Are your sentences overly long and confusing? In this post, I’m going to share 6 ways to improve your writing.
Long sentences can be dangerous. When our sentences are too long, we tend to lapse into the passive voice and we risk making tense and punctuation mistakes.
Run-on sentences also distract the writer and the reader. We tend to veer off course and forget the purpose of our communications. They also force the reader to work harder.
(more…)Before I begin, I want to remind you, that if you want to support me as an author and receive SHORT STORIES, MERCHANDISE, and PERSONALIZED WRITING ADVICE, go to my PATREON to sign up.
When you go to start your novella, remember it’s important to appreciate the form. It would be premature to start to craft your own story without first reading a collection of novellas and taking stock of elements that appeal to you. Once you feel like you have a sense of the form, it’s time to start writing. Below are SEVEN TIPS that helped me and hopefully, they help you finish your novella.
(more…)
Last year I self-published my novella, Shadow Of The Wicked, since then I’ve had a lot of readers asking me why I chose to write a novella, and how to write one. I’ve created a quick and general guideline for writing a novella. I say generally because, like all writing principles, they are subject to change.
(more…)
I’ve been pondering the idea for a while and I’ve wanted to try to involve and give my viewers/readers/writers extra content but I don’t have the time around my work life–well now I do.
If you haven’t heard of Patreon it is a membership platform that connects content creators with fans and supporters. Mainly, it offers financial tools that let supporters subscribe to projects that give creators a predictable income stream as they continue to create content.
The membership is based on Tiers. Below are my Tiers. If you click the image it’ll take you to my page and you can see what else is offered for each Tier.
Patreon enables creators to establish multiple membership tiers. The number of tiers and the subscription rate at each level is left up to the creator. This can encourage casual fans to pay a low rate – perhaps as little as $1 per month – while more dedicated followers can subscribe upwards of $10 or $20 per month. Higher tiers grant funders access to premium and exclusive content not otherwise available to supporters at lower levels.
As you can see, my tiers start at a low price but obviously the higher you commit, the more content you’ll receive from me.
I look forward to building a stronger relationship and engagement with you by producing more content.
#DouglasWTSmith #Patreon
https://www.patreon.com/douglaswtsmith
It’s been very quiet here on my blog, but I assure you, I have been busy with projects outside writing.
Over the past couple of months I have been mostly working, renovating our home and spending quality time with my family. I also took a step back in my marketing plan for Shadow Of The Wicked to see how the organic sales, as I felt like I had done a lot of the ground working to keep the sales trickling in.
If you wish to get the most up-to-date news from me, I urge you to subscribe to my newsletter.
I only send one letter on the 4th of every month, so it won’t overload your inbox. But it will give you the first insight on my books, as well as early or exclusive access to content, which I am happy to announce some really big news but you have to subscribe to my newsletter to receive it.
REMEMBER SHADOW OF THE WICKED is available on Amazon. Read the FREE preview below and get your copy today!
Since publishing Shadow Of The Wicked, I’ve had a lot of people asking me why I chose to write a novella instead of a full-length novel. I’ve had people suggesting it to be too much effort, or was I looking for a specific target audience. The truth to why is below but first, if you’re new to this term novella, I’ll discuss what it is and then answer, why I chose to write one.
(more…)
REMEMBER SHADOW OF THE WICKED is available on Amazon. Read the FREE preview below and get your copy today!
Now that Shadow Of The Wicked is complete, I have been working with my editor for my next novel, To Wield The Stars (if you remember me talking about it) to be published by OMAMPublishing. But while I was waiting, I have had the feeling to fall back into the Three Kingdoms (Shadow Of The Wicked) world and do a full featured novel and possibly series to explain a lot of the lore and history.
So on my on Instagram I posted that I have started that series. I’m not sure what the title will be but I have a grand plan for it to be epic and grim. However, writing the first draft has always been the most daunting part of writing a novel for me.
(more…)
I know I’ve been plugging my novella, but it is now available to purchase! Thank you for following my journey and I hope you finally get a chance to see my writing style in my first book.
Here are some of the reviews for it so far on GoodReads. Check out the rest of them here:
SHADOW OF THE WICKED GOODREADS PAGE.
If you want to read the blurb and PURCHASE A SIGNED COPY (Australian customers only), head over to the page.
Here are the links to purchase them.
“Shadow Of The Wicked was engrossing, the characters were well developed and the plotline (e en though short as it is for a novella) held my interest and kept me turning each page.”
The characters were very well written. They both had a reason for their choices in life and the backstory really supported this. They felt very detailed and fleshed out and I found myself heavily invested in their decisions. When things got intense, I found myself routing for them and really hoping they survived. I also found myself physically grimacing at some of the torture scenes which made me feel like they were written very well and gave me a clear picture of what was happening.
I saw the cover of this novella, I knew immediately that I wanted to read it. I absolutely loved it.
The characters are rich, complex, and well developed. This novella is completely and utterly engrossing. It is suspenseful, intense and full of raw emotion. I could not put it down and because of that, it was a very quick read for me.
Overall it’s a super engrossing read. I got hooked on it from the very first page! It’s an amazing page-turner! The characters are solidly written and well developed. Their journeys have been well-crafted and written vividly.
It started on the first day of winter (southern hemisphere) and now ready for the last post.
If you haven’t been following, the cover reveal event for Shadow Of The Wicked has been taking place on my social media pages.
This marketing campaign is specifically aiming at my Instagram, although it is working on my Facebook page as well. I’ve screenshot my pages below to show exactly how I’m doing this reveal and the effect I’m trying to achieve.
Look out for the LAST IMAGE OF THE COVER REVEAL at 5pm AEST
After the reveal for the rest of JUNE, there will be GIVEAWAYS, so stay tuned on my social media pages!
Subscribe, follow, and like my pages below to keep up to date with the pre-release dates and
the RELEASE DATE OF SHADOW OF THE WICKED – 1st OF JULY.
#DouglasWTSmith #bookrelease
I’m so happy to share this with you. It has begun. The cover reveal event for Shadow Of The Wicked has been taking place on my social media pages.
This marketing campaign is specifically aiming at my Instagram, although it is working on my Facebook page as well. I’ve screenshot my pages below to show exactly how I’m doing this reveal and the effect I’m trying to achieve.
It’s over 9 days, 1 photo a day at 5pm AEST. Look out for the next image of my cover reveal.
Subscribe, follow, and like my pages below to keep up to date with the pre-release dates– 1st of June– and the RELEASE DATE OF SHADOW OF THE WICKED – 1st OF JULY.
#DouglasWTSmith #bookrelease
You must be logged in to post a comment.