Where Normal Need Not Apply
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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
