Advice

Let’s Write A Shapeshifter Romance!

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Spooky season is upon us! And if you prefer a little growl with your romance, then get to writing! While animal instincts and natural raw behaviors may not be what you want in your real-life partner – doesn’t mean you can’t can’t write about them!

When writing in this specific category of paranormal romance here are a few guidelines to go off of:

Dive deeper into the sensory realm – readers want to embrace the wild side!

Do your research! – what paranormal animals do you want to use, and what special abilities do they have amongst others?

Purpose of shapeshifting – do you want them to be stronger, can they blend into the environment?

How will the character be different in human form? – What traits will make them stand out?

Story line, story line, story line! – It is very important to identify the origin story! How were the shifters created? Who was the first one? How do they reproduce? Etc. 

When thinking about a shapeshifter romance most people strictly think werewolves (shoutout to Twilight). However, there are other shapeshifters you can base your character off of, many countries have their own version of a shapeshifter. For example:

Canada : Bear Walker is from First Nations folklore of that area. It’s an evil sorcerer who walks around in the form of a bear.

Haiti : loup-garou can change into anything, both plant and animal.

Ireland & Scotland : The selkies are seals that take off their skins to become human. Dark-haired Celts may have their genealogy explained via the selkies. Selkies are helpful creatures who watch over fishermen.

Portugal : The bruxsa or cucubuth is a vampire-werewolf that consumes both flesh and blood. 

And there’s so many more! Writing is work! Especially when building a complex and dynamic world. But you can do it, don’t be afraid to put your mind to the test! Do some research and have fun. 

Happy Writing!

Sources:

List of Shapeshifters from Around the World

What To Do When You Stop Writing

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You haven’t been motivated to write lately…so what do you do? Take a little break and spend more time on yourself or find ways to bring back the motivation? There is no wrong answer here, but we will dive into both of these answers to see where you may or may not stand. 

Spend More Time on Yourself

Don’t worry if writing is getting harder, it might just be a way of telling your brain you need a well deserved break. So our recommendation is to do just that! Think of some things that you have been meaning to do but just haven’t had the time. Go meet up with friends, hit up the local fair or farmers market or head to the movie theater or go to a new restaurant. By taking your mind off the things that you are “expected” to do just might be exactly what you need to get back into it!

How to Spark Motivation

You’re on an intense deadline and you can’t seem to find the right words. Have no fear, more often than not there are ways to spark motivation. Dive a little deeper into what you’re writing about, is it a new thriller, romance or sequel to your book? If you are writing about a specific genre one great way to get inspired is to do what your characters are doing (within reason of course). Now that spooky season is upon us, go on a ghost tour or haunted house to get ideas for your thriller. Or head to a romantic restaurant or a  place like where your characters met. Try and make your real life about what you’re writing, or trying to write, it might be easy for the words to fall out!

Happy Writing!

Invent Words!

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What happens when you have a word you want to say but there’s no word for it…you make one up! So many authors dating back to Shakespeare have done just that, and oftentimes you use words that you don’t even know an author invented! If the time comes and no exact word does the trick for what you’re trying to say, invent one!

Just to give you some examples, here is a list of words that you may use from time to time that authors invented. 

  1. “Tween”: J. R. R. Tolkein, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (1954)
  2. “Nerd”: Dr. Seuss, ‘If I Ran the Zoo’ (1950)
  3. “Piehole”: Stephen King, ‘Christine’ (1983)

And those are just to name a few! Now of course authors can invent an abundance of names and places etc. However, these authors invented words that we use often in our vocabulary. Who knows we could be saying your word next! So if you find a whole in your story’s diction don’t be discouraged to mess around with creating your own word (just make sure it hasn’t already been used in another meaning). 

Happy Writing!

How To Write Faster

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You want to finish your book, but your thoughts are running faster than your fingers…don’t worry, here are some ways you can increase your writing speed!

  1. Write everyday

First and foremost to get better at writing faster you have to practice everyday. For those who have been reading The Write Nook for a while now, you know how much we encourage writing everyday even if it’s just in your personal journal. 

  1. Use an outline

Having a guide to your writing style is a great way to stay on track and help you write faster. If you know what you want to write it cancels out a lot of stopping time. 

  1. Write now, edit later

Do all of your editing and revising after you finish writing. This will again save you time in the long run and help keep your thoughts on track. 

  1. Fix your posture

If you notice that you slouch while writing or writing in a weir position, try fixing your posture. This will keep you more comfortable and willing to write and will help your thoughts reach your fingertips!

  1. Challenge yourself

Make a fun game out of it! You want to write faster, try setting goals on your word count. 

Happy Writing!

It’s Okay to Take A Break

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Are you feeling a little tired but you know you have to carry on with your work? I am here to say that it’s okay to take a break! Here are some great ways to take a break that will get you ready to get back to work!

Take a walk

Get some fresh air and move your body. It doesn’t have to be a long walk, but clear your mind, pop an audiobook or your favorite song and just relax. Any form of exercise will be beneficial during a break.

Stretch

If you’re feeling a little tense from sitting in a chair for a few hours, get up and stretch! Loosen up your muscles for a few minutes…trust me they will thank you later!

Call a friend

Take your mind off the task at hand and catch up with a friend. THis can be a great way to put you in a good mood and share what you’re working on. Maybe you can use them for some creative inspiration.

Cook a healthy meal/snack

Take care of your body and give it fuel! Knock out two birds with one stone and get ready for your meal, or prepare yourself a healthy snack. This will get your brain ready to work extra hard for you. 

Remember to incorporate breaks into your routine, they can help you in the long run!

Get Started!

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Don’t wait on your dreams and things you want to work on. The best way to get ahead is to say today is the day I will start! Procrastination time is over, your adventure is just getting started. 

We love to give inspiration and motivation to our readers but if you think you want to do something, the best thing is to get started! Scroll through our posts to get the ultimate motivation package!

How To Maximize Listening To Audiobooks

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If you are hesitant about starting your audiobook journey this article may persuade you. We at Hershman Rights Management are audiobook lovers to the core and maybe you will be too!

Now, if you are just starting out with audiobooks here are some ways you can maximize your experience.

Start with a well-reviewed book. 

Everyone is different and has different tastes, but it is more likely for you to stick to audiobooks if you have a great first experience. So with that being said read the reviews and get an inside look on if it is the right fit for you. 

Listen to the sample. 

Along the same lines as reading the review, listen to the sample! A big part about audiobooks is the narration, so if you don’t think you can listen to the narrator for hours on end you might want to skip it.

Multitask. 

Trigger your brain into doing multiple things at once. While listening to your audiobook do chores around the house, or pop it in while you’re driving. This will help if you get bored easily because you will have several things going on at once. 

Commit to a time. 

You don’t have to spend all day or two listening to your audiobook. Take a half an hour or so a day to your book so you don’t get worn out. A good time to listen to your audiobook is right before bed, it is very calming and a nice wind down from the day. 

Those are our tips and tricks for beginning your audiobook journey! Let us know how it goes, and if you are already an audiobook lover let us know why. 

Happy Listening!

Don’t Forget to Research!

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With so much information at our disposal don’t forget to use it when writing your novel. Think of research as a necessary step when planning out your novel. Even if you are writing a romantic comedy there’s always research to be done!

You can crack open a book, head to google or even go out on an experience when it comes to research. Even if you are writing about going on a hot air balloon and you’ve done it before, look up the history of the hot air balloon or some fun facts, you never know when you can incorporate it into your writing. And just redoing that experience and going on a hot air balloon again you can open your eyes to how you want it to play in your novel. 

Don’t underestimate the power of research even if you think you know enough for your writing. It can open an avenue you didn’t even know was there!

One of the authors we work with, Mimi Matthews does hours of research on historical fashion alone before finishing a novel. Have a look here!

Happy Writing!

Let’s Talk Author Bio’s

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They may have opened the book because of the title or the cover, but the author bio is what connects you to your readers. You want to entice them just enough to buy your book and get to know you a little.

As with writing anything, there are some soft guidelines you can follow when it’s your first time writing something. So for an author bio it goes as follows:

Keep it short.

I know you’ve all seen author bio’s so you know that keeping it brief is key. The book is where you let all your words fly out. 

Use third-person. 

To sound more professional, use a third person voice when writing. 

Nail down your one liner.

The hook, line and sinker is your one liner. Craft it carefully by sharing about yourself and something fun!

Be personal. 

Share yourself a little. Enclude interesting facts that may go along with your book. But don’t oversell yourself. You can include your alma mater but dont go crazy on the list of achievements, that’s what google is for. 

Use a professional photo. 

This should go without saying, but you should not use a mirror selfie or a goofy family photo for your author bio. Take the time to get one professionally done, it will make all the difference.

Happy Writing!

How to Name Your Sci-Fi Character

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You want to write a science fiction book ,but you keep getting stumped on character names. You created a whole new beautiful world and need the names to reflect that, so how do you come up with them? That is what we will be discussing today!

Take a name you already know. Think of your favorite name in whatever language and modify it a little. Play around with the endings and beginning until it sounds like the perfect name for your character. 

Good ole name generator. Sometimes you need a little boost to get things started, and that’s where a name generator comes in handy. Fantasy name generator have more than just fantasy, but click on what you’re looking for and they can generate male and female names for you! Another good one is Donjon, they also have lots of genres and categories to choose from. 

Go back to the roots. Crack open a latin or greek dictionary and use root words to come up with a name!

Tell us how you come up with your unique character names!

Happy Writing!