Are you hoping to traditionally publish your novel? If so, it probably feels like there are a thousand questions to answer… Do you need an agent? How do you get an agent? What’s involved in the querying process? How much do traditionally published authors get paid in royalties? Right? There are...

If you want to write a novel that hooks a reader’s interest, then you had better write an engaging first chapter. But how exactly do you do that? Since I’ve already provided resources on how to write a solid set of opening pages, and the big mistakes to avoid when writing your opening pages, I t...

If you want to write a novel that hooks a reader’s interest, then you had better write an engaging first chapter. But how exactly do you do that? Since I’ve already provided resources on how to write a solid set of opening pages, and the big mistakes to avoid when writing your opening pages, I t...

 Did you know that a lack of context is one of the most common reasons readers disengage from a story?  It makes sense because people read to be totally immersed in another time and place–to be in the skin of another person, experiencing the story as they do. So, when you don’t include the appro...

If you want to write a novel that hooks a reader’s interest, then you had better write an engaging first chapter. But how exactly do you do that? Since I’ve already provided resources on how to write a solid set of opening pages, and the big mistakes to avoid when writing your opening pages, I t...

If you want to write a novel that hooks a reader’s interest, then you had better write an engaging first chapter. But how exactly do you do that? Since I’ve already provided resources on how to write a solid set of opening pages, and the big mistakes to avoid when writing your opening pages, I t...

Writing an effective query letter is something that many writers struggle with. It can be a super nerve-wracking task even though most queries are only one page long. But if you've ever written a query letter yourself, you know it's not always the easiest or most straightforward thing! I work wi...

Do you want to write the kind of story that readers can't put down?  In this post, I'm sharing five reasons why readers might stop reading a novel, and then how to avoid making some of these mistakes in your own draft. Let's dig in!   5 Reasons Readers Might Stop Reading Reason #1: Nothing ...

Last week, I got an email from a writer that said, "I really want to make a career out of writing fiction, but to do so, I know I can't spend two years working on the same novel. Do you have any advice for how I can finish a novel faster while still maintaining its quality?" And I love this ques...

How do you know if the idea you have is strong enough to support a full-length novel? Is there a way to know the difference between a good idea and one that's better left in your idea folder?  If so, can you do this before spending all that time writing the first draft? The answer is YES! For...

It's almost time to ring in the new year, so to celebrate, I thought it would be fun to continue with last week’s theme of lessons learned over the last year.  So, as we inch our way closer to counting down until the ball drops, I wanted to count down some of the best clips from the Fiction Writ...

Do you ever wonder what the writing process is like for other writers? Or if they run into some of the same challenges or traps as you do? Well, in this post, I'm giving you a glimpse behind the scenes and sharing some of the key takeaways I learned from coaching writers this year. And although ...