Advice for New Writers

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners, Writing Technique

Lovable Predictability: The Pleasures and Challenges of Writing a Children’s Fiction Series

by Alex Woolf

“Why do we always have to reinvent the wheel?” my editor once asked me.

When a new book is launched, it’s like introducing a stranger to a largely disinterested world. Potential readers know nothing about its characters or the kind of plot they might expect. Publishers are forced to spend a great deal of money on marketing to give the book a comforting, pseudo-familiar feel. The title and cover design will be reminiscent of other, similar books that readers might already have enjoyed.

Advice for New Writers, How to Sell Your Novel, Information Center, Publishing Technologies, The Business of Writing, The SFWA Blog

Crowdpublishing

by Diane Morrison

Everyone says that indie publishing is the wave of the future. Avoiding gatekeepers, who are often prejudiced against particular ideas or demographics, and putting your work out there to see if it will sink or swim on its own, puts the power (and the money) back in the hands of the writers. I had an unusual idea and format that I realized would have difficulty finding a home because of its experimental nature, so I though I would give it a try.

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, Keeping At It, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog

Rebound Novels

by Paul Jessup

Novels are like long, committed relationships. They take months to years of your life, and they require complete and utter devotion to their singular purpose. Certainly, there is something to living inside of a novel, breathing inside of it, thinking about it every moment of your day. It’s an all-consuming thing, as exhausting as it is rewarding.

Advice for New Writers, Information Center, Keeping At It, The Craft of Writing, The SFWA Blog, Tips for Beginners

The Productivity Monkey

by Deborah Walker

I don’t find productivity to be a one size fits all discipline. Sometimes a theory or technique just doesn’t resonate for me. For example, I’ve never got on with the Pomodoro technique, but some authors love it. I listened to a podcast recently where a motivational speaker was very insistent that if you don’t have goals then you can’t achieve anything worthwhile. Goals aren’t for me. I’d rather define processes rather than goals. I’ll write every weekday rather than I’ll finish a novel in a year. Many productivity experts swear by meditation, but I don’t care for it. The best advice for techniques is to try them on for size and see if they fit.

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