Tag Archives: career authors

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, take some lessons in suspense from the master himself, Alfred Hitchcock.

Speaking of lessons, Amy Wilson and Anne R. Allen offer advice about writing effective dialogue while Maggie Smith teaches us several ways to make our secondary characters stand out. Over at Mythcreants, Chris Winkle discusses passive voice and how to create a story outline.

The nice folks at Good Story Company show us how to build a better author website and at BookBub, it’s all about promotion and crafting a captivating book description.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Using Dialogue Tags Effectively by Amy Wilson

Electrify Your Thriller with These Tips from the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock by Dana Isaacson

Writing Under a Pseudonym by Good Story Company

How to Write a Book Description: Tips from BookBub Editors by Lauren Aldrich

What Fiction Writers Should Know About Passive Voice by Chris Winkle

How to Outline Your Story by Chris Winkle

From Sidekick to Scene-Stealer: Making Your Secondary Characters Memorable by Maggie Smith

Who Should Be Telling This Story? by Jeanne Kisacky

9 Common Dialogue Problems and How to Fix Them by Anne R. Allen

10 Author Websites and Why They Work by Good Story Company

12 Fantastic BookBub Ad Designs Promoting New Releases by Shailee Shah

25 Authors Running Fantastic Book Promotions on Instagram by Shailee Shah

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, the folks at Good Story Company offer tips on writing active protagonists, realistic dialogue, and child characters.

Juliet Kemp discusses the basics of strong prose while Diana Urban provides a guide to social media for writers. How effective are author newsletters and what are the reasons to use them? Bookbub’s AJ Jack provides metrics and testimonials to answer all of your questions.

On the business side, Lauren Aratani spotlights Barnes and Noble’s second wind while David Barnett examines the often painful reality of being a debut author.

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Authors on Social Media: Choosing Platforms and Avoiding Burnout by Diana Urban

Writing an Active Protagonist by Michal Leah

Tighten Up Your Writing by Juliet Kemp

Tips for Writing Child Characters by Good Story Company

Amazon Doesn’t Care About Books: How Barnes & Noble Bounced Back by Lauren Aratani

Writing Realistic Dialogue by Michal Leah

State of the Author Newsletters: Data from 500+ Authors by AJ Jack

Debut Authors Find Publishing ‘Disappointing’ — Sorry, What Do They Expect? by David Barnett

Writing Is Much Too Important to Be Left to Copywriters by Mike Reed

Know Your Story’s Selling Points by Paula Munier

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

This week, we spotlight BookBub with articles about gaining followers, growing your readership, how BookBub’s auction model works, and strategies for using ads on their platform.

Becca Puglisi, co-author of the Emotion Thesaurus, offers tips on how to create insecure characters while Sarah Gribble provides a guide to writing horror. Do you know who your target audience is? If not, Amy Wilson has some advice for you.

All that and a little more, including a few discussions about Ray Bradbury. Enjoy and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

What’s Autofiction? Should You Fictionalize the Story of Your Life? by Anne R. Allen

Point of View: What’s the Best Choice? by Jami Gold

Honing Your Author Voice by Heather Webb

BookBub Ads 101: How the Auction Model Works by AJ Jack

Using BookBub Ads to Drive Series Sell-Through by AJ Jack

Who is My Target Audience? by Amy Wilson

How to Write a Novel Synopsis from Good Story Company

How to Write Horror: 8 Crucial Components to Terrify and Delight by Sarah Gribble

Ray Bradbury and Roald Dahl by David Boaz

10 Tips for Growing a Global Audience of Readers by Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Can Writing Heal Physical Pain? by Sue Coletta

In Favor of Present Tense Writing by Rhiannon Richardson

Writing Insecure Characters by Becca Puglisi

14 Ideas for Getting More BookBub Followers by Diana Urban

The Sideshow Magician Who Inspired Ray Bradbury—Then Vanished by Erik Ofgang

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff

This week, Kathryn Craft provides strategies for managing POV in your story while James Scott Bell discusses the three types of “mirror moments” in fiction.

Chris Winkle encourages writers to simplify their stories for improved reader experience. Looking for better ways to build suspense? Tracy Clark has a few tips for you.

With language AI gaining attention, Erma Clare examines ChatGPT as a story development tool for writers and Joe Bunting reviews the ten types of stories and their underlying values.

All that and a bit more. Enjoy!

A Copy-Editing Checklist for Novelists by Dana Isaacson

Writing for Theater and Film by Carina Jaramillo*

How to Write an Optimized and High-Converting Book Description by Rob Kosberg

4 Ways to Organize Your Third-Person POVs by Kathryn Craft

5 Strategies I Use to Launch New Books on Kindle Unlimited by Nicholas Harvey

6 Tips for Building Suspense by Tracy Clark via Hank Phillippi Ryan

How Promo Stacking Helps Authors Hit Bestseller Lists by Diana Urban

Put a Funhouse Mirror in the Middle of Your Mystery by James Scott Bell

Managing Exposition Starts With Simplifying the Story by Chris Winkle

Friend or Foe: ChatGPT Has Pushed Language AI into the Spotlight by Erma Clare

An Anxiety Episode Changed My (Dis)Belief in Writer’s Block by Kathryn Magendie

How to Use Scars to Deepen Characterization by Sue Weems

The Ten Types of Stories and How to Master Them by Joe Bunting

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*Special thanks to youth services librarian and educator Chloe Pederson and her student, Anna, for alerting me to this one. Who would have thought a home theater furniture store would offer such a helpful blog?

 

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

It’s been three months since I gathered a collection of informative articles here, something that was once a monthly feature on this blog. My life took an unexpected and disquieting detour in September which affected my health and my writing. I’m struggling to put both back on track as we head into the new year, but for now…

Philip Athans thinks there should be a little bit of Harlan Ellison in all of us and I agree. Harlan remains one of my literary heroes.

Kristen Lamb warns us against self-sabotage in all its forms while over at Good Story Company, Mary Kole offers advice on dealing with criticism.

Anne R. Allen encourages believability over realism in our fiction, Jami Gold explains the differences between foreshadowing and spoilers, and Amanda Patterson shows us how to use motifs.

All that and much more. Enjoy!

Maybe We Should All Be More Like Harlan Ellison by Philip Athans

How to Deal with Negative Criticism by Mary Kole

Self-Sabotage: I Don’t Deserve Success by Kristen Lamb

5 Tips to Boost Your Professional Writing Cred by Lori Freeland

7 Ways Public Readings Can Help Your Writing by Kathryn Craft

Revise for Success – A Stree-Free Plan for Polishing Your Novel by Jodie Renner via Anne R. Allen

Why Realism is Irrelevant in Fiction: Aim for Believability Instead by Anne R. Allen

How to Enhance Contrast In Your Writing by Jessica Strawser

Foreshadowing vs. “Spoilers”: What’s the Difference? by Jami Gold

Do You See Dead People? by PJ Parrish

How to Motivate Yourself to Write and Finish Your Novel by Lorna Faith

What is a Motif in Fiction? by Amanda Patterson

Articles, Blog, Craft, Opinion, Writing and Publishing

About This Writing Stuff…

In this month’s roundup, Becca Puglisi reminds us to enhance our characters by imbuing them with unique talents and skills.

Struggling to write a compelling start to your novel? Maggie Smith can help. Over at Career Authors, Brian Andrews and Gina Panettieri show us how loglines help authors answer that dreaded question, “what’s your book about?”

If you’re grappling with impostor syndrome, as many creatives do, Ruth Harris and Tiffany Yates Martin have some encouraging advice for you.

There’s no denying that TikTok has become one of the hottest sites for book promotion. Shailee Shah offers a roster of writers who are using the platform to build an enormous following.

All that and a lot more. Enjoy!

Character Traits & Skills: Beyond the Superficial by Becca Puglisi via Jami Gold

Seven Components of a Successful Novel Opening by Maggie Smith

Exposing Inner Conflict in non-POV Characters by Kathryn Craft

It’s Messy in the Middle: Unpacking Cultural Appropriation by Colice Sanders

Understanding the Three Types of Character Arcs by Britton Perelman

Why a Strong Plot Requires a Significant Goal by September C. Fawkes

The Upside of Impostor Syndrome by Ruth Harris

Are You Telling Yourself the Wrong Stories? by Tiffany Yates Martin

What is Your Book About… Do You Know? by Brian Andrews

Loglines and Comps by Gina Panettieri

14 Indie Authors to Follow on TikTok for Ideas and Inspiration by Shailee Shah

How to Build an Amazing “About the Author” Page by Jason Hamilton