Posts tagged as:

novel

Kill Your Darlings

Last week we discussed the ten commandments of writing. This week we’ll move on to another topic inspired by Mr. King with his phrase “Kill Your Darlings”.
Imagine you’re finished. Finally finished. You’ve typed “The End” on the last page of the novel you’ve been working on for the last year. You’re elated. After all of [...]

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My Relationship with Query Letters

Selling Your Work

I love to write. I hate to write query letters.
Hate is a strong word. Maybe despise would be better. I can create characters, towns, and unique situations, but when it comes to selling my work I fall flat on my face. Why is that? For someone like myself who deals in fiction for the most [...]

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No Second Chances

Selling Your Work

There is a commercial that states that you never get a second chance at a first impression. This is never more true than when you submit your work to a literary agent. Your goal is to pique their interest to the point where they will want to see the rest of your book. Typically an agent will [...]

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Heroes Don’t have to be Perfect

Characters

I was watching the trailer for Will Smith’s summer movie Hancock. He seems to be a very troubled andconfused super hero right? Is this new? No. Batman is troubled on a deep level, and Spiderman’s alter ego Peter Parker is awkward socially. Even Iron Man has issues. My favorite all-time literary character and anti-hero Sydney [...]

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Backing Up Is Your Best Defense

Writing Tips

I had a friend, let’s call him Leo, who was writing what he considered his masterpiece. Now Leo had been working on his novel for months. He’d get up early in the morning, fire up his laptop, and allow his creative, caffeine-induced juices to flow. He was almost done when one morning everything changed. It [...]

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Writers and Websites

Selling Your Work

How is your novel coming? Almost done? Once you’re finished what do you plan to do next while you’re planning your next work? How about creating a site to showcase your work? Robert McCammon, Nick Hornby, Stephen King, and Joseph Nassise all have official websites. In researching I discovered that some of my favorites refuse [...]

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Self Editing For the Masses

Writing Tips

Read this sentence:
“the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?”
If you could read the above sentence then imagine how difficult it is to edit an entire manuscript written in this manner. The sentence above was inspired by a supposed Cambridge University study that the [...]

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Writers Beware – Avoid Bad Advice

Writing Tips

We’ve all received it. Especially as writers. But how do you spot it? You’ve asked someone to look over your work and now it comes time to hear their thoughts. You want to take their advice, even need it. But what if it’s bad?
Here are some things to look for. And I can honestly say [...]

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MindMap Your Novel

Writing Tools

Outlines serve their purpose. But what if your novel has a literal cast of thousands? How do you keep track of them and the places they habit? There’s an answer. Mindmap!
Huh?
There are different software solutions on the market that will allow you to mindmap your novel to your heart’s content. My latest favorite is [...]

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Your Novel Shrank!

Short Stories

Sometimes you may find yourself with a story idea and realize it doesn’t have the strength, or the legs to fill the pages of a novel. Ok. Instead of tossing the idea away take another look it. Can you perhaps turn your idea into 25-50,000 words? Congratulations! You have the makings of a short story. [...]

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