Archives for March 2013

The Dreaded “M” Word

There’s much said in writing circles about “marketing.” Most of it I did my best to ignore, at least until getting my first contract, when I realized it was suddenly relevant and I better pay attention, because even traditional publishers have limited resources for that sort of thing. Over the years, I heard lots of […]

How to Avoid Distancing Your Reader with Patched-In Themes & Morals

I read a pretty popular novel recently, written by a fellow author in my genre, and I enjoyed it. I might have given it a solid four stars. BUT, I mentally only awarded it a three-star effort for one single reason. Near the end of the story, the author seemed compelled to explain the lessons […]

Writers Beware!

“Plagiarism and copyrights and trademarks! Oh, my!” (Read this in your best imitation of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, or the Tin Man in Oz.) Sometimes, like Dorothy and Toto, we may get into situations where suddenly we realize we’re “not in Kansas anymore” and are facing all sorts of previously unknown dangers. To help you become […]

Word Trippers

Today’s post highlights a tool for writers. I can’t take credit for this, but I think it might be more valuable than a post from me this week. Many words in the English language are confusing. They trip us up. Writer and editor Barbara McNichol wrote a book and an email Ezine to assist writers […]

Body Language

I confess! I swiped this Body Language Cheat Sheet for Writers from Archtype Writing.com–a website that bills itself as “The Fiction Writer’s Guide to Psychology” … but they told me I could reproduce it freely for educational purposes, so I guess that keeps things legal. 😉 Either way, it was too good to pass up […]