Writing a strong premise before you begin working on story structure (if you are a plotter) or just starting to write (if you are a panster) is important for a number of reasons. First, it will help you bring the idea for your story to life, and it is one of the foundational steps in … Read more
Maybe your book needs an outlaw. Outlaws are not always the bad guy, nor are they always gunslingers, though that is what may come to mind. The outlaw and the lawman aren’t necessarily separate or opposite either. Maybe your outlaw tries to go straight, and your cop is dirty. Your outlaw can be the good … Read more
Let’s talk about the types of characters you can use to people your novel. There are stereotype characters who are an over simplified characterization of a type of person which generally are flat and motivationless characters. Once example may be a bartender used in one scene in your book. There are cliché characters such as … Read more
We’ve had a substantial number of submissions at Literary Wanderlust lately. We always take the time to read every submission with the goal of finding some really great stories to contract and turn into books. Well, that’s not actually true. There is one category of submissions that we reject without reading—books with exorbitant word counts. What? … Read more
My finished novel is with my editor. Yes, I know I’m an editor, but I have this firm belief that you should never edit your own work because you can’t see your own shortcomings. Meanwhile, it’s time to begin working on the next book in the series. I thought I might blog periodically about my … Read more
I am in hardcore editor mode this month. Deadlines are looming. Contracts are pending. Submissions are stacking up. Layouts, covers, audio books, and revisions are in process. And I am ecstatic about all of it. Needless to say, I digress from my genre specific theme of recent weeks, partly because I have other things on … Read more
I was scrolling through a Twitter pitch fest a while back where I favorited pitches I liked. If I favorited the tweeted pitches, then the authors knew to send me their pages. There are several of these pitch parties on Twitter, including #PitMad* and #Pit2Pub*. My point, though, is if you scroll through the pitches, … Read more
Ideally, before you begin writing, you have the details of your novel worked out. But, before that, there is that flash of random inspiration of something that could, at some point, become a novel. Those flashes can come from anywhere. You could see a news story, and suddenly you have a dynamic plot that comes … Read more
I know you’ve been working diligently. You’ve been writing new book ideas down on cocktail napkins in between bites of spinach-artichoke dip. Or maybe you hid in the closet with a flashlight and your laptop in order to knock out your story premise while your in-laws napped on the couch. However you got your writing … Read more