Category: Writing Tips

Self-Editing: 7 Tips to Tighten the Story & Cut Costs

A fallacy among many emerging writers is that authors only write the books. Then, once finished, agents will fall in LOVE and someone else will do ALL the editing. *clutches sides laughing.* Yeah…no. And woodland creatures don’t help with housework. Sorry to break the news. Bummed me out, too. The hard truth is the onus …

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Crime & Punishment: Why We Love a Good Mystery

Last time, we talked about how important research is for creating stories readers love. Some genres require more research than others, and mystery happens to be one of those genres. The more we read, watch, and learn, the better we can execute twists and turns and surprises readers can’t get enough of. A great way …

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Research Matters: The Devil is Always in the Details

Research can be a double-edged sword. It can elevate writing to an entirely new level, but can also be a place we hide, procrastination masked as ‘work.’ Recently, I posted on the dangers of premature editing and gave tips to help keep us moving forward on that first draft until it is FINISHED. A common …

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Hook Your Readers: 3 Tips to Catch & Keep Your Audience

How do we sell our stories? That is the big question. It is the reason for craft classes and editing and cover design and agents and editors and all the time on social media. And while platforms and covers and algorithms do matter, there is one tried and true way to sell more books. Write …

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The Dangers of Premature Editing: Pruning Our Stories vs. Pillaging Them

Editing is essential for crafting a superlative story. We clip away the excess, delete the superfluous and prune away the detritus to reveal the art. Yet, editing is something we’re wise to handle with care. While lack of ANY editing is a major problem today, editing too much, too soon is just as big of …

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