Terry Tyler [3] Bad Writing

What do you dislike about "bad" writing?

Depends what you call ‘bad’ writing.  This is what I think it is: bad grammar, incorrect punctuation, over use of clichés, inconsistency within characters, unfeasible plots, anti-climactic endings, unrealistic dialogue, clumsy sentences, nouns used as verbs, the jumping on of bandwagons in the hope that the public will read anything if it vaguely resembles Twilight/50 Shades/whatever the next ‘big thing’ is going to be.

What do I dislike about it?  Hard to answer as I don’t read it.  If a book is badly written I just abandon it.  Its main downside, if we’re talking about Amazon Kindle Store, is that it can give all independently published stuff a bad name; I’ve read on forum discussions and in FB reader groups that many people consider 30 -50% of books that are ‘Kindle only’ to be rubbish.  I reckon, however, that things will change, eventually; right now it seems that everyone who has a laptop is writing a novel, but surely it will slow down, one day?  Imagine this:  You’ve brought out two novels and got hundreds of lousy reviews – you’ll go back to the day job, eventually, won’t you?  On the other hand, it hasn’t done EL James any harm.  Oh dear.  Okay, okay, bad writing is here to stay.  Bummer.

Many thanks for asking me those interesting questions, and for inviting me to be a Gonzo guest, Charles!

Terry Tyler - Author Interview [2] Fame & Money

If you had to choose, do you write for the fame, or the money?

I’ve thought about this one a lot, too. The answer is neither.  I won’t lie and pretend I wouldn’t like more money, because of course I would, but I’m not particularly materialistic and money has never been the motivation for any of the courses of action I have pursued in my life.  Fame?  Who wants that?  I think you have to be some sort of nut with serious self-esteem issues to want to be famous for its own sake. 

No, what I’d love is the recognition.  I want lots of people to say, Terry Tyler, she writes great books!  That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?  Of course, if I became nationally reknowned (yeah, yeah!) this would bring fame and money with it, but they are not stand alone motivations, and I reckon I could live with them!  I look at my Amazon ratings and new reviews on a daily basis but my sales figures only once a week…..

I’d also love that recognition to extend to a wider audience – my first three books are classed by Amazon, etc, as ‘women’s contemporary fiction’, but they’re not just that; I don’t write in any deliberate genre, I just write.  I’m glad that a fair few men have read and reviewed me, too, as my 4^th novel (‘Dream On’, which came out on September 1st) is slightly more ‘bloke’ orientated; the main character is Dave Bentley, a guy from small town England who wants to be a rock star. 

The story is about his band, and also his relationships with singer-songwriter Ariel (the love of his life), and Janice, who is the mother of his son, Harley (David’s son, geddit!).  It’s got serious bits and funny bits and tongue-in-cheek bits - especially when Dave’s band and Ariel take part in a TV Talent show.  Then there is Melodie Joy, who ‘just wants to be a celebrity’…….

Terry Tyler - Author Interview [1] Perspiration?

There's a saying "1% inspiration, 80% perspiration." With respect to writing, what say you?

I’ve thought about this long and hard!  Aside from the fact that your MATH is way out (as we’ve already mentioned!),  here’s my version:

10%  Inspiration – you need to be able to think up an unusual story that works, great characters, good plot twists/cliffhangers to keep your audience’s attention.  It’s been said that there are only seven plots in the world; maybe so, but ideally you should have a new take on your choice from those seven.

10% Individuality – your ‘voice’ ought to stand out in the crowd.  I don’t know whether that’s something you can work on or not; I dare say you can’t TRY to be individual!  I hope I write like ME and not like anyone else; I’ve been told this is the case.  Ah - I hope that’s a good thing….!

20% Talent – as I have often said, writing is not something you can learn from a formula.  You can  read all the articles about ‘how to build suspense’, buy your ‘how I became a bestselling author’ book, attend all the creative writing classes you like – they might improve your technique but they won’t give you that ‘spark’.  Having said that, practice, hard work and not being too proud to take advice can develop what you do have.

I read a 1 star review of a book today that said ‘just because you’ve thought of a good story it doesn’t mean you can write’.  Alas, this is all too true.

20% Aptitude for the basics – If you can’t punctuate, if your grammar is poor, it doesn’t matter how great your story idea is, because people won’t be able to read past the first couple of pages.  You’re not sure about it?  Learn how to do it before you to start to write a novel.

35% Dedication – Okay, so you’ve got that 60% of other stuff.  Now you’ve got to sit down and write the thing.  For hours at a time.  Without being distracted by Twitter, Facebook, the telly, the pub, Spider Solitaire, lying on the sofa gazing at the ceiling.  I have a friend who is a far better writer than I; even his Facebook status updates are so clever I can never think of a worthy comment.  He used to write blogs on MySpace that were riveting.  But he can’t apply himself.  ‘That’ novel remains in his head.  Tragic.

…..and not forgetting….

…. 5%  Proof-reading – for all those mistakes, like the ones I sometimes discover in my books, AFTER publication – we’re none of us perfect, eh!