Category: book sales

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 53: No Contractions in Dialogue

February 18, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 53: No Contractions in Dialogue What’s the worst writing mistake an author can make? It’s a broad one: doing something you think makes you look sophisticated and clever, when really… it doesn’t. A common manifestation of this is a conscientious avoidance of contractions in dialogue and narrative. I’ll admit I … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 53: No Contractions in Dialogue

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 52: Stagnant Story Conflict

February 11, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 52: Stagnant Story Conflict What’s so hard about story conflict? You throw your protagonist and your antagonist onto the page–insta-conflict! Right? Actually, not so fast. Turns out creating a fascinating story world in which dwells a fascinating hero and an evil villain is not enough, in itself, to create integral and … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 52: Stagnant Story Conflict

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 51: One-Dimensional Characters

February 4, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 51: One-Dimensional Characters The most magical moment in writing is when you sit down with a new batch of characters, turn them loose on the page, and… they come to life. They spring up from that flat, white expanse of page, and they’re real. They’re dimensional. They’re organic. They’re compelling and … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 51: One-Dimensional Characters

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 50: Info Dumps

January 28, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 50: Info Dumps On its most fundamental level, a novel is nothing more or less than the dissemination of information. As such, the writer who understands exactly how and where to share information is a writer who understands the most fundamental skill of storytelling. That’s why info dumps are such … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 50: Info Dumps

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 49: Weak Conjunctions

January 21, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 49: Weak Conjunctions Consider the conjunction. It’s one of the building blocks of solid prose. It links idea to idea, creates clarity, and offers emphasis in a solid punch at the center of your sentences. If it can do all that when properly handled, then you definitely want to make sure you’re … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 49: Weak Conjunctions

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 48: No Conflict Between Characters

January 14, 2019

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 48: No Conflict Between Characters I slapped the FedEx guy this morning. Okay, not really. My FedEx guy is totally cool. And he brings me cool stuff. I’d never slap him. But that got your attention, didn’t it? Way more so than if I ‘d said, “I thanked the FedEx … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 48: No Conflict Between Characters

Most Common Mistakes Series, Pt. 47: Ineffective Setting Descriptions

January 7, 2019

Most Common Mistakes Series, Pt. 47: Ineffective Setting Descriptions You can’t write a good setting without a good description. That’s the way it rolls. In written literature, what is setting if not description? How do you convey it without description of some sort? For something so relatively intuitive, setting descriptions can end up being surprisingly … More Most Common Mistakes Series, Pt. 47: Ineffective Setting Descriptions

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 46: Anticlimactic Endings

December 10, 2018

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 46: Anticlimactic Endings Here’s how to write books readers will love–and yet still end up hating you for. It’s easy. All you have to do is divebomb out of your brilliance and into anticlimactic endings. On some level, anticlimactic endings are pretty self-explanatory. They’re endings with no bang in the end. They’re … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 46: Anticlimactic Endings

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 45: Avoiding “Said

December 3, 2018

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 45: Avoiding “Said” What’s this, you say? Avoiding “said” is one of the most common writing mistakes? How can that be? Surely writers overuse this ubiquitous little word more often than not, don’t they? As a matter of fact: nope. Indeed, trying to avoid this hard-working little speaker-attribution tag can, in most instances, lead … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 45: Avoiding “Said

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 44: Too Many Participle Phrases (Over $500.00 in Cyber Monday bonuses)

November 26, 2018

Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 44: Too Many Participle Phrases Rushing to her computer, Katie tries not to spill her coffee. She is late to write a very important forty-fourth installment in the “Most Common Writing Mistakes” series. She looks for her coaster, rooting through her desk drawers. Finally, relieved by the protection of the precious particle board … More Most Common Writing Mistakes, Pt. 44: Too Many Participle Phrases (Over $500.00 in Cyber Monday bonuses)