Joan C. Curtis

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How do Writers Choose Character Names? Some Tips

June 19, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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One of the biggest problems in writing is developing names for the various characters #amwriting Click To Tweet When we write a book, a fully grown person pops up. They have a history and a life that we know nothing about. Who are these people? What is their history and what in the world do […]

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Filed Under: Characters, Fiction Writing, For Readers, Writing Tips

Grammar Conundrums or is it Conundrum?

June 14, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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My head aches with grammar conundrums. Actually I thought conundrum was both singular and plural. But apparently the plural is okay. What about genre? That’s another one that causes my head to throb. Putting an ‘s’ on genre screams WRONG! Every time I write a book, I learn something new about #grammar Click To Tweet […]

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Filed Under: For Readers, Grammar Tips, Writing Tips Tagged With: adjectives, grammar, inflexible, unflexible, Writing

What’s a Great Book to Take to the Pool?

June 12, 2017 By Joan Curtis 2 Comments

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With summer right here and the pool beaconing me, I wonder which book I want to take to distract me from the screaming kids and the hot sun. Even though I love reading nonfiction, I prefer something lighter in the summer. A great mystery or a white knuckle thriller. You might even find me with […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, For Readers Tagged With: Amor Towles, Ann Cleeves, Fredrik Backman, summer reads

What Questions Would You Love to Ask Your Favorite #Writer?

June 7, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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I have so many writers whom I love. A lot of times I’ll tweet my review of their books and many will hit a like button or say thank you. But, I’d love to be able to interact with them. To ask certain questions. Either about the book I just read or their other books. […]

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Filed Under: For Readers Tagged With: A Gentleman in Moscow, All the Birds Singing, Amor Towles, Chains, Evie Wyld, JoJo Moyes, Laurie Halse Anderson, Me Before You

Crafting the Perfect Words that Describe Your Book–Blurbs!

June 5, 2017 By Joan Curtis 3 Comments

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This month #Inkripples is dealing with blurbs #amwriting Click To Tweet Inkripples is a toss into the pond. Take a look at the ripples… Add your own… Mary Waibel’s World at Katie Carroll Observation Desk and at Kai Strand’s blog. For those of you not aware, blurbs are the few paragraphs about a book that appear on the back cover […]

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Filed Under: Marketing for Writers, The Business of Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr, blurb, book marketing, descriptions

#MyBookReview–Britt-Marie Was Here 5 Stars!

May 31, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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After I read A Man Called Ove, I decided to find another book by Fredrik Backman @Backmanland #mybookreview Click To Tweet Reading the reviews of his latest works, I selected Britt-Marie Was Here with trepidation. Some of the reviewers complained that it didn’t match Ove; Others liked it even more. Being a savvy buyer, I decided […]

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Filed Under: Joan's Must Reads, My Thoughts, Reviews Tagged With: #mybookreview, 5 stars, A Man Called Ove, book review, Britt-Marie Was Here, Fredrik Backman

Writers Tips for Showing Feelings

May 29, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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The word, “feel,” connotes telling. When you say Jake felt anger, you are telling. How can a writer show feelings without telling the reader how the person felt #writingtips Click To Tweet This becomes a major conundrum in the world of creative writing. We want our characters to have feelings, strong emotions, but how do […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: A Man Called Ove, Britt-Marie Was Here, emotions, feelings, fiction writing, Fredrik Backman, show don't tell, writing tips

A Time to Work and a Time to Rest

May 24, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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The creative mind cannot work in a pressure cooker #writingtips Click To Tweet If we want people to come up with new ideas or create exciting stories for books and films, we must allow them time to rest and sleep as well as work. Perhaps we’ve always known this truth. Often people ask writers about […]

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Filed Under: Fiction Writing, Thoughts on Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: Charles Darwin, creativity, day schedule, rest, work

How Important is Your Website? A Writer’s Guide

May 22, 2017 By Joan Curtis 2 Comments

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So many writers have weak websites #writingtips #marketing Click To Tweet They spend as little time and money as possible tossing something up there. Then they wonder why their books are not found for review or for purchase. I’m in the process of re-vamping my own website. I’ve explored those of other writers to get […]

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Filed Under: Marketing for Writers, The Business of Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: author interviews, book marketing, Book Trailer, website, YouTube

When Something Doesn’t Work, Why Not Delete It?

May 17, 2017 By Joan Curtis Leave a Comment

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One of the best things about writing fiction is you can hit the delete button #writingtips Click To Tweet . If a scene doesn’t work or no longer moves the story forward, rather than trying to fix it or repair a broken phrase, why not delete it? Nonfiction writers don’t have that much freedom. They […]

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Filed Under: Marketing for Writers, The Business of Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: delete button, editing, writing tips

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Recent Posts

  • Writing out of a Writer’s Slump #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop June 19, 2018
  • How to Release Your Subconscious. #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop April 18, 2018
  • All Writers Experience Rejection. Even Charlotte Bronte April 11, 2018
  • Tips for Making Your Books More Pleasurable to Your Readers #AuthorToolBoxBlogHop March 20, 2018
  • Do Academic Writers Make Good Novelists? March 14, 2018

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