Anne R. Allen's Blog, page 25
June 14, 2020
Freewrite: How to Write About Traumatic Events Without Adding More Trauma
Freewrite techniques help process the traumatic times we’re living in. by Marlene Cullen When we experience an emotional event, we tend to replay it in our minds. Sometimes we want uncomfortable situations to disappear, so we try to ignore and suppress what happened. But we don’t forget. One way to manage intense feelings is to […]
The post Freewrite: How to Write About Traumatic Events Without Adding More Trauma appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
June 7, 2020
Online Marketing Doesn’t Have to Mean Lying, Cheating, or Gaming the System.
by Anne R. Allen A lot of authors get that deer-in-the-headlights look when I mention marketing books online. But it’s pretty much the only way to promote books during this “stay at home” pandemic. So we gotta do it. I understand your reluctance. Social media is full of trolls, scammers, and vast herds of bellicose […]
The post Online Marketing Doesn’t Have to Mean Lying, Cheating, or Gaming the System. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 31, 2020
No Secrets. No Gimmicks. No Short Cuts. A Writer’s Guide to Patience, Practice, and Persistence
Success comes from patience, practice, and persistence. by Ruth Harris We’re living in a world where everything—pizza, groceries, shampoo, a barre class, hot sex (or, in these days of Covid-19, a sex toy discreetly wrapped)—is a click away. Even in the midst of a shelter-in-place pandemic, everything anyone—including writers—could want is at our fingertips. We’ve […]
The post No Secrets. No Gimmicks. No Short Cuts. A Writer’s Guide to Patience, Practice, and Persistence appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 24, 2020
Is Your Story A Bit Lazy? 5 Ways to Improve the Action in your Story
Improve the action and get your characters moving! by Meghan Ward Page-turners aren’t the only books that employ action. In every story the characters’ actions drive the narrative forward. Without action, a book would be a series of scenes full of dialogue and description, a literary Dinner with Andre that would put the reader straight […]
The post Is Your Story A Bit Lazy? 5 Ways to Improve the Action in your Story appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 17, 2020
Does Your Novel Confuse Readers with “Too Many” Characters? 8 Ways to Unconfuse Them.
by Anne R. Allen One of my personal writing issues is I tend to pack my books and stories with way too many characters. If a fascinating person walks into one of my stories, I feel it would be rude not to let them join the party. I suppose my inner Manners Doctor takes over. […]
The post Does Your Novel Confuse Readers with “Too Many” Characters? 8 Ways to Unconfuse Them. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 10, 2020
My Novel is a Mess! How to Survive the Chaos Point in your Novel
By Melodie Campbell Yes, I’m at that point. The chaos point. Writing to a specific word count, three-quarters written, and my twentieth novel is an unqualified mess. If you are a veteran writer like me, you say it’s not going to happen this time. But it does. EVERY FREAKING TIME. Here’s why: THE LINEAR APPROACH […]
The post My Novel is a Mess! How to Survive the Chaos Point in your Novel appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
May 3, 2020
4 Newbie Writer Mistakes that can Derail a Great Book Idea
Newbie writers should protect fledgling ideas. by Anne R. Allen You’ve got a fantastic idea for a novel. It’s been hanging around for quite a while, knocking inside your noggin. The idea keeps saying, “Let me out! Release me! Put me in a book!” Maybe there’s a scene in your head that plays like a […]
The post 4 Newbie Writer Mistakes that can Derail a Great Book Idea appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 26, 2020
10 Ways to Feel Like a Real Writer When You Can’t Write Thanks to Coronavirus
by Ruth Harris You might have thought because you’re staying at home that you’d have more free time to start/finish a book or take an on-line yoga class. But in reality, because we’re all spending so much time at home, much of that time is consumed by eating which means food prep and cooking (which […]
The post 10 Ways to Feel Like a Real Writer When You Can’t Write Thanks to Coronavirus appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 19, 2020
What Successful Writers and Experienced Detectives Have in Common
by Garry Rodgers I was always the weird kid. While other boys dreamed of growing up to fly fast fighters or fight ferocious fires, I wanted to be a writer. It was like a calling. Is that weird or what? But, instead of studying fine arts or going to journalism school, when I turned twenty-one […]
The post What Successful Writers and Experienced Detectives Have in Common appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
April 12, 2020
Don’t Become a Social Media Ghost: Appoint a Social Media Executor.
A social media executor will keep you from becoming a social media ghost. by Anne R. Allen We’re living through a time when we’re forced to face something our culture prefers to ignore: our own mortality. We’re discovering, to paraphrase Emily Dickinson, that although we do not stop for death, it kindly stops for us. […]
The post Don’t Become a Social Media Ghost: Appoint a Social Media Executor. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.
