How to Plan a Book Blog Tour Book blog tours are a fun way to get the word out about your upcoming book and you as an author. It can be fun, that is, if you plan ahead and stay on schedule. The more planning you put behind a book blog tour, the more you […]
Discovery writing can be fun, and there is a certain enticement to the idea of telling yourself the story for the first time at the same time as you write it for your audience. But if you are having trouble finishing projects, or you want to boost your productivity to finish projects faster you really […]
Sometimes I have an idea for a piece of writing (the topic for a blog post, for instance, or the main character relationships for a short story) but then I get stuck on developing the meat of the idea. It’s like – I know the idea is there in my brain. I had an idea […]
I’ve talked before about the power of What If questions when it comes to creativity. What I want to talk about today is related: the power of making lists. Lists force you to move past the first idea that pops into your head in answer to a What If question. When I get stuck, I […]
When I start talking about literary devices in my writing classes, the discussion inevitably comes around to whether or not the authors of various works were using them intentionally – or if these literary effects came about by accident. I believe that it is a combination of both: often I don’t see that something has […]
In real life, we resist change. But our characters get pushed to change by the plot. Some characters embrace change, and are more than ready to undertake a hero’s journey. Typically, though, protagonists don’t like change – especially difficult, painful change — any more than you do. But you have to ignore their protests and […]
We have Bud Humble as our guest speaker for Saturday Night Write on March 16, 2019. So I thought I’d invite him to stop by the blog. He will be discussing The Benefits of Hands-On Research. So here’s what I asked Bud: Hi Bud! Hey Amber! Thank you for chatting with me today! It’s my […]
Part of worldbuilding – whether you are writing an epic Sci-Fi story or a quiet romance – comes down to designing people. Everyone is shaped by their surroundings, be they a small town in Montana or the confines of a space station. Clothing, customs, economic structures – all of these were designed by people for […]
Blog Post – Poetic Technique for Prose Writers I love language. The sound of words. The way a pause can imply a character taking a breath. The way a strong image can stay with you for days. The fact that I as a writer can tell you how my character feels inside, and if I […]
Character agency refers to a character’s ability to make decisions that affect the outcome of a story. But it also refers to a character’s freedom to be themselves in the story world. They’re going to want to walk their own path, wherever that leads them. It’s possible for you as an author to violate a […]
