Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Liz Adams You know how you meet a gorgeous person and you want to ask the important questions right away but feel it’s not proper? Questions like: How many kids do you want? Are you allergic to cats? Will you promise to always be truthful except when I ask you if I look […]
Agatha Christie in 1910 By Melodie Campbell Some readers of Anne’s blog know that I taught fiction writing at college for over 30 years, going back to the early 90s. The dialogue below happened so often in class, I could phone it in. Me to adult male student: “There are no women in your book. […]
Does using the em dash mean you’re a robot? by Anne R. Allen Two weeks ago, we ran a guest post here from a South African entrepreneur named Dr. Jeremy Esekow. It was a thoughtful, balanced report on a contest his company had run with human vs. AI stories. I was not prepared for the […]
Guest Post by Becca Puglisi Fear is a powerful emotion. That makes it an incredibly potent storytelling tool. When characters feel threatened—physically, emotionally, or psychologically—the stakes go up, and suddenly, every choice, reaction, and perception matters. Fear taps into something primal, activating survival instincts in the character and empathy in the reader, creating an […]
GUEST POST by Jeremy Esekow A few months ago, my company, Storywise, ran a writing competition that felt slightly reckless, but completely necessary. We pitted humans against AI storytelling. I came into this from two very personal places. First, as an author. I’ve sent out countless query letters over the years. Most were met with […]
by Anne R. Allen The mistakes new writers make are pretty universal. I’m pretty sure I made all of them. I foisted my fledging work on everybody, my friends, online acquaintances, and even the occasional date. Most were kinder than they needed to be. But I also lost some friends. So here’s what happens […]
By Anne R. Allen This is an updated version of a post from 2023, but there are so many more scammers approaching us now, writers need to be hyper-vigilant. Unfortunately, a lot of new writers often know very little about the publishing industry and how it works, and they’re usually full of hope and […]
By Anne R. Allen The self-publishing boom of the past 15 years has been a gift to the scam community. Authors aren’t the only targets of scams, of course, but we have become easy prey. I used to say there are twice as many scammers making money off of writers as there are writers […]
by Anne R. Allen I recently had a strong reminder of the importance of the first impression. I’m still recovering from my December bout of pneumonia, which put me in the hospital for several days. My recovery from the hospital may take more time than my recovery from pneumonia. Why? Because everybody at the […]
by Anne R. Allen It’s the darkest day of the year. Which means it will get lighter from now until summer. 🙂 Should we try to write through the darkness? Sometimes writing can keep you going through the holidays, but treating the rule “Write Every Day” as if it is set in stone can […]
by Anne R. Allen I’m home from the hospital recovering from pneumonia. But as we come to the final chapter of 2025, I thought I’d post some of my tips from earlier posts on how to end your novel or memoir. If you’re like most writers, you may have trouble getting that final chapter to […]
by Anne R. Allen The AI book marketing scams are proliferating like Tribbles. I’ve probably had more than a thousand emails from them since mid-summer. Like Star Trek’s Tribbles, the emails approach you with warm and fuzzy friendliness. But don’t be fooled. These scammers wouldn’t be so relentless unless this stuff is working. […]
by Anne R. Allen The phrase “what’s my motivation” is a joke in the theater world. I remember rehearsing for a production of Alice in Wonderland when the actor playing the (very minor) role of the Cook, when told to cross the stage when the Duchess enters, yelled out “What’s my motivation” to the […]
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