Regency romance, romantic mysteries, & writing tips too.
Do you have a stash of blank notebooks? I didn’t realize that stationery hoarding was a thing, until one of our writers’ group members complained that she had over 100 blank notebooks. It turns out that several of us had a similar problem, so we discussed ideas for filling our journals. I’ve got enough blank … 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
You’re looking for book marketing ideas. Although social media can seem like a no-brainer—you’ve got to get the news out about your book—it’s also a time sink. How do you promote your book without wasting hours on social media? Start with a strategy. Last year, when we discussed social media at our writers’ group, just … Read more
Do you write fiction? If you do, you know that there are 1001 (and more) things you need to remember. Not only character names, but their personalities, their histories, and how they fit into your plot. Or how they create your plot. Over the years, I’ve used software and various writing apps to track all … Read more