O is for Opening. There’s always a debate about what makes for great and memorable stories. It’s easy enough: a story that pulls you in emotionally and won’t let go even after the book is finished. But how do you write that? There are many formulas out there on how to write a proper story. There…
N is for Notebooks. Being a writer is an exciting journey. You can write on most anything. Yet there are those who believe that there is only one right way to do your writing: on a high-end high-tech laptop (sometimes called a notebook). But that’s just silly. You don’t need tech to be a writer. You need…
M is for Making. We’ve all heard the stories of overnight successes, one hit wonders and other improbable ways writers have raked in the money. But for those of us who have stories part of our blood, we will always write. Which means that at some point our writing should do more than just look…
L is for Life. The mysterious life of a writer is something everyone wonders about. Is it really like on TV? Author Anne R. Allen is here to answer that today. Oh, the glamorous life of an author! Meeting with the intellectual and artistic elite in the cafés of Paris, dining with the rich and…
K is for Knowledge. Sometimes it can be hard to know where to turn to for the right info when you want to learn how to write and how to become a great writer. I’ve been looking at my search history and the books in my personal library and decided to set up a list to…
J is for “Joining”. We all need some encouragement from time-to-time. To support my claim, I’ve invited over Alex J. Cavanaugh — founder and leader of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group — to explain why writing groups are good for you. Writing is a solitary endeavor. We can bounce ideas off others and write with…
I is for Ill-prepared. To continue with the theme for everything writerly, I decided to share what it’s like to suddenly be published without any warning. In June/July last year I wrote stories for a competition. Not all of the stories I planned at that time could be written – some of them just weren’t…
Sometimes it’s difficult to find the balance between our fiction and reality. To help with that, I invited writing friend Chrys Fey to share some tips on having a life while still being able to write. Does writing take up a lot of your time, leaving you without a life? And yet, you’re not getting…
G is for “Getting”. In my quest to find out everything I can about publishing, I decided to do an interview with Holly Evans who shares her publishing journey on her blog — inspiring me to explore self-publishing. How would you define the genre of your books? That depends on how specific you want to…
F is for Folklore. I know, we’ve done this one for F before. But this time it will be different. Everyone is gathered around the fire. The elder pokes at the logs; everyone waits with bated breath to hear what she has to share… Okay, not anymore. In today’s rushed culture, there is hardly time to…