I'm a huge fan of celebrating writing achievements, and why shouldn't we? Writers work hard—sometimes for years on end—putting a book together. If that's not worthy of a little reward, then I don't know what is. One of the ultimate things to celebrate as a writer is the publishing of your book. And one of …
One of the best elements that you can add to your book is foreshadowing, which is dropping clues for your readers so they don't get to that awesome plot twist and immediately think, “Where did that come from?” In that situation, the reaction you want is "OMG, yes!" or "I knew it! Mind blown." And …
It takes a lot of effort to put together a book, whether you're working as a team with a publisher, or going the indie route and doing it yourself. There are final edits to do/check, book covers to organize/approve of, and print and ebook files to wrangle together. By the time your book is ready …
Continue reading 7 Author Essentials To Get In Place Before Releasing A Book
Almost every step of the writing process has elements that can mess with your head. There are the characters that won't stop talking when you're writing. The endless editing that has you correcting words in your sleep. Writing queries or a one-page synopsis (one page!) and dealing with generic rejections that give no clue about …
Continue reading How To Keep Yourself Sane When Self-Publishing
Happy New Year, everyone! It's time to get out of that magical land between Christmas and New Year when you're full of chocolate and cheese and don't know what day it is. 2020 brings the chance to start afresh, kick off some resolutions, and get back into the writing game. If, like me, you took …
Continue reading Getting Back On The Writing Track After The Holidays
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
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 …
There's nothing more fun as a reader than slipping wholly into the point of view of a character. It's also creatively satisfying to be a writer who can master such a skill. Writing your book from the perspectives of your characters and getting it right forms a connection for both you and the reader, so …
We all have a writing habit that no matter how much we grow as a writer, sticks with us. For many writers (myself included), stage directing is one of those habits, and it takes the form of describing every physical move a character makes, beyond what's necessary. Because this habit happens naturally, it's usually hard …
