FREE Writing Tips – Page 18 – Write for a Reason

Getting a Bit Stale?

If you’re anything like our family, we have Christmas cake left way beyond Christmas (have you still got any in a tin somewhere?). That’s not a problem, because fruit cake will last and last. But have you ever gone to a tin and found a bit of sponge cake that was a bit dry and stale? Stollen, maybe, or panettone, or the end of a Yule Log? Not good!

Sometimes you can get a bit stale with your writing… but don’t throw it away!

Here are seven ideas to add a bit of new zest to your novel:

1. Write a letter to your protagonist

2. Describe your opening setting from the point of view of a minor character

3. Make your protagonist angry: let them shout and scream

4. Think of the worst thing you could do to your protagonist, and take them there…

5. Write three alternative endings

6. Add an animal

7. Go for a walk – let your imagination fly.

You don’t have to do all of these, but try one or two, until you get your enthusiasm back…

Hope that helps! (By the way, dry panettone makes fantastic bread pudding, and why not put that swiss roll in a trifle?) 🙂

Janet

P.S. I’m going to be running the current Write for a Reason writing course for the last time, beginning Wednesday 13th February. This is a seven week online course for writers who would like to improve their writing skills, and check what they are doing is good! For the last time, I will be taking in homework at the end of every module and giving personal feedback. If you’d like to take the course, click here for more information. We will be covering characters, setting, plotting and planning, dialogue and lots more! You will learn a lot – I promise!

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Read

Last week we looked at defining our ideal readers. This is a pretty basic starting point for writing a relevant, engaging story.

Here’s something else that’s absolutely foundational to writing… every writer has to be a reader.

I’m guessing that you love reading – most writers do! But when was the last time you picked up a book your target readers might enjoy?

Time to take a trip to the bookshop? Read Christian and secular books, classics and modern books, of as many genres as you can find. Some you will find riveting. Others you might not enjoy at all. Some might horrify you! But it’s all good research.

If you can’t afford to buy new books, no problem. Try charity shops, ebay, or kindle books. Or borrow them – where you get them from doesn’t matter – the important thing is that you read. A lot. All the time.

Enjoy! … and let us know, what was the last book you read? Would you recommend it to others? Love to hear from you. 🙂

Janet

P.S. If you are looking for Christian books for 8+, you might like to try Dernier Publishing.

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Starting from Scratch – Target Readers

Hello again writers, and once again thanks for being here!

Today we’re going to look at one of the absolute basics of writing stories. I’ve been over it before, but just like the good news of Jesus, there’s absolutely no harm in reminding ourselves of some foundational truths every now and then. 🙂

So, today we’re going to look at our TARGET READERS.

Let’s start with an exercise:

Who are your ideal target readers? How old are they? What are their interests? What are their dreams? What do they love and hate? What challenges are they facing? What is their experience of God/the church? Write down as much as you can. The narrower your audience, the easier it will be to write a story that will be relevant, engaging and suitable.

It’s a mistake to try to write for anyone and everyone. If the vocabulary you use is suitable for eight-year-old children, fourteen-year-old young people aren’t going to think it’s cool. Subjects suitable for young teens may be too scary for ten-year-olds. And so on.

Once you know who your ideal target readers are, do lots of research. Read the books your intended readers are reading, watch what they are watching on YouTube, find out what games they like to play. Glean as much as you can about their lives – their families, their communities, their school life. Make sure you spend as much time as you can with the children/young people you are writing for, so you know how they communicate with their peers, their families, and other adults. You can’t write dialogue for them if you don’t know how they talk!

This might seem like a complete waste of time, but once you start writing, you will see how having your readers in mind will help to shape your story in the best way possible. Honest!

Who are your ideal readers? Share you thoughts in the comments below, over on our website, or on our facebook page. Look forward to seeing you there. 🙂

Janet

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Happy New Writing Year!

Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Write for a Reason writing tip of 2019! Thank you for joining us once again – I hope you will find the next 52 writing tips useful in your writing journey. 🙂

See that lantern shining in the darkness? Do you believe you could you brighten up someone’s day, or even someone’s life, with your stories? (Don’t underestimate the power of a story – Jesus told stories!)

If the answer is YES – or even I THINK SO, get out a notebook and pen, because it’s time to make a writing plan, in FOUR SIMPLE STEPS.

Step 1. Pray that God will guide your thoughts. Even if you don’t usually pray, why not try it? You never know, you might learn a new skill, and be pleasantly surprised. 🙂

Step 2. This is a BIG STEP. None of us knows how long we have on this earth, but, hey, if we’re going to make a plan, we need to start somewhere… so here goes… what books would you like to write during the whole of the rest of your lifetime? Write down all your ideas for stories, with suggested titles if you like. Does that include a series or two? How many in each series? Be bold – this isn’t a time for being cautious, it’s a time for thinking big, because if you aim for the stars and only reach the moon, hey, you reached the moon! (There is a list of 762 stories by Enid Blyton on Wikipedia – bet you can’t think as big as that!)

Step 3. Which one of those stories would you like to write THIS YEAR, to make sure another year doesn’t slip by?

Once you’ve decided, break your writing goal down into twelve months, and again into weeks if that suits the way you write. That might be a chapter or month, or a number of words per day/week/session. It doesn’t matter what you decide to do, as long as the goal you have set yourself is achievable.

Step 4. Put your writing schedule into your calendar. (Make sure you write at least once a week, or you will lose momentum.) Will it be every morning between 8 and 9am? Every Tuesday and Thursday evening? Sunday afternoons, plus other moments during the week as you are able?

And now you have an achievable plan!

How does that feel?

Let me know in the comments below, over on our website, or on our facebook page – love to hear from you!

Janet

P.S. DO IT NOW! You know what they say about goals – if you don’t set them, you can’t achieve them!

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Time to Set Your Writing Goals

Do you set goals? It’s something I’ve been doing in the last few years, instead of New Year’s resolutions, which are way too easy to break (if you’re anything like me!).

Over the last few days of December I try to take time aside to work out what I’d like to achieve in the year ahead. One of the most important things for me, is my writing. Firstly, I love writing! Secondly, I feel I have been given this gift, and I need to use it. I want the Lord to say to me on the last day, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Not get a dressing down! I feel like I can make a difference with my writing. The aim of my stories is to open eyes to the truth of God’s love, to bring hope and faith, light and life. This isn’t just a hobby…

What about you?

Ready to set some goals? How much could you achieve this year? A chapter a month, the first draft by the summer holidays, 500 words a day? Would it be helpful to do a writing course this year, join a group, read more books (good writers are always great readers).

I don’t think goals need to be realistic, as much as inspirational… and even if you’re late achieving your goal, at least you will be on your way!

Why don’t you give it a go?

Whatever your goals for 2019, I pray it will be a truly blessed year for you!

Janet

P.S. Another of my goals is to inspire others to be better writers. If there’s anything I can do to help you, please let me know!

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Happy Christmas!

No creative writing tip today – I’m sure you’re all way too busy!

I just had to drop you a quick line, though, to say Happy Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful time over the next few days, with family and friends.

Today, and tomorrow, my prayer is that you will enjoy celebrating one of the greatest stories of all time.

Grace, peace and mercy to you,

Janet

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Who Holds the Key?

What do you think is the most important element of every story? What is it that makes a novel worth reading, for you?

Is it:

The plot?
The setting?
The length?
The author’s style?
The beginning?
The ending?

All these things are important, but I would suggest that the most vital ingredient to get right is your main character.

If you don’t care what happens to the characters in a novel, you don’t need to get to the end of the book. Even if the beginning is gripping, the plot exciting, and the style enjoyable… if the main character annoys you, disgusts you, or just doesn’t seem real, you’re not going to enjoy the story.

Do you agree? Love to hear from you!

Janet

P.S. Not long until Christmas now! Hope you’re enjoying the build up. 🙂

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The First Paragraph

We all know that your very first paragraph is the one that can either hook, or turn off your readers.

Definitely worth spending some time on!

Here’s a quick exercise for you…

Gather a bunch of novels from your bookshelf.
Take a look at the first paragraphs.
Jot down what you like and don’t like about each one.
Write a first paragraph, modelling yours on the one you liked best.

What did you learn? Let us know in the comments below, or over on our facebook page!

Look forward to hearing from you. 🙂

Love to you all,

Janet

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Two words or one: Part II

Last week we looked at the quote from Thomas Jefferson: “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.”

We talked about cutting unnecessary words… However, there is another side to this quote:

Sometimes you need two words.

Don’t write so fast you miss describing the look on a child’s face, the leaves on the forest floor, the smell of smoke in the air, the cry of a child, the swish of tyres on the wet road.

Do you agree? Is this an area you are good at, or struggle with? Ever read a book where you’d have liked a bit more description? Look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments below, on our facebook page or via email. As always, love to hear from you. 🙂

Every blessing to you all in this special season of Advent,

Janet

P.S. Congratulations to all who did last week’s cutting exercise – great job! Amazing how many filler words you can find when you look, isn’t it?

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Two words or one?

A writing quote for you this week:

“The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson

What do you think? (Bear in mind that Thomas Jefferson was a draftsman of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, so we shouldn’t take his advice lightly!)

Have you ever read a book/article that started to get tedious? That could have said the same thing in half as many words? I know I have (and also listened to half-hour sermons that could easily have got the point over in ten minutes, hehe!).

Stories that grip readers keep the action and the pace going. Part of that, is, of course, the characters, the setting, the plot, and the quality of the writing. BUT, another part is cutting out words that don’t need to be there.

I know, I’ve said this all before! But, as Paul said to the Philippians (when talking about rejoicing in the Lord, I admit) “It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” 🙂 OK, I took that right out of context. But you get the point. And now you see how I’ve wittered on, wasted words and made you skim? Hehe.

So, here’s an exercise for you this week. Check back over your work in progress, copy and paste 500 words of it into a new document, and see how many words you can cut. “Very good” – could you change that to excellent? “just going” – could that be just “going”? 🙂 Do the exercise, do it now, and let me know how many words you cut.

Look forward to hearing from you in the comments below, on our facebook page, or via email. However you get in touch, always lovely to hear from you!

Peace and grace to you,

Janet

P.S. I might even give a prize for the biggest cutter. 😉

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