Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
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. […]
by Anne R. Allen So you think you want to write a novel? You’re not alone. According to a New York Times study done a decade ago, 81% of Americans “think they have a book in them”. With the indie ebook revolution, I’m sure the percentage has grown. Of course, most of that 81% won’t ever write […]
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 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 Anne R. Allen “Be fearless… The world is filled with people who will be more than willing to give you self-defeating, negative advice. If you have a dream, the single most important question you must ask yourself is—how can you fulfill that dream? If your resources are very limited, that is not an excuse.” […]
by Anne R. Allen Ruth and I like to say we made all the writing and publishing mistakes so you don’t have to. I figure that personally I’ve collected nearly the full set of authorial faux pas since I embarked on a writing career. Here’s a list of some of the things I wish I […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris