Getting Familiar with your Genre
There is a lot you can learn from reading a lot of books, including the patterns of your genre.
top of page
Where do you want to start?
Why Genre Matters
Some writers think that genre is something marketing slaps onto a finished book in order to make it sell. But that is not how it works.
Dialogue and Character Motivations
Dialogue can be tricky. Instead of being told by your usual narrator, dialogue lets each of your characters speak for themselves. The...
Should you Give Your Characters Flaws?
Whether your book is character-driven or plot-driven, no book can be truly interesting with a perfect main character. Characters need to...
Keeping Your Speakers Straight
Here are some tips for using simple mechanics to help readers keep the speaker straight.
Show, Don't Tell
Every writer has heard this advice: Show, don't tell. It's all over the online writing communities. But the advice is a flawed rule
Said is NOT Dead
When writing dialogue, it can feel like you are writing an endless stream of names, pronouns, and dialogue tags. It can be a delicate...
What is a Standalone with Series Potential?
If you've done your research on querying, you've probably found the phrase "standalone with series potential"
Why do Publishers have Word Count Requirements?
If you've found the perfect publisher, it can be hard to understand why they would reject your manuscript based solely on a word count.
What Age are you Writing For?: Children's Books
(This post is part of my "What Age are you Writing For?" series. You can find the introduction and list of age ranges here.) When you are...
bottom of page