Friday, February 26, 2016

Plotting and Pantsing--When to Plan and When to Write, and Why Both Are Useful as You Build Your Book

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Erin, a blog reader who has taken my online book-writing classes, wrote with a great question:  "I'm struggling a bit of...
Friday, February 19, 2016

False Agreements and Your Narrator's Epiphany

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A blog reader from New England sent a great question, which ties into a discussion happening in one of my online classes right now...
Friday, February 12, 2016

Planting Sensory Details--What to Use, When to Use It--for Emotional Impact in Your Writing

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Skilled writers use sensory details to bring emotion to the reader.  Oddly enough, emotion doesn't come from fast-paced action.  Our...
Friday, February 5, 2016

How Long Can My Timeline Be? Story Arc Questions and Answers

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Many first-time novelists and memoirists struggle with timelines, asking excellent questions in my classes.  Two favorite ones:  * How lo...
Friday, January 22, 2016

What Memoirists Always Ask: How Much of My Story Can I Tell without Hurting Others?

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Anyone who has written creative nonfiction (memoir, particularly) has probably run into the question of story ownership.  How much o...
Friday, January 15, 2016

Three Essential Tools for Getting through Any Post-New-Year's-Resolution Slump

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Making New Year's resolutions about my writing is fun.  Energizing.  At New Year's, anything is possible.  I look at what I have...
Friday, January 8, 2016

Emotional Peaks: How to Make Sure They're in Your Scenes and Chapters

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When you read a great story, you don't even notice how you're engaged.  You just are--right?  But skillful writers plant a r...
Friday, January 1, 2016

New Year's Goal: Submit Your Manuscript! But First, Learn to Write a Killer Query Letter and Book Synopsis

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Is one of your New Year's goals to finally get that manuscript submitted?  Get off your endless revision-hamster-wheel?   For your...
Friday, December 18, 2015

Big Magic: How to Keep Writing When You Have NO TIME!

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I'm a great fan of Elizabeth Gilbert's articles about writing, and especially her newest book Big Magic.  This week, I'm sha...
Friday, December 11, 2015

Character Lists: A Great Way to Coax Your Characters out of Hiding

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In her book, Write Away, mystery author Elizabeth George talks about her writing process as she begins a new book.  She first writes...