Getting Directions

We had a party on New Years Eve again, a big one. The house was brimming with family, friends, neighbors ... and I spent nearly the entire evening sitting on the floor getting directions from a New York Times best-selling author.

I think the best instructions we can ever receive come from these one on one chats with people who've tasted success, lived it. Now, I won't say I totally neglected everyone else in the house. I looked up from time to time to make sure there were snacks on the table.

You see, I've struggled with a bit of the plot I've written for my novel-in-progress and so I asked for some advice, and he gave it freely. Wow! Am I ever ready to get moving on my book now, and I have been, which explains why I've missed a couple of weeks on my blog.

Bestselling novels in the mainstream market have several things in common, some of which I neglected when plotting, but have since revised. They have a conflict with nationwide or worldwide consequences. That means, that whatever is happening in your book better affect a lot more people than the immediate characters. They must also have a political angle.

Political? At first I cringed. I don't like politics ... but I've been studying them, and guess what, my plot is stronger than ever. I've introduced more subplots that keep my story moving and I've created a conflict that has been on the front page of every major newspaper.

All in all, I believe I received some spectacular directions for my writing, and I'm following them. David Farland emails a daily writing column to anyone wanting to further their writing. It's full of some of the same advice he gave me that night and so much more. If you're interested in receiving his emails, send a request to dwolvert@xmission.com.

We all Need a Good Kick in the Pants

So maybe you're all disciplined writers with set hours in which you write your masterpieces, but I've realized I really enjoy a good motivational speech now and then, or as Dave Wolverton, aka David Farland, calls it, a Kick in the Pants.

I just got on the mailing list for Dave's Daily Kick in the Pants, a daily email to inspire writers. It's fabulous! I've included a short segment from yesterday's Kick.

"I recall when I was young, I once sat down to write a story while my wife went to work, then went out with friends. She returned some fourteen hours later. I had been writing all day. I had sweat streaming down my forehead, and I was worn through. But I had just finished a story! My wife took one look at me and said in frustration, 'Why don't you look that happy after we make love?'

But when you love your work, when your whole mind becomes focused on it, I believe, something magical occurs. You begin to become more original. You begin to develop new stories that appeal to your own sensibilities so strongly that you can then forsake the old stories, the time-worn tales that shaped your tastes in the first place. And then you put something new in its place.

And as readers begin to look for something completely novel--something that is 'one of a kind,'--they will be drawn to your work above others.

Every new author should write this motto above his computer: Dare to be different!"

If you'd like a good Kick in the Pants to start your day off right, email Dave and ask to be put on his list. dwolvert@xmission.com