Excellent Writing Advice from Ernest Hemingway

 The writer of "A Farewell to Arms" and "The Old Man and the Sea," was a foul-mouthed, charmingly genuine man, with a love of the written word and grain alcohol. Never short on opinions, he contributed some of the best advice on writing I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the incorrigible Ernest Hemingway.

 

“The first draft of everything is shit.”

“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it.”

“Write drunk, edit sober.”

“There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges.”

“Prose is architecture, not interior decoration.”

“In order to write about life first you must live it.”

“Eschew the monumental. Shun the Epic. All the guys who can paint great big pictures can paint great small ones.”

“The most solid advice for a writer is this, I think: Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat, and when you sleep really to sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough.”

“It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.”

“I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket.”

Time to Throw in the Towel? Self-Publishing Success Stories

I bet you've heard of every single one of the following people! And I bet you had no idea that they started as self-published authors. 

Warning: Results not typical. Contact your doctor in you experience double vision, as this may be a sign of a more serious condition. Side effects may include obsessive writing, giddiness, frustration, and words not fit for print. 

John Grisham wrote his first novel, "A Time To Kill" in 1989. He received 28 rejection letter before self-publishing a mere 5,000 copies through a small private publisher. He was eventually picked up by Doubleday. After writing three more books ("The Firm," "The Pelican Brief" and "The Client"), Grisham sold Doubleday the rights to "A Time To Kill," and reissued it. Now his books are available in every grocery store, bookstore, and airport in the United States. According to Wikipedia, he has sold more than 275 million books worldwide! Not too shabby!

The innocent childhood favorite, "The Tales of Peter Rabbit," was rejected several times by publisher. But Beatrix Potter knew she had a great idea and wouldn’t give up. She self-published Peter Rabbit’s stories in 1901. Only a year later, one of the publishers who had initially rejected the manuscript published it (want to bet they were humble and apologetic?). They also published 22 more of her stories. Over two million Beatrix Potter books are sold every year. BAM! Pretty fantastic for bunnies and frogs dressed in waistcoats!

E.L. James (Erika Leonard) has sold more than 70 million copies of her "Fifty Shades" trilogy worldwide. She started out writing Twilight fan fiction (literally just felt you shudder. It’s ok. I understand) stories and posting them on her website. When she wrote "Fifty Shades of Grey," she self-published it through a small Australian publishing company. It was released it on eBook and print-on demand. After the world discovered that a bunch of middle aged women enjoy BDSM erotica, the rights were acquired by Vintage Books.

William P. Young’s self-published Christian fiction book, “The Shack,” became a USA Time Bestseller, selling over a million copies. Before it was successful however, it was rejected by both secular and Christian publishing companies. In fact, Young and his friends created their own publishing company for the sole purpose of publishing that book. Marketing, for the first year, was simply word of mouth and a $300 website they paid someone to put together for them. In 2008, the book’s popularity exploded, and spent 70+ weeks on the New York Times Paperback Best Seller’s List.

There are more out there. And, with social media being what it is, there are more success stories coming! Hang in there, friends! You could be next!

Did any of this surprise you? What other self-publishing success stories are out there?

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

An exciting novel based in a dystopian society where love, or amor deliria nervosa, has been declared a dangerous, deadly disease. No worries though; there’s a Cure, forced on individuals by the government when a person turns eighteen.  Not only will you never fall victim to love once this cure is administered, you also will never find yourself the proprietor of hate, terror, delight, or wonder.

Lena Haloway is looking forward to being cured. Her mom got infected, and it destroyed her family. She is determined that the same thing will never happen to her. Counting down to the day of her Cure, Lena could not be more prepared to be an adult. Then, she meets Alex, and before she even realizes it, amor deliria nervosa sets in.

This book is a high energy, thrilling book that not only captures the feeling of a first love, but also the terror of being caught. The stakes are high, the action is fast and gripping, and the characters are wonderfully appealing. I enjoyed this book so much that I bought the next two and binge-read (is that a term?) for two days until I finished the whole trilogy! I couldn’t even sleep last night, because the plot was still running through my head.

Absolutely excellent! The whole storyline was completely enthralling, and I highly recommend the book. Heck, I highly recommend the whole series!

Compelling: How do you write what people want to read? (part 2)

I recently read a book series where I pretty nearly hated the main character, I found her whiny, constantly doing the most ridiculous things while her life was a risk, irksome, and we had nothing in common whatsoever. She made the worst possible choice at every venture, and part of me wanted to jump into the pages and wallop her upside the head. Still, I read the entire trilogy. I can almost hear you asking, “Why in the world would you do that?!”

Because, my friends, the storyline was unique and wildly imaginative. Imagine a world where being overweight is illegal, possession of high calorie treats is a crime, and distribution of high calorie treats (in this case, cookies), is punishable by 6 months imprisonment in a re-education facility. Drop in an individual from the United States who is used to the freedom of eating what she wants when she wants and is used to getting away with some rebellious actions and BAM! I was useless for an entire Saturday, eating up the story (like that I stayed with the food theme there?).

All three books now reside on my Tablet, and I guarantee I’ll read them again. They were fun, different, and a great weekend read. In fact, if you’re interested, it’s the Parallel Trilogy by Christine Kersey, and the first book is called Gone.  If you pick them up, let me know what you think. 

A great story is essential. Even if you're not the best writer in the world, an original idea can cover a multitude of sins. 

You just KNOW there's a good story behind this one, even if you hate cops!

 Anyone else have this experience where you’re pulled into a great story, despite the characters?

Compelling: How do you write what people want to read? (part 1)

I love Sherlock Holmes. Detective stories have always fascinated me (thus my choice in career), but Sherlock Holmes has always intrigued me more than most.  Maybe because The Hound of the Baskervilles was the first book I ever remember bringing me to the edge of my seat.

I was in second grade. It must have been a children’s version of the story, because it’s somewhat of a difficult read for many adults, but I remember my heart pounding, my palms sweaty, my mind racing as this terrifying “dog from hell” raced up on Holmes and Watson. That day, I fell in love with both reading and mysteries.

Being able to make people not only suspend disbelief but want to, is a skill. Not everyone has it.  But how do you foster willful suspension of disbelief?

My favorite way is when you make me care about your character. Give me something in a character I can identify with, something I can understand, something that resonates with me, and you’ve hooked me. It’s why Holmes has Dr. Watson.  Holmes by himself is less than interesting; he’s an arrogant, hyper-intelligent man who has little use for the common man. But Dr. Watson is someone you can empathize with. He’s a fairly smart person (who we all believe ourselves to be) with a friend/coworker/roommate who routinely infers (or outright states) that he’s an idiot. Holmes is trying, frustrating, and, worst of all, agonizing correct. Together, they are compelling characters that draw me back again and again.

What are your tricks of the trade? How do you make me care about your character?