Writing advice and tips.
When you open MS Word, you probably just start typing without giving much thought to the settings of that document. But those settings may not be the ideal for a novel manuscript. For example, all manuscripts should be double spaced, but Word’s default document is single spaced. Therefore learning about styles and templates will allow
Should I write my novel in first person or third (or get totally wild and use second person)? Am I limited to a single character, or can I use multiple point of view (POV) characters? Who should my novel’s POV character be? You want to write a story readers can’t put down, but how do…
You want to sell your manuscript, right? But the time and energy required for your publisher search can be exhausting. And you’d really rather spend that time and energy toward your next writing project. What’s even more frustrating is
I’m delighted to have RJ Thesman with me today for this month’s Friday Feature author interview. RJ’s publishing credits include 500+ articles, four books, and 13 anthologies. And like me, she’s a writing coach. Grab your brew of choice and sit back for a great read. RJ imparts some terrific tips for writers to add…
You are a writer. You’re working to Sell your articles or book manuscript Build a blog following (if you’re a blogger), and Build your platform. That means you spend a portion of your time
Is it possible to sell a story that is high on action and adventure, but has flat characters? Yes, though it isn’t easy. What about a story that is flat on plot, but rich with three-dimensional characters? If your plot is flat, your reader (and that agent or publisher) has no reason to turn the pages….
Punctuation is an aspect of English with which many writers struggle. But we must face the reality: incorrect punctuation raises a red flag for editors and makes them more inclined to toss your submission into the trash. I’m not talking about a missing comma here and there, but flagrant incorrect punctuation. As much as some might…
Have you ever been reading something and suddenly found yourself lost in pronouns, asking to which “he” is the writer referring? Pronouns used incorrectly become pesky pronouns to editors. (At least to this editor they do.) The editor is forced to read several more sentences (or paragraphs) to figure out the “he” or “she” to…