“How many words in a novel?” is a question many writers ask. “My memoir is 270,000 words long.” I heard these words during a breakout session I led at a local writers’ conference. An editor friend of mine, Shayla Eaton with Curiouser Editing, was sitting in on the breakout. We gave each other knowing glances, […]
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If you want to write a picture book, this post will help! How do you win a marathon? You run really fast for 26.2 miles without stopping. Like winning a marathon, writing is easy to describe, but hard to execute. Writing a good book is a magical art that blends creating interesting characters, placing them […]
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I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a serious problem with romantic relationships in literature nowadays. And worse, this issue seems to be overlooked by the large majority of writers — until it’s too late, that is. The problem: The unrealistic and unhealthy portrayal of romantic relationships. There. I said it. And now people […]
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What’s the number one thing you can do to improve your writing? Read. A lot. Read anything and everything you can find, and you’ll become a better writer. Read your favorite genre, whether that’s historical fiction, creative nonfiction or personal essays. Read books that are similar to what you like to write. And surround yourself […]
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Vivid verbs show (vividly) rather than tell. These verbs help show what’s happening mentally or physically to a character. They paint a picture in your reader’s mind. What exactly is a vivid verb? It’s a descriptive verb, which allows you to create interest and even excitement in your writing. A captivating story Have you ever […]
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“My memoir is 270,000 words long.” I heard these words during a breakout session I led at a local writers conference. An editor friend of mine, Shayla Eaton with Curiouser Editing, was sitting in on the breakout. We gave each other knowing glances, and because I didn’t want to break this poor memoirist’s literary heart, […]
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Parentheses, like the em dash and ellipses, is a piece of punctuation that’s often overused in writing. In some instances, parentheses can be useful, but more often than not, they’re unnecessary and may even act as a distraction, weakening your writing. In this guide to parentheses, we explain what parentheses are, the difference between parentheses […]
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Writing can get kind of lonely sometimes. Not only that, but it can get stale. Sometimes we fall into a formula when we write books, or we can’t get ourselves past the first few chapters of an idea, or we’re stuck in the dreaded middle section of our novel for what feels like forever. It […]
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Soooo… you’ve been writing for a while. Maybe you seriously got into writing fiction a year ago; maybe you’ve been a freelance writer for three or four years now. Maybe you started writing a book and it didn’t go anywhere. You know you want to improve your writing, but you don’t know HOW. What do […]
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Have you ever Googled “writing contests”? Many require “reading fees” or prizes — like seeing your work in print — that you can only receive if you pay for it. Some legitimate contests do charge small entry fees, but often a fee can be a red flag for a scam, so those might be the […]
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