Advice for a New Writer by Dennis Scheel – Guest Blog and Giveaway

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dennis Scheel will award a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Advice for a New Writer

I want to tell new writers to just keep writing. It can be hard and if you’re a perfectionist, you might feel self-critical and have trouble accepting the ideas you are putting down on the page, but a first draft is a huge milestone and you’re never going to get there if you keep fixating on the specifics. A draft can always be adjusted, changed, and developed upon, but it’s only effective if you can get a complete draft written. Forget about the word count, grammar, and times where you feel like you can’t think of the right word for the sentence. You can refine everything once you’ve written the story once. The things you need to change to improve the draft becoming even more clear when you’ve written through the story once.

Of course, you’ll get stuck sometimes, so you’ll occasionally need to wait for inspiration to strike. I’ve had ideas come to me when I’ve least expected it. Sometimes, you just need to step away and wait for something to come to you by doing something else. Some of my best ideas have come to me when I’m not even trying to come up with anything, such as while I’m taking a shower, out walking, or trying to fall asleep at night. So don’t be afraid to give yourself breaks and wait for inspiration to come when you’re stuck. Often times, if you try to force the story to come together when you’re just not feeling it, it’ll make your writer’s block worse. But my editor once gave me some really good advice: if you’re not sure how your character would act in a given situation, just ask them what they’d do!

Additionally, I’d tell new authors that becoming self-published comes with its pros and cons. For example, it allows you to maintain complete control over your stories and the rights to your books, but it also makes you responsible for all the book’s marketing, e-book formatting, and design-choices, such as the book’s cover. Formatting the book determines how many pages it will turn out to be, which also affects the size of the book’s cover and spine. These sorts of challenges would normally be a publisher’s responsibility, so you become accountable for them if you choose to self-publish.

Will it end in peace or a silvery dose of fate?

Henna’s manipulation knows no bounds,
Denida is still the object of her prophecy, while Lucifer, God, and Gabriel remain in her sights.

Having seen her son, Nina is more determined than ever to bring him back from Henna’s world of dead souls. Meanwhile, the Darkness runs rampant across the Underworlds and on Earth as Lucifer’s grief over Heavani’s death overwhelms him.

Everyone has their own goals and ends, but one thing is inescapable: the bright silvery path that Henna willed.

Can these characters escape destiny’s hold on them, or will they become pawns in Henna’s quest for revenge?

Enjoy an Excerpt

Den, Denida’s human form, trotted from his grandparent’s house with a smile painted across his face. He admired the sunny sky before skipping down the road, humming to himself.

He’s barely grown. Odin clenched his scepter. “We have to do it within one week.” He glared in through a window, then turned to Loki. “I’ll leave the task to you; don’t fail me.”

Loki chuckled. “Why bother? They’re lowly humans.”

“I want to expedite Henna’s prophecy. We have waited in this world long enough. This is your chance to show me that I can rely on you, Loki.”

“But what I still don’t understand is: why? Isn’t that kid Henna’s chosen one?”

Odin adjusted his grip on his scepter. “His soul form is, not the boy, but certain events must fall into place to achieve Henna’s desired outcome, instead of a less desirable one.”

“Understood.” Loki smirked.

“You must use dark magic to kill the boy’s grandmother within one week. I can’t specify how important that is.”

Loki’s eyes widened. “To frame Lucifer?”

Odin sighed. “Aren’t you attentive today.” He leaned closer to Loki. “Correct.”

About the Author: Wring about myself… oh, the horror!

As a Christmas Child, I believe magic is everywhere, especially during the winter, and I try to weave that magic into my stories. After all, my firm belief in karma and destiny has shaped who I am, so it should guide my stories, as well.

I was born and raised in Denmark, but faced many challenges during my life, one of which was my inability to write my stories in Danish! I’ve had my stories brewing in my head since I was a child and struggled for years to express them properly. After recovering from a diabetic attack that left me hospitalized, I managed to find my writer’s voice in English, and am thrilled to now have the ability to share my tales with you.

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