Surprise and Suspense: How to Make a Story Suspenseful
Let’s say you have two favorites that bring you the most consistent and satisfying ice cream experience. Let’s say they are a deep, dark, intense [Read More]
Month: October 2018
4 Tips to Overcome Creative Burnout
In a season that my daughter likes to call “candy-tastic,” it may feel like we must throw candy around like everything’s peachy, but inside we’re [Read More]
The 7 Deadly Sins of Editors (According to Novelists)
A healthy relationship between author and editor can send your story to heavenly heights, but a poor partnership deserves its own special circle of hell. [Read More]
5 Steps to Nailing Your Query Letter, from Literary Agent Britt Siess
by Britt Siess, Martin Literary & Media Management Querying can be rough. In fact, I know it’s rough. I read dozens of queries every day and [Read More]
Connecting Readers with Your Characters
Last night, I bailed on a book. I’m not a quitter. Firmly, I held to the belief that by the time I got one-third of [Read More]
28 Resources, Tools and Tips for Self-Publishing Your Next Book
Self-publishing is hot right now. Yet with hundreds of books published each day, it’s more important than ever to make sure your self-published book stands [Read More]
The 7 Deadly Sins of Novelists (According to Editors)
A healthy relationship between author and editor can send your story to heavenly heights, but a poor partnership deserves its own special circle of hell. [Read More]
What Can Flash Fiction Do For Novel Writers?
Book publishing is a tough, competitive business. Still, there’s no reason to make the road harder to travel. Enter flash fiction—an excellent way to break [Read More]
Cross-Pollination: The Future Is Genre-Blending
The future is genre-blending, and it’s in full bloom. Here’s why your next novel shouldn’t fit neatly into any one pot. Imagine, for a moment, [Read More]
Writing Character Backstory That Feels Real: 5 Tips
Character backstory – the past events and formative experiences that shape who your characters are – is key to creating characters of breadth and depth. [Read More]
The Bikini Wax Theory of Writing
Some people talk about writing like they are chasing butterflies along the pretty garden paths of their manuscripts. Like their words frolick with Disney characters. [Read More]
How an Editor Can and Can’t Help Writers Do Their Best Work
Sukiyabashi Jiro is a Tokyo sushi restaurant that has been awarded three stars from the Michelin Guide and its sushi master, Jiro Ono, once starred [Read More]
How to Nail the First Three Pages
Let’s face it, talking about writing the first pages of a novel is stressful. It can strike terror into the heart of even the most [Read More]
Things I Wish I Knew Before Self-Publishing My Book
When I was 14 years old, I wrote a poem entitled “Does A Giraffe Ever Feel Small?” that tells the story of six animals and [Read More]
NaNoWriMo (and NaNonFiWriMo) Prep: Your 30-Day Writing Challenge Preparation Checklist
NaNoWriMo prep requires a great strategy. Here, Nina Amir offers a comprehensive checklist to help you get ready to take on NaNoWriMo or NaNonFiWriMo. When [Read More]
Point of View Magic: How to Cast a Spell on Your Readers
I’ve been teaching piano for about twenty years,, and I think it’s safe to say you never had a piano teacher like me. I like [Read More]
Content Marketing Magic: A Top Expert’s Tips for Freelance Writers
It’s a buzzword that marketing directors love to pull out of their hat to sell products and services, develop branding, and get more clicks, likes [Read More]
19 Themed Calls for Submissions
There are themed submission calls for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Some of the themes are urban crime, American gothic, breaking with tradition, winter holidays, coffee [Read More]
Everything You Need to Know About First-Person Narrative
Amateurs and careless writers use first-person narration that sounds remarkably like themselves. But if you’re into characterization, or a character-centered story, you’ll love discovering each [Read More]
What Is (and Isn’t) High Concept Fiction, and How Do You Pitch It?
Pitching a high concept novel can be the key to skyrocketing to the top of agents’ slush piles, according to Angie Hodapp of Nelson Literary [Read More]
Finding Productive Space for Writing
By Tina Jenkins Bell Last summer as I worked on the edits for the last few sections of my novel, I needed an alternative to [Read More]