Say What? Writing Dialogue

Mar 17, 2024 | Blog, Writing, Writing Craft

Dialogue is an essential tool of the novelist, but too many either don’t know how to write it or may not understand all that well written dialogue can do for their story. This is going to be a two-part blog post because there is just that much to say about the topic....

Don’t let this get in your reader’s way

Mar 10, 2024 | Blog, Writing, Writing Craft

When my great-grandfather emigrated from Ukraine to the United States in the mid-19th century, he did so on a set of papers with someone else’s name on them—a name my family still has today. Those same papers went right back to his little village in Ukraine and the...

Should you write before you write?

Mar 3, 2024 | Blog, Method, Writing

Writing before you write? Why? The obvious answer is to get your thoughts together, but there are other reasons as well. Here are five you might want to consider: Whether you’re a pantser or plotter, we all need to rally our thoughts. We’re human; our...

Are you having fun yet?

Feb 25, 2024 | Blog, Life, Writing

How do you feel when you’re heading to work? Are you excited? Are you anxious? Are you looking forward to it or dreading it? Everyday when I head into my office to start my work day I can’t wait to get going. I make a list of all that I need to do that day, prioritize...

Cheat: Get to know your characters faster

Feb 18, 2024 | Blog, Method, Writing

If you’re a pantser, you probably start out writing your story with a vague idea of some characters—the protagonist, a secondary character or two, and maybe the antagonist. You know, sort of what happens in the story, or maybe you don’t. Maybe you just know that there...

Reviving an old book

Feb 11, 2024 | Blog, Business of Writing, Writing, Writing Craft

If you’ve been publishing for a while, it’s possible that you’ve got some old, backlist books that could use an update. But how do you go about doing it and what should you consider when you face this task? I’ve recently been re-reading one of the first books I...