Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
My wife once came across a story about a gorgeous writer (as in a writer of gorgeous prose) who complained that she couldn’t sell her work. She asked an author what she should do, and he suggested that she take a class or two on selling. The woman became indignant and said, “I’ve worked all […]
Defining Yourself as a Writer
Years ago, I sat down to write and just didn’t feel up to it; I woke up with a backache at 3:30 a.m. (due to an accident), and couldn’t return to sleep. I’m sure that many of you have those days. How do you handle them? Me, I sit down in my chair, and I […]
How to Write Powerful Scenes
Very often as a reader, I’ll come across a story that is well written in many regards: The characters have strong voices. The setting is energetically created. The action progresses in a logical and emotionally satisfying manner. Yet the story will feel dead, empty. I can almost always spot the problem quickly: The author has […]
Accepting Responsibility for Your Titles
It’s fairly common for editors to want to change titles. Sometimes a title might be too much like that of another book. For example, one of my novels had the working title of Berserker Prime. I turned it in without realizing that Fred Saberhagen had used the same title five years previous. This kind of […]
Beware the Critical Eye
Most new writers join critique groups, but have you ever wondered if you’re spending too much time in one? Here are some problems that I’ve noticed. Most critique groups, over time, will morph into social clubs. The authors who join them tend to become friends, and as the months pass, it seems that the authors […]
Writing, Your New Normal
Today at the Writers of the Future workshop, I assigned a dozen new writers to go finish a short story in 24 hours. For some of those writers, in fact for most of them, this seemed like a pretty big challenge. As an old pro, it seemed more like another workday. Maybe the problem is […]
Not for Love nor Money
Very often I have new writers ask if I will pass their work along to an agent or editor, sort of “walk it through the system.” The author’s assumption is that this will help persuade a professional to publish their manuscript. But the answer is—No, I don’t believe in doing that, and you should never […]
Publishing Tips for 2018 and Beyond
One of the most frequently asked questions that I get is, “As a writer in 2018, should I go Indie, or try to publish traditionally?” It’s not a question that I can easily answer. The reason is that it depends in part upon the genre that you’re publishing in, in part upon your personality (Are […]
The Value of a Tagline
So a tagline is used for advertising a film or book, but what else is it good for?
As a writer, your tagline can be considered a touchstone. It may define certain elements of your story, things that you dare not vary. For example, let’s say that you chose that Alien tagline—“In space no one can hear you scream.” You begin writing, and as you’re halfway through the screenplay you decide that your heroine, Ripley, really needs a love life. So you create a nice male protagonist whom you decide will survive to the end of the story. Maybe she’ll save him from the aliens, or maybe he’ll save her.