Whether or not we care to admit it, much of what we do as writers is manipulation. With careful characterization, we manipulate readers into believing the characters lived before the book began and continue living long afterward. We create settings they long to escape to and plots that keep them wrapped up until long past […]
July 21, 2017 by 8 Comments Marketing Your Novel12 Tips for Writing and Releasing Collaborative Book Bundles
Book bundles are a fantastic way to expand your platform and your writing opportunities. I have collaborated with other authors on five difficult book bundles—and have at least two more in the works. The first collection, Thirty-One Devotions for Authors, included—you guessed it—thirty-one authors, ranging from some of the most well-known among Christian authors to […]
October 21, 2015 by 44 Comments Outlining Your NovelThinking About Outlining Your Novel? One Pantser’s Story
I’m a seat-of-the-pants writer. I’ve been at this business professionally for over a decade now, and every single one of my manuscripts–published or not–has been written one scene at a time, with no more guideline than a general knowledge of structure. For years, Katie and I have been on the opposite ends of the spectrum […]
June 11, 2014 by 97 Comments Point of View3 Ways You Can Use a First-Person Narrator to Tell a Better Story
Using a first-person narrator is tricky and should be attempted only by the most experienced hand. In-house editors know this, which is why they no doubt cringed when they saw the opening chapter of my new release The Cat Lady’s Secret. Not only is it in first-person, it’s in present tense. To make matters worse (to make […]
February 24, 2012 by 24 Comments Chapter BreaksDon’t Tie Off Your Scenes With a Ribbon
Cliffhangers. Even cooking shows do ’em nowadays. Ever watched Chopped? Just as Ted Allen’s lifting the cloche to reveal the dish that failed the round, Food Network jumps to a commercial. And you have to watch. No way you can go through the rest of the night without knowing who made the best appetizer out […]
