Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
As Heather pointed out in her last post, the second half of 2017 got a bit overwhelming for us. Heather took on a huge workload, five jobs to be exact. And I balance a lot of stuff even in a normal year: work, community volunteering, political activism, one husband, two kids, three cats (one with …
Continue reading “3 Tips for Research Management”
It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to make resolutions, set goals and implement changes in our lives. If you pay attention to trends, you’ll know that the current craze is “decluttering.” This really took off with Marie Kondo’s book The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, and this month there’s a new …
Continue reading “Decluttering Your Writing Process”
For me, one of the hardest things about transitioning from a screenwriter to a novelist is the isolation. Screenwriters always work with other people, especially in the television industry. You’re either in a writing room breaking stories with other writers, or on set talking to the director and crew, or in the office pitching producers …
Continue reading “Writer Struggles: Isolation & Loneliness”
Hannah Givens is always a favorite guest blogger at WriteOnSisters, and we’re thrilled she’s back. If you haven’t already done so, follow her wonderful book blog, power packed with great ideas for reading diverse books and authors. And now, take it away Hannah… I love sticky notes, and I’ve used them to organize my thoughts …
Continue reading “Guest Post: How to Use Scapple”
Happy New Year! Hope you had a wonderful holiday season. We certainly did. We really, really, really needed that break! Heather was all like, “Wake me up when 2016 is over…” And Robin was like, “Yeah, 2016 beat me up pretty bad… but I’m still standing!” Politics aside, 2016 was for me (Heather) a year …
Continue reading “We’re Back! + Writer Career Brainstorming”
Are you entering National Novel Writing Month in November? If you answered yes, the odds are 50/50 you’re doing some planning this month. If not hardcore plotting, at least making notes and brainstorming your story. I’ve done NaNoWriMo and Camp NaNo many times and I’ve won my fair share. For me, planning is the best …
Continue reading “4 Visual Tricks for Writers Who Want To Rock NaNoWriMo”
Ever since I learned the terms “pantser and plotter”, I’ve identified as a plotter (someone who outlines a story before writing a manuscript). To me, sitting down to write a whole book without an outline (i.e. the pantser method) is impossible. And now it’s time for a confession: pantsers make me feel stupid. Why can’t …
Continue reading “Plotters vs Pantsers: Are We Really That Different?”
Writing book reviews is always a hot topic with writers. We realize reviews can make or break book sales, but as reviewers there are times we just can’t offer a glowing recommendation. What then? Do we stay mum? Or write honestly and hope for minimal fallout? Heather and I have always embraced the write-an-honest review …
Continue reading “How to Write Respectful Reviews”
We met today’s guest blogger, Diana Gordon of Part-Time Monster, about three years ago. And we met her through a blog link-up, the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Participating in link-ups (also called blog hops or link parties) is a highly effective blogging tool. It can be the fast-track to building a bigger and …
Continue reading “Guest Post: 9 Easy Steps to Host a Blog Link-Up”
Swag is the term used for the colorful marketing goodies authors give away to promote their books and brand. Swag is a big part of many book promotion packages, and it’s increasingly important in a crowded marketplace because it sends every prospective reader off with a little something to remember the book and author by. …
Continue reading “7 Tips for Better Book Swag”