Better Villains

Better Villains

by | Craft

Build a better villain!   If you’re writing a story with a “villain” – a true antagonist, someone whose goal is ultimately to prevent the protagonist from achieving their goal, either directly or indirectly – then you need to create a villain worth of the role....
Finding your Right Readers, Part 3

Finding your Right Readers, Part 3

by | Craft

Finding your Right Readers, part 3… the nitty gritty.   You know your brand: what you consistently bring to the table, the intersection of what you love, and what you do well. You also know your Right Readers: the context of where to best find them (genre,...
HOW TO FIND YOUR RIGHT READERS, PART 1

HOW TO FIND YOUR RIGHT READERS, PART 1

by | Craft

  I mentioned before that it was more important to find your right readers, rather than appeal to some generic “universal” readership. Turns out a number of you were interested in getting more information about finding your “right readers.” (I’m going to...
4 Tricks When You Don’t Know What to Write

4 Tricks When You Don’t Know What to Write

by | Craft

Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser (or a plontser – somewhere in between on the spectrum of story planning), there are going to be times when you stare at the page or plot outline and think… I have no idea what comes next. Sometimes you’ll write a...
What Agents and Editors Really Want

What Agents and Editors Really Want

by | Business

If you’ve ever read an interview with an agent or editor, and someone asks “what are you looking for?” you’ll notice they often say things like “we’re always looking for a good story” or “I want to see more stories like (whatever’s popular).” They may say they want...