The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Fiction Writer

Here are the facts if the Pareto Principle ( 80/20 rule ) applies to fiction writers :

80 % of your success as a writer of fiction comes from 20% of the activity you are doing .

In other words ...

You as a writer doing more activities that are not effective .

But do not worry ...

Not difficult for you to change habits to be more effective . We will borrow the concept of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People ( 1989) from Dr . Stephen R. Covey .

Covey applies the concept of a common , yet flexible . Novelist or short story writer can also adapt the concept into its activities .

I know because it consciously and not , have been using it for years - since 1995 . And here ... I am going to share with you .

But first I want to say that on July 16 , 2012, Stephen R. Covey died at the age of 79 years .

So after all , this post as well as to honor his services .

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Fiction Writer

1 . Being Proactive ( RIGHT How to Overcome Writer 's Block )

What is the most cliche vocabulary in the realm of fiction writing ?

Writer's block .

Once the negatives until you can read dozens of tips that promise to remove you from writing deadlock . Such as listening to music , take a walk in the park , reading the writing of others , and so on ...

You follow their advice - I also . No change ... because they suggest looking for a solution from the outside . While the problem lies within you .

You must be proactive , says Covey . There is a free will between the stimulus with your response .

So there are 2 options for you when writer's block attack :

You choose to lose and look for justification ; Not mood ; house is noisy : Eve sultry , Pause until inspiration came , and so on ...

Or ... you choose to KEEP WRITING .

2 . Starting With the End in Mind ( Create Outline Before Writing )

There are authors who claim not to know the end of the short stories he wrote . They sure will find a character in the course of their own goals .

There are writers who managed to put it that way ..

But the fact remains , it is not effective habits .

Short Story should have been completed in your head before you start writing .

If you do not have a final destination , you could potentially lose a lot of time . Every time you have to stop to think , and ask what else should be done by the characters ?

3 . Putting The Key ( Prioritize Writing In Your Schedule )

I often get e-mail reader that has been unable to find time to write short stories .

But I 'm sure they always have time to hang out on facebook :)

So I say to them :

Writing is not the case you have time or not . Writing is an option .

If writing is important to you , then prioritize write in your agenda .

4 . Think Win - Win ( QUICK How to Sell More Books )

I 'll be honest , without naming :)

Indonovel often receive emails from readers who have just published kumcer or novel . Generally asked us to write a review - Once once someone asked us to interview him .

But only the contents of the email . Nobody asked postal address and said :

" I will send a copy of my book Indonovel . "

There are as well several emails asking for tips on how to market their books online .

Then we advocate that they share at least 10-15 books free of charge to popular bloggers for review .

But unfortunately there are none who preach have done .

So what's the moral of the story above ?

When entered into the sales phase , the author in Indonesia are generally not effective . Promotion is considered as an expense rather than an investment .

If you would like to review a novel free , be sure to get your novel peresensi free .

That is a win-win principle by Covey . You are not worthy ' win ' while your partners ' lose ' .

One example of good practice is a Win-Win in the internet affiliate sales systems ( eg in the ClickBank site ) .

There you can find many products ( especially ebooks ) that offers commission between 30-50 % to its affiliates .

By sharing profits , potentially eBook authors getting more . The more affiliate means increasingly wide range of marketing your book - plus free reviews everywhere.

5 . Trying To Understand ( Readers ) Ask Before Understood

How often do you text editor rejected Compass weeks ? When that happens , you accuse the short story editor subjective compass and favoritism .

Or ..

How often do you read a bad review of your book ? . Whether or not there are readers who commented on the short story on your blog ? Then you turn the reader assess just not able to digest the depth of your work .

If true , then your fiction writing skills will not go anywhere.

Good writers are trying to understand others before asking himself understood .

For example ...

Readers say your resolution too predictable . That's a sign you need to learn how to make a twist ending .

Editors say your plot is too flat , then you have to add suspense .

The publisher said the novel you are not worthy , then you need to have it redone ... or write a new script .

    Kadang manusia terlalu dekat dengan pohon untuk melihat hutan —> Click to tweet

6 . Synergy ( Interdependence Author By Publisher )

In the past the writer dependent ( dependent ) on the publisher . This partnership is unbalanced because writers tend to only get about 10 % royalty .

Then the author tries to self- publish his book ( independent ) . Private capital , but the advantage of 100 % went into his own pocket .

According to you which one is best ?

According to Covey , the best of all forms of cooperation are interdependent ( interdependence ) .

... Because two or more parties together , will result in greater overall value than the sum of each part :

    Synergy = 1 + 1 > 2 - > Click to tweet

In case I see publishing print on demand publishing system adequately represent this concept .

The author gets 60 % of the profit portion ( greater than mainstream publishers ) . On the other hand they do not have to bother to handle the marketing and distribution as an independent writer .
Now let's look at the last habit ...

If you had to choose only one effective habit to do , then the habit is :

No. habits . 7 : Sharpen the Saw ( Hone Pen )

Why woodcutter often stop to sharpen the saw ?

Due to the sharpness of the saw decreases over time .... consequently cutting down the timber drain more energy and time .

A writer also need to hone in order to maintain the sharpness of the writing pen

You need to stop from constantly writing short stories . Set aside time to read and learn the techniques of other authors .

Asahlah skills prepare an outline if you start trouble stringing scenes ...

Rent thriller , and learn how the director to show the tension if you start trouble creating suspense .

When re- writing , you might be surprised at the improvement of the quality and quantity of your writing .




by: +Anto Dachlan translated by +Abdul Muis Al Bantani