Passion, purpose, and power: a pep-talk for writers by BookBaby on October 22, 2013 in Writing Tips

[This article was written by  guest contributor and award-winning author Beth Barany.]

I just got back from a writer’s conference. I love going to them. I love speaking there and helping other authors. But I’m tired. I’m an introvert. As I wade through all the post-conference activities of following up with all the cool folks I met and getting back to the business of running my business, I also want to get back to my writing.

But I feel depleted. What’s a girl to do?

I have to get in touch with my true purpose for my own fiction, connect with the passion for my story, and there I will find the power to get writing.

 

What is your true purpose for your writing?

When all is said and done, regardless of what the world thinks of your work, would you keep writing? I would. Some writers I’ve worked with say that if their story only touches one person they have done their work, they have left their mark upon the world. I know that if I can inspire one writer and empower one girl or woman to take charge of her life because she read my fiction, I have done what I came here for.

Good writing is full of heart and connects from one heart and mind to another. What are you passionate about? Does it come across in your writing?

One of my clients is passionate about the underdog in boxing and writes compelling tales set in gritty 1950s LA. Her love of the sport and the times comes through in her fiction.

I’m passionate about exploring the responsibilities and choices of a strong young woman. How can she be a true hero in the face of her inner demons?

So, are you writing about the things that fire you up?

 

Lastly, what are you focused on?

You may have heard, “What you focus on grows.” You can choose to be focused on what’s difficult, or you can be focused on solutions. Even the smallest step pays off.

Are you stuck in your writing? Acknowledge where you are and what you’re feeling; feel it, then focus on spending a minimum of twenty minutes writing. Just get moving and allow yourself to write whatever, however. Progress not perfection.

Are you confused about all your publishing and book marketing options? Then get clear about your main purpose, your passion, and also your goal. Write it down. What is the smallest step you can take today, now, in the next twenty minutes that will move you toward that goal?

We writers have the power to change the world! Let’s start today.

Bio: Beth Barany is an author coach, keynote speaker, and the award-winning author of Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, a YA epic fantasy. She’s passionate about helping novelists create successful careers. More at www.BethBarany.com.

4 Techniques to Fire Up Your Fiction by Donald Maass

4 Techniques to Fire Up Your Fiction

October 13, 2009
by Donald Maass

Here are some exercises to apply to your novel-in-progress.

Many fiction manuscripts submitted to my literary agency feel lackluster. Much genre fiction feels tired. Many mainstream and literary novels also strike me as stale. Even when well written, too often manuscripts fail to engage and excite me.

What is missing when a manuscript hugs the wall and refuses to dance? Originality is not the key. It can’t be, otherwise no wounded detective would ever have a chance and every new vampire series would be dead on arrival. Even over-published clichés can sometimes break out and sell big. The same is true of look-alike mainstream and literary fiction.

The issue, then, is not whether a story has a cool new premise. Whether hiking a well-worn trail or blazing uncharted wilderness, when a manuscript succeeds it is invariably fired by inspiration. Passion comes through on the page.

How does that passion get there? Here are some exercises to apply to your novel-in-progress. They are designed to dig up what matters in your story and infuse it in your manuscript in effective—but not obvious—ways.

FIND THE UNCOMMON IN COMMON EXPERIENCE

To get passion into your story, do it through your characters. What angers you can anger them. What lifts them up will inspire us in turn. Even ordinary people can be poets, prophets and saints. That’s true in life, so why not in your fiction?

Here is an exercise designed to discover and utilize what is universal in the experience of your characters, especially when they are regular folk like you and me.

Write down what comes to mind when you read the prompts below.

1. Is your story realistic? Are your characters ordinary people?

2. What in the world of your story makes you angry? What are we not seeing? What is the most important question? What puzzle has no answer? What is dangerous in this world? What causes pain?

3. Where in the world of your story is there unexpected grace? What is beautiful? Who is an unrecognized hero? What needs to be saved?

4. Give your feelings to http://writersdigest.com/article/4-techniques-to-fire-up-your-fiction