The 140-Character Twitter Novel

January 18, 2013 by 6 Comments
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              This past fall, the Guardian posted a great little article in which they featured 21 well-known authors using a Twitter post to write a novel. The challenge proved to be very provocative, funny, and interesting! A few of our favorites:   Ian Rankin: I opened the door to our flat and you were standing there, cleaver raised. Somehow you’d found out about the photos. My jaw hit the floor. Jeffrey Archer: “It’s a miracle he survived,” said the doctor. “It was God’s will,” said Mrs Schicklgruber. “What will you call him?” “Adolf,” she replied. Helen Fielding: OK. Should not have logged on to your email but suggest if going on marriedaffair.com don’t use… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Content, Social Media, Twitter, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Writers: Keeping Up with the Hustle and Bustle?

December 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
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Happy Holidays, writers! They’re almost here! Did you get everything done? Me either. My to-do list is almost as long as it was on Monday of this week, yet I’ve been rushing and running and scrambling for the last five days! It makes me wonder what I was actually working on all week. So what about writing? Does writing have a role in the busy day-to-day holiday preparation? Below are a few ideas on how to keep up with it! 1) Make a list of your priorities. Your probably have a to-do list (and a long one at that). Is it organized? Where does writing fit? Time to put an order  to all the things you have to do this… [read more]

Filed Under: Motivational, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Doing NANOWRIMO? Five Tips for Succeeding—AT LAST!

November 5, 2012 by 7 Comments
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Each year, thousands of wannabe writers get themselves hyped up about NANOWRIMO—“National Novel Writing Month.” A worldwide literary celebration that takes place every November, NANOWRIMOers’ mission, as it transparently describes, is to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days (or 1,667 words per day). In 2011 there were 256,618 participants, yet only 14% of those writers succeeded.   It’s not difficult to imagine the reasons for failure (or the “absence of success”). It probably looks a lot like that new diet plan you thought would become a “lifestyle”—you know, the one you start by going to Whole Foods and buying nothing but kale, feta cheese, and raw protein for your week’s meals only to find yourself downing your second… [read more]

Filed Under: NANOWRIMO, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Five Books to Read Before You Publish

September 10, 2012 by 6 Comments
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As you know, and as we love to talk about all the time, the best and worst thing about self-publishing is that the author has all the decision-making power. While this is fantastic for a number of reasons–(e.g. authors get all the profits)–it can be detrimental for other reasons–(e.g. the editor wasn’t properly screened because the author didn’t know the right questions to ask). As we also say all the time, the time has come for authors to stop making mistakes in the publishing process! There are too many beautiful, well-made, movement-making self-published books out there that are still being discredited by the stigma perpetuated by the shortcuts of other authors. It’s time for YOU, the author, to take the… [read more]

Filed Under: Authorpreneur, Book Marketing, Branding, Indie Publishing, Literary Trends, Planning, Self-publishing, Writing, Writing Prompts Tagged With: , , , , , ,

15 Fill-In-the-Blank Blog Ideas for Every Authorpreneur

July 18, 2012 by 3 Comments
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Does it ever happen to you that you’ve got a blog entry to write and . . . nothing comes? Below are 15 blog ideas (and examples) that any authorpreneur can quickly fill in with the themes and needs of their own markets! Use them for FREE! 1. The 10 Best-Kept Secrets for Reaching ________ (The 10 Best-Kept Secrets for Reaching CEOs) 2. The Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before ________ (The Top 5 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Sending Your Manuscript) 3. 6 Rules You Can Break when Trying to ________ (6 Rules You Can Break when Trying to Make Sales Online) 4. 20 Twitter Hashtags for ________ (20 Twitter Hashtags for Reaching Readers) 5. The… [read more]

Filed Under: Blogging, Social Media, Twitter, Writing Prompts Tagged With: , , ,

The Best Writing Prompts We’ve Ever Come Across

June 29, 2012 by 10 Comments
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Why do we need writing prompts?   Because staring at a blank page is no joke. Sure, that dent in the wall from banging your head against it is a rite of author passage… But, we’ve found that writing prompts are a quick and reliable fix for rejuvenating a weary writer moment.   Trying to come up with your next greatest scene? Trying to add grit, humor, or depth to dialogue? Can’t find words to begin the story you have floating in your head? Writing prompts are your answer.   With writing prompts, the trick is truly being open to whatever flows from your fingers (or pen). Overthinking your response to a good writing prompt is like attempting to guess… [read more]

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Take a 6-Minute Writing Break NOW!

June 13, 2012 by 2 Comments
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If you’re anything like me (or any other writerly type in the universe), you might be accustomed to creating brilliant (and sometime quite logical) reasons why you can’t be writing or working toward writing in the present moment. These are often called “excuses.” They sound like, “I’m in a staff meeting” or “I have a meeting in twenty minutes” or “I have to invoice my client.” Okay, those are all pretty good reasons to not be doing anything else. Still, I often get stuck on the idea that every time I write I have to make a significant time investment. Not true! If you’re sitting at your desk, and you’re up for a coffee break, below are six easy writing… [read more]

Filed Under: Motivational, Storytelling, Writing, Writing Prompts Tagged With: , , ,

31 Twitter Hashtags for the Indie Author

May 21, 2012 by 5 Comments
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Soooo, you’ve got that Twitter account, huh? You’ve got a good follower-to-following ratio? You’ve got quite a few Tweets under your belt? Good for you! As we always preach, it’s extremely important for indie authors (or all authors, really) to be as directly connected to your audience as possible. On a large scale, there’s no better platform than Twitter. As far as Twitter goes, it can look like a jumbled mess of information if you don’t know how to navigate. With the use of #hashtags, however, Twitter is actually designed to group your information (and the information you seek) in a highly organized way. If you’re not already following #hashtags or using them in your own Tweets, you should be!… [read more]

Filed Under: #hashtags, Book Marketing, Indie Publishing, Social Media, Technology, Twitter, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , ,

Wise, Ink. Writing Prompt #1: Meditate Your Way to a Coffee Shop

February 28, 2012 by 1 Comment

Hi Everyone! It’s Amy, cofounder of WiseInkBlog.com. This is the first official Wise, Ink. Writing Prompt! The goal of the prompts will be to push your creative juices to the max, or at least get them pumping a little bit. If we don’t get you writing, we hope that we can get you THINKING about your writing. These writing prompts won’t always be like traditional writing prompts, but sometimes they will. Sometimes they might work better for one genre of content over another; don’t worry, we hope to help spark each and every writer over the course of our prompting. We’ll have prompts that will help bloggers, romance writers, business writers, sci-fi writers, and everyone in between. Sound good? OK…. [read more]

Filed Under: Motivational, Planning, Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,

Do I Have to Write Every Day? 6 Tips to Make Writing a Lifestyle

February 17, 2012 by 2 Comments
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I admit it: I’m a world-class writing-specific procrastinator. Want to make me productive when it comes to cleaning my house? Caulking my tub? Painting the ceiling in my bathroom? Just tell me I have to sit down and create a chapter of my book; you know, the one that in my wildest fantasies will be the next Great American Novel (the “GAN”). It won’t be The Sun Also Rises great, but I could probably accomplish something better than Simon & Shuster-published A Shore Thing by Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. One of the hardest things about being an author is actually writing. Believe me, I’ve made all the excuses. I have such a long commute. Because of word processing, I just edit and reedit… [read more]

Filed Under: Writing, Writing Prompts, Writing Tips Tagged With: ,