Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
Rejected? Maybe it’s not you. Today we’re celebrating Ruth Harris’s 13th blogiversary. Ruth joined this blog in June of 2011, and I know it wouldn’t have succeeded without her expertise, humor, and warmth. To celebrate, we thought we’d re-run Ruth’s very first post. It’s packed with wisdom that still applies today. How to Keep […]
writing advice from the creators of South Park by Ruth Harris The book you started with so much energy and optimism? That idea you thought was so great? Well, now that you’ve written mumble-mumble number of words, you’re not so sure. You’re beating up on yourself. You’re out of ideas. Out of gas. You’ve wasted […]
Stalled first draft? Make plans for a new setting. by Ruth Harris Home is where the heart is. Or is it? Home sweet home. Or is it? You can’t go home again. Or can you? You can go from: Shirley Jackson’s spooky Hill House to the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas — The Rosemary’s Baby […]
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 […]
by Ruth Harris Who has used this secret superpower to achieve success? Tom Brady, Quarterback. A recent article on the sports page about Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Quarterback Tom Brady preparing himself and his team for the Superbowl grabbed my attention. According to the story, one of Brady’s habits throughout a season is to create a […]
5 common mental traps: how to ID them, how to fight back by Ruth Harris Last week Anne wrote about scams and scammers — the enemies out there ready to pounce on unwary writers. This week I want to follow up with some words about the enemies within — the traps writers set for themselves. Traps […]
The publishing roller coaster can drive you nuts if you let it. by Ruth Harris I don’t really have to tell you, do I? Success followed by failure. Ups followed by crashes. Sinatra sang it: Flying high in April. Shot down in May. Moodswings. One week you pop the Dom Perignon. The next, you’re knee […]
Your backlist: remodel without a visit to a plastic surgeon or Home Depot. by Ruth Harris No, I’m certainly not sending you to the plastic surgeon. Even though maybe, just possibly your bio/book page could use — shall we say? — a nip and tuck. (Nothing personal. Just sayin.) And I’m not recommending a visit […]
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 Ruth Harris I‘m a TradPubbed NYT bestselling author gone indie. I was also an editor for over 20 years (Macmillan, Bantam, Dell) and the Publisher of Kensington—so let me put rejection into a little perspective. Let’s be clear: Manuscripts get rejected; not writers. Trust me. (Most of the time) it’s not personal. Let me […]
I have another Awesome Announcement this week: I now have a blog partner! She’s NYT bestselling author and former editor at Bantam, Dell and Kensington, RUTH HARRIS. I’ve had a lot of fabulous guest bloggers here in the last year, but Ruth is the only one whose post made it into my top ten most popular […]
