Welcome to a new year! By now, we’re over a full week in, which means you’ve either already failed your new year resolutions, are back to the tried and true rational of “I’ll start tomorrow, next Monday/week/month…” or you've managed 9 days fulfilling every new habit that you've set! It’s human nature to grow, improve, …
Even the most organized writer who puts words on the page and completes their writing to-do list every day runs into delays that drag out the process of penning a book. Such obstacles can test the biggest optimist, and as much as we’d like to think we’re in control of them, the hard truth is …
Continue reading Writing Delays: What You Can’t Control And The One Thing You Can
Usually, when I release a book, I like to do a bit of tongue-in-cheek post about the thoughts that run through your head, such as: Reading Your Book: Thoughts That Run Through Your Head Thoughts That Run Through Your Head Now You’re A Published Author Thoughts That Run Through Your Head When You Release A …
Continue reading Thoughts That Run Through Your Head When You Release A Book That Was Hard To Write
It’s often said that no one can be a harsher critic of a writer’s work than the writer themself. Not only are we the first readers, judges, and fans of our work, but we’re also the ones that tell ourselves that it sucks. Most of the time that’s right after we’ve typed “The End” and …
Continue reading 3 Essential Reminders For When (You Think) Your Manuscript Sucks
Just like handover notes will help when coming back to a project after time away, taking stock as you move from one year to the next is a great habit to get into. It also helps shift you into the right head and physical space to achieve your writing goals, with a reset if you're …
Continue reading Taking Stock: Resetting To Hit Your Writing Goals
Recently, I received some feedback from beta readers after sending them what seemed like the millionth version of my latest WIP. Already up to draft 9, I was hoping this was the one where I’d ironed out the problems raised in the previous round of feedback. I had not. The issues were still there, and …
Continue reading What To Do When You’ve Made A Mess Of Your MS
Not too long ago I received a notice from WordPress that I’d published my 200th blog post. In case you’re wondering, that post was the 7 Step Old Manuscript Review Plan, and it’s an example of the blogs I love to write. My faves are about being organized, as that’s what gets me in the …
When you set out to write a novel, you quickly learn that it takes a lot of drafts. There’s the first draft, which is laying down the story. The second works out what the story is missing, and every draft after is refining until it becomes the finished book. How many drafts that takes depends …
Continue reading Motivational Tricks To Keep You Working On Your Manuscript
I usually like my first blog for a new year to be all about resolutions, but after the year that was 2020, and with 2021 shaping up to be more of the same, making resolutions or plans is a moot point (or a cow's opinion—a reference for anyone who spent a good chunk of lockdown …
K.M. Allan 