Category Archives: A blog about the topics of writing

A blog about the topics of writing

Do you stop learning once your book is out?

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One never stops learning whether by accident or on purpose. As an author I make it a point to do it on purpose.

If one sits still with their writing it will soon be apparent to others if not yourself.

The world of marketing is a good example of where you need to keep learning. There are platforms that are constantly, it seems to me, sprouting up for us to learn about and whether to use them or not.

There are classes on dialogue, pace, setting and crap a whole bunch of other topics that we need to home our skills on. To think we are the experts on all of this is not only delusional but also a disservice to our books and our readers.

There are conferences, newsletters, meetings and classes that talk about every aspect of just about everything. To sit and be happy with our work is one thing to not let it grow is something totally different.

One has to learn the latest trends. When I started writing volume one of my Jasper, Amazon Parrot series trilogies were the thing. You saw it in every genre it seemed in books and at the movies. That is one of the major reasons I wrote volume two and three and have started on volume four. Is that still the trend?

What kind of covers showcase your work well? Are there better graphic artists for you out there? Who is doing better right now- traditional or self publishing right now?

All of this does take time. But isn’t your book worth it? I believe it is.

A blog about the topics of writing, Writing tips

Writing content for your blog: As easy as 1, 2, 3?

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It is not always easy to come up with content for this blog. I mean about 95 percent of the time I know what I am going to talk about. It is those last 5 percent that I sit back in my chair, which our neighbor Rick gave me that is way too comfortable for its own good, that I ponder on what to talk about.

There are so many sites on the matter on what to write about. There are even people you could pay to write content for you. To me that is extreme at this point in my career. I don’t consider myself cheap. I call it frugal. If I can do it myself, even if it takes me some time, than I will do most things in life myself before paying anyone for anything.

But as I sat back it hit me. Content. I would write about the topic itself. It all goes back to what kind of blog you are running and what is the point of it. This blog is geared toward my brand, myself and all aspects of writing whatever those may be.

Now there are tons of topics on blogging. As I went over my history of what I have talked about here I have discussed a lot of things. I even discussed content. But somethings do need repeating for those new to my site or just as a refresher course.

It is when I remind myself however of the point to this blog that an idea comes to me. If you are avid in your blogging and your brand content really shouldn’t be an issue at all. If you are in the game long enough finding ideas to discuss and share with your readers should not be that hard. Just sit back and think on the conferences you go to, the newsletters you receive, the email and letters you get, the people you interact with and a host of other avenues. Everyone, if you are doing it right, has a network of all of that and they are talking about some topic of what your career is about. There is a good chance you know something about it to write on.

Take a breather. It will come to you. If it doesn’t just holler. I’ll toss ideas your way.

A blog about the topics of writing, Being a writer

Children’s books deserve the same criteria as other genres.

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Writing for children I been told by some authors is easy peasy. I know I have brought up this topic a few times on this site. But I feel it bears repeating.

Today a fellow author and friend came to me in a frenzy. She was asked to conduct a writer’s conference. Her, being shy, asked me what should she talk about. She asked me specifically since my books are for children primarily and they will have a section on that.

My first answer was dialogue. You can’t dumb it down or go over their head. That is a sure fire way for them to drop your book and find another. Adults are more forgiving. We will give an author at least a chapter, maybe more, before we ditch it. Kids? Good luck with that.

But also they should comes with a great hook and an interesting plot. But you know what? You also need to do character development, setting, pace and everything else. This applies to all age and genres.

Why should kids not get the same criteria as adults do? Because their kids? Give me a break. They are readers. We want them to continue to be readers.

Majority of authors are readers. Yes, I have met some authors who don’t read. I had a, “What the hell?”, moment. But most authors are. We started young and grew into avid and compulsive readers. Why did we continue? Because we came across books and authors who knew how to write for our age group.

That has not changed. Kids deserves the same steps and levels that a book for other ages go through.

If you are still saying, “Come on now, Sharon, their kids.” Well I say, “Don’t your kids or grandchildren who read deserve that?’

If you short change them because of their age you are doing them a huge disservice. But not only that. If that is your attitude you might want to try a new genre.