Writing is an art form, and yet I don’t usually think of myself as an artist. But all types of artistic endeavors have the concept of a muse or a gut feel for when something is working—or not—so we might be able to use that general “artistic muse” concept to help us with our writing, especially when we suffer from writer’s block.
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Have you seen the ads for James Patterson’s Writing Masterclass? Here’s your chance to win a seat in his online class!
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Approximately seventy bajillion new books are released every day (give or take a few bajillion). Our newly released books might have a hard time being noticed, so when we find readers who like our work, we want to make sure they’re still in our audience for our next book. Enter the email newsletter.
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If we’re looking into self-publishing, we’ve probably seen conflicting advice about how much to charge for our work. My monthly guest post over at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University digs deeper into the pros and cons of pricing low.
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We’re almost to the new year, so let’s take those thoughts of new beginnings over to our stories. Most writers have probably struggled with a story’s opening, but if we start from the big picture and move to the specific, we might have an easier time finding the right beginning for our story.
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Writing requires a humongous learning curve. Back when I first started writing, I was frustrated with that learning curve. I wanted to be done and over with it so I could just get on with the process of writing. But after 7 years and 8 completed stories, I’ve gained insights into how the learning curve works.
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I interrupted my Christmas to-do list to put together a worksheet based on the Essential Elements list I covered in my last post. If you’ve ever wondered if a completed story had good “bones,” hopefully this worksheet will help.
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After completing a story, we might face the question of whether to put in the effort to revise it. If we decide our story has enough promise, what should we do next? Does our story contain all the essential elements? Does it have the bones of a good story?
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Whether we put any stock into tests like Myers-Briggs, they’re interesting for providing insights into our strengths and weaknesses. Once we understand our traits, we can decide whether we wish to fight to improve, find a way around them, or embrace them as part of our process.
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When we’re young, the world feels like it’s made up of wrong answers and right answers. Not surprisingly, writing is one of those areas of our life where “one right way” doesn’t apply, and there are several reasons why there’s no definitive “right” way to write a book.
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