Make your first ten pages count
Many writers dream of becoming authors their whole life. When they complete their first manuscript the usual question is “Now what?” The traditional path to publication is arduous and involves query...
View ArticleMap your Characters
Click Character_Map to download the PDF. Are you an aspiring author? One of the hardest things about writing a book is making your characters seem alive. By the 22nd revision of a manuscript, you...
View ArticleMake Barbie Suffer…and other tips to add tension to your plot
Two of the best writing tips I ever got were from Kim Purcell, author of Trafficked during a workshop she gave many years ago at the Write on the Sound conference in Edmonds, WA. When we entered the...
View ArticleHow and Why I Started Writing
Eight years ago I wrote my first novel and it went nowhere. In retrospect, I can see why. Did I make my first ten pages count? Unfortunately, no. My inciting incident didn’t happen until page thirty....
View ArticleUnderstanding Story Arcs
There’s nothing like crawling around the kitchen floor–marker in hand–to understand a book’s true structure. In my case, I map out arcs for every character. What’s an “arc”? Good question, because...
View ArticleWhy I will always be a #follower
In life there are clear leaders and followers and Twitter is no exception. It’s easy to tell who the cool Tweeters are. They’re the people with a gazillion followers who barely follow anyone in...
View ArticleTen Revising Tips for Writers
Here are the top ten revising rules I live by as a writer: Avoid adverbs whenever possible. Adverbs can signal weak verbs. Do a “find and search” for commonly overused words such as: just, even, that,...
View ArticleWhat makes a book “good?”
Reading and Writing are tied together like puzzle pieces. If something is boring to write (like a thank you card) it will also be boring to read. That’s why it’s so important to think about what makes...
View ArticleYA Guy and The YA Gal talk books
Joshua David Bellin/YA Guy Did you know there is also a YA Guy? No, we are not Internet-married, but I do consider Joshua David Bellin to be my agency sibling since we are both authors represented by...
View ArticleHow many people see posts on a Facebook page?
One of the best parts of anticipating my 2016 YA debut is connecting with future readers. A big way I do this is via my Facebook page, The YA Gal. I’ve written in the past about all the hard work...
View ArticleExciting Opportunity for Writers!
Jennifer Anne Davis, YA author of Cage of Deceit, The True Reign series and the Order of the Krigers series, and Jennifer Bardsley, Genesis Girl author and “The YA Gal,” are teaming up to create a...
View ArticleBook Marketing From Your Couch
Social media can be confusing, but book marketing from the couch is easy once you learn how. Discover how to grow your Facebook author page from zero to thousands of followers. Learn how to reach...
View ArticleMap your Characters
Click Character_Map to download the PDF. Are you an aspiring author? One of the hardest things about writing a book is making your characters seem alive. By the 22nd revision of a manuscript, you...
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