Steampunk. A genre, a style, a community, a branch of speculative fiction… Like the well-worn quote about porn, “You just know it when you see it.” Of course, to even have that recognition skill, you’ve got to first be introduced. Steampunk started with steam — no surprise there right? Steam engines, Victorian England, and inventions […]
There are hundreds — probably even thousands — of places for you to find a crit partner… And that’s just online. You could physically find a reader (haha, physical — who actually moves in the real world anymore?) at the bookstore, your local book club, your regional RWA chapter, a community college course, a pre-established […]
The purpose of a critique group or critique partner is to offer advice and insight into a writer’s WIP. They also provide encouragement and fun! Most writers love to talk about writing, love to talk about their work, and love to hone their craft. Crit groups and partners offer writers the opportunity to do exactly […]
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Orson Scott Card’s Character & Viewpoint has a lot packed into a few pages. He takes you from the first stages of character development (i.e. what makes a character? how do we create them?) to fully fleshed-out character creation (i.e. types of characters, emotional stakes, and believability), and he […]
She’s aliiiive! After a month plus away from the blog and website, I have returned. I apologize for the absence, but, well, revisions trump website and vacation trumps revisions, so… I’m back now — browner (thanks to Florida sun) and on draft 3 (thanks to hard work). Now on to the blog! Over the last […]
So, the fabulous Holly Lisle is offering her 7-Day Crash Revision Course for only $5. Do you know what this means? This means you can bask in the glorious glow of Holly’s wisdom for practically nothing. And, being who she is, she doesn’t just give you the course for $5, she also gives you access […]
I know, I know. I am officially MIA, and I’m sorry. I only have one more week of hard, life-consuming revisions. Then it’s on to the easier stuff, and I promise I’ll be back. So a quick post for today. It’s about eating your elephant.
Here are 13 writing workshops, all online, and all fabulous. Be sure to sign up if you get a chance! How to Think Sideways Holly Lisle…still my favorite writing instructor. This class teaches you how to approach fiction from a career point-of-view, how to turn ideas into full-fledged novels, and how to cozy up to […]
A common mistake writers make when editing their fiction is to start with the details first. They — er, we — adjust our words and our commas, our dialogue and our transitions, our passive voice and our adverbs. But if we start our revisions process here, we’re going to end up doing a lot of […]
How is a movie trailer like a query letter? Or, you may be asking what is a query letter? Quick answer: in the world of book publishing, you never submit your raw manuscript to an agent or editor. Instead, you send a query, which is a letter approximately one page long that details your novel. […]
