Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
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 […]
How to open an account at the idea bank. by Ruth Harris As Anne said in her recent post, being “blocked” is the #1 issue for new writers and she offered 14 suggestions for ways to “fill the well.” In today’s post, I am going to take a deep dive into a few specific ways […]
Memoir or Fiction? What’s best for telling your own story? by Anne R. Allen Some people say all writing is autobiographical, and to a certain extent that’s true. I always say writers ought to Mirandize everybody we meet — “I’m a novelist. Anything you say can be taken down and used against you in a […]
Writing contemporary fiction? Don’t rewrite War and Peace. by Anne R. Allen I recently read on an agent’s blog, “Nobody’s looking for War and Peace.” And alas, I fear it’s true. I can’t remember the last time I said, “I want to get into a big 19th century novel.” (And there was a time when […]
Filter words act like a veil between the reader and the character by Kathy Steinemann This article provides a list of writing filters, with practical examples of how to replace them. You’ll also find exercises that can double as story prompts. All words exist for a reason. Use them wisely to create engaging narrative. Why […]
Writing guidelines can help us climb that “book mountain” by Ruth Harris A breath-taking article about a Polish team of mountaineers planning to climb K2 in the winter—a risky-to-the-max feat that has never been accomplished—reminded me that every book is K2, a mountain that has never been climbed. Like expert climbers, writers make progress step […]
Most authors start with practice novels. Some may be publishable…later. by Anne R. Allen We often hear stories about authors who have phenomenal success with a “first novel.” I’m sure most writers fantasize about being one of those success stories as we begin our careers. I sure did. But here’s what I didn’t know when […]
Writing career mistakes will happen, but these are some you can avoid. by Anne R. Allen Ruth and I like to say we made all the writing career mistakes so you don’t have to. I figure that I’ve collected nearly the full set of authorial faux pas since I embarked on a writing career. So today I’m […]
Rejection and failure make you think of quitting? Be like Thomas Edison instead. by Ruth Harris Rejection can make us want to cry and/or break things but rejection is almost never personal and often has nothing to do with your book, either. The sting of rejection can be bullied into submission with a can-do, eff-you […]
Start your novel any way you want when you write your first draft, but keep your reader in mind when you edit. by Anne R. Allen There are as many ways to start your novel as there are writers, so be aware that these are not hard and fast rules. But newbies tend to fall […]
by Anne R. Allen I first blogged about the plight of slow writers back in 2014, at the height of the indie publishing boom. All the indie superstar gurus were telling writers to grind out ebooks as fast as they could type to take advantage of the “Kindle Gold Rush”. Three years later, the Kindle […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris