Your blog is your baby, and no baby can run, let alone walk, as soon as it is born.
You need to nurture it, feed it posts lovingly, water it with comments, and give it the extra sunlight of exposure through sharing in order for it to grow…
Don’t be disheartened by the stats of other bloggers, or by your own.
Keep going.
Baby steps.
And before you know it, yours will flourish too.
But remember, it doesn’t happen without time and work on your behalf.
I’m really not one for reading texts for how to improve your writing.
It’s not that I don’t think I need them, but I often feel that if someone is telling me how to write, then what I churn out is not really my voice, but that of another…
Having said that, I have read a few recently, by trusted authors, some who I feel I know, some whose name I have grown up with… Stephen King, Karen McQuestion, Bryan Cohen, Nicola Morgan, Sacha Black…
And they haven’t been telling me what to write, rather how to go about the process, sometimes how they started off, in order to reach the heights they have climbed.
Sacha Black is definitely one of those authors.
Hers was actually the first ever writing craft book I read actually.
When she released her guide to creating villains, I had to get it. Partly because I had been with her step by step, via the blog, as she wrote it, and partly because she always sounds like she knows what she’s talking about!
And after that, she couldn’t leave it at one book, so on top of writing two parts to her YA series, she created a guide to create a fantastic hero character too!
So, the blurb…
From cardboard cut-out to superhero in 10 steps.
Are you fed up of one-dimensional heroes? Frustrated with creating clones? Does your protagonist fail to capture your reader’s heart?
In 10 Steps To Hero, you’ll discover:
+ How to develop a killer character arc
+ A step-by-step guide to creating your hero from initial concept to final page
+ Why the web of story connectivity is essential to crafting a hero that will hook readers
+ The four major pitfalls to avoid as well as the tropes your story needs
Finally, there is a comprehensive writing guide to help you create your perfect protagonist. Whether you’re writing your first story or you’re a professional writer, this book will help supercharge your hero and give them that extra edge.
These lessons will help you master your charming knights, navigate your way to the perfect balance of flaws and traits, as well as strengthen your hero to give your story the conflict and punch it needs.
First, there were villains, now there are heroes. If you like dark humor, learning through examples, and want to create the best hero you can, then you’ll love Sacha Black’s guide to crafting heroes.
Read 10 Steps To Hero today and start creating kick-ass heroes.
For the first time, since reading these kinds of books, I was inspired to get a pen and paper, any paper, and jot down ideas to hopefully improve my characters, and their reasoning behind doing some of the things they do in my own book!
I’m weaving my own web of connectivity, creating character arcs, looking through my hero lens… (you’ll need to read it to get what all those are!) And all with the help of this rather cool guide that is rather funny too. Sacha is like me, she tends to create her own words, to describe things. She’s not afraid to say it like it is either.
And would I recommend it to other aspiring writers?
And not only does Sacha write these amazing badass craft guides, but she even manages to write accompanying workbooks too!
You know you wanna buy…
If you don’t know Sacha, why not?
She is blogging event organiser extraordinaire, being the birth mother of the Annual Bloggers Bash and Awards, and an author of four books, two fiction, and two non-fiction, with more due soon! And she is a loving wife and mother too, to top it off!
Sacha Black has five obsessions; words, expensive shoes, conspiracy theories, self-improvement, and breaking the rules. She also has the mind of a perpetual sixteen-year-old, only with slightly less drama and slightly more bills.
Sacha writes books about people with magical powers and other books about the art of writing. She lives in Hertfordshire, England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son.
When she’s not writing, she can be found laughing inappropriately loud, blogging, sniffing musty old books, fangirling film and TV soundtracks, or thinking up new ways to break the rules.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “tin.” Use it as a word or find a word with “tin” in it, and base your post on that word. Bonus points if you start your post with that word. Enjoy!
Starting from the new year, I am going to be making some changes in my life.
First things first, I need to remove all the tins of biscuits and boxes of chocolates that I was gifted by the lovely children in school…
Speaking of biscuit tins, aren’t some of those tins just amazing? I was given one that looks like a retro radio this year. So cool!
The other thing I need to do is take a partial blogging break… It has to be done. If I am going to get this manuscript ready for an agent/editor, I’ll need to cut back on my weekly challenges, of which I have one almost daily to take part in… That will be a toughie, but it’s got to be done…
So there you have it It won’t be goodbye… I will be back, after I finish writing…
Sometimes you come across a tool that revolutionises your blogging experience, or maybe it is something simple, like how to utilise a particular feature on your blog.
You find it makes your blog look better, your posts sparkle more as a result, and you are really quite chuffed with the compliments!
There, you have the perfect opportunity to write a post about your new discovery!
I have in the past, asked some really silly questions about ‘how to’ issues on my blog, and got many helpful solutions, or I have managed to find out myself, and when I know what to do, I love to share it as a post on my blog, so others can also work out how to solve a problem, or introduce a new feature!
There have been simple knowledge sharing posts, such as how to create a word swirl image, to how to add images to comments!
And even though lots of people know how to already, one popular one was how to add GIFS to a post! Because not everyone is tech savvy, and sometimes simple worded ‘how-to’ posts really help others!
Now, I’m definitely one who needs to practice what she preaches, but taking a break is not a bad thing at all!
Sometimes your blog starts to bring you down, as you are convinced you aren’t writing engaging content, or inspiration is running dry.
There is no unwritten rule to say you can’t take a break.
Sometimes you need a few days, a week, a month even, to focus on other things, life, or just renew your passion for your blog, so you can come back happier and ready to write!
It is time consuming to keep up with all the little duties that running a successful blog require.
And if you take a break, you need to remember that your readers will still be there when you come back!
If you have built your network successfully, they will be waiting for your return!
If you feel you can’t leave your blog ’empty’ for a certain period, remember there is that great tool called Schedule!
You can prewrite posts that will publish for you during your break, so there is fresh content still appearing.
But if you are feeling jaded, then seriously, take that break!
(I need to take my own advice in the new year, simply because my editing will not happen if I am constantly on here!!! Let’s see if I manage…!)
But I Smile Anyway... 