Getting Started
Making Your Mark in Genre Fiction, Clare Dowling
While we might all harbour hopes of some day writing a startlingly original novel, there are many advantages to writing genre fiction. There’s a game plan in place, for starters; a set of well-tried and tested literary conventions that, if you’re a new writer, will guide you on your way. Publishers also know how to market you; be it fantasy, or horror or romance, there’s generally a well-worn path to getting your book on the shelf, and off it just as quickly, with any luck.
Genre also sells. And with sales figures for all kinds of fiction experiencing some stress lately, a book which immediately lets potential readers know by its cover, its title and its position on the shelf exactly what they’re getting for their money is a safer bet these days than that amazingly original story about a midget-like race that lives under the MacGillicuddy Reeks. Genre readers on the whole are fiercely loyal, and it’s the bestselling genre titles that keep the industry afloat.
Also, and call me biased, a lot of genre fiction is simply very good (Marian Keyes, Jo Nesbo, Stephenie Meyer ...). So if you’re looking to make a living, and reach as many readers as you can, you could do a lot worse than write a decent thriller, or some quirky women’s contemporary fiction, and to hell with what the literary critics say.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it looks easy, though. We’ve all done it starting out. When I was a teenager, Mills & Boon novels used to be passed covertly amongst our dormitory beds – steamy titles like ‘His Wicked Way’ and ‘She Loved Too Much’ – and after devouring one or two of them I was absolutely certain that I could write something just as good. Dark brooding hero meets slightly ditzy heroine, they row for a hundred and fifty-seven pages and then fall into a passionate kiss: job done, right? I duly knocked out a couple of chapters, thinking I’d write under a pseudonym like Tilly Templeton and nobody would ever know it was me.
From Chaos to Control, Ciara Conlon
Do you ever feel your life is a bit chaotic? That there is always more to do than time to get it done? Do you find that amongst all the tasks on your To Do List, that writing always seems to come last? The good news is it doesn’t have to be this way. Productivity coach and author of Chaos to Control, Ciara Conlon tells writing.ie how she found time to write her book and how she transformed her life from disorganized and chaotic to calm, happy and stress-free.
“I am a naturally disorganized person. When I was younger my physical surroundings, and my head, were chaotic. My parents would constantly make fun of my disorganization and lack of structure. As a result of my inability to organise myself, I found it difficult to study; I struggled through college finding it difficult to focus and concentrate on one thing for too long. Over the years I tried many jobs and started many businesses. I always had a couple projects on the go and left half-finished business plans lying around. For years I felt frustrated and a sense of underachievement. After studying to become a Life and Business coach I started to recognise the things that were holding me back - I realised the things I had to work on were my lack of focus and discipline. I started to read about productivity in books and online and having tried out lots of suggestions and techniques, little by little my life began to change for the better. I learned how to organise my work and my thoughts so that they no longer caused me stress and frustration. As a result I began to achieve a lot of the things I previously didn’t have time for.”
The 7 Most Useful Books on Writing Fiction
After 133 rejections Laurence O'Bryan acheived his dream and The Instanbul Puzzle was published by Avon, a division of Harper Collins - and it's now available in fourteen different countries with more to follow!Click to read Laurence's full story.
In order to get his writing to the highest possible level Laurence worked hard - and read an awful lot of 'how-to' books. He says "These are the books on writing that excited me most when I read them. The ones I felt were going to be most useful to me. The Oxford dictionary defines useful as, 'which can be used to advantage; helpful & beneficial.'"
Here is the list:
The Write Inspiration: Starting a Writing Group
Are you thinking about joining a writer's group? If you are, then you are where I was, two years ago.
My dilemma was finding a group that allowed me to attend but also ticked all of my boxes in terms of family and work commitments. I wanted a morning writers group - but this proved difficult to find. Many established groups meet in the evening times, at weekends, in the cities and towns and communities of Ireland but there were none in my rural area of Carbury, Co. Kildare.
It was time to rethink things! I couldn’t be the only writer in the North Leinster region who was seeking a morning writing group. In a lifechanging moment, the answer to my problem came to me - I decided to start my own writers group and ask for help.
Step One: Now I have decided to start a group what's next?
The internet abounds with a plethora of information on how to set up a group, how to run a group, meeting planners and everything you could possibly need to know but what I wanted was the human touch.
Step Two: Talk to somebody about your idea.
Among the many contacts, listings of writers groups that I found on Google, I decided to contact the Irish Writers’ Centre. Their good, practical advice has since been echoed by all other groups I've been in contact with:
5 Ways to Create Meaningful Success in Your Writing
An interesting book crossed the writing.ie desk recently. Called The 5 States of Success it outlines how to create meaningful success in your career, business and life. This sounds like something we could all do with so we asked its author Brendan Foley to write a short piece for us on how this could apply to writers. This is his article…
My name is Brendan Foley. Recently I launched my second book The 5 States of Success- create meaningful success in your career, business and life. It’s available as an ebook and paperback and is an amazon.co.uk #1 bestseller. The audio book launches in March 2012.
I’d like to share with you The 5 States of Success for writers, five ways that have successfully helped me to write and publish two books. My hope is that they may help you too!
A state is a way of being; something that affects how you think, feel and behave. To have success we must get into the right states of being and from this place we can create really great work. I’ve adapted my 5 States to the specific needs of writers and authors.
Read more: 5 Ways to Create Meaningful Success in Your Writing
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