Time once again to dive into the Hi Susan e-mail pile. I picked this question from Marc who wrote… I’m just starting out as an author and researching the type of book I want to write. Should I go with similar books that I see on the bestseller lists? An easy answer, no. Sounds counterproductive to…
Here’s today’s guest blogger, Richard Prosch… I can’t start writing anything without a title. Maybe it’s a specific quirk I have, or maybe a lot of writers are like me. I don’t know, but everything longer than a shopping list requires a bold heading, front and center, and—hopefully—something that hints at clever or catchy. …
Time for another Hi Susan and this one was asked by Kimberley… I have a ton of ideas rattling around in my head. First of all, how do I make sure I don’t forget any gems? Second question, how do I determine if one’s good enough to become a story? I loved these questions…
The Hi Susan e-mails are piling up so I thought I’d answer one today. Jenny asked the following- Is it okay to use real people as characters in your story? While you want all your characters to be appear as close to real life people as possible, portraying someone that a real life person could recognize as…
I have about twenty Hi Susan e-mails waiting for me so thought I’d get to at least one this week. Chloe writes- Is it true that a fiction authors should only write about an experience they’ve gone through themselves? When I started writing, I’d heard that too. My first book was based on my own experience…
Our first Dear Susan post of the year. Joy sent me this e-mail… I’ve been writing for five years, sent out what seems like lots of stories. I know I’ve been close to getting published a few times but it doesn’t seem like it’s ever going to happen. Any advice about when I should…
Say hello to the first guest blogger of 2019, Barbara Plum whose post takes us back to our school days… Remember those dreaded high-school English themes? Did your teacher, when asked about length, compare the assignment to a skirt? “Long enough to cover the subject. Short enough to be interesting.” Say what? How does this…
It’s time for another Hi Susan post. This question was e-mailed to me by Jenny- I keep getting rejection after rejection and I’m getting to the point where I want to give up. Will I ever write a story that’s good enough to be published? Been there, had that happen, and also had thoughts of giving up.…
If you’ve ever taken one of my classes you’ll know that I’m not shy about telling you about my writing Achilles’ heel. I’m about to share it with the TWL community because I think letting others know about our weaknesses helps us all become better writers. My least favorite thing about writing (apart…
Time for another Hi Susan post. Sara asked the following- I submitted my synopsis and first three chapters to an editor two months ago and I haven’t heard anything about my submission. When should I contact them to ask what’s happening? I know how frustrating it is when you’ve sent your work to an…
