Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Peggy Cass as “Agnes Gooch,” a memorable character name by Anne R. Allen “Agnes Gooch,” “Mr. McCawber,” “Albus Dumbledore”: memorable names of memorable characters. How can writers come up with character names that readers will never forget? In his painfully funny 2006 book, Famous Writing School, a Novel, Stephen Carter’s writing teacher-protagonist advises his students to […]
Beware plot and pot holes in your fiction! by Ruth Harris We all come face to face with them, those pesky glitches, oopsies, OMGs and WTFs that ruin a story, turn a reader off, guarantee a slew of one-star reviews—and kill sales. Beta readers will often point them out. Editors are professional fixers, always on […]
A creative writing teacher has to deal with a lot. By Melodie Campbell It all started in 1992. I’d won a couple of crime fiction awards, and the local college came calling. Did I want to come on faculty and teach in the writing program? Hell, yes! (Pass the scotch.) Over the years, I continued […]
…and How to Solve 9 Common Dialogue Problems. by Anne R. Allen I’ve been looking over some of my much-rejected early work and discovered my old stories have way too much dialogue. This is something I see in a lot of newbie fiction. I remember a guy who came into the bookstore where I […]
Secrets are the engine that keep a story moving forward. by Ruth Harris Shhh! Secrets. Everyone has them. Every book must have at least one because secrets are the jet-powered engine that propels fiction forward. Ever notice how many blurbs in the daily BookBub email include the word secret? Secrets provide motivation, plot, character, even a setting (a […]
Don’t kill book sales dead with a less than enticing “look inside” sample. by Anne R. Allen I never have as much time to read as I think I will, and my trusty old Kindle is pretty loaded up. So I’m a picky book-buyer. Unfortunately, there are a lot of readers like me out here, […]
Do you know the “secret writing rules”? by Anne R. Allen Somerset Maugham famously said, “There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are.” But pretty much everybody you meet in the publishing business will give you a list of them. (One is “never start a sentence with ‘there are’” —so watch […]
Writing clichés are allowed at Christmastime, even welcomed! by Tara Sparling When it comes to Christmas, writers and writing are inextricably linked. The rites and rituals of the season are handed down from year to year through books, TV, movies, and song. But where are the festive songs about writers? I searched high and low, but […]
by Anne R. Allen Okay, I’ll confess: I have never been tempted to join in NaNoWriMo. That doesn’t mean I don’t admire the heck out of people who can do it. Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in a little over month. You can’t argue with that kind of success. But some writers prefer to […]
Beyond Nostalgia: authentic historical detail from fads, trends, and headlines can help you write books readers will relate to. by Ruth Harris Writers of historical fiction, whether Regency, Middle Ages, Victorian use the markers of the era—clothes, furniture, manners, leaders, resisters, war, peace, prosperity, recession—to create character, conflict, and plot. Writers of fiction set in […]
Brainstorm your novel hook now for your NaNoWriMo novel! By Janice Hardy A great idea helps every novel get off to a great start, but not every idea starts out great. Some need a little work to find their true potential. The key is to find the novel hook within the idea that will […]
Process goals make that road seem less daunting by Ruth Harris Psychologists differentiate between outcome goals (write a book) and process goals (the steps it will take to write a book). The outcome goal focuses on the big picture and the end result—a diamond-studded World Series ring, an Emmy, the winner’s circle at the Kentucky Derby. An outcome goal […]
Predators are looking for newbies who make these mistakes. by Anne R. Allen We all make mistakes. It’s how people learn. But some new writer mistakes can end a writing career before it starts. They play into the hands of the predators who make money off the delusions of newbie writers. Ruth and I are […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris