Tips and Advice About Writing and Self-Publishing
On Monday, I’ll begin teaching How To Get Ready for NaNoWriMo for the very last time. The class is going into retirement and eventually into the archived classes over at my Zenler writing school portal. Today, I thought I’d share with you what I think are the top five tips you need to know to stand the…
Today, the short story boot camp came to an end and I have a week off from teaching before the final leg of the year kicks off. Here’s the link to the two classes I’m teaching next month just in case anyone’s interested. One is a plotting your novel boot camp, and the other one,…
I’ve been talking about my summer reading list and how I didn’t finish three of the books. I chose another three and today, gave up reading the first one on this new list. Please excuse me if I now climb onto my soapbox. I can’t say for sure if all the books on my didn’t read…
Read more Self-Publishing is a Gift To Writers (and let’s not forget it)
If you’re anything like me, you have one (okay, more than one), story sitting on your computer that you started and never finished. I’ve lost count how many I’ve had in that suspended state. Not all of them have gone on to be completed, but a lot have. I thought I’d share with you five…
I don’t know about other writing teachers and coaches, but the first thing I ask my students is why have you picked that genre? Most of the time, the response is because their romance fans or always loved mysteries. However, sometimes I hear these words…it’s the hottest genre right now and I’ll sell a lot…
One dream 99 percent of my students share with me is, I want to write a Hallmark movie or novel. I call myself a dream inspirer. While I can’t guarantee any of them will one day pen a movie that airs on Hallmark, last week, I took the first step that I hope will get them one…
Time for another Hi Susan post. This week’s question comes from Chloe who asked about my suggestions for those days when you know you should be working on your story but can’t find the motivation. First tip is never push yourself. It’s okay to take a day or two off but don’t let not…
Read more Hi Susan-What Should You Do When You Don’t Feel Like Writing?
It takes motivation to not only get started on a story but to keep on writing especially when the going gets tough. One thing that can help you achieve a goal is to understand what it is that drives you on and keeps you going. This week, write down three reasons why you want to…
One of the first questions I ask students is; what do you remember most about your favorite books? I always know that at least 99 % are going to tell me about a character they fell in love with, cheered for, and turned the pages just to see what happened to them. Don’t get me wrong,…
One day during my struggling writer years, I walked out to the mailbox and had not one, but three rejection letters sitting there. After opening them, and having a good cry, I thought about one thing. No writer begins their career (well, there might be a few lucky ones), with a yes on their…
