Publishing Services for Independent Authors
When you see the words ‘reader trust’, it’s pretty obvious what they mean. When a reader approaches a new work they have no way to know that they’ll enjoy it. In fact, they have no way to know that it’s something they won’t find boring, offensive, or even distressing. Part of consuming art is taking the chance and finding out, but part of becoming an author is building up a cache of trust that …
[Read more...] about How To Get And Keep Reader Trust (And Why You Should)
What set your character on their path through the story? Yes, they should have a goal, but why is that goal so important to them? What kind of event is enough to justify telling a whole story about the reaction? A talented author can turn pretty much any event into a justifiable reason to follow a character through to the end, but there are also stock options – easy, tried and tested choices, that …
[Read more...] about What Is ‘Fridging’, And How Can You Avoid It?
Taste is subjective, but at the core of whether or not a book finds an audience is its ability to invite the reader in; to become an experience the reader is having, rather than just a second-hand account. Achieving this feat is usually a mix of content and style, but if it’s something you want to work on in your own writing, studying the difference between sympathy and empathy is a good place to …
[Read more...] about Sympathy Isn’t Empathy – Here’s Why That’s Your Problem
All art is political, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The way in which we believe the world to work – the way we think it should work – has a natural part to play in both our creation of fictional worlds and how we depict our own. The connection between art and politics is natural, but it runs deep, and that means that your political beliefs often influence your art in ways you don’t …
[Read more...] about How To Manage The Politics Of Your Writing
Creating potential for connection is one of the most essential aspects of the writer’s job. Whether you’re writing a hero, a villain, or a character somewhere in between, there should be at least one element that allows the reader to connect with that character. Sometimes, this comes easily. Your characters are likeable, and you don’t have to work at putting a deeply human persona on the page. …
[Read more...] about How Shame And Vulnerability Make Your Characters Compelling
Most of us are familiar with the idea that characters need to be multidimensional to be believable. E.M. Forster gave us terms for this discussion, ‘flat’ and ‘round’ characters, but the term ‘well-rounded’ predates Forster by at least a century, and the discussion of emotional complexity is as old as history. People simply aren’t simple, and flat characters have way less appeal than complex …
[Read more...] about Primary and Secondary Emotions Can Unlock Your Characters
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