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How to Make Turning Points Drive Arcs and Themes

Road curving through trees with text: Turning Points Drive a Story

Last week, we looked at turning points from the perspective of beat sheets—how to identify them and ensure they’re changing the direction of the story enough to deserve their name. But turning points affect the story in other ways too. Turning points aren’t just about plot twists. (In fact, plot […]

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February 11, 2014

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A Newbie’s Guide to Self-Publishing — Guest: Julie Musil

Picture of Julie Musil with text: A Newbie Guide to Self-Publishing with Julie Musil

More writers are considering self-publishing than ever before. Even traditionally published authors who love their publishers are taking the step to become hybrid authors—a mix of New York and self-published—as they release related novellas or new series on their own. Yet the prospect of self-publishing can be overwhelming. Self-published authors have to […]

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February 6, 2014

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In Defense of Pantsing

Iron fence with pointed finials with text: In Defense of Pantsing

Too much writing advice assumes that pantsers can’t succeed. But trust me, we can, and the pantsing method is not the cause of any problems.

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January 30, 2014

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WANACon: New Workshops and a Giveaway

WANACon Logo

It’s time for another WANACon! Yay! This WANACon is scheduled for February 21 and 22, 2014 at a computer near you. In addition to the usual Craft, Social Media, and Business workshops, Kristen Lamb and her WANA International organization have decided this WANACon will pay special attention to the Romance […]

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January 28, 2014

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All About The Money: Authors, Readers, and Ebook Prices

Checkbox form with text: Author Income & Ebook Prices

The publishing world has been abuzz with the results of the 2014 Digital Book World (DBW) and Writer’s Digest Author Survey. Headlines scream “Most authors make less than $1000 a year.”  Numbers taken out of context claim that 80% of the 9000+ respondents earn $1000 or less. Eh. Yes and […]

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January 21, 2014

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Ask Jami: Where to Find Beta Readers

Globe on black background with text: Where to Find Beta Readers

Need a beta reader? Check this mega-list of resources. For beta readers, we’re not necessarily looking for writing craft experts but for people we connect with, people who will follow through on promises, and people who can read with awareness and push us and our story to be better.

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January 16, 2014

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What Are You Looking for in Your Reading Choices?

Stick figure hunting a heart in a maze with text: Choosing What to Read...

Last time, we talked about our reading habits and whether the price of an ebook affects its ranking in our to-be-read pile. (If you haven’t answered the polls with your answers to that question yet, please check out that post.) Today we’ll continue the reading-habits theme with two other issues […]

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January 9, 2014

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Why Story Structure Matters

Inside view of top of clear dome's structure with text: Why Story Structure Matters

Story structure isn’t just about the “rules” of story beats. It lies at the core of our ability to tell a story. Let’s take a look at what that means.

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January 2, 2014

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