A friend of mine in our goals group told us about how every month, she watches one of her “foundational” movies. These are movies that have particular meaning for her, and that she finds grounding to watch them. And several of her favorite movies were my favorite movies, which may be one of the reasons why we get along so
Author: Bryn Donovan
Should I give up writing? Last week, a woman in one of my many online writer groups asked us this. She’d written and self-published a historical novel that had gotten twenty or so good reviews, but a few months after its release, it wasn’t selling many copies. She was having trouble staying motivated to work on her next project, and
Although this post is titled “How to Make a Book Trailer,” that might be a bit misleading, because I collaborated with a video editor. I’m going to go through the steps we took to create one, so whether you’re going to work with someone else or do it yourself, this might be helpful. And if you’ve been asking yourself, “How
Hey, welcome to another WIP Wednesday! On the first Wednesday of every month, I share an excerpt of what I’m working on, and I invite you to do the same in the comments. We don’t mind if it’s rough. If you’re a regular (YAY, thank you for being a regular!!), you know the drill, but if you’re new, here are
Mystery story ideas often follow a similar pattern. Early on, a dead body turns up, a valuable item goes missing, or a puzzle begs to be solved. The reader knows that by the end of the book, questions will have been answered, which is a comforting element in even the most gruesome murder mysteries. This simple structure allows for
Most of us believe in the value of venting. “I just need to get it off my chest,” we say, or “I just need to blow off some steam.” By complaining, we believe that we won’t carry the negativity inside of us any more, because we let it out. It makes so much sense! Except that it doesn’t always work
Hi, everyone! This is the last in a 7-part series about how to rewrite, revise, and edit a novel. I love editing a book, but many people find it overwhelming. However you approach it, the key is to break it down step by step. We’ve talked about clarifying your character arcs, fixing your pacing, increasing your story’s impact, fine-tuning speech and