Eating vegetables is supposed to build one’s character, as is mowing the lawn. When we get older, we understand that when parents discuss building character, it’s short hand for long explanations of why it’s a good idea for us to eat something that’s nutritious but not as appealing as an ice cream sundae. Trying to… Continue reading Building Character
Category: How-To
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Fan Fiction
You don’t improve your skills in anything unless you practice. Baseball players go to batting cages, tennis players use automated ball machines, shooters go to gun ranges. Where do writers go? In recent years, a lot of fans of popular media have been writing short pieces of fiction based in the fictional worlds they enjoy.… Continue reading The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Fan Fiction
How Not To Query
One of the biggest challenges in writing a novel, other than writing it in the first place, is finding a way to get your masterpeice into the hands of a public eager for new stories. Provided you’d like to get paid for your hard work, frustration and original ideas, you’re going to need to get… Continue reading How Not To Query
Dry Spells
Let’s say you’re a writer, and you’re finding it difficult to write. You have ideas, perhaps you can even see events you want to write about happening in your mind, but you can’t commit them to paper. Maybe you feel that your ideas are invalid. Maybe writing is not your primary profession, and your main… Continue reading Dry Spells
The Fine Art of Selling Yourself
So you’ve written the next great American novel, or at least a Twilight-killer. It sits pristinely on your desk or hard drive and you can’t wait to get it into the hands of the public who are hungry for something new and interesting to take them away from the dark soul-draining mire of everyday life,… Continue reading The Fine Art of Selling Yourself
Breaking Writer's Block: Use Your Anger
Let’s try an experiment, shall we? Most people who swing by this place have at least a passing understanding of Star Wars. You know that prequels to the original classics exist. Maybe you believe they’re abominations. Maybe you think Lucas is a genius and the prequels are under-appreciated gems that outshine the originals. Maybe you… Continue reading Breaking Writer's Block: Use Your Anger
Breaking Writer's Block – Read
Writer’s block is the bane of many an author’s aspirations. Even with posts like this, it’s difficult to put words down. Inspiration comes and goes, and sometimes the harder we push to write just one more sentence, even one more word, we feel stuck. How do authors combat this? Read on for strategies, tips, and… Continue reading Breaking Writer's Block – Read
