An author’s job is to please and delight readers. This is the joyful, beautiful, wonderful gift of being a writer. Writing success is directly linked to how well we can engage readers. If you are not considering what a reader experiences when they read your story, then it will be incredibly challenging to figure out how to become a successful author.

This is the time of year when writers start talking about NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month which takes place every November. During this annual challenge, writers from all over commit themselves to writing a 50 000 word novel in a single month. The organization offers other smaller challenges throughout the year as well. You may have seen writers talking about it on social media or preparing themselves to participate. If you spend a lot of time in writing communities, you may be feeling pressure to participate yourself. Before you make a decision about whether NaNoWriMo is right for you, here are some important things to consider.

Improve your writing process with these tips

Everyone has their own writing process and novel writing strategies that work best for them. I’m not here to tell anyone how to write a novel. Okay, maybe I am, but it’s entirely up to you if you want to take my advice and finish writing a novel faster.

It may be well-intentioned but there are a few statements that aspiring authors hear all the time. I don’t think people mean to be hurtful, but these types of statements can really discourage us. Here are a few of the most common (and unhelpful) things we hear:

Writers are never promised an easy path. Most of us know we have to take our lumps, whether it's writer's block, criticism or ongoing rejection. Dealing with all of this on top of jobs, school, family and other life stuff sometimes leaves us asking why do I write? Here are four good reasons to keep writing, even if you’re feeling so discouraged, you can't get another word down.

With a steep learning curve and an extemely unforgiving industry, writing and publishing a novel takes a lot of time and patience. If you feel called to write a book, you should go in with a clear idea of what you’re getting into. Let’s look at four hard truths about writing a novel.

I started writing my first book in a pink notebook when I was in elementary school. It was called The Best Friends Club, it was kind of like The Babysitters Club. I never finished it. All through high school and university I dreamed of writing a book one day, but I only wrote things sporadically when inspiration hit me.