Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen “Careful or You’ll End up in My Novel”…that’s the message on a T-shirt I see at writers’ conferences a lot. It’s been a popular item in the Signals Catalogue for years. It’s interesting that most writers I’ve met who wear them say the shirt was a gift from a friend […]
While I’m in bed, sick as a Schnauzer, be-virused and ensnotified, and my brain seems to have gone on a journey somewhere far, far away, one of my favorite authors, Catherine Ryan Hyde, has kindly offered to Pay It Forward with a guest post…Anne Some Notes on Self-Editing by Catherine Ryan Hyde I’ll open with the […]
by Anne R. Allen Charles Dickens has a lot to answer for. With the publication of his Christmas Carol in 1843, he single-handedly made Christmas our biggest cultural holiday. Before the debut of his (self-published) little novella, celebration of the holiday had all but died out in Anglo-Saxon Christendom. The pen is powerful indeed. A Christmas Carol revived […]
By Anne R. Allen OK, sez you. I’ve finally finished my novel/memoir and I’m about to send out my first round of queries. People say I need a blog. But now you tell me not to post excerpts from my WIP or focus on my personal life. I’ve only written one book (if you don’t […]
By Anne R. Allen I’ve had such great responses to the first two posts in this series, I have to take a minute to welcome all the new blogfolk—and thank everybody who has commented and/or retweeted the links. I’m also very honored by the shout-outs I’ve had from media professionals. Mr. Canie at “3:17 […]
by Anne R. Allen Last week I wrote about how to set up a blog and got some great responses. So here’s some more of the stuff I wish I’d known before I started blogging: If somebody comments, respond in the thread. I did not know this for, like, months when I started out. If any of […]
By Anne R. Allen A lot of my readers are already bloggers. You guys can skip this—although if you have anything to add, I’d sure appreciate it. My post this week is mostly for the lurkers (love my lurkers!) who know you’ll probably need a blog eventually, but feel intimidated by the whole process. […]
By Anne R. Allen When you start a writing project, whether you’re diving into the intensity of NaNoWriMo, or just carving out a few hours to peck away at the keyboard on weekends, it helps to get emotional support from friends and family. But be prepared for the opposite. Some people in your life […]
by Anne R. Allen Gearing up for NaNoWriMo? Good for you. You’ve always wanted to write a novel and next month you’re going to do it. But remember that most first novels never see print. Editors call them “practice novels.” Like any other profession, writing requires a long learning process. But there are a […]
As promised, here’s a guest blog from Janice Hardy. I’m a long-time fan of her blog, The Other Side of the Story. It’s always full of great, solid advice on craft and navigating the publishing business. When she said she was doing a blog tour to promote her new YA Fantasy book, Blue Fire, the […]
by Anne R. Allen “WTF?” Sez you. “Luxury? Getting daily rejections? Living in this mousehole on a diet of ramen and generic Froot Loops? While the few friends I have left laugh at my “delusions” of being a published writer? I’m supposed to #%&!ing enjoy this?” Well, yes. It’s the only time in your […]
by Anne R. Allen I’ve been dealing with an evil computer virus which first attacked my desktop and now seems to have killed my laptop dead. They’re both old machines, so it may be better to replace them than try to fix them, but now I’m worried my back-up drives may be infected too. […]
by Anne R. Allen The brilliant columnist/philosopher/literary outlaw Michael Ventura famously said the most important talent required of a writer is the ability to work alone. In his 1993 Sun article, The Talent of the Room , Ventura wrote, “Writing is something you do alone in a room. It’s the most important thing to remember if you want to be a writer….Unless you […]
