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Sell More Books: Good Writing vs. Creating Urgency
Writing “well” should be good enough. Good enough to score an agent and a publishing contract. Good enough to entice a potential reader to move past page one, and keep reading, breaking only for...
5 mistakes overachievers make
http://everydaybright.com/2011/09/5-overachiever-mistakes/
Manuscript Rejected After Only 20 Pages? What gives?
A lot of new writers are being told to start right in the action, and this tip needs to be clarified. We need some kind of conflict in the beginning to make us (the reader) choose to side with/like the protagonist. This conflict doesn’t necessarily have to do with the main story problem (directly).
8 Steps for a Focused Writing Plan, Fact and Fiction
Be sure each scene–every detail–relates directly to, or in some way clarifies or develops your theme. Emphasize the most important scenes or points – in other words, emphasize those sections that crystallize your meaning. In a story, develop key scenes or important details or
descriptions. In essays, emphasize, or spend the most time developing, key points. Emphasis provides direction, tells the reader when to pay close attention.
Editing Fiction for Intelligent Readers (No Spoon-feeding Allowed.)
Often I think I’m illuminating my reader, when merely I’ve employed “qualifiers”—See below why qualifying is akin to spoon-feeding the reader.
Using Dirty Fighting To Escalate Tension In Your Story
Great books are filled with conflict, and great characters who learn important lessons. Writer and all-around-funny Jenny Hansen’s clever tips for Dirty Fighting Techniques can be applied to your...
Writers: Who to Query First, Why and How
Once upon a time, completing your manuscript was the hard part. Eventually, “The End” is behind you; with the thoughtful critique of your circle of writing partners, it is buffed and shammied to a...
Author Paul Dorset’s “How to build a brand on Twitter for FREE!”
I have a feeling I would like Paul Dorset, were we to meet. Well organized, typo-free, and to the point, Dorset writes prolifically, and not just books. His blog Utterances of an Overcrowded Mind...
Fiction Writing: 7 Elements of the First Page
r am I jaded? More often than I care to admit, a book’s finely crafted opening pages evoke lovestruck stars in my eyes, much as one too many nervous cocktails over tentative introductions.
Critiquing Other People’s Writing: 7 Tips for Making Manuscripts Better
When you make friends with the red pen pointing out weak story points, redundancy or grammar errors, you give yourself the opportunity to grow as a writer and refine your final product. But is the job of the red pen wielder easier than that of the writer?
Feel the Heat: Sex and Fiction. 8 Tips for Building Tension
Will your fictional characters, at some point, hit the sheets? As most of us creative types enjoy a delicious romp in the sack in real life, it shouldn’t be too difficult to apply our trusty,...
10 Simple Ways to Support Authors You Love, and Love the Readers Who Support You
I'll admit it, I'm a fangirl. When an author's amazing book inspires awe, when an agent teaches a class with the intention of improving and inspiring our burgeoning manuscripts, or either write a...
5 Transformational Story Elements
Ready to elevate, expand and breathe new life into your WIP? Jody Hedlund, author of The Preacher's Bride posts about the importance of intense growth in writing skills. “Of course all of us are at...
Publishing with Kindle Single for not quite full length Books
I stumbled upon Debbie Weil's thoughtful take on publishing through Amazon's fabulous "new" concept, Kindle Singles. Weil is the author of one of the first and most definitive books about business...
Do Readers Care About Your Fiction Characters?
Action is my habit. When I briskly type out an initial draft of a scene, the early rendition reveals a pesky ritual of churning my characters through conflict after conflict, plowing them through...
Thoughts on Plots (and whatnot) with James Thayer
When people ask what your book is about, they are really asking about the plot. A response: "It's about two German Shepherds sniffing for buried treasure," only scrapes the surface. Why dogs? Why...
Author Teddy Wayne’s Tips for Book Publishing Publicity
I'll be honest with you. I just wrote an entirely new scene in a different POV and tense for my novel RADIO HEAD, inspired by the phenomenal workshop I attended at UCLA with instructor Lisa Cron....
Lit Agent Laurie Abkemeier’s Advice on Connecting with Readers
The only thing better than buzz about your new book is PRE buzz resulting in pre-orders. I follow agent Laurie Abkemeier (Brian DeFiore & Co.) on Twitter, and found this blog post by Erin Reel...
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