Research – Page 2

Why I Do Book Challenges

I’ve seen a lot of people wondering about book challenges, so I thought I’d cover the benefits of a big book challenge and why I do them!

Villains – Make Them Good or Make Them Gone

These characters are the lens through which a tale is told, and who they are–and how well the author knows them– directly influences that story. You’d be hard pressed to find a writer who didn’t understand the importance of heroes and heroines.

The same can’t always be said of the villains, however.

Find Your Tribe

Because there is a fine line between being alone to write and being lonely.

Runaway Writer

Because I am a mad scientist writer with my hand in several pots all at the same time, I need to be organized. Really freaking organized.

Seven Ways to Get Back Up After That Really Hard Rejection

So how do we get back up one more time than we are pushed down? Well, after too many rejection letters and setbacks to count, I’ve found a few good tips and tricks to standing a little bit taller.

House on the Hill

This house, specifically, has called to my baser self for over a year. What does that have to do with writing? Everything.

My Achilles Heels

There’s a reason they say write drunk, edit sober. Your inhibitions should be down while you’re writing and doubled while you’re editing.

Psh.

13 Stages of Writing a Novel

Be a writer, they said. It will be easy, they said.

So Where Do the Stories Come From, I Wonder

I do not have a half-naked Greek Goddess of muse and creativity lying across my bed. Inspiration doesn’t work like that.

Conflict, Inside and Out

External conflict on its own rarely stands up as being big enough, emotional enough or important enough. Yes, external factors are important in keeping a story moving, but internal factors are the driving force behind character arc and development, and our pathways to making two-dimensional, imaginary characters human. Real.