November 16, 2023
By Emily-Jane Hills Orford Dialogue is quite simply a conversation between characters; it is what the characters say to each other. Dialogue is an effective way to move the story forward, enhance the plot, and develop the characters. Dialogue tags are the means to identify who is saying what and how they are saying it….
November 9, 2023
By Ratika Deshpande Revision often feels like an insurmountable task and can take much longer than actually writing the first draft of a story or novel. Here are some ways to make the process easier: Take a break to distance yourself from the story (and relax) I start the revision process as soon as I’m…
November 2, 2023
By Ellen Levitt Lately when I ride my local trains and buses, I see most passengers spending their time on their cellphones. A few might read tangible printed materials such as books, magazines, even a newspaper. Others chat with people, stare into space, or nap. Maybe one person is knitting. Occasionally I find someone doing…
October 26, 2023
By Sam Muller This is part of our ongoing series on how authors published their first book. You can read our other stories in this series, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. I will Paint the Sky, my first novel, had three lives. It had its first incarnation as Life Begins with Murder. Its second…
October 19, 2023
By Lory Widmer Hess When a book I’d written chronicling my spiritual and healing journey was accepted by a publisher, I didn’t expect the process of publication itself to hold further spiritual challenges. Choosing a title, for example, proved to be unexpectedly fraught with emotion. From the other side of this trial, I now see…
October 12, 2023
By Timothy Day This is part of our ongoing series on how authors published their first book. You can read our other stories in this series, here, here, here, here, here and here. What a unique relief to be writing about my short story collection Discount Ceremony from this perspective. After many years of wondering if it…
October 5, 2023
By Emily-Jane Hills Orford Are you writing a memoir? A story about your life or someone else’s life? Have you considered your theme? Or your plot? Remember, every life has a story to share and that story needs, no, in fact, it has both a theme and a plot. So, don’t randomly launch into the…
September 28, 2023
By Niesha Davis A sensitivity reader is a type of editor that looks at manuscripts and other works of art to ensure minorities and diverse identities are accurately represented. After the #metoo and Black Lives Matter movements ushered in a social reckoning, these specialized types of editors are becoming more and more prominent. Though authenticity…
September 14, 2023
Martha Witt Many years ago, during a residency at an artist colony, I was sitting at my desk struggling to write when my eye caught a phrase scrawled into the wood of my desk: “Writers write.” At the time, stalled trying to draft a story, I naturally moved to the existential question, “Am I really…
September 7, 2023
By Emily-Jane Hills Orford The blank screen on your laptop is just as painful to look at as a piece of blank paper sitting on a typewriter. The lack of writing ideas has put you in a slump, as it has done for many other writers throughout writing history. What you need is an idea…
August 31, 2023
By JM Albandoz Have you ever forgotten food in the oven? That’s the perfect recipe to burn anything to a crisp. Cooking and writing are both about taking ingredients (or ideas) and coming up with something delightful – but burning works somewhat differently when writing: you have to think about your craft for too long…
August 24, 2023
By Alyshia Hull If you are an author looking to build your brand and connect with potential readers on TikTok, using hashtags can be a great way to boost your visibility and increase your reach. Hashtags categorize your content and make your videos more discoverable to potential readers. But with so many hashtags, how do…
August 17, 2023
By Grace Bialecki I was nearly finished with my first novel when I met up with an author acquaintance to ask for advice about getting a literary agent. It was a bitter New York winter night, and I felt icy and invigorated as I slid into the bar. Soon I would send out my manuscript…
August 10, 2023
By Ratika Deshpande Let me ask you a question: in the last week or month, how much time have you spent reading about writing? How many articles on how to open your novel? How many articles on the routines of famous writers? How many articles describing the success stories of those who’ve come before you?…
August 3, 2023
— By A. K. Adler Lockdown was good for me. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be in a fervour of baking banana bread and online workout groups. I’ve always hated baking and exercise, so I took a writing course. Until that point, writing had been a hobby. I’d already written three novels, and self-published them because,…