I WANT to talk about the difference between the inciting incident and the call to adventure in a novel. Recently there’s been a lot of discussion on ye olde Twitter about whether or not you should start your story in the midst of action and how long you should hold off before introducing the inciting … Continue reading Inciting Incident vs. Call to Adventure | A Clarification
Where Have I Been
::whispers:: hello. In the biggest ghost move I've ever pulled, I disappeared from social media earlier this year. I feel like I have some splainin' to do. The beginning of 2020, even before the pandemic, was a turbulent time for me. I went through a lot of personal ups and downs that were all consuming … Continue reading Where Have I Been
The Secret to Self-Publishing Success?
FOR THE past six months, I’ve been searching for the secret to self-publishing success. I’ve listened to hours and hours of podcast interviews with full-time self-publishers, watched webinars hosted by authors who sell coaching services, and read several How To books on the topic. I started noticing a pattern early on, and now I want … Continue reading The Secret to Self-Publishing Success?
What Makes a Bestselling Novel? | Pointless Rambling Vol. 486
I’m not trying to tell you what I know to be true. Far from it. I'm just thinking out loud, trying to figure it out for myself. What better way to figure something out than to think about it, and if I’m going to bother thinking about it, why not write down my thoughts just … Continue reading What Makes a Bestselling Novel? | Pointless Rambling Vol. 486
PitMad Advice | How to Use Your Three Pitches
For those of you participating in PitMad, I want to share some advice about how to use your three pitches. If you don't know what PitMad is, go here. Okay, so you've crafted three pitches and you're ready to go. Should you tweet out all three, spread evenly throughout the day? Yes to the second … Continue reading PitMad Advice | How to Use Your Three Pitches
Why the Wet Water?
Poems, eh? Poems. And when I say they poured out of me, I quite literally mean it. I’m almost embarrassed to say how quickly this collection came to fruition. Why, though? Why miss horror writer are you writing poems? Why not? I...I guess I needed to pour my soul onto the page. Maybe, deep down, … Continue reading Why the Wet Water?
All First-Person Protagonists are Writers
DO YOU ever think about that? There’s an exception, of course: novels presented as transcribed verbal storytelling, like Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne. For the most part, though, all first-person protagonists are writers. That’s not to say the character necessarily identifies as a writer within the time frame of the story, but whatever they experienced in … Continue reading All First-Person Protagonists are Writers
Writing Community or Writing Crowded Street?
I DON’T mean to add to the bitterness and despair of the Writing Community, but I have a bone to pick with this place. I’m starting to think it’s no community at all but rather a crowded street where the best interactions feel like calling out across the crowd and the average interaction is getting … Continue reading Writing Community or Writing Crowded Street?
What if It Happens to You? | A Portrait of a Querying Writer
YOU'RE READY. You believe this is the book. Your synopsis is just right. Your query letter could hook a person who doesn't even read. You've generated a list of agents who represent your genre, a balance of high-profile presidents of the agency to senior agents to associate agents. You send out a batch of queries. … Continue reading What if It Happens to You? | A Portrait of a Querying Writer
My Favorite Twitter Poet | Book Recommendation
I'VE BEEN reading John R. Hinton's poetry ever since I joined the Writing Community on Twitter. You might have read some, too, because this guy TWEETS IN POETRY ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY. Now he's released his first collection, BLACKBIRD SONGS. It's a refreshing thing to come across in the endless sea of writer's lifts, What's Your Character's … Continue reading My Favorite Twitter Poet | Book Recommendation
