Worldbuilding: How Much is too Much?
There is no such thing as too much worldbuilding. The greater the depth of the author’s knowledge of the setting of their book, the better. …
writing advice
Em Dashes, Semicolons, and Other Less Used Punctuation
Once you get past the basics, punctuation starts to get weird. That’s because a lot of the less used punctuation are more about personal preference …
The Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey is a story structure based on Joseph Campbell’s seminal work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, where he lays out the commonalities …
Genres for the Independent Author
Genres are a fascinating part of the writing profession. They mean nothing and everything; they are both limiting and freeing; they are arbiters and arbitrary …
Signaling Your Genre from the Start
If you’re an independent author, you’ve probably done a lot of work on your title, blurb, and cover. Don’t screw it all up with the …
Writing Action
I am going to get right to the point and tell you the secret of writing action scenes: It’s not about the action. Like everything …
Simplicity
“The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity.” Walt Whitman Way back when I was …
What to Do When the Writing Won’t Work
Sometimes the writing just won’t work. The words won’t come, or they’re all wrong when they do. Even if you manage to type something, you …
Plotters vs. Pantsers
In the eternal debate about what is the best way to write, two terms have come into common usage: plotter and pantser. Plotters are the …
Writing that Resonates
Resonate. It’s the word I use most often when talking about writing. But what does it really mean? Take the word home. The dictionary definition …