Today I’m featuring Vanessa Finaughty, a prolific South African author of 15 books with the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen (and I should know – I, too, am blue-eyed!).
She’s written a guest post for us, with five tips for new writers. Enjoy, and don’t forget to check out her amazing giveaway, featuring a number of free downloads for six books, penned by her, Michelle Louring, Alianne Donnelly and Simon Ludgate!
5 Tips for New Writers
Guest post by Vanessa Finaughty
1: Write what you know or be prepared to spend hours doing research.
Even if you’re writing fiction, your story needs to be believable, and it won’t be if you get your facts wrong. How much research you need to do depends on how much you already know about the topic – anything you aren’t 100% clear on needs to be researched.
2: If you aren’t enjoying writing something, stop!
If you don’t enjoy writing it, others won’t enjoy reading it.
3: Read your work out loud.
If the sentences don’t feel or sound natural when spoken, they will be difficult to read and comprehend. In these times of audio books, it’s a good idea to ensure the words ‘flow off the page’.
4: Make sure your story has an overall theme and that it’s engaging.
The overall theme is the underlying thing that drives your story. Without it, there would be no story. If the theme is boring, the story will be boring, so make sure it’s something readers can relate to and will be interested in. For example, the theme for my Legends of Origin series is the main character’s obsession with finding his creator. Most people would like to have answers to life, the universe and everything, so the theme is one of common interest, even if the genre, ideas, theories and ideologies aren’t.
5: Say what you mean.
Many authors seem to think they have to write in a different manner to the way most people speak. The opposite is true. Writing flows smoother and is easier to follow when the author has written as if he or she is speaking to you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to use a conversational writing style. It means that, when you describe something, you should describe it in the simplest way possible, rather than using long-winded words and descriptions that often end up making no sense or giving the reader the wrong visual – or no visual at all.
Author biography
Vanessa Finaughty is an author of many genres who now focuses on fantasy and science fiction. She’s published 15 books, of which 6 are fantasy. Vanessa grew up in Cape Town, South Africa, and still lives there with her husband of fifteen years, her baby daughter and plenty of furry, four-legged ‘children’.
Vanessa has always been passionate about books, and knew from a young age that she wanted to write them one day. She loves animals, coffee and the smell of wet grass, and hates liars, sweltering weather and long queues. Her interests include reading, photography, the supernatural, mythology, aliens and outer space, ancient history, life’s mysteries and martial arts, of which she has five years’ experience.
Links
- Blog tour for Wizard of Ends
- Author website
- Author blog
- Goodreads
- Book trailer
- Smashwords
- iBooks
- Barnes & Noble
The Wizard of Ends Books
Wizard of Ends, Book 1
A powerful sorceress wants the Queen of Ends dead, hoping her demise will render the king unable to defend his crown. Only the wizard Lashlor Leaflin is in a position to protect Queen Narraki Dragonsbane, but he avoids using magic – at almost any cost.
With creatures of darkness hunting the queen, however, he may be left with little choice but to call on the power he holds within.
Buy Wizard of Ends, Book 1 on Shashwords!
Wizard of Ends, Book 2
The Queen of Ends has been cursed into a rabid creature of darkness. Only Lashlor’s old flame, Rune Arcana, might be able to remove the curse. Lashlor believes he can find Rune in the Mountains of Eclador. The only trouble is – Rune now despises him, and, in all of recorded history, no one has ever returned from these mountains.
Fearing the Wizard of Ends will not be able to bring help, the king goes against Lashlor’s advice by enlisting the aid of other magic users.
Buy Wizard of Ends, Book 2: Dark Creature on Shashwords!
Giveaway & Discount Dates
All coupons below offer a 100% discount, so what are you waiting for?
11 – 13 October
Smashwords coupon code for Dragon Kin & other fantasy stories : ZU52B
16 October
Smashwords coupon code for Sorcery & Subterfuge : HA38K
18 – 20 October
Smashwords coupon code for The Angel’s Voice, Books 1 & 2 by Michelle Louring: FH27E (Book 1), EN84L (Book 2)
21 October
Smashwords coupon code for Royal Wizard by Alianne Donnelly : XV26R
24 October
Smashwords coupon code for Legends of Origin, Books 1 – 3 : BP37Q (Book 2), YC54A (Book 3). Book 1 is permanently free.
27 October
Smashwords coupon code for The Accidental Wizard by Simon Ludgate: FM47Z
Thanks for sharing…very helpful tips!
Thanks and welcome! You have some lovely gift ideas on your blog – and some excellent recipes. 🙂
Thank you…I appreciate your feedback
All good tips and bears to keep in mind at all times 😀
Thanks for the kind – as always – comment! 🙂
Great tips. For what it’s worth, I tend to find that if I apply Thing 2, Thing 4 takes care of itself.
Cheers
Mary
Quite frankly, I think that #2 is the cornerstone of everything else! 🙂
Well said!
There we go. 😉
I’ve never thought about it like that before, but, now that you mention it, it works the same for me.
Like Nick says, probably for all of us. 😉
Very helpful information. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m happy to hear you found it helpful. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Nicholas, I didn’t buy the stock image – I downloaded it ‘free royalty-free’ from Pixabay. From that perspective, it’s legal, but then again, I’m sure people put up pics they shouldn’t, which has always worried me since I’m not an illustrator and am forced to use those images if I want nice covers. I need to make friends with an illustrator :p
You can always check with a lawyer, but my understanding is that if anyone asks, you’ll just refer them to Pixabay. If Pixabay claims it’s royalty-free, then it’s not something you need worry about. Besides, you’re in SA, right? A long way from Greece… 🙂
That’s what I figured – if the site says it’s free, I’m safe. Still, I sometimes worry ‘just in case’. Then again, I’m your typical Type A personality – if there isn’t something real to stress about, I will find something :p I’m in SA, yes 🙂
I know what you mean, Electra’s just like that! 😀
These tips are gold! Even for writers that consider them a given, these are staples we should be reminded of time and again. Thanks for the giveaway tips as well!
An interesting observation: the cover of Wizard of Ends features our own Kostas Martakis, a Greek ultra-handsome pop singer, whose face graces many (mainly romance) covers. I’ve always wondered if the guy knows that… 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed the post; thanks for commenting 🙂
Oh no! I’d hoped the photo model would be unrecognisable after the changes! I wonder if that’s a big deal or not, especially since other authors use his face too? I did obtain the stock image legally, so it’s okay from that perspective, but I’m wondering if it’s a good idea to use famous faces on covers without their knowledge?
It sounds like this guy has done some modelling in the past. Since you bought the stock images, I can’t imagine there being any problem with that. 🙂
PS: And yes, he IS goregous!
Thanks for hosting me today, Nicholas. I hope these tips help some aspiring writers.
If you think my eye are blue, you should see my daughter’s eyes! Hers are three shades of blue too.
She sounds absolutely beautiful 🙂
It was great having you over. Be sure to visit again in the next few days, as I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will have comments 🙂
She is 🙂 I don’t know if all parents experience this, but every time we go out with her someone stops us to tell us how gorgeous or friendly she is – it’s pretty cool when I consider that ‘hey, I made her’!
I’ve ticked the ‘notify me of new comments’ option, so I’ll definitely pop back on to reply to any new comments. I also noticed you have some interesting posts for writers, so I’ll be browsing those too as I have time 🙂
Being new to the blogging world, I have big ideas as do most! One of them is a holiday collection of short stories, gift ideas and recipes. I was in a big hurry to get things out for this holiday and it finally hit me that I love my “idea” and do not want to rush the process. I also decided to throw some of it onto my blog for feedback so that I can see what other people really think of it and where I need to “fix” things as a starting ground. As I read it back, I saw holes and inconsistencies that I needed to mend – I appreciate your tips, they are things that I needed. Even though the blog sharing of my story does not have to be the final version, I do want it to represent my plan. Thanks!
Like you, I aimed at releasing Pearseus: Vigil (working title of book 4) at Christmas. I now doubt that will be possible, but I’d rather release a better book in February than a half-baked one in December.
Yes, it was a bit of a disappointment because I had been enjoying my little pet project and did not want to wait, but if it can at all be what I want it to be, then that is what I want it to look like. I have patience problems!!