Surviving the reading list

You need to read in your genre to write in your genre. You need to learn from the masters and know the conventions. You need to immerse yourself in the genre.

You don't want to get so deep in your reading that you start copying what you've read, however. You want your work to be original and innovative.

So how do you draw the line?

There are a few things you can do to help yourself.

Remember your intention. Have written down anything you planned for your story. If you know the ending, if you know the theme, if you have an angle that is truly original, write it down so you can call back to it while you're also reading the greats.

Read something else while you're writing. Sure, you want to be on top of your genre, but you can take a break while you're writing so that you don't end up accidentally copying what you're reading.

Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself copying someone else's style, writing with words that you usually wouldn't use, or copycatting an approach that you would never have thought of, be honest that you might be copying someone else.

You want to learn from other writers, but you want to make the lessons your own. Make sure that you aren't copying who is on your reading list and that you're being yourself in your writing.

What's too close

Close third person is a legitimate point of view. It's one way to tell your story without having to adopt your character's voice or revealing their lies.

It's a great tool for various stories. For example, when your protagonist is a child who may not have the vocabulary or knowledge to tell their own story.

There is such a thing as too close, however.

Close third doesn't mean that you can predict what your protagonist hasn't decided to do yet. It doesn't mean that you can read other character's minds. It doesn't mean that you get to run around and know things the main character wouldn't know.

Third person point of view is great. Just make sure you know when you are crossing the line between close and psychic and revealing too much.

Is your routine working

We all have habits that we establish to get our writing in. We have ways we set our goals and get down to business.

And we all want to believe that our way is great because… well… it;s ours. We thought it up and we have been using it. And we hate to change things for no reason. Or we love to change things and we do it very often.

At some point, take the time to review the writing habits that you've established.

Are they really working for you? Are they the most productive? Are they helping you avoid the parts you don't want to face? Are they easier than they are useful?

Even if you have had the same writing routine for years, there might be some improvements that can be made. Take the time to look at your writing routine and figure out if it's the best it can be.

Foreshadow honestly

You can—and should—include foreshadowing in your story.

It's good for your readers to look for hints and try to decipher them.

However, when you're creating a new world, you have to make sure your hints can be understood and processed in order for them to be remembered.

Don't talk about the qualag machine being lost if you never explain what that machine is or what it has the potential to do.

Don't place a stunner gun that has a secret feature to revive people and only reveal this extra feature when it's being used to save the day.

Foreshadowing is great, but if you're creating a whole new world, make sure your foreshadowing can be understood and doesn't feel like a convenient miracle when most needed in your story.

That's too easy—Obstacles worthy of your characters

There are a lot of things that make a story. A lot of elements that need to come together to make a full novel.

You need characters and setting and obstacles and more.

You also need a challenge.

Or, at least, your protagonist does.

If everything comes easy to your protagonist, keeping your readers interested will become hard. Without any internal struggle, doubts, or stumbles, there is no intrigue. And if all the obstacles that come their way are solved with a little thought or outside intervention, there will be no growth.

Your protagonist doesn't have to go through hell to keep readers interested, but they do need to have some challenge. Otherwise, they are likely to be extremely boring or unlikeable.

The path not chosen can just be delayed

You make a lot of decisions when writing a novel.

Do those two characters start dating? Does your protagonist accept that job? Does the bomb go off as plan?

You have to make a million little decisions that are right for your novel when writing.

That doesn't mean that you have to let go of the other choice that seemed compelling to you.

If you really liked where the other option might have been going, you can save it for something else. Maybe it's a short story or a sequel or an entirely different novel driven by other characters.

There are a lot of decisions that you have to make when writing a novel. If there's one that you feel particularly sad you didn't get to explore, don't mourn. Recycle it for something even better.

Contest stand out

Writing contests can receive hundreds of submissions. Thousands sometimes.

A lot of people write and a lot of people want to be seen or validated. Contests can be the easiest way to make that happen.

If you're submitting your writing to a contest, don't forget that you are one among many.

Of course, you have to make sure that you meet all the writing requirements. Word count. Formatting. Theme. Etc.

Above all that, however, remember that you have to stand out. The best way to do that is to be yourself in your writing. Show them who you are and who no one else is. Write what you are and what you know.

Stand out by being yourself. The right contest will come along and give you center stage when it's the right time for you.