What to Write About Online If You Haven’t Written a Book

I write books so when I write online-articles I do so to make more book sales.

My online articles are about many things but I always tie them back into one of my books (which I even do with this one).

But what should you do if you want to work online but you don’t know what to write about? When you don’t have any books to sell?

One way to do it is to set up a blog. Just choose a niche and write articles about it.

That’s a great way to earn money from your writing without having to tackle a project as big as writing a book manuscript.

And there are many writers who earn money from their blogs.

But you need to make sales or you won’t earn any money. So you can write marketing articles and use them to market affiliate products.

You can write about things you’ve used, or books you've read. Or you can even promote products you haven’t used yourself.

You can even do it in different ways, like setting up a simple review site or creating an opinion blog. There are other things you can do, but these are just a couple of ideas to get you started.

And no matter what you want to write about, there’s a way to earn money from writing about it.

All you need to do now is to make a start, and you’ll soon be bursting with ideas and your fingers will be flying across the keyboard every day.

And even if you do write books, you can always set up a money-making blog to earn extra income as well, or for something to work on when you’re in-between book manuscripts.

Once you start looking into online writing and earning possibilities it’s amazing what you can find.


https://www.ruthiswriting.com/books/LLS.html

66 Horror Scripts to Download and Inspire

Have you ever wanted to be a horror writer? I once wrote a horror novel and it was fun, yet strangely scary to sit and make up weird things in my head.

And it's great when you have an idea for a horror story.

But what if you don't?

Well, you can get inspiration from reading other horror books, or even better, reading movie scripts from some of the best horror movies.

And right now, there's an amazing opportunity for you to download 66 of the best horror screenplays of all time. These are complete PDF scripts. And they're free.

They include the scripts for Jaws, Silence of the Lambs, IT, The Cabin in the Woods, The Shining, Seven, Alien, Carrie... and more.

So no matter what kind of horror writing you're interested in, this is a great opportunity to download and dissect some of the best horror writing ever.

Click on the link below and then click on the cover image of each movie to download the complete script.

66 Terrifying Screenplays That Will Keep You up at Night



Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

Your Book Into a Movie + $1,000 Prize Money + Intros to Hollywood Agents & Producers

Ever wanted to see your book made into a movie or a TV show?

Well, now is your chance.

This is a great competition open to writers worldwide to get your book made into a movie.

If your book or graphic novel has a cinematic possibility for film or TV, then you can enter it into this competition.

What will you receive if your book is chosen?

Win $1,000 + introductions to Hollywood agents and producers!

There is also a prize for 2nd place plus a special mention for 100 quarter-finalists.

The closing date is 30th November 2019.

Click the link below to see full terms and conditions and to enter your book now.

https://screencraft.org/book/

How Not To Sound Like a Phoney When You Write

I sometimes smile at how easy some people find it to sound like a fake person when they write.

The problem is that we learn to write at school and college and university. But the problem is that our style of writing for our teachers and lecturers is not the same for any other kind of writing, especially if you’re writing online or writing books.

When you write, you need to sound authentic rather than sounding like a robot spewing out facts or sounding phony like you’re trying to hide something.

And the way to do this is to find your writing ‘voice.’

But what does that mean and how can you do it?

Your writing voice means sounding like yourself when you write. It means giving the reader a glimpse at the writer behind the words.

And you do it with practice.

That is the only way that you’ll ever find your writing voice. The more you write, the more authentic you’ll sound because you can only keep a veil up for so long before you start writing more like you speak and coming across as genuine.

Another thing to remember is, don’t write what you think others want to read. Instead write about what YOU want to tell them, rather than what you think they want to hear.

And write quickly. Don’t give yourself too much thinking time about which words to use or how to be perfect. Just write. You can pick up mistakes later on in the edit. Just write fast and authentically.

It doesn’t actually take too much practice to find your writing voice.

But you do need to practice. Just make sure you’re practicing being yourself, which, when it comes down to it, should be pretty easy.

You know yourself better than anyone.

So be that genuine person when you write.


Goodbye Writers’ Block
How to Be a Creative Genius and Have an Abundance of Ideas
Plus the Inspiration and Motivation to Write
https://www.ruthiswriting.com/books/WB.html

Have I Ever Read Anything You’ve Written?

People can be really mean, especially those closest to you like friends and family.

I come across a lot of jealousy when I tell people that I’m a writer. They either don’t want to talk about it and quickly change the subject (which is most of the time), or they ask questions like, “What do you write?” To which I usually say, “Oh lots of different things,” and they say, “Like what?"

I usually respond with, “I write words.” I mean, what am I going to say? I earn money from my writing in so many different ways that explaining to them what I do would take time.

Then they ask the really stupid question. “Have I Ever Read Anything You’ve Written?”

Please, people! Come on! How on earth could I know every single thing you’ve ever read in your life?

Often I just tell people to Google me if they want to know more.

I usually stay away from other people as much as I can because they take up too much of my valuable time.

Just as an example of how much I stay away, last week, my husband and I had to walk into town to buy a few things. Instead of walking up and down the main street where we usually run into people we know, we went via a side street, straight into the shop we needed, and came back up an alley and through a field, just to avoid having to speak to anyone.

Does that make me anti-social? Probably.

But if I were a famous writer, I’d avoid people anyway.

And that’s that best way to make it to the top is to act like it’s already happened.

If you want to be a millionaire author, act like you already are one. So instead of wasting time hanging around the proverbial water cooler and gossiping, or wasting time on anti-social media (it’s never social, IMHO), write more books instead. That’s what best-selling authors do.

Remember that people will always treat you the way you allow them to.

So get charisma and poise and don’t let others look down on you.

Stick to your writing mission no matter what.

I did it, even when others thought I was mad and told me I was wasting my time doing writing courses and locking myself indoors writing and submitting articles and short stories to magazines.

But ha-ha to them because it worked. And now they don’t want to discuss it.

I recently read a book that really helped me with all this too and made me realise more than ever that I was right, right, right, to ignore everyone and stick to my mission.



Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

How I Survived on Low Writing Income

One thing I learned quickly once I started writing for a living is that the income isn’t regular. It’s feast or famine.

When I first started out it was way more famine and not enough feast, which made it scary when it came to quitting my job.

But one of the things I did do that really helped me, was a read a book called The Millionaire Next Door, which explains how others are rich (millionaires in fact) even though they only earn a regular income.

At first I didn’t even think it was possible but after reading the book and learning about not only how they did it, but how easy it was, I realised that I would be able to manage on my writing income, even during the times of famine.

And since then I’ve heard and read about others who survived during hard financial times. I even recently heard about a woman who raised her 7 children in a one-bedroom house. Now that is extreme, but clearly, it was doable. And she clearly isn’t like spoilt people today who want big houses with lots of bedrooms even when they only have a couple of kids.

And that’s the difference that makes some people ‘The Millionaire Next Door.’ And interestingly enough, they are called “next door” because they are living ordinary lives amongst ordinary folk who have no idea their neighbours are millionaires.

So when I was worried about living on a low income I didn’t let it stop me from becoming a writer. I just knew how much I could earn and turned to minimalism to help me get by. And I found that it’s a great way to live anyway, so I haven’t even changed much.

And now my husband has retired early and we only have the money that I earn from my writing as our income, and we’re living really comfortably.

I wouldn’t change a thing and it all started because I prioritised my writing and made it my mission to earn enough money from it to live on.



Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

How I Found My Writing Mission

When I first started writing I had moderate success with freelance submissions to magazines. Well actually, it was probably more than moderate if you count how excited and happy I was to do it.

It all began when I bought a copy of Quick Cash Writing and worked my way through it, writing and submitting fiction, filler, articles, features and even letters to magazines and other publications.

My next foray into money from writing was when I bought a copy of How to Write Any Book in 28 Days or Less and I worked my way through that too and wrote my first novel, which has led me to write many more books, including co-authoring two books.

What I found throughout it all was that my first successes led to more success because it was exciting to see my work in print and I was always busy working on my next thing.

And it gave me something to look forward to every day. I was always busy with having a family, pets and a part-time job, and at the end of the day there was always my writing. Sometimes I couldn’t wait for others things to be finished so that I could get back to my writing.

I would even write in cafes on my way home from work, in the park, and in waiting rooms. I would just write whenever and wherever.

What I didn’t realise back then was that I’d found my life’s mission.

I wanted to write and I didn’t let anything stop me. And I didn’t even know back then how important having a mission in life was. But it changed everything for me.


It made me a villain.


Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

Be Brief and Move On

The best thing you can do in life is to know exactly what you want and go after it.

A major problem with this is that other people will not want you to do it. They don’t want you to change or to be successful.

People are like crabs in a bucket. As soon as one of them manages to reach the top and try and climb out, the others will pull it back in again. And this is what people do if you try and move away from them (physically or mentally). They’ll try and pull you back down to their level.

It even happens to me all the time. I’ve been a writer now for almost 20 years and it’s how I earn my living. Yet my family won’t even discuss it with me and if I bring it up they’ll change the subject. Not even my own mother knows about my published books and she doesn’t want to.

Being a writer doesn’t give me much to say about what I do every day anyway, because it’s a silent and solitary way to earn a living. I sit alone most of the time.

My kids on the other hand love that I’m a writer and read my books, but no one else in my family does.

So make it your mission to go after what is important in your life. Put it first as much as you can, no matter what anyone else tries to say or how much they try and stop you.

If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be the successful writer I am today.


Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

Is This Stopping You From Writing?

I was reading a really interesting book the other day. I’ve actually read it several times before because it fascinates me (and it’s only a short book that’s quick and easy to read).

And it struck me that what I was reading about was actually something that can stop people from writing. And I used to be one of those people. It can be a real time-waster without you even realising you’re doing it.

And what I’m talking about is being needy. It’s something that most of us do automatically and it’s a complete waste of time.

What do I mean by being needy?

It means spending time explaining things to people when you really don’t have to.

Being needy is when you feel that you owe someone a long explanation. And it doesn’t matter who it is. If you feel like you have to explain yourself, then you’re being needy. You don’t owe anyone an explanation about anything.

So if you find yourself giving a long, detailed explanation to someone, stop doing it. That’s being needy.

And it doesn’t matter if you want them to do something for you or they want you to do something for them. Trying to explain yourself at length is being needy. It’s being needy of them liking you.

Even if someone is demanding that you explain yourself and say why you can’t help them or worse, if you’re trying to do them a favour and feel that you need to give a detailed reason as to why they should LET you help them, STOP!

You’re wasting your time by being needy.

It would be far better to talk less, ask for nothing, offer less, and say less to everyone.

And then you’d have more time to devote to your writing.




Persuasion Secrets of the World's Most Charismatic & Influential Villains
A short but extremely insightful little book that helps you to do more and to care less.
This little book can be read in less than an hour, but you’ll want to read it again and again.
http://viewbook.at/villains

There’s No Such Thing As Being Too Busy

It seems to be a fad these days for people to say “I’m so busy.”

But what does that even mean? What is everyone busy doing?

I used to have a neighbour called Judy. She only worked one day a week, her kids were older teens so were out most of the time, she had a cleaning woman to clean the whole house once a week, yet she always said she was busy and seemed to be rushing around when she was outside. All the neighbours nicknamed her ‘Busy Judy’ which was always said with a smirk.

And this so-called busyness that so many people seem to be suffering from is usually talking about doing things that aren’t even important.

From my own observations of people I know who always say they’re busy, they seem to have a lot of time to watch TV or sit in cafes all day.

There’s a saying that there is no such thing as being too busy. It’ simply a matter of priorities. And I have no idea who said that, but it’s true.

I have an audio recording of a talk given by life coach, James Arthur Ray. In it, he says that people always unintentionally lie about what’s important to them.

He says that to find out what your real priorities are, all you have to do is look at the 5 things that you spend most of your time doing, and THOSE are what is really important to you because that is what you’re giving all your time and attention to.

So if you’re not spending enough time writing, you need to ask yourself why not? What is it that you’re giving all your time and attention to instead of writing? What are those other 5 things that you continually do?

And if you’re not writing at all yet you keep saying you want to, then you need to ask yourself if you really want to write, or are you just in love with the idea of being a writer?



Just Get On With It Will You?
https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2019/get-on-with-it.html

One Reason Why I'm Reluctant To Write

Usually I love to write and I can’t stop. And I love it when I feel like that.

But there are other times when I lack motivation so much that I find it hard to even sit down and start writing.

Usually my reluctance to write is because I’m not enjoying what I’m working on which may or may not be something I’m writing. It could also be editing, proofing, uploading, website work or even research.

So what do I do when I find it hard-going?

There are three things I do:

First I look at what is holding me back and why I’m so reluctant to get on with what I’m supposed to be doing. I even journal about it if it helps.

Second, I devise a list of tasks I need to do to get the job finished.

Thirdly, I work my way through the list one step at a time till I’m finished.

I find it also helps if I use a timer to see how much I can get done in a 25 to 30 minute window because I’m more focused when I know I have limited time.

And once I’m finished I feel so much better which makes it easy to get back to working on what I enjoy.

And it all starts with finding out why I’m procrastinating, and journals are great for getting my thoughts together and figuring out what I want to do and how to do it.


Panda Planners

Writing And Selling Children’s Picture Books

When you look at children’s picture books, they don’t look difficult to write. But they can be.

But there is a ‘secret’ to creating popular children’s picture books that many writers miss.

So I’m going to tell you what this ‘secret’ is which can make the difference between selling several dozen books and selling several thousand.

So listen very carefully…

Children’s picture books only contain around 600 words, and while that may sound easy, it’s not, because within that tiny word count, you have to include:

3-dimensional characters
emotion
gripping plots

And you have to do it all in 600 words or less.

Not only that, but it isn’t only kids that you book needs to appeal to.

It must first appeal to adults - namely, your agent, publisher and parents, in that order.

The great thing about children’s picture books is that it’s easy to sell lots of them because libraries love to stock them, with some carrying more than one copy because they get borrowed so often, more than any other type of book. And if you live in the UK or Australia, etc, you can also apply for Public Lending Rights.

And if you can create one memorable character that can have multiple adventures in a series of books, you can make even more library sales.

Read more about how to write children’s picture books that sell in my latest article using the link below.

https://ruthiswriting.com/articles/2019/childrens-book.html

How Dan Kennedy Makes It All So Easy

Have you read any of Dan Kennedy’s No B.S. books?

My favourite is NO B.S. TIME MANAGEMENT FOR ENTREPRENEURS. I’ve read it over and over.

And he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to getting things done because he works with 30 - 40 clients at a time, has multiple copywriting jobs, writes one or several books a year, runs coaching programs, consults, speaks, and races horses.

So what makes him so rich and successful? And how does he pack so much into his days?

He believes that if you shift your thinking, you shift your bank account

In contrast to this, I see so many people who won’t even take the plunge to start anything at all, and even if they do, they won’t do the work necessary.

My book, Living The Laptop Lifestyle, on the other hand, shows how to easily turn any subject into a money-making, online business using only your laptop computer, and not needing to work anywhere near as hard as Dan Kennedy.

But imagine what you could accomplish if you did?

Don’t put your life and business off any longer.

Start Living The Laptop Lifestyle today.


https://ruthiswriting.com/books/LLS.html

What Do You Mean You Don’t Have Time?

“I don’t have time to write!”

I-Yi-Yi. How many times have I heard that?

Listen… there’s no such thing as not having enough time. It’s all a matter of priorities.

Agatha Christie wrote 66 novels during her lifetime, and she didn’t even have a computer. And Isaac Asimov, Dan Kennedy, and Gene Schwartz likewise wrote more than most people would think humanly possible.

What they had were clear goals and no excuses. They had zero resistance to writing and didn’t let anything stop them. They refused to allow anyone or anything to hold them back.

But it doesn’t have to be that hard for you.

I can show you an almost done-for-you product to help you launch your own online writing business and all you need is your laptop computer, an internet connection (sometimes) and to click the link below.

https://ruthiswriting.com/books/LLS.html