Author of Young Adult and Teen Books
When it comes to writer’s block, we have all faced it. That moment where you just stare at a blank canvas unsure what to do next. While having an outline can help with writer’s block, and even planning the writing out itself, sometimes you are just stuck with no way to move forward. There are …
We’ve all done it: Wrote something that never saw the light of day. Often times, as a writer, I begin something and abandon it. Sometimes abandonment comes from lack of interest, story stalling, or even not knowing where to go from where you are. Today’s tip focuses on resurrecting that old piece of writing that …
When I start to write, I like to keep everything neat and organized. In fact, I’ll keep a nice folder with my characters taped into it along with any notes or print outs I’ve had. Even changes to the outline are kept in my folder. At the end of writing, I’ll usually put the publication …
When you begin your writing, it is best to go into it with a plan. Last week I talked about using tropes to help plan, develop, and expand your writing. What I didn’t mention in that article is that you also need to plan it out and outline your writing. This planning stage of outlining …
Tropes, while often discouraged due to their overuse, are something that can be used when planning out your novel or story. Most tropes are things that we see all the time in writing. The damsel in distress. The search for treasure or adventure. The knight in shining armor. These things can be used to plan …
The best tip and advice I’ve ever received (and given to my students) is to read as often as you write. Reading the same genre as you are writing can help ideas flow, whether it is paying attention to how another author develops a character’s arc or how the plot develops. One thing that I’ve …
If you’ve worked hard on your book, you may want the perfect professional book cover. However, sometimes that is a price that is way out of your budget. When I first started out, I had to learn how to utilize Adobe Photoshop to my advantage. It wasn’t exactly perfection, but I did learn over time …
One thing I always tell my students is that if there is no conflict, there is no story. Even the best romances in the world involve some type of conflict. There has to be a problem that the character must overcome in order to grow. If a story is too easy, it’s boring. I can’t …
At the end of the school year, I showed my students a short clip and asked them to notice what they saw. Out of everything that they observed, the one thing differed: the number of mice present. In actuality, there was only one, but many swore that they saw 3 or even 2. It depended …
One of the best writing tips that I received came from James Patterson. He recommends that when you are writing scenes, you have one scene per chapter. Each of your chapters should be a single scene, and when you are planning out your book, you should be able to outline your book easily. The downside …