The ghost writer provides an interesting service to the world of stories. After all, a book is written by the ghost writer but someone else gets the credit.

‘The book just seemed to write itself,’ the author will tell the press and adoring fans. And, the ghost writer will sit in the wings, the Cinderella of the literary world.

What does it take to become a ghost writer? 

Writing Tip:

The easiest person to kill in a novel is the love interest. The main purpose of the love interest is to show your hero’s character. Many novelists use this technique as it creates sympathy for your protagonist and motivates him, or her, to act.

From Writers Write

We are often asked if characters should describe themselves at Writers Write. We are asked how they could describe themselves. When we came across this post by Stephanie Orges, we wanted to share some of her ideas with you. (If you want to read the full article, follow the link at the end)

Six Ways First Person Narrators Can Describe Themselves

By Stephanie Orges

1. Don’t describe him at all
Do your readers have to know what the protagonist looks like to understand the plot? If not, consider leaving it out altogether. 

2. Give it to your reader straight
If you are actually telling the story with frequent quirky asides to your “dear reader”, your hero can simply describe himself during introductions. But be warned: don’t try to force it if this isn’t your style.

3. Embarrass them
Make them self-conscious about a physical flaw. She only smiles close-mouthed because she’s embarrassed by the gap in her teeth. He wishes he had biceps like the head jock.

4. Compare and contrast with another character
‘My daughter has my crooked smile, but her father’s blue eyes’. These can even create a poetic effect, as you can simultaneously compare and contrast personality traits as well.

5. Use dialogue
Her best friend gently explains dark roots are out of fashion. His father remarks he really ought to cut his hair (he looks like a hippie). Her enemy asks if she’s a natural redhead. Use compliments and nicknames.

6. Show, don’t tell
If they are short, have them struggle to reach something most others could get. If tall, have them duck through doorways. If they are unattractive, make them self-conscious around people of the opposite sex. Your hero’s appearance is reflected in the way other characters react to it.

Read the full article: Source

Source for Image

Analysing Agatha - How to become the best-selling novelist of all time

Agatha Christie wrote 85 books that sold between two and four billion copies.

The Agatha Christie Code

According to UNESCO, she is the most translated author in the history of the world. The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized her as the Best Selling Author in any genre of all time. See the list of the Top 10 Best-Selling Authors here.

Note: Shakespeare was left out of this comparison, because he wrote plays and not novels. Even so, the best he can do is match Agatha Christie’s sales numbers.  

What is Agatha Christie’s secret to success?

There is a link between the success of Agatha Christie and Plain Language.

The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do. ~Thomas Jefferson

Dame Agatha seems to have mastered that talent. In The Agatha Christie Code, a team of professional linguists in England analysed Dame Agatha’s way with words.

The experts agree that she has a hypnotic style, but it is her use of patterns and plain language that make her so readable.

In Plain Language

Dr Pernilla Danielsson explains her success by her use of Plain Language.  

An excellent example is that Christie almost exclusively uses the word ‘said’. (Novice authors often try to use silly synonyms when said is the perfect choice.) She doesn’t introduce new words, but makes the reader comfortable with her use of everyday language. She doesn’t challenge the reader with big words, and long convoluted sentences. She doesn’t bore the reader with unnecessary descriptions. The reader is free to enjoy the story by focusing on the plot.

Her books also follow a formula

They are all similar in style, word length, and sentence length. Take Evil Under the Sun as an example. This novel follows her classic formula: 

1. There is a body, very early on
2. There is a closed group of suspects, either because of setting or social group
3. The detective arrives
4. We are taken through a series of red herrings
5. There is a solution, and closure

Excerpts from The Agatha Christie Code

But how many other best-selling authors use plain language?

Agatha Christie is not the only author to have realised the value of using Plain Language. In Fiction Writer’s Brainstormer, James V. Smith explains exactly how the best-selling authors succeed.

A Writing Standard

After studying authors like Stephen King, John Grisham, Danielle Steele, and Elmore Leonard, he came up with this as an ideal writing standard (if you want to sell your books).

You should have (on average):

• no more than four characters a word in any scene
• no more than 5% passive voice
• no less than 80% readability on the Flesch-Kincaid scale
• no higher than a 5th grade readability level on the Flesch-Kincaid scale

This is writing in plain language. If you want to communicate, I recommend you try it. If you want to sell lots of books, I recommend you apply this formula. On our creative course, Writers Write, we teach you exactly how to do this.

by Amanda Patterson from Writers Write

Common Habits

From Writers Write: The Five Story Goals That Define A Plot

Beginner writers tend to write essays when they first start writing novels. Successful writers soon realise that a novel is not an essay. It is a story made up of scenes. But how do you know if you’ve written a great scene?

Source

Excellent advice for anyone who wants to write a novel. Always have a plan.

Writing Quote from Writers Write

Literary Birthday - 30 April

Happy Birthday, John Boyne, born 30 April 1971

John Boyne: 10 Observations On Writing

1. I want to write stories that matter, that have a real point to them. I’m not interested in vampires.
2. When I started out I thought that a life as a writer would be simply about staying at home, writing books, publishing them and moving on to the next one. But writers also have to be performers these days. I spend a large portion of my year either on book tours or attending international literary festivals and audiences demand that, if they’re giving up an hour to hear you speak, you give them a good show. And this is a skill that a writer only develops over time. There’s such a dichotomy between the two worlds: the first is so private and solitary, a life lived in the mind, the second so public and theatrical. Fortunately, I rather enjoy both.
3. I read everything that interests me - contemporary novels, biographies, histories, classics. Like most writers and avid readers, I have a pile of books beside me as I type this that I want to read.
4. My two greatest influences are Charles Dickens and John Irving, writers separated by more than a century.
5. When I was a student on the creative writing course at the University of East Anglia in ‘94/’95, I was taught by the novelist Malcolm Bradbury. He told us that we should write every single day, 365 days a year, even Christmas Day. That whatever we were working on would only get finished by writing, writing, writing. I followed this advice and it is quite rare that I spend a day without committing at least a few paragraphs to page. 
6. The idea that you can’t explore contemporary themes in a historical setting is ludicrous. Do I want to write a novel set today? Only if I have the right story to tell. The times don’t matter at all - it’s always the story, the story, the story. 
7. Children’s fiction is a place of incredible passion - among writers, publishers, librarians and teachers - and the standard of writing is higher than it has ever been.
8. It’s not easy making a living as a writer and for many years I worked at a Waterstones in Dublin. It was a good environment for an aspiring writer, with lots of events and authors appearing.
9. The truth is that I can’t remember a moment when I didn’t want to be a writer. From childhood, I loved books, I loved stories and I loved writing my own. 
10. I think a lack of self-consciousness is important. Feeling that one can try different styles, different types of writing without everything having to be perfect. As a young writer, there is no chance that everything you write will be published so it’s worth experimenting.

Boyne is an Irish author who has written seven novels for adults and three novels for children, as well as a number of short stories. His novels are published in 46 languages. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas has sold more than 5 million copies, and is a #1 New York Times Best-seller. It has been adapted for film.

by Amanda Patterson for Writers Write