When I had a full-time job, working as a psychologist, it seemed I could never find enough time to write all the stories I wanted to write. In addition to my job, there were also many other things taking up my time—editing and beta reading other authors’ manuscripts, household chores, family and friends, hobbies… So …
If a readers tells me she was up all night, reading, because she couldn’t put down my book, it puts a big grin on my face. Because that’s exactly what I want: for readers to become totally immersed in my fictional worlds. So, how can we achieve that? One things that helps is to make …
You’ve probably heard of dangling participles, but participles can create other problems in fiction too. Before I dive more deeply into that, let me explain what a participle is. Present participles are forms of verbs that are formed by adding -ing. Example: Hoping for a happy ending, she read the last scene. Using participle phrases …
Whether you’re self-publishing or submitting your manuscript to a traditional publisher, proofreading your work is important. A carefully proofread book makes you look professional and shows readers and publishers that you care about the quality of your work. Proofreading your own manuscript is not easy, though. After spending months or even years writing your book, …
It’s November 1, and that means NaNoWriMo—NationalNovel Writing Month—is starting today. If you are participating, here are 10 tips on how to win NaNoWriMo and write 50,000 words in November. Set a daily writing goal. To complete 50,000 words on November 30, you’ll have to write an average of 1,667 words each day of November. …
Writers are often advised to write a first fast draft and get down the bones of the story as quickly as possible without stopping to revise, edit, or look up things, and then take their time revising. Other writers prefer to write slowly and edit as they go, polishing each paragraph before moving on. So …
Fall has begun, and that means that NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – is approaching fast! I have participated several times and have made the 50,000-word goal every time. There’s just something about this mix of competition and support from half a million fellow writers that is a great motivator. Part of it is …
Most authors I know keep track of their word count in some way. If you don’t already, here are some reasons why you might want to start. Seeing your word count grow is a wonderful motivator that will keep you going. Often, you don’t realize how far you have already come while you’re in the …
Read moreHow to keep track of your writing progress and why you should
You have probably all experienced it: you’re reading a book—maybe a romance or a mystery novel—and suddenly, you grind to a halt and wonder where all these zombies are coming from. I’m talking about sentences like these: Her eyes followed Kathryn around the room. Her fist knocked on the door. He dropped his eyes to …
Read moreHow and why to avoid autonomous body parts in your writing
If you’re anything like I am, you probably read a lot of books or blog posts about writing. One thing I rarely see mentioned anywhere are so-called filters, so I thought I’d blog about it today. Filters have to do with point of view. What is point of view? Basically, point of view is the …
