Tag: writing process
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Getting More Excited about the Release of Novel #5
As I wrote last week, I’m working through my post-edited novel one last time – “Which Half David” releasing on September 15. The more I read and put the final touches to it, I’m getting more excited about it. Not that I know how it will be received by readers because I absolutely have no…
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Creative Anchors. How to choose a direction for your story.
This is my term (as far as I know): Creative Anchor. I use that term to describe the first time an idea pops in my head which will “anchor” or force a story along. It’s a crucial creative idea which will make or break a chapter, sometimes even a story. Once you plop an anchor…
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Where will the ideas come from?
Writing is such a mind game. The creative process toys with the writer to such an extent that I sometimes wonder who’s in control – do I control the creative process or does the creative process control me? Ok, I’m already confused. But this I know: I have 10 dramatic sketches to write in the…
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Hey Writers: How Varied Are Your Interests?
Some people have commented that I’m a little out of the ordinary. As a writer, I think that is to my advantage. Writers are a strange breed – I’m starting to think. I’ve had some people call me a renaissance man. I take that as a high compliment whether it’s true or not. But I’m…
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What I Learned by Re-Re-Writing My New Novel
A while back, I posted how I decided to re-write my new novel which I had previously re-written and re-vised enough. (or so I thought) But once I started getting some feedback from readers, I realized that I had made some mistakes, and regardless of how painful and time-consuming it would be, I needed to…
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97,000 Words. Where did my succinctness go?
When I first got in this long-story-writing business, I had to look up the definition of novel to see how many words it took to create a novel. Well, the general consensus I found was 50,000, so as I was writing my first novel, I obsessed over that number thinking how it would be impossible…
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My Book is Much Better. Would Endless Delay Improve It More?
I recently put the brakes on the novel I had “finished” because I realized suddenly that I don’t know what the word “finished” means. I thought it was the novel I wanted to write, but it wasn’t. It was incredibly flawed. I was introducing an author’s voice that I didn’t want to introduce and some…
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Re-Writing a “Finished Book” is Actually Quite Fun
A few days ago, I posted how after receiving feedback from some beta readers, I decided to do a complete overall of my newest novel. I was dreading this, actually, thinking that it would be a complete drag to watch chapters be gutted, characters be re-written, and storylines be overhauled. But I was wrong. I’m…
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Indie Authors: Are You Listening to Your Beta Readers?
I’ve recently run into something as an author I previously haven’t encountered: Beta readers who are less than enthusiastic about my new novel. In my four previous novels, the reviews were excellent. They bought into what I was doing, gave good insight, but were always very positive. And these aren’t “yes-people” either. They were being…
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Which Perspective is Better? A Writer’s Dilemma
The more I write, the more I analyze my writing. Why do I make the choices I make when writing? The answer to that is unclear. I guess a lot of my decisions concerning writing comes from the gut – it just feels right. I suppose that’s part of the creative process, letting ones inhibitions…
Author Mark W Sasse 