Ghostwriting: A Writing World of Illusion

We read other people's words every day - so why am I bothered by the idea of ghostwriting? Perhaps it has something to do with my newfound understanding of the illusion we prescribe to when it comes to this side of the publishing industry. 

I have pictured the cover for the 2012 film The Ghost Writer (based on Robert Harris' novel, The Ghost) directed by Roman Polanski and staring Ewan McGreggor and Pierce Brosnan. It wasn't a major hit but the concept might have opened a few eyes of who really writes some of these 'Best Sellers' by the famed and notorious.

According to Wikipedia...

A ghostwriter is a writer who writes books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written material. In music, ghostwriters are often used for writing songs and lyrics for popular music genres.

A fairly straightforward definition but the term that bothered me the most was "officially credited to another person." Is this another form of lying? Because it's "officially okay" with the people producing the book to not be truthful about who wrote it - does this make it okay with us as readers?

Creating Characters We Want to Know (the Marvel Way)

I was watching the bonus material that came with the Target Blu-ray set of The Avengers and thought there was a great 'Aha' moment that writers can take and apply to their writing. In the 90 minute video "Assembling the Avengers" - they interview the actors, producers and others about how they came up with the franchise and why it's been so successful. They interviewed Stan Lee (one of the main guys who invented most of the superheroes that Marvel made famous) and he brought up the idea that the reason their heroes are so popular comes down to one concept.

The characters in their comics are people we would want to know who just happen to be superheroes.

So basic and yet so brilliant.

Word Count: A Numbers Game You Can Win!

Every writer struggles with it. From young adult sagas to historical trilogies to romance one nighters and erotic phenoms like Fifty Shades of Gray - every author has a love/hate relationship with their word count.

Not enough. Too much. Or worst of all...zero.

The blinking cursor hovers with it's mocking sense of purpose. It keeps us going and terrorizes along the way.

But there are some basic facts about word count that EVERY writer needs to consider:

• Blog Posts are typically 400-1000 words long. This is for ease of reading but depends on the material. There is no set rule.

Good Writing Comes from Good Reading...ALOUD!

Perhaps you're a writer who's penned a 250 page novel...or a short story...an email...even a tweet encompassing all 140 characters. Odds are we've all done some kind of "writing." You've enjoyed the sounds of your fingers tapping along the keyboard breathing black and white life into your thoughts. But before your hit submit or save or send - take a moment to read your ramblings ALOUD.

Why?

Well, when it comes to short writing moments (like email, letters and social media posts), reading these aloud will help you more easily identify tone and inflection in your choice of words. This can ensure that your writing efficiently communicates what you want to say...and of course prevent you from saying something wrong.