So how come some authors are successful while you have become an armchair novel quarterback tearing their story line apart, reducing their characters to dumb minions in your mind. Unfortunately, all you get from your approach is frustration, fear and a defeated attitude.

What is the most important thing that sets you apart from “published, successful” authors? It’s not talent, not yet anyway. It certainly isn’t luck that‘s for sure. It’s not connections in the business, although at some future date that could be very important. There is only one main, let me repeat…main, as in very important, maybe even huge difference between you and them. The difference is—they started writing. That is it! They started, and you haven’t.

Forcing yourself off the couch and sitting before your computer and starting are the hardest part of writing a novel. Why? Because when you do that, when you make that commitment, there is no turning back, unless you quit, which is very self-defeating.

When you finally look in the mirror and tell yourself you are going to start writing your novel, you have just begun a journey that will take an extreme amount of discipline and commitment to complete. But the point is…you have started…the ball already has momentum, and that is the most important decision you can make as a writer.

Every writer started…every dreamer just dreams about it.

Don’t be afraid to start, but don’t quit your day job either. It may be best to keep this decision to yourself for a few months if possible, but maybe you can’t. If there is a spouse or partner involved in your life, you need to let them know of your decision because a lot of your free time is going to disappear out the window. That’s part of it. Writing takes a tremendous amount of time, effort and commitment. If you go for it, don’t neglect those around you.

Author: William Carli

To visit this writers website check out Shooting Star Publishing and Captain Mondo.

Want to learn what this writer does to make a living so he can keep writing?  Please visit him at: Captain Carli’s Whale Watching

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I found this interesting video by L. Martin Wolfpack on how to keep your readers turning the page. This writer describes it beautifully.

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But there are, if you pay attention, many basic things that can be common among the different types of advice you may find. By taking these in and making note of them, and then adding a bit of your own unique style, you’re on the road to finding the suspense writer within you. Don’t try to copy style, just basics. Develop a style that’s unique to only you by letting yourself explore things you could never find through mere advice.

A person’s creativity will not respond in the same way as another. Similar, maybe, but not the same. You find that creative people are affected many times by weather, nature, and circumstances. They have a deep wonder about creation and the world and the way of things. They shine a different kind of light on the things that fall under their scope, and see the things revealed a little different from people who merely walk through life accepting it at face value.

Moods can change quickly when dealing with creative people. And while many are energetic and out going, others can be quite relaxed and contemplative. We vent our creative sides as differently as we walk and talk and think. So you need to find a way to tap into what it is that drives you, and then be able to put that down on paper and make it a part of your writing style. It should be an outlet for your soul, a way of expressing yourself that means so much you don’t want to stop.

Many of these creative types prefer to ‘write by the seat of their pants’. Which is a method of writing called Freewriting, or Pantsing. They begin their journey with a mere seed of an idea. They may only scribble a few notes about the idea, not knowing where it may lead them, and off they go, winging it along their way. Their story unfolds as it gets written. They aren’t under any pressure to make the story bend to any preconceived plans or plots.

Your rough draft will be rough indeed. But you’ll find, while you sift through and throw things away, that there are some great pearls in there that you want to shine and polish and that are truly and uniquely YOU. You have your own form of genius, it’s finding it that sometimes eludes you. This draft is merely a starting point to give you a direction, this is the clay before you put it on the potter’s wheel to shape it and mold it into something beautiful that only you can make.

Once the rough draft is in place, and you’re tweaking it, you’re going to run into places where the ‘exposition’ may give you some trouble. Don’t be discouraged, this happens with seasoned veterans as well. You have to give some thought as to where to reveal the plot, and where to give sample information that will cause your readers to come to their own conclusions. It can be a bit tricky, but makes the reading great.

Writing suspense fiction books creatively is one of the most rewarding challenges you’ll ever undertake. It can be an intense time of creativity venting, an outlet for the inner you that longs to be materialized into this world. And only you can do it. So pull up a chair, clear your head, and start writing. Write anything, until it begins to take you on a journey that has a wonderfully beautiful tale. Get it down on paper.

Looking to find the definitive source of information on suspense fiction books?

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There are many contests out there that have different subject matter. If you have already written something you can submit it to a contest. If you see a contest that interests you, you can write something specifically for that contest. Many writers write short stories to get out there and earn money while they work on longer pieces.

You will also want to have a bio of yourself prepared for entry as well. Many times a contest wants a brief biography about the writer. It can be short and sweet and give the details of your writing history and your personal life briefly. Many times a bio will speak of why you like to write and what inspires you.

There are many sources you can go to in finding a place to submit your short stories for contests. By doing a general search you can find many sites that offer lists of contests going on around the country and at many times around the world. The pricing may be extremely varied and you will want to find the ones you want to be considered for the most in choosing.

If you have a desire to be in a certain periodical then see if there is a contest to get in there. It doesn’t hurt to go for the magazines and other material that you eventually see yourself in. Have a vision and a plan and get to submitting yourself.

You must realize that any winning of any contest is an accomplishment and you should be proud of yourself. Many times an award includes having your piece published and you then are a published writer, which is your eventual goal. The more your work is out there the better and it will be seen by others who are looking for writers so entering short story contests is a great idea.

Check out more help to win contests with this great guide to winning contests.

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And how true it is: the lower the word count, the more daunting the task.

Public speaking isn’t really different. Give me a listener who can’t talk back, and I can rant forever without getting anywhere.

But give me a minute or two to make a concise statement, and, well, that’s much more difficult.

My writing process is much the same.

Of course, in those instances, I blame the characters not myself. As a writer I am merely taking dictation, if these fictional characters feel the need to drone on through use of unnecessarily long sentences and dialogue, take it up with them.

And then I stumbled upon the beauty, and usefulness, of short fiction, short, short fiction, and eventually flash fiction.

One of the main benefits of writing shorter fiction is a larger market for your work.

Though the payout isn’t as big in comparison to novel writing, there are many more submission opportunities: flash fiction contests, websites, e-zines, and literary journals. If you don’t get published in one place, simply recycle the story and submit it elsewhere.

Yes, taking on that novel you keep telling yourself you’re going to write would be admirable and rewarding. But if your heart is in it, the payoff of writing (and publishing) several shorter pieces can be equally inspiring. Think of them as your novels, condensed.

Aside from marketability within the publication world, there’s the reality of reaching modern day readers. If you have ever uttered these words, “if just one person would read and really ‘get’ my work, then it would be all worthwhile,” (even if you later retracted this statement blaming it on a momentary lapse of sanity) there is some truth to it.

As writers, we write to express ourselves in some format, hoping that someone out there will appreciate our creations. An important consideration, then, is who is likely to read our work in the first place.

Most readers are suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder or just don’t have the free time anymore to commit to reading anything longer than a magazine article, or a blurb just lengthy enough to detail the events that led up to the last public fight between Brad and Angelina and what this may mean for the future of their relationship and the gaggle of children they’ve accrued over their years together.

To capture readers (unless you’ve already acquired quite a name for yourself and have several full length works translated in a multitude of languages and a few being adapted for screen in which case I doubt you’re reading this article) it is important to appeal to them by offering tempting, bite-size (i.e. manageable) literary treats. Readers are more likely to be grabbed by pieces with a smaller word count as well as share a work that really grabs them by linking it to their own site – or at least emailing the link to a few friends. Short fiction, simply put, is a more user friendly version of fictional entertainment.

Of course, there is a lot to be said for learning to perfect the skill of saying what you mean in fewer words, and making a more direct, effective impact.

My way of thinking has shifted tremendously in this respect. Taking an idea and expressing it in literary form now takes no more than 2,500 to 3,000 words. On a good day, I can get it down to 700 or 800 words, about the same length as this article.

If nothing else, learning to say more by saying less has helped my social life considerably, since I am less likely to ramble on as I once did. I now know when to say ‘the end’…

Find out more about flash fiction contests by visiting Bari Ann Kyle’s site and enter your flash fiction submission for the next issue of Flash Fiction Review, her online literary magazine.

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Stories as diverse as Star Wars, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, and The Color Purple along with most good action adventure, thriller, romance, fantasy and literary novels use the classic mythical 12-part journey from zero to hero as their basic plot premise.

You first need to understand the heart and mindset of the hero or heroine. Telling a compelling story means first establishing its parameters. Discover simple and effective ways to start a story that will always encourage sympathy from your reader.

Remember, in any good story you should examine the hero’s character and motivation because he must transcend his normal existence and be tested. The character’s separation from his ordinary world leads him to take the necessary plot to reach his goals.

Discovering the rules on how this metaphorical transformation can and must occur at the quarter point of the hero’s journey is the only way to ensure growth and eventual plot resolution. This will help you in all areas of fiction writing!

Writing is not just a way of entertaining readers, it is also a spiritual journey of enlightenment for the writer. At the midpoint in a story both the hero and the writer must be stretched to the limits of their imagination.

How does the transformation of the hero and the writer point at the crucial plot? Use simple guidelines to ensure the reader is transported by the story, its plot elements and the character.

The character’s ultimate reward is based on his ability to overcome the obstacles and achieve the goals set out at the beginning of the story. It is all part of the hero’s journey. Create an ending that leaves your reader gasping and begging for more.

Would you like another groundbreaking course from the “World’s Foremost Writing Guru”? “The Hero’s Journey” is a true formula for successful writing. Using “The Hero’s Journey” as a template to drape your own story over is the sure-fire way to write a bestseller!

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For more info on Holly Lisle Writing Courses CLICK HERE

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