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While talking to different people who are into fiction writing, I have recently stumbled upon a question that I ask each of them.

“Why are you writing this novel?” I ask.

And every time, the answers are different. Some writers do not have an answer. But I’ll try and quote the others from memory:

“I want to be published. I have published a few short stories, but that just not have the same impact.”

“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t. But there’s this deadline…”

“Because I think I can write one…”

A scattered few say:

” Because I can’t help it. The characters in my head won’t stop talking….”

“I care about what happened here, and I want to write so that the truth is out, once and for all….”

” This issue is close to my heart, and I’ve carried this story within me a long, long time….

I’m a reader for some of these writers and when I get their manuscripts in my hand, it is always the work of the latter category that keeps me reading to the last page. They aren’t always technically perfect, these works driven by passion or even obsession, but that can be corrected with the help of an editor.

I have come to believe that passion, more than knowledge of the craft, is what carries a novel with a reader, and makes him or her want to read on.

I’m not writing my novel, yet, but I’m sure I’ll ask myself the same question when I get to writing it. I’ll be sure to come out with my first, most spontaneous, honest answer, and then take a long, hard look at it.

So, why are you writing your novel?

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For writers, a wide reading is an asset. Whether you are a romance writer, a fantasy writer, or a writer of literary fiction, reading across the genres gives your writing a sort of depth few other things can provide. There is a cross germination of ideas as you read. Sometimes, you stand back from something you like and wonder how the author did it and at other times, you read terrible writing, and learn what not to do.

I’ve been reading Lost Horizon by James Hilton, and what I really liked about the story is the way Hilton has created a world–a hidden, legendary lamasery in remote mountains, the Shangri-la, where people live longer lives, where the lamas devote their time to contemplation and academic preoccupations.

I particularly love the descriptions:

“To Conway, seeing it first, it might have been a vision fluttering out of that solitary rhythm in which lack of oxygen had encompassed all his faculties. It was, indeed a strange and half-incredible sight. A group of coloured pavilions clung to the mountainside with none of the grim deliberation of a Rhineland castle, but rather with the chance delicacy of flower petals impaled upon a crag…An austere emotion carried the eye upward from the milk-blue roofs to the grey rock bastion above, tremendous as the Wetterhorn above Grindelwald. Beyond that, in a dazzling pyramid, soared the snow slopes of Karakal.”

So what have you been reading recently? And what has moved you the most in the books you have read?

Feel free to post an excerpt from your reading in the comments, so we may all get to know new and exciting, or old and undiscovered books for our future reading lists!

–Damyanti

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Okay, I got some great feedback from my post about how we were going to set up social networking, and I think the one I heard the most about was Twitter, so we are going to start there!

Basically twitter is a micro blogging tool… what’s a micro blogging tool you ask? Well, it means that you update your twitter page with little snippets of your life and goings on throughout the day.

We are going to start simple today. We will get a twitter account and start updating it. I am not going to give you the awesome list of agents, editors and publishers using twitter just yet, because I don’t want you to add them yet! Instead, I want you to wait and just add fris, family, and of course the girls with pens! This way, you will have time to establish your twitter account and not look like spam, and maybe those awesome agents will follow you back!

So, we start by going to the twitter home page and clicking on the big green join button.

Now, you are on the sign up page… pretty self explanatory… just remember to pick a cool username, because that’s the name everyone is going to call you!

So, it’s official… you’re a member of the Twitteratti! Now, let twitter do the work for you and see if any of your friends are Tweeting! Just fill in your email address and password, and twitter will check to see if your friends are on Twitter! Follow them, because they will help you learn how to use this crazy new service!

Now, for the important part. You absolutely, hands down, without a doubt have to have an avatar. So, go into your profile and add a photo, most of the people on twitter use a picture of themselves, because, twitter is about personal acquaintances. So, find an adorable pic of you that you love and load her up! (for the purpose of this tutorial, I will just use a random image since I am not actually creating a personal account)

Play around in the Profile, and check out the different twitter designs! They have some great ones, and are easy to customize, so have fun with that! But make sure to fill out the Bio and Location (your location can be very general, like say The United States if you are worried about giving too much info away). Just make sure to fill these our, because people want to know about the person they are talking to!

You are officially ready to start tweeting! Click on the ‘home’ on the top right hand of the screen, and tell everyone what you are doing!

Want to follow more people that are interested in the same things as you are?
Check out Twitter Search and type in different stuff to see what people are talking about!

Okay, so you probably need a few people to follow, so here are a just a couple!

There’s me: http://twitter.com/jamieharrington
Another Girl with a Pen, Sarah Jensen: http://twitter.com/sarahjen
And everyone’s favorite anonymous author: http://twitter.com/authoressanon

Remember, start small… tweet a lot, if you find something interesting on the internet! Tell everyone about it!

Now, next week, we will look at a few tools for using twitter and if you promise to tweet, I will hook you up with that list of super cool people in the publishing world that twitter

Good Luck and Happy Tweeting!

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Querytracker.net is a wealth of information. And if you visit their blog, you will find many ways to improve your writing. So check them out.

And go here for Improving your craft. Something I’m sure we all can use as writers.

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