What I Learned From WANACon – Part 2: The Devil is in the Details

In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, I thought it would be a great reminder to talk about “Little Darlings” as Kristen Lamb calls them. Little Darlings are the detailed pieces of our writing we stop and fuss over when there’s a million things wrong with our story’s foundation.

What I Learned From WANACon – Part 1: Community Building

Building a community. We’ve heard of this. We’ve longed for it. We know it can be a slow process.

Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA said community is not about popularity, but about the true fans.

That really stuck with me because my editorial work is about making true connections.

A Peek at a Developmental Editor’s Story Outline

I’m a developmental (content) editor, but I’m also a writer. Lately the plot bunnies have been hitting me right and left.

Every Liebster Loves Some Liebster…

An award for little old me? I love this blog dearly. It’s like my second home and I’m glad others feel welcome here. Gill Andrews from True Stories has nominated me for the Liebster Award.

Book Signing with Marissa Meyer, How Books Make Us Reflect on Our Own Process

Last, last weekend on September 29th, I went to see Marissa Meyer during her Fierce Reads Tour, and I was so excited to meet her!!

I’m not sure what kind of coincidence the universe was playing on me, but I recently discovered Marissa’s books around the same time she was due to stop in at a local bookstore near me.

No need to mention that I greedily blew through her first two books in the Lunar Chronicles series days before the book signing.

Guest Post: The Perks of Co-Authoring — How Two Authors Write Together

A while ago I was lucky enough to meet Lisa Langdale and Laura Kreitzer in Napa for a gal-pal get-together and it was so much fun! Since then, I’ve admired from the sidelines how these two women work together seamlessly, and like many others, I’m dying to know more.

Beginnings and Endings: How to Make the Most Out of Your Scenes

Think of a person who’s had a long day of dropping her kids off at school, going to work, driving her kids to soccer practice, coming home to make dinner, putting the kids to bed, and then finally has an hour or two to herself before she has to go to sleep. Can your book keep this tired person turning the pages before bedtime?

The key to keeping a reader turning those pages is to have well-formed scenes.

Scenes are the small links that make up the chain of story structure. When scenes aren’t working, readers could abandon the rest of the story. A well-formed scene has a hooking beginning and a cliffhanger ending.

Finding Conflict in Other Places

Suppose you’re in the middle of plotting or revising. You have your main antagonist and protagonist outlined. You’ve set up their opposing agendas within your plot. But what about the scenes when good and evil aren’t battling each other? Does the rest of the story fall flat? Feel static? Maybe you need more conflict, just not a lot of the same. Different types of conflict.

Writers: What to Look For in a Sample Edit

Finding the right editor is no easy task. Like writers, editors vary in editing style, approach, and skill. Sample edits are a great way to get to know editors and how they will affect your work.

3 Ways to Create Sympathy for Your Character

By Stacy Melanie Jerger (@ApoideaEdits) Like people, characters make first impressions. Readers will either like or dislike a character immediately. It’s up to writers to sculpt their characters for a desired effect and control the reading experience for their audience. …