August 2018: Writing Advice
~ Addison Brae ~
~ Addison Brae ~
CTR asked:
QUESTION: What is the one piece of writing advice that has stuck with you and why? (Something other than ‘write what you know.’)
Addison Brae said:
Writing is a team sport.
People often write in solitude. When it comes down to actual butt-in-seat writing scenes and chapters, being alone is best for many writers. Total isolation can reflect in your writing. Your plot makes perfect sense to you. You completely relate to your characters. The world in your story is exactly as you picture in your imagination. Will readers see things the way you do?
That’s why I believe writing is team sport. Here are three ways to expand your point of view and find your team:
1. Join a critique group to get out of your bubble. The purpose is to share your writing with others, hear praise and constructive feedback, and consider what to revise. Some join large groups representing varying genres where members flow in and out over time. My preference is building a group with the same two to four people who write similar genres. It’s important to meet regularly and follow basic critique process. The Writing and Critique Group Survival Guide by Becky Levine can help members understand the proper way to critique so members get the most benefit.
2. Join a writing organization to become an even better writer. It can pull you out of your comfort zone and allow you to learn, share, and create a solid foundation of writing craft and business of publishing. You can also build a network with other writers, agents, editors, and even illustrators if you write books for children. Search online or ask around about groups most active in your area. There are local, state, national and international organizations that cater to every type of writing imaginable. Look for groups with local workshops, webinars and retreats or conferences covering the craft of writing and the publishing process. When you locate the right one, it will feel like you’ve found your tribe.
3. Write in your book’s environment. Locate actual places that inspire you and write there. Much of my romantic suspense that published earlier this year takes place in a pub, so I wrote many scenes sitting at bars observing, collecting stories and soaking up the vibe. If you have a tough scene where someone is critically injured, write that scene sitting in a hospital emergency room waiting area. Write while sitting in the back of a courtroom during a trial for your true crime or mystery. If you write sci-fi or fantasy, find your happy place where the environment inspires you. This technique could nudge away writers block or add a new layer to your scenes.
Enjoy your writing teams!
– Website – http://addisonbrae.com
– Twitter – @Twitter_AddisonBrae1
Becker Circle
[Contemporary Romantic Suspense]
My first and only boyfriend believed I was too gutless to leave. He was dead wrong. My name’s Gillian, and I graduated Harvard early and left his hot temper and everyone else behind for Dallas. Determined to make it on my own, I land a second job bartending at the neighborhood pub smack in drama central where most every jerk in the neighborhood hits on me—at a huge price.
A week into the job, the neighborhood’s very popular drug dealer falls to his death a few feet from the table I’m serving. The cops say suicide, but the hot guitar player in the house band and I suspect foul play, and I intend to prove it. We dig deeper, grow closer, and make a shocking discovery. We know the murderer.
Watch the trailer (https://youtu.be/Mf-GlfxPzdY).
Available in Ebook:
– Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/Becker-Circle-Addison-Brae-ebook/dp/B07B3HT15Y/
– Nook – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/becker-circle-addison-brae/1128071378?ean=2940155153153
– Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/ebook/becker-circle
– iBooks – https://geo.itunes.apple.com/book/becker-circle/id1353406290
– Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/797034
More Authors Dish about their writing advice.
Day One: https://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/ad2018-aug1-advice/
Day Two: https://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/ad2018-aug2-advice/
