Posts Tagged ‘Laura Drake’
Reviews – the Good, the Bad, the Brutal
Reviews are one of the top three causes for visceral emotions in authors. Two-inches-off-the-floor elation to meltdowns, there’s nothing we look forward to with more hopeful trepidation. Many authors refuse to look at them. They say it’s death by a million cuts, and I get it. You spend six months to a year writing the…
Read MoreFlash Fiction – Just for Fun
I wrote a post a while ago, on why you should write Flash Fiction – you can read it HERE. I enjoy the heck out of it – it’s like cleansing my palette between projects…cleans out the old plots and leaves my mind clear for the next. Then Sherry Gross told me about NYC…
Read MoreDynamic Dialogue
I teach writing classes, and one of the things I see most often is awkward, stilted or boring dialogue. Why? Because dialogue in writing is not like dialogue in real life. It’s real life on steroids. It’s all the great stuff without all the, how-are-you’ s, um’s and awkwardness. It’s all the stuff you lie…
Read MoreThe Trouble is, You Think You Have Time
I’d planned to write about something craft-related this week, but reality slapped me instead. I got word today that a friend and fellow western author passed away, Kari Lynn Dell. If you’ve never read her books, check them out. They’re real rodeo romance. She knew, because she was she rode the rodeo road, when…
Read MoreYour First 5 Lines
I’ll admit, the idea for this blog was sparked by this one, by Donald Maass. It made me think, because I’m teaching my First Five Pages class at Lawson Writer’s Academy starting today (you can still sign up – HERE). We always focus on first lines, and though I’ll admit they are critical, experts say…
Read MoreStaying Creative – Even in a Pandemic
Because writing isn’t hard enough, right? Now we have to write while worrying about: getting sick, loved ones falling ill, kids’ school, misinformation, politics, economics, TP shortages and murder hornets. No wonder we’re not sleeping. But introverts are at least used to being locked in their houses. Heck, they want to be there! I am…
Read MoreCowboy for Keeps
My 12th book releases TOMORROW, and I’m taking a break from craft this week, to squee just a bit. So far, the reviews are good (fingers crossed), and I’m hoping for a successful launch. I’m chatting with Frannie Cassano on Wednesday – I’d love for y’all to join us – I have this junior high…
Read MoreWord Play – Unleash Your Inner Writing Child
Think back. Waaaay back, to when you first decided you wanted to write. You sat down, maybe at a computer, maybe with a pen and napkin, or even (in my case) on the back of a motorcycle, and wove a story in your head. Remember how excited you were? Everything seemed possible. You had the…
Read MoreMistakes That Invite Skimming
This is awesome skimming. This isn’t what I’m talking about. For an author, reader skimming is a death knell. It immediately precedes putting the book down and not picking it back up. The reader may not even be able to tell you why they’re not engaged, just that they aren’t. You can write the perfect…
Read MoreEasiest Edit to Get Closer POV
POV is like Algebra. You either get it or you don’t, and if you don’t, people can explain it ten different ways, and you just feel dumber with every one. Hey, I understand. I didn’t get it either, back when rocks were new. And what’s frustrating is, I’ve never found a way to explain it…
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