We know – this news piece isn’t going to score 10 out of 10 for originality as every business or organisation leaps on the bandwagon of resolutions (with the thinly-disguised implication that you buy from them to help implement your resolution) but hear us out...
We DO have some useful suggestions!
Start small. The reason most people don’t write regularly or complete what they have started is because they aim too high. Established novelists whose only job it is to write books can and should force themselves to write 2,000-plus words a day. You should aim for a ridiculously small daily word count – 100 words. Success begets success and if you keep up your very small writing target, then you will soon find yourself out-doing it.
Enter competitions – free ones for the most (a lot of competitions are complete rip-offs) as it is good discipline and, as the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it! The odd paid competition is a good idea too, as long as it’s a well-established, prestigious and trust-worthy organisation.
Practice what you are not good at. Rubbish at descriptions? Look out of your window and describe what you see. Awful at dialogue? Write conversations between characters and read them out loud to see if they sound ‘real’.
Join a writer’s group online or otherwise. These people will be your colleagues and you will learn from them. Plus, they are the only people you can hope to read your book and give you good advice. It’s a big job to read someone’s else’s book and critique it and other writers will understand what a big ‘ask’ this is. You must, of course, return the favour at some point.
Outsource editing and proof-reading. Trust us, you can’t do this yourself.
Finally, need a kick-start? Here at Comely Bank Publishing we run a useful synopsis service. We’ll critique your synopsis and a first chapter (of up to 4,000 words) in return for you buying one of our books. The choice of book is up to you.
Good luck with your writing in 2016!
We DO have some useful suggestions!
Start small. The reason most people don’t write regularly or complete what they have started is because they aim too high. Established novelists whose only job it is to write books can and should force themselves to write 2,000-plus words a day. You should aim for a ridiculously small daily word count – 100 words. Success begets success and if you keep up your very small writing target, then you will soon find yourself out-doing it.
Enter competitions – free ones for the most (a lot of competitions are complete rip-offs) as it is good discipline and, as the saying goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it! The odd paid competition is a good idea too, as long as it’s a well-established, prestigious and trust-worthy organisation.
Practice what you are not good at. Rubbish at descriptions? Look out of your window and describe what you see. Awful at dialogue? Write conversations between characters and read them out loud to see if they sound ‘real’.
Join a writer’s group online or otherwise. These people will be your colleagues and you will learn from them. Plus, they are the only people you can hope to read your book and give you good advice. It’s a big job to read someone’s else’s book and critique it and other writers will understand what a big ‘ask’ this is. You must, of course, return the favour at some point.
Outsource editing and proof-reading. Trust us, you can’t do this yourself.
Finally, need a kick-start? Here at Comely Bank Publishing we run a useful synopsis service. We’ll critique your synopsis and a first chapter (of up to 4,000 words) in return for you buying one of our books. The choice of book is up to you.
Good luck with your writing in 2016!
