Hi Folks, More and more often recently, I’m being asked about ghostwriters. Why to hire one, and why not to hire one. So I put together this handy list for you. When folks ask me why I recommend hiring a ghostwriter, my first answer is always this: First and foremost, a professional ghostwriter is a professional writer. When we want something done right, we employ someone who’s already mastered the learning curve. Hiring a professional always … Read more
Hey Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 5/20/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. A correspondent on a ListServ I used to attend regularly wrote that she was searching for the name of “a bit of editing software that would highlight all adverbs if you typed search adverbs or all verbs if you typed search verbs.” Hackles rose on … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 5/12/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. Odd… I think I’ve never written a post on Creating Realistic Characters. I taught a seminar on the subject [in May 2013] in Bisbee, and I taught the same seminar in Tucson in February. Attendance was low on that one—meaning the market’s saturated—so I probably … Read more
Hi Folks, Note: This post was originally scheduled for 4/10/2013. It didn’t post to MailChimp, so I’m posting it again now. I’ve revised the original post so it’s up to date. I think all of us can agree that being a writer is a wonderful, if sometimes exasperating, predicament. For writers, especially if we must pursue a day job in order to enable our writing habit, there really is nothing like making the time to sit … Read more
Hi Folks, This morning as I conducted some routine maintenance on my website, I got curious. I checked the “Uncategorized” posts. Those marked Uncategorized were not sent to any list by MailChimp. Not even the Pro Writers blog, for which I wrote them. I found forty-three such posts, all of which should have gone to the Pro Writers list. So I’m beginning the arduous process of perusing, updating and rescheduling those posts. Those that are still … Read more
Hi Folks, If you are fortunate enough that a professional writer who is much farther down the road happens to offer a critique of your work (most won’t, and I don’t), consider carefully what he or she has to say. Then decide whether to apply it to your own work. Apply it or discard it. Up to you. However, if you receive any free critique of your writing from anyone else, my advice is to nod, … Read more
Hi Folks, I first heard the term “jagged edge” (as applicable to writing) used by SF author CJ Cherryh at Eastern NMU in Portales NM. She was talking about writers’ block and how to conquer it. (This technique works well when writing any genre of fiction, not only SF.) If you’re still at the stage where the blank page is intimidating, or if you “get stuck” when you come back to your WIP after time away … Read more
Hey Folks, Are you a reader? A writer? If you’re either or both, it’s time to STOCK UP ON SUMMER READING. ALL 200+ of my titles are On Sale for the entire month of July at 75% off at Smashwords. And yeah, other people’s titles are on sale too. (grin) 75% off means all of my short stories are FREE there. I write across all genres and in several voices. You’re sure to find something you … Read more
This is a topic of the day from my Daily Journal yesterday. I’m considering moving the Daily Journal over here and posting it to my Pro Writers list every day. If you’re reading this, you’re on that list. Anyway, here’s a topic of the day for you. Story Starters, Openings and How to Write Fiction One person asked me in an email yesterday where I get ideas and how I can move from story to story. … Read more
Hi Folks, Because many of you still haven’t made the switch to my Daily Journal, I decided to post this over here as well. This is for you, not me. Workshop Report I finally watched and listened to the Week 1 videos from Dean Wesley Smith’s Teams in Fiction workshop at about 6:30 last night. I expected them to be bland and boring in the first week. Nature of the beast. In the first week, because … Read more