Writing Advice

I have a confession to make.  I’m a complete idiot. Well, maybe that’s not news to readers of this site, but I’ll explain what I’m referring to in today’s post. When I first hired a freelance editor to help me with my self-published books, the first question potential candidates asked me was, “What style guide … Read more

Sorry, I missed this post last week. Things got pretty crazy here, and I couldn’t get it written in time. I’m trying to use Saturdays for Tools for Authors.  And previously spoke about Natural Reader. Today I want to talk about Grammarly. What is Grammarly? According tot their site it is: Grammarly is the world’s … Read more

Like my Sunday “Authors Helping Authors” post, I’d like to try to use Saturdays to focus on tools for authors. Today I’d like to talk about NaturalReader. You’ve probably heard that when proofing your book it’s best to read it aloud. I think this is excellent advice.  In the “old days,” Robin and I would … Read more

(Now that I sent out critiques, I’m receiving responses to the First Five Pages Project. No suicides, so that’s good. A few of the writers mentioned having read and appreciated the writing advice essays I’ve posted on this blog and are presently ensconced in the bar on the right. I had no idea my ramblings … Read more

Flickr/striatic I recently received this tweet: “Would love your thoughts on “info dump” vs character talk/thoughts. Where’s the line/difference? In the readers head?” This was a good enough question that I decided to write a bit on the topic. There is better and worse ways to do almost anything. Most modern-day writers learn early that … Read more

    Dialog is never written the way people speak. Mark Twain shook things up by inserting slang and bad grammar to add more of an accurate and realistic flavor, but even so, it wasn’t true to life. If you don’t believe me try a simple exercise. Go to a coffee shop and transcribe exactly what is … Read more

Large airy waiting room filled with inoffensive furniture and the talk of drugs as if the names on all those commercials were ballplayers and everyone in the room were diehard fans. It’s two weeks before Christmas. A five-foot listless tree sparkles near the entrance to the gapping Outpatient Surgery door. All the doors here are … Read more

A product of the age of television I understand that film influences the way I write. As a child, I watched more television and movies than I read books. Other authors I know lived in libraries and as a result their writing focuses a good deal on prose. Moreover their whole style and structure tends … Read more

 My first signing tour, fall 2008 So you got your book done. You’ve edited it. You’ve published and seen a few reviews—now what? My wife once compared the career of an author to climbing the Blue Ridge Mountains. Every time you think you’ve reached the top you see another, even taller ridge, rising ahead of … Read more

When at long last you finally manage to get published, either through a traditional house, an indie press, or by self-publishing, you will have to face reviews both good and bad. How do you deal with people bashing your work? How do you handle critics who make comments about your novel that are blatantly wrong? … Read more