Monday, October 31, 2016

Scheduling Writing Time and Embracing Ideas




It is an interesting balance, finding the time and motivation to write horse stories.  The topic of horses is one I am ever passionate about.  Having the motivation to write a particular story however can be difficult at times!

I schedule time each week to work on one novel or other.  Recently I have finished and published B and B  and I still aim to bring out the sixth novel in the Free Rein series before year’s end.  That said, book 6 is being difficult!  I have half of the novel written and am struggling to continue with it.

Do you Schedule Writing Time?
In spite of this, I set myself a goal to write a chapter each week, knowing that sometimes I just need to sit and write.  When I do this, the ideas come and I get caught up in the story once again.  Writing takes real commitment at times.

Alongside working on this story, I started to toss around the idea of a series for young adults.  As I mulled it over for a week or two, I sat down to write one day and found the characters developing before my eyes.  In fact, in a 3 day period, I had written half of the first two novels in the series!

There are times when motivation strikes you and you just need to write.  Take advantage of the times when the words flow quicker than you can write – or type! – them.  Alongside this, be diligent in setting aside time to write each week so that your stories are progressing.  As a writer, it is important that you consistently invest time in your art, even when you don’t find motivation knocking on your door.  Find a balance between making use of ideas when they come to you and writing because you know your story needs to be written.

If you’re a writer, what story have you most struggled to complete?  How did you get around this?

Monday, October 3, 2016

Pay it Forward

by Christine

As an equine author, do you invest time in helping other authors? Or is your sole focus to get the word out about your books so that you can (hopefully) make sales?

I have Loved Reading the Pony Jumpers books by Kate Lattey Recently!
Pay it Forward: I have Loved Reading
the Pony Jumpers books by Kate Lattey Recently!
In whatever industry you’re in, it is beneficial to look out for the success of others. We should each make it a priority to promote others’ work that we have enjoyed or help to spread the word about a new release. It isn’t difficult to do and chances are, these authors will be so appreciative, they’ll return the favour.

Amongst your busy schedule, set aside some time to help promote other authors. Perhaps you can provide them with a review once you’ve finished a book that you really enjoyed. Or maybe you can help share a link of a new release. Or perhaps you can provide them with an encouraging comment on their personal blog.

For those who are so inclined, you could even create a section on your blog to help promote other equine authors. Whether you make up questions for an author interview or you post excerpts from new releases, this can be a great way to generate some extra content for your blog that doesn’t take you a lot of writing time.

It doesn’t take a lot of time to help someone else in their endeavours to be a successful equine author. As you do so, hopefully they’ll be inclined to return the favour. Either way, it is worth setting aside a little time each week or month to encourage others.