April

After releasing a huge sigh of relief, then celebrating with family and friends, what comes next? You may have worked for months (or longer) to craft a story and fine-tune your manuscript. Now, your book is being published; surely, your efforts don’t stop there; at least, not if you’re serious about getting the word out.  … Read more

You’ve heard it said that writing a book starts with writing, meaning authors must sit down and start typing, recording or writing (by hand). It’s likely that you’ve also heard tips on how to be consistent with a writing routine and how to avoid writer’s block. There’s something important that must occur before all of that, … Read more

Perhaps you’ve already hit the best-seller list more than once. Maybe not; maybe you’re just now starting your first draft of your first-ever novel. Either way, there are several ideas in this post that authors should keep in mind.  Every writer is unique, although there are rarely any “new” ideas. Everyone borrows from someone. Authors … Read more

A cognitive neuroscientist from the Harvard Graduate School of Education claims that the overall learning process is the same whether you’re reading a hardcopy book or listening to a story. The cognitive specialist says that people often have their own preferences regarding modality or means of experiencing a story. However, preferences and learning processes are … Read more

We’ve all heard stories about “the dreaded writer’s block,” where an author sits in front of a blank screen. Fingers on the keyboard, eyes straight ahead, yet the ideas never come; there are no words on the page. It can be challenging to create new characters and storylines. It’s even worse if a block arises … Read more

Many authors, especially those who write Fantasy or Sci-fi, build stories around people and places that don’t exist in real time. Skillful execution can make characters and settings “feel real” to readers. For example, Lord of the Rings fans become familiar with Middle-earth, although it is a fictitious world.  J.R.R. Tolkien created a fictitious world that is … Read more

Fiction authors typically must learn to write about all sorts of personalities when developing their characters. This can be challenging. For example, if an author is a highly confident person, he or she might find it difficult to write about an introverted, shy character. Perhaps your next novel has a character in it who has … Read more

Have you ever read a Christian fiction novel that “left you hanging” at the end? Perhaps the author left a major issue unresolved or didn’t connect all the dots on the relationship between the two main characters. Maybe there were just too many questions left unanswered. At any rate, you walked away feeling like there … Read more

If you plan to earn a living as an author, then boosting creativity will no doubt be a top priority in your life. Writing is a creative process.  We’ve all read horror stories about writer’s block, something every author hopes to avoid. Developing hobbies (outside of writing) is a great way to engage your mind and spark … Read more

If you were to interview all the prolific authors in the world, you’d undoubtedly discover that no two writers have the same daily routine. There are “last minute” authors, who work best under pressure and love plowing through a manuscript when a deadline is looming just ahead. On the contrary, many writers like to approach … Read more