If you’ve been rejected by a person, a job, a college, or anything else you’d set your heart on having, you understand what it means to be a writer. Dealing with rejection is normal on multiple levels and in different ways. You can be rejected by the reader at any point. Whether it’s the firstContinueContinue reading “A Note On Perseverance”
Tag Archives: book
An Editor For That Mess-uscript
Each of us have strengths when it comes to evaluating writing. Do you know what yours are? Here are the types of editors. You can hire one and you can work on being one for yourself and others. Developmental Editor- looks for big picture problems like plot, structure, characters, pacing, and world building. Line EditorContinueContinue reading “An Editor For That Mess-uscript”
Why Your Picture Book Needs An Antagonist
Most people think of picture books as cute and cuddly with elements of teach-ability. But every good picture book has a villain. I can tell you don’t believe me… Let’s talk it out. The types of villains in picture books are often not your standard looking villain. Why? Because we are telling a story toContinueContinue reading “Why Your Picture Book Needs An Antagonist”
Villains, Antagonists, and Baddies
Writers tend to slack on writing good bad guys. We do pages and pages of backstory on our main characters but our villains are cookie cutter. That really ought to change. Let’s talk about the characters in a book that give the hero problems. Just like the hero there are also many types of villainsContinueContinue reading “Villains, Antagonists, and Baddies”
How to Research Agents
You’ve written your book, polished it, and gone through rounds of editing. It’s time to send your story out into the world to see if you can get an agent. But who do you send your story to? How do you choose? Carefully. I’ve talked before about what not to say to an agent. I’veContinueContinue reading “How to Research Agents”
The Humble Filing Cabinet
The papers around, across, and under my desk area have become like snowbanks in summer drifting into other areas of my home. I’m lost in my own space and it’s nearing the point of needing a snow shovel, in July. As I’ve gotten farther into my writing life I’ve realized my organization has not grownContinueContinue reading “The Humble Filing Cabinet”
A Bow to Editing Services
If you’ve been reading my posts for any length of time you’ll have noticed that grammar rules and spelling are not in something I hold in spades. In fact, I’m down right atrocious. I do try but grammar and spelling are a constant struggle for me. Which is why I’ve decided to take the nextContinueContinue reading “A Bow to Editing Services”
Sweet Seven: A Picture Book Challenge
I’m fairly competitive and I also like teammates. So how’s about a friendly challenge? For those of us writing picture books we have ideas floating around to infinity is seems, see last weeks post for more on that. So it hit me to put my ideas into a challenge. There are many ways to formatContinueContinue reading “Sweet Seven: A Picture Book Challenge”
A Fish Full of Ideas
Many years ago I bought a metal fish used to hold papers, letters, whatever, at a yard sale. It was so handsome I couldn’t part with him move after move. I found him this week as I looked through boxes sorting trash from treasure. I’ve talked about ideas before and I often liken ideas toContinueContinue reading “A Fish Full of Ideas”
Saving All My Favs
We save our favorite everything lately, photos, trinkets, cards, even emails. But what about your favorite agents? In all my agent watching there are some that stand out and resonate with me. In their behavior, their talk, and their hobbies. These are folks I’d like to be friends with and to do business with. ButContinueContinue reading “Saving All My Favs”
“Backup And No One Gets Hurt…”
Sounds like a line from any suspense or thriller book but I’m dead serious. Have you backed up your devises lately? I’m recovering from two months with a crashed computer. My fingers are twitchy from all the tiny keypads I’ve been using to keep writing. Don’t be me. I think I had most things savedContinueContinue reading ““Backup And No One Gets Hurt…””
8 Things NOT to Say to an Agent
After my latest writing group I realized how many queries I’ve sent over the years. How much digging I’ve done over and over again. And realized there are some common things that really tick agents off. Let me be really clear, this is not everyone. It’s just what I see commonly on different social sites.ContinueContinue reading “8 Things NOT to Say to an Agent”
Map Progression
A few weeks ago I talked about using maps as a way to figure out plot. As I explore this process I want to go a little deeper with maps. Just like the story itself my maps tend to take a few drafts. My map evolves with my story, plot, and characters. It matters becauseContinueContinue reading “Map Progression”
The Delight is in the Details
When it comes to the details of a story we can tend to sink in the quagmire of description. It can downright Tolkien for some folks. Others of us can see it in our head but it’s missing in action on the page. The rule of THREE for details: Details must be concrete. Be specific.ContinueContinue reading “The Delight is in the Details”
Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity
If you’ve gotten a rejection from an agent that says, “I really like this story and it’s a good fit for my tastes, BUT I already have something similar on my list.” You know it hurts. You’re close but getting an agent can be like a chasm you can throw your manuscript across but notContinueContinue reading “Yay! A Rejection Due to Similarity”
Using Maps for Plotting
I have great writing friend who is brilliant with characters. Whereas my skills lie in the plot. We could learn a lot from one another. We tried the other day and came up with a functional medium, we hope. Here goes, if you start with characters or with plot try this tactic and see ifContinueContinue reading “Using Maps for Plotting”
Letting Go of Perfect
Some days I’m convinced perfectionism is a shape shifter. As I edit my drafts and continue down this writing path I get more and more ‘finished’ projects. At least I think they are finished, till I read them again a week or two later. What happened to my perfect project? Why do I hate theContinueContinue reading “Letting Go of Perfect”
Finding Your Picture Book’s Place
So you a have the most wonderful, adorable, unique idea for a picture book. Great! But what kind of picture book is it? Does it matter? Yes, it really does matter if you are planning on sending those words out into the world. First, you’ll need to decide on the age range of your story.ContinueContinue reading “Finding Your Picture Book’s Place”
Using Arc Beyond Characters
I’ve talked about character before but I’m going deeper this time. Have you ever thought about giving a character like arc to things that technically are not characters? Did I just lose you? What I’m getting at is that characters are not the only ones that change within a story. At least they shouldn’t beContinueContinue reading “Using Arc Beyond Characters”
Sacred Texts
We all have sacred texts, whether it’s a religious tome or great grandma’s written recipe cards, they have value in our minds and hearts. So what do you do when things are past their usefulness? Do you keep the sentimental notes from valentines day in hopes to create a scrapebook when you have more time.ContinueContinue reading “Sacred Texts”
Holy Homesteading 