Social Media Primer I know that you don’t want to hear this, this whole writing is a business topic. Really. I do. It is important, though, and so I am going to continue on before I return to my regularly scheduled topics. As I mentioned last week, publishing is a business, and you, the writer, … Read more
I thought I would start a discussion on critique groups. As you sit back to review your writing and plot out your next writing adventure, you might want to consider joining a critique group. If you are unfamiliar, a critique group is a bunch of serious writers sitting down on a regular basis to review … Read more
Last week we talked about the showing part in Show v Tell. This week we will take a look at the telling side of the equation. What is telling? Telling is writing with a style that uses primarily narrative exposition. It is explaining the story to the reader. The writer uses this style to provide … Read more
Why do you need to worry about Scene Setting? It is one of the most important elements in fiction writing. If your readers don’t know when and/or where the story takes place, they will become confused and put down your book. Given the short period of time that readers will browse through your book before … Read more
I was intending to write on Scene Setting this week but was distracted by a productivity question over the weekend. The question was something to the effect of, \”I can\’t seem to finish my draft. Can you help me?\” This is one of those questions that generate a bazillion How-to posts like you\’ve seen everywhere on the … Read more
I have been pondering about how best to breach this elusive concept of creating a fictional character. There are tons of charts and questionnaires on the internet. Some of these questionnaires are quite detailed and ask you to create a full bio for each of your characters. These things are important for your character’s back … Read more
If you’re a writer and you take your art seriously, you want to do whatever you can do to learn or improve your craft. Let\’s face it, there are a gazillion writers who publish un-crafted novels which aren’t ready for consumption, and, unfortunately, they usually sell three copies to friends and family. If you want … Read more
I\’ve had many submissions in the slush pile this week. Several submissions were inundated with the overabundant and erroneous usage of the semicolon. For clarity’s sake, let me state that I am not specifically semicolon adverse, though I do believe the usage is somewhat archaic in modern writing, especially in mass market fiction. My primary … Read more
I\’ve been out of the blogosphere for a year or so finishing up a degree in publishing, being inundated with editing projects, and starting Literary Wanderlust, a traditional (print and digital) publishing house. The excuse for my absence is only that these projects and classes took so much time, focus, and effort that I could … Read more
Advertising on social media helps you to build your audience and also gives your products more exposure. With the huge amount content published each year, it can be difficult for your audience to discover your products among the myriad other products fighting for their attention. As you build your brand, you also build your credibility … Read more