Category: How To and Tips
Sounds: Bringing Back the Often-Forgotten Sense
Arguably, the most common advice to new writers may be “show, don’t tell,” and “use sensory details.” Most of us do well using the sense of sight—after all, we must describe what’s going on for the story to make sense. When we’re trying, we may add a taste a smell, but all too often, the […]
Always Recycle
“Always Recycle” The best piece of writing advice I ever got came from Bird by Bird by Annie Lamott. It had to do with accepting the idea of “ shitty first drafts.” The second best piece of advice came from a professor whose teaching assistant I had been in English graduate school in the 1960s. […]
Writing It Out
Any writer will tell you that the main components of fiction are experience, observation and imagination. But sometimes, particularly when the impetus to write comes from powerful personal experience, experience that, it seems, must be honoured, imagination can have a hard time freeing itself from the shackles of ‘what was’. For me, the question that […]
The “Lazy Way” To Write a Humorous Self-Help Book (Hint: There Really Isn’t One)
It’s either perfect or ironic that I ended up writing a humorous self-help guide about being lazy. Perfect, because I happen to be one of the laziest people I know, and therefore speak from experience. Ironic, because writing a book isn’t really the kind of project where laziness comes in handy. Probably it’s a little […]
Too much Research – Part 2
Too much Research – Part 2 (Read Part 1 HERE) (or why you must leave awesome things out of your book) Case Study: WHERE THE SWEET BIRD SINGS Subject: Can your spit tell you where you’re from? Authors choose to write about a subject, location, or timeframe because there’s something about one or all of […]
Writing To Empower Others
The office can be a scary place. There are demanding clients, bosses who bully, conniving coworkers, and people who play politics. It seems that fear, mistrust, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed run through the veins of professionals at every level. When left unchecked, this fear creates a negative work environment that stifles innovation and sabotages service […]
Cover Girl By Andrea Thome
It’s hard to say why I was so intent on using one of my own photographs for the cover of my first book, Walland. Maybe it was because the setting is a place my husband and I have traveled to often over the last decade, and the boathouse that I used on the cover is […]
Making a Strong Body to Support a Lively Brain
A little over four years ago, I approached my husband with an idea. It was the spring before my youngest daughter would be heading off to kindergarten and rather than following through with our plan for me to return to teaching full-time, I announced I wanted a year to try writing a novel. My husband […]
Why It’s People Over Plot Every Time
Every author has been there. You have a new idea for a book and the first thing anyone asks is, ‘What’s it about?’ No one ever says, “Who are the characters?’ As we all know, no one wants to read a book that’s about nothing. Books have to have a story that keeps pulling you […]
Switching From Querying Agents to Querying Publishers
After completing a final polish on Is That The Shirt You’re Wearing? my collection of humorous essays, I diligently researched and targeted literary agents, and sent personalized query letters. Then I eagerly waited for their replies. Then I waited some more . . . and waited some more after that. I even sent myself test […]
Recent Comments