Ever finished a book and wondered how the author managed to pull it off? It's usually because they were working with a great editor. Hiring an editor isn't like pressing the Easy Button, however. Self-editing your fiction is an invaluable part of the writing process, one that too many aspiring authors are quick to skip … Continue reading How to Self-Edit Your Fiction: 3 Issues to Tackle First
Writing better dialogue doesn't have to be difficult. In fact, you can probably improve upon the dialogue you've already written, no matter how bad it is. Here's a handy cheat sheet to help you spot the signs that your dialogue needs work and write better conversations between your characters. How to Write Better Dialogue For … Continue reading How to Write Better Dialogue
Are your readers struggling to connect with your main character? Filtering language might be the cause. Thankfully, the solution is simple. Keep reading to learn how to make your protagonist more relatable by eliminating nine common words from your draft. How to Make Your Protagonist More Relatable If your readers are having trouble relating to … Continue reading How to Make Your Protagonist More Relatable: Erase 9 Words
This is the first entry in what might become a series of advice articles aimed at newbie authors and indie publishing startups. Today, I'm talking about why you shouldn't proofread a manuscript before you edit it. If anything's a dead giveaway that you're new to this business, it's a sentence like one of these: Looking … Continue reading Advice for New Writers: Don’t Proofread Before You Edit
Back in 2022, Seize the Press! published my first horror story, “Those Who Forget and Those Who Perish.” It’s a short number, but one that got me my first award nod: a nomination for the inaugural Brave New Weird Award. Today, I’m happy to tell you that there’s now an audio version of this twisted … Continue reading Now on Drabblecast: “Those Who Forget and Those Who Perish”