Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen What should a new writer do when friends or family members ask to look at your fledgling WIP (work in progress)? We’re usually eager to share our work, and want to hear if we’re on the right track. The problem is, over-exuberant praise can keep us from polishing a draft, […]
By Anne R. Allen Recently an article in The Cut by finance writer Charlotte Cowles shocked her readers with the story of how she was robbed by a gang of con artists. She admitted she ended up giving these crooks $50,000 in cash in a shoe box. Like many other readers, I wondered how […]
by Anne R. Allen A “creativity wound” is the psychological injury we feel when someone we trust says harsh, negative things about our creative work. Executive director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) Grant Faulkner explains it like this: “We put our souls, the meaning of our lives, into the things we create, whether […]
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 […]
Bad critiquing can pop somebody’s bubble without being helpful by Anne R. Allen I often advise new writers to look for a critique group to help them learn the writing ropes and get free feedback as well as the support they need when starting on a writing journey. But critique groups vary widely and some […]
by Anne R. Allen The British TV series Morse, based on the mystery novels by Colin Dexter, won the “Best British Mystery Series of All Time” title in a Radio Times poll. A recent Facebook post about the win made me think about the admonition authors hear that novels must have likeable characters. Inspector Morse […]
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 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 […]
Unsupportive friends and family can make us feel separated from the world. by Anne R. Allen I’m always amazed at how many people I know — friends who would go out of their way to help me physically — cannot say one supportive thing about my writing. Some even ask for one of my books […]
My metamorphosis into a Kafkaesqe bug by Anne R. Allen Yes. I’m back! A lot of readers have asked why I’ve been missing from the blog for the past five months, so I promised I’d detail my tale of woe when I returned. It’s kind of a long story. One that might have been written […]
Collective grief is loud and unrelenting. But there are ways to tune it out. by Anne R. Allen There are a lot of jokes out there right now like the cartoon in The New Yorker showing a young woman saying something like “I couldn’t decide whether to work on my novel or my screenplay, so […]
by Anne R. Allen I recommend that new writers take advantage of critique groups in order to learn about the publishing business and the craft of writing. Writing courses are expensive and often not as helpful as a good critique group. But there are bad critique groups too. Really bad. I’ve seen authors stop writing […]
Publishing predictions: Laurie McLean’s annual look into her crystal ball. By Laurie McLean, Founding Partner of Fuse Literary Agency The last year has seen a maturation of many of the trends that were sparked by the revolution in publishing that began a decade ago. Indie publishing. Social media marketing. The birth of Author-preneurs. Smart phones […]
