Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Ruth Harris No two ways about it, writers: you ARE going to suffer. How do I know? Because I’m a writer and all of these things—or variations of them—have happened to me. You will get one-star reviews. Your book will be rejected by the editor who “loves” you and your work. The hotshot […]
by Ruth Harris Every writer has (at least) one— The trunk book The published bestseller to which the rights have reverted but which is showing its age The half-finished book, the abandoned book, the book—published or not—that fizzled The manuscript languishing on a hard drive or gathering dust under your bed The aargh draft aka […]
by Ruth Harris I’ve known and worked with a lot of professional writers over the years (decades). Some work first thing in the AM, others in the PM, some don’t get started until near midnight. Some write sober, some don’t. Some write on a computer, some on legal pads, and some write on tablets or […]
by Ruth Harris I’m an Amazon #1 and million-copy NYT bestselling author published by Random House, Simon & Schuster and St. Martin’s. I was also an editor for over 20 years. I worked at Macmillan, Dell and Bantam and for a small but thriving independent paperback house, now defunct—not because of me. 🙂 I was also […]
by Ruth Harris Good guy/gal or bad guy/gal, the super spy, the nutcase, the grunt who saves his battalion, the alcoholic teacher who can’t save herself but rescues her class from a typhoon, the jihadist with a heart of gold, the whore with a heart of coal, the psychotic, psychopathic, and just plain psychic […]
by Ruth Harris As Anne and I looked back at the blog for the past year, a portrait emerged highlighting the themes and subjects that interested you most. We were intrigued by these clues about what was on our readers’ minds in 2014 and thought you’d be interested, too. So here are the […]
by Ruth Harris You’re swamped and there are alligators in that swamp. They have sharp teeth and they bite. Their names are Stress, Clutter, Distraction, Disorganization, and Interruption. You’ve got a book to write, a cover to create, tweets to tweet, promos to set up, blurbs to polish, and pins to Pin. There’s metadata, […]
by Ruth Harris Writing a novel based on the lives of real people is much more than simply recounting their story—even if it’s a whizz-bang, humdinger of a story. The challenge is turning real people and real events into fiction. Having no guidelines at the time I wrote Decades, I figured it out as I […]
by Ruth Harris Stuck? Can’t get there from here? Something’s wrong but you don’t know what. You’re chasing your tail in an endless loop with no off-ramps in sight. You’re stalled out at a dead end in a dark, scary forest. Happens to every writer and no one knows why, but your book—and you—have come […]
by Ruth Harris According to the sublime Cole Porter lyric: Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated fleas do it.Writers do it, too. Often. Collaborate, that is. Peter Staub and Stephen King paired up to write horror and dark fantasy in The Talisman. Their Black House is a Stoker Award winner. Joe Konrath, an […]
by Ruth Harris Editing is life. The blue tie? Or the yellow one? Peter or Paul? Or Mary? You’re an editor—whether or not you know it yet—because to edit is to choose. As a former editor, I’m obviously biased. As a writer, I’ve learned that for me (and for just about every writer I […]
by Ruth Harris Like plumbers and carpenters, architects and astronauts, cellists and golfers, writers need the right tools to help them get the job done. New tools appear constantly and many of them are FREE. Here is a round-up of current offerings. Word processors on steroids: MSWord is the industry standard, the app editors and […]
by Ruth Harris Romance with a side of horror? Happens in real life—oy!—but not such a hot idea in fiction. Cozy mystery with a soupçon of blood and gore? Only if you want readers coming after you with shoulder-fired missiles. Sci-fi in a gauzy, vintage-y mood? Not unless you want to find an IED in […]
