But you’re nothing like this guy. You’re not a detective, much less a terrible one. You’re not a drunkard—well, you are a writer, so….
Author Archives: holymell
You Need a Cover that Appeal To Your Readers, Not Just You
Of course, symbolism is almost always acceptable as well. Many authors use, for example, objects of things that are thematically relevant to their books as the focal point of the cover.
Are You a Writer? A Storyteller? Or Both?
I’ve wanted to cover this for a while, but I’ve found it hard to articulate what the differences between the three are, how to marry the two if you are both, how to become a storyteller if you’re a writer, and how to become a writer if you’re a storyteller. Confused yet? Great! I wasContinue reading “Are You a Writer? A Storyteller? Or Both?”
Exposition: Not Even Once
We all do it. Exposition. Let us stop. It’s not the easiest thing not to do, in any case. If you’re writing your first draft, you may want to skip this post, but revisit it when you’re revising. At the same time, if you’re dedicated to writing a great first draft, please proceed! It’s neverContinue reading “Exposition: Not Even Once”
Clichés! Tropes! Tired Sentences! Oh my!
Ok, so this might be another short post, but I’ve had a series of manuscripts lately (some very well-written by very skilled writers) that either have tedious and repetitious depictions of character actions/ feelings or have a spatter-pattern of useless phrases. I suppose that this could serve as a companion post to the “what notContinue reading “Clichés! Tropes! Tired Sentences! Oh my!”
How to Convey Unspoken Dialogue in Your Fiction Novel!
This will be a short entry. I just want to rant about this for a moment. Yes, The Chicago Manual of Style has a sort of shitty recommendation for this. It basically says that you can “use quotes or not” depending on “the author’s preference”. While I appreciate and admire the author’s preferences, if it’sContinue reading “How to Convey Unspoken Dialogue in Your Fiction Novel!”
Books That Will Boost Your Skills as an Author!
Are you struggling with getting that tense scene just right? Or perhaps the basic building blocks of constructing an exceptional story simple elude you. Maybe you need a boost from someone who has been where you are—struggling as an author to get a foothold in the industry. Well, I’ve read countless books on writing, andContinue reading “Books That Will Boost Your Skills as an Author!”
Say More by Writing Less! (AKA; clean up your awkward phrasing and clunky sentences.)
Have you ever read your work and thought to yourself: This isn’t right? This reads terribly. The flow’s off and the sentences are bulky. Well, there is a solution. Now, before you beat yourself up about having so many bulky sentences—let me tell you; all of us do it. Every writer on the planet writesContinue reading “Say More by Writing Less! (AKA; clean up your awkward phrasing and clunky sentences.)”
Thinking of padding your word count? Yeah. Don’t.
Is your book too short? Were you perhaps shooting for 50,000 words and ended up with 30k? That sucks. We’ve all been there. You may want to ask me what the solution is, aside from padding the word count to add that extra 20K, but I’m not going to answer quite yet. I’ve seen itContinue reading “Thinking of padding your word count? Yeah. Don’t.”
Avoiding Grammar and Word Usage Errors in your Manuscript
The years I have spent content editing have taught me that there are near-universal mistakes many authors (experienced or first-time; traditionally or self-published) tend to make. Regardless of experience, similar mistakes are made in their manuscripts. I thought it might be helpful to some of you authors out there to have a list compiled ofContinue reading “Avoiding Grammar and Word Usage Errors in your Manuscript”