How Your Writing Style Can Impact Your Writing No, I did not spend November running amuck around my peers pulling down their pants. However, I did spend this past NaNoWriMo doing something that might have been just as uncomfortable. I wrote a story by discovery writing. I have always self-declared my writing style as aContinue reading “When A Plotter Goes Pantsing”
Tag Archives: writing advice
Add Tension and Build Suspense with Try/Fail Cycles
In the first imaginings of our stories, we often have an end goal in mind. Character X is put into situation Y and comes out changed (whether that’s for better or for worse depends on whether it’s a positive or negative character arc). Our story would be rather short if the goal you set forContinue reading “Add Tension and Build Suspense with Try/Fail Cycles”
10 Reasons Why Writing a Novel is Like Running a Marathon
Happy November! This means we are just kicking off National Novel Writing Month. If somehow you’re unfamiliar despite my preptober posts last month, it is when insane people, myself included, participate in this annual event to write a novel (50,0000 words) in one month. It’s truly a test of endurance and motivation. In tandem withContinue reading “10 Reasons Why Writing a Novel is Like Running a Marathon”
Preptober Week Four: Organization and Time Management – With Guest Author Erin Thomson
Ready or not, Prep-tober is wrapping up and NaNoWriMo is upon us. We have created our plot outlines, made character info sheets, and brainstormed worlds and extra details. What’s left is organizing yourself to ensure NaNo success! This week, we have guest Author Erin Thompson providing useful insights, including ways to psych yourself up andContinue reading “Preptober Week Four: Organization and Time Management – With Guest Author Erin Thomson”
Publishing in the Summer: with Guest Author Zara Hoffman
Summer might be winding down, but some of you might be wondering if this is a good time of year to publish their work in progress. The answer might vary depending on if you’re an indie versus a trad author. I’m excited to share this amazing guest post all about publishing during the summer, byContinue reading “Publishing in the Summer: with Guest Author Zara Hoffman”
Book Marketing like a Bad-Ass with Guest Author Cathrine Swift
Fresh off of releasing her debut novel, Let it Reign, Cathrine has done her homework in the world of book marketing and it has paid off, big time! I’m excited to have Cathrine featured on the blog to share some of her pearls of wisdom she had gathered when plan her marketing strategy for herContinue reading “Book Marketing like a Bad-Ass with Guest Author Cathrine Swift”
A Newbie’s Guide to Big Picture Edits
In January, I released a guide for self-editing your novel. When it comes to editing, it’s not just one mountain to climb, but several––and some smaller foothills, maybe even some off-course deep-sea exploration, just for good measure. What I’m getting at is… self-editing is a journey. To ease you on this journey, I highly recommendContinue reading “A Newbie’s Guide to Big Picture Edits”
5 Tips for Writing Romantic Subplots
I’m a sucker for a heart-thumping, palm-sweating romance. And regardless of what niche genre you write in, there’s often an acceptable place for a romantic subplot. Just as we love to plunge into quests and adventures, readers love to read about love because it opens a little window for the reader to feel and connectContinue reading “5 Tips for Writing Romantic Subplots”
Creating A Book Bible: With Guest Author Megan Beth Davies
This week, I have guest author, Megan Beth Davies, to talk about one super helpful writing resource…a writing resource that’s so personalized to your story, it’s like you’ve created it yourself…because, well, you did. Megan is a fantasy writer like myself, which naturally comes with a ton of planning (and some organization required). From worldContinue reading “Creating A Book Bible: With Guest Author Megan Beth Davies”
How to use Motivation-Reaction Units to Enhance Your Storytelling
I recently did a whole post about scene-sequel story structure. While the concept of a scene followed by its sequel is the large-scale structure (or the building blocks) of a story, Motivation-Reaction Units (or MRUs for short) are the minuscule pieces that create those blocks. The idea of Motivation-Reaction Units was first found inContinue reading “How to use Motivation-Reaction Units to Enhance Your Storytelling”
Newbie to Novelist 