Everyone wants to write characters who feel like living, breathing people. After all, that is how readers connect with them, feel for them, and eventually love or hate them—our ultimate goal. Whether you are trying to adequately describe real people, like your parents in your autobiography, or you are creating characters from scratch, such as in a fictional narrative, there are some common mistakes you should avoid. Mistake #1: Simply Listing Their Characteristics This is probably the comment I leave the most on manuscripts I am editing. Specific physical description is important, but it should also tell us something about…
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We have all been there: that white document glowing in your face, only marked with a flashing cursor simply ticking off the seconds that you aren’t writing—that you are allowing your idea to tuck further inside of you, away from the fate that waits on the page. You have your idea, that little seed of inspiration you have carefully nurtured until a hint of a sprout peeks out, but when it comes time to coax it out into the world, you feel it shrink back into that safe space. Who can blame it? It is cozy and peaceful there, without…
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With less than a week until Christmas Day, we at Xulon Press are aglow with the joy that the holidays bring. As book lovers, we know just how stimulating the excitement of the holiday season can be for creative work—and, at the same time, how distracting it can be with endless to-do lists, gift buying, and traveling. Don’t let the busyness of the holiday season distract you from the writing inspiration that awaits! Here are a few ways that you can let the spirit of the season breathe life into your latest writing project: Use holiday travel as fodder for…
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If you want to write, you have to read, and what better gift is there for the aspiring author than a handpicked book to help them take the industry by storm? For writers, books are more than words on a page; they are teachers and models and muses. Every turn of the page should hold a new lesson for polished, effective writing. These five books are what every writer wants to unwrap this year. 1. The Book That Finds Inspiration in Real Life Whether you aspire to write fiction or nonfiction, you must first find the beauty and narrative possibility…