One of the first lessons a novelist learns is that writing a book is not like writing an essay in school. The dynamics are different. The time factors are different. The end results are different. The drafts are different. With an essay it’s common to finish a full draft of…
Anyone who has publicly admitted to writing a book has heard the question, “Where do you get your ideas?” And, because we have a certain reluctance to admitting we pull full manuscripts from a cursed well in the forest under the light of a new moon, authors will often stumble…
“Why are we doing this?” My crit partner looked back from the computer screen. She’s on spring holiday in Australia and we were Skyping to discuss plots, goals, and problems. “I dunno,” I said, which was eloquent for that time of night. Being best friends with someone on the other…
QUERY(n) – the letter a hopeful author sends to an agent or editor with the express wish of getting the manuscript off their desk and onto someone else’s publication schedule. The query is an essential part of the publication process even for Indie Authors, it’s also one of the…
I’ve always been a big believer in writing regularly. Good habits are hard to make, and keeping a regular writing schedule helps an author in the long run. However, as the years have passed, I’ve veered away from the Write Every Day! camp towards the idea of Think Every Day….
Winter is coming. Not the good-fun winter with Jon Snow saving the day and Sansa coming home to Winterfell. No, the real winter is coming, with familial obligations, cold weather, and seasonal depression. Some people have claustrophobia and hate the feeling of the walls closing in around them. Cold weather…
One of the first lessons a novelist learns is that writing a book is not like writing an essay in school. The dynamics are different. The time factors are different. The end results are different. The drafts are different. With an essay it’s common to finish a full draft of…
Years ago when I first published a book and broke the news to my family that their child was –gasp!- a writer my father asked if I did morning pages. If you have followed my family’s shenanigans online you know this is 100% a normal response to finding out your…
Funny story… last year, while I was working on the ending of BODIES IN MOTION, the ending for the series was headed in a different direction. The plot for Book 2 centered around everyone’s favorite engineer, Rowena Lee, making peace with the grounders and eventually falling in love with one….
Fancasting… it’s often see as something writers do to avoid actually writing. It’s treated like a stall tactic. But, if you want a diverse cast and want diversity in your books, it’s actually good way to get a headcount of what diversity is available. The fancast above is for my…