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:
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.
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.
It’s funny. I promised I would attempt to post regularly on my blog––and it’s not the first time I’ve made that promise with my followers. Each time I apologize but this time: I’m not sorry.
Okay, maybe I am a little bit but over the past months, I devised a writing routine that works for my lifestyle and busy schedule. It has taken me a long time to work out the best and most productive writing life for me.
It might take writers and authors days, weeks, months or years to work it out but once you work it out, you don’t want to break that cycle. I don’t want to break the writing cycle I’ve created for me.
In the last posts, I discuss Seven Ways To Add Subplot To Your Story and Four Ways to Build Suspense in Your Novel.
The most common way authors explore subplot and build tension is through multiple points of view. Multiple viewpoints can build the suspense for the protagonist, for example, in Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers. Having Merry and Pippin encounter the Ent in the Fangorn forest and deal with the source of Sauron’s army whilst Aragon, Legolas and Gimli are cornered in Helm’s deep with the people of Rohan, add pressure for Frodo and Sam to make it Mordor and destroy the ring.
Each point of view of the story should have a unique voice. Below are four exercises to challenge yourself and explore new ways to think about your point of view writing.
In previous posts, I discussed how to foreshadow and how to add suspense to your novel.
One of the points I intentionally left out was the subplot.
A subplot is an excellent tool for writers adding suspense and character dimension to their novel. The best authors know that much of a novel’s success depends on the interplay of plot and subplot. If your plot seems to be falling flat, or if your story starts to resonate as too one-note, it could be that a well-woven subplot is just what you need to add the kind of complexity and tension that readers crave.
When writers and authors begin to view subplots as material to weave into our main action, it becomes easier to see the strands of the plot individually—and to feel confident handling them.
I have outlined below seven ways to add a subplot to your story.
For many writers and readers, the suspense is a genre. However, it is also a key element in all stories—if you want your readers to keep reading, that is.
Tools for creating suspense belong in every writer’s toolkit because they help arouse expectation or uncertainty about what’s going to happen.
And that worry pulls readers deeper into your story, whether it’s fantasy, thriller, science-fiction, literary fiction or any other genre.
Below are four ways to help add suspense to your novel, no matter where you’re at in the writing process, from drafting to the fourth round of editing (like me).
Last year on my Goodreads account, I completed a reading challenge.
On a recent post, I shared my yearly #Fridayreads Challenge. I accepted and nominated eight books. I thought, if I at least set an achievable goal, it will motivate me to read more, however the eight books I chose were at least 700 pages long. In between the series I read short stories, poems and alot of articles on the craft of writing but I didn’t add those to my Goodreads challenge as they are alot shorter in length.
It has taken me awhile to complete the Memory, Thorn and Sorrow series by Tad Williams, but I did it. I highly recommend it for everybody who loves epic fantasy to read Tad Williams books.
What are you reading this week?
Happy New Year! Yes I know I am nine days overdue but it has been an eventful start to the new year.
As we finish rinsing our champagne glasses and packing away our decorations, our focus turns to the year ahead. So here’s the big question:
What are your writing ambitions for the next 12 months?
Aside from writing itself, I believe reading is the single most important element in a healthy writing life.
As Natalie Goldberg pointed out:
If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you.
You should be reading the type of stories we want to write. Why? Here are five reasons.
