My Goal is to Have Motivated Characters
But the little bastards won’t play along
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#AuthorLife: Tell Me How to Show
This post was part of the author toolbox blog hop, created and hosted by Raimey Gallant. It has gone on hiatus, but there are still plenty of great posts in Raimey’s archives to help you out! Do you know how to tell, at a glance, that you’re dealing with a new, inexperienced author? Telling. When the writing is chock-a-block full of telling, it’s a gargantuan, neon clue blaring out: This author is still learning. This author is hacking out the…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Crafty Craft Books
The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day and guess what, it’s the first Wednesday in August! Post your thoughts, talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered, discuss your struggles and triumphs, and offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer – aim for a dozen new people each time – and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Every month…
Why Titles are Literally the Worst
Inquiring authors want to know: What’s harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names? (It’s me. I’m inquiring authors.) My answer: Titles. Titles are the hardest thing ever. Titles are horrible, nasty, no good, very bad, brain-killing beasts. Compared to titles, naming my characters is a breeze. And not like, a fourteen-kilometer-per-hour windstorm breeze, one of those gentle zephyr kind. So many options, all of them easy breezy. I can use names I like the sound…
Author Life: Tiptoe Through the AHHH TOO MANY BUTTERFLIES GET THEM OFF OF ME
I’m going to take a leap of faith and generalize something because this has been bothering me lately and I want it out in the world to bother you, too. Although in any other context generalizing is a BAD IDEA and I should never ever do it…in this one case I think it’s less a stereotype and more of a sterling truth. Authors/Writers live a life stuffed full of imaginings. I feel like this is true of all of us.…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Wants to Know My Purpose
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group meets monthly, online, to support you: a writer. You can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Sign up by clicking here. This month we owe our co-hosting thanks to Jemi Fraser, Kim Lajevardi, L.G Keltner, Tyrean Martinson, and Rachna Chhabria! Don’t hesitate to stop by and tell them what a great job they’re…
The Insecure Writer’s Support Group Works Hard
The purpose of the IWSG is to share and encourage. To gently prop you up when you’re falling down, and allow you to offer that prop to other authors as we go. The first Wednesday of every month we meet (online) to share stories, air insecurities, and lend a helping hand. Come join by clicking here. The awesome co-hosts for the October 7 posting of the IWSG are Jemima Pitt, Beth Camp, Beverly Stowe McClure, and Gwen Gardner! And the October 7th question is: When…
Six First Aid Steps for Bad Feedback: an IWSG Post
As part of the celebration for author Chrys Fey’s latest book release, we’re talking about writer’s block, depression, and the varied obstacles life will throw in your way as you try to publish. My contribution for the blog hop is about dealing with bad feedback. This could be editorial comments, a scathing one-star review, rejection letters, dismissive friends or family; anything which makes you feel like a big anvil made of “NO” just landed on your head. I know about…
Which Came First? The Plot, or the Characters?
This is a perennial question authors get asked, and it’s just as unanswerable as the chicken and egg conundrum. Look, let’s be brutally honest here. Authors as a whole live in a half-unreal world with their heads feeling cloudy ALL THE TIME. Fictional people fill our brains with ghostly conversations. Interesting, exciting scenes play out behind our closed eyelids. Fantasy worlds and concepts capture our imagination. Reality is pretty much optional, okay. In the midst of all this noise, pinpointing…