Good morning. I'm sharing this article by Marla Madison from "Book Daily." Very interesting. "It's all about entertainment." Sometimes I overlook that fact, trying to get the "perfect" plot or "perfect characters" or perfect relevant theme. I hope you enjoy this article. That is what Cottage of Blog is all about. Promoting others (see the book trailers from RRBC writers), book reviews, promoting myself (see my books) and articles about writing. There will be other stuff, too. Keep tuned.
What Authors Can Learn From American Idol, Dancing With The Stars, And The Voice
Does the best singer win American Idol or the Voice? Is the most accomplished dancer the winner of the Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing With the stars?
Anyone who is a regular viewer of talent reality shows knows this uncontestable fact: the most talented doesn’t always win. In fact, the most well executed dance or song, seldom wins.
What does win?
The winner is the performer who is most popular, the one who captures the hearts of the viewers with both performance and personality.
How does this relate to our writing?
It’s all about entertainment!!!
A few ways to keep your work entertaining:
1. Know your genre. Read, read, read. To entertain requires originality. If you’re afraid your plot is hackneyed, be sure to have a new twist on it. If you don’t keep in touch with others’ work, you’ll have no idea what readers are tiring of.
2. Make your characters original. We’ve all met the perfect protagonist, the one with the super face, toned and buffed body, and excellent skills. Readers want characters that they can identify with—make then real.
3. Make the first chapter exciting. I’ve deleted dozens of books I’vedownloaded because the beginning failed to be interesting. Make your first chapters pull the reader into your book and want to read the entire thing.
4. Series books - Take time to learn how to make each book worthy of standing alone. Check for either too much or not enough back story.
5. Be accessible to your readers. Have a presence on popular networking sites, broadcast your blog, and have a mailing list.Answer every personal message you get.
6. Read reviews of books in your genre. Reviews will put you on the fast track to discovering what entertains your readers.
2. Make your characters original. We’ve all met the perfect protagonist, the one with the super face, toned and buffed body, and excellent skills. Readers want characters that they can identify with—make then real.
3. Make the first chapter exciting. I’ve deleted dozens of books I’ve
4. Series books - Take time to learn how to make each book worthy of standing alone. Check for either too much or not enough back story.
5. Be accessible to your readers. Have a presence on popular networking sites, broadcast your blog, and have a mailing list.
6. Read reviews of books in your genre. Reviews will put you on the fast track to discovering what entertains your readers.
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🐦CLICK TO TWEET🐦Today's #AuthorTip from @BookDailycom: What #Authors Can Learn From #AmericanIdol, #DWTS, And #TheVoice by @MarlaAMadison #amwriting #authorchat http://www.bookdaily.com/authorresource/blog/post/2034676
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Marla Madison is a retired Federal Mediator, now working as an Arbitrator for the state of Iowa and the Federal Mediation Service. She's Not There is her debut suspense novel, and Relative Malice, her second. Marla is working on a third suspense story, that while not a sequel to She's Not There, does have some of the same characters.
Marla lives on Prairie Lake in Northwestern Wisconsin with her significant other, Terry, a beloved shelter-dog, Skygge, and Poncho, an opinionated feline from the same shelter.
Also an avid reader of suspense, some of her favorite authors are Tana French, Lisa Gardner, Jeffrey Deaver, Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, Tess Gerritson, and Tami Hoag.
When not reading or writing, Marla enjoys playing duplicate bridge, golfing, and going on long walks with her dog.
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