Jami Gold

Can We Have Too Much Voice?

February 21, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?  Sure.  We’ve all overindulged in our favorite foods before.  No matter how much we might like sweets or any other type of food, something can be too sweet, too rich, too whatever. In my last post about how to add voice to our writing, Eve [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, character flaws, editing, feedback, Jami Gold, page turning stories, paranormal author, tension

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Need Voice? Think Out Loud

February 16, 2012 Writing Stuff
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“The voice didn’t grab me.” Uh-oh.  Isn’t that feedback one of a writer’s worst nightmares?  Voice is one of those things that feels like we either have it or we don’t.  And we think we can’t easily change it because our voice is so internal to us. But all is not lost.  We can develop and strengthen [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, branding, feedback, Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, listening to characters, paranormal author, point-of-view, voice

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How to Revise for Structure, Part Two

February 14, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Last time, we discussed Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat craft book and how we can use his writing tools to revise our work.  His beat sheet points out when story events (beats) should occur in a screenplay, and most of his advice applies to all forms of fiction writing. Whether we dig into the structure of our stories [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, editing, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, organized, paranormal author, perfectionism, plotter vs. pantser

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How to Use the “Save the Cat” Beat Sheet for Revisions

February 9, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Before I start, thank you to everyone who commented, tweeted, and emailed me with support after my last post about losing my cat.  You all have filled me with virtual hugs and put a smile on my face.  Thank you.  *hugs back* In fact, after writing that post and reading your notes, I was feeling good [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, editing, feedback, Jami Gold, organized, page turning stories, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, theme

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How Do You Write Through Life’s Chaos?

February 7, 2012 Writing Stuff
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I didn’t want to write this post.  I wanted to be stronger.  I wanted to be professional.  I wanted to hold this pain inside and not let my vulnerability show. If I can’t handle life’s combination of good and bad events without shattering, how will I survive the huge swings between excitement and disappointment involved [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, blogging, happiness, Jami Gold, life balance, Natalie Whipple, paranormal author, perfectionism, professionalism, Rachel Graves, self-doubt, Twitter

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What Makes You Feel Legitimate?

February 2, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Last week, we had a great discussion in the comments about whether we call ourselves writers or authors.  In general, we agreed that while we don’t judge others by what they call themselves, we each have our reasons for what we call ourselves.  Many echoed the idea that we want to feel legitimate before we’ll [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, conferences, Jami Gold, paranormal author, professionalism, RWA, website, workshops

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Multiple Personality Disorder? No, I’m a Writer

January 31, 2012 Writing Stuff
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This is an updated version of one of my favorite posts, the first of many to receive the “Jami is insane” tag.  It’s okay if you laugh with me or at me.  Either way, I’ll understand.  *smile* ***** (No disrespect to anyone—crazy, insane, loony, committed, batty, bizarre, eccentric, daft, demented, deranged, or otherwise—is intended by [...]

Tagged as: Jami Gold, Jami is insane, Kristen Lamb, listening to characters, paranormal author, writers are insane

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What Is the Goal of Ranting?

January 26, 2012 Writing Stuff
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*sigh*  It’s happened again.  An author has insulted other authors and a huge percentage of readers.  Why do people do this? Between social media, the interrelationships of the publishing industry, and the permanent nature of the internet, news of negativity travels far and wide.  Sure, we can’t spout unicorns and rainbows all the time, but [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, Jami Gold, Jami's rants, paranormal author, professionalism, romance fans, romance haters, romance novels, social media

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Do You Call Yourself a Writer or an Author?

January 24, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Recently, the Awesome-Dipped-in-Glitter (TM) Kristen Lamb pointed out that “aspiring is for pansies.”  We are not aspiring writers. Aspiring: to have a plan, desire, or hope for something. Writer: a person who writes. If we put those together, that means an aspiring writer is a person who plans, desires, or hopes to write, but doesn’t actually [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, authors, blogging, branding, Jami Gold, Kristen Lamb, paranormal author, professionalism, risk, self-doubt, self-publishing, website

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Squee! The “Pitch Your Shorts” Winners!

January 19, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Thank you again to everyone who participated in Pitch Your Shorts with Entangled Publishing.  It was a huge success (eleven requests!), thanks to all of you! The editors have finished their dueling (I heard from a reputable source they arm wrestled to settle their disputes), and the following editors have requested these manuscripts: Adrien-Luc Sanders, Senior Editor [...]

Tagged as: editors, happiness, Jami Gold, paranormal author, pitch session, pitching

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