Straight talk from the sisters about blood, sweat and ink
I’ve been working on my current novel since May. Back then it was a vague one-sentence idea. I wrote about four beat sheets a month, feeling out the story and figuring out how to shape it. In October I started outlining, and as I outlined I’d find problems and head back to the beat sheet …
Continue reading “Write, Revise & Repeat – Are You Stuck in a Rut?”
< p class=”MsoNormal”>Today the Sisters share a happy occasion, we cross the 100-post finish line. Since we only started the blog last summer, we didn’t expect to get here so fast. Or to have so much fun during the journey. Plus, we learned a lot, and shared what we learned at each step with our …
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I always have a pile of books on my bedside table. This month in particular I checked out more books from the library than I had time to read. At one point the pile was twelve high! Craziness! How could I possibly read them all? Well, since I have a job and stuff I’m trying …
Continue reading “Reading For Writers 101: Books I Did Not Finish… 3+ Reasons Why”
Working in TV again has reminded me that I write well under the pressure of a deadline. Deadlines force me to stop procrastinating. Deadlines make me write faster. Deadlines keep me off the internet! But what if you have no real deadlines? When story editors, producers and broadcasters are all expecting a script from me …
Continue reading “4 Tricks to Make & Meet Deadlines”
Great books inspire great writing. Without further ado, the novels that push me to be my creative best… SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson This is the first YA book I ever bought. I read it yeeeeeears ago, when I was about 22. Though I can’t remember the details, I do remember the issue and …
Continue reading “Friday Inspiration: Seven YA Books that Inspire Me to Write Better”
If you’ve read my first post, you’ll know I’m a screenwriter who took 2013 off from a career penning cartoons to write a novel. Now it’s 2014 and I’m back in the TV biz writing on a super fun animation show. Not that I’m shelving the novel, no way! I’ll still work on it in …
Continue reading “Screenwriter Tip for Novelists – Pitch Before You Write”
For most people, holidays mean spending time with friends and family, and not going to work. It’s pretty simple if you commute – when you’re not at your place of employment, you’re not working. But for writers, the workplace is anywhere we have a pen and paper or a laptop or a functioning brain. In …
Continue reading “How Writers Do Holidays”
I read a lot. And since I’m a writer, reading isn’t just entertainment, it’s instructional. I learn from every book, whether good, bad or middling. Because of this, I’ve decided to start a blog series called “Reading For Writers 101” about all the writerly things one can learn from reading books. Today’s lesson: Book Jackets …
Continue reading “Reading For Writers 101: What Book Jackets Teach About A Story’s “Hook””
‘Tis the holiday season, which means you will probably find yourself at lots of social functions making small talk. This will inevitably lead to someone asking what your book is about. And you’ll hesitate, wondering how to sum up the intricate plot, the fantastical world, and the character’s monumental journey in less than an hour, …
Continue reading “How to Write a Logline”
A little backstory on me… I have not worked a regular, paying job this past year. I used my savings to quit everything and just write a novel. I’ve had many friends ask me how I stay motivated without the threat of deadlines or reward of money. This is how I do it… 1) Schedule. …
Continue reading “How To Stay Motivated Without Deadlines or Money”