From the monthly archives:

April 2008

A Writer’s Greatest Sin(s)

Actually I am going to list 3 of them. Are there more sins that are writer is capable of? Of course. But for the sake of those of you who are guilty of all 3 I’d rather not burden you with more.
Being Passive – As I’m writing this sentence I can feel [...]

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What Makes Your Characters Stand Out?

Characters

Have you ever read a book and found that you were having a hard time telling one character from another? These “vanilla” characters have peppered novels for ages. Yet there are those characters who stand out from the crowd. And why is that? What makes them so special? Why do [...]

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To Outline or Not to Outline

Writing Tips

You’re sitting down to write the next blockbuster novel that you’re sure Oprah will want her audience to read. You’ve got the premise in your head, a character you love, and an ending that will blow them away. The first fifty pages fly from your fingertips like magic. Then you stop. [...]

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Make Time to Write

Writing Tips

When the Muse has stopped to spend some time with you – how do you make time for it? Can you ask it to come back later because the present moment isn’t convenient? I’ve tried that only to discover that my Muse is very impatient. When she decides to visit I’d [...]

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Earn A Portion of a Book Advance…

Selling Your Work

Huh? What is that? Earn a portion of a book advance? Whose book? How much is the advance?
Well – let me start by saying that the full details are available at Sell This Novel.
Book advances come in all shapes and sizes. It would be nice to earn a portion of [...]

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What Time of Day to Write

Writing Tips

At this very moment it’s approximately 10:30am as I write this sentence. But this is unusual for me. It’s not a typical time for me to write. If this were a chapter in a novel I can almost say with 100% certainty that I would eventually trash the entire chapter and start [...]

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Write to Win $3000 !

Selling Your Work

Have you written a book and decided to run with it on your own along the route of self-publishing? If you have then you may be interested in a contest the good folks at Writer’s Digest are holding. The grand prize is $3000 along with some other amenities (not to mention the exposure [...]

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The Write Stuff

Writing Tools

The pen might be mightier than the sword, but which pen is the victor?
For those Mac aficionados out there I ran across a great article comparing Word 2008 to Pages ‘08. It comes right on the heels of my post a few days ago regarding Scrivener.
Spoiler Alert: It appears to me that Pages may [...]

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Creative Laryngitis

Writing Tips

Ever lose your voice? It stinks. You know what you want to say but you can’t quite get it out. It’s there… frozen on the tip of your tongue… you can visualize it but when it comes out it doesn’t sound anything like you. In fact it sounds like a pale imitation [...]

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The Write Tool

Writing Tools

When you’re ready to craft the next great novel what program do you rely on? Are you an MS Word fan, or do you despise all things Microsoft and turn to the world of the Mac allowing Apple’s Pages to capture the denizens of your imagination? There are choices out there. I [...]

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