I love the kinds of stories that make you look in the dark corners of your room or order a clear shower curtain so you know if a knife-wielding man dressed as a woman is going to stab you. (True story – I watched the movie Shutter Island while on the treadmill. I couldn’t stop looking behind me. You can see how that’s not a … Continue reading Tackling the Terrifying. How to Write Scary
September 28 – September 30, 2018, I spent the weekend at the SCBWI Carolinas “Word and Line” conference. The weekend was filled with craft, networking, and catching up with fellow writers and Pennies. But you know the feeling you get after spending a week or weekend at a workshop or conference filling your mind with ideas, tips, inspiration, and motivation? It’s a little exhaustion, a … Continue reading Conferences – Sharing What I Learn
Writers frequently hear that one of the most important things they can do to improve their craft is to read. Read in their genre. Read broadly. Read critically. Today I’m going to ask writers to consider going one step further. Don’t just read, but to serve as a judge for a book award. Judging a book award forces you to read A LOT over a … Continue reading 6 Reasons Writers Should Judge a Book Award Such as the CYBILS [Updated 2020]
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now, we’re discussing what to do with that novel once it’s written! So far, we’ve talked about the mechanics of querying and how to face rejection. But did you know that there are an entire range of responses an agent can … Continue reading MYC: Responses and what they mean
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now we’re talking about what to do when you’re ready to put that book out in the world. Last week we heard from Agent Hilary Harwell on querying from an agent’s perspective. This week, we’re going to talk about rejection. No. Nope. … Continue reading MYC: Surviving Rejection
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Our bonus post last week dipped back into craft and how to give your story cliffhangers. We also offered anxiety-free tips on playing the waiting game. This week, we’re talking with agent and Winged Pen pal Hilary Harwell from KT Literary about … Continue reading MYC – Querying, An Agent’s Perspective
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Our bonus post this week dipped back into craft and how to give your story cliffhangers. Last week, we were all about querying strategy. Naturally, this week is about The Waiting Game and how to play it. <cue game show music> … Continue reading MYC: The Waiting Game and 15 Ways to Play It
Welcome to a bonus Master Your Craft post! We’ll still have our regular post Wednesday, and in the meantime… Chapter endings are like fish hooks. A hook alone can catch a fish, but it’s easier with a worm. So what lure can you use to entice readers to take the bait and keep turning pages? Two good options are “contagious” emotions and the sometimes-misunderstood cliffhanger. In Jonah … Continue reading MYC: Chapter Endings, The End is Only the Beginning
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Now we’re working on what to do once you’ve actually finished your book. Get caught up on last week’s post on researching agents before you check out … Continue reading MYC: Querying Strategy
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Last time, we discussed the Dreaded Synopsis. This week we’ll help you get organized as you research agents. Finding an agent is just as much about you as … Continue reading MYC: Researching Agents
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Last time, we posted some tips for drafting a query. This week, we’re tackling the dreaded synopsis. Numerous resources exist for how to write a synopsis. Any writer … Continue reading MYC The Dread Pirate Synopsis: Into the Shallows
Welcome to this week’s Master Your Craft post! Each Wednesday we’ll discuss writing a new book from the BIG IDEA to QUERYING. Last year, we walked you through every step from getting the big idea through polishing your finished novel. Last week, we tried to answer the question Are you ready to query? So if you answered “YES!” this week, we aim to help you get your query drafted. Queries … Continue reading MYC: Query Tips, Tricks and Tidbits
