Getting story ideas Getting story ideas can sometimes be difficult. Where do your story ideas come from? Harlan Ellison often quips, “Schenectady.” I wanted to use this image for a blog post about getting story ideas because it is perhaps the oddest thing. Because I really did see this dirty plate in the sink a […]
Exposition Exposition works. First of all, exposition basically means a literary device intended to describe a character’s background, or “our story so far”. It can be done elegantly, with flashbacks or dialogue or even a character finding something or other. It can be clunky, like when characters say, “As you know, …” and then proceed […]
Writing a query letter Now that you want to get your work published, it’s time to write a query letter! It’s understandable to be a bit anxious about this. Practice will help a lot, not just with writing better queries, but also with your nervousness. Understand that many famous authors were rejected several times before […]
Swag Do you like swag? So, swag is necessary when you go on the road. Work a convention at a dealer’s table, or get your book into a library, and you may need a little extra something to give away. Hence here are a few choices. Bookmarks Maybe the best and closest kind of giveaway […]
Getting inspiration from instances of sexism Sexism remains an unpleasant reality in our world. Since sexism is still with us today, you might see it, or even experience it yourself. However, even an unpleasant experience can inspire fiction writing. Because sometimes, you just want to write a villain. And maybe your villain can eventually see […]
Working with a cover artist, Part 2 There is more to the engaging of a cover artist part of working as an independent writer than just selecting an image or giving them an idea of what you want. Contracts A lot of us get nervous talking about contracts and copyright and that is completely understandable. […]
How Awesome was the Third Quarter 2018 for Writing? Third quarter 2018 was another productive three-month period. Finished Works First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time fixing and polishing them. So here’s what I created […]
Working with a cover artist, Part 1 Have you ever worked with a cover artist? It is like any business relationship, or it should be. Respect your cover artist, and they will help you. Don’t, and beware! Get an idea of what you want before you start The last thing a cover artist wants to […]
Writing a blurb Have you ever written a blurb for a book? Here’s how. Grab the reader’s attention The idea is to be engaging to the reader. Hence blurbs are short promotional pieces. They used to just be on the backs of books, but now they can be the copy you read on an Amazon […]
… And Facebook for All — Your Home Page Your Home Page. Log into Facebook, and it’s the first thing you see. It’s your Home Page. Here’s what’s in it. NOTE: Facebook constantly A/B tests. Features move around, change, are renamed and resized, or disappear all the time. These are rolled out in stages; your […]