Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Ruth Harris Why is cooking — often? usually? sometimes? — more appealing than writing? *Even if you’re only a halfway decent cook, just about everyone will eat and enjoy what you made — and tell you so. * If you’re only a halfway decent writer, no one will enjoy what you wrote — or will […]
by Anne R. Allen Social Media Executor? That may not be a term you’re familiar with, but believe me, you need one. That hit home for me this week after the tragic death of my friend, the kind, talented, funny author Barbara Silkstone. I hadn’t heard from her for a month or two, so […]
by Ruth Harris How often should you water a cactus? What is the name of the president who came before Abraham Lincoln? How do you blow up a bridge? What’s so special about the Sydney opera house? What does SPECTRE stand for? In the course of writing a novel, a writer — one who will […]
Dangerous Critiques can Turn Your WIP into a Jackalope by Anne R. Allen One of the most damaging things a new writer can do is try to please everybody who beta-reads or critiques their WIP. I’ve seen a novel turned into a kind of jackalope of unrelated parts. If you tend to be a “people […]
Writer’s block has hit a lot of us during the pandemic By William L. Hahn Other than a single flash piece before Christmas, I haven’t written a solitary word on my epic fantasy world in more than a year. And holy crow, do I need to. Not only do I have a complete, well-envisioned novel […]
from Ruth Harris Anne and I wish happiness, health, and all the season’s blessings to our cherished readers and commenters. With the appearance of a new variant called Omicron, Covid has staged a resurgence. It feels to me as I write this from New York a few days before Christmas that we are living […]
By Anne R. Allen Ruth and I write this blog to give back to the writing community we’ve lived and worked in for many decades. We offer warnings about scams, plus tips and helpful suggestions for writing fiction and creative nonfiction that contemporary readers will want to buy. We say “we made the mistakes so […]
A Romantic Hero from Mr McGuffin may be a bit vague by Tara Sparling It’s Christmas Eve in Mr. McGuffin’s Plot Device and Writer Unblocking Emporium, and the end of a very busy season indeed. Writers queued outside the shop for weeks to avail of Mr McGuffin’s festive offer of a discounted shock plot twist […]
by Anne R. Allen I love to listen to local storytelling events — the ones that mimic the NPR “Moth” Radio Hour stories. They’re popular again in this area after the long shut-down. People gather around to tell true stories about events they’ve experienced. Alcohol or caffeine may be involved. I say they “mimic” the […]
by Ruth Harris There are some great reasons for writers to give thanks— That brilliant idea that comes out of nowhere just when you were about to give up. The reader who absolutely gets what you’re doing and says so in an intelligent, perceptive review. The google doc that goes everywhere you do seamlessly. Scrivener […]
by Anne R. Allen Early in my writing career, I wrote in secret — and hardly ever finished anything. If I got to the point where I could write “the end” on a piece, I’d bury it in a drawer. I was incapable of writing a whole novel. I always stopped after the first 40 […]
By Anne R. Allen Most writers have probably heard of “Upmarket fiction.” But you may have questions about it. Like, when should you use the term? And how do you figure out if your novel fits in the category? Is it considered a genre, like Romance or Mystery? And is it the same as “Book […]
by Anne R. Allen Clichés exist for a reason. A whole lot of people like them. That means they get over-exposed. Clichés represent a natural way of thinking. So don’t feel bad if your first draft has a clichéd opener. It’s part of the process. Here’s the most important thing for a new writer to […]
Anne R Allen’s Blog With Ruth Harris