A good book title can mean the difference between a bestseller and a lifeless shelf-dweller. If you don’t believe me, look up First Hundred Million by editor E. Haldeman-Julius. He explains that changing just the book title can rocket a book from selling 6,000 copies a year to 50,000 copies a year. In this post I’m going to give […]
You’ve been dreaming about this moment since the beginning. It’s what you’ve been working towards this whole time, and now you’re finally ready to wrap it all up and create that perfect ending to your story. So how are you going to do it? Consider this your brainstorming session. Learn from these examples how to end a story, and […]
Nobody goes through life without some help, and the same goes for your main characters. It’s nearly impossible for a story or novel to be complete without a few secondary characters to support and put a spotlight on your lead. What would Holmes be without Watson? Or Alice in Wonderland without the Cheshire Cat? Or the Merchant […]
This writing advice would have saved me a lot of broken drafts and a lot of failed expectations. After you read this, pick your favorite 3 or 4 points and tape them to the wall above your writing desk. Remind yourself of this writing advice often enough, and you’ll have a much better chance of success. 1. […]
These flash fiction prompts will challenge you to create short and gripping narratives that are under 1000 words. Though many are categorized, don’t feel limited! Flash fiction can be whatever you want it to be. Whether you use the bite-sized stories you write as exercises, standalone pieces, or segments of a larger work, the condensed length is […]
Conferences are fantastic ways for writers to meet agents, editors, and colleagues, to get feedback on their writing, and to get away from their desk. Most of these cost money, but some have scholarships, and others are relatively cheap, so don’t let finances keep you from furthering your writing career. Here are 18 conferences that […]
Writing young adult novels is a bit like playing Concentration, the memory game where you have a bunch of mixed-up pairs of cards facedown and have to match them up by randomly flipping over two at a time. You have to remember how it felt to be sixteen and simultaneously enamored and terrified of the world. Anyone who was an avid reader […]
Writers everywhere have a similar problem. When I tell people that I want to have a career in writing, most of them look at me like I grew 2 extra heads. I’ve even had someone tell me it is “a waste of money to go to school for writing.” I don’t let their comments affect […]
1. Find A Book Editor in Creative Ways Don’t just Google a book editor. You’re going to find the most famous editors that way, the ones swamped with clients and with a 3 or 4 month wait time. You’re also going to find the most expensive ones that way, and expensive doesn’t always translate to best. […]
Novels are difficult to write because of size, but short stories are difficult because they require perfection. Any tiny little mistake in a short story becomes magnified into gigantic proportions. If a minor character fails to come alive in a novel, you can forgive the error because there is so many other things to enjoy, […]
