I’m updating this post from 2014 with new tips from Jerry Jenkins. He recently asked 40 writing experts: What do you wish you’d known as a beginner. The answers are quite enlightening. Take a look here! Then enjoy the tips from other famous writers below. I recently read a post listing writing tips from […]
What Works and What Doesn’t Work in Writing Fiction
As I’ve studied the art of fiction writing, I’ve learned that it is much more an art than a science. What works one day is proved false the next. What readers eat up today, they toss aside tomorrow. Clearly the art of writing fiction takes patience and a willingness to push the envelope. I’m reading […]
Tips for Starting a New Novel
I recently started a new novel. I began with a germ of an idea and it has grown and emerged since. Because we all write in different ways, I thought I’d share some of my tips for starting a new novel and ask my writer friends to add a few of theirs. Working on a […]
Tips on How Not to Let Others Squelch Your Creativity
Recently I heard someone say, “I tried to write a novel, but when my wife read it, she said…” Usually a negative comment from a loved one or a friend, will squelch our creativity in an instant #amwriting #creativity Click To Tweet Quicker than my foot will squelch a bug. As artists, whether literary artists […]
Why Writers Keep Writing
I’ve often wondered what keeps writers writing. As a reader, I’m grateful that people out there in the world persist in this rather unrewarding activity. I say unrewarding only in the sense of traditional rewards, e.g., money, fame. Most of what writers get instead is criticism or armchair hindsight. So why do writer’s write? I […]
Editing or Writing That is the Question #writingtips #amwriting
I’m in the middle of several writing projects. I’m finishing the final edits on the e-Murderer. My publisher has it, now but I suspect I’ll be getting the final galleys any day now. In addition, I’m working on editing the second book in the Jenna Scali series. Once I finish it, I’ll send it to […]
A Title That Says It all–#MeBeforeYou
I just finished reading #MeBeforeYou and was enthralled @jojomoyes Click To Tweet The book captured me with it’s simplicity and depth. As a writer I learn the most from reading. Fiction writers who don’t read fiction have no business writing novels #writingtips Click To Tweet Indeed, we all learn from each other. My last post […]
Tips from the First Sentence in The Girl on the Train
As a writer, I not only read books, all kinds of books, but I also learn from them. At times I’m unaware of the learning, but some books are so full of beautiful writing, that I find I’m marking page after page (or highlighting, depending on your reading medium). I found The Girl on the […]
The Writer’s Mantra: Show Don’t Tell
In the past writers had the luxury of telling their faithful readers whatever they wanted. The mantra of “show” don’t “tell” didn’t exist for Jane Austen or Faulkner. Many pages of backstory might fill a book along with much internal dialogue. Today’s readers have no patience for that kind of writing. Although writers learn from […]
6 Tips for Writers on How Not to Multitask
I know you’ve been advised to turn off the internet. But do you do it? Are you still getting your email notifications and Facebook notifications and your Twitter stream as you work? Please tell me you are not. My answer to the oft asked question can writers multitask is no. Maybe you can, and I’m […]
