L. MacNaughton's Blog, page 7

Create Better Characters in 6 Easy Steps

Readers may be intrigued by a good plot. But if your characters are interesting, readers will remember them long after they close the book. It can be tough to create fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters. I explain how to do it over at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog. P.S. Get more free writing tips when […]

Coming Up: Ask Me Anything

Have you ever wondered… … how writers deal with reviews, both good and bad? … what kind of mistakes beginning writers often make? … where writers get their ideas? I’m doing an Ask Me Anything (AMA) event on Wednesday, May 23 at 4:00 PM EDT. This is your chance to connect, ask questions, and see […]

Why You Should Never Be Afraid to Write

One day, almost exactly 10 years ago, I walked into a bookstore in Hawaii and discovered something fascinating. It was an overly large magazine, with big glossy pages that flopped over in the humid air, and it was chock-full of articles on how to write. The magazine was called Writers’ Forum. It was from the […]

Plot Problem? Fix It Fast with a Retcon

Sooner or later, every story runs into a little hiccup. As you write, you’ll discover that certain facts don’t fit together anymore. Maybe a character needs to be changed or removed. Maybe you find a plot hole big enough to drive a Mack truck through. Somewhere, in the inner workings of your story, something has […]

What Music Do Writers Listen to?

While I was writing No Sleep till Doomsday (Dru Jasper series, book 3), much to my surprise, I found myself listening to a certain Ukrainian pop music album over and over. Here’s why. My book features an evil crystal sorceress named Lucretia, and there are subtle references throughout the book to the song “Lucretia, My Reflection” […]

7 Ways to Master “Show, Don’t Tell”

“Show, Don’t Tell” is probably the most often-repeated writing advice in the world. It means that you shouldn’t dump a load of information in the middle of the page, because it will stop your story dead. But it’s easy to fix that problem, if you know how. Here are seven different ways that you can […]

Want to Be a Better Writer? Read This.

I’ve talked to hundreds of best-selling authors about their early years, before they were published. By and large, they wrote about half a dozen unpublished manuscripts before they sold their “first” novel. Aside from cranking out thousands of pages of prose, how do you learn the writing skills you need to improve over time? You […]

How to Use Rejection to Grow Stronger

This is a true story. Not long ago, an aspiring writer reached out to me for advice on how to deal with the worst kind of rejection. Delia (not her real name) had decided once and for all to finally write that book she’d been dreaming about for years. And she did it – she […]

4 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Suspense in Your Novel

Have you ever read a book that you just couldn’t put down? The whole time you were turning pages, you were probably desperate to discover the answer to a burning question. That’s the essence of suspense, and it makes readers devour your book. So how do you build suspense in your novel? Start by avoiding […]

Book Signing: Covered Treasures Bookstore on Saturday, March 10

There’s only one thing I love more than discovering a new bookstore, and that’s meeting new readers. Independent bookstores tend to attract some of the smartest and most interesting people around. It’s true. Every time I do a book signing, I always find myself drawn into fascinating conversations and making new friends. It’s simply the […]