Words on Writing

Most self-publishing advice is practical. All of it's useful. Some of it even works. But self-publishing isn’t just a logistical exercise. It’s an emotional one. Here's some advice for dealing with that.

These are the mistakes that feel like progress because they look like writing. They resemble depth, intelligence,emotional weight. Unfortunately, they’re the narrative equivalent of being an Amazon page of shiny fire extinguishers distracting you from the house actually burning down around you. Here's how to deal with them.

Unless your write a runaway bestseller (the equivalent to winning the lottery but with considerably worse odds) one book is just a business card. A career is a stack of them. You don’t have to write the single greatest novel in the history of literature. But to build a career, you do have to keep writing. 

Here, are several things I learned about plot,almost all of them later than would have been ideal. The next time one of your stories stalls, you might be able to recognise the problem slightly faster. And, with luck, fix it before draft three.

Most self-published books fail, no spectacularly. There are no bonfires of Goodreads reviews. They simply appear, make a small polite noise, and then disappear to live out their days alongside abandoned blogs, unused Pelotons, and the author’s brief conviction that the launch just needed “a bitmore time.” Here’s why that keeps happening.

In this episode of Words on Writing, James Dunlop, author of the Andrew MacKay thrillers, explores why villains are often the weakest part of a story and how a good villain is often the character that does most of the work to drives yournarrative forward. If you’re writing a story, this video might help you find ways to take your villain from pure evil but ineffective to more something that keeps your readers hooked. 

I think if you want to write a novel, you should know what you’re in for. Here are some rather uncomfortable but brutally honest truths I learned when I started writing fiction.  Writing’s

There’s a curious question that wakes a lot off writers at about 2:17 AM: Is there a market for this? The question arrives wearing sensible shoes, possibly holding a clipboard. It doesn’t shout. It doesn’t accuse you of being delusional. It simply raises an eyebrow and asks whether you’ve considered the commercial viability of your fragile, half-formed idea.

We explore how making a protagonist a traditional hero wouldcan feel dishonest. And, more importantly, dull.

You smooth an edge here so the reader won’t flinch. You explain a motivation there so no one gets confused. You add context, sympathy, backstory. Still, your book seems to lack a pulse. It’s often nothing wrong with what’s happening. The problem most likely is who it’s happening to.

Most self-published books don’t lose readers in the writing. Because most never make it past the first glance. Here’s how to stop that from happening.

If you want to build a main character readers will follow throughchaos, humiliation, and poor decision-making, Homer Simpson is a masterclass in how it’s done.

Editing is where you take your book from emotionalsupport project to a functional piece of narrative machinery, from ambitious pile of narrative compost. to polished novel. It isn't always easy; it does require strategy. Here are 10 more suggestions I think can help.

The book blurb is has to whisper, seduce, threaten, reassure, and gently shove a stranger toward a purchase. In this episode we explore how you can possibly summarize your entire 90,000-word masterpiece in under 200 words, without panicking.

Squint past the silly tights and soliloquies, and you’ll see the Bard is all about suspense: murder, betrayal, ambition. In this episode we'll look at how you can channel Shakespeare to get all the tension without the tights.

Here is a draft-to-disaster recovery plan to help you take a first draft of confused syntax and unnecessary sentences, and turn it into the story you meant to write.

Self-publishing is a legitimate career path. One you can say out loud at family gatherings without getting any weird side eye. Still, the myths persist. So let’s stroll through the forest of misinformation and gently set eight of the worst myths on fire.

In this episode I'll share what I learned through perseverance (and the sort of stubbornness generally reserved for mules and evangelists of cryptocurrency).

In this episode we identify mistakes so many of us make, like the misguided belief that a first draft should be good, and look at ways to avoid early pitfalls.

Self-publishing is both thrilling and alarmingly easy to careen straight into the algorithmic abyss with your shoelaces tied together. Here are 10 lessons I learned the hard way.

Here are 9 things I learned about making readers care about someone else’s discomfort, some excellent lessons for writing fiction.

In this episode we'll look at some mines to avoid stepping on if you want to hook readers before they ghost you.

The second episode of a 2-part series on plotting your novel, from midpoint to mayhem. How not to drop the ball just when it starts getting good.

The first episode of a 2-part series that examines how you can construct a first half so compelling it’s reader catnip.

In this episode we look at how you can market your book without resorting to becoming a used-car sales man.

In this episode I'll take you through some of the rookie writing mistakes I made, so you don't have to learn the hard way.

In this episode we look at how you can keep strangers up at night without being a psychopath.

In this episode, I'll walk you through how you can build your book empire from the comfort of your couch.

In this episode we look at both sides of the argument to either outline your novel or freestyle it out of chaos.

In this episode, we explore harnessing the power of gaps to write great conversation.

In this episode, we explore how waiting for permission is so last century.

In this episode, we look at how to write something original without moving to a yurt. Or inventing new emotions.