Everything You Know about Writing is Wrong

Everything You Know about Writing is Wrong

Everything you learned in school and know about writing is wrong. Adverbs are bad verbs. The writing world is different than the educational writing world.

Learning to write well is like learning a new language. There are many rules and guidelines that schools teach you, but in reality there’s no right or wrong way of doing things when it comes down just writing creatively for your own personal satisfaction – at least not until we get into the nitty-gritties: adverbs versus verbs; passive voice over active suddenly becomes important (hint hint); how long should sentences be? What kind?? Umm.. anyways

Writing is Wrong
https://www.seriouswriteracademy.com/

Tips

In Episode 7 of the Serious Writer Podcast Bethany Jett and Cyle Young discuss why everything you know about writing is wrong and what you can do to change it:

  1. Go to a writers conference. Now.
  2. Read in your genre and subgenre. Learn the style of that genre.
  3. Get the resources you need from the beginning. (Emotions thesaurus & Story Trumps Structure)

TIP: The 1st book might not be published.

You can practice into publish later.

Fear: I won’t have another story after this one.

Tip: Learn the rules first before you break them.

Modern story is based on 3-act structure. Act 1 is short. Act 2 is rising action over the middle and it’s longer; character development. Climax. Act 3 is descending action.

Fantasy: Hero’s Journey of the 3-Act Structure.

04. Know how to structure a story.

05. Set a regular writing time period or a daily word count. Earnest Hemingway – writes 500 words a day. Stephen King writes 2000 words a day. Jack London – 1500. Mark Twain – 1400. Michael Crighton – 10,000 words – Jurassic Park. Suggestion – start lower until you’re consistent.

06. Just write and don’t edit.

07. Write in scene, not sequence. The Tik Tok guide to writing a book.

Tip: Know the word count for your genre.

Tools and Resources

Tools: Word Scrivener

Resources

SW Fiction Proposal

The Emotions Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman

Story Trumps Structure

James Scott Bell – Write from the Middle

A Literary Agent’s Insight on Children’s Writing – Serious Writer

7 Tips for Freelance Writers – Serious Writer

Best Writing Markets in 2022 – Serious Writer

Everything You Know about Writing is Wrong

SW Podcast Ep.5 | Are you being lied to about platform?

https://www.seriouswriteracademy.com/

Timestamps

In Episode 5 of the Serious Writer Podcast Bethany Jett and Cyle Young discuss:

  • 0:33 Do you need Platform?
  • 5:20 Will this book sell?
  • 6:00 ROI
  • 11:01 Borrowed Platform
  • 15:51 Does the publisher want a “good” book?
  • 21:01 A little goes a long way
  • 22:35 The one thing that is a game-changer
  • 26:48 Try new things
  • 30:10 Expectations

A Literary Agent’s Insight on Children’s Writing – Serious Writer

7 Tips for Freelance Writers – Serious Writer

Serious Writer Podcast Ep.2 Overview – Serious Writer

How to Find Content to Share on Social Media

How to Find Content to Share on Social Media

If you’re struggling to figure how to find content out or what kind of material your audience is consuming and engaging with, find a “mentor influencer,” that is, someone who’s killing it in your field.

Check out their website and look for these things:

  • Keywords. Look at blog post titles and opt-ins.
  • Giveaways. What are they giving away as a free opt-in for their newsletter?
  • Social Media. What platforms are they the most active on?

You’re not looking for content to copy, but instead, you’re looking for the formula or outline. The goal is to research the topics and method that your competition is sharing and how their audience is responding to them.

To be clear, do not steal other people’s work! The purpose of this research is to look for keywords and common topics. Add your unique experience, insights, and voice to the discussion. No plagiarism allowed!

Example:

As an example, Bethany Jett l-o-v-e-s planners. So if she’s going to create a blog post or giveaway for her audience, she might scope out some of the bigger players in the planner space.

During that research, she would find that people are asking questions about the different types of planner layouts to use when getting started. Therefore, a smart blog post for her would be How to Choose Your Best Planner Layout, along with a downloadable PDF handout to collect emails.

Then, Bethany can share a post on her social media platforms about different planner layouts. And if she was intent on getting the most from her marketing efforts, she would film a video to put on YouTube.

social media content

Basically, you don’t need to recreate the wheel. If the movers and shakers in your genre are sharing Monday Motivation tips on Tik Tok, by golly, you might want to start doing that, too!

At Serious Writer, we want you to work smarter, not harder. We want you to save time and get a high return on your investment.

Find the winners. Determine the formula. Go create!

Links:

Serious Writer Academy

Serious Writer Intensives

THREE TIPS FOR MARKETING YOUR BOOK

All Images provided by https://pixabay.com/

Everything You Know about Writing is Wrong

Serious Writer Podcast Ep.3 Overview

https://www.seriouswriteracademy.com/

Timestamps

In Episode 2 of the Serious Writer Podcast Bethany Jett and Cyle Young discuss:

  • 00:21- Children’s Writing
  • 1:21 How does your Idea Fit the Market
  • 4:00 Book Style
  • 6:55 Start Quick
  • 10:54 Non-Fiction Know Your Why
  • 12:59 Define Your Target Audience
  • 17:43  Set Goals
  • 19:14 Write in Chunks 
  • 26:34 Loosen Up
  • 33:01 Marketing and Platform
  • 42:18 Closing Remarks

Some great quotes:

  • “The ones that work the hardest and hustle the most get the book deals.” – Cyle Young
  • “If someone tells you that you need platform, they’re just eliminating their competition.”  — Bethany Jett
  • “…net of minutia…” – Cyle Young
  • “You don’t get a pass for being new.” — Bethany Jett
  • “An erratic writing life produces erratic results. A consistent writing life produces consistent results.” — Cyle Young

LINK:
 Bethany quoted Seth Godin as building the platform “three years” ago. Here’s the actual quote we need to share: 
“The best time to start that was seven years ago. The second best time is right now. So start!” – Seth Godin
Reference link: https://writetodone.com/seth-godin-part-2/



Cyle Insight on Childrens Writing – Serious Writer

7 Tips for Freelance Writers – Serious Writer

Serious Writer Podcast Ep.2 Overview – Serious Writer



Everything You Know about Writing is Wrong

Serious Writer Podcast Ep.2 Overview

https://www.seriouswriteracademy.com/

Timestamps

In Episode 2 of the Serious Writer Podcast Bethany Jett and Cyle Young discuss:

1:26 10 Tips for children’s writing
1:42 Moral Dilemma
2:58 Entertainment
4:45 Hangout with kids (know your audience)
10:39 Short and Sweet
12:06 The mentor influencer research method
15:05 Social media and research
22:09 Fiction Writing Tips
23:29 Don’t start with “weather”
25:16 Prologues
32:21 NO Exclamation Points!!!!! (except for Bethany’s exception!)
35:55 Don’t use Dialects
38:15 Conclusion, Second Annual Intensive, and Contest Details