As with life, some people think everything has to be perfect before they start their writing journey or continue on one. It may be they don’t think they’ve mastered the craft of writing to perfection. Or, maybe the writer has started her story, but can’t seem to achieve the perfection she’s looking for. She believes…
Category: writing tips
Submitting to Publishers and Agents – Is There a Best Time?
Lately, I’ve had a number of clients who are going the traditional publishing route. Some are querying directly to book publishers and a couple are querying literary agents. Having helped a number of those clients with their query letters, not one of them could wait to submit the query, even if their book had just…
4 Must-Know Tips to Writing Better Story Endings
Contributed by team member Suzanne Lieurance Many writers have trouble coming up with the perfect ending for a story. And the perfect ending is really important because it is often the ending of a story that people remember most. That’s because a good ending ties everything together and leaves the reader feeling satisfied. To write…
Writing – Time Management and Organization
When I first started out in my writing career, I began to think more and more about organizing my writing. But, I was in what I call, slow mode. I worked on my stories with the intent to eventually… hopefully get published. However, I was in no rush; writing came after everything else I had…
3 Reasons Why Editing Should Come Before Self-Publishing
Self-publishing is an amazing beast. It has brought the world of publishing into the hands of you, Joe, Beth, and everyone and anyone who wants to write a book. It has brought writing power and freedom to all. But, with writing power and freedom comes responsibility. This means that while it’s true that self-publishing has…
Opening Paragraphs
Contributed by Suzanne Lieurance What’s perhaps the most important part of anything you write? The opening paragraph, of course. Yet many times, that’s the part writers have the most trouble with. They end up with an opening paragraph that is too long, too unfocused, and doesn’t really lead to what happens next. With that in…
Writing Success – Do You Really Have the Power?
The question in the title has been asked for hundreds, probably thousands of years. The simple truth of the matter is you have the power. You are in control of whether you become successful or not. Most of it has to do with your thought process. Zig Ziglar said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will…
Writing Success – Commit to It
Contributed by Suzanne Lieurance Become Totally Committed to Your Own Success. Why do some people succeed against all odds while others never live up to their potential? Those who succeed aren’t necessarily more talented or have more valuable contacts than those who don’t succeed. But what they do have is a total commitment to their…
Be a Successful Writer Even if You Don’t Think You Have Enough Time
I always think about time and how there just isn’t enough of it to do all the things I must. Then, I look at two quotes that put time in perspective: “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur,…
Writing Nonfiction – Using Quotes
If you’re a fiction writer, you know there are a number of elements that a writer needs to incorporate to create an engaging and believable story, such as characterization, plot, structure, clarity, and so on. Well, Writing nonfiction also has a set of elements that must be incorporated into the piece to create similar results,…