I know I’ve said this before, the old saying, don’t judge a book by it’s cover, but we still do. The cover is the first impression a reader gets. Does it convey the genre, what the story might be about, Read more…
It’s all been building toward this, Act III. Where all the setups payoff, characters have overcome their internal/external issues to solve the big problem in front of them, and where they plan live out the rest of their lives in Read more…
Well, this year has disappeared before my very eyes. Catching up on my reading goals as best I can, as I fell off the bandwagon for a bit while I figured out how to promote my own book. I’m back Read more…
Act II was/can be a scary act, for me at least. It’s the heaviest, beefiest of the three acts and can either drag a story down, bringing it to a grinding halt, or it can raise the stakes and tension Read more…
Photo Credit: John Stoke, 2014, Green Bank Observatory Flickr Setting in any story is, or should be, just as important as any character. It may not have motivations and goals like a character (or maybe it can?), but it can Read more…
As I switch gears back into prep for book two, I recently revisited my writing reference crutch, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. There are plenty of books about writing, story structure, and methodologies for turning your idea into a Read more…
I’m not having it right now. Not yet at least. Right now, I’m being lazy and procrastinating or finding some other task to do instead of writing. Maybe I’m doing that because I actually don’t know what to write? Shit, Read more…
One of the key elements of creating compelling characters is finding their motivation. Whether it be internal, external and/or both (ideally), character motivations are what drive them to make decisions about the obstacles thrown at them. This creates conflict which Read more…
I’m very behind on my goal of a book a week but made up some ground in July, August not so much. Another mixed month of sci-fi and detectives. My favorite combo. Anyways, September is around the corner, I’ll see Read more…
So you wrote and launched a book, great! But does anyone know about it? I launched HOST on 08.01.23, it’s crazy to think it’s been out for almost a month already, and I feel like the work is just getting Read more…