Have you ever asked yourself this question and truly answered it?
This is important to define for yourself, the quality of your work. The past few years have been filled with chaos, fear, and upheaval. As things normalize, it’s the perfect time to let the dust settle and get laser-like focus on why you write and how you’re going to get your words into the world.
It’s not easy to be an aspiring writer. Just tell someone you want to become a successful fiction author and their reaction will be something like:
Laughs awkwardly until they realize you’re serious.Shows concern about your mental healthSays, “Really? Uhhh… Good luck with that.”
It’s the same look adults gave you when you were six years old and you told them you wanted to grow up to be a pegasus.
That’s because writing fiction is a time and energy-intensive pursuit that never guarantees a big material reward.
As a marketing strategist for authors, I see many writers approaching their writing career with a “lottery mindset.” They scribble out a book, feverishly upload it to Amazon, and wait for overnight success.
When they don’t wake up on the bestsellers list, they give up.
This the paradox:
Only by NOT writing for money or fame will you possibly become a successful author because once you begin writing for sales, your words will lose their magic.
You must have a deeper reason than to become wealthy and famous. You need to think about who you’re writing for and how you want them to think and feel after reading your work. Either that, or writing must be so satisfying for you that it is its own reward.
Maybe you write because it’s therapeutic, allowing you to express yourself and make meaning of your experiences. Maybe you want to make people laugh and forget their worries. Maybe you just want to scare the hell out of them.
Whatever the reason, I suggest you create your own writing manifesto that states your big-picture reason for writing. Rewrite it till it’s powerful and succinct. Read it each day before you begin working on your stories. Click here for an example of how powerful a writing manifesto can be.
Not only will a writing manifesto help you on the hard days when nothing is working, keeping your mission in mind will inspire you to produce stories that will impact your readers and the world.
To say that 2020 has been a crazy year is an understatement. What we’ve experienced is stranger than fiction, and whatever plans we made for this year surely were disrupted in some way.
Now that we’re about to close out 2020, it’s important to process all that happened (or didn’t happen) for us as writers this year.
We need to find out what worked and what didn’t, so that we can double down on the things that brought us results and eliminate whatever is draining our time, energy, and creativity.
Author Year-End Review
What worked for you? What didn’t? Let’s analyze.
What reasons do you have to celebrate?
What helped or hindered your creativity?
How close were you to your writing, publishing, and sales goals?
What daily habits and mindsets are holding you back?
If you want to make 2021 your best year ever as a writer, then the Author’s Year-End Review will help you 100%.
Did you “win” NaNo? Are you already intoxicated by the sweet smell of success? Congratulations—you’ve earned it!
Let’s talk about what you should—and shouldn’t—do for your next steps. Don’t make these mistakes with your NaNoWriMo Novel.
Congratulations! You Won NaNoWriMo! What’s Next?
Those who didn’t make it learned some valuable lessons about writing, themselves, and their approach to writing—so truly, there is no such thing as NOT winning NaNoWriMo because whether you make that 50,000-word count or not, you’re a better writer now than you were a month ago.
So whether you’ve already finished your first draft or you expect to do so sometime next year, here are three things you shouldn’t do when you cross the finish line:
1. Don’t throw anything away.
Is your 50,000-word first draft ready for publication? Of course not—but neither should it be deleted from your hard drive. Yes, allegedly there are writers who do that, but please do NOT become one of them.
Even if you’re a writer who believes the act of putting your butt in a seat for 30 days and churning out the bones of a novel is enough of a reward without having to ever read what you wrote, please believe that you’ve written some gems.
Okay, maybe you’ll delete some—or most—of those 50,000 words, but save them in a separate folder. In a month or two, you may reread a well-turned phrase you’d forgotten about and will have a brainstorm for an entirely new scene . . . or character . . . or novel!
2. Don’t begin editing your manuscript.
You’ve spent plus or minus thirty days with this manuscript—and if you outlined in October, that number goes up. Believe me, now is NOT the time to begin editing. You’re too close to your story, and let’s face it—you’ve had an exhausting, emotional month.
Do a happy dance, pat yourself on the back, announce to the world (or at least your Facebook friends) that YOU DID IT, and then put your manuscript away for a while.
For how long? Opinions vary on this one, but long enough that when you open it up again, the story feels new and fresh in that “I can’t believe I wrote this” way. That might be a month or a year, but it shouldn’t be tomorrow. Give yourself some time away to gain a little perspective, and you’ll have more clarity once you being to edit and revise.
Taking a very rough first draft and molding it into a saleable novel will require some ruthless revising and self-editing, so give yourself enough time away to gain perspective.
3. Don’t stop writing.
If you’re like most NaNoWriMo authors, you’re pretty excited about ending November with 50,000 words—maybe you have the first draft of a novel, maybe only a third of a longer manuscript, but nevertheless, you’ve written a bodacious number of words in 30 days, and you’ve accomplished something pretty spectacular.
So why quit now? You’ve proven to yourself that you can make the time to write every day, so wrap your mind around that new reality and keep writing.
In my book, every writer who even attempts NaNoWriMo is a winner. And although I know it will be a few months before those drafts are polished enough to make their way to an editor, I’m already looking forward to the day when that happens. For an editor, the thrill is in peeking under the hood, so to speak, and helping to polish a novel that was only an idea in your head a mere month ago. I can’t wait!
“The Writers Mastermind has been the leaping stone in my writing. Each month offers a new theme and focus towards the Writers’ Dream. I have found my voice, structure, and have gotten immeasurable feedback on my works.”
Charlotta Amato, Short Story Writer
“Ever since I joined Writers’ Mastermind, I have felt more like a writer and part of a writing family than I ever have before. I have gained confidence in my writing, learned who I am and how I want to be as a writer.”
Clennell Anthony, The Circle
“An empowering mastermind group, definitely the best I have ever been a part of. The warmhearted community is genuinely a reason to get excited and I learn as much from my peers as I do from the exceptional courses.”
Joseph Sale, The Black Gate Series, Save Game
“The classes are awesome. They offer perspective, as well as tips and tricks that many may not have thought of when it comes to not only creating their books, but promoting them. It’s worth much more than what we pay, and that is a total win-win situation.”
Sandra Hould, Future Novelist
“It’s been a boon for me to work and interact with this diverse range of authors. I’ve received fantastic constructive feedback, friendly motivation and support through the struggles in my writing process, and accountability to keep me focused on critical tasks.”
S.M. Fedor, Band-Aid for a Bullet Wound, Better People
It’s that time of year. Many of you have fingertips flying down the homestretch of NaNoWriMo. Some of you published authors are trying to close out the year with releases and sales. Other writers are revising and preparing to submit their work.
2020 has been a year like no other. That is why we are going to do something fun in the Writers’ Mastermind to go out with a bang.
Instead of releasing another masterclass, which I know all of us are overwhelmed as the holidays approach, we are going to create the first ever Writers’ Mastermind Read Your Story Mash-Up Challenge!
What is it?
Each member of the Writers’ Mastermind will read up to 5 minutes of their work on video. It can be a published work or an excerpt of a work-in-progress. Flash fiction, short stories, chapters of novels of any genre are all welcome (please nothing extremely graphic).
Recorded readings will be done on the live Mastermind Mash-Up Zoom call (date and time to be announced) or can be pre-recorded by the author and sent in to be added to the Mash-Up video.
Why do it?
Video is the best way to connect with your audience. They can both see and hear you and get to know your work on an intimate level.
Learning to read to your audience will prepare you for future publicity events (social media lives, book signings, etc.)
We know many authors feel uncomfortable putting themselves out there—not just on video, but in any form. By accepting this challenge with us, you will break the ice when it comes to promoting and sharing your work.
The mash-up will shared on our website, social media, and mailing list. It will also be advertised, giving you and your writing free exposure and opening you up to new readers, friends, and followers.
This is a great opportunity to have some fun, maybe step slightly out of your comfort zone, and become part of a collaborative project with all the other writers in the community.
Have you ever been engrossed in a great story and suddenly stopped short to ask yourself what the writer is referring to when “it” appears?
Here’s an example:
“Sue and Mary found six dresses to try. It fit and was in her price range.”
What is “it,” exactly? In the context of the sentence above, “it” is used as a pronoun, and illustrates a common (and avoidable) writer mistake:
Undefined pronouns
A quick grammar review: Pronouns are a useful part of speech that give writers greater flexibility in naming schemes. Instead of using and reusing a noun, the substitution of a pronoun allows for a type of shorthand.
For example, instead of writing, “The moment John walk into the store, John realized John had forgotten John’s wallet at home” (pretty clunky, huh?), this sentence becomes, “The moment John walked into the store, he realized he had forgotten his wallet at home.”
Personal pronouns are fairly straightforward. Most of us use I, he, she, they, him, her, them, his, hers, and theirs properly . . . but “it” often present unique problems for writers.
The Problem with “It”
When I edit manuscripts, I usually see two different but related problems with the use of “it”:
The pronoun “it” does not relate to the antecedent
The pronoun “it” is part of vague sentence construction.
In plain English, the first problem is using a pronoun that is ambiguous or doesn’t refer to a specific noun. Example:
Although the pizza delivery van ran into the school bus, it was not damaged.
Does “it” represent the pizza delivery van or the school bus? We just can’t tell by this sentence construction. The pronoun doesn’t clearly relate to the antecedent.
Vague sentence construction and the indefinite use of “it” often calls for a sentence revision. Here’s an example of a common use that creates a weak sentence:
“Mary wondered if it was something about the energy of young people that animals pick up and want to be around.”
When “it” is combined with a form of the verb “to be,” take a closer look to see if there might be a better way to construct your sentence:
“Mary wondered if animals pick up on the energy of young people and want to be around it.”
In the above example, “it” stands in for “the energy of young people.” Or you can restructure the sentence to eliminates “it” completely.
“Mary wondered if the energy of young people was something animals pick up and want to be around.”
When self-editing your work, remember to add “it” to your list of words and terms to search and possibly replace. You don’t need to avoid this pronoun, but use “it” wisely and properly, and consider whether your sentence could be stronger and clearer by avoiding “it.”
Candace Johnson is a professional freelance editor, proofreader, writer, ghostwriter, and writing coach who has worked with traditional publishers, self-published authors, and independent book packagers on nonfiction subjects ranging from memoirs to alternative medical treatments to self-help, and on fiction ranging from romance to paranormal. As an editorial specialist, Candace is passionate about offering her clients the opportunity to take their work to the next level. She believes in maintaining an author’s unique voice while helping him or her create and polish every sentence to make it the best it can be.
Look forward to our self-editing class with Candace Johnson coming to the Writers’ Mastermind soon!
