14 Rocking Good NaNoWriMo Tips

With an entirely out-of-control outline tipping the scales at over 12,000 words, I dove headfirst this fine November 1st on a journey to make a messy manuscript my own personal heaven. Yes,  I wrote fast and furiously, throwing editing, self-censorship and occasionally good taste out the window. I loved every minute of it. I wish […]

18 random thoughts about creativity – Not just for writers

What can we say about creativity? Joel Friedlander, a self-published author and book designer who blogs about book design, self-publishing and the indie publishing life at The Book Designer spends a lot of time being creative… and thinking about creativity. “Where do ideas come from?” he asks. If you don’t know, that’s okay. Friedlander asserts, “nobody else knows […]

The art of pitching your novel; advice from Ken Levine

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about writing and self-doubt, my husband doesn’t want to hear about my writing process. He has, however, made it abundantly clear that my “pitching technique” needs serious work. I need to sell my story, and sell it like a champ. Ken Levine, a TV comedy writer with a killer […]

Self-doubt and writing: amicable partners?

It’s Monday morning, and I am dragging myself through the mud. Am I making any progress?  Is what I’m writing any good, any good whatsoever? Over the weekend, my husband and I had the rare opportunity to enjoy a date night. It was a beautiful evening, so we sat outdoors at one of our favorite […]

7 tips for aspiring children’s writers from author Audrey Vernick

For many years, New Jersey children’s author Audrey Vernick wrote literary short fiction, where a big success is “selling” your story to a literary magazine that pays you with free copies of the magazine. Honored twice by the New Jersey State Council of the Arts with its prestigious fiction fellowship, Audrey has published seven children’s books […]

Better your writing with a little help from your friends – 5 ways

All writers have at least one friend who can be trusted with their babies–both their actual child AND a writing-in-progress. Perhaps you are blessed with an arsenal of buddies, pals, and mentors who are avid readers, writers, editor,s or English majors? Fabulous. You know who turn to when the words have been written. But can […]

Crafting the Perfect Outline Identifying 5 Major Plotpoints

We can all agree on one thing: there is no one perfect recipe for cooking up a good story. The same goes for crafting an outline. Trust me, I’m elbows deep in it, and everywhere I seek advice, I’m given a different perspective. I am a big fan of Dramatica‘s approach, but at the same […]

Top Ten Ways Authors Can Use Twitter to Promote Books

140 characters: part treasure map, part scavenger hunt. I’ll admit, I prefer Twitter over Facebook. My friends (the real ones, not merely FB “friends”) faithfully post to Facebook, which to a self-absorbed writer working from home with little more than a silent cat for company, means I must dedicate segments of time to read posts […]