Another 10 More Writing Tips From J A Konrath

 

As promised last time, here are the penultimate 10 writing tips from J A Konrath.

21. If you feel blocked, pause and connect with your characters to determine what they are feeling, what they want, and what they should do next. This is known as how to "write from" emotion rather than "write for" emotion.

22. If you’re stuck, read what you wrote the day before. This can give you a launching point for the next scene.

23. Give yourself permission to write crap. “Spend too much time thinking, questioning, judging, dismissing, and second-guessing, and you’ll never get anything finished.” You can always fix things in the edit.

24. Questions keep the pages turning. The obvious question, ‘What happens next?’ is what both your characters and your readers should be thinking.

25. When you finish, put the writing away. A week is good. Two weeks is better. The longer you can stay away from it, the more you can forget what you wrote and approach it with fresh eyes.

26. We’re not writers. We’re rewriters. Nobody gets it right the first time. And even when you do sell it, you’ll be required to make even more changes. This is a business. Leave the ego at the door . . .  and be prepared to work hard if you want to make some money in this biz.

27. Research shouldn’t take the place of writing, but it is certainly required if you want to paint an accurate picture in your reader’s mind.

28. Read like a writer. Re-read passages from books you love and ask yourself, what is the author doing here that’s working so well? And if you see something that you think is bad, ask yourself, why is this bad? What could the author have done differently to make it work?

29. Ask, “What if?” Here’s one example. “What if someone cloned dinosaurs and planned to open a dinosaur theme park on a remote island?” (Jurassic Park).

30. Seek criticism, not praise. Knowing what’s wrong will help you improve.

More advice coming next time.