Everything you learned in school and know about writing is wrong. Adverbs are bad verbs. The writing world is different than the educational writing world.
Learning to write well is like learning a new language. There are many rules and guidelines that schools teach you, but in reality there’s no right or wrong way of doing things when it comes down just writing creatively for your own personal satisfaction – at least not until we get into the nitty-gritties: adverbs versus verbs; passive voice over active suddenly becomes important (hint hint); how long should sentences be? What kind?? Umm.. anyways
In Episode 7 of the Serious Writer Podcast Bethany Jett and Cyle Young discuss why everything you know about writing is wrong and what you can do to change it:
Go to a writers conference. Now.
Read in your genre and subgenre. Learn the style of that genre.
Get the resources you need from the beginning. (Emotions thesaurus & Story Trumps Structure)
TIP: The 1st book might not be published.
You can practice into publish later.
Fear: I won’t have another story after this one.
Tip: Learn the rules first before you break them.
Modern story is based on 3-act structure. Act 1 is short. Act 2 is rising action over the middle and it’s longer; character development. Climax. Act 3 is descending action.
Fantasy: Hero’s Journey of the 3-Act Structure.
04. Know how to structure a story.
05. Set a regular writing time period or a daily word count. Earnest Hemingway – writes 500 words a day. Stephen King writes 2000 words a day. Jack London – 1500. Mark Twain – 1400. Michael Crighton – 10,000 words – Jurassic Park. Suggestion – start lower until you’re consistent.
06. Just write and don’t edit.
07. Write in scene, not sequence. The Tik Tok guide to writing a book.
“The ones that work the hardest and hustle the most get the book deals.” – Cyle Young
“If someone tells you that you need platform, they’re just eliminating their competition.” — Bethany Jett
“…net of minutia…” – Cyle Young
“You don’t get a pass for being new.” — Bethany Jett
“An erratic writing life produces erratic results. A consistent writing life produces consistent results.” — Cyle Young
LINK: Bethany quoted Seth Godin as building the platform “three years” ago. Here’s the actual quote we need to share: “The best time to start that was seven years ago. The second best time is right now. So start!” – Seth Godin Reference link: https://writetodone.com/seth-godin-part-2/
In case you missed you missed this week’s episode of the Serious Writer Podcast, here is a Cyle Young’s insight on Childrens Writing. As you read below and want to hear more on these topics and other topics, check out the Serious Writer Podcast (Available on Google Play, Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever podcasts are available).
There’s a common misconception that every story needs to have some sort of moral lesson, but this isn’t true. This traditional takeaway has been something writers struggle with in order for their work to be seen as “good” or worth reading. There are no concrete answers when it comes down to how they should endow these characters.
But of course, you have to. The character needs some kind of journey that they embark on and demonstrate change throughout it all.
But kids are allowed to read a story just for fun!
There’s this idea in our society today where if we write stories geared towards children then those books have morals or teaching lessons at their end. You don’t necessarily need such heavy-handedness when writing something meant for entertainment.
It’s no secret that kids are hungry for entertainment. They can’t be bored, and they want to stay engaged in something interesting all day long. As a result, books must now provide more than just informational text; instead, authors should strive towards creating immersive worlds where young readers become fully immersed up until the very end! You’re competing against video games/phones etc., so stories need “something different.”
As a children’s author, one of the most important things you can do to keep your audience engaged and interested in what they’re reading is by making every word matter.
Kids have limited attention spans so it’s vital that when writing for this age group; instead of flowing into long sentences or paragraphs with an extensive vocabulary. Use simple words which will be easier on their brains!
I think it’s no surprise we’re seeing so much popularity in middle grades with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. These books are great for kids who need constant stimulation and don’t have the attention span to sustain long novels, but still want something more than just cartoons or comics.
Timestamps:
1:26 10 Tips for children’s writing 1:42 Moral Dilemma 2:58 Entertainment 4:45 Hangout with kids (Know Your audience) 10:39 Short and Sweet
1:26 10 Tips for children’s writing 1:42 Moral Dilemma 2:58 Entertainment 4:45 Hangout with kids (know your audience) 10:39 Short and Sweet 12:06 The mentor influencer research method 15:05 Social media and research 22:09 Fiction Writing Tips 23:29 Don’t start with “weather” 25:16 Prologues 32:21 NO Exclamation Points!!!!! (except for Bethany’s exception!) 35:55 Don’t use Dialects 38:15 Conclusion, Second Annual Intensive, and Contest Details
