December 28, 2021
Storytelling Rules
by Samantha Hoffman
Sorry for the misleading subject line since I'm of the opinion that there are NO REAL RULES for how to tell a story. You'll see thousands of articles, however, with those words in the title, because those words sell. I bet it made you open this email.
Everyone wants to break the code: how do we write the Great American Novel? If someone just tells us the rules, well...cool.
Unfortunately,…
December 21, 2021
The Tyranny of Starred Ratings
by Dan Klefstad
Two shoppers stood in an indie bookstore before a row of new releases, each spine announcing the latest effort by an author who poured their sweat and soul into this book. When one shopper picked up a volume, the other held their phone near the cover.
“4.8 stars with fifty…
December 14, 2021
Is Your Writing on the Back Burner?
by Samantha Hoffman
When the holidays add another layer of busyness to our already busy lives it can be difficult to prioritize your writing.
Give yourself the gift of writing time each day. Not so much that you pile guilt on top of stress. Make it doable and easy, say...30 minutes every day.…
December 7, 2021
Better on Paper
by Samantha Hoffman
Why do we write?
Joan Didion said, “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means."
Stephen King said that in the end all writing is about “enriching the lives of those who will read your work,…
November 30, 2021
Let’s Retire Writer’s Block
by Samantha Hoffman
What do you say we retire the term writer’s block? It sounds like an incurable disease when, really, it’s not a disease and it’s not incurable, it’s just a break or a lull; a slowdown. A block is something you can’t get around or go through, and you can’t see…
November 23, 2021
DIY Book Promo: One Author’s Journey
by Dan Klefstad
Recently, fellow authors asked me for details about the now 19-month promo campaign for my vampire novel Fiona's Guardians. They saw me reading while masked at author events, they saw photos of my book in the hands of various booksellers, and there was something about a theater company adapting…
November 16, 2021
We’re Ready for an IN-PERSON Conference!
by Samantha Hoffman
We’re ready for an in-person writers conference. Are you?
NOTE: Proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of the first day of the conference will be required from all attendees, volunteers, presenters and book sellers. Masks optional.
Remember how fun Let’s Just Write!…
November 9, 2021
The Greener Grass
by Samantha Hoffman
I think we writers often look ahead and think _______________________ (fill in the blank from Column A below) when I _______________________ (fill in the blank Column B below).
COLUMN A COLUMN B My life will be perfect Finish my (great American) novel My goals will be met…
November 2, 2021
How to Outline a Nonfiction Book in 5 Steps
by Jerry Jenkins
Published with permission from Jerry Jenkins.
There’s no way around it. You need a book outline if you’re writing nonfiction.
For a novel, if you’re a Pantser (one who writes by the seat of your pants—like I do) as opposed to an Outliner, you can get away with having…
October 26, 2021
Try NaNoWriMo This Year
By Maggie Smith
Before 2020, I’d always scoffed at folks who diligently signed up every November to pound out a new novel. I mean, I was a writer. It wasn’t a hard job, not like piloting a plane or curing cancer. All it required was putting my butt in the chair, turning on…
