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Manuscript Rejected After Only 20 Pages? What gives?

by MKMarketing | Sep 26, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing

Ever wonder how an agent can reject a manuscript, having read only the first 20 pages? How can they know a book isn’t something they want to represent with so little to go on? Before a writer curses all agent-hood while typing the url, Smashwords.com, self-proclaimed...

Using Dirty Fighting To Escalate Tension In Your Story

by MKMarketing | Sep 2, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, Guest posts

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 main character’s friend, family member or a significant other…whoever he...

Critiquing Other People’s Writing: 7 Tips for Making Manuscripts Better

by MKMarketing | Jun 18, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, Freelance Writing

“Just shoot me now.” A good critique may begin with this response, but soon the scolding red marks reveal overlooked obstacles to your work’s potential. When you make friends with the red pen pointing out weak story points, redundancy or grammar...

Feel the Heat: Sex and Fiction. 8 Tips for Building Tension

by MKMarketing | May 27, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, For the love of writing, Guest posts

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, book-enhancing observational skills to break down, scene by scene, moment...

Do Readers Care About Your Fiction Characters?

by MKMarketing | Mar 14, 2011 | Best Writer Tips, Fiction Novel Writing, For the love of writing, Guest posts

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 troubles, smacking them in the forehead with insult and...
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