by Daniel A. Roberts
The ability to write a novel from start to finish doesn’t own any kind of magical formula. Like anything we try to accomplish in life, certain things can hinder the process. Some of them can’t be avoided, like the condition of your own health. If you’re coughing, wheezing, taking serious medication that can affect your judgment, I promise that most, if not all writing skills goes out of the window.
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by Whitney Carter
Fantasy is virtually synonymous with magic, all the way from fireball wielding sorcerers to dragons to simple elemental manipulations. It is in our epic tales, slaying wicked villains, enabling bold heroes, creating social divides and protective wards alike. Given how varied in trait and definition “magic” can be, you’d be hard pressed to find a fantasy story that doesn’t touch on the mystical stuff, even if only to say that it used to be a prevalent force.
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Writing the death of a much-loved character can be demanding and can leave you emotionally wiped out.
Did you know that there is another literary situation which can be just as challenging and one which can cast a nasty gloom over your writing life – deleting a character from your story.
I am not talking about deleting a random minor character; a fictional person who you created one day after too much coffee and inserted into the middle of your novel, just to beef it out(technical literary term) and then deleted them the following day after realising your stupidity. *Sigh*
No. I am talking about those major changes to a draft which result in you deciding to get rid of a key character.
I guarantee this fictional person will have been with you since the start of your story and someone who you have history with. You and this…
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Getting people — and kids, in particular — to read and write has long been a passion of mine. You may remember my post, Reading Tricks for Kids of Any Age, originally written for Mom’s Favorite Reads.
Well, I recently came across an article by Abigail Elijah of Knowledge Isle with 20 tips for developing your kid’s writing skills which inspired me to write up a new post, this one on the subject of getting your child to write. I hope you find these tips useful!
Seven out of ten children find writing particularly challenging. What can we do to support them and help develop their writing skills?
One of the most important things you can do for your kids’ writing skills, is to encourage and develop their passion for reading.
Writing is different than speaking. Abigail…
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The Read Tuesday website is now active again.
What is Read Tuesday? The idea is to help readers find books that are on sale.
It is starting small. Currently, there is one page for Romance novels. Additional pages for other genres may be coming soon.
The idea is simple. Authors or publishers may add a short comment to the Romance page on the Read Tuesday website to indicate that their romance novel is on sale. Please read the instructions at the top of the page.
Readers interested in romance novels can browse the comments, looking for an interesting book that will be on sale.
The Read Tuesday website will evolve, depending on interest. We may add additional pages for other genres, or we could even have pages with subgenres in the future if needed.
Presently, we’re looking for books that will be on sale in December of 2019.
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by L.A. Murphy
One of the most important things to consider when writing anything is the setting. Where, when and why are the questions I always ask myself when I write anything. Is the setting realistic? Too obvious? Too vague? Is it present, past or future? Is it in a little time pocket all of it’s own? Most importantly, why? Why have I chosen the place and is it significant.
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Hello, I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving or day if you don’t celebrate the holiday. Now we are officially working on the Christmas season. It will be here before we know it.
Below is an article was written by Alicia Prince. It’s always a timely article to help improve our writing. I hope you find within it, the information you can use.
No matter how hard you try, it can sometimes be a battle to finish a piece of writing. Whether you’re writing a paper, article, novel or email, it can be a struggle to express your ideas quickly and clearly. Just like anything else, however, a little practice goes a long way towards fast, quality writing. With seven simple techniques, you can greatly minimize the time you waste not writing, and increase the speed you do write. Plus, the more you do them, the easier these great writing…
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Ronita Mohan is becoming one of this blog’s favorite guest bloggers—and with good reason! Her posts always have great book marketing tips and ideas. Today, she explains the best ways to market your book this holiday season.
Ronita is a content marketer at Venngage, the online infographic and design platform. She is an avid reader with an interest in mystery fiction, history, graphic novels, marketing, and diversity. Twitter: @Venngage
Photo by Ben White on Unsplash
The holiday season isn’t just about snow and families and giving gifts—it’s also a great time for marketing your book.
We have some top tips for holiday book marketing—including what to post on social media and include in newsletters—so you can improve book sales and reach customers well into 2020.
How are your fans and audience going to know that you are…
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by Ryan Lanz
You may not know it starting out, but every time you begin a story, you make promises to your readers. Even if you aren’t aware what promises you’re making, your readers will be bothered if you don’t fulfill them.
“Some people don’t understand the promises they’re making when they make them.” – John Green
If the reader puts down a book, there’s a good chance it’s because a promise wasn’t being fulfilled. Before you lose any (more) readers to unfulfilled promises, let’s talk about the different ones you can make.
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by Lev Raphael
When I published my first short story in Redbook after winning a prize, I thought my career was set. I was my MFA program’s star (that year, anyway); I’d made a lot of money for a graduate student through the prize and the magazine; I was getting fan mail and queries from agents. But even though I’d spent over two years in the program, nobody told me what my career could be like. When I got my degree I was completely ignorant of key aspects of the writing life, with no idea what was ahead of me. I learned five key things the hard way.
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