by Jordan Jolley
Each author has different tactics of writing. Some authors will work from sunup to sundown while others may have part-time jobs. Some may have a deep love for historical fiction while another has a deep love for romance. Of course, one specific set of writing methods isn’t the same among authors. However, there are some tips and habits that will be very useful to anyone who writes. They are important tips.
Continue reading How to Become a Great Author
by Andrea Lundgren
I was thinking about this the other day while on hold. I was waiting for a break in the music that signaled that someone was going to rescue me from the unending monotony, so when the music would change from stringed instruments music to a pause, I’d get excited…only to have the music start another movement.
by Michael Mohr
I want to talk briefly about novel structure because, as a novel editor, I see all kinds of basic issues from the majority of the aspiring writer-clients I work with. There is a wealth of info out there on the web but I wanted to give you a little taste of what makes a solid novel. Because, especially if you write commercial fiction and hope to land an agent and get published, novel structure is incredibly important to pay attention to.
by Ryan Lanz
Has anyone ever told you that you have an architect or gardener style of plotting?
There are all sorts of names for styles of plotting. Another set is pantser/plotter, although those terms never seemed to feel right for me. Both styles have various pros and cons, neither being right or wrong. Each method also has certain strengths and weaknesses, which we’ll go over later in this post.
So which are you? Let’s dive in.
by Diane Laney Fitzpatrick
We writers all have our heroes. Depending on your genre, personal taste, and even reading experiences that go back as far as grade school, your writing hero might be Edgar Allen Poe or Tolkien, Hemingway or Jane Austen, Mark Twain or James Patterson.
But ask a humor writer to list his role models and you’ll almost certainly find Erma Bombeck.
Continue reading The 3 Steps to Writing Humor: Channeling Erma
by Doug Lewars
Book reviews are a fact of life. If it’s your book being reviewed, they’re nice if they’re positive and decidedly unpleasant if they’re negative. Every book is going to have a few negative reviews. That’s a fact of life because people are different, have different interests, enjoy different things, and will relate to your work in different ways.
by Meg Dowell
Sometimes, writing less leads to deeper, more creative thinking.
Have you ever wondered how some writers manage to write thousands of words every day — while you can barely squeeze out 500 words after an hour of trying (and failing) to focus? How do so many successful writers publish so much — even though one success could carry their careers for years?
These are the habits of writers who cannot stop, who refuse to stop, who somehow do this writing thing and don’t suffer creative burnout in the process.
by Michael Mohr
One of the toughest things to do in fiction or creative nonfiction writing, in my professional opinion, is to create strong, believable tension. Without tension—between the protagonist and a villain, the protagonist and him/herself, the protagonist and the environment, etc—you really don’t have much of a story. And it’s unlikely readers will want to follow you far through the jungle of your narrative.
by Ryan Lanz
For some writers, editing strikes fear into their hearts. Okay, perhaps not fear, but some discomfort. At least a stomach ache, right?
Before you reach for the antacids, let’s discuss the different methods of editing and introduce some ways that might make it less intimidating.
by Allison Maruska
A subgroup of writers (myself included) proclaim they are pantsers, meaning they write by the seat of their pants with little planning beforehand. But even pantsters have to do some planning. In fact, it would be more accurate to call ourselves plantsers.
Planning is taking an initial idea and developing it into a cohesive premise that makes a story. Plot points, conflict, and characters have to be decided. You pretty much have to know the beginning, middle, and end of a story before the draft starts. The difference between planners and plantsers is how many smaller details are decided beforehand.
