Author Guest Post: 10 Tips to becoming a better writer by Jennifer Malone Wright

So today we have a great guest post for you from author Jennifer Malone Wright.  We will be reviewing her books shortly so we wanted to showcase her as an author as well.

10 Tips to becoming a better writer by Jennifer Malone Wright

Hi everyone. *Waves* All right, this topic is one that I always try to avoid because, well … I suppose that I don’t think I’m a good enough writer to be giving advice on being one. So, I will give it a try anyway.

   Research. Always research. A writer is never done learning. Until the day you die, research the craft of writing, research your topics that you are writing about, and research the publishing industry. There is ALWAYS something to learn about writing.

    Editing. First, always have an editor. Second, your editor will most likely red line

    your work. Do not just click accept all. Go in there and look at what is changed and why. If you have question about it, then ask the editor. This is a great way to learn what you might be doing wrong or mistakes that you make often.

    Write for yourself, not for anyone else. You need to write what makes you happy, not what makes everyone else happy.

   Write what you know. Your best work will always come from the heart and when you know firsthand about something it will come easier to you. The readers will know when you are writing about something you have no clue about. (Refer to back to number 1.)

     Write every day. As with anything else, if you practice, you get better. Also, it becomes a habit. And that is a good thing. 

  Read. A good author will always read a lot. I know, I know, we don’t have time to read with all this writing we are supposed to be doing. Yeah. I don’t buy that. Go read. It’s relaxing and at the same time you are learning from the books that you are reading. Also, reading is why we are authors in the first place. We want to make people feel like we feel when we read a good book, right?

   Don’t be worried about offending people. The best writers, (My favorites anyway) they write what they want without worry about offending the masses. If you want to say the F word, then say it! If you have a character that always calls people a derogatory term, then do it! If you worry about offending everyone, then you are fighting a losing battle because there will always be someone who will find a reason to be offended now days.

  Get your work critiqued. If you join a writers group, either in real life or online, this can be a great way to get your work critiqued by other writers. You can learn a lot from these groups. BUT, the one thing I warn you about these groups is that sometimes you will run into people who think they are king of the mountain and know everything. If someone makes suggestions to your work, just remember. It’s only a suggestion, not an order. In the end, it’s your story, not theirs.

    Study Dialog. Many writers have problems with dialog. For me, I actually think this is one of my stronger points, where details and whatnot are harder for me. I write very fast paced with a lot of action, so dialog carries the story. 

   Just write it. We all have a zillion excuses on why we haven’t written anything down for a while. The family, work, an idea rolling around in your head, too busy … (insert your own excuses here) Well. Just write it. Your story will never get written if you don’t work on it.


About the Author

Jennifer Malone Wright is best known for her short story series, The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter. Other works include the follow up to The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter series called The Arcadia Falls Chronicles and her vampire novel called The Birth of Jaiden. Jennifer also co-authors a series called Once Upon A Zombie Apocalypse as well as another project which hasn’t been announced yet.

She resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children where she practices preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Just kidding!

But seriously, between the craziness of taking care of her children, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on her beloved fiction or chatting with her equally crazy friends.

Jennifer also loves coffee, has a passionate affair with red bull, wishes the sushi were better where she lives and dances while she cleans.