Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen Merry Yuletide! Every religion in the northern hemisphere celebrates the Winter Solstice in some way. Usually with lights to illuminate the darkest time of year, like the festival of Hanukah. In the snowy north, the European ancestors of many of us were cold and hungry, so they invented holidays to […]
by Anne R. Allen So you won NaNoWriMo! You had to skip Thanksgiving dinner with your brother-in-law’s fabulous spatchcocked turkey, and watching the game with your favorite cousins. Plus your houseplants died, your cat evaporated, and you still have your Halloween decorations up. Tip: Make some Santa hats for all your bats, witches and […]
Is your query letter the problem? by Anne R. Allen I’ve often wondered why some wonderful writers never get a nibble from an agent, and others get a request for a full manuscript after a handful of queries. I had an insight into the issue this week when I heard from a friend of a […]
by Anne R. Allen What’s over-workshopping? It’s what happens when writers attend too many writing workshops or critique groups where they’re fed dogmatic, my-way-or-the-highway rules. Following rules too closely can slow down your story (and your career.) It can also eliminate what’s creative and original in your work. You can spend years schlepping that […]
by Anne R. Allen I’m sure everybody remembers the teacher or parent who told you they didn’t like your “tone” when you were being a snarky adolescent. Or a whiney brat who wanted a cookie right before dinner: “Oh, right. I’m going to ride my bike to the dance? Like I’m 10 years old?” […]
by Anne R. Allen A lot of people hope to write a book when they retire. And that’s a great plan. Late blooming writers can do very well for themselves if they learn to write well and have something unique to say. Some writers who became successful authors in their later years were Laura Ingalls […]
by Anne R. Allen I see terrible advice in online writing groups and blog comments all the time. Sometimes I step in and gently disagree. But mostly I don’t. Arguing with people on social media is an exercise in futility. So I get to express my opinions here. It’s great to make friends on […]
By Anne R. Allen Point of view is one of the toughest things for a new writer to master when learning to write fiction. You hear terms like “omniscient, third person limited, second person, deep point of view, camera’s eye” etc. But it’s hard to figure out which one works for your story. And […]
by Anne R. Allen First let me say you can start a novel any way you want in order to get words on a blank page. Anything goes when you’re writing your first draft. I always say the first draft of a novel is for the writer and the final draft is for the […]
by Anne R. Allen As a reader, I’ve recently developed some pet peeves that never used to bother me. Maybe it’s age. These days I find it almost impossible to follow a novel with wild head-hopping, where every spear-carrier is a POV character. I’m also bored by stories where everybody is horrible and there’s nobody […]
by Anne R. Allen “Leave your critique group” was my editor’s advice after my first full-length novel, Food of Love, came out with his UK publishing house. He said he didn’t want a bunch of wannabes messing with my work. He had a point, and I understood what he meant. But the members of […]
by Anne R. Allen With the self-publishing revolution, we were warned of a “tsunami of crap,” but the real problem is the tsunami of scammers. They seem to invent a new way to scam writers every day. Not just indies, but the traditionally published as well. Unfortunately, there are plenty of uninformed wannabe writers […]
by Anne R. Allen Back in 2002, a New York Times survey showed 81% of Americans want to write a book. With the indie ebook revolution, the percentage has only expanded. Of course, most of that 81+% won’t ever write a word. There’s an old, unkind joke that says, “Most people think they have a […]
