Did you hear about this? [Update]

I will be the guest author at Two Authors, Books & a Beverage Club on January 4 at 7 p.m. I will be checking back frequently after that for the rest of the month to answer your questions about writing, publishing, and marketing.

Be thinking about the questions you'd like to ask me. Questions, such as: How long does it typically take you to write a book? What book is your favorite? How much research do you typically do? How do you choose your characters? How do you find a publisher? How do you know if you've found the right publisher for you? What is the most important tool for marketing? How much money do you typically spend on marketing? What have you done in marketing that has produced results? 

As Winnie the Pooh would say: Think. Think. Think.

Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash

I have questions of my own that I have been gathering for you. Questions such as: What's the first book you remember reading? Have you read a book more than once? If so, what was the title? How many times have you read it? Have you read any of my books? If so, what one was your favorite, and why? How do you choose what books you want to read? Do you prefer to read one book at a time or several at once?

As a heads-up on the last question. Knowing my answer may prove valuable to you come January 4th. 

A couple of books at once is usually the rule for me, and typically a fiction book at the same time I am reading a nonfiction book so as not to confuse things.

So get thinking, and I'll see you soon!

Kathryn

What's Up? Answering the Big Questions About Your Writing

Can you be successful at baseball without practicing?

What do you want?

Have you ever thought about that question in relation to writing?

I have. And the results are profound.

I don't want to just write for me and all the happiness it gives me, I want to write for others. But I don't want to write about just anything, I want to write something meaningful, and, at the very least, I want to write for fun. Because of this, I don't write particular genres though you can be assured that I write various genres to keep my mind hopping.

Some say writers should write in only one genre. That he/she should focus on that, and when they don't they should come up with a pen name.

I don't agree.

Where does success begin for you? Does it
begin with your first published work, or before
that? 

I want readers to know who I am. And that means when I'm writing Christian fiction and mystery. I want others to see that writers can be multifaceted without confusing their readers. I want them to feel (especially if they have leanings to be a writer themselves) as if they can do the same thing; or at the very least, read various genres of books themselves.

What's up with your writing?

Do you write for you? For others?

Do you believe making lots of money equals writing success?

Are you still trying to find your place in the writing world?

Are you taking classes to perfect your craft?

Are you a new or an established writer trying to figure out how to market your book?

Questions are key to receiving answers, not only about your work, but about you personally, and what you envision for your future.

Asking Questions to get (Character, Plot, Setting) Answers

I am a firm believer in asking questions. Not just in my spiritual life but in my book writing life, which often happens for me spiritually anyway. And the questions I usually ask in the book writing world have to do with character, plot and setting.

Photo by: Bilal Kamoon, courtesy of Flickr

The questions may be: What problems will this character face and how will she overcome them? When she doesn't get that job, what will she do? Where is her job located and how is the location just the right place (or the wrong place) for the job to be?

I like to ask questions, because in asking I get answers, and the answers aren't always what I expect.

Take my latest Christian novel, "Conquering Your Goliaths: A Parable of the Five Stones." When Ms. Virginia Bean loses her job I expect that she'll go in search of a new one, but what ways does she manage to look for one? Who will she meet along the way to help her? What will be a surprise in this search for a new job? What obstacles will be in her way? How will she overcome?

Photo by: jemsweb, courtesy of Flickr

I had an idea of how I thought the story might end, but I was open to the characters telling me what they thought. If you're a writer, the thought of characters speaking to you about their life will probably not come as a big shock to you, but if you've just started out in writing, the thought might freak you out a bit.

Don't get freaked, get ready to listen, ask questions and be prepared for your character to tell you where it's at. There is something about not getting hooked into a plot when a better plot comes around. And I'm always ready to ask questions and get feedback.