Writer’s block is among the most frustrating obstacles writers face. Even more frustrating, however, is the advice we can find online to push through it. It’s all about taking walks, finding a new environment, getting some exercise, or calling old friends. Basically, distracting yourself and hoping lightning will strike when you least expect it.
Read moreScheduling Downtime is the Most Important Thing a Writer Can Do
Any time I'm helping a client race to meet an ominous deadline, the piece of the writing process I fight hardest to protect is downtime.
Read moreOutlining Your Novel
While many writers love the structure of an outline to help them push through their novels in an organized, step-by-step manner, others get claustrophobic at the mere mention of the word.
Read moreBuilding Worlds from Scratch
the thing about magical worlds is, no matter how far removed they are from reality, they have laws, too. There’s status, governance, basic infrastructure. There are rules — both political and metaphysical — governing the use of magic.
Read moreGetting to Know Your Characters
How to get to know your characters better than you know yourself.
Read moreWhy Every Author Needs an Editor
When you've lived too long in the monkey house, it's hard to smell the poop.
Read moreChannillo: A Digital Publishing Platform for Writers
The concept is fairly simple: authors apply to publish their content in serial format on the site, and readers pay a monthly fee that allows them to follow and read several stories at a time.
Read moreSpecial Critique Rate for NaNoWriMo Authors!
You survived NaNoWriMo! And, what's more, you have a great new manuscript to show for it! First, celebrate. Then, edit. I'm here to help.
Read moreNavigating the Holidays: Defending Print
When people — family friends or uninvited acquaintances of invited guests or that couple I found myself sharing awkward wall space with — hear the word “books,” they immediately start trying to dissuade me from a future of certain, abject poverty.
Read more4 Rules for Writing Groups
You’ve finished your first draft and you’re ready to get some feedback before you start the editing process. Or else you’re stuck with a half-baked plot or a series of scenes without a thru-line, and you need some help figuring out where to go next. Either way, you’re ready to join a critique group. But where to start?
Read more