For Writers

Writing Advice and Support

Sometimes writing just…sucks… There’s no way around the crappier parts, but trust me: you’re not alone!!

• The Art of REwriting
• One Book to Rule Them All
• Holding Yourself and Your Writing Accountable
• Victory Fist Pump!
• Reaching for the Stars (and other goal-related cliches)
• When the Glass Isn’t Half-Full
• If it Doesn’t Fit, Don’t Force It
• BICHOK: Draino for your Writing Clog
  
• Deliberate Practice Makes Perfect
• Gaining Some Perspective on Criticism
• Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Paper
• Writing Self-Esteem (a.k.a. Confidence Fluctuates)
• Writing Self- Esteem (the Search for Confidence Continues)
• Writing a Saleable Book
  
• My Writing Process (it gets messy)
• Getting a multi-book deal–what does it mean?

Plot, Character, and Other Parts of Storytelling

New to writing? Need help plotting your novel or developing your characters? You’ve come to the right (or write?) place.

• Goal, Motivation, and Conflict
• Building Plot from Character
• Scenes: What are they and how do you write them?
• Taking Tips from the Movies and TV
• Of Kissing and Romance
• How to Write a Scary Scene
• Show versus Tell: Macro-, Micro-, and When to Use It
• Different Types of Romance, or My Love Can’t Be Labeled
• Coauthoring a Novel, parts ONE and TWO
• Story Threads and Resonance
• Understanding Reader Expectations
• Creating Memorable Characters: Protagonists and Antagonists
• The Point When Everything Changes

Querying and Synopsis-writing

Need advice on finding an agent? Or are you unsure how to handle an agent-related situation? Have to write a synopsis for an agent/editor? Perhaps I can help…

• QUERY DAY! Once a month, you can submit your query for a free critique!
• The Parts of a Good Query (How I Got My Agent, part 1)
• Researching Agents and Preparing to Query (How I Got My Agent, part 2)
• On Query Submissions (How I Got My Agent, part 3)
• Dealing with The Calls (How I Got My Agent, part 4)
• What to do when an agent requests your manuscript
• How to handle multiple offers of representation
• How to write a 1-page synopsis

Revising your Novel

Need help revising your novel? Here’s a step-by-step guide of how I do it. Keep in mind, it may not work for you–everyone has to find his/her own method. But hopefully you can find something useful here!

• The Basics of My Revising Process
• Tackling Revisions (printable PDF version)
• Lesson 1: what the heck did you write? (printable PDF version)
  • Worksheet Guide
  • Plot Worksheet
  • Character Worksheet
  • Setting Worksheet
  • Other Worksheet
• Lesson 2: Let’s get organized (printable PDF version)
• Lesson 3: Dreaming the Perfect Book (printable PDF version)
  • Evaluating the Book you Wrote:
    • How to Use the Book You Wrote Worksheets
    • Finding Plot Holes
    • Summarizing the Book You Wrote
    • Character Evaluation
    • Setting Evaluation
  • Imagining the Perfect Book:
    • How to use the Perfect Book Worksheets
    • Summarizing the Perfect Book
    • Honing the Perfect Character
    • Honing the Perfect Setting
• Lesson 4: Planning the Attack (printable PDF version)
• Lesson 5: Writing in your changes (printable PDF version)
• Lesson 6: Typing in and Feeling Good (printable PDF version)
• Revisions Don’t Have to Suck

Punctuation, Grammar, and Style

For those trickier parts of the English language, as well as the trickier parts of stylistic writing.

• The Semicolon
• The Dash
• How to Write Dialogue
• Filter Words and Distancing Point of View
• Show versus Tell: Macro-, Micro-, and When to Use It
  

Writer’s Review Series

Looking for a book on writing? Or, want to know if a book is useful before you buy it? Then check out my reviews on these writing resources:

• Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook
• The Story Within Guidebook
• The First Five Pages
• Character and Viewpoint

Critique Groups and Beta Readers

Searching for a crit partner? Not sure if you want a beta reader or not? Peruse these posts first.

• The Importance of Beta Readers
• Critique Groups and Critique Partners
• Finding a Crit Group or Beta Reader

Genre Definitions

For those hard-to-define genres — the ones that fall between cracks or overlap into other realms.

• Steampunk
• Magical realism
• Urban fantasy
• YA Versus Adult Fiction: what’s the difference?