Image credit: Daniel Ogren on flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/27077452@N04/4513125422). Reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
I think that most writers admire J.K. Rowling. We’ve heard how she spent hours writing her books in an Edinburgh café (I vote for Nicholson’s, but Edinburgh café owners seem entangled in a heated debate regarding which one she actually preferred, and I have heard a number of possible options, never quite sure as to which one is the true one. Could it be she frequented more than one??). We know how her manuscripts were declined by an astounding number of publishers (something that most writers experience), how she was broke but still wrote and how eventually she managed to turn things around for herself. The rest is history, and I guess that most authors, whether self-published or trad-pub, pray night and day that they will have her good fortune (I know I do).
Therefore, it comes as no surprise that anything she suggests in terms of writing tips, this time on E-books India, is taken pretty seriously. As you know, I am not one to follow rules but I think that in this case, she makes some good points:
- Write strategically: don’t advertise or disclose details that are tell-tale regarding the rest of the plot. Make your story mysterious, leave tips but do not reveal how you are planning to end the book. Especially if you are writing a series of books, you really want your readers to be anxious to see what happens next, so telling them the plot from the first book misses the point. Yesterday night, a very good friend called me and said –after having read books 1 and 2 of my series- that I was despicable for killing a hero (whom I had not killed, but my friend assumed I had) and that he hadn’t slept all night, wondering what happens next? Naturally, I felt very proud of myself and offered to send him book 3 so that he could read the next installment – and let his wife-to-be sleep (we’re going to his wedding on Thursday).
- Make you characters flawed: we all like to read about people that are amazing – but not too much so. We still need to be able to relate to them, even if we find them incredible. Part of our relation to them includes their flaws. Characters cannot be perfect because they are unrealistic. I think there is an important balance to be maintained, with a realistic character that borders on the boring on one end and a character that is absolutely astounding, but practically impossible to identify with on the other. So, make your characters interesting, stimulating, capable of doing admirable things, but also flawed. Characters with a twist!
- Background characters have to remain in the background: choose which characters are vital to the story and develop their background – as long as it’s relevant to the story. Writing pages upon pages of background stories about secondary characters will exhaust most readers, especially if they don’t see the significance to the general plot. I know that my previous post was about how long books sell better than shorter ones, but let’s not abuse this
ruleguideline!
- Be fearless: Let’s face it: if we write about what we know, we will write about ourselves. And most of us are common, normal, boring, ordinary characters. The trick is to use our imagination to give this conventional character the wings to fly with. Have them do something incredible without making this act appear out of place. Complexity being part of our life, two-dimensional characters are uninteresting. Three-dimensional ones are the ones people like to read about.
- Write for yourself. I know that you have probably heard this one about a thousand times and are raising your eyebrows going, “oh, not again!”, but it’s true. If you write for yourself, readers will see the authenticity of your writing and will love it. If it has worked for J. K. Rowling, I guess that it’s bound to work for other people too. Hence, write about what you feel comfortable with. For example, I would probably be lousy at romance or historic novels, as I’m not comfortable with the genres. I would probably be better at mystery, but I love writing children’s stories and fantasy/sci-fi. Having defined the writing area within which I feel secure and confident, writing anything else would appear false and pretend. Therefore, I plan to follow J.K. Rowling’s tip on that one – at least for now!
As always, I welcome your feedback and will include it in updated versions of this post!
Very interesting reading and good advice.
Thank you, Marian! She’s quite something, isn’t she? 🙂
These are great tips! I have so much respect for Rowling. Her writing journey inspires my own.
Indeed, she’s a great inspiration to us all 🙂
Reblogged this on Bojenn and commented:
Love this!
I don’t believe Rowling wrote those tips. While they do sound good anyone who writes science fiction or fantasy will NEVER refer to the genre they write as “fantasy/sci-fi”. I don’t care if you like writing fantasy and science fiction (which I do, sci-fi more though), you will never say “I write and enjoy writing fantasy/sci-fi.”
Book stores may lump the two genres together and tell the prospective reader the two genres are identical, but anyone who writes the genres will argue and tell you precisely why the two genres are not the same and are not interchangeable as the term “fantasy/sci-fi” suggests.
While good tips, it was likely her publicist that wrote the response.
Thanks for the comment and welcome. 🙂 A fair point and a plausible guess as to who actually wrote them.
Indeed, Electra, my wife, often acts like my publicist and comments on my behalf on Facebook (seriously, no one has wondered why cute animal photos take over my timeline every now and then??)
As to the separation of the two genres, personally I agree with you, but it’s all subjective in my mind. The list can be as limited or as expansive as one wants. For example, I’ve heard some pretty convinving arguments as to why urban fantasy should not be lumped together with high fantasy, and steampunk is a genre of its own. Many author friends who write cross-genre books find it hard to pigeonhole their work into a single category. I, too, have a hard time with Pearseus, ending up describing it as epic fantasy with sci-fi elements. This, however, ignores the many paranormal elements. Oh well…
You got some good points but even you won’t say a book you wrote with fantasy and sci-fi elements is ‘fantasy/sci-fi’.
I guess I just get annoyed that my upcoming book will be lumped in with fantasy even though it’s not fantasy in the slightest.
Lol – I hear you! What is it about? Link, please! 🙂
It’s a science fiction book. Androids. Android Hunters. Crime Syndicates. Cybernetic viruses. And an android designed as a unique weapon that doesn’t know she’s a weapon.
https://wp.me/p2PRdV-5p
Thanks! Yes, prime fantasy material alright… 😀
What subject or genre would be the best to write on now, today ten months into 2014?
Hi and welcome! 🙂
Depends on what you mean by best. My personal advice is, “the one that most appeals to you”. If, however, you’re wondering which is the most popular, an easy way to find out is by checking out ad prices for Bookbub: popular genres have more expensive ads.
Hope this helps!
Enjoyed the Rawlings tips. Her remarks about being fearless hit home. I was happy to see that my writing has been pretty much governed by her suggestions, so hope I can find a publisher and readers who can relate.
I wish you every success with that! Also, if you tire of waiting for a publisher to pick it up, you may want to consider self-publishing. 🙂
Thank you…I like this:)
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
You’ve given me a lot of food for thought. Thank you once again. Susanne
Good post, Nicholas, and tips from the master of children’s fantasy. I have read both of her books after Harry Potter. They were good but not as great as her children’s books. She may be right – writing about what you love.
Her children’s books are creative and imaginative and loved by many. Hope she writes more fantasy for the YA and children.
Hear hear! 🙂
Shared. Many thanks.
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Reblogged this on Reece Evhans and commented:
This is a great post. Thanks, Nicholas!
Excellent advice! Thanks for sharing Nicholas. I especially like the first two points. When a reader comments that my story had “a lot of surprises,” then it tells me that I strategized well and didn’t give too much away. Also, I’m a big fan of “believable” characters, which means they have weaknesses and flaws. Main characters that “always win” or “always get the girl” are boring to me. Good luck with all your writing!
Welcome and thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
A fellow lover of flawed characters – excellent. I am reminded of the following beautiful Zen story:
A young monk spends all day racking the yard. When he’s finally done collecting all leaves, he approaches the old master to ask what he thinks of the spotless garden.
“Very nice,” the old man says, “but there’s one thing missing.” He then shakes the trees vigorously, watching the leaves cover the yard once again. “Now it’s perfect!”
I just started her book, ‘The Casual Vacancy,’ and I think I’ll keep her comments in mind as I read the book. Thanks, Nicholas!
I have read conflicting things about it. Do let us know how you like it! 🙂
Nicholas how interesting to read about J.K. Rowling’s writing tips. She definitely hit the jackpot in the writer’s world. So anything she has to say is worth listening to. I may venture into fiction writing one day and can appreciate this topic. Thanks for sharing.
A pleasure, thanks for commenting! 🙂
Great tips, but I think I disagree a bit with the background characters. At least in a series, you can have an opportunity to flush out a secondary in a way that affects the main characters. It might be a minor or long-running subplot, but it can influence the behavior and evolution of everyone involved. This isn’t really connected to the main plot, but it can be important.
I guess this brings up the question on if readers are interested in character development or only the main story.
I know what you mean. I’m often troubled when people ask me “who’s the lead in Pearseus?” I have written in the style of Song of Fire and Ice, with many characters intersecting each other at various junctions. We get to hear from all their points of view, and although some get more “screen time”, the leads in one book are different from those in the next ones. I enjoy this, as it allows me to develop many characters, but some readers complain, “why didn’t get more of Sol in book 3?” (the answer is, “wait until book 4).
That’s the beauty of writing a series – it gives you the space you need to develop everyone, even secondary characters!
I slowly added characters into the series, so I get some confusion when the first guy is overshadowed. Especially by the female characters. Love your answer to a ‘missing’ character.
Readers can be quite impatient, I’ve noticed. Also, I’m fascinated by the different things people complain about (such as missing characters).
Incidentally, my usual answer to the question, “why do we see so little of character X in book Y” is, “because I didn’t want to make book Y 1,000 pages long…” 😀
Some people go out of their way to find a problem with a story. I occasionally see reviews where the person makes it obvious that they were determined to hate the book.
Reblogged this on International Book Promotion and commented:
Writing Tips by J.K. Rowling
Good tips. I write the kinds of books I would like to read and I can’t really write anything else. I would earn more but, as you say it wouldn’t be genuine. I hope I can write a novel about real life someday. They certainly sell better…. 🙂 also like the be fearless tip. I like to pimp reality because it’s boring. But being fearless is a much better way to put that.
Cheers
MTM
“Be fearless” better than “pimp reality”?? Nah… 😀
Reblogged this on New Author -Carole Parkes and commented:
Nicholas C. Rossis passes on tips from J.K. Rowling.