Tag Archives: writing

Audience not Censorship: A Mini Rant

Let me be very clear, when we use age as a way to categorize books we are talking exclusively about the audience. THAT IS ALL. The age of your audiences has nothing to do with censorship or content. This whole idea has been floating around on Twitter and it’s beyond frustrating. No where are thereContinueContinue reading “Audience not Censorship: A Mini Rant”

Writer Resources- My Go To List

We all have places online we have stumbled upon and cling to on a daily or weekly basis. These are people we look up to and are eager to learn from. My list represents industry professionals that drop gems of information every week. All you have to do it come pick them up. Not 100% of everything isContinueContinue reading “Writer Resources- My Go To List”

No Time like Query Time

So I’m midstream in waiting to hear back from two dozen queries. What’s a girl to do? Here are some thoughts on moving forward while you wait. Don’t lose your writing habits. Many of us sit at our computers hitting refresh on our inbox every 30 seconds. Don’t let your writing time and habits fallContinueContinue reading “No Time like Query Time”

Problem: The Slow Start

While starting off slow and easy is generally preferred with most things in life, it is the opposite when it comes to a good book. Readers want complete and total immersion from page one! It’s a tall order. I admit my book starts off slow. I wanted to build tension and let the reader experience whatContinueContinue reading “Problem: The Slow Start”

I Used to Hate Red Pen

But now I hate purple. Thanks to some amazing editing partners I’m awash in it. I’ve killed three of my own pens trying to fix the mess of a manuscript I have. But looking back on all the work over the past two years I feel proud of the manuscript I have. I’ve learned aContinueContinue reading “I Used to Hate Red Pen”

Why Indiana Jones & I still use the Library

“Ninety percent of an archaeologist’s time is spent in the library. Myths can only be taken at face value. We do not follow maps to buried treasures and X never ever marks the spot.” -Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade I can feel the eye rolls like an earthquake, but hear me out. It may seemContinueContinue reading “Why Indiana Jones & I still use the Library”

Query Letter Conundrum

I recently had the opportunity to attend a query letter boot camp. Thanks to Caffeinated Press for hosting, it was extremely insightful. I did bring a query letter with me, and I ignorantly thought it was perfect. I now know better. I’d like to share some of the feedback I got with you. Hopefully, youContinueContinue reading “Query Letter Conundrum”

Goldilocks Gets It Just Write

Goldilocks takes so much crap for wanting to be “just right.” The perfectly warm oatmeal. The wonderfully spacious bed. Sure she’s breaking and entering into the Bear’s home, but she’s looking for perfection. And isn’t that what every writer is aiming for? We want enough detail to immerse the reader but not too much weContinueContinue reading “Goldilocks Gets It Just Write”

What degree should a writer get?

A business degree. What? Lets set aside the creative writing degrees, publishing workshops, and English majors a moment and really dig into this. If you are a writer it is inherently because: You like to read. You enjoy writing. You are fairly creative. All these things do not require a degree and you do themContinueContinue reading “What degree should a writer get?”

The Land of Tub: Map Creation

For many sci-fi and fantasy writers it can be tough to think of new worlds. Even if you can vividly picture it in your mind, getting it to the readers can create pitfalls and potholes on an already bumpy ride. First mountains, and oh wait, mountains need valleys so lets add those… now naturally withContinueContinue reading “The Land of Tub: Map Creation”

Please Vote: Character Name Selection

Alright, I need a little help. I’m trying to decide on the last name for Haylee’s love interest in my book. Most votes will decide it and go into the final version of my book, The Bonaparte Complex: Glimmers of Truth. A brief bio of the character: Jonas is tall, bearded, and a high schoolContinueContinue reading “Please Vote: Character Name Selection”

The Price is Write: Habits to Write By

Daily habits are key to any lifestyle, especially a creative one. Whether you get up before everyone else or find time crammed between events we all have habits that keep us on track. For me this means writing while Lets Make a Deal and The Price is Right is on television. For some reason IContinueContinue reading “The Price is Write: Habits to Write By”

‘Showing’ Character Description

Description should be like tasty nuggets of information readers cherry pick out of the pages before them. Not a nutritional paragraph of data they must swallow. This post is all about revising your words to get the more ‘show’ and less ‘tell’ in your character descriptions. For Secondary Characters: Too much description gets boring. The classicContinueContinue reading “‘Showing’ Character Description”

10 Steps for Working with an Illustrator

Maybe your story is like mine. You’ve submitted a children’s book to several publishers without pictures and have had no response. Lets be real can a picture book really make an impact without pictures? Maybe… Maybe not… So after reading through the Children’s Writers Market I’ve decided to try again, except with the pictures included.ContinueContinue reading “10 Steps for Working with an Illustrator”

Gift Guide for Writers

Here are some ideas I complied for gifts for writers. Some are practical, others are quirky but I hope you find some ideas you can use. Eat. Sleep. Write. Coffee Mug. Any coffee mug with a fun saying will work. A quick internet search turns up hundreds of options. Find this mug on Amazon. LEDContinueContinue reading “Gift Guide for Writers”

Beta Reader Breakdown Part 2, Equip your team

Find Part 1 of Beta Reader Breakdown, Pick Your Team Here Now onto the tough part. What do you ask the beta readers to do? Or do you say nothing? I think some rough framework is needed so I am creating a packet I will print off for each reader, it includes: A complete printContinueContinue reading “Beta Reader Breakdown Part 2, Equip your team”

NaNoWriMo: A Postscript (Or Reflections on a Month of Creative Abandon)

Guest Post by Andrew Newton, Find his blog at newtonandnewtoninc.wordpress.com This past November, I embarked for the fourth time on a literary adventure of grand proportions. National Novel Writing Month (aka. NaNoWriMo, or just NaNo) is an annual challenge for writers of all ages to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Each timeContinueContinue reading “NaNoWriMo: A Postscript (Or Reflections on a Month of Creative Abandon)”

Pick Your Team, Beta Reader Breakdown

As I enter my final stages of revision for my YA novel my heart is fluttering with excitement and dread. It’s coming to the point where someone else will be reading my words… characters as close as family will be critiqued. Secretly, I think it’s flawless. Reality hits cold. What do I do? How doContinueContinue reading “Pick Your Team, Beta Reader Breakdown”

Building a Frame, not a Cage

We are divided into one category of writers or the other; we are either pantsters or plotters. While I do not know for sure who coined these terms, the pantster writes by the seat of their pants while the plotter writes from an established plan. Etymology aside, I am a plotter and my plan usually takes the form of anContinueContinue reading “Building a Frame, not a Cage”