Randy A Brown

Author: Randy A Brown

  • Available for preorder – Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian by Bret Lott

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    All serious writers know that each word they write reveals something significant about their beliefs, something about their reason for creating, something about the one for whom they write. After all, writing lays bare the soul.

    Yet the work of a Christian artist is often pressured to fit into a popular mold, oftentimes forgoing quality for the sake of convenience or acceptance, or even simply because of a lack of the bravery necessary to look square in the eye the world, and to do so with the unflinching eye of Christ.

    In this series of intimate reflections on life and writing, critically acclaimed and best-selling novelist Bret Lott calls authors to pursue excellence in their craft through five fascinating essays and an extended memoir that explore everything from the importance of literary fiction to the pain of personal loss.

    Learn here what it means to be a writer who navigates the tension inherent to being a Christian in the public square—and to being an artist made in the image of God.

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0 – Choosing a Niche

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    For me, the hardest part of writing a book or building a niche site is choosing the topic. There are many techniques out there to help. Here’s my method.

    First, I build a matrix in Excel. I will make headings across the top of categories that I want to compare. One example would be- “is the topic podcastable?”

    Next, I start listing my favorite topics, topics that I’ve been researching, things that I’ve been searching for online, problems I’ve been trying to solve, etc.

    Next, I give each topic a score from 1-5 in each category (1 is bad, 5 is good). At first I just give a score based on what I already know about the topic. As I do more research I change the scores as needed (for example, I might not be able to make as much money from a topic as I thought).

    Then, I total all the numbers for each topic. The larger the number the better the topic would be for a niche. Here’s an example:

    excel niche selection matrix

    I then take each topic that ranked high and do more research. Long Tail Pro is a great tool for this research.

    Click here for more info on Niche Site Duel 2.0

    That’s a simple method to get a few topics to write about. Do you have a different method?

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0 – Searching for Keywords with Long Tail Pro

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    I’ve been using the trial version of Long Tail Pro to find keywords that will help me find a niche for the niche site duel. I’ve found a keyword that I like. It’s in a field that I have experience in. I’ve wanted to write a book about it for a while now. This tool helped me to decide if I should write it or not. The market looks so good that I’m considering starting a niche site to go with it. I’m still in research mode, but I’ll give out the information when I make my decision.

    I can recommend Long Tail Pro for helping you find niches. Click here for more info: Long Tail Pro

    Click here for more info on Niche Site Duel 2.0

  • Niche Site Duel 2.0

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Non-fiction writers often write for specific niche’s. For this reason, many non-fiction authors run niche sites. To help me choose niche’s, and maybe even start my own niche site, I’ve decided to join Pat Flynn’s Niche Site Duel 2.0. The project will take you through choosing a niche, building a site around it, and make a nice passive income. This is an awesome project that I recommend trying. Even if you’re not interested in running a niche site, choosing a niche is still an important decision for non-fiction writers. You never know, you might end up with a nice passive income, but more importantly, you will learn a lot in the process.

    For more information see: Niche Site Duel 2.0.

  • My Influences – Authors

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    There are many authors that have inspired me in my writing over the years. Here’s a short list of some that come to mind in no particular order.

    Isaac Asimov

    I loved the I Robot short stories when I was a teen.

    J. R. R. Tolkien

    Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are some of my favorites books for several reasons. I love the world-building, the characters, the good vs bad choices that characters have to face.

    H. G. Wells

    The Time Machine and War of the Worlds are timeless.

    Orson Scott Card

    I like Card’s work, like Ender’s Game, because it’s easy to follow and keeps my attention. What I like the most about Card though is his book How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. This book game me the tools I needed to build an entire world and fill it with characters.

    Hannah C Brown

    Hannah’s my daughter. She’s been a story-teller ever since she could talk and a writer ever since she first learned to use a keyboard. Her fairy tale retellings are hilarious and I can’t wait to see them in print. She’s very inspiring.

    Robert Jordan

    Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is epic. What’s really cool is that he was able to keep the epicness going for 10+ books. That’s inspiring. I like his settings.

    R A Salvatore

    Salvatore has the world settings that I like. I also like the monsters and creatures; and the characters.

    Agatha Christy

    She’s simply brilliant. I love the way she intermingles clues throughout the story and I still miss who done it. All of the clues are there, with no information held back.

    Terry Brooks

    I like the settings of the Shannara series.

    Terry Goodkind

    The Sword of Truth series has interesting characters and settings.

    Jules Verne

    Verne writes long journeys and the story is as much about the journey as it is the destination.

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sherlock Holmes and The Lost World are awesome.

    Robert E. Howard

    I like the settings in the Conan series.

    The Bible

    I can’t talk about writers and stories without talking about the ultimate writer and story. The Bible is filled with stories of struggles and war, trials and troubles, champions and overcomers, visions, dreams, prophecies, kings, peasants, slaves, archaeology, history, builders, creation, science, love, songs and wisdom, devotion and strength, and much, much more. The Bible is rich with ideas for characters and plot, and is great for all levels of story-building.

     

    This is just a quick list. There are many others I could mention. I don’t necessarily like everything an author writes- I’m just focusing on influence. Who are your influences?

  • The Creative Penn

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    It can be difficult to get motivated to write. It can also be discouraging when you think about the odds of becoming a published author. To help me with these issues, I’ve been listening to the podcast at The Creative Penn (http://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/). The Creative Penn podcast is from Joanna Penn and available on her website TheCreativePenn.com. Joanna interviews authors, publishers, editors, and just about anybody else in the publishing industry. She also gives many tips on writing, publishing, and marketing. Her site and her podcast are great for a boost of positive thinking and I find her tips invaluable. Thank you Joanna!

    You can find her site here:

    Homepage – http://www.thecreativepenn.com/

    Blog – http://www.thecreativepenn.com/blog/

    Podcasts – http://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/

  • Using Bing for Inspiration

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    Writing can become stale if authors use the same tired locations and descriptions too many times. Readers like to be taken to new places, but it can sometimes be difficult to dream up new landscapes, cityscapes, animals, settings, etc. Rather than just looking at specific pictures online, which tends to propagate ‘sameness’, sometimes a writer needs to be inspired by something a little more random. One trick I’ve used for a fresh shot of inspiration is Bing.com. Bing shows a new photo every day. Sometimes there’s nothing there to spark the imagination, but sometimes you might find a real gem in a landscape, or animal, or even a tree. One thought can then lead to another… and you never know what it might turn into.

    Check out today’s photo at Bing.com

  • Outlining your Book

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    Whether I’m writing fiction or non-fiction, I always write an outline for my book. There are many methods for outlining. Here’s a quick overview of my method.

    For nonfiction I write all the major points that I want to make. I arrange the points in the order I want to cover them. This is the sequence that I want my book to follow. Then, I write some information about each point. Each of these points becomes a chapter and the information becomes a summary. When I write the chapter I use the summary to make sure that I’ve covered all the points.

    For fiction I write all the major ideas and events that I want to happen. Then I arrange them in the order I want them to happen. Once I have the major outline I start writing more detail about the events. These become my synopsis of each chapter, which builds a synopsis of the book. When I’m writing the book I refer back to the outline and synopsis and this helps keep my thoughts straight and keeps me from having a character in two places at once (that can be embarrassing).

    Here are a few tips on outlining:

    The more detail the better.

    Use the outline to find plot holes, contradictions, repeat information, good flow, etc.

    Use the outline to pitch the book or story idea.

    Don’t be afraid to change it.

    Well that’s my very brief overview of my outlining practices. Do you outline? If so, what are your outlining methods?

  • Writing as a Hobby

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    I love writing. Many people like the idea of writing, but don’t pursue writing because they think they can never be published. Well, in today’s publishing world self-publishing is easier than ever because of ereaders like the Kindle and nook, and the ease of creating PDF’s, etc. Practically anyone can self-publish, but – publishing doesn’t have to be the only reason to write. Writing is a great creative outlet. I almost always have a story idea bugging that just won’t leave me alone. Writing is a worthy hobby because it’s fun, creative, and helps keep your mind sharp.

    One excuse I hear from would-be writers that are considering self-publishing is that they couldn’t make a living with it. That might be true, but even that’s OK. Selling even a single copy can be fun and make a difference for someone. It’s OK to not sell tons of copies if you enjoyed the writing process. Writing is the fun part. Even if there’s no icing on the cake with millions of sells, writing is still worth doing.

    Writing is free. Many hobbies cost lots of money. Some only have a cost of supplies. If you have a computer, then writing is basically free. Of course there’s the cost of electricity and wear and tear on the computer, but that’s really negligible.

    The main reason to write is because you enjoy it. Writing is a great hobby and I encourage everyone to give it a try.

  • What I’m Working On

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    I like to write both fiction and non-fiction. I’m currently working on several books in several categories. I plan to release them all on Kindle.

    Non-Fiction
    My non-fiction work is mostly Christian based. I’m almost done with a Bible marking guide. This one should be available soon. After that I will have several other books about the Bible and Bible study including journaling, Bible study how-to, and a few commentaries.

    Fiction
    I enjoy writing all types of fiction. I have too many fiction stories started, but I’m currently working on a fantasy adventure. I’ve plotted out most of the story and written over 1100 words of the first chapter.

    I’m considering releasing it one chapter at a time like an ongoing serial. It could go on for one year, giving me 12 chapters to write. I have 9 chapters plotted so far. One reason I like the serial idea is that it brings results quicker. I could see something completed every month and have a feeling of accomplishment. This helps keep me motivated and focused. If it takes me too long, I tend to get sidetracked and never finish. A serial would work like a comic book. I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll keep you posted.