I’m about to revise a lot of my own stories and in the next couple of months, I’m going to see if I can figure out how to self publish instead of continuing traditional publishing, so I’m trying to pretend that I won’t have a ton of editors helping me, no writing mentors, just me.
And that’s a little scary.
But it’s made me think more fully about my own stories and how I can apply the tools I use when I teach writing to my own darn writing.
I know! I know! That should be easy, right?
It’s not as easy as I thought because it requires stepping away from the book and thinking as a reader, as a writer, and as an editor, but mostly as a reader.
And the main element when we write a book is that we want our readers to keep reading. So, I think I’m going to start what I like to call (Drumroll please) the Wednesday Writing Series About Hooking Your Reader.
I’ll be giving two hints a blog post. Let’s start!
TWO QUICK HINTS TO KEEP YOUR READER HOOKED ON YOUR BOOK
Begin your story with the moment that will transform the main character or world.
Begin with the girl moving to Maine from Charleston and seeing something strange on the side of the road like I did with the NEED series.
Begin with the male member of the ‘class couple’ telling his girlfriend that he’s gay like I did in the TIPS ON HAVING A GAY (ex) BOYFRIEND books.
Have a really strong voice of the narrator.
The Martian’s first line is, “I’m pretty much f*cked.”
That combines the pivotal moment with a super strong narrative voice.
Or the Color Purple begins with, “You better not tell nobody but God.”
Which has a great voice and a mystery set in, too. What shouldn’t they tell?
Next week, I’ll have two more tips.
Do Good Wednesday
Puerto Rico still needs assistance and so does Guatemala. You can help by spreading the word or donating to the Hispanic Federation, a nonprofit involved with advocacy for Latino communities.
The Hispanic Federation’s three big campaigns right now are:
Check it out. Think deeply. Care. That’s how you do good. That’s how you make a difference in the world and your community. You’ve got this. Sparty the Rescued Dog believes in you.
Sparty: I do! I believe in you.
Writing News
The Spy Who Played Baseball is a picture book biography about Moe Berg. And… there’s a movie out now about Moe Berg, a major league baseball player who became a spy. How cool is that?
You should totally buy my book about Moe. It’s awesome and quirky and fun because it’s about Moe Berg and it’s a picture book. I’m heading to Houston, North Carolina, and Virgnia soon, just to talk about it. How cool is that?
OUR PODCAST DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE.
Thanks to all of you who keep listening to our weirdness as we talk about random thoughts, writing advice and life tips. We’re sorry we laugh so much… sort of. Please share it and subscribe if you can. Please rate and like us if you are feeling kind, because it matters somehow.
Writing Coach
I offer solo writing coach services, but I’m also teaching a Write! Submit! Support! (WSS) six-month class online via the Writing Barn in Austin. For details about that class, check out this link. For more about my individual coaching, click here.
And finally, for the month of July, my book FLYING is on sale in ebook version on multiple platforms, which means not just Amazon. It’s a cheap way to have an awesome read in a book that’s basically Men in Black meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer but with chocolate-covered pretzels.
Proof of the sale-nature of July.
Thanks so much for reading my blog! Please comment or say ‘hi!’ if you feel like it!
