Alright now that you've got a good basic concept of how to write your story along with creating characters and cover. There's a few things that we need to wrap up.

Let's talk about the Author's notes or A/N.

I've made this mistake many times when I first wrote my stories. Like I would leave a note at the end of almost every chapter. I will be straight up honest and what I learned from my mistake.

I learned that not all reader's will read that and also it ruins the flow of the story. So when can we put our Author's note. I usually have mine on a separate page at the beginning of the book before the first chapter of the story and then I add a chapter after the final one saying Congrats you've reach the chapter.

While the author's note doesn't really need to be in your story. But, this is where we don't need to worry about our story hitting the bookstores. However, we need to keep our author notes to a minimum of two. 

Yeah, it may be hard because we want our readers to know how we feel. But let's be honest, in my opinion the reader only cares what happens next in the story a plain simple fact.

Unless there is LEMON in the chapter or anything that is rated R. Then you should leave a warning at the chapter letting the reader know that there is adult graphic content in this story. Because some readers may find it uncomfortable to read the story because of how graphic it is. 

So if you do decided to write any sexual content warn the reader first and let them know when it starts and ends. 

Bonus Chapters

Bonus Chapters are chapters that are a part of the story but, it doesn't effect the main plot. But, I've seen way too many bonus chapters in stories where the author doesn't realize that they've ruined their story. 

So how many chapters should we have?

In my opinion, I said about one or two and that's it. Bonus Chapters are basically fillers, they do have some impact to the main character. But, the author can really turn away from the main plot with too many bonus chapters.

The only time in my own experience when I've used a Bonus Chapter is for an alternate ending in a couple of my stories. I would put a small author's note explaining that this chapter is not the true ending of the story. It will let the reader know that this is a different ending to the story.

Overcoming the Writer's Block

Alright, we've all been down this route before. We have all experienced the infamous writer's block. I've had to help several of my followers to overcome the writer's block along with asking a few of my followers for some advice.

So how do we avoid or overcome the writers' block?

Well avoiding it is not the issue here, in my opinion avoiding it is impossible. Because our daily lives can get in our way of writing. It's all a matter of overcoming the block. I've learned what to do, to overcome the writer's block.

Don't publish no more than one book at a time. I actually learned this the hard way, after publishing three books at a time. I though I would get it done quicker, but it didn't work. Instead what happened is I got far behind, till it lowered my reader's interest. But, if you have another idea to a story you can write it down and leave it at that just don't publish it. Finish the book you've started and once you've ended the book you've started then you can move on to the next because you are making it easy on yourself.

Create a schedule to write and update. Because of my daily schedule, working full-time, cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Doing chores around the house, hanging out with friends. It seems that I didn't have enough time to write actually I did. It was a matter of planning it.

So whether you are a high school, college student or a full-time worker. What you need to do, is make a plan and set a time on when and how long you can write. Thirty minutes or an hour is a good start to go by and plan when you can publish your chapters.

Naturally readers love weekly updates of their favorite story. However, at the same time we have to work around our schedule and make a decision on when and how often we should update. Luckily we don't have our own editor, to nags us around to get the story done by a due date.

But what if you've already set the up a schedule and only published one story and you are still in a writer's block?

Well here are a few ideas to help you work through your creative constipation:

Go for a walk.

Eliminate distractions 

Do something to get your blood flowing. (I like riding my bike.)

Play. (Nothing wrong with playing video games)

Change your environment.

Read a book.

Freewrite.

Listen to music

Brew some coffee or make some lemonade.

Create a routine. Many famous writers have daily routines to summon the Muse.

Spend time with someone who makes you feel good. (Me that would be my hubby obvious, but also my best friend also makes me happy.)

Call an old friend.

Brainstorm ideas in bullet points.

Read some inspiring quotes to get you started.

The possibilities are endless, but movement is critical. You need to generate momentum to get out of your funk.

Once you start heading in a direction, it's easier to pick up speed. And before you know it, your block will be a distant memory and you'll be doing what you once thought impossible. You'll be writing.

But what about not overcoming the Writer's Block?

This is just for fun, here are some anti-solutions to this problem:

You do not overcome writer's block by refusing to write until you feel "inspired."

You do not overcome writer's block by wallowing in self-pity.

You do not overcome writer's block by procrastinating or making excuses.

You do not overcome writer's block by watching TV.

You do not overcome writer's block by reading articles on how to overcome writer's block. (Kinda shot myself in the foot there, huh?)

If you're still not satisfied, you have one last resort, an ace up your sleeve. The silver bullet solution. The fail-proof way to overcome writer's block is one you already know. In fact, you've been avoiding it this whole time, because it's precisely what you don't want to hear.

You overcome writer's block by writing. 

Start somewhere, anywhere. Write a few lines. Say anything. And see what happens. Don't think about it too much or make any fancy announcements. Just write. It doesn't need to be eloquent or presentable; it just needs to be written..

Write for the joy of writing. Because you can't not do it. Don't try to say or produce anything; just get some words on paper, now. No excuses or justifications.

You can write. Don't make it harder than it has to be. Just type a few words. They don't have to be good (all first drafts suck). It just has to be written. Then you have something to work it. You can tweak from there.

You can do this and overcome this block, all you have to do is write.