Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen I had what is known as a “good education.” I attended East Coast and European prep schools and Ivy League colleges. Both my parents were college professors with PhDs in literature. All of which left me uniquely unqualified for my chosen profession: writing novels. Why? Because I grew up knowing […]
by Ruth Harris With tongue firmly in cheek, Ruth Harris tells us what NOT to do in the coming year to further our writing careers. We both wish you the very best in 2016! If you’re a new commenter on the blog, you may have to wait for comment moderation. I apologize for that–we LOVE […]
by Tara Sparling Tara Sparling is an Irish blogger and humorist. I stumbled onto her award-winning blog, “Tara Sparling Writes: A Sideways Perspective on the Bonkers Business of Books” through a Tweet, and I’ve been an avid follower ever since. Her take on the writing life is uniquely quirky and hilarious… and oh, so Irish. Seriously, […]
by Ruth Harris It is a truth universally acknowledged that no writer ever knows when or where his/her next great idea will strike. Because of that inconvenient fact, notebooks are essential. Although the back of a grocery receipt or a dry cleaner’s ticket will do in an emergency, a notebook will help create order out […]
by Anne R. Allen Last week I wrote about five delusions that can keep a new writer from professional success. I admit to succumbing to most of them myself at one time or another. Writers need to be a little delusional to embark on a road that we know is fraught with obstacles. It’s the […]
by Anne R. Allen We writers tend to get a tad delusional about our own work. Most of us know the average writer doesn’t make great money, but we secretly believe our own efforts will bring us fabulous fame and fortune. When we start out, we can’t help visualizing our books leapfrogging over all the […]
8 Bestselling Authors Share Tips and Tricks for Finding and Keeping Joy in Your Writing by Ruth Harris The Joy of Writing? During National Novel Writing Month? You’re kidding, right?A 55K word novel in a month?You’re fretting, nervous, sweaty. Performance anxiety in excelsis? Brain block? What brain? Writing should be fun and NaNo is […]
by Anne R. Allen Joining a good critique group can be the easiest (and cheapest) way for new writers to learn the nuts and bolts of writing and keep those cringe-making first drafts from gumming up slush piles or becoming part of the infamous “tsunami of self-published crap.” Whether online or in-person, critique groups can […]
Get Instant Relief Without Dangerous Drugs, Messy Creams Or Exhausting Exercise! by Ruth Harris Writers write—except when we’re staring into space or out the window, at a blank screen or an unfinished sentence.From first draft to final draft, we spend a lot of our time looking for help, info, inspiration. Which is why the right […]
We’ve got a must-read guest post for you this week. David Congalton, screenwriter and radio superstar here on the Central Coast of California, tells us how to be a good radio guest. Radio is still essential to book promotion in the digital age. Most car-commuters still listen to broadcast or satellite radio and the popularity of […]
A social media executor can keep you from haunting the Internet forever by Anne R. Allen One of my blogger friends died last week. Ann Calhoun was a regular commenter here from the beginning and often gave me suggestions for blog topics (she commented as “Churadogs”.) Her own blog, Calhoun’s Cannons, grew out of a local newspaper […]
by Anne R. Allen Lots has been written about the pain caused by online bullying of children and teens—and that stuff is horrific—but we don’t hear as much about the cyberbullying that goes on in the adult world. But cyberbullying can have disastrous consequences, no matter what the victim’s age or social status. In […]
by Ruth Harris The muse (also referred to as intuition, instinct, the subconscious, a superpower, the Spidey sense) is generally a friendly and cooperative breed. By nature, the muse tends to be bright eyed, curious and energetic. However, ignored or poorly-treated the muse can be become depressed and mopey and will not function effectively. […]
