What this means is that a character being his or her own worst enemy alone is not enough. There MUST be a story problem that generates the tension and change. With no story problem, there is no way to have dramatic tension. It just becomes a character being TDTL (Too Dumb To Live). We don’t have a novel, we have self-indulgence.
Mar 15 2013
The Clock is Ticking—5 Tips for Tighter, Cleaner Writing
Time is our enemy. Most people don’t have enough. This is why our writing must be tight, direct and hook early. Modern audiences have the attention span of a toddler hopped up on 2 liters of Coke. We can’t afford to let them drift. Drift=Bad juju I’ve edited countless books, many from new authors. I …
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Mar 14 2013
Can Social Media Tools Make us a Social Tool?
Automation and preprogramming is taking without giving. We expect others to be present and vested, whereas we are too busy to hang out on Twitter. Thus, what we are telling others is that they are Friends with Benefits. All the benefits of friendship with none of the time and emotional sacrifice.
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Mar 13 2013
Do You Have a Psychic Vampire Critique Partner?
Psychic Vampires abound in the arts, and they are also prevalent in many writing groups. They are wolves dressed in writer clothing. Often they are so self-absorbed they can’t even see the reality of what they are. This is why confronting PVs is almost always fruitless and will simply lead to conflict that only further feeds them at our expense. Our best option is to be able to spot them, then ignore them or RUN.
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Mar 12 2013
Lose the Illusion—It Never Gets "Easier"
There are certain things that with time and practice will get easier. Social media, blogging and even writing do get easier over time. Once our author platform is built and we understand what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, we go into a maintenance phase.
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About Kristen Lamb
Kristen Lamb is the author of the definitive guide to social media and branding for authors, Rise of the Machines—Human Authors in a Digital World. She’s also the author of #1 best-selling books We Are Not Alone—The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer. She’s just released her highly acclaimed debut mystery-thriller The Devil’s Dance.
Kristen has written over twelve hundred blogs and her site was recognized by Writer’s Digest Magazine as one of the Top 101 Websites for Writers. Her branding methods are responsible for selling millions of books and used by authors of every level, from emerging writers to mega authors.
