Writing Advice ft Michaela Grey

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Hello! This week we have a special treat! Michaela Grey answered some of our questions regarding writing for you!

Our informal questions are in big text, and Michaela’s responses are not.

Headings:

1. About Michaela Grey

2. Accepting criticism from readers

3. Accepting criticism from betas/editors

4. Loving writing when it gets tough

5. When your writing doesn't do what you planned/outlined

6. Humour in writing

7. How to [avoid] Distractions

8. Remembering to take care of yourself

9. Moving from fanfiction to original fiction

10. Book Summaries

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About Michaela Grey

Michaela Grey lives and writes in the Texas hill country. You can find her work on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Dreamspinner.com. Her tumblr is greymichaela.

Asexual protagonist series:

Coffee Cake 
Beignets 

BDSM series: 

Broken Halo 
Broken Rules
Broken Trust - coming soon! 
 

Accepting criticism from readers

Accepting criticism from readers can be a balancing act. It depends largely on what the criticism IS. "Your story is bad and you should feel bad" = me rolling my eyes and moving on. "Your portrayal of a POC was hurtful and insensitive because of X" = me fixing what I said that came across wrong, apologizing for the hurt, and vowing to do better.

Take what the negative feedback is about into account, in other words. If it's just that the story wasn't for them, then that's life, buttercup, happens to all of us. But if it's that you've hit a nerve, said something inappropriate or hurtful or portrayed a situation inaccurately? For goshsakes, LISTEN to the person trying to educate you and take steps to make it better.

 

Accepting criticism from betas/editors

This, to me, is easier, because you have an established relationship with your betas, and the editors are invested in the story and only want what’s right for it. So I try to be especially receptive to them.

 

Loving writing when it gets tough

Sometimes you just have to take a step back. When it gets tough, I find the best way to fall back in love with the craft is to stop writing and start reading. I read all the time in any case, but when I’m feeling particularly stale, my reading amps up. I’ll read a book a day, revisit auto-buy authors and beloved stories, etc, until I remember why I love it so much and I’m inspired to write more of my own.

 

When your writing doesn't do what you planned/outlined

Oh, you mean ever? Seriously, I neither plan nor outline, because it’s guaranteed not to go according to what I’ve written down. The most I do is discuss it with my beta(s) beforehand and get a good grasp of the characters’ motivations. Once I know what they’ll do in a given situation, I know what direction the writing is going to take.

 

Humour in writing

It’s good, I like it. What’s the question here?

 

How to words Distractions (good and bad)

Is this “how to AVOID distractions”? [Yes] 

Basically that can take a number of forms. Sometimes it’s an hour I carve out for myself while the kids are busy. Sometimes, it’s 5 minutes in the drive-through writing on my phone while I wait for food. Avoiding distractions is a matter of practice. The more you do it, the more you put yourself in that writing space, the easier it gets.

 

Remembering to take care of yourself

I’ll let you know when I figure that one out. (Seriously, hydrate and try to eat semi-regular meals—other than that, I got nothin’)

 

Moving from fanfiction to original fiction

I think fanfic can be a great stepping stone to original fiction. It’s great to play in established worlds with known characters as a way to practice various techniques, etc. You can also build a fanbase and bring them with you when you branch into o[riginal]fic. 

That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with only ever wanting to write fanfic. Write what makes you happy. Never write to please the majority. If you only enjoy playing in the Supernatural or Star Wars’ sandboxes, then you should never feel guilt over staying there. Writing is something that should bring you joy, ultimately.

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Book Summaries

 

As a reminder, you can find Michaela Grey’s work on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Dreamspinner.com, and direct links to her books are below.

One of the mods has read Michaela’s work multiple times, and thinks it is absolutely amazing. If it's something you're interested in, they highly recommend her books.

Asexual protagonist series (has romance and more mild sexual content):

Coffee Cake

Bran Kendrick never expected to fall in love. He’s asexual, after all. What chance does he have of finding someone who’ll see past that? So when Malachi Warren catches his eye, Bran tells himself his crush will pass. Malachi disagrees. He has been attracted to Bran for some time, something he is delighted to find Bran reciprocating. They begin to date and feel their way through an intimate relationship that meets both their needs.

Suddenly Bran finds himself juggling a new boyfriend, a demanding job, and a college degree he’s not sure he wants, but he couldn’t be happier―until a series of seemingly random accidents befall Malachi. When they escalate, Bran realizes someone is trying to take away the best thing that ever happened to him, and he must scramble to keep Malachi safe while they search for the would-be killer.

Beignets - sequel to Coffee Cake. The summary spoils some of the first book, so it’s not in this post.

BDSM series (has romance and more intense sexual content): 

Broken Halo 

Micah Ellis is an affluent businessman, comfortable in his life and work, as long as nothing happens to shake up his routine. Which is exactly what one Devon Mallory does, with his bright blue eyes and dirty skin and the forceful personality that’s everything Micah desperately needs but is too afraid to ask for.

Micah and Devon enter into a Dom/sub relationship and navigate the world of BDSM and Micah’s crippling insecurities as they gradually fall in love. But Micah’s past is coming back to haunt him, and they must face it together—and that means learning acceptance and discovering that they both deserve love their way and on their own merits.

Broken Rules - pre-orders open now! Release date: 24 July 2018

Sanyam Desai is a Dom, a master of his craft. He knows exactly how to make a person beg, and he does it for a living, but he has no idea how to be in love.

Sterling Reynard is in desperate need of manners and someone who cares enough to take him in hand, but he knows he’ll never be loved.

When Sterling’s world crumbles around him, he turns to the one person who’s never asked for anything from him but his trust. But their relationship is built on quicksand, and one careless word will bring the whole thing down.

Broken Trust - coming soon!