The 4 Story Structures that Dominate Novels

The 4 Story Structures that Dominate Novels August 24, 2010 by  Orson Scott Card All stories contain four elements that can determine structure: milieu, idea, character and event. Here’s a look at each one and how each will affect your novel. All stories contain four elements that can determine structure: milieu, idea, character and event. While […]

virtual book tour gary smailes

Virtual Book Tours: How To Set Up And Run A Successful Book Tour by Gary Smailes http://www.bubblecow.co.uk/2010/09/virtual-book-tours-how-to-set-up-and-run-a-successful-book-tour/ in Proactive Writer,Promote your book To successfully promote your book you need to be able to influence potential readers from all across the web. One very effective method of increasing the recognition of your book, influencing new readers […]

Dr. Seuss

7 Curious Facts About 7 Dr. Seuss Books from MentalFloss.com by David K. Israel – September 9, 2010 – 11:56 AM 1. Hop on Pop In an early draft of the book, Theodor S. Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) wanted to make sure his publisher, Bennett Cerf, was reading the manuscripts he was turning in, so […]

Your Screenplay is Not Your Baby

http://thescriptlab.com/the-formula/script-tips/795-your-screenplay-is-not-your-baby Never refer to your script as “my baby”. If you’re guilty of this offense, clearly we know that you’re passionate about your story, which is good. But it also makes your ability to be objective with the material suspect. And you must be objective. Subjective emotional attachments can blind you from the truth of […]

The 4 Golden Rules of Being a Writer

The 4 Golden Rules of Being a Writer Here are four lessons about writing and finding an agent that I have learned the hard way. I hope you will read them and save yourself a lot of time and trouble. It is hard to calculate writing time, but I would estimate that, over the past […]

5 Reasons to Use Press Releases to Promote Your Blog

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2010/10/13/5-reasons-to-use-press-releases-to-promote-your-blog/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney+%28ProBlogger%3A+Helping+Bloggers+Earn+Money%2 5 Reasons to Use Press Releases to Promote Your Blog Blog Promotion 15 comments This guest post is by Jiyan Wei, director of product management for PRWeb. Creating content on a blog is just one aspect of being a productive blogger—you’ve written the content, but now what? How are you going to promote your […]

How to write when you’ve got nothing to say

How to write when you’ve got nothing to say I was never prolific. I used to spend hours staring at a blank screen bleeding words like blood from a stone which I would end up deleting the next day. Why? Because I made the mistake of thinking that writing was all about producing words. Well, […]

What’s Your Novel’s Log Line?

What’s Your Novel’s Log Line? by Maeve Maddox http://www.dailywritingtips.com/whats-your-novels-log-line/ The term log line (also spelled log-line and logline) is usually associated with movies, but the wise novelist will learn how to write one. In the context of writing (as opposed to measuring a ship’s rate of speed), a log line is the succinct summary of a […]

Agent Michelle Brower On: 10 Tips for Attending Writers Conferences

Michelle Brower is an agent with Folio Literary. 1. Go to get feedback on your work in a workshop or instructional setting. Sometimes writers forget that the first and most important step in starting a writing career is actually, you know, writing. If you’re a genre or commercial writer, find out how your work fits […]

Book Genres

http://bubblecow.co.uk/2010/12/a-list-of-book-genres/ was recently browsing in a large bookshop when I can across a section with a sign declaring ‘Dark Fantasy.’ There it was in the cold light of day – a new genre. Without any fanfare or fuss, the bookshop had promoted Dark Fantasy from a minor sub-genre to a genre in its own right. […]