Anne R. Allen's Blog, page 20
May 30, 2021
Style Sheets, Style Guides, and Writing Style: Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
by Ruth Harris The style sheet is a writer’s secret power — and best friend. A style sheet will save you time, frustration, and money. A style sheet will save you from yourself and prevent you from making the kind of mistakes that will send readers fleeing and guarantee one-star reviews. If you’re writing a […]
The post Style Sheets, Style Guides, and Writing Style: Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 23, 2021
Six Tips for an Outstanding Literary Journal Submission
How to make your literary journal submission jump from the slush pile By Meredith Allard I’m the executive editor of The Copperfield Review, a literary journal for readers and writers of historical fiction. Since 2000, I’ve read thousands of submissions of historical short stories and history-based poems. Despite what you might have heard, literary journals […]
The post Six Tips for an Outstanding Literary Journal Submission appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 16, 2021
Friends Don’t Let Friends Fall for Publishing Scams: Look for These Tell-Tale Signs
When those “dreams come true” are publishing scams… by Anne R. Allen Because I have a lot of articles out there on publishing scams, I get frequent messages from writers who fear they’ve been ensnared by a scammer. I hear even more often from their friends. These friends or relatives see something iffy going on, […]
The post Friends Don’t Let Friends Fall for Publishing Scams: Look for These Tell-Tale Signs appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 9, 2021
The Five Things You Need in Writing a Mystery Novel
By Melodie Campbell Many of you know that in addition to being a writer of mob heist novels, I’m also the past Executive Director of Crime Writers of Canada. (For my sins. Of which I’ve lost count…) I’m just coming up for air after serving as a judge for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards […]
The post The Five Things You Need in Writing a Mystery Novel appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 2, 2021
What is an Unsympathetic Character? Must a Novel’s Protagonist be Likeable?
by Anne R. Allen One of the things that will get you an automatic rejection from most agents—and a swift toss to the DNF pile from a lot of readers—is an unsympathetic character. Especially an unsympathetic protagonist. Personally, I have to admit if there’s nobody in a story I care about, I’m out of there […]
The post What is an Unsympathetic Character? Must a Novel’s Protagonist be Likeable? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 25, 2021
8 Stages in the Life Cycle of a Writer: From the Aha! Moment to Beyond the Grave.
The life cycle of a writer can be as predictable as a frog’s by Ruth Harris A glimmer of an idea sparks in the writer’s mind. You’re in the shower, just waking up, cooking dinner, mopping the floor, or on the way to the supermarket, dentist, or a hot date with The One. It’s the […]
The post 8 Stages in the Life Cycle of a Writer: From the Aha! Moment to Beyond the Grave. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 18, 2021
Naming Fictional Characters: 10 Tips to Avoid Pitfalls
by Anne R. Allen The old-school advice for naming fictional characters was to comb the obituaries. But not a lot of people get newspapers these days, so we need other sources of inspiration. For me, spam is turning out to be one of the best places to find unique names. Every week I cull a […]
The post Naming Fictional Characters: 10 Tips to Avoid Pitfalls appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 11, 2021
How to Introduce Yourself as an Author and Build a Strong Author Brand
Make a memorable introduction while building your author brand by Mike Bohdan A bookstore employee outed Richard Bachman as Stephen King in 1985 despite all his efforts to hide the fact. The clever person recognized King’s style following its breadcrumbs scattered in Bachman books. One of the breadcrumbs was the word “mangler.” The characters in […]
The post How to Introduce Yourself as an Author and Build a Strong Author Brand appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 4, 2021
Writing Rules vs. Writing Fashion: Should Writers Follow Fashion Trends?
Writing fashion changes, like the fashion in Easter Bonnets by Anne R. Allen Fashion. It sounds frivolous, but it has serious effects on us all. Right now, women are getting beard-burn from kissing men who sport the fashionable romantic-hero three-day stubble. And mothers are stifling their disappointment when their golden-haired boys get the fashion-victim shaved-sides […]
The post Writing Rules vs. Writing Fashion: Should Writers Follow Fashion Trends? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
March 28, 2021
How to Lose a Book Sale. The One You Almost Made
by Ruth Harris Your title is just right for your genre. Your cover is on-target, too. Perfect image, just-so font, come-hither colors. This is a cover that will end up in the book cover wing of the Louvre. You know, that premium spot right next to the Mona Lisa. Your blurb is totally irresistible. I […]
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