Last week I wrote a post Meditate your way to better writing where I talked about how meditation can quiet the mind and give your brain a “rest.” I argued that when the mind is emptied out of all the distractions that life throws at us, it makes room to be more creative and improve your writing.

I’m continuing this theme of healthy ways to better writing (a theme I did not plan ahead of time, it just kinda happened) by talking about exercise and how it can have a positive impact on your creativity and writing. Exercise is obviously one of the most healthy activities one can pursue as it helps keep you in shape and reduces the risk of a lot of diseases.

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For novel and short story writers, life is full of distractions. We are constantly busy, trying to get as much stuff done as we can. It’s unfortunate that we live in a society that rewards those who can work the hardest and get the most done each day. Being so busy stifles creativity. The brain needs time to rest and re-group.

I’m not suggesting that writers should just sit around doing nothing all day. Of course we have other obligations; some have day jobs, family, chores, social lives and so forth. Writing is just one part of our lives. So how do we give our minds the chance to relax and unwind without becoming a lazy bum?

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It’s hard to ignore an author like James Patterson. His books, an estimated 14 million copies sold, are everywhere from airport bookstores, in the supermarket and featured on prominent shelves in bookstores like Barnes & Noble and Borders. I’ll confess that the only Patterson book I’ve read is Sail (aff link). The novel was okay. At best it was entertaining. But I’m unlikely to be buying another Patterson novel in the future.

However, being a mega-selling superstar author, James Patterson is someone all struggling novelists should pay attention to and learn a thing or two.

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When I get excited about an idea for a short story, I need to start working on it before the excitement dwindles. Once the excitement vanishes, the story almost never makes it from my brain to word processor. The problem is that sometimes I’ll get a great idea for a story while I’m already working on one.

I find it hard to divide my time between two short stories, and usually end up favoring one while letting the other collect dust on my desk. The story that always collects dust is the one I have the hardest time with (either with plot, characters, etc). This is a bad habit because most problems writing fiction can be worked out with enough time and effort.

Right now I am juggling writing two short stories. While I prefer not to do this, the situation is different because both stories are in different phases of ‘production’. One is in the proofreading/editing/revising stage while the other is an incomplete and very rough draft that isn’t even a coherent story yet.

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I love books. I love reading books. There’s nothing more satisfying than finishing a good novel, especially one that keeps me thinking about the plot and characters long after I read the last page. But sometimes I like having more than just the story. I’m always pleasantly surprised when the author includes notes, written interviews or any other ‘extras’ that can illuminate the story even more.

On a simple level, all of you have seen this before (especially those with young kids). When you buy a kids book, the book has the written story, but it also has illustrations that complement the story and bring it to life in a way not possible with just words. Some childrens books even have accompanying stuffed animals and other toys (sold separately, of course).

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This is Part 2 of Why indie authors will break traditional publishers. In Part 2 I talk about what indie authors can learn from the music industry, the one advantage traditional publishers have and how indie authors are countering that advantage. You can read Part 1 here.

Independent ebook websites like Smashwords and Feedbooks are giving indie authors an unprecedented advantage by letting these authors distribute their work without the gatekeeper of traditional publishers. While the digital domain has not been perfected, indie authors are coming out of hiding and setting their writing free into the world. Continue Reading

I think large publishing houses are scared, and for good reason. They’re faced with an enemy that they see as a threat to their business. I’m talking about the growing number of indie authors – those who totally bypass the large publishing houses and self-publish their books in print and digital format. Indie authors aren’t afraid to trek out on their own and play by their own rules.

Indie authors have several advantages over authors who go with a traditional publishing house. And it’s these advantages that could be the downfall of  the traditional publishing business.

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If you find yourself needing to write on the go, but lack a solution that doesn’t involve napkins and back of receipts, then you’re in luck. Now there’s a high-tech solution that allows you to write all you want on your iPhone or iPod Touch (aff link) with an app called My Writing Nook.

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Stephen King’s latest magnum opus, Under the Dome: A Novel (aff link), has recently been released. If you haven’t yet made it down to your local bookstore, you might want to take a look. The novel is a brick, weighing in at a whopping 1,074 pages. I plan on reading King’s latest work eventually, but I’ll probably wait until the ebook edition is released later on this year (I only have so much shelf space and I don’t want Stephen King hogging it all).

The premise of the novel is interesting: A clear dome falls over a town and they must somehow survive the consequences of being cut off from the rest of the world. There is a great book review in the NYT – and the review is also where I got the inspiration for this post.

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I often wonder if good writing is only a subjective matter of personal taste. Or is there a more precise way to judge whether writing is good or not? These are questions I think about with my own writing projects, although I try not to dwell on them too much because they only bring out my inner editor.

In an attempt to satisfy my curiosity, I did a few Google searches to see if there is anything on the web that could shed some light on what makes good writing. I really didn’t find much in the way of trustworthy sources that I could quote for this post. There were a lot of forum posts and other bits and pieces scattered around the web. But nothing that satisfied me.

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