Newbie Author's Guide

Helping new and aspiring authors navigate the publishing wilderness

Guest Post: 7 Proactive Ways for Beating Writer’s Block by Elizabetha Halsted

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I would like to welcome Elizabetha Halsted to NAG today. She will be sharing some info about beating writer’s block today. If you are a writer, you how we all hate it, but it happens. Enjoy!

Writing can frustrate professional writers, if their mind gets fail to produce creative ideas. But the situation becomes worse when a writer is not able to generate a single idea for a longer period. A writer’s block is a common phenomenon and it’s often caused by conflicting feeling. Anyone can restore writer’s block by learning some effective techniques. If you are also affected by writer’s block and unable to produce a single idea for your new writing project then luckily you’re at the right place. Have a look at the information shared below to avoid this frustrating position.

 

Refresh your mind

We all know that stress is the enemy of creativity. When your mind is hijacked with negative thoughts, you cannot concentrate fully to produce more ideas. Eliminate negative thoughts to regain your focus at work. You can easily perform it by doing some exercises. Exercise plays a great role in refreshing our mind and clearing our thought process. Do it until you feel fresh. Once you eliminate all negative thoughts that are stopping your creativity, get back to your work to take a fresh start.

Change your place    

Many times writers are not in a position to generate creative ideas due to their workplace issues. Whenever we work at the same place for a longer period, it flies away our interest at work. Nonetheless, by performing different activities at the workplace, we can turn our work enjoyable. It could be easily done by changing your positions after some time to stay in focus. For instance, you can sit on the roof or at your room, balcony with your books, pencil and other writing stuff. Hopefully these little changes will enable you to bring creativity at the workplace in order to produce copious amounts of unique ideas.

Look for creativity

When your mind fails to produce new ideas, you need to refresh it with some techniques. A recent survey proved that a cup of tea, coffee, hot milk or a glass of juice can help you create more ideas for your new writing project. This is because it will boost up your energy level and expand your thought process. Ultimately, ideas will begin to generate in your mind and you will successfully create a top notch writing project. Therefore next time if you’re troubling from writer’s block, have a cup of hot or cold drink to come up with inspiring ideas.

Do brainstorming

Brainstorming is an effective technique for generating new ideas. Through brainstorming, you can develop a bundle of ideas for every writing project. Perform this mind mapping tool to come up with ideas that will support your topic. If you will perform brainstorming on a daily basis, it will become easier for you to write impressive ideas on any topic. It is seen that people who perform brainstorming techniques generate unique ideas and come up with solution to beat writer’s block situation. Thus, you should also adopt this technique of generating outstanding ideas to carry out your work in a cool manner.

Research your topic

If you’re facing a hard time in producing relevant ideas for your topic, then you should research it from a different platform. In the today’s world of technology, research is not a difficult task. You can research a number of platforms over the Internet to collect ideas that suit with your topic. Additionally, you can also use social networking platforms for the purpose of gathering new ideas. Nowadays almost every person is using social media platforms to share their ideas and views. It means that you can also benefit from social media platforms by placing out matching ideas for your topic.

Write anything

The writer’s block problem is common among professional writer. It could tackle by ignorance. Spend some time in writing down anything that comes to your mind. Ignore any negative though or force that is stopping you to write. Only focus on your topic and write whatever knocks in your mind. Do this for some time, until your brain starts supplying ideas in a nonstop manner. Surely this process will train your brain to tackle writer’s block in an effective manner without frustrating. In this way, you will not only get relaxed but also bring lots of impressive ideas for your present and upcoming writing projects.

 

About the Writer: Elizabetha Halsted is a professional blog writer and a academic advisor from the UK who loves to share her knowledge through blogging. In the present time she is writing blogs on education and career related topics to help people who want a research paper writer to overcome different issues that stops them to write.

Guest Post: Be That Student Who Wrote a Book by James Harlan

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I would like to welcome James Harlan to NAG today. He is going to share some thoughts about something that I personally know a lot about firsthand: being the student who wrote a book. However, unlike our guest today, I was in high school rather than college, but some of these thoughts can still apply. If you’re a bullied kid like I was, you probably won’t share your book with “friends”.  At any rate, enjoy the read!

Student Writer

There is no exact age requirement to conduct oneself the honour of being called an ‘author.’ So, why not start now?

Well, first excuse: you’re still a student. The hectic schedule of students could, indeed, hamper them from writing their first novel. And, of course, there’s the risk of diverting too much of your time and energy on the book. It’s not hard to imagine your parents scoffing.

But if you really want to write, to simply create something worth reading, or share a piece of your soul – why ever not? Writing the first drafts of your soon-to-be-book while simultaneously, studying is possible. The preceding sections will help you explore this possibility.

Your goal

Before going to the planning stage, expose first your goal. Why are you writing that book? Do you have an idea – and think it’s worth laying out in print?

Reasons and goals are varied in nature. Yours will change – no doubt about that. Yet, it is still important to have them. When the going gets tough, you can always turn around, take a look at your goal and let it pull you up.

Arranging your timetable

Managing time is essential for every individual who happens to be juggling two or more roles at a time. You may be an aspiring author, but you are also a student. To successfully pull these two roles, work out a flexible sched.

Allocate sufficient and realistic hours for review, studying, chores, and writing that book. Don’t worry about overlapping activities (unless such overlap compromises these).

In most cases, these activities are guaranteed to mesh well. For instance, reading and reviewing your notes may serve as a pre-writing exercise. Sometimes, it will work the other way; the creative writing makes the next activity (say, reading some of your notes) less boring.

Getting inspired

You may have discipline that allows you to stick to your quota. But if you aren’t inspired enough, you will hardly find something worth putting in that book. You need inspiration to fuel your writing. You need it to inspire your readers, too.

But the crux is that there is no definable source for this. Inspiration can be taken out of a rigid rule book. Or, it can be found right through the texture of the rose’s petal. It can be simulated through experiences and events. And the very same thing could be said with the interesting people you meet.

Hence, don’t close any doors and be vigilant. Be on the lookout for things that affect you and observe the thousand sensations it presents. Chances are, inspiration is out there, hunting for you, too!

Networking now

Perhaps, some events at uni could spur your meeting with your future editor or publisher. You will never know – which is why it’s important to be ever-ready.

When someone asks you what you’ve been doing, don’t forget to mention the book. When someone gets real curious and asks questions, be receptive and answer them as best as you can. Lastly, make sure that you aren’t acting pompous; arrogance wards people off.

Finally, try to enjoy the best of both worlds. Being a student has its rewards, as do writing books. Time zooms fast; before you know it, your book is in your hands and hopefully, at the hands of your readers, too.

Author Bio:

James Harlan had been a student-slash-novelist, too. He is an education junkie, jumping from providing free essays and writing tips to trying different online courses. He can found on Twitter.

Why Do I Have to Have a Blog?

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blogging

As a newbie author I asked this very same question. I am not in the minority. I didn’t even know what a blog was to be honest with you. On my personal/book blog I have mentioned that I thought that a blog was a Dr. Seuss character or a monster. I have learned that many people don’t know what blogs are either.

Once I figured out what a blog was, why do I need one?

Everyone: publishers, authors, reviewers, etc all say I need a blog. Why? It’s a good question that has a lot of answers!

To sum it up in one sentence: It is a part of your author platform; it is THE or one of your landing pads all other roads will lead to.

After a while in the marketing stage you will find that a blog  is a MUST HAVE and not optional. Not in this day and age.

Here’s another thought of mine: I have a website, so why do I need a blog? Another good question, right?

A blog can be used as a book website, some just use a website, and some use both a blog and a website. I use both. In my opinion having both appears to be more professional. A website is more static and a blog is more dynamic.  A website is more professional and a blog is more casual. I spend more time on my blog (or both of them) than I do on my website. I plan on upgrading my book website later on down the road. The website and the blog can be linked together as a two way street. My book website has a built  in ordering system and excerpts which I have hyperlinked to the book blog along with my other ordering links for Amazon and B&N on a page. I even included a hyperlink for people to request kindlegraphs (a topic for later). I have all my social media links on my ‘About’ page so people can locate me with a click of a button if they are looking for me on–let’s say–Goodreads. My website just as my Facebook Fanpage and Twitter. My new website will probably be updated with these links.

Here are some other reasons why blogs are required for your platform:

  • Events Blogs are required for you to participate in blog tours, interviews, blog hops, giveaways, etc, etc. This is THE place for this to take place. Your website isn’t going to cut it for these. You may lead people from the blog TO the website with a link, but they will visit the blog first.  Interviewers will come by your blog and check out what you have written when you’re not looking. They may snag one of your posts for the interview if they like one of them. This has happened to me on a few occasions–it’s a good thing. Interviews can be displayed on a separate page for  visitors to check out. All of these guys will ask you for your blog and website links. It looks good if you have BOTH! You WILL need both for a book launch!
  • Extras This can be about a book or about you. You can’t post this stuff on a website. This is a personal way for readers to get to know you and view samples of your writing. Also you can give people sneak peeks of your upcoming book while it’s in the works to peak interest. Do character interviews, write about a character–the list goes on! You can even write about where the idea of a book came from, what led to its creation, how you got into writing, etc. For my book blog I talk about my other hobbies and about where I live since it is interesting to my readers and because it plays a part of how my fantasy saga came into being. Beekeeping is the hot one. Since I began my writing career early I write about that. You can write things on your blog that are personal–but not too personal–without coming across as being sales-y.
  • “The Other Stuff” This stuff can be the other things rattling around in your head that you want to write about that you think is worth sharing that won’t find its way into a book (or could it later?). Since blogs have categories to organize your posts, you can put short stories, poems, essays, etc in addition to your other book related stuff. If you want to post reviews of other people’s books you have reviewed you can! Adding tags to the posts help then right readers find that particular post. Your blog provides you with more versatility. Your website is just a place for your books on display and or ordering. You don’t have as much personal info available to your readers–just your bio. That’s great for intros, but we are in a day an age where authors and readers are getting into a more interpersonal relationship.
  • The Social Media Highway Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc can lead to your website AND blog. But guess what? These platforms have plugins to share posts from your blog in real time. Your website is just “there”. More people will probably come by your blog rather than your website. It’s great to have both and also cross link to your website from your blog(s). Make it a two-way street. People can share your blog posts easier than they can your website. Blogs have buttons on them so people can share with a click of a button. On Goodreads, for example, is a reader hot spot and they have instant access to your blog from the site if you connect to it. There are more plugs for blogs than to websites, but you do put your website in your profile. A blog is another form of social media. It’s where you can have much more to say.

Setting up a blog seemed really scary and hard at first, but it really isn’t. If you use WordPress or Blogger, you can start blogging in minutes. Set-up is step by step. It really is learn as you go. Have fun at it!