Entertaining the Muse by Catharine Bramkamp
I’m not a fan of Sara Gilbert per se, but she delivered a great TED talk on the Muse. And based on that talk she has just published a book on creativity called Big Magic
Tagged: Writing Tips
Ready to Roar! By Nevada McPherson
If you could give yourself a present for the holidays that would improve your life, your art and your relationships with others, what would it be? For me it would the gift of confidence! Having confidence in yourself as a writer and as an artist is crucial to your success and to your very survival in what can often seem to be an indifferent world. To have confidence in yourself is to appreciate and treasure your uniqueness and singular point of view that no one else in the world has.
Writing Can Be a Real Bear (or Eagle, or Deer) by Wyatt Bessing
As a relief from my freeway commute in the mornings, I’ll sometimes get off and head west toward the Pacific coastal range, past ranches and pastures, over rolling hills and through redwood groves.
Characters and Their Sensory Limitations: POV and Description by Susanne Lakin
Few writers pay much attention to character placement, but this is something of paramount concern to filmmakers, and a subject I cover in depth in Shoot Your Novel. A director has to lay out his camera shots, deciding when a close-up shot would be more effective than a long shot, for example. He may want the camera positioned far away from the action, to make details unclear and evoke curiosity or misinterpretation. Or he may have an extreme close-up to ensure viewers don’t miss a tiny detail that is crucial to the plot.
Don’t Rush Your Writing by Deanna Jackson
About 3 months ago I submitted my writing to a chapter contest for Romance Writers of America. I received the feedback a little over a month ago and am just now writing a post about it because I was too embarrassed to share before.
Ten Minute Trick Pony by Catharine Bramkamp
Many authors and students have difficulty starting their projects. For students, often the problem is they aren’t terribly inspired by the topic. I don’t blame them for feeling stuck. It’s difficult find motivation in broad topics like, say, global warming. Once you’ve created a slide showing that poor polar bear swimming in the melted waters of the Arctic, there isn’t much else to say.
Shock Your Writing Back to Life by Wyatt G. Bessing
Does your writing sometimes feel dead? Perhaps your words stare vacantly back at you like lumps on the page? Or do you feel like a lump as you write? How can you inject passion and danger back into your writing?
Is It Really Writer’s Block, Or Something Else? by Carol Malone
My friends and associates will always start a conversation with me something like this, “So how’s your writing coming?” or my fav, “When are you gonna publish your next book?”
One Writer’s Journey from The Beginning A Step-by-Step Beginner Writers Guide – Part 3 How to Write Your Novel Without Having a Background in Writing by Raina Schell
Here’s where we talk about plotters and pantsers. If you don’t know the definitions – a plotter is a writer who outlines their book before beginning to write it while a pantser writes from “the seat of their pants” with no outline. Kind of like writing from the stream of consciousness. I don’t think a survey has been taken but from what I’ve seen, most writers are plotters. Yet there are many famous pantsers too.
A Year To Publication: Finding An Agent. Why I Have an Agent by Jennifer Snow
In today’s publishing market, deciding whether or not you need or want an agent can be a challenging decision to make. With self-publishing keeping all of the control in the author’s hands and smaller digital-only presses accepting submissions directly from the author, it can sometimes seem like an unnecessary step. Depending on your career goals, it may be. However, if you choose to follow the traditional publishing route, a good agent can be your biggest ally.
One Writer’s Journey from The Beginning A Step-by-Step Beginner Writers Guide – Part 2 How to Write Your Novel Without Having a Background in Writing by Raina Schell
I’m writing this guide as my journey. I am now a third of the way through my 4th book in two years, and have just started my 5th. When I was thinking about it I though it would have been great to have a little step-by-step guide. A guide of someone else’s process, someone else who knew absolutely nothing… like me.
He Said, She Glared: The Battle of Action vs. Dialogue Tags by Jami Gray
Ahhh, the joys of tags. These are those pesky things writers tack after a dialogue run. They tell the reader who’s talking or what they’re doing, or sometimes they do both. These innocuous critters have stirred up quite the debate in the writing community. I’m sure you’ve heard them, whispering in the corners of the coffee shop or library:
A Year to Publication Column: Writing a Holiday Romance by Jennifer Snow
Beautifully crafted holiday romance stories have always been my favourite novels to read: not only during the holiday season, but all year round. I’ve discovered that I’m not alone. Readers worldwide enjoy ‘love under the mistletoe’ stories that evoke sincere emotions and reflect family, heart and home. As writers, we play a part in enhancing the holidays for our readers by taking elements that may not be as magical in real life and making them sparkle on the pages.
“Always Worth It” by Nevada McPherson
Today I gave my classes an assignment: write about a story or event that is significant to you and why it’s significant or memorable. I haven’t seen their papers yet but some of the students told me what they had chosen to write about and these stories were very meaningful to them for various reasons. This just proves what I heard one of my writing heroes, Garrison Keillor, say on the radio show, A Prairie Home Companion years ago: telling a story and figuring out the best way to tell it is “always worth the effort.”
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