Writing Advice From A YA Author Powered By Chocolate And Green Tea
When you decide to be a writer, you've got to start somewhere. That somewhere usually includes a place where you have no idea what you're doing, hate everything you write, don't feel as if you're a writer—let alone a good one, and someone who feels like it's a constant struggle to even get words down on the page. …
Continue reading 4 Signs You’re No Longer A Beginning Writer
So, it happened. You gave your manuscript to someone to read, expecting accolades, messages of praise, or at the very least, confirmation the story and characters are good—and the feedback wasn't what you were expecting. In fact, it signaled that your MS is bad. Really. Bad. While this kind of feedback is enough to crush …
The decision to start a blog is big. The decision to post to a blog regularly for the unforeseen future is even bigger. It requires time, sacrifice and takes you away from other tasks—especially when you're a writer. While you can argue blogging is writing and any practice makes you better—writing blogs instead of your WIP …
Ah, deep POV. It's something I'd never heard of when I started writing and was something I wasn't even doing a year ago. Since learning this wonderful writing trick (which you can read about here), I've added a new depth to my writing and upgraded to being a serious writer. As with any new skill …
Continue reading How To Tell If Your Writing Has Slipped Out Of Deep POV
If you've been following my blog for the last few months, you'll know I've been spending this year working on rewrites. I'm currently rewriting the second book in my YA series, Blackbirch. I wrote the first draft of book two in 2003, the fifth draft in 2018, and that's the one I'm rewriting now in 2019. …
There are a few writer-world problems you can have. The muse taking an extended break. Losing a month's worth of progress to backup failure. Realizing the "unique" book idea you've been working on for five years was just published by someone else. Then there's writer-problems you can fix. Learning how to show and not tell, …
While June might remind us were already halfway through another year, it is also this blog's blogiversary month! I published my first post in June 2017. That kicked off the 117 posts I've published since. I launched my blog to extend my writer platform. I'd already begun querying agents and publishers and had been rejected, …
If you ask most writers which publisher they'd like a contract with, they'll probably tell you one of the big five. They'll do the best job, right? Yes… and no. A few weeks ago, I attended the KidLitVic conference where a panel with Jane Pearson (Text Publishing), Suzanne O'Sullivan (Hachette Australia and Lothian Children's Books), …
Continue reading The One Thing That Matters When Looking For A Publisher
If you're wondering what makes the manuscript selected by a publisher so special, you're not the only one. I recently attended the KidLitVic conference where that question was put forward to publishers Susannah Chambers (Allen & Unwin), Clair Hume (Affirm Press), and Zoe Walton (Penguin Random House Australia). And a room packed full of writers …
Continue reading 6 Reasons Why A Publisher Says Yes And 6 Reasons They Say No
