—Life Through the Eyes of Storytellers—
I like to use parentheses (you know, to share my extra thoughts and stuff). But only in non-formal situations (like blog-writing). In fiction, however, I avoid it like a plague. And I realize that may just be a personal preference, since I feel it would pull my readers out of the world I spent so… Continue reading Parentheses in Fiction: Do They Break the Fourth Wall?
Writing dialogue is messy. Am I right? It has so many rules, it makes me wish I’d gone with my original plan in life. I’d intended to become an all-in-one supermodel-psychologist/part-time medical researcher. What? I thought I wanted to save people, discover things, and change the world wearing a tiara and killer heels. But the… Continue reading How to Correctly Punctuate Dialogue for Novels
I’m here to help stop the madness. You know the one. The insanity that accompanies the “fun” of writing a book blurb. Attacking is more like it . . . I could stab it upside the head if it had one. But alas. Don’t let my bitterness get to you. In fact, use it to… Continue reading 7 Tips for Writing a Book Blurb
There are two types of writers: plot-centric and character-centric. No matter which you are, you still have to portray relatable characters, or else, why should I care as a reader? Laura from Boats Against the Current shares some of her thoughts on creating a great character. Check it out! What makes a character relatable?… Continue reading Making Your Character Relatable
Writing. It's one of the most difficult heartachey types of careers you can pursue. The glamor, fame, and financial richness is lacking, to say the least. But that feeling of fulfilled satisfaction and passion that comes along with the job is absolutely priceless. And a true writer would have it no other way.… Continue reading 3 Things Every Writer Should Stop Doing Immediately
If you're a writer, you've heard this advice several times in your writing career: "show don't tell." But it's not as simple as it sounds, because surely, you can't show everything. No, you need a balance. And our friends over at XterraWeb have made some good points on this subject. Read on: Finding… Continue reading How to Find the Balance Between Showing and Telling
Romance. Horror. Mystery. Suspense. Action. You name the genre, they're all love stories. Well . . . to some extent. In this video, Raymond and I discuss this very topic. A little tipsy, I might add . . . so this conversation is interestingly peculiar. Usually, we disagree just on about everything writing-related. He writes… Continue reading Every Story is a Love Story
To pseudonym, or not to pseudonym: that is the question. Personally, I’m not “me” and choosing to go with a pen name was actually a must. Why? Well, read on for that answer. But for most writers, whether to use a pen name or write under their real names could be a complicated decision. Like… Continue reading Pros and Cons of Using a Pen Name
Sometimes, the most difficult phase in writing is starting. To help overcome this problem, Michelle Wallace—a contributor at Insecure Writer's Support Group—shares a little bit about the "freewriting" technique. Read about it to see if it could be a solution to your "writing block." Freewriting What is freewriting? Wikipedia says: “Freewriting is a prewriting technique in which a person writes… Continue reading The Technique of FREEWRITING
Ever struggle to find the right voice for your manuscript? Sometimes, it's simply because we're writing our stories with the wrong point of view. And switching the perspective could be the answer you're looking for. The question is, what are the different POVs and what do they mean? Well, Harvey Chapman, over at Novel Writing… Continue reading All You Need to Know About POVs
Dialogue can make or break your novel. The dialogue concerns aren't just contained inside those " ", it's also the pesky little "tags" that go along with it. The Wise Ink Blog has a great article on what traps to avoid when it comes to dialogue tags. Read on: The 5 Traps of Dialogue Tags… Continue reading 5 Traps to Avoid With Dialogue Tags
Writers After Dark 