Writing Advice From A YA Author Powered By Chocolate And Green Tea
It's that time of year again! The closing weeks of one year and the brand new potential of another, when taking stock and setting the slate clean can give your creative energy a boost. Not everyone has resolutions or likes to set them, but I find them helpful, even if they never come true. Just …
Continue reading New Year Resolutions: Setting The Right Ones For Writer Success
I don't know how it was for you, but for me, 2019 went by in a blink. As is the tradition of the last few years, this week's blog is a roundup of some of your favorite posts, my favorite posts, and other writerly/life lessons discovered throughout the year. Blog Posts Your Favorite Blog Posts …
If you're wondering what gifts to get the writer in your life for Christmas, wonder no more! Keeping us writers happy doesn't take much effort. All we want is a million-dollar book deal, a Hollywood movie option, and all the awards—or at very least, the contact for a good agent. But we know asking for …
Continue reading A Holiday Gift Guide For The Writer In Your Life
The holidays are a time for relaxing and taking a break, even Stephen King doesn't write on Christmas day! But writers like to make ourselves feel guilty if we aren't penning down words, even when it's time for a well-earned break, so here are some tips for maintaining a creative output during the holidays. Make …
Continue reading Maintaining A Creative Output During The Holidays
I recently read a book I was willing to say was the best book I'd read all year. It had everything I enjoyed in a story: great dialogue, good characters, tension, mystery, and a plot that built. It was such a page-turner that I couldn't put it down, racing through it in two days. Then …
We all know getting into good writing habits will see us complete our manuscripts, but what about those bad writing habits that don't help the process? You know what those habits are. They're the things that stop you from sitting at your keyboard regularly, eat up the precious part of the day set aside for …
Dialogue is an important part of any story and essential to get right. Good dialogue can reveal twists, unveil character traits, motivations, change the direction of the story, and give your cliffhangers the perfect bite—I mean, who doesn't love the final line of a scene ending in a suspenseful piece of dialogue! While it's up …
The real truth of writing is that you will spend a lot of time editing. A. Lot. Of. Time. Hours, weeks, months, sometimes even years (or at least, what feels like years). When the rush of new ideas is gone. When the thrill of filling in plot holes and working out twists is over. When …
Sometimes the best plotting in the world and wonderfully written characters aren't enough to save a story so boring even readers who can't not finish a novel consider putting it down. That's what can happen when your book lacks suspense, and if you're afraid of this happening to you, here are some ideas that might …
