Category: How To and Tips
Going to the Writing Gym: On Writing Between Modes
When we go to the gym, we do a variety of exercise routines to strengthen different muscles. Likewise, writing in different modes can stretch a range of writer muscles. Fiction (particularly genre fiction) prioritizes reader engagement through plot, movement and voice. Ideas tend to be embodied through plot movements, dialogue and character arcs. Because fiction […]
To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish: That is the Question
Loads of people dream of becoming celebrated authors, seeing their books prominently displayed in bookstores and airports across the globe. It’s the fantasy equivalent of moving to Hollywood and becoming the next Julia Roberts, Scarlett Johansen, or Jennifer Lawrence; something that only happens for one person out of every hundred thousand hopefuls. After writing my […]
Erotic Fiction Writing Tips
Erotic Fiction Writing Tips By Autumn Bardot A steamy story. A classic bodice ripper. A risqué passage. It’s all about sex, right? Maybe not. There may be a whole lot more than meets the eye. The truth is, writing erotic fiction is both fun and a lot of hard (no pun intended) work. I write […]
Writing About Addiction and Recovery Bonnie E. Carlson
I didn’t start out with the intention of becoming someone who writes about alcoholism and addiction. Or maybe I did. This essay contributes to the body of work on writing about difficult things (see “Why and How I Write Novels about Tough Subjects” by Ellen Marie Wiseman on this site) such as mental illness (e.g., […]
Dick’s, If You’re Listening: Women Like to Play and Read About Sports
By Susie Orman Schnall With the announcement that Dick’s Sporting Goods, the largest U.S. sporting-goods chain is reorienting its retail focus toward female buyers, everyone but women are realizing the spending power controlled by women, our love of sports, and our desire to sometimes buy running shoes, yoga pants, and soccer balls that aren’t pink. […]
UK And US Editors: Double The Fun – And Double The Edits?
By Anika Scott International situations are normal for me. I’m American, I live in Germany, and my wonderful agent is based in the UK. When the book deals for my debut novel Finding Clara (UK) / The German Heiress (US) started rolling in, I hadn’t really given a thought to how the editors at the […]
Rediscovering My Voice
Mine never was a voice to blend in and certain never to be stifled. From the moment I was old enough to join the local children’s choir, I was a thorn in my director’s side, and despite her encouragement in cheerful falsetto, her attempts to teach me balance, my voice – already too big and […]
And Then, Two More: Donna Levin
I wrote a book called Get That Novel Started, some years ago, for Writer’s Digest Books. I had only been a writing instructor for a few years, and sensed that it was soon for me to write a book about craft, but they offered me a book contract, and how often do you turn that […]
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Being Edited
The manuscript for my 3rd novel, a work of women’s fiction, which I’ve ahem, mentioned before, was submitted to my editor about 3 months ago and I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for feedback. It’s not like I’m an editing virgin. I’ve been through the wringer after submitting pages to Meetup writers’ groups; critique partners; freelance editors, […]
Why Short Stories Matter More than Ever, by Randy Kraft
Feeling bombarded by maddening 24/7 news and social media feeds? Little time for the sheer pleasure of reading? Read a short story – there are a zillion of them bound and online, because a work of fiction gets to the heart of humanity, rather than a restating of the news of the day [although some […]
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