Top 10 Posts From 2024
It's always enlightening to visit past posts. Sometimes it's difficult to predict which posts will resonate with readers while others are a success right out of the gate. Either way, I'm happy to help even a few aspiring authors or writers with tips, info, and inspiration.
Wordy Tips & Tidings garners new followers every day. Many have probably not read some of the posts being honored today. If there's a post that's an encore presentation for anyone, you may want to take a gander at it again. Sometimes info is missed the first time around. Click the blue links to read the articles.
The countdown begins with:
Author newsletters serve an important purpose. Both established and aspiring authors can promote themselves and their books, and also mentor others in the process. Through a newsletter, an author can nurture relationships with their fan base and target audience. Aspiring authors can build an audience which will help to sell their book even before publication. Excerpts from the author’s book or the aspiring author’s WIP can be spotlighted in each edition to spark interest. As the release date nears, readers will be hooked and if they haven’t secured a pre-purchase already, they’ll probably lean toward a purchase.
Are you on board? Terrific! Good luck and have fun building your newsletter!
Not convinced? No worries! Mull it over and do what’s best for you and your brand!
Congrats!
Your manuscript is complete, and you’ve mustered the guts to query agents and publishers. Woohoo! Cue the fireworks and breathe! Believe it or not, drafting the story is the easy and fun part, getting your baby published is the hard part. Waiting to hear back from agents can be excruciating; use that time wisely.
Chillax and read!
Read that book that’s been on your mind.
Write, edit, repeat!
Continue to polish and edit your manuscript.
What fresh hell is this?!
Though some agents may not ask for a synopsis, many do, so if you haven’t drafted one yet buckle down and grab the nitty-gritties by clicking the synopsis link.
Catch an agent!
Hunt down more agents while your wait.
Shift the focus!
If you haven’t done it already, hit up some alpha and beta readers to peruse your manuscript.
Pivot to something new!
Many writers have a plethora of ideas swirling around in their heads. Create an outline for a new book, write a novella or other narrative, draft a short story, compile a book of poems, or get right to it and let your fingers do the typing.
Take a U-turn!
The traditional publishing route is challenging, and it can take years to land an agent. If the waiting game is taking too long, look into self-publishing or hybrid publishing.
Booyah! You go, aspiring author!
With a sea of online platforms on the Internet to support, help, and promote authors and writers, it’s a wild and crazy challenge to choose which one or more than one is the best bet for success. Authors and writers differ in their affinity for one over the other. Some declare their secret weapon for success is not using any social media while others create content, have an online presence, and market their books and themselves on multiple platforms, hoping for likes, hearts, comments, and followers.
Every platform has both benefits and pitfalls. Read more about each of the platforms listed below. Follow Wordy on Facebook and Instagram.
Bookstagram on Instagram
Medium
Goodreads
YouTube
TikTok
X – Formerly Known as Twitter
Substack
You decide which formats are worth your time and energy.
#7 IT'S A TIE:
Meet:
Meet:
Christmas Pieces – 24 Historical Fiction Short Stories Surrounding Christmas is a compilation of stories that take place across America and offers the reader a view of various ethnic cultures and how they celebrate Christmas.
Harmony Bay is an adventurous slice of waterfront life where mystery surrounds history. A sweet story with likeable characters. If you're looking for a pleasant read about a single mom and her son discovering the charm of a small town, mixed with bits of history, romance and adventure, this one's for you!
Wordy has authored an article on vision boards and boxes which are basically creations made to inspire and substantiate future goals.
Aspiring authors and writers in general go through a myriad of emotions while drafting a WIP. Mood boards work exceptionally well when one is stuck in a writing rut. When ideas aren’t flowing naturally or a bad mood takes hold, combat the dilemma with a mood board about how you’re feeling. Get it all out by throwing it down on your board, then breathe a sigh of relief and get cracking on your work. One cannot write from an empty cup of ideas. Fill your board with enough pics and props to satisfy whatever mood you're in, then take inspired action toward your writing goals.
There's No Wrong Or Right Way To Make A Mood Board.
Make It Digital/ Contemporary Or Physical/ Traditional
Assign An Adjective To Your Mood
Gather Your Props – Physical or Digital
Design Your Mood Board
Display Your Mood Board
Expand This Process With:
A Character Mood Board
A Setting Mood Board
Plot Mood Board
Sensory Details Mood Board
Get in the mood and rock that visual presentation! Help make your dream reality!
People from all walks of life who are crazy about books can celebrate their love of tomes, have fun, and make new friends by joining a book club. Nothing gets my writing buddy, blogger aficionado, and friend, Lisa Bernard, percolating like her book club does.
Be prepared to get your groove on, my darlings. Book clubs are out there for every genre and literary topic imaginable and they exist from pole to pole. The sky's the limit; there are book clubs for students, children, women, cookbook fans, celebrity fanatics, poets, and yippee-ki-yay, even western book lovers, etc. They are virtual or up close and personal. They take place in homes, libraries, book stores, on Zoom, and other online platforms.
Book clubs afford aspiring authors an incredible opportunity to connect with others who may be on the same writing journey. Breaking down a book, especially if it's in the aspiring author’s genre, by plot, characters, dialogue, and premise can greatly benefit a new author and provide some aha moments.
Book clubs can be a great equalizer for indie authors, debut authors, and other undervalued authors.
If you’re on the prowl for a first-rate book club that jives with your literary craving, hit up the internet for options or give your local library a buzz to see what they have cooking.
The Article At Wordy Breaks It All Down.
#4 Meet:
Dreamwalker Liv Bane took her son and daughter and disappeared into the dead of night. For seventeen years, they’ve been on the run, hiding in plain sight and doing their best to blend in with the skins who live in the towns they stay in. Once upon a time, Liv loved a boy and he loved her back. A shadow just out of reach, she can never seem to remember the face of the boy who once held her heart. Convinced that memories have been stolen from her, Liv is determined to uncover the truth of her past and destroy the nightmare her future has in store for her. With the ability to wield life-altering power, Liv must decide if love is worth the price of remembering. As the truth unfolds, Liv and her children, Revna and Falkon, are forced to take a strong look at their nature and determine which light they must walk in. For a dreamwalker, it’s a fine line to tread between being a dream or a living nightmare.
#3 Meet:
In book one, Kentree’s Stolen Souls, twenty-eight-year-old Eliza Paladin discovers she’s a witch with the power to manipulate the elements. She and her talking cat, Pal, are invited to study witchcraft at Kentree Institute of Magic. As exciting as that is, Eliza struggles to master her studies, while a dark force threatens to take away the very magic which has given her life meaning. As she moves into her second year in book two, Kentree’s Haunted Halls, Eliza must discover what the witching world has been hiding.
Kentree’s Wicked Witch picks up exactly where Kentree’s Haunted Halls left off. Eliza’s explosive outburst has put the entire witching community at risk, threatening to expose them, and has resulted in her losing the home she fought so hard to build.
When she meets a coven of hopeful witches, Eliza makes the rash decision to recruit them; risking her place at Kentree Institute of Magic in favour of her pursuit of ambition.
So, what the heck is imposter syndrome? It has nothing to do with wearing a physical mask or costume and posing as someone else. It’s about wearing an invisible psychological mask. This is a condition that leaves a person feeling anxious and doubtful of their talents, even though they are accomplishing their goals and achieving success. People who suffer from these feelings, and let’s face it, there are many authors who have felt this way at one time or another, often find themselves feeling like a phony who will one day be found out for the fraud they believe they are. Ugh! That sounds awful. Imagine the internal struggle, the back and forth, the fear that at any moment someone will pull off their unseen disguise and out them to the world.
Well, here’s a real truth bomb heading your way. If you write, you’re a writer. Plain and simple. End of story. Stop doubting yourself.
Still not convinced you're good enough? What can you do to combat these feelings of doom and gloom and possible subsequent road blocks to success like writer’s block, writing from an empty cup of ideas, procrastination, rejection, excessive editing, and wanting to give up?
Flip The Script!
Fake It 'Till You Make It!
Project The Best Of You!
Take Breaks!
Write To The Best Of Your Ability!
Celebrate Your Accomplishments!
Mentor Others!
Remember, You're Growing As A Writer. You're Not An Imposter!
Dig Into The Details at Imposter Syndrome
The #1 post from 2024 and every other year, is still shocking to me. As I said in the beginning of this article, one never knows which article will resonate with readers and why. This article has had thousands of views from all over the world, spanning five continents and over 40 countries. Readers flock to it every day.
Ta-da!
There are so many ways to describe characters. The most obvious is appearance. What do they look like? Are their eyes almond shaped, or set far apart? What are they wearing? Do they always wear a headband or baseball cap? What are they doing? What traits do they display? Under the umbrella of appearance is a category known as body type or shape.
Your job as an author is to help readers visualize your characters as they read. Authors must avoid cliché body-shape descriptions and make their characters stand out. Don’t just make a descriptive list, that’s boring. Instead, take a distinguishing feature a step further. The way body shapes are portrayed, like having narrowed hips, rounded shoulders, or muscular thighs, broadens a reader’s vision of the character.
Think outside the body type box. How about comparing your character’s body type to an animal, inanimate object, mythical creature, even a tree.
After you’ve established a character’s body type, add further description.
Jack was built like a pot-bellied pig. One of the buttons on his dress shirt popped, revealing an enlarged hairy paunch.
There's so much more.
Click The Link Above To Get The 411 On Body Types!
***Stay tuned for new articles in 2025
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