Anne R. Allen's Blog, page 17

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

from Ruth Harris   Anne and I wish happiness, health, and all the season’s blessings to our cherished readers and commenters. With the appearance of a new variant called Omicron, Covid has staged a resurgence. It feels to me as I write this from New York a few days before Christmas that we are living […]

The post Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Let Your Crawdads Sing! Writers, Remember “Writing Rules” are only Guidelines

By Anne R. Allen Ruth and I write this blog to give back to the writing community we’ve lived and worked in for many decades. We offer warnings about scams, plus tips and helpful suggestions for writing fiction and creative nonfiction that contemporary readers will want to buy. We say “we made the mistakes so […]

The post Let Your Crawdads Sing! Writers, Remember “Writing Rules” are only Guidelines appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Mr. McGuffin’s Christmas Carol

A Romantic Hero from Mr McGuffin may be a bit vague by Tara Sparling It’s Christmas Eve in Mr. McGuffin’s Plot Device and Writer Unblocking Emporium, and the end of a very busy season indeed. Writers queued outside the shop for weeks to avail of Mr McGuffin’s festive offer of a discounted shock plot twist […]

The post Mr. McGuffin’s Christmas Carol appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

How to tell a Story: The Rule of Three

by Anne R. Allen I love to listen to local storytelling events — the ones that mimic the NPR “Moth” Radio Hour stories. They’re popular again in this area after the long shut-down. People gather around to tell true stories about events they’ve experienced. Alcohol or caffeine may be involved. I say they “mimic” the […]

The post How to tell a Story: The Rule of Three appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

21 Reasons for Writers to Give Thanks.

by Ruth Harris There are some great reasons for writers to give thanks— That brilliant idea that comes out of nowhere just when you were about to give up. The reader who absolutely gets what you’re doing and says so in an intelligent, perceptive review. The google doc that goes everywhere you do seamlessly. Scrivener […]

The post 21 Reasons for Writers to Give Thanks. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

How Authors Can Create a Reader Connection

Make a solid reader connection and they’ll spread the word about your books *** I’d like to thank Penny Sansevieri for stepping in this week, while I have spent some exciting time in the hospital having fun medical adventures. It turns out what I have is “just” sciatica, a fiendishly painful thing that happens to […]

The post How Authors Can Create a Reader Connection appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Need Conflict? Just Let Your Characters Talk

Story conflict doesn’t need to involve violence. by Becca Puglisi Story conflict has many purposes. It provides opportunities for failure and growth, elevates what’s at stake, and escalates emotion for the character and readers. We also know that our stories will need many instances of conflict, both at the story (macro) and scene (micro) level. […]

The post Need Conflict? Just Let Your Characters Talk appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Afraid to Call Yourself a Writer? You May Suffer from a Creativity Wound

by Anne R. Allen Early in my writing career, I wrote in secret — and hardly ever finished anything. If I got to the point where I could write “the end” on a piece, I’d bury it in a drawer. I was incapable of writing a whole novel. I always stopped after the first 40 […]

The post Afraid to Call Yourself a Writer? You May Suffer from a Creativity Wound appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

New Hope For The Dead: The Frankenstein Files For Authors Who Gave Up Too Soon.

by Ruth Harris OK, admit it. You’re one of them. You’ve walked the walk of shame. You threw up your hands, flew the white flag of surrender, and gave up. That book, the one you started with such high hopes, is dead. It bit the dust mumble-mumble years (decades?) ago. Now it’s a ghost, a goblin, draped […]

The post New Hope For The Dead: The Frankenstein Files For Authors Who Gave Up Too Soon. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

The Things I’ve Heard: Confessions of an Audiobook Narrator

The audiobook market is booming! By William L. Hahn When Love and Need Become One So here comes a heaping helping of what’s good for my soul. I’ve always told tales. I just had trouble, the first fifty years or so, believing that people would pay me to tell them. But I had a revelation […]

The post The Things I’ve Heard: Confessions of an Audiobook Narrator appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.