I know not everyone uses Word for writing a novel, but a lot of people do. So here are some very basic tips that might come in useful for those starting out on the novel writing mountain.
It is a recurring problem this; how fast is my army, wagon, horse, dragon, bloke on foot going to travel across my land in my story?
In fantasy, of course, they can travel any speed you like with a wave of a wand. But what happens if we want to make it a little closer to real life? Well, research time!
Developing great characters is the most difficult part of writing, in my mind, and is one of those things that both agents and publishers latch onto quickly. It is inconsistent, though, and I have had agents say "Your characters are weak," and "At least the characters are really strong," all about the same characters!
So, ignoring agents entirely, here are my thoughts on not how you write about your characters, but how you find them in the first place.
Johnson Farthing shifts Dirt for a living. That is his lot. The bottom of the pile with no future, no expectations and no reason to think anything is going to change.
And then, his sister is kidnapped and his world is turned on it's head.
Trying to get dialogue perfect in any kind of writing can be hard work and is something I often fight with, even though I love doing it.
In my mind, dialogue should be natural and flow, which probably means it is not natural at all. What a conundrum!
However nervous I am, I love that moment when books arrive, hot off the press!
I have been slaving over Dirt for the last year, and the first four books landed with a thump on my doormat a couple of hours ago. So, what next?
Following an email from myself to the KDP team at Amazon, they have reduced the first book in my new Fantasy series Dirt to zero so it is permanently free. This is crucial part of my sell, because as an author it is one of the few marketing techniques I can afford to help sell my whole series.
It made me think about the Amazon KDP offering and how it could be improved to help Amazon, Authors and the vital readers.
All authors should have an author website where you can promote your books and build a relationship with readers and other writers with a blog. But not many authors go that one step further and create a dedicated website for each book or series of books. Is this important? I think it is, and this is why.
