There is NO such thing as an aspiring writer.

There is a term that I seen bandied around a lot. I see it in bios for various writers. I see it in promotional materials for writing workshops and courses. I even see it in emails from agents, publishers and editors. And every time that I see it, or hear it, I want to growl. The term that irks me to no end: aspiring writer.

I know it might be silly to have such a negative reaction to what might seem like an innocent term, but how does one actually go about the action of aspiring to be a writer? You can aspire to see your writing in print (or in eBook format if that strikes your fancy). You can aspire to quit your day job to become a full-time writer. You can even aspire to get more hours in the day to dedicate to your writing. But aspire to be a writer?

So, You’re Starting a Blog…

At some point within a modern writer's career, they will be forced to face that common internet-based question: To blog or not to blog? I have written about this multiple times now, and I will say it again, hopefully for the last time (though I know it won't be).

A writer should blog ONLY if they want to.

Seriously! If you don't want to blog, then DON'T. It doesn't matter what others say. A blogger who doesn't want to be doing it is so obvious and it could be harmful to your reputation as a writer.

If I was to ask you why you're blogging, there is only one answer I should get: "Because I want to." If you say anything else, then you need to go back and read my post about blogging misconceptions. If after reading that post you want to blog, then by all means, carry on. Otherwise, I'll see you in my next post.

Now that we have your reasons to be blogging out of the way, let's carry on.

I, like many other writers, spend a significant amount of time reading blogs, gleaning whatever information I can about the various aspects of the publishing industry. And there are a lot of things that I see with those blogs that are frustrating and quite frankly a bit of a turnoff.

And it's not just me. I have spoken to other writers, and we're all commenting on the same things. Yet, we see them over and over again, because some content marketer thought they would be a good idea.

It's time to tidy up the blogging world and highlight some of those ever-important Hidden Traps.

In this post, we're going to explore the content of blog posts—possible topics, the language and voice, and the paragraphing, as well as images, headings and those little things that are 100% in your control as the blogger.

So, let's get to it.

Shapeshifter: A Literary Term Defined

There are times when the terminology seems to confuse the hell out of me. Sometimes, it’s because the odd term is completely new to my ears. At other times, it’s a term or phrase that has an obscure reference that I spend forever trying to work how such an odd term could mean that. And there are those terms that have a common meaning within pop culture that seem to be at war with the literary meaning.

The term shapeshifter is one of those terms that falls into the last category.

While pop culture would have us believe that the term shapeshifter refers to someone whose physical appearances change, the term actually refers to their behavior.

Writer Blogs and Misconceptions

It’s the start of the year, and many writers are setting out to work harder and do more to get their names out there. For some writers, this will mean publishing another book—or a first book as the case may be. For others, this will be building their online presence, looking at their social media options. For others, it will mean a revamp of an old website—or maybe building a new website. And there will be some writers who have decided to try their hand blogging.

Blogging is one of many different ways to build your online platform and following. Through blogging, you can make your website more attractive to readers, enticing them to visit on a regular basis. Through a constant turnover of new web content, you can even improve your SEO ranking.

It's not surprising that many marketers recommend using blogs to drive traffic to a website. And it's not surprising to see so many writers turn to blogging in an attempt to build a following. Hell, I blog in part for that reason. But if you’re not careful, blogging can quickly lead to writer burnout or leave dispirited writers in a state where they just want to give up.

Blogging is NOT for everyone.

It's time to dispel some of the myths surrounding blogging and make people face the realities before they fall into one of the many Hidden Traps associated with online platforms.

How much control do you have over your goals?

We're coming to the end of the year, which means that people around the world are going to start reflecting on the year that has just past and are going to start making those New Year's resolutions. It's only nature. A new year. A new start.

Many writers will start their year with new goals too. Some writers decide to finally get their names out there, building their online presence. Others will set the goal of publishing that book. Others just want to finish the dreaded manuscript. Whatever the goal, there will be common threads among writers.

You have likely seen a few messages or posts on other sites regarding SMART goals. This is important, because they do make the goals attainable and a little less daunting. However, there is an additional aspect to goal setting that I want my fellow writers to think about.

How much of your goal is in YOUR control?

How to Write Realistic and Professional Scenes About Shooting (Guest Blog)

How to Write Realistic and Professional Scenes About Shooting

by Jay Chambers

Let’s face it, most writers are not gun experts. And gathering reliable data about how gun fights actually happen is difficult, because there are a lot of tall tales out there and combat data collection is spotty, but there are a few things that we know.

The behavior of gun-savvy people is easy to observe and replicate in your writing. Here’s what you need to know to write realistic shooting scenes that make you look like a professional who does their homework.

Plotter vs Pantser: Is one really better than the other?

I have found myself in a few conversations lately about the merits of being a plotter or a pantser, with interesting insights on the two different concepts. In reality, the conversations always comes down to how we are all different and how there is no one way to get the initial draft on paper. We all do what we have to do to make the writing happen, but it is interesting how many of us have multiple tactics up our sleeves. Sometimes, we're forced to change gear and try something else.

So, which really is better? Well... It would seem that the answer is nowhere near as simple as the question.

The Traditional 3-Act Structure: Part 3

There is a natural instinct that exists among most writers about where to put the tension beats in, where things need to change, when the reader needs a break from all the action. That is because most writers read a lot, or watch a lot of movies, or... Well, we just spend a lot of time in a fictional world somewhere. When we do that, we do start to see the patterns, even if we don't understand the formula being applied to those stories.

The traditional 3-act structure is just one of countless number of models out there on story structure. Over the past few posts, we have been breaking down the traditional 3-act structure into the nitty-gritty, getting to the root of why it works the way it does.

In Part 1 of this series, we examined the elements of act 1, including the inciting event and the first transition point, what I called the first point of No-Return. In Part 2, we looked at the first half of act 2, heading into the midpoint, and we discussed what is meant by the A-story and the B-story.

In this, the final installment of this series, we're going to look at the final transition point for the manuscript and what the working components go into act 3.

The Traditional 3-Act Structure: Part 2

Much of what a writer does when crafting a story is based on instinct, weaving in the rise and fall of action. The same can be said about a developmental editor. Every story is different, so there is no strict formula that can be applied.

Tools like the traditional 3-act structure are only diagnostic tools, designed to help us understand why something might not be working.

In the first post of this 3-Act Structure series, we introduced the importance of this structure as a whole, and began breaking it down. We looked at the first act (The Setup) and the first point of No-Return. Today, let's get into the nitty-gritty of Act 2.

The Traditional 3-Act Structure: Part 1

Most writers have a natural instinct when it comes to story structure and plot. We do so much reading, or we see so many movies, that understanding pacing is just part of our makeup. Even new writers, still learning their craft, have this instinct.

We know that if we have action scene after action scene, eventually we need to have a calm scene that gives us the chance to breathe. We know that there needs to be those moments of reflection, looking at what has happened in the past, but if we spend too much time dwelling on the past, that explosion will be needed to get things going again. And there will also be those moments when a character decides to risk all and just go for it—damned the consequences.

As writers, we follow a story structure with the instinct of knowing where the rise and fall in the action needs to be. However, when something is off in the pacing of a story, that's when all the discussions come out about one of countless number of models for story structure and the analytical tools associated with it.

As a developmental editor, it is my job to look at story structure and pacing from the macro and micro levels. If pacing is off, for whatever reason, I delve into the mechanics of a manuscript and tear that structure apart to find out why things just don't work. Much of what I do on this particular front is instinct, simply because every single story is different. However, there are some commonalities within the beats of a story, which has given rise to models like the traditional 3-act structure.

It's time to start dissecting the mechanics of some of these models, just so you, as a writer, can see why editors use them so often within our work.