So You Want to Be an Editor?
I was recently contacted by a student in an editing certification program with some thoughtful questions about the editing profession. I thought I’d share my answers here as well. Read More …
Category: Craft of Writing
Two Simple Techniques to Make Your Settings Come Alive
Writers often hear about the importance of setting, but actually seeing a scene the way your reader will is another matter entirely. Read More …
Nourishing The Muse
Even when you write consistently and professionally, there’s a difference between getting words down and feeling creatively alive. Read More …
The Different Faces of Good Writing
I thought it would be a good idea to talk about the different types of quality writing that professional authors will do for their respective styles and genres. Read More …
The Different Faces of a Storyteller
People write stories for a variety of reasons, so it only makes sense that the necessary qualities of a good storyteller would vary with the type of story being told. Read More …
A Few Tips For Naming Characters
Whenever I give my workshop on word choice to a group of writers, I’m almost always asked about how to name the various people in a story. With that in mind, here are a few tips when christening your characters. Character Names are Seen, not Read More …
The Hazards of Origin Stories
Our modern media is awash with reboots, adaptations, and re-imaginings, which means that we’ve become very familiar with origin stories involving characters that we already know. While many of these stories are perfectly serviceable, let’s take the opportunity to examine some of the potential issues Read More …
Finding Your Unique Writing Process
Years ago, while attending a writing conference as an instructor, I was approached by another writer who asked me what my writing process is. I obligingly described my nightly writing routine as well as giving a few details on my writing goals and how I Read More …
I asked 750k People What Would Convince them to Buy an Unknown Author’s Book
A couple of months ago, I posted a single question in several Facebook groups for writers and authors with a total membership of over 780,000. My question was this: “What would convince you to buy a book from an author you’ve never heard of?” The Read More …
Tips for Handling Writer Blindness
Have you become blind to the mistakes in your manuscript? Are you in that limbo of eternal editing without really getting anything done? Here are a few tips to break you out of that ongoing cycle. Change Your Font, Color, and Text Size Oftentimes, we Read More …
