Writers: Jack of All Trades

Jacks of All Trades – Masters of One (or more)

Writers are the Jacks of All Trades because we have to learn a little bit about everything to create a believable story for our readers. To make a believable story you have to research the material, whether it is bee keeping or submarines. You can’t write a scene without knowing a little what you are describing.

 In a naval suspense the captain can’t yell to the crew to look out the above the water lookie thing and keep an ear to the machine that goes ping. A good writer must know the correct terminology and have a feel for the environment they are trying to portray. I’m not saying you have to go spend time on a submarine or take up bee keeping. Far from it, there are many great resources you can utilize.

Explore the internet but don’t take everything you hear as absolute truth. Be prepared to sit down at your computer or laptop and really work your search engine. Keep a notepad up so you can jot down websites and links so you don’t get lost.

Check out your local library. You can find a lot of great books on a variety of subjects. You may even find a group that meets to discuss the topic of your interest. People who do reenactments are usually willing to share (or overshare) what they know on a subject.

Talk to the family records keeper, who knows you might find some really fascinating information that might turn into a book later.  

Take a class/seminar. If you belong to a writer’s guild (and it really helps if you do) you will find a huge amount of classes and seminars available to you. Many are designed to help you polish your writing skills but some focus on interesting topics like forensics, Steampunk, and history to name a few.

If you want to be a good writer then you have to keep learning!

Love & Luck,

Stephanie Dawn Callahan

Getting the 'Crit' out of Your Critique Groups

Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned author you need a good group of people to critique your work. Finding your critique group or ‘beta readers’ is an important part of the writing process.

Why do you need beta readers?

Because you’re going to make mistakes. Having extra sets of eyes checking out your work really helps catch any formatting or structural issues.

You can’t trust Word to catch all your mistakes. It won’t catch little things like the wrong word in the wrong place. Don’t get me started on semi-colons, really you don’t want to go there. Word is all like “Hey – you should really use a semi-colon here, here and here” and you’re like “Oh wow. Thank you magic paperclip! What would I ever do without you?”

Too many semi-colons are like speed bumps, they disrupt the flow of your story. Technically they are correct but people don’t think like that.

If you’re worried that you’ll lose your story to your beta’s opinions don’t be. It’s your work and you ultimately decide what you’ll change and what will stay the same. That’s why it’s good to have more than one beta reader. One person may not like a certain style or the way you write something while others may think it’s just fine.

Always remember to thank your betas. They work hard to help you make your story the best it can be.

Love & Luck,

Stephanie Dawn Callahan