I am very pleased to have author Kate Murdoch offer her insight into becoming a better writer on this guest post. Kate is the author of Stone Circle a historical fantasy novel.
Guest Post:
- Read widely and often
The more diverse your reading the better – research books, different genres, authors you’ve never tried before. Go outside your comfort zone and watch as it influences your own expression.
- Declutter your prose
It sounds basic, but this is, for me, the most crucial point. Are your sentences pared back enough? Have you cut adverbs, ‘that’, and ‘was’ as much as possible? Extraneous words are your enemy and must be annihilated. Clarify your sentences. Better to be plain and make sense than be clever and confusing.
- Beta readers
Join beta reading groups, either online or in real life. These readers will be professional, unbiased and possibly quite blunt. But this is what you need. To see your work exactly as it is, not what you wish it to be.
- Watch people and observe them
It sounds cold, but it’s important to watch others, truly observe them. How do they express themselves when they’re upset or jubilant? Eavesdrop on conversations, make up potential stories about people you see in the street. Observe your own emotions — how do they manifest physically? What kinds of thoughts go through your mind? You own reactions will be the resource you will use the most.
- Take a break
Writing is lonely and sometimes monotonous. Take frequent walks, sit in the garden and blank out. Watch a movie. Treat yourself. You can’t keep it up without frequent breaks because writing is often emotionally draining.
- Stop thinking about how others will perceive your writing and the manuscript as a whole.
When working on a manuscript, stop thinking about future readers or you’ll arrest the development of your work. Live in the exact moment of creation. Be right there, not imagining how others will interpret your words. If you can’t do this, read your research books then go back to it, ready to focus on each scene rather than obsessing about the whole. Worrying about the entire manuscript and your readers is the way to madness.
- Meditate and listen to your instincts
Meditating not only reduces the anxiety that tends to plague writers, but is a way of tapping into the subconscious, which then often answers questions we have about our work. Gaping plot holes are filled, characters find their voices and the jigsaw of our story tends to develop.
- Take ego out of it
Do you want to be the best, or your own personal best? I find the latter is healthier. The minute we compare and compete with other writers, self-doubt creeps in. Think of your own goals, but also take time to acknowledge how far you’ve come and be grateful. Every step has value, large and small.
- Purpose in each scene
If a scene doesn’t have a clear purpose in terms of the emotional trajectory of the characters and the advancement of the plot, then why is it there? Purely decorative scenes, or scenes that depict backstory that isn’t relevant need to go.
- Larger themes are important
Both before you begin and during writing a manuscript, your themes need to be considered. What is your message, what do you want your readers to have in their minds when they put the book down? What will stay with them? What do you want them to feel? Themes tie everything together, make your story cohesive. They express your values and the essence of who you are.
Kate Murdoch is the author of Stone Circle. She exhibited widely as a painter both in Australia and internationally before turning her hand to writing. In between writing historical fiction, she enjoys writing short stories and flash fiction.
Her short-form fiction is regularly published in Australia, UK, US and Canada.
Stone Circle is a historical fantasy novel set in Renaissance Italy. It was released by Fireship Press December 1st 2017.
Her novel, The Orange Grove, about the passions and intrigues of court mistresses in 18th century France, will be published by Regal House Publishing in 2019.