Writing Advice

January 19, 2014

Writing Advice

by Colleen Houck

When I started writing, I created character cards using 3 x 5 cards. I scanned the internet for images of who I thought the character might look like, glued it to one side and wrote the full name of the character underneath. On the back I listed a bio not only the birthday but what kind of traits they had, what were their favorite foods, favorite books, etc. It helped a lot in my early writing.

I write using images especially when I hit a block. I look up creepy monsters or graveyards and describe them in my writing. It helps me a lot to be able to visualize the scene in my mind.

For young writers I would recommend practicing by writing fan fiction. Several prominent authors started out doing this. This is when you choose a favorite book such as Harry Potter and use the characters found in the book but write a new chapter. There are several websites devoted to fan fiction and it’s perfectly legal as long as you aren’t earning any money.

As far as getting published goes, try to go the traditional route at first. Query agents and editors as best you can and look up different examples of queries to create the perfect one for you. If traditional publishing through an agent doesn’t work out, I don’t believe there is anything wrong with self-publishing. The e-reading devices that are becoming more and more popular are the perfect forums to test out your material.

The e-reading community seems very open to trying out new authors, even self-published ones, as long as the price is right and publishing for the Kindle and the Nook is free and relatively simple. My agent and my Hollywood producer found me through my Kindle books not through my queries. I really believe this is going to happen more and more in the future and publishers will let authors begin to build a fan base and then snap up the book when they see it appeals to an audience.

Also you should build an internet presence with twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and your own website. Fans need to be able to find you and interact with you. I strongly believe that bestsellers happen because fans talk about you and your books.

This entry was posted in Articles, Bonus Material, Writing Advice.

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January 19, 2014

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Colleen Houck