Today I want to discuss everyone’s favorite character in any story—the villain! You can have the most amazing hero, but, if your villain isn’t just as amazing, your story will fall flat. A villain provides the needed conflict and tension Read more
I realized that I’ve done posts on self-editing and starting your own editing business, but I haven’t talked about finding a good editor. It doesn’t matter how amazing you are at grammar and writing stories, you MUST get an editor Read more
I think one of the mistakes some writers make is that they listen to too much advice. There is so much out there (and I’m only adding more), but I think all the advice is people just saying the same Read more
Has anyone ever asked for your story’s premise? Essentially, they’re asking what your book’s about. Many people use premise as a synonym for logline, but I see them as separate tools. While they are similar, a premise and a logline Read more
We are back again for another entry in the Character Under A Microscope series where we dig into the small details of character development. Today, I want to talk about character tags. These are distinguishing details about characters that make Read more
Last week we discussed writing query letters, and now I want to turn our attention to submitting them. There are several strategies for how to query agents, but I’ve found one method seems to be favored about the rest. While Read more
A query letter is such a fickle thing. There is no perfect formula you can use to guarantee you get a literary agent’s attention, but there are best practices you can follow to give your manuscript the best chance. I’ve Read more
After years of critiquing and editing manuscripts for writers, I’ve learned there is one major piece of advice I keep having to repeat. It’s quite simply: progress the plot. Push the plot forward. Keep the plot moving. I’ve said it Read more
No story is complete without interpersonal conflict between characters. Every person is different, and some people just don’t get along. Usually, those people just avoid each other, but good stories are full of conflict. So what do you do if Read more
Writers often hear about plot arcs and character arcs, but there is one arc that often gets skipped over: relationship arcs. I’m not talking about romance books that are centered on a relationship. I’m referring to all the characters your Read more