Your cart is currently empty!
Tag: writing
The Many Benefits of Co-Authoring
Co-written books can be exciting and fun to write, if you’re with the right partner. They can also be a challenging and rewarding experience, as long as you follow some basic co-authoring guidelines. With writing, some people prefer to work alone, while others would rather get in the same room with other authors and start the collaborative process right away.
In this blog post, I’ll discuss the most common types of co-written books and how they benefit both authors and their readers. I’ll also look at some of the most successful co-written books ever written, to give you some ideas about what works best. If you’re an author who wants to learn how to co-write a book and make it a rewarding experience, this guide will help you make the most of your experience and craft something you can be proud of that your readers will love as well.
Examples of Books That Were Co-Written
The best co-written books are those where the authors complement each other’s strengths.
Two of my favorite collaborators have always been Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. They collaborated on Good Omens with outstanding success. Their writing styles differ from one another, but they work so well together. Though their storytelling approaches are different, reading a book by them feels like one succinct package. It’s really cool to see how they’ve grown as writers through their collaborations.
Other famous co-authored books include The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub, Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, and The Norby Series by Issac and Janet Asimov. Each is an exceptional example of why collaborating can be rewarding. I highly recommend reading some of these amazing books if you’re looking for something new. Consider how concise these stories feel when you read them. Also, it’s interesting to see how successful these novels were because of the collaboration between two talented authors.
Series Finished by Another Author
Though it’s not always the case, sometimes an author will die before they’re able to finish a series. Sometimes, another author finishes the series. This can be a daunting task, but it can also be very rewarding. The Wheel of Time series was finished by Brandon Sanderson after the death of the original author, Robert Jordan. The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny was completed prior to his death. Still, we were treated to a prequel series (The Dawn of Amber Series) written by John Gregory Betancourt after Zelazny passed away. With proper respect paid to the original author and their work, writing a series that someone else has started can lead to success. It takes hard work and dedication, but it pays off in the end!
Benefits
There are many benefits to co-writing a book. For one, it can help to divide up the workload so that each author is only responsible for a portion of the book. This can make the writing process more manageable and less daunting. When you co-write a book, you bounce ideas off of another person and get feedback in real-time. This can help improve the quality of your work. Collaborating with someone else can help you stay motivated and on track. It’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re working on a project alone, but having someone to hold you accountable can make a big difference.
Co-writing can also help you learn new things. If you’re collaborating with someone who has different strengths than you, they can teach you things that you wouldn’t have known otherwise. You’ll also have the chance to make new friends or business connections when you co-write a book. You may be surprised by how much you learn from other people about their knowledge and experience.
Don’t Wait For Perfect
We’ve all been there. You have this great idea for a book, but you can’t seem to get started because it’s not perfect yet. And so you wait. And wait. But no book is ever going to be perfect. At some point, you just have to write. You know the saying. Don’t wait for perfect, because it will never happen. It applies to co-writing too. You and your co-writer will never agree on everything, so don’t wait for that to happen before you write. Just dive in and see what develops. More often than not, you’ll work with a partner who isn’t exactly like you but still has things they are great at.
Choose Your Partner Carefully
When you decide to co-write a book, you’re essentially getting married. You’re committing to spending a lot of time with this person, sharing your innermost thoughts and feelings, and working towards a common goal. So, it’s important that you choose your partner carefully. You need someone you can trust, who shares your vision for the project, and who you can work well with. When co-writing goes well, it’s like magic. The finished product is better than either of you could have accomplished on your own. Plus, the process is incredibly rewarding. Whether it be collaborating or just trading ideas back and forth, each author brings something unique to the table. And when two people bring their individual strengths together, they are much more powerful than they would be alone.
You want someone who shares your vision for the project and who you can trust to see it through. Ideally, you should also choose someone with complementary skill sets to yours. That way, you can divide up the work and make the most of each other’s strengths.
Pitching to Potential Partners
When you’re ready to write a book with someone, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you want to write, why you want to write it, and what your writing partner’s strengths are. Once you’ve found a potential co-writer, the next step is to pitch your idea. Someone can do informally this, over email, or even in person. How ever you do it, make sure you’re clear about what the book will be about, what each of your roles will be, and how much time you’re willing to commit.
Remember, co-writing is a partnership, so communication is key. You’ll need to work out where the responsibility for various tasks lies, who’ll own copyright for any material created jointly, and how decisions will be made. The first decision is usually whether one or both authors will take on the role of lead writer (the one who writes most of the text). This is an intensely personal choice which should reflect not only skills but also preferred working style. Some people like to plan every detail before they put pen to paper. Others prefer just getting on with things.
It’s important to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for in a partner. Do you want someone who shares your sense of humor? Who has experience in the genre you’re writing in? Once you know what you want, reach out to potential partners and pitch your idea. If they’re interested, great! If not, don’t take it personally. Just keep looking until you find the perfect fit. In the meantime, though, continue drafting chapters on your own or with other writers you meet online. You never know when that perfect person will show up. Plus, while you wait for them to come along, you can still hone your skills and enjoy creating something new.
Share the Load
Writing a book is no easy feat. But when you have a co-writer, you can share the load (and the glory). Perhaps you’re not the best at outlining or structure, but your friend has an excellent sense of pacing. Or maybe you know more about plot than dialogue, but your writing partner has remarkable characters to bring to life. What’s more, there are other advantages. You’ll always have someone to brainstorm with, and it will be much easier to get through that inevitable rough patch because there’s always someone there for you.
If one of you is too busy to work on the story, then it won’t stall as long as both parties take a break and come back later. If you live in different parts of the world, time zones don’t matter either. Each partner can continue to write from their own perspective without constantly updating each other. The only downside is not being able to collaborate in person, but with all the advances in technology, this really isn’t a problem anymore. If you meet up physically now and then, make sure you’ve got plenty of snacks handy.
Get Involved In Each Other’s Projects
Once you start, be sure to give each other regular feedback. That feedback should be on their other projects as well. Reading your partner’s other ongoing work serves two benefits. First, it helps keep the creative juices flowing for both of you. Second, reading someone else’s project is a great way to get an outside perspective on what they are doing and how they approach storytelling. It can also be helpful when deciding which projects are more promising than others. For example, if one person has a really cool idea but doesn’t know where to go with it, you might suggest that they write up a synopsis or outline and send it over to the other person. You could provide suggestions or even take a crack at coming up with something yourself.
Know When To Let Go
In order to make a co-written book work, let go of some control. You can’t be precious about every single word, because chances are, your co-writer will want to change some of them. It’s important to be open to suggestions and willing to compromise. That way, you can create a book that’s even better than either of you could have written on your own. If this is your first time working with someone else, remember that it might take a while for the two of you to get into the groove. Be patient and don’t expect everything to happen right away. The more you work together, the easier it will become. Remember too, that if something isn’t working out, don’t be afraid to ask your co-writer if they’d like to take over in an area where they excel.
There May Be Turbulence
There are some challenges involved as well. Your relationship has the potential to suffer if there are any major disagreements in opinion. If one author seems to want all the power in a partnership or if one feels like they were treated unfairly, that could lead to problems down the line. However, if you choose your co-writer wisely and respect each other’s opinions and contributions, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience. You’ll get input from someone who understands the nuances of storytelling and who will give you feedback on plot points and ideas that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. It’ll also help ease the workload by having someone share responsibility for tasks such as plotting out scenes, editing, or deciding about art direction. You will not be lonely in this process either!
Try Co-Writing
Writing a book with another person can be a very rewarding experience. You get to bounce ideas off of each other, help each other stay on track, and learn from each other. Plus, it’s just plain fun! Try your hand at co-writing with a trusted collaborator today and see for yourself how rewarding it can be.
-R.E.
-
Change: Why It’s Good for Writers
Changes are rarely easy, whether you’re the one making them or experiencing them secondhand. Change, though, can be an opportunity to grow in ways that may not have been possible before the change began occurring. I’ve been lucky enough to experience both sides of this equation over the past few years, and I’m here to tell you it gets better with time! When writers find ourselves on waves of change, we ride them until they buck us off! Here are some reasons it’s good for writers to ride that wave.
Embrace Change
Change is not just a part of life, it’s a part of every moment. This truth resonates throughout the lives of writers – especially in our work. If there are two things that I have become accustomed to as a writer, they are rejection and change. Rejection has always been a part of my writing career. It started with poetry and short stories in middle school. My teachers would tell me how much they liked my writing, but then explain why they couldn’t accept my submission. I would get frustrated, but then move on to another story or poem and try again next time. Eventually, I learned to write what was in my mind and make the changes that I knew would work. I always kept that original, though. Writers are a stubborn bunch.
Flexibility is a tool in the writer’s utility belt that gets good use. The market is always changing and writers need to keep up, even after they find their niche. The market will shift, readership will decline, or new opportunities will present themselves. As long as you keep up with these changes, you can ride them out until they buck you off like a wild horse! So, embrace change and enjoy riding those waves!
Writing: Life
I’m currently riding waves of change in my personal life, my primary career, and even in my writing. These changes can be scary, but it’s best to embrace them as opportunities. They will improve who I am and what I do as both an individual and a professional writer. Plus, these changes have made me more aware of the skills I need to become even better at what I do. That awareness has helped me improve in more ways than I could have imagined.
When people talk about the uncertainty of being a writer, they’re usually referring to one specific form of uncertainty: How do you know if your writing will bring in the money you need to survive? However, there’s another kind of uncertainty that most writers face at some point or another, and it can be even more challenging than having an inconsistent income stream. It’s the uncertainty that comes from experiencing change in your life and your writing. This type of uncertainty is different because it’s not based on external factors—it’s based on internal ones. And while we can’t control all external factors, we have control over how we respond to those that affect us internally.
Embrace Uncertainty
This is probably one of the hardest things to do when faced with change—but also one of the most important things you can do if you want to overcome it. In fact, embracing uncertainty means accepting that you won’t always know what’s going to happen next. You’ll ask questions like:
What happens if _?
and
How am I going to handle _?
You don’t always have answers to these questions, but embracing uncertainty doesn’t mean giving up. Instead, it means understanding that no matter how much planning you do ahead of time, something unexpected will come up eventually—and that’s okay! In fact, embracing uncertainty is necessary if you want to overcome existential writing challenges like fear of failure or self-doubt. While uncertainty can be scary, it can also liberate and empower. If you’re willing to embrace change and let go of a little control, then you’ll be able to handle just about anything that comes your way as a writer.
I have very little in the way of understanding when I start a story. I know only what I know, and usually that’s what someone said while doing something. Vague, I know, but that’s the point. Life starts out the same way. Hell, most days start out that way: a single idea that must form its own intent. Like beloved children, we watch those ideas grow – and change. There is discomfort in not knowing what the change will bring, sure, but so much comfort in knowing that change will occur.
Sometimes it comes from an unexpected place. It can come from inside you. Sometimes it just happens because life is weird like that. Either way, embrace it. Let go of control and see where your characters take you. They may surprise you with their wisdom or foolishness, strength, or weakness. They may even surprise you by how well they do or don’t fit into your plans for them – but whatever happens, embrace it as part of your journey as a writer… and as part of your journey through life!
Don’t Fear Failure
Change may not always lead to great things. That’s part of why we’re wired to fear it. Sometimes rewriting a poor passage leads to regrettable results. No, that’s not right. OFTEN. It often leads to bad things. That poorly written passage had to go, though. It had to change. Eventually, the final version was acceptable to read. You can’t be afraid of failure if you want to write well.
Accept failure as an inevitability in your writing process and move on from there. Nothing teaches faster. Your First Draft is Not Your Final Draft: If you are going to write something worth reading, you need to get out of your own way. So what does that mean? It means don’t stop yourself from writing something because it isn’t perfect. Let go of perfectionism before it stops you from creating anything at all. The first draft is simply practice for when you get stuck later on down the road. The more words you put down now, even if they aren’t great ones, will help smooth out any rough patches later when crafting your story into a masterpiece. Write your way into the change. Embrace it. Ride it until you fall off. Then start again. You’ll eventually reach shore where everything looks different from how you left it… but better!
Set Goals
Change is always a goal I list when setting goals for a new writing project. This time last year, I was trying to change my life and make it something that suited me better. This year, my focus has been on changing my professional life in concert with my personal life. The best thing about these changes is that they are self-imposed and not something forced upon me by others or an outside force.
The worst thing about these changes is that they are still scary and sometimes I want to hide from them but know that would be worse than facing them head on. These changes have brought with them many challenges but also many opportunities to grow and learn more about myself and what it means to be a writer in today’s publishing world.
A goal not set is an achievement not celebrated. I have made great strides in my writing and publishing career. There are still many more goals to achieve and many more waves to ride. I look forward to seeing what these changes bring me as a writer and a person. I can’t wait to see where they take me next.
Ride the Wave
The only certain way to predict change is to enact it. If you’re a writer, you know that nothing ever goes as planned. You might have an idea for a novel and think you can write it in three months. That doesn’t account for life getting in your way or other ideas popping up that need writing first. If you’re not willing to ride with these changes, they’ll buck you off and leave you feeling defeated and unmotivated. Instead, get on board with what life throws at you—the good and bad—and write through each wave of change until they eventually crash down on your head, leaving behind a new world that was never there before.
This is how we grow as writers. We embrace change and allow ourselves to be carried along by its current until we emerge from it wiser, stronger, and better than we were before. And isn’t that what every writer wants? To be better than they were yesterday? So why resist change when it’s here? Ride those waves! Let them take you where they will! They’re really more like gentle swells, anyway. Don’t fight them so much as relax into their rhythm… then grab onto a swell when one comes along and let yourself float along its length until you come out on top again! See? Not so scary after all!
Keep Writing
Writing is a habit. Sometimes it can feel more like a bad habit. The last thing you want to do when struggling with writer’s block is give up and stop writing. If it seems hard now, just think about what you would give up on if you stopped writing altogether—that’s an idea worth pursuing. As long as your head can form coherent thoughts, keep putting them down on paper or in digital format. Don’t worry about publishing anything or even editing what you wrote. If it helps, make a new file with Ramblings as its title and fill that puppy full of half-baked ideas and fragmented sentences until your wave picks back up again.
Many times, when people face major life changes, they get stuck and stop making progress. Instead of allowing yourself to become stagnant, embrace change by using it as a reason to move forward. Though things will never be exactly like they were before, you will discover something new about yourself. Work through these transitions. Who knows? Maybe you’ll start writing thoughts you hadn’t considered before! Change can be good—even though it may feel scary at first. Ride out your wave until it crests and crashes on shore. You’ll find there is another one right behind it waiting to take its place. So, sit back, relax and enjoy being swept away by change. After all, life’s a beach (and what’s a beach without waves?).
Find Inspiration Everywhere
One great thing about being a writer is that you never have to stop writing. Maybe your life has changed and you’re going through a rough patch, but it can still be incredibly useful to put words down on paper, in a private journal or on a public platform. Even if you don’t feel like putting words on paper, don’t just sit there. Let those words flow out onto some form of digital media. That way, they’re there when you need them and can be your refuge when everything else is falling apart around you. If you avoid writing, recognize it. It’s okay to be scared sometimes. What scares us most often turns out to be something that strengthens us in the end.
-R.E.
-
The Case for Unapologetic Writing
I was talking to some friends about how often I apologize as a writer. Whether it’s late at night when I’m frantically trying to get an article written, or on days when I just don’t feel like doing my writerly duties (like any other job), I apologize either mentally or out loud. I apologize to myself for time wasted not writing. I apologize to friends and family for the time spent writing instead of with them. The more I talk to other writers, the more I realize that this isn’t an uncommon practice among us, and it got me thinking about why we do it and why we should stop.
Many people who dream of writing never do. Not because they can’t write, but because they won’t. It’s hard to juggle writing with the rest of life, particularly if you’re balancing multiple roles and many responsibilities. As important as the other things in your life are, writing should be something you hold in equal esteem. After all, this goal of writing got you started in the first place, right? So it’s important to make time for it and not apologize when things get hectic and there isn’t any time.
In fact, consider your writing time sacrosanct. Here’s why and how to do it.
If You Don’t Take The Time to Write…
We define imposter syndrome as the psychological phenomenon in which people cannot internalize their accomplishments. You feel like a fraud. You think that someone will discover that you’re not good enough and then they’ll find out you aren’t who you say you are. It can be a devastating feeling to have. If you don’t take time to write, it becomes easier to let imposter syndrome creep in and take over. Writers have to write. They have to read, too. You are what you read. By definition, though, we write.
We don’t write by magic. Further, there is no machine to speed up the process. What writers use more than anything is time. We invest money, brainpower, and emotional capital at the highest levels. We invest, comparatively, a LOT more time. The investment is an agreement with yourself. What you do with your time makes you a writer or a person who wants to write. You can read all day long and never be a writer because you never invest your time in what it takes to become one: writing. Writers write.
Take your writing seriously if you want it to take you seriously as an author. If you want your writing career to be something that pays off – whether financially or otherwise – then you need to treat it like any other career would treat their chosen profession: with respect and dedication and hard work. Invest the time.
… You Will Miss Opportunities For Success…
When you are not writing, accomplish all of your productive goals. Get that laundry done. Sweat through those workout sessions. Enjoy the calm structure of meal prep moments. Go to work and the bank and the farmer’s market. Restock your must haves and make a plan for managing inventory going forward if you don’t already have one. Do anything but write. The more time you spend on things other than writing, the better.
That’s not to say you ignore the fact that you are a writer. Build your mental gallery of people and images and poetic lighting as you go about your day. Don’t let good ideas slip away just because they came at an inconvenient time. Jot them down and give them no more thought. Come back to them later at your appointed writing time. This is a great way to kill two birds with one stone: 1) capture good ideas, and 2) maintain a healthy separation between writing and not writing.
By creating a true divide between your writing time and the rest of your life, you ensure that when you are writing; it is with undivided attention. Other ideas or thoughts won’t distract you. You won’t feel you’re wasting precious moments. And you will find yourself more able to lose yourself in your work.
… And All-Around Contentment.
When you’re not writing, spend your free time doing the other things that bring you joy. The world is a stressful place, no matter how much (or little) money you have. No matter what happens in life, there are always those moments of stillness that can return us to peace if we choose them. These don’t have to be grandiose activities. You could take a walk alone on a sunny day, read something from start to finish without putting it down, or just lie on your back in bed staring at the ceiling. There are as many ways to relax as there are people in the world. Find yours. Then lean all the way into it. Let it engulf you and likewise encompass it.
Many of us don’t make enjoying ourselves a priority. We put it off until later, but when we’re on our deathbeds and looking back on our lives, will we be able to say that we spent enough time just being still? Will we wish that could have spent more time having fun or doing whatever activities made us feel most alive? Make time every day – even if it’s only 30 minutes – to do something else you love. The peace of mind you’ll gain will give you a much-needed creative boost and help keep your mindset healthy as well. And then see how that seeps into your writing. Chances are good it will improve what you produce.
When You Do Make Writing a Priority…
When you’re writing, just be writing. Close the door, lock it. Turn off your phone. Let the people in your life know that time is your writing time. Respect that writing time. If you are a writer, then nothing should take precedence over writing. You must make it a priority and respect it. Protect your time and energy because there will always be things that come up to pull both things away from you. If you don’t protect them, they will be gone before you know it. If you want to write more than anything else – as I’m sure many of us do – then making sure we give ourselves ample space and time to do so is crucial. So never apologize for needing or using that space and time! It’s not selfish. It’s necessary.
Like any other goal, commitment to achieving the goal is paramount. You must commit yourself to writing if you want to be a writer. Commitment means giving up things in your life that are not conducive to your writing. It means making sure you are prioritizing your writing time and protecting it from anything else that might try to steal it away from you. Commitment means defining yourself as a writer – because if you don’t see yourself as a writer, then how can you expect anyone else to?
People Will Make Your Writing a Priority, Too
Let friends know it’s best to call you before they stop by. If you have pets, make sure someone looks after them while you write (and don’t apologize for it). Parents, let your kids know you need quiet and a lack of distractions. If other members of your household need something from you, make sure they understand when those times are and respect them. Your writing time is important and should be for everyone around you. After all, if those closest to us don’t support our dreams and goals, who will? Your loved ones want you to be happy. They see how happy writing makes you. Let them see how serious it is to you as well.
These tough conversations lead to respected blocks of time. That makes them as valuable as the hard work that you put in once the block of time is secured. The big payoff will come. You’ll receive your first payment for work as a writer. Maybe you’ll tell your family about your full request (and explain what that means). Or maybe your agent will send word of a potential book deal. Whatever the outcome, your family will be so excited for you they’ll never let you hear the end. Until your writing time, that is. Then they’ll insist you get back to work.
Stop Apologizing
You don’t need anyone else’s permission. As a writer, you will probably get asked by others why you spend so much time in front of your computer. Don’t apologize for your choice to be an author. Instead, let them know how much joy it brings you and how happy it makes others. It may sound harsh, but if someone has an issue with your passion project, then he or she doesn’t deserve your attention, anyway. What matters to you matters more than anyone else’s opinion. Never feel guilty about your writing time. For writers, creative work is important and needs to happen often. It’s not just something you do when you have free time or when you’re bored. It’s part of who you are as an individual.
Write Unapologetically
Writing is a job. Because it’s work, protect your work time from everything else. For many writers, writing is a struggle. We force ourselves to sit down, to write even though we don’t feel like it, because we know that if we just set time aside to do it, we will get something done. If you wait until you are in exactly the right frame of mind before you write, you will get nothing done. You must learn to sit down and start writing regardless of what sort of mood you are in or what other things there are going on around you. Creating unapologetic space makes it seem like less of a chore on those hard days.
If you want to be successful at something, you can expect to make sacrifices. Building the habit of cementing a writing time is the first step to forgiving yourself for wasted time. Don’t feel you’re alone, either. Plenty of writers finish the week recounting the hours spent not writing instead of celebrating the writing that they achieved. It’s time to stop apologizing to yourself and everyone else. That time is better spent writing.
-R.E.
-
Fantastic Fictional Writers
Anyone who’s ever wanted to be a writer can tell you it’s difficult to make the dream a reality. It takes plenty of hard work, dedication, and perseverance, and even then there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to pay your bills with just your writing. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worthwhile to try! There are plenty of well-known writers in real life and in movies and books who have succeeded and inspired many more aspiring writers along the way.
We often revere writers for their unique ability to craft fiction, whether it’s as a novel, play, or movie script. Some have also made their mark as some of our favorite movie and book characters. Here are some of our favorites.
Anne Shirley
Not only was Anne Shirley a writer, she was also one of literature’s most adorable characters. No one could resist Anne’s eccentricities. She was rather unlike any other young girl in 1900s Nova Scotia, which is why audiences love her so much.
The first book of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s series focuses on Anne’s journey from an orphanage to live with Marilla Cuthbert and Matthew Cuthbert on their farm in Avonlea. She becomes friends with Diana Barry (another writer) and Gilbert Blythe (who eventually wins her heart). The spunky redhead who lived on Prince Edward Island spent much of her time writing stories—usually about plucky orphan girls—and later became an author in her own right.
Throughout the books, we see just how much Anne loves writing by seeing how hard she works at it. She even begins working on a second novel. It never gets published, but it shows us just how important writing is to Anne. She continues to write poetry throughout her life. This passion for words makes Anne Shirley one of literature’s most beloved characters. And what better way to honor her than by showing your own passion for writing?
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is one of those special literary heroes who’s become a cultural icon. In Harper Lee’s beloved 1960 novel, Finch is a high-minded attorney defending a black man accused of rape in 1930s Alabama. He’s an ideal father to his kids, always teaching them tolerance and love. He is also determined to set aside his own financial interests in order to defend Tom Robinson, an innocent black man accused of raping a white woman.
Finch was more than just a lawyer. He was also a writer. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, he wrote letters to his children. These letter spoke of the lessons he wanted them to learn throughout their lives, saying
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.”
That sure sounds like good advice for fiction writers as well!
As he’s typing, he’s playing with new ways of describing events in Maycomb County. Writing (and editing) becomes an essential part of how Atticus sees the world around him. He’s always trying to make sense of what he sees by using language. Finch was a writer who used his skills and talents to defend those who were powerless. And isn’t that exactly what fiction writers try to do as well? We tell stories about people who don’t have power—or don’t have enough power—in order to bring them into our readers’ lives and give them a voice.
John Dunbar
The acclaimed 1993 film Dances with Wolves stars Kevin Costner as John Dunbar, a Civil War soldier left for dead by his own side in a dangerous frontier. After finding solace with a Sioux tribe, he stays. Dunbar becomes involved in their day-to-day lives while keeping a journal of his interactions and eventual acceptance.
While not technically a writer himself, John Dunbar is one of fiction’s most memorable characters because of his actions. His words, however, play an important part in his tale. Through the journal he keeps during his time in isolation, he learns to examine himself and the world around him.
The book itself serves as a reminder that all our experiences are subjective. It’s hard to know how much of what we see is real or imagined. It doesn’t matter if it’s true or false, what matters is that it happened. And from those experiences, we learn who we are and where we belong in life. It’s a journey every writer takes at some point; whether you’re writing about your own life or creating something entirely new for your readership.
Kilgore Trout
The character of Kilgore Trout, created by Kurt Vonnegut, is one of his most notable literary creations. As a literary genius, he also shares many similarities with his creator: both are from Indianapolis; both attended Cornell University; both served in World War II; and both published their first novels in 1950. Perhaps not coincidentally, that was also when Vonnegut published his first novel, Player Piano. In fact, Vonnegut’s works often include references to Trout and some note that Trout may be an alter ego for Vonnegut himself.
A down-on-his-luck author, Trout receives little respect and recognition for his work–much like Vonnegut during his lifetime. Despite never attaining fame or fortune for his work, Trout remains steadfast in his love for writing and learning from others who share similar interests. He remains hopeful that we will recognize him for what he has given to literature; if not while he is alive, then perhaps in future generations.
We can say the same about Vonnegut, who is now remembered as one of America’s greatest writers. Both are great examples of how persistence pays off in life. The more you persist through hard times, the more likely you are to achieve success later on. Keep going even when things get tough because your time will come!
Jack Torrance
The psychotic writer in The Shining is just one of many classic examples. Jack’s descent into madness is linked to his isolation and obsession with his craft, though he was battling far deeper demons. He suffered from alcoholism and a family history of violence that haunted him. Taking a new job as the winter caretaker of the Overlook Hotel was not likely the best plan to overcome his writer’s block. The hotel owner needed to fill the job since the previous one died there. The last caretaker murdered his little girls with a hatchet, his wife with a shotgun, and himself the same way.
Jack’s writing, though. Through it all, he’s writing. We don’t know what kind of play he’s working on, but we know how important it is to him—and how much pressure he feels to get it right. As his isolation deepens, Jack becomes increasingly unhinged.
Many writers have felt this was at one point or another. Words just won’t go to the castle that you’ve built for them. That and the angry spirits that haunt your every waking hour are bad for concentration and wreak havoc on your word count. Jack’s battles play a large role in The Shining. Alcoholism runs rampant through American literature. It’s an unfortunate part of our culture and one that writers shine the light on often. Jack is no exception.
Dr. Watson
Who is Sherlock Holmes without Dr. Watson? Without his right-hand man, there would be no crime-solving duo, no mystery to solve. The famous fictional detective first appeared in 1887 in A Study in Scarlet, but he was only a minor character—mostly acting as a foil for his colleague and friend Dr. John H. Watson. But it wasn’t until Sherlock Holmes appeared in The Strand Magazine starting in 1901 that Arthur Conan Doyle realized just how much readers adored Dr. Watson (as well as Sherlock).
Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick’s written accounts of their adventures form much of what we know today about Holmes. Sherlock Holmes regularly called John Watson his faithful friend and biographer.
Holmes can be an understandably difficult subject and on more than one occasion, Dr. Watson tried to remove himself from the toil of cataloguing his friends’ exploits. He would often voice his dissatisfaction with having to recount their adventures, but was always drawn back in by Holmes’ pleas for help or by Sherlock’s own secret machinations.
The Hobbits
The hobbit from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series writes many letters during his adventures—letters to his nephew Frodo, to King Elessar (Aragorn), and even one to Smaug. He also keeps extensive journals during his travels, writing about what he sees and learns along the way. To top it off, Bilbo also writes poetry in secret that reflects on his adventures.
He wasn’t able to spend much time in his home during his adventures with Thorin Oakenshield and company. Upon return, he settled in and continued work on his red leather-bound diary. They eventually expanded these collected memoirs to include the whole of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The book that Tolkien is most famous for, however, was not written by Bilbo Baggins. In fact, it was written by another hobbit: Frodo Baggins.
After Bilbo left Middle Earth, Frodo inherited his uncle’s estate and made Bag End his permanent residence. There, he wrote a detailed account of what happened during his journey with Gandalf and other members of The Fellowship. This record became known as The Red Book of Westmarch or The Red Book of Arda (the latter being an Elvish name for Middle Earth). It was used as a reference point by later writers who chronicled events in Middle Earth history after Frodo completed his own chronicle.
Grady Tripp
There’s always another book. Professor Grady Tripp, while managing a failing marriage and an affair with his boss, is learning to make tough choices. The main character in Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys takes on student-turned-writer James Leer as his protégé, despite all of his own complications. In doing so, he finds that there are many things more important than writing—at least for him.
He learns how hard it is when you are trying to balance your career and life at once; but it doesn’t stop him from trying again and again. In the little failures, we prepare ourselves for tremendous breakthroughs, or tremendous failures that don’t feel as bad. Grady Tripp teaches us we can always make time for what’s important to us, even if it means giving up something else. It’s a great lesson in prioritizing our lives so that writing becomes more than just a hobby—and less of an excuse.
Ford Prefect
Ford Prefect is Arthur Dent’s friend and saves his life when the Earth is unexpectedly demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. Ford is a seasoned galactic hitch-hiker and a field writer for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He appears in every version of Hitchhiker’s, including novels, radio series, television series, comic books, a 1981 stage show and feature film.
His name comes from a Ford Prefect car that was sold in Britain in 1951. In many versions of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it is stated that he has an IQ of about 150 (the same as Douglas Adams). In some versions, it is also stated that he was born on Thursday 16 February 1974 (which was Adams’ own birthday).
The most memorable character from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Ford Prefect is also a struggling writer. He makes his living as a field researcher for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. He has also just finished writing an entry on Earth for that publication when he meets Arthur Dent and saves him from certain death. In fact, it was Ford who wrote much of what appears in The Hitchhiker’s Guide, including its entry on Earth. He remains an important figure in The Hitchhiker’s Guide community.
Jessica Fletcher
Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Lansbury, is a successful author of mystery novels who uses her detective skills to solve murders on television. One of literature’s most beloved sleuths is best known for her ability to weave together a (very) good mystery from random tidbits of information. If you need inspiration for how to turn your own life into a gripping novel, Jessica Fletcher will be happy to share her secrets with you in Murder She Wrote. The show ran for 12 seasons and garnered multiple Emmy awards and nominations.
In it writer Jessica Fletcher uses her journalism background to solve crimes by interviewing suspects, uncovering clues and piecing them all together until she cracks each case wide open. Her writing skills make her successful as a detective. They also come in handy when she has to write up an obituary or even craft a letter of recommendation for one of her friends.
In fact, she even uses them as an excuse to get out of some social obligations by claiming that she needs more time to work on her next book!
Whether you want to write fiction or non-fiction, there are plenty of lessons that can be learned from Jessica Fletcher’s career as both an author and amateur sleuth.
-R.E.
-
7 Habits of Highly Successful Writers
It’s no secret that being a writer means spending lots of time alone with your thoughts. If you want to be successful at your craft, it’s important to develop good habits to help you stay productive. There are a few habits that highly successful writers share. It’s important to find out what they are before you start on your own writing journey. You’ll save yourself time, energy, and effort if you adopt the same habits. Here are seven that you can use to gain inspiration and motivation while also improving your own skills.
Start making these habits part of your daily routine and see how much more productive you can be as a writer!
They Make Writing A Habit
Just as in every other field, writing requires time and effort. No one becomes a bestselling author overnight, and even seasoned writers often find themselves stuck for a good line or an interesting idea. Yet successful writers do many things that their unsuccessful counterparts don’t. They have daily routines and systems that ensure they’re writing each day. They write at least 1000 words per day, and they make writing a habit foremost.
As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, writing isn’t something you can just turn on when you need it. Spend a certain amount of time every day practicing your craft if you want to become proficient. If there’s one thing that successful writers do differently than their peers, it’s making sure they stick to a regular schedule.
Part of being a successful writer is making writing a habit. Mark Twain famously said:
“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
Many successful writers cite a daily writing habit as being critical to their success. It’s easy to see why. A habit makes doing something more likely. In fact, there’s an entire field called habit psychology. The people who practice it tend to stay in the field. Writing every day will get you closer to achieving your goals than any other strategy. It might feel like a lot of work at first, but once it becomes part of your routine, things will flow much easier.
They Set Goals
It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to finish a project, but how can you make sure you’re not over-committing yourself? Smart writers establish realistic word counts or time goals. It may be tempting to skip those numbers and work on your own schedule. Keep in mind that if you want to reach your destination (like getting published) on time, you need to focus on writing with purpose. Write a target number of words or pages for each day. Then, figure out how much time each task will take so that you can stick with it. This way, all those hours spent writing won’t go to waste. You will meet your deadline before you know it!
Some people say that you should only write when inspiration strikes. Professional writers understand that even on those days when they have no interest, they are better to at least try it. It’s not uncommon for writers to need to warm up with a few easy or fun writing exercises before being able to access their inner genius. If nothing else, writing for 30 minutes each day will help ensure that you don’t lose your creativity and motivation.
Motivation and discipline take some effort. Motivation gives us energy when we feel like giving up. Discipline keeps us moving forward even when we don’t feel like doing anything at all. Remember:
1. Set a time goal.
Don’t just write for as long as it feels good—write until your time is up! This will help keep your mind focused on what needs to get done instead of what could get done.
2. Set a word count goal.
Or target several pages to fill out by a certain date. The important thing is that you establish an end point and then stick with it.
3. Make a habit of rewarding yourself.
Don’t set yourself up for failure by promising something unattainable (like an expensive dinner if you write 1,000 words in one hour). Do something nice for yourself, like reading your favorite book while enjoying a cup of tea.
They Celebrate Their Small Wins
Most writers have days when they feel like they’re not getting anything done. When you’re in a slump, it’s easy to focus on everything that’s left to do instead of what you’ve accomplished. Taking minor victories and celebrating them can boost your confidence and productivity. Whether you’ve written 2,000 words or 20 words, congratulate yourself for doing something right!
These little wins help build momentum and keep you writing consistently. They also act as proof that all those hours spent hunched over your keyboard weren’t a waste.
Please sit up straight. Your back will thank you.
If you want to be successful, celebrate every step along the way!
Recognizing your small wins and celebrating them is an important part of maintaining a positive, forward-thinking attitude. This keeps you grounded and focused on what really matters. Some people like to celebrate with a bit of chocolate or a day off from work, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Research has shown that moderate indulgences are actually beneficial for long-term success. Even if you don’t think you have much to celebrate about, focus on writing one good sentence per day. Within five years, that’s 85,000 words! Celebrate each one. You’ll marvel at how far it gets you.
They Make Reading a Habit
You can’t become a talented writer if you don’t read. Reading is The Best Thing a Writer Can Do. It helps to build your vocabulary. It improves your style. Reading gives you ideas for topics you never would have thought of and exposes you to different sentence structures that will make your writing more complex and interesting. You could simply tell yourself to read more, but research has shown that setting goals for yourself is an even better way. Successful writers don’t just read a lot. They make sure they’re reading what they need to read. Like works that push them outside their comfort zone and challenge them in their craft.
As many successful writers will tell you, reading is not only about books. It’s also about studying other forms of writing: magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc. Reading is an essential part of any writer’s life and there are plenty of ways to ensure you get your daily dose (and then some). You might not agree with everything you read, but it will help you develop a good sense of how to write better and what kinds of things succeed in your genre. Even if all you do is quickly scan articles, try to get into that habit and make it part of your daily routine. If you take nothing else away from these tips, remember: Read.
They Write What Excites Them
Be honest with yourself. Are you writing because you love to write or because you are being paid? If money alone motivates your writing, odds are that your passion will fade. At some point, so will your success. If you want to become a successful writer, it’s important to keep your passion. If you have a genuine interest in what you’re writing about, then don’t let go of that passion, no matter how difficult it gets.
You must continue pushing yourself until writing becomes natural and less laborious. That way, it will attract readers to great content rather than forced plot lines or dialogue. The best writers do not always come up with great ideas. They simply take their passions and make them into stories that everyone can enjoy. They write about what interests them.
When you love what you do, it’s a lot easier to get up in the morning and put fingers to keyboard (or pen to paper). It’s also easier to stay motivated and come up with great ideas when your subject fascinates you. The more excited about your topic you are, and if writing about it makes you feel like bursting out in song, then jump right in. That enthusiasm will carry through in your work. If you’re not sure where to start, think about things that make you happy or interested or angry. You can write about almost anything—just make sure that it excites you!
They Let Go Of Perfectionism
Don’t expect overnight success. Writing regularly will help hone your craft and build your confidence. Thirty minutes a day is just enough time to write something good—or at least something mediocre—while still leaving room for family, friends, and living life to its fullest. The goal is simply to stay productive. Don’t set unrealistic goals for yourself. Chances are you’ll quit soon after starting if it seems like an overwhelming task. Focus on being consistent. Getting in that habit early on will pay off down the road.
If you’re anything like me, your perfectionism can kill a great idea before becomes great. To be successful at writing, let go of that need for everything to be perfect before sharing it with others. You don’t have time to rework each piece an endless number of times. Focus on creating drafts as fast as possible so you can move on and improve those pieces later. Don’t give up when things aren’t perfect. Instead, learn from your mistakes.
If you want to write professionally—and I hope you do—you accept that rejection is part of being a writer. In fact, it would be more unusual if someone who writes regularly didn’t get rejected every once in a while. It happens. Just brush yourself off and keep going. The most important thing is to not take rejections personally. Instead, look at them as learning experiences and ways to improve your writing.
They Don’t Compare Themselves To Other Writers
Don’t worry about how well you’re doing compared to others. Comparing yourself to other writers can make you feel you are constantly falling short. Focus on improving your own writing skills and set realistic goals for yourself. Everyone is unique! A successful writing career will take time, hard work and patience. Know what works best for you and stay focused on your craft.
There will always be faster or more popular writers. The only person you should compete with is yourself. Armed with these habits, you’ll no doubt emerge victorious.
-R.E.
-
Lore and the Modern Gamer
Storytelling is exceptionally important to the modern gamer. It’s what sets the medium apart from others. We interact with games differently than we do with films or books. For this reason, storytelling in games can’t just rely on traditional methods of exposition or dialogues. It has to be presented as gameplay mechanics that are completely integrated into the experience without sacrificing content and quality of story. Games that tell marvelous stories keep players engaged and allow them to create connections with the characters and the world that surrounds them, making gameplay more enjoyable and more rewarding.
Video games have transformed over the years. So much so that we’re living in a new era of gaming–one in which we have lifted storytelling from the backseat to become a major player in the industry. With advancements in graphics and game design, developers can now create more detailed worlds than ever before, with more intricate plot lines and engrossing characters that come together to form stories that can leave players craving more even after they’ve beaten the game.
What is Lore?
Your favorite games probably have some sort of backstory that shapes their world and gives them additional depth. We know this as lore—the history, or story, behind a game’s universe. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Deus Ex are great examples of games with critically celebrated lore.
Game lore is, simply put, a game’s story and/or world information. Lore is when you play a popular role-playing game and interact with characters who tell you their life stories or how they came to be in your current location. When you explore new settings and learn about their backgrounds or read books that explain what happened before you got there, you are exploring the game lore. It is an important aspect for games because it helps players connect more with characters and overall gameplay experiences.
To truly immerse yourself into a game, being able to understand why things are happening around you can make all the difference. It adds depth and meaning to everything you do within that universe. You don’t just fight bad guys anymore; you actively engage the enemy. Your desire to eliminate obstacles and threats more than doubles when you have an emotional connection to the process. This can help gamers feel connected with each other as well. Friends are made over similar interests through online forums where everyone talks about how much they love a certain game based on its lore alone!
Use Of Lore In Games
Game design is primarily driven by technology. This is not a bad thing as we have seen video games advance at an incredible rate over their short lifespan. Every gamer can tell you how much better games look today – even those who only started gaming in the past few years. However, there are many examples where game developers sacrifice story and lore for graphical fidelity or engine optimization. On paper having more robust graphics or more efficient programming may seem like it will sell more copies. Often, though, story and lore help to create a world that is deeper and more immersive than a beautiful game with dull writing could ever hope to achieve.
Lore allows us to connect with characters, much like reading a book or watching a movie would. The reason so many people love books such as The Lord of The Rings or movies such as Star Wars is because they have an engaging story line that pulls you into their world. Even if you do not understand everything about these worlds, you still feel connected to them. Just look at our list of 10 Great Video Games for Book Lovers. Good lore is at the heart of each.
The incredible lore in these stories offers enough depth for the mind and heart to swim in for years. Game franchises like Final Fantasy, The Witcher, and Batman: Arkham all rely on an immersive world for success. When people become invested in a story, they’re more likely to play through a game again or purchase additional games within that series. By cultivating deep lore for their games, developers can entice their audiences to keep playing.
A Good Connection
Game lore creates a connection between player and character. Often when you play a game, you are playing as someone else. You can’t see yourself in every protagonist, so you must be able to relate to them on some level. Having good lore makes that easier because it gives players something they can relate to or find interesting about each character. A deeper understanding of a character’s motivations can help build that bond.
A great example of how important storytelling is for making connections is the series Mass Effect. Each character has their own backstory, which helps players connect with them more than if there was no backstory at all. In fact, many people feel that the follow-up, Mass Effect 2, had even better characters because of how much more time went into developing their backstories.
Likewise, adaptations of popular media like movies and television shows have seen success because of the inherent relationships that the public has formed with the main characters. It’s hard to outperform built-in lore and years of head canon. Fans like heroics. They love heroes.
Layer the Player
Good lore can add layers of depth to your gameplay experience. If you’re exploring a dungeon and come across what appears to be evidence of something only hinted at in a previous town, the dungeon will have an added layer of satisfaction upon completion. The same is true for a side quest that only unlocks after completing another one.
This is exactly why I love games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles. The world feels so alive because it’s not just about fighting monsters or saving princesses (though those are still important elements). The world has its own story to tell, which makes it feel more realistic and engaging than many other games on offer today. And I don’t just mean big-budget RPGs either. Smaller indie titles like Pyre or Night in the Woods also have marvelous stories that make them stand out from other games.
Context Matters
If all you do is run around killing things, those actions mean nothing. When paired with good lore, however, those actions become meaningful because they exist within a greater narrative structure. This makes it easier to get invested in characters and events, which helps make games more fun to play. If you’re playing as an assassin tasked with killing an evil king, you’ll feel like that action matters because it’s part of a greater story arc.
That background also helps players contextualize their actions so that every decision feels more important. Imagine if instead of being told about how evil King Baddy was (and thus why he needed to be killed) we were just presented with his severed head on a pike and told that’s what happens when you complete your mission. That would certainly convey information, but not nearly as much as having access to his backstory does. In short, good storytelling gives players better reasons to care about what they’re doing in-game.
Play it Again
Good stories = replayability. A well-written story makes fans want to play through it again and again. Games with no sort of narrative flow risk people getting bored after one playthrough. This is a critical aspect of game design, especially for games with multiplayer components. If you can’t keep your players coming back for more, then what’s even the point? Good storytelling is essential for games looking for success beyond their initial release. It’s not enough to just have a good plot. You need players invested in what happens next. Otherwise, they’ll stop playing before they ever really begin.
Fun, Fun, Fun
At its core, gaming is fun. We should strive to make our games enjoyable even beyond just winning or losing. Good lore can provide that extra bit of enjoyment needed to turn a mediocre game into a great one. Even if your gameplay isn’t cutting edge, people will enjoy playing it if they like your world and story. And if you have both? Well then, you’ve got yourself a winner!
So how do we make sure we’re not creating bad lore? Simple, really. Just ask yourself whether what you’re writing about is interesting to YOU as a player before you write it down. If not, rework your idea until it is interesting and proceed from there. When designing lore for your game, remember that it doesn’t have to be complex or original. All you need is something simple and easy for players to get invested in. Remember why you started playing video games in the first place: FUN!
Lore is Timeless
Different people find different parts of various games to be well-developed and engaging. It’s clear that game developers should invest time into crafting storylines for their fans to enjoy when playing through an expansive fantasy world or complex simulation. There are other reasons storytelling is important to gamers too. As technology advances, there will probably come a day where we can literally experience everything our games offer inside virtual reality.
What does that mean? It means that video game companies will want to create worlds so compelling they leave us feeling like we actually visited another planet—or lived in another century altogether. And it makes sense; we already talk about movies like they’re authentic life experiences. Why not let players step inside them? I think gamers would be all in, so to speak. Especially if there is lore to explore.
-R.E.
