Analyze Your Short Stories In my post “Writers Should Start Short and Then Go Long,” I talked about the benefits of writing short stories. I’ve catalogued mine and analyzed them. You should analyze your short stories too. Here Are My Results So far, I’ve written 23 short stories (plus one that turned into a novella). […]
The easiest way to build your author brand is to consistently publish the same type of content I remember when I started taking writing seriously. I moved from simply writing to being a writer. The shift was huge. I had so much to learn about the industry (and I still do). Of the many surprises, […]
Last week we discussed “Why Writers Should Follow the Rules of Writing.” Now we’ll focus on reader expectations. When readers consider our writing, they have a set of expectations—whether they realize it or not. If we don’t meet their expectations, they will stop reading. If we fail miserably, they may never read anything else we […]
Most jobs include vacation time, usually starting at two weeks a year and going up from there. Though I’ve never been a fan of taking a two-week trip, I used to look forward to those vacation days off from work to have a break, catch up on personal projects, and make shorter vacation-like excursions. However, […]
Although I resisted it for months, I recently immersed myself in a Young Adult book, a romance, no less: Ditched: A Love Story, by Robin Mellom. I poured over it with can’t-put-it-down abandon. I read it in two days. When I finished reading it, the next thing I did was read it again. I enjoyed […]
I sometimes submit my work to writing contests. And I sometimes wonder why. Though I want to win, I don’t really expect to. This isn’t self-deprecating; it’s realistic: I write nonfiction and most of the contests I enter are for fiction. So why do I do it? To Stretch Myself: Many of the contests I […]
A friend asked what to look for in finding someone to critique her work. If you are looking for feedback on bits and pieces of your work in progress (WIP) or various writings, most established critique groups should be a fine fit. However, critique groups are not well suited to provide a critical review of […]
In last week’s post, I pointed out the value and importance of reading in order to become a better writer. The question then becomes, What should I read?