If you want to make a living from writing, focus on the real moneymakers. — Over and over again, you read the advice not to depend on a single source of income. If you make a living writing books alone, build a second leg up on the side with a blog, they say. At first glance, this advice seems plausible. I followed it, and that’s…

I’ve been writing series for seven years. Do you know why I will continue to do so for the next seven years? — My most extended book series is now 20 volumes long, and in a few days, volume 21 will be published. Another series now has nine parts, and the shortest one is so far three books long. Many authors tell me that it’s not for them. I understand that. But even…

A few hours of uninterrupted writing time in the day is something we all wish we had. But what if your day-to-day life doesn’t allow for that? — Even if you don’t have a regular job because you only make a living from writing, focused work can sometimes be very difficult. If you work from home, it’s often much easier to get distracted than someone who sits in an office from nine to five, because you don’t have…

Forget about pages and pages of character studies for every minor character, even if some writing guides would have you believe that. — A story consists of characters, events, and premises. Of course, there are character-driven stories and event-driven stories. But events and characters are always just parts of the whole story. So it seems logical to take care of the parts first and then build the story from them. Right? No, wrong.