“Everything you look at can become a fairy tale and you can get a story from everything you touch.” (Hans Christian Andersen) Inspiration can truly come from anything, if we leave ourselves open to it. Anything you see, hear, smell, taste, feel, or dream could become part of the story that you’re writing—or maybe the…
This month I hosted my 78th interview for Hear Us Roar where my guests are debut authors of women’s fiction, so it’s a perfect time to share some tips from the last 2+ years about using this medium as part of your book marketing package. As of February 2021, there are 1.75 million podcasts out…
Want to see a writer blanch? Whisper the words “pitch session” into their ear. Just make sure you catch them on their way to the floor when their knees buckle. What is this feared thing? A pitch session is your 10-minute opportunity to talk one-on-one with that most elusive of creatures: an agent or editor….
In the Beginning Due to the pandemic, numerous regional writing groups, long accustomed to physically gathering to attend live presentations or reviews, have morphed into online critique groups. Members of an at-large writing group in Utah have been participating in online critique sessions for eight years. When the chapter first began using email to exchange…
Less than a month from my book deadline and I am floundering—flailing wildly like a proverbial fish out of water. I’m an intuitive writer and right now, my intuition tells me that both my hero and heroine lack agency and their internal conflicts have been too easily resolved. The pace of the book drags and…