of by others (who may not even realize they are doing so)
A lack of assertiveness keeping the character on the sidelines at work
Becoming burnt out
Doing what others want, not what they want
Personal dreams and goals being put on hold
Problems that grow and lead to dysfunctional situations that will eventually explode

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Receiving criticism (even when it’s constructive)
Being asked to weigh in, especially during a heated exchange between others
When the character is late or there’s a delay that will be noticed by others
Disagreements in relationships
Arguments and yelling
When the character makes a mistake or can’t follow through (even when there’s a legitimate reason)
Being asked to lead
Having to deliver bad news
Having to raise a complaint, follow through on a warranty claim, or return something to a store
When someone is angry or frustrated around the character.

Don’t forget to check out our Other Fear Thesaurus entries.

By ANGELA ACKERMAN

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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9 Tension-Building Elements For Character Dialogue

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By Becca Puglisi

I’ve been thinking a lot about dialogue lately, because when it’s done poorly, it pulls me right out of the story. There are a lot of issues that contribute to weak dialogue: incorrect mechanics, stilted speech, characters calling each other repeatedly by name (Hi, Bob. Hey, Mary. Could you help me with this, Bob? Sure thing, Mary!)…The list goes on. But instead of talking today about the wrong parts of our characters’ conversations, I want to focus on an important element that’s often missing: tension.

Tension is that gut-curdling, oh-crap feeling you get when you realize trouble’s coming. It’s the rising emotion that emerges at the onset or even the barest hint of conflict. Tension is incredibly important because it stirs the reader’s emotion and builds their interest. It should exist in every scene, and an easy way to add it is through our characters’ verbal interactions.

Think about recent conversations—verbal or written—that have generated tension for you. They probably come to mind pretty quickly. This is because every person is different, and when these differences manifest in our communication, it can result in misunderstandings that lead to heightened emotion. The same should be true for our characters. So if you’re looking for ways to up the tension in a scene, plan any verbal exchanges thoughtfully by incorporating one or more of the following elements.

Personality Clashes

At her core, who is your character, and how does she communicate? Maybe she’s very efficient—a fixer who quickly and accurately analyzes and applies information. Now suppose she’s talking to someone with a disorganized mind and rambling conversational style. This can cause frustration for your character, who just wants her friend to get to the point already. She responds by cutting him off, or nods her head impatiently while he’s talking. This triggers the friend’s defenses, putting him on edge. When you build your cast with personality and the potential for conflict in mind, those tension landmines are easy to set.

Opposing Goals

Characters often have conflicting story and scene goals, but what about opposing goals in conversations? We do this all the time in real life—talking to people with a subconscious objective in mind. Your protagonist might be communicating with someone because they want to be heard and appreciated. But what if the other party just wants to prove they’re right? Each character will try and guide the conversation toward what they want, and someone—maybe both parties—will be thwarted. When even our small goals are threatened, our emotions kick in, so this can be a good way to add tension to a scene.

Emotions in Play

We’ve all experienced this situation: you start a conversation with someone who, out of nowhere, bites your head off. Upon closer examination, you realize that the person was upset about something that had nothing to do with you. This universal scenario can be used in our stories. Pile on the emotional baggage just before an interaction, then sit back and watch the sparks fly.

Insecurities

Our insecurities hobble us all the time. We’re sensitive to certain kinds of comments or tones and read unintended meaning into harmless banter. Think about how this might play out with your character. What are his insecurities—in general, but also regarding this particular person or situation? How might they impact him in an upcoming conversation?

Bias

How often have you engaged in conversation with an expectation in mind for what the other person will say or how it’s going to go? Sometimes our biases are confirmed, but just as often, they taint our interactions, dooming them to failure before they even begin. We may have a chip on our shoulder that sets a negative tone for the entire exchange. Expecting certain things, we might read into what the other person is saying, misconstruing their true meaning or intent. When it comes to your character, ask yourself: Is there any bias he might bring into this conversation that could result in misunderstanding?

Assumptions

Maybe you’ve heard the old saying about the word assume: it makes an ass out of u and me. How many arguments and mix-ups have come about because of incorrect assumptions? How can we apply this common occurrence in our stories? Think about what knowledge your protagonist may take for granted—something they think the other person knows or doesn’t know. Or maybe they believe that the person shares their opinion about a certain topic when they really think the opposite. How might assumptions like these cause a conversation to go south?

Small Annoyances

Your protagonist might begin a scene with great intentions, expecting to enjoy a happy chat with one of their favorite people. And everything is fine—until that person starts doing something that grates on your character’s nerves. Frequent interruptions, talking with their mouth full, listening while checking their email, consistently mispronouncing a certain word—it could be literally anything that drives your character bonkers. What might that thing be for your protagonist? What quirks can you give the other party to add an element of tension to the conversation?

Cultural Differences

A character’s culture is going to impact their communication style, determining what is acceptable and what isn’t, what’s respectful and what’s offensive. Gestures, eye contact, word choices, personal space—these things vary from one locale to another. Your character’s ignorance about these factors could result in all kinds of fallout, from busted business deals and problems at work to the death of a budding romance. This is definitely something to keep in mine in a multi-cultural cast.

Subtext

I’ve saved this one for last because it plays a very subtle part in most conversations, but it’s so understated, we don’t always pick up on it. Subtext is what you really mean, as opposed to what you say. It’s saying He seems nice when what you really mean is He is a tool of the highest order. We’re not always 100% honest with our words, and the same should be true of our characters. When we take the time to figure out what they really think or want to hide, we end up with interactions that are realistic and nuanced. And the potential for tension and conflict are huge.

These are just some of the elements that can contribute to misunderstandings and tension in our characters’ conversations. Regardless of which you choose to explore, there’s one thing they all have in common: unrealized expectations. The protagonist expects Character B to share her beliefs, want what she wants, have a base of knowledge on which to build or communicate the same way. When these expectations are shattered, it sets her back on her heels and triggers frustration, embarrassment, hurt, and a range of other emotions. So figure out what your character expects out of a conversation, then block her, and tension is sure to follow.

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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Fear Thesaurus Entry: Certain Kinds of People

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Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental illness, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc.

Fear of Certain Kinds of People

Notes: A person who has been traumatized may become fearful of the kind of person who hurt them—men, women, people of a certain race or nationality, members of law enforcement, the government, etc. There can be other causes, such as an irrational fear resulting from a mental illness or being conditioned in their upbringing to be afraid of certain people groups. Regardless of how it arises, this goes beyond a simple trust issue; a fearful mindset toward certain kinds of people will restrict the character’s options and who they’re willing to interact with, limiting them in many ways.

What It Looks Like
Avoiding places where the people they fear are likely to be
Becoming anxious when an opportunity arises that will bring the character in contact with the people they fear
Speaking disparagingly about the people
Gravitating toward media that affirms their bias (watching movies with “those kinds of people” as the bad guys, subscribing to podcasts or YouTube channels that affirm their beliefs, etc.)
Their demeanor changing when someone from that people group enters their space (falling silent, not making eye contact, watching them furtively, becoming confrontational, leaving the room, etc.)
Showing signs of physical distress when faced with the people they fear: going pale, extremities trembling, accelerated breathing, clenched fists, etc.
Crossing the street to avoid close proximity to those people
Taking a work-from-home job that ensures the character will never run into the people they fear
Surrounding themselves with their own kind of people (hanging out with women, the character immersing themselves into their own culture
The character worrying so much about running into those people when they go out that they become homebound
Feeling endangered when those kind of people are around
Others viewing the character as ignorant, biased, or discriminatory
Strained relationships with family members because of the character’s ideas about certain people
Feeling misunderstood
Speaking out against that people group in an effort to protect or inform others

Common Internal Struggles
The character being challenged when they meet someone they fear who seems to defy their ideas
Wanting to shelter loved ones from certain kinds of people but being unable to do so
Recognizing that the fear may be irrational but not being able to change the fear response
The character knowing their fear is interfering with their friendships but clinging to it anyway
Seeing so clearly that the fear makes sense but not being able to convince others

Flaws That May Emerge
Antisocial, Callous, Cynical, Defensive, Disrespectful, Fanatical, Haughty, Hostile, Ignorant, Inflexible, Irrational, Obsessive, Prejudiced, Suspicious, Uncooperative, Withdrawn

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Missing out on social interactions where certain people might be present
Being limited to certain professions or work projects
Having few friends (because they can’t accept the character’s mindset toward certain people)
Other people not being able to relate to the character because their ideas are so “out there”
The character constantly having to defend themselves to people who disagree with them
Friction with the character’s children when other parents won’t let their kids associate with them because they don’t want them exposed to harmful ideas

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Having to work with the type of person the character is afraid of
A child, sibling, or other loved one dating “those kind of people”
A person in this group being promoted to a position of power or influence
Being slighted or even marginally disrespected by this kind of person.

By BECCA PUGLISI

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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Is My Story A Mystery, Horror, or Thriller?

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By Lucy V Hay

Lots of writers enjoy mystery, horror and thriller novels … but are not too sure what differentiates them. As a result, when they attempt their own, they might get stuck.

As a script editor in the UK who’s worked on predominantly horror and thriller, plus as an author myself who has written mystery, I am in a position to advise!

First up, let’s take a look at mystery.

Mystery

I had one of those English Literature teachers who’d bellow ‘To know a word is to define a word!’ This means I always look first at the dictionary. Here’s what it says about mystery:

A novel, play, or film dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.

“the 1920s murder mystery, The Ghost Train”

This is an okay definition. Whilst mystery typically involves a crime – Agatha Christie is STILL the queen of the genre – it’s the ‘puzzling’ nature that is most important.

Typically there will be a BIG REVEAL at the end when the person BEHIND IT ALL is unveiled. Mysteries tend to be cerebral on this basis.

Horror

Here’s what the dictionary says about this one:

A literary or film genre concerned with arousing feelings of horror.

“a horror film”

In other words, we want to be SCARED by Horror. That tracks! So far, so good.

Horrors tend to lay out the potential threat from the beginning: a creature, a serial killer, a haunted house, etc. This means in a Horror we are principally VOYEURS. We sign up to watch terrible things happen to people.

In certain subgenres, this is obvious. So-called ‘torture porn’ movies like the SAW franchise invite us to witness murder and mayhem in ever-increasingly spattering ways.

But even in less grotesquely flamboyant horror, the story will relate to a cultural, base fear most of us have.

Fears for our children (especially them dying); fears of being taken away/sent into a hell-like place; fears of being out of control; about sex, rape, pregnancy or other violations; of being eaten alive, being dismembered, or burned alive.

What’s more, these types of story feel unstable and make us worry FOR the characters in it … And yes, maybe even freak out when said characters are attacked and/or killed. This is why groups of characters picked off one by one can be so popular in horror stories.

Thriller

A novel, play, or film with an exciting plot, typically involving crime or espionage.

“a tense thriller about a diamond heist that goes badly wrong”

This is less illuminating. After all, mystery can involve crime or espionage too … Plus there’s lots of thrillers that do neither of these things. Now what??

Wait! The keyword in this definition is ‘exciting’. As the name ‘thriller’ suggests, our story just needs to THRILL. This usually happens with some kind of deadline as a ‘race against time’: a chase, if you will.

In contrast to Horror, the Thriller invites the viewer to put themselves in the protagonist’s place. The story will ask, ‘What would YOU do?’.

*Something* is happening – but the characters in the center often don’t know exactly what and/or why. They will chase after this mystery in order to solve it – whether it’s a conspiracy, a supernatural occurrence, an abduction, or something else.

Thrillers typically relate to a more intellectual fear most of us have, such as our children being kidnapped; of abduction/being held hostage; of living in an unsafe home; having our identities stolen; being watched or persecuted in some way; of authorities who cannot be trusted, such as governments, teachers, or medical staff. This is why the lone protagonist in a Thriller is so popular.

So what’s the breakdown here?

  • A Mystery needs a BIG REVEAL of whom is BEHIND IT ALL (usually at the ending, but not always)
  • Mysteries tend to be puzzles that need to be solved
  • In Horror, we sign up for the SCARES
  • Horrors tend to be voyeuristic
  • Horrors often focus on groups of people, picked off one by one
  • Thrillers don’t tend to be Horrors (since Horrors lay out the threat from the beginning)
  • In a Thriller, we sign up for the CHASE
  • Thrillers often focus on lone protagonists who are ‘up against it’
  • Thrillers tend to be ‘races against time’
  • Mysteries may be Thrillers as well, or they may not

A Big Question

I believe we can decide what our novels are by asking one BIG question …

‘… Do I want to keep my antagonist hidden until the ending or not?’

If you don’t want to keep the antagonist hidden, you’re probably writing a horror. This is because you need to establish the threat from the outset.

If you DO want to keep your antagonist hidden for that BIG REVEAL, then you’re probably writing a mystery or thriller.

(Of course this will depend on the story, we’re talking generalizations here … but from my work with writers, it’s surprising how often this question works!).

Learn the Conventions

So, if you’re writing a Horror, obviously your novel needs to be scary. A good way of studying the conventions of Horror is by considering why your favorite Horror novels scared *you*.

In my case, Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill scared me so much it took me a whopping three weeks to read it because I kept getting creeped out!

The story of a washed-up rock star who buys a ghost on the internet he then can’t get rid of, the threat in Heart-Shaped Box is established early on. Hill piles of dread by the ton, making even the smallest moments seem frightening. As the chapters build towards a bloody, crescendo ending, we can’t be sure anyone will get out alive.

If you’re writing a thriller or mystery, it’s slightly different. Personally, I favor mystery elements in Thriller (if not a full-blown mystery) because I love twists. This may – or may not – feed your BIG REVEAL, it’s up to you.

But if you’re hiding your antagonist’s true intentions, you need to be careful. One of the biggest issues B2W sees when writers try this is they hold the antagonist back BUT don’t replace that role function with another. This then means there’s a big fat hole where ‘nothing happens’.

Devices such as red herrings, misdirection, working theories, a stooge antagonist, etc. will help you write a satisfying plot AND compelling characters in your thriller or mystery.

In other words, stuff that **stands in for the perp** … ’til we get to the actual perp. 

You can do this no matter what genre or type of story you are writing. Immerse yourself in the mystery genre via mystery novels, movies, & police procedurals to guide you. 

Good luck!

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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Fear Thesaurus Entry: Relational Commitment

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Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental illness, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc.

A Fear of Relational Commitment

What It Looks Like
A lackadaisical attitude and approach to dating and friendships
Dating many people at once to maintain superficial relationships
Breaking things off if a relationship gets too serious
Sabotaging serious relationships (treating the other person badly so they’ll leave, picking fights, ghosting them, etc.)
Being disloyal—cheating on a romantic partner or abandoning an old friend for a new one
Abandoning a fiancé at the altar
Continually postponing a wedding date or refusing to set a date
Reluctance in making future plans
Being nonchalant about even short-term plans, such as not preparing for date night until a few hours prior
Not dating at all or investing in new friendships
A lack of excitement, passion, or interest in the relationship or the other person
Thoughts of commitment causing physical or emotional distress (shortness of breath, anxiety, hyperventilating, nausea, etc.)
Having many casual friends but few deep and long-lasting ones
Frequently canceling get-togethers with friends
Being a one-sided friend (only reaching out when the character needs something, only getting together when it’s something the character really wants to do, etc.)
Being inflexible
Always having an “escape plan” so the character can leave an event early if they want to
Living on the outskirts of true community
Being more comfortable with strangers and acquaintances than with friends
Keeping a lot of pets to fill the void

Common Internal Struggles
Wanting connection but being unable to move past a certain point to achieve it
Experience fight-flight-or-freeze responses when commitment becomes a possibility
Doing things to push the other person away, then feeling guilt, shame, or self-loathing
The character knowing something’s wrong with them but not knowing what it is
Wanting to change (recognizing the fear and knowing the unresolved wound that’s behind it) but not being willing to do so

Flaws that May Emerge
Abrasive, Addictive, Antisocial, Dishonest, Disloyal, Evasive, Indecisive, Inflexible, Inhibited, Manipulative, Pessimistic, Rebellious, Self-Destructive, Self-Indulgent, Selfish, Stubborn, Temperamental, Uncommunicative, Uncooperative, Volatile, Withdrawn

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Spending a lot of nights along
Being perceived as selfish and superficial by others
Being a third wheel at social events
Having no one to confide in
Experiencing a crisis and having no one to care for the character
Constantly having to explain the latest breakup to people
Unpleasant conversations with parents or siblings who see the truth and confront the character

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
A romantic partner proposing marriage, suggesting they move in together, or asking to meet the character’s parents
A romantic partner saying I love you
Someone important to the character dying and reinforcing the knowledge that everyone eventually leaves so it’s best not to get too close
Playing a bonding game with friends, where personal information is shared
Being invited to vacation with friends
Being asked to play a significant role in a friend’s wedding
The character being asked point-blank by a trusted loved one about their commitment issues.

By BECCA PUGLISI

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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Deliberate Practice: How to Become Great (At Writing or Anything)

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How do you become truly great at something, one of the best in the world? Or at least better than you are?

Many people believe that greatness comes from talent and natural inclination. They believe that great athletes and artists are born, not made, and so what’s the point in trying if you’re not naturally talented?

I used to believe that, too, but everything changed for me when I discovered practice, the idea that not only can you become great through your own efforts, but that all of the best writers, musicians, painters, and athletes in the world have done the same.

In this guide, we’re going to be exploring how you can become a better writer by following  the principles of deliberate practice (this is The Write Practice, after all), but generally, how you can improve your skill level in any field.

We’ll look at the four components of deliberate practice that will make your practice time actually work. Finally, we’ll get a chance to start actually practicing our writing through a creative writing exercise.

Ready to accomplish your writing goals? Let’s get started!

Are Great Writers Born or Made? (In Other Words, Does Practice Really Matter?)

Like many people, as a young, aspiring writer, I believed that great writers were talented, that they had an innate ability for writing that all but predisposed them for success.

There was a problem with this mindset, though, because every time I received negative feedback on my writing, it made me question whether I had enough natural ability. Could I succeed at a professional level when people were criticizing my best work?

Sometimes I would get so discouraged I would think I should just quit. But then, just in time, someone would praise my writing and I would go back to believing I was a genius destined for greatness.

And this is the problem with having a fixed mindset in which you are born with a certain amount of natural ability that predetermines your performance. Instead of being able to use feedback to improve your skill level, you become very vulnerable to it.

When I instead adopted a growth mindset, believing that the most important criterion for my success was the amount of effort I put into practice, it changed everything for me.

This mindset helped me to focus on what I could control—my focus, persistence, and the coaches and mentors I surrounded myself with—rather than what was outside of my control, namely whatever innate talent I did or did not have.

It transformed my life so much that I started a whole community around it, The Write Practice, to help others accomplish their writing goals through deliberate practice.

But there is good practice, practice that will help you actually succeed in your writing life, and there is bad practice that will just lead to a lot of hours wasted. What are the components of deliberate practice, and can you make sure you’re practicing effectively?

If you want to become a great writer, you need to develop a deliberate practice. This article shares four components you should add to your writing practice.

What is Deliberate Practice? Definition of Deliberate Practice

>Deliberate practice is the effortful, structured, repetition of tasks for the purpose of improvements of performance beyond a current skill level.

The term deliberate practice was first coined by psychologist K. Anders Ericsson and a team of researchers to describe why some classical musicians achieve elite performance and others don’t. In their study, K. A. Ericsson et al stated that those with expert-level performance in music had at least 10,000 hours of practice over the course of their lifetimes.

Malcolm Gladwell then popularized this into the “10,000 hour rule,” or about ten years, in his book Outliers.

As Ericsson says, “This is based on findings from a wide range of domains where research has suggested that a minimum of 10 years of goal-directed, hard work is required for an individual to reach a level of expert proficiency.”

The 4 Components of Deliberate Practice

There are four deliberate practice principles that you must follow if you want to reach expert-level performance. Namely, deliberate practice is structured, effortful, and requires feedback and repetition.

Here are the four things you need to develop an effective writing practice:

1. Deliberate Practice Is Structured

Deliberate practice is a structured activity with the explicit goal to improve current level of performance. For example, if you have the goal of becoming a better basketball player, simply playing a lot of basketball may lead to improvements in performance. However, incorporating drills, exercises, and other structure methods to develop certain aspects of your game will lead to much faster improvements in actual performance.

The same is true for writers. Spending a lot of time writing will certainly help you become a better writer, but having a specific focus when you write will help you improve faster. For example, you could focus on show don’t tell one writing session, or when you’re editing, you could focus on crafting more realistic dialogue.

Purposeful practice focuses on one aspect, one specific skill, not the entire craft at once.

Also, the exercises must also be tailored to your current level of skill. That means that having a coach or teacher who can direct you to the right focuses for your skill level is helpful.

As Daniel Coyle says in The Little Book of Talent, “There is a place, right on the edge of your ability, where you learn best and fastest.”

How to Apply It To Your Writing:

  • Use short, structured writing exercises (like the ones we have daily on The Write Practice) to practice specific writing skills.
  • Write several short stories. Short stories have traditionally been the training ground for writers.
  • Whatever you do, finish your writing pieces (e.g. novels, essays, nonfiction books, short stories, articles). If you don’t finish, you fail to through each phase of the writing process and miss many practicing opportunities.

2. Deliberate Practice Is Effortful

When you hear that you need 10,000 hours to become a top-level performer in a field, whether it’s writing, music, athletics, or accounting, you might think that all you have to do is put in the hours and you’ll reach all of your goals.

However, Ericsson calls the type of practice that is just about putting in the hours “naive practice” as opposed to deliberate, focused practice. Naive practice, he finds, doesn’t lead to superior performance. Instead, it ends with relative mediocrity.

In other words, you can’t journal your way to becoming a great writer.

You can’t journal your way to become a great writer. Great writing comes through deliberate, effortful practice.

How to Apply It To Your Writing:

  • Write a piece you can publish. Journaling in private is cathartic, but extended writing for public consumption forces you to put in the effort required to get better.
  • Again, finish your writing pieces. Writing until “The End” takes effort, but it’s what’s required to get better.
  • Join a writing contest like this one.

3. Deliberate Practice Requires Feedback

Without expert feedback, without someone looking over your shoulder to see what’s working in your practice and what’s not, you simply won’t improve.

You can practice for 100,000 hours, but without constant feedback, your skill level will plateau.

This was the biggest game changer for me in my writing. As I mentioned, I used to view negative feedback as a threat to my talent.

Once I adopted a practicing mindset, though, feedback became my greatest resource.

How do you get feedback? In the writing field feedback comes from three places: expert feedback from editors and other professionals, peer feedback from other writers, and audience feedback from readers. All are incredibly helpful and can lead to lasting change, but expert and peer level feedback should be prioritized.

Most of all, take all feedback graciously, accepting what you can learn and letting go of what isn’t helpful for you in that moment. Remember that consistently negative feedback doesn’t mean you’re a bad writer or, even more, that you never will be a great writer. It just means that you need more practice!

How to Apply It To Your Writing:

4. Deliberate Practice Requires Repetition

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

We get better through consistent practice, by repeating the above steps hundreds, even thousands of times.

Stephen King famously wrote hundreds of short stories that were rejected by editors before his first one was published. He would put a nail through rejection letters until he had a stack of them almost as long as the nail. Then he would start the next story.

In the same way, to develop your creative skill, you need regular practice. Writing one story, one book, one blog post, one essay isn’t enough. Instead, once you’re finished with one book, start the next one.

There is something freeing about this. So many people treat their writing as this thing that must be perfect, and it freezes them up, causing writer’s block and a host of other problems.

What if your writing doesn’t have to be perfect? What if it could just be practice? How could that change your mindset, helping you to write more and become a better writer faster?

How to Apply It To Your Writing:

  • Practice consistently! That’s why we post one new writing exercise every day, to give you the chance to practice. Subscribe here.
  • Join the 100 Day Book program and finish a book through a proven process. Then, when you’re finished, write another book using the same process!

Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

This is also where intrinsic motivation comes in. If you are running off only extrinsic motivation, external rewards, you will quit. You won’t have enough driving you to keep showing up when the work gets hard.

No, the people who succeed are intrinsically motivated. They have the grit and persistence to keep going because they are driven by the work itself.

I love this quote from Robert Green, which I think speaks to this level of commitment. He says,

“Engaged in the creative process we feel more alive than ever, because we are making something and not merely consuming, masters of the small reality we create. In doing this work, we are in fact creating ourselves.”

Do you have this level of motivation for your practice? Could you develop it?

How The Write Practice Can Help You Become a Better Writer

How do you practice writing?

At The Write Practice, we truly believe that everyone can become a great writer through deliberate practice.

Over the last ten years, we’ve published thousands of lessons, created hundreds of hours of videos and trainings, and led dozens of writing courses.

In that time, we’ve helped millions of people learn new writing techniques, write books, get published, and accomplish their writing goals.

We’d love to help you too.

Every day, we post a new writing lesson and exercise, giving you the chance to learn something new and put it to practice immediately.

If you’d like to practice with us, sign up for our writing community or consider starting your first practice exercise below.

Happy practicing!

So how about you? Are you willing to put in your 10,000 hours? Are you willing to practice writing deliberately? If you are, then you’ve come to the write place . . . oops, sorry, bad habit!

By Joe Bunting

Source: thewritepractice.com

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Ending of Stories: How Planning an Ending Will Help You Write Faster

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Readers love the ending of stories, but do you feel like you don’t know how to write a really good ending?

It may seem a little odd to talk about story endings when you haven’t even started writing. Deciding on the type of ending you want, however, is an important part of planning a book.

You usually wouldn’t drive somewhere without a destination in mind. Knowing how your story ends will help you work out the important plot points in between, all the plot twists that eventually lead to that climatic moment.

But how exactly can you write a great ending before the story is even written? Let’s take a look at the essentials an ending must accomplish in order to write a satisfying ending to a great story.

Knowing these common types of endings, and how to decide what endings work best for your story, will bring your character arcs and story full circle.

This post shares writing tips to help you accomplish just that.

How to End Your Story Coaching Video

Want to know how to write an ending for a story? There are two thing you need to think about: how to come up with an ending that’s GOOD, and how to finish a story practically.

In this coaching video, Joe helps one author figure out how to write the end of a story, something she has always struggled to do.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=bb0zshLFk5A%3Ffeature%3Doembed

3 Criteria for the End of the Story

There are a few things an ending must accomplish. Keep in mind that I speak about endings from the perspective of commercial fiction_fiction that moves the reader along, is entertaining to read, and puts plot and character above philosophy and literary prose.

Endings in literary and interpretive fiction may vary a little more in style. But if you’re looking to write a good story that sells, you will want your ending to meet the following criteria.

1. Your Book’s Ending Should be Logical

Have you heard the phrase Deus Ex Machina? It’s defined as “an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation.” In fiction terms, this means everything is suddenly and abruptly resolved by a previously unknown force.

A Deus Ex Machina is not a good way to end your book. It’s convenient. And convenient conclusions end in bad reviews written by disappointed readers.

Instead, the ending to your book should come about logically.

While this doesn’t mean it should be 100% predictable, it does mean that you wrap up your story in a way that is surprising but inevitable. In other words, your reader can reason through and understand how the events of the story led to the final conclusion.

Here is an example of a predictable vs. unpredictable vs. Deus Ex Machina ending:

Predictable: A detective is trying to solve a murder. He finds all the clues that point to person A with the help of person B, and it turns out to be person A in the end.

Unpredictable: A detective is trying to solve a murder. He finds all the clues that point to person A with the help of person B. Murderer turns out to be person B, who has been planting the evidence.

Deus Ex Machina: A detective is trying to solve a murder. He finds all the clues that point to person A with the help of person B. The murderer turns out to be person C, someone completely unrelated and who shows up at the last minute—with no warning to reveal themselves.

Notice that the unpredictable ending enables the reader to look back at the story and think, “Ah, now that makes sense,” whereas the Deus Ex Machina ending elicits the “Where did that come from?” response.

When your ending isn’t logical and doesn’t follow the reason, you risk leaving your readers feeling cheated for having read a whole book that has little to do with the final result.

2. Your Book’s Ending Should be Satisfying

The simplest way to write a satisfying ending is to resolve a secret or question that remained a mystery throughout the plot. This means that whatever questions are raised during the story—the ones that left the reader wondering something important—should be answered.

Better yet, these answers should tie back to clues or plot elements that were set up earlier in the story.

Take another look at the detective in our mystery novel example.

The main character is trying to solve a murder, so obviously the reader expects the murder to be solved at some point. The “whodunit” needs to be answered at the end. The kinds of answers may vary, but the ending needs to identify the murderer in order to have a resolved ending.

Here are a few ways the ending can go:

Satisfying/Predictable: The detective finds the murderer successfully.

Satisfying/Twist Ending: The detective solves the mystery, but it turns out the murderer has committed an elaborate suicide to frame someone.

Unsatisfying: The detective chases the clues to a dead end and at the end still doesn’t know who killed the victim. This might come in the form of a cliffhanger that doesn’t tie up important questions in the book, or an ambiguous ending that doesn’t resolve major plot points.

Note: You can include cliffhangers or ambiguous endings in a book, but only if you resolve the major questions driving the hook for the story. If you write these types of endings in a way that requires readers to read the next book, you’ll probably annoy them more than intrigue them. Readers need the answers to the big questions in the book they’re reading.

You need to write stand-alone books with series potential, not books dependent on their sequels.

While there is definitely literature out there with “unsatisfying” endings, you’re more likely to alienate readers in commercial fiction if you don’t give them an answer to the big question.

No one wants to read a whole book and be left feeling like nothing was resolved, even if that last line is unforgettable.

3. Your Book’s Ending Should Have a Sense of Finality

The end of your book should feel like, well, something ended.

The major crisis is averted. The princess is saved. The quest is over. The battle is won. Something that started at the beginning of the book is now over.

While this might seem pretty obvious for standalone books, you may find yourself asking “What about a series? What if my story goes on?”

The global story for a series doesn’t need to end for a book to have a sense of finality. However, each book does need to reach its own climax: we need to see a protagonist get or not get what they want (their story goal) in the end. Each book needs its own ending.

For example, every book in Harry Potter series ended with a climatic event that occurred at the end of the school year. Each book of the Lord of the Rings contains its own battle for survival, even if Frodo and Sam hadn’t reached Mount Doom yet.

Tying up a book in a series is much like tying up a scene—the story goes on, but whatever happened in this part of the story is over and done with.

5 Types of Endings for Stories

There are numerous books, articles, and schools of thought out there on the many types of endings. And there are comedic vs. tragic endings, resolved vs. unresolved endings, ambiguous vs. tight endings, to name a few.

There are no wrong ways to categorize endings, but for the purposes of this article, I prefer to speak from the point of view of planning. To do this, I want you to consider five types of endings for your book before you start writing.

You may end up with an ending that encompasses traits from more than one of these, but they are a good starting point for planning.

If you want to write faster, it helps to know how your story ends. Choose one of these five-story endings to decide this.

1. Complete Resolution

Also known as a happy ending. However, I dislike that name because the Complete Resolution isn’t always “happy.”

In Complete Resolution, all questions are answered, all loose ends are tied up, and all subplots are resolved. This type of ending is commonly used for standalone novels of all ages and genres.

When planning for a Complete Resolution ending, it’s important to keep track of all your subplots and plot elements to ensure that nothing is left hanging at the end. If a question is raised, it must be answered.

For example: Pride and Prejudice has a Complete Resolution. All loose ends are tied up, all couples are together, and all questions answered. The readers are left feeling satisfied that every problem has been resolved.

2. Incomplete Resolution

This is the kind of ending that’s usually more fitting for a series. As stated above, endings for individual books in a series usually leave something open in order to lead into the next step of the bigger story.

When planning for an Incomplete Resolution, it’s important to know what threads you want to tie up and what you want to keep open.

A good rule to keep in mind is to tie up subplots while leaving the main plot open to lead into the next book.

For example: Every Harry Potter book except the final one has an Incomplete Resolution. The school year is tied up and there’s usually some kind of conflict resolved or a mystery solved, but the question of what will happen with the looming return of Voldemort remains unasnwered.

3. Changed World

In this kind of ending, the external world/environment/life that the main characters start out with is no more. This is usually due to factors outside of the characters’ control. A few examples are natural disasters, being uprooted to a different city or country, or entering a new family.

The main focus of a Changed World ending is how your main character responds to their new situation. Their response could be a good one (acceptance, excitement, looking toward the future) or a bad one (denial, anger, mourning the past), but no matter how they react, the ending emphasizes that the past isn’t coming back, and the main character must decide how to move forward in their new situation.

When planning for a Changed World ending, consider your character’s personality and how they should respond to each step of the change their world is undergoing. Think about how you’re going to tie their actions early in the story to their ultimate reaction to the new state of their world.

For example: Star Wars, specifically Return of the Jedi, has a Changed World Ending. Luke and the rebels have defeated the empire and redeemed Darth Vader, and the galaxy has been irreversibly changed by these events. As the end, we see a scene of celebration, showing that the main cast is happy about this development, but there is still a sense of much to be done ahead to adjust to this new reality.

4. Changed Self

The Changed Self ending can be considered the counterpart to the Changed World ending. In this type of ending, your character goes through more internal than external change. Their environment or life in general more or less returns to its “normal” state at the end of the book, but they now see everything with fresh eyes because they are no longer the same person they started out as.

This type of ending can also be referred to as the Circular ending. But I prefer to focus on the change in self because I feel that places emphasize on the more important aspect of the story, which is character transformation.

When planning for a Changed Self ending, make sure to consider the impact the events in the book have on your character. Focus on the “how” and “why” of the character’s internal transformation and make sure that their thoughts and decisions ultimately point toward that change.

For example: My book Headspace has a Changed Self ending. In it, the main character, Astra, returns to her home after the events of the book. She finds that her house still looks the same as she left it several months ago, except now the daily, minute things of life seem unimportant because her perspective has changed.

5. Slice of the Future Ending—or Epilogue

Slice of the Future endings give the reader a peek into the life of your hero (or those your hero left behind) further down the road. It’s common for this to be done as an epilogue. The reason I single out this type of ending is because planning for this kind of ending is a little different from the others.

Slice of the Future gives perspective on the events that took place in the book. When you end a story after the main conflict, your main character is still very much fresh from what they’ve just gone through.

In most commercial fiction, what takes place within the book is a relatively short event that encompasses anywhere from a few hours to a few years. When you fast forward in time, you are telling your readers “this is how this event fits into the grand scheme of things.”

Knowing your book’s type of mood can help you pick your story’s ending.

This type of ending can be quite tricky because your character’s future may not match the future your readers want for them. Some readers very much enjoy Slice of the Future, while others prefer for it to be left up to the imagination. It’s not uncommon for books that use this kind of ending to be criticized heavily for writing a future that “doesn’t fit the character/story at all.”

Not only that, epilogues are often viewed as undesirable for commercial fiction by agents and publishers, so you may want to consider how essential this peek into the future really is for the story.

If you want to plan for a Slice of the Future ending, try to consider the overall mood of your book. While you can’t please everyone, it’s worth taking time to ensure that the future establish is at least consistent in tone with the rest of the the story.

A comedy would be better served with a happy, bright future, while a tragedy would fit better with a future that is melancholy and perhaps bittersweet. By matching the mood, you can at least give your readers a consistent experience.

For example: Mockingjay (the Hunger Games finale) and The Handmaid’s Tale have this type of ending/epilogue. Fan reactions to these endings have been mixed, ranging from very positive to terribly negative. It’s worth reading these series, considering how the peek in the future fits into the story as a whole, and think about whether you want to follow their example.

How to Find Your Perfect Ending

Now we turn our attention to your book.

Deciding on the type of ending you want helps give your book an overarching direction to follow. It’s much like drawing a rough sketch of what you want the final product to look like before you start adding details.

Keep in mind that rarely does an ending fit only one of the four categories listed above. The goal is not to pick one type of ending and force your story into the box, but rather decide on what it is you want to emphasize as the most important element of your book.

To determine what type of ending your book should have, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What is my genre? Different genres may suit different endings. For example, comedy tends to have changed self endings, whereas epics tend to have changed world endings.
  2. What do I want my readers to feel at the end of the book? Determining what you ultimately want to communicate to your readers to write the perfect ending.
  3. Which is more important in the book: the internal struggle or the external struggle? An externally focused book would benefit more from a Changed World ending, whereas an internally focused book would benefit more from a Changed Self ending.
  4. Do I want to end the book with a sense of immediacy or a sense of wistfulness? Think of this as whether you want to end the story with your hero still standing on the battlefield or telling the story to their grandchildren. The first leaves more room for interpretation, whereas the latter gives a greater sense of finality. If you want that greater sense of finality, a Slice of the Future (Maybe call this Reveal instead?) ending might be what you want.

By deciding on your ending early, you not only have an overall direction for the plot of your book, but the tone and mood as well. Every step your story takes should lead your reader closer to the ending and the change that your character or story world takes.

Plan Your Ending If You Want to Write Faster

While some writers enjoy not knowing the ending of their book before writing, writers who  want to write faster will benefit from knowing how their plot ends, and how their characters have changed because of their journey.

To help you plan your ending, call back on the five types of endings covered in this article. Ask yourself which one accomplishes the emotion you want your readers to feel in the end, and then write that ending.

Jot down the last line.

It’s likely that if you feel good about your story’s ending—and it provides answers to all your story’s main questions—you’ll have written an ending that will satisfy your readers.

What kind of story endings do you like? Let us know in the comments.

By J. D. Edwin

Source: thewritepractice.com

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3 Crucial Steps That Will Improve Bad Writing

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Today’s post is written by Jeff Goins. Jeff is the best-selling author of four books, including The Art of Work. His award-winning blog, Goinswriter.com, is visited by millions of people every year.

Deliberate writing practice is the foundation of The Write Practice. Deliberate practice writing can take your writing process to the next level.

If you want to meet your writing potential in life, you have to write. Just like basketball players spend hours shooting free throws so that they don’t choke when it counts in a game, writers need to ingrain a type of practice that works for their writing process into their DNA.

In this article, you’ll learn a writing practice that will help you develop a regular routine of practice to improve your creative writing skills.

Bad Practice—and the Illusion of Practice—Don’t Create Expert-Level Performance

Stephanie Fisher had come a long way from her hometown of Jamestown, New York, to Augusta, Georgia, but this was her dream and she wouldn’t give it up. The year was 2010, and it was her seventh time auditioning for American Idol.

She had never made it this far in the singing talent show, but this time, things were going to be different. This time, she would see the judges.

Dressed in a silvery sequined top, donning pearls around her neck and fishnet stockings, Stephanie stepped onto the platform of America’s most popular talent show, smiling nervously before the judges.

“Wow,” a couple of them said, remarking on her outfit.

“I almost wore the same thing,” Randy joked.

Simon rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed.

“Okay,” Kara said, “let’s hear it.”

In her black and white oxfords, Stephanie spread her feet apart as if to ready herself, and she opened with Peggy Lee’s “Fever.”

At this point, Stephanie was snapping her fingers and provocatively staring down the judges, who were audibly groaning. Her rhythm was off, the notes were wrong, and everyone on the set knew it, including Stephanie. They told her to stop. She frowned.

“Thank you, Stephanie,” Simon said.

“What did you think?” Kara asked.

“Terrible. Honestly, you can’t sing, sweetheart.”

Stephanie admitted to being a little starstruck in the presence of Victoria Beckham, who was a guest judge that day. Later she told a reporter this was something the producers told her to say. Victoria offered to turn around in hopes that it would make the contestant feel more at ease. Stephanie accepted the offer, which felt forced and a little too theatrical for me.

The young grad student started again, a little more awkwardly, this time singing “Baby Love” by The Supremes. It wasn’t any better. After a measure or two, Victoria turned back around. This time Kara added to the critical jabs, saying it was better when she was looking. Another burst of laughter erupted from the judges.

“With the greatest respect,” Simon said in a proper British accent, pausing for dramatic effect, “you have a horrible voice.”

“Really?” Stephanie said, looking stunned but still smiling nervously. All the preparation, all those long years of dreaming, had led to this?

“Yeah,” Randy chimed sympathetically. “You ain’t got it goin’ on.”

“You can’t give me a few minutes to get un-nervous?” she pleaded.

“We’d need years, Stephanie,” Simon said, and the judges again all laughed in unison. And as I watched the YouTube video recounting this painful story years after the fact, I realized how true that was.

It’s Not Just About Trying

Our parents told us to try our best. Whether at school or Little League, we were encouraged to give it our all, and that was enough to make them proud.

But the truth is there are different kinds of trying. Anders Ericsson has been studying this for years and in his book Peak, he’s come to a surprising conclusion: not all effort is equal.

Stephanie Fisher had been practicing singing for years. She’d been trying. But the 10,000-hour rule, at least as far as she understood it, had not worked. What was she doing wrong?

The answer, according to Ericsson, lies in what he calls deliberate practice.

In his recent book, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, he says that when you embrace the deliberate-practice mindset,

. . . anyone can improve, but it requires the right approach. If you are not improving, it’s not because you lack innate talent; it’s because you’re not practicing the right way.

So what is the right way to practice? Deliberate practice requires the following:

  • You must push yourself past your comfort zone and attempt things that are not easy for you.
  • You must get immediate feedback on the activity you are practicing and on what you can do to improve it.
  • You must identify the best people in your field and find out what sets them apart, then practice like they do.

If you’re not doing these things, you’re not really practicing. At least, not in the way that is going to lead to excellence.

If you’re not engaging in deliberate practice, you’re not practicing in the way that leads to excellence.

The Secrets to Writing Like Hemingway

When Ernest Hemingway was living in Paris in the 1920s, he received an exceptional education in writing, a unique opportunity he may not have even been aware of.

Every day, he would get up and go to a cafe, where he would write for a few hours. First, he’d edit the previous day’s work, a discipline he developed that influenced his style for the rest of his life. Unlike many other authors at the time, he was constantly tightening his prose, trying to make it cleaner, shorter, better.

In the afternoons, he would visit his friends in the Latin Quarter, people like Gertrude Stein, Scott Fitzgerald, and Ezra Pound. They would critique his writing, give him feedback on what he was doing right and what he was doing wrong. Then he would apply what he learned.

This was an incredible opportunity, but it wasn’t an accident. Hemingway was born in Chicago, and after a brief stint in the Red Cross during WWI, he wandered for a while, trying to find his way in life. It was author Sherwood Anderson who encouraged him to move to Paris where “the most interesting people in the world lived.”

So he did, and nearly seven years later, when his informal apprenticeship was over, he had learned the discipline of deliberate practice.

Challenge Yourself to Deliberate Practice

If you want to do the same, you must:

  1. Push yourself in your practice. In my book The Art of Work, I call this painful practice, because it might hurt a little. That’s what happens every time we go outside our comfort zone.
  2. Seek out critical feedback. We live in the age of inflated egos when most people are afraid to give their honest opinions. But in order to become a truly great writer, you will need people in your life to tell you, “you can do better.”
  3. Seek out the greats and learn their secrets. You don’t have to move to Paris, but you need to find prominent writers in your genre, living or dead, and find out how they do what they do.

The truth is there are people who have a natural ability when it comes to writing, but this is incredibly rare. If you want to get better at writing, you need to construct some  writing goals for you this year, and then develop some practice plans that will help you develop good, deliberate practice writing habits.

More and more, science is proving that what we used to call talent is really just hard work that pushes you to a level of performance that you hadn’t previously attained.

What makes a writer great is not the talent, but the practice.

When was the last time you practiced something deliberately? What did you learn? Share in the comments!

By Jeff Goins

Source: thewritepractice.com

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Relationship Thesaurus: Frenemies

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Successful stories are driven by authentic and interesting characters, so it’s important to craft them carefully. But characters don’t usually exist in a vacuum; throughout the course of your story, they’ll live, work, play, and fight with other cast members. Some of those relationships are positive and supportive, pushing the protagonist to positive growth and helping them achieve their goals. Other relationships do exactly the opposite—derailing your character’s confidence and self-worth—or they cause friction and conflict that leads to fallout and disruption. Many relationships hover somewhere in the middle. A balanced story will require a mix of these dynamics.

The purpose of this thesaurus is to encourage you to explore the kinds of relationships that might be good for your story and figure out what each might look like. Think about what a character needs (good and bad), and build a network of connections for him or her that will challenge them, showcase their innermost qualities, and bind readers to their relationship trials and triumphs.

Frenemies

Description: Frenemies are friends or acquaintances who are also, on some level, rivals or adversaries. Maybe they have to get along on a sports team or at work but they’re vying for the same position. Perhaps insecurities accentuate the negative aspects of the relationship and stifle the positives. Personal politics may require them to maintain a veneer of friendliness, but at its core, the relationship is more about winning or exerting power. The frenemy relationship is a complex one that, if it fits your story, can add a ton of conflict and depth.

Relationship Dynamics
Below are a wide range of dynamics that may accompany this relationship. Use the ideas that suit your story and work best for your characters to bring about and/or resolve the necessary conflict. 

Characters getting along fine until a competitive element is introduced, at which point they go for blood
Athletic teammates cooperating to get a win but dedicating themselves personally to outdoing each other
One friend being reluctant to share information or cooperate with their frenemy co-worker or teammate because they don’t trust the other person’s motives
Both parties putting on a friendly front when they’re around other people but secretly not wanting anything to do with the other
One party alternating from friendliness and respect to manipulation and snubbing, constantly putting the other person off-balance
A superficial and disingenuous relationship that’s based on keeping one’s friends close but their enemies closer
Two parties not really liking each other but maintaining a civil relationship due to a long history together
Two people being fine one-on-one but turning into rivals when other friends or romantic interests enter the scene
One character constantly being sucked back into relationship with the frenemy despite a desire to steer clear
Two parties being best friends one day and not speaking to each other next (in a repeating, ongoing pattern)
One person never knowing where they stand with the other party
Being friends with someone who is super nice to the character’s face but is subtly undermining them behind the scenes
One party being so manipulated and gaslighted by the other person that they can’t see their faults or true nature—even when true friends and loved ones point them out
One “friend” always competing with the other (usually in an underhanded fashion), trying to take what they have

Challenges that Could Threaten the Status Quo
A third party (a coach, romantic interest, shared enemy, etc.) changing the dynamic between the two characters
One person developing a weakness or vulnerability that the other can exploitEither of the parties achieving something significant
One person finding themselves on the outs with their shared social group
One party circulating negative information (true or false) about the other person
One party developing empathy for the other
A change that results in less time being spent together
Losing the one person or thing that keeps the two together
One party giving up and refusing to compete or fight with the other

Wounds that Could Factor into the Relationship
A learning disability, A parent’s abandonment or rejection, A toxic relationship, An abuse of power, Battling a mental disorder, Being bullied, Being disowned or shunned, Being raised by a narcissist, Being rejected by one’s peers, Being the victim of a vicious rumor, Growing up in the shadow of a successful sibling, Having parents who favored one child over another

Conflicting Desires that Can Impair the Relationship
Both parties wanting to be the best at the same thing
Both parties seeking acceptance from the same person
One person seeking friendship while the other wants to control, manipulate, or minimize him/her
One friend wanting to clear the air and improve the relationship while the other wants to maintain the status quo
One person wanting to escape the relationship while the other wants to maintain it

Clashing Personality Trait Combinations
Needy and cruel, Confrontational and Timid, Controlling and Subservient, Trusting and Manipulative, Gossipy and Private, Mischievous and Humorless, Reckless and Responsible

Negative Outcomes of Friction
Someone’s reputation being ruined
Arguments and cat fights
The larger group losing something vital because the two people can’t work together
Other people being dragged into the frenemies’ drama
One party being ousted from the whole social group and being left on their own
The victim of a manipulative or devious frenemy doubting themselves and becoming insecure
The frenemies losing good friends who are tired of dealing with them
Either person continuing the same negative behaviors in their other relationships
A third party being hurt in the verbal or physical crossfire

Fictional Scenarios That Could Turn These Characters into Allies
Facing a new, mutual threat
A desperate situation in which each person has a skill or knowledge that the other person needs to survive
Instead of competing against one another, being forced to work together to win
A personal tragedy for one person that generates empathy from the other, humanizing that person and making the other party want to help
One party learning about the other’s past (why they are the way they are), resulting in them wanting to mend fences and help the other person instead of bring them down
The two realizing that they have been pitted against each other by an outside source

Ways This Relationship May Lead to Positive Change
Either party recognizing and valuing their own strengths and weaknesses (instead of envying and wanting what the other has)
The competition pushing each person to be better than they could have been on their own
One person recognizing that the friction is largely their own fault, and wanting to change for the better
One party recognizing that the relationship is toxic, and getting out of it
Either party (or both) learning to value the other’s strengths and uniqueness and ceasing to be threatened by it

Themes and Symbols That Can Be Explored through This Relationship
A fall from grace, Alienation, Betrayal, Coming of age, Deception, Friendship, Instability, Journeys, Teamwork

By BECCA PUGLISI

Source: writershelpingwriters.net

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