Honest Feedback

One of the most important skills that a writer can learn is how to provide effective feedback. If you want your writing to climb out of interns’ slush piles and into the hands of editors, or even if your stories are ready to become great rather than merely acceptable, you will need to show them […]

Writing 101: Description

To celebrate the launch of my new editing venture, I’m writing a new series of blog posts that take us back to basics. These are the fundamentals of writing, the things you need to know before you’re ready to publish. DESCRIPTION For many new writers, and even some experienced writers, description is the bane of […]

Finish the Story Grand Opening Special: FREE First Chapter Edit

This week is the Grand Opening of Finish the Story. I’ll be working alongside Claire Ashgrove and Dennis Young, two fantastic fellow authors/editors, to offer a greater variety of services than I could on my own. We are a full-service editing company, which means we strive to help you prepare for publication no matter where […]

Universe of Creativity: A Writer’s Affirmation

Oh universe of creativity, of light and life that dwells in me. I see you out there vast and strong, as curious as time is long. Through me you’ll find a willing heart to think and dream and do my part. I’m a writer through and through; my words are my gift to you. I […]

Keeping Secrets in Romance

I’ve written more than one blog article on the dangers of withholding information from the reader. If the point of view character knows something that the reader does not, the story keeps the reader at a distance and they can’t properly connect to the characters or events. (Please note, the reader doesn’t need to know […]

The Quest for the Three Magic Words

Put simply, the quest for the three magic words is an irksome phenomenon I’ve witnessed in novels with a strong romantic component, characterized by the stubborn refusal to say the words, “I love you.” In a broad sense, the goal of any HEA romance is for the characters to fall in love, and often the […]

The Omniscient Narrator Must Flow

  The fully omniscient narrator who sees all and knows all is out of style these days, but the perspective is rooted in a proud, long-standing history of classic literature. A fully omniscient narrator has no limits and no boundaries – you can use him freely not just to jump from one person’s thoughts to […]

T-Minus 2 Days to Madison’s Song

Pre-Laucn Jitters Two more days to the ebook launch of Madison’s Song and I’m just about useless! This is my seventh book release. Seven. And I still get sooooooo nervous when I’m about to put my book out there. Some part of me feels like I should be more sophisticated by now, taking these things […]

Characterization: Choosing a Name

When it comes time to choose names for your characters, there are plenty of strategies you might use: baby names books, Internet searches, random name generators, sitting in a crowded restaurant and writing down the first name you hear … Most of these strategies are fine, especially for characters of secondary importance, but when it […]

Life Cycle of a Novel: Slow and Steady

There are a lot of approaches to writing a rough draft. Some do it in spurts, writing tends of thousands of words in a few days. I’m more of a slow and steady kind of writer. I set measured weekly goals that I break down into daily goals — although if I’m on a roll […]