It's past midnight and you're dying for sleep, but lie awake with your characters screaming to get out. Dear writer, you're not alone. You've created the story of your heart, and you send it into the world, only to earn a growing list of pass letters. Dear writer, you're not alone. You're tired and wonder … Continue reading Dear Writer, You’re not Alone
writer
what the BL*RB to write next
You wanna write books that'll sell? Sell them to yourself first. The more years I spend writing, the more I see the benefits of having a workable pitch before I start writing, and the more I beg others to do the same. This helps keep the focus of the project as narrow as it … Continue reading what the BL*RB to write next
Spreading Writerly Wings
2016 was a year of experimentation for me, writing and publishing wise. (yes, this post is a bit of a ME post...) I've branched into new areas of publishing by interning for a literary agency I have massive amounts of respect for. Yes, I'm doing this specifically to become a lit agent, but I'm taking … Continue reading Spreading Writerly Wings
Do NOT Apologize for Your Genre
OK. I'm going to keep this simple, because I like simple. 1. There are people who love reading in every genre. Don't do them the disrespect of looking down on a genre - even your own. 2. Publishing is HARD. Having novels come out into the world is HARD. The part that should be fun … Continue reading Do NOT Apologize for Your Genre
There are NO wasted words
I've deleted a lot of words. I've left ENTIRE novels to rot on my hard drive. I've re-written some of those "left to rot" novels without opening the original document. I've cut chapters. Words. Characters. Places. I've re-done entire endings. Sometimes more than once. I've re-organized and spend all day deleting and adding and … Continue reading There are NO wasted words
When to Walk Away
In the years since I started writing seriously, a couple things come up over and over and over: The writer who is desperate to be published, but has been working on the same project for somewhere between 3-10 years... I want to tell most of these people that their first project will probably never see the … Continue reading When to Walk Away
Mad Drafting Skills: DON’T PANIC
So, last time, we talked about FLYING through word count. But that doesn't always happen, right? Sometime we hit a wall that needs to be broken through or climbed over. DON'T PANIC. I don't know a single author who hasn't been stumped at some point in time, on one or several projects... Here are … Continue reading Mad Drafting Skills: DON’T PANIC
Mad Drafting Skills Part V: Killin’ It
I think almost every writer has experienced that bit of euphoria that comes when your fingers can't keep up with how fast the story is coming from your brain. IT JUST IS. This feeling reminds me a bit of that moment when acting on stage and you go from yourself to the character, and everything … Continue reading Mad Drafting Skills Part V: Killin’ It
Mad Drafting Skillz Part IV: PLOTTY PANTS
It might seem strange to some of you that I waited until I was done with PRE WRITING to talk about plotty things, but I know some authors who pause and plot halfway through their first draft. I often stick my whole first draft into some kind of plotty tool AFTER I write. So, … Continue reading Mad Drafting Skillz Part IV: PLOTTY PANTS
Mad Drafting Skillz Part III: Pre Writing – VISUALS (aka ALLLL the prettiessss)
Pretty much everything I talk about today is something you can include your family in, if you're a writer who is always juggling your family time with your work time with your writing time. I'm a visual learner. If we meet, I'll ask you your name about 8 times before I learn it (or just … Continue reading Mad Drafting Skillz Part III: Pre Writing – VISUALS (aka ALLLL the prettiessss)
