As an author, you have to wear many hats. Writer, accountant, editor, public speaker, etc. Today, I want to talk about two of those hats: marketing and publicity. You may think, Liz, that’s the same hat. I’m here to tell you: it isn’t. You need both of these hats to Read more
In every story, there is a section before the climax when your protagonist sinks to her lowest and is an emotional wreck. It’s your job to get the character out of her depression and ready to face the big event in the climax. Today, I want to discuss how to Read more
As an author, there are a million demands on your time. You must brainstorm, write, edit, market, balance business expenses, etc. It’s never-ending. There is always something else you could be doing. That’s why it’s very important to be self-aware and not overwork yourself. In this post, I want to Read more
It’s time for another Character Under a Microscope post where we look at character development on a deep level. Today, I want to talk about your characters and compassion. You may have heard of the phrases “pet the dog” or “save the cat.” These terms refer to a moment early Read more
I love to read across genres, and lately I’ve been asking myself what all these books have in common that grabs my interest. It’s not just that they are “good books” as there are several of those out there I don’t enjoy. I’d say they all have intriguing plots and Read more
Writers have many options for ways to get their words seen by the world. They can write novels, short stories, novellas, articles, etc. One of those outlets is serial fiction. While some newspapers and magazines still publish serials, most serial fiction is published online. Let’s look at serials and how Read more
Today I want to talk about promises and payoffs in a story. I’ve talked around these concepts a few times, but I realized I haven’t actually dug into them by themselves. So, we’re going to discuss what promises and payoffs are, the main types, and how to use them effectively Read more
I did a post a while back on the truth about writer’s block, the mental block when writers don’t know what to write. Recently, I was talking with some writers about being stuck and not writing, even though they had outlines ready. The problem wasn’t that they didn’t have ideas, Read more
There are two ways to get in front of agents and editors about your book: a query or a pitch. I’ve already discussed query letters so today we’re going to focus on pitches. Let’s start with what a pitch entails, and then go into how to prepare for one and Read more
Some terms I got mixed up when I first started studying writing were the phrases plot reveal and plot twist. They both mean new information is given, and they generally shock or awe the audience. But what exactly is a reveal or a twist, and how do writers pull them Read more