Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
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”
Confession: I saw The Princess Bride for the first time last weekend. I know, I know, my childhood was lacking. There was only one movie theatre with one tiny screen in my town, and my parents said we were too poor to see movies in a theatre. So yeah. Fast forward 29 years later, and …
Continue reading “The Princess Bride Gender-Swapped!”
Grab your black mask, strap on a sword and beware of Iocane powder. Westley, Buttercup and the rest of the Brute Squad are romancing the blogosphere with THE PRINCESS BRIDE Linkup Party. This weekend blogs everywhere will be sharing their favorite bits and bobs about the movie and the book. You’re invited to take part …
Continue reading “The Princess Bride: A Frame Narrative Worth Studying”
Hello! We are still here and blogging! Alas, Jetpack was giving us trouble and not sending emails to our lovely subscribers. So we thought we’d better recap the last two weeks. First… We’re hosting a Princess Bride Linkup Party! It’s next weekend! Why? Because FUN! And also on September 25th, three decades less a year ago, The …
Continue reading “ICYMI: Emotional MidPoints, Character Name Tricks, + Princess Bride Party!”
For a long time I hated naming my characters. No sooner did I settle on a name and I would realize another book (or three) used the same name. The main reason I got myself into this renaming mess was because I followed some widely accepted writing advice, I used charts of popular baby names …
Continue reading “3 Tricks for Character Names”
This week I’m honing the middle of my WIP, so it’s time to dust off the Archives and refresh my knowledge on a story’s midpoint… Originally posted on Aug. 4, 2014. Updated and reposted on Sept. 5, 2016. Awhile ago I wrote about Mapping the Mushy Middle of a story. This is a plot-centric approach to …
Continue reading “The Hero’s Emotional Midpoint”
If you have pitched a novel in the last few years, chances are you have at least considered using a Twitter event. Pitching a manuscript to agents and editors this way is not without tribulations, and frankly it’s a bit like fishing. You’re casting your best tweet into the teeming waters of the hashtag feed …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: Twitter Fishing for Agents”
Do a quick search for “elevator pitch” on the Internet, and most of the information will say it is a 60-second pitch of yourself or your product (in the case of writers, your book). But seriously, 60 seconds? What elevator takes that long? Unless you do this: Do NOT do this. Or this: After all, …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: The Elevator Pitch”
The dreaded query letter! I think this pitch makes every writer slightly stressed out, and with good reason. It’s 250 words that might change your whole life. No pressure there! But before we get busy talking about some tips, let’s review the two cardinal rules of querying: Rule 1: Never give an agent an easy …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: Query Letters”
The cornerstone of all marketing is the pitch. It is used to sell everything from political candidates to dish soap. I think every writer should know how to pitch, even if they have no interest in working with agents or publishers. Don’t you want to pitch your books to readers? And should you want to …
Continue reading “Pitching 101: Finding Perfect Book Comps”