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 […]
#WriterTips for Using Pinterest
With so many different avenues of social media at our fingertips, what’s a #writer to do? Click To Tweet Sometimes we wish we could bury ourselves in our writing and never face the social world. But, more writers are learning that the way to get the word out about their books is through social media. […]
The Challenges and Fun of Writing a Murder Mystery
In this video Joan talks about the challenges and the fun of #writing a murder #mystery. Click To Tweet As a writer, you must first figure out what kind of mystery you’re gonna write. Believe it or not, there are lots of sub-genres to the mystery world. Once you make that decision, you can start […]
When Books Don’t Seem to End
From the title of this post, you may have thought I’d be writing about books I’ve read. Indeed, there have been many a book where I’ve wondered when will this book end. The author seemed to be toying with us–drawing everything out, teasing, until we toss the book at the nearest wall. But, actually I […]
Tips for Telling a Good Story
Storytelling engages people #amwriting #writingtips Click To Tweet When you share an experience and personalize it, you create interest. Think about the times you’ve sat in big auditoriums, bored out of your mind, as speakers drone on with facts. Suddenly, a new speaker takes the podium and begins with, “When I left my house this […]
Similes, Metaphors, What in the World?
Beautiful writing paints word pictures #amwriting #writingtips Click To Tweet Talented writers know how to do this without overburdening the reader. Many new writers do not understand the difference between a simile and a metaphor nor do they understand how to use these figures of speech. Let’s first look at what in the world a […]
The Messiness of Point of View
By now, if you’ve been reading my blog, you know how much I detest head hopping #writingtips Click To Tweet It is distracting and cheapens the writing. That doesn’t mean I don’t like hearing what other characters are thinking. There’s just a way to do that correctly. As a reader, I love the way writers […]
I May Be A Good Writer, But I’m a Lousy Editor!
Editing is the bane of my existence #amwriting #amediting Click To Tweet I know some writers are also good editors. They catch every little comma error or word left out. They see all the echoed words and shake their fingers at me when I misspell so common a word as “quiet.” What in the world […]
How Do Your Characters Handle the Holidays?
With the holidays right on our doorstep, I thought it was a good time to look at the timing in your books. How do your characters handle the holidays? Do they purchase gifts? Do they see family members they may only see once a year. If you write murder mysteries, do tempers rise and murders […]
Writers Using Scrivener or Not?–Pros and Benefits
If you’re a writer, you’ve probably heard of Scrivener @scrivenerapp #writingtips Click To Tweet This is a writing tool designed to help organize the unfocused, creative minds of writers. I wonder how F. Scott Fitzgerald or Faulkner might have responded to something like Scrivener? My initial reaction was it would take me too long to […]
