Anne R. Allen's Blog, page 8

Your Writing Superpower in a World of AI

  by Jim Denney I’ve been concerned about various threats from artificial intelligence for several years — threats to the economy, threats to our civil society, and even threats to human existence. I became even more alarmed about artificial intelligence when I discovered that AI systems are chronic, pathological liars. In early 2023, I began […]

The post Your Writing Superpower in a World of AI appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Terrible Advice Writers Should Ignore from Social Media Friends

  by Anne R. Allen I see terrible advice in online writing groups and blog comments all the time. Sometimes I step in and gently disagree. But mostly I don’t. Arguing with people on social media is an exercise in futility. So I get to express my opinions here. It’s great to make friends on […]

The post Terrible Advice Writers Should Ignore from Social Media Friends appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

The 3 R’s of a Successful Professional Writing Career.

Want to have a professional writing career? by Ruth Harris You started out with dreams of a professional writing career, didn’t you? And then you achieved your goals, didn’t you? But now what? You thought being a professional, published writer would liberate you from the routine of a day job. You also thought you’d be […]

The post The 3 R’s of a Successful Professional Writing Career. appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

The Latest Writing Scams Authors Need to Watch out For

  by Anne R. Allen Writing scams aren’t just for newbies anymore. A few weeks ago, publishing guru Jane Friedman discovered unfamiliar books on her Goodreads author page. She also found them on Amazon — published in her name. She realized they were probably AI written and very low quality. At first Amazon refused to […]

The post The Latest Writing Scams Authors Need to Watch out For appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

What A Female Writer Should Keep in Mind When Writing A Male Character

Remember Fabio’s male character was only a fantasy by Harry Bingham For a female author, the construction of a genuine, well-rounded male character offers a unique chance to cross gender barriers and explore a broad range of experiences. However, how to effectively dive into the male psyche? How do societal norms mold the actions and […]

The post What A Female Writer Should Keep in Mind When Writing A Male Character appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

How Can a Writer Show Multiple Points of View Without Head-Hopping?

  By Anne R. Allen Point of view is one of the toughest things for a new writer to master when learning to write fiction. You hear terms like “omniscient, third person limited, second person, deep point of view, camera’s eye” etc. But it’s hard to figure out which one works for your story. And […]

The post How Can a Writer Show Multiple Points of View Without Head-Hopping? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Happy F***ing Birthday—Downhill (or Not What it Used to Be)

Ruth Has a different kind of post for us today. She offers us a monologue by her hilarious character, Blake Weston, from “The Big Six-O,” the first in her “Cozy in the City” series. Here’s Blake facing her 60th birthday:  by Ruth Harris From: Carbon paper to carbon emissions. Edward R. Murrow to Tucker Carlson. […]

The post Happy F***ing Birthday—Downhill (or Not What it Used to Be) appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

Find Your Fictional Characters’ Energy Motivators

How an ancient philosophy of energy can help you create better characters by Deborah-Zenha Adams It doesn’t matter what genre you’re writing — characters are the lifeblood of your story.  No matter how perfectly-plotted, tightly-structured, and wildly creative your story is, readers might not stick with it if the characters are hollow, bland, or just […]

The post Find Your Fictional Characters’ Energy Motivators appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

What’s the Best Way to Learn to Be a Writer?

by Anne R. Allen I’m often approached by parents or grandparents of children who’ve shown a talent for writing. They ask how a child can learn to be a writer. Or sometimes a person going through a mid-life job change will ask my advice about going back to college to pursue a long-deferred writing dream. […]

The post What’s the Best Way to Learn to Be a Writer? appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.

9 Common Dialogue Problems—And How to Fix Them

  by Anne R. Allen Learning to write effective, believable dialogue is one of the toughest parts of learning to write narrative — whether fiction or memoir. We don’t want to simply transcribe the way people actually talk, with all the pointless “ums” and stammery filler-things we say in real life. But we also don’t […]

The post 9 Common Dialogue Problems—And How to Fix Them appeared first on Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris.