writing life
our free resources on all things writer and author life
What kind of editing do you need?
Editing, rather than drafting, is usually the hardest and most time-intensive part of writing a book, especially since there are so many stages. Knowing what kind of editing you need, based on [...]
How to Give Effective Writing Feedback
It is impossible to write a good book alone. Writing can feel like a solitary act that you must struggle through, hunched over at your computer desk, without any support. This [...]
What to Do When ‘Life Happens’
I hate losing momentum in my writing, so much so that I obsessively plan to prevent it. Today I'm going to share some tips for what to do when life happens [...]
6 Tips for Getting Better Feedback
Writing can feel like a solitary act which you must struggle through, hunched over at your computer desk, entirely alone. This is far from the truth. In fact, outside [...]
How to Track Your Writing Habits
I just finished up my most productive month of writing ever. I set a goal to finish a draft of the project I’m currently working on, and while I [...]
What’s a book coach?
Okay, writers. Time for some real talk. Have you ever felt like the words you’re writing don’t translate what’s actually in your head? Like your story is getting lost even as you [...]
Feedback should NEVER feel like this
You did it. You sent pages off to your writing group or critique partner or beta reader... and they finally responded. You're both terrified and excited to see what they thought. [...]
6 Tips for NaNoWriMo Success
It’s almost November which means it’s almost time for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo for short)! NaNoWriMo is a challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of November (roughly [...]
How to Hire The Right Editor or Coach
Writers need outside eyes on our stories. External feedback will identify what we’re doing well, and where our stories need work. Working with a professional editor or book coach is one [...]
How to Plan a Magical Revision
You finished your first draft! That is a huge accomplishment. Do you know how many people in the world wish they could say that? Do you know how many unfinished [...]
Overcoming Perfectionism
We’re told that perfectionism is a good thing. We’re told it’s a trait to brag about when we’re in a job interview to showcase [...]
The Magic of Character Arcs
We've all heard about "character arcs." We know they're important. We know they have to do with [...]
The difference between ‘exposition’ and ‘infodump’
We've all heard the 'rule': Exposition is 'good' but Infodumping is 'bad'. But wtf does that actually [...]
