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Writing Workshop: Blurbs the Word!
If that back cover description isn't compelling, your potential audience could be passing you by. Learn how to hook a casual browser and turn them into your next avid reader.
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Writing Workshop: Continuity: Solid Worlds, Believable Characters
Ever have a character change their hair color, accent, or even gender in mid-story? And it's not part of the plot? Oops. If your Loki-wannabe isn't a shapeshifter or a trickster, it's up…
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Adventures in Copyediting – Booze and Bullets
As I copyedit/rewrite a 103K-word, modern-day vampire novel, I'm pausing often to consider word usage.
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Book Review: Hurling Words into Darkness: A Book Doctor’s Dose of Brain Science for Writers
If you're looking for guidance and inspiration beyond the mechanics of writing, this is a good read to help round out your knowledge and expertise
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Book Review: NetGalley’s Book Advocate Toolkit
I'll admit it. I'm a sucker for anything called a 'toolkit'. This appeals to my self-taught, DIY driven nature.
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Book Review: How to Master the Art of Writing Children’s Books
If you're of the opinion that children are simple creatures who are content with simple books that are absurdly easy to produce, you need to take a step back and read this book.
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Book Review: Authors, Steal This Book: 67 Business Ideas for the Writers of the Future
This needs to be a living, adaptable document, not a static, frozen-in-time book.
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Book Review: A Quick Guide to Draft2Digital: How to Publish a Book in the Digital Age
The first time an author publishes their own indie book, the process is a mixture of excitement and confusion. If I'd know about Draft2Digital back then, my publishing journey might have gone a…
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Book Review: Mastering Your Mystery: Write, Publish, and Profit with Your Mysteries & Thrillers
One of my goals as an author is to write a murder mystery someday. Knowing me, it'll probably be a foodie-cozy-comedy caper, but even with that lighthearted notion, I'd like to do it…
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Book Review: The Heroine’s Journey
I just finished the book. I'm feeling enlightened, and much more knowledgeable about myths and archetypes.
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Book Review: The Play’s the Thing (and how to write it)
One fine morning I had a brainstorm of an idea for a story plot, but the more I worked on it, it started to feel like something that should be presented in the…
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Book Review: Blimey, I’m Knackered!
Blimey, I’m Knackered!: An American’s Survival Guide to British English by Marshall Hall My rating: 4 of 5 stars I love learning about other countries and cultures. Getting familiar with a country’s slang…
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Book Review: How to Market a Book
How to Market a Book: Overperform in a Crowded Market by Ricardo Fayet My rating: 5 of 5 stars As the Brits say, “It does what it says on the tin”. There’s dozens…
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Book Review: Book Title Generator
Book Title Generator: A Proven System in Naming Your Book by Scott Lorenz My rating: 5 of 5 stars I had low expectations for this book, but it exceeded all of them. Just…
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Book Review: Words Fail Me
Words Fail Me: What Everyone Who Writes Should Know about Writing by Patricia T. O’Conner My rating: 5 of 5 stars One of the best writing advice books around. It’s written in an…
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Book Review: Bird by Bird
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott My rating: 5 of 5 stars I deliberately read Bird By Bird slowly – her ‘lessons’ are short, sometimes just a…
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Æther Salon: Transcript of Publishing Salon
Last month I gave a talk at the Aether Salon in New Babbage, a virtual steampunk city in Second Life. There was a record crowd of avatars representing published writers, hopeful writers, and…
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A Portable Writer’s Retreat
Assemble your own individual "Portable Writer's Retreat" bag to set up a writer's retreat whenever the opportunity arises.
