Category: Creative Writing

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What Are Your Preferred Genres?

Bible, science, and history have been my chosen genres for the past 45 years. However, within the past 3 years I adopted Creative Nonfiction, and am considering Documentary Historical Fiction.

The shortest definition of Creative Nonfiction is: a true story well told. Best selling author, mentor, and instructor Lee Gutkind said, “I am often asked: ‘What is creative nonfiction?’ Memoir, for example, personal essay, biography, narrative history, and long form narrative reportage may all fit under the creative nonfiction umbrella. Writers who write creative nonfiction are very different in voice, orientation and purpose. But what they have in common is that they are, in one way or the other, writing true stories that provide information about a variety of subjects, enriched by relevant thoughtful ideas, personal insight, and intimacies about life and the world we live in. And this scope and variety is exactly what makes creative nonfiction significant and, these days, so incredibly popular.”

Creative nonfiction involves descriptive narrative, but we need to be careful not to overdo the verbosity. However, this genre – used correctly – vies for first place with fiction for popularity. Look up Lee Gutkind and learn more.

‘ll talk about Documentary Historical Fiction another time. In the mean time …

Write Creatively.

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Write 18 and Sell 3, or Write 2 and Sell Hundreds?

I spoke with a man several years ago who had written 18 books. I was impressed with his productivity and his diligence, until he inadvertently revealed a bit of information he meant to keep hidden: He had sold only 3 books, and feeling dejected, was giving them away.

One of the men in our writers’ guild had written 2 books. But guess what? He had sold over two hundred books within 2 years, and many orders were coming in.

What was the major difference?

The first man didn’t know his audience … if he even had one. He wrote for the love of writing, and there is nothing wrong with that, and just expected people to buy his books. But if a writer wants to sell books ……

The second man had targeted an audience for each book. He wrote both books with that specified group of people in mind. Therefore, it’s accurate to say that he wrote to those people, and his sales verify it.

The following is what an acquaintance said about establishing an audience. “Your target audience is the group of people who would be the most helped or entertained by your book. Your readership might extend past your intended target audience, but the target audience is who you intentionally aim for.”

So, write for the love of writing. Write what you are about passionate about. But also be sure to identify your target audience for each book you write. And make sure you …

Write Creatively.

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One Last Reminder …

P&L Publishing and Literary Services is offering a $100 discount as a Valentine’s Day special.

If you are writing a book – or are ready to publish one – contact us on our “Get In Touch” or contact page and tell us you read this blog. You’ll be surprised at how little it costs to publish a book and how quickly we can do it for you. Contact us on or before Leap Day (February 29, 2024) to receive this offer. That’s only 5 days from now, so don’t forget.

Feel free to share this blog with your friends. They might be glad you did.

Write Creatively

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Don’t be Predictable

It’s important for the author to insert him/herself into the plot; that helps in creating a great story. But don’t let the story be predictable. Ernest Hemingway at times stopped in the middle of a page and walked away for half a day or so to refresh his mind. The noted radioman, Paul Harvey, always had a twist in his narrative called, “The Rest of the Story.” The turn-of-events took his listeners – and readers of his books – by surprise, and left them wanting more.

Unless predictability is your purpose, design the plot with those sudden surprises that will capture your readers’ attention and keep them reading. One of your primary means of doing that is to …

Write Creatively

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Valentine’s Day Special

P&L Publishing and Literary Services is offering a $100 discount as a Valentine’s Day special. If you are writing a book – or are ready to publish one – contact us on our “Get In Touch” or contact page and tell us you read this blog. You’ll be surprised at how little it costs and how quickly we can publish your book. Contact us on or before Leap Day (February 29, 2024) to receive this offer. (https://plpubandlit.org/)

And just as this critter is passing on this information, share this blog with your friends.

Write Creatively

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Don’t Give Up

About 90-95% of people who begin the journey of becoming authors give up. Why? Admittedly over-simplified, here are several issues to consider.

Traditional publishers have stringent regulations for manuscripts they will accept, and have tough rules the authors must agree to. It can take a year to publish the book, and the requirements are daunting for many people. Also, authors lose rights to their books.

With about 11,000 new titles published daily, traditional publishers seldom consider projects if they don’t foresee significant profits in the near future.

Independent publishers (commonly called Indies) are basically traditional publishers but are not part of a large corporation.

Vanity publishers often charge multi-thousands of dollars, and the author can lose control of the project to them, too. With so many thousands of Vanity companies, it is not possible to give an overall report.

Considering all the above and much more, the following are four basic reasons P&L Publishing and Literary Services was created: Definitive information about publishing is hard to get. Prices are too high. Waiting many months to finish the job is too long. Many companies won’t communicate by phone, and it’s difficult to resolve some issues by email.

Therefore, P&L was formed to give an excellent product at a much lower price, and is a lot faster than other companies. We also know that writers are more comfortable and feel more secure if they can talk with the people who publish their books. We explain the process by phone and/or email, we spell out the fees up front, and our clients enter the publishing agreement with most questions answered.

You have a story to share with family, the church, and the world, and we want you to be successful. Contact us and we’ll assist you on your writing journey. Don’t give up. And as you write your manuscript …

Write Creatively

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Energize Your Writing

Do you know that your choice of words is as important as how you use them? Also, writing a compelling sentence often has a higher priority than writing a literally correct sentence. These concepts are part of what makes the editing process so powerful, and what makes the editor so valuable. Identifying weak areas and refining/editing the work can transform a good story into a great story.

The following is an example of weak narrative.   

George looked out the window. He saw an airplane flying very low, and wondered if it would make it to the airport. 

The author should find a way to infuse life into the narrative. There are many ways that can be accomplished, and here is one idea:

George couldn’t believe what he saw. “You’ll never make it to the airport; the plane is too low! Bring it up!” George yelled at the closed window. He couldn’t hear the crash, but a massive fireball and cloud of black smoke erupted as the commercial airliner plowed into the forest at 165 mph.

Changing the sentence structure not only energized the narrative, it also added depth to the story. This kind of writing prompts readers to keep turning the pages.

Let’s not waste our time by writing boring stories for bored people. Let’s offer them a dynamic adventure by …

Writing Creatively

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Today, You Get a Short Note

If you’ve read my blogs on either web site for a while, you’ll note that not all of them are pertinent to your situation. You’ll also note that a few seem redundant, and many of them overlap.

That’s okay. Accept and learn by what applies/appeals to you, and let the rest go.

One of my newspaper column readers called the managing editor and complained, “I really do not agree with Mr. Linzey. I don’t like today’s article.”

The editor asked, “Did you like his column last week?”

“Oh, yes, I did.”

“How about the week before?”

“Yes.”

“Then, you’ll like his column next week, too. So just throw this one away.”

In like manner, you folks are encouraged to use whatever information you can and ignore the rest. And all of us will do our best to …

Write Creatively

Oh, and if you have an extra 10 minutes, you can look us up and find out more about us at https://plpubandlit.org/.

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Are You a Writer or Storyteller?

In a proverbial nutshell, there is a difference between a writer and a storyteller.

A writer uses words in various styles and techniques to communicate ideas. A writer’s prose and/or poetry can be so polished that by using imagery and metaphors the writer can enrapture people with their literary brilliance even without a well-defined plot. The emphasis is in the choice of words.

A storyteller is someone who communicates about events in images, and sounds. Excellent storytelling resurrects old worlds or creates new worlds. Storytellers enable us to watch the forces of Attila the Hun clash with the Roman Legions. They help us to walk through the distant past and watch the pterodactyls fly overhead. People are enabled to experience fear as they see and hear the battle between imaginary interstellar forces.

Storytelling is a social activity that draws the listener to a different dimension of time and space. The wording can be rough and crude, and that’s forgiven because the emphasis is in the plot.

But can a person be both a writer and a storyteller? The answer is a resounding YES.

I think it’s something we should all be striving for, because that would enhance the quality and the value of our work – and the number of sales of our books.

I want to be both a good writer and a good storyteller. I’ve got the verbal storytelling down okay; it’s the writing part that I’m still working on. So, yes, I’m still endeavoring to …

Write Creatively

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Editors are an Unnecessary Expense … or Are They?

Often, what someone tries to convey in writing isn’t what the reader perceives. Also, the writer sometimes makes errors that his or her own mind glosses over. That’s why, after the document is completed, the author needs to become objective. So edit it: read it, and rewrite it . Make sure you take the time to revise it and make the story say what you want it to say. Edit the document to the best of your ability, then be willing to ask a knowledgeable friend to review the manuscript for you. But often close friends and family members don’t want to hurt your feelings, and that can color their judgment.

Marie called. She was distraught because she asked for and received advice from numerous friends about how to proceed. However, the advisors conflicted with each other and deepened her confusion. After we answered her questions and helped her understand what was involved, she hired our P&L Publishing and Literary Services editor who helped the message flow smoothly.

Editing takes time because the editor objectively reads every word. Depending on the genre, size of the book, and the level of editing the author requests, the process can take several days to a month. A good editor will not hurry because he/she wants to assure that your book is excellent. With that in mind, P&L’s highly experienced editor endeavors to complete the job within two weeks. Check P&L out at https://plpubandlit.org/.

The following statement may not surprise you, but you might not often think about it: A well-written book generates more sales than a poorly-written book. Therefore, give a lot of thought to editing. If you are good at it, you can save money. Otherwise, a good editor can help you make the sales, and therefore, earn you money. For a few more ideas, order our book, Publish Your Book the Easy and Inexpensive Way. (https://www.amazon.com/Publish-Your-Book-Easy-Inexpensive/dp/B0BVT8KWN2)

Write Creatively