6 sites to Pep Up your Writer's Blog

Tell Me a Story - tips

Okay, as writers we can all do with a little help to pep up our websites and blogs. Writers want to write, not promote, but we all have to get stuck in, even though half the time we haven't a clue what we're doing.

I recently came across a few articles that offer help with traffic and blogs and thought you might find them useful as well.

1. Video: How to bring traffic with the help of elertgadget and Google Desktop
2. 6 Steps To A Killer Guest Post
3. 7 Important Steps for Perfect Blog Promotion
4. Faster Web Sites For Happier Visitors And Better Conversion Rates
5. Get 10X Traffic by Content Distribution Method
6. Promoting Your Blog Without Search Engines

Now we have no excuse for trimming our blogs and driving tons of traffic..... Well we can all live in hope can't we.

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Creative writing tips, conflict and tension
Book writing, 20 ways to polish that manuscript

The vulnerable writer

Tell Me a Story

As a writer, you are vulnerable – especially if you haven’t yet been published.

Plain old shit

Most creative souls are susceptible to people’s comments, to failure, to having the right idea at the wrong time or the wrong place or the other way round…. Or to finding that the market you’re aiming for is simply not ready for your idea…. or horror of horrors, to realising that your idea is just plain old shit.

The important thing is that you do write, and that you write with enthusiasm and pride.

Carry on regardless

Remember, nothing was ever created out of shilly-shallying. We have a special kind of respect for people who fail yet carry on regardless. We know in our hearts that sometime soon they will be triumphant, next time they could pen a best seller.

If you’re in your study struggling to find the right words, the right idea, remember that all successful writers have been there and climbed through the pain barrier. You’re not alone even though it feels that way.

Come on, forget vulnerability let’s write!

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Creative writing tips, conflict and tension
Book writing, 20 ways to polish that manuscript

Book Challenge

Tell Me a Story.

I have just read a blog post on The Story Syren that brings a glimmer of hope to new writers. The post encourages the public to read books from debut authors. In this case the object seems to be to introduce readers to Young Adult books - but why not extend the challenge to include ALL debut writers. In fact my own challenge is for everyone to read at least ONE book from an unknown writer - who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Too many books from celebrities

Okay I know I have a biased opinion, but in my view, too many people are reading books from over-paid, over-exposed, semi-literate celebrities. All well and good to read this stuff, but unfortunately, it's at the expense of books from real and talented authors.

No Budget

Each year, on the American market alone, we see something like 150,000 new books published. Steve Weber suggestes that of these 100,00 will sell less than 100 copies - not because they are not good enough, but because no publicity is made available for them, no book promotion because publishers plough their budgets into sure-fire hits from celebrities. The public has no idea which books are available. If this sort of thing continues, if there is no encouragement for new writers, there could be a stage where real novels are no longer available.

• So what is the 2010 Debut Author Challenge on The Story Syren?
  
• "The objective is to read a set number of YA (Young Adult) or MG (Middle Grade) novels from debut authors published this year.* I'm going to challenge everyone to read at least 12 debut novels! I’m hoping to read at least 30! You don’t have to list your choices right away, but if you do feel free to change them throughout the year. I will also be focusing on mostly Young Adult novels.
• Anyone can join, you don’t need a blog to participate. If you don’t have a blog you can always share your views by posting a review on Amazon.com/ BarnesandNoble.com/ GoodReads/Shelfari, or any other bookish site.
• The challenge will run from January 1, 2010- December 31, 2010. You can join at anytime!"
• For more information check the post out at The Story Syren
  
  
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Creative writing tips, conflict and tension
Book writing, 20 ways to polish that manuscript

Getting over Writer's Block

Tell Me a Story - writing tip

If the surge of ideas has faded, if your writing feels trapped or awkward, if you’ve hit the dreaded writer’s block, maybe you’re just not paying attention to your subconscious.

The waking mind

When you hit a sticking point, it sometimes means the plot is flawed and your subconscious knows and has slowed down. You’re still forging ahead as if the storyline is okay, and simply think you’re having a bad patch. The idea that your scheme might be wrong hasn’t trickled through to your waking mind yet.

Sometimes it’s better to step back and take another look at your plot. Re-assess your ideas; are there other scenarios that might work better?

Allow it to be processed

Search through your running notebook of questions on the story (you do keep a notebook of things that need answering or resolving at a later date don’t you). Feed the ideas into your mind, try reversing the roles, chew things over. Ask yourself questions about the problem you've hit.

Now put the whole thing to one side. Take a walk, feed the dog, go shopping, do anything except write. Allow time for this fresh material and the questions to be processed by your subconscious. Let it poach and boil whilst you do something unrelated. Take a holiday.

Nourish your mind

Feeding crude material into your mind can be intriguing and very worthwhile. The more you nourish your mind, the more probable your subliminal dynamic will be there to help.

Lying dormant within your notebook, or sometimes in what you’ve already written will be a clue to the problem. Give it time to bubble and eventually the answer will doubtless appear.

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Who needs writers agents?
Book writing tips - A Perceptive Notebook