What Has Your Publisher Done For You Lately?
Here’s what mine did recently… a mass mailer. Thought I’d share it… ’tis the season. Thanks! “An absolute must read, DEADLY FAUX is guaranteed entertainment.” —Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of THE JURY MASTER “After half a century of being on the lookout for a crime fiction writer with a […]
On The Industry: Two Must-Read Articles
Regardless of where you stand on the self-publishing vs. traditional publishing issue, there’s no question the landscape is shifting beneath our feet. There has yet to be a definitive source of wisdom on this, leaving us to sift and hash through the opinions of those engaged in a deep-dive into the swirling morass of op-ed, […]
Another Take on The Most Critical Thing You Need to Know about Writing a Novel
You’ve read this here before, and it bears repeating because the entire enchilada of effective storytelling is embraced in these few lines: A great novel is not just ABOUT something… a theme, a time, a setting, a situation, or even a character. That’s a great start, but it’s rarely a great novel if that’s the […]
From Art Holcomb: Lester Dent and the Master Fiction Plot
A guest post by Art Holcomb I am a screenwriter and writing teacher. I am also a voracious consumer of fiction. I enjoy and teach pretty much all types and forms of stories, but for the purposes of this post, I should clarify that I am also a lover of the shorter forms of fiction. Because as you’ve […]
Confessions of a Story Fixee
Not long ago I wrote an article entitled Confessions of a Story Coach, which appeared on the Writers Digest website (September 4th), and more recently, right here until Google’s clear-as-mud ranking rules forced me to take it down. I thought it might be helpful for those on the fence, and moreover, those who have a […]
Elevate Your Storytelling Game
A Few Thoughts To Help You Make Your Story Better Out of the Gate (Which Is Your Head) But first… you are invited to read an interview running on Authornomics… with me. There’s some value there, in that it illuminates the sometimes long and winding road that becomes the path to publication. In my case, […]
The Storyfix Saturday Night Special
A story coaching offer, this weekend only (because I have some open slots): get me your $50 Kick-Start Conceptual Review submission by midnight on Sunday (Nov. 3rd), and I’ll deliver a 24-hour RUSH turnaround (normally a $25 upcharge) for no extra cost. The fine print: I’ll send the questionnaire out to you within a couple […]
Help Wanted: Hiring Fiction Writers Now
This is the opportunity of a lifetime. Write novels and screenplays for money. Publish your books and get invited to all sorts of book signings and conferences and bookclub gigs. Quit your day job and live your dream. Have cocktails with John Grisham and Nora Roberts at the National Book Awards banquet. Hiring one out […]
A Paradoxical Perspective on the Creative Process
Some people believe that the best — even the only — way to engage with the story development process is, basically, to not have one. To just begin. Dive in, see what happens. To — and this one makes me crazy — just “let the characters speak to you.” Okay, whatever floats your critique group […]
The Fragments of Once Whole Things
A guest post by Art Holcomb “The beautiful thing about a mosaic is that it is best when made up of the broken fragments of once whole things.” Your characters are very much like thatWhether we want admit it or not, each of our characters is such a mosaic, made up of those conscious pieces […]