L. MacNaughton's Blog, page 3
September 18, 2019
6 Rules to Pump Up Your Writing
When considering who gives out the best writing advice in the world, the first name that pops up might not be Arnold Schwarzenegger. But a decade ago, Schwarzenegger presented his “6 Rules of Success” in a now-famous commencement speech at the University of Southern California. And these rules just might hold the key to your […]
September 11, 2019
Forever and a Doomsday (Dru Jasper #4)
A chilling cohort of soul-devouring wraiths has risen from the netherworld to crack open the final seal of the apocalypse scroll and bring the world to a fiery end. To keep the scroll out of their clutches, Dru must solve a 2,000-year-old magical mystery, find a city lost in the netherworld, and unearth a crystal […]
September 4, 2019
4 Writing Pitfalls to Avoid at All Costs
Has your writing fallen into a black hole? Has your pacing dropped to a crawl, or your suspense become a snore? Do you just feel stuck? You might be sabotaging your own writing without even knowing it. But don’t panic. Here’s how to avoid the four most perilous pitfalls of writing. Pitfall #1: Your plot […]
August 23, 2019
4 Ways to Handle Foreign Languages in Fiction
When a character in your story speaks a foreign language, should you write it out in that language, or in English? How can you make the dialogue sound exotic without confusing the reader? These are tricky questions. Foreign languages can lend your characters and locations a more exotic flair, and even increase the dramatic tension […]
July 8, 2019
3 Ways to Be More Organized
A reporter recently interviewed me about how to be more organized. Which I secretly found funny, because I don’t feel particularly organized. At all. And yet people frequently tell me that I am the most organized person they know. Pfft. Obviously, they don’t know the real me, right? Just because I color-code my file folders, […]
June 5, 2019
How Effective Is the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro Technique is deceptively simple. Set a timer for half an hour or so, ignore all distractions, and focus on your work. On the surface, it seems far too simple to be effective. But it does work. Amazingly well. In fact, I can pinpoint the exact moment my novel-writing career took off a few […]
May 23, 2019
What Every Writer Should Know About Theme
Theme seems to be one of those angst-triggering bogeymen that writers constantly wrestle with. But when you examine it closely, there’s really nothing complicated about it. Theme is simply the lesson the main character learns over the course of the story. (Or, in the case of a tragic ending, the lesson they failed to learn.) […]
May 2, 2019
OUT NOW: No Sleep Till Doomsday (Dru Jasper #3)
A wicked enchantress has stolen an amulet that will destroy the world in 24 hours. Unless Dru and her sorcerer friends can get it back, the seas will boil, the stars will fall from the sky, and the earth itself will split apart. Overall, bad news. To make things worse, Dru’s half-demon boyfriend Greyson and […]
NEW RELEASE: No Sleep Till Doomsday (Dru Jasper #3)
A wicked enchantress has stolen an amulet that will destroy the world in 24 hours. Unless Dru and her sorcerer friends can get it back, the seas will boil, the stars will fall from the sky, and the earth itself will split apart. Overall, bad news. To make things worse, Dru’s half-demon boyfriend Greyson and […]
April 23, 2019
Exclusive interview with Angela Roquet, USA Today bestselling author of Flesh & Blood
If you haven’t yet read anything by USA Today bestselling author Angela Roquet, you’re in for a real treat. At the moment I’m posting this, her brand new book, Flesh & Blood (Blood Vice #7) has 5.0 stars on Amazon. This is urban fantasy you can really sink your teeth into. ; ) Here’s Angela to […]
