12 Writing Hacks (Video)
Alfred Sheinwold said, “Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won't have time to make them all yourself.” Writers are always looking for tips, tidbits gleaned from others’ experiences to help make the writing process easier. In her video, writing coach Stefanie Newell discusses 12 tips, from backing up your stuff to creating writing schedules to setting goals. Learn from her! You’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn from your own mistakes, too. ...
Read MoreQuestions to Ask Your Characters
Many writers begin developing characters by creating character profiles, which identify physical traits and simple backstory. But oftentimes the real questions go unanswered until the writer is deep in the manuscript—making the editing process much more involved than it needs to be.
Before you ever start writing, take some time to really get to know your characters.
First, ask them these three big questions ...
Coping with Negative Reviews
If you’re a writer, self-published or otherwise, sooner or later you will receive your very first negative review (*sigh* It’s a right of passage, all right!) You shouldn’t worry about it, or be discouraged by it, because no matter how great your novel is, it won’t be right for everyone. No novel is.
But it still hurts. It’s still painful to see that someone disliked, maybe even hated, this thing you spent such a long time perfecting! It’s inevitable and you need to accept that, but how do you prepare yourself?
Take a look at this...
10 Moments Buffy Spoke to Writers
Writers see ourselves everywhere. That’s partially because we’re narcissistic, but mostly because our lives consist of writing and thinking about writing. Buffy the Vampire Slayer may not be about writers per se, but it has its moments.
1. Adam: “You are immortal, and yet you fear death more than those to whom it comes naturally.” (4.16)
Adam calls vampires a paradox. Immortality is within their reach, but one stake to the heart or one well-placed match, and it’s all gone. Immortality is no good if you’re killed before you make it out of the gate. ...
99 Tweet Ideas to Keep Your Followers Happy
Last month, we talked about building a readership, and we said that “the goal isn’t to reach as many people as possible, but to get to know people and to earn their trust through honest engagement.”
But how do you do that? When it comes to Twitter, tweeting about things other than yourself is a great place to start. ...
Back It Up
Put on some Mozart and reading glasses because we’re talking about a serious topic today. Sit down, and focus all your attention on these words. Don’t fidget in your chair. Don’t think about what you’re going to watch on Netflix later. Don’t even think about your WIP.
Yeah, it’s that serious.
Ok, breathe. Focus. Listen.
Back up your writing.
It’s happened to us all. We spend hours, days, weeks, god forbid months on a project, and then poof it’s gone. The tech-fairies whisk it away as though it never existed at all, and we’re left staring at an error screen and begging time to reverse. ...