Writing one book is a daunting endeavor, let alone an entire series. And after spending months or years putting the finishing touches on one novel, the prospect of plotting out another can often seem overwhelming, especially if you aren’t much of a plotter to begin with. I’ve published a trilogy, and I’m in the midst… Continue reading How much do you have to know about your sequel ahead of time?
Since February is Black History Month, I want to recommend a handful of books to pick up, if you haven’t already, that are rooted in a historical event or history. If you’re looking to tie in a historical event into your novel or interested in writing historical fiction, these titles are great entry points for… Continue reading Book Recommendations for Black History Month!
Beginnings are hard because there are so many elements to introduce. You have to consider character dynamics, point of view, pacing, world building, voice, narrative flow–and it’s incredibly hard to figure out how to balance all those aspects in a cohesive, clear, and engaging manner. While there’s no easy formula to crafting the perfect beginning,… Continue reading 3 Questions To Ask Yourself For A Stronger First Chapter
The easiest resolution to make is to finish the books I have under contract. I also want to use this year “off” (e.g. I don’t have any books coming out in 2021) to really work on my craft and get back into the joy of writing again. I want to work on places where I… Continue reading Happy New Year 2021!
For this week’s post, I wanted to talk a little bit about everyone’s favorite feel-good show–Queer Eye. Specifically, I wanted to dig into why Queer Eye is so successful, and what that can teach us about the art of storytelling. If you haven’t seen the show, the basic premise is this: every episode, the “Fab… Continue reading What Queer Eye Teaches Us About Storytelling
We did it, we survived 2020! So, let’s try to start 2021 with some positivity, new connections, and writing! The best way to be a good writer is to…well it’s to write. Second best way (that we know of) is to make new connections/writer friends! We all met up through various Critique Partner (CP) match-up posts like the one… Continue reading Critique Partner Match Up 2021!
With a year like 2020, our annual End of the Year Wrap Up feels especially important. I hope you’ve been looking forward to this post as much as I have. I’ve desperately needed a reminder of all of the good things that have happened over the past twelve months. Looking to my closest writing friends… Continue reading End of the Year Wrap Up 2020
Sometimes a book will sell on proposal. This means the book sells to a publisher before it is fully written. This often happens in very specific instances, the most common are packaged books (IP) or an author that is already established. Most newer authors will first experience this with their “option book” for their original… Continue reading Book Proposals (for fiction)
I have already written a post about how to write dynamic character arcs, but what that post doesn’t address is how to construct these arcs over the course of a series. Usually when we think about character arcs, we think about them within the confines of a single book–the characters starts out with an inner… Continue reading Character Arcs Over Series
Hey friends! In preparation for this post, I re-read Amanda Foody’s brilliant Writing in Multiple Age Categories post, which is a topic cut from a similar cloth, so definitely check that post out after you read this one~ Just a quick catch up with me – In 2017, I debuted with a YA Sci-Fi duology… Continue reading Writing in Different Genres
