Bestselling author shares her strategy for writing faster

Posted on 01/27/2020 at 11:49 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Many thriving indie authors attribute their success to their ability to publish frequently. Great, you might think, but what if...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Dave Chesson (the Kindlepreneur), Writing advice

How to write a villain who feels real to your readers

Posted on 01/22/2020 at 10:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Author Suzanne Collins revealed yesterday that her Hunger Games prequel would tell the back story of the hated President Snow....

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Jane Friedman, Writing advice

The structure of your novel can enhance the overall story

Posted on 01/18/2020 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

When we think of story structure, we often think of plot progression and not necessarily the literal way in which...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Plot / narrative, Writer's Digest, Writing advice

One author's tips on writing from multiple points of view

Posted on 01/16/2020 at 09:29 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Sometimes it’s screamingly obvious — your story can only be told from one character’s point of view. Other times, you...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Writer's Digest, Writing advice

One author's best practices for researching with primary resources

Posted on 01/15/2020 at 11:00 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

You may not be in school any more, but chances are good you’re still being called upon to do research....

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Joanna Penn, Writing advice

Jane Friedman: Steer clear of these five story openers

Posted on 01/10/2020 at 01:28 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Jane Friedman isn’t trying to ban the use of five specific story openers. She does want to point out, though,...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: First lines and first chapters, Jane Friedman, Writing advice

Agree or disagree? Editor says to stick with "said" and "asked"

Posted on 01/06/2020 at 10:23 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

During the creative-writing portion of eighth-grade English class, the teacher gave us a handout of one hundred ways to say...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Jane Friedman, Language, Writing advice

Here's how you can tell the reader what your character is feeling

Posted on 12/28/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

C.S. Lakin isn’t going to demand that you show and not tell the emotions your character is feeling. In fact,...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: C.S. Lakin / Live Write Thrive, Characters, Writing advice

How a writing instructor chooses her novel's point of view

Posted on 12/27/2019 at 01:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Over the holiday, we listened to a collection of short stories that included a few tales told in the second-person...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: Characters, Writer's Digest, Writing advice

The top writing tips from the Alliance of Independent Authors

Posted on 12/26/2019 at 12:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

No matter the topic, you’ve likely found a new blog to love and been both excited and exhausted by the...

Categories: Behind the scenes

Tagged As: ALLi (Alliance of Independent Authors), Diversity, Plot / narrative, Time management, Writing advice