I recently found myself in a writing rut. A hectic home life, a stressful and stressed-out world, and somehow writing became both trivial and inaccessible. I could not connect with my creativity, and it felt self-indulgent even to try. Over dinner, a wise friend suggested a poetry challenge. Write a poem a day for thirty days, to clean out the spiders of doubt and despair, … Continue reading My Month of Poetry
We’ve talked before about the need for critique partners to help you create your best work. (Jessica Vitalis had some great suggestions about how to find the right critique partners.) But finding critique partners is only half the battle. If you want to have an ongoing, productive critique relationship – and write your best novel! – you also need to know how to be a good … Continue reading How To Give Good Critique
I’m revising manuscript number five of my not-yet-illustrious writing career. The story is complete, has been read one critique partner and revised, and is ready to go to beta readers. This story has heists, fight scenes and even kissing (new for me since my prior stories were middle grade), and I’m very excited about it. I dream of agents begging me for this manuscript…if they … Continue reading First Pages: My Search for the Un-put-downable Start of a Story
Revising a novel is a form of bookkeeping. So many moving parts!! How do you keep from losing your mind? Never fear, writer friends! The Winged Pen is here! Ta daaaa! Give your revision Wings: Download the Tame Your Revision Infographic here. INVENTORY Make a scene list. Timeline Map of Major Scenes Draw, Doodle, Diagram, Index Card, Cut up Manuscript, Synopsis, Query Letter, Colored Markers. … Continue reading Tame Your Revision: 7 Tips to Finish Your Novel Before Your Battery Dies
Welcome back to my series Basic Marketing for Authors. In the last blog post of this series, Creating Your Brand, I mentioned there are many uses for your brand including social media, promotion material, and websites. Today we are focusing on websites. A scary, but necessary part of your platform and career-long marketing. (Who am I kidding? It’s all scary!) Okay, you have your brand. How do you use that … Continue reading Creating Your Website
Over the holidays, my father-in-law mentioned that a friend had just written a book, his memoirs about the Vietnam War. Since my father-in-law knows I write, I felt like I should offer to help his friend, but I write middle grade and young adult stories. What useful advice would I have? Then I asked if his friend was on Twitter. He wasn’t. That opened up … Continue reading Twitter 101 for Writers
Cross-pollination: the transfer of pollen from one type of plant to another type of plant of the same species, often by insects or wind. When you’re working really hard on a writing project, tunnel vision can creep in. It makes sense. Your life is busy, the publishing industry is slow, and you need to finish your book yesterday. So if you have time to do … Continue reading Creative Cross-Pollination
Back when I took my first yoga class, the teacher warned us to avoid “The Four C’s” – comparing, competing, complaining, and criticizing. I can still vividly remember feeling so chastised – I had committed every single one of those sins! In the years since that first class, The Four C’s have popped into my head at various times – while taking yoga or other … Continue reading The Four C’s — Yoga Rules for Writing
It’s still January and everyone’s talking about goals. Making goals, keeping goals, how to write your goals and Blah, Blah, Blah! Actually, I’m a very goal oriented person. I love goals. I make goals to shatter them, not just reach them. BUT 2016 was a bit of a different story. Shortly after finalizing the edits for my first book, I hit a huge snag. A … Continue reading How to Break Your Resolutions & Live to Tell About It
Life has gotten really full. There are emails to answer, phone calls to make, and have you signed the kids up for summer camp yet? Enter the bullet journal. It’s basically a notebook into which you pour all of your appointments, tasks, plans, goals, lists, musings, and memories. And once you have it written down, you’ve captured it. That little thing that you’re afraid you’ll … Continue reading Bullet Journals for Writers
Welcome to “Creating Your Brand,” the first in a three-part series on basic marketing for authors. BRANDING If you are like me, a complete novice in the area of promoting yourself, this is the place for you. In 2016, I made it a priority to learn all I could about this subject. I had one-on-one brainstorming session with a published author and marketing specialist, attended workshops with … Continue reading Creating Your Brand
If Pitch Wars 2017 seems too far away or too selective for you, you can always try out other mentorship programs available online. Some are free and some come with a fee. I have listed both below. But first…. What should you expect from a mentor? A mentor is a professional who is ahead of the game and understands the industry better than you. By … Continue reading Find Mentors after Pitch Wars?
