Contributed by Linda Wilson All writers experience it: low times. A low time can rear its ugly head after a particularly painful rejection, a bad case of writer’s block, or in my current challenge, a serious case of lack of writing time. At times like these there is only one thing to do: Seek inspiration….
Tag: Linda Wilson
Tips on Polishing Your Novel
Contributed by Linda Wilson, Children’s Author You’ve finished your book. All the major edits and rewrites are done. Now it’s time to polish. Polishing includes the obvious edits, including making sure the story elements are present, verbs are active, every chapter moves the story forward, etc. Fiction Short List: – Does the beginning draw you…
Writing Critique Groups – Dos and Don’ts
While working as a freelance writer, my family moved frequently. Luckily, through membership with organizations such as SCBWI, I found a writing group at each juncture. The information gathered here comes from my own membership in different types of groups.
Three Tips on Starting a Book Series
Contributed by Linda Wilson Writer Beware: “Series are tricky. Writing series is not for the faint of heart.” So says Janet Lane Walters, award-winning author of series in multiple genres and more; as quoted in my latest find, Writing the Fiction Series: The Complete Guide for Novels and Novellas, by Karen S. Wiesner. I am…
Creating Your Main Character – Hit a Home Run
Contributed by Linda Wilson Bases to cover while creating your main character: First Base: Make your character interesting Give your character a flaw A flaw, according to Webster’s, is “an imperfection or weakness and esp. one that detracts from the whole or hinders effectiveness.” A flaw, according to Kristen Kieffer, is a problem your character…
3 Tips to Help Launch Your Writing Career
Your story begins with an idea, an idea that has come from one of your own experiences or someone’s experience that you’ve observed. To write your story, you first need to do your homework: read up on writing for children, read other authors’ books in your genre, take courses, go to conferences, join a critique…
Editing and Revisions – Do a Verb and Word Check
Editing is a must before submitting your manuscript and part of editing means checking for verbs and overuse of words.
One Last Edit – Rethink Before Submitting
Contributed by Linda Wilson Can you look through your completed book without making any changes? I tried it after thinking I had finished up the basic editing and even the polishing. There couldn’t possibly be anything more to “fix,” thought me. Wrong. I found more changes, important changes, many changes. Throwing caution to the wind,…
Deep Point of View
Contributed by Linda Wilson Do you write romance novels? Historical fiction? Mysteries? Whatever your genre, you strive to create a close personal relationship between your main character and your reader. To shed light on this topic, at a recent New Mexico Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, SCBWI Regional event, Kimberley Griffiths Little presented…
Writing Tips From the Book, Story Genius
Contributed by Children’s Author Linda Wilson As SCBWI meetings, critique group sessions, and so much more offered by our local New Mexico chapter go, the subjects at two recent meetings couldn’t have been more helpful. This month’s post offers highlights from a meeting that presented and discussed Lisa Cron’s book, Story Genius: How to Use…