As a book editor, I’m always asking writers to add some Christmas scents to Christmas stories… The scents of the season are such a great way to evoke a happy or nostalgic mood. Smells from our past, and especially Christmas scents, trigger memories so strongly that they can make us feel as though we’ve been transported back in time.
Category: Writing Inspiration.
“Can you start a novel with dialogue?” is a question I’ve been asked three times in the past month, so I thought I’d blog about it! There are many bits of popular advice floating around the writing community, and “never start a novel with a line of dialogue” is one of them. Of course, when it comes to writing, when
There are several great cozy mystery publishers with open submissions. In fact, you can submit to a few of the biggest cozy mystery publishers without an agent! Now, there are a lot of great reasons to have an agent. I’m certainly grateful for mine. And many cozy authors do very well with the self-publishing route! But because everyone’s path is
This list of character defects is something I developed for writers, although of course, it could have lots of different uses! After I posted the List of 125 Talents and Skills, I’ve had several requests for a list of character flaws. Not all of these “character flaws” are moral failings! Some of them are just challenges that could hold characters
Social Media for Authors can feel overwhelming. It’s important to remember that as a writer, you don’t need to be on every platform, and you don’t need to post every day! Hopefully, this list of social media post ideas for authors will make it more fun, and a bit easier! ote Like a lot of my blog posts, this
I decided to do this roundup of fantasy novel opening examples because I know when you’re writing a book, it can be difficult to know where to start. That might be even more true with a fantasy novel, because you have a whole fictional world to introduce along with the characters! Some of my all-time favorite fantasy novels aren’t included
People have been asking me for a positive attributes list ever since I posted this List of Talents and Skills. This positive personality traits list can help you in character development…and who knows? It may also help you recognize your own positive personal qualities! Most of them are great attributes of a person in general; I didn’t include physical attributes. However,