<span class="vcard">Written Well</span>
Written Well

Help! I Need a New Computer

The days of pen and paper are long gone. Don’t even think about it. You might draft a few things with a quill pen to look cool at the coffee shop, but if you’re going to churn out enough words to survive as an independent author, you need a computer. Whether your old computer is just, well, old, or it has died and you need a new one right away so you can get back to that masterpiece you were working on about space zombies invading Kansas, we’re here to help with our guide to buying a word processing machine...

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Thriller Guide Preview

Thrillers are about tension and movement, long odds and fighting to overcome them, and a hero so brilliant and determined that they win anyway. They may have to make a big sacrifice, but in the end the hero saves the world.  Thrillers are usually written in third person, specifically, in third person limited. It’s a visceral genre, so first person is good, too, but thrillers often feature complex and/or convoluted plots that need several viewpoint characters to work. For first person, make sure your plot is on the simpler side, the twist demands the reader not know anything that the …

Should I Write Erotica?

Back to erotica guide So you want to write erotica? You’re not alone. Most authors have tried their hand at writing on the wild side at some point in their career. And with the advent of the kindle and the success of Fifty Shades of Grey, erotica is mainstream now.  Most erotica writers start off by reading an article or two and typing out their favorite fantasy. And almost all of them fail. Because sex is a very personal thing. And most people who write about it end up writing about what they like. If you are writing for fun,...

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Erotica Story Builder

For this exercise, you should have a document open where you can write. Now copy the text in the box and paste it into that document. This will be the blueprint for your story. You'll fill it in as you go through the exercise and end up with a basic outline for your erotica story. The good news is that no matter how formulaic you are, if your scenes are hot, many readers will read everything you have for sale once they discover your first story.

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Erotica Blueprint

Please note that there are a number of erotica stories that don't follow this blueprint exactly, and most don't follow it perfectly. If your story will still be thrilling and sexy for readers without one of these pieces, or with some of them done differently or in a different order, feel free to do your own thing. This blueprint is just so that you can understand the basic format that your readers will expect from the genre. 

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Should I Write LitRPG?

LitRPG is an exciting new genre, but it breaks a lot of the rules that speculative fiction was built on. If you find traditional spec-fic stodgy and old-fashioned, then litRPG should appeal to you. It is also very specific to gaming. If you're not a gamer, it will likely be difficult for you to get inside this genre.

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LitRpg Study Materials

If you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. There are only two books here, as I have not read widely in this genre.

With so few books here, it is incredibly important for you to do your own research. Search for litRPG books...

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Series and Speed: The Keys to Self-Publishing Success

Writing fast, and in a series, offers the best chance of success as a self-published author. It isn’t the only chance—there are other paths—but it is the most reliable. Because if you write fast, and in series, you can make a living without ever having a hit book. A hit book—or at least a moderately popular one—is a requirement for the other paths. And a hit book is far more dependent on luck, and hitting the right mark at the right time, than your skills as a writer. Readership trends are notoriously hard to predict. Even if you write a...

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LitRPG Guide

LitRPG is a very new genre, the term only being coined in 2013. As such, it doesn't have an official category on Amazon, and unlike grimdark, I don't think it has enough mainstream support that it will get one. However, you will find plenty of self-published fantasy books with litRPG as part of their title or subtitle. It's a sought after keyword, and you'll find litRPG titles in high spots of other fantasy genre's

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Grimdark Study Materials

If you want to write in a genre, you have to read that genre. Experts in the industry are consistent with their advice that you must be an avid reader of a genre to write well in it. Depending on what kind of grimdark novel you're writing, you'll want to look at the instructional and informational books in the epic fantasy, military fantasy, and gene

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