Five Essentials for a Successful Story

It has been way too long since my last post. In that time, I’ve had a son, Sage Garnet Smith, and I’ve been working on a novella, editing my novel, To Wield the Stars and renovating a house.

I’m in the third rounds of my novella and I should have it completed by the end of October. If you have been following my writing journey (that’s cool if you haven’t) and thinking, why am I writing a novella when I’m trying to publish my first novel, To Wield the Stars? To build an audience for when my novel is ready.

The title is yet to be confirmed for my dark fantasy novella but if you’re interested, I have a poll running on my twitter account https://twitter.com/DouglasWTSmith

In the process, I have learnt a great deal in regards to story and character structure. In such a space of the novella, it was tough but I really enjoyed it and I’ll probably continue to write novellas.

It made me reflect on my other works in, how do I know if my story goal is good enough to support the entire novel? I don’t know but I guess that’s when my beta readers and editor will tell me.

‘In nearly all good fiction, the basic – all but inescapable – plot form is this: A central character wants something, goes after it despite opposition, perhaps including his own doubts, and so arrives at a win, lose, or draw.’ ~John Gardner

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Three Creative Things To Do In Self-Isolation

In this useful post, I write about how to deal with the pandemic by recommending 3 creative things to keep you sane in self-isolation.

We may all need to find some things to do now that we can’t go anywhere.

Whether or not you feel this pandemic is overblown, you will be confronted with the fact that many things you normally do are not available right now.

This is a short list of creative things to keep you sane that you can do for free.

Regardless of what you choose to do, it is important to keep to a schedule. This will give purpose to your day even if you find yourself in quarantine.

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Call Out For Beta-Readers and Critique Swap.

The last few weeks have been excruciating for us all, however in the midst of this crisis, there has been a surge in positive creative energy and optimism in our community. So many of you are getting in touch with your creative selves – exploring new skills and outlets, sharing stories and expressing yourself in new ways. I pray that you and your families and loved ones have taken every precaution to stay healthy and safe.

Self-isolation has forced me to finish the third draft of my novel, ‘To Wield The Stars’ and I am now at the stage for beta readers.

I’m looking for a beta reader and/or a critique partner. I am willing to exchange my writing with someone else (any genre, no restrictions) and give you proper feedback on your manuscript.

TO WIELD THE STARS is a 95K word epic fantasy adventure novel with three main POVs. It’s told in the close third-person past tense and in an episodic format. My novel is part of a shared universe with multiple author’s overlapping series.

Continue reading below if you’re interested to take part in the beta reader process.

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Seven Ways to Polish Your Manuscript Before You Self-Publish

Publishing is a competitive industry whether you self-publish or go the traditional route. Polishing your manuscript until it’s the best it can be is even more important for the self-published author. When you publish your own work, you likely don’t have an entire team of editors and industry experts to help bring your book to market.

If you haven’t signed up to my mailing list to recieve exclusive offers, free stories and extracts from my novel. Click the link below to be taken to my sign-up page.

Mailing List

Below are seven ways you can polish your manuscript before you self-publish.

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Why and How Should Authors Build a Mailing List?

I’ve done a bit of research into why authors need mailing lists. If you have a strong mailing list, you will sell books. If you don’t, you might, but you might not. Therefore, your best effort is spent building an email list so you can sell more books.

With an email list, you can promote and share new ideas, products, and services and then direct readers to a place where they can make the purchase. I began building my mailing list two months ago and it sits at a comfortable number but I regret not starting when I created this blog.

If you haven’t signed up to my mailing list to recieve exclusive offers, free stories and extracts from my novel. Click the link below to be taken to my sign-up page.

Mailing List

To continue from the title, below are Why and How Authors Should Build A Mailing List. 

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When Should Writers Edit Their Work?

As I writer I know what it feels like when someone tells me what writers should or should not do. As such, take my advice as suggestions—backed up by a few years of experience. If your method works for you, then use your method. But this is what works for me and others I know when it comes to self-editing.
Below are a few ways to look at the question: When should writers consider editing their work?

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Five Ways To Annoy Your Reader

At times it is difficult being a writer and a reader, since looking at novels with a critical eye can ruin the fun of reading. But reading often what makes our writing stronger. Over the years I’ve discovered similarities between the works that irritate me at best and cause me to lose interest and stop reading at worst.

Below, in no particular order, are five things writers (maybe including myself) do that annoy reader:

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Should I Use Reddit?

I spoke to a few people about Reddit and what it actually is. If you don’t use Reddit or you don’t know what it is. Reddit is a web content rating and discussion website. Registered members submit content to the site such as links, text posts, and images, which are then voted up or down by other members.

Before I went and created an account, DouglasWTSmith, I did a bit of research of what content was being post on there. I was surprised at the involvement of people answering the questions and strict rules each subreddit has to prevent spammers and unrelated content.

Three things to consider before you sign up.

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Five Reasons Readers Should Leave Book Reviews

To begin, this is a call-out for Book Reviewers for the Of Metal and Magic: Compendium One

To begin the topic of the title, I started the discussion in a recent post, Of Metal and Magic: Compendium One and Book Reviews but I wanted to dive deeper into the topic of book reviews and how it can help authors.

Below are Five Reason Readers Should Post Book Reviews.

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Five Ways to Finish Your Novel

So, you’re a writer, but when people ask for a copy of your novel, you only have two or three chapters to share, and they may not even be from the same work. Finishing a book is hard work, and it’s all too easy to get distracted, overwhelmed, and discouraged.

When I first started writing, I struggled to move past the first chapter. I moved to short stories for a while so I could achieve a sense of completion but deep down, I wanted to be a novelist. Fast forward two years, I have now finished two novels, A Time of Stones and To Wield the Stars. 

If your a writer that struggles to finish your novel, below are five ways to help you.

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