Tag: Advice to New Authors

Writers’ Font: Point of View Confusion

Writers font series advice for beginning authorsLast month we looked at the most common Points-of-View used in fiction today: First Person, Third-Person Limited, and Third-Person Omniscient. Now let’s explore some pitfalls to avoid in mastering POV.

Head-Hopping. Switching the viewpoint back and forth between characters in the same scene without a, well, a “heads-up” alert to the reader, is called head-hopping. It’s something to avoid because first, it makes the reader pause in his enjoyment of your story to figure out whose “head” he’s in (whose viewpoint) and second, when a reader is pulled out of a story, even momentarily, it interrupts the flow and unnecessarily weakens the impact of the scene. Example: Continue reading “Writers’ Font: Point of View Confusion”

Writers’ Font: Point of View for Beginning Fiction Writers

Writers font series advice for beginning authorsIn last month’s Writers’ Font I said two essential elements in fiction writing are point-of-view (POV) and show vs. tell. With a level of mastery of these two elements of Craft, your writing will become more focused, clear, and exciting to read.

Let’s delve into POV first because you’ll save time and aggravation if you first decide which POV best fits the story. It can be confusing in the beginning if you’re not familiar with this part of the Craft. Just keep in mind that once you get it, it’s got. So, read on and don’t worry. Continue reading “Writers’ Font: Point of View for Beginning Fiction Writers”

Writers’ Font: Tips and Encouragement for Beginning Fiction Writers

Writers font series advice for beginning authorsIntroducing Writers’ Font, a monthly series devoted to beginning fiction writers.

My author tagline reads: Candace Williams is a late-blooming novelist who believes you can live your dream.

Easy for me to say, right? It was not easy for me to become a novelist. I was 63 when my first book was published. I’ll be 66 when the next one comes out. Yet, for many years I had dreams of being a novelist. Dreaming isn’t doing, though, is it? I hope it will be easier for you, at whatever age you decide to start. In this Writers’ Font series, I want to encourage aspiring writers to start living their own dream, now, by sharing my journey. If you’re dreaming the same dream, maybe Writers’ Font can help. Continue reading “Writers’ Font: Tips and Encouragement for Beginning Fiction Writers”

Clearing up the “Hybrid” in Publishing

HYBRID PUBLISHINGSo you’re a beginning writer, and you loved writing the book, but now you’re faced with the dreaded publishing process. Becoming an independent author sounds just too complex, but you don’t really know how to attract an agent or a traditional publisher either.

And then someone sends you a ritzy free book called How to Use Hybrid Publishing. (I got one last week.) And you think, “Great. Best of both worlds. Where do I sign up, and (you aren’t stupid) how much does it cost?”

Well, beware, because you don’t know what you don’t know, and that leaves you wide open for the people who are selling services you don’t want and don’t need, and most importantly, won’t sell your books.

This article gives the first steps in figuring out what the beginning author might do to gain enough knowledge to deal with this situation. Continue reading “Clearing up the “Hybrid” in Publishing”