Probably everyone has heard one adage or another about the first step. Well, that first step certainly applies to your writing too. Having a desire to write a novel or children story is something, but taking the first step to bringing that desire to fruition is impressive. Having an idea for a story is something….
Category: writing tips
Creating Story Characters? Avoid These Common Mistakes
Guest Post by Linda Wilson Many characters inhabited the early drafts of my WIP: a MG mystery. Like many of my characters’ counterparts—kids—I assigned each character a “friend,” following the example I’d seen so often of kids going around in “packs.” What fun I had! The snappy dialogue! The endless opportunities to showcase what was…
Is Your Busyness Productive?
We’ve all been there . . . being too busy. But, is your busyness constructive? Or, is your busyness, just busyness? If you’re trying to build a writing career, you’ve got to be busy on things that will move your career forward. Do you want to become an author? Well, you’ve got to decide which…
Make Success a Habit with 3 Doable Steps
We all fall into the “I don’t think I can” hole now and then. It’s interesting how a lot of writers and people in general have negative thoughts throughout the day: – I’m tired. – This is too hard. – I don’t have enough time. – I’m not good enough. – This is overwhelming. –…
Overcome Writer’s Block with Automatic Transcription
Contributed by Descript If you’re a writer — of books, essays, scripts, blog posts, whatever — you’re familiar with the phenomenon: the blank screen, a looming deadline, and a sinking feeling in your gut that pairs poorly with the jug of coffee you drank earlier. If you know that rumble all too well: this post is for you. Maybe…
Series Writing – Is It For You?
Contributed by Linda Wilson How big is your children’s book idea? In fiction, it might cover generations as in Philippa Gregory’s Cousins’ War and Plantagenet and Tudor Series, or growth of the main character which occurs in Nancy Drew mysteries. Have your pick of nonfiction topics that can blossom into a series from a single…
Create Strong Story Settings with Visual Prompts
Contributed by Team Member Suzanne Lieurance Setting plays a big part in any novel or short story. And the best way to create a strong sense of setting is to “show” your readers where your characters are living out your story. But how do you do this? Well, it takes practice. Generally, you will want…
The Query and the Author Bio
I read an interesting article by Robert Lee Brewer, senior content editor at the Writer’s Digest writing community. It talked about the author bio in your query and book proposals. According to Brewer, the bio “is a part of the query that has more potential to harm a pitch than to help.” (1) Okay, if…
Positive Thinking and the Writer’s Life
I’ve been looking for a house, for about two months now. And, when I saw this quote by Sean McCabe, it amazed me how accurate it is. As my husband and I are looking, my husband sees all the things wrong with each house. It has wall paper, it needs a complete renovation, it needs…
Borrowing from the Superheroes
Contributed by Carolyn Howard-Johnson One of the articles [in The Smithsonian] was inspired by the movie, Man of Steel. They take up how “superhero origin stories inspire us to cope with adversity.” The elements that make superheroes so popular can work with characters in any kind of fiction you may write (or read). Here are…