How to end a story is an important skill for writers to master. Tips for How to End a Story When authors fail to create successful story resolutions, it’s often because of one of three reasons. Resolution doesn’t reflect story goal The first is a resolution that does not reflect the protagonist’s efforts to reach…
A question I’m often asked by writers is if moving from nonfiction to fiction is even possible. As a story development editor, I have had a number of coaching clients over the years and almost all of them have been established nonfiction writers who are honing their fiction-writing skills. So, you can imagine their most…
One of the challenges writers often face without realizing they’re facing it is the challenge of trying to write a story without understanding your framework for writers to evaluate the success of that story. By this I mean, how do you know if you’re on the right track? How do you know if your work…
Let’s talk about the two biggest publishing mistakes writers make that I actually see over and over again. Are you making these mistakes? Publish Mistakes Writers Make: The 2 Biggest In my many years as a book author, agent, and editor, I’ve met thousands of writers, professional and aspiring, and it has struck me that…
I want to share some self-editing tips for fiction writers to help you fix issues in your novel before you hand it off to an editor. Self-editing Tips for Fiction Writers – Common Problems & Solutions As a developmental editor, I see some common problems in manuscripts written by newer authors. If you’re revising (self-editing)…
How do you get the support you need as a writer? Well, here’s how to know when it’s not the support you need. Get the Support You Need: A Little Horror Story When I was an acquisitions editor, I heard from an author who wanted to pull her book from publication because her friends had…
As an author submitting queries, you may end up wondering what to do with literary agent feedback. Do you blindly accept it, completely reject it, or maybe meet somewhere in the middle? Have You Received Literary Agent Feedback? A while ago, an author came to me with a conundrum. He’d written a slow-burning psychological thriller…
Do you struggle with not taking rejection personally? Let me share some thoughts… An online writers’ group I belong to recently had a discussion about saying no – how to do it, how to mean it, how to deal with people who try to negotiate after you’ve already said no, and so on. That got me…
Writers need to know how to grab readers’ attention, and I have a few thoughts on this. Give your novel its best shot. Few readers will read beyond ten or fifteen pages if a novel doesn’t engage them. Agents and editors—even if interested in the manuscript—almost never go beyond thirty or forty pages before finding…
Writers’ Topic: Character Inspiration Can writers get character inspiration from other writers? Using an existing character can be a good jumping off point to a new character. A student once asked, “I often find B characters in novels more interesting than the leads, yet they’re never fully developed (hence the B aspect). I wonder if…