All writers, whether traditionally published or indie, want to see their books fly off the shelves, whether real or virtual. What to do to sell more books? Sell More Books Tip #1: Consistently create content In order to build an audience and then grow it, you have to consistently create content, whether it’s short stories, […]
Inspiration for writers often comes in the form of classic books like Writing Down the Bones (1986) by Natalie Goldberg and Bird by Bird (1994) by Anne Lamott. Read them if you haven’t already. You are sure to enjoy them! I recently found inspiration for writers in two sources unrelated to writing. Comedians Who Inspire The first […]
This blog is concerned with the sacral chakra, second from the bottom. It’s all about Your Body Chemistry, Your Writing. [If you’re looking for more tips on writing a book, visit my complete guide on writing a novel.] Irish writer and poet Christy Brown was born with cerebral palsy and learned to paint and write with […]
It happens to all novelists. Our story seems to be going great and then we hit writer’s block. How do you break through the writing block? I have various ways: Take A Walk Because writing is an aerobic activity I sometimes need to get my physical lungs in motion to boost my writing capacity. Taking […]
Title image: The blank page, symbolizing the problem of how to get started writing. Over the weekend, while discussing my blog with a friend, I asked what she would like me to address concerning the writing process. Her reply was immediate: “How do you get started writing?” She is a commercial real estate agent who […]
An Op-ed gets its name for being an opinion piece that originally appeared opposite the editorial page. An editorial page editorial is signed by the board, while an opinion piece is signed by an individual. The term is also sometimes thought to be an abbreviation of opinion-editorial. Athletes before taking the field and ballerinas before going […]
This semester for the second time I am in charge of a novel course/workshop at Duke University. Because I’m giving the students some of the same writing advice I gave last year, I’m reposting my words of wisdom from a blog in 2016. The other day one of the students commented, “You guys, I’m not […]
It is a truism that beginning writers stick fairly closely to the senses of sight and sound and tend to ignore the sense of smell. I, therefore, challenge beginning writers to try their hand at a werewolf romance. The minute werewolves come into the picture the sense of smell steps forward since it is a […]
Have you ever compared two objects or places within your writing? If so, then you’ve used metaphors and similes to bring your vision to life. However, do you know which one you used? From Shakespeare: Metaphor It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Simile O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright! […]
Note: This blog on word count is a follow-up to Size Matters and How Big Is Your Canvas? where I discuss in general terms imagining one’s story in terms of a painting. I can tell a novelist is new to the craft when I encounter a mismatch between the size of the story (the word count) […]