Ryan Lanz's Blog, page 180

Contest Update

Hello everyone! As a reminder, the month-long contest is ending in one week. Adrijus from Rocking Book Covers has generously offered three impressive prizes, the top prize valued at $499 USD. Check out his portfolio for examples of how good your book covers can be. So check out the contest page to get more information. … Continue reading Contest Update

Can I Write Novels Even if I Haven’t Had an Interesting Life?

By Larry Kahaner I came across a blog from Guy Portman titled “10 Famous Authors’ Day Jobs” in which he lists… well…you get it. What struck me most from reading Guy’s blog post is how many famous authors eventually gave up their day jobs (Natch. They’re famous.) and how many used what they knew … Continue reading Can I Write Novels Even if I Haven’t Had an Interesting Life?

How to Deepen Your Worldbuilding

By Cecilia Lewis Setting and worldbuilding are critical aspects of your novel. Having a vivid setting can pull readers into your story and bring it to life, and unique worldbuilding is often what sets a book apart. In editing both my clients’ books and my own, I find that establishing the setting is an … Continue reading How to Deepen Your Worldbuilding

Matched – Book Review

Originally posted on The Book Review Directory:
? Matched I picked up the book because I liked the premise. A girl caught in the throes of society whose rules she didn’t want to follow. It was dystopian, it had a female lead–seemed like it would be good. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Cassia lives in a…

20 Tips For Writing a Captivating Short Story (Part 2)

by Mindy Halleck [Continued from part 1] 11. Start in the POV (the head) of your main protagonist. It’s best to use their name right in the first sentence to establish them as the POV character, the one readers will identify with and cheer for. As soon as possible let readers know their approximate … Continue reading 20 Tips For Writing a Captivating Short Story (Part 2)

High Profile – Book Review

Originally posted on The Book Review Directory:
? Title: High Profile: A Jesse Stone Novel Author: Robert B. Parker Format: Paperback edition, Berkley Books Published: 2008 It is no secret that I am a reader largely of mysteries, most notably PI series. For anyone who has followed what I do and review, it is also…

20 Tips For Writing a Captivating Short Story (Part 1)

by Mindy Halleck Today, as I edit, trim, cut, and otherwise obliterate a short story I wrote that ended up to be 8,000 words, but needs to be 5,000 words, I am reminded of this quote: “Not that the story need be long, but it will take a long while to make it short.” … Continue reading 20 Tips For Writing a Captivating Short Story (Part 1)

How to Write Battle Scenes

In my experience, writing battle scenes is a very dangerous endeavor. A writer has to walk a fine line between giving too much away and giving too little. While this is true of writing in general, it is especially true of combat. Many writers have a tendency toover-describebattle scenes. I once did this, too, … Continue reading How to Write Battle Scenes

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Book Review

Originally posted on The Book Review Directory:
? Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs RaeleighReads rating: 5 out of 5 coffee cups “Scattered toys, evidence of children long gone, lay skinned in dust. Creeping mold had turned window-adjacent walls black and furry. Fireplaces were throttled with vines that had descended from the…

Use Your Verbs

by Joel Orr An easy way to empower your writing, build your voice, and help your audience better ‘see’ your message is to utilize verbs over qualifiers likeadjectives and adverbs. It’s easy to fall into a habit of using words as they’re ‘assigned’ – adjectives show, so I guess we’ll use them to show … Continue reading Use Your Verbs