Read ‘weird’ as ‘unique’–the type of trait that grabs a readers’ attention. I’m

constantly looking for these so the characters in my novels are memorable, and the reader is excited to have them return to the plot line.

Everything on the list below I got from real people. You will be amazed!

• eats M&Ms or Skittles by color
• can’t use a pen without a top
• can’t clean his/her house unless it’s dark out

It’s not like anyone ever has to twist my arm to get me to read. In fact, left to my own devices, I’d probably spend at least a few hours each day with my nose in a book. However, Real Life doesn’t always easily accommodate large blocks of reading time. There is almost always something more pressing that needs doing – something that seems more important – and so reading can fall off the radar.

But, reading is critical for writers. Mandatory. Non-negotiable.

You’ve heard the advice a million times: If you want to write, read. It makes sense, you suppose; but have you ever wondered why it makes sense – why reading is such an important part of becoming a writer?

When you read, it’s like taking an immersion class in the language of story and literature. And like any immersion class, the more you expose yourself to that…

Very.

I agonize over the first paragraph more than any part of a story. Sometimes I rewrite it a dozen times and often making it worse before I make it better. 

So how do you start that story?

By grabbing the reader.

With a whisper and a promise. With fear or joy. You dangle temptation, and offer redemption. The trick is to not start out too big or too fast. It’s like catching a great white shark or blowing up the planet, too much momentum can leave the reader with nowhere to climb. Often a sense of let down or exhaustion hits midway through the book. 

I once read that the writer needs to give the reader a reason to suspend their disbelief and they will gladly go along for the ride. No matter how far-fetched the story all they need is a reason and they will keep reading.

That reason could be a killer opening…

Two articles by the same author, both well worth a read…they polarised opinion when first published.

The first was found via Wendy at  No Wasted Ink‘s weekly writing links:

Please shut up: Why self-promotion as an author doesn’t work.

The second gives the other side of the eternal argument…

WAIT, KEEP TALKING: Author Self-Promotion That Actually Works

Both articles are from Delilah S. Dawson aka Lila Bowen.

Using lay versus lie has come up quite a bit, so here’s a re-do of my 2013 post on these tricky words.

Lay is an active verb. A person picks up a book and lays it on a chair. A chicken lays an egg. (The person and chicken are active.)

Lie is a still verb. People lie on beds. Cats lie on people. Fleas lie on cats. (The people, cats, and fleas are still.)

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Lay: to place or set something