Regency romance, romantic mysteries, & writing tips too.
In a recent writers’ group meeting, we discussed writing fiction, as we often do. A topic came up which intrigued me. I know that I often overlook this simple, but very important element. Writing fiction: is your novel or short story unbalanced? One writer in the group said: “I want to talk about pacing. I’m … Read more
You’d love to write, but you can’t imagine spending months on a novel. Why not write short fiction? Not only will short stories improve your writing skills, they’ll also build your readership. You can write and self-publish a short story as soon as you’ve edited it. Alternatively, you can wait. When you a have a … Read more
It’s time to rewrite your novel. In a recent writers’ group meeting, we discussed the benefits and perils of rewriting. Many authors enjoy their rewrites, because the hard work is done. They know they have a story, they just need shape it into the perfect reader-worthy novel for their genre. That said, rewriting can be … Read more
Last year, several of our writers’ group gatherings focused on writing suspenseful fiction. A member triggered this topic when she complained about feeling tired all day: “I stayed up until 2:30 this morning, finishing a novel. I thought why? Then I started wondering how I could write like that.” When we discussed books which hooked … Read more
Unmotivated? What if you could write anyway, no matter how you feel? Here’s a simple (but weird, sort of) strategy. Firstly, how did I hear about this? In a recent meeting of our writers’ group, we talked about how challenging writing can be if you’re unmotivated. Write anyway, even if you’re unmotivated… But what if … Read more
If you’re writing fiction, you’ll struggle with translating the story in your head onto the page. Use scenes to make this process easier. You may be wondering… What’s a scene? In brief, a scene is action, which happens in real time, on the page. A scene is showing the reader, rather than telling him. Much … Read more