Write It With Research

Write It With Research

We strengthen our writing by using descriptive details with specificity and authentic topics. Thus, we enter the zone of building our research and descriptive skills.

Observation skills are essential for every writer. Attentiveness leads to relatable writing.
Research assists observation gathering:
-Need to expand your topic with more details of interest?
-Lacking information for a particular project?
-Keep looking. Search books, magazines, articles and pose questions to a group of writers.
-Consistently qualify the sources you rely on.

Topical ideas can help guide your research and launch a story or essay:
1)    Current affairs compared to times and seasons of human history.
       a.    Transportation, information technology, art history
2)    Social issues to champion.
       a.    Children and music
       b.    Young and older exploring art through painting
3)    Present day hero’s—caring for others
       a.    A four-year-old boy that saves his Mom by dialing 911 for help
       b.    First Responders
4)    Unusual aspirations
       a.    A young girl dreams about auto racing and ultimately finds a way to do it
       b.    A hiker journeys the length of the Pacific Crest Trail

Have more Ideas? Please leave a comment.


Use life experiences?—add research:

•    Can you pull a short period-of-time, like a move or relocation, or an event? Build on it by researching applicable situations of others.

•    Is the setting a place you have traveled or lived?

•    Describe a scene in real time to bring your reader along for the ride, or use time-travel noting the differences of lighting, travel, rural or urban, and geography.

•    Is the scene at the shore of an ocean or lake resort? What are the sounds there? What did you buy for lunch, hot dogs smothered with chili? Describe how it tastes. Did you watch children chasing waves coming and going? Was it hot or rainy? How does the water feel? Slimy, muddy or clean?

Boost your descriptive writing with these elements:
•    Use detail to express areas of importance; big picture, specific purpose, or differentiation,
•    Use words that are vibrant, essential, and focused,
•    Use metaphors, similes, and comparisons to tell the story,
•    Use sense words to articulate a picture,
•    Stay on point and write with clarity and economy


Post links in this series—Descriptive Writing for Fiction and Non-Fiction:
1)    Make it Personable & Tangible: https://www.writersonthemove.com/2020/02/descriptive-writing-for-fiction-and-non.html
2)    Make it Realistic: https://www.writersonthemove.com/2020/03/descriptive-writing-make-it-realistic.html
3)    Make it with Specificity: https://www.writersonthemove.com/search?q=make+it+with+specificity

Deborah Lyn Stanley is an author of Creative Non-Fiction. She writes articles, essays and stories. She is passionate about caring for the mentally impaired through creative arts.
Visit her writer’s website at: https://deborahlynwriter.com/  
Visit her caregiver’s website and read the Mom & Me memoir at: https://deborahlyncaregiver.com/
Facebook: Deborah Lyn Stanley, Writer    https://www.facebook.com/deborahlynwriter/?modal=admin_todo_tour

 

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Writers Need Simple Truths

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

With a world-wide pandemic and lockdowns, we are seeing a unique time in the history of the world. It has not been easy for anyone. For example, to stay out of the stores and at home, I've learned how to order almost anything online and have it delivered to my front door. It still feels strange to order items where I normally walk into a store and get it but it's possible and I've been doing it. Much has changed, yet there are many things which will remain the same way beyond this pandemic.

I read the publishing trade publications and know book sales are up--in many different categories--print and electronic book sales. Books are continuing to be released and promoted and published--as they will for years in the future. It's good news for writers. 

In this article, I want highlight something I wrote more than a dozen years ago, as a frustrated acquisitions editor. I wrote Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. In the back of that book, I included a series of simple statements for writers that I called Maxims.  Today I'm returning to these truths as reminders for every writer (including me). I hope they will be something important to you and help guide your writing life:

1. Never forget the impact of your words—positive or negative. Most days, I feel the pressure of motivation to make money as a freelancer. I’ve got bills and obligations which demand payment. Yet if you are so money-driven that you never make any decisions about your writing except ones which are motivated from finances, it will be difficult for you to advance in nonfiction or whatever category you choose. Don’t get me wrong. I want to be fairly compensated for my work but I also want to enjoy my work and what I do day in and day out. You need to be conscious of your motivation behind your writing and let that drive your daily efforts. 

2. Never forget your writing is a privilege and a business—so seek to maintain balance. Too many writers hesitate to ask for their materials or for a decision about a query or proposal. They send it out once or twice, then it’s rejected and they don’t properly market. 

3. Celebrate your writing successes. Never lose the wonder of the opportunity. Years ago, at a general market writing conference in Southern California, I was fascinated listening to a well-known bestselling novelist and his message. While waiting to ask him a question after the session, I turned to another person and asked if she had taken this instructor’s writing class. The woman puffed up her face in disgust and replied, “No, I’m a published author.” Just because our material is printed in magazines or books, it should not build us up in pride. Believe me, sometimes it’s difficult but as writers we need to keep things in balance, especially when it comes to nonfiction books. 

4. Believe in the quality of your work and the value of your message. Surprises always happen. I work hard at my craft and perseverance is a key factor. Don’t get me wrong but I love to receive my material in print. It’s a surprise and a special blessing. It’s the new box of books hot off the press or the magazine article in a missionary publication. I marvel at the grace in my life. I’d encourage you to absorb the same attitude no matter how many books you publish. 

5. Expect to serve an apprenticeship. It’s a false expectation to go from nothing to book contracts. Everyone is expected to move through the ranks of this business. It takes diligence and perseverance to succeed. 

6. Learn all you can from every possible source. If you approach life in this fashion, you will find that you can learn from a multitude of sources. 

7. Act wisely and thoughtfully. Haste usually makes waste. 

8. Never resist rewriting. Your words are not etched in stone. 

9. Never resist editing. Again, your words are not etched in stone. 

10. When you receive advice about your writing, learn to evaluate it critically. Sometimes you will get advice from a fellow writer or a family member and it doesn’t “feel” like something you should take. Follow that instinct. 

11. Treat editors as the coach on your team. They know their audience, so respect their counsel and only reject it with good reason. 

12. Never rest on your laurels. Be looking for your next opportunity. I’ve discovered that writing opportunities abound—particularly when I’m actively looking for them. As I read through these truths which I wrote many years ago, they still ring true. In fact, I've based much of my writing career on following these statements. I hope they will encourage you and help your writing life.

If you haven't read Book Proposals That $ell,  let me give you several reasons to get a copy: First, the book has over 130 Five Star reviews on Amazon. Second, many people have used this information to get an agent or snag a traditional book deal. Third, I have all of the remaining print copies (so don't buy it from Amazon). Finally I've reduced the price from $15 to $8 and added bonuses and other elements. I hope you will check it out and order a copy.

As you read through this article, which principles are important to you? Am  I missing something? I look forward to your comments and feedback in the comments below.

Tweetable: 

Read this article about Writers Need Simple Truths from this prolific writer and editor. (ClickToTweet)

W. Terry Whalin is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. His work contact information is on the bottom of the second page (follow this link).  His latest book for writers is 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed. One of Terry's most popular free ebooks is Straight Talk From the Editor, 18 Keys to a Rejection-Proof Submission. He lives in Colorado and has over 200,000 twitter followers.  

Think Beyond Bookstores: Other Ways to Become a Best-Selling Author

Becoming a best-selling author is what most writers dream of.

Yet most authors won't write books that become best-sellers.

At least, their books won't be best-sellers in the traditional sense.

The traditional way to become a best-selling author is to write a book that a traditional publisher buys, publishes, promotes, and puts in bookstores all across the country - and maybe even across the planet.

J.K. Rowling, Dan Brown, and Danielle Steel all became best-selling authors this way.

But there are many other authors who have taken a somewhat different path to writing best-selling books, and you probably have never even heard of most of these authors.

What Did They Do?

Well, here are a few possibilities.

1. They Sold Books to Corporations or Organizations

First, some of these authors may have written a book that had wide appeal to a particular niche market.

But rather than rely on bookstores to sell their book, they sold their book in large quantities to corporations or organizations within their niche market.

Just imagine... you've written a book with tips for parenting children with asthma.

Wouldn't it be nice to get booked as a speaker for an educational program provided by the American Lung Association who purchases your book as part of the materials for the program?

It wouldn't take long to sell thousands of copies of your book this way.

2. They Created a Wide Launch on Amazon

Other authors set up launch dates on amazon.com and became best-selling authors strictly online this way.

Generally, this requires partnering with other professionals in your field who agree to promote your book on your launch date and offer an e-book or other product of their own as a free bonus when someone purchases your book from amazon.com.

This method can be so effective that often it results in best-seller status within a single day.

3. They Used Social Media to Sell Books

Some authors these days are able to get to best-selling status by growing and leveraging their social media.

They don't target too many different social media platforms, however.

They choose the one (or ones) that appeal to their target market.

Pinterest, for a younger female audience, or Instagram, for millleninials, for example.

None of these methods of selling large quantities of books involves bookstores.

That doesn't mean a particular book can't also be sold in bookstores.

It just means an author isn't dependent on bookstores for the vast majority of sales of his books.

So, as you're writing your book, think beyond bookstores to become a best-selling author.

Try it!

And if you have a great book marketing tip, please share it here in a comment.

For more tips, resources, and other helpful information about writing and the business of writing, get your free subscription to The Morning Nudge at www.morningnudge.com.

Suzanne Lieurance is a fulltime freelance writer, writing coach, certified life coach, and the author of over 30 published books. Visit her blog at writebythesea.com.