Tag Archives: anne r allen

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Anna Elliott offers three tips for “kicking your readers right in the feels” while Chris Winkle and Damon Suede explore various facets of character. Peter Selgin boils fiction down to two plot types and explains how to introduce foreshadowing in your story’s opening.

Juliet Marillier defines the fantasy genre, Blake Morrison delves into the often distressing burden of managing a deceased writer’s estate, and Olivia Mason presents a top-ten list of best works from one of my all-time favorite writers, Harlan Ellison.

All that and a little more… Enjoy!

3 Tips to Hook Your Reader’s Emotions by Anna Elliott

What Is Fantasy, Exactly? by Juliet Marillier

Take Cover! by John Gilstrap

The Six Traits of Strong Characters by Chris Winkle

Characters: More Than Just Imaginary People by Damon Suede via Jami Gold

How Works of Fiction Can Be Boiled Down to Two Types of Plots and  How Your Story Opening Foreshadows What’s to Come by Peter Selgin

Up in Smoke: Should an Author’s Dying Wishes Be Obeyed? by Blake Morrison

The Best of the Best: 10 Must-Read Works by Harlan Ellison by Olivia Mason

Scam Down Under: Love of Books Brisbane / Julie “Jules” McGregor by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

 

Calvin & Hobbes on Writing

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Peter Selgin offers ideas on dramatizing the routine in your story, writer pal Donna Galanti shines light on how to build your author persona, and Sue Weems suggests ways to combat multitasking that will improve your writing and save your sanity.

Despite arguments to the contrary, author blogging is not dead according to Anne R. Allen, and she provides eight solid reasons why.

Struggling to avoid hackneyed methods to describe your first-person POV character? Laura DiSilverio has some advice for you while James Scott Bell wants to pump you up—or at least your prose—by showing you how to immerse your reader in both action and emotion.

All that and a little more… Enjoy!

Four Ways to Create Your Author Persona by Donna Galanti

How to Make the Best Use of “Routine” Events in Your Fiction by Peter Selgin via Jane Friedman

‘The ebook is a stupid product: no creativity, no enhancement,’ says the Hachette Group CEO by Harsimran Gill

‘Laughably bad’: Terry Goodkind Apologises After Insulting Cover of His Own Book by Sian Cain

Get Some Blood Pumping in Your Prose by James Scott Bell

Why Multitasking is Killing Your Writing by Sue Weems

How the Internet Archive Infringed My Copyrights and Then (Kind of) Blew Me Off by Victoria Strauss

8 Reasons to Start an Author Blog by Anne R. Allen

6 Tips for Describing a First Person POV Character by Laura DiSilverio

Facebook’s Algorithm has Wiped Out a Once Flourishing Digital Publisher by Mike Shields

Styles of Writing

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, James Curnow ponders the detrimental effect of sequels on the original material. Paula Meiner covers the pros and cons of beta readers while Sophie Hannah questions the concept behind the Staunch prize for thrillers that avoid violence against women.

James Scott Bell, Tracy Hahn-Burkett, and Steven James weigh in on the related topics of burnout, frustration, and stressing yourself out over meeting your writing goals. Bottom line: Challenge yourself without killing yourself.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

12 Books That Destroyed and Rebuilt My Mind by Jordan Bates

Why Good Sequels are Bad Sequels: Blade Runner 2049 and the Building of Worlds by James Curnow

A Short History of South Asian Speculative Fiction: Part I by Mimi Mondal

The Pros and Cons of Beta Readers by Paula Munier

Avoiding Burnout with Strategic Breaks by James Scott Bell

What to Do When Your Creativity Hits the Wall by Tracy Hahn-Burkett

From 2000 to 300—Why You’re Writing Too Much by Steven James

Prize Launched for Thrillers That Avoid Sexual Violence Against Women by Alison Flood

A Prize for Thrillers With No Violence Against Women? That’s Not Progressive by Sophie Hannah

Do Your Characters Talk Too Much? When to Use Indirect Dialogue by Anne R. Allen

Snoopy at the Typewriter

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

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This week, we stop by the Kill Zone where James Scott Bell warns against starting your story with a dream while John Gilstrap and Jordan Dane talk internal monologue. Over at Mythcreants, Oren Ashkenazi advises against writing prequels, but if you must, he offers a few tips.

From Writer Unboxed, Julie Carrick Dalton provides timely advice on dual timeline stories. Think you can become a writer on “talent” alone? Anne R. Allen would like to give you a rude awakening. Anne also has some strong opinions on how to begin your story in order to optimize Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

What’s the Deal on Dreams in Fiction? by James Scott Bell

Internal Monologue by John Gilstrap

5 Key Ways to Balance Internal Monologue with Pitfalls to Avoid by Jordan Dane

Chronicling a Non-Chronological Story: Writing a Dual Timeline Novel by Julie Carrick Dalton

Five Tips for Telling Prequel Stories by Oren Ashkenazi

8 Qualities that are More Important than Talent for Writing Success and The One Thing That Will Kill Book Sales Dead and 10 Ways to Avoid It by Anne R. Allen

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson

How to Spark Your Story with an Inciting Incident by Pamela Hodges

Veteran SF and Media Tie-In Writer, Michael Jan Friedman, Would Like to Take You Into Empty Space

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, David Gaughran and Anne R. Allen analyze Amazon’s heavy-handed measures of fraud detection that are forcing the innocent to suffer for the guilty. P.J. Parrish illustrates the revision process using one of her own manuscripts while Ruth Harris and Andrew Falconer offer tips on writing historical fiction.

We strike gold with… who else, but… Jami Gold! Jami is busy with NaNoWriMo, so she has invited guest bloggers to discuss such topics as Imposter Syndrome (Kassandra Lamb), Deep POV (Lisa Hall-Wilson), and Productivity (J. Rose).

From the latter, this statement leapt out at me: “We’re trained to work ourselves to the bone, and that we should best each other about “who’s the most busy” or “who has the least amount of time.” I challenge you to step away from this game! Do you really want to be #1 at being stressed and being busy all the time so you don’t have time to enjoy your life?”

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Amazon’s Hall of Spinning Knives by David Gaughran

Don’t Let Impostor Syndrome Ruin Your Writing by Kassandra Lamb via Jami Gold

Deep POV and Hidden Messages in Subtext by Lisa Hall-Wilson via Jami Gold

Creating the Right Mindset to Be Productive by J. Rose via Jami Gold

Cutting Open the Sausage: A Hard Look at Rewriting by PJ Parrish

Plunge Into Story Action—and Genre by Kathryn Craft

A Character’s POV = A Character’s Truth by Sarah Callender

Five Essentials of Historical Fantasy by Andrew Falconer

How to Use Authentic Historical Detail to Trigger Emotions and Memories in Your Readers by Ruth Harris

The Most Important Rule of Backstory by Andrea Lundgren

Amazon’s Latest Crackdowns: Do They Include Amazon Review Trolls? by Anne R. Allen

 

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, Maggie Doonan counsels us on when to throw in the towel on a writing project while Julia Munroe Martin opens up about why she abandoned one of hers.

Anne R. Allen warns new writers against mistakes that could leave them prey to publishing scams. James Scott Bell offers two methods to jumpstart your writing session. Over at MythCreants, Chris Winkle advises us on ways to better give and receive criticism.

Writer pal Kathryn Craft shares her experiences with exploring and pitching new ideas after her first two novels were published. David Gaughran provides tips on how to maximize the benefits of Kindle Unlimited. From Writer Unboxed, Steven James waxes eloquent about the “agathokakological” nature of humanity.

All that and a little more… Enjoy!

4 Signs It’s Time to Quit a Writing Project by Maggie Doonan

7 New Writer Mistakes that Make You Vulnerable to Predators by Anne R. Allen

What Happens When You Run Out of Novels? by Kathryn Craft via Sandra Hutchison

The Visibility Gambit by David Gaughran

Two Writing Mind Tricks to Get You Rolling  and Weaving Backstory into Frontstory by James Scott Bell

Telling the Truth in Fiction by Steven James

Seven Things I Learned from Wrecking my Novel by Julia Munroe Martin

A Storyteller’s Guide to Criticism by Chris Winkle

Memoir or Fiction? Should You Novelize Your Real Life Experiences? by Anne R. Allen