Achillean Romance with Fangs
Also known as: a thing I want to say to readers, reviews, writers, and most importantly, myself. Some facts about OUR BLOODY PEARL: I self-published it 16 months ago It’s the second book I ever wrote It’s the first book I ever edited to completion It’s the first anything I ever published Another fact: It’s […]
Writing diversity isn’t “forced.” What’s forced in writing is continuously cherry pick the situations in which many groups have been deliberately forced outby the one group who prides themselves as being ‘the norm.’ Let me explain: While the world is very diverse, there are situations and areas where someone could justify not including diversity (such as if you were writing […]
As I’ve grown as a writer, one unexpected change in the way I view and critique other stories is that I no longer see stories on a scale of good to bad, but from finished to unfinished. There are rarely ‘bad’ stories, only stories that needed more work to reach their true potential: stories that needed faster […]
(And why I stopped querying my novel.) As some of you know, I was querying Iron From Fire on and off from March through May, and I recently decided to quit, despite it being overall a good story written in what one editor described as ‘on par’ for the genre. And I think it’s important to talk […]
I’ll tell you a secret: I’m deathly afraid that no one actually likes my writing. (Which is a little silly when my debut is receiving a few hundred five star reviews for every one star equivalent, but brains aren’t always very logical). So if you’re doubting your own writing and whether people enjoy it, you aren’t […]
There’s a hot take circulating lately that “some villains don’t deserve to have a redemption arc.” But I don’t believe this. No villain deserves a redemption arc. But every villain could have one, if they tried, if they worked towards it, if they’re written well in both their understanding of their wrongs and their dedication to being a better person. No villain deserves a […]
Due to real life getting in the way, I’ve taken a little break from posting here, but I’ve still been working just as steadily. Here are some updates, separated by series. The key points are highlighted for easy skimming. The Warlord Contracts. I’ve started querying Iron From Fire, but it’s become very obvious very quickly that […]
Omniscient pov isn’t well loved by many (including myself), and that’s for primarily one reason: most people who write in omniscient pov have no idea what makes omniscient pov worthwhile or how to utilize it. Many writers use omniscient pov as an easy way to get out of writing a good limited third person pov. This […]
My friends, my pals, my buddies, my fellow writers: Stop putting yourself down because some professional author with three best sellers writes better than you. Writing is a difficult skill that takes persistence and time to master. It takes writing bad books, then mediocre books, before you can finally write the good books, and then eventually […]
Some writers confuse “you must further the plot with every scene” with “heavy plot handling must happen constantly.” (Which is a shame, because the latter is not only incorrect, but can make your character’s interactions stiff and boring.) It’s okay to let your characters joke. It’s okay if they get off track of the plot […]
