When Losing Feels Like Winning #authortoolbox

Even if I tried to quit or take a break, it would hurt too, plus I’d fail, because . . .

I love it too much.

“The Beyond Within” narrated by TallTaleTV

I stare past her at the golden sky. Five stars burn to the north—what Khompan Elders call The Martyr, and Ajh, The Friend. I call them the Reminder.
“There is more,” the Reminder calls. “More to you.”

5 Expensive Book Services You Don’t Need

Originally posted on Writers After Dark:
I don’t know about you, but I definitely would like to see more truth and authenticity in the publishing business. I’m not sure which is worse -when people used to dismiss Indie authors entirely or the current situation where we’ve become a primary sales target. There is an awful…

#NaNoWriMo taught me how to pummel the page full of words

Originally posted on Right place, right Tim:
Yeah, that’s right Inner Demons – you were wrong about me. All that hopelessness and doubt you whispered in my ear was baseless baloney. You’re like the Breitbart of my mind – telling me everything is awful and finding people to blame other than myself. Well eat this,…

Discussion Post: Child Abuse in YA and MG Novels

50 Vague Phrases that have No Business in your Query

What to Avoid in Your First Chapter

Your first chapter is the most important chapter of your novel. It’s the first thing your reader will see when they open the book, and it forms their first impression. Here are a few issues t… Source: What to Avoid in Your First Chapter

Ellipses and Suspension Points

Originally posted on Perfect Prose Services:
Most people think of an ellipsis as the three dots. Yes, well, there’s a bit more to it than that. Quite frankly, there’s a lot more to it than that, but rather than bamboozle you all (and myself!) I will concentrate on the key points. If you have any…

Doing BETA Better

Now that I’ve had some minor successes with my beta swap model, I’m ready to bring it back online and share the process. My Role Play – Beta Swap. By role-playing as agents, publishers, and editors, we learn something in play that we learn otherwise only by making publishing mistakes. Most new writers make these mistakes, and […]

When Your First Tries Flop

I suck at firsts. First song (a holiday card poem Weird Al’d into an old hymn) First epic poem (anyone else remember Prodigy? Way back before AOL? Well, that’s where I posted it then promptly forgot my password.) First short story (Don’t get me started; children should not be blamed for their upbringing, after all) […]