Traci M. Sanders's Blog, page 37
April 15, 2016
Tip #107: The past is not always left in the past (building backstories)
Today’s post is more about the creative side of writing. In tip #55 I delved into creating flawed characters. In tip #74 in this series, I spoke about how to create character profiles to keep [...]
April 14, 2016
Tip #106: Personification (bringing your scenes to life)
Today’s post is all about making your scenes come alive through personification, a literary tool used to give human-like qualities to inanimate objects. Here is a basic example: Non-personified: The moonlight shone through the trees. [...]
April 13, 2016
Tip #105: A writer’s 3 best friends
Today’s post is about a topic that is not often mentioned in author circles – similar to the #1 rule about Fight Club: Don’t talk about Fight Club. Well, I’m talking about it today. There [...]
April 12, 2016
Tip #104: Don’t be so possessive!
Today’s post is all about apostrophes. I’ve seen these misused so many times I’ve lost count. Not every apostrophe is meant to signify possession. Apostrophes have two uses: to show possession (singular or plural), and [...]
April 11, 2016
Tip #103: Numbers within stories
Today’s post may seem like a simple topic, but it’s one that many authors struggle with: writing numbers within stories. Many variations of numbers show up in our stories: times, dates, currencies, years, eras, and [...]
April 10, 2016
Tip #102: More than vs. Over
Today’s tip is about the use of two synonyms that can take on very different meanings in various contexts. I’m referring to “more than” and “over.” It has become acceptable in formal writing to use [...]
April 9, 2016
Tip #101: Caring less (Could you or couldn’t you?)
Today’s tip is about a topic that tends to show up in dialogue more than any other aspect of writing–unless dealing with texts, emails, or other informal messages. When the phrase “could care less” is [...]
April 8, 2016
Tip #100: Toward vs. Towards
Wow, we are already on tip #100 in this segment! I’m so glad these tidbits are helping you all on your publishing path. You never know what the next tip will be, so if you [...]
April 7, 2016
Tip #99: Hyphens with ‘ly” modifiers?
Today’s post is short but it’s one of those things that all authors need to be aware of, especially when editing their books. Many of you already know that when you see two (or more) [...]
April 6, 2016
Tip #98: Building your author portfolio
So far in this segment, I’ve offered tips on how to have a successful takeover party on Facebook (see tip #85) and how to conduct virtual blog tours (see tip #76). At some point in [...]
