Every writer has a preferred genre to write in whether it is Fantasy, Literary Fiction, YA Adventure or a myriad of others. I also believe that every writer has a genre that they avoid like the plague. It might be Romance (eww, mushy stuff) or Westerns (hate horses and cowboys) or Horror (afraid of being afraid). Whatever it is, most writers, myself included, would never dream of venturing into those forbidden areas. I should say, I used to be one of those writers. For me there used to be several “Forbidden” genres. I would never consider horror or YA or erotica. They weren’t my bag, so to speak. In one case in particular (YA), I’m ashamed to say I thought […]
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The Excitement of a New Story
If you are a writer, chances are you know how necessary, and painful, editing your work can be. You finish writing your newest masterwork and all you want to do is get it out to an adoring audience. But you know that there is still work to be done and so you go through it over and over (and over again). By the time you think it might be good enough to go to an agent or publisher you are thoroughly sick of it. You might even be tired of writing. Sound familiar? But what about all those other stories flitting through your mind? The first thing you should remember is that it isn’t the writing that you are tired […]
Read moreDon’t be Afraid to Help
Anyone who has ever tried to get his/her work in print knows how tough (virtually impossible?) it is to do. Publishers and agents are inundated with dozens/hundreds of submissions every month; how can they possibly separate the wheat from the chaff? I’ve heard many times that a manuscript must be truly exceptional to be considered. That raises the question for me, how many first books fit that description? Often the reason an author’s second book is better than the first is because the author has had the chance to go through the editing process. Without the first book you as an author may never get the second book chance. Granted, you can always hire an editor to work through the book with […]
Read moreKeeping Your Character’s Voice Consistent
You have a character in your head who is clamoring to get out. You already know his or her entire backstory: where he/she was born, who were the parents, first loves, first broken bone, etc. etc. You also know how the character should grow during the story. So far so good. Then you start to write and the character ‘magically’ goes from being a hard-headed bitch (substitute bastard for a guy if you like) to someone who gets all emotional over the smallest thing. And it all happens in a few short chapters. Maybe even in a few paragraphs. Sound familiar? It happened to me in my book “The Goddess Renewed”. One of my protagonists, Paena (female, in case you’re […]
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