Fiction writing

Writing fiction for self-publishing authors, as well as aspiring authors

Writing Fiction: 6 Tips To Make Your Fiction More Exciting

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You’re writing fiction, but you’re not making sales. When I advise fiction authors, I often suggest that they return to basics. This might mean marketing basics: Revise the book’s title, so that it appeals to readers in the genre. Redo the blurb to tease readers, and arouse their curiosity. Check the book’s categories. And so on. However, everything starts with … Read more

Short Stories: 3 Simple Ways To Write Short Fiction And Profit

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It’s hardly a secret that I love writing and selling short stories and novellas, so I get questions. The most common question: can you really make an income writing short fiction? For many authors, “fiction” means novels. I understand. For years, until I became a copywriter and stepped out of my author bubble, I assumed that real writers wrote novels. Somehow … Read more

Writing Fiction: 4 Unusual Ways To Find Ideas Which Inspire You

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Bored? When you’re writing fiction, it’s easy to lose inspiration. You’re not in the mood to write. Worse, you feel like trashing your current novel and forgetting all about fiction forever. You need fresh ideas. Writing fiction: find ideas Ideas are everywhere. In this post, Public Domain & Self-Publishing: Be Like Disney, Craft A Bestseller, we looked at gaining inspiration … Read more

Writing Fiction: 2 Essential Strategies To Deliver Great Stories

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You’re writing fiction, but you’re a new author, and you’re disappointed with your results. Two strategies will help: Developing suspense: it’s essential, in the age of TikTok. Control: write in scenes, and edit. New authors tend to overwhelm their plot with backstory; that is, everything that happened before the story starts. Readers don’t care about that. They want entertainment. As … Read more

Writing Fiction: 6 Common Mistakes To Avoid (Fix Them)

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Writing Fiction: 6 Common Mistakes To Avoid (Fix Them)

Readers want what they want, so when you’re writing fiction, it’s easy to make mistakes which annoy readers. That said, don’t despair. You can fix most mistakes easily. Writing fiction: the biggest mistake Before we look at common errors, let’s look at the biggest one: failing to capitalize on success. Sadly this is horribly common. One of my students wrote … Read more