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: , , ,

The James Bond 007 Guide to Writing

November 8, 2012 by 8 Comments
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Bond: I admire your courage, Miss…? Sylvia Trench: Trench, Sylvia Trench. I admire your luck, Mr..? Bond: Bond, James Bond This post is dedicated to the bad-ass writer who laughs in the face of fear, self-doubt, and procrastination. As we stare at our keyboards (or pen), curious about the words that hopefully will arrange themselves sensibly and without internal trauma on the page, we sometimes forget that it takes bloody courage to do what we do (insert English accent here). Writers are bad asses. Like Bond, we have missions. We execute excuses. Through our writing we make sense of the world and often try to fix it one page at a time. Writing is not easy. Writing is not simple…. [read more]

Filed Under: Writing, 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: , , , , ,

Guest Post: CONTEST: Write with Hanna, Editorial Feedback #2

October 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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Congratulations to submission #6! Synopsis: Sam is four years old when he first feels it—a humming in his stomach that happens when he reads books. As he grows older, the grumblings occur more frequently, and he finally confides in his mother when he is six. Smiling, she hands him a cookbook, and tells Sam to ask the book a question—and to Sam’s surprise, he can feel the book’s reply humming in his stomach. With the help of his mother, Sam learns he inherited her ability to communicate with books. When Sam is nine, his mother mysteriously disappears. Three and a half years later, Sam’s father has exiled himself to the bedroom, leaving Sam to take care of the house.  But… [read more]

Filed Under: Contests, Editing, Guest Post, Revising, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Best First Eyes: A Critical Choice [Guest Post]

October 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
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This is a guest post by Julia Tagliere who writes for Justscribbling.com.  Months of anticipation. Terrible mood swings. Bladder discomfort, weight gain, hours of intense labor pains, all leading up to the arrival of…A baby? Who’s talking about babies? I’m talking about your book! It’s true, finishing a manuscript feels almost like giving birth (only you can have an epidural for babies—they don’t give those to writers). Like any other proud parent, you know with absolute certainty that your magnum opus is flawless, which makes exposing your work to others for critique a very humbling business, indeed. But for all authors, and particularly for those planning to self-publish, obtaining thoughtful, honest, and effective reviews from skilled readers prior to querying or publication… [read more]

Filed Under: Editing, Guest Post, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,

At First Draft: The 6 (Minimum) Steps to Revising Your Manuscript before Submission

October 17, 2012 by 17 Comments
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Congratulations on your first draft! Ready for the real work? Here’s your in-the-trenches Wednesday post! As I’ve said before, writing tens of thousands of words is not hard. Sorry, it’s just not. And like the last time I said that, the muffled sound you just heard was a herd of angry authors setting their laptops down to come pummel me to the ground. But it’s true: the ACT itself of writing is not difficult to do. What IS hard is having the time and discipline to write. Harder yet? Having the skill to do it well. And the hardest? Being able to distance yourself enough from your manuscript to truly face what sucks about it—being open to changing even your most beloved sections… [read more]

Filed Under: Beta Readers, Editing, Planning, Revising, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Guest Post: CONTEST: Write with Hanna, Editorial Feedback #1

October 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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Hanna here! Well, here we are! I truly enjoyed reading the submissions, and it was difficult to pick just one. I believe that authors are the movers and shakers of the world, and it is so inspirational to be a part of such a talented community. To ensure the author’s anonymity, I have used only the first initial of the character’s names. Congratulations Submission #8! Synopsis: This manuscript opens in Pompeii, J— stumbling over the crouched body of S—, a woman he hasn’t seen for ten years, and whom he has loved since he was a boy. She was bending down, caressing the ruts of the ancient road, tracing the grooves of history in the “city-sized graveyard.” Years later, they… [read more]

Filed Under: Content, Contests, Editing, Guest Post, Revising, Storytelling, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,

Call for Entries! Free Editorial Feedback Contest!

October 1, 2012 by 2 Comments
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Do you have a manuscript? Do you need professional feedback? There are so many fabulous book blogs out there that are great for helping published authors get the word out. However, what if you’ve got a finished manuscript and need some solid advice about it before you move forward with querying agents or self publishing? We’re here to help! Our amazing and talented acquisitions editor friend, Hanna, has offered to give FREE feedback (in blog form) to one author, and we’ll be posting her review on our site! The good news? It’s free feedback! The other good news? It’s totally confidential at this stage–Hanna will give each submission a number (which will be shared with you, author), so you can… [read more]

Filed Under: Editing, Reviews, Revising, Self-publishing, Writing, Writing Tips Tagged With: , , , ,

The 3 Top Reasons Readers Hate Good Books

September 26, 2012 by 1 Comment
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I was recently trying to get through a memoir. The writing was fine. The topic was interesting, but I wasn’t engaged as I thought I would be. All the signs were there that I would love this book. But it wasn’t working out. I quickly moved on to something else and haven’t thought about that book since. Not until this post anyway… It got me thinking: Why didn’t I like that book? Here’s why: I felt lost. The language, tone, style — all of it didn’t enhance my reading experience. A good book cradles my imagination or for nonfiction, thoughtfully leads me down a path I’m excited to explore. This book just couldn’t get me there. Here are the top… [read more]

Filed Under: Audience, Editing, Revising, Writing Tips Tagged With: , ,
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