Tips and advice about writing.
I usually like the first blog of a new year to be about writing habits or routines, and all the goals I'm going to achieve by implementing such things. In the past, I've done exactly that, and I have reached those goals. I followed the routine, stuck to the habit, and got manuscripts written, edited, …
When it comes to writing a villain, the traits are easy to pick up and put on the page. It’s the character who does everything to thwart the hero, and their motivation is power or money, or nothing at all, because they were born evil, and the twirling mustache and creepy laugh are enough to …
Continue reading Writing Tips: Making Your Villains Relatable
Just as the different relationships in your life shape who you are, give comfort, create frustration, fill you with joy or sorrow, and gift you the people that will either help or hinder your life, the same character relationships can help your main character, too. I’m sure we’ve all read a book where the plight …
Continue reading Writing a Book: Character Relationship Must-Haves
Regardless of whether you love them or loathe them, flashbacks are a great tool to use when writing your novel. Among other things, they allow you to get info to your readers that can be relatable, quick, and merge well with the story you’re telling, and help to solidify character actions. While that might sound …
When starting a new manuscript, everyone knows the first draft just needs to be written. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the whole plot, every single character, or the ending, just as long as you know something to get the words flowing. But what happens when you can write the first chapter, but just …
How many times have you started a book and wondered what was going on, or reached the climax of the big battle only to be hopelessly lost? And what about when the big reveal happens, the characters are acting like the entire world changed, and you’re just scratching your head, pondering if you misread something …
Anyone who works a nine-to-five job knows about Mondays and how the thought of them creeps into your mind on a Sunday night. Just the dread of starting another week of monotony brings your whole mood down, but it’s not exclusive to office life. Experiencing it when working on your art also happens. I’ve been …
When it comes to writing, I’m not a plotter, and despite my love of organization, I don’t plan. When starting a WIP, I usually have little knowledge of how things will end. I may have a few ideas for the start, some characters who are louder than others, a few sentences of dialogue, or a …
Continue reading Questions to Create a Non-Plotter’s First Draft Outline
Taking an author photo could be the mark of a dream come true if it's for your debut novel's book jacket, or it could be the start of your nervous entry into the writing community, where you need a profile picture to add to your social media accounts.In both and all cases, an author photo …
K.M. Allan 