Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen We get lots of questions from new writers who have spent time in forums and online writers’ groups where they’ve been given advice by other newbies. Some of that advice is fine, but a whole lot is dead wrong. Unfortunately, the wrong stuff is usually delivered with the most certainty. […]
Most writers know we require editors. The need for editing is drummed into us from the time we venture into our first writing class, blog, or forum. We know if we’re offered a contract, we’ll be assigned an in-house editor, and if we self-publish, we’ll want to hire a freelancer.These days, agents do a lot […]
by Anne R. Allen I often run into new writers who want to be reassured they have talent. They sometimes ask me to read some fledgling work in hopes I’ll pronounce them “talented.”I always decline. (A wise author never goes there.) It’s not simply that I can’t fit one more thing into my already […]
by Anne R. Allen We’ve all met those people who think their sojourn on earth is meant to be a fault-finding mission. They can spot lint on your jacket at fifty paces, provide a litany of your imperfections whenever there’s a lull in the conversation, and be counted upon to tell you why your pumpkin […]
by Anne R. Allen Everybody tells us that to succeed as writers in the e-age, we need to be active in social media. And once we get the hang of it, most of us find it a lot of fun. Cyberspace can feel like a big old playground for writers. Look! I can type […]
by Anne R. Allen Let’s Face it: Getting Reviews is Tough Whether we’re newbies or superstars, traditional or self-publishers, pretty much all authors stress about reviews: getting them…and surviving them. From the time our first book launches, we’re told our number one job is to get reviewed. We send out ARCs, desperately query book bloggers […]
by Anne R. Allen Beginning novelists are like Tolstoy’s happy families. They tend to be remarkably alike. Certain mistakes are common to almost all beginners. These things aren’t necessarily wrong, but they are difficult to do well—and get in the way of smooth storytelling They also make it easy for professionals—and a lot […]
by Anne R. Allen Jon Stewart said on The Daily Show on August 27, (with heavy irony, of course) “Everybody uses Social Media as a weapon; that’s what it’s for.” He was, as usual, uttering spot-on truth disguised as a joke. Lots of people DO seem to use social media as a weapon, whether it’s […]
by Anne R. Allen It’s been an exciting week for the blog. Marketing expert Penny Sansevieri named us to the Top 30 Websites for Indies and blog guru Molly Greene named us to her list of must-read “leaders” in self-publishing. (I’m only recently self-published—and most of my work is still with a small press—but […]
by Anne R. Allen New writers contact us every day, asking questions about everything from how to start their first short story (answer: butt in chair; hands on keyboard) to how to deal with trolls and bullies (don’t respond; walk away; report abuse.)We answer them all—as time permits—but there’s one kind of writer we […]
by Anne R. Allen You can learn all you want about writing powerful prose, well-planned story arcs, lyrical descriptions—or any other aspect of fiction—but if you don’t have a protagonist your readers care about, none of the rest matters.I don’t think it’s terribly relevant to talk about character “likability” in the sense of “niceness.” The […]
This week we’re proud to host author and editor Jami Gold, fresh from her role as a presenter at the RWA conference in San Antonio. If you missed the conference, Jami’s posts on the highlights of the annual Romance Writers Association event are fascinating. You’ll find them on her blog at JamiGold, Paranormal Author. Jami’s blog is […]
by Anne R. Allen I generally advise new writers to join a critique group or participate in writing workshops. Getting feedback on your own writing and discovering what works—and what doesn’t—in other writers’ WIPs provides an education you can’t get from simply reading craft books, blogs, or listening to lectures. And I’m not the […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris