Category Archives: Writers

Writing Dystopian Fiction: Rollerball Is The Hunger Games

There has been plenty of commentary about how The Hunger Games, the latest teen-focused dystopian book and film craze, isn’t necessarily a new idea, just a very good version of an old idea, and Rollerball is pretty solid proof. Continue reading

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Submissions 101: Keep the Kids out of Your Author Bio

Acquisitions editors don’t care how many kids you have. So why would you include this info in your submission’s author bio? Continue reading

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7 Dos and Don’ts for Submitting Your Writing

Some pointers for writers to keep in mind for their manuscript submissions. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Meet Mary Sue

Don’t be afraid to make your characters unattractive, or nasty at times, or less than perfect, or very different from you. What you are after is not perfection. What you are after is realism, complexity, motivation, believability. Continue reading

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The Writer’s Life: 6 Things You Should Know

If you want to start a career as a writer—meaning, if you want writing to be your main or only source of income—then here are some things you should know. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Carrots and Sticks

When you really start writing for a living, as I do for at least part of the time, something happens. I hate to crush your dreams, but at some point it really does turn into work. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Make Your Characters Fight

If you are having trouble nailing down the finer aspects of a character, a good way to get to know her better is to make her have a fight with someone else. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Bad Endings

“There’s no crying in baseball!” “I loved you in The Wizard of Oz!” “Alice, you’re killing me!”* Yep, A League of Their Own is a great baseball movie. Nope, I am not through with sports writing yet. We aren’t writing … Continue reading

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How to Set Up Your Facebook Page Timeline

An in-depth video tutorial that walks authors, publishers, and small business owners through the process of converting their Facebook pages to the Timeline. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Writing about Sports

Why are sports so popular in novels? For one thing, they have natural drama. There is inherent excitement, a winner and a loser, a struggle, and a dramatic outcome. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Are All Writers Neurotic?

Am I just a touch neurotic? Are all writers? Must they be, in order to be good at what they do—you know, that tortured artist thing? Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: One of Those Days…

Normally, I love writing these blogs, but today I ask for your patience. I have had a bad day. I have a headache (I get a lot of migraines), had a rotten day at the office (mostly because I screwed up some things that I shouldn’t have and I am notoriously hard on myself), and I’m crabby. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Random Writing Prompts

Sometimes, it can be refreshing to step outside of our writing constraints and put ourselves into new ones that have nothing to do with what we’re working on at the time. Continue reading

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Getting Published in the Digital Age: Workshop in Hendersonville March 1st!

Join me in Hendersonville, NC, on March 1 (5:30-7:30 pm) for a workshop on the current state of the publishing industry and the challenges writers face if they’re seeking publication. If you’re grappling with whether to self-publish or get published … Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Blog Away!

You don’t have to have an actual blog to try this writing exercise. Write it on a napkin if need be. Continue reading

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Wednesday Writing Exercise: Visualizing with Pinterest

One method I use for adding depth to the worlds I write about in my stories is to create a visual dictionary of sorts. Pinterest can help you do this. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Unputdownability

If you are writing a novel, then “unputdownability” is what you should strive for in your writing if you want to snag a publisher, editor, or agent. Continue reading

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Wednesday Writing Exercise: Be Shameless

This week, your task is simple. I won’t tell you to grab your manuscript and go streaking on the quad. I won’t even tell you to go out and create a Facebook account. Continue reading

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Friday Writing Exercise: Dialect for Your Dialogue

Trot down memory lane and think about how you talked during your childhood. This works especially well when you recall times your family members were shouting at each other, or when generations got together for special occasions. What weird phrases did you catch? Continue reading

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Wednesday Writing Exercise: Write for Love or Money?

Do I do the things that I know will generate cash to pay the bills? Or do I sacrifice a few of those precious hours for doing what I truly I thought I was always meant to do: fiction writing? Continue reading

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