Where Normal Need Not Apply
If we don’t want to waste time writing a story that will never get anywhere, we have to make sure we’ll be able to complete it. And guess what? It’s not completed when we, as writers, think it is. Going from seed idea to completion happens over two stages. So […]
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Every story begins with an idea. Sometimes this idea comes to authors out of the blue. Sometimes a dream provides the spark. Sometimes “people watching” or an overheard conversation will trigger the thought. But no matter where it comes from, the idea kicks off everything else, like a seed from which […]
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Yesterday, the inimitable Tawna Fenske had a blog post about how reading outside our comfort zone can make us better writers. Her post got me thinking about a book I recently finished, Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. Unlike my usual genres of paranormal or historical, Anna and […]
Anyone who has had me read their work can attest to the fact that I can be a tad, um … detail-oriented. *ahem* All right, I’ll admit it. I’m a nit-picky perfectionist, even on beta-reads. I know, I know. I’m trying to control this tendency. Beta-reading shouldn’t involve line-editing. And I owe […]
We’ve all been disappointed at some point during our lives. As a child, I once discovered my Christmas presents early, hidden in my parents’ closet (it was by accident, I swear!). My fingers ached to play with all those toys and I couldn’t wait for the big day. But when […]
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We all have to deal with rejection in our lives, and it hurts to not get the job we want, the relationship we want, or the agent we want. In fact, it sucks. But as trite as it sounds, it really is better to try and fail than to not […]
During this two-week long Critique Week extravaganza we’ve looked at how criticism can help us improve, we’ve learned what a successful critique partnership looks like, and we’ve identified our strengths and weaknesses so we’ll recognize our perfect critique partner. Now let’s put that all together and talk about how to […]
It’s probably a given that all good writers want to get even better. Last week, I talked about how we can use criticism to improve our work, and I gave a peek inside a successful critique partnership. My critique partner and I work very well together, and we certainly lucked […]
Are you *gasp* less than perfect? Hey, it happens. I know I’m not the only one. No matter what aspect of our life we’re talking about, whether we’re in search of parenting advice, the secrets to magic tricks, or kicking our writing up a notch, we can read, experiment, and […]
Info dump? Infamous? You better believe it. The most egregious offender even has a name: the “As you know, Bob.” Imagine dialogue along the lines of, “As you know, Bob, Jane is our sister.” *cringe* Does anyone actually speak like that? Would you ever tell someone something they already know? […]
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