Weather (pun intended) we like it or not the holiday season is right around the corner! It’s practically here (in Grinch voice)!
And for some of us that means snow! Now, if you are trying to spark some creativity for your holiday novel one great way to do that is through imagery. Looking at photos can make us believe we are there and feeling the surroundings. So if you live in someplace that may not get snow, spark that feeling with some of these images!
There are so many tools to use to spark your imagination! Just by going online and typing themes of your book into the search bar and looking at the images can open a whole new door to your novel!
And I am not just here to show you pictures of snow because there can be so much more in a holiday novel. Maybe you live in a place that has too much snow and your characters take a tropical vacation for the holidays?
The possibilities are endless! Maybe you use your own photos to spark something! Just remember that you can spark your creativity through almost anything!
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!
Do it for you and the rest will follow! Don’t be so hung up on being heard. You write for yourself after all, because you enjoy it. When you put all your work into a piece and you share it with the world, believe in yourself. Believe that you wrote something worth the time to read and people will read it!
Do the best that you can, and it will show. Your voice will be heard when the time is right. But in the meantime keep writing and keep trying to be the best that you can be! Sometimes the weekend can get the best of us but if anything, Monday can be a fresh start.
Read some more of our posts for writing inspiration, and writing advice!
Hashtags aren’t just a fun way to spice up your post, they have meaning! And can help your post get views with a certain audience. But for today’s purpose we will talk about hashtags for your upcoming book release, because believe me there’s hashtags for everything!
Now what’s important is choosing hashtags that are most active and somewhat active. Most active hashtags are the ones that people use over and over that get the most views, however when using them they could get lost in the sea of all those hashtags. So, sometimes it is good to pair most active and somewhat active hashtags together.
When it comes time to choosing which ones to use, you can find help! There are many hashtag generators that you can use. One being best-hashtags.com. This one is great because their instagram algorithm constantly updates to see popular hashtags and you can search based on the topic of your post , for instance a book release.
So next time you want to post on instagram check to see what hashtags work best for you!
If you don’t like the way typical hashtags look in your post you can hide them! Instagram doesn’t care where the hashtags are in the post, they just have to be there. So, for example you can reply to your own post with a cute emoji then reply to that comment with hashtags. It will then appear like you put a smiley face in the comments but within that are all your hashtags! Even if someone comments their own hashtag it will still give your post recognition. Another way you can hide hashtags in your story is by covering them with a photo or sticker, its genius!
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!
Transcribe your thoughts to words faster by prepping your brain to prepare for writing. The purpose is not to create publishable material, but to get yourself ready for it!
The best way to start is to have no judgement or expectation of the outcome. You are writing to write more, which in turn will lead to writing better!
Write more —-> write better —-> write more
It is a beautiful circle of writing!
Now, in terms of some writing warm ups there are millions of prepared prompts and questions that you can search with a click of a button. Some other things you can do are write letters, write comments back to your viewers, or write about your life!
And there are even things to warm up your brain beyond writing such as exercise, brain games and meditation. Find out what works best for you. Each week test something new until you find what works.
What do you do to warm up your writer’s brain? Share your favorites in the comments!
Here are 4 steps to maintaining a quit-proof commitment! I love creating new goals for myself, but the problem isn’t making them, but maintaining them…Here’s what I do to help me stay on track!
Every commitment is different but this is a good place to start.
Set boundaries.
Give yourself expectations of what should be done, and what you would like to stick to. For example, if you want to commit to writing for 3 hours a day your boundaries would be to sit at your desk while writing, or to split the time between morning and evening. Just make sure they are right for your needs.
Enlist help.
You are not alone! There are so many tools you can use to help you stay committed, people who can help. Reach out to others and ask how they stay committed or ask them to help encourage you and keep you motivated.
Block out your schedule weekly.
Having dedicated time is the best way to stay on track. It will be very beneficial to you if you know what your week will look like so you can make sure you continue with your commitment.
Schedule your own performance review.
This one might be my favorite. At the end of the week or the month go back to your commitment and evaluate yourself on how well you did. Use the steps above to see if you set boundaries, enlisted help and made a weekly schedule. And if you didn’t do as well as you thought, you actually did this pretty perfectly because now you can better judge yourself for improvement.
Having a dedicated space for readers is a great way to stay connected with your audience, promote your work, and get inspiration. Some authors may choose to have groups based on a specific series, but that is up to you.
Many authors will use Facebook to house these communities. Unlike a Facebook Page, group updates will appear on the members’ new feed. They will also get notifications of new updates to the group, unless they opt out of notifications
Once you create your Facebook group don’t forget to promote it on your other socials so your readers know it’s there! After all it is for them!
Post on it frequently. When it’s small, welcome each new member, get them excited! Plan your posts in advance so you won’t have to worry about it for the week.
Don’t forget to engage! Answer all the questions you can and comment on posts that your readers make.
Host events. Set up a group meeting, post a video and answer questions about yourself, have a giveaway of your upcoming release! The possibilities are endless!
Have fun with your reader group! Once you get the hang of posting on one group, maybe you can start another!
Here at The Write Nook we love to encourage you to make goals! They could be as small as “go to bed at 10pm” or as big as “finish my novel this month.” The key is to think of what you want and set a time for it! Deadlines aren’t always bad, especially when it comes to living out your best life.
Having an array of characters makes each story unique and fun. Today, I want to dive into a foxy lady we all love to hate, the one who almost always gets her way: the femme fatale.
Before we dive into the deadly one, we first have to talk about where she stems from: a seductress. Describing a seductress is one thing because beauty is subjective. As the saying goes, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” So, how can you make your lovely lady appealing to the masses outside of her looks? It’s the obvious!
Make her free-spirited. This is important to her. She is care-free, curious about the world around her and open to those people surrounding her. This is what keeps her interesting. She comes off naive. Those who grow to be fond of her only want to show her the “right way.” This lady will always have some form of charm she uses to get people looking her way, or looking twice. This is a must. Ask yourself: does she have any intention with her ways? This is a great time to sit back and map out what made her this way and to make the plan of what you are going to do with her in your story.
One thing is for sure; she will want to be in the spotlight. Maybe not celebrity-status, but you can certainly do that if you want. Ultimately, she wants to be the center of attention – she wants everyone to turn their head when she enters a room. If she isn’t, she will certainly make it known she has entered the building. By the end of the scene, everyone will be quiet and staring and if they aren’t, there will be consequences. But, we are dipping into other territory there. The seductress isn’t harming anyone else in any way; she is simply hoping for something or someone to come into her life. So, once again we ask: what is her intention? What is her purpose?
The art of seduction comes with, in some way, the purpose of love. Or lack thereof. She could easily find it with her looks and charisma but your seductress is living a life, going 100 miles per hour for the sole purpose of finding The One. The catch is…even if she finds a suitable mate, that person would never be enough. And she will start all over again. Stability is not in her name; not just in love, but in life. Sometimes, it’s not about the person. It’s about the journey and, once again, the art of seduction.
When people think of seduction, the first thing that comes to mind is sex. Don’t get too caught up in the seductress’ sexual habits or even her sexuality itself. It isn’t the point of her character, it’s a part of her. She is more than who she does and does not allow in the bedroom. It shouldn’t be highlighted how many she’s allowed into her open arms; it should be brought to the readers’ attention why she does so. She doesn’t see anything wrong with her sexual appetite so neither should you. And sometimes, her sexuality has nothing to do with the storyline so cut it out of the picture.
If her sexual nature is a part of the storyline or a part of her character, her relationships and friendships with other heterosexual women could be strained. The seductress finds it hard to have platonic male friends, so she strives to have female companionship. However, this could be tough for her. She may not be able to secure these friendships because of her nature with men, and potential partners for those in which she wishes to surround herself with. The threat is there for those other women and they may try to cast her out. Though, this may not be the case for all and she could find a few who will understand her and try to nurture her. She will not get along with those similar to her in the way of seduction…mainly because they’re after the same thing in the same manner. Posing another threat.
Now, let’s get down to the point as to why you’re here: the femme fatale. The seductress is a great starting point for this character, but you will need to take this a step further. She is not only a seductress, but more so a seductress bathed in darkness. She is a user, potentially a black widow; she is out for blood and uses her charm and her looks to her advantage. She utilizes the “good” parts of the naive and carefree seductress and twists into a game that could end badly. Her backstory should be tragic, giving reason for her way of being and why she wants to end the trapped fly.
Literature holds some of the greatest and slyest women in the femme fatale archetype. Norma Bates from Psycho, Amy Dunne from Gone Girl, Gloria Denton from Queenpin, and Celaena Sardothien from Throne of Glass are all great examples of this particular archetype.
Do you have any characters who come to mind who fall into this category? We would love to hear!
