Chances are, if you’re here reading this blog, you’re a writer. If you’re a writer, it’s likely that you have writer friends, too…and maybe, if you’ve been doing this a while, they might even be some of your closest friends. And since it’s holiday time, you might be looking for some unique gift ideas for … [Read more…]
Rules for Writing Fiction? There are thousands. Don’t kill a puppy. Never use an –ly adverb. Exclamation points are the mark of an amateur. I’ve heard these rules for writing fiction and dozens of others from the time I started pursuing publication. And I’m ashamed to say, when I was new, I even believed … [Read more…]
When I stumbled through my first manuscript eleven years ago, I didn’t know much about scenes. I didn’t know how to write a scene. I didn’t know much about writing a book, come to think of it, but the best way to learn is to just do it. (And, of course, read up on the … [Read more…]
Writing is hard. Coming up with a new story idea is exciting, and playing god to your story world can be wicked fun, but almost everything else between the light-bulb moment and typing “The End” is different degrees of torment for me and, I’m sure, scores of others. I don’t know who said it first, … [Read more…]
So you’ve finished a draft of your manuscript. Congratulations! That’s an accomplishment scores of people dream of and only a small percentage of determined writers achieve. The next step is, of course, revising your manuscript, maybe after getting a critique partner’s input or receiving feedback from a contest judge or an editor. You’re done with … [Read more…]