An Author’s Cup of Tea

When asked what makes or breaks a manuscript, acquisitions editors overwhelmingly agree that voice is the most important thing. But what does that mean? Even those of us who are studying writing and have taken whole novel courses struggle to pinpoint the definition of this word.  Created via the  imgflip meme generator However, I got a more solid understanding while at the LTUE writers conference this past weekend. The following advice is adapted from what I learned in a presentation by the author Shelly Brown . Any brilliance found in this blog post should be credited to her.  What is a Writing Voice? Created via the imgflip meme generator In its simplest form, voice is personality . Through voice, actors and characters show who they are.  Author Voice vs. Character Voice Created via the  imgflip meme generator Author voice and character voice are two very different things. However, I write in the first person, so I've got a bit of a cheat code (hehehehe). But...

What should we do when, despite our greatest efforts, we seem too busy to write? As life gets increasingly hectic, it becomes pretty easy to let writing fall by the wayside. I myself have been guilty of pushing writing off for weeks, or sometimes months, at a time because I felt I had too much else going on. Inevitably, though, when I return, my momentum is gone. So, how can we find time to write? Created via the imgflip meme generator What Not To Do Waiting For The "Right Time" When I first started getting into writing, I was inclined to wait for those moments when inspiration overtook me. I expected "the muse" to lean in, whispering into my ear, and I would know immediately that it was time to write something incredible.  Created via the  imgflip meme generator As you can probably guess, those magical moments didn't happen very often. There's a reason, I'll admit, that it took me five years to finish my first rough draft. Often, waiting did more harm...

How many of us have sat in front of our latest piece of writing, squinting and mumbling to ourselves because, no matter how hard we've tried, there's still something wrong with it? It can be incredibly aggravating when, as a writer, you know there is an issue with your writing, but you can't for the life of you figure out what it is. Created via the imgflip meme generator Trust me, we have all been there. But until we can jump over that hurdle, realizing our own weaknesses, we will all, inevitably, continue to flounder. The Denial Stage If you're lucky, there will be people in your life willing to tell you where you struggle. At times, this may feel like a personal attack, though. My mother's been telling me for years that I need to be more descriptive in my writing. For the longest time, I waved that suggestion off. Writing is different now , I thought. People don't need to describe every minute detail to get their points across. Created via the imgflip meme...

When I first started writing fiction, I fell under the umbrella of writers who were afraid to write "what they knew." To me, it felt wrong, on some level, to endow my fiction with personal experiences. If my writing was influenced by the people around me, could it be taken the wrong way? Could I end up hurting the people I cared about by writing a character similar to them in an "undesirable" fashion? Was it possible to balance "writing what you know" and creating tangible, unique fiction? Real People Who Influence Characters The first time I tried writing a character influenced by someone I knew, it felt very forced. It seemed that every action this character did somehow didn't "fit." The world that they were inhabiting, the things that they had to do to make the story work , just wouldn't mesh with this manufactured personality.  Created via the  imgflip meme generator In my experience, trying to push characters into certain personality...