Y’all saw my post two weeks ago about one of my favorite writing mantras: inevitable yet unpredictable. As promised in that post, I have a few more that I want to share.

Hanging in my office beside my Liz Gilbert quotes and J.K. Rowling swag, I keep a list of the attributes I strive for in my writing. These mantras serve as reminders of my goals. They also act as a compass when I’m getting off track.

Since they’ve been helpful for me, I thought I’d share them with you. You’re welcome.

Relentlessly Entertaining.

I borrowed this one from Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, the ladies of Happier in Hollywood. I want to write fast-paced, page-turning books, so I love this mantra.

To me, relentlessly entertaining means every scene has a purpose. It also means that the breaks between action scenes or reveals remain short. I like every chapter to end on a cliff-hanger, so each chapter is typically building towards an action or reveal that keeps the story moving forward.

Always Be in Motion + Silky Smooth Transitions

I strive for fluidity in my writing. I love books that seamlessly move characters through the action. One minute the character is in a square and the next she is on a boat, and then she is on a dock, and finally the chapter ends with her running into her long-lost mother in the middle of a dress shop.

This might go hand in hand with why I like books that take place over short amounts of time. Those types of book push characters forward because a lot happens in a few days. Certainly there are books that move fluidly through scenes over a long timeline. Daisy Goodwin’s Victoria is a good example.

Either way, I want my own writing to feel like the scene transitions are flawless. We all can dream, right?

Remember the Five Senses

Whenever I talk about this one I feel as though I’m a witch who has the power to summon a sensory experience so real you start to believe it. Any time I’m stuck on setting, I ask myself these questions:

• What does it feel like?
• What does it taste like?
• What does it smell like?
• What does it sound like?
• What does it look like?

Finding the answers will help you build a world that feels rich to the reader. That’s because we humans take in and process information through our senses.

I recommend tuning into your five senses in your everyday life. When you leave the house, is it cold or hot, noisy or quiet, on a country road or a city street? Once you start to catalogue and analyze your own sensory experience, it becomes easier to build those sensory experiences for your reader who is, of course, living vicariously through your characters.

Including the five senses is where you build believability. It also helps you show not tell, which I’m sure you’ve all heard as a writing mantra.

I can’t say that I nail these writing mantras every time, but they hang in my office as aspirations. They remind me what’s important to me as a writer. They’re also super helpful when editing.

What are your writing mantas?

Photo by Ben White