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Interview with a…Muse – Guest: Rachel Firasek

Picture of Rachel Firasek

I’m still at Disneyland, so I have another guest joining us today.  This is the second installment of a new feature here on my blog: Interview with a…Muse (because interviewing our characters is just too sane).  After I had so much fun with my Do You Have a Muse? post, I wanted to see who […]

May 12, 2011

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Interview with a…Muse – Guest: J.A. Paul

J. A. Paul picture

“Hey, Jami, now that you have a bazillion things to do and no time to get it all done, what are you going to do?” “I’m going to Disneyland!” That’s right.  I threw up my hands and decided everything could wait a week while I head to Disneyland with the family.  Everything could wait but […]

May 10, 2011

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What’s in a Name?

Shadowy figure in a hallway

When we first get an idea for a story, the characters who will populate that story often start out shadowy and vague.  Either before the writing process (if we’re plotters) or during the writing process (if we’re pantsers), we have to develop those characters into something solid and colorful.  We have to make them real […]

May 3, 2011

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When Shouldn’t You Self Publish?

Painted stop on road

Many articles have been written about traditional vs. self publishing (this blog is no exception, as my articles here and here prove), and agent Rachelle Gardner’s recent post added an intriguing twist to the conversation.  She asked her readers who are sticking with traditional publishing to explain their reasons why. Good question.  And I don’t […]

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April 12, 2011

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Can Karma Help You Become a Better Writer?

Arrows in a circle

Yesterday, author Jody Hedlund had a blog post about why most writers are blind to their own faults.  The first reason she mentioned really resonated with me: We naturally view our work through our maturity level. When we first start any new project, writing or otherwise, we don’t know what all we don’t know.  This […]

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April 5, 2011

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6 Techniques for Using Music to Help Our Muse

Girl with Headphones

Lately I’ve been struck by how similar music is to writing.  Both arts use a non-visual medium to create an emotion.  And often, just like writing, music is meant to create movies in our mind for a do-it-yourself music video. If you’ve ever watched a movie with the sound turned off, you know what a […]

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February 15, 2011

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Are Romance Heroes Good Role Models?

Couple holding hands

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, a recent USA Today article (5/14 ETA: article no longer in USA Today archives) gave the relationship advice that a man should: “look into her eyes, focus on what she says and really talk to her.”  Wow, earth-shattering ideas. Or not.  The suggestion to treat a woman like a person and not just […]

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February 8, 2011

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How to Avoid Head-Hopping

Relay race baton pass with text: Point of View: Handling Hand-Offs

We’ve learned that head-hopping should be avoided if we want to maintain a strong connection between the reader and the characters, and we’ve learned that just calling something omniscient doesn’t solve the head-hopping problem. This brings up the obvious question: How do we avoid head-hopping? The answer might be different for each story we write. […]

February 3, 2011

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An Introvert’s Guide to Twitter

Outcast

In the comments of my last post about how to make online friends, several people mentioned they had trouble jumping into conversations on Twitter, so I promised a follow-up post.  Believe me, I get it.  Many of my school years can be summed up by this picture—being left out.  Been there, done that. Maybe that’s […]

November 23, 2010

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Writers: One Big Happy Family

Paper Figures Holding Hands

First, let me say: No, I don’t mean this blog title sarcastically.  I really have made some great friends in the writing sphere.  Some of them are further along in the process than I am (agented, or even published), but I honestly wish only the best for them.  Even my less-than-stellar contest scores didn’t lead […]

November 16, 2010

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