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The manuscript you’ve been writing your heart out on gets to the feedback stage. How can you decide what to use and what to lose? Writing Tip for Today: Whether you seek feedback from a pro, your fellow crit groupies or your Aunt Edna the English teacher, here are some tips for deciding which suggestions […]
Whether you snagged a cool book deal or you self-published, the thrill of holding your book wears off quickly. Then, you face the real test: How do I promote? If you can line up some interviews—online, on radio or TV—you’ll need to brush up on your interviewing skills from an author’s standpoint. Writing Tip for […]
In any effective story writing emotional moments are what carry readers forward. Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips for writing high emotion scenes: Foreshadow Readers can’t feel the emotions of the character if they don’t understand the motives and background. When you write that high emotion scene, be sure that you’ve laid the […]
In fiction/memoir, our characters carry the story, and writers must understand their strengths and weaknesses. Writing Tip for Today: Here are some tips for your character development: Shallow v. Deep In forming characters for your novel, memoir or story, you’ll give each one personality traits that make up the bedrock of your story. You want […]
Novelists draw from their own lives to make their scenes come alive. But too much autobiographical material can sink your fiction. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss ways to keep your fiction (and memoir) from becoming too “I”-centric. Write What You Know We write out of our own experiences—and that’s a good thing. Yet if […]
Today, I’m celebrating the launch day of my latest book (with Sandy Silverthorne), Thank God for Cats! How God Speaks to Us Through Our Feline Furbabies! I’m sure plenty of readers really hope for their own book’s acceptance, contract and publication. Writing Tip for Today: Read on for tips on launching a book. Know Your […]
Let’s say you have an excellent fiction or nonfiction book proposal that somehow hasn’t sold. While we’d all love to sell our original ideas or manuscripts, at times it makes sense to alter a proposal to reflect the market. Writing Tip for Today: Here are a few ideas for repurposing a solid book proposal: Nonfiction […]
Almost five weeks ago, I signed off due to some major surgery. I’m still recovering but thought I could put up a few tips on corralling your writing life. Writing Tip for Today: How do you get back to your writing life after life happens? Be There Writers who sit for regular sessions are often […]
When you’re more than halfway through your story and you reach a critical chapter, do you recap (summarize) or do you act it out? The pace at which your story unfolds boils down to summary vs. action. Writing Tip for Today: Let’s discuss any story’s basic needs at different points of a scene, chapter or […]
Writing tension into every line sounds simple. But when writers struggle with this idea, the results can sink their effort. Writing Tip for Today: What is tension and what is its role in writing? Uneasy Suspense Tension is also called uneasy suspense. Most writers understand that the climax needs tension, but to be effective tension […]