Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
First novel finished? Celebrate! by Anne R. Allen You finished your first novel! Break out the bubbly. Order a cake. Buy some really good chocolate. Time for a major celebration. Only about 3% of people who start novels actually finish, so you’re a major winner right there. You’ve done something spectacular. Savor the moment! Finishing […]
The First Chapter is the toughest! by Ruth Harris Someone waves a gun in the first sentence. In the second sentence, Jim (or is it Jill?) is walking his (or is it her?) dog in the rain. In the third paragraph, the dog gets loose, runs into the middle of a movie set where the […]
By Anne R. Allen We all make mistakes. It’s how we learn. But some mistakes have the potential to end a writing career before it starts. Today I’m talking about the things a lot of writers do that can keep them from having a career—or derail it for a long time. How do I know […]
by Ruth Harris Male or female, good guys or bad girls, famous or infamous, VIPs are the Very Important Persons who go their own way, do their own thing, make their own rules and don’t give a damn about your plans, your ideas, or your outline. You create them but they have a life of […]
The Five ‘Insider’ Secrets Of Top Fiction Writers by Dr. John Yeoman How do you write a ‘killer’ novel or story that brings you a contract with an agent or publisher? Or that leaps over the short-list to gain a top prize in a contest? There’s a secret to it. But more than 90% of […]
FROM MIKE TYSON TO ALBERT EINSTEIN: Why Writers Need To Goof Off And Space Out by Ruth Harris “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth,” observed philosopher-pugilist, Mike Tyson. Not just boxers, Mike. Ditto for writers. Whether you’re a plotter or pantser, you start out with some kind of plan. […]
by Anne R. Allen The Harvard Business School recently did a fascinating study of toxic employees and their effect on a company’s bottom line. The researchers discovered the most difficult and costly employees aren’t the lazy ones or the gossipy ones. It turns out the worst are the ones dead-set on following rules to the […]
THE HAPPY HOOKER’S GUIDE TO THE ART AND CRAFT OF WRITING A PAGE TURNER by Ruth Harris “First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, then you do it for money.” Ralph Ellison said it. Or was that Virginia Woolf? Depends on who you ask, but no matter where you […]
by Anne R. Allen I had what is known as a “good education.” I attended East Coast and European prep schools and Ivy League colleges. Both my parents were college professors with PhDs in literature. All of which left me uniquely unqualified for my chosen profession: writing novels. Why? Because I grew up knowing […]
by Ruth Harris With tongue firmly in cheek, Ruth Harris tells us what NOT to do in the coming year to further our writing careers. We both wish you the very best in 2016! If you’re a new commenter on the blog, you may have to wait for comment moderation. I apologize for that–we LOVE […]
by Anne R. Allen Welcome to our new blog!! I hope you’ll find our new WordPress site is easier for comments and searches. Because we have a high-profile blog, a lot of people contact us because they want us to promote their services to our readers, usually through contests or deals. Sometimes these services are […]
by Anne R. Allen Last week I wrote about five delusions that can keep a new writer from professional success. I admit to succumbing to most of them myself at one time or another. Writers need to be a little delusional to embark on a road that we know is fraught with obstacles. It’s the […]
8 Bestselling Authors Share Tips and Tricks for Finding and Keeping Joy in Your Writing by Ruth Harris The Joy of Writing? During National Novel Writing Month? You’re kidding, right?A 55K word novel in a month?You’re fretting, nervous, sweaty. Performance anxiety in excelsis? Brain block? What brain? Writing should be fun and NaNo is […]
