What surprised me
4th June 2017 | for Creatives | reading, characters, artist integrity, language, the successful artist, reaching your audience, writer-reader relationship, storytelling, Debra Spark |
"What surprised me in my most recent reading? Original subject matter, plot twists, character quirks, anomalous moments, unusual descriptive language, curious observations, sudden shifts in focus, psychological and emotional truth, the handling of time, and formal changes in approach."
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What is success in the 21st century
What is success in the 21st century? It's novels that invent their own unique form, spring from a personal place, enact a passionate intent, and prove it by reaching a broad readership. It's both great reviews and great sales. It's moving hearts and changing minds. It's winning accolades and winning the devotion of readers. It's finding a way through your fiction to convey what you alone see, yet we all come to accept as the truth.
the stories you want to write
"Just write the stories you want to write. If you are writing about authentic characters, we (agents, then editors, then readers) will care."
The biggest seller of books is still word of mouth
"I'm inspired when I literally can't put a book down. I'll leave the dishes in the sink. I'll bore friends and family talking about people they don't know and situations they've never read. In short, I'm pitching to everyone around me. If a book connects with me to that extent, it will connect with others. The biggest seller of books is still word of mouth, and the most successful books are those people can't stop talkinga about, agents included."
the more universal you become
"A lot of people tell me their stories because they think they know mine, and in a way, it's very gratifying. The more inward you become, the more universal you become."