The Post Novel Blues
by Paul Jessup
It seems to happen every single time I work on something larger than a novella. The minute I finish it, it seems like all of my creativity for fiction dries up.
Archive for the ‘Tips for Beginners’ Category
Surviving Times of Stagnation
by Paul Jessup
It will probably happen to you. Almost every career for a professional writer hits a snag at some point. Usually after a huge burst of activity and a feeling of momentum, of going somewhere. It comes out of nowhere, out of left field.
Building Worlds with SFWA
by Jeffe Kennedy
It’s apropos that “Lonen’s War,” book one in my Fantasy Romance series, “Sorcerous Moons,” is featured in the first SFWA Fantasy StoryBundle. That’s because the fantastically smart and helpful folks in SFWA helped me out with a worldbuilding challenge.
The Voodoo of Research
by Tim Susman
Since it’s fall and ghosts are in the air, I thought it might be a good time to talk about my research into vodou/voodoo, the religion and spiritual practices that coalesced on Haiti among the African slaves there and spread to America, most commonly and famously in New Orleans (for the purposes of this article, I use “vodou” to refer to the Haitian religion and “voodoo” to refer to the New Orleans practices).
Guest Post: Instagram For Authors
by Mary Rosenblum
How can I advertise my book with photos?
I hear that all the time when I suggest Instagram to author clients, followed by the sound of the exit door slamming on the author’s heels…
But Instagram is a huge and well established social media platform, and if you’re writing for teens through mid-twenties readers, this is the social media you want to master. Even Forbes Magazine has taken note of Instagram’s role with an article Can Instagram Keep People Reading Books?
How to Write with a Co-author
by Stewart C Baker
Fiction writing is often presented as an intensely solitary pursuit, but look at the end of a published novel some time and you’ll see the author thank at least a dozen people for their help. And then there’s co-authoring…
Don’t Tweet Your Rejections
by Shanna Swenson
Rejection is one of the worst parts of writing. When you get a story or novel rejected by an editor or agent, it stings. Your first instinct may be to go online and seek comfort and commiseration by letting your followers know what you’re going through. But stop and think before you spread the news of your rejection all over social media.
Finding That Elusive Writing Time
by Anthony Izzo
Next to people wondering where a writer’s ideas come from, the question I hear most is “How do you find the time to write?” Currently, I’m working on my 18th novel. Like many other writers, I hold a day job. With a 9-5 job, family obligations, and other responsibilities, how do you find time?
The Art of Story Mechanics
by Kate Heartfield
That moment of freeing myself from rigid concepts of right and wrong was also a useful reminder about storytelling.
Writer’s Guide to Twine
by Aidan Doyle
Twine was created by Chris Klimas in 2009 and is “an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories.” Simply put, it’s a program that makes it easier for writers to make their own “Choose Your Own Adventure” style fiction. There are a number of tools for writing interactive fiction, but Twine is one of the simplest and most popular.
