Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
Most writers don’t naturally possess the best skills for a life of crime. We can’t crack a safe. We don’t have a clue how to forge documents. And we wouldn’t feel comfortable holding a gun, let alone pointing it at another human. That’s why research is often our best friend. The moment I decided to …
Continue reading “Throwing Open the Vault: Tips for Writing a Heist”
Top Ten Tuesday is a blog hop created by the book loving crew at The Broke and The Bookish. Every Tuesday is a different topic and everyone is invited to join in the fun by creating their own top ten list. I’ve joined Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge. This is a read-a-thon geared toward making …
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A little over a year ago I wrote a post called How To Stay Motivated Without Deadlines or Money. In it are seven productivity tips (which I still follow today), but of course not one of them is “set my own deadlines.” Why? I explained: …this is my first time writing a novel and I …
Continue reading “Writers & Productivity: The 7 Deadly Do’s & Don’ts of Deadlines”
If we were having coffee, we wouldn’t be at my house. I don’t have a coffee machine or a French press or even instant coffee. My caffeine of choice is tea, and I have dozens of tasty varieties to choose from in my cupboard, but if you want coffee we’ll meet at one of the …
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ONE OF THE GUYS by Lisa Aldin Publication date: February 10, 2015. It’s out just in time for Valentine’s Day. The Story: Tomboy, Toni Valentine, would take horror movies, monster hunts and burping contests with her three male best friends, Lock, Cowboy and Ollie, over high heels and makeup any day. But when a summer …
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This is another installment in our “financial tips for writers” series. You can read our last post on crowdfunding here. This post features practical tips for winning grants and writer-in-residency scholarships. There are few revenue streams open to unpublished writers. Grants and fee wavers should be one of the first lines of inquiry for struggling …
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Like many writers, my new year’s resolutions revolve around being more productive during my writing time. And for some people, just setting their minds to this seems to make it happen. Not me! A few days into 2015, nothing had changed. I was still spending too much time daydreaming (a problem I blogged about here) …
Continue reading “Writers & Productivity: Do you need an Internet Blocker?”
If we were having coffee, I’d invite you into my garden. You’d pause, considering the wisdom of my offer, but I’d assure you that even though it’s January, I’m still (sadly) snow-free. Towering evergreen trees surround us and scent the air. I cut some camellia buds to decorate the patio table. Being a good host, …
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INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher This fantasy novel was recommended to my son (just turned 13) and since I’d never read it, we decided to do a Mother/Son review. The synopsis: Trapped without any memories of how he got there, Finn is stuck inside a vast, living prison called Incarceron. Plagued by fragmented visions of his …
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As we head into Week three of 2015, I’ve seen many writers talking about their yearly goals and most have included a publishing benchmark on the list. Some are looking to become the next big Indie success story and chasing that publishing dream may require more money than these writers initially expected. Believe it or …
Continue reading “6 Tips for Author Crowdfunding”