Over my years as a writer I’ve tried practically every piece of software out there - anything to make the writing process easier. With a large workload and deadlines, being able to streamline my process is essential. It not only improves my output but means I get some...
A book cover is your readers’ first impression of your work, and while it’s easy to say “don’t judge a book by its cover,” the reality is very different. Both fiction and non-fiction authors often fail to create book covers that really speak to their audience and...
I’ve got a Pinterest board dedicated entirely to images that spark ideas. Some of my best ideas come to me almost in passing and are almost always prompted by something I’ve seen or heard. Pictures are powerful. They can evoke mood, promote action, and even change our...
Everyone knows the old adage: “Write what you know.” The statement holds true, but in its simple form, it’s at best, misleading, at worst, reductionist. What we know isn’t as straightforward as just what we’ve experienced, it’s what we read, and think, and...
Fanfiction has a poor reputation. It’s often considered cheap imitation or low quality. A lot of the time, however, that reputation is undeserved. There are a lot of talented writers out there who use fanfiction to explore their own creativity, and many popular...
I mentor a few creative writing groups online, and one of the things I get asked most is how I feel about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). It’s a tough question and one to which I have a conflicted answer. I attempt NaNoWriMo every year in...