WELCOME TO THE "CRAFT CORNER"

This is where we provide you the little snippets of advice gathered from our Visiting Dignitary interviews.

Sahara Kelly

There are two things I tell people when they ask for advice. First, read, read and read more. I'm a firm believer that the more books you read, regardless of topic, the better writer you become. You absorb the "feel" of a story and the way it should flow, along with pacing, and it becomes second nature when it's your turn to write your own novel.

Second…write your book. LOL Don't tell me you're thinking about it, or half way through your notes for it or have this wonderful idea for a novel. Just write the damn book. Once it's real,then you can start messing with it. Sounds harsh, but you'd be surprised how many aspiring writers blink, look stunned and then say… "hey, yeah. Maybe I should do that." Duh. LOL –

Kristan Higgins

My advice to writers is this: believe in yourself, and get over yourself. You CAN become a published author. It’s hard, and you may have a long road in front of you, but if you believe and work toward that goal and do what you need to do, whatever that might be, you can do it! Everyone who really wants it can get it. I truly believe that.

And then the second part—get over yourself. I think being hard on myself is one of the reasons I’ve gotten this far. I don’t think I’m all that, in other words, but I do think I work hard, I feel deeply and I try really, really hard to write a great book. The day I think I’m amazing is the day my career starts to tank.

Brad Sinor

Write, write and then go back and write some more. Don’t try to look at a market and see what the hot trend is, write the story that you want to read.

Colleen Coble

Read craft books. I always have a book on craft in my hand. I also study how other writers in my genre do it. I'm always reading. :)

Carole Nelson Douglas

You must read a lot, oddly enough, to find your own voice. What you love,and hate, when you read can provide the drive you need to begin to write,and, more importantly, to keep at it.

David Boop

• Join a writer's group that has the sole purpose of making sure everyone gets published.
• Have someone reliable edit your work outside the group.
• Go to conventions, attend panels, listen to those that have gone through this already and network.

All of my success has boiled down to that.

Linnea Sinclair

Read Dwight V Swain's TECHNIQUES OF THE SELLING WRITER. It's hands-down the best instructional book on fiction writing, even though it was written over twenty years ago. If you do eighty percent of what Swain advises, you WILL sell.

C.T. Adams

Work hard on your craft. A lot of people assume if you can write a sentence, you can write a publishable book. But it's harder than it looks. Learn what you're doing so that you can do it well. Inspiration comes and goes. But even if you have a brilliant idea, it's not going to fly if you can't present it in a publishable form.

Shannon K. Butcher

For character driven stories, start with the people.  Create more characters than you think you’ll need—lots more.  Given them full, rich histories with lots of skeletons in their closets, secrets and goals.  Make them as real and three dimensional as possible.  Plots will flow from them, and will be character driven by design.

Janice Hardy

Never be afraid to revise. The story is what matters, and the words are just how you tell that story. If you need to change those words to make the story better, do it.

Jackie Kessler

Never be daunted. Seriously. There’s going to be a lot of rejection along the way. Don’t let that stop you. Keep writing, keep trying, keep learning. To that end: hook up with other authors (I highly recommend Backspace and Absolute Write) and learn from those who’ve been there before. And, while you’re learning…share. Give back to the writing community. Writers shouldn’t be in competition with one another. Writers support writers.

Rachel Caine

Be patient. This is not a fast process, the exceptions trumpeted in the news to the contrary. And it IS a process. Stay focused on your goals, learn, grow, and adapt. And just don’t ever quit.

Anna Katherine (A writing team. A is Anna; K is Katherine)

A: Publishing is a business of subjective opinions. Something that couldn't sell in 1999 could be sold in 2009--or vice versa. I really think that the key to surviving in this business is persistence. Persistence and a thick skin.

K: I also think publishing is a business -- not to be confused with a dream, or a "necessity", or some kind of mystical experience. You want to write? Write. You want to be published? Write something, and then send it out -- and keep doing it until someone buys it.

Brenda Novak

BELIEVE!!

Yasmine Galernorn

You must persevere if you want to make it—your words are not set in stone and you have to learn how to take critique and separate yourself from the work in order to make it the best it can be. It can take years—I have seven novels in the closet that will never, ever be in print. They weren’t good enough. They were, however, practice for where I am today.

Jade Lee

It’s a marathon not a sprint. Work a little every day and there’s no stopping you. Try to do it all at once and you burn out. Big time.

Shannon Butcher

Write. Write a lot. Slog through those first difficult books where you might not know what you’re doing, and learn your craft. Every one of those bad books is important. Once you get through those, don’t stick the good stuff in a drawer. Submitting your work for rejection is hard, but if you don’t, you’ll never see your name on that shelf at the book store. How sad would that be?

I’m also a big fan of critique groups. I’d recommend you choose the members of your group as carefully as you would a spouse (‘cause a bad crit partner can suck the will to write right out of you), but they’re definitely worth the effort if you get a good crit partner or group.

Kristan Higgins

When you think you've done your best writing, ask yourself how it can be better. Anyone can get published if they're willing to work hard enough. I really believe that. Of course, I have a dog's personality, so again...ever optimistic.

Catherine Asaro

Never give up. No matter what anyone tells you, no matter how many rejections you receive, no matter what that internal voice is saying to you -- if you love what your aspiring to do, never let anything or anyone convince you to give up.

K.N. (Ken) Casper

I keep writing. Anything. It doesn't even have to be about that particular story or its characters. I always have "another" story in the planning stages. Eventually I find my way out of the tunnel. Not writing is not an option. After all, writers write!