muse

Dread Writing Sexy Scenes? 5 Tips for Success

March 12, 2013 Writing Stuff
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Whatever genre we write, we often have to write scenes that make us uncomfortable. High on that discomfort scale for many authors are romantic scenes between characters. Whether we write romance or another genre with love interests, or whether the characters merely kiss or have sex with the door open to the reader, many of [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, Jami Gold, listening to characters, love, muse, paranormal author, point of view, risk, romance novels, romance novels are not porn, self-doubt

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Can Story Themes Help Pantsers Write?

February 19, 2013 Writing Stuff
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My favorite blogger, Janice Hardy, had another great post last week. This time she talked about how writers can develop their theme. She shared three tips for understanding how themes work in our stories. One of her tips struck me—a confirmed pantser—as a great way to keep our pantsed stories on track. When we draft [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, emotional heart, Jami Gold, Janice Hardy, muse, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, theme

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Author vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different?

January 31, 2013 Writing Stuff
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The recent talk of watching what we say on the internet and being aware of our brand has brought up several ways people come to odd conclusions about us as writers. Despite all our work to ensure that our behavior supports who we are and what our brand is, people will always form their own impressions. [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, branding, censorship, character flaws, conferences, genre, Jami Gold, listening to characters, muse, paranormal author, romance novels

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Actions and Reactions: The End-All-Be-All of Storytelling

November 29, 2012 Writing Stuff
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This might be a deep philosophical post. Or it might be random thoughts triggered by my remaining sugar coma (7 Thanksgiving desserts!). You’ll have to let me know. I’d been thinking about doing another post about actions and reactions in writing, but the more I thought about it, the bigger the subject became. My fascination with [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, Dwight Swain, Jami Gold, listening to characters, muse, NaNoWriMo, page turning stories, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, scenes and sequels, story structure

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The Point of a Scene: Thinking in Concepts

November 20, 2012 Writing Stuff
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A couple of months ago, I read a blog post that forever changed how I approached drafting scenes. That probably sounds melodramatic, but it’s true. We’ve often talked about the differences between plotters and pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants), and how as a die-hard-and-happy-about-it pantser, I don’t want to plot [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, Janice Hardy, listening to characters, muse, NaNoWriMo, paranormal author, perfectionism, plotter vs. pantser, self-doubt, story structure

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Life Lessons from the “Epic Road Trip”

November 8, 2012 Random Musings
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Those of you who follow me on Twitter might have heard that my family and I took a two-week road trip a couple of months ago. And yes, it was “epic.” We traveled over 2100 miles on our way to visit four National Parks, two National Monuments, and one Tribal Park. Er, yeah. I had [...]

Tagged as: advice for writers, emotional heart, happiness, Jami Gold, Jami is insane, life balance, listening to characters, muse, paranormal author

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NaNo Prep: Using Music to Get into a Writing Mood

October 23, 2012 Writing Stuff
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Last time, we shared suggestions on how to kick our muse into gear. One of my favorite techniques is using music. With NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month—challenge yourself to write 50K words during November) fast approaching, now is the perfect time to revisit all the ways music can help our writing. On a day-to-day basis, music—er, [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, emotional heart, happiness, Jami Gold, listening to characters, muse, NaNoWriMo, paranormal author, tension

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NaNo Prep: How Do You Get in Touch with Your Muse?

October 18, 2012 Writing Stuff
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In my last post, I explained that I’m a pantser (I write by the seat of my pants) because that’s the best way—for me—to hear my subconscious ideas of what to write. But maybe one reason why some of us are plotters and some of us are pantsers is because we all need to use different [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, feedback, giveaway, Jami Gold, listening to characters, muse, NaNoWriMo, paranormal author, plotter vs. pantser, workshops

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NaNo Prep: Should Pantsers Be Plotters?

October 16, 2012 Writing Stuff
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My friend Roni Loren has often mentioned that she has “plotting envy.” Like many pantsers (those who write by the seat of their pants), she wonders if her writing method is the best she could do. Pantsing can feel a little like magic—we trust our subconscious to come up with plot twists, character depth, and [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, Jami Gold, listening to characters, muse, NaNoWriMo, paranormal author, perfectionism, plotter vs. pantser, Roni Loren, workshops

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Ask Jami: Do I Have to Take a Break from Writing?

October 9, 2012 Writing Stuff
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As I mentioned in a recent post, people ask me for advice. I’m sure this would drive some people crazy, but I don’t usually mind it. I can be a very opinionated person, and I’m willing to share. *smile* When I get a great question I think could help others, I feature it in an  ”Ask [...]

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Tagged as: advice for writers, Ask Jami, happiness, Jami Gold, life balance, listening to characters, muse, paranormal author, self-doubt

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