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Posts from the ‘Craft’ Category

Oct 22

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Write a pitch for your work-in-progress: the sooner the better

This weekend, I attended the Surrey International Writers Conference in Canada. It’s one of my favorite conferences and a wonderful, supportive environment to pitch your manuscript to potential agents and editors.

I didn’t feel like pitching my memoir, so I decided to practice-pitch my work-in-progress, an urban fantasy novel, because that’s the project I’m really excited about right now. Problem was–I didn’t have a pitch for it.

I did have my original idea and an overall grasp of my story so I spent half an hour throwing my pitch together before bed Friday night. In other words, I winged it. (Shhh…don’t tell). Read more

Oct 19

Ready to revise? Move forward with these two posts

If you’ve written a draft and are now ready to jump into revisions, Wise Ink (@Wiseink) reveals a road map in At First Draft: The 6 (Minimum) Steps to Revising Your Manuscript before Submission.

At the blog YA Stands, Rachel Russell (@RachelxRussell) wrote Fisticuffing Revisions Into Submissions, about her process for revising her manuscript.

What’s your approach to revisions?

Oct 18

Writing unique emotions will set you apart from other authors

When you can convey authentic, universally true emotions through your characters, you connect with your readers and they’ll keep turning the pages. Your readers become invested in your story the moment they viscerally feel what your character feels.

See what else the Plot Whisperer, Martha Alderson, has to say about writing emotions in her 5-minute video here: Read more

Oct 17

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See how these successful authors write

I’m always intrigued by how other writers write. I like to see their routines and quirks. Not only is it entertaining and informative, just maybe, I think, I’ll find something in their process I can adopt to improve my own.

Here are a few tidbits from The Daily Beast’s feature, How I Write.

Michelle Gagnon, mystery writer and author of the young adult thriller, Don’t Turn Around, is a big believer in writing a complete draft before starting any editing. Read more

Oct 16

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Give your characters a humanizing trait to make them relatable

Best-selling author Patricia Cornwell was recently featured on Sunday Morning where she talked about her heroine, Dr. Kay Scarpetta, in her main book series. In the interview, Cornwell says she gives her readers a “huge does of forensic science and medicine” but, at the same time, the story is really about her protagonist Scarpetta, what she’s going through, and where she needs to get to.

One way Cornwell makes Scarpetta human and more relatable is to give her a simple, down-to-earth trait. Read more

Oct 12

Tips for creating a reading list for your work-in-progress

In my posts last week I wrote about why original research is important to your stories and how to make dry research fun. When I have a writing project that requires research, such as my current work-in-progress, I create a list on my computer to keep myself organized.

Some quick tips for creating a research reading list:

Write it down. Sounds obvious but there have been times when I’ve said to myself, “Oh, I have to read that book,” then promptly forgotten about it. Write the name of the book down on a pad of paper or even on your hand, if you have to, until you can add it to the list on your computer. Read more

Oct 10

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Tips for creating the climax scene in your novel

In her book The Plot Whisperer,author Martha Alderson writes about creating the climax scene in a novel. This is the scene that holds the greatest intensity and highest drama in the story. This is where all the forces of the story come together and where the protagonist must directly confront the antagonist. Just when it looks as if all is lost, the protagonist will discover or rediscover something within her that allows her to prevail.

The climatic scene directly answers the question at the outset of the novel—will the protagonist reach her goal and be victorious?

Alderson says, “A writer who has not experienced a transformation in her own life often cannot see, feel, touch, smell and hear the scene depicting such a moment for the protagonist.” Read more

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