How to Build and Manage a Book Launch Team

Whew. Yesterday, I launched my novel, Surviving Death. The launch went well, the book became a #1 New Release on Amazon, and it wouldn’t have been so successful without my book launch team. They were awesome helping me spread the word about my book! How do you build a book launch team? Today I’m going to share some strategies that I used with the...

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How to Write a Transformation Story

One of the foremost reasons people read is to experience a character’s arc of change, their transformation, in other words, and transformation stories are among the most powerful and popular in literature and film. That’s because the human experience is all about change. Each of us is a work in progress—growing, changing our perceptions and how we...

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Two Steps to Fix Flat Characters Using Voice and Personality

You have created a character. You’ve named them and given them a colorful past, as well as lots of fun personality traits. Your character steps into your story . . . and suddenly you find that they’ve fallen flat. They’re boring. Those personality traits you meticulously picked out for them just aren’t showing up. Your character goes through the...

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Justin Boote on Becoming a Writer Without a Degree in Writing

Do you want to be a writer but are hesitant to try because you haven’t taken any writing classes? Wondering if you need to have a degree in order to write? Guess what? You don’t have to have a writing education to be a writer. I don’t have one and have been published dozens of times. And today’s interviewee is the same way. Read Justin Boote’s...

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How to Use Snappy Zingers to Write Effective Dialogue

Dialogue is an essential part of storytelling. We all know our characters speak to express themselves, and effective dialogue says a lot more than just the information conveyed—it also shows your character’s personality, range of knowledge, and their current state in the story. But do you find that your characters sometimes drone on and on without...

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How to Start Writing Again When You Haven’t in a While

If you’ve taken some time off from writing, whether that be a week or a year, we’ve got some tips to help you get writing again! There are so many reasons to NOT write. Life happens. There are new jobs, new babies, new houses. There’s an increased workload at work, a major house project, a mental block. There are a ton of things that might get...

Aug 2020

4 Grammar Myths You Can Ignore

You just want to tell a story in the best way you know how. You work hard to express yourself, observing the rules of grammar you’ve been taught. But what if those rules aren’t really rules? Sometimes, well-meaning teachers and mentors pass on bits of scholarly wisdom based on misconceptions. Often, we try following these rules when breaking them...

Aug 2020

How to Use Vivid Verbs to Bring Your Scenes to Life

This guest post is by J.D. Edwin. J. D. is a daydreamer and writer of fiction both long and short, usually in soft sci-fi or urban fantasy. Sign up for her newsletter for free articles on the writer life and updates on her novel, or read one of her many short stories on Short Fiction Break literary magazine. We’ve all been taught to “show not tell”...

Aug 2020

The Writer’s Guide to Beta Readers: How to Deal With Beta Reader Feedback

In this final post in our Writer’s Guide to Beta Readers, we’ll talk about how to deal with all the great feedback you’ve gotten from your beta readers! If you don’t know what a beta reader is, jump back to the first post in this series to find out. The previous post also gave the answers to burning questions about whether you pay beta readers, the...

Aug 2020

5 Writing Contest Strategies to Improve Your Winning Chances

This guest post is by Demi LeJeune. Demi is a writer of near and far future Science Fiction blended with a dash of Thriller and a lot of character. His aim is to send readers on what-if escapist adventures. Find out more on his website at demilejeune.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter (@DemiAuthor). Fear, anticipation, and self-doubt are just...

Aug 2020