Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser at heart, you probably recognize that an unwieldy, unclear, or unstable structure can be a death sentence for your novel. Even if you’re writing a book defined by its quirky characters or experimental style, most readers simply won’t have the patience to get through it unless the structure… Read more »
Writing a novel is a lengthy process, so it’s understandable that our inspiration can start to drift along the way. Inspiration often goes hand in hand with motivation – when we’re feeling excited and enthusiastic about our WIP the words flow more easily and the writing sessions fly by. Likewise, when we find ourselves feeling… Read more »
What our characters eat depends on when and where they lived, their position in society, and, to some extent, what they were doing. So getting the food details right is one way we can fully immerse readers in our story. In the space of this article, I can’t begin to cover global evolution of foodstuffs… Read more »
Way back in 2009, five major events deeply altered me. In April, my beloved grandmother died. Six weeks later, I married my now-husband. Over the following summer, my husband lost a grandmother on one side and a grandfather on the other. And the following fall, my husband and I bought our first home. While two… Read more »
There are over six million Kindle books published on Amazon. Only a small percentage will be bestsellers. As an author, it’s up to you to make your book stand out. Sure, marketing and branding help you sell more books, but the best way to sell books is to write the best one possible. In this… Read more »
Have you read the new romantic comedy that flew off the shelves and sold out on its release day? It features a protagonist with multiple sclerosis attempting to find the love of her life. She needed a confidence boost and received hilarious dating advice from her friends and MS support group. It seems the biggest… Read more »
When it comes to working with literary themes in your writing, it’s not enough to identify or study them. It’s also crucial to practice incorporating themes logically and thoughtfully into your work. We did this last year with a series of writing and brainstorming exercises for the theme of family. Today, we’ll do this again… Read more »
If you’re an anxious writer, you can rest assured that sooner or later the anxiety you struggle with will seep into your work. Everything from your writing style to your tone, voice, and perspective can become tainted with tension and unease, discomfort and discouragement. If you find that you’re nodding your head in agreement, here… Read more »
Fear is a very particular and peculiar thing. For some, it can be absolutely debilitating. For others, it can be motivating. And for others still, it can be inspiring. Several weeks ago, I went into the doctor’s office for my first ever MRI at the age of 29, and it was honestly a terrifying experience…. Read more »
Whether you’re writing a short paragraph to include in the back of your newly finished novel, or are revamping your website’s “About Me” page, it’s important that you don’t skimp on your author bio. An “About” page is one of the most visited pages on a website, second only to the homepage. And if your… Read more »
