As a writer, you know that every good story needs a hero. Someone readers can root for.
But there’s someone else we’re rooting for before your story even sees the light of day … you!
So why are you the hero, even though you aren’t a character in your own story?
There are several reasons:
1. It’s you who bravely marches into battle. You’re the one who sets out to achieve something great by writing a novel. This is like walking across a battlefield with no armor: you’re vulnerable. As you put in the work every day, you leave yourself open to naysayers—those people who wish to take you down a notch—and even to your own negative thoughts. But as the hero, you find the strength and willpower to ignore them.
2. It’s you who creates an entire world with nothing but words and imagination. Whether you’re world-building for a fantasy epic or coming up with ordinary, everyday places for your story to happen, this is one of the funnest parts of writing a novel, because you can really do anything. Your story can take place in world full of magic or play out in real-world settings.
3. It’s you who brings the characters to life. Your hero—and the world your hero lives in—wouldn’t exist without you. People have a great deal of admiration for writers who can draw them into a story and keep them there. One big part of this is creating characters that are life-like and believable.
4. It’s you who slays the dragons of fear. You give a confident “yes” when faced with a choice about writing a novel: give it a try or no? Even if you’re afraid it might not work out, no one will read it, or you’ll fall flat on your face, deep down you know that nothing’s going to stop you from trying. That’s the way of a hero.
So truly, you are the hero of your own story.
That being said, not every story (and not every hero) is created equal.
Those who don’t bother to learn how to craft a good narrative will almost always write a book that falls flat with readers.
This is because many new writers dive right in, having no clue what they’re doing.
While I admire their courage and drive, this often leads to making mistakes that could otherwise be avoided.
Often, these are mistakes that turn readers off very early on in the story. And when a reader doesn’t connect with a story right away, it’s likely they’ll put the book down and never pick it up again.
Mistakes like:
- Confusing readers by starting with too much action
- Introducing too many characters at once
- Way too much description
And there are many more.
Avoiding these turn-offs is easy—as long as you know what to look for.
If you’d like to get started now and write an excellent first chapter—that will lead to an excellent novel—join us for the 21-Day Novel Jumpstart … it starts soon.
In the meantime, fight on, hero!
Timothy Pike is an editor and self-publishing specialist who loves helping writers get their books into print. He is the creator of the writer discovery platform Discover This!, and is now recruiting serious writers into the 21-Day Novel Jumpstart.
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