What Keeps You Reading a Book?

As an author I think about this question a lot. I should hope all authors have this in mind when writing their books as readers are the writers most important ally. Books should not be written for the author, rather they should be created for their readers.

So what makes you want to pick up a book and start reading?

I suppose that question has a variety of answers, depending on your favourite genre of book. For a crime thriller its readers will want to the experience the suspense and excitement of finding out who has committed the most gruesome murders. For a comedy book its readers will want to laugh out loud all the way through. And for E.L. James's readers they are promised a certain amount of erotic desire.

Of course, you have plotlines and character development which play a crucial role in a book's readability. A book's setting may also draw in a certain amount of readers. For example a book set in Mexico may attract Mexicans or people with an interest in that particular country.

But for me as an avid chick lit reader, the character's emotional drive is always key.

I read a blog post recently about this subject and I have to say how much I agree with it: http://www.writing.ie/resources/laurence-obryan-on-writing-with-emotional-hooks/

Lawrence says you have to make an emotional connection with your readers no matter what fiction you are writing. And this statement is so true, especially with the chick lit genre. You want your readers to feel like the story could happen to them so you generate empathy which is a powerful emotion to experience.

So, what makes you keep on reading?

Is Isolation Good for the Imagination?

Last week I was lucky enough to spend a few days in Amsterdam. Holland is one of the few countries in Europe that I have never been to so I couldn't wait to explore the capital of the Netherlands.

Of course there were sights I expected to see; the chilled out so called 'coffee' shops and the red light district. But as I soon began to learn Amsterdam is so much more than meets the eye.

For a start it is home to the museum of one of my favourite artists: Vincent Van Gogh.

I studied Van Gogh in primary school. We used pastels to recreate my favourite painting: The Starry Night.

Back then I enjoyed his work immensely and this enjoyment has lasted a further twenty years. I think his paintings are exquisite and I find the style of them so unique.

But besides creating these wonderful paintings, Van Gogh unfortunately had a darker side to him as well. His self mutilation of his ear has made him world famous and it is well known that he spent most of his life just drifting around, unable to do anything well except paint.

Now a few months ago I blogged about 'Do you Have to be Crazy to be Creative?' http://lkwattsconfessions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/do-we-need-to-be-crazy-to-be-creative.html with Van Gogh in mind. But as I explored most of his life history I realised he really did need to be crazy to produce his best work.

During the final few years of his life Van Gogh was sent to an asylum. He spent a year there where he spent the majority of time alone. And it was in this asylum where he produced his finest art.

Van Gogh always maintained the reason why he did his best work there was simple enough to understand. It was really the only place where he could concentrate without being distracted by the minutiae of everyday life.

Despite saying this it was also the place where he was at his most loneliest. He painted a picture of cornfields and crows to try to capture the feelings of isolation and his inner turmoil.

Now this painting really got me thinking. Feelings of loneliness and isolation are not good for the soul. But are they good for the imagination?

Writers, like artists, spend most of their working time alone. They sit down and write, pulling wild and fanciful stories out of thin air. But these stories really come from their imagination and the imagination needs time by itself to work properly.

Some writers, myself included, will say that in order to write well they have to go out into the 'real' world to experience life and get ideas for their plotlines. But unless I am left alone to transfer these thoughts and ideas on to paper I simply cannot write well.

So, is isolation a necessary evil in order to write well or get things done? Even though writers complain of feeling lonely, do they need to accept that this is all part and parcel of the writing craft?

Tell me your experience of isolation and loneliness. Is it something you tend to suffer frequently or are you one of those people who can spend many happy weeks not seeing a soul?

How Writing Ties in with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

Like most people on this planet I need to be fulfilled. And I constantly seek out new and interesting ways to fill this desire. Until I find the things that make me whole I can't help but feel empty.

Now this isn't a romantic post; I'm far too cynical to write one of those. I'm not talking about finding your 'other half' in human form because I simply do not believe that to be the case. I believe we need a wide variety of people to fulfil our needs because expecting just one person to do that is highly unrealistic.

But separating what we want from what we need can sometimes be a very difficult thing to do. All people have wants and needs but not all of them know how to distinguish between the two.

According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, all people need oxygen, sleep, food, warmth, sex, liquid and shelter. These needs are on the baseline for human survival. It is only when we have all these needs fulfilled we can move on to the next level to have security of a job, family, health and somewhere to live.

And so the process goes on until people reach the top of Maslow's model. They pass things like friendship, esteem, achievements and respect from themselves and others. But it's only when they get to the top of this pyramid that Maslow has so carefully created can they say they have reached the final step of self - actualisation.

For me this is where I can tie in my writing as creativity is one factor that makes up this final stage. Personally, I believe that writing fulfils me the most as no matter where I am or what I'm doing I can never imagine myself not writing.

Defining what we want and what we need is difficult because everyone defines needs and wants in different ways. Some people tend to lean more on the materialistic side of life while others would rather be in love than have money.

For me the most important thing is to have my health and then to write. To me your health is everything. But after that I need to write.

So does writing fulfil you in the same way? Do you think you have to be in the self - actualisation stage in order to write? Please share your thoughts.

Why Writing Really is the Best Job in the World.

I thought I would do a fun post today after all the recent hard work I've done. It feels like I've had my nose to the grindstone practically all year, but hopefully soon I'll be able to say I've finished my third book.

Okay I'll admit it ... This post is really for my benefit. I thought I would type it to remind myself why writing really is the best job in the world ;)

Writing really is the best job in the world because you get to be your own boss. You get to sit around in your pyjamas all day, preferably in bed, writing scenes that you've just made up in your head. I often think that a lot of writers are nutty and they're doing their best trying to hide their madness. So they write what they think down on paper instead of constantly muttering their thoughts to themselves. This is infinitely better than being sectioned in a psychiatric unit, believe me. And I can say this because I have three years' experience working in one! If you're a writer then someday you may get rich. Only then may you have a nervous breakdown worrying where to stash all your money!

Writing really is the best job in the world because you get to miss out on all the 'Office Politics.' This is what one of my dear friends refers to as bitchy back stabbing in the work place. And I couldn't agree with her more. If you work with other people - as most jobs are like that and it's not something you can easily avoid - you have to put up with the 'Office Politics.' No matter where you go and who you work for this is a very common problem within the workplace.

Writing really is the best job in the world because it's totally flexible. As long as you write every day you can pretty much do whatever else you want to as well. If a friend wants to meet me for a coffee I'll go and meet them for a coffee. I'll just spend the time beforehand writing.

Writing really is the best job in the world because you have permission to daydream. And I can spend the majority of the day doing this as well! There's nothing better than to close your eyes and imagine some faraway place with some ravishing hunk to whisk you off on a night of passion.

Writing really is the best job in the world because you get to go on television and radio shows advertising your latest book. You also have an excuse to be on sites like Facebook and say you're 'working.'

And finally writing really is the best job in the world because you get to sell your books on a global scale and receive the occasional piece of fan mail raving about your latest book and asking when your next one is due out.

So, what's your favourite reason why writing is the best job in the world?

Is Your Novel Veering Off Course?

I've nearly completed the first draft of my first fiction novel. Regular followers of my blog know that although this may be my first fictitious work, it is certainly by no means my first book.

Writing is a great hobby, but it takes a lot of time, devotion and good editing to produce a quality manuscript. When I first started writing my third book, I thought writing my previous two had taught me a lot of valuable information. And to an extent this was correct but there's a big difference between writing non fiction and fiction.

To write an outstanding fiction book that everyone wants to buy and read you must have an interesting plotline, great characters and structure with several smaller subplots.

The hardest part of writing that I've personally found is linking plotlines together to make an interesting read, without giving away too much too soon.

Now that I've nearly completed my book, I have thought of a easy trick to make sure my theme stays constant. It's very easy to lose track of what your book is supposed to be about when you've typed 40,000 words, and the word count is all you can think about. I talk to many writers who have started a book with one particular theme or message only to end it on a completely different tone. And I suppose that's the danger when you have 70,000 words or more to write. Keeping your message constant can sometimes be a very hard thing to do.

So before you start a writing session make sure you re-read the previous couple of pages. Try to sum up your book's message in one sentence. And keep on doing that even when you're sure your theme is strong, as you don't want to end up with your novel's message being a complete mystery.

Should there be a Time Limit when it comes to Writing a Book?

Yesterday I saw an interesting question posted in a writing group which I belong to. The person who posted it had a friend who worries that nine months is too long to spend writing a book, and that they're already a failure because it's taken that long to write it.

My initial reaction was to smile. After all, when I first started writing, it took me a whole year to get the book finished and my second book took roughly the same amount of time too. But I smiled because I could almost feel the writer's anxiety and that's exactly how I felt when I first started the writing journey.

Writing a novel seems an insurmountable task. It can take anything from a few weeks, a few months, or even years. In fact, one of my writer friends took a whole decade to write his first book. But now that book is finished and since then he's written several more.

In a world where everything is instant, anxiety can flare up when you want to write a book. No matter which universe you exist in producing a book can never be instant, and this is only a good thing.

But sometimes having some sort of deadline can be positive. It's no good if you think you can write a book in a year if you don't actually decide when that year is going to be.

So, how can you break down this task of writing a book into a more manageable accomplishment?
Well, that's easy. It's just like eating an elephant.

When I start out on a new project, I always like to brainstorm new ideas. This usually happens when I snatch a few minutes in between life's daily tasks. Then I take my ideas and write a brief outline. And I'll keep doing this until I feel I have enough ideas to start a chapter. A chapter usually takes about a week to write. I repeat this process over several months until I have completed the first draft of my manuscript.

But in between all this I always make sure I have enough time to reflect. Because reflection is one of the most important tools writers can have. Even when you're not actually writing your mind will still be processing the storyline. And this is usually the time when new ideas come to you, or you might want to alter the plotline slightly so it fits in with your new ideas. It's amazing how much 'writing' you do in your mind when you're not actually writing!

So think of your writing as being a nice big cake. It takes time to get the ingredients together, to make it and to cook. And none of those processes can be rushed.

Tell me how long it takes you to write a book. Can you write faster as the years go by or does producing a book always take a certain amount of time?

Character Development: How To Make Your Characters Real.

The other week I read a review for a book by an indie author which really got me thinking about this topic. I'm not going to reveal the identity of the writer because the review wasn't complimentary, but what the reader said happens to be a ubiquitous problem throughout the writing world. And this issue is character development ... or lack of it.

This problem is ubiquitous because characters are the life and soul of the party. They are the skeleton that holds the book together. And without them there will be no story to tell in the first place.

Some writers will argue that the essence of a good story is a cracking plotline. That may be true but only to an extent. What makes a cracking plotline are well defined characters with personalities that clash. It's no good if you have characters in your book who are bland with no obvious distinctions that separates them from everyone else. This might happen in real life with friendships - people have to have some common ground for them to get on. But if it happens in a book then it isn't always a good thing.

The review of this particular book complained of just that. They said that every character was the same sort of person. They ate and drank the same things, spoke with the same words and did the same actions. The only thing that separated them from each other was their name and gender.

To receive a review like that will send chills down any writer's spine. When you're writing you want your characters to come to life and be real people. You don't want to create some flat and boring character that everyone will remember for all the wrong reasons.

Now character development is so much more than the issues mentioned above. True development of any character is all about questions. Why do they do this, why do they do that? And this is so much easier to say than to actually do, believe me.

So this is why I am giving you access to a fabulous book by a fabulous editor (and writer!). My very own editor, Scott Morgan.

You can find him and the book at this link: http://www.write-hook.com/ and let him explain Character Development: From the Inside Out.

And if you struggle with your characters this is the perfect place to get guidance.

I hope you visit his website and find his advice helpful.