Natasha Deen's Blog, page 100

Thursday Time

Time.  It's the great equalizer, isn't it? No matter how rich, poor, successful you are, when it comes to time, we're all in the same "There's not enough of it" boat.

Especially for authors.  There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything—and for those of us in the beginning of our career, we're the only employee in our company.  This is when the 3Ds come into place: Delegate, Do, or Delay.

You can't write and edit and promote and market and ship and research and do it all in...

Wednesday Woe: When I Put It Down

The problem with being a writer is that you start reading with an eye toward research—how is the author putting together their story?  It makes for great reading when the book is tightly woven, not so great when I'm shaking the pages trying to make sense of a plot or character.

For example, reading a cozy with a male sleuth and it's all well and good until he starts hitting on one girl. Which is fine—until he makes a move on the sister (on the next page!).  That's when I put it down.

I get ...

Technique Tuesday

A common mistake we authors make in our writing is spending too much time on trivial descriptions. You know what I mean, we wax poetic about the way the clouds drift across the sky, or how the wind blows through the trees.

Description is currency and we want to spend it wisely.

If your story takes place in the middle of a snowstorm, then yes, spend time on your setting because (I'm guessing) the characters will be struggling with the weather, and thus, nature becomes a character within your...

Mechanical Monday: Verb Tenses

In the spirit that the best way to learn something is to teach it, and in dire need of a grammar refresher, I've decided to make Mondays "Grammar Day."  I'm hoping blogging will remind me about punctuation, etc., and help tighten my drafts.

Today, we take on the tenses. (which seems only fitting since it's voting day and I'm definitely tense about that).

There are four tenses: simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive, and they apply to the past, present, and future.

PRESENT

...

Ask a Question, Add a Comment, and Win!

Visit The Romance Review's interview with me, enter a comment/ask a question and have your name entered to win a copy of Sneakers, Sandals & Stilettoes: Fairy-Tales for the Well-Heeled Princess.